Anything, but Time

Chapters

Chapter 2: Nostalgia
Chapter 3: Take a Ride
Chapter 4: Avoid the S.S. Minnow
Chapter 5: Hotel California
Chapter 6: Revelations
Chapter 7: Insurrection
Chapter 9: Leader
Chapter 10: One Night Only
Chapter 11: Aggressive Negotiations
Chapter 12: A Heart of Darkness
Epilogue
Chapter 1: Burnout
Chapter 8: The Hard Way

Chapter 2: Nostalgia

Though it was not common knowledge, Sunset Shimmer had in fact been an expert in the ‘Grand Game’ that was Canterlot/Equestrian politics. She had been required to learn how to play the game while still in her single digits of age, taught by the Grand Game Master, Princess Celestia herself. Granted, it had been more of a teacher/student learning experience than a mother/daughter one, but a learning experience nonetheless. The animosity that went along with that experience was water under the bridge now, thankfully.

That being said, what was common knowledge was that Sunset, in fact, hated the game. But there was a difference between hating the game and being unable to play it. Those kind of skills came in handy from time to time. Especially when knowing exactly how to deploy them.

“You did this on purpose,” hissed the brown and black griffon to Sunset’s left just loud enough for only Sunset to hear. “You know she can’t resist collating or making a lists.” Sunset was currently leaning back in her chair, forelegs behind her head, wings splayed out, and a toothy grin on her face that she knew was gnawing on Isabella’s patience even before the griffon sunk her talons a bit into the wooden back of Sunset’s chair. “I had to completely shuffle all the afternoon meetings around for this!”

Sunset glanced to her left, the burning amber eyes would have made any sensible creature cower, but Sunset had seen worse, fought worse, and had the scars physically and mentally to prove it. She just grinned more. “Yeah,” Sunset replied and pointed towards Twilight and Celestia, both pouring over parchments, brochures, and a large atlas on the Eastern Sea. “Adorable, isn’t it?”

Isabella was about to explode in fury, but instead, she cocked her head to the side, and blinked twice before scrutinizing Sunset more closely. Sunset in response, turned her own eyes back to the griffon. “What?”

“Do…” Isabella lowered her voice, “Do you have romantic feeling for Her Highness?”

Admittedly, Sunset should have laughed, or immediately dismissed the question that was a borderline scandalous accusation. She also knew that her hesitation was not helping her case no matter the answer. In truth, Sunset knew in her heart she loved Princess Twilight as she had loved all her close friends and family.

However, all the others were gone now. Only the alicorns of Equestria, her, and Twi remained… even their daughters, Aurora and Sunna had succumbed to the sands of time. Sunset had to blink back her tears as her thoughts lingered on her daughters. She could still see their faces at any age just by closing her eyes and thinking back. How did one explain to someone that yes, you did love the person before you, but NOT the person before you? Just their dimensional counterpart that was as near identical as born twins physically and even closer in personality quirks.

Sunset could always tell the difference, would always be able to tell the difference even blindfolded, but… it had been a year since she had heard her beloved Twi’s voice. And Twilight, especially when geeking out… the differences came razor close and that tore at Sunset’s lonely heart something fierce. Yet another reason to take a small break away from Canterlot and the project they had been working together on. A needed break before she did something they would both regret.

After far too long a pause and poorly hidden glassy eyes, Sunset smirked at Isabella. “She’s my friend, Isabella, that's how I feel about her. Besides, I am married to her sister.”

Isabella narrowed her eyes, skeptically and arched a feathered brow. Isabella had to think back to the last time she had seen Sunset's wife more than two years ago when Sunset had stayed for one of her short visits. She vaguely remembered seeing a small, purple unicorn by Sunset's side under her golden wing, mane done up in a bun with thick black rimmed glasses on the end of her muzzle. What was her name? Did Sunset ever introduce her by name?

“The princess does not have a sister,” Isabella finally declared.

Sunset leaned the chair forward and dropped back down to her hooves, face far more melancholy than usual for a moment before she once again hid it behind a respectable Canterlot mask. “It’s complicated.” Isabella was about to press further, but Sunset had already moved off and approached the other two alicorns.

Twilight looked up and beamed, proudly holding up her lists, which had several strike throughs as evidence of her hard work. “So, given the criteria that you both laid out along with time, distance, and common weather patters at about this time of year, Celestia and I have narrowed it down to about ten destinations!”

Sunset smirked, taking a closer look at the names without seizing the lists floating in Twilight’s magical aura. “That’s a lot less than I was expecting you to say.”

“Oh, I could have added more, like, A LOT more considering the number of islands, but this is just what I could toss together on short notice with the resources I had on hoof.” Twilight met Isabella’s disapproving stare and actually winced, trying to twist it back into a sheepish smile.

Sunset rolled her eyes. “You do realize that YOU are HER boss, right?”

“Oh, I know. But I did have things I was supposed to be doing, remember?”

“For the good of the country and so that we have a clear schedule when we leave for the Crystal Empire.” Isabella glared at Sunset. “Not ALL of us can just go to a beach when we feel like it.”

Sunset once again flashed her mischievous smile. “You know… we could ALL go to the beach and just blow off the next two weeks. You don't have to be in Canterlot to raise the sun you know.”

Panic began to permeate in Isabella’s eyes, but Twilight did not rise to the bait. She smiled sweetly at her friend and began cleaning up her used parchment and books. “As nice as that would be I really do have to attend the summit. Not to mention I never want to miss a chance to spend time with Cadence. It’s too important not to see her when an opportunity arises. Especially if she and Flurry have been fighting again.”

The sound logic and practical tone with hints of sad longing in Twilight’s voice took the wind right out of Sunset going rogue sails. She understood all too well how important it was to relish each and every moment one had with loved ones. Now more than ever. Her hoof reached up and touched the ring around her neck and pressed the titanium band into her fur, feeling her heartbeat underneath. It provided a smidge of comfort to her soul.

“You don’t need to explain, Twilight.” Sunset paused, pushing down the lump of sad longing in her chest. She glanced to Celestia who was not bothering to hide her honest concern with wide, worried eyes. Sunset smiled and nodded so that her mother knew everything was fine. “I get it. I really do.”

Celestia took hold of the lists and brought them closer. “Thank you for this, Twilight. I think Sunset and I can review what you have listed and together will make our final decision. For now, we will leave you and Miss Windsong to your work that we apologize for interrupting.”

“It was no problem, I enjoyed it. Helping others and making lists are my favorite kind of distractions,” Twilight said with a large, genuine smile. “Thank you for including me.”

Celestia brushed her wing over Sunset’s withers and gestured to the door. Sunset Shimmer glanced back at Twilight who met her eyes. Unable to resist, Sunset smiled and winked, which caused her fellow alicorn to brighten as well, sending a rush of warmth to her purple cheeks. Sunset loved her wife with all her heart, but there was just something childishly satisfying knowing that she could still turn heads or get the blood pumping with just a wink and a smile. Especially with a Twilight Sparkle. Yep, still got it.

Without questioning, Sunset Shimmer followed slightly behind Celestia as she casually strolled out of the castle to the garden. Guards saluted, staff and one tour group bowed their heads in reverence, and even some of the animals in the trees seemed to pay their respects to Celestia as she passed by. Sunset knew it was her mother they were honoring and not her, which was fine… for the most part. All part of the price of choosing to stay out of the spotlight, she reminded her ego and tiny voice in the back of her head.

Sunset knew exactly where her mother was going the moment they had exited the west gate, near the maze and statue garden. On the small hill just to the right of the entrance to the maze garden was an old oak tree. At a glance, the tree itself was not that significant, just a simple white oak that was old, but nowhere near the oldest tree in Equestria or even on the palace grounds. What made it unique was like all the trees within the palace complex they had been approved by long gone grounds keepers and planted at Celestia's blessing during the different phases of construction of the complex centuries ago. Many citizens and visitors often forget such trees did not grow naturally so high up on the mountain plateau. This particular tree was also unique because it was one of Celestia’s favorite spots to relax on a nice clear day.

Sunset had many fond and a few not so fond memories of the exact spot. Reaching back, Sunset recalled being about five and a half years old when Celestia had taken time off from court and other duties to first bring her to the oak tree. They had brought a few books that Sunset could practice reading aloud with and a few carefully swiped pieces of cake from the kitchen. She stood and watched as her mother settled in near the large roots next to a picnic basket that… wait, how long has that been sitting there? Who brought it?

The answer came in the form of a fiery bird landing on Sunset’s back and taking a hard peck and nip at the top of her head. “Ow!” Sunset turned to find Philomena blinking at her and though it should not have been possible, she swore there was a smile on that pointy yellow beak. “Well, hello to you too, bird brain.”

Philomena the phoenix chirped happily at being acknowledged before flying up to land on a branch of the tree just above where Celestia was sitting and setting out plates of food. The entire scene unfolding was painfully nostalgic for Sunset Shimmer now that she took it all in. She could recall with near perfect detail more than one time when the exact setup before her had occurred when she was just a filly. Before she became obsessed with being the best. Before she became a brat of teenager and young mare and ran away.

Sunset shook her head, but the pause had not gone unnoticed by Celestia. Centuries of honing her peripheral vision to the body language cues of conniving nobles was not a skill that faded easily. Celestia finished setting out the food before turning her soft magenta eyes to her daughter who was still standing several paces away, seeing something beyond what was in front of her.

Gently, so as to not startle her and ruin the mood, Celestia inquired, “Something on your mind, my dearest, or are you just taking a trip down memory lane?”

Sunset blinked a few times. “A little bit of both. I remember coming out here under this tree and snuggling into your side while we enjoyed the occasional lunch, or to read. It never lasted anywhere near long enough before Raven or Kibitz came to call you back to whatever duty called in next. It’s… amazing how little has changed.”

“The tree has been well cared for and has certainly added more diameter to what it once was when you truly were my little sun.”

Sunset playfully posed and poked at her flank with a hoof. “Well, the tree is not the only thing that has added some diameter since then. Look at these hips! That’s what two kids will do to you!”

Celestia arched a brow with playful suspicion. “Two? I thought you only birthed Aurora? Was there another yet named granddaughter I should have been made aware of?”

Sunset rolled her eyes as she sat down next to Celestia and began munching on some fresh cut carrots. “Okay, so I didn’t pop Sunna out, but the changes to your body, diet, and lifestyle after raising two kids. Well, I don’t think I need to explain it to you. You popped me out after all.”

Celestia nodded, her face twisting to a painful grimace for a second. “It was not the same with you. I had servants who took care of most of the hard parts while I put the rest of Equestria ahead of raising you as a mother should. I would even ask sometimes if I could change the diapers just to be more involved, but they would always tell me they had it under control. They did not know or understand you were mine, none of them. I should have insisted.”

“Yeah, you did put Equestria first pretty much every time. And yes, I use to resent that, but we’re not under this tree together right now as the sun moves down to my favorite time of day to think about all the bad times and our failures. You chose a surprise picnic for a reason.”

“No special reason actually,” Celestia admitted with a shrug. “They were not ALL bad times… or at least I hope you do not think of them that way. I just… I just wanted to remember. I wanted to think back on those few precious times I got to pretend to be who I really was and recreate that feeling. I’m not the young, picturesque mare I once was. My memory is still plenty sharp, but as you can see, time is starting to catch up to me.”

“What? The grey hair? So what? Rarity started going grey before she even hit thirty, much to her vocal dismay, I might add. Rainbow Dash never lost all her colors, just had some grey mixed in. Doesn’t mean a thing.”

Celestia smiled, taking a few bites of her sandwich before speaking again. “The flattery is appreciated, but I am old, little sun. I have been old for a long time. What that means now is that I must enjoy these moments all the more. I know you understand.”

Sunset wanted to retort, argue back, but there were no lies in her mother’s words. She WAS old, more than two thousand years, heck, maybe more than three thousand years old! No one really knew for sure except her and Luna and neither of them liked to give an exact number. For obvious reasons. Who wants to try to put THAT MANY candles on a cake?! Sunset washed the food down with some pleasant juice, wishing it was something more alcoholic just to calm her constantly racing mind.

“Enough on that. Let us enjoy the sunset then we can talk about where you and I are going to spend a few weeks together. Agreed?”

Sunset Shimmer nodded. "Hey, is it arrogant or conceded that this is my favorite time of day?”

“Not at all. It is mine as well. The colors always reminded me of you everyday even when you were gone.”

They sat beneath the old oak tree side by side, Celestia’s slightly larger wing draped over her daughter’s back, pulling her close. Even though the wing did not completely envelop her anymore, there was just something about the feeling of Celestia’s wing over you, Sunset thought. It just made you feel safe, warm, included. They missed out on so many of such moments. A literal lifetime apart. Such a wasted opportunity for such pitiful reasons. If not for Twi and the good times she had shared on Earth... Time marches on, as they say.

Once the glowing orb slipped below the horizon and the beautiful yellows and oranges began to turn red Sunset let out a pleasant sigh. “Hey, Mom?”

“Yes, dear?”

“What’s your favorite color?”

Celestia smiled and nuzzled her daughter’s mane, kissing the top of her head. “What it has been since the day you were born. The color of your eyes.”

Sunset smiled. She knew the answer, she had asked before when she was a foal and young filly. It was just one of those silly little things Sunset liked to hear. “Just making sure.”

The pair had cleaned up their picnic and retreated to Celestia’s private chambers to continue discussing their vacation plans. Mother and daughter politely nodded to the Solar and Lunar guards as they returned to the castle. Sunset took an extra moment to ensure that the thestral lieutenant who had been there to greet her from the mirror saw her wave. His name was Gauge, if she was not mistaken. They had only spoken a few times over the last year due to different busy schedules. Once done giving orders to a sergeant, Gauge smiled in return and bowed respectfully to them both.

Celestia leaned close to Sunset’s ear. “My little sun, are you aware that for a married mare, you flirt a considerable amount. Tisk, tisk. What would your beloved say?”

“I’m, I’m not flirting! At least not this time! I’m waving, see? If I was flirting with him I would be rubbing my tail under his nose while shaking my rump in a come hither way or something similar.” Celestia giggled and waggled her brow, knowing she had soundly won that little exchange. Sunset tried to play it off with an eyeroll, but knew her cheeks were burning a bit by the way they felt. Yet another reminder of how half her bed had remained empty for a year now. She really did need to take care of that ‘itch’ if Celestia could get a rise out of her so easily. Usually, it took Luna and her lewd insinuations to cause a blush. Damn, I miss Twi. Maybe I can coax her into some mutual dirty talk writing through the journal later. Hehehe! That would be fun.

While they could have just as easily remained under the tree, it was decidedly easier to study the lists that Twilight had so diligently worked on under bright mage lights, with warm tea on the table, and Philomena’s trilling snores in the background as she slept on her perch.

With cooling tea and lists floating in red and gold magical auras the two alicorns sat down to consider all their choices. Celestia had already been over the lists more than once that she and Twilight had compiled. Now she simply waited for Sunset to examine them so they could debate which would be best. Celestia was about to refill her cup when Sunset finally made a ‘huh’ sound, pausing the alicorn from tipping the teapot.

“Something catch your interest?”

“Did you notice that most of these reviews and tourist information packets for Pelican Island are more than ten years… correction, almost twenty years old?”

“I did not. Twilight included that detail?” Sunset flashed her mother a deadpan stare. “Of course she did.”

“It could just be that no travel agencies felt a need to update the information because maybe they just haven’t updated anything in all that time. I mean, here, Sandy Crab Shoals hasn’t been updated in about two years. Maybe this is normal.”

Celestia nodded. “Yet it still caught your eye and piqued your interest.”

Sunset set the parchment down, took a sip, and gathered her thoughts. “Well, we both agreed we want to avoid the most common tourist traps and all the cameras and on lookers that come with that. So, my line of thinking is a place that hasn’t changed or upgraded in over a decade will not be the first choice of most tourist. A kind of ‘been there, done that’ mentality. I mean, as long as the water is clear, the beach is white sand, and I’m not sleeping in a hammock between two trees in a tropical storm I’m good. Unless you have some luxury requirements I should be made aware of?”

Celestia smirked, fully catching the last bit of sass that her daughter slipped into the end of her statement. “As long as the bed is comfortable for these old bones to rest in I have no qualms with sleeping under my sister’s star filled night if I have to.”

Sunset grinned, rolling up the lists and setting them on the table. “Alright. Let’s plan to catch the train to Horseshoe Bay Sunday and on to Pelican Island from there. Don’t need a whole lot to pack. Some scrolls for writing in case inspiration hits, maybe some snorkel goggles… nah, they’ll probably have some for rent and that will help the local economy, right? Oh, and my journal in case I need to talk to Twi.”

Celestia nodded, her smile dipping ever so slightly, but not so subtle it went unnoticed.

“What?”

“Hmm?”

“I mentioned Twi and you frowned.”

The Princess of the Sun frowned, but quickly recovered. “Forgive me for being selfish, little sun. I was just thinking, would it be so wrong if you told your wife we will be gone for two weeks and you will message her when we get back? Sometimes... I see you staring longingly at the journal and it makes you so remarkably sad. It aches my heart wishing she was here with you or that there was a way the two of you could see and hear one another.”

Sunset sighed, setting her teacup aside. After a moment she gathered herself and sat up, shoulders back, a smile on her face. “You’re right. This vacation is for you and I. Twi will understand. I can leave the journal and all my worries behind for a little while. If you want I can even play the part of Aunt Luna and try and hook you up with some island stud of a stallion strutting along the beach.”

“Ugh. Please don’t. It’s embarrassing enough when my sister does it.”

“C’mon, a little hair dye, ooohh even better, how about a full magical disguise! We can make you look like a white pegasus with a blonde mane! A few blue highlights for flair.”

Celestia narrowed her eyes and glared. “Twilight told you about my old incognito adventures around Equestria, didn’t she?”

Sunset tried to hold it in, she really did. Regardless, she failed miserably. The harder she tried to fight down the laughter the more it fought back until her sides hurt and Sunset rolled over and burst out laughing. Celestia just sighed and rolled her eyes.

“Seriously, you thought Sunblind was a good name?”

“Oh, hush, Flanksy.”

Author's Note

I tried to do a bit of imagery building with the tree. It occurred to me that since Canterlot is up pretty high on the side of a mountain that most if not all the landscaping would have had to be brought in. I also wanted to paint a mental picture that not everything had been terrible between the two when Sunset had been young.

Also threw in a few cameo appearances with Gauge and Philomena because, why not?

More to come next week.

Chapter 3: Take a Ride

Breakfast, when Twilight Sparkle was not being whisked away to a morning meeting, was one of those few times all four Canterlot alicorns had an opportunity to sit down together before moving onto whatever had been planned for the day.

Luna, if the night of dream walking was not particularly difficult, gladly joined for breakfast before turning in for a well earned rest. Sunset, it depended on how late she stayed up the night before and if the coffee was fresh. Since Celestia had made the arrangements for the two of them to take the first train east she had awoken before the dawn to assist the kitchen staff with food her sister and daughter were fond of and freshly ground coffee.

A unicorn guard opened the private dining room door he was stationed before, doing his dutiful best to keep his eyes forward when in stumbled the goldenrod alicorn, eyes nearly closed, wild mane doing its best impersonation of a tentacle leviathan monster with strands and fiery locks going every which direction.

The captain of the Solar guard, Tempest Fury, just shook her head and rolled her eyes at the pathetic sight from where she was standing next to Twilight, having just finished giving her report for the week on long range patrols and anomalies. Once Sunset found an empty chair, having felt around for one a bit with a foreleg, Tempest snorted in scoffing disapproval. “How can you even see where you’re going?”

Sunset blinked a few times to clear the blur and crust from her eyes. She met the captain’s vitriol stare and shrugged. “Eyes don’t work at this hour anyhow. The nose knows, that’s all there is to it.”

Tempest turned her attention back to Celestia who happily poured a hot, fresh cup of coffee and was currently plating eggs, buttery toast, and fresh cut pieces of watermelon for her daughter. Even though Celestia was retired as a crowned princess there was a small part of Tempest that wanted to point out the absurdity of the once most important and powerful pony in the world wearing a stained kitchen apron and setting out food for a full grown mare… correction, ALICORN mare, who was more than capable of doing it herself or having one of the paid servants do it. It was not her place to say it though. Perhaps if it was Tempest’s mother doing it for her she would feel different. That, however was never going to happen. Not anymore. Her doing it for a daughter of her own? Also, never likely to happen.

The captain brushed away the dark, bitter thoughts and cleared her throat. “For the record, I would like to say again that I am not pleased with the fact that you two will be traveling to a remote island and are not taking even a single guard or undercover EIS agent with you.” Sunset finished sipping her coffee and set it down before pointing at her horn, then extended her wings, careful to not let them catch fire, and pointed again. “Fine, I get it, ALICORN. Power of all three tribes, blah, blah, blah. But you are still high profile individuals and should have some sort of crowd control backup or bodyguard or two. Something! It’s just… reckless!”

“We will be fine, captain. You made your case for this last night and I still wish this to be a private getaway. We are both more than capable of handling ourselves should an unexpected situation arise.”

Sunset took a long swig of coffee and sighed happily. “I’m really good at setting things on fire.”

"Here, Here!" cried Luna who raised her large coffee mug before returning to her breakfast/dinner.

Tempest scowled… hard. “So I’ve heard. Private Tin Star still refuses to do castle hall patrol. He gladly volunteers for crap assignments if it keeps him away from the palace grounds. He even put in for a tour to join a LRRP team, which I may have to approve or else he might just quit.”

Twilight raised her hoof before Sunset could retort. She did not want her nice breakfast with loved ones and friends to turn sour like so many of her 'work' meetings. “We don’t need to rehash this again, Tempest.”

Tempest sneered for a moment longer before nodding. “As you wish, Your Highness.”

“Good.” Twilight let out a sigh that the matter was shelved for now. Her smile never faltered as she clapped her hooves together. “I take it you two are pack, ready, and excited?”

“I may not look it, but yeah, I am looking forward to getting out of the lion’s den for a bit. As much as I love my music room and working with you in the lab, I could use some time away from it and all the nobles ambushing me with their messengers and servants inviting me to this soirée or that cocktail party. ‘Oh, Miss Shimmer, we’re so glad you are here! Now, stand next to my son who is single and barely out of colthood while enduring his bad flirting and overused cologne. Oh, and let me try and sell you on this idea you can pass along to the princess’ or something to that extent.”

Twilight giggled at Sunset’s overaccentuated, posh accent. “I know exactly how you feel. Thankfully, I will be leaving tomorrow for the empire, which includes leaving behind their fishing games as well.”

“Please do pass on mine and Sunset’s regards to Cadence and that we look forward to seeing her next time she has a chance to visit Canterlot.”

Twilight happily nodded to Celestia, but then paused, turning a concerned eye back to Sunset Shimmer. “Is… is it okay for me to pass that on with your name attached to it?”

Sunset stared down into her coffee. It was strange to think about Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, aka Cadence. On one hand, or hoof rather, Sunset had gotten along quite well with human Cadence. She had gladly on more than one occasion babysat for Flurry Heart with Twi even after Aurora was born. The two children had gotten along well considering the age difference.

Pony Cadence however… Sunset did not hate her, that much she was certain of. Not since letting those feelings go long ago in favor of trying to survive in an unexpected mirror world full of talking, hairless apes that were bent of trying to take advantage of a young, naïve unicorn in the body of a human teenager. Other plans and necessities pushed down bitter thoughts of Cadence for years to where she had completely forgotten about the pink alicorn that Celestia had adopted and taken under her wing.

By the time Sunset had come face to face with one Dean Cadence during the Friendship Games no anger or resentment remained nor would it have been fair to direct any animosity towards the woman who had never met Sunset Shimmer before that day. Now however, when she thought about the ‘Crystal Empress’ on the other side of Equestria all Sunset felt was great shame for her past ill behavior.

“It’s fine, ba- er, Twilight. You can send her my well wishes and regards as well. I mean that.” It was apparently the perfectly right thing to say because when Sunset looked up Twilight was beaming, eyes slightly glassy with carefully controlled emotions. Twilight loved her sister-in-law. For that reason among many Sunset could swallow her own self loathing long enough to put on a small smile and muscle through inner turmoil. It was the least she could do.

The conversation died and the silence grew heavy as the last of the meal was seen to. Thankfully, Celestia moved things along by addressing her sister. “Luna, what did you have planned to keep Princess Flurry Heart occupied while the rest of us are away?”

Luna set her drink down and gestured with her forehooves. “Ah, so I asked the dear filly if there was any part of Equestria she had wished to see. As it turns out she has wanted to for some time to visit the Badlands border providences around Somnambula. Apparently, she is a fan of the regional history and of the legendary mare herself. Who knows, perhaps we will uncover a ancient tomb and have a small discovery adventure of our own.”

Twilight sat blinking with wide eyes while Sunset arched and eyebrow, waiting for the other horseshoe to drop. “That sounds… incredibly low key for her. I expected something with more explosions.”

“History and digging through sand sounds more like something I would enjoy,” added Twilight.

Luna nodded before letting loose a head splitting yawn. “Apparently, she heard a rumor about a cursed tomb filled with undead. She was practically giddy at the idea.”

All the ponies gathered including Tempest all nodded and acknowledged the revelation.

“That makes more sense.” Sunset set her mug down and stretched again, her wings briefly turning to fire, but not long enough to ignite or burn anything. She really needed to practice better control of that particular reaction.

“That still bothers the living crap out of me that they do that. How do you not set yourself on fire? Magical fire is still FIRE,” commented Tempest, stepping back to slide her helmet on. She bowed to all the princesses and even mostly respectably to Sunset as well before letting herself out. Simultaneously, Isabella entered the room and stood by the door staring at Twilight. The ruler of Equestria knew all too well what that meant.

“Well, I guess breakfast is over.” As Twilight stood so did Celestia, Sunset, and Luna. The purple alicorn came around the table and gave Luna a friendly hug. “Have fun, don’t start any wars.”

Luna snorted. “Thou art no fun.”

Twilight next hugged Celestia with one foreleg and Sunset with the other, pulling them both close so that they could all three nuzzles each other. “Have fun you two, but also please be careful.”

Sunset smiled at the warmth and closeness. “We’ll be fine. See you when we get back.”

Although both Twilight and Isabella suggested it, Celestia had elected to not take advantage of her status and request the VIP private car for the train ride to the east coast and last stop of Baltimare. Both she and Luna had been retired (semi-retired) for slightly over a century and had found that spending more time among the common folk of all types of creatures seemed to work well at lessening the frenzy awe of seeing an alicorn outside of the capital.

Sunset Shimmer on the other hand(hoof) chose to maintain her more low profile since her existence in addition to her alicorn status were not as common knowledge outside of Canterlot. Celestia tried to convince her daughter that such excursions were the perfect opportunity to introduce herself to others who were just interested in meeting her and not looking for a chance to pull one over on them. Considering they still had to stop three times on the way to the train station so tourist could have their photo taken with Celestia, Sunset was not buying into the argument.

“It’s better this way,” Sunset started again as they began to settle into their seats for the long afternoon ride. “Everypony knows you, your face is still on a lot of the bits in circulation. Plus, public works sculptures, murals, and what was the last count of how many towns have a Princess Celestia Street? But if I keep my wings covered by my cloak I just look like a big, badass mare bodyguard. No pony or nosey whatever will look too closely at me. Kind of a shame none of my jackets ever make it through the mirror. A leather choker with spikes, maybe some dark eyeliner… oh, and studded gauntlets, yeah! That really would have completed the look.”

“But it’s the middle of summer, dear. Even using magic to regulate your body temperature can get tiresome. Not to mention you will have to take it off once we get to the beach.”

Sunset shrugged her acknowledgment. “Well yeah, but it won’t be a crowded beach. That’s why we picked it.”

“I think you are just being silly. You are a beautiful, wonderful mare and should proudly display yourself and welcome all who wish to say hello to you.”

“And if I did that, then I really would have had to agree with Captain Fury and bring along a platoon just so we could get TO the beach.”

Celestia was about to argue back when a cool grey mare with pink and blue mane nervously waved to get her attention. “Excuse me, Princess Celestia?”

“Yes?”

“Would it be too much for my daughter to shake your hoof and maybe a picture or two?”

Celestia glanced at Sunset who smirked in that smug 'I told you so' way she remembered from long ago and shrugged, scooting back a bit to make sure she was not in the photo frame. Celestia sighed and rolled her eyes internally while outside she smiled warmly and gestured for the filly to approach.

“That would be fine. I love making time for all the little ones.” Celestia pulled the filly up next to her, holding the young earth pony in her foreleg like she had done countless times before. She turned her head back to Sunset for moment.

Sunset’s smug grin fell instantly when she caught a twinkling glint of something mischievous in her mother’s magenta eye. No, she wouldn’t… oh, who am I kidding, of course she would, but…

“What’s your name, little one?”

“Blue Bonnet, but my friends call me B.B.!”

Celestia chuckled politely, her smile genuine. “Well B.B., it is so nice to meet you. Would you like to say hello to my daughter as well?”

Dammit, Mom!

The filly’s honey colored eyes grew twice their previous size. “You have a daughter?”

Celestia nodded to the pony in the black cloak who sighed then put on her best fake smile that ‘usually’ did not scare children. I’m so going to get you back for this, Mom.

“You, you have a daughter?!” the mother parroted, drawing the attention of several other passengers.

The filly waved wildly at Sunset. “Hi! I’m Blue Bonnet!”

Sunset’s smile became more genuine. The filly’s innocent enthusiasm breaking through her heavily fortified defenses and reminded her a great deal of her youngest daughter, Sunna. “Hi, B.B. I’m Sunset Shimmer.”

"I really like your mane!"

Sunset let out a small laugh and thanked the filly, meeting her mother's eyes right as she winked.

Despite a few more picture requests most of the passengers did behave and left mother and daughter be once the train was underway. The ride was smooth and at some point Sunset had dozed off, reawakened for a moment when she felt Celestia using her backside for a pillow, but readjusted and went back to napping. B.B. giggled at the sight of the two of them and poked her mother to point at the wing that was sticking out from under Sunset’s cloak. Quietly, the mother took another picture.

The conductor announced loudly that they would be arriving at Baltimare station in twenty minutes. The information caused many passengers who had nodded off to stir and begin checking themselves and their belongings for arrival. Sunset nudged Celestia, the older mare having to blink the blurriness and crusties from her eyes before a yawn escaped her lips.

“Well, that was delightfully uneventful I would like to admit. You make an excellent pillow, my dear.”

Sunset snorted. “Yeah, Twi says the same thing about my boobs.”

“What are… oh, never mind I believe I know.” Sunset laughed again at her mother’s sour face. “Since it will obviously be too late to charter a ship to the island tonight, what are our plans?”

Sunset tapped her chin. How long had it been since she had seen Baltimare? Since before she ran through the mirror the first time, she estimated. She recalled a day trip, much like the one they had just experienced, except that they had been flown by pegasi pulling the royal chariot. Celestia had to tend to political business with the mayor and representatives so Sunset had been left to explore, under guard escort of course. Ten year old Sunset Shimmer had found the harbor fascinating with all the different ships docked and array of species, some of which she had only read about such as large eagles and abyssinians, working to load and unload cargo. The mechanics of it, both organic and machine had sparked her interest in math and engineering.

“Well, I haven’t been here in forever so how about we just walk about like the tourist we are and then get advice on a good restaurant, maybe find a decent hotel for the night. Sound good?”

Celestia nodded. I would suggest the hotel first to store our luggage then sightseeing.”

Since they were not in town for any official purpose Celestia had selected a far less expensive hotel that still offered two full sized beds on the grounds of ‘she had never stayed there before.’ It was as sound logic as any other. Sunset did not feel she had a single leg to stand on because she and Twi had done the same thing more than once when they stayed in a town they had been to before. Every hotel is a little different. Sunset thought. Spice of life and all that jazz.

The clerk at the Watershed Hotel nearly had a heart attack when Celestia approached the desk and asked for a room with their needed accommodations. The clerk boasted that the executive suite would serve them best given their requests. Sunset was about to scoff, but considering that the ‘executive suite’ was still cheaper than most of the average VIP rooms in most Canterlot hotels it was hardly worth arguing about.

The décor was standard, the paint scheme was bland and mostly muted earth tones, and the view was decent considering the location. It had two beds that should suffice even if not the most plush or comfortable either had slept on. Though to be fair, it was hard for any bed, even a royal suite, to beat a bank of fluffy white clouds. The large washroom was probably big enough for two to bathe in making it acceptable for either of them for the night. After a quick run through mother and daughter concluded it was all they needed.

