Sealegs

The sun rose, jolting up and down, finding no clear pace.
The light dancing over his eyelids was enough to wake a sleepy Sombra.
He sat up, looking around the room.
The events of the previous night all came rushing back to him.
He slammed his hoof down on the bedside cabinet, frightening a sleeping Fluttershy.

"Sorry."

Sombra grunted, before climbing out of bed and trotting from the room.
He trotted down the hallway, into the main foyer of the inn.
Shining Armour was the only one there.
Sombra was quick to confront him, Looking to unload his bad mood on someone else.

"Do you have any idea of the trouble you've caused?"

Shining looked up from a map.

"Good morning to you too. And I apologize for any trouble I caused."

Sombra slammed his hoof down on the table.

"Is that all you have to say? Pathetic!"

Shining merely raised an eyebrow, before looking back down to his map again.
This Irritated Sombra to no end.
Sombra tore the map away, sending it floating down to the floor below the table.
Shining looked up again, a glint of anger in his eyes.

"What's your problem?"

Sombra snarled.

"You're my problem!"

Shining put a hoof to his head.

"Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed."

Sombra roared again.

"How dare you turn this on me! You're the one who caused all of this!"

Shining stared.

"All I did was hit the Spa for a day. You should try it sometime, It might help you with your anger issues."

Shining had nothing more to say, as he stood up and trotted off, leaving a fuming Sombra glaring daggers at the back of his head.

Sea Breeze jolted up from his uncomfortable sleep.
Green had left him with nothing but a blanket and the floor to sleep on last night.
Rubbing sleep from his eyes, he went over the events of the previous night in his head.
Careful not to wake Green, he slipped from the room, trying to put his thoughts in order.

Sea Breeze heard an aggravated yell from the foyer.
Probably best not to go that way.
He turned and trotted in the opposite direction, until he found a large veranda, strewn with tables and chairs.
There was only one other pony there.
Shining Armour.
Sea Breeze weaved through the tables and chairs, eventually reaching Shining.
He climbed up onto the chair opposite Shining's, and waited to be acknowledged.
No good, the unicorn was completely engrossed in his map.

"Uhh... Hey."

Shining looked up.

"Oh good, I have a favor to ask you. Could you go get Gold and Braeburn for me?"

Sea Breeze pondered for a moment.

"Only If you teach me how to do that awesome shield magic."

Shining grinned.

"I think that's do-able."

Excited, Sea quickly darted through the chairss.
And through the hallways.
Eventually, he came to a stop.
He put a hoof on the doorknob, and swung the door open.

Braeburn and Gold were kissing, locked in an embrace.
Braeburn was the first to notice.

"NO!"

Sea was shocked, in more ways than one.
Braeburn wasn't having any of it.

"OUT! Ah ain't lettin' you derail this again. COME BACK LATER!"

With that, Braeburn trotted towards the door, pushed Sea Breeze from the room, and closed the door behind him.

"Well, now that's taken care of."

Braeburn trotted back toward's Gold, a sly smile creeping across his muzzle.
He slipped under the covers next to Gold, and the two embraced.
Braeburn acted on initiative, leaning down and kissing Gold tenderly.
Not having forgotten, his hooves trailed down to the base of Gold's wings.
He began to massage gently, sending shudders of pleasure through Gold's entire body.
He broke the kiss, flipping gold over, so that his soft underbelly was exposed.
Braeburn pinned Gold down with one hoof, clearly demonstrating his superior strength.
He began to tickle Gold with his free hoof, causing the stallion to giggle and struggle.
He leaned in and kissed Gold again, still holding him down.
He tickled Gold some more, teasing the poor stallion a little more.
With practiced accuracy, he then positioned himself over Gold, slipping into him with a smooth, masterful motion.
Braeburn began to pump slowly, leaning in and kissing Gold a little more.
Slowly but surely, his pumping sped up.
Each thrust prompted a small gasp from Gold, who was doing his best to hang onto his composure.
It was a losing battle, however, and Gold was soon moaning loudly in pleasure.
Braeburn leant in, nibbling on Gold's ear and whispering;

"Ah'm gonna make you scream mah name."

Gold couldn't speak, the thrusting was leaving him breathless.
Braeburn kept going, with amazing perseverance, determined to make good on his promise.
Eventually, even Braeburn was spent.
He pulled out, blowing his load all over the soft coat of Gold's underbelly.
Gold did the same, contributing to the mess.
Braeburn flopped down next to Gold, and the two lay arm and arm, panting.
Several minutes passed.
Gold was the first to speak.

"Think we should go see what Sea wanted?"

Sea Breeze made his way back to the table, sitting once again opposite Shining Armour.
Eyes still wide in shock, he stared at the floor.
Shining looked up, and noticed the startled colt.

"You walked in on them, didn't you?"

This prompted a small nod from Sea Breeze.

"You should learn to knock."

Another small nod.
Shining put a hoof to his forehead, before staring down Sea Breeze.

