Author's Note

Sorry for the long wait everyone :) I'm working on multiple stories at once now haha and Im having a pretty good time with it so please bear with me. I hope you all enjoy this chapter and once again if you find any errors, punctuation errors or grammatical mistakes please by all means let me know and I will take care of them as soon as I can.

Hope you all have a wonderful night!
-StormHoof

Chapter 8: Self Reflection

Star sat near the fire they had started up on the beach. They had decided once they had returned that they would bring everything from the cave to the ship and that they would be using it for their new home. In a short span of time the remaining pirate crew had cleared out anything they would no longer be using. This consisted of very few things and what was left were barrels of food and supplies that the pirates had stocked. They were also dismantling cages and melting them down with the help of Gourmet.

Free had almost immediately enlisted the help of some other crewmates and Pip after she managed to calm him down. She had them helping with reinforcing the hull of the ship and the masts. They had more than enough lumber to work with and according to Free it would take them roughly two days to finish repairs and stock the ship, especially considering the number of experienced sailors she had on hoof.

Elias and Midnight were recovering in the Captains Quarters and it took all of Star's willpower to not remain by their sides twenty-four seven. The crew had a medic pony that was currently seeing to their wounds and last she heard they were stable but would be sleeping for quite a while. She glared angrily at the sand as her memories of the fight on the ship played themselves over and over in her mind.

She never expected that she would take anyponies life and under different circumstances she wouldn't have. She thought back on how long they'd been on the island and just how much she and the others came to rely on Elias. He was extremely knowledgeable in survival and if it wasn't for him they very well could have died long before any of this had happened. Part of her wanted to blame him for it happening in the first place. The pirates wouldn't have retaliated if he hadn't attacked them first.

But that wouldn't be fair to him, she knew that. They wouldn't have saved Gourmet and Free if he hadn't and they wouldn't have a way off the island. She shook her head and looked back toward the ship and watched everypony work as she thought again on those she had killed the day prior. It made her feel awful and the nightmares she had all night left a sour taste in her mouth. But she knew that if her sister or Elias, or anypony in their group were threatened she would do it again.
It horrified her and it rightly should, but Star would not let anything happen to them.

"Hey Star, break time's up. You ready to head back to work?" Pip asked as he took a seat next to her.

"Yeah Im feeling recharged, is Free still having trouble with the gryphons?" She replied, standing and stretching her wings and hooves. It was an ongoing problem that Free was dealing with when it came to keeping their rough-housing in check. If it wasn't a griffin spraining a wing, it was one that had chipped a tooth or broken a claw.

"Nah, she's pretty much got em whipped in to shape now. You should see her in action, it's terrifying." Pip put extra emphasis on terrifying as he laughed. Star rolled her eyes and left Pip to his break. They were taking them in shifts while keeping an eye on the horizon. The rest of the crew said they were one ship business, but that didn't dissuade her from the fact that pirates were creatures of fortune and if they happened to see a ship just floating on it's own on an island like this?

It wouldn't be good. That's the last thing she wanted for Elias and Midnight, or anypony else. As hard as it would be, they definitely had enough raw power around now to scrounge up rations and other supplies they would need for the sea. Among which being a plethora of wood that would be needed for repairs. It was Pip's idea however that they bring extra things from the island, special woods, fruits and veggies that could be found. One of which was a strange yet pungent fruit that was orange with pink spots. It smelled like death up close but when you cracked it open it would only get worse.

These they were keeping for themselves as Free had explained that they would make excellent stink bombs in case of boarding party. She was inclined to agree considering the smell still hadn't left her nose. When she got to the ship she could see Free up top in the masts. She was currently placing reinforced finishing's that Gourmet and some of the crew managed to procure. They weren't perfect, but hopefully they would hold up long enough for them to make port somewhere.

The fact remained that while everypony had an important job, hers was to watch over and take care of Elias and her sister. So she made her way into the ship and past various barrels of rations and other supplies. There was plenty of more space and they had enough wood for more barrels and crates should they need them. She smiled and made her way to the upper deck and to the captains quarters, waving to Free and a few griffins as she did so. Free happily waved back, but when she noticed the griffins just staring in awe she growled at them.

