After the cruise ship sank into the sea, hundreds of passengers and employees headed to the nearest island. Due to a storm from a dangerous staff, their cruise vacation was cut short before they head back to where they came from.
Sunset along with her friends stare at the staff to their left, the same staff that stopped the storm while also leading them to Equestria. “So...we’re gonna use that to...go to Equestria?” Fluttershy asked.
“We don’t have any other choice.” Sunset replied. “Not only that, we also need to get everyone to Twilight’s castle while sneaking through Ponyville.”
“Wow!” Applejack commented. “We might have to go back and forth in order to get everyone back to their homes.”
“Maybe we should put everyone into groups and teaching them to keep a low profile.” Rainbow added.
“I can take care of that.” Twilight said while picking up a stick. “It may take me time to figure this out, there’s a lot of people here to keep track of.”
“Don’t rush darling, at least no one got hurt, or worse.” Rarity responded. Twilight used the stick to draw on the sand to put one of the passengers into groups by names.
By the far left of the island, there were four girls together. They spent most of their time on the boat, enjoying the amenities it had to offer. One girl, with her swimsuit in her bag, looked in the distance of the ocean. While no one got seriously injured, she’s relieved this vacation wasn’t like the last one she took, with her best friend.
“Excuse me, Lyra.” Derpy replied from behind. “Are you feeling alright?”
“Mostly.” She replied with depression in her voice.
“What’s wrong? We all at least got out alive.” Octavia added.
This caused Lyra to pinch her nerve from hearing one of her friends. She wanted to keep the traumatic experience from her past a secret from them.
Vinyl Scratch walked up behind Lyra, wondering what’s going on with her band classmate. When her friend turned around, tears came down from her face which caught her by surprise. Derpy and Octavia felt concern from Lyra’s expression.
“Did you forget something before the cruise ship sank?”
“No.” Lyra blurred out while sighing afterwards. “It's just...flashbacks from my childhood have come back to haunt me.”
“Haunt you?” Derpy blinked. “What do you mean?”
Lyra walked past her friends until she stopped in front of the trees. “You wanna know why my friend Sweetie Drops didn’t come with me?” She turned her head to her friends with more tears coming down from her face.
“Do you...have something to say to us?” Octavia replied.
Lyra took a deep breath to process the words her friends are asking. She refuses to go back to that point of her past she feared the most, but she knew it was coming back eventually to haunt her. She sat on the sand, while her friends did the same.
“When we were nine years old, we went on the cruise to celebrate Sweetie Drop’s birthday. It was our second day on the cruise after we boarded.”
“Must have been a great day right?” Derpy asked. Lyra began to cry which took Derpy’s full attention by notice. “Too soon?”
“Bad timing actually.” Octavia glaring. Lyra tried to continue her past, despite feeling mostly broken in the inside of her heart.
Seven years ago
Lyra, Sweetie Drops and her parents are sleeping in their cabin in the ship they are staying on. It’s seven in the morning with the sun peering in from the windows. When Lyra Heartstrings woke up from the bed she’s sharing with the birthday girl, she smiled that the first morning of her vacation is involving a birthday party.
“Sweetie Drops, wake up!” Lyra panting on Sweetie’s arm. “Today’s your birthday!”
When Sweetie Drops opened her eyes from her slumber, she then realised today is the day where she’s no longer eight years old and turned nine. She jumps out of bed as she heads to her mom and dad’s bed, she gets on top of them with joy from her face.
“Mom! Dad! Wake up! It’s my birthday!” Sweetie cheered.
Her parents slowly open their eyes despite feeling tired to get up. “Sweetie Drops, what time is it?” Her father replied.
“Come on, you should be making us breakfast.” Lyra added.
Sweetie’s mother tried to get up from bed from hearing Lyra’s words. “Sorry.” She responded. “When you were sleeping last night, we were at the ballroom. Your father really wanted to dance when we got onboard yesterday.”
When Sweetie’s mom got out of bed, she headed to the kitchen to make breakfast for the family and Lyra. “Isn’t this exciting!” Lyra hugging the birthday girl.
“I know! Think of the activities we can do together!” Sweetie Drops replied. “I can’t wait to go outside on the deck!”
Lyra, Sweetie Drops and her family headed outside after breakfast. For their second day on the cruise, they decided to go to the pool to celebrate Sweetie Drops birthday.
