Twilight peeked over the top of the book that was on her belly. Her curious eyes inspected the living room of her family's hut. It was a cloudy day, thus making the inside quite dark as they hardly ever used lamps or candles to illuminate their home. Her reading light came from her horn, shining only dimly due to her mind losing concentration, making her magic fade slowly.
The low ceiling fan above her turned slowly with the vine pulley-system that kept it moving. Twilight always wondered why she had made such a contraption as there was a constant breeze from the waters. It was always on, using a cyclical force to keep it moving, but it moved so slow that it made no wind, and there was also always a breeze, thus making it completely useless. Perhaps it was there simply to add movement? Twilight did not know. When her mind stumbled to keep focused, she always began to question even the most pointless of things.
"Twilight?"
The filly looked to her right to see her mother looking at her with a slightly worried expression. She had just returned from speaking with Lemon Heart's mother, as the two often enjoyed speaking about how to keep their personal gardens on the cliff sides. Now that she was done with that, she was back to prepare the hut for a large evening meal that she had planned for a week now. Though all her planning did not keep her from noticing her daughter's odd behavior.
"Yes?" Twilight asked with a most uninterested tone.
"Aren't you usually outside? You know, by the cliff or the sea?" the mother asked and gestured with a hoof pointing out the door.
"Yeah..." Twilight mumbled and brought the book up to hide her face.
Twilight's mother rolled her eyes and walked up to the filly, using her hoof to bring the book down. The young filly refused to look up, making her mother a bit aggravated. Waiting for her daughter to speak, the mother simply raised an impatient brow.
Twilight folded her front legs. "I was reading that."
"If you were reading that, you would still be reading," her mother responded. "I know you, Twilight. What's the matter? You've been staying up in the hut. It's the third day you've done this."
"It's Papa's boat!" Twilight said suddenly.
The mother blinked in confusion. "How?"
"I think it talks!" Twilight spoke in a loud whisper.
The mother sat on her haunches, still very confused. "Did Old Fareye tell you this?"
"No, it spoke to me! When Shining took me down to the docks, it spoke to me after he and my friends left. It was scary!"
"You mean, like the draconequus head opened its mouth and talked to you. Also, Papa's ship is not an 'it,' but a 'she,'" the mother corrected.
Twilight scratched her head. "Well, I didn't see it...I mean she talk. But it was the only thing that could've! It was the only thing around me!"
"Whatever Twilight, you just heard things. Maybe that dumb book is getting to you. If your Papa didn't give you such strange books, maybe all your reading skills would do something good."
The mother turned and started to work on some vegetables and fruit with a knife and her magic. Twilight remained there unconvinced. Her mother had not brought up a counter-argument to the ship speaking, so it was still a possibility. The filly moved her book to the side before walking over to the busy mother, who was currently slicing fruit with a knife in her magical grip.
"Where did Papa get the boat?" Twilight asked.
"The Stormrider?" the mother asked back.
"Yeah."
"I'm surprised you don't know. He inherited her from his father who inherited her from his father who won her in a bet with some Hoofprint Island pony. She served in a war with the Crystalites, you know," the mother said as she moved the knife in the air casually. "She was one of the only surviving vessels from that conflict."
"So you don't know who made it?" Twilight pressed the question.
"No, I don't think anyone does. Nopony makes ships like her anymore. I actually don't know why Papa won't get a new one. Stormrider is outdated compared to the new ships I see the neighbors sail around the islands."
"I knew it!" Twilight gasped and raced out the door, grabbing a spyglass as she ran out.
Her mother jumped in fright by the filly's sudden reaction. The knife missed the pineapple she was about to slice and instead buried its blade into the small pot-tree that was there for decoration, effectively cutting the small trunk in half. The mother looked at what she had done in disappointment, as that plant was one of her favorites.
"Knew what?" she could only mumble.
~~~~
With one eye closed and the other behind her father's spyglass, Twilight spied The Stormrider from the bushes she hid in. The small ship simply rested at her dock, going up and down slightly with the rising tide. Nothing unusual in the slightest. However, to the unicorn filly, the ship was merely acting innocent.