When the pair returned to the desk, the clerk jumped again, bowing his head multiple times. Both Sunset and Celestia found the entire display a bit pathetic, but kept it to themselves with a wordless exchange of eye rolls and careful facial gestures. It was kinder to not wound his pride since he had obviously never stood before an alicorn before. Heh. If he knew he was standing before TWO alicorns he probably would keel over.

“Thank you, the room will do for the night. There is one other thing you can do for us, however,” commented Celestia when he stopped groveling long enough for her to catch his attention. “Are there any restaurants you would recommend?”

“Baltimare, being a bustling melting pot of all sorts of cross culture overlap, naturally has unique accommodations to support all who visit us, Your Highness. There is a lovely restaurant row down by the harbor along with great views of all the ships and cityscape. I would personally recommend Greens and Things.”

“Thank you,” Celestia replied graciously before starting towards the door. Sunset took a moment glance back over her shoulder and it looked like the poor little stallion was still about to faint.

“Sheesh.”

Celestia smirked at Sunset once the door closed behind them. “You get used to it eventually. I actually find those behavioral mannerism quite endearing simply for their honesty. Even though I could do without the excess sweat odor that some produce.”

“I can see that. At least you know they’re being genuine unlike half the ponies in court with their game faces on. I remember that from all those times I sat in with you. Got that in the other world too from time to time, in the workplace and such. Not the groveling, the fake smiles while they are plotting to stab you in the back.”

Celestia paused to glance down at her daughter, face strained with concern. “I do hope you are speaking figuratively.”

“Meh. I’m sure some thought about it. Especially some of the other parents from the PTA and extracurricular clubs. I could feeeeeel their seething jealousy of Twi and I sometimes even without a magical mind reading geode.” Sunset touched her wedding ring and sighed. “I miss my geode sometimes.”

Celestia nodded as they continued down the street. Every now and then a pony would bow politely or wave, some took pictures, but thankfully none tried to stop them from walking. Though Celestia, and to a lesser extent Sunset, stuck out in a crowd it was well known common knowledge that Twilight Sparkle was the high princess and The Goddess of the Sun was retired. Despite her earlier misgivings and much to Sunset’s surprise, most ponies in Baltimare seemed to respect that fact. Perhaps Celestia had been right and she could have left the cloak at the hotel.

“You seem troubled, little sun.”

“Not troubled,” Sunset replied, scanning about, gesturing a bit with a hoof. “Just surprised.”

Celestia smiled and let slip one of her famous closed mouth giggles. “I tried to tell you, if you let them see you more the awe inspiring new eventually wears off. Trust me, Luna and I went through this for years. Let them see you, get used to who and what you are and then maybe, perhaps eventually, you will find that some will approach you as just another pony and not ‘royalty’ as it were. That is what you prefer, yes?”

“Kind of like that desk clerk?”

Celestia rolled her eyes. “I did say 'some.' I think we can both agree that poor stallion just needed to get out more.”

“I’m also pretty sure he was checking out your backside as we walked away. We could ask Aunt Luna if he has dreams about you.”

Celestia giggled again, adding a little extra sashay to her hips. It had been ages since she had actually felt 'attractive' even if it was all for fun. And Celestia had to admit, profoundly, as she walked alongside her daughter that she was absolutely having fun. “As well he should. I do still have the rump of a goddess, after all.”

Author's Note

More playful banter between all the characters that I am quite enjoying. So I thought it important to point out here that even though Sunset would have been mildly surprised to meet a human Cadence (Not blown away since she met human Celestia) That by the time of the Friendship Games she would have been able to keep her knee jerk reaction in check and remind herself that they are two separate individuals.

Things continue next week.

Questions? Comments?

Chapter 4: Avoid the S.S. Minnow

Dinner had been a quiet affair and surprisingly, no other creatures bothered them for photos or requests. Greens and Things had been a high quality buffet of every fruit and vegetable imaginable. Sunset had to double check the name tags on some of the dishes because she had never heard of them, but if they smelled good she was willing to take a risk. Some had been sauced, others caramelized while others still had kissed the grill and bore distinctive blacked markings. What was more unexpected was the other half of that restaurant title. Things.

Since Baltimare was a port town the buffet also catered to other creatures besides ponies that were visiting for business or pleasure. Closer to the back of the buffet section there was a large selection of fish and other cooked seafood as well. Much to Sunset’s surprise, Celestia had added a selection of fish that bore a striking similarity to sushi presentation and cooked crab bites to her plate.

Sunset had been no stranger to carnivorous diets having now lived among humans for most of her life. When she had first exiled herself on Earth it had come as quite the shock the abundance of animal based meals. In those early days before she even had her own roof over her head, Sunset had to eat what was given to her and had choked down meatloaf and spam as well as whatever else would keep her insides from twisting in starvation quickly followed by whatever would wash the taste from her mouth. Water had been useless. Soda or milk had been far more effective. It was not something she cared to think about and quickly dismissed the memories that the smells, thankfully, only partially brought to mind.

Twi mostly stuck to a similar vegetarian diet that Sunset followed because, in truth, it was healthier and better for the environment. Not to mention the thought of actively choosing to eat another animal and not for survival still made Sunset slightly nauseous. Twi loved and respected her wife and her dietary lifestyle so, they had worked out a system. When the mood struck her, Twi would simply say or leave a note that she was going out for some protein and eat a hamburger or steak on her own so Sunset would not have to see or smell it. Seafood and fish did not bother Sunset as much, but red meat, chicken, and pork were definitely off the table.

Celestia had offered some of the crab bites to Sunset, but the goldenrod alicorn simply pointed to her greens with chopped hard boiled egg as the closest she would come to meat, even fish. Her mother simply shrugged and enjoyed her plate.

After a quiet evening walk along the harbor the two had returned to the hotel and turned in for the night. Naturally, Celestia awoke with the dawn while Sunset was sprawled about, wings, mane, and tail every which direction. She sat by her daughter’s bed, quietly brushing her mane, mentally noting that only the slightest of her pastel colors remained. Celestia grimaced at that glaring fact, but let it pass as her attention returned to enjoying the sight of her beloved daughter snoring lightly, mouth slightly agape with a bit of drool staining the pillow. She simply stared, wanting to preserve this sight and memory forever. Just the two of them. No retainers, no guards, no worries or responsibilities. Simply an old mother and her adult daughter sharing a vacation together. Her eyes returned to the gray mane. Possibly for the last time.

One teal eye cracked open slightly. “Takahpichsure, itill laslogger.”

Celestia covered her face with a hoof while she laughed, fairly certain what was said, but still asked, “What was that, dear?”

Sunset rolled out of bed and landed on the floor in a lump with her pillow and blanket. “Ow.” Was the most she could muster from her pitiful position. After a few tries, Sunset finally stood and stared through a jungle of red and gold highlighted mane, wings askew, with feathers going every which direction.

“Take a picture, it’ll last longer.”

“Alas, I did not think to pack a camera.”

Sunset grunted in understanding. “My phone had a camera, but I left it back home.”

Celestia winced ever so slightly at the comment, ‘back home.’ Sunset was busy yawning and did not notice and the older alicorn quickly recovered. She silently scolded herself. Though out of practice for certain, Celestia was disappointed with herself thus far this trip at controlling her expressions.

This was the second time Sunset had mentioned something from the human world that caused her to slip and falter. Much like Princess Twilight, Celestia had grown fond of having Sunset in Equestria every day and the thought of her leaving again for 30 more moons… a discussion for another day for certain, but not too far off. There were many things in the wide, wide world Celestia could ask for and instantly have them granted. Time was not one of them. Her eyes once again lingered on her silky, freshly brushed gray mane.

“Perhaps we can find one at a shop. However, I believe our first order of business, after I attack your mane with a brush, is to find you coffee.”

Sunset smiled warmly, swaying as if she might fall over. “I love you, Mom.”

The Baltimare docks were as busy first thing in the morning as they had been when the pair had arrived the evening before. Once breakfast and coffee were seen to the next order of business was finding a boat to charter to the island. According to Twilight’s research she had provided there were several small ventures that catered to customers looking for island adventures and vacations. Considering such tours and getaways were big money makers it was no surprise there were several large billboards advertising exactly what the pair were looking for.

Celestia nudged Sunset with a wing and pointed towards a small wooden building that was little more than a two room wooden shack by the dock piers and moored ships, ready and waiting for use. Sunset levitated the last of her coffee over and guzzled it before disposing of the cup and moving to the door of the “Sea Dog Tours.”

A few polite knocks and Sunset opened the door when she heard a raspy, masculine voice reply that it was open. Unsurprising, the space was tight and cluttered with brochures, magazines, and photos of locations up and down the Equestrian coastline as well as a few places Sunset did not immediately recognize.

“Be right with y-” The pause was not entirely unexpected. “Well now, wasn’t expecting a royal entourage visitation, that’s for sure,” said the aqua blue colored stallion with salt and pepper colored mane. He stroked his beard, which still had a few hints of red in it.

“Actually, we’re not here as part of any entourage or official capacity. Just two regular ponies looking to hit the islands for a small vacation, Mister…”

“Steady Course. Fifth generation sailor and was born to it, as the name implies. I know the Eastern Island chain like I know my very own hooves. Got a particular place in mind or would a pretty, young, 'regular' mare like yourself prefer ol’ Steady pick it out for you? You know, in case you and the princess are looking for something more... discreet.”

Sunset face hoofed and groaned.

Celestia laughed politely. Sunset recognized it as her fake, humoring a dumb noble who made a ridiculous faux pas, laugh.

“Okay, first of all…” Celestia placed a hoof on Sunset cutting her off before the rant ball began to roll.

“You are in fact correct, Steady Course. We are planning to go somewhere discreet, but not for the reason you imply. This, is my daughter.” Sunset lifted part of her cloak to reveal the folded wing underneath. Both of the old sailor’s eyes widened significantly. “Now, we had our hearts set on a small, out of the way destination called Pelican Island. I assume you know it?”

Steady snorted and grimaced. “Yeah, I heard of it. Ain’t been there myself in many moons, dare say ten years or more. Lots of sailors I know of ripped it out of the brochures. I heard all kinds of rumors and such. Some say it’s haunted, others say ships go, but never come back. I’m a superstitious sort like many salt ponies, don’t like to press my luck. How about Coconut Beach? It ain’t too big and popular this time of year.”

Sunset glanced to Celestia who had also arched an eyebrow and glanced at her as well. Sunset took the bait first. “What do you mean, haunted and never come back?”

“Surely if there is a problem of the sort involving lost lives due to environment or piracy that local law enforcement would have investigated.”

Steady nodded twice. “They did. And they never came back either.”

Well now this has Scooby Doo mystery written all over it. “Annnnnd nopony contacted Canterlot or the royal guard? The EIS? Anything?”

“Not sure if it ever went up the chain to your office, Your Highness. Figure it if had, you or Princess Sparkle would have sent some ponies out here years ago and certainly would not be looking into it yourselves for a vacation spot. Ain’t no telling what happened to the deputies that went out or the other sailors. Maybe they just loved it so much they stayed? Ain’t unheard of. Dodging old debts, maybe an angry wife who caught her stallion with his wick in the wrong wax jar. Stuff happens, that’s life. But when too much happens and no reason floats to the surface? That there's trouble that’s just better left alone.”

Sunset nudged Celestia and the two stepped back by the door to speak quietly. “So, do we go someplace else or…”

“Like you, I am intrigued that these incidents never reached Canterlot. I am sure if a guard were to dig deep enough they would find an incident report, perhaps a missing pony filing that was never followed up upon. However, this is our vacation. We could go elsewhere and send guards and agents to investigate in two weeks. Whatever has transpired has gone on long enough that our time away will not affect the outcome.”

Sunset nodded. She understood what Celestia was saying and also heard the unspoked, “but” that was sitting on the tip of her tongue. Ignorance truly was bliss and knowing about mysterious disappearances now meant that she would not stop thinking about them, especially for two weeks when they were so close to the source. They had both decided without having to say a thing.

“So, how much would it cost for you to take us to Pelican Island?”

Steady grunted and shook his head. “Even after what I just told you, you still want to go? Damn thrill seekers… uhh, no offense, Your Highnesses.”

“I’m actually not a princess any longer and my daughter has never been officially coronated. We are just two, though distinguished, concerned citizens of Equestria. We do want to have a good time, however, if there are lives in danger we also have an obligation to not just the royal office, but to the citizens as a whole to see if the rumors are unfounded or not.”

“Besides,” Sunset carefully unfurled both her wings so as not to set her precious cloak on fire and displayed them proudly. Celestia following suit. “we’re not your average tourist.”

Steady’s eyes glassed over as his jaw hung open a bit at the majestic sight of two alicorns on full display before him. Sunset smirked and reached out, gently closing it. He shook his head and subconsciously rubbed where Sunset had touched him as if he had just received a blessing from a goddess. After clearing his throat, he began to gather a few things about the room.

“Hard to argue with the facts. Alrighty, let me get the ship prepared. That should give you time to gather any things you want or need as well. Be back here in one hour. If I remember correctly it will take about six hours to reach the outer chain where Pelican is. Should put you in there just after mid-day or so I reckon.”

“We will go collect our necessities and return shortly,” stated Celestia matter-of-factly. The two alicorns showed themselves out. They exchanged a few glances, neither wearing a happy or excited smile any longer. Once off the docks and clear of most others Celestia turned her eyes to the sky and few clouds above.

“Are we really going to torpedo our own vacation? I’m not saying we shouldn’t it’s just…”

Celestia sighed before leaning over to nuzzle her daughter, wrapping a wing around her to pull her close. Sunset took the public affection for what it was, love. “I may not be in charge any longer, but in my heart they are all still and will forever be my little ponies. If some are in danger or in need… I have to help. It calls to me like the sun itself.”

Sunset smiled and nodded. “And if need be we’ll save them, together. And if not needed, we’ll still have white sandy beach, drinks, and great views to savor.”

Reluctantly, Celestia asked, “Views to savor?”

Sunset rolled her eyes. “You’re really going to make me spell it out? Fine, hot serving stallions and mares. Good, harmless eye candy. Out here we can enjoy looking at all the splendor without worrying about some staff member spreading a rumor or somepony running off to the press or nobility to comment. Imagine it. A pretty or ripped young stud Just hoofs you over your drink, you smile and maybe wink, then, you sit back and watch as they walk away. YUM.”

Celestia giggled. “You and Luna are insatiable, I swear it.”

Sunset replied maturely by blowing a raspberry. “I love my wife with all my heart and she knows that without question.
Despite my numerous failings she somehow still puts up with me because she also knows I am nerdy, dirty, and flirty and I want to see some hot flanks on a beach.”

Celestia smiled and shook her head. Two could play this game. “I imagine I was no better when I was your age at less than two hundred years old. Did I ever tell you about how in the early days after Luna and I were coronated that stallions would travel from all corners of the land to try and attempt to court us by challenging one another to compete in various competitions?”

“I know I’m going to regret asking, but what sort of competitions?”

Celestia paused to tap her chin, pretending to have to dig deep and contemplate the events from the early founding days that Sunset was fairly sure did not show up in the approved history textbooks. Sunset arched a suspicious eyebrow at her mother’s mischievous side eye smirk and immediately regretted taking the bait. “Oh, the usual from that era. Test of strength and arms, test of speed and agility, and of course the test of who could ejaculate the farthest.”

“Seriously?! I’ve never read about that, that, that was a thing?! That’s just… in public?! Just… EW!”

Celestia continued to smile as she sauntered away victorious.

Preparations had been relatively simple. They checked their bags from the hotel and paid the bill. Before returning to the docks however, Celestia had composed a letter to send back to Canterlot detailing what they had learned and that they were still going to enjoy their vacation, but also to investigate the rumors. She included a small reminder that, if necessary, Twilight could have Spike send her a dragon fire message since they would likely not receive any other correspondence in a timely manner on the island. Celestia signed the letter and paid the extra bits to have a pegasus courier express deliver it to Tempest Fury who would in turn ensure that Twilight was kept in the loop quicker than the usual channels.

With that in order Sunset was about to move to the exit of the post office when Celestia cleared her throat and stepped over to the next line for picking up incoming packages. Two ponies tried to bow and wave Celestia ahead, but she insisted on waiting her turn.

"Expecting something?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. Before we departed I asked the kitchen staff to assemble a provisions crate just in case the island's supply chain was in dire straights and we needed to get coffee in you. There should also be various other preserved favorites and an array of spices. More than enough for our entire two week stay."

"Nice. Did you let Twilight make a list of what we may need?" Celestia simply smiled. "You did, didn't you?" Celestia rolled her eyes, but continued to smile.

With ten minutes to spare from the appointed time, Celestia and Sunset found themselves standing before a small vessel that calling it a ship would have been too complimentary. From bow to stern the Easy Money was maybe fifteen meters. While the white ship with blue paint stripes from bow to stern did have an impressive mast and sails Sunset could also see that it was designed with an inboard/outboard motor and prop propulsion as well. Considering the earth pony operator that probably meant enchanted motor or some kind of fuel oil boiler operation. Something she could inquire about later given the six hour estimated time of arrival.

Once their luggage and crate were stored in the small cargo space below and Celestia and Sunset had settled in, Steady Course had made himself busy getting the ship out of the harbor. Considering his age, Sunset found it interesting to watch the older stallion work the rigging and sails all by himself. She contemplated asking if there was anything she could do, but A: she was supposed to be on vacation and B: this was what they paid him for. With nothing else to do and little to see once they were beyond the taxi lanes with open water ahead both she and Celestia settled in with books occasionally exchanging small talk.

True to his word, the first sight of an island on the horizon occurred at nearly six hours after getting underway. Celestia finished peeling oranges for everyone when Steady lowered the sails and brought the ship to a halt, letting the currents take control while he grumbled, raising a pair of binoculars. Something was clearly bothering the sailor, but he was not vocalizing it in a way that either alicorn could understand. After the third time he had lowered his binoculars and switched positions Sunset had had enough.

“No offense, but if you need a better view we both have wings and can get you higher than that little mast can go.”

Steady flashed the goldenrod alicorn an incredulous glare. “Did you just call my mast little?”

“Okay, euphemisms aside, stop being so prideful and let me hover you.” Steady grumbled one more time before nodding.

“Would you rather I -”

“I got this, Mom.”

Sunset Shimmer could have just as easily levitated the earth pony, but she wanted to try and see whatever it was that was bothering the old sailor. Hooking her forelegs behind the stallion’s Sunset easily hauled the other pony into the air with her, careful to focus her wing flaps so that they would not catch fire and scare her passenger as well as alert any potential hostiles to their location. After a few minutes of scanning with her pegasus sharp eyes Sunset could not make out anything that struck her as unusual. She was even fairly certain she had seen figures moving around on the beach, but only just barely. With a grunt Sunset returned them to the deck.

Celestia passed each of them oranges that they both quickly consumed, her eyes scanning the distant coast line and surrounding horizon for anything unusual. There was… something tickling her magical senses, but it was faint. It was difficult to discern what was giving her the unusual sensation. She turned to look at Sunset who nodded in understanding.

“I feel it too. I don’t know what I’m feeling, but there is some sort of passive energy either coming from the island or surrounding it. Could be any number of things, not all of them horrible.”

“Well, that’s comforting,” grumbled Steady, helping himself to another orange. “If memory serves me correctly there was a dock and welcome center on the north side of the island. We can move a little closer before the draft and reef become an issue. I just didn’t want to get too close in case it was a pirate haven and berth now. Most pirates out this way only want your valuables, but they’ll gladly take your ship if you don’t have a worthwhile cargo.”

Sunset snorted, fluffing her occasionally combustible wings. “I’m sure me and big wooden pirate ships would get along juuuuust fine.”

“Nevertheless, we should still approach with caution. Please guide us to the shore, captain. Sunset and I will remain here and stand ready for whatever may happen.”

Steady Course sighed, run a hoof through is mane and then down through his beard. He may not have had a horn, but there was something setting his instincts off and he had half a mind to turn the ship around and sail home. “If I knew this place would give me this much of the creeps I would have asked for more coin. Alright, in we go.” The two alicorns stood side by side as the engine sprang to life and the ship moved forward.

Author's Note

Creeepy vibes, no visible vacationers, what could possibly go wrong?

Questions and Comments always welcomed.

Chapter 5: Hotel California

Half an hour after the decision was made to move forward the Easy Money sailed in through the marked channel and was secured to the docks. Steady Course was both unsurprised and equally annoyed that no one came from the hotel structure to help secure the boat or help with luggage. They knew they were not alone, even upon approach the three had noted and commented on spotting ponies along the beach. Whether they were guests or locals no indication was given and whoever they were they had not rushed to see the arrival once the ship was secured.

Something about the situation or “just an uneasy feeling,” as Sunset put it, motivated the younger alicorn to once again conceal herself beneath her velvety cloak despite the tropical weather and salt spray. The spirit of Rarity would just have to forgive her if anything got on the custom fashion accessory. Celestia would have liked to of rolled her eyes as paranoid nonsense, but could not completely deny that her senses were also leaning to the err of caution. It of course was possible that if the tourism business had been so terrible for the island locals for so long that there simply were not enough ponies on staff to come help with mundane operations such as mooring and valet greetings. That sounded too optimistic even in her own head.

That all changed however when Celestia had stood up and made her presence truly known. Once her hooves touched the docks a portly, lime green pony emerged from the main structure at the end of the docks and up the ramp. Several other ponies emerged from the dunes and came running down the beach to get a closer look at the new arrivals. All of them bent a knee and a few of the younger ones completely threw themselves down into sand. Celestia tried to discourage them, but they had already assumed the worship or groveling positions.

“P-Princess Celestia!” a bright yellow earth pony stammered, “I never thought I would see an alicorn princess with my own two eyes!”

Celestia glanced for a moment back at Sunset who remained on the boat while carefully eyeing the locals. Seeing that Sunset had no plans to help share in the spotlight, Celestia straitened her posture and took up her regal pose she had practiced even while sleeping. “Thank you all for the warm greeting, but please, rise. I am here on vacation. There is no need to throw yourselves in the sand.”

“Vacation? Seriously?”

“Shh!” hissed the lime green pony who had emerged from the hotel. “Of course, Your Highness! We just… did not expect to see you is all. Please allow us, your humble servants, to take your things to our finest room. I, Grassy Rio, owner and operator of this establishment on Pelican Island gladly welcome you.”

“Thank you, sir. Is the room big enough to accommodate my companions as well?”

“If it’s all the same, Your Highness, I’ll be staying on my ship until I’m ready to depart.”

Celestia nodded to Steady Course in understanding. “I guess it’s just you and I, lit-“

“Captain Tempest Fury of Her Majesty’s Royal Guard. I need to inspect the accommodations before we move the princess’s bags to the room,” Sunset interjected before Celestia could finish. “Please, lead the way.” Celestia pouted her lip a bit, but Sunset’s eyes told her mother that it was best to play the part for the moment.

“Absolutely, right this way, captain,” said Grassy Rio leading the way.

The young, bright yellow stallion took the two bags and threw them over his back. Neither Celestia nor Sunset had packed much, but it was still impressive, Sunset thought, to handle both bags without so much as a flinch or grunt. Celestia followed the porter with Sunset just a step behind, carefully observing all their facial expressions and body language with well honed ease. Their reaction to Celestia’s arrival was about what she expected, but their quick turnabout to downtrodden at hearing she was simply on vacation had come as a surprise. They were hiding something, or were too scared to admit they needed help. Further observations would be required. Glad I packed a sword, so to speak.

The room was obviously two regular rooms that had been renovated to be one large luxury suite since both halves were identical, but facing opposite of one another, with support columns added to the middle around a central lounge. The large bay windows had privacy blinds when closed, otherwise they had an uninterrupted view of the beach and crashing waves. It would have been pleasing if the situation was more relaxing, both mother and daughter thought.

The four beds, unsurprisingly, were not really made for alicorns, but Sunset concluded they could probably push the sets together and make two beds that would be adequate. A glance to Celestia told her that her mother had a similar idea in mind. They could probably even put three together and sleep next to one another, which would probably be smarter for security reasons. The entire simple, low tech setup reminded Sunset of a beach villa she and Twi had stayed in along the Greek Mediterranean. That had been a fun week.

With a shake of her head Sunset returned to reality and gestured for the pony holding the bags to enter and set them down. He did so, but did not immediately turn to leave. Sunset reached under her cloak, careful to keep her wings hidden, and fished out a gold bit from her small purse she had.

“Thanks for carrying those, everything looks good.” Sunset offered the bit, the young stallion appearing as if he wanted to say something, but glanced to the door where Grassy Rio was standing, whispering something to Celestia that she was only partly listening to. Without saying a word Sunset Shimmer tried to convey that if he had something he wanted to say privately he could find her later, but was uncertain if he picked up the signal cue. It had been a long time, but Sunset desperately wished she still had her geode to skim what the young pony was thinking.

“I’ll be around in case you need anything else.” He turned to leave.

“You know my name, how about you tell me yours so I can thank you properly.”

The stallion hesitated for a moment longer, glancing over his shoulder, but finally nodded. “Cedar Hill, ma’am.”

Sunset nodded, adding her best disarming smile that she hoped would convey trust. Celestia nodded to the younger pony as well as he quickly slipped out. She thanked Grassy Rio again before closing the door in his face. Without hesitating, Celestia threw a privacy bubble up over the entire room.

“Grassy Rio is not the one in charge here, not truly, and whoever is has him terrified that we have come.”

Sunset had already started moving the beds, but paused to turned and arch her brow. “Did he tell you that?”

“No, but I have dealt with enough sniveling, hoof licking, peons over the years to know when somepony is simply following orders to save their own hide. I could practically smell the fear dripping from his sweat that had nothing to do with the tropical weather.”

Sunset set the beds down, ultimately deciding to put three together and the third to the side in case the captain changed his mind. Celestia smirked and nodded in approval. “Well, do we just investigate on our own or do we call for help?”

Celestia pondered for a moment, tapping her hoof against her chin. “I think until we know more we should play the roles we have chosen for the moment. That of course might be more difficult for you though, ‘Captain Fury.’”

Sunset rolled her eyes and removed her cloak. She concentrated for a moment and lit her horn. With a shimmer of red magical energy Sunset’s wings faded as if there were never there. Sunset waggled her brow and gestured, fishing for praise.

“I have performed illusions spells as well, little sun. As you may recall, I once held a spell in front of crowds for months to hide my pregnancy.”

“Oh, I’m not pointing at my invisible wings, I’m looking for compliments on my butt. Just look at it! Mmmhmm! I have a great rump!”

Celestia snorted and laughed.

As far as Sunset and Celestia could tell they were not the only guests... sort of, but the other ponies they were sharing the hotel with seemed distant and weary instead of relaxed vacationers. They just sat there in the foyer, their vacant expressions and sluggish movements only galvanized the alicorns’ resolve to discover what was ACTUALLY happening on this island. Especially after they had almost no reaction to seeing Celestia.

Sunset had visited many hotels in her long life between two world. Some had been on par with Canterlot Castle as far as size, grandeur, and luxurious opulence. With sweeping architectural design choices that made both her and Twi question the mathematics of what was possible with concrete, steel, and glass.

She had stayed in dumps that would have terrified many “westerners” especially women, in regards to sanitation and personal safety. Another fine example of reading the fine print and not trusting the provided images in the travel brochure.
Sunset had even stayed in similar beachside bungalows that had been little more than logs roped together with palm roofs, sandy floors, and cutout, nonexistent windows. However, they all had one thing in common even if at varying degrees of quality. Service. All hotels were built upon the backbone of being a service industry. The only difference between any place, anywhere in the world, in either world was what you were willing to pay to get those services. That was what you were paying for. Well, that and a bed. Or if you were in Texas at a Best Western for those Texas shaped waffle irons because fresh waffles off the iron are soooooo good.

Sunset shook the thought of waffles from her mind and paused in the lobby to see if she could spot a menu for the evening or anything that would indicate a preparedness for paying guests. There was none. Grassy Rio was by the front desk, but Sunset was unsure where Cedar Hill or any other staff may have gone. She was not entirely sure if Cedar Hill was even staff or just a relative that got drafted.

“Heading out, Your Highness?”

Celestia paused and glanced at the proprietor. “That is correct. The captain and I are going to go enjoy the beach for a bit and then watch Twilight set the sun. I hope that dinner will be ready by the time we return. I am interested to see what your cook can prepare for us.”

The lime green stallion scratched at his nappy burnt orange mane. “We… I will go ahead and apologize, Your Highness, but we haven’t received much in the way of quality meal ingredients in some time. I am afraid that the choices will be… limited.”

Sunset scowled at Grassy Rio in her best impersonation of Tempest Fury. She glanced to Celestia then back to the stallion. “I understand that this island has fallen out of favor with the major travel agencies, we found that fact ideal to avoid major crowds, but a failure to provide even basic quality meals is a serious breach of hospitality management. This will be noted in Canterlot upon our return and may require health and workplace inspectors to schedule a visit soon after we depart.”

“I’m not sure…”

Celestia smiled, her magenta eyes took on a faint glow with a hint of a sparkle in them. If Sunset had been looking at her mother instead of straight ahead she would have recognized the expression as her, ‘Did you really just try to talk back to me?’ look. “I had a sneaking suspicion that I would not be able to get some of the things I desired as well as my more precise dietary restrictions laid out by my regular physician. So, I brought a few crates of my favorites in magical stasis and preservative. Please send some of your staff to the ship and ask the good captain to bring the crates out for you to use. Sooner rather than later would be preferable, sir.”

Grassy Rio fumbled for a bit before finally bowing his head. “At once, princess.” Sunset, still doing her best to imagine what Tempest would have done, pointed her hoof at her eyes and then back at the lime green pony.

With that apparently settled, Celestia continued to the beach with Sunset at her side. Once they were on the white sand and Sunset was certain they were out of earshot she commented, “That was clever of you bringing the extra food. Although, if we end up feeding everypony those supplies will only last a few days instead of two weeks.”

Celestia nodded, enjoying the smell of the salt in the air as the waves gently crashed on the sand before once again retreating. It had been many years, but she once again understood why Sunset also enjoyed the feeling of walking on cool white sand while looking out over the vast, endless horizon of ocean. She and Luna had tried to retire to a beach resort town not long after abdicating to Twilight more than a century ago. Technically they still had a house in Silver Shoals. She wondered briefly if it was empty or if the city had repurposed it for something. A curiosity to check in on later.

Celestia let the thoughts pass as she stared out over the water. She had seen the near indescribable event horizon of the universe itself, but that was a magically induce perspective. It was not the same as seeing the world before her with mortal pony eyes.

Mortality was still such a strange thing to wrap her mind around. She had been an all but immortal alicorn for more than two thousand years and had to make a conscious effort to NOT see what was around her as such a being. The Goddess of the Sun. Sol Invictus they sometimes called her. The titles may have stuck, but as Celestia turned her eyes to the glowing orb as it began to plunge behind the horizon, all without her guidance and assistance, she had to wonder…

“Daughter.”

“Hmm?”

“Are the sunsets on Earth more beautiful than the ones that I or Twilight make?”

Sunset wanted to take the question seriously, she really did. Especially with how earnestly her mother had asked with that subtle undertone of prideful concern. Sunset understood well how it felt to have your artwork critiqued. However, she still snorted and shook her head earning a sour glare from Celestia.

“Sorry, it’s not really a fair comparison. Your sunsets were always perfect. Just the right amount of color. Twilight basically just mimics your work with Swiss watch precision because it's Twilight. Not to take anything away from her, but yeah. She doesn’t add any of her own creativity or touch to it, just more of the same.

“Now, on Earth, the sunset is a matter of planetary rotation and is augmented by whatever happens to be floating in the air at the time. Industrial pollution, charged solar flares, sometimes the light gets really dirty bent and you can see some of the most crimson reds as if the sky itself is bleeding fire. And like I said, no matter where I am this is my favorite time of day.”

Sunset paused hug her mother with an invisible wing. “But back to your question. Like I said, not really a fair comparison. On Earth, sunset just happens. Here, it was the artistic work of my teacher, my mentor, and my mother. Hands down, or rather hooves down. The sunset here is the best.”

Celestia smiled serenely, her eyes unaffected by the glowing orb as the last of it slipped below the water, one last flash of light as if it waved goodnight. “Thank you.”

“If I’m being completely honest though, *I’m* still the most beautiful sunset of all.”