Each quickly brought up a claw and gave a hasty wave before they went about their work again. Star gave a rough laugh as she stepped through the door and sunk to the floor in a huff. She wasn't too entirely upset with them being in awe or afraid of her like many of them were. But it still didn't sit right and left a pit deep in her stomach. All it did was remind her of just how much things had changed recently.

With a soft sigh, she crept back to her hooves and made her way to the bed where Elias was currently curled up around Midnight. He was laying on his left side with his right arm wrapped firmly around her as she snuggled into his chest. She smiled at the sight and went about checking their wounds while they recovered. In all honesty, they wouldn't even be sleeping now if one of the crew hadn't mentioned that there was a plant on the island that they had found that would put you to sleep in about thirty seconds.

They had a rather ample stock of that was well and Star was sure it would see some use. Maybe not in stressful situations like the day before, but definitely if somepony or griffin was in pain and needed to sleep to recover. Elias groaned in pain as Star grazed a particularly sensitive area of skin on his upper arm. There was a long and nasty cut that would have gotten infected if Free hadn't gotten to it first. It was just another thing that surprised everypony about her. She said in response to their questions that as a sailor you had to know a lot of things to protect your fellow shipmates.

With her work done and her satisfaction that none of the wounds were festering or infected, Star took her seat and began pouring over the charts that were still laid out on the captains old desk. He had many shipping routes drawn out and one specific one seemed to be nearby their current location, which she could guess was marked by the pin with a bright red ball on it. It was stabbed right into an island a few grids away from what looked to be a large seaport. She stared at it for a while before taking a quill and making a note of stopping by there for resupply as soon as they could.

She chuckled as she thought about just how different she would probably sound to somepony in Equestria right about now. When she left she never once thought about survival or having to plan things out this far in advance. Most things were able to be purchased just outside your door in just about every major city. The more she thought about it, the more she realized just how much they truly took for granted. As she went over logs of what was in their current supplies and how much they were adding, she was also adding up what they would sell for.

Based on estimates she received from the crew in terms of what one could expect for exotic fruits when coming in to port, they could have a hefty sum from this island and it could easily fund a trip to one of the other islands on the map. One she had specifically marked in her own journal before having to ditch it when pirates attacked their ship. In all honesty she really didn't need that old journal now anyway. A lot of it's information was stark in comparison to what she had learned out here. She looked back and watched as Elias' side rose and fell with each breath.

She was sure there was still a lot to learn and the best way would be to continue sailing the southern Equestrian Seas to find as much about nature magic as she could. After all there was only so much you could learn from a fertility pool and she was sure much like Elias that there were far stranger and far more fantastical forms of nature magic out there for them to catalogue.

The thrill of adventure was a bit of a stimulant for her considering the events of late, but things were finally starting look up and that's what mattered when it came down to it. At least they weren't trapped on the island anymore and they now had the benefits of some kind of roof over their heads that wasn't a moist, moss covered cave ceiling. And despite her own hesitation back when she first left comparted to how she felt now, well it was almost moot point.

To think she use to be afraid of water seeping in through cracks in a ship. While yes it did have a propensity to do that from time to time, the boards of most ships were slotted together in such a way as to prevent those kind of leaks. But wood is wood and after all the swelling and drying it would do on these rough seas and in ports, it would stand to reason that leaks would happen eventually. So in all honesty to fear that was pretty silly in hindsight.

She continued to watch her sister and the man who had protected them. She was sure he would be laughing right now at her silly fears, all while Midnight would be furiously blushing at the fact that Elias had his arm around her and she'd be stammering to explain it. She giggled at the mental image and went back to the paperwork on the desk as she wondered what Gourmet would be serving them tonight.

Midnight was in a zone of absolute comfort at the moment. She was warm, wrapped in warm comfortable blankets and she could feel her sisters hoof wrapped around her. This was what she had missed while on the island. At that she almost sat upright, she had forgotten they were on the island. They shouldn't have a warm blanket or comfy bed to sleep on. She opened here eyes and looked at what was in front of her. What she found was a broad and muscular chest, belonging to one Elias the human.

His right arm was draped over her and almost as if on queue, he squeezed her in close as he buried his face in her mane. Midnight blushed heavily as she lay trapped in a prison of comfort and embarrassment. She would normally be terrified and would be hiding it by acting angry, but since he was asleep she knew she could just enjoy this chance. She leaned into the embrace and allowed his scent to fill her nose. He smelled musky and he felt incredibly warm and safe. She looked up at his sleeping face and smiled.

