"And you write everything in it?" Staccato was sunning herself beside Twilight Velvet, watching the mare writing in her diary. She had taken it upon herself to 'join' them in their adventure.
"Well, not everything. Just the interesting stuff." Twilight opened the book to show the 'sea monster' what she had written so far.
Met the most amazing pony today, a female siren named Staccato. There was a little bit of a misunderstanding at first, but we managed to resolve that and she wants to help us on our mission. Still not sure what is up with Night,
"I haven't finished today's entry yet." Twilight explained the sudden ending.
Staccato was beaming with delight. This hadn't been planned, she was sure of it, and Twilight had called her 'amazing'. "Your mission is on land, I take it?"
"Yup, we are going to keep an eye on the..." Twilight raised her voice so Night, who wasn't too far away, could hear, "bumblebears," the groan indicated her jab was a direct hit, "and do some research on them at the same time. The ponies who were out here keeping watch needed to return and have a break."
Giggling at the play between the pair, Staccato nodded. "Okay, but what happens if they get angry? Would your knight in shining armor charge in and save the day?"
"He would try." Night had wandered over to the pair, figuring if they were going to drag him into the conversation he might as well get all of it. "But so far somepony keeps resolving all the fights with talk and rational discussion." The way he said it almost made him sound like he wanted to fight.
Twilight had heard the tone and titled her head a little. "What's wrong?"
The openness and sincerity of the question pulled Night Talon from his fugue long enough to reply. "I just feel like you are doing all the work. I feel like I am along for the ride and that the star pupil of the monster-hunting school is going to win the day."
"Monster hunting?" Staccato's words were said at the same time Twilight added, "Star pupil?"
Both females looked at each other, then turned back to look at Night. "What? It's all true. I got a look at the results of the school-"
"Nopony was meant to see those! I didn't even see those!" Twilight Velvet snapped her journal shut and glared at Night.
"Not just a pony to sit armor on. I found out. You aced it, every question right, every situation perfect." Night looked right at Twilight and lifted his hoof to boop her on the nose. "And with the bonus questions, you actually scored one-hundred and twenty-five percent."
Twilight froze, this was all news to her. She blinked a few times while her brain processed it all. "So I'm…"
"A monster hunter?" Staccato didn't look happy with the title. "What am I then, something you are just going to take back and lock in a cage?"
"No! Of course not!" Twilight gestured to her book. "Staccato, I am trained to hunt, and I succeeded. I found you. What they also did was train us to-"
"Fight us, kill us?" The serpentine body of the siren lashed. "I am not sure I want to-" It was Staccato's turn to be interrupted. Night had moved up beside her and gripped one of her forehooves with his magic.
"Staccato, relax. I don't think Twilight would ever order me to do that to anypony. Look at her, she made friends with a siren who was trying to enslave her." Night looked into Staccato's eyes. "Please, don't let a silly title sway how you feel."
Conflicting emotions played out over Staccato's face. She didn't like the idea that ponies were training 'hunters', but so far this one seemed a lot nicer than the title implied. "Well, promise then."
Twilight closed her eyes and held up a hoof. "On my honor, I will never put the life of a single 'monster' below my own." She opened her eyes to see a damp-eyed siren leaning in and kissing her. "Ack! Staccato!"
"There, now we are sisters, then!" Staccato giggled. "You too, 'big and shiny'." She glared at Night.
"I follow her orders." Night gestured to Twilight.
The bark of laughter from the light gray mare got a laugh from Staccato. Twilight poked the armored stallion in the chest. "Follow my orders? That would be the best time ever. I swear, if I told you to do something, you would do the opposite just to spite me."
"I do the opposite? Twilight, I have done nothing but follow your lead in everything so far. I even had to go against my training!" Night clopped a shod hoof on the deck.
"Lovers tiff?" Frida had wandered over and nudged Staccato with a wing. The siren gave a slow and deliberate nod. "Figures…"
Two angry ponies rounded on the griffon, fire and anger in their eyes. Their tirade against the wise-cracking griffon were forestalled however, by the griffon high up in the ship's rigging calling out, "Land ho!"
Both ponies, the siren, and the griffon all spun in the direction of the prow to see if they could spot it too. Of course, none could. Glancing up, Twilight saw the griffon was pointing just off to the left a little. "So we are almost there?"
"Aye." Bandyr walked up to join their little group. "Normally it is a full day's sail to reach the cove on your map, but we have a good tail-wind now and we should be there by late afternoon." There was, apparently, never a sea-captain so happy as one who had a good tail-wind.
"Oh, that is good!" Twilight gave a happy smile at the news and turned back to Night. "So, what do you think?"
The question caught Night by surprise. "Well, we get there when we get there. But Captain, you may have some ponies wishing to buy passage back."
"I figured as much, they will be welcome of course, a favor to a cousin may cover a little trip, but I am sure they are well paid by your Princess and will hardly miss the fare I charge." Bandyr lifted his head up a little higher, the wind of their passage rustling the feathers around his head. "It is a good wind indeed that brought you onboard. I would have been scrubbing this lovely hen's scales for the rest of my days if not." He gave a slight bow to Staccato to acknowledge that there was no bad blood between them.
"Oh, not for the rest of your days! I wouldn't keep anypony that long. I just really had that bad itch…" Staccato blushed a little at the implication that she still didn't consider it a bad thing to foalnap.