Celestia gave her daughter a friendly body bump before picking her up in a telekinetic field and dropping her into the next wave that splashed over Sunset’s legs and barrel. “You are such a brat sometimes.”

Sunset screeched, “EEEEEEEEEeeee! Cooooooold! Coldcoldcoldwhyisthedamnwatersoooooocold! I thought this was the tropics!”

Celestia jigged her head back and forth while grinning which only caused Sunset to burst out laughing as well, shaking the salt water from her fur. “Okay, fine, I deserved that, but I am what I am.”

Sunset’s expression shifted quickly to a stern face and without even having to turn to look Celestia knew one or more of the locals had approached. Her genuine smile was replaced with a Canterlot royal court mask, a tight lipped smile as she turned, allowing the wind to enhance her already billowing mane. Standing on the top of the dune were three young teenaged ponies, two colts and a filly. At a second glance she did notice the distinct stipe pattern of zebra heritage in one of the colts. Sunset also noticed they looked a bit on the malnourished side. She wondered if Celestia noticed that fact as well.

“Can I help you, my little ponies?”

They each looked at one another then back at the hotel. With a few shared nods the three threw themselves down into the sand before Celestia. The one in the middle, the colt with mostly brown colors and faint black zebra stripes spoke first, almost afraid to lift his head to the towering alicorn before him.

“Please forgive us, Your Highness. I know we are interrupting, but, well if you don’t know you will find out soon enough and you are our best chance to get out of this place alive. Without you, we are all trapped here and are little more than walking dead.”

Sunset came to sit next to Celestia and raised a hoof. “Hey, whoa, slow down there, kiddo. What do you mean walking dead?”

“Please,” Celestia added, “If there is something nefarious going on you must tell us so that we can assist any way we can.”

The three rose, but their expressions remained beaten and crestfallen, ears flat against their heads. The zebra/pony spoke again. “This island has been cursed and we’re all trapped here, unable to leave.”

Author's Note

Happy Turkey Day week for those that celebrate that sort of thing. To everyone else, Happy Sunday Night.

I had more time today than I probably will have tomorrow or Tuesday so I went ahead and pushed this through. That said, if you spot any grammatical errors please point them out, I don't take offense and would rather fix them.

So, the plot thickens. What is going on? Who knows the truth? Why can't they leave? Are our alicorns trapped in paradise where they will have to engage in tribal warfare or eat others to survive?! Probably not that or it would be M rating.

Come back next week for more. Seriously, just started chapter 10.

Questions? Comments?

Chapter 6: Revelations

Sunset Shimmer tried to coax more information out of the young ponies that had apparently put themselves at great risk to come speak with her and Celestia, but they just kept glancing back at the hotel on the rocks above the dunes. She suspected it had more to do with the owner/proprietor than the hotel itself, but she was unsure. There were too many unknowns that needed to have a big flashlight shined down from on high.

So, as to ward away suspicion from prying eyes and ears without having to cast a spell, Celestia had asked the two teenaged colts and filly to gather materials so that they could start a small firepit on the beach. She was unconcerned if it was allowed, she was Celestia after all. Who was going to tell her no? The choice of fire over magic was simple, as she explained to Sunset. It would be warm and soothing to sit around as the cool night air set in and she could position the young ponies to be opposite of the hotel view across the fire in case Grassy Rio or some other staff were spying. Subtle obscurity had its place.

Once Celestia fired a small bolt of energy into the dried palm and brush the flames began to dance towards the night sky.
She gracefully gestured for them to sit. “Let me start off by apologizing to you. When we were selecting an island to have a small getaway vacation upon, we were unaware anypony was trapped here or that the island was cursed at all. If I personally had known there was a problem I would have come sooner.”

Sunset nodded in agreement. “That being said, I think you should start at the beginning. How did you end up here and what do you mean by ‘cursed?’ That word often gets misused in what it actually means.”

Celesta held up a hoof, glanced to Sunset, then back to the other three. “Before that, I think introductions are in order. I am Celestia, as you already surmised. This, is Sunset Shimmer, my daughter. Please refer to her as Captain Fury for now, however, since we do not know who amongst the hotel staff we can trust and that is whom she is pretending to be.”

The zebra mix colt who was apparently the leader of the group spoke first. “I’m Tatu, he’s Whistler, and she is Gentle Knoll. We… well, all of us ended up here basically the same way, either by accident, or by being captured by pirates. My father and I were on a private sailing ship that stopped off here for supplies, I dunno, maybe two years ago. It’s hard to follow time here."

Gentle Knoll whispered just loud enough, "I've been here almost six years. My mom tried to fight back so I could get away, to run for help or hide when the pirates stormed the hotel. She…”

The mare shook and her friends quickly offered hooves to comfort her. She smiled and nodded her thanks. Sunset’s expression darkened considerably. She could feel her wings extend and had to quickly reel them back in else they catch fire with her rising anger. They did not know she was an alicorn as well and it was too early to entrust that information just yet. Their emotions and gestures felt genuine, plus there was little benefit to them lying to her and Celestia. Even still, Sunset kept that fact in her proverbial pocket for now.

Celestia gestured for them to continue once the three had their emotions under control. “Please, elaborate on what you mean by a curse. If you can.”

Tatu nodded and let out a shuddering breath. “That’s what I’ve heard some of the others call it, the ones that have been here longer.”

“Wait, how many ponies are trapped on this island exactly?” asked Sunset with as much calm as she could muster.

“You probably came from the west, that’s how most Equestrian ships approach if they come this close at all. Over the dunes and through the small underbrush thicket on the other side of the island there is a plantation or so I’ve heard Dad call it. That’s where most of the food is grown. The pirates take what they want and leave the rest for us to fight over. It's not always enough. How many are there? I dunno less than a hundred, maybe fifty or so. My Dad is over there along with a bunch of other zebras the pirates brought here. I think for slaves or something. He never said. My Dad is a zebra and can speak Punda- um, I mean the Zebra tongue, he translates for some of the pirates so they don’t hurt him. He tries to protect the others, but they are nasty pirates and some like to hurt the others. He tells me to stay away as much as I can. Otherwise, they will make me work the fields too... or worse.”

Sunset stood up, but Celestia quickly placed a hoof on her daughter so that she would turn her eyes away from the dunes. “Sunset.”

“Children, Mom. They. Stole. Children.”

“I know.”

Sunset turned her eyes down to meet Celestia’s, a faint glow to the teal irises that Celestia had become familiar with. It took monumental effort, but the goldenrod alicorn reeled her emotions back in. Beneath the calm, collective mask and centuries of practiced patience, Sunset could see the burning fire smoldering in Celestia as well. Some day she would have to learn how Celestia was able to keep it all in so well.

It took several deep breaths and meditative counting, but logic was once more in control of Sunset Shimmer. There were too many unknowns. Who was in on it? What was the enemy strength? Were some of the victims and prisoners in danger if they attacked without a plan? Too many variables. Much like her wife… well, both Twilights in fact, too many variables in the equation were a source of frustration.

“So, what do we do?”

“For tonight, we eat and keep up the pretense. Then, we go back to our room to rest, which you three are welcome to stay in if you have no place safe to sleep tonight. In the morning we begin to investigate this plantation and of course send a letter to Spike who will be able to relay the information to Twilight since they are both in the Crystal Empire by now.”

“That will still take time for them to organize anything our way.” Sunset growled under her breath, kicking at the sand. “If our crystal communication project was working we’d be able to call for help quicker. Hell, these kids would not even be in this mess! I should have worked harder. I should have...”

"Peace, little sun. We cannot change the past or what we could have done had we known better. Ever forward."

Sunset sighed and nodded.

Celestia stood as well, her joints popping as she stretched out her long legs and large, magnificent wings. The young ponies ‘oooh and ahhh’ at the sight of the goddess before them. Sunset simply smiled and rolled her eyes. She understood though, remembering being young and in awe of her mother’s… well, everything. “We make due with what we have as long as it does not endanger anypony, especially the young ones. Plan where we can, improvise where necessary.”

“Right.”

Celestia smiled warmly at their guests and gestured with a wing to the hotel. “Would you three care to join us for dinner? You look like you have not had a decent meal in quite some time.” Their eyes grew wide at the thought of food. “Remember to keep what we have discussed to yourselves, please. That is for everypony's safety.” They all nodded vigorously.

A few things surprised Sunset Shimmer once they had returned to the hotel. First, was the presence of their boat captain, Steady Course, off his deck and on dry land. His posture and movements were stiff and ridged, but he seemed to relax a bit at the sight of Celestia and Sunset.

“Ah, good,” Steady said with a grunt under his breath. “I was a little concerned where you were off to after some of these louts started asking for the food stuffs you had brought along. I figured they’d want to unload it eventually, just wasn’t expecting it all at once.”

“An unavoidable development, apparently,” Celestia replied smoothly. Her words were to convey ease and calm, but Sunset recognized the look in her eye and the gestures with her hoof. It was a silent signal that was used among the guard to tell them to stand ready and alert without worrying the public or overhearing ears. Steady must have spent some time in the guard or been around them enough he picked up on it as well, nodding ever so slightly.

The second thing that surprised Sunset was the pleasant smell coming from the back of the lobby, likely where the kitchen was located. Whoever had made off with their food supplies had also put them to use in a pleasing way. The delightful mixing aromas caused Sunset’s mouth to water and her stomach voiced its own demands with a loud gurgle.

“Heh, excuse me,” Sunset blushed a bit and patted her belly. However, she was outshined by their guests whose stomachs also gurgled loudly in chorus. Perhaps even louder than the alicorn in disguise. This caused Celestia and even Steady Course to laugh.

The laughter died quickly as Grassy Rio emerged from the back. The portly pony stopped dead in his tracks and balked at the sight of the younger ponies. It did not go unnoticed by the alicorns that the proprietor recognized the colts and filly. Neither alicorn let on that they had noticed. Ever forward, as Celestia had said.

“Good evening, sir,” Celestia began cordially, a faux coy smile once again gracing her alabaster face. “We were enjoying the beautiful beach and surf when we came across these young ponies who delightfully kept us company. They looked hungry so, I thought it only hospitably to invite them to dine with us.”

“Of, of course, Your Highness. It was you who provided these fine provisions. Obviously, I have no say in the matter.” Grassy Rio gestured to a mare who had been standing near the door who quickly went to retrieve three more chairs. A moment later, Cedar Hill emerged from the back with a trolley cart smelling of fresh greens, garlic bread, and pasta. The three younger ponies were practically drooling on the table from the sight and smell.

Celestia gestured to the plates in front of colts and filly. “Please, serve the children first.”

“Your Highness?”

Celestia smiled warmly at Cedar Hill. “There is no crown upon my head. There is no hierarchy here and I do not wish to see young ponies suffer hunger a moment longer.”

Cedar complied and began to pile salad into bowls before lightly coating them with olive oil. The greens were nearly completely wiped out before he even began plating the pasta and bread.

“Whoa, slow down there,” Sunset said holding out a hoof. “No o- er no pony is going to take it from you and if you eat too fast you’ll make yourself sick.” Reluctantly, however soothed by Sunset's warm smile of concern the three nodded and began to relax.

Dinner was a quiet affair. There was little to discuss and the dining area was not private enough to speak about what were the true concerns. Celestia and Sunset constantly meeting each other’s eyes while they covertly surveyed their surroundings. Sunset had no doubt they would discuss their findings later. Captain Steady Course had not said a word in regards to the situation or the children, choosing instead to just eat silently. Once the plates were clear the three younger ponies looked a bit lost on what should happen next.

Sunset Shimmer stood and settled in behind the three before they left their chairs. She leaned in and asked softly, “Do you have a safe place to sleep tonight?”

Tatu visibly winced, shying away from wanting to answer. Whistler and Gentle Knoll made no effort to fill the conversation void. That was all either alicorn needed to come to the same conclusion.

“We have extra beds. I would like you three to join us tonight.” Though it was said as just a simple request, Celestia had a way of implying her words were an order and should be taken as such. The three nodded without argument. “Captain, I think it would be best if you stayed on you ship tonight.”

Steady Course nodded in understanding. “My thoughts exactly, Your Highness.”

“Stay here a moment so I can rearrange the beds,” said Sunset before heading off to their room. It would be tight, putting the beds back to a two-by-two format, but she had no problems cozying up close with her mother like they used to do when she was a filly. Of course, Sunset had another, more important reason for checking the room first. Though unlikely, it never hurt to be sure when you had no idea who was friend of foe. Sunset had learned long ago that Just because it was paranoia did not mean they were NOT out to get you. It was possible that the children had been lying to them as well, that all they wanted was to get close and possibly get an easy meal out of them. But there was something in their words, their body language that told Sunset that was not the case. Tongues could waggle and lie, but tired, desperate eyes, and thin coats with ribs beginning to show through spoke louder than words.

Sunset quickly lifted all the beds in her magic. It was cliché, but she still wanted to ensure there were no unexpected guest underneath. She needed to move them anyhow. She next checked the bathroom and also found it unoccupied and just as they had left it. Last, but least likely, Sunset sent out a pulse of energy from the center of the room. To any non-magical creatures and/or objects it would be as if a blast of air had crossed them. However, if a pony or most other magical creatures were hiding by invisibility spell or enchantment it would shock them and disrupt their spellcraft matrix.

It was an oldie but goodie Sunset had found long ago in an advanced unicorn dueling book she had checked out when she had still been Celestia’s personal student. Celestia had not outright forbid Sunset from reading the book, but had strongly reminded her that if she provoked others into fights just to see how badly she could beat them that there would be consequences. Naturally, Sunset had not listened and had found herself dueling the Captain of the Royal Guard as punishment. I thought I did pretty well for a fourteen year old against a battle hardened veteran like Galant Hardwood. Heh, that old war horse would probably have had a coronary if he knew I became an alicorn.

With a satisfied grunt Sunset was certain the room was clear. She returned to the small group in the hall and waved them over. “All clear. Come on in and get settled in.”

The room tour had been incredibly short considering there really was nothing to show other than where the toilet was. Sunset had explained to the younger three that though she had pressed the beds together they would still have to share. She considered that they could probably sleep two in one and one in another if that was more comfortable. That option however had been unnecessary as the three quickly snuggled into one another as if they had done it many times before, which as Sunset considered what Tatu had said earlier may have been the case. Perhaps they were closer than friends? Thoughts for another time, Sunset concluded, simply pleased at the sight of calm, sleeping ponies.

The teenagers had apparently been as tired as they had been hungry and fell asleep long before the moon was high in the sky. After some quiet small talk, review of their findings, and a calming cup of tea Celestia had settled into the other set of beds. Sunset could have stayed up later, she was more of a night pony than a morning pony, but with no one else to speak with and no immediate danger Sunset settled in next to her mother.

Sunset Shimmer never got a chance to ask how they were going to handle the limited space as two white forelegs wrapped around her, pulling her back and wings into a soft, warm barrel. A few shifts about and they both settled in with Celestia snuggling into her mane, breathing quietly.

“Heh.”

“Yes?”

Sunset smirked even though she knew Celestia could not see it. It was not her mischievous smirk or her sarcastic smirk. It was as Twi would have called it her, ‘loving smirk.’ “It’s just been a while since we’ve been like this. Not since before... you know. I kind of got used to being the big spoon.”

Celestia pulled her daughter closer, Sunset could feel her whole body being wrapped in an unseen blanket of love and warmth so much so that neither felt the provided sheets would be necessary. Sunset felt light lips kiss the top of her head through her mane.

“Forgive an old mare for trying to make up for lost time. No matter how big you get, you will always be my little sun.”

Sunset tried to hold back her emotions, but a small gasp sniffle escaped along with a few tears of joy. It felt beyond good, beyond blissful to have the Goddess of the Sun looking after her again... like she had on rare occasion so long ago. Sunset finally croaked quietly, “Goodnight, Mom. I love you.”

“Goodnight, my beloved Sunset.”

Sunset Shimmer was not sure when she had fallen asleep. If she had dreamed it must not have been very memorable or caught Luna’s attention because she did not recall speaking with her aunt. However, she did recall casting a tripwire spell over the doors and windows before finally settling in with her mother. She did not have to move to know Celestia was still wrapped around her like she was a pony body pillow. If not for one of the spells being disturbed Sunset would have been far too comfortable to be so easily awakened.

Unlike shield barriers, tripwire spells were the ‘set and forget’ type that the enchantment would stay active on its own without having to concentrate on until the applied power ebbed and gave out over time. They were especially useful when setting up camp in possibly dangerous situations and you still liked getting sleep.

Sunset eyes flew open, but she did not move. Someone had just carefully and near silently opened their door, stepping inside. She began to tense up to prepare to leap from the bed, horn blazing when she felt her mother’s breath right in her ear.

“Not yet. Let them come closer.”

Sunset blinked twice before mental slapping her own forehead. Of course, Celestia set her own tripwires as well. Duh. You don’t rule an entire nation for close to two thousand years without being smart and paranoid. It's really sad how often I forget who I'm dealing with.

Sunset could hear them stop near the center of the room, there were at least two of them at a guess, but definitely no more than three. If they were speaking they were being incredibly quiet that even her alicorn hearing could not make it out. They were probably waiting to see if anyone would move after they broke in. No, that wasn’t the right word. The rooms had a basic punch card key lock so that even non-magical users could have a level of personal privacy. The door had not been forced open. That meant at least one of them worked for the hotel and had a copy of the punch key. Sunset already had a feeling who one of the intruders were.

“On my move, teleport to the bed with the children. I will be by the door. Kinetic blast together to the far corner.”

Sunset did not move until she felt Celestia tap her with a hoof. They both disappeared in near simultaneous teleports. Celestia reappeared at the door while Sunset was standing next to the bed with their guests. The intruders gasped, but before they could react or defend two horns lit up, one gold, one crimson, and unleashed concussion waves of energy. The little furniture there was in the room was upended along with two ponies and tossed into the far corner opposite of the door.

Celestia’s horn lit again and several small mage lights hovered to shine some light on the room. Sunset approached and dropped a shield bubble over Grassy Rio and another stallion they had not yet encountered before they could move or call for help.

It took a moment, but Grassy Rio finally focused on the sneering face of goldenrod with teal eyes that were as hard as diamonds. “You woke me up and didn’t bring me coffee. That's grounds for justifiable execution.”

Celestia finished calming and comforting the three younger ponies who had been startled awake and were holding each other. She stepped up next to Sunset and looked down without an ounce of sympathy in her tired magenta eyes.

“I suggest you explain yourselves before things truly get ugly.”

Author's Note

Gooooood evening.

So now we are starting to see a few of the locals or refugees and have learned that Pelican Island in indeed a pirate hideout haven. I did not go into the 'curse' much yet, that will come soon. The reason for that is that the teenaged ponies are not fully aware of the extent of what is going on beyond that they know no one can leave except for the pirates.

More to come next week.

Questions? Comments?

Chapter 7: Insurrection

On Celestia’s suggestion, Sunset scooped up Grassy Rio and… Sunset decided to call him ’Dave’ because she did not know his name and honestly did not care to ask so, he was now Dave, and took them both to the lobby to unceremoniously drop them before the front desk. Unsurprisingly, the lobby was completely deserted at such an early hour. Dave tried to make a break for the front door the moment Sunset removed the shield/telekinetic bubble from them. He made it three steps before he was lifted in the air and once again dropped next to Grassy Rio again. Harder this time.

“You two really are idiots.”

Celestia joined Sunset a moment later, casually taking a seat in one of the lounge chairs as if they were about to talk about the weather in the middle of the night. She gave the two ponies a measured, almost tiredly bored expression before turning back to Sunset and said, “I calmed the children, but still needed to apply a small sleep enchantment in order to get them to settle down enough to close their eyes. Despite the disturbance they should be fine.”

Sunset nodded, leaning closer to Grassy Rio. “You should be grateful to those kids. If they had not been in the room the cleaning staff would probably need to scrub the walls of what was left of you. I don’t like seeing children put in harm’s way. Or my mother, for that matter.”

“I was hardly in ‘harm’s way’, but the sentiment is appreciated, daughter.”

“I, I didn’t want to do anything, I had to, I had no, no choice. I should have told you, no, no that wouldn’t have been better, he, any of them really.”

“Shut. Up,” Sunset said to Grassy Rio with dangerous calm.

“You shouldn’t have come here. No one leaves here alive.”

Sunset turned her attention to Dave, eyes hardening. Before she could interrogate further, Celestia rose from her seat and lifted a bag she had confiscated in her golden magic. She approached their captives and dropped the bag before them. With a flick of her power, the bag opened and two horn rings were levitated out of the compartment. Sunset narrowed her slightly glowing eyes and growled at the objects knowing exactly what they were.

“Inhibitor rings,” Sunset hissed. “You son of a donkey whore.”

Where Sunset was seething and growling, Celestia was quietly examining the rings, her expression still calm and peaceful border lining on emotionless. Her horn lit from a magic scan, magenta eyes taking on a slight white glow before returning to normal.

“Sunset.” The goldenrod alicorn glanced back to her mother. “Please place one of the rings on my horn and activate it.”

“You gotta be fucking kidding me.” Celestia simply smiled. Sunset knew that smile well. That was the smile that said, ‘trust me’ and at the same time, ‘I’m about to show off.’ She remembered that exact smile being flashed at her more than once right before Celestia masterfully tore into a noble or dignitary that was attempting to pull a fast one on her. Sunset rolled her eyes and took one of the rings in her magic sliding it onto her mother’s horn. Sunet felt like she needed a shower after even touching the cursed thing. With a simple application of will power, the runes on the ring began to glow soft orange.

“Now, you are probably wondering why anypony with a horn would willingly place an inhibitor ring upon themself. Sacrilege! Preposterous! Celestia has gone looney! It’s okay, I have heard it all and more and then some. I am conducting this little demonstration for your benefit, to explicitly show why whatever you or your masters were planning was doomed to fail and that you will fully cooperate with us because the truth is you have no choice in the matter.”

Inhibitor rings were the bane of all unicorns. Without question. Sometimes the unicorn guards would place them on each other’s horns to try and see if they could break free. A stupid bet of pride and sometimes bar tabs always ending the same way.

When Sunset Shimmer had been Celestia’s student she was without question the most powerful unicorn at CSGU. Some would have said the most powerful in Canterlot save Celestia herself. She knew it, the other students knew it, the staff knew it, even the guards knew it. However, even the mighty Sunset Shimmer had been unable to break through the crushing defense of an expertly crafted inhibitor ring. As a test and perhaps more, Celestia had placed one on Sunset’s horn in a manner similar to the guards’ antics so that she would know what it felt like and teach her how not to panic at the loss of magical power. Little did Sunset realize how useful that test had been at keeping her calm when she found herself trapped and alone in a world with no horn and no magic.

It had felt strange that first time, disturbing even, to have her magic, her life’s blood energy cut off. It did not hurt, per se, but was closer in comparison to having a limb rendered numb by a pressure point except that the limb was their most precious protrusion (yes, even more precious than THAT protrusion on stallions) sticking out of your head. Still, Sunset Shimmer was the most powerful unicorn at the school and beyond. She had a reputation to uphold and no simple ring was going to keep her down. Or so she boasted. Despite Celestia’s warning, Sunset still tried to break through the ring’s hold. She had for her efforts earned a terrible splitting headache, a bloody nose, and a trip to the infirmary to ensure she had not further injured herself. Oh, and of course, Celestia concerned, but disapproving glare.

Ever since that first time, Sunset, like all unicorns, avoided inhibitor rings like the plague. And so Sunset, along with the two earth ponies to her left, watched in awe as the inhibitor ring on Celestia’s horn began to glow white hot. The runes exploded with orange sparks after a minute soon followed by the ring falling to the ground into two smoking halves. Celestia turned to Sunset and winked then back to Grassy Rio.

“Do I have your full and undivided attention?”

Grassy Rio talked. Dave sat and grumbled occasionally.

Sunset Shimmer listened with ever growing anger and disgust for the proprietor as he explained what he knew as far back as he could remember. Celestia, departed after more than an hour of interrogation to once again check on the guests in their room before returning. Much to Sunset’s surprise, her mother brought bottles of water for the two of them and their two prisoners.

“Seriously?”

“He has been speaking for quite some time, I imagine he is thirsty,” Celestia replied with an even smile. Sunset simply shrugged her acknowledgment. “Has he added anything new to his story?”

“Only that he’s sorry and apologizes again for the… what was it, fourth time now? Oh, and of course it was not his fault, that he was only following orders, blah, blah, blah. Some B.S. like that.”

“Hmm...”

Grassy Rio was a coward. That was all Sunset Shimmer could conclude and the only reason she had not stomped his spineless head in was because she would have to use their room to wash the blood and gore off and the kids might see it.

The portly earth pony had inherited the hotel resort from his father who passed many years prior. Pelican Island had been a decent resort getaway, with usuals and the occasional new visitor. Regular traffic and shipments, decent profit. Griffons apparently loved it because of the good fishing off the barrier reef to the north. Things had been good, he said.

However, given the island’s more off the beaten path location and distance from the trading/shipping routes it was also ideal for a pirate hideout berth. That had caused Sunset Shimmer to snort and laugh. She quickly suppressed her knee-jerk response because of the sharp glance Celestia shot her. As absurd as it sounded to Sunset, she did have to remind herself that even Earth still had modern day pirates. They just were less the swashbuckling, sword swinging, big hat wearing type. That did not make them any less dangerous though.

Apparently, according to Grassy Rio, a triple mast ship of the line had appeared one morning and the crew quickly stormed the beach and island, taking all the visitors and staff hostage. It had been the off season just a little over ten years ago and there were not many guests or staff, only regulars and locals who lived on the island year round. They had no weapons or defenses and never stood a chance.

Once they were all on their knees did the captain finally come ashore. While Sunset had never heard of one Captain Danger, (most likely not his real name) Celestia narrowed her eyes and tapped her hoof against her chin in contemplation. The captain had then wasted no time claiming the island for himself. He took one of the visiting guests and dragged her away. Her husband protested and was cut down by the crew. No others dared stop what was happening after that.

Captain Danger returned the next day and informed the remaining prisoners that they were to cooperate with all demands or find themselves as fish food. More importantly, he informed them that it was now impossible to escape the island. The captain held up an amulet that was glowing red to make his point then returned to his ship.

“They left and left us, but he and his crew eventually returned. He always returns and often brings slave prisoners to work the fields or takes some away for trading. Or so I've heard. I don't know for sure.”

“And none of you tried to fight back or escape?” Sunset growled.

“Of course we tried! Well, they tried. I…” Grassy Rio hung his head in shame. “I ratted many of them out. I knew what would happen if they failed or even if they succeeded.”

“And what was that?”

Grassy Rio glanced between the two larger mares, hanging his head again. “Death. That’s all that awaits anypony here who does not cooperate with the captain. Everypony or creature that has tried to escape has died either by the curse or by the sword. That’s all there is to it. I have watched it for more than ten years now. There is no way off this island except at the will of Captain Danger.”

“Right.” Sunset turned back to Celestia. “Any thoughts on this? Sounds like an artifact powered, one-way forcefield. Could be fueled and boosted by blood magic, which was what he used some of the guests for.”

“Possibly. However, we should still consider whatever trap has been laid formidable and the captain quite dangerous considering how long he has managed to keep his base secret while he pillaged and plundered the sea. We need more information.”

Sunset nodded and smiled. “You thinking what I’m thinking?”

Celestia smiled mischievously. “Highly unlikely, but I want to hear your thoughts.”

Sunset was nearly certain that was a playful dig, but let it slide. She was, after all, supposed to be pretending to be Tempest Fury. That mare did not have a playful bone in her entire body. “Anyhow, I’m thinking we hit that farm plantation at first light. We take out all the guards, liberate the slaves, and Tatu’s father. Not only will it feel good, but it should get us access to information on when Captain Whistledick will be coming back.”

“Agreed. However, I still need to compose and send a message to Spike who will be able to pass on what has transpired to Twilight. In the presence of so many visiting nations and the Empire they should have little to no difficulty organizing efforts to rescue all these victims.”

“You go ahead, I’ll watch these two. Maybe they will give me some tactical information about the plantation.” Celestia narrowed her eyes at her daughter and frowned. “What?”

“Do not hurt them, Sunset.” Sunset groaned, slapping her face with a hoof.

“Sunset? I thought you said you were Captain Fury of the royal guard?”

“Great going, Mom. You ruined my cover.”

Both earth ponies gaped with jaws hanging open. Grassy Rio finally exclaimed, “Mom?! Princess Celestia has a daughter?!”

Sunset rolled her eyes and dropped her illusion, her wings extending until they burst into flames causing the restrained island ponies to cry out and fall backwards.

“Two alicorns? Here?! Maybe, maybe you have a chance of ending this nightmare after all. I’ll tell you anything you want to know, I swear it!”

Sunset retracted her wings and rolled her eyes back at Celestia’s smug little grin. She playfully slapped her daughter with her tail before stepping away. You played them… And me for that matter! Dammit, even on vacation she is a master manipulator! This is why I could never beat her at chess.

Celestia wasted no time locating a piece of parchment, ink, and a new quill from the reception desk. She would have liked to have composed a longer letter explaining more, but all things considered it was probably best to keep things to just a single rolled sheet.

After twenty minutes of considering what was most important to convey to Twilight and what was the best solution, Celestia rolled the scroll and concentrated on the unique spell she had obtained long ago that allowed her to send messages via dragon fire magic. Her eyes flashed with golden fire for a second and the flames licked out from her horn, consuming the letter into a mist that traveled out the nearest exit and into the pre-dawn sky.

From past experience with such correspondence the letters traveled quickly even over great distances. Celestia took into account she could have just as easily sent the letter directly to Twilight, but Spike was the better choice. He would see who it was from and pass it along with great urgency while at the same time not surprising or embarrassing Twilight who could be in the middle of a tense negotiation with numerous national representatives. Celestia imagined Twilight gasping and crying out at the sudden appearance of the letter before her face, falling back into a twitching pile of limbs and flowing hair.
That simply would not do.

Celestia let out a small yawn. It had been a while since she had needed to wake up so early before the dawn after such a late night. Especially when she was not responsible for raising the sun. Perhaps I should put on a spot of coffee for us. It is not my preference, but I would never say no to a-

The cloud of smoke reappeared and formed back into the letter she had just sent, bouncing the scroll off her head and landing at her hooves. With a smidge of hope, she turned the scroll over to the seal, but as expected, it was hers and not Twilight’s seal. Somehow, the letter had bounced and returned to her. That was… unexpected and left a worrying and bad taste in the alabaster alicorn's mouth. Celestia scooped the letter up and returned to Sunset’s side.

Hey,” Sunset said with a wave, “good news. According to our 'friend' here there should not be more than a half dozen slave master pirates who oversee the operation. Guess there was no need for heavy guard if there was nowhere for them to run.”

“That is indeed good news. However, I have bad news to report myself.”

“Oh?”

Celestia presented the scroll. “It appears the shield around the island is more sophisticated than I anticipated. It can block even dragon fire messages and they are one of the most rare magics in the world.”

“So… even alicorns are powerless and there’s no help coming?” asked Grassy Rio with his ears folded to his head.

“It means we need to understand what this shield is and how it is being generated. An unfortunate setback, nothing more.”

Sunset huffed and growled a bit. “How can a shield block you?”

“Dragon fire used in this manner simply converts the physical material to a magical transient mist through spellcraft exclusive to dragons and magically adept kirin. Though it appears gaseous during transit, it is still matter and would still need to pass through the shield on this plane of existence. The shield must be capable of blocking all physical objects from exiting, no matter how small or spread out.”

“Yeah, that’s not good.” Sunset paused, tapping her chin contemplatively as she chewed on the problem. Then, a thought occurred and Sunset glanced back at Celestia. “Wait? You said it was exclusive to dragons and some kirin. I’ve been through pretty much every book in Canterlot on dragonology because I was bored and, you know, because there are almost none to begin with. Where did you learn how to harness dragon fire messaging to begin with? Actually, never mind that. If you teach me maybe I can replicate it and together we can get a message through.”

“Um…” Celestia shifted a bit, rubbing one foreleg onto the other, eyes finding something interesting in the dusty corner. That was not the reaction Sunset was expecting and now had a bit more burning curiosity. “You will not be able to replicate it at this time… or at all unless you… um… I would prefer to discuss this some other time. Would you like a coffee? I think I would like a coffee right now. I’m going to go make us coffee.”

