//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: Voyage of Peace // by Blueninetails //------------------------------// At the crack of dawn, Twilight, Pinkie, Rainbow, Fluttershy, and the rest of the crew were already situated at the docks preparing for their journey. Most of the heavy lifting were primarily done by Bronze, Silver, and a few of the navy ponies that were coming along, as the others were going through a list of supplies that Twilight had stated they needed for this trip. Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Twilight were the only exceptions. Apparently Fluttershy had found herself extremely frightened by the idea of partaking in what would most likely be a dangerous trip, and was frozen where she sat and was shaking like a leaf in hurricane-level winds. As such, Pinkie was right there trying to calm her down with calming words and pats on her back, and was probably why the yellow pegasus wasn't even worse for wear. Twilight on the otherhoof was mostly preoccupied at a small table that they had kindly set up for her just behind where the helmspony would be so she could have a specific area to do her job as navigator. She was currently plotting the safest and quickest route to the Triangle Islands. Occasionally though she did look up to see what the others were bringing on board, and checked the item off on a copy of the checklist she had made. Over the course of the last 24-hours, the memories of the characters they were essentially replacing in the story slowly started to return, which became quite useful to Twilight as she continued planning what they would do as soon as they reached the Triangle Islands. Though it was seemingly a double-edged sword, coupled with the known maps of the area, the more Twilight remembered and learned about those islands, the more she knew how to prepare and learned just how dangerous the waters around them truly were. Only the first 100 yards around the islands had been mapped, that was at least 1/3 of the way before they could drop anchor safely. Problem was though that 1/3 contained a somewhat strong outward current, large jagged boulders, and random sandbars, and the last 2/3 was unknown, and that's what Twilight hated. Twilight did trust that if she fails to pull them out of the book, that it would run it's course and they could leave without a single problem; but, she still felt uncertain about it all. They were about to go on a journey not knowing exactly what to expect. "Twilight. Hey, Twilight." Rainbow called out as she landed right next to the alicorn, "Mind telling me why you just had us bring almost 100 pounds of probably the nastiest, and stinkiest, fruit in existence onto the ship?" "Um, which one are you referring to Rainbow?" "Like there's any other rank-smelling fruit on that list of yours." Rainbow replied with a glare, "Those stupid, ugly, yellow fruit. Kinda looks like a yellow porcupine about the size of our heads." Twilight looked down at the ground as she thought about the description, her mouth silently moving as she repeated exactly what Rainbow had said, before she looked up again, "Wait..., do you mean the durian fruit?" "How should I know. Is it?" "Well, the description you're giving me seems to match it." Twilight replied looked away wondering if there was another fruit on board that had a similar description, "The durians we brought on board are by special request from Accordant. Seems he's coming along as well." "Wait, really?!" "Apparently." Twilight replied with a shrug, "I don't understand why he would want to, but I think he might be keeping an eye on us. Considering how important the Stone of Peace is, he might also be making sure we go through with the retrieval mission." At that moment Fluttershy and Pinkie, who was helping Fluttershy, approached them. "Are you feeling better Fluttershy?" Twilight asked in a concerned voice. Fluttershy nodded, though it was clear she still wasn't completely relaxed. "She's feeling better now, but she's still nervous about going on our super-important adventure." Pinkie stated "I don't blame her. Assuming the memories of the characters you're all representing in this hasn't fully returned, similarly to mine, this is one adventure we're not all prepared for." "Speaking of that Twilight, do you...you know...remember anything about this stupid rock we're going to be risking our tails for?" Rainbow asked. "Mostly. There's still a few pieces of memory I don't quite recall. What I can remember though is that the artifact we're going after does hold a great deal of importance. Not just for Sapphire Port, but for several islands within quite a few miles of this location." Twilight explained, "According to the texts I was able to look at yesterday, the Stone of Peace is one of three stones located here at this port, the others being the Stone of Understanding and the Stone of Knowledge." "Each of these stones are housed in one of the three towers," she then pointed out toward the towers, "And supposedly, represent three factors to exist in perfect harmony. It is due to this, that this island and those around it are protected from any negative forces, such as war." "So