A cool breeze was blowing over the bow of the Luna's Dream. Twilight Sparkle had stepped away from the helm of the grand air-liner and began her usual post-launch inspection of her ward. The Dream had been assigned to her after years of dedicated service to both Princess Celestia and Luna, and it was one of the proudest achievements in the young unicorn's life. While she had been satisfied as a librarian and seeker of knowledge, as the captain of her own vessel she felt a sense of freedom. And what a vessel it was.
Over three hundred feet in length, and four decks tall, it was one of the premier pleasure craft that Equestria had to offer. Dozens of the most luxurious staterooms had been built into it's hull, and on any given trip over a hundred eager upper crust citizens could be found enjoying the ship's amenities. Twilight had been included during the design phase for the ship and, as a nod towards her time in Ponyville, she had requested that some of the lower decks have rooms for the less affluent citizens of Equestria. This had been met with some resistance by the usually haughty royal ship builders, but Princess Celestia had made it quite clear that any requests of her student's were to be honoured.
Aside from rooming, there were also dining halls, a spa, a cider bar, even a boutique featuring fashions from all over the world. Nearly any amenity that one could request was available, and those that weren't could be found at the various ports of call that the Dream traveled to. Usually Twilight would do round trip cruises between Canterlot and some other city. At first she had made them short simple trips to locations such as Los Pegasus, and Manehatten, but increasingly she was taking her passengers to more exotic locales. Since Celestia had negotiated peace with the Changelings, she had even made a couple of cruises to the hive. That day, though, she was off to a new location.
So it was, on that chilly autumn morning, that she had loaded her affluent passengers and luggage and departed Canterlot for the capitol city of the gryphons. She would never admit it to the ponies that paid for her to show them the world, but those crew who had been with her the longest knee that she chose a location the same way she chose a book- the knowledge she could acquire.
Trotting briskly past a couple of unicorns watching the scenery below rolling by, she nodded towards them and smiled.
"I hope you enjoy the cruise! The weather is supposed to be pleasant. Please help yourself to some of the refreshments in the forward banquet hall." The stallion smiled and nodded to the captain, while the mare bowed her head politely and approached the captain, both unicorns walking along with the captain.
"Thank-you Captain Sparkle. We've heard much of your cruises and have saved up for months so we might enjoy one ourselves. Have you been to the gryphon yourself?" Twilight nodded.
"Once, along with my friends, but it was on business for the princess' and I didn't have much time to enjoy it I'm afraid. I'm nearly as excited as you are, I'll admit." The stallion bowed and addressed her.
"Well, then I hope the trip is as enjoyable for you as I know it will be for us." The pair stopped at the railing again and continued to gaze over the rolling landscape and pointing out sights to each other. Twilight smiled and nodded, continuing her inspection of the craft.
Having made her rounds of the outer decks and wheel-house, she carefully climbed up one of the ropes that secured the massive helium balloons to the airship. This was one of the only parts of the job she disliked, and while she knew that most other captains assigned crew to this task, usually a pegasus, she felt it was her personal duty as the captain to assure the safety of the bladders that held the lives of her passengers in the balance. As terrifying a prospect as falling off the ropes was to Twilight, in reality she could always teleport herself back on the ship’s deck long before she hit the ground far below.
Making her way to the top of the line she was ascending, she gingerly stepped out onto a surveillance walkway that allowed her to view the entire set of balloons that hung in the air. Slowly and meticulously she trotted along the cat-walk and inspected every seam and mounting point for the ropes. A few minutes later she came to the front of the ship and found her look-out. The pegasus, Swelter Mistral, had been a highly-decorated member of the royal navy for years, and could have easily been retired with full benefits any time in the last five, but was never comfortable with the idea of “settling down”. When Swelter had been given the opportunity by Princess Celestia to take an easier job that kept him on a ship, he’d jumped at it.
“Afternoon, Commander Mistral. How’s it going?” The formality of his title mixed with the casual greeting always made Swelter chuckle. If any other pony had addressed him in such a way, he would have pulled rank and put them in their place without hesitation, regardless of position. However, this was Twilight Sparkle, one of the Princess’ most capable students, and though her position as captain was ceremonial, he had heard enough stories, and seen enough first hoof to know that if she had joined the navy at the earliest age they took ponies, she would undoubtedly have made rear-admiral by her age. When he spoke to her, it was always with the utmost of respect.
“The winds bode well Captain Twilight. There’s a stiff breeze at our back, and our trip across the Eastern Sea should be calm. No storms reported out of Fillydelphia.” Twilight nodded.
“Excellent. While I do enjoy the flight, I’m eager to reach the Gryphon capitol. I have much to study there.” She gave a little hop around, stopping when she felt the narrow metal walkway supporting her weight shift a little bit from the impacts. She sheepishly grinned up at Swelter, who had a knowing twinkle in his eye.
“Ah, I thought this was another of your research trips. What is it this time? Some rare herb you heard about? A new magical spell? Those gryphons figure out some sort of new technology? You are a special pony indeed Twilight Sparkle to be given such a craft by the Princess’ in the guise of a cruise-ship captain.” He rarely used her full name, or addressed her with anything less than her formal title, however when he did, it was usually in a moment of closeness with the unicorn. This was the part of her inspection of the balloons that Twilight looked forward to. She rarely had the chance to meet with her friends anymore, and Swelter, while quite a bit older and more grisly looking than the young mares that she once shared every moment with, had done his best to fill a platonic companion roll. She tilted her head towards him.
