//------------------------------//
// Book 1, Chapter 4: New Course 
// Story: Of A Princess & A Pirate 
// by Renegade3299 
//------------------------------//

"...and after that, I made my way to Bridleton. You know the rest."

Captain Blackmane drank down what was remaining in his mug of ale and set it on the table. He'd been listening to Hydro as he told his full life's story. It was a calm night, and they were passing the time as they awaited word from the governor. 

"Hmmm... looks like ye have a rough beginning to yer life, lad."

It had been a little less than four months since Hydro had woken up on Blackmane's ship and was offered to be a part of his crew of privateers. True to his word, Blackmane had brought in steady money. Luckily, the governor they worked for was an honest, decent stallion, who paid his clients what they deserved, never keeping any extra for himself.

"I already have enough money to retire in five years." Hydro had heard the governor declare once, "Why should I keep any money that other ponies have earned?"

They had been given simple tasks for the time being. However, being the newest member of the crew, Hydro wasn't involved very much, but it was work, and it was bringing in money, even if it was just a little at a time. Not only that, but for the first time since he could remember, Hydro felt like he belonged. The ponies on the ship had immediately taken him in and treated him like family. He had nopony making fun of him or putting him down, like he had been used to for so long. These privateer ponies were his friends... his family. 

Hydro disocvered that many of the crew, like him, were ponies who had been down on their luck for a long time, and the notion of being paid well led them to privateering. He'd even found out that the captain had once been homeless and was staying near a harbor, when he was recruited by a ship some years back. Even now, as Hydro drank with the Captain, he was excited. Well, he wasn't the only one- Blackmane and everypony on the ship were excited, for they had a very exciting event they were waiting on. 

The governor had recently deemed Blackmane as one of his most trustworthy privateer captains, and the day before, he had assigned them all to a very big, very important contract. As the governor had explained, one of his ships, carrying a massive amount of gold, silver and precious stones was being sent over to Bridleton, but it had been taken by enemy territory. The governor's scouts had finally located where the gold had been taken, and Blackmane's crew was being sent to recover it. Upon completing this task, the crew would be rewarded with a quarter of that ship's take- 100,000 in gold & silver. And with a crew of 20 ponies, each crew member would be recieving a handsome amount. 

Of course, this would prove to be a dangerous contract, seeing as they would be going into a hostile environment, and would be risking their lives, but each and every pony on that ship had shouted "Aye!" when their Captain asked if they wanted to take this contract. Now, they were just waiting for the governor to give them the okay to carry the contract out, and they were throwing a little celebration on the ship this evening.

"It may have been a rought start," Hydro admitted, "But once I'm with her, I'll be able to forget all of that ever happened."

"Well, now that we're getting bigger contracts, ye'll be back with Miss Luna in no time, my boy. And I'll be retiring early on my private island!" Blackmane said with a hearty laugh. The laughter was cut short when one of the crew burst through the doors.

"Cap'n!" he said, trying to catch his breath.

"Easy there, lad." Blackmane reassured the pony, "What seems to be the problem?"

"There's a storm approaching, Cap'n! And she's a monster!"

Upon hearing this, Blackmane and Hydro quickly followed the pony outside. Sure enough, heavy clouds that lit up with lightning were approaching fast. The ocean breeze was turning into winds that were steadily getting faster. 

"Big storm, all right." Blackmane said ominously as he examined the approaching weather with his scope, "And there's no way we'll outsail her."

With that, Blackmane ordered for everypony to get into their positions, and brace themselves, that they were taking this storm head on.

"Hydro, if ye want, ye can go below deck. Storms can be pretty intense."

Hydro simply girnned and said, "I'll not abandon the crew when I can help."

Blackmane nodded and took his place by the helmspony, who gripped the ship's wheel firmly. Within minutes, the ship was thrashing through furious waves, while the crew were bring pelted by heavy, stinging drops of rain and winds that seemed to emit a primal, bloodcurdling roar.

"Secure the mast! Bring in all sails!" Blackmane could barely be heard as he shouted the orders, trying his hardest to make himself audible over the deafening winds and booming thunder. Hydro stuggled with the crew to listen to the captain as he helped with pulling one of the ropes on the ship. 

"By Discord, this is worst storm I've ever been in!" the sailor behind Hydro shouted to nopony in particular.

"Hang in there!" Hydro tried to reassure, "We'll get through it!"

"Blast, this rope is slippery! I haven't- AAAHHH!!!"

Hydro was about to look behind him when he heard the pony's scream fade, when he heard a voice confirm his thoughts.

