Day 1
-OR-
The Perfect Plan
“Rarity, do we have any more water?”
“Oh really Spike, we ran out two hours ago! When you volunteer to go gem-searching, you simply cannot complain when you don’t like it!”
Spike simply grunted. Rarity turned back to the dress designs laid out in front of her. Spike unearthed more jewels, jewels glinting a tauntingly subtle aquatic blue in the unrelenting sun. Rarity looked up for a moment and marked the location of more gems with a stick. Spike dropped some gems in the wagon and collapsed next to her. He heaved in cool bliss underneath Rarity's parasol like a sputtering machine. Rarity glanced at him, and sighed.
“I’m terribly sorry Spike, I don’t know what came over me. Let’s take a break, shall we? See if we can find some water around here,”
The unicorn's mind was already flooded with water. It hissed subliminally, then paused expectantly. Next, it gathered itself to hit a roaring crescendo and finished with a fading rumble. The back of her head echoed all over again with ebb, break and flow, the constant cycle of the sea. Fwsshhhh... fwsshhhh.... She could hear the way her hooves thumped and sank into the golden sand too, and the gulls which called out over blue silence for their comrades. She could hear the wind- a cool ocean breeze thick and salty with sea spray- and the viciously real simoom blowing dust through her snowy white coat.
“So what do you think, Rarity?” asked Spike after a long silence. The sudden question startled Rarity out of her reverie.
"Pardon?" She asked, blinking as the bright, dry landscape before her came rushing back into her eyes.
"You know, that plan I was telling you about? What do you think about it?" It was tough; in one hoof, she had to prepare for an accidental summer, but in the other, she still heard the waves whispering in her thoughts. “I mean Twilight needs it! She’s done nothing but study since the princess gave her a break... from studying!”
“I don’t know Spike... it doesn’t seem like an awfully good...”
The pony's words trailed off but her ears perked up, caught on a sound just above the wind. Spike heard it too, and recognised it instantly. It was the sound of a pony, a pegasus to be exact, plummeting like a meteor through the sky. It was getting louder and louder. The next sound they heard was a hearty thud as the pegasus zoomed over their heads into the dust before them. The dust settled, revealing the fallen body of Rainbow Dash.
“...IDEAAA!” cried Rarity, glowing anticipation “It is decided, Spike, I shall take you on, but we’re going to need Rainbow too,”
“What?” said Rainbow, getting to her feet.
"How the hay did ya'...?"
The dry wind rustled through the apple trees and tousled the tablecloths shaded below. It was nice here; Sweet Apple Acres was one of the few places in ponyville that still had any clouds. Yet it was strange here; these clouds seemed to push the blue sky further away than ever and they moved almost as if with intention. It was a nice effect, but Applejack preferred to focus on the tables they had set up in front of them. It made her feel less small, and she didn't trust anything scavenged from the Everfree Forest anyway.
Still, Applejack was glad that the accident in Cloudsdale hadn't plunged her farm into the same drought as the rest of Equestria, and other neighbouring countries too. In fact, since these everfree clouds controlled themselves, she actually had less work co-ordinating with the weather team than usual, hence giving her the time to find herself in the situation she was in.
"Um, Applejack, this is Pinkie we're talking about,"
"And I just love apple pies! especially the crust -ooh! and especially the filling! and..."
Applejack stopped Pinkie's mouth with a hoof. "so yer tellin' me you ate six whole pies in two seconds?"
"Mmm-hmm" she replied.
"Fluttershy?"
"Well, it was really more like two and a half, but, uh, it can be two if you want it to..."
Applejack gave in. In retrospect, it was foolish to challenge Pinkie to a pie baking/eating contest, no matter how fast she was at baking. All the other contest had probably been bad ideas too. "Alright, Pinkie, you win, what do you want me to do?" Applejack declared as she lowered her hoof.
"Woohoo! I just have so many ideas like making you bake me cakes or do my chores or... I've got it!"
"No," stated Applejack firmly. She had refused the first time she heard it, and wasn't feeling any more inclined now.
