Chapter 7: A deadly mistake and the bag of winds
Author's note: So I thought about how this story was going and decided to add more creative titles so that you wonderful viewers can get some story hints! Also, the story's getting darker at this point, so beware!
Oh, and Abacus Cinch is based on Echidna, the mother of all monsters (Greek myth).
Twilight Sparkle could barely stand. Her body was covered in bruises and gashes. Lacerations bled from her forehead and cheeks. Still, her violet eyes stayed on the massive form approaching her, and she masked her pain with a feral snarl directed at the demigod.
Secretly, Twilight could not deny that Lord Tirek's strength was incredible, even for a demigod. Twilight had cleverly tricked him into drinking until he was a blubbering, intoxicated fool. Nevertheless, drunk Lord Tirek and sober Twilight had reached a stalemate; no one could win.
Only Celestia herself knows how this would go if he were sober, Twilight thought somberly as she dodged another earth-shattering blow from the centaur. She could sense he was getting impatient. What demigod wouldn't? They had fought for quite some time. Every second that passed was another reminder of humiliation to Tirek; what demigod faltered in a duel against a mortal princess?
Their fight began with foal's play, rudimentary tactics: his throwing boulders and her destroying them, him throwing her around and her teleporting and sidestepping. Then, after neither of them backed down, the fight intensified. She shot beams in his face. His magic slapped her to a stupor. Blood spilled. Bones cracked. Both heaved between intervals.
Still, they just kept fighting, wordlessly and stubbornly.
But after Tirek fired another blast and knocked her down, Twilight watched him uneasily. His gait was smoother. The look in his eyes was darker. He stood a bit straighter...
The potion! Twilight began to sweat from physical exertion and terror. The wine! It's effect is weakening! He's almost sober! WhatdoIdo?WhatdoIdo?Think,Twilight,THINK!
Her wit and magic were no match to his brutal strength and power. She did well to keep up with him! Twilight had started training since birth. She was a descendant of Starswirl, after all, and image was everything to a princess and her prosperous kingdom. Hence, her parents wanted her to reach her full potential as soon as possible.
But nothing in the sheltered unicorn princess' tranquil tutoring sessions and dusty old tomes could have prepared her for a battle to the death with a demigod, a battle to the death with the proud, merciless Tirek, no less.
"Fighting a drunk?" Tirek stared at her with contempt as she wobbly attempted to stand. "Tsk, tsk. Have you no honor, your majesty?"
Now that he was speaking clearly and soberly, Twilight dropped pleasantries and stared up at him defiantly. She was beyond tired of their battle. "I'll admit it was treacherous, but at least I don't imprison ponies for life energy, you - you monster! You probably don't even need ponies for food, do you? Unless you're some kind of anomaly among demigods."
Tirek grinned smugly at her, as if she just showered him with compliments. "Not at all. I could maintain a mediocre diet, but this energy..." He stole a moment to relish the memory of drinking such raw, untapped energy. His eyes glowed with lust as he imagined draining every last drop of energy from every mortal he encountered. "This energy gives me power and control beyond my wildest dreams! Of course, their energy is my delicacy. The meat after is always just a savory treat for later." He noticed she was gaping at him with horror and used the distraction to his advantage. Another beam of magic formed a crater in the earth as Twilight barely rolled out of the way of the blast. Unfortunately, she was not completely spared. The burnt flesh of her back cursed her as she stood up once more.
"GIVE UP, PRINCESS! I WILL TAKE YOU STRAIGHT TO DISCORD!"
"NEVER!" Twilight shouted back with all her might, dodging another attack and hitting him with her own. "How dare you question my morality when you yourself kill and gorge for power? I would've fought you honorably if I stood any change of winning and you weren't so - so evil! Now, we are at an impasse - "
"An IMPASSE?!" Usually, when Tirek ensnared her with his magic and threw her to the ground, she was prepared and protected herself with a force field. But right after he interrupted her, Twilight barely had time to think as he hurled her to the unforgiving dirt. Her limbs felt like shattering into a million pieces, and her head throbbed mercilessly. And the fact that Tirek was growling did not alleviate the pain.
