Twilight Sparkle found herself to be right quite a lot, but that wasn't always a good thing. She had expected herself to get seasick on the waves, and that was indeed the case. Vomiting over the edge of the ship, with Spike there to hold back her mane, Twilight sincerely hoped their goal would be worth it.
In the distance the shining pillar remained. It was straight ahead, the ship was going as quickly as it could towards it. They had food that would last them weeks, if not months, but there was simply no way to judge the distance. It could have been small and just another hour away, or gigantic, sitting on the edge of the world. Twilight's natural curiosity had never been that strong before, but neither had her nausea.
"Huh, I didn't know you had carrots for breakfast," said Spike as Twilight finally felt she had finished, for the moment. It was morning, a full day after they had taken off from Seaside.
"Are you sure you are alright, Princess?" asked a changeling standing behind them, along with at least five others.
"I've told you not to worry, I'm just suffering from some motion sickness," said Twilight. "Please, don't worry about me. Go help and wash the deck, or something productive. I'm grateful, but this is nothing to stand around for."
"To be honest, I didn't think we would need to do anything like that on this journey," said Spike, looking on the wooden deck.
"We probably should have properly tested something of this size before we brought it out to sea," said Twilight. They hadn't expected it, but as they sailed on the blocky waves, things tended to jump up and land where they were walking. Firstly, small particles splashed up to them, but due to some odd quirk with how the tome worked, they didn't vanish as they should have. They kept bouncing around on the deck like a thousand tiny blue marbles. It actually weighed the ship down, so a few had to sweep them off over the fences.
Secondly, and slightly less severely, was how squids sometimes collided with the vessel. At times they would be flung up to the crew. They even knocked away blocks in the sail due to force of impact.
"If it rains, we are going to have to stop immediately and build a shelter over the ship, unless we want it to sink," said Twilight. She turned around, to find the changelings still standing there. "I'm fine, I assure you."
"It's just, we can't help it. When our queen is sick, we get very worried. It's like instincts," said one of the changelings.
"I'm a little better now. Don't worry, everyone," said Twilight.
Suddenly, the ship swerved to the side with great force. Twilight, as well as everyone else, flung into the side. She hit the fence around the edge. All of the vessel was leaning strongly to the left side, making it difficult to keep your balance even after the initial shock. She shot out her front legs and caught a changeling that had almost fallen over the side. There was a large thud, and then the ship finally came to a full stop in the water. It even out. It had gone very quickly.
"No! No! I told you to keep it steady!" shouted Shining Armor. Twilight looked up to the quarterdeck, and then up to the third sail in the back. The entire mast had broken off, becoming a bunch of brown and red tiny cubes bouncing on the deck. She pulled up the changeling she had saved, helping him up on deck.
"I thought you told us to go to the left, Captain!" said one of the changelings up at the back sail.
Another few changelings flew around from the front sail. "He told us to go right!" said one of them.
"Who's fault is this?!" asked Swift, sounding angry. "We have to redo the tome-thing on this entire mast and sail! That will take an hour!" yelled Swift.
Twilight was surprised he was that well read on the tome, but he was right. This cut right into their time.
"I told you guys to 'Keep it steady,'" said Shining Armor.
"No, you didn't! This was your fault, Shining Armor," said Scootaloo, walking up to the quarterdeck. She actually looked strict.
"What?" asked Shining Armor. "How is this my fault?"
"You weren't perfectly clear. Our language is downright muddled compared to how changelings communicate, and we aren't used to the difference between us. You weren't perfectly clear in how you spoke. You said 'Steady now, go rest, alright?' but they heard 'Ready now, go left' and those further away heard 'Right'.
"Are you serious?" asked Shining Armor.
"She seems to be right, Captain," said one of the changelings from above.
"You're used to working with ponies who know you very well and that speak your language perfectly. Changelings have a different way to listen to orders and you haven't worked with any of them, if what I've heard is right," said Trickery.
"Language?" asked Shining Armor.
"Our language is a- hang on. Start repairing the mast, my kin!" Trickery yelled clearly and loudly. Immediately everyone around Twilight scurried around like crazy, picking up the pieces and starting to fix what had been broken.
"The ten nearest me, don't forget to check for more damage on the ship!" said Twilight. A small specific part either started to fly around the ship, or went down below deck.
"Some of the blocks fell into the water. I'll just dive down and get them," said Spike, jumping off the railing.
"Be-" Splash. "...Careful," said Twilight, rolling her eyes.