"Hoofprint Island eh?" Twilight said, trying to sound intimidating. "Well, that island is known for its magic users, so this matches my prediction!"
She spoke as if the ship could hear her, but to nopony's surprise, The Stormrider did not reply. The little filly continued to spy at the ship. When she thought it was fine to move, she slithered along the ground to a closer spot, right behind a pointed rock. Some island ponies noticed her odd movement, but instead of mentioning it, they responded with shrugs before continuing their daily chores.
Some seagulls watched her from a wooden post. The birds were curious about the filly and cocked their small heads at her. She looked at the birds with disdain, as their presence could give her secret hiding place away. She hissed at them to shoo, but they did nothing but squawk at her.
"Dumb birds," she grumbled.
"No need to hide," the scary low voice told her almost mockingly.
"Gah!" Twilight squealed.
Taking her spyglass, she fled from behind the rock and headed straight towards the shop square. She did so not only to escape the possible gaze from The Stormrider, but to get to her father's storage house where protection awaited. As she ran past neighbor ponies, they stopped and stared at her, wondering why she was so frightened. However, once they recognized that it was simply Twilight, they went about their ways, not wanting to try and understand such a strange filly.
Twilight shuffled between two ponies before reaching the storage house. It was not a large storage house at all, being only slightly bigger than their hut. Most of her father's wares were not large, so they did not need a large place to keep them all. That and the fact that her father was excellent at selling the wares meant that over-supply was a rare occurrence.
She stepped inside the place. Her father was not there, as he was visiting one of his friends on the other side of the island. Shining Armor was there, sleeping on a chair made from carefully woven seaweed. His mouth lay open and soft snoring left his throat. Twilight rolled her eyes upon seeing her lazy brother. She ran up to him and placed her front legs on his belly before giving him a shake.
"What...?" her brother stirred.
"Shining! Shining!" Twilight yelled in his ear. "I need to tell you something!"
He then fell out of his seat and onto the floor, causing the room of small valuables to shake. When he hit the ground, he jumped up in a defensive position, ready to fight anything that was heading for them. Once he saw there was nothing to fight, he frowned and looked down at his little sister.
"Twily? What is it?" he asked worriedly.
"I think The Stormrider talks!" Twilight said in a loud whisper.
Shining did not reply and simply blinked in confusion, much in the manner of their mother. Twilight seemed annoyed by her brother's reaction and pressed her notion with an aggravated grunt.
"Twily, Stormrider is just a ship, she doesn't talk. You sail her, you dock her, you fill her with wares. That's it. Is that all you bugged me for?" he rolled his eyes.
"But Shiny! It came from Hoofprint Island. That place is full of magic! The textbooks told me so."
"That's stereotyping actually," Shining explained. "Hoofprint unicorns are just more willing to explore magic than we Twin Island unicorns. That doesn't mean that everything they make is possessed or something."
Twilight was not convinced by his answer. "Hmph! Well, can I have Papa's book on the nearby island? I think it will be good to relearn about them. Perhaps, um, it will help me learn about Stormrider so that um, when Papa takes me on it, I'll know what to do?"
Shining chuckled. "Alright, but I doubt that book can help you learn how to sail."
Her big brother got up and walked over to a far wall where there were some small books on a high shelf. His magic shuffled through the leather-bound tomes until he found what he was looking for. He levitated the particular book down to his little sister, who took it in her magic excitedly. The book was a simple black and gray tome with the faded words "THE LABYRINTH ISLES" written on it as a lazy title.
Twilight looked down at the book that was now in her magical grasp. Ah, knowledge! With a little nudge from her brother, she was told to get in a corner of the place while he did work. She obeyed and sat on the floor next to a small bronze idol of a dragon that was almost exact to her in height. She glanced at the odd dragon figure as its wicked face was right in hers before opening the book to its contents.