"But you promised, silly, you said you'd do anything,"
Applejack turned to Fluttershy for support, but she had already put a table between herself and the others and was using it to shield herself from attention. Applejack turned back to face Pinkie staring her down like an especially exuberant wolf would its prey. "Fine," and with that, Applejack surrendered. It was a shame, she really could have used Pinkie's help clearing pests from the orchard, but she was forced to resign herself to playing Pinkie's silly pranks. Applejack began clearing the tables and and bringing them back inside, trying to ignore Pinkie while she still could. The hyperactive pony was bouncing and giggling about how this was going to be the greatest prank ever and how much fun they were going to have...
"Um, actually Pinkie, I was just wondering, if it's okay with you, if I could help too?"
But this, Applejack could not ignore. Fluttershy had seemed almost as averse to the idea as herself- it just wasn't in her nature... so what had changed? Had adding another pony really made that much difference?
"Are ya' sure about thi-"
"Of course Fluttershy! the more the merrier!" and with that, it was decided.
Fluttershy was helping. She wasn't just hiding in a tree being afraid of getting caught. She definitely wasn't afraid of what Rainbow Dash would do if she caught her spying, and there was absolutely no way she was trying to wriggle her way out of the situation. Nope, she was definitely using both her eyes to observe Rainbow Dash through the binoculars and punctiliously keeping record of precisely what actions she was currently occupied with. And she was absolutely certainly not trying to escape.
"Pinkie, can we go now?" She asked in a wobbling whisper
"Of course not silly! it's only been five minutes!" The pink pony replied just a little too loudly.
Rainbow had done little in all of five minutes -whatever else she did was hidden behind her fluffy, white walls and out of sight. However, there was a wagon parked on the ground, so the pair watched, curious. Fluttershy felt frozen anyway(ironic in this heat), as the slightest motion might shake the branch she perched on. The way Pinkie’s bush rustled beneath her only locked her muscles tighter. She trained her vision on Rainbow’s house instead, searching for a glimpse of the elusive pegasus.
At last, a sighting! Rainbow emerged to deposit a suitcase in the wagon below. Soon after, she came out with other things; a colourful ball (deflated), an umbrella of sorts, some kind of board. Fluttershy recognised this board. It was a cloud board, a device for riding only the sicknastiest tropical weather formations, the likes of which are not seen within the tamed Equestrian skies. This meant only one thing to Fluttershy...
"The Bahamares!"
"Huh?"
"It's where Rainbow always loved to go cloudboarding back in Cloudsdale,"
Suddenly, a wellspring of regret swelled in Fluttershy's chest. It was as if she could sense Pinkie's next move, as if whatever her plans were, they just got a level grander. Maybe it was the silence, the way Pinkie stopped moving. It was like she was suddenly doing nothing, or worse, as if she had begun thinking, or maybe it was the buzz Pinkie constantly exuded that had become noticeably more intense. Whatever it was, Fluttershy didn't like it, and spent the remainder of the dramatic pause thinking of a way to undo what had been done.
"This... is... PERFECT! Fluttershy, pack your things. We're going to the beach!"
But it was too late.
"Ohno ohno ohnoohnoohnoohnoohno!" Angel just watched Fluttershy pace up and down the cottage. Sometimes it was best to let these things play themselves out, sometimes it was better to intervene. This time, a little of both. When the right moment had come, Angel hopped up to Fluttershy and thumped her leg with his foot.
"Oh Angel you've got to help me!" She cried suddenly, almost catching Angel off-guard. Calmly, Angel mimed putting on a stetson and crossed his hind legs in a familiar pose. "Yes, you're right Angel, we've got more important things to consider, but how are we going to convince Applejack to...?"
"Fluttershy! Are you home?" called Twilight, opening Fluttershy's front door. She smiled from the portal with Owlowicious on her back. Fluttershy smiled back at the pair and dissembled all traces of her previous conversation. As Angel bounced away to other business, Twilight proceeded to make herself comfortable on Fluttershy's couch. "So how're you doing Fluttershy? How was you're trip to Cloudsdale?"
"Oh, it was ok..." Twilight seemed almost aglow with excitement.
"I'm glad you didn't get caught up in that mess over at the weather factory, that would have been awful,"
"No, I'm alright..." It was almost as if she had some spectacular news.
