Uniformity

by adcoon

VIII. Deep Sea Blues

Sailing, Bonbon had decided, was like being flipped upside down on your back after a long night of drinking, and finding yourself slowly sliding and rolling like a heavy barrel on ice across the sky, while the world below drained away into some terrible abyss. Everything was upside down and rolling around, in other words, not to mention so terribly, immensely vast and uniform.

She groaned and opened her eyes a crack to stare into the ink-black waters below. The moon shone across the surface and reflected her face, which had turned a color not very far from Lyra’s minty green. Perhaps even a little greener. Her stomach felt as empty as the sea was vast. Surely there was nothing left in it to feed the sea. Bonbon breathed deeply and closed her eyes again, dangling over the railing with her mouth open, gasping like some kind of fish floundering out of water.

It hadn’t occurred to her that she had never sailed before, not until she had found her hooves on a ship as it left the safe and comfortable confines of the harbor and turned to the wide open sea before it. She had been swimming before, mostly as a filly in Ponyville, but never in any water where she couldn’t see the whole of the shore all around and within reach, or the bottom just a short distance beneath her four hooves. Here she could see neither shore nor bottom, and all she had between herself and the watery void was a rickety piece of wood which seemed to creak and groan in response to every breeze. The pegasi made sure it was slightly above a breeze most of the time, too.

Why hadn’t they just kept walking north and east? Bonbon wasn’t very clear on the geography of the world outside Equestria, but surely if they walked far enough north, if there wasn’t actually land there, then the sea would at least be frozen and they could simply cross it on hoof. Or so Bonbon imagined. At least that would give her something solid underneath. Never mind the freezing cold.

Bonbon opened her heavy eyes again and stared tiredly at her reflection below. Perhaps she had finally gotten rid of everything she was going to get rid of, at least. The face in the water stared back at her, minty green and then suddenly pale. Bonbon blinked, and it was gone. For just a moment she could have sworn her reflection changed, that a different face looked up at her from the water. She leaned a little closer, careful to keep ahold of the railing.

For some time the water drifted by beneath her as it always had, the bow of the ship gently cutting through the inky surface. Her vaguely greenish face looked up at her as it had the whole time. Bonbon leaned back slightly and tried to relax. And then she saw it. It appeared for just a moment, staring up at her with empty eyes from a pale white face with a small gray beak before disappearing beneath the ship just as fast.

Bonbon stumbled back and felt something on her shoulder. She screamed and spun around, coming face to face with a stunned pegasus.

“Whoa, mighty sorry there, Ma’am,” the portly captain said and lowered his hoof to the deck. “Didn’t mean to scare ya. Doing alright there?”

“I—” Bonbon choked back her words and looked at the water. It was as vast and empty as it had been all along. “I thought I saw …” She shuddered. “Something, or someone. It looked dead.”

Barrel Wave peeked over the side of the ship and furrowed his brow. Then he spun around, yelling at a sunny-coated unicorn currently sweeping the deck on the other side of the ship. “Hey! Fish Eyes, yeah you, get a count of everypony.”

The pony saluted and started looking around, her lips moving soundlessly as she trotted off.

“I don’t think … It didn’t look like a pony. It had a beak,” Bonbon said and felt queasy again. She looked down at the floor and tried to keep it down.

Barrel patted her on the back and smiled. “First time at sea?”

Bonbon nodded. “It’s pretty obvious, huh?”

“You could say that. We had a little wager on who of ya would be hanging over the railing, and I’m afraid most of us bet on you.” He nodded and leaned casually against the railing. Bonbon eyed it nervously, wondering if the creaking was something to be worried about. “Nothing personal. You’ll get used to it soon enough, just give it a day or two, trust me. And if you stay at sea long enough or stare into the water too much, you’re gonna start seeing some crazy stuff what ain’t there, believe me. Sea ponies ain’t the strangest of it by a long shot. Heck, sometimes they are even real.”

“I think this was more like a sea griffon, if anything,” Bonbon muttered as she tried to keep her stomach at ease. “You see a lot of those?”

“No, but if you’re a griffon who’s been at sea too long? Sure, I wager every fish turns into a slender griffon lady to the right eyes.” Barrel laughed, making the railing creak and groan even worse under his moving weight. Bonbon winced and watched it carefully. “Must be a dilemma if you’re a griffon. Should they eat it or make love to it?”

“That’s disgusting,” Bonbon groaned.

Barrel chuckled. “Right you are. I hear some critters do both. First they make love, then the lass eats the poor fella. Bites his head clean off, she does.”

“I think that’s spiders you’re thinking of, captain,” the deck sweeper from earlier commented as she sidled up to them.

“Right. Creepy little buggers.” He turned to look at the sweeper. “So?”

She gave a swift salute. “Everypony’s accounted for, sir.”