Two, long fingers picked up Twilight by her throat, and he began to gradually choke the fight out of her. "You better prepare to die," he hissed venomously. "You're nothing but an insolent, condescending fool!"
"I - I..." He squeezed her throat tighter, ready to drain the magic out of her. But then, she managed to wiggle a bit in his grasp and bit one of his fingers, causing him to yelp and drop her. She could only smirk a little as he cradled his bleeding finger.
"I'm not like many fools, Lord Tirek, if you haven't noticed."
"Yes..." Her wit is uncanny... Perhaps she is somepony more special than I thought... "Most fools don't act so wickedly."
"I had to!" Why do I feel like I have to explain myself to him? "You have imprisoned innocent ponies senselessly! And I have to go home to my family - oh!" Twilight bit her tongue and hung her head, but it was too late. The words had escaped. She revealed some vulnerability.
Perfect, Twilight. Absolutely dandy!
Tirek was about to resume the fighting, but he stopped. "Your family?" The new information piqued his interest. "Since you're a princess, I assume you have a mother as queen and father as king. Hmm... But do you have a husband?" Silence followed his question. "A wife?" One slight wince was his answer, and Tirek smirked darkly. "And children are involved, I presume?" Twilight shut her eyes as if that would make him stop, but that only made Tirek guffaw. "Splendid! Perhaps I should pay your dear wife and children a visit?"
"Shut up." It was barely audible, her protest, but Tirek still heard it and kept taunting.
"Don't fret, your majesty. They will hear my condolences after I kill you with my bare hands."
"Shut up!" Twilight was shaking with anger at that point. But he did not stop there. He simply stooped down to her level so she would have to look him in the eye.
"Then I'll kidnap them and take them to Tartarus, which is where you'll already be, rotting! "
"Stop it!"
"And I'll kill them right in front of you, slowly... Their ears will bleed. They'll cry and beg - "
"ENOUGH!" Twilight saw nothing but red as she sent the biggest blast she could conjure at Tirek. The attack missed the centaur, and he roared with laughter at her precarious aim.
But it did not miss the mountain behind him. And on that mountain tumbled a massive boulder, which hit his neck.
"ARGHHHH!" Tirek cried in pain. The stone left a hideous mark. As he refocused on Twilight and approached her with a deadly glare, he failed to notice that the boulder was in his way and stumbled upon it. The boulder was unusually smooth and round, and it was the size of all his hooves combined. So, it was no surprise that he had skillfully managed to tread on it backwards in the midst of his clumsy fall.
Twilight watched the display, wide-eyed and speechless. If she were not frightened for her life or the lives of others, if she were not exhausted from all the fighting, if she were foolish and did not feel threatened by Tirek, then she would have found the sight comical. He awkwardly rode the rolling stone until he came to the edge of a precipice. Then, he hopped off of the boulder, and it tumbled away. But as he landed on the ground, he lost his hoof hold and fell.
"NO!" The unicorn princess dashed to the edge of the cliff and tried to lift him with her magic. Sadly, he was too huge for her to hold magically in her panicky state, and for her to endeavor to hold him physically was out of the question. And so, he slipped from her grasp and descended to his potential death.
To Twilight's relief, the centaur showed signs of life at the bottom of the cliff. Unfortunately for Tirek, his landing was far from soft. Jagged rocks as sharp as knives littered the barren dirt beneath him and had stabbed him. Bleeding and groaning, he weakly began to rise.
"Y-You c-can't w-win, mortal - "
His descent had rattled the earth around them, and rocks of all sizes fell upon his twitching body. Then, just as he was about to get up, a massive chunk of the cliff itself cracked. Twilight ran to safety before that broken part of the cliff slammed the poor centaur back into the rocks.