"Actually, with the princesses tied up with all this weather business, I've got some time off from my studies, which is why I have a favour to ask of you; I'm going away for a week and I was wondering if you could take care of Owlowicious while I'm gone? I'm afraid he's got a bit of a cough, so he might need some special attention," The owl on Twilight's back seemed to shudder from some internal affliction.
"Oh, that's fine..." Fluttershy had already guessed; Twilight was going to go to the Bahamares with Rainbow, of course. "I think I've got some medicine somewhere..."
"Thanks Fluttershy! Unless, you wouldn't want to come with me, would you? I'm sure you'd love the Neighchelles!"
"The... the Neighchelles?" ... except this was not the Bahamares.
"Yeah... Spike suggested it. The princess's busy with the weather crisis, so I'm free to go travelling! So what do you think? if you're not busy that is..."
"Oh, no I'm not..."
"Not busy? That's great! we've got so much to prepare... Oh! can I help you pack? I just finished reading The Joys of Packing!" Twilight was rising from the couch when Angel intervened. He jumped onto her back next to Owlowicous and began to glare at Fluttershy. "Oh, uh, hello Angel," Twilight said, before slowly sitting back down.
"Um, actually Twilight, I meant to say that I'm not, uh, going to be available for a while... if it's ok with you, I mean..." She almost felt bad when she saw Twilight's ears droop; she wanted to take it back, but Angel was still eyeing her. "In fact, I've got to uh, go get some... carrots right now so uh..." Angel's stare was unrelenting "I think I've got to go now...?" Angel allowed an imperceptible nod and suddenly Fluttershy was gone. In fact, she hardly had time for any departing wishes. As Twilight set about her fare-wells to Owlowicious, the bunny began to breathe easy. At least he could relax.
Meanwhile, Fluttershy was soaring towards Sweet Apple Acres. Thoughts were rushing through her mind like the wind was through her mane. She wanted to convince Applejack to stay in Ponyville, but going overseas for a few days would probably solve her problems quite easily. On the other hoof, the Neighchelles were an awfully long way away, and she needed to find somepony to look after her animals while she was gone. If all her pony friends left on vacation or otherwise, she would still be left defenseless in Ponyville, and she certainly didn't want that. And what about Owlowicious? She'd have to take care of him wherever she went.
When she got to the acres, she found AJ and Pinkie Pie. She told them of this change of location and she discovered the pair virtually packed and ready. Applejack was pushing to leave ahead of Rainbow, and with Big Mac finally back from negotiating weather rations in Canterlot, she was at ease leaving the farm. Pinkie was messing with the fireworks, sacks of paper and the party cannon and Fluttershy herself looked on nervously, her mind tumultuous with complex thoughts and considerations. In the end, she said nothing, and the other two assumed her presence on their trip. As it always happened, Fluttershy had her decision made for her when Applejack volunteered Big Mac to care for the animals.
Rarity almost considered encrusting it with jewels and hanging it on her wall; but no, that would be silly- everypony would know her plans. Instead, she rolled the paper up and slid the little keystone into its designated home in her suitcase (the large purple one with the three diamonds below the handle). Looking about her workroom, she saw desks coated in notes and an army of bags lined up at attention. Had somepony chosen to ask her, she could detail the contents of all of these things exactly, every facet burned into her mind after hours of scrutiny. She began to clean the place,musing how her plan would make even Twilight proud.
Rarity heard a voice calling- Twilight's, coincidentally. "Coming!" Rarity called back as she descended into the boutique. She found Twilight already inside, staring at the bare shelves and stacked mannequins along the walls, the cloth-filled boxes pushed behind the show-room curtain, the drawn blinds and the desolate looking-floor. She seemed a little lost, Rarity noticed. "Please excuse the mess Twilight, I've got a little business trip to Manehattan soon and I've packed up the store for the interim," she said as she led Twilight through to the kitchen, where it was sunnier.
"You're going away too? So is Rainbow, and Applejack and Pinkie have already left... weird," Half of this was news to Rarity, but she dismissed it for now "It must have something to do with the accident at Cloudsdale because suddenly everypony's disappearing!"
"Yes I know, dear. Did you come here for something?" Rarity asked, anticipating the response.