"Thank, Princess," said the changeling she had helped. So much had happened that Twilight had actually forgotten she was still there. The little changeling, clearly a bit younger than her siblings, looked up at Twilight with very big eyes. Perhaps, 'little' wasn't appropriate. She was indeed the smallest changeling on the ship, but she was just a few inches shorter than Twilight.
"Are you alright?"
"Yes. Good now. To you. Can not swim," said the changeling. She got very close to Twilight, and it was clear the little 'filly', while certainly larger than a pony of equivalent age, still had the mentality of a child. She hadn't fully matured, that was bound to take a few more years. Sure, their childhood went by quickly, but they still had one.
Noticing them both, Trickery walked up and started talking. "She hasn't learned the language yet. She's only a year old, hasn't even been given a name yet."
Over the years, Timey had taught Twilight plenty about changelings, both about their culture and their ways. Knowing what was odd and what wasn't, she got curious.
"Changelings don't leave Constant, the 'hive', until they are at least five. Why was this little sweetie allowed to come with you?" asked Twilight. The little girl was downright cuddly, simply adorable.
"They aren't supposed to, but as long as they aren't ordered to stay they can go wherever they want. Most choose not to," said Trickery.
"Why did she come with us?"
Trickery just needed one look into the little one's eyes to get her answer. Their own language was a lot about how they moved, how they felt, what they thought. "Apparently, she wanted to meet and help the queen. You did ask for volunteers."
"Ha ha, I see," said Twilight, looking down on the little changeling. "I should have been more specific. I'm a bit worried she came with us, as she can't swim and-"
"None of us can," said Trickery.
"What?" asked Twilight, giving her an odd look.
"None of us can swim. We can't keep ourselves afloat with these holes in our legs, and our wings get very weak in water so we can't even fly out," said Trickery. "I thought you knew that."
"I didn't," said Twilight, suddenly quite worried. She had thought she knew everything about changelings, but apparently she still had things to learn. A whole crew of changelings who couldn't even swim, at least a few that could be seen as children. What if the recent mishap could have resulted in a sunken ship? 51 innocent drowned, and a few more to join them soon enough. "You, little one," said Twilight, looking down on the changeling youth.
"Yes?" she asked. Being given commands directly by their 'queen' instead of someone speaking for her was usually rare in changelings hives, and their bodies were simply hard-wired to feel a sense of awe the first few times. She looked at Twilight with even bigger eyes.
"As I didn't know none of you could swim, I have a special assignment for you. I want you to walk along the inner edge of the deck and look for anyone in the crew that might have fallen into the water. If you find someone who is in the risk of drowning, make sure to tell somepony who can help," said Twilight. She was sure to be very specific in how she worded it, more so than usual. At that young age, changelings weren't even the least bit flexible with how they worked when given a specific assignment. If she would have said 'around the ship' instead of 'along the inner edge', the little filly might have tried to shimmy on the outside of the railing. Had Twilight said 'anypony' instead of 'anyone in the crew' then she might not have done anything if a changeling would fall in.
Sure, it was sort of dumb, but how many one year olds are able to carry out instructions at all?
"Okay. Will."
"Great. Because of-"
"Dragon not up yet."
Spinning her head around, Twilight looked at the railing. She rushed to the edge and leaned over, looking down into the deep water below. She couldn't see Spike.
"Spike?! Spike!" yelled Twilight. She leaped off the railing, diving into the blue below.
Hitting the cold water, Twilight felt herself sink down as she slowed from the fall. She could hear muffled cries above her, but she didn't care. Focusing, she looked straight down. It was hard to see, and it got darker as it got deeper, but she saw this dark outline beneath her, being completely still.
Swimming as quickly as she could, she was getting closer and closer. Suddenly, a pair of white eyes were visible in the form. It split away, and swam away with an nearly impossible speed until it vanished in the dark. The monster had been right there, but Twilight didn't care. The shape was still beneath her, Spike just slowly sank, unmoving. They were so close, and she reached out to grab her friend's claw.
If she could have, Twilight would have screamed his name; in her desperation she tried to.
***
"What do you think Twilight and the gang are doing right now?" asked Applejack as she walked alongside Rainbow Dash on Haven's streets.
"Probably something boring," said Rainbow Dash. "It was probably a good thing we didn't come with them."
"Do you need to eat something? I'm not hungry, but maybe you are?" asked Applejack.
"Nah, thanks, but I ate before we went out."
"Did Rosy get something too?"
