It had been no easy feat convincing the pirate captain to travel with her, much less alone and unaware of the destination. But having the Princess of Friendship on your side could do wonders, apparently.
However, nothing could quell Celaeno’s complaining.
“You never said it would be such a hike.”
“Come on, Captain, can’t you handle a little exercise?” Tempest smirked. “Leaders should set the example, after all.”
“Don’t push it, Fizzlepop,” the parrot captain shot back. “My crew follows me out of respect, not fear. I don’t plan on taking leadership advice from you.”
Tempest gave a short huff. Her real name had spread around far more than she cared for. But considering the punishment she deserved, it was far from the worst fate.
“It’s just over the next hill, come on.” She prodded Celaeno and trotted faster.
They crested the grassy hill and found themselves overlooking the coast. The ocean waves crashed up against the rocky shoreline a short distance away, easily a few minutes’ walk.
“Do you recognize this place?” Tempest asked, a strange calmness in her voice suddenly.
Something did ring a bell for the pirate. Those rocks...
Wait, was that the Hippogriff Kingdom in the distance?
That could only mean...
“Tempest, if this is some sort of joke, then Twilight will have to teach you about both friendship AND humour.”
The unicorn raised an eyebrow. “I wouldn’t joke about this. Just over there is-”
“The wreckage of my ship, yeah. I remember,” Celaeno stared ahead rigidly. “Did you just bring me here to gloat?”
A tense silence blanketed the pair for a few moments, until Celaeno heard a quiet sigh. She glanced over to see Tempest gazing down at her hooves.
“I’m not that mare anymore,” The unicorn said, almost a whisper to herself. There was a subtle sadness to her words that struck a chord with the pirate captain.
Celaeno sighed herself. “I’m sorry, you didn’t deserve that. Twilight’s told me how hard you’ve been working to clean things up. It’s just... hard being here, you know? This ship meant a lot to me, so I’m gonna be on edge.”
“That’s why we’re here. I intend to clean things up.”
The pirate had to blink a few times. “Say what now?”
Tempest looked to be readying herself; she set her saddlebags down and adopted a solid stance. “I’ve been practicing this spell in secret for a few weeks now. I wanted you to be here to see it.”
“I thought you couldn’t cast precise magic, because of your... uh, you know.”
“Yes and no. I can’t do small things like lifting cutlery or playing instruments, but my magic is still strong enough to handle big jobs, like destroying-”
A withering glance from the pirate stopped Tempest mid-sentence, which ended instead with an awkward cough.
“Yes, well... consider this my way of making it up to you.”
Tempest closed her eyes and began to focus. The air filled with the smell of ozone as lightning and sparks began to dance around her horn.
Celaeno had to stand back a little as the ground around the unicorn began to shake. It didn’t split or deform, but the power of whatever spell she was casting clearly involved some serious energy.
Suddenly, the charge building in Tempest’s horn released a huge blue bolt that arced a path across the sky, landing far out in the ocean.
The parrot looked on in awe. That was easily several kilometers she was casting. While Celaeno didn’t know much about magic, she had never seen anything close to this before.
No wonder Equestria didn’t try to retake its capital sooner. This kind of power would make any commander think twice.
The pirate was pulled from her thoughts by the sound of rushing water. She focused on the ocean, and saw several large objects begin to surface.
No way...
She wouldn’t.
Would she?
The familiar brown wood and golden accents rising from the waves answered her question.
Seven large sections and what seemed like a thousand smaller pieces soon hovered above the waves, captured in the blue glow of Tempest’s magic.
Celaeno stood agape, her wonder only interrupted by the grunts and huffs of what could only be a colossal effort on the part of the maroon unicorn.
Slowly, the disparate parts began to drift towards each other, everything falling into place. Soon, all you could see was blue light shining out from the cracks in the hull, but then even those began to close themselves.
And then it was done. The blue glow disappeared, and her ship hung there in midair, as if it had never been blown apart in the first place. And it just so happened that the sun decided to shine through the clouds at that very moment, casting an ethereal glow on her beloved ship.
Whether that was a coincidence, or the result of some sneaky pegasi, Celaeno would never know. And you know what? She didn’t care.