"Oh, of course, I just stopped by to say that I'm going on a long research trip tommorrow. It's short notice, but I'm really looking forward to it!" Yes, me too, thought Rarity. 'Research Trip' had been Spike's idea, but Rarity had seen more, Rarity had seen opportunities, she saw Twilight having the best vacation she could possibly have, and this was too good to miss. Everything was in place, everything was ready, and it was about to begin.
"Well, you'd better rest up, darling, it's a very long trip," suggested Rarity "...I imagine,"
Blue. Everything Twilight Sparkle could see was blue. A blue ocean that rippled with blue waves. A cerulean sky fading to cyan where it met the sea. Even the clouds held an azure haze from so far away. In fact, Twilight herself was a little blue. It was true, she was excited; and indeed, she didn't give them much notice (nor receive it), but to think that every single one of her friends had other places to be and other things to do was simply depressing. She and Spike would be all alone on a tiny island in the vast sea doing research. And yet... it was worth it; without a doubt.
Peering downwards Twilight thought she spotted a flock of sea-birds on the wing, but lost them in the sun-speckled water so far below. Eventually, she bored of searching and swung her gaze forwards through the blustering wind to squint towards the prow. There, an aquamarine unicorn stallion levitated a brass telescope before his eye. "How long until we arrive, captain?" Asked Twilight.
"See fer yerself, lass" the captain said, levitating the telescope in front of Twilight. She took the device into her own magic and looked through, one eye squeezed shut and the other wide open. Scanning the horizon, she saw them: the Neighchelles; a trail of rocks thrust off the sea floor by the inferno deep below the earth and yet looking like a stain on the pure ocean surface. The furthest island away was Oupost Island, with the steaming Black Atoll, their destination.
The archipelago bathed in a soft green tint of shallow coral reefs that contrasted with the the unfathomably deep sapphire waters everywhere else. In the blue, like in the Everfree Forest, cold mysteries prowled. Shadows would steal the breath from reckless ponies in a blink and rumours or legends -Twilight couldn't tell which- were given birth away from curious pony eyes. Twilight shivered. considering how fast they traveled, they might make it in another hour. She thanked the captain and went to wake up Spike. It had been a long trip, after all.
Last chance. The books were in the bag, and the bag was locked tight. Spike had offered to carry it, but Twilight gave him a lighter one instead. He acted offended, but they both knew Twilight could levitate all the bags and Spike too, if needed. He had tried 'bumping' the bag, so it rolled down the steep path, so he could retrieve it, and so he could claim the books had fallen out, but Twilight had stopped him. Maybe she was getting suspicious? Who knows? They had crested the hill, crossed the jungle path and trekked along the coastal cliff. After thirty minutes of walking Spike was running out of time. He needed a distraction, and as they rounded the last bend and the cottage finally came into view, he found one. Only one, however.
"Miss Sparkle? A pleasure meetin' you," Spoke the distraction with the black and white stripes. The zebra landowner trotted off the veranda and raised her hoof to the air. Twilight high-hoofed her, restraining a giggle of delight, the high-hoof was the traditional equivalent of an hoof-shake in the Neighchelles. The landowner shared a little of her joy. "Higher and Drier Cabin welcomes you miss, but first, a few issues desire some sortin'..."
It's now or never, Spike! He grabbed the book-bag- not too quickly! and sauntered (he made sure to saunter) into the... Wait, the keys! Spike grabbed the keys, unlocked the door, and rushed NO! too fast! ...strolled calmly into the cottage, carrying a pile bags with (he began massaging his arms the second he was out of sight) ease. He was in. He (Oh Celestia the bag is- no wait it's ok the padlock keys are right here) unlocked the bag, retrieved the books and began walking. He sped past the cushioned hammock in the living room, past the bamboo table, the shower with its shell for a head, went out the back doors and onto the balcony where he laid the books in a single file that exceeded the length he could physically use.
He took a deep, deep breath and... FWOOOOOOSH! There went The Unabridged Guide to Tropical Fish, there went The Complete Phylogeny and Ecology of Corals, sixth edition and there went A Comprehensive Treatise on Magical Marine- (Oh no I'm running out of breath).... Spike barely finished torching the whole thing, and watched wistfully as the smoky message rose up and away over the top of the house. It began to dawn on him, between heaving breaths, that they actually had a very long balcony indeed. It was a good thing Twilight cared so much about rules, Spike would hate to explain this to her and Celestia.