"Of course. We had pizza, and for desert we had some melon," said Rainbow Dash. "Well, how should we do this?"
"I don't know," said Applejack. "It sounds dangerous, and I don't... I don't..."
"I know, Applejack. I've been there, but we're not doing anything dangerous right now. We're just trying to find out a place to start looking for Punishment. We'll get the guards before anything bad happens," said Rainbow Dash. "I mean, if we're going to find Punishment, we need clues..."
"Ponies have been looking for Punishment for a long time without finding anything, right? I mean, if guards have tried, then how are we going to do it?" asked Applejack.
"Where would you go if you wanted to find out about Punishment? Like, shady taverns?"
"I don't think Haven has shady taverns, at least I haven't seen any," said Applejack. "Besides, Punishment is very good at keeping secrets. They are probably invite only."
"Oh yeah."
"Hm, maybe we are just approaching the problem all wrong? Let's see, there's plenty of questions we can't answer. Who are they? Where do they meet? How do they keep in touch? How many are there? Maybe there's a question we can find the answer to, and work our way up from there?"
"Huh, okay... What do we know?"
"Well, they got into Twilight's library to plant that..." Applejack almost fell to her knees. Remembering it, thinking about it, it was too much for her.
Rainbow Dash stayed with her while still giving her the space she knew was needed, eventually helping her up. "It's alright, I know." Applejack managed to compose herself, and before they continued she took a deep calming breath. A break was welcome, so they approached a café. The lovely little establishment, with a round fenced in area and wool seats, with colorful wool parasols, were quite popular in that part of Haven. It was a slow day, so there were just a few ponies sitting both inside and outside, idly chatting and drinking some coco. So, plenty of space. Both of them decided to sit down. A waitress walked up to them, holding a journal she wrote in. "A bottle of water for me, and some coco for Applejack. Some cookies too."
"Water, coco, and some cookies. I'll be right back," said the waitress.
"Anyway, because nopony sees Punishment when they do things to Twilight, they must be doing it at night. Who's up at night?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"Bad question. Unless Punishment is made up of a bunch of Lunas-"
"Ha ha, loonies."
"Then I don't think that will lead anywhere," said Applejack. "Heh, haven't thought about Princess Luna in a long time."
"Well, okay, do you have a question we can ask, then?"
Applejack thought about it until the waitress returned with their beverages a minute later, and when she took a sip of the warm coco she realized something. On that terrible day, something had happened for the first time that was not the beam of light. This other thing could prove important. "The... the explosion. What did that?"
"Um..."
"Alright, we don't know, but since it was an explosion, it must have been made with gunpowder, right?"
"Yeah? I mean, probably? Fireworks are, and they go boom."
"Where do we find gunpowder in Haven?"
"Killing Creepers outside the walls?"
"Except the guards keep a record on who goes in and out, as well as checking everyone's inventory both times," said Applejack.
"How do you know this?"
"Twilight and I designed the system, with hoppers, to know how supplies were used, and to make sure nopony could get valuables without at least registering it first. I mean, ponies risking their lives to mine for diamonds in an unsafe environment? That's just reckless. Oh, and we had to show our inventory as we got onto the train in Promise Peak," said Applejack.
"Well... unless it's some really old gunpowder they used, then I suppose they would be registered, either from getting into the town with some, or getting extra from the town storage. Though, gunpowder was useless for a really long time, before fireworks, so not a lot of ponies would have any from that time," said Rainbow Dash.
"The important part is that since so few ponies ever get gunpowder, even for fireworks, we might get some names to check out from the register at town storage," said Applejack.
"Good thinking, have a cookie!" said Rainbow Dash.
They basically toasted with their cookies, hoping for a fortunate hunt. Twilight was not the only one with a quest underway.
***
"Don't you dare, don't you dare," said Rarity through a face full of tears. She was sitting next to the railing of the ship, hunched over Spike's body. She was compressing his chest cavity with her front legs. Twilight, overcome with worry, would have done it herself, but Rarity had already started. It was for the best. Delicate, precise hooves would be needed.
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, CPR, was often depicted in stories as a kiss of life and love, or clean and reliable, but Twilight was well aware it wasn't the case. Spike had a very slim chance, one that shrunk every single second Rarity failed to make him breathe. So far, all that she had managed to make him do was to involuntarily vomit due to air escaping into his stomach. They both looked like a complete mess, and the smell of seawater and sick was disgusting. Rarity didn't care, she didn't stop.
