When Thea turned her back, Sweeper eyes began to tear up, and bowed her head down. There was a moment of silence after Winterjet spoke. Then Sweeper said, "I'm sorry!", perhaps a bit too loudly. "Thea, I didn't mean to sound mean or anything. It just that I thought you wanted somepony to provide you with a reasonable analysis. I was just being honest, that's all. And you did a lot better than I would - if I attempted that spell, I'd probably hit the other side of the planet instead of the target. If it didn't fizzle out that is. 

"And I didn't know that you were hurt, or attacked by a mob… You're alright, right?"Her eyes became one of concern for her kin. 

Scroll went over and patted the grey alicorn. He looked at Winterjet. "Sorry, I think I've been around the Lady so long, I'm probably used to to… different sights." He gave a quick bow to the pegasus. [i] Though, I thought the fangs were adorable [/i] he thought to himself. "As for how I became a follower, well, probably just like the landing you just saw right now. I was one of the first to meet her three months ago. What we thought was a meteor shower was the alicorns, and Sweeper landed face first into the shanty town I lived in. 

"You're probably wondering why I still follow her, despite… well," he made a gesture to the alicorn's baldness. "She many be unothrodox in her methods, but she is quite capable in her mission. She brought hope to me, to my order. Three months ago I thought that Equestria was doomed. But now, I can say it has a fighting chance thanks to the Lady and her kin." 

Then they heard the voice of Arcon, and soon the Alicorn of the Gates appeared. "Hi, Arc," said Sweeper, sadness still in her voice. Not even the appearance of another of her brothers could bring cheer. Scroll eye's lit up. [i] The Alicorn the order has been seeking! What luck! [/i] he thought. But Arcon's gaze caused him some concern. Unlike the eyes of Sweeper, he seemed cold, almost uncaring. It was more like Scroll was a frog to be dissected. Scroll wondered what that meant for the future.

----

Charter vomited over the side of the ship. Son of a sailor he may be, but a landlubber he was most of his life. It would take time before he could get used to the waves of the sea rolling bellow. Some of the crew chuckled in good jest. 

They were several hours out of what was Star Harbor. The sky was bright, and the few clouds in the sky seemed to add to the wonder of the ocean scape. Not even sea sickness could dampen Charter's sprits. Know he knew why ponies ventured beyond their land, into the depths controlled by monsters. The very air was saturated with the sense of freedom. 

The bell rang, and it seemed that lunch was being served to the next shift in the galley. While Charter wasn't feeling hungry, he still went below. It was a good chance to catch up with the crew about what's going on. In the lower decks, he saw Grimwing and Deckhoof at a table. Seeing he was being motioned there, the surveyor went over. "So how are things going?", began Charter.