Spike had called it 'R&R', apparently. Rarity liked that, or maybe she was just making all that hideous noise over his success in whatever-it-was. Rainbow, on the other hoof, was asleep; or rather, she was trying to be. She was curled up on the sheets like a patch of blue sky in the clouds, drifting peacefully into- a thunderclap burst through Rainbow's ears, flinging her back into the hotel. The bathroom door was still quivering as Rainbow groggily inspected the room. Rarity was taken aback, she noted, and had her eyes fixed on the point Spike had disappeared into. The pegasus groaned, partly to muffle the sound of Rarity's complaining, and slumped back into the soft, white mists... She thought she smelt smoke in the room, a cloying kind, like bad breath. Once again a miasma of chatter, of clattering hooves and the rustling of paper saturated the air. It was like a wind or an updraft or... whatever. Rainbow gave up. She hadn't slept for a whole day of travel, and there was no point starting now.
"Finally awake, I see?" commented Rarity. Rainbow tried to mumble something snide, but just mumbled unintelligibly. "Good, I need you to go see what you can do about this weather before it gets dark. Bridle Bay doesn't have any official weather control so you're free to do as you please. Spike, I know you're not feeling well, but you're required to keep tabs on Twilight for us. As for myself, I've opened negotiations with the town council and I'm going to see what we can sort out with this beach. Is everypony ready?"
"Ready!" said Spike, standing at attention.
"Yeah, yeah," said Rainbow.
"Perfect. And Rainbow, I don't want to see you with that cloudboard of yours, we've got a job to do, remember?"
The wind pressed eastwards but Dash, tapping her cloudboard as she thought, was set on the burning cumuli in the sunset west. South was an option; a closer, easier option with boring stratus clouds, and the wind would push her over the Black Atoll, where a pillar of steam dissolved into the breeze. It was too hard to think here, so Dash considered moving somewhere where the air wasn't so thin or so persistent.
She started her search at the Black Atoll, south-east of Bridle Bay, which looked like an eye on the face of the Ocean, and moved past Needle Point, a steep head of rock that sealed off Guardian Bay from the town. Her gaze swept over Bridle Bay itself, passing over the long, sandy beach at the bottom, up the hills where the tallest buildings pressed intimately into the jungle and across to the west, the oldest part of town made of squat, sturdy limestone. Almost due north of her was another forested headland with its ruined watchtower up in the hills that defined the western edge of Bridle bay, where Dash could land within the canopy. She examined the jungle, searching for partings in the trees that might signal the path was below and saw... Fluttershy?
Rainbow did a double take. She could have sworn to Celestia that, standing out like a star against the deeply verdant tree tops, she had seen a yellow pegasus with pink hair fluttering in place. Rainbow might have sworn to Luna that this pony had been looking right at her, too. She needed a closer look and virtually a nose-dived to get it, but then she saw nothing but green. Fluttershy, or whoever it was, had disappeared.
Rainbow did a backwards loop and punched through the trees, unable to quit so soon, sending a shower of leaves to the ground below. There, in the mottled orange light of the forest she paused and set aside her board. Rainbow was surrounded by a knot of plants. Gnarled trees strung with moss soaked vines pervaded every inch of vision and her ears where assault by an anarchic orchestra of bugs. That pegasus could be anywhere, even...
Dash spun around to look behind her. Nothing. She dived into the understory and twisted her eyes upwards, downwards, side-to-side. Brown leaves, that was all. She, quiet as an owl in flight, snuck up onto a branch and, prowling down its length, pounced around the trunk. On the other side, she managed to scare a finch off its perch, but no more. This was getting silly. She began to glide about the vegetation, finding flowers, animals, and plenty of leaves, but no pegasi.
The air was growing chilly. As Rainbow Dash went to collect her board, however, she saw something. Shining in the pink evening light, a feather floated through the air, held aloft by the breeze. Dash wasted no time and she snatched it between her teeth, then, returning to her board, examined it. It was a large feather, the colour of daffodils and smelled a little fruity- definitely the pinion from a pegasus pony. Good enough. Dash tucked the feather into a crevice in her board and set off. She'd have to fly fast to make it to those cumuli by nightfall.