“I know, and have never taken it for granted for as long as I have enjoyed such a privilege. As for the purpose of the trip, actually this one’s a little different.” Swelter raised his eyebrow.
“Oh?”
“Luna has actually requested me to meet with an old friend of hers. They haven’t spoken in a few years, and Princess Luna heard a rumour that he has taken ill. She’s currently too busy to make the trip herself, but she sent me in her stead to deliver a gift and confirm the validity of the rumours. I don’t mind telling you, she’s quite concerned.” Swelter nodded solemnly.
“As one who is gracing the edge of his ‘twilight’” Twilight couldn’t help but grin at the pun, “years, I know the feeling of watching those around you grow old and frail. I can sympathize with Princess Luna’s feelings. Such realities of life make their immortality seem like a burden more than a boon at times.” Twilight smiled sadly.
“The last time I spoke with Celestia… she indicated similar feelings. I think she…” Twilight trailed off, unable to form the words that weighed on her mind. To her relief, Swelter wrapped one of his wings around her and nodded to her.
“When that day comes, Twilight Sparkle, both she and Equestria will have lost more than they can ever know. I believe that with all of my heart.” A single tear rolled down her cheek, which she wiped away with her hoof. She looked up at the pegasus who had replaced his solemn visage with a beaming smile. “But today is not that day Captain Sparkle. Smile, for you have many years of life left in you, and your ship needs her captain! What would that raucous pink fluff ball think of you being sad over this?” Twilight couldn’t help but laugh, remembering the first time Swelter Mistral had met Pinkie Pie, and his utter confusion as to how his organized and to the point captain had managed to stat friends with her. She and Applejack had moved to Baltimare to start a party and catering business. Sweet Apple Acres had been doing so well that Applejack had been able to afford workers and left the farm in Big Macintosh’s capable hooves. The additional income from working with Pinkie had more than covered any financial short-falls the farm had.
“She would probably sing me a song she pulled out of no-where and laugh at me.” Swelter nodded.
“Sounds about right. So, tell me about this… well I assume it’s a gryphon?”
“Yes, a Prince Redcrest. I’ve never met him personally, but Princess Luna has assured me he’s quite a gentlegryphon.” Swelter nodded.
“Royalty? Well that’s not surprising. He some sort of ruler? Is his possible… departure… going to cause some sort of power vacuum for the gryphons? Is Princess Luna expecting you to check up on the political situation?” Twilight shook her head.
“No, he’s some numbers of places removed from the ruling family. His title is primarily ceremonial. This is only a personal visit.” Something about that relieved Swelter greatly, though he would never say it to Twilight’s face.
“Very good. This gift though… valuable?” Twilight shrugged.
“I don’t know. It’s been packed in a crate ever since it was delivered to the docks. Since it’s from Princess Luna, I didn’t see any reason to open it. I assume, since it’s from the princess to another member of royalty, that it likely is worth more than what the average pony carries on them.” Swelter chuckled.
“We’ll have to make sure we keep it safe from sky-pirates and brigands then shouldn’t we?”
“Naturally. Alright, I’m going to head down below decks to finish my inspection. Keep an eye on the skies, Commander Mistral. After taking on a few extra supplies in Fillydelphia, we’ll head straight across the ocean. No cover there.” Swelter grunted and turned his view back to the horizon. Twilight thought about what the pegasus had said about her long life, and a smile crept across her face. Rather than head back to the rope, she took a few steps back and galloped towards the edge, leaping off in a spectacular fashion. Both Swelter and the few passengers still on the deck cried out for a moment, before the unicorn disappeared in a flash of purple magic and reappeared on the deck, trotting towards the open door to the decks below. Swelter shook his head and snorted.
“Insolent pup. One of these days…”
Safely within the bowels of the ship, Twilight finished her inspection of the vessel, greeted as many guests she could, and, confident all was in order, retired to her cabin for some sleep. She had volunteered to take the evening watch as they crossed the ocean, and she was going to need her sleep.
While the Luna's Dream was docked for supplies in Fillydelphia, one of the ship’s crew skulked into a corner of the loading dock, carrying a packaged in his mouth. Glancing about cautiously, he took a chance look up at the deck of the ship to make sure no passengers or any of the other crew could see him. Content that he was concealed, he sat in a small alcove, sat the package down, and waited.
Some time later, a large, tough looking pegasus trotted up in a similarly cautious manner, and taking one last look behind him, joined the crewmember in the alcove. Both shared nervous looks as the crew pushed the package gently towards him with his hoof.
“Everything you need to know is in here. Times, places, crew, passengers. There’s also something I grabbed from the captain’s cabin while I was in there. It’ll make things easier for you.” The pegasus nodded.
“Good. I think the captain will be pleased. This is the largest one we’ve hit yet. We’re going to make so much money off of this!” The crewmember frowned.
“I guess so, but I don’t like it. Too much could go wrong, I could get found out. I don’t want to see anypony get hurt.” The pegasus chuckled.