"Alright. First thing you need to know when casting defensive spells."

Sea Breeze snapped out of his stupor..

"You need to know what it is you're protecting."

Sea was taken aback.
He certainly hadn't expected anything like this.

"I can tell you don't quite understand. When casting defensive spells - You need something to protect. A close friend, a relative, or even a spouse."

Sea thought back to the incident on the Equila.
Supposedly, Gold and Shining were best friends.
So that's why Shining's shield was so strong.

"So... I need something worth protecting?"

Shining nodded.

"That's really all there is to it. Once you have something worth protecting, your instincts will do the rest. And If you don't have protective instincts - You'll find it hard to cast any defensive magic."

Sea was taken aback.
He had thought magic was all about study.
Not about feelings, or bonds.

"Everyone's magic is unique. No two ponies learn in the same way. If you can find something worth protecting - Something very dear to you, you'll be able to cast powerful shield spells before you know it."

Sea still didn't understand, but it was clear that that was all Shining had to say, as he was pouring over his map yet again.

Green trotted into the main foyer, spotting Sea Breeze sitting near a window.
With a beam on his face, he sat next to him.

"Aye, 'tis a fair morning laddy. Why so glum?"

Sea Breeze just looked out of the window, out to Sea.
Green knew something was wrong, but it seemed all too impossible to break the blue colt from his stupor.
Green decided that it was time.

"Aye laddy, I've got something for ye."

Sea Breeze looked away from the window, to see Green holding a pendant out in his hoof.
Sea Took the pendant, examining it.
He opened it up, to reveal a picture of the Equila.

"What's this for?"

Green roughly patted Sea on the back, just about sending him crashing into the table.

"That there's the sign of ownership for the Equila."

Sea Breeze looked up.

"Why are you giving this to me?"

Green Flash broke out into hearty laughter.

"Yer old man wanted me to leave ye the ship. Let's face it laddy, I'm not gettin' any younger! BWAHAHAH!"

Sea wasn't amused by the joke.
He was disturbed by it.

"You... You aren't dying anytime soon."

Green put an arm around Sea.

"Ye can never be sure laddy. Incase something should happen, It's best off with ye. Try to keep a smile on yer face, aye?"

Sea forced a small grin.

"That's better laddy! Come now, we have to go see where snowball wants to go next!"

Sea raised an eyebrow.

"Snowball?"

Green chortled.

"Aye, I've decided to call the white one snowball."

It wasn't long before the group was cramped back onto the Equila, heading for the next island.
None of them seemed to be too happy.
Gold was the most vocal, however.

"How long is this gonna take? I'm sick of eating that oatmeal!"

Shining whacked Gold on the back of the head.

"It'll take as long as it needs to. Quit whining."

Gold slumped down next to Braeburn, under the burning sun.
Suddenly, Green called out.

"Looks like a storm is heading our way, mateys!"

It wasn't long before the ship was right in the middle of a large storm.
The gigantic waves threatened to capsize the ship each time they crashed into it's hull.
Sea did his best to try and navigate through the storm, with Green desperately trying to keep the ship on course.
Sombra and Fluttershy took shelter in the hull, Whilst Braeburn, Gold, And Shining galloped about, taking orders from Green and trying to keep the ship afloat.

Gold screamed out.

"This is hopeless! We need to get out of this storm!"

Green was preoccupied with the strange lights under the water to the left of the ship.
With a mighty crack, lightning shot down into the water.
Sea jumped.
He had never been good with lightning.
Green stared at the spot where the lightning had struck.
There were strange lights dancing around it.
With another mighty crack, a huge whirlpool began to form.

Green knew what was happening.
And It wasn't good.

"GEDDOWN, MATEYS!"

As soon as he cried out, a gigantic tentacle erupted from the center of the whirlpool, sticking firmly on the side of the Equila.

"FIRE THE CANNONS! GET THAT BEASTY AWAY FROM THE SHIP!"

Sombra, down in the hull, opened the hatches and readied the cannons to the best of his ability.

"FIRE!"

Only two of eight cannons were successfully fired.
The tentacle began to wrap further around the ship, draging it closer and closer to the center of the whirlpool.
At the bottom of the torrent, a large mouth, rowed with vicious, hooked teeth, could be seen...

Gold let out a cry.

"We're being pulled under!"

Shining attempted to cast a shielding spell, but his focus was broken every time he tried.
The ship was nearing the center of the whirlpool.
Shining tried and tried again, but was unable to initiate a magical shield.
A gigantic torrent of water crashed against the ship.
Everyone held on for dear life, but Green was unable to hold on.
With a yell, he was thrown off of the ship, his tiny body crushed under the pressure of the torrent.
Sea Breeze watched in horror, whilst Shining finally managed to initiate a Shield spell.
With a tremendous amount of magical energy, He lifted the ship up and out of the whirlpool, and out of the storm.

But no magic in the world could change Green Flash's fate.