"Pony overboard!! Pony overboard!!!" the helmsman cried.

Quickly, a crew member ran to the ship's edge, bringing a spare rope, but the plan was foiled when a strong wind gust yanked the rope  right out of the stallion's hooves and cast it into the raging water along with the overthrown pony.

"No!! Now what do we do!?" the stallion asked in frustration and fear, realizing that there were no ropes left.

"Ain't nothin' we can do!" Blackmane shouted with dismay, knowing they would have to abandon the poor sailor, "These waters are way too strong!"

But Hydro wasn't about to let one of the crew drown- not while he could do something about it. He quickly called another pony over.

"Hold my spot on this rope!" he shouted before running over to the ship's edge. Everypony looked at Hydro, realizing what he was about to do. Immediately, protests sprang up from the crew.

"Hydro, don't!"
"Are you crazy!?"

Ignoring the shouts, Hydro dove without hesitation into the sea. He could hear the crew shouting in shock and sadness.

"That's TWO of our boys we've lost!" one crew member cried out.

Hydro focused, letting his sea talent guide him. Almost immediately, he saw the overthrown stallion splashing violently as he tried to stay above the water's surface..

"Help!" he croaked in between hacking chokes "Help me!"

"Stay afloat! I'm on my way!" Hydro called, extending his hooves in powerful strokes. A few ponies at the edge of the ship looked on in fascination as they watch Hydro make his way, seeming effortlessly, to the drowning crew member. The young pony had nearly lost consciousness and was about to go under when he felt a hoof grab him firmly by his shoulder.

"Gotcha!" Hydro said.

"Thank you!" the stallion said in a grateful, almost weeping tone, though he was on the verge of passing out.

"No need to thank me. Now, let's get back to the ship." Hydro answered. The ship was growing more and more distant, but the new privateer caught up with it in what seemed to be an impossibly fast speed. 

"Captain, he's back! And he's got him!" one of the crew joyfully boomed as he ran to the edge, extending his hoof. Hydro latched on and was pulled up by ponies who were nothing less than awestruck that Hydro not only dove into a violent ocean and didn't get swept away, but returned with the pony that had fallen overboard, both of them alive. Cheers quickly rose, but faded when they realized that they were still in the chaos of the storm.

Hydro helped the exhausted crew member below deck, where he sat him down at a table and covered him with a blanket.

"Stay here until we're out of this mess. You're in no shape to battle this weather." Hydro instructed. The pony nodded and thanked him once more before Hydro went back out on deck.  He approached the helmspony as Blackmane went below deck to check on his crew member.

"How are we looking?" Hydro yelled above the winds and lightning.

"As good as we can!" the helmspony answered. "It looks like we.... oh, no!"

Hydro saw the pony's face turn into an expression of shock and trepidation. Before he could ask, Hydro heard him shout in a panicked voice.

"Captain!! We're coming up on a bunch of rocks!!!!"

The other ponies and the returning captain looked ahead of the ship. Sure enough, the ship was heading toward a large amount of rocks- more than enough to sink the ship, and with the winds the way they were, there was not much that could be done. Hearts were racing, breathing quickened. The crew members knew that this was it. Except for one pony.

"We're not done for yet!" Hydro shouted.

Wondering what he could have possibly meant, the ponies watched the young sailor as he ran to the ship's anchor. Calling for another pony's help, he dropped it into the sea, which in turn, caused the ship to begin spinning. The crew held on as tightly as they could to any secure object on the deck, but also realized that they weren't heading for the rocks any longer. Hydro looked around, wondering what he could do next to prevent the ship from losing control and slamming into the stones.

'Stop...' he thought, regarding the storm. He continued searching for anything that could help. He quickly made his way around the ship, pulling in half mast to help stop the spinning. The ship continued to spin, but at a much slower pace.

"This lad knows what he's doing..." Blackmane said in a hushed voice as he looked on with fascination.

'Stop storming....' Hydro again thought. 'Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop...."

As he continued to walk around, seeing what he could find, the crew began to notice something.

"The... the storm's beginning to calm down!" a crew member piped up.

Hydro, oblivious that the storm was actually dissolving, continued to command the storm to cease. He was only speaking his mind, unaware of this interesting coincidence. He took the wheel and held it firmly, keeping the ship steady now. Within minutes, the winds had died down a great deal, and not long after that, the lightning stopped. Soon, the ship stopped spinning and now stiood still in moderately calm waters. All that was now left of the storm was a very light breeze and a small drizzle of rain. Golden sunlight began to peek through the dispersing clouds. A loud cheer rose from a crew of relieved and grateful ponies.