“You’re getting paid aren’t you? Trust me, with what you’ve given me, everything is going to be fine. Nopony is going to get hurt.” The crewmember faintly smiled.
“Really?” The pegasus flashed a grin and nodded.
“Really. I should get back to the boss.” With that he spun on his hooves and crept away, package safely wedged between his wings. The crewmember shook his head and headed back towards the Dream, feeling that he had just made a terrible mistake.
Twilight Sparkle awoke, slid off the covers and wandered into her personal head and stepped into the shower. Even at over three-thousand feet in the air, she still savoured a shower after she slept, and gladly gave up additional cargo room for a larger water-holding tank. They had rigged the outlet for the grey-water in a way that it showered off the stern of the ship, and created a natural rainbow for the passengers to enjoy every time somepony took a shower or one of the kitchen-staff washed the dishes. The other kind of water was kept in a separate holding tank and dumped at the next port of call.
Her personal hygiene attended to, the captain donned her uniform and began one last tour before proceeding to the wheel-house. As she walked through the forward dinning hall, one of her crew, an earth pony, approached her and pulled her aside.
“Um… Captain Sparkle?” Twilight was on first-name basis with the crew on her ship, and was familiar with all of them and their lives. She had hoof-picked a majority of them herself and only a couple of the crew were new to her. The only time they would use her formal designation, aside from Swelter, was when they were within earshot of passengers.
“Yes Efflorescence?” The nervous pony glanced around making sure that only a few of the passengers could hear him.
“Commander Mistral says that he spotted another air-ship around half an hour ago also leaving Fillydelphia. He didn’t think much of it, until he spotted it again floating along in the clouds off the port stern. He’s concerned that another ship, especially one of it’s diminutive size, would be unlikely to make the trip to the gryphon lands. He fears that pirates are a possibility.” Twilight frowned and glanced among the now concerned eavesdropping passengers. Putting on a brave face she shook her head.
“It should be fine. They might be taking the scenic route to Manehatten, or the winds might have blown them off course. We’ll keep an eye on them, but I don’t believe we’ll have any trouble tonight. You folks should go enjoy your dinners. There’s supposed to be a fantastic show starting on stage.” She pointed over to where a red curtain was drawn across a stage at the front of the dinning hall. The relieved passengers smiled and nodded and trotted over to various seats while a waiter took their orders. Once they were out of earshot, Twilight nodded to the earth pony.
“Good work Efflorescence. Head to the stern deck and keep an eye on our mysterious friends. If they starting flying any colours other than Equestria, I wish to be informed immediately.” The earth pony nodded and trotted off. Finishing her rounds, Twilight headed up to the wheel-house and relieved the pilot. As a filly she had always dreamt of flying her own ship, and now that she was commanding one, she never wasted an opportunity to wrap her hooves around the wheel and guide her flight. Any concern she had for the shadowing vessel was lost as the familiar sensation of feeling the ship beneath her hooves rolling over the air-currents overtook her. She smiled.
“The currents feel strong tonight, we should be in the gryphon lands by daybreak.” The crew around her nodded and murmured their support. Her mind drifted to her many previous cruises, and how no matter how many times she stepped behind the wheel, it always felt like she was a little filly again, being shown the wheel-house of some air-ship or another. The warm feelings faded quickly as Efflorescence barged into the room.
“Twilight!” Twilight’s eyes went wide and it took considerable concentration for her to not loose her grip on the wheel.
“Efflorescence?!”
“The ship! She’s flying red and black flags! Sky-Pirates! They‘ve put on speed!” Twilight glanced around the cabin anxiously and took a steadying breath.
“Where is everypony?”
“Most of the passengers have been sequestered below deck, and Swelter is organizing the repulsion forces on the bow.” Twilight nodded and turned to the nearest crew-member.
“Take the wheel, I’m going to need to organize things so that nopony gets hurt. This could turn ugly.” Grabbing a cutlass that she kept stashed in the wheel-house, she dashed onto the deck and approached Swelter.
“Commander Mistral! Efflorescence just told me- the sky-pirates are approaching. Plans?” She absentmindedly twirled the cutlass with her magic, taking a few swings at the air for practice. Swelter frowned and faced her.
“Captain Sparkle, we are attempting to get the rest of the passengers below deck to safety. In the meantime, I’ve armed the non-unicorn crew, and taken the liberty of giving a few of the unicorns fire-arms. I would like to reason with these so called pirates, but I won’t hesitate to give the order if they threaten the ship.” Twilight nodded.
“Good. I’m going to go over to the stern deck and watch their approach. I need the rest of you to stay on guard and watch for the commander’s signal. If things get ugly, I expect all of you to protect the passengers.” The assembled ponies nodded. Twilight turned to the remaining passengers. “Please get below deck! It will be easier to hold off the pirates in the case of an attack if you are safely out of sight!” The passengers complied and soon the deck was empty except for the armed crew. Twilight trotted to the stern of the ship and watch the almost agonizingly slow approach of the pirate’s vessel.
It was much smaller than the Luna's Dream, having what looked to be only the main deck, a small cabin at the aft, and maybe one other deck below. She squinted her eyes and tried to examine the invader’s ship to approximate how many pirates they could be expecting. On the above decks she could make out three or four pegasi and a unicorn. Hardly a force worth worrying about… Trotting back to the main deck, she called out.
