The sun hadn't even risen when my phone's alarm went off the next morning at five. Groaning, I reached over and grabbed my phone. I looked at the screen, my vision blurring a little bit thanks to my exhaustion. I blinked a few times, then rubbed my eyes with my other hand, banishing any remnant of the dust in my eye. I turned off the alarm, then buried my face in the pillow again. Beside me, the young Dragon was wrapped up in one of my wings, snoring a bit. I smirked when I saw some drool coming out of his mouth. I slowly pushed myself up, looking around. Daring Do was slowly stirring in her sleeping bag, while the Phoenixes, after their talk had concluded, had left the ruins, heading towards the forest where the Phoenixes all lived. According to Hestia, she, Thalia and Adranus would be rallying as many Phoenixes to help defend Equestria from Torch. I hadn't liked the idea, but I told the three that if they wanted to do that, I wouldn't stop them.

I yawned, reached over and gently shook the young purple Dragon. "Spike, Spike? Come one, Dragon-boy. It's time to wake up."

"Mmm…Dad…?" he groaned, turning over in his sleep, looking away from me.

Despite the earliness of the hour and how tired I was, I felt a bit of joy when Spike called me Dad. The little tyke was definitely like family to me. I smiled and began to unfurl my wing carefully. "Come on, son, it's time to get up," I said softly.

He grabbed at my wing and pulled it closer like it was some sort of blanket. "Five more minutes, Dad…" he muttered.

Shaking my head in amusement, I lifted him up and wrapped him in my arms. "We've got a big day ahead of us, little guy," I said affectionately. He snuggled closer, trying to get every last bit of warmth and comfort from me as he could. Looking over towards where Daring had slept the night before, I saw her sitting up in her sleeping bag now, awake and pulling out something from her pack. I nearly froze in astonishment when I saw her pull out a few pieces of what could only be described as sweet rolls. I was surprised to see the miniature looking glazed bundt cake-looking pastry. Part of me couldn't help myself. I reached out, grabbed one of the pastries in my magic and pulled it towards me. Daring looked up in shock, then anger, but before she could say anything, I held it in the air between us and said, "Let me guess: someone stole your sweet roll?"

That woke Spike up immediately. He shook the cobwebs from his head and rubbed his eyes. "Sweet rolls? Where?" He licked his lips in anticipation.

I chuckled and began returning the pastry to the adventurer turned author, but she held up a hoof. "I've got plenty more," she said. "Let the little guy have some."

"You sure?" I asked.

She nodded. "Little hatchling looks like he could use a pick me up. He'll need the energy if we're going to be flying to see the Dragon Lord."

As I brought the pastry back over towards me and handed it to Spike who began eagerly devouring it, something that Daring Do had said stuck out. "Wait, what's this we stuff? Who said you'll be coming?"

She looked at me with a glare. "Listen here, sir Knight. I might work alone, but even I can put that personal preference aside when the safety of all of Equestria and the world is concerned!" She flew up to me and jabbed my chest a bit painfully. "You're stuck with me whether you like it or not."

In that moment, her features quickly morphed into that of Rainbow Dash before returning to her actual appearance. Spike, who'd devoured half of the sweet roll already, was staring up at Daring Do with a nervous look in his green reptilian eyes. I put a reassuring hand on his head, then looked back at Daring. "You're as stubborn as Rainbow Dash," I said. I shrugged and sighed. "Fuck it, fine. But what about that ship?" I pointed towards the galleon beside us.

Daring waved her hoof in a somewhat dismissive gesture. "Not sure it'll fly again, let alone float in water. It's been down here for decades."

I looked at her curiously, then back at the ship. "Back the truck up…this thing could fly?" I asked in disbelief. I'd suspected as much, sure, but to hear that it was actually capable of such a feat was still mind boggling.

"What, you didn't know that?" she asked. "How else do you think it got here?"

"No, that's not it," I said. "I knew you guys had dirigibles and flying pirate ships, but this is a galleon, a man'o'war ship meant for the high seas!"

"Only a small number of these ships were made by a Unicorn stallion named Quarter Master," Daring explained, "and sadly, he was never able to pass on the secrets of how he constructed them before he passed away. The ships he had a hoof in building have all but vanished except for this one."

"Well…damn," I said. "Kinda wish we could get it to fly now, if only so we wouldn't have to waste precious energy flying their manually."

