Time's Lost Tides

"Steady, mates! Stea-dy..!" Everypony on the crew shifted uneasily, many sparing glances at their captain. Her coat was a pale green, mane and tale a much darker shade of the same hue, beads hanging from random braids and a gold ring through one ear. A gentle yellow tipped the feathers on her wings, matching the color of her hooves, and on her flank she bore a cutie mark resembling a map with a large black 'X' in one corner.

A heavy fog surrounded the ship, concealing their destination and slowing their progress. The helmspony double-checked their bearings on his compass, ensuring the currents hadn't pulled them off-course without their knowledge. Even a pegasus flying through the mists wouldn't be able to tell up from down, much less whether they were flying in circles.

The captain squared her shoulders, appearing strong for her crew, but her gut was tying itself into knots. Not even she knew where they were going, following whispers on the wind that compelled the pegasus to seek out the source. But that was the way it often was, wasn't it? They had found more treasure following her whimsical commands than they ever thought possible.

Whether minutes or hours had passed, nopony could be certain, but eventually the shadows of rocks jutting from the sea began to appear. Watchponies stood at the bow, unicorns using spells to help avoid severe damage to the hull, yelling back to the helmspony when they needed to alter course slightly.

"Lower th' anchor!" She yelled suddenly, breaking the silence, causing ponies to jump out of surprise before quickly following the order.

"Cap'n?" The quartermaster - a tall unicorn stallion, dark red with a silver mane - approached, the meaning behind his questioning address clear.

"Any further, we run th' risk of runnin' aground, or sinking on th' rocks."

"Shall we lower th' longboats, then?"

"Neigh, m' wings an’ I will scout ahead." The captain moved past the quartermaster, making for the bow of the ship. "Light a lantern and toll th' bell every half hour. If three hours pass... th' Jade Star is yers, Master Whiplash." He opened his mouth as though to argue, but Whiplash knew better. Though he had been selected by the rest of the crew - wary of a mare for a captain - she had earned his respect and loyalty. "To do with as ye wish."

"Aye, Cap'n Goldwing. May Aquarian guide ye back t' us." Nodding a thanks at the blessing, Goldwing lept from the ship, carefully making her way into the fog.

The bell had tolled twice by the time her hooves met solid ground, and Goldwing glanced back out over the ocean, only to see a wall of white. She made certain to memorize any landmarks she could to guide her in the right direction, and was sure to dig her hooves into the sand as she trotted up the beach, leaving a clear trail. The island seemed rather barren, nothing but sand, rocks, and a mountainous cliff towering above and around her, disappearing into the white void.

A cavern offered the only visible path off the beach, a whisper in the back of her mind urging her to explore. Not one to ignore her instincts, the pegasus picked up the pace, not wanting to waste more time than she had to. Whiplash would likely send out a search party if they got too worried... The chill of the ocean breeze faded as she wandered further in, noise from beyond the cave fading the deeper she went, though it wasn't completely dark. After hearing nothing but her own hooves on stone for several minutes, Goldwing's ears twitched as they picked up an unfamiliar sound.

It sounded as though there was a stream somewhere, but instead of water, it was what she thought liquid gems would sound like, and there was an ethereal-ness about it that struck the pegasus as both eerie and magical. Light began to dance off the walls, similar to how it would reflect off the ocean, and Goldwing began to trot. The calling was more urgent now, the desire to see and know what was waiting for her. Perhaps it was her imagination, but she could have sworn she heard a bell somewhere.

Around a bend and she came to a cavern. Pure water seemed to glow as it drifted in a circle around the area, stone bridges offering the only path to the center. Specks of light followed the current of the never ending stream, bobbing up and down in the air in a hypnotizing manner. Even the walls seemed to shine with magic, white gemstones shimmering without an obvious source.

And in the center of it all, a tall stallion was waiting for her. His coat was a deep navy blue, wings a gradient from the same hue to a paler shade. Constantly flowing as though there was a breeze in the cavern were his mane and tale, shimmering between white and gentle blues and greens, reminding her so easily of the sea. Silver jewelry adorned his forelegs and chest, and a sapphire-studded ring sat around his horn.

Goldwing dropped to one knee immediately in a deep bow, recognizing her patron alicorn. "M' Lord Aquarian..." She whispered, not daring to speak any louder in the sacred-feeling space. He chuckled, drawing her brown eyes upward to meet his own green ones.

"The pirate captain Goldwing. Come closer." Hesitantly, the captain crossed one of the stone bridges to join the stallion. Up-close, she could easily recognize the signs of exhaustion and fading hope - how many crew members had she seen look exactly the same?

"Why've ye summoned me ‘ere, My Lord..?"