“Sweetie Drops loved to swim since she was five.” Lyra said to her friends. “During the last season of summer we had, she wanted to be a mermaid while I became the lifeguard girl on the cruise.”
Before Sweetie and Lyra jumped into the pool, Sweetie Drops wore a blue, purple and pink swimsuit, representing the colors of one of the mermaids.
“So, do you like my gift?” Lyra smiled.
“It’s perfect! Even without fins, I feel like a mermaid!” Sweetie giggled. She and her friend jump into the pool as they pop out of the water in joy.
“Okay? We get that your friend’s birthday is turning out nice, but what really happened?” Octavia asked.
Lyra took a deep breath as she’s getting close to the whole crisis her friend went through. “We spend about thirty minutes playing in the pool together until we get an announcement from the cruise director.”
“Passengers, this is an emergency!” The director called from the speakers. “Due to the weather we’re dealing with on the high seas today, we require you to head back to your cabins.”
“We weren't able to have a lot of time in the pool once her parents forced us to come in. The weather became much worse when we headed back to our cabin, not to mention the waves got worse.”
Lyra, Sweetie Drops and her parents waited in the cabin while changing back into their clothes. “Girls, I’m sorry, but we must follow the instructions from our cruise director.” Sweetie’s Father replied.
Sweetie Drops didn’t bother to hear her father’s reminder. She’s too upset that a storm had ruined her day outside on the deck.
“I didn’t want my friend to have a miserable birthday due to the weather change. Her parents brought along her birthday cake in case we had to deal with this situation specifically.”
“Hey birthday girl, turn that frown upside down!” Lyra placed her fingers in Sweetie’s mouth as she pulled them up.
“Why?” Sweetie said.
“We still have your birthday cake, along with more presents for you to unwrap.”
Sweetie felt a little better just when she thought her birthday had been a massive waste of time. After they got out of the bathroom, Sweetie’s parents took out all the gifts for her birthday daughter to open.
“For the next fifteen minutes, she opened all the gifts she got from her parents. She was happier, but her celebration kept us distracted. The waves from the outside of our cabin begin to get worse and worse. Luckily Sweetie’s father had covered the windows with the curtains to keep us relaxed.”
Lyra, Sweetie Drops and her parents begin eating the birthday cake after singing happy birthday. “So what are we going to do on my birthday?” Sweetie asked.
Her parents both look at each other in concern. They wanted this day to be memorable for her daughter, but the storm outside forced them to change their plans. “We don’t know yet.” Sweetie’s father responded.
“But we promise we'll do everything we can to make your birthday the best.” Sweetie’s mother added.
“I wanted my friend to think of the positives on what we’re in right now. However nothing will ever get better on what happens next.”
“What happened next?” Derpy asked.
Then a huge sound came from the hallways which shook the whole cabin. “What was that?” Lyra reacted in horror. Her father went to the door and went to his left. Once he saw what’s going on, he immediately headed back to the cabin.
“The wall is leaking!” He shouted. “There’s a crack on the wall!”
“What!?” Lyra, Sweetie and her mother shouted. In a matter of time, the water began to slowly rise.
“We gotta get out of here!” Sweetie’s mother standing up.
“We couldn’t believe that the cruise ship crashed into a boulder. We’ve heard that the storm caused a fog which was difficult for the wheelman to see where he was going. We evacuated from our cabinsd so we could head outside to where the lifeboats were. We were all wearing life jackets by the time we headed out.”
Almost all of the passengers waited until they got into one of the boats. Sweetie Drops and her family didn’t get the time they had to pack up everything. She and Lyra felt scared about what they’re witnessing. Fog in all directions, the huge waves causing the ship to list, and half of the inside flooded with water.
“This is horrible!” Sweetie Drops responded in fear. “What if we drown!?”
“Don’t worry, everything is going to be fine!” Lyra replied.
Luckily, they’re the next ones getting on one of the boats, but the cruise ship continues to shake in all directions. Sweetie’s father tried to hold on to his daughter but the wind got stronger and much more dangerous.
“Man, the wind's blowing hard!” Sweetie’s mother shouted.
“Guys. I don’t think I can hold on!” Sweetie lost her grip from her father.
“We never thought the day that our cruise vacation had become much worse by the minute. Her parents couldn’t see where they were going and the worst has yet to come.”
When Sweetie Drops and her family got on the boat, Lyra was the last one to get on. However, the strong winds pushed a teenage boy standing right behind her into her, causing her to jump into the boat. It almost caused the lifeboat to release one of the ropes it was hanging from due to the impact.