Daring Do stood up and brought out another sweet roll. She tossed it to me and I caught it out of the air. "Let's eat breakfast first," she said, "then I'll see if I can get it running."

"The great Daring Do is a mechanic?" I said with a small smirk.

"I know more about these types of ships than most," she said defensively.

I held up my hand as I brought the sweet roll to my lips. "Then I'll leave it in your capable hooves."

"Damn right, you will," Daring said with a small smirk as she took a bite of her own roll.

Breakfast was a quick affair. After I ate the sweet roll, I ate a couple sticks of jerky, while Daring had another sweet roll and Spike ate a few gems he found lying around. When we finished and after we packed up our belongings, Daring and I flew up to the deck of the downed ship, Spike cradled in my hand.

After I put Spike down, I turned to Daring. "Okay, so how do we get this thing to fly again?"

Daring scratched her chin with her hoof, a thoughtful expression creeping over her face. "Well, I know it requires a great deal of magic to be poured into it, so I'll definitely need your help on that front. There was also a means of control…normally it was the helm." She made her way over to said helm and began looking it over.

"Need us to look for anything in particular?" I asked.

"Down below decks there are usually some crystal containers that are meant to hold in magical energy," she explained as she began fiddling with the helm. "They're not hard to miss, since they're shaped like a large clear cylinder. I saw them in the cargo hold but didn't take a closer look."

"Sounds good," I said, looking down at Spike. "Spike, let's go have a look, alright?"

"Aye aye, captain!" he said, saluting.

Smirking, I headed towards the cargo hatch, which was still open after Daring's first attempt to find whatever it was she was hoping to find, the all to eager Dragon following close behind me. I pulled out my flashlight and flicked it on, illuminating the dark underbelly of the ship. "Spike, be very careful," I said, "this ship's been here for years, possibly decades. It's not in the best condition, so if you see anything out of the ordinary, like some deformed piece of floor, you walk around it. Got it?"

"Alright," he nodded.

I pulled out a spare flashlight I'd brought just in case my main one broke or lost battery power and handed it to him. "Here, take this and follow me." And with that, I headed down the hatch.

Howling Raider was a large ship, to be sure. I pulled out my phone and googled galleon layout, and was surprised to see just how many levels this kind of ship had. The moment we reached the bottom of the stairs and reached the main deck, Spike and I found ourselves in the middle of the bombard emplacement, with massive rusted cannons pointing out of open portholes on the port and starboard sides of the ship. I saw a number of large cannonballs just lying at one end of the ship since the galleon was tilted slightly. There was a thick layer of dust around, so I grabbed my handkerchief and handed it to Spike. "Put this around your mouth and nose," I instructed. "Can't have you sneezing up a fire storm down here. This wood is probably very flammable."

"But what about you?" Spike asked as he took the handkerchief from me and began tying it around his face.

"I'll be alright," I said as I covered my own mouth and nose with my hoodie's sleeve but not before once again putting Rarity's gloves on. Looking at my phone, I saw that many ships like this had a main deck right above the cargo hold, so I looked around for another hatchway. Fortunately, I didn't have far to look as it was only a few steps towards the front of the ship. I could see hoofprints where Daring had made her way down.

We made our way down into the cargo hold, which was where I saw massive wooden barrels tied to a few shelves on the port and starboard sides. Some had spigots attached, and when I tested one of them, a bit of brown liquid with a fruity smell flowed out before being reduced to a drip. As I tightened the spigot, I sighed. "Why is the rum always gone?" I muttered as I swung my flashlight around towards the sealed food caskets.

"Jethro! I found them!" Spike called out from behind me. Turning, I saw five massive cylindrical crystals sitting near the aft portion of the cargo hold, each in a pentagonal shape and each held in place by large metal clamps attached to the walls floor and ceiling. For the most part, they looked pretty intact save for one which was shattered into three distinct pieces, but since the clamps held onto them the pieces hadn't fallen to the deck. "Damn," the young Dragon said when we saw that, "what do we do now?"

"I'm not sure," I said, "Daring knows more about these ships than I do, so I'm not sure if the Howling Raider can fly on five unbroken crystals."

"I can go ask Daring Do! She might know!" And before I could say otherwise, the eager to help young drake ran up to the upper deck.

