"Gah, don't tell me there are still no jobs to be done. The Night Sun has been anchored for like two weeks now!" The grey mare slammed her hooves onto the desk in front of her and laid her head into them. "I need to earn my living. I'll even do taxi jobs if I have to."
"It has been three days since you came. Try to have a bit of patience, Daylight." The harbormaster gently pushed her off of his desk. Instead, she laid back over the back of her chair. "As it happens though, an offer bearing your name came in. Four explorers from Ponyville ask for transport into the southern jungle and through its river network. Expected duration is a few weeks, here is the map they sent."
Daylight snapped back to attention and leaned forward to read the map. "Hm, this is right in the outs where even the rivers are barely charted. Yay, adventure! Tell them I'm in." She took the documents and stood up, moving towards the small office's door.
"If things go well, it looks like they can arrive tomorrow." He opened the door with a bit of magic. "As always, the captain provides the supplies included in the price. The villages marked on the map can restock you if you are not picky. Be prepared."
"When am I not?" She stepped out into the open. At last the sound of the waves returned to her. Though the sun was high, the air was still cool as it blew past the city's spires. Spring was coming, but only coming. At least the heat in the jungle would be bearable. She was glad the harbour was set at the east end of the city, far from the buildings that only stole warmth from each other. She was technically registered as living in the city, but would never enter it as long as the more open shore area gave her everything she needed. When she could sleep on her ship, why should she pay somepony else to give her a bed while she was on land? Popping out of her thought, Daylight realised she had no idea when the explorers would arrive. It would likely be early in the morning. She would need to refuel the Night Sun and buy plenty of food without delay. Thus, she stopped going into the opposite direction and headed towards the supply store.
It was a small storefront filled with large bags of storable food that greeted her each time she entered, but she knew the storage area in the back made up in size. No true seapony ever ate much anyway. "Aye," came from the front as she was pondering whether to give in to the biscuits again. "You just missed Crystal. Need another cheap meal or are you heading out?"
With a final burst of willpower, she tore herself away from the cookie shelf and walked up to the counter. "Rob, I'm on commission again. Four to feed for a few weeks, they said." She slid the documents over the counter for him to read. "What is Crystal Focus up to, anyway? I haven't managed to catch her in ages."
"Something about Jet and finding her true destiny," he said as his eyes ran down the list of specifications. "You'll need a lot. I will have it delivered to you later today." He looked up to find Daylight not meeting his gaze. "Wake up, nutshell captain! I'm fairly certain Jet is taken already, handsome as he is."
"A filly can dream! Which I did not!" She attempted a quick spell to hide the colour that was certainly creeping to her face, but found herself as incapable as always. "Put the stuff on my tab, looks like this will have a big payout. The Night Sun is docked in the same spot as always." She took back the map, but not the other documents. He would have more use for them.
"Gods watch over you. It's a messy place where you're going, full of beasts and wild magic." He produced a checklist and filled in numbers.
"There is only one god, and his name is Death." The biscuit shelf beckoned again. Trying not to think of her weight, she magicked one of the packages from there onto the counter.
He made it disappear below. The message was clear. "And there is only one thing we say to him: Not today!" He patted her on the shoulder as she was already turning away. "Do not forget that."
"Aye." She left the shop and headed towards the actual docks, to the Night Sun. She could not be left without her ship for too long; Land was far too steady for her liking. Once she had done all business back at the Night Sun, there would be nothing else remaining but to wait for the explorers. Perhaps she could practice some of her magic, as a proper unicorn should in any opportune moment.
On the way home, she had encountered a stand selling slices of cake to raise money for charity. Knowing that her money was put to better use feeding orphan foals gave her a fuzzy feeling as she strid along the pier. The chocolate cake probably helped, too. Perhaps it was too warm to spend the entire day in tight cabins and corridors. She threw the map onto whatever surface was closest inside the helm and hopped back off of the Night Sun. The waves called to her, and she knew the perfect spot to embrace them.