“Splendid. Quick work, too.” Barrel said and turned back to Bonbon. “The sea has many stories, Ma’am. You’ll hear aplenty on this journey alone, mark my word.” He turned again to the sweeper. “Why don’t you tell our guest a tall tale of the sea while you’re here, Fish Eyes?”

The pony whose name was Fish Eyes, and whose cutie mark depicted a bright green slushie, scratched behind her ear with the tip of her broom. “A tale, Captain?”

“Aye! One of your best, Fishie my lass, about things seen at sea what ain’t there,” Barrel said and leaned back even further on the railing, with his elbows on either side in a position that could not be good for a pony’s back.

Fish Eyes grinned and swung her sweeper around to draw the attention of the rest of the crew. “Hey, mates! The captain wants a tall tale of the sea and things what ain’t there! Do we know such a tall tale for the captain and our guest?”

“Wave’s wife!” Somepony cheered, and everypony else chimed in with cheers and whistles at the suggestion. “Wave’s wife!” they all laughed.

Barrel lowered his wide-brimmed hat over his face and blushed. “Aye, should’ve known. This’ll be a week on the couch for me.”

Fish Eyes chimed in on the cheering and beat the end of her sweeper against the wood of the deck, creating a quick rhythm as she began to sing and tap her hooves. Other voices quickly joined in from all around the ship.

“You have a wife?” Bonbon asked as the song picked up another round around them. Barrel nodded towards the wheel. Bonbon looked up and spotted Snow Dive, leaning her front legs calmly on top of the wheel as she steered the ship and glared at Barrel across the deck. Her pale coat was no good at hiding the blush on her cheeks.

“Poor you,” Bonbon said and patted the stallion on the shoulder with a grin.

Barrel pushed his hat away from his face and grinned at Snow Dive. “She’s a good sport. You have to be in this business, where your own crew compare you to a walrus in song and dance.”

“I can imagine both of you have heard that one many times.” Bonbon glanced over the railing at the sea beneath them, but it showed nothing but dark blue and white foam.

“More times than I can count,” Barrel said and got off the railing. “But I wouldn’t worry too much about seeing things in the water. As long as it’s not a pony who went overboard, it was probably just a fish or a trick of your imagination. Happens all the time out here, trust me.”

Bonbon nodded and leaned on the railing for support. “Perhaps I should just find my bed,” she said and took a deep breath. She had been fairly steady for the last few minutes, but she still felt like the whole world was swirling around and gliding across the surface of the sky. If only she could fall asleep, maybe it would go away.

Barrel nodded and turned to return to his post at the wheel. “‘Pleasant dreams, Ma’am.”

Bonbon stumbled across the deck, walking carefully as she ducked through the door and climbed down the narrow—and creaking—stairs below deck. She found her way through the faint light to her and Lyra’s small cabin near the back of the ship. She knocked three times and then two, as she and Lyra had agreed. “Lyra?”

It took a while before the door was opened. Bonbon slipped through as Lyra returned immediately to her bed. Bonbon closed the door behind her and leaned against the swaying wall as she stared at the hammock that was hers for the voyage. “Great,” she groaned. “More swaying and swinging around, as if the ship didn’t do enough of that already.”

Lyra muttered something as she curled up in her own hammock and pulled the blanket over her head. Bonbon considered for a moment if she should just go to sleep on the floor, but shook it off and climbed in unsteadily, trying not to swing all the way around and land on the floor. After a minute she managed to get in and settle down. “Bloody ships,” she sighed and closed her eyes.

Her breathing was labored through the piece of cloth she had wrapped around her muzzle to keep from choking on the ashes and dust which danced in clouds around her and clung to her coat and mane. Her hooves dragged through the scorched ground, leaving a trail which she imagined was quickly covered by ashes blown across the hills. She could feel it against her face, even in the total darkness of her blindness.

Pebbles whined in a low tone ahead, pulling on the line wrapped around her front leg. Bonbon followed blindly, trusting her faithful dog. She would be lost and dead without it, out here in the wild, left to the mercy of the princess. She had no idea where they were, or how far the fire had razed the land. She could hear the faint trotting of the princess a distance away. It sounded strange, but Bonbon couldn’t explain what it was about the sound.

Despite her best efforts with the cloth, the ash and dust slipped through a little at a time, filling her nose and mouth and making her cough and thirst for water. The world felt heavy and threatening, like a shadow loomed over them the whole way. She couldn’t see it, but she could feel it weighing down upon her. Bonbon licked her ashen lips and closed her unseeing eyes.

Then the darkness shifted and jerked violently.

Bonbon opened her eyes and stepped through the door to the small café in Ponyville. She smiled at the waitress offering her a complimentary treat of flowers and a menu as she sat down at the table she had reserved. She nibbled at the fresh flowers and opened the menu to have a look at the selection.