that's how it is, huh?" "I'm not entirely sure whether each actually contains some magical properties that helps enforce this protection, or if it's more of a psychological matter. I'd love to study it more, but we don't exactly have a lot of time to waste." "I-If you don't mind me asking...how are we going to do this?" Fluttershy asked, "I mean, we're not soldiers, and we're not really pirates, how are we going to get the stone back?" "In theory, we should be taking the places of the characters we're representing, so that should fix itself soon enough. For now though, I'm more concerned about removing us from this story." "Aw!" Pinkie exclaimed in disappointment. "I'm sorry Pinkie, but I really don't want to be running off on another adventure right now." Twilight apologized. "I agree with Twilight," Rainbow rang in, "I have better things to do than being stuck on some boat." Pinkie pouted before hanging her head down low, as Fluttershy patted the party pony's back. "Maybe next time, okay Pinkie?" she asked, "We can do another adventure another time. Hopefully a much safer adventure." that last sentence she said to herself quietly. "We probably still need to do at least a third of the story though. I didn't find a lot of time last night to practice. With half the guards watching me while I was at the library, I didn't find much time to see if I can cast the spell." "You four, what are you talking about?" a guard demanded as he approached them, "You better not be planning a mutiny." "If they don't want be food for the sharks, they better not be." they heard another voice ring out. The five looked to see white unicorn mare with a deep-blue mane and tail approach them. She was wearing a blue captain's coat that was adorned with several metals and badges, and was well groomed. She also had two other guards with her, both wearing silver-colored armor. "Captain Sparkling Seas," the guard greeted with a salute, "I wasn't aware you'd be arriving so early." "With pirates on board my ship, I felt it would be appropriate to come early." she replied before fixing her gaze onto Pinkie, "I take it that you are Captain Pinkie Diana Pie?" "Yep!" Pinkie nodded with a smile, and extended a hoof, "Nice to meet you." Capt. Sparkling Seas accepted the hoofshake, but before Pinkie could let go, the unicorn mare pulled Pinkie closer to herself, "Now, so we don't have any problems while at sea, I want you to understand, that you are on MY ship. While you are on my ship, I am the captain here and you are to follow my orders. If I even sense your going to do anything to question my authority, I will personally throw you off this ship. Is that clear?" she stated in a very serious voice and with a venomous glare. Pinkie gulped as she gave a nervous grin, "O-o-okie-dokie, I understand." "Good...," and with that she let go, "And that goes the same for the rest of your crew." she added as she casted her gaze at Fluttershy, Twilight, and Rainbow before turning around and headed below deck to check to see if all the important supplies have been brought onboard, the three guards following closely behind. "What's her problem?" Rainbow asked "She probably doesn't like pirates much. We better make this clear with Azure, Rose, Bronze, and Silver as well. Make sure we don't give her a reason to throw us off this boat." Twilight replied. "Twilight, I did want to ask you a quick question." "Oh?" "Why do some of the characters here look like ponies we know? I mean it's obvious Azure and Rose look like Colgate and Roseluck, and the grand council...they all look like-" "I'm well aware of that Rainbow." Twilight interrupted, understanding the question, "I'm just guessing, so I might be wrong, but I think the story might be trying to help us feel comfortable, if that makes any sense." "How does making a few characters look familiar supposed to make us feel comfortable?" "It brings familiarity, a sense of still being 'home' if you will," Twilight replied, "By having certain individuals look like others that we know, it makes this feel less foreign and less nerve-wrecking." "And the book is doing this?" Rainbow asked, somewhat amazed by the idea. "It's more likely that it's an effect of the spell than the book, Rainbow." After a couple more hours, the entire crew was already onboard and ready to set sail. The rest of the crew consisted of about 16 naval ponies, each one usually a guard and wearing only a light silver collar to mark their status, this was excluding the captain and her first officer. The first officer was a burly looking yellow stallion with a dark orange mane and tail coloration, and his name, Arrow Point. The group were all ready to go, but they unfortunately were still stuck at port sitting around and picking the dirt out from under their hooves. They would've left a short while ago, but it seems Counselor Accordant's arrival had been delayed. Eventually they saw two carriages arrive at the port before each of the navy crew members got off their lazy flanks and got into a formation they could properly welcome the high-ranking draconquus. Though there were confused as to why there were two carriages rather than one. As both