“Commander, I can only spot around five ponies. I’m not sure this is really the force we…” Her words were lost as the craft in question suddenly rocketed out in front of the Dream, flaming trails of smoke betraying the source of their sudden propulsion. The small vessel spun sideways, so that it’s starboard faced the bow of Twilight’s ship, and where she had seen only a few ponies above deck another dozen shimmered into reality, a majority of them pegasi. Twilight nearly panicked, but forced herself to relax and called out the orders.
“Illusions! There’s a powerful caster somewhere on board! Keep an eye on your targets. I don’t think they want to talk!” As if to punctuate her point, the pegasi on the deck lifted off, various blades grasped in their teeth, and descended upon the Luna's Dream, a glint of malice in their eyes. A small door on the bottom side of the ship opened up and another two dozen fighters spilled forth, covering the deck of the larger vessel. At first it was mostly earth ponies carrying various deadly implements similar to the pegasi, but soon were joined by other ponies, diamond dogs, and even a juvenile dragon. Twilight took a double take at the dragon, but shook away the shock and continued to bark orders.
“Cutlasses to my left! Hoof-to-hoof with the earth ponies! Fire-arms on the pegasi! Get them out of the air before they can make things messy! Unicorns are to be handled on sight! At least one of them is an illusionist and I want to know which of these pirates are real!” Feeling proud of herself for keeping calm under pressure, she grasped her own weapon tightly and joined the fray, standing side-by-side with Swelter. The older pony smiled as his captain joined him.
“Expertly done, Captain Sparkle. I’ve known several captains that wouldn’t have kept half as cool during a pirate boarding. You would have made an excellent naval officer.” Twilight nodded her thanks.
“For what it’s worth Swelter, I would have still hoof picked you to be my second any day of the week.” Swelter chuckled.
“If this is to be our last day on the Dream, you might get the chance yet if the Celestial Paradise maintains a navy.” There idle banter finished, they both struck out at the pirates that threatened to overwhelm their vessel. To Twilight’s relief, none of the pirates seemed to be carrying any firearms, giving her crew the advantage at range. Several shots rang out around her and she saw several boarding pegasi fall over the side of the ship, leaving red streaks across the deck.
“Good shooting! Reload and keep it up! We’ll have these braggarts on the run yet!” She herself cut through several earth ponies in front of her, watching their limp bodies fall across the deck, blood rolling out and making the impromptu battlefield slick. More than once she had to catch herself from falling as she fought to repel the invaders. Sparing a glance behind her, she could see several of the passengers looking out of port holes and windows in fear, watching the battle unfold. She smirked and turned back to her foes, just in time to see a large diamond dog knock two of her crew off the side of the ship. She cringed for a moment, hoping they survived the fall, but focused back on the offending attacker and brought her cutlass around.
“Those were two of my best crew you selfish pirate!” She grimaced and expertly twirled the blade around the confused canine, impaling him from behind. The blade extended a few inches away from Twilight’s face, coated red in the dog’s life force. He buckled to his knees and flopped face first on the deck, his lifeless body easily relinquishing the captain’s sword. To her side Swelter was having similar success against his foes, but she expected no less from the decorated officer. He had fought many pirates in his time in the navy, and this was almost old hat to him, except for the hundreds of innocent passengers below. Any hope she had that they would thwart the pirates there diminished as she took a moment to view the battle in full. All around her the less capable crew were being pushed back, several falling to the blades of the cruel pirates. The dragon in particular seemed quite deft with blades, wielding one in both claws and punctuating his strikes with gouts of green flame. Every few moments another one of her crew would fall to the blade or flame of a pirate, and Twilight really did start to panick.
“Fall back! Fall back! We can’t take them like this! There’s just too many angles to attack from. Quickly, get below decks! We’ll trap them in the halls!” Swelter and Twilight stood side by side and covered the retreat of the rest of the Dream’s crew, scrambling to get behind doors. A throw knife from one unicorn pirate caught an unaware pegasus between the shoulders and dropped him feet from the entryway. Carefully retreating, the two commanding ponies managed to pick off a couple more pirates before stepping across the threshold themselves, slamming the door behind them and locking it in place. Twilight took a moment to shoo away the shocked passengers and turned to her crew.
“Casualties?!” Swelter grimaced.
“Seven pegasi, three unicorns, and one earth pony. We took nearly double that number, including that diamond dog, but in a war of numbers they’re winning. Unless their illusionists are that good and there are far fewer than we think there are, they’re going to take the Luna’s Dream.” He reached behind himself and patted out a small fire on his tail. “I assure you the dragon is real.” Twilight nodded, a flash of grief flashing in her eyes.
“I know.” Swelter looked confused but shook the thought away and focused on the task at hand.
“Orders?” Twilight shook her head.
“You’re the experienced one. I think that you should do the honours here.” To her surprise Swelter shook his head back.
“Yes, I may be experienced with sky-pirates and the navy, but I’ve known you long enough Captain Sparkle to know that if anypony has a plan that will see us out of this, it’s you. So please, the honour here is yours.” The nod of faith from the commander bolstered the spirits of the crew and they gave various words of encouragement to the captain. Twilight smiled and nodded.
