Twilight stood at the table, her hooves planted firmly on a sheet of paper that contained the latest updates of the search for Semper Pie. He had not been seen anywhere within half a day’s journey out of Ponyville. Guards were now posted at all major townships and, if he had come through the normal areas, surely somepony as popular as him within the Guard would have recognized him. According to Shining, Semper always preferred avoiding crowded areas. This wasn't due to his fame, as Twilight had discovered that despite his fame Semper was relatively unknown outside of the Guard. So, there were some lesser traveled roads being looked over by members of the weather team that Rainbow had somehow managed to rope them into.
“So, whatcha plannin' on doin'? Applejack asked during a lull in the conversation.
The picture Twilight painted of Pinkie's panic attack affected them all deeply. They had never heard of Pinkie freaking out the way Twilight had described. That coupled with the fact she was in the hospital made them all want to do something for their dear friend.
“I think we need to go to Pinkie's house.”
The girls all exchanged glances.
“So I was thinking that we split up. I'll stay here and coordinate the search with my Guards. Two of you will go to Pinkie's family's house. I’m going to stay here and make sure that he doesn’t approach Pinkie directly. I would also like some volunteers to collect all reports about Semper and bring them here from Canterlot’s archives.”
“Dearie, why? Not only is that so far away, but how could that possibly help Pinkie?” Rarity asked.
“Twilight, I’d like to go to Pinkie’s and Semper’s rock farm too, if you don’t mind.”
“Okay, that’s fine with me.”
“Twilight, why all this work? Surely this isn't necessary for finding him,” Rarity pointed out.
At that Twilight sighed. “It's just not about finding him; it's figuring out what triggered Pinkie's panic attack. We now know that Semper is her brother and that she has forgotten him. But when we tried to make her remember, she screamed and… there’s more to this and we need to find out what. I think that we should look for the cause, like the doctor suggested. Identify the reason of her attack before we actually find him. There’s no point if she’s going to get another attack.”
“So you want us to go to her home? To see what we can find out for ourselves?” Applejack nodded. “That’s actually a swell idea, Twilight. I’m all for it.”
“Yeah! That is a great idea,” Rainbow echoed. “I’ll go with you.”
“And I shall head over to Canterlot post-haste and get those reports you wanted. Might I ask that Spike accompany me?” Rarity looked at the dragon who smiled and blushed lightly.
“Of course. Fluttershy, if you don’t mind, can you stay with me? I might need some help with Pinkie and other last minute things.”
“O-okay, Twilight.”
Shining looked at the map. “How are we supposed to get there? Teleport?” He looked at the map and whistled. “Twily, that’s a little too far.”
“I know. That’s why I’m organizing an airship.”
At that, Shining visibly relaxed. “You found an airship at short notice?”
“Yeah! I asked around and you’ll never guess,” Twilight said walking towards the far side of her castle and pulled back the curtains. “There you go!”
Shining looked out the large window and nodded appreciatively. “Wow, that’s a beautiful airship.”
“Well, I asked around and the Applejack said that Apple Bloom has a friend in her class whose father just so happens to be an airship captain. When I explained to the captain what we needed to do, he dropped everything and told me that I could use his ship as much as I like.” Twilight walked back towards the table.
“Perks of being a princess?” Shining grinned.
“I don’t know about that,” Twilight replied. “He seemed indifferent and reluctant about going until I told him who we were looking for. When I mentioned Semper’s name, he offered to leave immediately. I’ve never seen a pony change their minds so quickly. It surprised me.”
Shining made a face. “Weird. I’m actually surprised that somepony outside the Guard would do something like that.”
“Fresh, coming from the stallion who was surprised when I told him that I’ve never heard of Semper.”
“I know, but I was just too excited. So, when do we go?”
“The sooner the better. I’ve asked the captain to have everything ready, so he’s just waiting for you guys to board.”
Shining nodded. “Well, then let’s get moving.”
Twilight hugged her brother and friends as they left. She watched them go from the table and, once they were out of sight, returned to looking at the map in front of her. She studied that map, peering at it with all her might. Where could he be?
“Welcome aboard. It is an honor, Prince. We’re ready to go as soon as you give the word.” The captain smiled at the mares. “It is an honor meeting the two of you. What you’ve done for Equestria, no words can express how sincerely grateful I am.”
“Yeah, I know. We’re that awesome. This ship looks cool,” Rainbow said, “just how fast can you get us to where we need to go?”
“This here’s the fastest ship in Equestria, guaranteed. I’ll get you there in no time, on my honor.” The captain turned around and patted a colt on the head. “You stay here and be a good boy, right?”
“Yes, cap’n.” The colt said as he stood aside and let Shining go towards the ramp, but stopped and stared at the ship.
A unicorn mare stood behind the colt. “Be safe. I’ll see you soon.”
“I’m only going to Badlands, dear.”
“So? Can’t I tell you to be safe?”
“Yes, dear,” the captain muttered and kissed her forehead. “I’ll be right back.” He turned to the colt. “See ya later, Pip. I’ll buy you that ice cream when I get back.”
“Okay, cap’n.”
“Can’t you call me ‘dad’ or ‘pa’ instead?” the captain muttered. “It’s embarrassing!”
“Sure, pa,” Pip grinned.
“’Atta boy.”
““Can’t I go with you?”
“No. You’ve got school tomorrow. You need to learn things!”
“But I want to be a pirate cap’n, like you.”
The captain roared in laughter before silencing himself at the look on the face of the mare. “He’s only joking, love. Right, Pip?”
Pip looked at his mother and gulped. “Y-yes. I was only jokin’.”
“You better be. This is why I keep telling you not to tell him those stories,” the mare stated angrily, poking the captain in the chest with her hoof to emphasize her point.
The captain laughed nervously. “They’re only stories…”
“They better be. Dear.”
The captain gulped. “Right, well, look at the time! And the weather! Better get a move on and all, you know, before the weather team decides to cloud-up the sky.”
The mare narrowed her eyes.
“Let’s go. All aboard.” He leaned over and kissed the mare on the forehead. “Take care, love.”
“We’ll be here,” the mare whispered and touched the captain’s face. “Come back to me soon. We have much to discuss about these pirate stories.”
The captain laughed nervously and started sweating bullets as he backed away and beat a hasty retreat almost running over Shining who was still standing outside the ship.
“Anything wrong, sir?”
“No. Just admiring her,” Shining said, but his eyes were transfixed towards the ship’s bow where, written in bright white letters, the name was emblazed. Shining furrowed his brow. He knew he had heard that name before, but where?
“She is a beauty. Almost like the original, but well, you can’t have your cake and eat it.”
Shining shrugged and boarded the ramp. The captain walked close behind and shut the sliding door after kicking the ramp free. Within minutes the airship rose slowly up into the air quickly picking up speed as they turned south letting the windows carry them.
“How long will it take?” Shining asked as he walked to the bridge and looked out at the expansive deck before him.
“No time at all, sir! No time at all! Unfold them sails! Come on, I don’t pay you to dawdle! We have a tight schedule.”