While waiting, I decided to do a little bit of exploring myself. I looked at the massive cargo hold, starting aft. There was a hallway at the very aft section of the cargo hold, with two rooms on either side. The room to port led to what looked like a very simple brig, while the room to starboard looked like an infirmary. I then went back to the front of the ship and was surprised by how many barrels were still attached to their shelving. A few had crashed to the floor, and whatever had been in said barrels had long since either been taken by small animals or, if my senses were right, evaporated. I saw a few broken spigots around the broken barrels, meaning that whatever was in many of them was either water or some kind of alcohol. Probably rum. One broken barrel lay around a large pile of what must have been food since I saw dead mold lying everywhere around the pile as well as a few skeletons of small rodents.

After a few minutes of exploring, I heard Spike returning, so I headed back to cylinders. To my surprise, Daring Do had joined Spike and was looking at the broken cylinder, a large torch in her hand. I quickly joined her and stood beside the two. "I don't think any of us have the magic to fix that," I said after a few moments of silence.

Daring Do shook her head. "No, but we don't need it. Quarter Master always made his flying ships able to fly with at least four, at least, that's what I've read about."

"I know I'd feel a lot better if we had all five," I admitted.

Daring sighed, but looked closer at the breaks. "Well…we may have one way of fixing them, but it won't be a permanent solution," she said, looking down at Spike. "And we'd need your help, little hatchling."

Spike looked back at her, then pointed at himself. "Me? Why me?"

"Dragon fire is one of the hottest flames in the world," Daring explained. "Some Dragons can breathe fire so hot it can melt rock into lava. Now, if we do this right, we could possibly melt this crystal in such a way that it'll cool back into one solid object again."

Spike stood up taller, looking as serious as a Dragon child could. "What do I do?"

"Now hold on," I said, putting my hand up, "that sounds a bit dangerous. What if the crystal melts and scalds Spike?"

"Dragons can bathe in lava," Daring retorted.

"Right, yeah," I said, looking over the broken crystal once again, then back down at Spike. "Are you sure you're up to this, Spike?"

He gave me a thumbs up. "Of course!"

I turned to Daring once again. "Alright, we'll do it."

Spike spent the next twenty or so minutes nearly constantly breathing fire directly into the cracks while Daring and I kept an eye on the crystals themselves. We watched as the fractured edges slowly began to melt. When Daring judged them melted enough, Spike stopped breathing fire and helped us push the broken pieces back together. We held it there while the melted crystal slowly solidified. We repeated the process for the second crack until finally the crystal was all sealed up. However, the remainder of the cracks were still visible inside the crystals themselves. However, we all made sure that the outsides of the crystals were sealed as best as possible.

When we were finished, it was just approaching six o'clock in the morning. I was sweating from the heat, and Daring too looked like she was slick with sweat. She wiped her forehead with her hoof, flinging off more sweat than I had. "That's probably as good as we're going to get it," she said. "Now we need to fill them with magic."

"I can probably help with that," I said, approaching one of the crystals.

"Now hold it, mister knight," Daring said, putting her wing on my chest to stop me, "these crystals were very sensitive. If you pour too much in at one time, they'll shatter. If you poor too little in at a time, they'll leak out and not fill at all."

I sighed and looked back down at her. "Okay, so what do I do?"

Daring looked at the crystals for about half a minute, and I could see her mumbling something to herself all the while. Finally, she walked to one of the crystals, took out a small brush from her saddlebag, and began dusting off the floor right in front of it. It was only then that I saw a few dark metal plates directly in front of each crystal. I lifted my flashlight and illuminated the one that Daring was cleaning. The writing engraved on them looked remarkably like chicken scratches, but as the writing came into view, I began to identify it and read aloud, "Generator One: Lighting and Air Control. Replenish every twenty-five days."

Daring looked at me in astonishment as she paused her cleaning. "You can speak Psittacin too?" she asked.

"I can speak a lot of languages," I said, gesturing at the metal plate. "Keep going."

Daring Do continued to clean off the metal plates, and I began getting a clear picture of just what these crystals were meant to do. They acted as sources of fuel for many different parts of the ship. As we went around clockwise, the metal plates identified the second one for control of the masts and sails, the next for engines and navigation, the fourth (which was the one that we had just recently repaired) for control of the weapons and magical shielding and the fifth for supply preservation. Daring, however, explained that some of these generators could have power rerouted to other critical systems in the event of an emergency. She told me that whatever the control mechanism for the ship was could control the flow of magical energy through the ship, however she still couldn't find any control mechanism.