“Uhhhh, sure.” Sunset scratched the side of her head then turned to look back at the prisoners. In all honesty they looked just as tired as she felt, slumped in their bindings. After a moment of consideration, she quickly removed their magical bindings out of sympathy and hoped the comfort would be taken as a gesture of good faith. They had already told her enough and she doubted they would be stupid enough to try and run knowing what Sunset truly was now. “Is it just me, or was that weird?” Grassy Rio and Dave just shrugged.

The sun had just broken the eastern horizon. Sunset Shimmer was scowling intensely down at the fields of crops and numerous shanty shacks around the farm that had been unseen from where they had docked at the hotel. From their elevated perch, Sunset could easily see three sentries or overseers mulling about. Most likely just getting things prepared before they brought the slaves out to work the fields.

Though Sunset had objected, Celestia had insisted that Tatu, Whistler, and Gentle Knoll lead them to the plantation. The fact was while both alicorns could just launch a surprise attack with almost no effort the issue with the barrier caused Celestia’s mind to err to the side of caution on what else might not be as it seems. In addition, the children could bridge any needed assurance that the alicorns were there to help. They did both agree the three younger ponies should stay back in the forest once they had been led to the forest edge.

With that situation settled, Celestia had gone about rousting Steady Course to keep an eye on Grassy Rio and the hotel staff in general. She explained the situation about the slaves, farm, and pirates all to the growling displeasure of the sailor. He had begrudgingly agreed to watch them with a nod since he now had nothing better he could do.

“Got any advice?”

“About the situation as a whole or about a plan of attack?”

Sunset shrugged, swishing her hoof back and forth. “Both really. I mean, I’ve been in a few brawler scraps and even a few magical fights, but compared to you and Aunt Luna...”

Celestia rolled her eyes but still smiled. “I understand, daughter. You need not spare my feelings. I’m old and have fought numerous enemies over the centuries. My honest assessment is that we do this two ways. I will fly down and present myself. This will draw the sentries and alert any remaining guards. You sneak to the left near that larger building. If Tatu’s numbers are correct it will likely be packed with slave victims. You will then be able to protect the entire building, preventing our enemy from using them as hostages as well as watch my back in case they have a particularly skilled mage that could cause trouble.”

“Hard to believe they have anypony that could take you down.”

Celestia grimaced and shuddered, numerous memories flashing to the forefront before she refocused her attention. “I have thought similar in the past and paid the price for that hubris. There is a powerful magic to this place that I cannot directly place. I will not risk you or the children with so many unknowns. We do this smart and we do this safe.”

Sunset nudged her mother so Celestia would turn to look her in the eye. “Nothing is going to happen to you. I won’t let it. I am your sword after all.”

Sunset had hoped the statement would bring Celestia a moment of ease or even a smile. However, she instead turned further in on herself and had to suppress another shudder as quickly as it had rocked her core.

“Hey, sorry, I was trying to… I don’t know…”

“No, you are correct, it's just… I never want to think of you that way ever again. I may have conceived you as a weapon, but you are my little sun, my daughter. I ask nothing more, nothing less.”

Sunset pulled Celestia in for a hug and nuzzled her lightly. “I love you too. C’mon, let’s go kick some pirate booty.”

Celestia groaned, “Ugh, did you really have to say that?” Sunset flashed her trademark grin and one last wink before slipping away into the woods. The Goddess of the Sun turned to the three ponies who had remained quiet during the exchange. They were all casting gazes that bounced between curiosity, envy, enjoyment, and awe.

“I do not know for certain what will happen next, so please remain here.”

“I still can’t believe you have a daughter. I did a book report on the ‘Princesses of Equestria’ when I was nine,” said Gentle Knoll. “I never found anything on Miss Shimmer and… well, I don’t know how to say this without sounding insulting, b, but you’re so old! How could you have a daughter who seems so young?”

Celestia laughed politely covering her mouth with a hoof. “Yes, filly, I am old. Truthfully, I was old even when my Sunset was born. However, you must consider she, in comparison to you, is old as well. My little sun is nearly a century and a half old herself. Just do not bring it up, she takes it personal.”

“That must be amazing to be able to spend so much time with somepony.”

It was difficult beyond measure, but Celestia held her expression for the sake of the children. Oh, if you only knew, sweet innocent foal. “Even for an old pony such as I, it is never enough time.” With nothing else to add Celestia moved from the forest edge and took flight.

Cobalt was still tired. He could have slept longer, but Webo was a slave driver, literally. And he had no qualms or hesitation about making the crew work the fields right alongside the slaves if he felt like it. He refused to do that... again. Before Cobalt could do anything to hold it in, he let out a head splitting yawn. When he opened his eyes again he had to blink his dark brown eyes, then he rubbed them with his hooves and blinked again.

“What in the name of…”

The large white alicorn landed just before Cobalt and looked down upon him, her grey and faded pastel mane billowing with power, wings extended to their fullest as she scowled her displeasure. Entire hordes had cowered before that dark downward turned glare.

“The name of… Me, perhaps?” Celestia snatched Cobalt up in her magic and he yelped as he was brought to her eye level. “Be a good little colt and go get your master if you would, please.” She released him and let gravity do the rest.

Cobalt fell to the ground and scrambled away. It took him a moment to get his hooves under him while he cried out to his fellow pirates. As Celestia and Sunset had hoped, once the dark blue pony started calling out names the entire plantation woke up like a kicked hornet's nest. Sunset watched from the shadow of the largest building as three more pirates emerged from a shack near the beach. She could hear the stir of voices through the thin wood slats that comprised the large shanty building in a language she was not completely familiar with. At a guess it was the primary zebra tongue.

Webo heard Cobalt call his name along with a few others, the panic evident in his voice. The bulky, scarred zebra growled the dark pony’s name as he slammed down his quill and grabbed a bandolier of potions that he kept near the door. The first thing he noticed as he exited his shack was Cobalt with fear in his eyes. The next thing he noticed was a creature he had only read about standing at the edge of their fields, as tall and imposing as he could only have imagined.

“Mungu Mpendwa,” whispered Webo. The zebra pirate turned to his fellows who were also hesitating at the unexpected sight of the Princess of the Sun. “Barley! Cobalt! Keep back and make sure those slaves stay put! They try to come out to watch or fight you whip them good now! The rest of you dogs with me!”

Five others fell into step behind Webo, four ponies and a lone griffon who took to the sky with a war scythe in claw. The other ponies grabbed various other pieces of farm equipment such as pitchforks and pickaxes. Webo pulled one of his potions and held it close while he slowly approached Celestia who had not moved since releasing Cobalt. In fact, she appeared quite bored and began to inspect her hoof as if something had gotten caught in her frog.

“Are you really here or is this some trick of the eye? Maybe a magic spell those fools at the hotel think is funny. If so, I’ll beat that fat, useless pony for waking me like this!”

“I assure you I am quite real.” Celestia set her hoof down, retracting her wings and began to approach with practiced, methodical steps. “I assume you are the one in charge of this travesty?”

Sunset was trying to keep an eye on her mother while waiting for the perfect moment to subdue the two ponies that had been left behind by the door. She had no idea what was in the glass globe the zebra had in hoof or if there was a unicorn nearby in the shadows. She did not sense any charged magic spells, but that could mean they were just out of range. Sunset had concluded that if she were the one out front the fighting would have already been underway. However, in typical Celestia fashion, she wanted to talk first. Ever the diplomat. You are something else, Mom.

Sunset’s view suddenly became blocked when the door to the building swung open and a young zebra colt stepped out and pointed to Celestia.

“Mama, Mungu wa kike amekuja kutuokoa!”

The light brown pony growled at the colt who was little more than a foal and uncoiled his whip. Sunset gasped at the horror that any pony or creature would raise a weapon to a child. The goldenrod alicorn’s features instantly turned to disgust as she felt her anger ignite. The door that was still partially blocking Sunset’s view was seized in a red telekinetic aura and savagely torn from its rusty hinges. Before either pirate could comment or react, the door was thrust forward, colliding with the dark blue stallion, pinning him to the dirt.

The light brown pirate stallion screamed as two wings of flame sprang to life from the shadows along with two glowing teal eyes. Barley did the only thing he could think of. He dropped his whip and tried to run for his companions. The moment the whip touched the sand it too became surrounded by red and sprang from the earth like a snake, coiling tightly around the fleeing stallion. He never made it halfway to the other pirates.

The pirates who had been standing behind Webo turned to see what the commotion was about. Webo however kept his eyes on Celestia. Without turning, he shouted, “What is going on?!”

Riker the griffon shouted back, “There’s another unicorn by the slave barn!” Upon a second look at the horn AND flaming wings Riker gasped and added, “At, at least I think she’s a unicorn.”

That finally caused Webo to flinch and turn. Just the little distraction Celestia had been waiting patiently for. She quickly relieved him of his bandolier and the potion he had in hoof, depositing them in the field far away from others. Webo felt his weapons leave him in a flash of power.

“What?!”

Celestia’s horn burned brightly right before a concussion energy blast knocked all five of the pirates off their hooves. They each tumbled painfully across the dirt and sand, coming to a rest next to the broken door and hogtied stallion. Magical golden chains sprang forth and latched the five of them to the ground, the glowing ethereal metal fusing with the sand.

Riker cursed and weighed his options. He was caught between Celestia, the alicorn of the sun and some unknown pony who appeared to be partially on fire like a dragon on the war path. He had no idea if that was just an illusion or not, but was pretty sure what Celestia was capable of. Without another moment of hesitation, the griffon dove and swung his weapon down towards Sunset. His perceived easier target. The war scythe never came close to making contact.

Sunset summoned her flaming ethereal sword with well practiced ease. The blade followed her command and cut upward as the scythe came down, slicing through both the metal blade and the wooden handle effortlessly. The severed blade landed in the dirt, the end still glowing red hot from where it had made contact with the magic sword. With a flick of her magic the blade moved to be mere inches from Riker’s neck.

“Land, or I will make you,” Sunset said with deadly calm. The griffon complied without hesitation.

Celestia stepped up to the restrained pirates placing her large hoof on Webo’s chest, applying just enough pressure to ensure he knew she was serious. “As I was saying, I assume you are the one in charge?” Webo nodded. “Good. Let us have a little talk then, shall we?”

Author's Note

Whooo. We are into the holiday season now. Thankfully, I have a decent buffer set so I can continue the release one week at a time because for those that have followed along from last year may or may not be aware this is a busy time at work for me. Nevertheless I will get this done on schedule. Hopefully, considering what I have done on the next story the gap between the two will be short and sweet.

Thanks for joining the journey.

Questions? Comments?

Chapter 9: Leader

The smell of food stirred Sunset Shimmer from her rest. She tried to open her eyes and sit up and was hit with a wave of nausea, plopping her head back down. Except it was not onto sand, but instead the bed that she and her mother had slept on in the hotel. I don't smell like beach sand. Someone must have rinsed me off.

“Take it slow,” Celestia said softly with warmth and compassion. The older alicorn was sitting just to the right of the bed near the window. “It's been a long time since you have used so much magic in such a manner. I imagine you are quite fatigue.”

“And hungry.” Sunset smacked her dried lips. “And parched as well.”

Celestia levitated over some water that Sunset took in small sips without having to be reminded. It had been a long time, but it was not the first time Sunset had overtaxed her power reserves. Probably would not be the last either. Magic was energy after all. Much like a cyclist or marathon runner going a great distance or a weightlifter trying to pull an airplane, anything that required energy required practice building stamina and training the body on how to best burn that energy. Unicorns that never really pushed themselves, never built their reserves up significantly were always at a disadvantage to others when it came time to use their full power. They burned out quickly, sometimes at great harm to themselves.

Years, decades of living among humans had cost Sunset dearly as far as strengthening her mana pool. Sure, she had alicorn level power, but her fine control and efficiency of that power was a flabby mess. Her younger self as a mere unicorn in her prime probably could have whipped her butt in a duel while eating an egg and cheese sandwich and reading the morning paper. Note to self: Once we get back to Canterlot restart a magical workout routine. At least an hour of stress work a day.

“If you feel healthy enough to sit up I will bring you a bowl of vegetable stew. Considering the number of mouths that needed feeding and the items that were available stew made the most sense.”

“I’m good with stew. Thank you.” Sunset carefully shifted to a sitting position and was able to see that the sun had set, but not long ago given the few traces of red and orange upon the horizon and the quickly approaching twilight. She must have been dead asleep for at least a few hours. Definitely out of shape magic-wise.

Celestia returned a few minutes later with two bowls. She set one on the table and held the other in her hooves, prepared to feed Sunset if necessary. Sunset tested her power carefully and found that levitation did not feel taxing, so she gently took the bowl and brought it to her lips to sip the barley water.

Once Celestia was certain her daughter would not drop the bowl she retrieved her own. “You had me worried for a little bit.
I thought perhaps the construct had wounded you and you were injured.”

“I’m out of shape apparently. I knew I was pumping a lot of power into that blast, but I didn’t think I was that close to my limits.”

“Coming in contact with the barrier may also have been a factor,” Celestia said, pointing to Sunset’s back hooves that were still slightly scuffed even after healing and cleaning had been applied. “If you had not been, well, you, that contact would have likely killed you.”

“Nice to see that I’m at least as resilient as I remember even if I’ve lost my edge with mana control.”

Celestia nodded. “We both were lucky out there today. Those constructs shattered my shield after only a few strikes. Not the first time I have been overpowered, but it used to take more than a few heavy hits. Concerns we can address later once we are back in Canterlot. At least the message made it out.”

“Yeah. A win is a win even if it was an ugly one. So, Spike has no doubt told Twilight what’s going on by now and… actually I have no idea what was supposed to happen next.”

“Ideally, Spike also sent a message to Tempest and or Isabella to begin rescue preparations, but that will take time to organize.”

Sunset waited for Celestia to continue, arching a brow when the silence lingered. “Is there a problem? That was the plan, wasn’t it? We get the message out, hold down the fort until help arrives, and then wait for the pirates to return so we can ambush them and get everyone off this rock.”

“That was the plan, yes.”

“Buuuut?”

“While you were resting, I took the time to go over some of the notes you had taken from the slaver’s logbook. I spoke with Webo and a few of the others as well as Grassy Rio to cross check my findings. Captain Danger will likely return in two days. Before any reinforcements arrive.”

Sunset banged her head gently against the headboard. “Wellllll, fuck.”

Celesta grimaced before nodding. “I did not say such with the children nearby, but yes. My thoughts exactly.”

The silence lingered while the two alicorns finished their bowls, each toiling away in their own heads. Before Sunset could inquire further, there was a gentle knock on the door.

“Enter,” said Celestia, quickly masking her doubts and concerns, straightening her posture as if she were sitting upon her old throne.

Levar the zebra stuck his head in, staying at the door in case he was intruding. “I hope I am not interrupting.”

“Not at all," Celestia replied with a warm smile, "the company and distraction are welcomed.”

Levar bowed to both alicorns even though he had been told repeatedly he did not have to. “I just wanted to see how Lady Shimmer was fairing. A number of us were concerned for her health when you had to carry her back to the hotel unconscious.”

Sunset smiled genuinely. “Thank you for your concern. That was a tough fight and I wasn’t fully prepared for it. I’m just glad we all made it back to shore in one piece. Though I guess we owe Steady Course a new boat when we get back.”

Celestia smirked and let slip a small giggle. “To say the least.”

Levar nodded. “Yes.” The zebra shifted a bit before finally coming sit next to the bed so that he could speak to Sunset and Celestia with a hushed voice. “I came to speak of more than just pleasantries, I’m afraid. Rumors are already beginning to spread among my people that we have doomed ourselves by rebelling and lashing out. I have done my best to quell them, but… They are scared. The others, no, myself included. There is much to be scared of, so many unknowns. We need leadership and guidance for what to do next. All eyes turn to both of you.”

Even though it hurt a bit and she grunted with each movement, Sunset threw the covers back and carefully slid out of the bed. She spread her wings slowly and wrapped one around Levar hoping to provide even just a smidge of comfort to him. Being wrapped in one of Celestia’s wings when she was younger always brought a soothing calm to her soul. A calm the zebra desperately needed. After a moment she felt his worry begin to ebb, his breathing even, and racing heart returning to a normal pace.

“No pony, no one, is going to get left behind and Celestia and I will not allow any harm to come to you or your fellows. You have suffered enough that’s for damn sure. I think given the approaching night it's probably best to tell the others to get some rest. Then, tomorrow we wake before the dawn and begin preparations for defenses. Sound good?”

Levar raised his head and looked deep into Sunset’s eyes with his own emerald green orbs for longer than a few heartbeats. Despite her best efforts, Sunset felt herself gulp and her heart speed up to a noticeable thump. What could she say? He was ruggedly fit, handsome, and was staring directly at her like she was some sort of goddess to be worshiped. I am way too fucking horny to have a pony this cute staring at me. Damn, I miss my wife. Annnnd Mom probably noticed all of this by now. Crap.

“Thank you, Lady Sunset,” Levar said, finally breaking the silence before he bowed once again to Celestia and let himself out.

Once the door closed Celestia flashed a cheeky grin, a twinkle in her mischievous eyes. “For a moment there I thought he was going to kiss you.”

Sunset face hoofed and groaned then blew a raspberry at her mother.

Although her body protested, Sunset Shimmer managed to pull herself from bed with the help of a basic alarm spell that was set to go off and hour before dawn breached the horizon. The unholy hour in her personal, completely unbiased opinion. Alarm spells were a relatively simple magic that caused a unicorn's horn to vibrate when it sensed the energy of the sun relative to the horizon, which it used as a means of determining the time of day or night. Personally, Sunset always hated alarm spells because it honestly felt like Pinkie Pie had just drunk a double expresso and was tap dancing on your forehead to a polka.

A bit alarming, but not entirely unsurprising, Sunset found their bed empty and that Celestia had already gotten up. She stretched a bit, as quietly as possible when her eyes fell upon the three young ponies across from her they had invited to their room the other night. Once again, they were all snuggled up into one another, legs intertwined every which way, sleeping soundly. Sunset quickly brushed her teeth, ran a comb through her mane exactly twice, and then left the room to find where Celestia had gone.

The hotel had a bit of activity in the lobby, more than Sunset had expected given the hour. However, remembering last night's conversation, they had assured Levar and the others they would get to work in the morning. Promises to keep and all that jazz. Zebras and a few other ponies were moving kitchen materials about, probably preparing breakfast for all the others all while Grassy Rio sat at his desk looking miserable. The distinct sense that Celestia’s hoof marks were all over the endeavor.

While it had been a risk, Celestia had elected to grant limited freedom to Grassy Rio and his hotel staff, including Dave, who was helping the former slaves move material. While he would no doubt face some sort of punishment for not protecting the once island guests that had been under his care it was hardly his fault for not being able to fight off a pirate invasion unarmed let alone deal with magic he did not understand. With that in mind, Celestia had convinced the hotel owner and staff that it was in their best interest to make up for past mistakes. Nothing else needed to be said on the matter.

Sunset did not bother waving to the proprietor and instead followed the zebras and others out to the back deck where Celestia had several griddles going under pit fires, giving patient and kind instruction on how to make the perfect pancakes. Off to the left Sunset could see they had already made quite a few, but then they did still have many mouths to feed. The smell from the kettles to the right immediately drew her attention. A small shift to the beach wind and the scent of fresh brewed coffee assaulted Sunset’s olfactory senses in the best possible way. A smile spread across her lips.

“Good morning, little sun,” Celestia said without having to take her eyes off her new culinary students. “I hope you are well rested.”

“Feeling pretty good now. Once I get some coffee and food in me, I'll be ready to tackle whatever we have to do today.”

“That is good to hear because there is a great deal to accomplish.” Celestia gestured to the canopy tent on the beach with a table and a few others already gathered, quietly speaking. “Please join Levar and the others and go over what they have in mind. Make whatever changes you feel would be necessary.”

“We could switch spots. You are probably the better war tactician than me. I only know what I’ve read from history and done in video games. I’ve never prepared defensive positions or fought a major battle before. Just a few scrap fights.”

“I understand what you are saying, except we are not preparing soldiers for war, dearest. We are preparing defenses for frightened and abused former slaves. Ponies and the like who are counting on us to keep them safe.” Celestia looked up so that ancient magenta eyes that had seen dozens of lifetimes come and go locked with younger teal ones. There was compassion in those old eyes, but it was laced heavily with sheer determination. A mare on a mission. “We must not allow any of them to come to harm.”

Sunset poured herself a cup, adding just a bit of sugar and a touch of cream before partaking in her morning brew. When she looked at Celestia again, her eyes were fully awake, a spark of her own determination having roared to life. Sunset Shimmer nodded and declared, “I understand.”

The warm, kind smile returned to Celestia, her attention once again on the griddles and those under her watchful eye. “Good.”

Nothing else on the matter needed to be said.

Sunset took her coffee with her as she stood at one of the tent canopy’s openings. Levar stopped talking to the other two zebras, one male the other female, and turned to Sunset Shimmer and bowed. The other zebras did so in turn as well as the Equestrian sailor, Swish Kicker. The sight of ponies and zebras bowing made Sunset a bit uneasy.

“No, please, rise. Don't do that. I’m not… look, we need to work together and bowing is not going to speed things up so, please no more. Anyhow, I guess we should start with what we know about Captain Danger in general and what resources we have available. Any and all details welcomed.”

Levar looked to the others, but they gestured for him to step forward. Once again Sunset had to look into those gorgeous green eyes of his that were full of too many emotions to decern. He coughed into his hoof to clear his throat and smoothed out his traditional zebra mohawk that had just a hint of sienna brown in it as well. A detail she just now took note of. Focus, girl.

“Danger always approaches the island on the far side where the plantation and storage barns are to make transfer of cargo easier. The water there is deeper, be it a natural channel or cut out I do not know, but it allows his ship to dock even when sitting low in the draft with cargo. The last several times I witnessed the process, Danger always sends a skiff crew to secure the docks and the landing before bringing in the Phantasm itself.”

“Smart and paranoid. So probably no reason to bother with a sneak attack given what we've already done to the plantation, but we also don’t want him to cut his losses and run or else we won’t get that artifact or whatever he has that lets his ship pass through the defense shield. If that’s the case, we need to shore up defenses for those that want to stand and fight and also lay bait to make sure he doen't just turn and run.” Sunset tapped her chin a moment. “What do we have here that is so important that he comes back to this island at all?”

“Slaves and food,” said the stocky zebra behind Levar with a growl to his voice. “Without us his crew would have to raid other ships or ports for food.”

“Okay, so we need bait and to antagonize him to come to shore. Well, we could risk some of the food stores out front if you think that might work. As far as drawing him in…”

“He is prideful, boastful, and tries to be charming. Especially to our mares. It probably would have more effect if not for the fact that he still treats them like property instead of living beings after he's..."

The zebra stallion growled again and the zebra mare next to him grimaced and shuddered, rubbing a foreleg hoof against the other. No elaboration was needed. Sunset took another swig of coffee to wash the bile taste from her mouth. "I get it, you don't have to say it."

"If we wound his pride severely, he will wish to exact revenge. Ruthlessly.”

“Insult him. Got it. I’m good at that. Ask about half the nobles in Canterlot once you come to visit.” Sunset finished her coffee and smiled confidently at the others before her. Levar smiled brightly while the others at least all brightened up a bit. “Okay, let’s get started. I know this may seem a bit cruel, but I need to ask your people to help dig and build some defenses even though they have been forced to work so much already.”

“It is for their freedom. They will gladly work for you, Lady Sunset.”

Sunset’s mechanical and creative mind sprang to life as she summoned a piece of charcoal and parchment over and began to draw out a rough layout of the beach facing the plantation. “Okay, good. So, I’m thinking a pile of food crates out front with an obvious firetrap nearby so he can see the threat to his stocks. We dig three trenches here, here, and here, behind the fields, but still in view so that we can shout taunts at and attacking crew, maybe wave some homemade flags that insult the captain to get his blood boiling. We fortify the trenches with log walls that I can help cut from the dilapidated barns and some from the forest.

“We don’t have much in the way of close combat weapons if it comes to that so everyone should probably keep farm equipment or a few sharpened branches nearby if things get close and ugly. I'm hoping it won't get that far, but just saying.
Also, I only want volunteers in the trenches. No one is getting drafted to be in harm's way. All the others should stay in the hotel on this side of the island with the young colts and fillies until the all clear is given.”

“We should get to work right after everypony has eaten. Organize teams for the various duties and such,” added Swish Kicker.

Sunset nodded. “Agreed. And from the smell of it, Mom has plenty of food for all so eat hearty. You’re going to need it.”

Those that could work broke into one of three teams. Celestia led the team that began digging the trenches for the defense positions around the fields that had a good line of sight of the docks. Sunset Shimmer led the teams that harvested the trees or repurposed wood from the barns and shacks. While the goldenrod alicorn did most of the heavy lifting with her magic, the strong backs of the former zebra slaves, even after who knew how long being abused, were still more than ready for the task if it meant freedom from the cursed island. Levar supervised the final construction as the materials were stacked up with the detail drawing Sunset had provided in hoof.

They all stopped for a mid-day break, many of the former prisoners sprawled about the beach with drinks and sandwiches of vegetable spread that were easy to make and stretched the provisions carefully. Sunset took a moment to check on their pirate prisoners that were confined to a room in the hotel. She was not really worried about them escaping since if they attempted to do so not only was there nowhere for them to go, but the former slaves they had abused were given full permission to do what they liked to their oppressors. The hotel room was more for their protection, plus it had working plumbing. A finer luxury than many of their prisoners were given on any day.

Upon returning to the lobby Sunset found a number of zebras and other ponies congregating around Celestia. They were all speaking softly and she was nodding and smiling, clearly pleased by their words of whatever it may have been. It could simply be progress reports or perhaps new suggestions on what to do next. Sunset was not worried. Her mother would share such information when it was time and instead made herself a couple of sandwiches now that the others were seen to. Several ponies and zebras had tried to insist Sunset and Celestia eat first, but they had both waited and made it known that they would wait for all others to be served.

With a grumble to her stomach, Sunset devoured her food without really bothering to enjoy it. She then plopped onto one of the lobby seats and sighed, throwing her head back, eyes closed, forelegs spread across the top and, rather undignifiedly, displaying herself with hindlegs spread, but did not care one bit.

When she had first returned to Equestria for longer than a day or two it had taken some time for her brain to get used to not waking up and immediately putting on clothes to not, “scare the normals” as Twi liked to call it. The sentiment was often followed by one of her adorable little giggles. When it was just the two of them, like it usually was, Sunset often walked around their hotel or private bungalow naked or in just panties. Partly because of her pony nature and partly because it just felt damn good. Like with anything, there were pluses and minuses to both worlds. As there always had been.

“May I sit?”

Sunset opened her eyes and brought her attention to the zebra that was standing before her, trying not to admire her… everything, but clearly failing with his shifting eyes and blushing face. With her own face turning a bit red, Sunset repositioned herself to something a bit more conservative and gestured with a hoof for Levar to sit next to her. He nodded his head and whispered what sounded like a prayer before digging into his own sandwich.

After a few minutes of eating quietly while Sunset sipped her drink, Levar cleared his throat. “Progress is going well. We should have everything done before sundown. Tomorrow morning at worst.”

“That’s good. From the notes I got out of Webo’s journal Captain Dick Cheese should be back in the next day or two, so we need to be ready.”

“Do you… I mean… I understand that a battle will likely take place and that, despite your best efforts, injuries and possibly death may fall upon us. Do you feel… that we should make the most of the time we have left?”

Sunset gulped down the last of her lemon water suddenly wishing it had been something a bit stronger. She glanced to the zebra beside her who was fidgeting a bit while continuing to sneak glances at her. Hoo boy. I should have said something sooner. Damn those sexy eyes of his. Now I feel like I’ve been leading him on, but I think he’s looking for more than just, well, looking.

Levar sensed her hesitation and began to backpedal a bit. “My apologizes. It has just been so long and you are so beautiful. I, I should not have assumed.”

Sunset took a deep breath and touched the ring around her neck. She smiled warmly at her friend and placed a hoof on his leg, which finally got him to stop rambling. “First of all, thank you for the compliment and consideration. Most ponies I deal with are too scared of me to dare throw out something like ‘beautiful’ you know, other than my mom. However, I have to tell you I am married, even if I do sometimes come off as a bit too flirty.”

“I understand. I too have a wife. Or did. My son and I have been here so long now I wonder if she just assumes we are dead and has moved on. I have no idea. At least you know for certain your husband is waiting for you.”

“Wife, actually, and yes, she is. And I love her dearly. This ring, we each have one like it as a symbol of our bond. Do zebras also exchange tokens to show they are wed?”

Levar nodded and pointed to the earring in his left ear with a connected chain to a stud that was higher in the lobe. “I should have said something earlier as well, but, as I said it had been so long since a mare took interest in me and…”

“You are lonely, horny, and really want to rut me like there is no tomorrow. I get it, I feel it too. I mean that. Seriously, you are a stunning stallion with some gorgeous eyes that I could stare into all day long and trust me, if I were not married, I would have gladly taken you up on that. But I can offer you my friendship and my promise that I will help find your wife if she is still out there. I, no, not just me, mom and I will do our best to keep you and your son safe so we can make that happen.”

“Thank you, Lady Sunset, for your honesty and your friendship. It does my heart good and you fill me with hope. That is something I have needed even more than the company of a mare, I think. Pardon me now, I think I would like to walk to clear my head.” Levar stood, bowed slightly, and exited the hotel. Sunset hated to reject him, her body hated it even more, but her heart did feel lighter getting the tension off her chest. No one or pony liked being led on with false intentions.

“Everything all right, little sun?”

“Yeah,” Sunset said with a sigh and a sad little smile, “just had to turn down sex because, you know… naughty, naughty. Plus, I would have felt terribly guilty about it and eventually blurted it out to Twi and that would have made things awkward in ways I’d rather not deal with. Plus, you know, faithful and all that.”

“I understand.”

Sunset arched a brow. It sounded at first like just a simple platitude, but there was something under the breath of that simple statement. A peppering of guilt, regret. Sunset studied her mother’s face carefully, her teal eyes going wide. “Oh shit. You cheated on Dad, didn’t you?”

“We were never married except in our hearts. And my heart never waivered from how I felt about your father. Never. However… especially long ago, I still had… physical needs and the desires of a young mare, as you know.” Sunset gestured for Celestia to continue. She hesitated, but finally relented under her daughter’s adamant stare of complete, captive attention. “Keep in mind it was long before you were born or had planned to conceive you for that matter. Anyhow, I was going to tell you later since you inquired about the dragon fire.”

“Wait, how are those two… things… related…” Sunset face burned red and her brain began to smoke from her twitching ears. “Noooo… seriously… you, you did…?”

“Dragons are stubborn creatures on the best of days. Spike forever being the exception to most of the worst stereotypes, but his unique upbringing has much to do with that. However, dragons who follow the Dragon Lord are bound to his or her will as much by tradition as by magic. One such rule was to closely guard their secrets. Still, even among dragons who were not raised by ponies there were outliners. Those that did not feel the compulsion of their lord as strongly. These dragons were curious about the world around them and would exchange information in return for information. One such dragon was a researcher named Ridgeline.

“Ridge was of average size for a dragon, about the same size Spike is now… maybe slightly taller, with a longer tail and less bulky frame. He was curious about ponies and our culture as a whole. I found him spying on a kirin village from a distance, taking notes after reports of dragons in our lands had reached my ears. I found that curious since dragons and paper are so unusual, especially five hundred years ago. I learned a great deal from him and he from I. For instance, some dragons can control the size of their bodies, others can make themselves practically invisible and blend to the background, and of course, the reason he was using parchment instead of vellum or hide to write upon. Ridge had the ability to send paper messages via a magical cloud to whom he wished simply by picturing them in his mind. The specific magical mechanics of it are still beyond me other than it does work.”

“Was this power his alone?”

“No, but it was rare, still is. And more importantly, forbidden to share with outsiders. However, I wished to know more about our occasionally antagonistic and hostile neighbors. The dragon lord of the time, Lord Torch, much to my surprise and suspicion allowed Ridgeline to return to Canterlot under the banner of an ambassador. Which, as you can imagine, was absolutely unheard of for the era.”

“It must not have lasted long considering I never read about it or him.”

Celestia shook her head, settling further into her seat. “No. And as I suspected the lord only allowed it so long as Ridgeline secretly sent reports back on our defenses and weaknesses. I caught Ridge sending one such report and questioned him at spearpoint. He explained that he had to play along at least a little or else the lord would recall him or worse, attack the ponies he had come to endear. Me especially. He showed me a copy of what he had sent, misinformation and greatly exaggerating the reach of my power so that Torch would not dare invade our lands in force. Ridgeline was protecting us.”