“They’ve got fresh cider from Sweet Apple Acres. It’s even better than usual, if you ask me.”

Bonbon lowered the menu and looked across the table at the filly sitting on the other chair wearing a bright smile beneath a pair of black shades. She was dressed smartly in a black suit with silver buttons and tie. “Cool look,” Bonbon said and put the menu down.

“Thanks,” Scootaloo grinned and folded her hooves on the table in front of her, eyes presumably on Bonbon behind the dark glasses. A silver hoofwatch gleamed under the sleeve of her suit.

The waitress returned—Bonbon didn’t remember making an order yet—and sat a tall frosted glass of cider in front of Bonbon, along with a plate of sauteed spring greens and carrot steak in sesame sauce. Bonbon’s mouth watered at the sight and scent of the dish. The waitress set a glass of water next to Scootaloo, who smiled brightly at her. The waitress left, and Bonbon looked around the café for any signs of Lyra. It wasn’t very polite to begin eating before her date arrived.

“Waiting for Lyra?” Scootaloo set her glass down after taking a sip.

Bonbon nodded and smiled at the filly. She couldn’t help but let her eyes linger on the watch around her hoof. “I’m sure she’ll be here soon.”

“Lyra would never let anypony down,” Scootaloo said, in that way everypony in ponyville talked about Lyra. And then she glanced at her watch for a brief but meaningful second.

Bonbon glanced back at the door, then out the window at the road outside. A few ponies trotted by. She didn’t recognize them. “More than you think,” she said quietly.

“Oh?” Scootaloo smiled and looked up from her watch. “Has she been letting you down before?”

Bonbon said nothing and looked down at her plate of food. She picked up the glass and took a sip. It wasn’t too impolite, and Lyra was the one who was late in the first place.

“You can trust me,” Scootaloo assured her. She took off her glasses and looked straight at Bonbon. Her bright purple eyes met Bonbon’s across the table. The café was empty except for the two of them. “Something’s following you, Bonbon. It’s in your dreams, and it doesn’t want to let go,” she said carefully.

Bonbon stared at the filly as she picked up her glasses and got off her chair. For a second, Bonbon thought she caught a glimpse of something on the filly’s flank. Scootaloo turned back to Bonbon in the doorway. “What do you know about Lyra?” There was a pause, and in the space of that pause the filly had gone, and the café was empty.

Bonbon sipped her drink as she glanced out the window again. It was dark now—it hadn’t been dark a moment ago—and lights were on in every window. Bonbon’s food had grown cold and sad on its plate. She looked down at the plate.

“I had the strangest dream,” Bonbon said idly as she played her card and looked up at Lyra. She had managed to get an old deck of cards from one of the crew, and it had been an easy matter to convince Lyra to play a few games.

“About the princess?” Lyra looked through her cards. She had been quick to pick up the rules of the game as Bonbon explained them.

“About Scootaloo.” Bonbon was feeling a little better this day, but she wasn’t eager to test how well she felt by being too active, or spending too much time outside with a view of the wide open sea and the endless sky.

“She’s a sweet kid, right?” Lyra said and dealt a queen of hearts.

Bonbon nodded and sacrificed a card to Lyra, pushing the set aside for the unicorn. “No question there. Smarter than most ponies realize, too,” she said and smiled. “Perhaps a little too smart, bordering on the sly. I bet she gets up to all sorts of trouble.”

Lyra picked up a card and considered it for a long time.

Bonbon gazed out the little round window of the room at the blue waves stretching out endlessly into the misty horizon. Her eyes lowered and fell upon Lyra’s instrument lying in the hammock behind the unicorn, gently swaying back and forth with the waves. “I see now why you didn’t celebrate Hearth’s Warming with me,” she said, cards forgotten. “But so much else about that night and since is still a mystery. Do you want to talk about some of that?”

Lyra looked up, but her eyes seemed to look past Bonbon’s shoulder.

“Just start from the beginning,” Bonbon suggested and picked up a card. “Take your time.”

Lyra was silent for a while, then she reached behind her with her magic and pulled a notebook out of her saddlebags. Bonbon dealt her hoof while Lyra flipped through each page slowly. “A couple of months before that night, I found the pieces of an ancient melody among a collection of unsorted texts in the back of the Canterlot archives. It was in a poor condition, and some pieces were unclear or missing. It took me a lot of work to piece together an outline, and I had to make some qualified guesses to fill in the holes.” She tipped the notebook to show Bonbon the writing, flipping through page after page of messy scrawls slowly transforming into something coherent and tidy. The musical notation was no less unreadable to Bonbon in either state.

“What had me excited was the title,” Lyra explained and pointed at the top of the page she was on. “The original records were very damaged, but I could mostly make it out.”