Despite all the things stuck in her wing, Fluttershy worried most about the thing that was missing: the very last feather. Panicking, crashing, scuttling away with a stinging pain; her recent misfortunes looped in her memory again and again. She sighed- this didn't mean she was grounded, but flying would be slow and difficult for the next few days. Those weren't the only things on her mind, either. She trotted along the muddy trail slowly, so that every joint wouldn't scream at her, and tried to picture the long, hot shower she would have when she got back to the lodge at last. She corrected the fantasy to exclude the preening lotion... They had gone so quickly, she had left the lotion at home... No time for such thoughts. Rainbow was still crashing through the trees like a winged elephant, and if she got caught spying, Pinkie's plans would be ruined, and what would happen then? Fluttershy sighed and tried to speed up. Maybe Pinkie would know what to do.
To that effect, what was Pinkie doing? Fluttershy had left the forest on the headlands and emerged on the western side, where Pinkie had booked them into a lodge. Pinkie was suspended high in the air by helium-filled balloons, and seemed to be talking to coconuts? At the same time, Applejack performed baffling operations on a device at the tree's base and rummaged through a box of tools. Fluttershy trotted down through the streamers hanging like vines off the vines and the flowering decorations decorating the flowers under a canopy of balloons and an undergrowth of party tables. As she passed the party cannon, with barrel still smoking and overheated, she almost tripped on a long red piece of fabric that was lost among the explosion of colours. Finally, she emerged from the jungle onto a small sandy beach with long, gentle waves and began to approach Applejack and Pinkie Pie, who had now moved on to the next coconut palm. "What's going on, girls?" She inquired.
"Hiya Fluttershy! we're just-"
"We're gettin' ready for tommorow, sugarcube. If y'all want to help, could y'all go speak to the owner, High Stakes, in them cabins over there? Where'd RD go, by the way?"
"Well, actually-"
"There she is!" Pinkie shouted, pointing to a rainbow streak across the sky "Ooh! quick, get the camera Fluttershy, We need you to take some pictures of Rainbow Dash!"
"Um..."
"...It's by the cannon," Stated Applejack flatly, pointing back into the trees. Fluttershy then trotted back the way she had come, not wasting any time. Applejack gave Pinkie a look of discontent; Fluttershy was clearly limping, yet Pinkie was still the boss. "Pinkie..."
"And don't forget to bring some balloons to help you fly!" Shouted Pinkie.
"Pardon?" Applejack hadn't noticed anything wrong with Fluttershy's wing.
Applejack much preferred this noise, the hum and clatter of busy ponies, griffons and zebras, to Pinkie's. High Stakes could cope with her randomness now. Even the violent crashing of the waves were drowned out by the cry of the hawkers in Bridle Bay's market quarter. Under the flicker of torch-light, Applejack perused the dragon's hoard of fruit obscuring every inch of the stalls that held them. Elsewhere, merchants competed in shouting matches over whose wares were the finest, cheapest or most exotic. Another place, though strangely empty, was being invaded by its neighbours to store barrels and crates of bottles and boxes of potions and powders of herbs. Applejack looked behind the chaos, however, finding a shop stocked with coconut products. Here, among this mess, she saw Fluttershy. Well I'll be, thought Applejack, not realising Fluttershy-branded products were still floating around. Taking a closer look, she saw two more such products, and a curious live butterfly in a jar.
"Excusin' me, miss," Said one of the hawkers digging into a barrel for another bottled potion. The farm filly caught a glance of the bottle's barrel-mates, powdered heart's desire among them. Remembering her mission, she purchased it, sealing the transaction with an high-hoof, and pushed back into the throng. Before Applejack could get a final glance at the coconut shop, however, the crowd swept her away.
The river of shoppers trickled down the night markets with the pressure of the ocean, giving Applejack no chance to inspect the pearls, the curiosties of the sea or even the griffons' reeking mountains of fish. Without helping it, Applejack washed up before the fountain in town square. The islanders diffused here, giving Applejack a chance to admire the torch-lit gold spouting from the mouths of a pair of seaponies. They were perched on a gushing tower of coral and encircled by the writhing body of a sea-serpent, most of which was hidden in the shadowy basin. Behind it was town hall, the oldest building in Bridle Bay, supposedly built more than a thousand years ago.