"Please, please, please," she whispered as she kept the pace. Everyone was so quiet so it was easy to hear her. They were all looking on with both dread and slight hope. There suddenly was a large crack that broke the silence. For a moment Rarity stopped; she had broken his rib.
"Keep going!" ordered Twilight.
Taking a second to recompose, Rarity kept going. Throughout it all Twilight's head felt like it was spinning. What if he doesn't make it? What if we really are too far away for him to come back? Is he already dead? Will or won't his body vanish? While everything had begun to feel like it was a lost cause, the reason Rarity kept going was without a doubt because he was still there right beneath her.
Then, for a moment, he took a breath. Spike coughed out both water and vomit, gasping for air. Rarity held him down, still.
"W-What happ..." but Spike stopped talking. He reached for his chest. "It hurts."
"You broke a rib," said Twilight, walking up to him with unsteady steps. Rarity hunched over Spike, giving him a hug where he lied.
"I thought you wouldn't make it," said Rarity.
"I... I feel tired," said Spike.
"Spike, stay awake," said Twilight. "Seems like we're going to have to examine you and see what's broken."
"How? Is anypony here a doctor?" asked Applebloom.
"I've been studying to become a doctor," said one changeling. "I'm not fully trained yet, though."
"And I've had some training in how to treat wounded soldiers on the field," said Shining Armor.
"Well, let's get him into the captain's quarters, let him rest on the bed," said Twilight. "I just got an idea that might help us see how bad the damage is."
Several changelings brought Spike with them, with great care, into the space below the quarterdeck. Twilight was about to go with them, but the small changeling stopped her. "Will Spike be good?" she asked.
"I hope so. You did very well. Thank you," said Twilight.
Twilight, Shining Armor, Rarity and Trickery walked into the captain's room. Twilight felt slightly cooler as she got out of the sunlight. The space was a bit cramped, with a bed near the right wall, a small bookshelf next to it, a desk to the left, and two small windows on the back wall.
The changelings were still holding Spike, as someone was already lying, right there on the bed. "Oh, what's up?" asked Swift Digger.
"Swift, out, Spike needs the bed," said Twilight.
"Wait, what's going on here?"
"Now," said Twilight. Her tone was impossible to defy, so Swift quickly jumped out of bed and moved to the side. Spike was gently placed on the soft warm bed. As Twilight got near Spike, the changelings scattered away to give her some space.
"Twilight, I, I need to-" Spike coughed a bit.
"Later, for now I have an idea how we can diagnose you," said Twilight.
"How?" asked Trickery.
"Changelings have three ways to transform into someone else: by sight, by memory and by touch. Sight is quick and works well. Memory is slow, tiring and at worst, imprecise. Touch is instant, absolutely exact and works both inside and out. We're going to have a changeling transform so it looks like small pieces of you, allowing us to peek inside and see what bones are broken."
Trickery gave the other changelings a look.
"Can't it be done?" asked Twilight.
"Well, I think it might be, but no changeling has ever done half a creature before. I mean, if we do that we also have to add a real heart along with the fake half we will be showing. It might be dangerous," said Trickery.
"Oh, then we probably shouldn't-"
"I'll do it," said another female changeling. "I am good with details, and has transformed by touch before. I know what it's like," she said.
"No, I'll do it. I have been given responsibility of us all, and I won't risk my siblings to be hurt. I am the oldest," said Trickery.
"Are you sure?" asked Twilight. "I won't force you."
"I know, and that's why we will gladly try it," said Trickery.
***
In total, Twilight and her friends had spent half an hour basically looking at Spike, cleaved in half down the middle. Seeing Trickery, while still touching Spike with a hoof, imitate a functional body like that was uncanny. Twilight had never seen anything like it. As a side effect of touching Spike and constantly transforming, Trickery mimicked every movement of his. Every. Movement. Seeing half a heart pump imaginary blood was both disgusting and fascinating at once.
"Are we done yet? This side of Spike is feeling a bit cramped," said Trickery. In essence, most of it was just extra matter, while Trickery was this large lump in the solid half. All of the other part was constantly shifting, allowing a full view of every single bit of Spike.
"Yes, I think we're done here. Thank you, Trickery. It worked wonderfully," said Twilight.
"I'm impressed somepony who wasn't a changeling managed to come up with such a plan. Father was right, you are intelligent."
"So? What do you think, Twilight? Should we keep going or go back?" asked Shining Armor.
"Well, Spike had a broken rib, but it was still held in place. It's still in two solid pieces. It hasn't pierced anything, and as long as we keep him still, it shouldn't rupture his lung or anything, not at that angle."