Daylight wrapped up and tossed aside the towel she had used to dry her golden mane. It would dry eventually, once she hung it up sometime in the future. It was not important right then. For the moment, she grabbed the roof of the helm cabin - the highest point on the Night Sun - and pulled herself up. Despite the city being so close, the stars were once again painted into the sky with their full glory. Sailors had always relied on the stars to guide them when they were in need of guidance; Why should she behave any differently? The sky was an empty canvas waiting to connect pictures and host dreams. She was glad for every second she could spend with it. Each night she would go to sleep, and each day the stars would stay with her when no one else would. Orion and Nylea had come out again. Perhaps she could follow their hunt on the journey southwards. What differed hunting nyxborn beasts or ancient magicka, anyway?
Daylight awoke with the world around her. A few birds had returned from their winter vacation early, likely for the only purpose of annoying her. She slumped out of bed and stretched as far as the cabin allowed. She could hear movement on shore, coming from those who actually rose at responsible times. She would still have plenty of time to get ready and welcome the explorers deep in the city. However, she had sworn an oath to herself never to enter the alleys again, not after what had happened last time. The harbor provided everything she needed in addition to being bathed in light. They would probably find her without help. She could spend the meantime cleaning the deck or something like that.
She walked through the corridor towards the stairs and emerged into the sunlight outside. The lazy mop lay where it always did, waiting for somepony to fetch it new water and soap and only then doing its duty. Not only that, but it would remain just as lazy until her spell animated it to swab the boards before her. Lacking any other crew, she made sure to tell the mop its place as she paced in circles.
Perhaps it was karma or the mop's own revenge that robbed her of her grip on the floor moments later, sending her tumbling off the edge where the water caught her before she could react. A single stroke brought her back up to the harbour waters' surface and into range of the pier, away from the wetness of her current position. As she pulled herself back up, a sudden pain in her leg almost made her drop down again. She ignored it for the moment and hurried back to the Night Sun. A screech in the distance told her the train had arrived. Its sound carried through to her unhindered as a wide avenue connected the docks with the station.
She sat down on a dry part of the deck and finally brought her attention to the singing pain. A large shard of wood was embedded in her leg, finding the soft spot just above the hoof that would bring her the most suffering. She flinched when pulling it out; A squirt of blood followed in its place. Perhaps she could resolve matters easily with the healing magic she had been taught long ago.
It refused to work. She should have practiced the spell more, or at all. Could she be blamed considering would first need a wound to practice such magic? She grabbed the medkit from the helm and came back outside into the sun, wincing as drops of blood were squeezed out. She had never been formally educated on the art of medical care, but she did have plenty of field experience in patching up others - and herself.
Just as she was finished, hoofsteps and chatter came from the docks; The explorers had arrived. "Come aboard, then." Other than that, she ignored them for the moment and went to put the medkit back in its place. At least, she would have without the mysterious force holding her back by the mane once she entered the helm. "Eek, let go! I'm being domestically abused on my own ship!" she shrieked.
"That's why I always told you not to braid your mane together like that." The mysterious something let Daylight go and walked past her. She knew that violet coat, that deep blue hair that concealed its wearer's secrets as well as shoulders. It was not somepony that she had expected to meet again so soon. "Creates far too easy of a hook for anything to catch you."
"Better than to be blind by its own means, Midnight." She waved her injured leg, though that was likely unnecessary. She knew a medic's gaze was impossible to escape. "Mind to help out? You can probably fix this in seconds."
"This is what you call first aid?" Midnight stretched out her leg and opened the bandage. Already she had bled into it a scary amount. New materials floated forth from the medkit, stringing themselves into a loop much tighter than she could tie herself. "There. No, I will not just mend the wound because... strength of character. Consider others that have to wait for their body to heal naturally." Midnight brought the medkit up close in her magic for a few seconds, then shut it and put it away. "Even on her own nutshell I can still educate my daughter."
"I steer with that leg, by the way." She inspected the bandage. It held back blood far longer than her own had, yet did nothing against the stinging still within the wound. "Just in case you want to reconsider not healing what separates us from the sea floor."