“Very well… the pirates are going to be in here soon, so we need to divide them up and find those casters. Swelter, take some earth-ponies down to engineering and set up ambush points. Efflorescence?” The nervous earth pony trotted up to the captain.
“Y-yes?”
“I know you’re not one to lead a battle, but I have faith in you. I need you to get down to the passenger cabins with the unicorns and prepare yourselves to repel anypony that tries to attack the passengers.” Efflorescence nodded, took his indicated crew and departed. Swelter nodded his approval.
“Where are you going to be?” Twilight smiled.
“If they aren’t trying to take the ship, or capture the passengers, the only other place they might be going…” Swelter nodded.
“So you have thought this out then. Very good. Why the pegasi though? The cargo deck will be cramped and they won’t have any use of their wings.”
“No, but they’re small and will fit into the concealed spaces.” Swelter nearly laughed, and for a moment forget the company he was currently keeping.
“Twilight Sparkle, are you sure you’re not the reincarnated spirit of old Admiral Copperhoof? I swear…” The sentiment was lost as the door behind them burst into a green flame. “Oops, time to go! On me!” The two groups split up and filtered through the ship.
Efflorescence nervously padded through the cabins, making sure any passengers were safely in their rooms. The frightened ponies watched on as he assigned choke points to all of his crew. He smiled for a moment, pleased with his work, but the moment was lost as the first pirates spilled through the hallway.
“Fire!” Several salvos of shot impacted on the advancing pirates, and one by one they started to drop, leaving trails of blood sprayed on the walls. Each time they paused to reload, another group would round the corner, dropping as the first. “Stupid pirates! You just try and take the passengers!” His jovial outcry was cut short as a unicorn rounded the corner, a glare in her eyes.
“Oh, I don’t want your passengers… just you.” She erected a shield in front of her and continued to advance down the hallway to where the defending crew were positioned.
“F-fire! Keep firing!” The unicorns obeyed the given command, but there was no penetrating the shield of the pirate. Panicking, Efflorescence began to back up and tried to get as far from the unicorn as he could. His fear only grew as he watched the fire-arm wielding unicorns drop one by one as the shield came close to them and pulsed with electricity, forcing them into convulsions. Finally killing the last defender, she came face to face with the terrified Efflorescence and smiled wickedly, turning to the hall behind her.
“Know this! Hear me, all of you! I, the Great and Powerful Sky-Pirate Trixie, have come this day to slay your captain and take your wealth! Watch what happens when you resist us!” She turned back to Efflorescence and began charging her shield again.
“W-will it hurt?” Trixie smirked.
“A little.” The shield went off, dropping the earth-pony.
Down in engineering, Commander Mistral had sequestered off any passengers he could find in one of the equipment rooms. The only one accessible had windows on all sides, but it was at least another barrier between the pirates and the passengers. He started to set up his ambushes. He had done this a few times before, and it never got any easier, especially in his advancing age. He was unsure that the remaining ponies at his command had it in them to repel the invaders a second time, so he was relieved when he saw a scant five of the pirates appear. None of them looked terribly attentive, poking their noses into nooks and crannies searching for the defenders. Looks like I got the easy group. Poor Efflorescence. Sighing, he pointed at a pair of ponies across the way from him, and silently motioned for them to follow his lead. One of the pegasus pirates started to whine.
“Man, why do we have to go down here and clear out engineering? There’s hardly any passengers down here at all. I don’t see the crew either.” Another, a diamond dog, cuffed him on the back of the head.
“Mistress say we go down here, we go down here. Not ours to question. She wants results.” His partner nodded.
“Fine fine, whatever you say. I just…” His words were cut off in his throat as a blade stabbed through his side, skewering his insides. The diamond dog looked enraged.
“You… you… you killed him!” He dropped his sword and began to swipe indiscriminately at the commander, trapped in his alcove as he was. Swelter withdrew his cutlass from the dying pegasus and brought it up to block the blows. Just as he feared the canine might get the better of him, he saw a pair of blades exit it’s chest in a crossed position. The diamond dog’s last words came out in a gasp. “You’ve… killed… me…” The remaining three ponies panicked for a moment as another pair of crew-members leapt out behind them, but the crew made short work of them, sending their fears to the graves with them. Swelter stepped out from his hiding spot and smiled.
“Good work I think we should head up and help the captain.” The others nodded and were heading to the door when the heavy thump of an approaching pirate brought them back on guard.
“Commander…”
“Back to you hiding spots before…!” It was too late. The dragon had stepped into the room and could see all the exposed ponies. Seeing his dead comrades, he bellowed with rage and expelled a mighty blast of flame, catching several of them off guard. One of them dove in front of Swelter protecting him from the deadly fire, giving his life instead. As their lifeless burnt bodies crumpled to the floor, Swelter could see he was the only one left. The dragon pointed one of his blades at the commander and grinned cruelly.
“Have you enjoyed being at your captain’s side? Do you know who used to have that honour? Do you know who used to toil for her day after day, week after week? Cleaning, cooking, fetching her books, helping her with her studies? Do you?!” For the first time, Swelter took a careful look at the dragon in front of him. The purple and green dragon.