"It's gotta be like a key for a car, then," I said.

"Car?" Daring asked.

"Well, in simple terms, a car is a vehicle humans developed that allows us to traverse long distances without it being a horse drawn carriage," I explained, "and the only way for it to actually work is if a key is used to start up the engine."

Daring nodded. "Hmm…I can see that. But I didn't see any kind of key lock at the helm or anything like that. And magical keys could be anything, from an actual key, to a feather, to a sword."

"Well…before we start searching for a key, why don't we try filling up the tanks, huh?" I asked, patting the last crystal cylinder. "Any suggestions as to how much magic I should pour in?"

"Hang on, let me look around," Daring said, "There might be some kind of instructions you can translate for me." And with that she began looking at the walls, presumably for any more of the metal plaques.

As she did this, I took the opportunity to take a closer look at the magic gas tanks. As I looked closer, I saw small specks of what looked like multicolored beads suspended within the crystals. Each bead was connected by what looked like thin threads about half the size of the threads I'd seen in Rarity's shop. Each bead had almost a dozen threads attached to them, each leading to a dozen other beads, which in turn had twelve or so threads attached.

At the center of each crystal, I saw a white bead that was twice as large as the rest. From that center bead, larger threads headed out towards the nearest smaller beads.

Curious, I looked at each crystal only to find the exact same thing in each, save for the one we'd patched together. Where the crystal had cracked and where we'd reformed it, there were parts of thread which cut off and didn't connect to anything.

When I pointed this out to Daring Do, she came over and looked at the formerly broken crystal. After studying it for about a minute, she said, "I'm not a magic expert, but those might be conduits used to keep the magic flowing through the crystal. Recycling it all around. The bead down here is where the majority of the magic is stored, and it pumps out magic to the other beads."

"Like a heart?" I asked.

"Exactly," Daring said. "If I'm right, those threads are like blood vessels which spread the magic around, keeping it fresh every time it passes through the larger bead."

"So how the hell do I fill the magic in the rest?" I asked.

"I'm still looking for anything that might help us," Daring said. "Give me a few minutes." And with that, she went back to searching.

I found a nearby bench and sat down, not wanting to get in Daring's way. Spike quickly joined me, sitting next to me. I looked down at the young Dragon and noticed just how tired the poor boy still was from being woken up so early. I put a comforting wing around him and pulled him close. "Pretty tired, eh kiddo?" I asked gently.

He yawned, which led me to yawn. Spike leaned against me, closing his eyes and nodding. "I was having such a good dream," he said.

"Oh? What was it about?" I asked.

The young drake smiled. "You…me…the girls…we all got to spend a day at Whinnyland…"

"What's that?" I asked.

"The Happiest Place in Equestria," he said with a happy grin.

So Equestria has Disneyland…cool, I thought. "Where is it?" I asked.

"Vanhoover," he sighed happily. "Aunt Cadance took me and Twilight a couple times…"

"When this is all over and things settle down and the weather gets nicer, I promise to take you and all the girls with me," I said. "How does that sound?"

His smile only widened and he nodded. "That sounds amazing."

I smiled warmly at the young drake leaning against me and rubbed his back gently. This kid was really growing on me, and it warmed my heart to see how strong he was becoming despite his youth. A few minutes passed, and just as he was finally relaxed, Daring came back up to us. Seeing the position we were in, a small smile broke across her features. A smile which vanished as she said, "I think I found something that might help."

Spike and I both got up and followed her to a large metal plaque on the starboard wall. I shone my light over it, and to my surprise, not only did it have a horizontal and vertical carving of one of the cylinder crystals, but it had instructions not only in the language Daring called Psittacin, but in another language I identified as Middle Ponish, or Middle English. I read over the instructions carefully, and Spike pulled out one of the pens I'd given Twilight from Earth along with a spare notepad, writing my translation down quickly. When I finally finished, he handed me the piece of paper and we all looked it over. "Okay, so the bead in the center can glow three different colors depending on how fast magic is being poured into it," I summarized. "Yellow is just perfect, red indicates that it's too slow, and blue means it's too fast. Once all of the magical threads and beads are glowing, the crystal in the center will turn green, indicating that it's full So I just need to find the right amount of magical current to push into the crystal magic tanks."