Her small purple hoof went sideways along the text until she saw what she was looking for. Turning to that page, her magic allowed her to get there in less than a second. Her eyes read the letters "HOOFPRINT ISLAND" and from there she began to read aloud, much to the annoyance of her brother.
"Hoofprint Island, a mostly unicorn island located in the central part of the Labyrinth Isles. Home of the Matriarch, the ruling unicorn mage of the island. She guides the residents of the island and is also the leading archivist of the island's history. Their history is tainted in many wars with the surrounding islands. Because of this, they are often considered one of the most advanced cultures in terms of navy technology." Her voice trailed off as she read faster through the text.
Shining had paused in his work to listen to her speedily run through the book as if she was being timed. Her eyes dashed from word to word, feeding on each syllable for every ounce of knowledge it could possess. Words like "magic," "ships" and "wars" popped up constantly on the aged pages. However, none of it linked to The Stormrider's ability to verbally communicate. Anything that was mentioned of their ships were their physical designs and abilities to sail through treacherous seas. There was no doubt The Stormrider lived up to her title as she had sailed through some of the worst storms in the Isles' known history, so this did not help the filly.
"You know, Twily, the ship is just a ship. There's no need to worry about her so much. Papa and I know her well and she um, is not that unusual. Yeah, she's from another island, but that's where the oddness of her ends," Shining reassured her.
Twilight sighed in defeat and closed the book. "I guess you're right. But something is still talking around me by the docks!"
"Some of the old sailors like to play pranks on little fillies like you," Shining chuckled. "Wouldn't be surprised if it's one of them."
"Fine," she shrugged. "Do you need any help around the shop?"
"Well, actually I do. Since I fell asleep, I kinda fell behind. Here," he levitated a basket of dried cornmeal in a cloth to her. "This needs to go to Mrs. Pine. It's from Night Island from Carrot Top's farm. Mrs. Pine gets a lot from that farmer, heh."
"But Mrs. Pine lives on the other side of the island!" Twilight protested.
"Then ya have a ways to go. It's just up the North Trail."
Twilight grunted in disapproval, but took the basket in her magical grasp. Though she complained, Day Island was not that large, being only half the size as Night Island, its twin. With a little hop to her gait, she left her Papa's storage shop. As she wandered into the shop square, she looked back through a large window to see her brother. Shining was busy inspecting the black crystal him and Papa had traded from Rock Island.
At this moment, a wave of uncertainty wrapped around her as she quietly watched her brother simply stare at the dark, jagged rock. His fixated eyes stayed on the rock as he turned it slowly in his hoof. Why give it such attention? Twilight thought. The rock as just a jagged thing of no value, right? The filly raised a brow at him, but he did not see as he continued to be enthralled by the crystal. Finally, after a couple of long moments, he shifted his eyes off it to see his little sister out in the square. Annoyed, he gestured for her to keep going before sinking out of the window's view.
Twilight felt like staying to see what he would do next, but thought that it was best for her to head inland to Mrs. Pine. She placed the basket on her back so that she did not need to be constantly draining her magic supply. With a determined expression, she then began her way up the North Trail that led the shop square into the hills.
As she went up the trail, rain began to fall. It always rained whenever it was cloudy. There were never any times that clouds just came and went, they always left the islands wet and miserable. Fortunately, it was not a storm, just a simple rain with the ceaseless sea breeze. Twilight encased the basket in a magical shield bubble, a spell that she had learned from her big brother. The rain bounced off the magical bubble, rolling down the sides.
"Oh!" Twilight complained. "Of course it rains on me!"
The trail started to turn into mud and streams of brown water began to run down the hillside and towards the beaches below. Her mane was soaked and fell over her eyes, much to her annoyance. However, despite the inconvenience, she carried on up the hill towards Mrs. Pine's small farm.
The palm trees along the trail soon started to turn into the thicker forest trees that hugged the mountainsides. As Twilight ascended up the spiraling trail, the air became chilly and the tropical world was being forgotten behind her. This area of the island was Twilight's least favorite place. It lacked the fine beaches, the sea breeze, and the sea birds that flew about. The northern part of Day Island was a coarse place for independent ponies. Very few ponies lived in the inland area away from the seas.