“Okay, I get it. You talked to him, spent a lot of time with him, probably found him charming and attractive, but what about Dad?”

“As you know, I was still quite depressed about locking Luna away even centuries later. Sombra had been my only comfort beyond distracting myself with the mountain of duties I had to undertake. However, I had also been increasing my visits to his world and that was causing magical overlap at an alarming rate. I did not care at the time and only wanted to see my love. Your father, the practical and patient one of the two of us, told me I had to slow down or risk losing everything. I became frustrated, angry. We argued and I left in tears. I did not visit him again for decades.”

Sunset nodded in understanding. “And in that time you found a companion in Ridgeline.”

“He was a surprisingly tender and a gentle lover considering his size and nature. He… loved me, even if I did not completely feel the same way. We shared much, secrets, knowledge, and of course each other from time to time. I had inquired one night about the dragon fire messages and he explained that if I wished to be able to cast such a spell I needed to be either a dragon possessing said talent, a powerful kirin, or to take the essence of a dragon within me.”

“Within you?”

“Within me.”

“As in…”

“In.”

“Which way in?”

“Use your imagination, my dear.”

“I’d rather not.”

Celestia laughed, wiping a tear from her face. “Of course. No pony wants to think about their mother in such a way and you are quite creative. Regardless, that is why I could not simply tell you or show you how the spell works. It requires a rather intimate catalyst to already have been present.”

“Okay, yeah and wow. A dragon. So many questions… most of which I really don’t want to ask… except two. Do I have a kirin half sibling and what happened to him?” The smile full of joyful nostalgia disappeared in an instant and Sunset instantly regretted prying. “Ah, shit. Look, you don’t have to say it.”

“No, you have no siblings and I honestly do not know what happened. Dragon Lord Torch had him recalled after another spy revealed what Ridge had been teaching me about dragon culture. Whether they knew of our affair I do not know. We exchanged a few letters when he first returned home… then, nothing. He never replied and when I inquired from the lord himself, he simply huffed fire breath at me. I had no… politically acceptable ways to find the truth. I could ask Dragon Lord Ember, but considering this was long before she hatched I have little reason to press. My friend is gone. The how would only tear open a wound in my heart I would rather leave sealed.”

Sunset pulled Celestia into a hug and held her close, rubbing a hoof along her back. They remained as so until Celestia pulled back and nodded.

“Enough on that. We should return to work, there is still much to do. Oh, and please do me a favor and not mention this to Luna. I am, even to this day, still not ready to see that pleased grin on her face were she to know that I have been intimate with a dragon.”

“Shit eating. That’s what that grin is called, Mom.”

“Indeed.”

With the end goal in sight everyone pushed through to meet the final design of the trenches, log walls, and improvised or modified farm tool weapons. The sun was low in the sky, just about to kiss the horizon when both alicorns agreed there was nothing else that could be done with what they had.

A number of zebras had scattered to enjoy the sunset while others moved to assist in making dinner. The night was approaching with a cool, pleasant breeze and a few bonfires had been lit for warmth, ambiance, and because there was just something about a fire on a beach as the stars shined forth.

Sunset found herself a small patch of land to sit on the sand and laid down, the sound of the small crashing waves was relaxing. She closed her eyes and remembered sitting on a similar beach along the Mediterranean with Twilight by her side. Digging her toes in the sand and letting the waves wash over them with their fingers interlocked, shoulder to shoulder. Close enough that when the wind shifted the ocean smell was overtaken by the scent of lavender with a hint of burnt copper from a small side project Twilight had been working on. The memory nearly brought a tear to Sunset's eye.

The sound of hooves shifting through sand and a few voices broke Sunset from her revere. She looked up and was unsurprised to find Celestia towering above her. That perspective brought back its own share of memories.

“Tired?”

Sunset shrugged. “Nothing a good meal won’t cure.”

“That is good to hear because I feel you and I are not quite done for the evening.”

“How so? I mean, I guess we could reinforce the walls, but honestly, if things go well they won’t have to stick their heads out from them.”

Celestia shook her head and made a wide sweeping gesture with a foreleg. “Look over the beach and tell me what you see, little sun.”

Oh goodie, lesson time. Sunset stretched and stood so as to better partake in what her mother was indicating. She saw the work they had accomplished along with quite a number of zebras mulling about, some talking, others just looking… lost perhaps?

“I see some very tired zebras and ponies in need of food and rest.”

Celestia nodded. “Yes, but look closer. See their movements, their faces. Get a feel for the general atmosphere around the encampment. Now, tell me what you see?”

Sunset closed her eyes a moment and reached out with her senses beyond what just her eyes could see. They were tired, sure, but they were as she said before, lost. There was a dread in the air, a hint of hopelessness that all they had done was sweat and toil for no good reason, but to hasten death. She did not see it at first, but there was clearly a tension in the air that could easily snap to infighting hostility.

“Everyone, er pony, seems on edge. We’ve pushed them hard and they don’t know if it was worth it. They have no idea if they will see their home again.”

“Something you can relate to, empathize with, I assume.”

Sunset grimaced. “Yeah.”

“Perhaps they need a little something to take that tension off and at the same time, galvanize their trust and loyalty to follow you tomorrow. Give them hope that they have a tomorrow worth living for.”

“What do you suggest?”

Sunset had not noticed it at first, but Celestia unslung an object she had around her back, passing the acoustic guitar over to Sunset Shimmer. “What makes you feel better when you are scared or sad? Lend your strength to them. Even if only for a little while.”

Sunset tested the strings. They needed to be tuned to her liking, but overall it was in decent shape considering it had likely either floated ashore or had been looted salvage. As long as she did not try to play anything too crazy the strings should hold up. Of course, that left the lingering question.

“You want me to play for them?”

“Yes. But more than that. Play from your soul, play so that they know they are truly not alone and that we, more so you, will lead them and see them freed. Be the leader they need, my little sun.”

Sunset nodded, testing the strings one more time. A smirk spread across her lips a questioning brow arched higher than the other. “Still trying to get a crown on my head?”

“That choice was and will always be yours to make. Right now, just nudging you to fully utilize the tremendous talents in which you have honed. I have an amazing daughter. She should have an opportunity to be amazing.”

Sunset nodded and smirked. “Heh, okay.”

Author's Note

Good evening and Happy, well Everything. Everyone be safe this week if you are out traveling, be it home from school or to see family. I want to know all my readers made it where they were going safely.

So many questions from the canon series on why Spike can send messages, why can only Celestia send them back and what are the limitations of the power? So naturally, when I find an unknown that I find fascinating I make own answer.

Now, the good news. This story is DONE. Now, in the past I have just posted the rest of the chapters, but I'm going to sit on them and still post a week at a time because it buys me time to build a buffer for the next story. (Chapter 1 is done.) Also still need to finish the cover art.

Questions? Comments?

Chapter 10: One Night Only

Sunset Shimmer had performed before many crowds over the years. The setting had changed, the reasons had changed, but being before others was nothing new to the goldenrod alicorn. Sunset's early performances had not been those of a musician on stage, but instead had been magic. She had been required to perform for assessment before Princess Celestia as well as her other school instructors. Sometimes she even had an audience of her fellow students. In those early days Sunset, of course, had been more concerned with blowing the competition and some professors away spectacularly. The more powerful the spell, the more destructive the result, the more it brought her attention, that was all that mattered in those early days of desperate-for-attention youth.

Later performances on Earth had Sunset trading a powerful horn for being with her friends on stage, a guitar in hand as the much needed rhythm guitarist for the Rainbooms. Rainbow Dash did have some great, hard earned guitar skills, but where Rainbow was a high octane adrenaline rush of power rifts to the face, Sunset considered herself more a skillful, graceful artist who focused more on the soul of the music instead of just trying to break strings.

This focus on skill first was what eventually led Sunset to take her clandestine art skills as the loved and somewhat infamous street painter, Flanksy to go legit and put those skills on display for both work and the occasional art gallery showing. However, out of all the crowds she had stood before or students she had taught to paint or sculpt or rock out, none had been more critical and difficult to please than her two daughters, Aurora Shimmer and Sunna Sparkle.

Aurora, as a child was wild, did not want to listen, and often marched to the beat of her own drum. Sunset’s first daughter would listen with one ear while the other listened to whatever noise was going on inside her own head. When she tried to teach Aurora different drawing and painting techniques she was often met with a, “Yeah, yeah, I get it, mama,” and then she would just do her own thing. Results often varied greatly, which was fine. Not everyone was born to be an artist after all. Sunset could have done without the numerous snarky remarks her teenager would sling her way about the art she made professionally from time to time. However, if you can't take criticism, art is not an ideal career choice.

Sunna was no less a handful, just a different kind of handful. Aurora was like trying to handle a hot potato with no gloves on. Sunna was like trying to handle a quiet, sneaky ninja who would rather sit in her room and draw on the walls with permanent marker then smile at you, proud as can be when she was finally caught. There was often a pile of blank drawing paper nearby that even included a note that stated, ‘draw on this.'

Still, between her daughters, paying crowds of fans, fellow students, and nervous school instructors, Sunset felt a bigger lump settle into her stomach than she ever had with the others. This was no ordinary performance. These were ponies and zebras that had been through hell. They had been abducted, beaten, whipped, some had even been sexually assaulted, all of them trapped with no means of escape beyond choosing death and no hope to think otherwise. Sunset felt her anxiety flare in a way that only Twilight could understand and appreciate.

“How and I supposed to keep this upbeat? How am I supposed to make them feel better about any of this? Would they even like the music I can play?! Seriously, what the hell am I doing?!”

“Sunset.”

“What?!” Sunset turned to her mother with wide, frantic eyes and felt wings wrap around her. “Sorry.”

“Be at peace, little sun. Take a breath and tell me, what is the matter?”

Sunset let out a long breath and forced her racing heart to settle. It still took a few more minutes until the mild panic attack passed. It had been a while since she had felt one of those. She was usually the one having to calm Twi… and sometimes Twilight as well when they worked in the lab. Her thoughts returned to her wife, imagining her smiling behind black rimmed glasses, amethyst eyes filled with love just for her. Their hands intertwined. Calming warmth from skin on skin, lips caressing one another, the steady pulse of a heartbeat in time with her own. Sunset pressed the ring to her chest fur and finally felt the anxiety subside.

“Sorry, just started to spin my wheels, so to speak. I’m just out of practice being out in front of a crowd, I think. Especially alone. The last time I played a gig like this was for a charity ball that Pinkie Pie had set up. Really thinking about it, it was a lot like this. Small crowd of about a hundred donors, acoustic guitar in... hand.” Sunset clutched the instrument gently, confidence and determination once again shining in her teal eyes that brought a smile to Celestia’s face. There was the Sunset Shimmer she knew so well. “Yeah, I can do this.”

“I know you can. And I will be right out front cheering you on. Do you know what you are going to play?”

Sunset tapped her chin a moment, pondering. “Well, I do have my own stuff I wrote, but most of those were just jingles or instrumentals. Might lead with one of those for a warmup. The others I worked on were for the Rainbooms and don’t sound as good solo. I do know a few songs off the top of my head I could do and I have a few filks in my back pocket I made for practice and fun.”

“Filks?”

“Yeah, you take an existing song and rework the lyrics. It’s great practice for working out your own material when you get stuck in a rut. Some musicians even make good money on it. I’m not sure who was the bigger master of the filk, Weird Al or Cheese Sandwich, but those two were geniuses when it came to reworking a song.”

“I will leave those decisions up to you. Considering they should still get a decent night of sleep I would not recommend more than five or six songs. However, you are more a pony of the night than I. I will leave you in charge of those little details.”

Sunset nodded to Celestia who moved to join the gathering crowd in the light of the bonfires on the beach. Levar and Steady Course had been tasked with telling the others that a performance would be held after dinner as both a celebration to their hard work and to their soon to be had freedom from the island. From a glance, Sunset could tell that all but the youngest colts and fillies were in attendance. That was fine. Now that she once again had her focus, Sunset had no plans to put on a poor performance. After all, she had a reputation as an artist and as Celestia’s daughter to uphold.

There had been no need to build a stage since the hotel already had a large wooden deck patio out back. The only alteration that needed to be made was that the performance stage had been intended to play towards the outside dining guests and not the beach behind it. So, the guard rail had to be removed. Grassy Rio had wisely chosen not to comment on the minor destruction of his property.

“Good evening.” Sunset waited for the various side conversations to settle before she continued. Taking her place on top of a set of stacked crates that were not as wide as she would have liked, but it allowed all those gathered to easily see and hear her and had minimal risk of her accidentally falling off of. Besides, she had wings, magic, and if nothing else it was a short drop to the relatively soft sand below. Sunset noted the acoustics were terrible since she had no backdrop or surround stage. She was going to have to give her all so those in the back received just as quality an experience. That was fine by her.

“On behalf of Equestria and more immediately, the princesses Twilight Sparkle, Celestia, and Luna, I want to formally apologize for not coming to your aid sooner. No pony, zebra or other creature should have to endure what you have suffered through. However, the past is the past and cannot be changed. I know this well. The best course of action is to move forward. With that said, let me state with full confidence that I will be here for you tomorrow and however long it takes to get all of you home to your families and loved ones. In case any of you are not aware I am Lady Sunset Shimmer, daughter of Celestia and I am happy, no, honored to lead you to freedom.

“Tonight however, I want all of you to find a comfortable spot to sit or stand, relax, enjoy, and listen to a few songs that will put a smile on your face and with luck, maybe get those plots shaking to the beat.” Sunset lit her horn and red telekinetic fingers manifested at the ends of her forehooves. Several of the zebra gasped, ‘ooh and ahhh,’ having never seen magic performed in such a way.

Playing it safe, Sunset started with an instrumental only song she had written years ago that she played at Rainbow Dash and Soarrin’s wedding. It started with a slow tempo that gradually got faster to the end. A good warmup song and several of the ponies before her were tapping their hooves to the sand by the end just like she had hoped. After a brief rest and applause Sunset launched into Clapton's 'Change the World.' All the crowd suddenly became mesmerized and attentive even in the back as she began to sing the soft yet beautiful piece of work. The applause that followed the end of the song was significantly louder that before. Sunset smiled, especially down at Celestia who was loudly clapping her hooves together.

Sunset smiled brightly as she felt her soul warm like it always did when she hit her music groove. If it was possible for her to further 'Pony Up' she probably would have. Sunset adjusted herself quickly then began to strum again, playing Blind Melon's 'No Rain.' By the time she finished, no creature was sitting down anymore and every face bore a pleased smile.
Time to really get some rumps moving.

Sunset began to beat her hoof on the side of the guitar as well as stomp a hindleg hoof on the crates, tapping loudly as she launched into ‘Shake it off.’ By the end of the song every pony and zebra were smiling and had begun to dance alone or with the ones next to them. Sunset Shimmer sported the biggest grin of them all. She had forgotten how invigorating it was to play before a crowd and how their energy and enjoyment only heightened her own.

After taking a few gulps of water Sunset immediately launched into her song, ‘Let it Rain’ followed by, ‘Learning to Fly,’ one of her favorite songs ever written. By that point the entire crowd had needed to drink their own water from dancing. It was a good time to break out one of the filks.

“I’m glad to see smiles on everyone's faces. You’ve all earned a good evening of fun and entertainment. Am I right to say we're having a good time?" The crowd shouted and whistled. Even Celestia blew a few whistles herself. "For this next song I am going to break out one of the songs I reworked for fun. I took an existing song that I enjoyed and changed a few of the words then played it for my wife. In case anypony is wondering, she absolutely loved it.” Sunset readied the guitar again. “This one is called, Touch the Hoof.”

Sunset was afraid the strings were going to break by the time she was done with the faster, harder rock song that she sang along to with all her might. She was not concerned however, she was having too good a time. After a small break Sunset launched into another instrumental guitar solo to give her voice a chance to rest. The wide grin never leaving her face.

If not for the small, annoying fact that they were all still trapped on an island by some powerful magic and she was not sure why, Celestia would be having the time of her life. She was happily dancing along with the other ponies and zebras, occasionally entertaining their request to dance with her one on one. One young stallion even found himself emboldened enough to plant a small kiss in her cheek. That earned him cheers from some of his friends and a warm giggle from Celestia herself.

The situation was, in a roundabout sort of way, exactly what Celestia had been looking forward to ever since Sunset Shimmer had set hoof in Equestria again for longer than a day or two. Here she was on a beach lit by bonfires under the beautiful stars filled night laughing and singing and enjoying the company of others all while her beautiful and tremendously talented daughter wowed the crowd that desperately needed to be entertained. Celestia could not be more content.

It was honestly like a dream and if not for the sweat from dancing she might have thought it was. When Celestia really stopped to think about it she had never had a chance to see one of Sunset’s music performances. As a filly, Sunset had been driven to be the best at everything she set out to do. She was, of course, highly intelligent, beautiful, and powerful in magic. Those were all the things that mattered to her then. However, she had not shown much in the way of interest in things such as art and music after age ten when her sole focus had been knowledge and power. That was also about the time, Celestia recalled, that she had first began to see the megalomania set in. She had been so focused on other things that she lost her little filly right out from under her hooves even though she was just a few hallways away.

So many missed opportunities. So much missed time.

Later, from what Sunset had told Celestia of her time on Earth, learning to use her hands had been an absolute necessity to survive and the more she practiced with different tasks the more versatile she became. And while she did dabble, it was not until, ‘Twilight bitch-slapped me with a rainbow laser,’ did Sunset finally see the monster she was becoming and blossom and embrace all her artistic talents.

To be here now, before her alicorn daughter, watching, listening to her pour her heart and soul into her art. It was like Celestia’s heart was finally healed and at peace with all the failures she had committed as a teacher and a mother. Her little ray of sunshine that had been so tiny the day she had been born was everything she truly wanted her to be. And to think that her father and I had woven spells into her as an unborn foal so as to craft her into a weapon. How horrible and short sighted I was. Just look at my little sun now. My greatest creation and gift to this world in all her splendor. No thanks to me. It took a monumental level of sheer will, but Celestia fought down the tears that were on the brink of flowing.

Sunset let out a whoop and laughed when the crowd mimicked her gleeful cheer. It was getting late now and her horn was beginning to throb from long term use of her telekinetic finger spell. She was nearly at the limit she had held it before during testing. However, as Sunset looked down at her mother, tears of joy about to spill forth, she knew she had one more song she had to play.

“All right everyone… everypony. I think I have one last song in me before we break and settle in for the night.” Sunset paused, to scan the crowd and then returned her eyes to Celestia and smiled warmly. “This last song is also a reworked filk that I wrote many, many years ago. In fact, it was the first filk I wrote even when I was still learning to play guitar and it is dedicated to my mother, Princess Celestia. It’s a little slower, so take a seat, think about your loved ones, and all they wanted and did for you and you for them. This, is Simple Mare.”

Sunset took a deep breath and then began to strum a slower tempo rhythm. She closed her eyes for a moment, the words flowing to the forefront of her mind, and then they poured forth from where they had remained hidden for decades.

“Celestia told me, when I was young. Come sit beside me my, little sun.

And listen closely to what my lessons say. And if you do this it will help you find friendship someday.

Ask for anything, but time, don't live too fast. Learn from our mistakes, and don't forget the past.

You'll find friendship and you'll find love. And never forget, little sun, I'll be smiling from above.

And be a simpleeee kiiiind of maaaaare! Be sooooomethiiiiing you love and unnnnnderstand!”

Celestia felt the dam break inside her heart. HER daughter, HER little sun… had written a song about the two of them dedicated to HER and all she had tried to instill. The tears flowed freely. Celestia did not even bother to try and stop them and did not give two hoots who saw them. Sunset Shimmer, HER Sunset Shimmer was playing her heart out to give hope and entertainment to these lost and forgotten souls and it was beyond comparison how much love Celestia felt in her soul. She was the proudest mother on the face of the planet at that moment and no power in the universe was going to take that from her.

“Forget your lust for the crown of gold, all that's need is in your heart and soul.

You can do this, little filly, if you try,

All that I want for you, little sun is TO BE SAAAATISFIIIIED!

And be a simpleeee kiiind of maaaare!”

Verse after verse Sunset played, finally, she dropped to her knees, and set the guitar down and belted out the end of the song. The red fingers dissipated and after two or three heartbeats the gathered crowd of former slaves and refugees erupted in cheers, hoof claps, and whistles. Sunset rose back to her full height and extended her wings until they erupted into flame, only causing the crowd to cheer louder.

After a few waves Sunset glanced down again at her mother who had mostly recomposed herself and mouthed the words, ‘I love you so much.’ Sunset had to wipe the tears from her own eyes before finally declaring, “Thank you all and goodnight!”

Sunset was not sure how long the others stayed up or if the party went all the way into the dawn. All she sort of remembered was landing face first into her bed and feeling the warm body and all encompassing and comforting wings and legs of the Goddess of the Sun wrapping around her. For the first time in roughly a year, Sunset Shimmer slept completely content.

Celestia felt the presence at the edge of her waking and dreaming mind. It was a familiar presence, but significantly clouded. The blurry form was calling out to her, saying her name over and over again. She focused on the bluish blur and forced it to take better shape.

“Tia! Can you hear me?!”

Celestia felt her hooves touch what her mind interpreted as ground. The cosmic dust path felt soft, muddied as everything else around her. It was highly unusual, but she knew the reason why. With practiced and honed meditation, the image of her sister, Luna, finally began to focus enough that she no longer looked like a stain on the sidewalk.

Celestia opened her astral plane eyes in her mind and Luna was standing there looking at her with curiosity and concern. “That’s much better. I can actually see you now.”

Luna nodded. “Yes. You, however, are still quite fuzzy to me. Have you been partaking so heavily in the fire water elixir that your mind is a drunken, befuddled fog? If so, I tip my horn at thee for finally relaxing and letting your mane down… so to speak. Do tell me there is a strapping young stallion sharing your bed and that you have shown him what it means to be touched by a goddess. Oh! Perhaps more than one.”

“Uhh, no, dear sister. Just my daughter.”

“Sweet. And yet such a pity,” Luna pouted, but then quickly smiled. “I apologize if you have been trying to converse with me in this place before, but Flurry Heart has kept me so busy either watching her careless back for booby traps or placating the locals for her lack of subtlety that I have not dream walked in two days. I do not suppose my niece and apprentice in this has had a chance to do so for our subjects.”

“I do not think Sunset is comfortable doing such without you.” Celestia raised a hoof to cutoff Luna’s next comment. “Sister, I am struggling to keep this connection. I feel, it’s strange presence and it is fighting me.”

“Tia, are you in danger?”

“Yes and no. In short, we arrived to find that the island allows ships to land, but nothing can leave. It fights back with powerful magic and a nearly impenetrable, one-way barrier. I managed to send a message to Spike and Twilight Sparkle, but it could be days if not longer before we see sails. Even still, we are not entirely sure how to break the curse yet. I am however glad that I was able to reach out to you even if only in this manner. It feels good to speak with you.”

Luna arched a brow and narrowed her eyes. “You make it sound so dire. Between you and Sunset you should be able to break a simple curse. Has thou become so soft and flabby like a soggy slice of cake?”

“It is not simple, Luna, and there is also something… familiar about this magic. I can’t quite place it, it has been so long. I have my suspicions, but cannot confirm until I have seen this supposed artifact that a pirate uses to pass through the barrier. He is expected soon. Before our rescuers will arrive.” Celestia paused, eyes moving to meet her sister’s. “Luna, beloved sister, should anything happen to me. Please, swear upon the soul of our mother that you will take care of my little sun. I… I will feel better knowing she has you by her side.”

“You are not going to die, sister of mine. Sit tight, be smart, trust in Twilight to move swiftly and trust in your daughter to be the warrior she was born to be.”

Celestia’s eyes turned to glass and ethereal tears fell and blew away to stardust. “She’s so talented, Lulu. Sun and stars, it was so wonderful watching her and listening to her perform tonight. I can barely describe the way it made me feel inside. She is… she is so much more than just a weapon to be wielded. I regret so many damn mistakes I made with her and even still. Seeing how she is now, the love she shows and the pure fire that burns in her soul. She is destined for so much more than I ever could have imagined. And I couldn’t be happier for it.”

“Tia, you’re fading.”

“Swear to me you will watch after my daughter.”

Luna was beginning to blur as Celestia struggled to stay in the astral dreamscape. The nebulous colors were turning to black and the stars fading. Still, with one last great will of effort, Luna shouted out, the sound muted and distant, but still could be heard.

“I swear I will take care of Sunset Shimmer, upon pain of death. You have my oath!”

Celestia smiled as the darkness consumed her, the white alicorn’s mind returned to her body and dreamless sleep soon followed.

Author's Note

Good evening. Well, it's Lull week. That gap between two holidays where you would rather just sleep for a week. I sure as heck would if I could. Regardless, was a good Christmas, food was good nothing caught fire, people are healthy. Also, my Deviled Eggs were perfect again. I make eggggcellent Deviled Eggs. (Yes, I went there.)

Now about the above. I actually DID ask the site moderators about filk song lyrics and they said it was ok. So, for the added effect I went full steam ahead and posted what I had. Lyrics sung to the tune of Lynyrd Skynyrd's: Simple Man.

However, if you want to hear the BEST cover of said song...

https://youtu.be/rgFQ6WmxdMs

Questions? Comments?

Chapter 11: Aggressive Negotiations

The smell of coffee stirred Sunset Shimmer from dreamless sleep. She looked to her right, but found the bed empty. However, Sunset could hear the shower running. A glance to the window confirmed that it was morning. The dull blue colors with only a hit of the fading orange told Sunset that it was not long after sunrise. She ran a hoof down her face and groaned.

“Ughhhh. Mornings.”

A knock on the door drew Sunset’s attention. She lit her horn and opened the door. It would probably have been more appropriate to at least stand, but she did not feel like it and no one was going to make her. Electing instead to just roll over to face the door. The smell of fresh brewed coffee and eggs perked Sunset up immediately, bringing a smile to her face.

“Good morning, Lady Sunset,” Gentle Knoll said while pushing one of the dining room trolleys. “We have a few fresh items here for you and Princess Celestia. There are eggs and buttered bread, oh, and of course the coffee you brought from your ship. I have been informed you absolutely need this.”

“Heh, yeah, I really do.” Sunset sat up and gestured for the filly to bring the food forth. “I guess Mom will get something when she gets out of the shower.”

“Oh, no. The princess is not in the shower. She helped make breakfast and then joined a few to scout the horizon for early signs of the pirate ship. She said she would return soon to join you, however.”

Sunset was about to ask who was in the shower when the door opened and Tatu and Whistler exited, both with still drying fur with towels around their shoulders. The flush in their cheeks and grins on their faces made it easy to draw conclusions. Nothing she had not done herself more than once. The only thing Sunset could think to say that would not completely embarrass the colts however was to say, “Well, I hope you two left me some hot water.”

They glanced at one another, slightly embarrassed. A fact that went into overdrive when Gentle Knoll commented, “Honestly, you could have waited for me!”

“Sorry, Gent. It’s a big shower, but I don’t think all three of us would have fit.”

“Pfft. You know I’m flexible. I could have made it work.”

“Okay!” said Sunset louder than she intended to. “I’m happy you three are… communicating your intentions wholeheartedly, but could you perhaps do that, you know, in private.”

The three blushed and giggled a bit. Tatu bowed slightly and led his friends from the room. Sunset smiled, waved, and said thank you as they exited. She was definitely going to need that shower in a bit to clean not just her body, but her mind as well. “Kids these days. Wow.”

Sunset finished eating, consuming her coffee, and exited her stress relieving shower to find Celestia, Steady Course, and Levar in their room. At a guess, about an hour had passed. Normally, Sunset preferred her mane and fur dry naturally with the assistance of the towel. However, the steady seriousness of Celestia’s eyes told her that something was going on. With a slight application of a warming spell over her whole body, the remaining moisture was sapped away.

“Good morning, my dear.”

“‘Sup. Considering it looks like there is a small war council happening in our room I have to assume there is news.”

“Perhaps,” Celestia stated neutrally. “I flew as high as I would dare without striking the shield over the island to try and see farther. I caught a glimpse of what might be topsails. I asked Captain Steady Course to best calculate the distance based on the angle of my view.”

“Roughly five kilometers for every two meters of elevation not factoring atmospheric distortion, perspective, and curvature of the planet. Assuming you got as high as say a lighthouse that would have given you, what, about one hundred kilometers of view?” stated Sunset, quickly doing the math in her head before the captain could speak.

“Give or take.”

“So, how fast does a ship like the Phantasm move?”

The others all traded glances before Celestia finally stated, “We do not know for certain, only estimates. We have a few hours at most if what I saw is heading our direction.”

Sunset nodded. “Alright. Sounds like I need to get to the beach and wait for our glorious host.”

“Not alone,” said Levar. “That was why we worked and toiled to make such defenses.”

“Those were meant as a last resort, maybe a place for Celestia and I to retreat to if for some reason we get overwhelmed.”

“Yes, originally. However, Princess Celestia brought something to our attention.”

Sunset turned her eyes to her mother, one brow arched higher than the other questioningly. Celestia grimaced and coughed into her hoof. “It was a thought, more accurately, a concern. If the pirates see the dismantle buildings and defenses with no workers present, even if you have their supplies, it is a possibility they may just turn the ship about and leave without giving us a chance to recover the artifact. If that were to be the case, rescue forces would end up trapped here alongside us. It would then be a chase with bad communication to track Captain Danger down to save us all. I considered, from a tactical point of view, that if the captain saw his once slaves taunting and crowing in defiance that it would goad him into engaging no matter what.”

“That’s a ballsy move, Mom. We risk putting the peo- er ponies in danger that we swore we would protect.”

Celestia nodded, but let none of her personal feelings or emotions crack the mask of leadership she had firmly set in place. Sunset was envious, impressed, and slightly appalled at how well Celestia could slip said mask on. Even after all these years.

“It is a risk, but one that has to be considered. Yes, it places an extra burden of danger to those that choose to stand with us, that we must keep in mind, but there is no conflict without such danger. We only get one shot at this.”

Sunset turned to Levar, meeting those seductive green eyes. She had hoped to see fear, see pleading for his safety and the safety of his son. However, she saw determination. He wanted off this cursed island and was willing to risk his life to do so. She knew the answer, but asked anyway. “How do you and the others feel about this?”

Levar pounded a hoof against his chest and bowed his head in a salute. “Kuheshimiwa binti mfalme, we will gladly stand with you.”

“Asante,” said Celestia with a small smile.

Sunset did a small double take. “Wait, you can speak their language?”

“Of course. Have you so easily forgotten what I did for more than a thousand years?”

Sunset smirked, unable to resist the bait. “Smile and wave?”

Celestia’s smirk turned more genuine. “You are such a brat.”

“And yet, you still love me.”

“I really do.”

Two hours passed when the naked eye was able to spot sails upon the horizon and the distinct shape of a tall ship. Sunset glanced to her mother. It was time to put things into motion. Smoke signal fires were lit to alert the far side of the island that the ship was approaching. It also served as a means to tell those that chose to stand and possibly fight that they needed to get to their positions. Sunset had no doubt that the captain and/or crew had spyglasses or binoculars of some sort that could see their movements even if not quite sure what was amidst.

Celestia volunteered to stand front and center, however was overruled by Sunset. The two bickered for more than a few minutes while the others stared on in both awe and worry that their defenders would come to blows or give up on them entirely. Ultimately, it came down to the incontrovertible fact that Celestia was recognizable and Sunset was not. If the pirates saw an alicorn waiting for them they were far more likely to cut and run. For that same fact, Sunset was standing by the docks on the beach with her wings hidden with a simple illusion spell once more.

Captain Danger exited from his cabin at the hail from the deck crew. The tall, lean pegasus placed his large tricorn hat upon his head, giving it a small tug so that it fit comfortable with his ears through the slits. He checked his feathers to make sure they were not too salted, then smoothed out his burgundy fur that was visible through his cream, pillowy shirt. A captain had to look the part, after all.

The crew were scrambling about, some stowing gear, while others just stopped what they had previously been doing to stand at the ready as the captain passed on his way to the bow. They were his crew, but were beneath him. His only acknowledgment of them was to glance to make sure they were giving him their proper deference. Anything less would be met with harsh words and harsher punishment.

Danger stopped at the rail next to a grayish blue griffon who had too many salt covered feathers and desperately needed a bath and preening. Danger wrinkled his nose. “Cripes and blessed seas, Halley. When was the last time you took a dunk in the tanks? I’m surprised the Equestrians or Arabians have not caught your scent and tracked us back to our berth.”