Twilight had taught me a few times how to let raw magic loose, but I was still having some trouble getting it right. Sometimes hardly any came out, and sometimes there was way too much, which could cause small explosions of magic which didn't do too much harm, but they were extremely bright and loud, like a flash grenade.

Walking over to the first crystal tank, I reached up, put my hand on top of it, and began slowly pouring magic into the crystal. At first, it didn't appear like anything was happening, so I did my best to slowly increase the flow of magic from my hand into the crystal. To my surprise, only a few seconds later, the bead in the center began glowing red. Spike clapped his claws together. "Come on, Jethro…you can do it!"

"Okay, here goes," I said as I slowly increased the flow of magic. I continued increasing it every few seconds until the light went from red to yellow, at which point, I did my best to maintain the magic flow. As I continued, I saw the magic spread from the central bead up the threads and to the rest of the smaller beads. Not wanting to lose my concentration, I instead pulled out my phone and began recording a video to look back over when I was done. After about five more minutes, the central bead instantly switched to a green color, and I stopped. I took a deep breath, grabbing my water and taking a quick sip before I said, "One down, four to go."

With the three undamaged cylinders, I didn't seem to have as much of a problem. I did find that each cylinder needed a different type of flow, because the second one I tried immediately went blue. Learning from that mistake, I started out slow, and eventually four out of the five were filled.

However, when I reached the formerly broken one, the light from the central bead began to glow purple the moment I started flowing magic into it. I immediately stopped but the glow didn't stop. I looked over the translated notes Spike had dutifully written down, but there was absolutely nothing written about a purple light. "What the hell does purple light mean?" I asked.

"Well, maybe whatever detects the flow of magic is screwed up," Daring said. "Purple is a mix of blue and red, after all."

"Well…should we try it anyway?" I asked. "I know this cylinder controls weapons and magical shields, and I'd feel much better approaching the Dragon Lord while having this."

Daring, Spike and I all put on our thoughtful faces. On the one hand, it was a large gamble filling up a patchjob crystal like this, but on the other hand, we might very well need magical shielding. After a few seconds, Daring walked over to one of the cannons, looking it over. "Hmm…these cannons look like they could be fired by hoof if need be," she said, "so we could fire them off without magic."

"One small problem," I said, "there's only three of us. And who knows just how these cannons will survive being fired multiple times? I'd really like to have those shields."

Daring nodded. "Me too, but I don't know how to read the controls at the helm. My Psittacin isn't that good."

"Hmm…Spike?"

"Yes?" Spike came running, all too eager to help.

"You go up with Daring on deck and do your absolute best to copy down the words at the helm controls then run back down here. I'm going to try and fill this crystal tank up," I said.

As the two headed above deck, I began the process with the last crystal once more. I was a bit nervous about it, but eventually, the crystal at the center flickered between yellow and purple until eventually it remained yellow for seventy or so percent of the time.

When the two came back down, the light had just begun to flicker between yellow and green. "I got it, Jethro!" Spike said proudly.

"Good job, Spike," I said. "Just give me a minute, will you? I'm almost done here I think."

The two stood by and waited until the light at the center began glowing green, but at the same time it was flickering slightly. I pulled my hand away and Spike handed me the notepad. I looked it over. I had to hand it to the little drake, his skills at replication were pretty amazing. The writing was exquisitely clear, but since he'd grown up in Canterlot and with Twilight Sparkle, it made so much sense for his handwriting to be impeccable. "Okay, let's go back up topside," I said as I looked it over. There were five dials, each that looked like a miniature ship's wheel, but with one of the spokes having an arrow on it which pointed outwards. Each arrow was pointed to the lefthand corner of the paper. Above each miniature wheel, Spike had copied Psittacin lettering.

"What do they say?" Daring asked as we headed for the stairs up the hatch.

I held up the piece of paper and pointed at the display Spike had copied. "From left to right it reads: Generator One: Lighting and Air, Generator Two: Masts, Generator Three: Engine and Navigation, Generator Four: Weapons and Defenses and Generator Five: Supply Preservation."

Daring nodded, then pointed at the dials. "These wheels are…well, if I had to guess, they're dials."

"Aye, I can see that," I replied, "but what for?"

"They probably have to do with how much power each generator pumps into each system. Looks like they're all set to…what do those symbols mean, can you read them?" She directed the last question at me.

I looked at the symbols, but they didn't make much sense to me. "No, but let's get up there and maybe I'll see something."

