Some say they are eyes.
Some say they are souls.
Some say they are big balls of gas burnin' billions of miles away.
Some say they are fireflies, trapped in a blue-black thing.
And then there are those that say they are actually the older gods, no really, they're the defeated deities of ages past Ah'm telling ya, we've gotta set up protection in case they escape!
A few realize that all the above could be true at tha same time. Of those, one outta ten don't just get wasted but actually go out and do somethin'. Tha number of ponies that do somethin' effective could be counted just by cutting an apple in half, spillin' out tha seeds, and sayin' eeyup it's about that amount or thereabouts.
Ah'm sorry, Ah'm rambling. Ah think maybe that's just a side effect of... okay, hold on. Ah need to get this metaphor right.
Now let's see, eyes, souls, balls of gas.... right.
Anyway, when Ah looked up that night, what Ah saw was... a quilt. Not a literal one. A metaphorical one. See, Twilight had had us all stay up so she could show how the airship navigated by tha stars, she had charts and everything, and then it turned out ol' captain Swashbuckle was using tha latest in arcanotech instead of a sextant, which really upset her since she had been studying all sorts of navigation books and she wanted ta show off her knowledge in a practical context. So Ah said that maybe she should show us how ta navigate by the stars, in case it ever came up, so we spent tha night having what Pinkie called an astronomy party. Rainbow got bored right quick, saying that she could fly fast enough to hit land and navigate from there--heh, she's such a braggart. So she turned in early. Rarity was next ta go, claiming beauty sleep, and then Pinkie crashed and Ah carried her to bed... Fluttershy and Twilight came down some time after.
Thing is... even after all the other girls were asleep, Ah just... couldn't shut my eyes. Ah tried everything, but let's face it: Ah'm the earthiest of earth ponies. Ah need ta feel the ground, even if it's just through tha wheels of a train. Ah thought Ah'd be able to handle an airship for a day, but...
Well....
The long and short of it is, Ah got up out of bed and went out to look at the stars again. And Ah started seeing tha patterns that Twilight was talking about, and it kinda reminded me of that quilt that Granny and tha other old codgers were working on at tha last family reunion. Heh. Ah should tell ya bout that sometime, Cocoa... not mah finest moment. But looking up at the stars that night, Ah thought.... it's a big quilt. It's keeping us all warm and safe.
Me... tha girls... my family back home, Apple Bloom was so disappointed Ah had ta leave her behind but Ah promised to bring her back something fancy...
Ah don't know.
Well, anyway.... Ah was looking up at the night sky. Ah've always liked the stars... they were so... together. Ya know? The sun is a lonely thing--powerful and Ah'm right grateful for Celestia raising it every day, don't get me wrong--but the sun is such a lonely thing. The stars, though.... Ah guess that's why Luna needs friends so much, because tha moon is never alone.
Huh... here Ah am spouting off like a poet.
Anyway, so Ah decided to test mah knowledge of starfareing. Ah figgered out north, glanced east and west, and checked to tha south. And at first Ah thought the stars were missing, or something. Can ya'll believe that? Ah was that stupid. It took a flash of lightning to make me realize it was a storm.
Now, Ah ain't never been one for sitting on mah flank when things need doing. Ah shouted to tha crew and they got to work battening down the hatches and fiddling with the ropes and whatnot. Course, Ah tried to help, and it being the dark that it was they didn't realize Ah wasn't crew--Ah might not know my way round a ship but hay if Ah can't help when the chips come down. Give me orders, Ah'll take em.
Storm came on us right quick though. All the real crew, they'd lashed themselves to.... wherever it is ya lash yourself to on an airship. Who came up with those contraptions anyway? Ah guess they're useful for hauling big loads around, but mostly they just look fancy. Heh, like them bigwigs up in Canterlot. Always fussing and mussing and what does their job boil down to? Sorting Celestia's paperwork. Maybe they made the dang things in the first place.
See... Ah didn't know I shoulda lashed myself down. So when the storm hit us, Ah was blown clean off the deck afor' anypony could react. Let me tell you, falling Ah don't know how long into a raging sea is not fun. Ah did remember to keep my legs straight--woulda been splattered on the waves otherwise--but after that it was just tossing around and turning and Ah don't even want to know how long Ah was in there. Ah'm lucky there weren't no driftwood or whatnot in there, Ah got banged up pretty bad but not a scratch on me. Really, it was just me tryen ta keep mah head above water.
Ventually Ah got lucky, rolled up on tha beach. Don't know xactly where--ya might have seen me, in fact--but with tha ground under me ah could retreat from tha waves. Ended up in some forest... maybe a jungle? Ah'm still not sure what it counts as. Shivered mahself ta sleep, right there. Didn't even think ta call for help. Maybe tha airship coulda heard me, maybe it couldn't. Didn't even try, though.
Look, all that ta say Ah'm... Ah am really grateful fer yer help Cocoa. Really, Ah am. But... Ah just wanna let ya know, Ah'm not gonna be here long. Soon as that storm over yonder kicks down, mah friends are comin' ta pick me up. Ah mean, it's only been what? Two days? So they're comin'. Just holdin' off till it's safe for all of us. Ah can respect that.
....Ah'm talkin' ta a palm tree. What the hay.