doors of the carriages opened, Accordant and Aurora came out of one and Crystal Wings the other. The three elites took a brief moment to quickly have a word with one another before Crystal Wings started walking toward the other end of the pier toward another waiting boat, and Accordant and Aurora began approaching the navy's boat. The captain decided to meet them at the bottom of the ramp to properly greet them and welcome Accordant onto her ship. Along side, her first officer. "It's an honor to have you traveling with us Grand Counselor." she greeted as she gave a slight bow "It's my pleasure. I hope everything is prepared for our departure." "Yes, sir. Everything you had asked for has been brought on board." "Very good." he remarked and grinned. "Are you coming along as well, your honor?" Sparkling Seas asked as she looked at Aurora. "No, I will not be traveling with you. There's much that needs to be done here in the city, lest we run the risk of more disorder from the citizens," she respectfully replied, "Which is why I find it rather discomforting to know Counselor Accordant will be traveling along with you." she then turned her attention to him, "I do hope you know what you are doing." "I'm quite certain that I do." he replied as he momentarily took his monocle off and began cleaning it off with his sleeve, "I do trust that Captain Sparkling Seas will be able to keep the ship orderly and will be able to successfully complete her duty, but one simply can't be too careful. I wish to come along to help keep a sense of order on board the ship, as well as make sure the crew truly makes progress on this journey of theirs." he explained as he placed his monocle back over his eye. "I'm still uneasy on the matter, but I will push it aside. If you really are sure," Aurora remarked with a sigh before looking back at Sparkling Seas, "I bid thee and your crew safe travels Captain, I hope you return back to us safely." Captain Sparkling Seas merely gave a firm nod and a salute as Aurora turned to return to the carriages. Accordant started up the ramp to board the ship, behind him was the captain and the first officer. "If everything is in order, shall we set sail Captain?" Accordant stated as soon as he was onboard the ship. The captain merely nodded to him, before turning to look at her first officer, "Mr. Arrow if you please." "Of course Captain. All hooves to your stations!" he shouted out loudly. Everypony quickly running about as they all prepared to leave port and go out to the open seas. Most of the pegasi crew members, including Rainbow, flew up to untie the sails, while a few unicorns and earth pony members got to work untying the ship from the dock and pulling the anchor up. "Miss Twilight Sparkle, if you will, what is our heading?" the captain asked, as she and Arrow took their position near the helmspony. "We're heading towards the Triangle Islands, which is...." she paused for a moment to look back at the maps and a compass for accuracy, "About 23 degrees northwest from here." Sparkling Seas gave a quick nod then looked turning her attention to the helmspony, "You heard her, our heading is 23 degrees northwest." The pony at the helm merely gave an acknowledging grunt as the ship started moving away from the port. "You, Rainbow Dash, are the spotter for your crew. I want you up on that mainmast," she commanded loudly as she pointed up at the mainmast, where a platform that was probably the crow's nest was, "Until we hit deep water, I want you up there and keeping an eye out for other ships and outcrops." Rainbow groaned, but saluted as she said, "Aye aye Captain." and quickly took her spot up at the platform. Soon they were all out on the open ocean, and were well on their way toward the Triangle Islands, where hopefully they'd find the real criminals and clear their names. Once she was sure the ship was well on its way, the captain and her first officer went below deck to check on the rest of the crew. Captain Sparkling Seas was also interested in seeing the condition of the room she will be sleeping while at sea, which she was sharing with her first officer, Arrow Point, since she had to relinquish the captain's quarters to Accordant. Twilight spent a moment to look over at the ocean, and back at Sapphire Port which was gradually decreasing in size as they sailed further and further away from the city, before turning her attention back to her maps and charts. Twilight wanted to be absolutely certain they were headed in the right direction. Despite knowing that if they were to fail this quest, she and the others wouldn't really die per say, the idea of being beheaded still felt gravely concerning. Besides, making sure you were right on the dot about something never hurt. There were a couple of obstacles along the way, but Twilight had naturally already done the proper calculations to estimate how each would affect their travel. With some luck, the trip should only take a couple of days. Just as Twilight was about to begin recalculating her calculations for the third time that morning, a sudden loud thud was heard as Rainbow groggily, and very roughly, landed behind her. "Rainbow...?" Twilight asked