"Simple, my little pony..." The alicorn gestured up at the dancing lights, and Goldwing realized that on that side, the lights shimmered as images. One flashed to show her ship, much of the crew nervously on look-out. Another, a distant forest, where warrior ponies were wearily patrolling a small camp - Goldwing recognized a pennant bearing the symbol of Terra being flown. "We fear this age is coming to an end, my brother and I." The next scene showed a white alicorn pacing in an elaborate room, her guards decorated in golden armor.

"Is that..?"

"That is the Princess Celestia. With the number of ponies pledging themselves to me and my brother growing, she fears yet another war. Her heart suffers still from the banishment of her own sister, and her subjects offer ours no mercy. You know this." Goldwing's ears drooped a little - the punishments for piracy were becoming more severe, anything from a monetary fine to red-hot horseshoes being nailed to one’s hooves to hanging. "Already does she prepare soldiers to reclaim her power, and to capture those that follow us."

"But M' Lord, thar's many a'pony that does no harm t' another that follow ye an’ Lord Terra..!" The alicorn nodded gravely, aware of the facts.

"Without the balance of her sister, the Princess Celestia struggles with her own desires and duties. There is some reasoning that has fallen beyond her range of vision."

"That... still doesn't explain why ye brought me ‘ere, M' Lord..." The images faded, as Goldwing looked back up to the alicorn.

"I brought you here... to sleep." His horn glowed for just a moment, magic wrapping around the pegasus. Sleep suddenly sounded rather nice, she decided, trusting Aquarian enough not to panic at the sudden exhaustion. As she dozed off, he leaned down and whispered in her ear.

"I'm counting on you to find us, Goldwing... if we can no longer find ourselves."

With that, time forgot the island shrouded in the mists.

A groan as she stretched, and Goldwing yawned, blinking the sleep from her eyes. The glowing had stopped, but the cavern was lit with sunlight coming in through a hole in the rocks. The circular stream had dried up, and the ethereal sounds faded. She looked to one side, a brief flick of panic helping her wake up when she realized Aquarian was no longer there.

Stumbling to her hooves, the pegasus flexed her muscles and wings, feeling surprisingly refreshed for having slept in a cave. To be honest, she was surprised Whiplash hadn’t come to get her - had he tried? The fear that her crew had run afoul on the rocks because of her nap had her galloping through the tunnel for the beach.

But outside, she was stunned. The fog had lifted, the sky was clear, and-

“Where in bloody Tartarus is m’ ship?!” Her forehooves slammed into the sand with a dull thud, before she angrily paced along the beach. They wouldn’t simply leave her there, would they?! True, she had told Whiplash that the ship was his to command if she didn’t return in time, but he was one of her most trusted comrades! There were no signs of other ponies, though, no wreckage on the island.

After several minutes, Goldwing sighed, plunking down on her rump. What if they had been found by Celestia’s Royal Navy? Attacked in the night? Her ears drooped at the possibility, guilt bubbling up. She should have been there, she should have returned instead of sleeping...

A breeze drew her attention, bringing her back to the present. Taking to her wings, the pegasus flitted around the island, only to find it truly was little more than a rock in the middle of the ocean. No vegetation grew there, so there were no sources of food or supplies. It looked like she had to try to fly to land, but a gaze around showed nothing but ocean in all directions.

Flicking her wings to test them, she hesitated. Could she? Did she have a choice? Maybe she would find a ship along the way, or at least rest on a cloud when she got tired. Climbing higher in the sky, Goldwing set off, using the wind to her advantage to cover more distance.

Hours passed, the sun had fallen, and Goldwing had pushed herself as far as she could go. Despite her earlier energy from sleeping so well, now she was exhausted. Dropping to a cloud, the captain collapsed there, watching the ocean beneath her. Was she even going in the right direction? She didn’t know. Another sigh as the cloud drifted along, and before she knew it, the pegasus passed out.

When the sun rose, her stomach rumbled, waking her up and reminding Goldwing of her predicament. Even though clouds allowed her to rest, they weren’t sources of food, and she couldn’t exactly dive deep enough to get vegetation from the ocean. The pony closed her eyes, wondering why her patron lord had summoned her, only to get her in such a situation. Without food, she wouldn’t be able to fly as far, and she could easily starve or drown before reaching land.

No. She couldn’t afford to think like that. Getting back on her hooves, she focused. Land... that was what she wanted - no, needed - to find to survive. Her ears flicked as the wind tickled them, beads on her earring jingling, and in her heart, tried to find the way. Determined, she leapt from the cloud, continuing her journey, following her instincts.

Pure will could only get a pony so far. She had lost track of the days, her wings were failing, and tired eyes desperately sought for the next cloud to rest on, to obtain a few drops of water from. So focused on the sky, Goldwing didn’t see the ship in the distance as she struggled to stay aloft. But she was falling, and with a splash, suddenly, there was darkness.

“I'm counting on you...”