"You have magic, missy, so that you don't have to hold everything. Consider that. By the way, we will not go anywhere with what pathetic supplies you have here. Don't bother, I will be doing the shopping tour myself. Why don't you mingle with your other tour guests while I'm gone?" Midnight disappeared out of the helm too fast to be caught with any further questions, as always.
Daylight followed into the open, where two pegasi and another unicorn were still unpacking and sorting their belongings. She recognised two of them by sight. The white-purple unicorn went by the name of Rarity; She had often foalsat Daylight and taught her a bit of practical magic, that which her mother had refused to show. The yellow pegasus was the mother of one of Daylight's foalhood friends. She had forgotten the name after being estranged for years since she had moved to the coast. Fluttershy had also tutored her towards a good understanding of herbalism, some of which she could even remember in the present. However, she could not bring up a name for the other, prismatically coloured, pegasus. No matter how hard she tried, only fragments came to her.
It was not important, anyway. Before they could notice her over their work, Daylight let herself be overwhelmed by her emotions. "Auntie!" she called while already on her way to take a hug from the white mare, by force if necessary.
Rarity knew her intentions and caught her with open arms. "You haven't lost your liveliness since you were half that size, I see. She was right to recommend you as our transport."
"That, and probably because I work any amount of time for almost no pay." They disconnected, but some of the warmth stayed with her. "I would have expected her to be along as well, though."
"Your mother is fine, she just had a little incident involving a dragon migration and insisting to study it as her pet dragon joined it," said Rarity with her magic back at the bags they had brought. "She will not be able to join us here, but should be back up in the time this trip takes. You should visit her."
"Ponyville can come to me if it's so lonely. This is kind of my entire life docked here." She looked over to the pegasi who were going about their work with far less grace. She would help them if only they asked, but she saw no reason to strain herself without need.
Fluttershy reached the bottom of what she was unpacking and went to put everything in its place. Amongst the things carried on her wings were a few odd pieces of equipment unknown to Daylight. They were reminiscent of devices used to detect magic, but took unknown turns and twists to conceal their true nature. She had never liked tools that lied about themselves. "Blossom asked about you, by the way. You could just write to her," whispered Fluttershy in passing.
"Well, I'm a traveller, I'm rarely even on shore. I don't get many opportunities for that." Daylight followed her back into the helm, where she set down some items. "I hope for you that those don't interfere with my compass."
"Unicorns nowadays still rely on magnetic waves instead of magical ones? Odd." Fluttershy stretched out her now vacated wing. Daylight did not believe it was accidental when the plumes tickled her in the most sensitive of spots. "These little helpers should help us detect when something special is nearby. Specifically, they should heighten your senses for what lies beyond."
"To see sounds and hear shapes. Mother used to tell me that the very existence of this sense should be kept from those who cannot comprehend it." Despite her efforts, Daylight could not find a resonance pattern. The objects could not be magical in nature - or were they actually interfering with her gift? "I do not need it."
"Someone will." She followed Fluttershy back outside. Some distant feeling told her she did not want to leave her alone. "It's set," said Fluttershy to the other pegasus. "I'm going downstairs."
"Your cabins are the ones that are currently not a mess. If some of you want to share one for reasons, there are larger cabins available, with the extra touch of fitting magic."
Fluttershy paused on top of the stairs that led inside the Night Sun. "Why would I as a married mother? Think I'm in love with one of them?"
"I would not see anything off with that." She disappeared out of sight without another word. Daylight knew she had not gone too far. Somehow, somewhere deep within her, a spark of satisfaction burned at scaring Fluttershy away, and like it burned her insides with the question of why it felt good. "For instance if your daughter is the captain and you want to cuddle at night."
"She has never been hard to disrupt, and you have never been good with words." The other pegasus stacked the now empty bags and cast them aside. "Or is it another way, captain?"
A mote of magic from Daylight brought the bags where they were supposed to be, stacked together even closer. "Who are you, anyway?"
The look she received was awkward, but only expected. "Rainbow Dash, the one and only? You know me, you were around Blossom all the time when I taught her to fly. Plus, you know, all the time I spent with your parents and you specifically, before you fled out of Ponyville. Ya think you can remember any of that?"