Spike looked a bit upset. "Sorry I didn't write it down right," he said apologetically.

"Not your fault, Spike," I said as we reached the deck.

When we reached the helm, I looked over at the five dials situated to the right of the wheel itself. Getting a closer look, I saw a few small letters. "Hmm…these are numbers," I said after about half a minute of searching through my new language banks. "Right now, each dial is set to zero. Right now, what we need is the engines and hopefully some weapons and shields." I put my hand on the very middle dial. "Ready to try?" I asked, turning to the two beside me.

Spike grabbed onto the railing, then nodded. Daring did the same, but put a protective wing over the young Dragon. I gave her a grateful smile, then slowly began turning the dial.

The galleon, which had been lying slightly askew ever since we got on it, began groaning and creaking. As I continued turning it up, the crimson sails began glowing ever so slightly, but they didn't unfurl. The ship finally began to move, turning the right way up until we were parallel to the ground. However, we were still not moving anywhere.

Looking around, I saw the walls of the palace around us move down a few feet, then stop. Spike, having regained his footing after nearly falling, looked over the side. "We're floating!" he shouted in excitement, "Celestia's flowing mane, we're floating!"

"But we're not going anywhere," I said, "and it's not like we have oars or wind we can use to navigate."

Daring walked up to the wheel and tried turning it. The ship did nothing, just continued hovering in midair. She then pulled on the wheel, and to my surprise the pedestal moved backwards, tilting the wheel, but not the ship. She pushed it forward, then to port and starboard with similar results. The only thing that happened with each movement was that something below us started making a noise. "The rudder," Daring said with a sigh as she stopped and turned back to me.

And froze when her eyes locked on my side. She slowly pointed towards the sword on my side, the one I'd found near the dead pirate. "That…that sword is glowing," she said in astonishment.

Looking down, my eyes widened as I saw a sliver of green light coming out of the scabbard. I reached down, then slowly pulled a portion of it out. The green light seemed to outshine even my bright LED flashlight briefly before it dimmed. I slowly drew it, then held it up.

That was when the mainsails automatically unfurled and the rigging began to untie itself from where it had been before. We all stood and watched as the massive red sails, still glowing, were released and hung by the mast, just waiting and able for a breeze. "What the ever-loving fuck…?" I muttered aloud.

"That sword…it's the key," Daring Do said, looking in shock at the wide green saber in my hand.

A sudden idea formed in my head, and slowly, I lowered the sword, then aimed it directly towards the sails. A sudden gust of wind began picking up, launching us forward towards the opposite wall. "Fuck!" I shouted, quickly regaining my feet and rushing towards the wheel. I pulled it back and turned it to starboard, heading directly towards the hole in the ceiling. "Just like Queen Anne's Revenge!" I said as I sheathed the sword. I turned to port a little bit, aiming directly at the small patch of early morning starry skies. "Hold onto something!" I shouted as I pushed on the pedestal. The ship rotated to better fit through the hole.

"Go right a bit more!" Daring shouted. I turned to starboard just a little bit, and a few seconds later, the smell of fresh air assaulted my nostrils as we cleared the hole.

After aiming us slightly upward, I drew my sword with my right hand, grabbed Spike with my left and held him tightly as I aimed the sword directly back at the sails. The wind only increased as we moved up, directly towards the barrier surrounding the Ruins of Dormog. When the bowsprit hit the barrier, I saw the air warp slightly as it approached. When Spike and I passed through, I felt the slight tug against him, but held him tightly as we made our escape from the ruins.

Relieved, I put Spike back down and sheathed the saber once more. Standing at the helm, I slowly and carefully leveled us out, turning to port as I aimed for Torch's throne at the heart of the Dragon Lands. In the east, the sun was just about to rise, illuminating the eastern sky a deep ruddy red. The red of blood.

"Red sky in the morning, sailor takes warning," I muttered.

"What's that?" Spike asked. Daring, who was still standing nearby, also turned when she heard me speak.

"It's an old sailor's saying back on Earth," I said. "Red sky in the morning, sailor takes warning. Red sky at night, sailor's delight. Basically, if there was a red sky in the morning on the high seas, it usually meant a storm was coming, but if it happened at evening, there normally wouldn't be one."

"Funny," Daring said, "there's a similar saying in the Forbidden Jungle. 'When the sun rises red, then blood will be shed. When read leads to night, it's the end of the fight.'"