When it came down to it, he wasn't all that bad looking. And as the memories crawled back into her mind of the events that lead them here, she snuggled all the harder into him. He had come to save her. They took her away and he had rushed after them to save her. Granted she knew that they had taken her as bait. They talked loudly enough about it, but she secretly hoped he would save her. While he didn't actually do much in that regard, it was his actions that caught her attention. Nopony other than her sister had ever treated her like that before.

As she watched him sleep, she leaned up and meant to place a chaste kiss on his chin. Instead however he moved in his sleep and just as he did, her lips and his brushed eachother. Midnight upon noticing this exploded with a blush and jumped back off the bed, slamming into the floor painfully with a loud "Ow!"

Elias jumped up from his sleep and looked around in surprise at where he was. When he looked over the edge of the bed though, he found a very embarrassed and heavily blushing Midnight. "You okay?" He asked, offering his hand so that he could help her up. She gripped it with a hoof and pulled herself up before hopping back onto the bed.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She replied, her voice trying it's hardest to sound angry despite how she really felt. Elias laughed and sat on the edge of the bed. "So, think the others are up top?"

Midnight nodded, looked to the right and rolled her eyes. "Well not all of them. One's snoozing on the job." Midnight said as she pointed out her sister, who at the current moment was passed out. She was using their supplies log as a pillow and with a chuckle, Elias slid it out from under and and slide an actual pillow under.

"It's not her fault. She's been taking care of us poor injured creatures for two days now, In fact I'd say she's earned a rest." He stretched out and as he did so, several pops and cracks could be heard along with a softly grunted "That's the good stuff."

For Midnight, she hopped out of the bed and grabbed a nearby main brush that Star had provided her and began seeing to it that her very unruly and knotted mane would cooperate today. Midnight and her sister had spent a good part of the last two days getting many of the largest and most painful knots out of the way, and now it was finally reaching at least a point where she could reliably tie it back. Once that was done, she joined Elias and looked back at the captains quarters. They'd spent two days holed up in here and despite the blush inducing fact that she always woke up cuddling him, it was a very comfy room and she would miss it once she started using a normal cabin.

After all this room would belong to Star who as it turned out had been voted acting Captain in absence of the previous one. They headed on to the open deck and found Gourmet as he served fish stew to everycreature on board. Up in the rats nest sat Free as she cradled a bowl of the same stew, shoveling mouthfuls as she watched for horizon for trouble. Elias walked up and grabbed a bowl from the exuberant stallion who was rather delighted to see the two of them up and moving around again. He even took the time to bring them around and introduced them all to the crew.

Many refused to give names as they said they'd be leaving once they made port in a town, but those that stayed seemed rather happy with the change in leadership. First and foremost was the First Mate, a young yet feisty griffin by the name of Longclaw. He didn't see eye to eye with the way the old Captain was running things and he and many others didn't like the act of taking slaves. He was fierce and intelligent and it was pretty plain to see why he had been made the first mate.

Then there was the new Second Mate, a pegasus mare that had a lot she wanted to prove. Her name was Plumeria, and she came from a rich aristocratic family. The same family that had sold her into slavery to pay off their own debts and when she broke free, she became a pirate herself. She made sure to tell the lot of them up front that so long as they were willing to look out for the crew, then the crew would look out for them. That was good enough for her.

The Bosun and the Chief Engineer, both griffins were pretty quiet and when asked why they wanted to stay, they simply said that this ship was their child and they would never abandon it, not now not ever. From what was explained, they were the ones to go to for any and all ship maintenance that wasn't being spearheaded by Free. Which to say the least wasn't a whole lot of work. The ship could run even with just their little ragtag skeleton crew and if need be they could always pickup more in port.

With that in mind, Elias sat down with his meal and engaged in a rather interesting conversation with Longclaw on the intricacies of knife combat versus hatchet and cutlass based combat. Midnight listened but what she was really watching was him. She couldn't take her eye's off him and in the lantern light with a sky of stars above them, she finally could put to words what she was starting to feel.

For now though, she was content to keep it to herself and with a soft smile she dug into her stew, the taste long having moved past being disgusting for her. It was a cool night and they were finally leaving the island tomorrow. From there who knew where they'd go, and as long as she had her sister and Elias, to Midnight it didn't matter.