The griffon huffed, but did not disagree. “Had plans to bathe at the hotel, captain. Or at least I was going to.”

The griffon handed the captain the binoculars. After a small adjustment, Danger spotted the problems straight away. He could easily see that the buildings they had the slaves build for equipment, storage, and crew were gone. There were several new log formations farther up the beach near the tree and ridgeline as well as a few fires, possibly to signal the ship’s arrival. Most striking, of course, was the golden pony with the mane and tail the color of angry sunfire standing there next to a crate that possibly contained their supplies looking out towards them.

She was not doing anything, just standing there as if waiting for a messenger or rowboat to come and meet her. He certainly did not recognize her as a previous guest. If those curves he could see from afar were just as good as up close he certainly would have become more acquainted with her otherwise. Perhaps he still would, later.

“Orders, sir?”

“The plantation’s a wreck and no one mare, even a fine unicorn such as that could do it all on her lonesome. Those palm logs in the distance say defenses to me. No doubt this mare caused some trouble for our gents and got the slaves riled up. I suppose it was inevitable since we weren’t feeding them right enough. The desperate be desperate, after all. Still, I don’t take kindly to anypony taking what’s mine.” Danger glanced down the ship at his waiting crew. “Turn starboard, ready the guns!”

Sunset watched with her sharp, pegasus augmented eyes as the ship began to turn. She was about to launch herself towards the wooden hulk to prevent it from escaping, hoping it was inside the shield when she noticed the sides on the lower deck slide open.

“Ahhhh Shiiiiiit!”

Sunset turned and ran. Two seconds later, a cannonball slammed into the beach not far from where she had been standing and detonated. The heat did not bother her, she had spells for that, but energy was energy and the concussion was still slightly painful and rang her ears. Once at the base of the defenses Sunset turned and raised a shield that was immediately reinforced by Celestia’s magic. Several more cannonballs struck the ground until one finally bounced off the shield.

“Well, this is going great!” shouted Sunset over the cacophony of explosions.

“We cannot let him escape, but we also cannot just sit here and let him hammer our shields. Black powder weapons are not especially effective against magic, but with so many we would eventually tire.” Celestia winced as four more shots ricocheted off their semi-circular defense, emphasizing her point.

“Okay! Plan B!”

Celestia blinked, one brow arching higher than the other. “We had a plan B?”

Sunset Shimmer rolled her eyes before summoning her flaming sword. “We do now!”

“Sunset, what are you d-”

“I’ll be right back!” Sunset charged forward with her sword floating next to her.

While Celestia had heard or read about a number of her daughter’s adventures and/or confrontations, it was another to have to stand there and watch as her only foal, the last link she had to a time long ago as well as her long dead lover, charge like a drunken minotaur towards oncoming balls of deadly iron. It was reckless, irrational, and one of the bravest things she had ever seen a pony do. Celestia could feel her heart pounding in her chest with distraught anxiety.

“This is crazy, this is crazy, this is CRAZY! Twi would so kill me if she saw me doing thiiiiiis!”

The cannons had adjusted to her charge as two shots landed closer. It would not be long before… Sunset spotted the ball coming straight for her. Even with eyes sharp enough to split hairs the projectile was almost too fast to intercept. However, Sunset had been ready. The goldenrod alicorn brought her sword around in an upward stroke just as the ball was about to strike her dead on. She cut clean through it, the two smoldering halves burying themselves into the sand. Sunset, paused for a second before her muzzle spilt with a feral grin and she charged down the dock. She had only one chance at this and needed every bit of ground she could claim.

Captain Danger watched as the mare retreated as he figured she would. He was even unsurprised when their shots fell away to no affect. After all, if the unicorn had the power to level his plantation she had the power to defend herself, he surmised. It was however necessary to soften her up before the crew stormed the beach. They were expendable, but not needlessly so. Once she was tired out, he was sure he could convince the pretty mare to surrender. Maybe even trade the lives of those upstart slaves she had empowered for some personal pleasure time. It had been a while and the thought of such pleasures brought a smile to the salty pegasus' face.

However, before he could give the order to change tactics, the mare pulled a sword from somewhere and it was enchanted with burning red flame. That was disturbing to see in of itself, but then, against all odds and logic one of the boys fired a shot directly at the charging unicorn that said sword cut it in half without slowing her down for more than a second. The entire crew that stood witness to the act, stopped moving and turned to look at their captain.

“That’s… not… possible… right?”

Danger simply scowled as a means of hiding his astonishment. He was more eager than ever to meet this mysterious mare. He adjusted his hat before saying, “With magic, nearly anything is possible, lads. However, with all that defending she did, I'd wager she’s gotten quite tired, eh? Perhaps I should invite her to dinner in me cabin, introduce her to me plush bed.”

The nearby pirates laughed and crowed at the implications. One, however, gasped.

“Hey! Where’d she go?!”

His answer was given in the form of air rushing from the occupied space of a successful teleport to the deck of the Amber Phantasm. The pirates all jumped back, some pulling swords or various other types of close quarters weapons. Captain Danger, nodded his approval at the change in the game. She was more powerful than he presumed. Taller too. Things just became decidedly more interesting.

Sunset kept her sword nearby, meeting the gaze of every creature that dared to make eye contact. Her hard teal eyes finally settled on the pegasus with the biggest hat who casually turned and began to stroll her direction. Logic would dictate and was reinforced by the way the crew moved about that this pony was her target.

“Captain Danger, I presume?”

“I am,” he replied with a clean smile and tip of his hat.

“You and I need to talk, so be so kind as to tell your assholes below to stop firing on my friends.” The captain gestured and a scraggly griffon shouted down a port hole to cease fire.

“Out of curiosities sake, what would you have done if I had not ordered them to halt?”

Sunset slammed the tip of her blade into the deck, the magical flames scorching the point of contact. “I would have had to kill you all, of course.” I can’t believe I managed to say that without stuttering. Go me.

Danger shrugged nonchalantly. “Fair enough. Didn’t happen to catch the name, lass. What may we call ye, just to keep things civil and proper like?”

“Sunset Shimmer.”

“A beautiful name from the lips of one of the most beautiful mares these eyes have ever had the privilege to fall upon. You sound Equestrian, but your accent is difficult to place. Well traveled perhaps? A mare of the world and after me own heart.”

“I’m not really in the mood to flirt right now since your opening act was to shoot at ponies I care about and swore I would protect. So, how about we skip the fake pleasantries, you murderous, micro cocked son of a two bit whorse, and get to meat of this. You are going to surrender, park your ship so that every slave and prisoner you have on this island can board, they we are going to head straight for Baltimare so that you and your crew can face a fair trial by jury. Sound good?”

Danger pretended to rub his chin and gestured to the crew with both forelegs out wide in mock piety. “That sound good to you, lads?” The pirates all began to laugh or growl, or… was that a belch? Ugh. Disgusting.

“Afraid I don’t accept your terms, deary. I also don’t appreciate your insults and can think of much better things to do with that fiery tongue of yours if you’re so inclined to waggle it in me direction. So, what’s your next move?”

Sunset sneered. Compliments just had no flavor or delight when coming from the mouth of a horrible individual. She understood that fact long ago even before she knew about magic portal mirrors and the like. Mostly from dealing with stuck up nobles and their offspring.

“I know about the curse. I know that you have some sort of artifact or powered spell scroll that allows this ship to pass through the barrier unharmed.” Sunset risked closing her eyes for a second and reached out with her passive senses. There was something nearby, likely on the captain himself that was emitting a high level of magical radiation. She did not recognize what school of magic it was from a skim, but it was there none the less.

Sunset’s eyes opened and she pulled the sword from where she had lodged it into the deck wood. “And there it is.” Like a bad poker player, Danger reached for something that was inside his poofy shirt without removing it. Sunset smirked. Jackpot.

Danger quickly schooled his emotions and held up a hoof as his crew readied to attack again. “We’re not done yet with our little chat, so unless ye want to taste the salt of the ocean or me hoof in yer teeth I suggest ye keep the powder dry and stand fast.” The crew, eased back ever so slightly, but did not lower their weapons. Sunset quickly scanned each crew member’s reaction and committed the expressions to memory. She had a hunch and would play that card soon if things dissolved, which at this point was bound to happen.

“Let me counteroffer. You tell the slaves to release me crew that was left on the island if they still yet live. If so, that’s a sign of good faith. Then, you join me this evening for dinner in the captain’s cabin. After which, you give yourself freely to me without fuss or fight all night long. If things go well and to me liking not only will ye be satisfied like you could not dream, but I will swear on me mother’s grave that I will lift the curse, take me crew, and never return. I’m sure a smart lass like yourself can eventually find a means of leaving the island after that. Unless things go really well and ye instead decide to stay. What say ye?”

Sunset Shimmer had to admit, compared to the rest of the pirates aboard the Phantasm Danger was easily the best looking. However, that did not mean he was attractive by most definitions or her type. In addition to the heap of red flags that came along with his ‘counteroffer’ not least of which he was a pirate and completely untrustworthy. There really was only one answer.

“I’d rather shave my snatch with a dull blade and fuck a beehive than enjoy your company sooo…” Sunset instantly teleported out of the circle of pirates and reappeared on the portside rail, sending a kinetic blast to where she had been standing to scatter the crew.

“Kill her lads! Five hundred bits to the scallywag that brings me that sword!”

Sunset teleported again, closing the distance between her and Danger. She swung her sword down, but the pegasus was faster than expected and leapt away, the flaming blade gouging a gash in the deck wood.

“Jokes on you, only I can use this blade.”

Danger smacked a few of his lackies upside the head as he backed away. As he flailed his forelegs and shouted orders, Sunset caught the glint of some sort of medallion on a chain in the loose opening of his shirt collar. If she could just get closer…

“You can’t teleport like that forever, lass! I may not know unicorn magic, but I know it tires ye out something fierce. Give up before me lads skewer that beautiful body of yours. T’would be a shame before the gods themselves.”

Sunset scoffed. “Like you know anything about gods or goddesses. You’re nothing but a bully using bully tactics to keep every creature here scared and in line. No real power. Let the peons do all the hard work while you watch from the back keeping your hooves clean. You’re not even a good pirate at that. No charm, no swagger, and I’d probably get more satisfaction fucking a pencil than what you’re packing downstairs.”

“I’ll make ye choke on it, ye filthy bitch! Ya want t' see power? I’ll show ye power!”

Sunset watched as Danger revealed the medallion. It was flat like a large coin or drink coaster, with a red gem in the center that had a liquid movement about it behind the faceted structure. There were intricately carved glowing runes lining the circumference that were too small to read while dodging throwing knives and other various projectiles. Sunset was unsure what the pegasus was doing, but it sounded like a chant ritual spell.

Contrary to popular belief, almost any creature could perform magic. Equestria, the world of Equuis as a whole, was filled to the brim with magic. One only required a conduit in which to tap that life-blood flow. Unicorns could do it naturally, so could kirin, and reindeer. All using their horns/antlers as a frequency tuner conduit to the powers around them. Most other creatures had passive magic to one extent or another, but could also achieve magical control through runework or artifacts. That was what Captain Danger was likely attempting.

Sunset teleported again, coming within grab range of the medallion, but Danger was having none of that. He leapt over the rail and hovered over the water. He looked up after finishing whatever spell he had just unleashed.

“I hope ye got at least one teleport left in ye if ya plan to get back to the beach to save those friends ye mentioned. Otherwise… enjoy the show.”

Sunset dared to glance back as several of those red tentacles that had attacked them before and destroyed the Easy Money sprang from the sand not far from the barrier defenses. Sunset felt her blood run cold and stomach drop. The kid gloves were off.

“Last chance, love.”

Sunset glared, the irises of her eyes glowing bright teal. “Yeah, it was YOUR last chance.” Sunset dropped her illusion and two wings sprang forth in all their fiery glory. The pirates on deck who had begun to close around her all leapt back from fear and the blistering heat her body was producing. She turned to her left, grinned like a demon, then flapped into the air briefly.

Danger had not expected the wings, certainly not wings of fire, and most certainly did not expect the now revealed alicorn to jump at the ship’s wheel and bring her sword down on the side of the connection rod. Sunset’s blade easily severed the holding pins for the rutter turn chain. She grasped the wheel with both forelegs and blew the captain a sassy kiss before teleporting away with the ship’s only means of steering.

Sunset landed on the beach next to the barrier, stumbling a bit in the soft sand. Her eyes glanced upwards as one of the red, crystal laden tentacles came crashing down towards her. She swore, raising the sword above her head in the hope that it might cut or deflect, but the strike instead crashed upon a shield with a golden sheen.

Celestia, former High Princess of the Equestrian throne and Goddess of the Sun stepped out from behind the wooden barrier with deliberately slow, methodical steps. Her horn was burning with golden fury, wings unfurled to their fullest, and a dark, angry scowl that used to (and apparently still did) send a chill down Sunset’s spine. Having been on the receiving end of it more than once, Sunset could vouch that an angry Celestia was not something one wanted to be on the receiving end of.

“Dearest, are you alright?”

Sunset nodded. “Yeah. Thanks for covering my backside.” The tentacles smashed down on the shield again and Celestia flinched at the multi strike impacts, but held strong. “Well, the good news is he is not going anywhere without this.”

Celestia recognized the ship wheel for what it was and that the damage to steal it was likely repairable. “And the bad news?”

“I ROYALLY pissed him off. Hence the tentacle attack. Danger has a medallion around his neck with some wicked looking rune work done to it. I only saw it for a second, but it was high end quality etchings. Whatever it is, it gives him control beyond just the shield.” Four more hard strikes to Celestia’s shield caused spiderweb fractures to her magical construct.

“I see we still need to work on your negotiation skills.”

Sunset grimaced, glancing back to the former slaves who were huddled together, clenching their fellows as much as their weapons. A sudden pain of guilt causing her chest to tighten. “I could have ended it. The bastard said he would let them go free if I let him use me as a fuck toy for the night. I’m… I could have…”

“No,” was Celestia’s simple, yet adamant reply. “No good results come from such demeaning and personally violating terms. There would have been no iron clad honor binding a pirate to such a deal. The guilt you feel for not giving in would have been a hundred times worse if you had and he had inevitably betrayed your principles and your trust. You chose correctly even if it means we need to do this the hard way.”

“Spoken from experience?”

Celestia grimaced, narrowed her eyes on the horizon, and nodded. “A story for another time. Right now, we need to stop these things and bring the illustrious captain to us.”

Sunset lifted the stolen steering wheel and set it behind the barrier next to Levar and some of the others. “Keep that safe. We will need it again soon.” Her eyes turned next to the strange, aggressive appendages that continued to assault their defenses. “I cut the ones we dealt with last time pretty easily, let me deal with the hentai monster. You bring the captain to shore.”

“Suggestions?”

Sunset looked up, then out at the ship, running quick power to weight calculations in her head. It would have been tough for a unicorn, even a powerful mage, but for an alicorn, it was doable.

“After I take out the tentacles drop your shield and focus on pulling the Phantasm to the dock. Heck, run the thing slightly aground if you have to so that Captain Pencildick knows he is just as stuck here as we are. Then, I dunno. Go punch him in the face or something?”

Celestia arched a brow and smirked at her daughter, letting a small giggle escape. “The first part I can do. The second, well, let’s just see what happens. Be ready to watch my back in case more surprises await us from this magical artifact. I am not winded as of yet, but pulling an entire ship to shore will tire me. I’m not quite as spry as you these days.”

Sunset placed a reassuring hoof on her mother’s shoulder and the two smiled before the striking tentacles made their presence known again. “We got this.”

Celestia nodded.

With nothing else to add Sunset launched herself at the closest writhing appendage. As before, her flaming sword bit deep and a strike followed by a quick follow up strike cut the tentacle away. The severed appendage crashed to the beach and stopped moving, the color draining from it. She had not taken the time to notice before when they were flying for their lives on the water, but the construct was not any sort of animal, lacking any blood or muscle tissue. In fact, as Sunset moved to the next one, she noticed that the first fallen target continued to degrade back to rock and sand. So, not alive, not really. So where are they coming from? What is the catalyst to create them? No damn, smug, rapey pegasus came up with magic like this.

Celestia strolled a bit farther from their prepared defenses to the edge of her shield, eyes locked upon the vessel floating in the natural harbor bay. In her youth she had lifted and control object significantly heavier than a sailing ship. She had and at times still could raise and lower the sun by sheer will and blessed right of her calling.

However, despite her outward calm and well cultivated image, Celestia was worried that she lacked the raw power to draw the vessel in. She had not told Sunset the truth, well, the entire truth that is. She had insinuated to her daughter that she was old and getting older at an accelerated rate. Her private physician was constantly monitoring Celestia’s food intake, her sleep patterns, attempting to compile the data into an accurate rate of decay. Yes, decay was an awful way to think about it, but it was the most accurate way to describe her condition. The last estimate Doctor Guiding Light had given her had been no more than a hundred and fifty years and even that was likely a generous estimate. She was dying, just like all living creatures eventually do.

No, Celestia thought, she would not dwell on her impending mortality. It was not much, in comparison to near immortality, but if she had one life left to live she would live to her fullest even if that meant constantly pushing herself to her limits. Ponies and other creatures needed her. Sunset Shimmer, her beloved daughter who she had already lost too much time with needed her. She was Celestia and she would move heaven and earth, crush mountains to dust, pull a fully loaded ship of the line into shore if it meant helping those around her. That was the true calling of her cutie mark, the calling of her soul. To help others.

Celestia leveled her horn at the ship and concentrated. A moment later the massive wooden hulk was surrounded by her power’s glow and began to turn and glide across the water. Not a moment too soon. The pirates began to panic and tried to fire their cannons again, but with the turning ship the shots splashed harmlessly into the water.

Next, they tried to drop the anchors to slow the ship’s advance, but they never found ground. Still, Celestia winced as the heavy iron mass struck her magical aura below the water, but she refused to let it break her concentration. Flapping wings and heavy breathing caught Celestia’s ears and they turned atop her head to the sound, but her eyes remained on her target.

Gently, so as to not disrupt or insult her, Sunset asked, “You got this?”

“It is quite heavy, but yes, little sun, I have it.” Celestia let out a long exhale before pulling with her magic harder. “Be ready, they will not be happy.”

“Fuck their feelings. I’m not happy. And you know what happens when I’m not happy?”

Celestia smirked and let out a strained giggle even as a bit of sweat began to coat the fine fur of her brow. “Oh, let me guess? You set things on fire?”

“I set things on fire,” Sunset confirmed.

The frantic and angry commotion aboard the deck could be clearly heard now that the ship was pulling up alongside the dock. As Sunset suspected, the ‘charming and debonaire’ Captain Danger was shouting angrily and frantically with every threat in his most likely limited lexicon. It was marginally sad in Sunset’s opinion. Since more tentacles had not emerged after she cut the others down there must have been a limit to the power the amulet had over the island or at least a cooldown period. Either would work to their advantage.

The ship came to a crashing halt as the keel ran up on the sand. Celestia released her hold before she could do irreparable damage. The pirates looked down while Sunset and Celestia staired up. Neither making the next move. Finally, after a good thirty seconds of stare down the white alicorn cleared her throat.

“Good afternoon. Would it be imposing to ask you to come down calmly and quietly so that we might discuss what options are available to you?”

“A thousand gold pieces t' the one that brings me a horn! A blade t' the back t' any that turn and run!”

“Oh, fuck this!”

Sunset had had enough of the bully tactics of one Captain Danger. She was in no mood to waste her time and energy on tossing pawns about. With a deep inhalation Sunset drew in her power so much that the air around both her and Celestia dropped a good ten degrees. She then aimed her horn towards the sky and released a massive inferno upwards that splashed against the shield and rolled back over the ship. The pirates who had been prepared to jump the rail and storm the beach all fell to the deck and covered their heads cowering and screaming from the heat that washed over them. The closer ones received singed fur and feathers as well as some light charring on some of the wood of the ship and sails. The crow’s nest however, completely burst into flames. Whoops! I’m sure we won’t need than anyhow.

Once the flames died down, the heat washed away, and Sunset quickly extinguished the small fires she had started, all eyes on the ship turned back to the captain as if to ask, ‘what now?’ Celestia rolled her eyes and sighed, but gently patted her daughter as a thank you for her controlled aggression. The ship was not a pile of cinders and as far as she could tell no creatures had been seriously injured. That was restraint… by Sunset Shimmer level standards.

Celestia spread her wings and flew up to the ship, landing gracefully on deck near the forward mast. She surveyed the disoriented crew, many of whom were still down, nursing small burns, but none life threatening. The door to the captain’s cabin slammed open again and the burgundy pegasus with a large tricorn hat once again placed it upon his head.

“Get up, ye lazy lay abouts! Ain’t none of ye dead or dying enough to be caught with yer rumps in the air!”

Celestia stepped forward and gently placed a hoof on a pirate. He immediately stopped moving, too shocked to think let alone act with his eyes locked on the hoof of a goddess.

“Please,” Celestia said with a calm serenity, “stay down.”

Captain Danger glowered at his crew, kicking a few in their sides to get them back to their hooves. He raised his forehoof to stomp down on a frightened pony who covered from the imminent blow.

“Don’t.” Captain Danger paused, meeting Celestia’s disapproving/threatening glare. “You know who I am, I assume?”

“Aye, I know ye. I’ve kissed your cheek on many of me stolen and plundered coins over the years.” Most who did not know or deal with Celestia regularly compared meeting her level gaze to about the same as staring into the sun itself. On most days she was perfectly find with that comparison and it had worked to her advantage countless times over her long life. Celestia, however was not sure if it was arrogance or ignorance, but the pirate seemed only minimally phazed by her presence on the island let alone now standing before him.

Danger’s expression changed dramatically, however when Sunset Shimmer landed above and behind him on the rail of the quarterdeck, horn and sword both burning with angry red fire. Four members of the crew jumped overboard, risking injury or captain’s wrath rather than face another torrent of alicorn fire. More probably would have joined if they were not scared stiff.

“You have already met my daughter.”

Captain Danger huffed, switching between the two alicorns as if trying to decide who was more important to keep an eye on. “She gave her name, but failed to mention the relation between the two of ye. Suppose tis not all that important considering where we all be standing now.”

“Just give it up, dumbass. You can’t take both of us and a chunk of your crew already wised up and abandoned you.”

Danger shrugged. “I’ll deal with the deserters later. They know the sword or worse awaits them. However, I must say, tis a unique pleasure to be in the presence of such divine beauty. This will be a day I will boast upon fer years to come.” Danger curtsied to Celestia, removing his hat and bowing deeply. “I prospected yer daughter, offering the freedom and lives of these refuse in exchange for her private company. I see no reason not to offer ye the same, great princess of the sun.”

“My daughter refused your advances because she is happily married, had little to no guarantee that you would be true to your word on this matter, and likely found your smell unbecoming and stallionhood physically repulsive. Truly, I know pegasi are not often as ‘gifted’ as many other ponies, but you seem more than exceptionally on the small side. Were my daughter not already married to a wonderful mare I imagine your poor performance would make her an avid fillyfooler.”

“Daaaaamn, Mom. Buuuuuurn.”

Celestia continued without missing a beat. “I see no reason to offer myself for similar reasons. Shriveled grapes that one parades as testicles do nothing for me. In addition to the fact that I have knots in my muscles that are older than your grandparents.” Celestia pointed to the back of her neck at the wing joints. “I call this one, Delilah.”

Sunset grinned at her mother's eloquent bluntness and considered jesting that she was the bigger pain in Celestia’s neck, but chose instead to keep a sharp, menacing eye on the captain and his crew. A few had managed to regain enough of their senses to return to their hooves, but there was still an overwhelming sense of defeat and dread about that hung as thick as the burnt wood smell. The captain, even after a godly tongue lashing, was still far too cocksure for her liking.

“Mom, he’s stalling for time. We need to put him down before anyone else gets hurt.”

Celestia smiled warmly at her daughter before returning her gaze to the pegasus. “She is not wrong. So, I offer you a choice, captain of the Amber Phantasm. Give up and hoof over the magical amulet you are using to hold all these creatures hostage and I will personally see to it that leniency is granted to you during your trial. Show that you value the lives of the many who have suffered over what little power and wealth you have acquired. This need not end in bloodshed.”

“Hmm, a kind offer for sure. But the way of the pirate is not to die in a cell so I cannot accept yer generosity.”

Celestia sighed, her expression one of true sadness. “Very well, you can duel me for the prize at the risk of losing much more.”

“What the ACTUAL FUCK, MOM?!”

“A fair duel of blades, I assume. No magic or foolery?”

Celestia glanced up at Sunset again. “Do you still have the other inhibitor ring that we confiscated, dear?”

Sunset raised an eyebrow. She was not entirely sure where this was going, but nodded just the same. “Yeah. I was going to use it on a unicorn crew member, but apparently none felt pathetic enough to join this shit show of buccaneers. I know I said I hate these damn things, but if you want me to slap it on to duel this ass muncher, I’ll do it.”

“The ring is for me, little sun. I, will duel him.”

“You CAN’T be serious. This is my… you are…” Celestia’s face remained unchanged despite Sunset’s outburst. “Of course you’re being serious. Fuuuuuck a duck.”

“I would rather not, my dear. The ring, please?”

Sunset hated everything about this. Captain Danger was clearly stalling for time with words, Celestia was playing right into that by offering him a sword clashing duel that he would no doubt draw out. Sure, she had broken one of the rings earlier. They were not well crafted, but she had just finished hauling in an entire ship. Even for an alicorn that would have been exhausting. What the hell are you playing at, Mom? We could totally just stomp this guy and be done with it. Is this some sort of asinine lesson about forgiveness and peace over violence or some shit? He already refused to give up!

With a hundred questions still on the tip of her tongue Sunset growled, but complied and levitated the ring over as she had done before, activating the inhibitor ring after it was snug. Celestia tapped the ring a couple of times before nodding.

“Would anypony care to loan me their sword?” Several swords were thrown down by her hooves. “Ah, thank you.”

The two would-be combatants moved to the foredeck, which was less cluttered. Sunset remained at her position for now, able to see them and the rest of the crew easily from her vantage. Nothing about the entire situation made any sense, but Celestia was a born strategist with centuries of experience in dealing with wannabe trash tyrants and was always trying to plan twenty moves ahead. It did not mean she was infalible or always won, but the gears of plotting were always turning.

“You are probably wondering why I would offer you this chance instead of just incinerating you. I know my beloved daughter is wondering that.”

Danger took a few test swings. “The thought had crossed me mind.”

“It is quite simple really. Your crew and all who look upon us right now know I am more powerful than you. After all, I was the most powerful alicorn in the world for countless generations. But what does that power mean exactly? Does might equal right? Do the strong crush those below them simply because they can? Such is a slippery slope. A slope unfit and unbecoming for any leader, especially a princess.”

Though the words were directed at Captain Danger, Sunset Shimmer felt their intent aimed at her. It was an old conversation. One they had fought back and forth on since before she had wings. Before she had been shown the mirror and their lives diverged. Her own Lesson Zero.

“That might work all well and good for ye in those ivory walls and castle spires of gold, but out here in the real world, it be an unfair and unkind world. The strong rule because they are strong. The weak serve or die. Ain’t nothing else to it, Yer Highness.”

Celestia tested a few of the swords that had been donated, eventually settling on a curved cutlass that was simple and lacking any personal charm. She wrapped her right hoof behind the guard and waited for the captain to become equally ready. “I am sorry you see the world that way, my little pony. I am not sure where and at what point I failed you, but I did and for that I am sorry.”

Danger shrugged. “Just the way of the world, lass.”

The captain’s sword was lighter and thinner, tapering more to a thin point than Celestia’s chosen weapon. Sunset was not an expert of sword types, but it fell somewhere between a rapier and naval officer's standard. With a nod, Danger went on the offensive. No doubt hoping an overwhelming level of direct attacks would throw Celestia off and unbalance her to where he could land a critical hit. Each strike with his blade was fast and powerful, but none came close to penetrating. With the grace of a master and the patience of the goddess that she was, Celestia blocked again and again, easily pushing the pegasus back to maintain her defensive circle.

Realizing that his tactic failed, Danger attempted to use his wings to assist him. He lunged and Celestia parried, but then Danger quickly flapped and spun, trying to bring the blade down on the back of Celestia’s neck. The white alicorn dodge again. However, the sudden movement did swing her mane about and the blade removed some of it from the rest.

“Hmm. I suppose I was due for a trim anyhow.” Celestia’s eyes narrowed as she focused on the amulet that had slipped free from the captain’s shirt after his spin attack. Her lips moved as she read some of the inscription, whispering words of a now dead language.

Sunset winced as some of her mother’s mane flew loose. That had been far closer than she liked and she felt her wings unfurl as her anxiety over the entire exchange gnawed at her sense of self. But then, something caught Celestia’s eye and Sunset had to draw a mental line at what her eyes were locked upon. The amulet. The prize they needed to break the curse and free everyone had slipped out. If I timed it right, I could probably fire a tight beam and shoot that thing right off his neck, which is far nicer than blowing his whole damn, child kidnapping head off like he deserves.

While deliberating on what to do, she noticed that her mother’s posture stiffened and her wings flapped a few times in agitation. Something had caught her attention and not in a good way.

“You have no idea what that thing around your neck really is, do you?”

“A lost treasure. Had to pay an old scholar two hundred bits to translate the scroll that accompanied it. T’was nearly unreadable.”

“I do not call upon this term often because of the overused and misunderstood nature of it, but that THING is evil in every fathomable sense of the word. If you have used it… then there is no redemption for the sins you have committed.”

Danger chuckled and relaunched his attack. Celestia was slow to recover, still lost in her own thoughts. She deflected the enemy blade from landing a killing strike, but it still drew blood as the smaller, faster sword gashed her foreleg and shoulder. The blood however did not simply fall to the ground. Instead, it floated in place as if suspended in levitation without gravity. A moment later, the floating globs were drawn to the amulet and caused the central crystal to glow brightly once more.

Sunset gasped at the sight of her mother being wounded, her jaw dropping further when she watched the blood seem to reenergize the magical talisman. Captain Danger jumped back a few steps, grinning as he called upon the magic once more. Sunset’s horn burned bright red and her eyes narrowed. Fucking blood magic?! Dammit! If I kill him it might overpower the thing and make it do… shit, I don’t have a clue what it might do!”

“Thanks for the donation, Yer Highness. Time to end this.”

Celestia’s horn lit and melted the inhibitor ring much like she had done before. Danger suspected that she might try to stop him and flew back away from the ship. Two heartbeats later, a dozen more red tentacles emerged from beneath the sand, larger, taller and ready to strike the creatures that had emerged from behind the defenses to watch what was unfolding on the ship. Now they had been caught out in the open and were about to be pummeled to death.

“Danger, you have no idea what you are doing!” Celestia pleaded.

“I’m winning the day, lassie, that’s all I nee-”

The air popped from behind him, the distinct sound of a magical teleport.

“Forget about someone?”

Danger did not have time to turn or run. Sunset’s sword slid effortless over his shoulder, burning away fur, feathers, and singeing flesh, but carefully not drawing blood. The blade cut the necklace chain and she snatched the amulet in her magic as it fell. With one wing damaged beyond use the pegasus fell to the wet sand below, howling in pain.

Sunset Shimmer could FEEL the magic fighting against her telekinetic hold. Like ethereal tentacles slithering from all directions to assault her mind and dominant or destroy. It did not like Sunset and wanted out. She wanted to smash it like she had done a number of other magical artifacts, but was unsure if it would detonate catastrophically considering the hold it had over the entire island. Sunset did the only logical thing she could do. She cried for help.

“MOM! WHAT THE HELL IS THIS FUCKING THING AND WHY DOES IT FEEL LIKE IT’S ALIVE?! IT FEELS LIKE IT'S TRYING TO GET IN MY HEAD!”

Celestia landed across from her daughter and wrapped her own magic over her daughter’s. “It’s okay, little sun, I’m here. Now, very slowly and carefully, lower your hold and let me take it.”

The panic was evident in Sunset’s eyes. “Is… If... If I do that, is it going to try and eat your soul?”

“Unlikely.”

“UNLIKELY?!”

“I will explain everything, I promise, but you have to trust me. Yes, it is dangerous, but I have seen this magic before.”

“I don’t want it to hurt you!" Sunset groaned and growled as the dark magic fought back harder. "Will it explode if I just destroy it?”