"You shouldn't do that, ever, Staccato." Twilight turned to her newest friend. "I made a big promise to you, will you make one back?"
Staccato was trapped. Twilight had indeed made a very big promise, not only to her but all her 'kin'. She took a deep breath. "I promise to never make a pony do anything they don't want to, ever again." The words grew in weight, they lashed her down like shackles and it felt… well, oddly relieving. Staccato blinked a few times, unsure why it felt good to have laid down such a geas on herself.
Night noticed the odd look his new friend had. "Feels relieving, doesn't it?" Staccato looked right at him, her eyes wide; she nodded once. "I promised myself to defend a princess, to put myself between harm and her, as well as all her ponies. I bound myself tightly with my words and it was more liberating than a single other thing I have ever done." He got a smile from the siren.
"What are you talking about? It is just common niceness not to want to foalnap ponies." Twilight was a bit confused by the talk between the pair, and hadn't picked up the non-verbal conversation at all.
"She'll get it one day, and I bet Night will be there to witness it." Frida gestured at Twilight and gave a big smile. It was perfectly obvious and went without saying that it would be Twilight and Night's wedding. That the two would end up wed was a foregone conclusion in the griffon's book.
A talon lifted up and clamped down Frida's beak. "You leave those two to find their own path." Bandyr glared at the muffled griffon. "And everyone else for that matter." He kept the look a moment longer before letting her go.
Blushing hotly, looking to her friends to see if they would comment, Frida ruffled her feathers. "Not like it isn't obvious."
Twilight couldn't stop blushing as the implications of Frida's words stuck with her, she picked up her journal and retreated to a quieter part of the ship to complete her entries. "If you need me, I will be in my cabin."
Night was caught watching the mare's flank as she retreated, mainly by his own mind. "What am I doing? No, bad stallion!" He turned around to watch for advancing coast. "Why can't we see it?"
"Well, the reason you can't see it is that griffon eyes are sharper than unicorn ones. The reason I can't see it is that the top of the mast gives a better view." Frida looked in the direction that had been indicated, trying to make out what the lookout had seen.
"No, the reason you can't see it," Bandyr gestured off further to the left with a foreleg, "is because the ship turned and you are looking in the wrong spot."
Frida blushed hotly and looked where the Captain pointed and her crest feathers flared a little, she saw the land! "Oh, there it is!"
"Hey, I can see that too!" Night Talon grinned and felt Staccato move in beside him, closer than was comfortable.
"Go on, find her and talk." Staccato whispered it, the sound of the ocean stealing the words before they would get far. "She does like you." Her words made the stallion blush and he seemed to stand a little more firmly in place.
"No she doesn't, we bicker and fight." Night was sure that wasn't love, his parents hadn't fought like that. "She seemed to want some peace and quiet."
"From Frida, maybe." Staccato poked Night in the shoulder. "Well, if you won't go and be with her, let's sit up here and pretend the day is going to go fast." He saw her slither, her body undulating like a snake, until she was just short of the prow.
Night blew out some air. "Damn mares."
"You keep saying that too much and one will hear you, beware stallion, you are being hunted." The griffon captain's gruff voice sounded like it was full of seriousness and, right then, Night didn't want another male to be giving him advice. Setting one hoof in front of another, he wandered up to be beside Staccato.
"Change your mind?" The siren didn't take her eyes from the view of land. She had heard Night's approach but didn't react to his presence in any other way.
"Just wanted some peace and quiet." Night wasn't sure if he was complimenting Staccato on her manner or insulting the rest for theirs, but the one thing he didn't know was why his heart always beat a little faster when Twilight was nearby.
Back in her cabin, Twilight Velvet had her journal out and was back to writing in it. She described her day so far, the previous one and then came back to her musings on Night Talon.
Still not sure what is up with Night, one minute he is nice, the next he can barely look at me. I don't even know how to treat him, is he really required to follow all my orders? That is a little scary and I hope it isn't true. If I asked him, he would have to answer truthfully if he was, but if he decided to lie… how would I tell?
It was a disturbing little problem and Twilight soon closed her eyes, getting comfortable and just letting her mind relax and muse on it. Time passed as she worked over the thoughts. Then others came into her head and she found herself pondering what her results meant. Then a knock came at the door.
"Twilight, we are about ready to set down anchor." Night's voice was muffled by the door, but it was clear enough to hear. "You need any help to get your things together?"
No more rest for the whickered. Twilight got up off her bed and gathered her things; closed and secured her journal and soon opened the door. She opened her mouth to say something and froze. The cove looked amazing. If a pony were to say 'deserted exotic jungle beach,' she would have pictured just this.
"Yeah, got me that way too. Can you believe that we will be living here?" Night glanced into the room, making sure the mare had gathered all her things. He was standing resplendent in his armor with his helmet on this time. A shiver visibly ran through Twilight as her gaze shifted to him.
"Did you shine that up?" Twilight looked over Night's armor. "Because it had dents and things in it…"
"I told you, enchanted. Princess Celestia wouldn't have us looking anything but perfect. I mean, come on, anypony who would go to the effort of making all of us look exactly perfect, wouldn't think any less to enchant the armor to be the same." Night gestured to the shiny plate with a hoof. "Gets a bit warm though… might have to try to find something better to use out here."