Twilight screamed, ran to where he was, and tried to lift all the rubble off of him since she was much calmer than before. With her last bits of energy, she had somehow managed to lift the biggest chunk and throw it aside. There, she saw a sight that would stun the gods: a twitchy, bloody, bruised, scarred, and broken demigod with a face reflecting utter failure and a violent cough.
"Oh no." Twilight cautiously stepped closer to Tirek, whose eyes were shut. "I - I didn't m-mean to -"
"Twilight!" Both centaur and pony heard the baby dragon's cry and the sound of hooves galloping on the dirt and rubble.
"Princess Twilight Sparkle!" Rarity cried with concern.
Tirek's soulless eyes immediately opened, and he fought to use his frail voice instead of cough. "Twilight Sparkle..." The utterance of her name made the pony before him shiver.
"That's your name, isn't it?"
Twilight eyed him cautiously. Surely there was no harm in responding. Besides, the sight of Tirek broke her heart. She honestly did not mean to end his life, and answering him was the least she could do. So, she nodded gravely, her somber eyes fixed on his neutral countenance.
But then, his expression hardened. He clenched his jaw. His eyes glowed brightly. And Twilight froze.
"Then curse the day you were born."
The young princess took a step back, searching for the right words, the right excuses. "I -"
"CURSE YOU FOR ALL ETERNITY, PRINCESS TWILIGHT SPARKLE!" His voice dropped from a thundering roar to a wheezy hiss as more coughs escaped his body and blood oozed from his lips. "For you... are my death. I will see you in Tartarus, you and all who you hold dear..." And with one last feeble cough, the mighty demigod's eyes rolled back, his head slumped, and he fell dead.
Twilight watched his gradual demise speechlessly, but her mind was processing everything at a mile a minute. How could I, a renowned princess, have allowed for this to happen?! I should have acted with dignity and grace. Instead, I practically flung him down to his death like some bloodthirsty, enraged - UGH! But he threatened my family, my Sunset and Star...Sweet Celestia, if I heard any more insolent, bold words from that pathetic fool... Listen to yourself, Twilight. This is why you killed him - NO! I - I wouldn't kill... I didn't mean...
It doesn't matter whether you meant it or not. You killed him.
"Twilight? Are you okay?" The princess opened her eyes, not realizing that she had closed them, to find all her friends and her number one assistant staring at her worriedly. They had noticed Tirek, but they had also noticed how pale and sweaty Twilight was and refocused on her.
Rainbow Dash repeated her question slowly, only to have the shaken unicorn fall forward. Applejack, having impressively quick reflexes, caught Twilight and placed her on her back.
"We should round up those in the cave and head back," Applejack told the others. As they all quietly headed back for the cave, Twilight's thoughts drifted back to Applejack's bright green eyes.
Like Sunset's... Oh Sunset... I didn't mean it... I didn't.
They gathered Tirek's former prisoners, and everypony quickly left the island. Thankfully, they did not run into the obtuse Diamond Dogs again. Also, Rainbow Dash had spotted a nearby port and dropped the former prisoners there. Fluttershy and Applejack had provided them all with some bits and food. And, after expressing their gratitude, the grateful ponies left the crew of Tank's Glory.
Weeks then passed, and Twilight had not said a word to anyone, not even Spike, since her fight with Tirek. This was obviously concerning to everypony else, and they did everything they could to talk to her without hurting her feelings or reminding her of what occurred.
Then, Spike lost his patience and stormed into their room.
"That's it," he began angrily. He had alarmed Twilight, who was reading one of her favorite books on alchemy. "That is it! Twilight, what did we do wrong? What did I do wrong? You haven't spoken to anypony since we left that creepy island, not even me! At least tell me what I did wrong instead of ignoring me like this! Did I - "
Spike was cut off when he was unceremoniously lifted from the ground and ended up in Twilight's tight embrace. He was about to ask her why she was hugging him, but then he felt droplets of water hit his scales.