“Polaris et soror mea,” Bonbon read aloud, uncertain if she got the pronunciation right.

“Close enough.” Lyra flipped through some more pages. “It means ‘my pole star and sister,’ and it’s also the title of the poem I told you about—” She showed Bonbon a page with a few lines of a poem “—the one by Sapphiro which I had found earlier in the same archives. What I have of the poem is a fragment, and it’s based on the older legend which was passed down in song. When I found the notes, I believed I had stumbled upon such an early song.”

Lyra put the notebook down beside her and picked her cards back up. “I always like to play the lyre when I’m feeling lonely, and Hearth’s Warming Eve makes me feel especially lonely. I had just finished working out the song a few days earlier, so I played it, out there in the woods.” She put down a card, and Bonbon took the set.

“Imagine my wonder when the sky came to life with shooting stars, as if they answered my melody,” Lyra continued. “To be honest, I was getting a little frightened even before you called out and surprised me. I wasn’t sure what was happening, or whether to stop or keep playing. And then you showed up, and the sky exploded in fire, and all I could think of was to run as fast as I could.” She looked down a bit in shame.

“I ran all the way to Hoofington, where I got a ticket to Ponyville in the morning. I guess you figured all that out already.” She sighed and shuffled her cards. “On the train I heard pretty much everything about what had happened, about the dreams and something falling from the sky in Ponyville. I couldn’t have slept anyway, with the worry that you or somepony else might have been hurt, but the chatter certainly didn’t help the matter.

“I quickly concluded that I hadn’t found just any melody, and that it was prudent to not play it again until I knew everything about its magic and history. That’s why I told you not to hum it back there in the mountains, see? I think—” Lyra fiddled a bit with her cards. “I think it may even be the very same song Humble was supposed to play to lead her sister back from the stars.”

Bonbon furrowed her brow and looked up from the cards. “It was a diamond that crashed into Ponyville, not an ancient human princess. At least … that’s what it was according to the official story. Twilight took it, didn’t she? Did anypony else ever get to see it?”

Lyra shrugged. “Rarity, perhaps. Rainbow Dash, probably, and the other princesses. Princess Luna in particular, would be my guess. I talked to Twilight some days later, asking her about it. Rainbow Dash was there too, but she was looking like a gloomy storm cloud. Twilight told me she thought it was a single star which had exploded in the atmosphere and broken up into two or more pieces. The largest piece fell in the mountains north of Manehattan, and the Wonderbolts had already investigated the crash site. That’s all she would tell me. I tried to press her for more, but she just told me there was nothing for me to worry about.

“That’s when I decided it was time for me to leave, that I wasn’t going to find the answers I needed in Equestria. I knew I had to see the crater for myself, and that the journey would eventually lead me east beyond the sea. I made my preparations, convinced Rainbow Dash to tag along as my guide, and you know the rest of the story.”

Bonbon glanced out at the clear blue sky outside. “You think your song actually called Humble’s sister back from the stars, then?”

“Who knows what it did?” Lyra said and followed her gaze. “I didn’t play for very long, and my source was very damaged; I may not have reconstructed the song exactly right. And even then, who knows what things lurk out there among the stars?”

“That’s a scary thought.” Bonbon shivered and tried not to imagine the vast and empty sea of night and all the dark and terrible secrets it could hold.

Lyra nodded, her face a mask of seriousness. “That’s why I didn’t play it again. Even if it really was Melodious, it’s been thousands and thousands of years for her. I’m not honestly sure what could possibly remain of a mortal mind after wandering the emptiness between stars for so long.”

Bonbon thought back to the square in Manehattan. Trixie had clearly been acting desperate. Something she had been carrying was dropped in the fall and shattered into a thousand pieces. The sun had darkened for a second, and madness had gripped everypony who saw it. “A shattered mind,” she said idly and stared at the horizon.

Something gleamed on the horizon, a brief flash of white, like sunlight reflected in glass. Bonbon stared at the point for a moment before turning back to Lyra. “What happened at the train station, with you and the guards?”

“Maybe their spell actually detected what I was,” Lyra said. She looked uncomfortable at the memory and the thought of what it might mean. “But they probably just thought I had swallowed something, or that the spell was broken.”

Bonbon nodded and looked at her cards.

Hey Dash!

I just got back home from Canterlot …

Wow, you know, I don’t think Princess Luna ever sleeps. I wouldn’t be surprised if she told me she hasn’t slept since she came back from the moon. I’d believe her. I’d go all batty if I didn’t sleep for that long. Maybe that’s what happened to her guards, you think? Sorry, bad joke.

I arrived at Canterlot station and was met by two ponies from the castle, Bluejay and Star Sapphire. They were twins, completely identical except that Bluejay was a pegasus and Star was a unicorn. I didn’t know that was possible. But they seemed really nice. We talked a lot as they showed me to the castle and gave me a tour.

