Soon enough, the train stopped at the Vanhoover station. Sunset Shimmer, Radiant Dawn, Trixie Lulamoon, and Teddy all got off and started walking together down the docks. Along the way, a few ponies and gryphons greeted them with a "Hello!" or a "Bonjour!". Teddy looked around nervously, expecting at any moment for Gilda to show up and attack him again. When they came to the docks, they found nearly a hundred ponies were all ascending the ramp to get on board a luxury cruise liner.
"No pushing or shoving, please!" said one of the guards on the boardwalk. "There is plenty of room for every one of you, so please act civil!"
"No stealing or fighting allowed!" said another guard. "Anyone caught disturbing the peace will find themselves swimming back here!"
"Bonjour, monsieurs and mademoiselles!" said a mare, an attractive young earth pony with a white coat and pink mane, who was manning the ticket booth near the ramp to Sunset Shimmer and her friends. "You would like four tickets, no?"
"Oui!" said Sunset Shimmer. "Four tickets!"
"Yes, thank you!" said the ticket mare. "Sixty bits please!"
Sunset Shimmer paid the money, and received four tickets.
"Many thanks, miss!" said the ticket mare. "I do hope you four enjoy your cruise!"
Sunset, Radiant, and Trixie joined the line, but Teddy hesitated. He hadn't been on a ship before, let alone a cruise ship.
"Monsieur, you do not wish to miss your cruise, do you?" asked the mare, politely.
"N...no, of course not." said Teddy, nervously. "I just don't know if I'll get seasick or not."
"Don't worry, I'm sure you will be just fine!" said the mare with a smile. "Now off you go, monsieur! See you when you return, handsome!"
Teddy blushed, then bolted up the ramp to catch up to his friends. Once the four were on the ship, they got to their rooms, and put on Hawaiian shirts and mirrored sunglasses.
"Let our vacation begin!" said Sunset and Radiant at once.
After a while, Nose Nip decided to slow down the boat. During this time, he, Frosty, and Scarlet Blaze decided to get to know each other more.
"So, I was wondering:" said Scarlet. "What the heck kind of name is 'Nose Nip', anyway?"
"Well, it's because when I was a foal, I had a habit of nibbling on my dad's nose." said Nose Nip.
Scarlet snickered.
"Well, I was just over a year old, and teething at the time!"
"Just over a year old?" asked Scarlet. "It took your parents a whole year to name you?"
"Actually, they weren't really my parents." said Nose Nip. "My real parents died a few months after I was born. And then I was taken in by a fisher and his wife."
"Well, that's...actually pretty sad." said Scarlet Blaze.
"You should hear the full story." Frosty told Scarlet. "It's actually pretty depressing."
"And so I was able to relate to your son." said Nose Nip to Scarlet. "He lost his parents, I lost mine. We could relate to one another. Though I don't know whether I should say my situation was better or worse than Radiant's. On one hoof, his parents didn't really die, like mine did, and you're living proof of that. On the other, I actually had a family to adopt and raise me, while Radiant and Sunset had nopony to watch over them before they went to Canterlot. It was just them and them alone in that mansion of yours."
"And how did they survive for so long, then?" asked Scarlet.
"I remember Radiant telling me that he and Sunset learned most of what they knew from reading your husband's books and stuff." said Nose Nip.
"My husband always was the scholar." mused Scarlet.
"Just outta curiosity, would ya mind tellin' us what your husband's like?" asked Frosty. "Maybe how you two met, too?"
"I guess so." said Scarlet. "It's not like we'll be getting to Las Pegasus right away."
THIRTY YEARS AGO...
Scarlet Blaze was sitting at a bar in a night-club in Baltimare, where a jazz band was playing a lively song.
"I'll have another hard lemonade." she said to the bartender.
"Yes, ma'am." he replied, using his telekinesis to prepare Scarlet's drink.
Scarlet opened her purse, realizing she was out of money. Before she could wonder how she was going to pay for the drink, a well-dressed unicorn stallion with a short golden mane, cream-colored coat, and silvery-blue eyes sat on a stool beside her.
"And let that drink, and the next one after it, be on me." said the stallion.
"Yes, sir." said the bartender.
Scarlet turned.
"Thank you." said Scarlet, with a little smile. "But why did you do it?"
"My good fortune is your good fortune." said the stallion, grinning back at her. "A beautiful mare like you deserves to have any drink she likes."
"How generous of you." Scarlet blushed, although her mauve coat made this hard to see. "And your name is?"
"Sun." said the stallion. "Professor Golden Sun, University of Baltimare. Charmed to meet you, miss..."
"Blaze. Scarlet Blaze. So you're a professor?"
"Correct!" said Golden Sun. "Though I wouldn't need to be one to say that you are a truly remarkable lady. But I'm sure you get that a lot, so I'm also going to say this: Your eyes are the brightest of all emeralds, the red-gold color of your mane is of a fire that should never be put out, and would be radiant at dawn and shimmer in the sunset, and..."
"Thanks." Scarlet said, snickering. "But you don't need to narrate what I remind you of! If you wanna say I'm beautiful, then just say so."
"Okay, then:" Golden Sun said, blushing a little himself. "You are beautiful."