Whimsically, Applejack trotted up. It was no wonder how it had held its ground against the march of time, she saw. The entire outer wall was made of seamless white marble, and supported by buttresses like ancient jungle titans. Applejack had no trouble envisioning it's age, either, from its worn, rounded edges and its green skin of lichen and moss. Looking up Applejack could see a glossy brown wooden balcony, dressed richly in tapestries and flags of many different colours. It seemed much newer than the stone it inhabited. Overall, the building gave her an impression of some of the dodgier sectors of Canterlot.
Applejack went in, and suddenly the waves, the clatter of the crowd, the fountain trickling only meters away went quiet. Like the outside, the inside was a smooth, white marble. Yet, also like the exterior, two floors of wooden partitions and a mezzanine held up by thick, square basalt pillars seemed tacked on. Part of this effect was the carvings made into both the railings and the columns, depicting a long sea serpent with a carving of the royal sisters and fanciful or strange sea creatures respectively. The floor and roof, by contrast, was bare white.
Applejack marveled at how clearly she could now hear the conversation in the building compared with outside. Voices wafted over the mezzanine's decorative balustrade and echoed against the basalt columns. She leaned into the sound subconsciously, before her guilt at eavesdropping caught up with her. Nah, can't be, thought Applejack. She thought she'd heard Rarity's voice among them.
It was quiet, dark and cold, mostly. Across the shivering waters, flecked with the fading torch light of Bridle Bay, the wind quivered and whipped. The stars stared down from above -objective, impassive and neutral. Behind her, Needle point shrank away into the dark horizon. Rarity tightened her jet-black velvet cloak and stared down the darkness for a glimpse of the Black Atoll. She got nothing. It all seemed... off. No, that was the wrong word... Empty was better. Rarity was on a boat, in the middle of nowhere, doing nothing. It felt empty. She couldn't stare hard enough.
-Thump- Rarity's heart skipped a beat as the rowboat came to a sudden and complete stop. "We've arrived," stated the oarspony, an earth stallion of very few words. Two splashes matched two other disembarking unicorns.
"You- you don't honestly expect me to get out do you?" She asked.
"'Course. Why not?" asked Starwisp, who was already a foggy three meters from the boat. "Tha water's warm this season!'
"I don't want to get my hooves wet, and besides, it looks muddy."
"Oh, that'd be okay then. Say, where'd Lemon Leaf get goin' to?" The other unicorn had disappeared it seemed. Starwisp returned to Lemon Leaf's side of the boat, and looked about. "Could you please check tha boat's other side, miss Rarity?"
"I don't see why we're wasting our time, she's prob-" Suddenly a slimy, shaggy creature leapt onto the boat!
"Blaaarggh! Oogleboogle!" cried Lemon Leaf, whilst Starwisp sunk her weight on the boat's opposite edge. Rarity jumped in fright, tripped, stumbled and fell off the side and into the sea. Lemon Leaf practically laughed the seaweed off herself, echoing Starwisp's untempered howls. The disgraced mare righted herself and attempted to gather the shards of her dignity, yet with cloak, coat and mane both wet and sandy, there was only so much she could do. The water really was very warm, however.
"Hmph. Well, let's get on with this, shall we? Tell me about this ghost ship again," She commanded.
"...When tha ghost's bells ring from tha blackest sea, tha ship shall sail to claim its fee... That's what 'Post islanders whisper, and tha shipwrecks are somehow always washin' up here. If anypony thinks tha prophecy's comin' true, they wouldn't dare go near tha waters!" Said Starwisp.
"Spooky don'tcha reckon! And durin' tha Itch too!" added Lemon Leaf.
"I see. Well shall we prepare? I suppose we're stuck doing that until the pegasi arrive..."
Luckily, it seemed mere seconds before they heard the flock of flapping feathers. Rarity watched a crimson pony float down with a hoof held above her head, introducing herself as Blue Dawn, the leader of Bridle Bay's weather 'wardens'. Rarity paused, and awkwardly matched the high-hoof on offer, sealing their acquaintance. Rainbow Dash, who had also come, was foaling about with the other fliers, including a griffon or two, and apparently didn't hear when Rarity called out to her. It didn't matter, though, since everything else was ready.