"Wait... Twilight? Are you... Oh, Twilight! Don't cry!" He lightly patted her trembling shoulders, and she buried her face in the small crook of his neck. "I didn't mean to upset you."
She shook her head and pulled away from him. "No, Spike." Spike grinned brightly. She was finally talking! "You didn't upset me. It's just..." She trailed off when she noticed that they had an audience, their five friends, to be exact.
Applejack, unlike some of the ponies on board, knew exactly why Twilight was upset. She had been a victim of self-loathing and guilt herself before. "Sugarcube, I know better than anyone that there are some things we can't change and you gotta let this thing go -"
"And how do you expect me to let this thing go?" Twilight snapped resentfully. "How do you expect me to go on living the rest of my life knowing that these hooves..." She slowly looked down at her hooves, dreading the sight of them. "My hooves..." She remembered Tirek's bloody, bruised face and burst into tears. Fluttershy sprang into action and floated across the room to hug her, crying as well.
"We all must do what we must," the usually meek pegasus whispered wisely.
Twilight pulled away from her. "I didn't have to kill him! It wasn't my intention! I only wanted to win and weaken him enough to free those ponies. It's just, I was enraged and -"
"We know." They had all watched the fight from the cave.
Rainbow approached the sniffling unicorn. "We all did things we had to in war..." I'm so not good at this mushy crap. Oh well. Here goes! "Besides, you're right. You didn't mean to do anything. He pushed you. And... you fought in the first place, not even trying to kill him, so you could set those ponies free and take us home. That's, uh, pretty badass for an egghead." And with that, the captain gave her a brief hug, too.
Twilight smiled gratefully, but another thought plagued her. "But my family... What's my daughter going to think when she finds out I'm a murderer, a - a monster worse than Tirek was?!"
Pinkie giggled a little. She knew her innate response was insensitive, but Twilight's idea was so difficult to believe. "You? A monster? A murderer? You're neither one of those things! Once you tell your daughter all that you've done, she'll realize how much of a great mommy she has!" She and Rarity reached out to hug her, receiving a relieved smile from the comforted princess.
"And brave," Rarity added sweetly.
Rainbow smugly flipped her mane back. "And awesome, just not as awesome as me!"
Twilight looked at her dear brother and friends, discovering the power of friendship. How could I have been so ignorant of their kindness and love? I need them just as much as they need me, and I'll protect them at all costs... Because without them, Sunset, Star, I would never have the motivation or the courage to cross oceans to return home to you. I vow today that my friends and family will meet someday, as one big family.
"Thank you all so much." Twilight let a few stray tears of happiness trail down her cheeks. "I'm so lucky to be able to call you all my friends."
I'm coming, Sunset. I'm coming home.
The God of the Underworld sipped his cup of chocolate milk and tossed the empty cup away. He feigned a yawn as the cup exploded into a thousand pieces, startling the caged, decrepit centaur in front of him.
"Tirek, is it? How's your daddy Sombrass?" The centaur just growled vehemently and banged furiously against the cage. Alas, the god's dark magic was laced in the cage's iron bars, preventing any of its captives from escaping and stealing his or her strength and magic.
"Keep struggling in that new, frail form of yours, Tirek." His maroon red eyes suddenly sparkled with glee as an enormous shadow loomed over them both. "Oh, and look who it is!" The god patted his knees and whistled at the excited guard dog. "C'mere, Cerberus! C'mon, boy! You got yourself a new playmate!"
"Why..." Tirek wheezed. "Why am I reduced to this? Why am I here? In Tartarus? Why this? Why me? What have I done to you to receive such torment?"
His captor slowly turned to him and glared at him so fiercely that Tirek thought he saw glimpses of his eternal suffering in those ghastly, blood red orbs. Then, he spoke so sonorously and menacingly that Tirek felt as if a thousand, ice cold knives slashed his quivering body.