I got to stay at my very own room in the castle, which was bigger than our entire house back in Ponyville. The bed was probably bigger than my room back home. I even had my own servant who got me anything I wanted. I told her I wanted a cutie mark. I guess she couldn’t get me that.

Bluejay is one of the princess’ personal guards, and Star told me that she was one of Luna’s hoofmaids. They weren’t dusk ponies though. I guess the princess needs some guards during the day too. Star told me that Luna would meet me later, and we went out to some really fancy restaurant. We talked on the way, and I noticed that Star was talking sort of strange sometimes.

I asked if they were identical twins, and they said yes. They looked pretty identical too, but that’s when I remembered reading about that in one of the books Luna gave me to study. Identical twins are always the same pony race and gender, they can’t be a pegasus and a unicorn. That’s a different kind of twin. I didn’t say anything, but I knew something was totally fishy. I watched them closely, and I noticed that Star had bright blue eyes. I knew I recognized those eyes.

Hah. I told her I’d seen through her disguise. I think she was really impressed, even if I think she made it a little bit easy. She kept her disguise, though, as we went to the restaurant. She likes to go out without being recognized, and she didn’t want the press getting word of her plans yet.

We had dinner at the restaurant, and I told her about everything I had learned. Bluejay stayed, I guess she really was one of Luna’s guard, but she didn’t say anything. It was a bit late when we left, and I watched Luna raise the moon and bring out the stars. It was so cool!

We went to a part of town where many dusk ponies live. There was a sort of party in the streets. There was food and music, and dusk ponies dancing and fighting, but not for real. They were kicking and trying to trip each other with lots of fancy moves, but they never hit. Luna called it “kaponyra” or something, I didn’t really catch the spelling. The dusk ponies invented it. It’s like a game, but with dancing and fighting and music.

We watched and sang along to the rhythm, and I met a young dusk pony there. His name was Vesper, and he showed me some of the moves. I was like totally awesome at it! I wish you could have seen me. I rocked that street so hard, they’re probably going to rename it after me now! I totally didn’t notice how late it got before we left. If mom and dad knew how long I was out at night, they’d have a fit.

I slept in late, and Luna was still up when I woke. She had a lot of important stuff to do, paperwork and meetings and stuff, so I had some hours free to explore the city on my own. It was pretty rainy and gray outside. I looked around a bit anyway, but that’s not really that interesting. The rest of the day, Luna showed me some of her work and introduced me to some other ponies. I’ll just skip over all that, though.

Anyway, we ran into Vesper again that night, with some of his friends. They were having a race through the streets. It was pretty cool. They were scaling walls and jumping across roofs and balconies, sliding down stairs and swinging on bridges. I didn’t bring my scooter from Ponyville. I bet I could have shown them some really sweet moves with it. So I just improvised instead.

We ran for hours. Luna kept up with us from the sky. I guess she didn’t want to join in. Heh, I guess I got a little carried away, trying to show up Vesper. He had some impressive moves, but I wasn’t going to let him win like that. I think I impressed them all, even without my scooter.

They had a party later. I don’t know how late it was, or how many ponies I talked to, or how exactly I got back to the castle. I think Luna flew me there, or maybe that was just a dream. It felt like a dream. We were so high, I think I could see all the way to Ponyville easy. I’ve never been that high, but I wasn’t really afraid, of course.

Oh yeah, by the way, you know, not that it’s important or anything, but I got my cutie mark …

See? Cool as ice, no rush. Heh. I totally didn’t jump around like Twilight or anything uncool like that, and if she tells you otherwise then she’s a lying cheat! I actually didn’t even notice it until I woke up this morning and looked myself in the mirror. I guess I was too distracted all night. I made a drawing of it below for you.

That was pretty sweet. But, you know … I think I can do better.

Ready?

Luna was pretty impressed with me today, like I could blame her. I’m pretty awesome. Awesome enough that she’s decided to make me her personal protege and agent-in-training of her own specially selected guard. I’m going to train to protect the princess and Equestria from all sorts of hidden threats. How cool is that?

Can you say Best Weekend Ever? Best. Weekend. Ever!

Your little sis,
Scootaloo.

Dammit, Scoots! I’m so proud of you!

Heh, good job staying cool, kid. I totally read the last part first, though. That’s some really sweet work, and a heck of a cool cutie mark! You’re going to go far with the princess!

Your big sis,
Rainbow Dash.

“P-pebbles?” Bonbon mumbled and turned around in the dark. She opened her eyes to the faint light of the stars outside and the gentle rolling of the ship. A scratching of wood nearby made her tense and look around. Lyra was awake and looking at the door to the small cabin. Something scratched again, like claws searching for a big enough crack in the wooden door to get it open.

