It was a rather nice day out, a light breeze was pulling them into port as Elias guided the Enterprise. It had taken a little longer to get here than they had liked. Halfway here they had been waylaid by a storm that had not claimed any lives, but it left poor Plumeria with a broken leg and a grumpy attitude. Free was moving about the ship issuing orders as lines were thrown to the dock to pull them in.

Once they were close enough, they lowered the gangplank and Star headed off to speak to the quartermaster. According to some of the crew, they would need to provide the town here with their purpose for being here and would need to be issued a permit for the port. Elias gave himself a stretch before heading down to the deck to see what needed doing. What happened instead was a very surprised Elias being pulled aside and into the captains quarters by Midnight.

With a soft smile she wrapped her hooves around him and just hugged him. "We made it." She said, nuzzling into his chest as he hugged her back. Elias smiled and ran a hand through her mane. "We did, it's better than being stuck on an island right?" He whispered. Midnight laughed and stepped back with a light blush adorning her smiling face.

"If I'm being honest, I don't think I'd mind being stranded if I still had you." She admitted, her blush becoming far more apparent now as she shuffled nervously. Elias for one was pleasantly surprised. He already knew that he had at least some form of attraction to the mare, and this was quite obviously a confession of similar feelings on her part. Elias was anything but reserved however, and knowing this he strode forward, pulled her close and whispered softly into her ear. "It's the same both ways."

With that he gave her a quick peck on the cheek causing her to freeze in place as he chuckled and stood. He wrapped an arm around her and held her at his side as he left the room. After all, pony statues are very easy to carry, or so he had been told.

Several hours later and much paperwork done with the quartermaster and the town guards, and their prisoners were on the way to the gallows. Now they were just down to nine and while this would be enough to run the ship in an okay capacity, they would need more crewmates if they wanted to sail the seas with impunity. Elias, Star and Midnight had left that to Razorbeak who at the moment was returning from town with a few in tow.

However these two looked nothing like what Elias would assume a prospective crewmate to look like. One was a while unicorn mare with a purple mane and tail that obviously had a lot of effort put into it. She had a cutiemark of three gems and next to her was a rather large purple and green dragon who didn't seem all that out of place. He watched his surroundings with a careful eye and seemed to always stay just one step behind the mare.

Elias moved to join them as Star was introduced. The dragon stepped forward and spoke with authority, "My name is Spike and this is Lady Rarity." At that Rarity gave a curtsy as Star did the same. Elias on the other hand simply shook hands/claws with Spike and gave him a simple nod of the head. Spike seemed somewhat surprised at Elias and looked him over. "Interesting, what's a human doing here?" He asked.

Now it was Elias's turn to be shocked. "You know I'm a human? Are there other humans here?!" He asked excitedly. After all if he could find more people who had been brought here too then at least he would know he wasn't the only one. Spike just shook his head, "No, no humans in our world. In fact I'd say your the first. Twilight and I saw a bunch when we went through a mirror to another world."

Elias sulked a bit at that but not completely. Something Spike said had already piqued his interest. A mirror to another world, a world with humans in it. "Do you think that mirror would be able to let me visit home?" He asked. Spike scratched his chin in thought. "To be honest, I don't think so. The humans in that world look a little different than you do. In fact they look a lot closer to their pony counterparts than to you." He replied, giving him a once over again.

"Ah, I was hoping otherwise but oh well. What can do for you?" Elias asked, crossing his arms as he chewed the side of his cheek. This time Rarity stepped forward. "I do apologize if you all may be busy but we are in desperate need of a ride so to speak. We came here for a bit of diplomacy on behalf of the Princess and when we woke up today, our ship was gone!" As she said gone, she brought a hoof up and placed it over her forehead in a dramatic fashion. "All they left was a note saying that they refused to give us a ride any further because I had too much luggage. The nerve!"

Elias laughed as Spike scratched the back of his neck and rolled his eyes. Star however simply joined her in her flamboyant drama with some of her own. "Oh how awful! We'd love to help you, after all we can't let a lady like yourself deal with such a horrid situation can we?" She explained, using wide sweeping motions to add flare to her speaking. Both Elias and Spike seemed dumbfounded as they watched the two converse in said manner while they boarded the ship.

"I wasn't expecting that from a ship captain." Spike said.

"To be honest, I wasn't either. Maybe we should go make sure they don't stir anything up?" Elias replied as they too moved to follow the now gossiping mares. Spike nodded and kept pace as they followed the two into the captains quarters where three chests full of bits now sat. It turned out that the pirates they had turned in had a lofty price on their heads and that bounty had now been paid in full. So while they were busy talking, Spike was helping them to prepare for departure.

While they got supplies and other things they would need, crew included, Spike got Elias caught up on Equestria as a whole and the events that had taken place over the past eight years. As he explained the now current Princess Twilight Sparkle, a rolled up scroll popped out of rippling emerald fire that resulted in a rather loud burp from the drake. Everyone in the room stopped as Spike unrolled it and began reading.