in a curious tone as she turned to look at the pegasus, whose looking a bit dazed for some reason. Rainbow didn't reply, but quickly staggered herself onto her hooves and shakily galloped over to the railing before emptying her stomach over the side. Twilight winced as Rainbow emptied her stomach of what she had eaten that morning before walking over to her. Rainbow groaned loudly, as Twilight began patting her back. Rainbow did feel inclined to push Twilight's hoof away, or at least voice her discontent about the action, but couldn't before feeling more of her breakfast rush up her throat. "Miss Twilight, I wish to have a-" they heard Accordant state as the draconquus walked up to where they were before pausing, "My word, what's the matter with her?" "Um, I think she might be a little bit seasick." Twilight replied in a concerned voice, "She was up near the crow's nest since we left, and the rocking can be far more pronounced up there." "A pirate...suffering from seasickness?!" he exclaimed in amusement, before he started laughing, "Now I truly have heard it all." Rainbow groaned at the indignity of it all as she dry heaved once, still feeling much like something the cat dragged in. Accordant gave one last chuckle before saying, "Well, I do hope she feels better soon. When you can, I would like to have a word with you, Twilight, in regards to our intended path. Must ensure that you do intend to return the Stone of Peace and all that." before turning around and returning to the captain's cabin. Rainbow's bout of seasickness eventually passed, though she still felt pretty bad, and just as quickly retreated down below deck for the time being. Twilight did still have some concerns, but put it aside for now as she grabbed one of the maps she had in her magic and started toward the captain's cabin to talk to Accordant. The rest of the day until nightfall was rather uneventful, during that time they had settled who was staying in which room. Twilight, Pinkie, Rainbow, and Fluttershy had all chosen to stick together in one of the rooms, while the rest of their crew, Azure, Rose, Bronze, and Silver, were in another on the other side of the ship. The individual rooms weren't really all that different, just a simple space with a door for the sake of privacy, window, and four hammocks to sleep in. It's now after dinner, and while the food was less than satisfactory, it was at least filling. Twilight was currently back at her station behind the helmspony, who still hasn't said a single word to her despite Twilight having tried a couple of times to introduce herself to the pony, and was using a handheld telescope to look at the stars in the sky. She had tried casting the spell again a few times when nopony was looking, but to no avail. "Okay, so the Star of Gaia is over there. That's....about 20 degree's over the horizon. So the charts are fairly accurate, though it could use some improvement." she remarked. "You're looking at the stars again Twilight?" she heard Rainbow remark. Twilight tore her gaze from the telescope to see Rainbow approaching her, "Of course, you know me. Besides, it's a beautiful night to do some stargazing." Rainbow scoffed before saying, "If you say so." and rolled her eyes, "Also, how are you doing with that spell?" she quickly whispered to her. "No good, I can't seem to cast it right now. I'm not sure if it's this character, or if there's some other underlying reason." Twilight whispered back. "Great...So, hope you don't mind me keeping you company. Pinkie's doing the dishes down below -Boooring, Fluttershy already went to bed, and I'd talk to the others, but they seem either busy, or they don't want to talk to me." "No, not at all. It's nice to have somepony other than the pony behind the helm here." and gestured towards the helmspony, "She's good company, but she doesn't seem to want to talk to me. Every time I've tried to introduce myself she makes some kind of grunt in response." "Eh, she's probably not the talk-y type anyway." Rainbow scoffed "I suppose." Twilight sighed, "By the way, I think you owe me 20 bits, or it's equivalent in gold pieces, Rainbow." "What?!" Rainbow jaw dropped "I found this in the market after I left the library yesterday." Twilight explained as she looked at the telescope she had been using, "I'm pretty sure it belongs you." and levitated it over to Rainbow. "Come on Twilight, what makes you think that's mine?" and tried pushing it away. "Well..., outside the engraved initials on it of 'RD', I did notice that the impression of what looks like your cutie mark is also engraved onto it." "Are you serious?!" and quickly grabbed the telescope, and turned it till she found the exact engraving that Twilight was talking about, "Whoa...this really is mine. Or...at least the character I am's, right?" "Mm-hm." Twilight nodded, "And as such, it's technically yours." Rainbow remained silent as she looked down at the telescope now in her fore-hooves, her expression one of confusion and clear internal conflict about the object she was holding. Twilight clearly noticed it, "Is something wrong Rainbow?" "What...? Oh, it's just...It's not really me to be caught with