Boyle had his favorite parts of being a pirate. Specifically, the pirating. He loved nothing more than to find treasure, whether it be buried underground, at the bottom of the sea, or in a rich creature's collection room. Boyle didn't have a favorite kind of treasure, he loved finding all of it.

Boyle could just do any of that by being a regular old thief, there really wasn't much of a difference. He mostly enjoyed being part of the pirate crew because of, well, the crew. If he needed help with his thieving, which he did occasionally, then he had it. And most importantly, his brothers felt more comfortable around the crew, and whatever made his brothers happy made Boyle happy.

And the crew was pretty great.

When they had first joined the crew, Boyle hadn't felt too sure about the flying ship. He may be a bird, but like most Ornithians he wasn't the kind of bird that could fly. He had never been off the ground before. It didn't help that during their first few days with the crew, Boyle had gotten incredibly airsick. For a time, Boyle had thought that the airsickness would be too much and he wouldn't be able to handle being on the flying ship at all, let alone for days or even weeks at a time.

Fortunately, the airsickness had gotten better over time. Sometimes it still hit him during a particularly bad storm, but other than that he fared pretty well.

Once Boyle stopped getting sick, he warmed up to being on the ship a lot better. He actually came to like it quite a bit. He wasn't as much of a natural sailer as Mullet was, and he would never be as fascinated by the ship's mechanics as Squabble was, but there were plenty of things that Boyle liked about being on the ship.

His favorite part of sailing the skies was when they were up there during the clear, cloudless nights. Boyle loved nothing more than to stand on the deck of the ship and watch the countless stars up in the sky. There, high above everything else, there was nothing but sky for miles out in every direction. It was a beautiful sight, and absolutely incredible.

Because Boyle liked this view, and because he knew that Captain Celaeno and Mullet overworked themselves way too much, he often volunteered to man the ship during the night hours. Boyle didn't mind being behind the ship's wheel. Especially at night when everybody else was asleep.

Boyle was used to being out on deck on his own during the night. However, he could still handle having others out on deck with him. Sometimes, Squabble was still awake and keeping watch while up in the rigging. Every once and awhile, when Mullet had a hard time sleeping, he would come out and the two brothers would spend the night talking with each other.

Though having somebody out on deck with him while they were fast asleep...this would be a first for that.

Boyle looked over from the ship's wheel to see Capper leaning against the railing, sleeping. He had been cooped up into the cabin for far too long, so they had brought him out onto the deck. The weather was nice, so none of them saw the need to bring him back in. Capper didn't seem to be very comfortable, but Lix Spittle had assured them that he had been far worse when he had been left alone in the cabin.

Boyle didn't know how much he believed Lix Spittle though. It was kind of hard to believe that Capper was more comfortable on deck when he was still so tense that even in his sleep he looked like he was in pain.

Though, after watching Capper for a few moments, Boyle began to think that the pain that Capper was in was less physical discomfort and more mental distress. The signs were subtle, but in his sleep Capper's ears twitched and he looked fluffier than usual, which meant that his fur was standing on end. Every once and awhile Capper's hands and feet would twitch.

If Boyle had to take a guess, he would say that Capper was having a nightmare. It was extremely tempting to go down there and wake him up, as Boyle knew exactly what Capper was having a nightmare about, and he shouldn't have to deal with that fear all over again. Boyle resisted the temptation and stayed where he was.

In his own experience, both with his brother's nightmares and his own, sometimes it was best to just let the bad dreams run their course. They were unpleasant, and could ruin someone's mood for the rest of the day, but for the most part, they were harmless. From past experience, Boyle knew that if he woke Capper from his nightmare, he would likely be in a panicked state for a few minutes, at the very least. Capper might feel like he was still in danger, and his fight or flight instincts might kick in, and neither of those would be very good for his physical recovery.