"That's…pretty gruesome," I said as I turned the ship slightly more to port. I sighed, grabbed my water pouch and took a long swig before putting the cap back on. "I don't know just how long we'll be flying, so Daring? If you're going to explore the ship further, could you keep an eye on Spike? I don't want him going off on his own."

Daring Do sighed. "When did I get reduced to a foalsitter?" she grumbled.

"Wait!" Spike suddenly said before rushing into the chartroom behind us.

Daring and I looked at each other curiously. "Any idea why he's in there?" I asked.

"No, actually," she said. "I mean, he did find me in there looking for something that might be useful when you called for me, but there wasn't anything in there except an old map, a dusty old coat and couple of hats hanging on the wall, and a few other useless knick knacks."

Spike returned about half a minute later, and I almost burst out laughing when I saw him wearing a tricorn hat that was a bit too big for him. However, that wasn't the only thing he brought out. In his small arms, he was carrying a large dark crimson reefer jacket with bright yellow stripes on the sleeves. On top, I saw a large black flat brimmed hat. He handed them to me. "Here!"

Despite the seriousness of the situation, I couldn't help but smile at his antics. He was absolutely adorable in that hat. I reached out and grabbed the jacket, carefully tearing part of the back open so I could slip my wings through. I took off the Dragon sword I had strapped to my back, put the old piece of clothing on, and strapped the sword back on. To my surprise, the interior was remarkably comfortable and kept out the cold which my current clothes couldn't quite keep out. I slowly took the cap and saw that there'd once been a feather stuck in it, but it had since either been taken by a bird or animal or had fallen out.

Yeah…might as well enjoy this while I have the chance, I thought as I flipped the hat over and placed it firmly on my head. In the corner of my eye, I heard Daring scoff. "Ugh, stallions…" she groaned.

I looked down at Spike, who had both his claws on his hips, unable to stop smiling. I pushed the hat down so it went over his head then turned back to the wheel. I grabbed it and grinned. "Drink up, me 'earties, yo ho!"

The sun was halfway up in the sky before I caught a glimpse of the massive Dragon Lord sitting in his throne. Daring had found a spyglass in one of the cabins which she'd given to me. Despite its age and a small crack in one of the lenses, it was a match for Daring's own binoculars.

Spike hardly left my side, only leaving to go do a bit of exploring with Daring or to go to the head.

The blood red sky had eventually morphed into a bright but crisp late autumn day. What clouds were in the sky were slowly melted away, leaving the heavens a bright blue as we continued to fly.

I briefly experimented with the shield and weapons dial, and while I saw the air around the ship warp for a brief time, a spark of magic shot out from the dial, so I quickly turned it off. Daring had quickly gone below decks to check on the crystal tank, only to come back up and tell me that there were microfractures forming in the crystal.

When I saw the massive Dragon sitting on said throne in the distance, I called Daring and Spike to my side. Once they joined me, I said, "Daring, no matter what, I want your promise to protect Spike here. If the situation calls for it, fly him out of here back to Equestria with all haste."

Spike stood closer beside me, putting his claw on the hilt of the small sword he had by his side. "I'm not leaving you!" he said.

Kneeling, I put my hand over said claw. "You have done very well, Dragon-boy," I said, "but I can't justify you staying by my side in the oncoming fight. Having you as a companion has been a great help, believe me, but there's no way I could forgive myself if something happened to you."

Spike stood his ground. "I. Am. Not. Leaving!"

I looked over at Daring, but she was just shaking her head. "You leave me out of this."

"Perhaps we could be of assistance?" a familiar female voice said from above me. When I looked up I saw Hestia sitting right above the door leading into the maproom. On either side of her, I saw Thalia and Adranus just landing, but that wasn't all. A large number of Phoenixes, male and female, were landing on all surfaces of the ship. Some were even in the crow's nest with the pirate's colors still flying.

"Hestia? What's all this?" I asked, gesturing to the different Phoenixes.

Hestia flew over and landed on my shoulder. "Backup," was what she said. Looking at my hat, she made a snorting sound. "Nice hat. It's just missing something." Turning around, she plucked one of the largest tailfeathers she had, then I felt her beak poking at my hat before she pulled back. "There."

Briefly removing my new hat, I saw the large feather sticking out of it, blowing majestically in the wind. I chuckled, put my hat back on and put my hands on the wheel. "Hestia, I owe you big time."