"If I could remember much of anything about Blossom aside from that she exists, maybe." A brief, high-pitched sound escaped from below. Despite or perhaps because of her vivid imagination, the sound's true origin and meaning were impossible to decipher. "Pegasi are odd bunches."
"Come, then." Rarity unpacked what seemed to be the final item, another device like the one Fluttershy had placed. The same magic now nudged Daylight to move. "I need you to help me pick out something."
Just as Daylight returned into the sun's embrace, Midnight arrived back at the ship's edge. "Took you long enough," she commented through the cordialities she was finally receiving.
"You had bloody nothing in your arsenal of curing." They disconnected before too long. She knew Midnight too well to expect any more. "I had to make a few stops. Not even I can move through this city any faster."
"Perhaps if you knew where to go, or if you demanded less than a hospital to come along." She rummaged through the supplies brought in. "On that thought, are you travelling along just to knit me back together when I get hurt?"
"I could stop doing that if you could stop actively killing yourself. That's my thing." Midnight led her back into the helm and filled the medkit. To her surprise, everything fit, though tightly. "Your so-called auntie and Shy were the ones that initiated this goose chase for artifacts. Rainbow Dash is supposed to lend protection against various enemies as well as more reach, like if we run into the standard three-points-across-hallway-that-need-to-be-hit-in-nine-seconds-but-eroded-too-far-to-be-reached-without-wings trap. Due to the nature of our prey, they also needed someone who knows the way around magic. That was supposed to be your mother, but I assume you know what happened. As it turns out, I am an acceptable mystic as well as a destined medic. Making the crew not die in the process is just a bonus."
"I am a decent enough medic. You have not seen the best of me." Daylight leaned out through the door, where her voice would probably be heard by most of the explorers-to-be. "Diddlywats and doodledoos, we will be leaving soon. If you have any objections, say them now." Her attention returned to the inside, to the device still standing besides the steering wheel. "Is there anything you know about this artifact? It seems wrong on so many levels."
An aqua glow enveloped the artifact as Midnight raised it to inspection. "It is dark. You have the sense; Why don't you tell me what is off with it?"
"That's the point, I cannot get a pattern out of it. It feels like the thing is resisting to be known." Colour fled from Daylight, and so did the artifact. Even within the magic that made all things clear and exposed all lies, it hid from her. "It should at least have a trace of magic to it."
"Nothing can be everything. What is lies hidden behind layers of what should be." Midnight set it back down. "I imagine it has a purpose which it will reveal eventually. Not many arrays of shards float suspended without reason."
"I suppose it does. Well, no response from the weedle squad, so let's fire up the girl." Daylight started the Night Sun's engines, then raised her voice again when the others spilled out onto the deck. "It's a long way just to where we start out. We will probably get there tomorrow, so let's start moving."
"It's getting late, captain pipsqueak. Are there any safe harbours you expect to meet today?"
"You're implying that I planned a route besides what you provided. No, we will hit anchor soon, have dinner, and be done for the day. Your captain is getting tired." Daylight laid back and let her magic take the wheel, until she remembered it was a good idea to see ahead. "I hope you realise I will not be cooking."
"I expected as much. Behold the mystical Midnight cuisine." Midnight leaned out towards the deck where the remaining explorers were doing something below Daylight's interest, "Breeding station! You are on foods duty!"
Without a response, Fluttershy disappeared down into the Night Sun's insides. "I do not think she deserved that," commented Daylight as she scanned the shoreline for usable point to anchor. They were not bound to towns, but she could still be picky.
"You don't know that she does." Midnight embraced her from behind and looked over her shoulder towards the coast. "And you should not. Ooh, bring her down over there!"
"You are cold! Well, if you insist." Daylight reversed thrust and brought the Night Sun to a halt at a safe distance. They could even tie the ship down to nearby trees, albeit at the ropes' maximum distance. Two sources of magic combined to secure them against the shore as Daylight oversaw the process. Whether or not she had the dexterity to tie the knots by herself, there was no need for her to interfere and mess things up. At least, that was the explanation she gave to the others, as well as that she had to make sure Fluttershy was not setting the Night Sun on fire.