If the nightmare got any worse, to the state where Capper may just injure himself if he was left asleep, Boyle would intervene. But unless that happened, Boyle would stay at the wheel of the ship and just wait for Capper to wake up naturally, at which point he would lend a listening ear.

For the next few minutes, Capper kept his eyes on the sky and his ears on his Abyssinian companion. Capper wasn't making that much noise, but as the night was silent and the ship itself made little noise, Boyle could hear the smallest sound that Capper made if he wanted to, and he did.

Capper's nightmare gradually seemed to be getting worse. His cries seemed to be getting more and more distressed, and when Boyle looked over towards Capper again he saw that he was shifting much more in his sleep than he had been before. Just as Boyle began to consider waking Capper up and putting an end to his nightmare, the Abyssinian's eyes flew open in alarm.

"Welcome back." Boyle called out. Capper looked around the deck of the ship in confusion for a moment before he turned his gaze towards Boyle. Capper still looked confused and upset, but he visibly relaxed when he saw his crewmate.

"...Boyle." Capper took in a shaky breath. "W-what are you doing out here?"

"Keeping watch." Boyle steadied the wheel and went down to join Capper on the deck. Their skyship would fly steady and straight for a few minutes without anybody behind the wheel. Boyle could take a break from it to make sure that Capper was okay. "It's a nice night out."

"Huh," Capper looked out to the clouds that they were passing. "I guess it is."

Boyle held out a hand to Capper and pulled him to his feet. Capper stumbled a little bit, but Boyle held him steady until he could find his balance.

"Thanks." Capper muttered. He took a hold of the railings to keep himself up and glared over them. "I hate feeling so weak." Boyle knew that he wasn't just talking about his struggle to adjust to living without his tail.

"Yeah," Boyle looked down at his hooked hand. "The nightmares will do that to you."

Capper looked up at him, an uncertain look in his eyes. Capper followed Boyle's gaze to his hook. "...What happened?"

Boyle clenched his good talon around the base of his hook. "Same thing that happened to you. We angered Verko."

"That monster." Capper growled, and Boyle wholeheartedly agreed. He had never met anybody as cruel and unforgiving as Verko was. "Do y'all still…" Capper trailed off, but Boyle knew what he was asking.

"Squabble and Mullet don't have nightmares about it." Boyle said. They had those first few weeks after the incident, but once the two of them had begun to mentally block out what had happened, the nightmares had stopped. "I get them every once and awhile" It was the burden of remembering everything that had happened.

Capper shifted uncomfortably. "Do they...get better?"

Boyle sighed and massaged the base of his hook. "It depends." Sometimes his nightmares about what had happened weren't any worse than any other nightmare he had. Sometimes the nightmares seemed to be worse than the actual event itself. These nightmares were so bad that even after he woke up Boyle would be filled with a crippling terror that stayed with him for hours after he had woken up. Those days were difficult to deal with, and not just for him. Boyle knew that Mullet was always scared for him whenever these days happened, and he always felt bad for worrying his brother.

"The day to day stuff gets easier though." Boyle said in an attempt to turn the conversation to a more cheerful mood. "Soon, you won't even remember what it was like to have a tail at all."

Capper looked at him strangely. "I don't know if that's a good thing or not." Boyle laughed.

"Yeah, me neither." Boyle forced his hand away from his hook, because he knew that if he kept it there it would be harder to drag away. It was ridiculous, how easy it was to get stuck in the past.

"I don't know how I'm supposed to get used to it." Capper looked back out over the railing of the ship. "I can barely stand on my own two feet."

"Yeah, you'll probably need help with that." Boyle knew that none of them would be able to provide much help beyond moral support. They needed to take Capper to somebody who knew what they were doing. "Would the other Abyssinians be able to help?"

Capper snickered. "Probably, but I wouldn't count on it." Capper's ears twitched irritably. "Because of the Storm King, the kingdom's broke. If we go to an Abyssinian for help, the price would be even loftier than it usually would be." That normally wouldn't be a problem, because, as pirates, they usually had some spare bits on hand. Of course, getting Capper back had cost them most everything they had.