"Alright, me and that medical changeling will wrap him up, hopefully it will work as a cast. But you didn't answer my question. Should we turn back?" asked Shining Armor.
Twilight hesitated for a moment. The fact that the monster had attacked Spike meant it was desperate to stop them, so it was probably important. She hadn't mentioned it to anypony yet.
"We will stay on course. Trickery, inform the crew that we will be continuing shortly and of Spike's condition. I want the sail up again in less than fifteen minutes," said Twilight.
"Very well, although your brother is supposed to be-"
"Please do it, Trickery," said Shining Armor, as a formality.
"Yes, Captain." She went outside.
"Twilight," said Spike.
"Yes, Spike?"
"It was... it was the monster you said attacked you. Those terrible eyes... He tried to strangle me."
"Spike, you're safe now. Please just rest. I'm sorry we can't turn back, but we have to-"
"Stop him, I know. I believe in you. We must be doing something right. What a complete jerk," said Spike. "You have no idea how scared I was. For a moment I thought those horrible eyes would be the last thing I would see."
Leaving the room to let Shining Armor and the changeling begin to treat Spike as well as they could, Twilight thought about how Spike wasn't quite safe yet, but at least he wasn't dead. For the moment that needed to be enough. She needed to have faith that everything would turn out right.
Rarity was waiting outside, having cleaned herself up. "Trickery said he was fine, but that you didn't want to turn back. Twilight, is this true?"
"Considering that crazy thing, whatever he or it is, has tried to kill again, it's clear this is important. Believe me, I examined Spike as closely as I could with the help of Trickery. If it would have been any more severe, I would have forced us all to go back. I don't want to lose Spike anymore than you do." said Twilight.
"But, are you sure you can trust someone named 'Trickery'?" asked Rarity.
"Rarity, you can't judge someone based on a name," said Swift Digger. "There's plenty of guys and girls on this ship that are more than meets the eye. Wait, you aren't suspicious because she's a changeling, right? Are you rac- speciesis... got something against insects?" asked Swift. The way he pointed with a bit too much drama suggested it was a joke.
"O-of course not! How dare you make such an accusation? I'll have you know some of my best friends are changelings!"
"You know, we're able to sense if someone doesn't like us. Rarity likes us plenty, it's you who don't like changelings," said a passing changeling pointing back at Swift, the remark quite snide.
"Oh, er... sorry. I didn't know you knew. It's just that... well, you just remind me too much of spiders. I had one spawn inside my bathroom one day while I was resting in the tub, in my old house. I was sleeping, just relaxing, and then I woke up with eight red eyes just staring at me."
"Well, okay, no harm done," said the changeling, continuing on his way.
Twilight turned to Swift, looking confused. "I don't remember you having a bathroom with a tub in that house."
"Well, I burned down the room. Spiders." Swift shuddered.
***
That night, while resting to the gentle rocking of the wave, Twilight suddenly got up from her bed. It was almost dark below deck, the torches giving the smallest amount of light to still be safe. Fortunately it wasn't that cramped. Almost every pony and changeling was sleeping in the same place. Getting some rest was difficult, as Big Macintosh and Applebloom were both heavy snorers. So was Rarity, oddly enough. Every changeling slept like a baby, and Twilight had a creeping suspicion that could indeed be an oddly accurate description, falling asleep so close to their queen.
Of course, snoring was hardly the thing keeping Twilight awake. Is Spike still alright?
She quietly rose up, sneaking towards the door. Very gently she went into the next room, up the wooden stairs, and out onto the deck of the ship.
While night was always very quiet in their world, being on the open sea made it feel completely different. On land, the night away from home was always spent waiting for the moment something would moan, rattle or start to hiss, signifying the end. Here, there was no such thing to expect. A night out to sea was stillness and peace. There was nowhere for a monster to strike from, no tree to hide behind. Out to sea there was only water. This night, the ocean was still. The moon was full. Stars seemed to be brighter out to sea, perhaps because one could keep looking at them without feeling a need to quickly peek around oneself for threats.
The dark blue sky, the brighter blue ocean under a white moon. The world had never been calmer.
Twilight saw a few changelings buzz around the sails, keeping the vessel slowly and safely moving even during the night. Scootaloo was at the helm, directing them and keeping her eyes out for any trouble. She spotted Twilight as she approached.
"Hey, Twilight. You're up late," she said, quite alert. She didn't seem tired at all. Unlike Twilight.