"Because you made your 'death', the mortal princess, cry, which made my future bride cry." He snapped his fingers, slapping and knocking the centaur to the ground with a summoned gust of wind. "Thank you very much!"
Suddenly, Tirek was standing right in front of the angry god and forced to look him in the eye. "Any more of that," the god whispered harshly, "and you'll wish the worst punishment for you is eternity in that cage with a never-ending cough. No, if I hear anything else about you, I'll make you wish for pain, as pain will be your only escape. I'll make sure you feel what all your victims felt, physically and mentally."
The centaur was abruptly teleported back into his prison, and the god casually began to exit Tartarus. "We'll be in touch, Tirek. You can be sure of that."
After Twilight received the well-needed support from her friends, she arranged a small but appreciated picnic lunch for all the crew members. From her foraging, she managed to gather enough crackers, honey, and various fruits from Tirek's island for everyone. Applejack pitched in and made apple cider, and Pinkie Pie somehow made more rum cake.
Since he decided to skip breakfast, Spike was so ravenous that he had to stop himself from eating too much. "I'm glad we escaped before that monster could eat any pony," he uttered casually before shutting his mouth. The baby dragon was trying so hard to distract himself that he had forgotten how sensitive Twilight was about the subject.
Luckily, Twilight sensed his guilt and changed the subject. "Captain, there has to be a faster way we can get to Ponyville."
Rainbow Dash shrugged and bit into an apple. "We'd need a miracle."
Fluttershy, spotting somepony, suddenly squeaked and hid behind Rainbow. "Or a... a god?"
"And where are we gonna find a god who'll help a bunch of mortals, Shy?" Fluttershy simply pointed a hoof at somepony behind them. Everyone else gasped and dropped their lunches. Rarity swooned again. Applejack almost choked on her cider. Before them stood a tall, handsome, pale green stallion with amber brown eyes, a luscious and silky blonde mane, and a noticeable stubble. The breeze seemed to guide him to the deck, tussling his shiny mane and coat. The sun kissed his form, leaving no traces of any shadow or blemishes.
"Sweet Celestia..." Fluttershy whispered in awe. "No doubt about it. He's a god!"
"Indeed I am," the young god replied proudly. He winked at Rainbow Dash and kissed her hoof. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance, fair mare."
The skeptical captain just wiped her hoof on Applejack, who looked far from pleased or amused. "Yeah, yeah, yeah! Whatever! Who are you?"
Applejack quickly shoved her hardheaded friend and genuflected. "Show some respect, feather brain, and bow!" After hearing Applejack, they all bowed before the god.
"Great Zephyr Breeze." Twilight shivered after saying his name. She felt unworthy of saying his name before him. "I am - "
"Princess Twilight Sparkle, Princess Rarity, Princess Applejack... Need I say more?" Twilight simply shook her head.
"Pardon me, mighty one, but why are you here?"
Zephyr eyed Rainbow Dash lewdly. "I'm responding to a sexy mare's cry for help, Princess Applejack."
Rainbow blew a few stray hairs off of her forehead and looked anywhere but at Zephyr. "Please, oh please, your excellence." There was so much sarcasm in her voice that Pinkie Pie recognized it. "The awesome Dash does not even measure up to your godliness."
While Zephyr continued to stare at the cyan pegasus lustfully, oblivious to her rejection, Fluttershy watched him intently. For some strange reason, she felt an odd connection to Zephyr. The connection was not romantic, but it was deep and powerful, and Fluttershy felt pretty stupid for not knowing what it could be or mean.
After a few pleasantries and conversing, Zephyr's winds guided their boat to his home from home (his actual home being Mount Olympus). It was hours away from where they were, but with his winds, they were able to arrive in minutes. After landing and gathering food for the rest of their journey, they all were invited to have dinner with the wind god in his hut. Then, while everyone else was still inside his spacious home, Twilight spoke to him alone at the beach, telling him everything.