If they were dealing with any other species, Boyle would suggest that they go there anyways and then just bail without paying. It wouldn't be the first time they had done something like this. The problem was that Abyssinians were naturally suspicious of Ornithians, and vice versa. Those cats would be watching their crew like a couple of predators, and it just wasn't worth it.

"Besides," Capper added. "Abyssinians are proud creatures in everything that they do, including how they look. You have no idea how horribly they treat other Abyssinians that have 'flawed' appearances. That includes, but isn't limited to, the absence of tails."

Boyle scowled. "Glad I'm not an Abyssinian." Ornithians were proud creatures as well. Many of them may brag about their feathers, but most of them wouldn't go as far as to shun those who didn't have as brilliant of appearances.

"Sometimes I wish I wasn't either." Capper said.

"Alright, so, where are we going to go?" Boyle asked. As far as he was concerned, it was entirely up to Capper where they went. He was the one who needed help, so if anybody deserved a say, it was him.

Capper was quiet for a few moments. "Maybe...you remember those little ponies that we helped?"

"How could I forget." Boy chuckled. Captain Celaeno was frequently talking about that Rainbow Dash pegasus. And even if she didn't, Boyle didn't think he would ever forget the ponies that had helped to get them out of the funk that they'd been under when they had worked for the Storm King.

"I remember one of those ponies, Fluttershy, I think he name was, mentioning that she was good with all sorts of creatures." Capper said.

"Is she a vet or something?" Boyle didn't know what else Capper could have meant by 'good with creatures', but he really doubted that the Abyssinian would want to see a vet of any kind.

"Not exactly. At least, I don't think so." Capper said. "She just said that she's good with creatures. I don't really know what she meant by that, but…"

"But you trust her." Boyle guessed. It wasn't hard to figure out.

"...Yes." Capper said hesitantly. "I think I do."

"Well, that's good enough for me." Boyle said. "So, we're going back to Equestria?"

"Yes, but not to the same place as last time." Capper said. "They live somewhere else."

"Well, then we'd better get there." Boyle made his way back to the wheel where a number of maps were laid out on the ground. They usually kept their maps in the cabins. Since they had been trying to decide what to do and where to go, they'd kept the maps to the area close on hand. Boyle grabbed one that had Equestria on it and brought it to Capper. "So, where do we find our pony friends?"

Capper looked at the map and pointed at a small town just off of Canterlot. "Ponyville. That's where they live."

"Ponyville?" Boyle snickered. "These ponies sure are original with their names."

"Do you know where we are?" Capper asked. Boyle knew that he had been studying these maps with Lix Spittle, but it was certainly difficult to keep ones bearings when they were flying so high up, especially when they had been flying in circles for the past few days.

As the one who had been doing much of the navigating, Boyle was well aware of their exact location. "We're just north of the desert." They hadn't wanted to go far until they had a final destination in mind. "We just need to keep going north."

"Sounds simple enough." Capper commented.

"Very simple." Boyle agreed. He put a hand on Capper's shoulder. "Are you ready to put your navigating skills to the test?"

Capper's head snapped up as he looked from the maps to Boyle. "You want me to steer?"

"You know how to do it." Boyle said. He knew that Capper had been taught by Lix Spittle how to man the ship. Now was as good a time as any to put that knowledge to use.

"Why now?" Capper asked, and it was a good question.

"Because if you're anything like me after a nightmare, sleeping is the last thing on your mind." Boyle said. "It'll do you some good to get your mind on something else."

"I suppose you're right." Capper reluctantly agreed. Boyle held a firm grip on Capper's arm and helped to keep him balanced as they slowly made their way to the wheel.

Once they were within reach Capper grabbed the wheel and took a moment to steady himself. He took a deep breath. "So, north?"

"North." Boyle confirmed.

"Alright then," Capper said. "It looks like we're off to Ponyville."