"You too."
"Shining Armor had to go to sleep. I volunteered to direct the next few shifts."
"It has gone very well, Princess Twilight Sparkle. Scootaloo is very good at helping us sail, she gets how to work with changelings," said a random changeling from above.
"Good to hear, keep up the good work everyone," said Twilight right back up to them.
"What are you doing here? Not to complement your crew, right?"
"I wanted to check in on Spike."
"Oh, well don't let me stop you." As Twilight was about to continue, Scootaloo turned to her. "Hey, you seem to have adapted really well. Growing sea legs wasn't harder than growing wings, am I right?" Twilight smiled as she turned towards the door.
Twilight was about to enter the captain's quarters. Shining Armor wasn't there, he was down below deck sleeping with the rest. She went inside and saw two changelings sit at the desk, looking in Spike's direction. One of them was the small girl that had alerted Twilight about Spike.
"Oh, our Princess. What are you doing up so late?" asked the larger changeling, he made sure to keep his voice down.
"Just checking in. I was worried about Spike."
"He is resting, comfortably. He almost turned over, but we made sure he slept still," said the older changeling. Twilight nodded gratefully, and then turned her attention to the smaller changeling.
"Wonderful. What are you you doing up so late, little one?" asked Twilight.
"I just around anyone fallen. Everything good here help."
"She has done as you asked of her, making sure nobody has fallen in. Everything was clear, so she decided to keep me and Spike company before going out again. Please excuse her. As you know, she's young. I just want you to know she is quite eloquent in our own language."
"Still? You should take a break, dear. You have done quite enough for today, nopony will fall in without someone noticing at this hour."
"Okay," said the changeling. She did look tired, and left with heavy steps. As she walked out the door, Shining Armor went inside.
"Oh, hi, Twilight," said Shining Armor. "I didn't know you were up."
"Why are you?"
"I, I just sort of wanted to see how Spike was doing," said Shining Armor.
"He's fine, for now," said Twilight, looking over at the sleeping dragon. She sat down at the desk, yawning. Shining Armor walked up and joined them.
"I'm glad you've taken today so well. You did look really shaken when he was drowning," said Shining Armor.
"You wouldn't believe how afraid I was." They both just looked at Spike in silence for a moment, watching his chest rise and lower with each peaceful breath.
"He means a lot to you, doesn't he?" asked Shining Armor.
"Yes. I know you haven't really been with Spike a lot, not here, not back in Equestria, but Spike's like family to me. When I thought I had lost you... Spike was like my little brother."
"You sure have been through a lot together."
"And after every single thing, I see him grow up a little bit. He's basically an adult now, and... it's almost scary. He's living with Rarity, visits me less and less, gets into dangerous adventure all on his own... I didn't know growing up would be so hard."
"I don't know how to respond to that... And maybe that's a bad thing. I mean, now when I think about it, I wish I could have been with you more, both here and in Equestria. It feels like... I'm never there when you grow, I just see you change every time we meet. I wish I could have been there when you moved to Ponyville, I wish I could have been there when you became an alicorn. I should have been there when you helped create Haven."
"You're here now," said Twilight.
"Too little, too late," he sighed. "I guess I'm a little jealous Spike's always been there for you, but, well, grateful too. I couldn't be there, but he was. I barely know him compared to you, but just being there sort of makes him family to me too."
"I guess that's true..."
"Family is hard... Maybe... Maybe it was for the best me and Cadance never got to..."
Twilight moved over to hug him. "That's not true. Believe me, you'll meet her again, maybe soon." Shining Armor returned the gesture. He looked at his shattered hoof.
"I hope she won't mind my scars, I don't remember her being shallow, but a part of me is terrified that I actually don't remember her at all."
"She will love you just as much now as she did back then."
Shining Armor chuckled. "I'm lucky I have a sister like y-" Suddenly, there was a small bang, an explosion somewhere in the distance. "What was that?" For a whole three seconds they listened, and everything was absolutely calm and silent, then, with great force, Twilight felt the ship being flung to the side as a small part of it exploded. At least five blocks in the wall had been blown away. It had almost hit the three watching over Spike.
From above, Scootaloo yelled as loudly as she could. "We're under attack! Enemy ship on the starboard side!"
Twilight instantly rose up and looked out through the damaged hull. She could see something on the horizon: another moving ship. At a distance the hues of the sails were clearly visible, mainly black and white. It told Twilight everything she needed to know, even if it was hard to believe.
It was of the right colors; Punishment had their own ship.