Bonbon’s heart beat loudly in her chest as she glanced at Lyra. The human lying wide awake in the other hammock lifted a finger to her lips and shook her head slightly, as if any greater movement might alert the thing outside.

Bonbon lay under her sheets, stiff as a nail as she stared at the door and listened to the scratching noise. Gathering her courage, she leaned over a little, careful not to fall out of her hammock as she tried to peek under the door. A shadow moved in the light from the small window out in the hall, but Bonbon couldn’t make out its shape.

Ponies didn’t have claws, though, and all the crew were ponies.

The scratching stopped, and the door creaked, the lock straining against the force pulling at it. Bonbon’s heart was pounding in her throat. She held her breath.

A hoof step and a creak of the stairs sounded further away. The door stopped moving, and a rush was heard as something disappeared down the hall. Calm hoof steps walked down the hall a moment later, a door opened and closed, and everything returned to silence except for the gentle sound of waves and the wind.

Bonbon let out the breath she had been holding and looked at Lyra. The human shrugged her shoulders under the blankets. Bonbon looked back at the door for a minute. “I’ll take first watch,” she whispered, and Lyra nodded before pulling her blanket over her head.

Nothing more was heard that night.

Nothing more was heard over the next few days and nights, either, but Bonbon felt increasingly like something dark and gloomy hung over the ship. Even if the weather was perfect the whole way, courtesy of the pegasi crew, who were exceedingly happy to have Rainbow Dash on their team. Work on the ship itself was occasionally hard, but there was enough of it, and it kept Bonbon’s mind and hooves busy, for which she was thankful.

Her dreams were increasingly dark and without any obvious meaning or actual content, just an oppressive meandering in the dark and desolate ashes without company. Last night she had woken up thinking she heard crying, deep and mournful in the dark. Lyra had still been asleep, and usually Lyra seemed to wake at even the slightest sound. Just a dream, then.

Bonbon sighed and shook the thoughts away as she picked up another rope and set about rolling it up into a neat coil so that nopony would stumble or get tangled in it. There was a lot of rope on the ship, and it all had to be kept neat and tidy. A loose rope anywhere was frowned upon, and for good reasons. Bonbon still remembered many of the rope lessons from her time as a filly scout. It was something you had to know if you wanted to be prepared for survival in the wild—or unexpected trips across the sea, as it turned out.

She looked up at where Rainbow Dash was hovering in the sky, holding a hoof up to her eyes to shield against the sun as she scouted the horizon behind them. Bonbon couldn’t see her expression, but she appeared to be looking very closely for something. Another pegasus flew up to her. A few words were exchanged, and the other pegasus held out a small telescope.

Rainbow Dash picked up the telescope and held it up to her eye, peering at the distance as she adjusted the lens carefully.

“What’s going on?”

Bonbon looked around to see Lyra standing next to her, looking up at the two pegasi. “No idea. Maybe they’ve spotted an island of walruses.”

“Walruses?” Lyra looked at Bonbon with a quirked eyebrow.

“Nevermind,” Bonbon muttered. “Just a silly joke. I guess they haven’t been singing it for you.”

Lyra shrugged and cupped her hooves around her mouth. “Hey! Rainbow Dash!”

Rainbow Dash looked down to see who was calling, then hoofed the telescope back to the other pegasus before soaring down to land on the deck of the ship. “Yeah? What’s up?”

“What were you looking at up there?” Lyra pointed up at the sky behind the ship.

“Oh, that.” Rainbow Dash looked at the horizon with a flick of her mane. “There’s some other ship that’s been following us for a few days now. It’s pretty far away, though. The others think it’s just some other ship headed the same way.”

“You don’t think so?” Bonbon looked at the pegasus to see what she thought.

Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Dunno. It’s not doing anything, but I’m keeping an eye on it. Anyway, I’ve got some clouds to kick into submission, if you’ll excuse me.” She set off in a rush of air, leaving Bonbon’s mane as a wind-blown mess.

Bonbon sighed and did her best to get her hair back under control with her hooves. “What do you think?” she asked Lyra.

Lyra watched the horizon. “Not sure. She’s keeping an eye on it, though. I guess that’s all there is to do,” she said and shrugged before returning to her work.

The best thing about the sea, Bonbon decided, were the sunsets. The dark oranges and deep yellows filled the sky behind them, reflected across untold miles of dark sea without obstruction, turning the rippling surface to red-hot glass. The world seemed to stand in silent reflection as the sun neared the surface of the water, and for just a moment it seemed like a second sun rose up to meet it, two spheres melting together in the ancient sea before disappearing together.