Twilight pulled herself over a short ledge and saw with glee Mrs. Pine's lonely hut. It was anything but like the huts on stilts far below. This hut was made with thick logs and stone.The back of the home was tight up against a large rock face, shielding it from harsh gales. Leading up to the hut was a path paved with small rocks, much better than the mud that Twilight was currently traversing. Smoke rose quietly out of the stone chimney and the fire's light went through the window, lighting Twilight's remaining steps to the front porch of the hut.
"Finally..." the filly groaned.
She reached the thick wooden door of the hut and lifted a small hoof to knock on it twice. Almost instantly, there was a commotion within the hut. In a few seconds, the door swung open and a young earth pony mare opened the door. Seeing a pony without a unicorn horn was always off-putting to Twilight, as Mrs. Pine was the only earth pony on Day Island. Between the two Twin Islands, Night Island had more diversity, as they also had pegasi along with the other two kinds. Day Island was practically exclusively unicorn.
Mrs. Pine was a white mare with a faded light blue mane that curved around her ears. With matching bluish eyes, she was a pretty mare, living all alone up on the mountain since her husband, a unicorn sailor, had drowned off the coast of Dragon's Respite. She used to sail with him to trade with the dragons, but since his demise, she turned to farming on the hilltop.
"Twilight Sparkle?" she asked the filly with confused worry. "Wha ya doin' up here?" she said with her strong accent she acquired from the Northern Tribes.
"I, um, got your cornmeal," Twilight said as she levitated the basket to the mare.
"Really?" Mrs. Pine blinked in utter surprise. "Well, that's mighty nice of ya, but ya didn't need to go out all dis way! It's rainin'!"
"Yeah, it is raining, isn't it?" Twilight replied in annoyance.
"Well, wha' ya doin' out here!" Mrs. Pine yelled. "Come inside, lil' one. Come in before ya catch a mighty cold!"
Mrs. Pine stepped aside with her basket in mouth to let the filly in. Twilight didn't hesitate and went straight towards the fire. She plopped her small flank on the floor and kept her hooves close to the flames. The earth pony walked about to get some things before placing a kettle on a kettle stand up by the fire to heat up some tea, a common drink for ponies north of the Labyrinth Isles.
"Did ya father put ya up to dis?" Mrs. Pine asked the filly.
"No, Shining did," Twilight answered.
"Oi! I'll show 'em! He should've known the rain was coming!"
Twilight ignored the mare's violent remark and started to look around the room. This was not the first time she had been in Mrs. Pine's hut, but this was the first time she could get a good look of the place. On the shelves by the ceiling were several small dragon statues and what appeared to be stuffed dolls of some sort. Most of the statues depicted the dragons with silly faces and a less-than-intimidating demeanor. Big eyes, crazy nostrils, and tongues sticking out. The dolls were the same, being in a silly manner that did not go along with the dragon's reputation of being big and nasty.
"I see ya like the drags up there," Mrs. Pine giggled.
"They are fascinating!" Twilight awed. "I guess your husband got them?"
"Oh yeah, he and I both did. By the Sun, Dragon's Respite was like a second home to us. Those drags were always interested in what we would sell. Good buyers, the lot of 'em were. Never much for buildin' stuff, but they loved pony culture. They loved our clothes, they loved our crops, they even loved our ships!"
Twilight's ears then drooped. "Papa has never visited the dragons. He thinks they are too scary."
"Well, that's after wha' 'appened to my husband," Mrs. Pine chuckled. "Many think he died because of 'em drags. They don't like listenin' to the real story that he sailed us right into a hurricane that shattered our poor craft. Naw, the drags ain't bad at all. I say, if ya ever go there, ya could meet a new friend!"