"You're not too far from Ponyville," Zephyr told Twilight after she finished. "You just need a little nudge." He stood up from the gleaming white sand and trotted to the foliage of the island. "Follow me." They walked in silence until they reached a smaller hut. Inside this hut, Zephyr explained, were items and collections that aid the winds themselves and help him control them.
He finally gave her a closed, sepia brown pouch. "Take this bag," he instructed, "and do not under any circumstances open it until you're close enough to be considerably near Ponyville, until about a nine day's journey from here. It contains many of the western winds. If you do not open it for nine days and open it on the last, your trip will only last ten days from here. If you open it before then, your whole journey will start over. I'm sorry... but every gift has a price."
"Really? But how could you have... Oh, right. You're a god." She offered him a sheepish smile. "But we lost the map, and we have no idea where we are!" Twilight nervously played with the string that closed the bag shut. "That's how we ended up with Tirek."
"So I've heard. That's not good news. You'll definitely need this then."
Twilight looked up at the god keenly. "What do you mean?"
"Tirek is Sombra's son. Knowing my stepfather, he won't be really merciful one he finds out what you did to him."
Twilight stumbled on her words. "I didn't... I didn't mean to..."
Zephyr gave her a sad, sympathetic grin. "He'll still do all he can to obliterate your chances of getting home... and kill you and your friends, at least." Twilight shivered due to his bluntness. "Speaking of your friends..." The young god suddenly turned bright pink and pensively scratched his stubble. "Well, to put it lightly, one of them... she's my sister."
"Oh, that's fine - WHAT?!" It took a second for Zephyr's confession to completely register in Twilight's mind. For a minute, she thought he was jesting, but his solemn nod confirmed he was serious.
"It is true, princess. Lady Fluttershy is my sister, and you must believe me. She's the daughter of Celestia and Sombra. She truly is my sister, well, half-sister. You know that I am the son of Celestia and a mortal stallion Mr. Shy. So, on Earth, if you meet a Mrs. Shy, that's the sun's mare." He finished his explanation with a smooth, slightly arrogant smirk.
"I believe you, great Zephyr, but I ask that you tell her yourself. If you approach her as genuinely and as kindly as you approached me, she'll believe you, too." Zephyr looked a little hesitant, so Twilight continued encouraging. "Trust me. She will."
For a moment, Zephyr nervously fiddled with his hooves, seeming more like a shy colt than a young god, before he gave her a grateful look. "Thank you."
"No. Thank you." She quickly bowed to him. "I'll use this gift wisely."
"I trust that you will. But beware; your friends mustn't know what's in it or touch it. The more that mortal eyes and minds consume these winds, the less powerful they'll be." '
"I won't fail you," Twilight swore. After their meeting, they rejoined the crew and finished supper. Zephyr bravely announced that he was Fluttershy's younger half-brother. And to everyone else's shock, she quickly accepted his words, knowing she felt drawn to her long-lost brother since she laid eyes on him. After that was resolved, Zephyr flirted with Rainbow Dash some more. Unfortunately for him, the tomboyish captain tolerated none of that.
They returned to the ship, and Zephyr continued answering Fluttershy's many questions.
"But how did I turn mortal if I was fated to be a god?"
"Luna turned you mortal, out of jealousy. She and Celestia were pretty close to Sombra, pretty close..."
"Gross!" Spike stuck out his tongue. "That's disgusting!"
"Hold your tongue!" Applejack scolded the drake. "The gods shall do as they please. Uh, besides, there aren't many of 'em." Secretly, however, everypony found the facts disturbing.
The crew stared at each other in silence. Acknowledging the sudden awkwardness, Zephyr cleared his throat. "Anyway, my winds will do all they can here, but if I did anything else to help, Sombra would find out and snuff us all out."
"We understand," Twilight spoke for the rest of the crew. "Thank you."
"Here." Rarity offered the young god a burnt offering of fruit that the crew had worked on earlier. "It's not much of an offering, as you can see. But we hope it shows our gratitude."