Bonbon looked down from the the two solar spheres mating at the edge of the world to see Lyra disappearing below deck, headed for their shared cabin while some light of day still remained. It was a shame that Lyra always missed the last moments of the sunset, which Bonbon felt were the most soulful and romantic part of the entire celestial dance.

With a sigh, Bonbon looked back up at the fading sun. A shadow moved at the corner of her vision. She looked back down and spotted one of the crew. He looked over his shoulder for a second before disappearing down the stairs after Lyra. Bonbon frowned. Something about that look made her suspicious. Abandoning the sunset, she got up and followed.

The interior of the ship was dark. Bonbon hadn’t brought a light—she usually didn’t, as it was only a short trip to their cabin. She looked around, but there was no sign of Lyra or anypony else. Most of the crew were above, watching the sunset or working. She could hear a bit of early singing from some of those above. They sure liked to sing.

Bonbon knocked quietly on the door to their cabin, but got no response. She pushed the door open and found the room empty. Bonbon bit her lip and looked around. Lyra would have gone straight here, so why wasn’t she there? More importantly, where had she gone instead? Bonbon walked quietly through the ship, through the common room with the long table, currently empty, and through the bunks where a few of the ponies working night shift were still sleeping.

She was about to call out for Lyra when she heard the door to the storage deck close with a long, soft creak. Bonbon stopped for a second to listen, then hurried towards the stairs leading further down into the belly of the ship. The crew didn’t often go down there, she had noticed. There wasn’t much to go down there for, she imagined.

Bonbon had to walk carefully and steady herself against the wall as she descended the stairs, as the ship rocked gently on the waves. The storage filled the whole of the bottom of the ship and was stacked full of crates, barrels, and bags safely tied to keep them in place. It was a gloomy and cramped space. It reminded Bonbon of the narrow tunnels down in the mines. She wished she had brought a light.

Almost as if in answer, a faint golden light sprung up among the crates further ahead. “This one?” Lyra’s voice asked somewhere ahead.

“Yes, careful when you …” another voice replied and trailed off slowly. Bonbon assumed it was the stallion who had followed her down here.

A scraping sound was heard, then a crash. A scream tore through the storage, and the light went out. Bonbon’s heart took a leap. She raced down the narrow space between crates to the sound of screams and crashing wood. Something flew out of the darkness. Bonbon had no time to evade. She cried out and fell over as they collided, a heavy body landing on top of her.

“Get off me!” she growled and shoved the terrified stallion off. They both stumbled back on their legs, and Bonbon limped around the corner to find Lyra struggling on the floor with a small griffon. The griffon was screeching in fury, its eyes gleaming with mindless murder in the faint light of Lyra’s horn. There was something otherworldly and subtly wrong about that beaked face.

Lyra growled and struck the griffon in the eye with an elbow. She rolled around, pushing the griffon down hard and lifted a bottle of wine in her magic. The bottle hit the griffon in the side of the head and shattered, spraying everything with wine and shards of glass. Lyra dropped the remains of the bottle as the griffon collapsed, unconscious or worse. A shadow seemed to lift from the room, and the light from Lyra’s horn grew a little sharper. She swayed slightly, then stood up and stared at the scene before her.

Bonbon stared too, but not for long. “Lyra!” she called, trying to get Lyra’s attention. The unicorn was shaking as she turned to stare at Bonbon. “Run, back to the room and lock the door. I’ll tell them you ran to get away from the griffon,” Bonbon urged her quickly.

Lyra looked down at her wine-covered self in stunned horror and confusion, then quickly galloped off towards the stairs. Bonbon let out a breath, then approached the battered griffon, keeping at a cautious distance. He was young, with a gray beak and white face. He was bleeding from where the bottle had hit him, and didn’t look like he was going to get up soon. He hadn’t looked like he had any right to be up and moving a moment ago, either. Bonbon cautiously reached out to check his neck, searching until she found a pulse.

It didn’t take long before she heard hooves on the stairs and ponies rushing through the cramped storage space. Bonbon turned around and stepped out to see who was coming. Rainbow Dash was one of the first, to no one’s surprise. “Just a griffon,” Bonbon said and stepped aside to make room for them. “He attacked Lyra, but she knocked him out and ran off.”

“Is she okay?” Rainbow Dash asked with a worried look at Bonbon as the others gathered around the fallen griffon.

“Probably just shocked,” she said and trotted away. “You keep an eye on that griffon. I’ll go talk to Lyra,” she added before hurrying off towards her and Lyra’s cabin.

“She’s fine,” Bonbon said as she came back out and closed the door quietly behind her. “She wasn’t hurt, just shocked and frightened. She asked to be alone for a while.”

“What a relief,” Snow Dive said and seemed to relax. “We get stowaways from time to time, and when we find out, we usually just put ‘em to work and leave it at that. We’ve never had anypony attacked like this before.”