“Possibly.”

“Well, that’s just worse! Seriously?! What in the ever loving FUCK is this… this THING?!”

“Sunset Shimmer, breathe.”

“Okay, OKAY! I’m just…”

Celestia smiled warmly. Were they closer she would send a current of loving magical power through her horn to her daughter’s much like they had done in the past. “I know you are scared, but trust in me. I will never again make the mistakes I did in the past and will always put you first as a mother always should. I love you so much and will never let anything destroy what we have now like I did then.”

“I… I…”

“Little sun,” Celestia said with the same calm and grace she had whenever she needed Sunset to relax and control her power. Sunset could remember her first major magic surge when she was only five years old, energy pouring from her horn, tears from her eyes, and all the guards and staff running for their lives from the tiny, frightened terror of a foal. Only Celestia, behind a shield and a caring smile approached. It was the first time she could truly recall Celestia calling her that nickname even though she had probably used it before. Those big, calm, reassuring eyes of cosmic magenta with flecks of purple and gold like the most beautiful gaseous nebula where stars themselves were born were fill with nothing but love and determination.

Sunset nodded and took a deep breath. Slowly, she receded her magic and raised her sword, ready to take her chances if for some reason Celestia lost control of the artifact. However, it was an unnecessary precaution.

Celestia’s eyes began to glow white as her golden magic intensified, words from an old, guttural language whispering from her lips. The red tentacles that had been poised to attack lost their power, collapsing back to sand and rock. Finally, the amulet lost its magical glow and appeared to become inert. After an extremely tense few minutes, the glow left Celestia’s eyes and the amulet fell to the sand. She sighed and glanced up at Sunset.

“Now, if you would be so kind. Please, destroy that abomination.”

Sunset nodded and slammed her blade down upon it. The metal sparked, the crystal atomized, and the surrounding sand turned to glass, encasing what was left of the artifact. The strike was far more powerful that Sunset had been expecting, gaping in awe at her own handiwork.

Celestia tapped it a few times with her hoof and nodded.

“I guess that means it’s over?”

Celestia glanced to the ship, then to the writhing captain, and then back to the island itself. “Not quite. A few more things to tidy up I believe before we check out.”

Author's Note

This is probably a silly thing to worry about, but hopefully Sunset's abundance of cursing has not soured any to the story. I intentionally write her as 'more human' because she has by this point lived longer as a human than she has as a pony. So, naturally, her dialogue would reflect that. Of course, not all humans curse and swear, I know that, but many do.

I also wanted to portray Celestia here in a brighter light and her contrasting style and method of dealing with a foe as opposed to Sunset's. It was also good to show how at this point while weakened she was still not weak. Of course, I guess I already kind of did that with her breaking an inhibitor ring.

One chapter left and then the Epilogue.

Questions? Comments?

Chapter 12: A Heart of Darkness

“I never knew this was here,” said Levar with both curiosity and trepidation. The zebra stallion was in the lead as the small entourage began to descend the worn, carved steps of a cave not far from the northeast shore. Judging by the dampness and slickness of the rock the entrance most likely disappeared with the changing tides. “I always heard the fishing was good on this side of the island, but the rocks along the shore were slippery and dangerous.” As if to answer his own point, Levar mis-stepped and would have tumbled, possibly injuring himself, except that he was quickly surrounded by a red telekinetic aura that righted him back to his hooves. He smiled and nodded to Sunset Shimmer who returned the nod and winked.

The rest of the members of the party waited until Levar started again, slow and cautiously. All were eager to reach the bottom of the cave, which hopefully had better traction. All except for Captain Danger. He had to be prodded a few times by Celestia to keep moving forward. The glare of pain and anger he shot her would have possibly affected lesser beings. The Princess of the Sun's armor to such scorn was too thick as she simply gestured without a word.

“Easy on the shoulder, love. I’m not usually opposed to the rough stuff, but yer daughter leaves much to be desired.”

Celestia’s face did not hold a single trace of anger nor sympathy, just flat, stoic, and unfeeling eye blinks under her ethereal waving mane. She had mastered the expression centuries ago and could shroud her true feelings behind it without a moment of hesitation.

“If you actually knew my daughter, you would realize that she was quite gentle and showed much restraint with you. Otherwise, you would have been a charred corpse of scraps and bone on the beach for the birds to peck at… the number of pieces may have varied.”

Danger glanced back and forth between the two alicorns more than once. He was not sure if they were being serious or not and that bothered him more than the imagery of the threat.

Levar leaned in next to Sunset and she unintentionally smiled at the feeling of warm breath that tickled her ear. “Is, is she being serious?”

Sunset could only shrug as she continued to smile. “I am not well known for my self-control.” The smile quickly disappeared as her attention was once again squarely on the pirate between them. “So why exactly are we down here? If this is a trap to drown us when the tide comes in it won’t work. We can just teleport ourselves out to the sky.”

“Ye destroyed the amulet. Without it we all be trapped on this island now. So now we got to shut down the… source.”

Sunset narrowed her eyes, prepared to grill him for more details, but it was unnecessary. Celestia raised her hoof to cutoff her daughter’s next line of interrogation as well as to shove the pirate forward once more. That had to be near their destination.

“As I suspected.”

“Care to share with the class, Mom?”

Celestia grimaced and sighed. “No, not really. But I know you, my love. If I do not explain it will only drive you bananas.” Another pause, an internal debate that ended with a nod. “Long ago, before the first Hearth’s warming and the founding of unified Equestria, Star Swirl… in fact as I understand it, he did not even have his beard yet, was the Grand Enchanter to the royals of Unicornia. Luna and I… at that point were still fillies ourselves, living in Trot. We had not yet ascended. In addition to his duties to the king and queen, Star Swirl had a select few unicorns that he had as apprentices and students. You might say it was a proto form of the school I later founded. One particularly gifted student was a unicorn mare named Datura.

"She was incredibly intelligent, far beyond any of the other students and one could dare say was far more creative and far reaching that Star Swirl himself. Datura was curious about all aspects of magic and was willing to push the boundaries of what was morally acceptable if it meant she could achieve a goal or reach a conclusion. Even failure did not dimmish her drive because it was a useful learning experience.”

“Sounds like a pretty incredible mare. So, I’m expecting a twist to this.”

Celestia nodded. “Said twist, one could say, was Datura’s own soul. Nothing, and I mean nothing, and no creature were sacred to her. She had no moral limitations to her experimentations or imagination on what could be. She was ruthless, manipulative, and willing to go to any length to get what she wanted. She… was what I once feared you were on the path to becoming, I’m ashamed and reluctant to admit. The primary difference was while you lashed out with fiery verbal retort and self entitlement, like the child that you were, Datura would have just cackled, maybe flashed a flirty smile right before she cut out a seduced pony’s heart to use for a blood magic experiment. After all, this is the pony that created things such as the Memory Stone.”

“WHAT?!” Sunset blurted out, smacking Levar with her wings and shoving Danger to the side so she could look Celestia in the eye. “And I’m just NOW hearing about this?!”

“I did not connect the dots at the time when you and Twilight were researching the incident. I apologized for that. It was only after you and your friends had destroyed the stone had I taken the time to study the scroll Twilight discovered and understand who Clover was referring to. It never mentioned her by name. Truthfully, I should have known, but once the stone was destroyed and you were safe, I saw no reason the share the truth of its origin.”

Sunset shook her head, letting her frustration ebb with a relenting sigh. Keeping secrets. Just like she always did. Some bad habits are not so easy to break. Sunset knew that well. However, it was long ago now and thankfully all the lost memories had been restored. Water under the bridge, some might say. “Mind domination magic, blood magic, what the hell else could she do?”

“Star Swirl, often too wrapped in his own musings and mutterings and then later having to try and take on two new alicorn students who would become destine to rule a fledging nation, failed to see how far his star pupil had fallen until it was far too late to save the many victims in her trail of bodies. Datura had become the most dangerous and quite possibly the most powerful sorceress the world had ever known. A great many of the most forbidden and dangerous dark magic spell, tomes, and artifacts ever made were crafted by her or one of her acolytes... the ones that had not become a blood sacrifice themselves. Datura… the Red Clover.”

The very name sent a chill down Sunset’s spine. Now THAT was a name she did know. Every would-be powerful unicorn who had walked the halls of CSGU had heard horror stories that may or may not have been exaggerated about the Red Clover. Sacrificial blood magic rituals, demon summoning, necromancy, some even went as far as to say she enjoyed eating parts of her victims. It was all fair game to her. If what Celestia was describing was true then apparently, she was also a skilled crafter of powerful and dangerous magical relics as well.

“So, you said you recognized the magic that was used to make the talisman. That thing was made by the Red Clover?” Sunset spun and pressed Captain Danger into the cave wall eliciting a painful hiss from the pegasus. “Where the hell did you find that thing?”

Danger gently tapped on Sunset’s hoof and she released him just as harshly. “More than a decade ago. Me crew and I raided an antiquities merchant who ran aground trying t' flee. He offered us his finest pieces and gave the location for a secret stash of items in exchange for his life. I was a wee bit more generous then so I agreed, even let him live. Found the medallion in a sealed chest along with translated instructions on how t' use it. Admittedly, was surprised it worked when we got here. Have to say though, if this Red Clover was as rotten and black hearted as you say, tis a shame I never got a chance to meet her. A lass after me own heart.”

Celestia scoffed. “After your heart indeed. Before she became a fugitive and went on the run, Datura tried to discover the secrets of alicorn ascension by abducting Luna and tying her to a table for dissection. We were fortunate to stop her in time. If you had the misfortune of meeting Datura, she would have ripped your heart from your chest while you were still alive to craft an artifact similar to the one you had in your possession, ground your bones into powder for potions, and sold anything that was left for coin because the thought would have amused her. Such horrific items require... replenishment. But YOU already knew that, don’t you captain?”

Sunset glanced between the two of them. Something was being said without being said and Sunset found it quite annoying being on the outside of said knowledge. “Uhhh…”

“The Memory Stone was likely one of her earlier, less costly creations. I say that knowing what came later.”

“Okay, I have to know. What happened to the Red Clover?”

Celestia paused, closed her eyes, then nodded more to herself. “I was not there, but from what I understand she disappeared through a portal with Clover the Clever on her hooves. Neither were ever seen again.”

Sunset blinked a few times. “Huh. So that’s what happened to him. Not exactly a glorious end to such a figure from history. But why would he do that?”

“Because we all go to great and sometimes terrible lengths for the ones we love.” Celestia pointed to the end of the cavern while Sunset stood slack jawed. After a moment she joined the others in front of what appeared to be a boulder partially blocking another section.

The floor of the cavern was wet and silty with narrow gaps between the rocks where the ocean water likely drained back out. Judging by the staining on the rocks high tide came up to Sunset's neckline. The rock before them was clearly placed intentionally as a block. It was impossible to imagine a simple pegasus was strong enough to move such a massive rock. However, with a little applied leverage, Sunset saw that the rock was in fact on a pivot plate and bolted to the rock below the silt and ceiling. It easily slid away with minimal effort.

Levar was about to step into the new room first when Celestia gently stopped him with a hoof. She then nudged Danger forward, forcefully. Reluctantly, the pirate complied because he truly had not choice otherwise. The first thing Sunset noticed was the change in temperature. The cave entrance had been slightly cooler, being out of the sun and accompanying sea spray, but the back section was cold enough that Sunset felt the chill and her breath, surprisingly, fogged. The second thing that caught her attention was the sound. It was rhythmic, steady, but strained, and sounded like a massive dragon with bronchitis.

With a fluff of her wings and a steadying exhale, Sunset Shimmer followed the other two inside. Levar was so close to her rump that had the situation been less terrifying she would have playfully smacked him with her tail and maybe added a little sashay to her step. As it were, Sunset only looked back to meet his eyes so that he knew she was feeling as anxious as he was and that their shivers had only part to do with the cold air.

“What the hell am I hearing?” Sunset dared to ask.

Celestia continued to press their prisoner forward, her eyes never leaving the red glow at the end of the narrow corridor. “The source of power, I assume.”

“Aye.”

The hollow hummed with power. Sunset Shimmer could feel a hint of it before, but now at the source she was absolutely certain it was the same life force she had felt briefly when holding the medallion. And it felt… WRONG.

The walls of the inner cavern were a black volcanic stone with a few other softer minerals mixed into the sediment layers. However, as they moved in beyond the barrier red glowing crystals became more prominent, lining the walls erratically like angry blood vessels. The crystals became larger and more concentrated near the back culminating into a cancerous mass. In the center, barely visible amongst the pulsing minerals was a pony mare… Or rather, what was left of her.

From what Sunset could see, the mare had been chained to the wall cruciform style and been victim to a dark magic ritual that had actually bonded her to the island itself. From then, they had become symbiotic. The magic drawing from her life force and from the island to power the shield and defenses. Because of the obvious power ratio difference of a body compared to even a small island, she was being consumed by the land to keep it alive. How… how many have died slowly in this cave over the years?!

Sunset felt her whole body shake with indignation. Her wings flapped at her sides as she fought to keep them from igniting, her hooves cracking crystal and stone under her hooves, and hot steam snorted from her nostrils like a dragon. When she turned her eyes to Danger the pegasus yelped at the sight of the black sclera behind glowing teal irises.

“How many?”

“Sunset,” Celestia said with a waver in her voice.

Sunset Shimmer lifted the pirate with one hoof, pressing him painfully into the wall to where his hind legs dangled above the wet stone. If he had crystals stabbing him in the back then that was just too damn bad. She summoned her blade and leveled it at Captain Danger's face, repeating her question. “HOW MANY FUCKING LIVES HAVE YOU TAKEN OVER THE YEARS IN THIS VERY CAVE YOU STEAMING PIECE OF YAK SHIT!”

Danger was paralyzed and the acrid smell of urine tickled Sunset’s nose through her snarl, revealing several of her teeth that had elongated to more fang-like. Though it should have been impossible, Captain Danger’s eyes grew even wider and he screamed two octaves higher when his eyes fell upon Celestia. His reaction piqued Sunset’s curiosity, but it was the calling her name by a familiar voice, yet with darker, unheard of undertones that finally made Sunset turn.

“Sunset,” Celestia repeated, heat leaving her lips like a blast furnace, “let him go.”

Sunset Shimmer blinked her wide, demonic eyes. Standing behind her, next to the victim in the wall was Celestia, but at the same time, not. Her coat was still just as pure and immaculately white as before, but her mane and tail had become a steady wave of burning orange and yellow flame. When she turned to meet Sunset’s eyes gone were the soothing magenta irises of cool galactic nebula, but instead were golden, vertical slit pupils and pits of hellfire surround by black blood sclera straight from the deepest pits of lower Tartarus. Celestia had become a twisted nightmare, but yet, still remained in control even if only just barely. Tears dripped from her dark eyes, flashing to steam not long after staining her fur.

“Mom…”

Celestia's smile was predatory, revealing her own fangs. “Long have I fought to conceal this form from you, from all. I am no longer the immaculate princess of the sun having to bury her rage and sorrow for the sake of little ponies and sniveling, weak willed nobles who are unworthy of the ground I tread upon. Daybreaker is the name of my burning heart and I will not be-"

"MOM!"

Celestia blinked several times as tears continued to flash steam from her face. She glanced down at herself and remembered where she was. Control returning to those terrifying yellow orbs. "Focus. We must focus our anger, temper it as a smith tempers hot steel. The flame is not the master, we are the master of our soul. We will not allow it to control us. We, we have one final task we must see to.”

Sunset dropped the pirate and came to stand next to her transformed mother, the two angry alicorns examined one another as if seeing each other for the first time. Celestia gestured for Sunset to follow along as they both engaged in a familiar meditative breathing exercise. Slowly, the room temperature began to normalize, wild, burning manes settled, and as their eyes opened to meet again each could see that the other’s were back to normal. Despite the magical atrocity that was next to them Sunset nodded and smiled through the few tears that fell.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m glad it’s not just me.”

Celestia smiled briefly as well, touching her daughter's face with a gentle hoof. “It was never just you.”

Sunset took a deep breath and focused on the task at hoof. “So, how do we get her out of there.”

Celestia grimaced then hesitantly extended her hoof to her victim’s muzzle. The mare, Sunset could no longer tell if her coat had always been red or if the encroaching crystal veins had changed her, regardless, her eyes flew open upon sensing Celestia’s near touch. Or what remained of her eyes, the irises and pupils were now black garnet and tears of blood dripped when she began to frantically look about. Worst of all however, was the scream. The mare’s scream was worse than a hundred Adagios screaming in unison. Sunset thought she was about to pass out, but soon found the sound dampened by Celestia’s quick reaction to throw up an acoustic barrier.

Sunset once again snorted steam from her nostrils while she glared at Danger, who was still partly catatonic and sitting in a puddle of… The goldenrod alicorn recentered herself and double downed on her focus. They could deal with him after they helped this poor soul.

“How the hell is she still alive?!”

“The ritual spell intentionally kills slowly, nibbling at her life. Oh, my poor little pony.” Celestia had to recenter herself as well with more meditation. “Though her body yet lives I fear what was once a pony is now gone. I am afraid that saving her is impossible.”

“But?!”

“We will not let her suffer, but we can only offer her release.”

No elaboration was necessary.

Levar, who had retreated when both alicorns struggled with their power and emotions, returned to stand next to Sunset Shimmer. “I have never seen such dark cruelty in all my life and I have been a victim of a slaver’s whip these last few years. I… I think I remember her. She came her with a husband much like you did, believing the island was still open for tourist business. Her name was… something meadow. I apologize, I do not remember more other than that her husband has already passed on.”

Sunset looked down at her hooves, seeing hands in her mind's eye. “If I still had my geode I could skim her mind, or at least what's left of it. I… I feel like we should say something.”

Celestia nodded. “Ready your sword, little sun. I will say a few words and pray for her soul. It is the least I can do.”

“W, wait. You want me to…”

“The crystals may react adversely to a magical blast strong enough to kill. Your sword, as far as I have seen, can cut through just about anything. The fastest and most merciful way to end this is a strike through the chest. I can hear her heart still beating. See how the crystals pulse with her ever pumping suffering.” Sunset fidgeted a bit and Celestia placed a hoof under her daughter’s chin to lift her eyes. “If it is too much simply level the blade, hold your concentration, and I will do the rest.”

Sunset shook her head and steeled herself and shaking limbs. She flashed one more sympathetic glance at the victim who had thankfully stopped screaming, but was still whimpering and panting with her jaw hanging open, blood continuing to leak from her destroyed eyes. On second thought, it's probably good that I don't have my geode. The pain she is feeling…

“No, it’s okay. I can do this. I am your sword and… it’s not really killing her... it’s setting her free.”

“Yes.”

Sunset took a deep breath… then another… and finally summoned her flaming sword once more. “Definitely going to be seeing Aunt Luna later tonight because I am SO going to have nightmares about all of this.”

Celestia simply nodded in agreement.

The two alicorns took up positions, Sunset straight ahead, with her blade floating level and ready to thrust forward, and Celestia just to the right, as close as she dared stand to the poor mare. The white alicorn brought her foreleg hooves together, closed her eyes and bowed her head.

“Young pony, child of my land and of my heart, whom I have failed so completely. I wish to commence your soul a safe journey to the shores of Elysium where you will find your beloved husband, and all others you care for waiting for you. May you never know pain and suffering again. May you spend your days together in love and your nights together in bliss. From this earth and sky we are all born, to the earth and sky we all return. You are now home.”

“Nenda kwa amani,” said Levar, bowing his head and gesturing briefly with his hooves.

With nothing else to add Sunset took one last deep breath then placed both hooves on the sword handle and drove it forward quickly and precisely. The mare tensed for a moment, made a spitting, gurgle sound, and finally slumped forward. The light in the red crystals pulsed rapidly one last time then all died at once. Sunset withdrew her blade and released it back to hidden space.

Before anyone could inquire about what to do with the body, what little pony remained turned to ash and was quickly absorbed by the island. The remaining ill tasting magic in the air popped like a bubble and only the smell of the sea and a bit of dank cave growth remained.

Celestia gathered up the pirate captain in her magic and started for the entrance. “Come, let’s go home.”

Author's Note

For those hoping for another, post battle party, oops, sorry.

As I've said in previous posts one thing that drives me bonkers about some canon is when a show throws out some material it never follows up on. For example, the "Seven Trials of Clover the Clever" and an "Evil Sorceress." So, I am using that for my own ends.

I will probably post the epilogue in a few days to give most a chance to read this chapter first then take a week off to finalize the next cover art before the next story goes up.

Questions? Comments?

Epilogue

Sunset Shimmer was still on the fence on how she felt about being on ships and on the ocean. Thus far her record with island adventures involving ships was now about fifty-fifty. Still, there was a certain quaint charm to wooden tall ships that yachts and cruise ships lacked. Perhaps it was the wind in sails or the smells of rope, battered, tar wood, and linen. Maybe it was the fact that she was occasionally helping the ‘crew’ keep their course true instead of just along for the ride. Much to their appreciation.

It had been easy enough to push the Amber Phantasm back into deeper water, inspect and repair all the damage, and then make it ready to sail once more in less than a day. The experienced pony and zebra sailors jumped enthusiastically at the chance to both be free of the island and reapply their skill of trade. Those that were not getting the ship ready had helped gather food and supplies or secured the former crew and hotel staff in the cargo hold.

Grassy Rio had begged both Celestia and Sunset Shimmer to just be left on the island. They both refused, but Celestia did give him her word that he would receive safe passage and a fair trial. Unsurprising, that gave little in the way of comfort to the former hotel owner. With no chance to escape or take the easy way out, he resigned himself to whimpering softly.

In truth, Sunset was unsure what would happen to the island. She and Celestia had discussed briefly about sending a team of researchers to ensure that the magic used on the island was fully cleansed and that those that died did not linger in some abhorrent manner. They deserved better, but they certainly deserved their final rest. After that, it was likely the island would just be left to the winds and ocean currents.

“We’re making good speed,” said Steady Course from where he stood at the restored ship’s wheel. A zebra asked him if his work on the rigging was acceptable and the old salty sailor nodded his approval. “Figured we should make Baltimare before the sun is down. Might even get in before that rescue fleet gets underway.”

“That is quite acceptable, captain. And do not worry I already informed my sister and Princess Twilight that we were successful and will be returning to Equestria shortly,” said Celestia, standing next to Sunset on the quarterdeck, just enjoying the breeze and the fact that they were heading home. “I would suggest securing the ship to one of the official government or navel docks when we arrive. Captain Tempest Fury and a company of royal guards will be waiting for us and our prisoners. Obviously, I will clear any official paperwork that should arise from this... adventure.”

Sunset grinned and ran her hoof along the rail. “Yeah, wouldn’t want some tax officer or guard attaché to impound my ship before I got to enjoy it.”

Celestia arched a brow. “Your ship?”

“Well yeah. I mean if we are being technical, I defeated Captain Danger and we were outside of official Equestrian territorial waters, so the ship is a salvage prize. I’ve read a little bit on maritime law.”

“And what exactly would you do with your ship, my dear?”

Sunset shrugged. “Go out for a bit, you know. Maybe try sport fishing just to see what the fuss is about?”

“And what of a crew?”

“Okay, you know you are really raining on my parade here.”

“I am just helping you maintain a certain level of perspective. For instance, have you forgotten we paid Captain Course to take us to the island and then back to the mainland? And, of course, his ship was destroyed in the process, so…”

“Yeah, yeah,” Sunset relented with a sigh. “I guess we do kinda owe him a ship for his trouble.”

Celestia nodded sagely.

Sunset rolled her eyes.

The silence that followed felt good, comfortable, as mother and daughter stared out over the water, the last signs of Pelican Island finally gone from their rear view. A wave from the main deck below caught Sunset’s attention. She smiled at Levar and Tatu who were talking, no doubt making up for lost time. Sunset waved back politely. Her eyes returned to her mother who did not seem to notice the exchange or at least pretended not to. On second thought, Celestia appeared more lost in contemplation than deliberately pretending to ignore the others.

“Hey, you going to be okay?”

Celestia turned to her daughter and smiled, nuzzling into the side of her head. “Yes, little sun, and thank you for asking. While I would not have called the overall experience relaxing there were some things that I enjoyed and of course, most of all, I am glad to have you by my side.”

“Yeah, overall that sucked big fat donkey balls, but what I mean is, are you going to be okay with what you saw? It… it looked like it hit you as hard as it hit me since we both went ‘dark side’ for a moment there.”

Celestia nodded and sighed, closing her eyes for a moment before returning them to the sea. Sunset could only guess what thoughts and horrors were replaying behind those magenta orbs. She could always ask to share if her soul needed a little lightening of the weight it carried.

“Sadly, the truth is, I wish that was the worst thing I have ever seen in my life. I have had a hoof in making sure some nightmares and horrors stay out of our history books. Some consider that short sighted or foolish on my part, and sometimes, perhaps, it is. There are some monsters that are best forgotten. Except by me, of course. Another one of those little drawbacks to immortality.”

“Eh, I think you try to carry too much of that weight on your own, but that might just be my personal opinion. Still, it’s amazing how so many of these things from ancient Equestria or before are still floating around or are waiting to be rediscovered. Makes me wonder about the legacy of those I’ve known from my time on Earth.

"Twi had definitely left a lasting effect with her company and research breakthroughs. Dash was a professional athlete, so history will remember her. Rarity left her mark in the fashion world. Oh, and Wallflower hydroponics! The innovations that she and her husband, Microchips, came up with revolutionized farming techniques worldwide.” Sunset chuckled a bit, lost in her own revere. “Now that was an unexpected couple that no one saw coming. At least they were good to each other… unlike Clover and… well you know.”

Celestia nodded, hiding the grimace that tried to surface and the sour taste in her mouth as Sunset shifted the subject back to the mirror world. She knew that Sunset would return to her wife and that they would perhaps stay on Earth, but from what her daughter had confessed, it was likely not for much longer. The world they had known was leaving them behind and an immortal amongst a vast sea of mortals eventually became impossible to ignore. Something she was all too familiar with. Still, Celestia was not ready to see her daughter leave. A concern for another day.

“Attraction is a strange phenomenon I suppose. Only those involved could say what brought them together. I can only assume Datura had some qualities that Clover found irresistible at one time. Enough that he would take her as a wife. I cannot recall what those qualities were, however, and whatever they were they eventually led to a frankly unhealthy obsession as he chased her around our known world. Ultimately, that led to their demise.”

Sunset nodded. All while a thought tickled at the back of her mind. If Clover chased Datura through a portal how did the memory stone end up on Earth? And how did a scroll describe that and its hidden location end up in the Canterlot Archives? The thought soon passed. The stone was destroyed and it was long ago. The order of events were not always properly recorded thousands of years ago.

The silence settled in again, the chatter amongst those on deck and the occasional orders from the captain faded into the background while both alicorns just enjoyed their time together. It was all they could really ask for in such a moment. Just a little more time together…

Destiny would continue to pull the threads of the world blindly towards her brother, Fate who would work the loom and form the tapestry of known existence. Sunset blinked a few times. Where did that thought come from?

Celestia pulled Sunset closer to her with a wing. Nothing else needed to be said on such matters.

Sunset nuzzled her mother's neck, a white wing draped over her as it had been done so many times before since the day she was born.

I can't wait to tell Twi about all this crap. She's going to be sorry she stayed home and missed out on this.

It would be sunset soon enough.

The End

Author's Note

And that's a wrap on this one. Final thoughts, ramblings on process and what is next will be over in the wrap up blog for those that want to check that out.

All comments and questions welcomed.

Chapter 1: Burnout

Sunset Shimmer opened her teal eyes slowly, the sclera slightly bloodshot. She did not want to be awake. Not now, not today. However, despite having no windows in her Canterlot Castle apartment she knew it was morning. Sure, it was not early morning. Sunset Shimmer did not do early mornings unless it was necessary and there was a cup of coffee awaiting her. Otherwise, bad things happened. Most of the staff knew that. Most.

Sunset shifted about a bit, stretching her body across the large bed easily big enough for two adult ponies… three if you were really close, but in this case it was for two. An alicorn and a unicorn to be precise. However, sadly, she was alone on soft satin sheets. Her hoof extended to the side of the bed which lay mostly undisturbed. She had the whole bed to herself and had for a year, but could not bring herself to take it all. Perhaps if the sheets smelled like her that would be different, but they didn't.

Sunset's eyes fell upon the outstretched hoof again, polished to a shine and the same color as her goldenrod coat. A hoof. Not a hand. In her mind she could still imagine her fingers, five independent digits that she could only explain as ‘like claws or talons’ to other ponies who asked what hands were. She had mastered a spell that allowed her to create telekinetic fingers but they mostly just freaked other ponies out when she showed them. Whatever

Her horn took on a red glow as she summoned a necklace with a ring on it from her night stand to land next to her hoof. Sunset stared at the aerospace titanium ring, still well polished despite a few scuffs and sporting a small ruby tension setting between a cut face to indicate the front. The ring belonged on her finger. When she had fingers it was always on her left ring finger and never came off except if there was a risk for damage from working on a project. But she had not had real fingers in a year.

One year.

Twelve lunar cycles.

One year since she had returned to Equestria and let the Lunar Lock portal mirror between Earth and Equuis close behind her. One year since she had last kissed her wife, Twilight Sparkle, goodbye and left her behind. One year to the day. With many more lunar cycles, a year and a half to go until she could see her wife again.

Sunset missed Twi terribly. Sure, she was not alone, but none of the other, not even the alicorn pony Princess Twilight Sparkle, were the same. Close, sometimes painfully close, but not the same.

Just lying there in bed while staring at the ring brought memory after memory to the forefront of Sunset’s mind. Kisses, holding hands, quiet dinners, intellectual arguments, screaming, passionate love making. Sunset could close her eyes and imagine her wife lying next to her, indigo and magenta hair tossed about in an absolute bed head mess, glasses off and resting on the night stand, maybe a small trail of drool on the pillow as she snored lightly. Gorgeous, amethyst eyes closed and waiting to flutter open and look up at her followed by a cute, thin smile that was only for her. Sweet Celestia, did she miss that smile.

Sunset brought the ring to her lips at the end of her pony muzzle and kissed the cold metal. It held no taste or scent of Twi, but it still helped. Quietly, slightly above a whimper, Sunset cried. She was alone. She did not have to put on a brave face for anyone or pony so she cried in the hopes that she might feel better after the day was over.

A knocking on the living room apartment door jolted Sunset from her funk. It caught her by surprise, but was not entirely unexpected. She had hoped the others would realize what today was and leave her alone. Apparently, that was too much to hope for. Should have put up a damn do not disturb sign.

Sunset wiped her eyes and placed the necklace back where it belonged around her neck. She stumbled her way to the door just as whoever had been sent for her had started to knock again. When Sunset pulled the door open she glared ferociously down at the solar guard pony who had been sent to die at her doorstep. Or, that was probably how the young stallion felt as he flinched and took a sizable step back. At least he rolled with it well and quickly pretended he had not almost soiled himself by snapping to attention and saluting.

“G, Good morning, Lady Sunset Shimmer.” Sunset blinked, took in every detail of the guard and blinked again. It was obvious he had not brought coffee. His sergeant really HAD sent him to die. How rude. “Um, yes. I have been instructed to tell you that P-”

“Who is your platoon sergeant?”

“Uhh, Sergeant Auburn Hill, ma’am. I was sent to t-”

“Why does your sergeant hate you? What did you do to get on his or her bad side?”

“I was not aware my sergeant hated me, ma'am.”

Sunset slow blinked again at the guard private who was more than a whole head shorter than her. Sure, I’m tall as a human, but at least I don’t tower over the majority of the population. Why did I want to be an alicorn so badly again? Oh, right. Power. *Brrrroooowl*

“Private…”

“Tin Star, ma’am,” the guard offered.

“Private Tin Star, I am NOT a morning pony. If your sergeant has even half a brain and can read a report about me they would know that. Your company lieutenant likely knows that, I know for a fact Captain Fury knows that. As well as Princess Twilight and of course, naturally, my mother, the Goddess of the Sun, Celestia knows that. Yet, your sergeant sent you here to summon me for some damn reason, which, no offense to you, is not reason enough and did so without telling you to bring a cup of coffee as a peace offering. So, I want you to go back to your sergeant right now, sit down with them and have a little talk on why they hate you.”