"So..." Pinkie hopped over to Zephyr. "Does this mean I'm your half-sister, too, handsome wind god?"
Fluttershy and Zephyr looked at each other and shrugged. "Um, not exactly - "
"Half-half-sister?" Pinkie inquired, blinking rapidly and smiling so hopefully that Fluttershy did not have it in her heart to say no. So, she nodded and shoved Zephyr, hinting for him to nod as well, and he did. "ALRIGHT!" The earth pony jumped so high that she narrowly missed the crow's nest.
Rainbow tapped Fluttershy's shoulder, looking uncharacteristically shy. "Um, Flutters? Do me a favor, won't you?"
The butterscotch pegasus turned to her friend. "What is it, Rainbow?"
"Don't marry him." This earned Rainbow a light smack to the head from Applejack, a scolding look from Twilight and Rarity, and gags from everyone else.
Nine nights after their encounter with the wind god, Tank's Glory was so close to Ponyville that several ponies began recognizing the cities and islands they passed. Some had even began writing the letters that they would send once they arrived in Ponyville, including Rarity and Applejack. They began writing letters to their little sisters, explaining what had happened after six years and assuring them that they would be reunited soon.
Truly, it had been five years on the battlefield and one entire year at sea.
Later that night, a few ponies had to maintain the ship at night, while most were snug in their cots, sleeping peacefully. Twilight, however, was not sleeping as peacefully as her friends.
Twilight's dream...
She was in her castle, and Sunset was sitting on her throne, glaring down at her.
"Why, Twilight?" Twilight could see how red and puffy her wife's eyes were, and her heart went out to Sunset. "Why did you leave me? Why did you leave us?" Starlight appeared beside Sunset and looked just as furious and disheartened as her mother.
Twilight gazed at her wife and foal longingly. "I had to, Sunset. You knew that. Your father - "
"The war was supposed to last five years at the most! It's been six!"
Twilight could hardly look at those cold green eyes. "I - I ran, had to face Abacus Cinch and Lord Tirek and - and - Sweet Luna, Sunset! I died and came back all for you and our daughter!"
"Stop making excuses," Sunset barked coldly, wiping the tears that lingered on Starlight's cheeks. "And what do you mean by 'our' daughter? I remarried." Sunset smirked seductively at somepony appearing behind her. "Starlight is his daughter now, and he is my husband." Before Twilight's disbelieving eyes stood Sombra, who was in his mortal form and smiled wickedly at her.
"So tragic..." Sombra's voice was laced with feigned pity. To add salt to the wound, he patted Starlight's mane and gave Sunset a long, passionate kiss and hug. "A daughter without a parent and a wife without a spouse."
"S-Sombra?!" Twilight's horn vibrated and sparked with fury. "I care not that you're a god! How dare you cheat on mighty Celestia! How dare you touch my wife or my daughter!"
The god of fear just sneered contemptuously at her and stroked Sunset's striped mane. "How dare I? You're a brazen little mortal, princess. If you think this is torturous, then you're in for quite a shock."
"You have no power here. Just because you or Celestia can infiltrate dreams, this is Luna's realm. I know when I am dreaming, Sombra!"
"Then you should also know this: I am coming for you, Twilight Sparkle. Surrender, or I'll murder your daughter..." He cupped Starlight's chin. "Like you murdered my son."
Twilight woke up panting and sweating profusely. Unfortunately for her, a part of her cot was now wet with her cold perspiration. Sighing, Twilight rubbed her eyes and tried to go back to the realm of dreams.
"Twilight?" Spike whispered, startling his older sister. "Sorry, but I heard you toss and turn in your sleep. Are you okay?"
"Yeah. Sorry I woke you up."
"It's okay." Spike released a long, hearty yawn and scratched the scales on his back. "I had nightmares, too." Spike shuddered and grasped his tail. "About him."