Dear Spike,

I got your letter and I hope you and Rarity find a viable ride from Crown Jewel. The others and I will be spending a week next month in Manehatten, if you want to join us. I know that you both are meant to continue on to Turtletuga to speak to their leader, so hopefully all goes well. P.s. Luna has expressed a wish to travel and has stated she will meet you along the way. If you could send coordinates to her that would be great!

Sincerely,
Twilight.

"Well we have a ride now, so I guess that's done with. You guy's wouldn't happen to be heading to Turtletuga would you?" He asked with chagrin. Elias placed a hand on his shoulder and nodded, "We were headed there to see about finding some more crew and to see about any information that could lead us to any other Nature Magic phenomenon. After all if there is one thing you can trust gold to buy you, it's info."

Spike gave his own agreement to that and with it decided they continued supply well into the night and everyone headed off to sleep, ready for whatever the next day would bring. Elias waved to Rarity and Spike as they went to find their own lodgings while Midnight and Star pulled Elias into bed, closing the door so that nobody would bother them. With some blushing and a few giggles, They settled on either side of the rather warm man and once comfortable the three drifted off to a peaceful slumber.

Within a shadowed room a large creature sat, reading over a scroll that had been signed in blood. With a grimace he stood and looked out the window over the city of Turtletuga. A band of his pirates had apparently been sent to their deaths on Crown Jewel and at the hooves of ponies no less. He stoked his pipe as it's fiery red glow illuminated his gruesome face for but a moment as it reflected in the glass.

This creature known as Elias was of interest to him, and he would not have to wait long if his contact was to be believed. "Let us play a little game then shall we, Human?" His rough laugh sounding more like shale grinding together. He handed a letter off to one of his mates and continued to watch the bay.

When Elias awoke the next morning, he found Star missing and a very warm Midnight with her hooves wrapped firmly around his middle. With some effort, he turned around and wrapped an arm around her as well. He pulled her in close and let out a soft sigh. He'd definitely have to get up soon, but in the moment he wanted nothing more than to just lay there until somebody came to get him.

Midnight seemed to echo this sentiment as she let out of happy sigh of her own as she nuzzled into his chest. This was definitely not a new development, but how they felt about it was different now. Midnight slowly opened her eye's and put her snout into the crook of his neck, giving him a light peck. It was new ground and they both knew it. Even Elias could feel how nervous she was at that moment, but it was washed away when he gave her a similar peck to her forehead.

She looked up at him with slight shock before he moved in and pressed his lips against hers. He heard her breath hitch as her heartbeat increased. It didn't take long though for her to push back into him as well and together they shared their first kiss. One that was interrupted as Rarity burst through the door practically singing.

"Rise and shine darlings! We've much to do toda-oh!" She exclaimed. "Oh my, I'm sorry for spoiling what I'm sure was a very tender moment." She was blushing almost as much as Midnight was who had suddenly ended up a full foot away from the now chuckling man.

"While yes it was a nice moment that I would have enjoyed continuing, We did need to get up so thank you Rarity." Elias said as he slid out of bed and began dressing himself. As he did so he noticed Rarity hadn't left yet and was quietly watching him put on his clothes.

"Can I help you?" He asked, more curious than offended. After all, Midnight and Star still didn't understand why he even wore clothing to bed. Rarity however brightened a bit before she came over to look him over completely, something Midnight was a little upset about as she huffed and brushed out her mane.

"My apologies darling, I was simply fascinated with your clothing. It's a little uncouth but in terms of versatility it is phenomenal!" She said, pulling a measuring tape from out of nowhere as she began taking random measurements. Elias stood there bewildered as he got an impromptu speech on the many ideas he was giving her for a new line of clothing that would suit versatility over beauty. Most of it flew over his head but what he got from it all was that she was a seamstress and that meant new clothes and a possible fix for any of his ruined clothes.

With that in mind he brought up the rest of his things and he steadily watched as her eyes gained an almost distinct sparkle to them. Before he knew it, Rarity and most of his clothes were gone, and Elias and Midnight were left alone wondering what had just happened.

With a shrug they finished getting ready and headed on deck to take on the rest of their day. After all it would be a few more weeks before Turtletuga and they had a lot of time to kill. And who knew, maybe they'd take another ship on the way to add to their crew. As Elias stepped out, he took a deep breath of the salty sea air and smiled.

Author's Note

A new chapter bringing to light a new player on the board! Who could they be? What are their motives? We'll just have to find out! Muahahahahahah!

Anyway I hope everyone enjoys the chapter. I know it's been a while but I've been busy lately and I've been getting back into a lot of hobbies. So Im not holding myself to a deadline anymore. I write because it's fun to tell a story, whether it's good or bad doesn't necessarily matter because at the end of the day, as long as at least one person enjoys this, then I did what I set out to do, ya know?

Sorry for droning on, hope you all have a wonderful night/day depending on time zone!

StormHoof