“I know you! Well I know of you… Captain Sparkle has told me enough stories that I couldn’t possibly mistake you. Spike?!” Spike grinned and smiled.
“Naturally. I was once her number one assistant. Then you know what happened? She became some sort of stupid air-ship captain. Princess Celestia said she needed a proper assistant for a vessel like this. That left me out in the cold, to mind some stupid library she would never come back to. You know who did need an assistant? Trixie. So, when she asked me if I wanted to join up with her and get back at Twilight, I naturally agreed.” Swelter shook his head.
“Spike, how could you do this… Twilight was your friend! She cared for you! She still does.” Spike roared.
“No! If she cared for me she would have never left me to come play sky captain for the stupid princesses. Now, I’m going to enjoy killing you. I’d like to tell you this isn’t personal, but it really truly is.” The dragon exhaled another gout of flame, nearly catching the pegasus a second time. Diving at the last moment, he narrowly avoided being burnt alive, thought the edge of his wing caught fire. Patting it out, he dove to the other side of the narrow hallway, brandishing his own blade in his mouth.
“I’m warning you, if you try to kill me I will kill you.” Spike laughed and snorted.
“Too funny old pony. You’re so slow, I bet you can’t even swing that thing hard enough to kill a fly.” Spike dove forward, both blades extended towards his intended target, a glint in his eye. At the last moment, Swelter ducked under the blades and stuck one of the pressure valves to the engine with his own, causing a burst of steam to strike the offending dragon on the side of the face, blinding him. Dropping his swords, he clutched at his eyes with both claws.
“Ahhhhgh! You dirty pegasus! That wasn’t fair! You can’t do that!” Those were the last words he said as Swelter ran him through with his sword, seeing the blood of the dragon coating his blade. He slowly backed away withdrawing it, and spit it on the ground.
“No, it wasn’t fair, but in life and death situations like this, I will stop at nothing to protect my passengers and my ship.” Grasping his blade again, he frowned at the bodies strewn across the floor, and nodded towards the passengers behind the window. “Get to safety, I’m going to go see to the captain.
Twilight and her pegasi were all tucked away into alcoves, hearts racing. They had already dropped a fair number of the pirates with their hit and run tactics, but a few remained. To both her distaste and appreciation, the passengers that had found themselves to the cargo area had provided a distraction for the pirates, leading to easy victories. So far, none had been hurt, and she was motioning for the others to prepare for another attack, when she heard a voice turning the blood in her veins to ice.
“Twilight Sparkle. I have to admit, I’m impressed. When I had heard that it was you captaining this fabulous vessel, I thought for sure it would be an easy target. I mean, really. You a captain? Don’t make me laugh.” She shook her head, and her crew could see the shock in her eyes.
“T-Trixie? This is your doing?” Trixie laughed.
“That’s the Great and Powerful Sky-Pirate Trixie to you! Who else could possibly mastermind this entire operation? Naturally, only I have the intelligence and magical prowess to bring the great Twilight Sparkle to her knees. Now, why don’t you give up and I won’t harm your crew, or passengers.” Twilight yelled out from her hiding place.
“I won’t let you have our cargo! It’s too valuable! I’ve given my word to Princess Luna that it will be delivered to her friend.” Trixie laughed again.
“I don’t want your cargo. I don’t want your ship. I don’t want any of the ponies on it. I came here for one thing, and one thing only. You. By the way, how did you like my little surprise? Bet you never saw that coming?”
“How could you? How could you convince Spike to betray me?”
“Oh I didn’t need to convince him of anything. He was already looking for a way to get back at you and I presented the opportunity. He willingly and gladly joined me for a chance to get back at you. Now, your life or those of your crew. Which will it be?” Twilight had heard enough and she burst from her hiding spot.
“Neither!” She ran straight at Trixie, dropping the cutlass with her magic and tilting her head downwards like a bull.
“You’re going to impale me on that horn? You’re a fool Twilight Sparkle!” Just as Trixie went to erect her shield that would undoubtedly drop the lavender unicorn, Twilight winked out of existence and reappeared a dozen feet behind her. “W-what?!”
“You forget I’m still the superior spell-caster Trixie! If you want me so bad, come and get me!” Leaving her crew to deal with the remaining pirates, Twilight teleported through the interior of the ship until she found herself back in the main dinning hall. Several of the passengers crowded against the sides of the room, fearful of the purple burst of magic that had suddenly appeared. Seeing it was the captain, they calmed down and began to mill about. She shrieked at them.
“All of you! Get behind the bar! Upend tables! She’s coming!” Doing as they were told, the passengers cowered in fear. A few moments later with a burst of magic Trixie blew through the door, shrapnel flying everywhere.
“Twilight Sparkle! The Great and Powerful Sky-Pirate Trixie will end your life! Accept it! If you make this difficult, I will kill all of your passengers when I’m done with you!” Twilight shook her head.
“No Trixie! I will fight you with every last ounce of power I have until I draw the last breath from my body!” Trixie grimaced.