Twilight quickly hopped out of her bed and hugged him. She felt terrible for getting him into the scuffle with Tirek, and she could only hope that he did not know that much about Tirek, his fate, or the unfair fight in general. Seeing him and seeing what he had done to innocent ponies was enough to traumatize the sweet, naive drake.
"I'm so sorry, Spike." She bit her lip, fighting with her brimming tears. "I'm doing an awful job of keeping you safe."
Spike gently shoved Twilight away so he could look into her eyes. "Don't say that! You have done all that you could have for me, the crew, and other ponies. And you're not even the legitimate captain!"
"Yeah." Twilight smiled a little. "Rainbow really holds that role close to her heart." An idea struck her, and she gave Spike a playful noogie.
"Hey! Cut it out!"
"Okay, okay!" Twilight chuckled and released him. "I know what'll get rid of those nightmares." She lifted Spike into his bed and pulled the covers on him with her magic. "You wanna know what Rarity said about you to me?"
This earned Twilight his full, undivided attention. "What? What?"
Twilight grinned some more. "She said she thinks I'm so fortunate to have such an adorable assistant." Spike sighed, smitten, and returned Twilight's grin. All of a sudden, they felt the boat move quite rapidly in the other direction. Twilight protectively hugged her little brother.
"Why are we heading in the opposite direction?"
Twilight shook her head. "I don't - " Then, Twilight's heart dropped. "The BAG!" She galloped to the side of her cot, where she last left it, and turned white with apprehension. It was gone. Somepony had taken it some time during the night while and she and Spike were fast asleep. "The bag! It's gone! I - I left it here before I fell asleep! A - And - "
"What bag?"
She did not answer him. Instead, she simply put him back to bed and rushed out to the deck, where the rest of the crew was huddling and frozen with panic. Twilight's eyes examined all their faces and hooves until she spotted the bag, right in Applejack's hooves. Then, she gave them a glare so chilling that everypony cowered under her gaze.
"What happened?" Nopony said a word. "What did you guys do?"
"Nothing!" Rainbow insisted.
"Nada!" Applejack cried.
"Zip!" Pinkie finished with an oblivious grin.
"Who opened the bag?" Again, nopony responded, and her horn glowed dangerously. "ANSWER ME!"
After a tense moment, Applejack stepped forward, hat dipped to cover her guilty eyes. "I did..." Twilight opened her mouth, but Applejack beat her to it. "Why did I do it?" Applejack looked up to frown at her. "Because you can't be keeping secrets from everypony else, Twilight! We all agreed that you were probably keeping resources from us, resources Zephyr gave you, and that just ain't right!"
"Zephyr told me not to tell anypony else about the winds or they wouldn't work! If you had waited another night, we would've been home by now!"
"Say what?!"
"That's how they work! He told me to wait nine more days, and then the winds in the bag would lead us the rest of the way home."
"Well, shoot! How did that darn deity expect us to act around something so strange as giving only you the mysterious bag?!"
Rarity stepped forward. "Applejack's right, darling. We thought he gave you money, or gems, or supplies, anything that could've helped us all, something you should have had no qualms about sharing." The crew behind her added a chorus of agreements, but Twilight's glare never faltered.
"Well, no thanks to all of you, we just lost a whole year of progress and will have to restart this nightmare." Twilight could not stop herself and choked back a sob. "We - We may never return home!" And with that, she left the rest of the crew speechless, running off and sobbing quietly.
Fluttershy tsked and felt tears begin to reach her eyes, too. "We shouldn't have done that."
Rainbow just scoffed. "It's nopony's fault but that arrogant, stupid - "Fluttershy gave Rainbow her famous, deadly stare. "... Stupidly attractive hunk of a god?"
The next day, the three princesses and two ladies rushed to apologize to Twilight, who, after a good night's sleep and the whole morning to think things through, forgave them and apologized for reprimanding them so severely. Later on that afternoon, they found land, land that happened to be owned by one infamous pony.
"Hmm... Looks like we have company, boys. Set up a table. They must be very hungry."