"Ah, hello," greeted Fluttershy when she arrived in the kitchen. Multiple pots were boiling on the stove, packagings were already put away, and an enticing if unplacable scent filled the air. "I don't need any help, if that is why you are here."
"I am a bit impressed, to be perfectly honest, to see you working a kitchen designed for those with magic to their name." Daylight's spell found dishes and carried them to the tables in the opposite room. She could do something useful at least, even if that had not been her intention.
"What will be to find, remember?" Even with her wings in the equation, there was a bit too much grace and fluidity in how Fluttershy handled everything in her dance through the kitchen. How could she do that within the tight space she was given? "Dismiss none without a chance to prove themselves."
"And what never was to awaken. Your club has always been strange, and that creed is no different." Daylight leaned back against the first post she could find. Her legs were tired despite the experience she had in long steering sessions. "We have stopped, in case you didn't notice. We should be about on the edge of the jungle, beyond civilisation's reach. We are on our own from now on. Well, plus the settlements along the river. So not really. I expect there is no point in asking what it is we are searching here?"
"You will know it when we find it. Everypony will; It is said that the item's power can be felt even by those not blessed with magic." She turned off the stove and carried everything into the dining room without magic to assist her.
Daylight sat down at the long table. Her work was done, and she was still tired. "The power is a blessing. The curse comes with the responsibility and obligation to use it."
"A declawed kitten speaking of responsibility." Fluttershy rested against the bench for a moment and admired her work. Then she rose with a sigh. "I'll go get the others."
Daylight called after her, "An adventurer's arsenal includes self defense!" She slid further down into her seat. Despite having spent the entire day behind the wheel, she felt nothing towards the delicacies spread out before her. "But not against those like you." She was getting too thin, that had to be it. She was eating too healthily and being too close to optimum weight. She had no other explanation as for why she had no trouble fitting into the dining room, which was tiny by all measures despite taking up a third of the Night Sun's interiors. She had been told stories of the darkness within all ponies, clashing with the spark of light they carried. Perhaps doing what was best for herself was her darkness.
Two grabs, one strong pull, and Daylight made her way onto the roof. Night had come to cover all, making her crew retreat downstairs. Overhead, Nylea's constellation was in clear sight just above the trees hunting the triple cross, but Orion had vanished. The Night Sun had to be exactly where she thought it to be, even when she expected the map was lying to her. "What is the wisdom in these tonight?" she whispered. "Is it right to believe them?"
"Wisdom is in who makes it, not what." Midnight had appeared as silently as always, sitting behind her on the helm. "You are still a gazer, then."
"As are you." She leaned backwards. Midnight was cool only until she was needed, giving Daylight warmth despite the hour.
"I always knew to appreciate the stars. Your mother taught me to read them." She was led to lie flat on the roof, where she had to give up the warmth. "What do you divine, then?"
"We are moving south from when I last checked. Summer is still coming, though that has little meaning where we are going." She stretched into her new position, hearing her spine crackle in disapproval. "But that's the extent. I know I cannot trust any of them but you. The stars just refuse to tell why."
"You are going psychic." Midnight prowled around her, deftly avoiding to step on her tail. "What seems is but a wish, and the truth lies to be discovered. You would not be the first to know more than the world wants to tell you."
"All souls deserve trust, to reveal their true nature." Deciding that she had read all she could from the stars, Daylight curled together on her side to protect against the cold. "A scary thought, to see the world in a grain of sand and experience eternity in an hour."
A mote of a spell played with the end of Daylight's mane. "Your grandmother used to say that about trust. At least she did while she lived." Midnight went back down onto the deck without making a sound. "But do come down, you know how late it is. Try practicing your magic, perhaps? And if you want to do that cuddling thing, maybe that can be arranged too."
She leapt down in one swoop, feeling how little her knees approved immediately after. "Teleportation is hard, no matter what you make it look like. I'm sure you'll make as comfortable a plushie as you did earlier, though."