“So be it!” She picked up a nearby table and hurled it at the captain. Twilight shot out a lance of energy and shattered the table, pieces of it flying all over. Grabbing a table herself, she used it as a shield to get closer to the pirate. Trixie threw several other object at the barrier between her and her target, but the table magically reinforced by Twilight’s magic, held firm. Shrieking in desperation, she grabbed the chandelier from the roof and pulled it straight down onto the purple unicorn. Rolling out of the way, Twilight brought the table down hard on Trixie’s head, smiling as she heard it connect. The abuse it had taken along the way had weakened it though, and it smashed apart on impact, barely stunning Trixie. The shattering chandelier shot shards of glass all over Twilight, and she grimaced as several cuts opened on her legs.
The two adrenaline pumped unicorns grabbed for the nearest blade, and struggled over a cutlass that had been left nearby. Twilight smiled.
“I’m the superior spell-caster, remember?” To Twilight’s chagrin, Trixie smiled back.
“Yes, I know, but I’m not afraid to get dirty.” Kicking a piece of wood at Twilight, Trixie caught her on the horn, causing her to fall back and lose her concentration. Her spell failed, leaving the sword solely in the pirate’s possession. She grinned, and trotted over to the prone body of Twilight.
“And now Twilight Sparkle, you die!” She lifted the blade overhead, intending to stab the purple unicorn through the heart, when a cry distracted her.
“No!” Swelter ran into the dinning hall in time to see Trixie standing over Twilight and tackled her head on. The pair balled together and rolled a few times, coming to rest against a wall. The passengers parted aside at their passage, fearing to be caught in the battle. Twilight regained her footing and looked in shock at the scene unfolding in front of her.
Trixie brushed herself off and stood, a little frazzled, but no worse for wear. Swelter hadn’t come out so cleanly. In the struggle, he had somehow been impaled with not only his own blade, but the one Trixie was wielding. He coughed his last few breaths.
“I would like to have seen… the gryphon lands.” He quickly succumbed to his wounds. Twilight went berserk.
“Trixie… you… you’ve killed them. You’ve killed them all. Efflorescence, Swelter, my crew. Why? Why is my death so important to you?!” Trixie screamed back.
“Because you humiliated me! All those years ago, at that stupid travelling side show! You left me penniless and homeless! I wasn’t able to find work after that! I starved, I did things that nopony is proud of just to survive! ALL. BECAUSE. OF. YOU!” She lashed out with a stream of magical energy, intending to strike Twilight from the face of Equestria. Twilight fired back, and the two streams of magic danced over the dinning hall. It went back and forth, each time the magical force would come closer to striking one of the unicorns, they would grunt and renew their effort. Coming to a stalemate, they gritted their teeth and pushed harder.
“Trixie I can never forgive you!”
“You won’t have to when you’re dead and cold!” A gust of wind pushed the air-ship to the side, and Trixie stumbled. The moment it took for her to regain her footing, her concentration had weakened enough and a timely burst of energy from Twilight’s horn threw her against the far wall. Twilight walked over to the snivelling, shuddering form of the “great and powerful” Trixie and frowned.
“It didn’t have to be like this Trixie. We could have been friends. Now Spike, Swelter, my crew. All dead. And you? You’re about to join them.” Twilight lowered her horn to Trixie’s throat, charging her magical energies one last time. The fear in the other unicorn’s eyes were palpable. She weakly mouthed out two words.
I’m sorry
Twilight stopped charging her horn and looked down at the meek unicorn. She started to snicker, then giggle, then full out laugh. Trixie began to join her, standing, laughing, and throwing her hooves around Twilight, both barely able to breathe. The passengers looked on in utter shock and confusion.
“You… I can’t take you seriously if you’re going to mouth stuff like that. ‘I’m sorry’? Really? Oh Trixie.” Swelter groaned and rolled over, standing up.
“If you two are quite done having a lark, mind getting rid of these for me? I’d like to go have a shower, this red crap you made us use is going to stain I just know it. Kinda stuff’s for foals.” The two unicorns nodded and magically willed the sabres out of existence- both had been illusions, one conjured by each mare. The passengers stood looking on incredulously. Swelter looked around at the room and smiled.
“Well? What are you waiting for? The captain just saved the ship from invading pirates!” Rather than the raucous cheer that would normally come after such a statement, the entire assembly fainted.
A while later, after having righted the ship and explaining to the passengers it was all a show, the “pirates” and crew alike had been showered with praise and bits. As terrifying as it had been for most of the passengers, after they knew it had been a set up, nearly everypony had agreed it was the best show they had ever seen aboard a flight. Retiring to Twilight’s cabin, she and Trixie sat at her table and shared a bottle of cider.
“That was fantastic Trixie! Absolutely amazing! I’m so glad we did this. I wasn’t sure at first, and if this had been my usual route to Manehatten, then I wouldn’t have allowed it, but there were more adventurous types on this flight. Your crew was better than I could have ever expected.” Trixie smiled and nodded.
“Thanks Twilight, I appreciate that. It’s been hard making things work since… well that… but as you can see I have put together a fabulous new show and I’m thinking of where I can take it. Mind you, at this time you’re the only pony I could think of that could help me pull this off. Lots of stiff types captaining air-ships.” Twilight nodded and took another swig from the bottle.
“I know that all too well. I wasn’t sure when Princess Celestia first asked me to captain my own ship, but the Luna's Dream has been well… a dream. And the crew are amazing.”