“Ahhh! We’re gonna fall!” Sweetie cried.
“Don’t worry, the boat still didn’t fall!” Her mother replied.
“Yeah, I’m sure we’re all gonna be-”
“Then a lightning bolt came from out of nowhere, and it was this close to us. It also scared Sweetie so hard, she fell from the boat and landed on her back, on some boulders.”
This caused Lyra’s friends to gasp in fear.
“SWEETIE DROPS!” Her parents and Lyra shouted. When they saw her, they were shocked in horror to see the birthday girl severely bleeding from her back. Due to the impact she had upon landing, she got knocked out before her body went into the water.
“Guys, my friend is down there!” Lyra called.
“Release us please!” Sweetie’s mother cried.
The employees let Sweetie's family’s boat be released as they slowly pulled the ropes. By the time they settled on the ocean, Sweetie’s father immediately jumps in the water to find his daughter before losing her. Her father knew something would happen when blood is in the ocean. Hungry sharks could easily track their prey in an instant when they smell or taste blood in the water.
Sweetie’s mother was holding on to Lyra, too scared to even look at the boulder her daughter's bloodstain was on. Lyra tears were more present on her face that her best friend is lost in the ocean.
“Sweetie’s father managed to save his daughter, but by the time they came back to the surface, Sweetie needed CPR. Not only that, her back is still bleeding.”
Sweetie’s father got her back to the boat which made her mother give her mouth to mouth resuscitation. Lyra became relieved that Sweetie managed to survive, thanks to her father, but it barely changed the fact, when she saw the gash on Sweetie’s back.
Sweetie slowly opened her eyes as she coughed out water, she groaned in pain, while she couldn’t remember what really happened to her after she got knocked out.
“What...happened?” She replied. “I don’t think...I can feel my back.”
Her parents didn’t say a word when their daughter was in pain. It was a travesty that the birthday girl had the worst and most painful birthday in her life.
“By the time we got back to shore, we headed to the hospital to help her. We were lucky. She turned back to normal in the following months, there was no one who would survive what she went through.”
Lyra’s friends sat in stunned silence when they heard everything about Sweetie Drops one and only cruise vacation with one question in their mind. “Is that the reason why she didn’t come along?” Derpy asked.
Lyra nodded but there was more to that question. “However, she didn’t heal on the inside. When her father told her he was trying to help her from the ocean, she refused to swim ever again. It traumatized her, if anything ever happens to her whether it’s on the beach or on a boat, her ninth birthday will always haunt her, just like it haunts me to see her feel this way.”
When Lyra finally stopped her story, she wept even more than before. She stands up while panting with even more stress in her heart. Her friends had never gone through a crisis like what Sweetie Drops went through. Even if today was a lot more chaotic, they never got hurt while bleeding afterwards.
“Lyra, I...don’t know what to say.” Octavia standing up from the sand. “Sweetie Drops must’ve never worn her swimsuit ever again.”
“I know.” Lyra retorted. “That’s why I’m always alone on beaches and cruises.”
“I actually wanted your friend around when we swam.” Derpy commented. “The fact she loved swimming, she would’ve loved the cruise we just had.”
“I know, but even if she did think about swimming again, she will never feel the same way again, unlike her times before her ninth birthday.”
Vinyl Scratch had never heard a story so scary and dangerous in her life. Her experiences with swimming were always like everyone else’s, but not like Sweetie’s experience. She wanted to help Lyra’s friend, but the past haunting her will get worse.
“Hey Lyra! Derpy!” Rainbow shouted which caught the attention of the girls. “We’re gonna go to Equestria and you're the first ones coming with us.”
Derpy then took Lyra’s hand after hearing the call from Rainbow. As much as Lyra needed more time to calm herself down, she knows she will be abandoned on a small island if she doesn’t come along. She and Derpy follow the Rainbooms with the Staff of Sacanas in their possession, as they enter into the jungle.
“Don’t you think seven years is enough to keep her away from the ocean?” Derpy asked.
“I still don’t know.” Lyra responded. “Please don’t even bother to ask her to swim, it’s only going to make things worse.”
Derpy wanted to make things better, just for Lyra. She knows how to make Sweetie Drops move on from her dark past, especially with how much she enjoyed swimming. From her point of view, there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel in dark times. And in order for that to happen, is to give her friends as much help as is needed to help them overcome their past.