"There, now was that so hard?" asked Scarlet.
PRESENT DAY...
Scarlet was busy reflecting on this, and chuckled to suppress the pain she felt, being separated from him.
"Wherever you are, I bet you'd be absolutely proud of our children." she thought. "They've grown up so much in our absence. They've gone through greater hardships in their childhood alone than we have in our own lives, so far, combined."
Her eyes started to water, and she solemnly bowed her head.
Frosty and Nose Nip went up to comfort her.
"Don't you worry, ma'am." said Frosty. "We'll find your husband in no time! Just as soon as we get to Las Pegasus!"
Then Nose Nip turned around.
"Look at that!"
It was the cruise ship from Vanhoover.
"Dude! D'ya see how big that thing is?" exclaimed Frosty. "Man, those ponies must be havin' the time of their lives!" He started yelling to the cruise ship. "Hey! Over here! Take me with you! You can't leave me with these guys! I want some fun, too!"
But unfortunately, the ship was too far away for anyone on board to hear or see them.
"I wonder what they're doing on there, anyway." said Nose Nip.
It was the late afternoon and the sun was beginning to set. Radiant Dawn and Sunset Shimmer were singing a duet at the karaoke stand, as Trixie Lulamoon and Teddy sat back on chairs drinking fruit punch from glasses.
"This place is so awesome!" said Teddy.
"Hmm...it is adequate." said Trixie. "But I think you should wait until we get to Las Pegasus, Teddy boy. I have a feeling our lives will be made."
"And by 'ours', you mean 'yours', right?" said Teddy, rolling his eyes.
"Hush!" said Trixie. "Just wait until those sophisticates in Las Pegasus witness the excellence of me, the Great and Powerful Trixie! They will be talking about me for years, Teddy! For years!"
"Sure, assuming your dad doesn't steal your thunder." said Teddy.
"How dare you?!" Trixie turned to face Teddy. "My father would never do such a thing!"
"Okay, okay." said Teddy. "Let's not go crazy, okay? We're supposed to be having fun!"
Trixie sighed.
"I guess you're right." said Trixie. "Consider yourself fortunate that we are in a public place, or you would have invoked the Great and Powerful Trixie's wrath!"
Meanwhile, Radiant and Sunset concluded their song, and went to the front deck to meet the more sophisticated passengers of the ship.
"Sunny, look over there!" said Radiant Dawn, pointing ahead with his horn. "There's Quick Shot!"
Sunset recognized the film director, who was in a conversation with a female pegasus wearing a fancy dress with a hat and thick glasses. She decided to go over to them.
"Ah, Sunset Shimmer! It is marvelous to see you again!" said Quick Shot, turning around. "So have you come to enjoy the cruise, as well?"
"That's right." said Sunset. "How's your movie coming along?"
"The premiere is set for two days from now, ma'am." said Quick Shot. "I'm here to promote my movie to my esteemed colleagues here! Sunset, this here..."--he pointed to his pegasus companion--"...is A.K. Yearling. She's..."
"The author of the Daring Do books!" said Sunset, her eyes widened with surprise.
She rushed over to her.
"Hello, Sunset Shimmer." said A.K. Yearling. "Quick Shot here told me just now about how your brother allowed his film crew to film at your estate. I always wanted to visit Daystar Manor. I heard it's one of the most beautiful homes in Equestria."
"Ms. Yearling, I've gotta say it's an honor to meet you, too." said Sunset. "I used to read your books all the time when I was a little filly. I think my favorite has to be 'Daring Do and the Storm Tower'."
"Oh, yes. The Storm Tower." said Yearling, as if she had just remembered it herself. "That was actually one of my--er, Daring Do's very first adventures. But also one of her greatest failures...But hang on! I only allowed my publisher to distribute a few dozen copies of that book! Most official lists don't even recognize it as a part of the series! However could you have gotten a copy?"
Sunset ran back to her room and returned with her old, battered copy.
"My dad gave it to me as a birthday present when I turned three." said Sunset. "My mom read it to me all the time as a bedtime story."
"You don't say?" said A.K. Yearling.
"So, do you think you could sign my copy, Ms. Yearling?" asked Sunset.
"I don't see why not!" said Yearling, reluctantly.
She took a pen from a pocket in her dress, put it in her mouth, and scrawled her signature on the cover.
"Sunset Shimmer, you wouldn't by any chance be related to Professor Golden Sun, would you?" she asked.
"Yeah, he's my father." said Sunset.
"Remarkable." said A.K. Yearling. "You know, Golden Sun was actually a very good friend of mine. He even taught me a little about archaic lore. Shame that he disappeared."
"Yeah." said Sunset, who quickly decided to change the subject. "So, what were you talking about with Quick Shot again?"
"Miss Shimmer, if you'd really like to know..." said A.K. Yearling.
Quick Shot interrupted:
"I was in the middle of discussing with Ms. Yearling over here the possibility of making a movie or two based on her character."
"Yeah, but I'm not too sure if anypony would be interested in something like that." said A.K. Yearling, rolling her eyes.
"Well, okay then." said Sunset. "I'll see you at the premiere, Quick Shot."
"Anytime, Miss Shimmer!" Quick Shot said as she left. "Anytime!"