"Think of this as my way of repaying you for freeing me and for saving my life," she said, leaning closer. "You are a Phoenixborn, Jethro. We will never abandon our own."

I smiled widely. "Thank you so much," I replied, then looked down at Spike. "Just promise me that you'll ensure Spike's safety, as well as that of Daring Do over there."

"I can protect myself just fine," Daring said defiantly, spreading her wings.

"You're not dealing with noseface this time," I said, "you're about to go head to head with Dragons. They're more dangerous than him and his five o'clock shadow Pony counterpart. Any friend and companion of mine I will never allow to be hurt."

Daring scowled a bit, but relaxed slightly. "Fine…but when did we become friends?"

"You don't want to be friends, that's fine," I said, "but I will still do what I need to do to keep you safe."

She sighed, rolled her eyes, and said, "Stallions…so macho…"

I smirked, then drew my new saber once again. "Grab a hold of something, I'm gunning it!" I shouted before pointing my sword at the mainsails again. The wind picked up and I reached down with my free hand to turn the dial up on the engines. I grabbed a hold of the railing as we sped up.

The minutes ticked by, and the Dragon Throne continued to grow bigger. I saw a few Dragons flying over us, and I put my hand over the shield and weapons dial, but they appeared to be nothing but scouts since they looked at us for a few moments before flying back to where Torch still sat. As we approached, I could see his bemused expression as he looked directly towards the approaching ship. Flying beside him, I saw an armored Ember, but she was too far away to see any kind of facial expressions on her face. There were another decent number of Dragons flying around him, each wearing matching red armor and bearing large swords in their claws. Probably some kind of royal guard, I thought as I saw Torch pointing in our direction and say something. Ember began flying towards us, flanked on either side by two of the guards.

I watched as she flew towards us. I drew the saber and held it up, then pulled it back. The wind began to die down and the sails went nearly slack, leaving the ship floating high above the desolate ground below, moving slowly and bobbing as if we were sitting in calm sea waters. Turning to Daring, I held out the saber to Daring. "Take the helm while I greet our Dragon guests," I said.

"Just because you're wearing that coat and hat doesn't make you the captain," she replied, but she took the sword anyway in one of her wings. "But fine." She stood on her hind legs and put both front hooves on the wheel.

I walked down the stairs to the lowest level of the upper deck, looking up at the oncoming Dragon Princess and her honor guard. Spike, that stubborn drake, had come up and joined me, one hand on his sword and the other by his side, his new hat blowing slightly in the calming wind.

When Ember finally did land on the deck, she began walking up to me. Hovering above her, the two other Dragons kept a close eye on the two of us. When we were within a few footsteps of the other, she stopped, removed her helmet and held it in the crook of her arm. To my relief I saw that her wounds had begun to heal. She had a somber expression on her face as she said, "Sir Jethro Bethridge, Knight of Equestria, I am here to inform you that my father, the Dragon Lord Torch, knows that you have broken faith by touching the Sunsword and by not traveling to the Ruins of Dormog alone as per the agreement between himself and Diarch of the Sun, Princess Celestia. However, since you were able to actually retrieve the Sunsword, a feat only ever matched by another, he is willing to forestall his war and give you a chance. At the height of the day today, he challenges you to a Volrif'nel."

A Fire Fight, I thought as realization began to form in my mind. I looked directly into Ember's brilliant red eyes. I took a step forward, keeping my eyes locked on her. In the corner of my eye, I saw the guards go for their own swords, but Ember raised a claw to stop them. When we were barely a foot apart, I lowered my voice and said, "He sent me into an impossible situation, didn't he? He knew I had to touch the Sunsword to retrieve it."

Ember had the decency to look guilty. She looked away from me, and in Old Draconic, she whispered, "Forgive me."

"There's nothing for you to apologize for," I replied, looking past her shoulder to the somewhat smug looking Dragon Lord. I stepped back, reached down and drew the Sunsword. "Inform your father that, when the sun reaches its zenith, I will accept his challenge."

Ember nodded, put her helmet back on, turned back towards her father and spread her wings, but before she left, she looked back over her shoulder. "Sir Jethro…I really am sorry. I didn't want it to come to this."

"Neither did I, your Highness," I replied, "neither did I."

As the Dragon Princess and the guards flew away, Spike looked up at me. "What…what now?" he asked nervously.

"Now," I replied, "now we pray."