Roguetown, some years later

Luna wove her way delicately through the crowd, keeping her hood up and trying her best to remain inconspicuous. Her height was normally a severe disadvantage in this regard, but the crowd here wasn't interested in her. They murmured in anxious whispers, shifting restlessly as they eagerly anticipated the coming events. Like hounds, they smelled blood and change on the wind and gathered here in search of it.

Five years since she joined the wider world she'd found herself in, and still she was not accustomed to it.

Catching a familiar scent on the wind, she made her way towards it. The boy looked up in surprise when he saw her, the oversized straw hat nearly falling off his head. "Miss Luna!" he cried, "What are you doing here?! This place is crawling with Marines! You might be discovered!"

Luna raised an eyebrow, mildly offended at the implication she couldn't defend herself. "Young Shanks, I assure you I can handle myself against a few Marines. As I'm sure you're aware. " she chastised gently.

Shanks flushed. "I...I knew that!" he exclaimed. "I... I just meant... " Before he could stutter further, Luna put a hand on his head to ruffle his hair.

"Not to worry, young Shanks. You're in distress, so I'll forgive it just this once."

At the subtle reminder of the reason they were there, Shanks' eyes glimmered with unshed tears.

"Miss Luna, can't we do something?"

Shanks begged desperately. "The Captain…" he gulped through his tears. "The Captain's going to…" He couldn't seem to get the words out.

Luna thought back to the last time she had seen Shanks' Captain, just barely a month ago, when he was first captured.

Luna came to him in a dream. She usually tried to avoid the Dream World, as it reminded her too much of her failures, but this one time she made an exception. He was lounging on the deck of his ship, calmly listening to the soft rushing of the ocean waves. She carefully sat next to him, not wanting to disturb the peaceful moment.

He turned to her then, and grinned widely. "Luna!" he said. "Didn't think I'd be seeing you again!"

She mildly surprised he had recognized her, given that she was in her true form as an alicorn, and not a human. But Roger had always had an uncanny knack for people and ponies, and he would probably recognize her no matter the form she took.

"Shanks asked me to come." she said. "He begged to see if there was a way to help you. I could not say no."

Rogers laughed. "Oh, he'll be alright in time. The boy's young, he's still got lots of time to move on. Tell him I'll be alright." His eyes had a mischievous glint. "I have a plan."

Luna figured he wasn't talking about a breakout, but decided to play along anyway. "Well, if you need help, my magic is always at your disposal, Captain."

Roger's smile dropped slightly at that. "I'm not your Captain, Luna, and I never was." He held up a hand as Luna began to politely argue. "I knew, when you decided to join us all those years ago, that we would be but a stepping stone in your journey. For all that you were there with us, I knew that you were never invested in us. A bigger journey awaits you, Luna."

Luna did not know what to say. He did not say anything that was not true, but she still felt a debt to Roger for ending her isolation. So she settled on, "Even still, if you need help, please let me know."

Roger smiled. "There's no need for that, Luna. I'm right where I need to be."

Luna knelt down in front of Shanks and gently dried his tears. "Trust the Captain, Shanks", was all she said, "Trust that he has a plan."

Shanks dried his eyes and turned to the execution platform, where the King of Pirates came to make his final stand.

Together, they watched the birth of a new era.