“Yes, even that Swelter played his part well. I didn’t expect it from a fossil like him.” Twilight playfully cuffed Trixie with a hoof.
“Oh he’s not that old. He did do really well though. Actually it was him that encouraged this.” The two of them heard voices outside the door of the cabin, and took a moment to peek out. Swelter and Spike were walking past while Spike rubbed his head.
“Dude… I know I told you that heat and fire were ok, but steam? That was cheap. That stung.” Swelter chuckled.
“You got my tail out on the deck you cantankerous oaf! Turnabout is fair play!” The two continued on, arguing as if they were old friends. Trixie focused back on Twilight.
“Really?”
“Yeah. He said it was his way of showing me the value of life. It worked.”
“How so?” Twilight looked off out the window, lost in thought for a moment.
“Let’s just say as the captain of an air-ship like this you have a lot of time to think, and the thoughts don’t always stay on the present.” Her sombre attitude evaporated and she looked back at Trixie. “Enough of that though! Speaking of ‘presents’…” She trotted to a bookcase containing some of her favourite books. She pulled on one that revealed a hidden alcove containing a safe. Opening it she took out a bag and turned back to Trixie. “… I have something for you. And the safe? In case sky-pirates really attack. Trixie smiled an nodded. Twilight set the bag on the table and smiled.
“For me?” The purple unicorn nodded.
“Of course! Open it, open it!” Trixie slowly united the sack and carefully laid it open. Inside was another bag and a box. The smaller bag contained more bits than Trixie could imagine.
“What is this? Why are you showing me your money?” Twilight shook her head.
“Your money.” Trixie tried to push it away.
“Oh… no no I couldn’t. It’s so much and my crew has already made so much from the passengers alone tonight, I couldn’t possibly…” Twilight smiled and placed her hoof on Trixie’s.
“Yes, but you have to share that with them. This is for you, and only you. You’ve earned it. I had set it aside in case things went horribly and you didn’t make any money tonight, but things went so well that I just have to give it to you. You deserve it.” Trixie smiled and politely placed the bag beside her. She would count it later, but for now, it was the thought that counted.
“T-thank you Twilight. I don’t know what to say…” Twilight shook her head.
“Now open the box.” After the bag of bits, Trixie wasn’t sure that what was in the box could ever match what Twilight had already given her. She was wrong.
“Twilight… is this… for me?” Twilight nodded. In the box was a brass necklace in the shape of Trixie’s cutie mark. Twilight gently levitated it out of the box and placed it around Trixie’s neck.
“After your cart was destroyed in the ursa attack, I wanted to talk to you but you ran away. There wasn’t much of worth to save off of it I’m afraid, but the brass ball at the end of the sign on it was still as shiny as it had been the day before. I had it melted down and formed into this necklace, for the day that I could count you as a friend. That’s today.” Twilight smiled and sat back, taking another swig of the cider. Trixie looked at her hooves and could feel the tears forming in her eyes. They rolled down her cheeks, wetting both her clothes and the table in front of her.
“Twilight, I was so angry at you that day. I thought I would never ever be able to see you as anything other than my enemy. I was so wrong. This is… this is the nicest thing anypony has ever done for me. Ever.” She threw her hooves around the stunned purple unicorn and wept into her shoulder. “I just wanted to be accepted! I wanted everypony to know me.” Twilight rubbed her mane.
“Shhh it’s alright Trixie. It’s going to be alright. Friends?” Trixie smiled and nodded, wiping away the tears.
“Friends.” They hugged again, and Trixie walked for the door, levitating the bag of bits behind her. “And Twilight?”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks for sending Spike to me. He really helped me to see things in a new light.” Twilight blushed.
“You knew huh?”
“Oh of course. The number one assistant to the number one student of Princess Celestia doesn’t just happen to find himself jobless. I’m not that ignorant.” Twilight laughed.
“Hey, it was Spike’s story, not mine. I just rolled with it. Where are you going now?” Trixie smiled.
“I should gather my crew and get our tub off your fabulous air-ship. After that? Well the sky’s literally the limit.” Twilight smiled back.
“Take care of yourself Trixie. You’re always welcome on my ship.”
“You too Twilight.” Trixie exited the cabin and trotted towards the deck of the ship, and rounded up her crew. After Spike and Twilight had said their goodbyes, he joined her in her own cabin.
“You don’t want to stay with Twilight? After all, we both know why you came to me in the first place.” Spike shrugged.
“Yeah, part of me wants to stay, but with that Swelter guy taking care of her, I think she’ll do just fine. I need to stretch my own wings and find my place in the world.” Trixie grinned.
“So you’re staying with me?” Spike nodded.
“Looks like I am Captain Trixie.” Grabbing the wheel of her ship, Trixie shouted out to her crew.
“Onward you filthy braggarts! Sky-Pirate Trixie demands blood and booty, and we’ll be taking no prisoners!” The crew cheered and laughed as they took off into the sky, back west towards Fillydelphia.
Deep below the decks of the Luna's Dream, Efflorescence awoke, his head screaming. Rubbing it he slowly stood to his hooves and looked out the window in time to see Trixie’s vessel disappearing over the horizon. He felt a rage come over him.
“A little? A little?! That was the most pain I have ever been in you stupid no good b-”
