Shining Armor's Voyage

          Shining Armor opened his eyes from sleep to be greeted with the nicest weather Equestria had to offer. The sun was shining, there were no clouds in sight and a gentle breeze brushed through Vanhoover. Instinctively, the blue-maned stallion arose to greet the glorious weather. Checking the nearby calendar, Shining realised that this would be the last on land for what will seem like an eternity. The thought of never coming back from the voyage frightened him but he knew he had to go. He knew if he did die it would be a an honourable death but if he did stay, he'll be thrown into a dark and dishonourable gaol cell. Banishing such thoughts from his mind, Shining groomed himself and readied himself for his last day on land.

          Trotting around Vanhoover on the bright midsummer day, Shining saw the portly cashier from the day before. He felt guilt creep up on him. Avoiding her, he headed towards the docks to finally see the ship he will be using. He also wanted to check that the food and the crew were there too.

          Shining was impressed as he stared at The Sea-Pegasus.  Considering the fact that he is neither a sailor nor does he have any useful knowledge with boats, the The Sea-Pegasus was spectacular! Wanting a closer look, he trotted over towards it. Before he could lay a hoof on the ship, he was instantly stopped. Not being allowed on The Sea-Pegasus, Shining took the chance he got to examine what he could of the boat. It had two rowboats, one on either side, it had a main mast with a very high up crows nest and a secondary mast in front of it and it was very small and sleek. Turning around, the young captain saw Big Mac, Braeburn, Applejack, Applebloom and Babs Seed, bringing in the large quantity of apples and apple-related products. Feeling uncomfortable about being there with no purpose, Shining decided to head towards the town again.

          Seeing the sun, Shining knew he had about an hour before noon. After witnessing the Apples unloading the apples amongst the rest of other things provided by Celestia, he allowed himself some time for some food. Entering a small, nearby, cavernous tavern, he was overcome with the smell of the ocean and ale. Upon seeing the dimly lit room, furnished with driftwood tables, stools, flooring and walls, he only noticed three ponies. Two of the three ponies that Shining noticed were the bartenders, but the other pony he noticed, was different. It was a grey Pegasus with a yellow mane and a seven bubbles as a cutie-mark. The Pegasus turned around and Shining was, once again, surprised to see the mare had an upside down version of his poster advertising him wanting interviews for a crew. She galloped over to the confused stallion with an excited look on the mares face.

"Ah'd 'ike ta hoin you, hease?"

Shining smiled at the innocence of the situation and then saw the poster again. His smile faded despite that the Pegasus was still smiling. He chuckled nervously.

"I'm going to have to ask you a few questions then."

She put down the poster.

"What's your name?"

"Derpy Hooves!"

"Are you willing to risk your life in an attem-"

"Uh-huh!"

"Do you have any combat experience?"

"Yup!"

"What else can you provide the crew?"

He hardly saw the mare move. Then with a quick pain in his jaw, he blacked out.

         He awoke staring into Derpy's wonky eyes. She helped him up. Shining realised what the strong mare did, he groaned.

"Welcome aboard, Derpy!"

The mare did an impressive double backflip as she got a muffin from her coloured satchel. She bit into it. Then she landed. Shining looked outside to see the setting sun. At first, he felt peace, until he remembered the party that he was meant to be going to be on The Sea-Pegasus.

"Derpy! There's a party on the boat that you'll have to go to!"

Catching Derpy's attention, she galloped out of the tavern and Shining saw that she was there in mere seconds. He followed her as fast as he could.

          Reaching The Sea-Pegasus, Shining went towards the buffet table. He hadn't eaten all day and the massive amount of food made his stomach gurgle. The massive spread of food mainly consisted of baked goods, provided by the Cakes', and some of the apple related foods brought by the Apple family. He took a small wooden plate and began filling it telekinetically. His attention, however, was drawn to a small crowd near the front of the vessel. Curious, the pearly white stallion trotted towards it. The crowd consisted of The Elements Of Harmony and some of the Apple family. In the middle of the crowd was a small table. At the table was Big Macintosh, Braeburn, Applejack, Octavia and Vinyl Scratch, on the table were two bottle of a beverage that Shining couldn't name and countless shot glasses. Luckily, the game had just begun. The five ponies took a shot and another and another and another. At the seventh shot, Braeburn collapsed in a drunken heap, much to the enjoyment of the spectators. Another eight throat burning, intoxicating shots later, Vinyl backed out, knowing her limit. On the thirtieth shot, Shining noticed a decline in speed of Big Mac's drinking and, as predicted, the red farm pony fell to the floor after another five shots. Now it was just Applejack and Octavia. As a challenge, the cellist took five shots simultaneously. Applejack looked at her in awe and then doubled the challenge, drinking ten in a row. Octavia drunk another seven shots without even a hint of slowing. Applejack managed to put the final shot glass to her lips before falling on her back, unconscious. Twilight was the only pony that cheered. Shining heard the exchange of bits and saw that his sister trotted away from the crowd with a very heavy bit-bag.

          Moving his way through the crowd, the stallion opened a door on the top deck. On the other side of the light oaken door was a small musty room littered from floor to ceiling with various maps and charts. Going down to the lower cabins of the ship, Shining saw that it consisted of two rooms. One was filled with various barrels and crates and the other had room was seemingly homey. It had various bunks for sleeping and a small table in the middle, below a low hanging lantern. But what grasped Shining's attention was not a bunk, but a pony on it.

"Cadence!"

"How about a glorified farewell?"

The Princess of Love patted on the bunk she was on, inviting the prince over.

          It was a night Shining will never forget.