“What I want to know—” Bonbon leveled her gaze at the stallion behind Snow Dive “—is why you were down there with Lyra in the first place.”

“It’s not a crime, is it? I needed help getting one of the heavy boxes of wine from the top shelf,” he said and looked up to meet Bonbon’s eyes. “Your friend is a unicorn, so I figured she could get it down easy. I had no idea a bloody griffon was waiting to attack us in the dark.”

“And instead of helping her, you turned tail and ran,” Bonbon hit back. She didn’t trust him. Sure, he might have told Lyra he needed a bit of help down in the storage, but what else did he have in mind? Stallions like that couldn’t be trusted. “That was very noble of you.”

“We can’t all be heroes, lady. At least I got help.” He glared at her, though he clearly wasn’t proud of the running.

“No more fightin’!” Snow Dive pushed herself in between them. “We’re all on this ship together, so you darned well better get along! The captain is keepin’ the griffon above, perhaps we should see if he’s woken up yet.” She turned and stomped her way up the stairs. “And maybe the fresh night air will cool your heads too.”

Bonbon shot the stallion another look before following. Several ponies, including Rainbow Dash and the captain, were watching the griffon, who had been tied up to the main mast. One pony was tending his wound. He didn’t seem to have woken up yet.

Rainbow Dash looked up and noticed Bonbon, as Snow Dive went to talk to Barrel. Bonbon walked up to the Wonderbolt and looked more closely at the griffon, now that she wasn’t in a hurry. “He’s not very old,” she concluded.

“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash agreed. “Just a damn kid.”

“I think he’s the missing kid from the village,” Bonbon said and stared at the white face and gray beak slumped in front of the mast, wrapped in bandages. “That’d be my best bet, anyway.”

“Ugh, just what we needed.” Rainbow Dash groaned. “What I want to know is why he jumped out at Lyra like that!”

“Maybe she surprised him,” Bonbon said, but she didn’t believe it. She had seen the look in his eyes for a brief second before Lyra knocked him out. It wasn’t a look of surprise or fear, but of pure malice and murderous envy.

Snow Dive returned, carrying a mug of water. She paused to give the griffon a look before throwing the cold water in his face. “Wake up, boy!”

The griffon blinked and struggled against the bonds. His eyes widened and darted around as he quickly came to. “Who—” he stammered. “W-who are you?” He struggled, panicked, head turning every which way. “W-where is this! Dad! Help!”

Bonbon stared at the frightened and confused griffon tied up before them. There was none of the malice left in his eyes, only wide-eyed terror and bewilderment.

Hey Twi.

We’ve got ourselves a stowaway, some griffon kid who may have been missing from that village we had to leave in a hurry. He was hiding down in the storage and attacked Lyra when she went down there. She’s alright, though, but the griffon claims to remember nothing. He’s completely out of it. No idea where he is or what’s going on. We’ve explained it all to him several times, but it doesn’t seem to stick very well yet.

I remember you said something about Trixie being like that too, when you caught her, so I thought you’d want to know.

I can’t freakin’ wait to get away from all this. I wish I could just take off on my own. It’d be so much faster. So much easier. I could’ve been half across the next continent in this time.

Love you.
Dash.

I love you too, my dear.

Did this griffon have anything on him when you found him? Or maybe somewhere nearby?

♥ Your princess,
Twilight Sparkle.

I dunno. He didn’t have anything on him, but I’ll search the storage and let you know if I find anything.

Please be careful, and don’t touch anything.

♥ Twi

I know the procedure. Don’t need to tell me, Twi.

…

Heh, “tell me Twi”. Get it?

You’re incorrigible, Rainbow Dash.

Is that like incomparable? Because I’m totally that.

Yes, dear.

Bonbon was tired of water. In every direction, water. Even though it had only been a week, it felt like she had seen enough water to last her a lifetime. The pegasi seemed to take a cruel delight in making it rain on the seventh day of the journey. The increased wind did mean they got moving a little faster, which Bonbon assumed meant they would get to see land slightly sooner, for which she guessed she should be thankful, or something. At least she could stay below deck and look out at the rain. And the sea. Water below, water above, bloody water everywhere.

The griffon had been untied when it seemed he had no clue where he was or what had happened, and more importantly that he wasn’t any kind of danger. Everypony kept an eye on him anyway, though, and he kept to himself and said nothing. Bonbon couldn’t blame him. She couldn’t blame Lyra for staying well away from him either.

Everypony was watching everypony, looking suspiciously at everyone around them. A gloom had shrouded the ship, and Bonbon worried that if they didn’t reach land soon, it would turn into a repeat of the village they had fled from.

One night left before they would see land, if the navigators were correct. One night!

Bonbon looked out at the sunset through the pouring wall of rain and sighed.

One night left to endure.