something like this. I mean, seriously, this is like one of your egghead things." "Isn't that what you used to call my books?" Twilight asked with an amused tone and expression. "Hey! It was just 'Daring Do' that isn't egghead-y, the others are still pretty boring." Rainbow stated, as Twilight rolled her eyes. "Well, if you don't want the telescope, can I have it? I know I'll make good use of its capabilities." "No way." "Wha-huh?! But, I thought-" "It's still mine, and that makes it cool. I just feel really weird about it." Rainbow remarked before pointing the instrument up at the sky and looked through it. Twilight smirked in response, "You should look at those stars right there." she then pointed a line of three stars, before Rainbow started looking in that direction, "It's a fairly identifiable constellation, it's-" "Orion." Rainbow interrupted, "That's Orion's Belt isn't it?" "Uh, um...Yes, that's Orion's Belt....If you look a little bit in this direction, you'll be able to see another-" "Canis Major." she interrupted again, "And the one north of that in the sky is Gemini." Rainbow then looked at Twilight. Rainbow was slightly taken back by Twilight's expression, which was one of complete and utter shock. "What?" "H-how did...?! But I thought..." "Hey, I know I'm not exactly smart like you Twilight, but I'm not that dumb!" Rainbow stated with a glare. "I wasn't going to say that. It's just...It's just you're the last one I expected to know anything about the stars. Ever since I became your friend, you never quite showed much interest in something like this, knowing the names of constellations." Twilight explained, "If anything, I always figured you didn't care for astronomy." "Okay, I guess you got me there." Rainbow stated as she gave a nervous grin, "It's really more of a pegasus thing. You see, since pegasus ponies are in charge of retrieving the birds during Winter Wrap Up, we need to know where we're fly, especially at night, and the stars is one way to get our bearings." "But I thought none of the pegasi from the Weather Team ever needed to fly during the dark to get any of the migratory birds." "Ponyville's doesn't, but some other areas do. Some areas, the birds like to REALLY fly south for the winter, and requires a flight nearly 24-hours to and from to get them back." "Wow, that's good to know. So what other constellations do you know?" "Just the important ones really. Like you said, I don't care much for these kinds of stuff, so I just remember the big ones that'll help me find which way I'm flying at night." "Well, do you know what that star is? And what makes it so special?" Twilight asked as she pointed to a particularly bright star south of them. "Hey, I don't want to be lectured about stars." "I promise, I'm not going to lecture you about them. Unless you ask of course, I'd be more than happy to if you asked. I just want to see if you know what's so special about it." Rainbow sighed before using the telescope to look where Twilight was pointing, "Do you mean the Southern Star?" to which Twilight simply nodded, "Isn't that just so you know which way is south?" "Navigationally speaking, yes, but there is more to it. The star is also known as the Star of Gaia." "Flashy name, but what's so cool about that?" "Well, were you aware that the supposed name for Princess Celestia and Princess Luna's mother happens to be Gaia?" Rainbow's eyes shot open to the size of saucers at that answer, "Are you serious?!" Twilight didn't respond, but looked toward the star in question, "According to some unicorn texts, the South Star was one of the first stars that shined in the night sky when Princess Luna took up responsibility for the night. Supposedly it was in dedication to their mom, at least that's what I remember from those old texts." "..." "So..., is that 'cool' enough in your opinion?" "Are you kidding, it's suppose to be in dedication to their mom, Twilight. Of course that's cool! It's beyond cool!" Twilight giggled in response, "I thought you might say that." "Is there any other cool stuff about the stars you could tell me?" Rainbow asked excitedly "I thought you didn't like astronomy." she remarked amusingly "Only the boring stuff, cool stuff I don't mind hearing." "Supposedly all the stars and constellations have some story behind them. Maybe not as impressive as saying it was dedicated to somepony's mother, but each are quite unique." "If I stayed around, could you tell me?" "I'd be more than glad to Rainbow." "Just tell me the cool stuff, I don't want to know the boring details." "Well, why don't we start with Gemini? Would you like me to tell you?" to which Rainbow nodded For the next couple of hours, Twilight tried to briefly explain what she knew about Luna's stars. Most of it were relatively boring, and Rainbow certainly let Twilight know when it did, but Rainbow did listen with interest. It just never occurred to her that the stars had something more to them than just letting her know which way was north or south. Eventually, both friends started to feel drowsy so Twilight decided to end their night time lessons on the constellations at that point, and head down to bunk for the night.