“I, I have not delivered my m-”

Sunset’s wings snapped open and sent a hot burst of flame through the doorway and her horn took on an angry red glow. All the while her eyes, which the private noted started to glow bright teal, never blinked or diverted from staring at him the same way a hydra stares at its next meal. The private flashed a sloppy salute and ran down the hall as fast as his armored covered body could travel. With a final sigh and a hoof down her face, Sunset gently closed the door and relocked it.

However, she only made it halfway back to her bedroom when a knocking came from said door again. Louder, heavier hoof falls. Sunset sighed, groaned, and weighed heavily just shooting a kinetic bolt at the door as a warning shot, but refrained. She had a feeling who it was. Instead, she turned around and walked up to the door and this time when Sunset opened it, she did not have to look down at the pony standing before her. She had to look up.

“Hi, Mom.”

“You do realize you probably scarred that guard for the rest of his career,” said Celestia from Sunset’s living room, sitting patiently while the coffee brewed and her daughter finished freshening up from the shower. “That is also assuming he doesn’t just quit and go find a job working as a night guard at the docks in Vanhoover.”

Sunset stuck her head out of the bathroom, mane still wrapped in a purple towel. “So, it’s MY fault his sergeant is an asshole for making him come wake me up unprepared?”

“No, little sun. It IS however, your fault for fulfilling the rumor and stereotype that you are secretly an angry little dragon wearing an alicorn bodysuit.”

“Seriously? That’s a real rumor?”

“That is actually one of the nicer ones,” Celestia replied, levitating the steaming cup over to the sitting area table. She next set about making a cup of tea for herself. “If you came out of your room or the lab and socialized more often without having to be dragged you might be able to squash at least a few of said rumors."

Celestia chuckled a bit after she finished steeping the tea leaves. "In a twisted sort of way this is all quite nostalgic for me. I had to deal with similar problems such as these when you were a filly.”

Sunset shrugged, stretching out on her love seat next to the coffee table. With great care she lifted the scalding black liquid to her lips and took a sip. Those few drops instantly shooting life into her body. “Pffft. Now, just as then, I don’t care what others say or think of me. Of course, in the past I just bottled up my anger and, unfortunately, directed most of it towards you or Kibitz... sometimes Cadence." Sunset grimaced at that last one, the one who truly did not deserve her young, fiery scorn. "Truthfully, I stopped worrying about my self image not long after Aurora was born and I had real problems to deal with. Besides, you know what today is.”

“Twelve lunar cycles. One year since you arrived. Yes, my beloved daughter, I can count. I understand you had your reasons, but you should by now understand, for better or worse, that the world does not revolve around Sunset Shimmer. One of the luxuries of not wearing a crown, I suppose.

"As far as the rest of Canterlot, I try to quell the nasty rumors they think I do not overhear, but I am afraid that you still get spoken about quite often at all the high society dinners and events that the nobles and prominent merchant guild members attend. Luna and Twilight try to help as well, but the nobility speak more carefully when either of them are in the room.” Celestia tapped her chin and flashed a quirky smile. “I wonder what that says about me and my status when they are less afraid *I* will hear them.”

Sunset snorted, careful to not spill her precious coffee. “You’ve gone down in the world, Mom. Jooooin me in the gutter. The rent is cheap!”

Celestia giggled as she carried her tea over to join her daughter, blowing on the steam with the same grace and poise as if she were having a drink with a visiting dignitary. Somethings were just so ingrained they were automatic. “To tell you the truth, I find it freeing in a way. They are not as afraid of me now when in reality they should be more. Before, I always had to worry about what would be printed in the papers the next day or tabloid trash. So, naturally I always had to bite my tongue or word my displeasure eloquently. Now, I can walk right up to said fool, spin them around forcefully and say, ‘that is my daughter you are talking about’ or something to that degree. Like you said, unconcerned about my self image or what they think.”

“Still nicer than I would have been. Trust me. There was a reason I was banned from PTA meetings and fundraisers when my girls were in high school.”

Celestia set her tea down and gestured for Sunset to continue.

“What? Did I never tell you about the nacho cheese incident?”

“Refresh me. Reading about it in the journal is not the same as when you tell it. Plus, I love listening to you tell stories.”

“Oh, boy,” Sunset rolled her eyes, but smiled at the memories from long ago. Just thinking about Twi, Aurora, or Sunna brought a little smile to Sunset’s face. “Well, I guess I should start with I didn’t start it.”

Isabella Windsong loved her job. She really did… most of the time.

She was good at paperwork. More than that, she enjoyed it! She had an excellent sense of time management skills and she was not intimidated by nobles or dignitaries or ambassadors of any sort be they pony, yak, or dragon. She was a griffon, after all, and proud of it! She had been complimented on her well kept feathers and stylish, modern attire taste. More than that she was Princess Twilight Sparkle's personal assistant. It would be undignified to flinch in the face of others much like a warrior on the battlefield.

That being said, there was one pony… correction, one alicorn, that managed to ruffle her feathers and send a twitch through Isabella’s eye faster than any other creature in the known world. Sunset Shimmer. There were just sooooo many things about the unusual mare than bothered her. She was Celestia’s daughter, sure, okay. That was straight from the goddess's mouth and was ironclad acceptable. However, who was the father? Did Celestia birth her? Was she adopted? Where was the paperwork?!

When not in Canterlot where does she go? Isabella recalled Twilight saying something about a secret magic mirror and that Sunset lived ‘far away,’ but that was hardly a destination one could point to on a map. The unknowns bothered her immensely, but even those details paled in comparison to her behavior. She was crass, sarcastic to every creature regardless of rank or station often intentionally at the worse possible times, and just oooooozzed an intelligent overconfidence that was not humbled nearly enough given her station in Isabella’s opinion.

In the past, Isabella had just rolled her eyes and reminded herself that the mystery alicorn would be gone in a day or two. But for some reason Sunset Shimmer had extended her stay and now she had had to endure an entire year of Sunset. That had been difficult beyond previous measure, but when Celestia was either encouraging Sunset’s rogue attitude or worse, helped participate in it… Isabella had started to suspect the goldenrod alicorn was in fact the fabled draconequus, Discord, in disguise. Chaos. That was what Sunset Shimmer was, chaos in alicorn form.

When Isabella heard the mother and daughter pair coming around the corner laughing raucously she had the faintest hope that maybe they were not coming to the dining room where Twilight was currently eating her lunch. It was a fool’s hope, she concluded as the voices grew louder.

Isabella sighed and squeezed her eyes shut while she massaged the top of her beak hoping the throbbing in her head would not worsen. Of course, she thought, they just HAD to come to lunch today when I needed to review the quarterly budget reports with Her Majesty. WHY couldn’t they have gone on a picnic or something?

Celestia smiled and waved at Isabella who thought about slamming the door in their faces and locking it, but knew in reality that it would not actually slow them down and would be rather insulting. Plus, Twilight would see it and scold her. Benefits of keeping the peace versus consequences of her actions. The internal debate was about three times longer than it should have been before Isabella bowed respectfully and gestured to the extra chairs. The wait staff immediately began plating for the new guests.

“What’s up, Twilight? Anything fun happening worth mentioning?”

Twilight smirked and rolled her eyes. “I suppose that would depend on one’s definition of fun, Sunset. However, I can safely say that at the moment, there are no evil invasions, dangerous soul sucking artifacts, and nothing is on fire. Thank you for not starting any.”

Sunset laugh dryly. “Touché.” Celestia’s laugh was more genuine and warmed both her former students’ hearts causing them both to giggle as well. Isabella simply sighed, praying the headache would go away.

“Truthfully, I’m glad things are going smoothly. I need to get as much local work done as possible before the current royal session ends. I will be attending a HUGE summit of all the surrounding nations in the Crystal Empire on Monday. I have been looking forward to this event for months!”

“I assume every country will be sending a representative?” asked Celestia while arranging her plate, which included a large slice of cake. Sunset made a coughing sound and pointed to the wall while simultaneously slicing the cake portion in half. When Celestia noticed what had transpired she narrowed her eyes at Sunset. “Well played.”

“Absolutely!” Twilight replied, politely ignoring the cake war. “And, from what I understand none declined. Cadence and her staff are truly going to have their hooves full for the entire week. Another reason why I want to be there to help her out and of course spend time with my sister-in-law.”

Sunset tried to fight down her grimace, she really did, but knew it still flashed across her face even if only briefly. “It hasn’t been that long. She and Flurry Heart were here for Hearth’s Warming this last winter.”

“True, but only for a few days. It’s really hard for her to get away from the empire at all. But like I said, the summit runs all week. This will be a great opportunity to have some sister time.” Twilight paused, thinking back to the holiday and how Sunset had spent most of the season either keeping herself busy away from the castle or hiding in her room. She was, even after all this time, still not one hundred percent sure what had transpired between the two of them, but judging by Sunset’s face it was something the goldenrod mare was still not proud of.

“You know, you could come with me, if you wanted to. I’m sure Cadence would appreciate the extra hooves.”

Isabella coughed politely. “Your Highness, we already have made numerous, unchangeable plans. With all due respect, I recommend against alterations to what we have now. Another alicorn, even an uncrowned one, could come off as… intimidating to the surrounding leadership.” Twilight set her drink down, preparing to launch into her rebuttal when Sunset met Twilight’s eyes and shook her head.

“No, it’s cool. Isabella is right. Me, in a confined space surrounded by politicians all trying to shamooze you or I… then throw the Princess of Love in there and well… yeah, disaster scenario. And that would be before Flurry Heart tries to show off some of her latest moves I'm sure.”

Twilight’s eyes dimmed a bit, while she stared at a spot on the table cloth. “Flurry will not be there actually. She and Cadence had another fight about a moon ago. We… asked Luna to take her on an excursion southwest near the Badlands or Kirin territory. The two are supposed to be coming up with a plan for the week. Either way, it’s another reason I want to be there for Cadence.”

Sunset grimace again and set her food down. “Damn. They sure do fight a lot.”

“Yes.”

The singular statement hung in the air to the point it was becoming uncomfortable. Finally, Celestia rescued them all by clearing her throat. “Well, I’m sure it will work itself out in the end. In the meantime, Sunset, maybe you and I should go on our own small vacation away from Canterlot since everypony else will be busy.”

Sunset was about to counter the statement, citing her work on the crystal project plus a few unfinished art projects she had lying about. But there was something hopeful in her mother’s words. A longing and reminder that none of them were getting any younger and she had promised to spend more time with Celestia when she had first returned.

One year ago… Twelve lunar cycles. Eighteen more cycles to go until…

Sunset closed her eyes and sighed. She then turned to her mother fully and smiled genuine. “You’re right. A getaway break from all this sounds good. Besides, the main reason I came for an extended stay was to spend time with you and we haven’t gone anywhere really that did not also include guards, petitioners, or some secret plan to hook me up for the evening for charity.”

“That was one time! And like you said it was for charity!”

Sunset flashed a cheeky grin. “Relax, I get it.”

Twilight Sparkle smiled warmly at the pair. It warmed her heart greatly to see mother and daughter getting along with just a small pain of longing. Remembering her own mother and the fleeting time they had shared. Time. Relentless, unforgiving, indiscriminate time. After rubbing her eye that must have had a piece of dust in it Twilight nodded and said, “I think that’s an excellent idea.”

“I concur!” Isabella added a bit too enthusiastically. After a moment, the griffon coughed into her claw and recomposed herself.

“Okay, well if that’s decided, where are we going?”

Celestia tapped her chin a moment. “Is there any place in the world you have always longed to see?”

For most that was an obvious question to ask. There were of course all the big touristy places one could list. The “bucket list” places to go and things to experience. However, Sunset Shimmer was already more than a century old and had spent the last many decades traveling abroad on Earth. There was little in the way of “the usual spots” that would interest her even in Equestria. Sure, there were still once in a lifetime opportunities, but nothing that came immediately to mind.

“Well, like I said, I’ve been racking my brain and burning through tons of coffee on this crystal communication project with Twilight. Some nights I think all I dream about are math, geology, and power runes. I think what I really need is just to get away from it all then come back with clear eyes and a fresh, relaxed perspective. How about a week or two off in the middle of nowhere?”

Celestia smirked, magenta eyes shining with pleasure and excitement. “An island beach far away from the usual crowds perhaps?”

“Ohhh, that sounds heavenly. I love squishing my to- er, hooves in a white sandy beach. Clear water, hardly any city lights to really take in the night sky. Maybe a big girl drink or two?” My soulmate at my side to kiss and hold, but… no, don’t ruin the moment. Mom is smiling.

Celestia was beaming in fact. “I think this is an excellent idea! There are a number of more remote islands I have read about that receive less hoof traffic, but are absolutely stunning in their own way. We should go consult the latest navigational travel maps for research and choose one neither of us has visited.”

“Well, that’s easy, I don’t think I’ve visited any of the lesser known ones between the east coast and Zebrica.” Mother and daughter both turned to Twilight who was letting out a soft whimper sound while pouting her bottom lip out. “You okay over there, Twilight?”

“You… research… compare and contrast… lists… without me. I… I need a…”

“Your Highness,” Isabella pipped, “if it would help, we do need to review the budget reports and council correspondence. There are plenty of notes to be had.”

“Sure, thank you, Isa… I guess that will have to do.”

Sunset smirked at her mother, a familiar mischievous glint in her teal eyes that Celestia recognized immediately. She should have said something, maybe just simply teleported the two of them away, but… well, where was the fun in that?

“Hey, Twilight?”

“Hmm?”

“Wanna help us research some islands?”

“NO!” screamed Isabella.

“YES!” screamed Twilight Sparkle.

“ARRRGH!!!!”

Author's Note

Annnnnnnd welcome back!

So, I have 5 chapters written with the next 4 roughed. I'm not sure how many this story will have, but it will be a relatively short mother/daughter adventure story even though I tagged Twilight she is not in this one much.

As pointed out in the teaser This takes place during the events of Gods and Monsters when Sunset left her wife behind and spent 30 moons in Equestria. If you have not read Gods and Monsters, well, you can still enjoy this one, but seriously you should read it. I enjoyed writing it!

Updates should be once a week until the story is done or circumstances or what not.

Hope everyone comes along and enjoys.

Chapter 8: The Hard Way

With some friendly coaxing, Sunset Shimmer was able to get some of the slave farmers to emerge from the primary building albeit hesitantly. After some rapid fire back and forth faster than Sunset could pick out what they were saying, a zebra stallion who was dressed a bit differently than many of the others came to the door, speaking both Equestrian and Pundamilia, the most common zebra language.

He stopped before Sunset Shimmer and froze, green eyes with small flecks of amber went wide as he took in the alicorn before him. The moment he introduced himself as Levar multiple shouts of ‘Papa’ could be heard approaching from the tree line. The zebra fully turned and fully embraced his son in a loving hug. Powerful forelegs that bore signs of hard labor and possible torturous punishment held the colt so close that nothing could or would dare to come between them.

After a solid minute of quite whispers, nods, and a few shed tears, Levar encouraged the others that it was safe to emerge. Once again, Celestia had been correct that bringing the children was the right decision. Long ago, her mother’s instincts on such a matter would have annoyed her, but now Sunset was just happy to see the loving family reunited.

From what Sunset could tell at a glance there had been nearly fifty slaves crammed into the large shack, mostly zebras with a few other ponies as well as one hippogriff. Two ponies in particular brushed their way to the front and fell before Celestia the moment they were in the open sand. Mother and daughter exchanged a knowing look that Sunset interpreted as, ‘not this again.’

“No, please rise. None of that is necessary. You have been beaten, starved, and worked near to death against your will. I will not have you demean yourself further.”

“A, apologies, Your Highness. It’s just… I never thought I would… It has just been so long. Jib and I were assigned to a costal cutter patrol fleet aboard the Tailwind that sailed patrols along the Equestrian shore. We chased down a few pirates and smugglers. Our captain, Rocky, got a bit of a reputation with a thirst for more and wanted to capture Captain Danger and the Amber Phantasm. Once we finally found his ship, we gave chase. Then ended up in this island Tartarus.”

“What happened to your ship and crew?” asked Sunset, already dreading the most obvious answer.

Captain Rocky was killed during the fight. Our ship lacked the heavy armament that Danger’s Phantasm has. We thought the Phantasm was cornered, but he used the harbor for a natural defense and turned a full broadside on us. The entre engagement had taken a good hour and after Rocky was killed, we tried to make a run for it. That was when we realized we were trapped. Only four of us made it off before the Tailwind was sunk. Now…”

Celestia bowed her head, expression truly sorrowful. “I understand. May I know your name, sailor?”

"Sailor Third Class Swish Kicker, ma'am."

Sunset nodded to the sailors before pulling Celestia closer to her. “So, it looks like we have about sixty refugees including a few foals. They all look malnourished and we still have way more questions than answers.”

“I concur.”

“And?”

“And what, dear?”

Sunset blinked a few times. Celestia was too smart for this. Was this another one of her head games or was she really at a loss? “And we need a plan, some sort of organization to all this or a list of what to do next. Dammit, I wish Twi or Twilight were here. They are better at this than me.”

Celestia smiled warmly and nuzzled her daughter who took the affection with an eyeroll. “Do not sell yourself short, little sun. You may lack Twilight’s analytical mind and obsessive compulsive organization, but you are far better at improvising and adaptation. Tell me what you would like to do next and we will work this out, together.”

Sunset smiled warmly at the compliment, greatly appreciating its sincerity. Even after all these years, nothing made her feel better about herself and more accomplished than a Celestia compliment. “Well, alright then. First things first, you find some volunteers to locate the stored food and start feeding these poor souls. They had to of been stashing the harvest food somewhere nearby. I’m going to go kick in a few other doors and see if I can find some useful information lying around. After that, we both have a chat with the pirates.”

“You see? That was not so difficult,” Celestia said with a twinkle in her eye. “Twilight Sparkle is absolutely amazing, both of them are, but never forget you are amazing as well.”

With one last nod Sunset turned to the remaining buildings and took note of the different structures about the plantation. Now, if I were an evil slave lord and wanted to keep others in line, but also felt I was too important to have to smell them in my sleep... that one. Sunset started towards the one small building she was sure the lead slaver had emerged from. She made it about three steps when Levar approached and began to bow excessively.

“Your Highness, I want to thank you, no I apologize, I am not worthy to speak out of turn, I just…”

“Hey, whoa, slow down there, stud. First, you don’t need to bow to me. I’m actually not a princess.”

Levar scratched at the side of his head. “Um, but… the wings and horn together?”

Sunset smiled disarmingly and gently touched Levar’s shoulder. She was momentarily taken by how solid and muscular the zebra was under the loose button up shirt and immediately withdrew her hoof. Quietly telling that part of her brain that it was the wrong time and place for those sort of thoughts. “I know, that’s a common misunderstanding. Anyhow, let me introduce myself. My name is Sunset Shimmer. I am Celestia’s daughter, but have never been coronated as a princess by my own choice. So, you can just call me Sunset or if that’s just too weird, Lady Shimmer is also fine.”

“Yes, yes of course, Lady Shimmer. I wanted to thank you and Princess Celestia for coming and for looking after my son. I am in your debt.”

“Don’t thank us for that. From what I’ve already heard some of these prisoners had been here for a long time. We goofed our way here and your son has done a remarkable job taking care of himself and his friends before. He’s got a good head on his shoulder to have survived and stay out of the way of the pirates. I know what that's like being out of your element with nothing but your wits and survival insticts.”

“Thank you, all the same. If I may, what do we do now? What can I do to help?”

“Tatu said you were acting as a go between to the slave farmers and the pirates. You would do the most good right now helping Celestia see to whatever needs they have. Food, water, medical attention, that sort of thing. I’m going to be gathering all the information I can find on this operation. Then, we find a way off this island.”

Levar nodded grimly, ears flattening to his skull. Sunset felt a lump in her heart and gut at such a sunken expression. “I… I admit I had hoped you had already found a way to work around the captain’s curse. Forgive my disappointment.”

“Not yet, but we will. You have my oath on that. I’m getting you and, well, all these creatures off this rock. Equestria may not be your homeland, but we will get all of you to safety. No pony or zebra or anyone deserves to be made a slave like this. No one.”

Levar nodded, starting to bow again before stopping himself, a small embarrassed smile spreading across his black striped face. “I believe you. You speak with confident conviction and with two alicorns. I feel a hope in my heart I have not felt in many moons.”

“Anything useful?”

Sunset glanced up at Celestia who was standing in the doorway of the cottage shack, not wanting to enter and step on the numerous pieces of paper spread across the floor not unlike the castle lab or Sunset's music room. Sunset had to squint a bit after having been in the one room abode for… how long have I been looking at paperwork? Ugh. This is like that job I had at the accounting office during my graduate years.

“You have been at this for almost four hours." Celestia smirked knowingly. "I can see the question in your eyes, dear.”

“Ugggghhh.” Sunset stood and stretched, several bones popping in response to the movement. “Break time.”

Celestia nodded and gestured for her daughter to follow. “Again, anything useful?”

“A little. Most of Webo’s journals were just personal ramblings and shipping/cataloging manifests. Apparently, he was left in charge of this plantation after Captain Danger stole a barge that most of these zebra were riding on because he knew the language and because he gets seasick easily, which is just sad for a pirate. That was almost eight years ago according to the records.”

“And we never knew any of this was happening. I may no longer be the High Princess, but that fact shames me greatly.”

“The good news is, Captain Asshat comes back pretty regularly. So, we just need to get a message out to send help and we wait, ambush Amber Phantasm, get ahold on whatever magic he is using to hold these ponies here and shut it down.”

“A sound plan, little sun. However, we need to find out WHY my dragon fire message was not working to begin with.”

Sunset smirked, pointing towards the horizon. “Then it's time to do a little trial and error on that front and I know exactly who to ask for help.”

“Oh?”

“Well, ask might be a bit too polite of a word.”

“You are going to get all of us killed!”

Sunset rolled her eyes and kicked Webo again. Not too hard, but just enough to remind him not to speak unless it was something helpful. After grabbing a small snack, Sunset Shimmer collected the zebra slaver and began interrogating him about the ‘curse’ around Pelican Island. To help corroborate his answers she dragged the pirate back to the hotel and set him down next to Grassy Rio. Unsurprising, neither were happy to see one another.

After the back and forth of blame and death threats got old, which took less than five minutes, Sunset separated the two and tied both of them to chairs so that they would no longer be tempted to come to blows. With Captain Steady Course nearby and Celestia standing just off to the side, Sunset began to grill the both of them on what they knew about the island and Captain Danger himself.

Webo had refused to speak of Danger except to say that he was the finest pirate on the sea and that he would die before betraying him. That earned him an eyeroll and a threat of a dirty sock being stuffed in his mouth. A hollow threat since Sunset had not packed any socks, but he did not need to know that.

Grassy Rio had been more cooperative in explaining that there was some sort of barrier around the island that let things pass through, but nothing out. That included birds, fish, and especially boats. Any boat, no matter the size or material it was made from, made it out. He had explained in gruesome detail that some had tried ramming the barrier while others tried to pass slowly. All ended with the ship combusting or being obliterated. The fast ships would break as if they had slammed into a solid wall, fracturing structurally upon impact and in many cases also being set ablaze. The crews would attempt to swim ashore and would often be dragged under by something. The slow ships lasted a bit longer and had to agitate whatever it was below enough for it to attack. Some did, others gave up and returned to shore alive, but in defeat.

Sunset, standing on the bow of the Easy Money glanced back at Webo who had his forelegs tied together, a seething hate clear in his eyes. Celestia was sitting near Sunset with the latest version of her rolled letter she wished to send to Spike so as to pass to Twilight, floating in her golden magic. Steady was behind the wheel of the small ship trying not to run into something he could not see with only a pirate’s judgment of how close they were to the invisible barrier.

“No pony is going to get killed as long as you are telling the truth,” said Sunset Shimmer with a sigh of annoyance under her breath.

Webo growled in response. “I am telling you what I know! Look down, you see fish. Where they gather is where the barrier is. They swim in, but cannot get out so it confuses them. They bounce off the barrier.”

Celestia and Sunset both carefully looked over the sides. The water was mostly clear and with so few clouds and easy surf the level of visibility to the bottom was astoundingly good. They were certainly close to the threshold. Sunset could feel… something. An energy that gave her a sense of unease that she was certain Celestia could sense as well.

“This will be close enough, captain.” Steady nodded to Celestia and dropped the small anchor he had nearby, moving to keep a close watch over their prisoner just in case.

Sunset sent out a small pulse of magic trying to see if the barrier would react. A dark crimson energy shimmered across the sky like a ripple on a pond. When she looked down, all the fish that had been near scattered. “Well, it is definitely there.”

Celestia narrowed her eyes at the magic that sent a chill down her spine. There was something familiar about the energy signature, but she could not place her hoof on it. Something to contemplate on for later. “Just reattempting the send spell will not likely yield any new result.”

“Okay. So, you want me to try blasting a hole in the barrier then you sent the message through?”

“Normally, I would not elect for brute force when it comes to such an unknown magic. However, in this case, that may work.”

“If you agitate the magic it will attack!” Shouted Webo. That gave both alicorns pause as they first met eyes then turned back to their prisoner.

“Could you elaborate on the ‘it’ part?”

“I…” Webo cringed as if he were fighting his own internal battle. “I don’t understand it. I don’t know what it is, but it’s tied in with the barrier. A defense. You make it mad by trying to escape and it will try and stop you. Magic things will lash out like, like large tentacles. Drag us all under to join the bones below.”

Sunset cringed. “Ugh, it had to be tentacles, didn’t it? I’ve had my fill of Equestrian hentai tentacles…” All the eyes on the ship turned to Sunset with varying degrees of curiosity and squeamish judgment. “Long story.”

“We must either be swift or prod lightly,” said Celestia, breaking the awkward silence.

“Yeah, I don’t do lightly when it comes to breaking and entering.”

Celestia held the rolled scroll close. “Begin.”

Sunset’s first blast was light, relatively speaking. For even a skilled unicorn it would have been substantial. As expected, it struck the barrier, which rippled and dissipated the power as quickly as it had been applied. She followed up with two more blasts that were each slightly more powerful than the last. The barrier showed no sign of giving the slightest. Sunset had not expected such simple kinetic blasts to penetrate, but she had hoped to sense at least a weakening or matrix shift, a chink in the armor as it were. But it was far too adaptive, organic to track any useful changes to the spellwork.

“Grrr.”

“Sunset.”

“I know.”

Steady Course heard a bubbling sound and risked glancing over the side of his ship. There were a steady stream of bubbles coming from somewhere beneath them, churning the sandy bottom and clouding the water. “Your Highness…”

Celestia flexed her wings a bit in agitation. “Sunset.”

“I. KNOW.”

Several rapid fire blasts had yielded no new results causing the goldenrod alicorn to snarl with a noticeable flash of heat coming from her body. It was time to take the gloves off, so to speak. Sunset took a calming breath and remembered her years of magical training from long ago. Anger can help fuel spells, but it’s a double edged sword. That power boost is raw, unfocused energy. Dig deep inside. Find the power, grasp it with your will and direct it like directing a torrent of water from a broken water main. Do not fear the power, do not fear the pain. Grip tight, hold on, and have an herbal tea ready because the headache that follows will be fierce.

Sunset’s horn went from burning red to a golden, white hot light before releasing a massive blast that pushed the boat back to where the only thing that kept them from drifting away was the anchor chain drawn taunt. The goldenrod alicorn grunted and flashed her grinding teeth as she poured her power forth, wings fully extended and burning like an inferno.

After a full minute of unrelenting energy that could have lit a city for a week, Sunset felt the wall crack and the blast penetrated to the sky beyond. She cut the flow of magic and collapsed to the deck as Celestia began her spell, but before the mist could escape through the hole it rapidly closed. She drew the cloud back to her, not willing to risk the message disintegrating on the shield.

Sunset growled and stood on wobbly legs. “Oh, COME ON!”

She began to gather her strength again when a red tentacle covered in what looked like crystal blisters erupted from the water and started to slash down at the ship. The appendage struck a hastily conjured shield that Celestia put together while still holding her cloud scroll close. The blow had both mass and speed and drove Celestia to a knee while cracks spiderwebbed across the shield.

“I’m weighing anchor!” shouted Steady Course. It was his ship and he was the captain. Even if the alicorns had protested he would have ignored them if it meant protecting his property.

Two more tentacles emerged, one cutting along the side of the small ship, the crystals gouging into the wooden hull. A second after shooting to the sky they too crashed down on the damaged shield. Celestia cried out as her hasty defense shattered, the scroll rematerializing and falling back to the ship deck. The ship was now surrounded by three of the red appendages.

“Tutakufa!” whimpered Webo, coiling into a ball and waiting for the inevitable death blow. Jumping overboard was suicide, he had seen others try. His only hope was that the entity might think he was already dead or floating debris after it was done with the ship.

Sunset Shimmer had no such plans to wait for the proverbial executioner's axe and leapt off the deck and slashed upward with her sword, cutting a third off one of the tentacles. The severed appendage flailed before retreating back under the waves. She growled as she hovered, waiting to see which of the other two would strike next. Though there were no eyes they seemed to be aware of her and that she had hurt one of them. Sunset spun her burning blade in her magic, raising it to an attack position.

“Mom! Get the message ready! Captain, get the ship ready to move!”

“The hole already resealed!”

Sunset brought the sword closer to her hooves. For what she had in mind she would probably need her muscles along with her levitation. “I’m going to try cutting a hole.”

“Sunset, it’s too dangerous!”

Sunset spared a glance at her mother, her face one of determination and anger fueled intent. “I am not spending the rest of my life on this stupid island and I am definitely not going to be defeated by some hentai power, island hoodoo at the hooves of a stupid pirate captain with a stupid name! So, get the message ready or teach me how to do myself right now!”

Celestia nodded and recast the dragon fire spell. The tentacles must have sensed the magic gathering and moved to attack again. Sunset dove and slashed, severing one appendage and deeply gashing the other before slamming into the barrier blade first. Energy crackled along the invisible wall lashing out at where Sunset’s rear hooves came in contact. It hurt. A lot.

Sunset screamed, but just plunged the sword in all the more determined, the red flames from the shield tried to burn her like they no doubt had done to many others. However, Sunset was a master pyromancer. She knew how to regulate heat through and around her body, allowing the excess energy to pass through her magical pathways and down into the sword in her hooves. If they could not overpower the shield through brute force then she would use the barrier's own energy against it. The heat was still incredibly uncomfortable where the two different magics fought for dominance both inside and outside her body, the ends of all her hooves beginning to blacken a bit from direct contact. A howl cried out from below, or across the island. Honestly, it sounded like it came from every direction at once.

Sunset pressed down, one hoof wrapped around the handle and the other pressing on the back of the blade guard. Forcing the blade to the hilt. Once she felt it fully penetrate the barrier, Sunset let gravity do the work and cut the gash downward.

“NOW!”

Celestia aimed her magic upward and practically flung the cloudy mass through the hole before it could close again. She released her spell and let out the breath she had been holding, her coat matted from sweat and salt spray. Sunset pulled her sword free and flapped twice, crashing down onto the bow of the small ship, rolling and stumbling into the port side rail. She winced and looked down to find that her hindleg shoes and hooves that had come in direct contact with the barrier were far more charred with smokey wisps coming off the burned fetlock hairs.

“Well, that was a pain in the a-”

Another tentacle had smashed directly through the Easy Money breaking the small ship in half. Webo was thrown into the water and Sunset painfully back into the railing. Celestia was closer to what remained of the stern, next to Steady Course who was still clutching the wheel like a lifeline.

“SUNSET!”

“Get back to the beach! GO!” Sunset pointed back towards the island. Celestia nodded, lifting the stunned stallion sailor onto her back and took to the sky, her eyes never losing sight of her daughter. Sunset had shot a blast at the newest tentacle to keep its attention on her and away from the others, which then bent and came crashing back towards the ruined bow. Sunset teleported at the last moment and reappeared just above the water where Webo was flailing. Celestia could not hear what was said, but it had been enough for Sunset to punch the zebra pirate out cold before lifting him out of the water and flying away from the wreckage that was soon further pulverized.

Sunset Shimmer dropped the pirate onto the sandy beach before crashing back down herself, not far where she and Celestia had watched the sunset the other day. She rolled onto her back and huffed, gulping down air as the adrenaline bled off. Her entire body hurt and the first skull pounding throbs of a headache from overtaxed magic were beginning to set in.

“Little sun?”

Sunset waved a foreleg but left her eyes closed. Sunset was not sure what else was said in the confusion and shouting voices that sounded far too distant, but she was certain she passed out at some point.

Author's Note

Message away! But will it do any good?

Dun Dun Duuuuunnnn!

Questions? Comments?