"I thought we were doomed!" the helmspony yelled in delight.

As Hydro descended from his position at the wheel, Blackmane approached and grabbed him by the hoof, turning the both of them to face the crew, who was gathering below them.

"Lads, we've just conquered the storm of our lives!" Blackmane shouted in triumph, "And we didn't lose a single crew member! We almost lost one, but thanks to this here stallion, he got him safely back on board! And when we were headin' for those rocks, this here stallion worked in a way that I've never seen in my life! Even as Captain, I woulda never figured out how to stop the ship from slammin' into the rocks! Ye all have this young colt to thank- he saved all our lives here today!"

The crew raised their hooves and cheered for Hydro, who was feeling an ecstacy like he'd never before felt. For the first time, he was not only welcomed, but everypony here was showing their appreciation for him. They appreciated him!

"He's only been with us fer a few months now," Blackmane said once the cheering ceased, "But after what I just witnessed, I think that it's time that we welcomed him as a true blue member of the crew! What say ye?"

"Aye!" was the crew's simultaneous response.

"Then it's time to give this stallion his privateer's name!" Blackmane declared. Each crew member, excpet for Hydro, had a privateer code name, or nickname that they went by. Since joining the crew, everypony had just called him Hydro for the time being, and he was informed that he would recieve his 'privateer nickname' when he'd done something to truly earn it, a method which he had no objection to.

"So, methinks I got a perfect name for ye, Hydro!" Blackmane said, giving him a firm pat on the back, "Ye just saved all our skin by leading us through one hay of a maelstrom! And Maelstrom is what ye'll now be known as by myself and the rest of the crew! Welcome, Maelstrom!"

"Welcome, Maelstrom!" the crew repeated.

"And because he saved our lives, I'm also callin' fer a cheer! Three for Maelstrom!" the captain said to the crew. "Hip, hip-"

"Hooray!"

"Hip, hip-"

"Hooray!"

"Hip, hip-"

"Hooray!"

Blackmane looked to his left and noticed that the storm had taken them to a decent-sized island. The beach he saw at the inlet was large, perfect for everypony to gather. They weren't continuing their celebration on the ship, since everypony had just been through a nightmare. He called out to the crew.

"Weigh anchor and ready the lifeboats! We're takin' this little party ashore!


************


Luna woke up from her sleep in a startled state. She'd been having problems like this for quite some time now. Ever since hearing of Hydro's death, she'd been plagued by constant nightmares. She looked around, seeing that she was in her room. Celestia was across the room, asleep in her own bed. Her sister had moved into her room after Hydro died, to be there for Luna whenever she needed her. And upon hearing her sister gasping and breathing heavily, she awoke.

"Sister, is everything all right?"

Luna tried to answer, but no words came out. 

"I...I..." was all Luna could choke out before she began crying. Celestia immediately rose out of her bed and walked over to Luna, placing her foreleg around her.

"Is it those nightmares again?" Celestia asked softly. Luna nodded her head affirmatively.

"They just won't stop." Luna sobbed.

"Please, sister," Celestia begged, "You must tell me what these nightmares are. Perhaps I could help you."

From the beginning of the nightmares, Celestia had tried to get her sister to tell her what happened in her nightmares, but every time, Luna was too overcome with grief to go on. Luna looked up at Celestia.

"Please tell me..." Celestia pleaded once more. Luna nodded, cleared her throat and took a deep breath. After taking a minute or so to gather herself, she began explaining.

"They... they start out as dreams. Pleasant dreams, that sometimes seem so real."

"What happens first?"

"I always find myself in the courtyard of the castle. I look around for a few moments before..." Luna's voice cracked, "Hydro joins me..."

Luna couldn't help but cry again after mentioning her lost love. Understandingly, Celestia allowed her to regain herself before asking to continue.

"We are so happy to see one another." Luna explained, "We stand there in each other's hooves for a long time, looking into each other's eyes. But then... then things get worse in the dream. That's when it becomes a nightmare."

Celestia nodded, urging her calmly to go on.

"Suddenly, there are crowds of ponies around us. They jeer and insult us, saying that we do not belong. That we're good for nothing. How we should be ashamed of being together, that it sickens them. The hatred in their eyes...." Luna painfully recalled the dream as a few more tears ran down her face.

"Luna, dear sister, you know that nopony thinks that any more. Anypony who hated him now regrets what they did, and many of them openly admitted to being ashamed for treating him so badly. And even if anypony did feel that way, Father would no longer stand for it."