It was time to begin. Those clouds went there, and there is where the shredded sails would billow in a ghostly wind, and the barnacle encrusted hull rent with gaps of pure void... the unicorns joined their powers and Rarity's vision took form. A haunting green light ebbed and flowed from the centre of the Black Atoll, turning the dark mist into neon beacons easily visible from the coast.
From above this neon radiance, Rainbow Dash saw Spike. "Hey, Spike!"
"SPIKE?" the ghost ship almost sank. Rarity opened her eyes, barely keeping hold of the spell. Then Rarity saw Spike. Spike was supposed to be with Twilight! She wanted to flip, to blow a fuse at this irresponsibility, but now was not the time, and she was a professional. Rarity forced it down, focused and pulled through, completing the spell. The fashionista then took just a moment to compose herself and admire her work. And then she flipped. She sprinted through the waves and snatched Spike out of the water. Holding him so he couldn't escape, she fumed "What in Celestia's name do you think you're doing, Spike? where's Twilight?"
"Uh... the water here's good for my scales...?" he stuttered, then added quickly "And Twilight's asleep!" Rarity simply dropped him in the water and stormed off back to the boat. Unequivocally, she was done here, and couldn't wait to be rid of this ghastly place. "Wait! uh... heh, heh, can I get a ride back?" ventured Spike, but Rarity didn't answer. However, Lemon Leaf did gesture to the boat with an inviting shake of the head. Spike eased himself on, aware he was in hot water, so to speak, and trying to crush the nervousness spreading through his chest. As they left, the sturdy oarspony rang a bell three times, its chimes flying clear over the waters to the sleepy town beyond.
Yep, thought Rainbow when she saw Rarity deflect Spike's gaze. Rainbow knew what was going on here, Rainbow could see the disappointment in Rarity's eyes that the unicorn wouldn't let Spike see. At least they were talking now, and this meant Rarity's tantrum was sure to wear off soon enough. They slogged inside single file and Rarity, typically, threw herself dramatically on the bed. Rainbow was having none of it, and just sat on the same couch where she had dropped her luggage. Silence ensued, then obstinately continued to ensue. Rarity moved like a corpse, Spike sort of shuffled about the room, as if looking about for a reason to stay. Rainbow looked from one to the other from her place on the sofa, and got fed up pretty bucking quick. She had to break the silence.
"So, uh... I found this feather today," she began
"How in Equestria is a simple feather going to help us, dear?"
"Well, thing is... it might be Fluttershy's," they didn't quite react. Not yet. "I found it in the forest," she concluded, drawing the object from a bag beside her. Holding it in her teeth, she showed it to the two in the room, drawing quizzical looks from both. Rarity took it in her magic and inspected it closer. She tossed it to Spike.
"Smell it," she said. Spike replied with blank confusion. "Well you don't expect me to, do you, we don't know where its been!"
"Right. Uh," Spike smelled deeply. "It smells... fruity, I guess?"
"Like peaches and mint?" suggested Rarity. "It's Fluttershy's own special blend from the ponyville spa..."
"Didn't Twilight say Fluttershy was busy?" Spike replied. Rarity took the feather again. She smelled it herself, and her eyes widened as if the fragrance had smacked her.
"Busy doing what, I wonder..."
Three o'clock. Three o'clock! Twilight paced back and forth, back and forth. She could have worn through the balcony and fell all the way to the water had Spike been any later in coming home. A waning crescent moon was only just rising over Guardian Bay's easternmost edge, and soon enough, the sun would follow. If Spike had been any later... It was bad enough she had lost all her books somehow, but this worrying was driving her insane! What was going on? Twilight Sparkle heard the door, as quietly as it could be done, open. It was ten past three. When she heard the scratching of dragon claws on the wooden floor, Twilight stood absolutely still. She gathered her magic, chose just the right spot and...
"Spike!!" The little dragon nearly jumped out of his own scales. When he spun to see Twilight behind him, still crackling with magic, he crumbled. When Twilight began her lecture, his heart sank with heavy weights of guilt.
"I- I..." He couldn't think of a lie, nor could he tell the truth. Luckily for him, Twilight relented.
"Get some sleep," she said, "We're doing research tommorrow and I need you up early," Spike complied. At least he could do that well enough.