The kettle began to shriek, indicating that the water within it was at the right temperature. Mrs. Pine took the kettle's handle by the mouth and walked over to the table with it. Steam rose to the ceiling as she poured the hot water into two small mugs that held tea leafs. Being unable to take both mugs to the filly since she was an earth pony, Twilight had to take her own mug with magic.
It was too hot to drink right away, so Twilight opted to ask another question to the former tradespony. "Did you make many dragon friends?"
"Oh, of course, deary," Mrs. Pine nodded. "I even got to meet the Dragonlord several times. A bit of a loony, the Dragonlord is. Ember is her name, if I recall. I remember my husband and I always tryin' to impress her with our beads and wares. She would cross her blue scaled arms and roll her slit eyes at us. The common drags would gasp when they saw our wares, but not her. We always had to step up our game to get anything from her, but when we did, it was always great. Many of 'em statues came from her very lair. That's why we never sold 'em, they were priceless ya see."
Twilight was able to sip her tea. "Wow!" her smile faded and she sighed. "I wish I could go to Dragon's Respite. Hmph, I wish I could go anywhere for that matter."
Mrs. Pine chuckled at the filly. "It ain't hard. Jus' get ya a ship and go out there. My father taught me how to sail when I was real little. Didn't actually care for it 'til my husband made me go on trips with him."
"Yeah," Twilight sounded defeated. "That's the difference. Papa won't teach me. Mama wants me to be a Sun Priestess too."
"Oi, those Sun Priestesses!" Mrs. Pine laughed loudly. "That's for mares who don't want adventure. I've met many of 'em in their red and white robes. They aren't far from Dragon's Respite."
"They aren't?" Twilight blinked in surprise.
"Here, let me get ya a map of the Labyrinth Isles. Then ya can see jus' how close all these fantastical places are."
In a wild excited hurry, the earth pony mare shot up and went into a dark room. Twilight patiently waited, sipping her fine tea, as the sounds of shuffling and objects falling kept coming from the room where Mrs. Pine had disappeared. Then, with the speed she had left, the mare returned like a cannonball, almost tripping herself over a cushioned chair. Her hooves held a thick parchment and she spread it over the floor in front of the filly so that they both could see it in the firelight.
"Here we are," Mrs. Pine panted in excitement as her hoof pointed in the right hoof corner of the parchment's image, indicating that it was the northeast corner of the Labyrinth Isles. "And here's Dragon's Respite," her hoof slid across to the northwest corner. "And just south of it is the Sun's Trinity, the three islands where the Sun Priestesses are," her hoof pointed at three large islands that were almost a single landmass. "My original home, the Northern Tribes, are too far up north for this map."
"Where's Hoofprint Island?" Twilight asked.
"It's down here, to the southwest of Twin Islands," she showed the filly. "Why that place? Not a very lively culture if I may say."
"Well, it's just that The Stormrider was built there. I think the ship could be magical," Twilight explained.
"Eh, wouldn't surprise me none. Hoofprinters are an odd bunch, always meddlin' with magic and such."
Twilight thoughtfully took another sip from her tea. Her eyes scanned the map, reading the names of various islands that made up the vastness of the Labyrinth Isles. Places like "Rock Island," Wind's Peak," and "Towers Isle" were just a few of the many, many islands. To her, navigating the place would be like traversing through a maze with no end. Some of the islands were far apart, some were close with narrow straits beyond them. Such a scattered array of places and cultures. Just seeing it inspired her to visit every single place of land. The whole thing was beautiful. The names, the cultures, the ponies, and even the strange sea beasts that marked the ocean areas of the map.
"I think I should head back," the filly finally spoke up.
"It's still raining, ya should wait. Go back out there and ya'll get a cold. Bet my young life on it!" Mrs. Pine protested.
"Guess you're right," Twilight said when she looked outside. "But when I do leave, can I have the map?"
Mrs. Pine stroked her chin. "I guess I don't need it anymore. I like ya, so ya can have it. Jus' take real good care of it, ya hear?"
"I understand. You can count on me!" Twilight saluted.
~~~