She would get right back onboard and-
A groan and a thud from beside her yanked her attention away from the beautiful sight.
“Tempest!” The unicorn had collapsed, sweating profusely and breathing raggedly.
The parrot knelt down beside her, checking for any injuries.
“Are you alright? Can you hear me?”
A weak nod, much to her relief.
Tempest’s voice was quiet and raspy. “Just... exhausted... more work... than I thought.”
“You were incredible! I’ve never seen anything like that before. Is it... really my ship?”
“Of course...” the unicorn wheezed. “Go and see... for yourself.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll just... take a nap.”
Celaeno looked over at her ship, back in the air and better than ever. And then she looked back down at Tempest, as weak and helpless as she had ever seen her.
If there was one thing the pirate knew, it was that the maroon unicorn hated being seen as weak. Her tough, self-reliant image was everything to her.
That made Celaeno’s decision an easy one.
“No way. We go together.”
Celaeno was impressed. Even in her state, Tempest managed to give her a decent side eye. “Don’t be stupid... I did this for you... go enjoy it.”
“Having others care about your well-being is an unfortunate side effect of doing nice things for them, Tempest. My ship can wait. It waited on the ocean floor until now.”
Tempest gave a slight smirk. “You always were obtuse.”
The parrot scoffed. “I may be brick-headed, but at least I’m not brick-coloured.”
A smile this time. “Touché.”
***
“It’s incredible,” Celaeno marveled as they walked the deck. “Right down to the last bolt.”
As soon as Tempest had felt well enough to stand, the pair made their way down to the beach. Despite Celaeno’s protests, Tempest had used her magic to pull the airship over to them. According to her, compared to the last task, this was foal’s play.
And of course she had collapsed again, but not for very long. Just long enough to ensure that the pirate would be ribbing her about it for a long time to come.
“You can thank your crew for the accuracy. It wasn’t easy convincing them to help me, or to keep it a secret. I imagine they did it to help you, even if that meant dealing with me,” Tempest frowned. “But I eventually got enough reference material to make a blueprint and memorize it.”
“It shows. All of the systems work better than ever, too. You know, if you ever tire of command, you’ve got a bright future as an engineer.”
The unicorn smirked. “I’ll be sure to keep that in mind. Twilight will surely keep me pretty busy with making friends and whatnot.”
Celaeno gave Tempest a quick jab in the shoulder. “Well, looks like you’ve got a head start, then.”
“I don’t follow.”
“Yeesh, now who’s obtuse? What I’m saying is, I’d be proud to call you a good friend.”
Tempest seemed genuinely taken aback. “Y-You’re kidding, right? I only fixed the damage I caused. That doesn’t excuse everything else.”
“You could have easily given my crew and I one of your captured ships and sent us on our way. But instead, you took the time and effort to figure out how to do something truly special for us.
“You made a huge sacrifice in bringing our ship back. You gave up your tough image, first when asking my crew for their help, and then when you performed the spell, knowing very well how it would leave you afterwards.
“The thought is what really counts, and I can see that you really want to change. So I’d be honoured to have you as a good friend. Anywhere you go, you can know that a pirate captain has your back. How much cooler could you be?”
“I-I’m not sure what to say,” Tempest stammered. “Thank you.”
“Don’t need to say anything. That’s what great about friends. Now bring it in.”
Though surprised and rigid at first, Tempest quickly warmed and returned the hug. Quite strongly, too. As if she had gone too long without one.
Neither of them really said anything for a while, being content to stand at the bow and watch the sunset.
Eventually, Celaeno decided to break the silence.
“You know, I never officially named the ship. Sure, the captain always has their pet names, but to the rest of the world? She’s a blank flank, as ponies would say.”
“What are you getting at?”
“Just saying, I think that Redemption would be a fitting name. You know, in honour of a certain former Storm King commander and her pirate adversary.”
A warm, genuine smile greeted her idea.
“I think it’s perfect.”
Author's Note
Thanks for reading! I know it’s been a while since my last story, but I’m finally starting to finish a lot of the ideas I’ve been working on. So stay tuned for some awesome adventures coming your way!