"Yes, that may be true... but that's not the part that gets me..." the Night Princess said.

"There's more to the dream?"

Luna nodded before continuing, "All of a sudden, we break our embrace, both of us looking spitefully at the ponies. All of a sudden, I see myself and Hydro, as if from another pony's view. In our eyes is an anger like I've never before seen. Then, the dream focuses on me."

Luna paused to collect herself and then spoke again, "I begin laughing this evil, horrid cackle, and my appearance changes before me. My coat becomes black, my body transforms.... and the only other thing I see is lightning striking everywhere behind me. But before I can even figure out what is happening to me, the dream goes right over to Hydro. He too, is emitting a sinister, evil laugh. In the same manner, his appearance changes, he suddenly brandishes a long sword... and his loving eyes turn this dreadful red glow. Behind him, there's no lightning... but a skull with crossed bones appears- the sign of death and danger.... and that's when I awaken."

Celestia sat there, a bit stunned by hearing this terrible nightmare that had been plaguing her poor sister.

"Sister... unfortunately, I do not know the meaning of this, but together, we will do everything to prevent it from becoming a reality."

"Half of this dream can't happen anyway..." Luna stated solemnly, referring to her love. She broke down in tears again, burying her face into her sister's cradling shoudler.

"I miss him so much...." the princess whimpered.

"I know. I do too, Luna." Celestia said, trying to think of ways to help her sister. Then, an idea rang in her head. "Sister, it seems like you may need to get away from this for a bit. So, what do you say that you and I take a vacation, visit the Crystal Empire for a couple of weeks?"

Luna looked at her sister curiously, wiping away her tears.

"It would do you some good, and I know Father won't have any objections." Celestia spoke truly- after Hydro had died, her Father was sure to give Luna anything she may have asked for. Luna sighed and nodded. She definitely could use a getaway- after all, she'd been crammed up in the capital city for so long, and a long trip away could do wonders for her.

"That sounds like a great idea." Luna sighed, hugging her sister gratefully.

"Then, let's pack our things now. We'll head out first thing tomorrow morning." Celestia said, getting their saddlebags out.

Luna began packing alongside her sister. For the first time in what felt like ages, she began to feel some excitement nip at her mind. And though she missed her Hydro a great deal, she decided at that exact moment that she would continue to live a happy life, because she felt that's what Hydro would ask of her. Though the path ahead would be difficult, it was time for the healing to begin, and a vacation would be a great start.


MEANWHILE...


It was only a matter of four days after the devistating storm that the ship was back to its proper state; all torn sails were stitched and/or replaced, the hull was now void of any holes. The ship was now docked at a local harbor, and the majority of the crew were at the tavern enjoying themselves in drink and song. Maelstrom and Blackmane were getting ready to join the crew at the tavern when a soldier approached them on the ship.

"Captain Blackmane." he addressed.

"Ahoy, soldier."

"I come bearing a message from Governor Chevalier." the solider said, handing over a closed letter bearing the Governor's seal.

"That so?" Blackmane asked with anticpiation as he opened the letter, hoping it would be what he was hoping it was. Luckily, the solider's explanation confirmed his hopes as his eyes skimmed over the letter..

"He says to tell you that they have found the location of the treasure. He requests that you come and speak with him immediately so that you can be on your way by tomorrow."

Giving the letter to Maelstrom, he spoke to his crew member first, smiling from ear to ear.

"Maelstrom, go and get the lads from the tavern and tell 'em that our contract is on! I'll return to the ship once I've spoken with the Governor." he then turned his attention to the solider and said, "Lead on!"

The pony formely called Hydro, now Maelstrom, could hardly keep from running as he made his way through the streets, giddy with excitement. Upon arriving to the tavern, he nearly knocked the door off its hinges as he went inside and looked for the rest of the crew. Seeing them at a table on the other side of the room, he walked over and seated himself at the head of the table.

"Ah, here to join us at last, Maelstrom!" one of the crew said in delight, "Where's the Captain?"

"Speaking with the Governor at this moment." Maelstrom announced with a wide grin. The rest of the crew fell silent as they awaited further explanation, all of them on the tip of their hooves. Maelstrom nodded to their unspoken question.

"Captain says to get back to the ship and ready ourselves. They've found the location of the treasure, and we set sail tomorrow!"

The crew all stood and cheered, quickly darting out of the tavern and returning to the ship. The festivites that were taking place at the tavern were now multiplied tenfold as they celebrated on the ship. For the next day would bring about their first major contract- and with that, a large amount of money for each crew member.