Moondancer's misguided mission

by Paradise Oasis

Interlude Two: Island of Yesteryear

Interlude Two: Island of Yesteryear

"Wow, this place is so incredible!" Salty said with a sigh, as he lay back in his hammock, and sipped a coconut full of lemonade. "If it weren't for my wife Fizzy I wouldn't ever wanna leave!"

It had been the third day since the storm came up, and Barnacle still had not been able to guide his ship thought the mysterious maelstrom that surrounded the island. The crew had been taking turns on shore leave on the island, and the current batch were currently all surrounding Moki, giving the tropical beauty pearls and other trinkets they had fished out of the cove.

"Really, this is all so very sweet and thoughtful of you... really." The Polynesian filly giggled. "But it wouldn't be right for me to show favor to just one of you."

"Aw, c'mon missy!" One called out. "Surely you'd love ta come back with me on our ship?"

"Naw, she wants ta come back wif me!" Another sailor called out. "Say you'll be mine, me lovely, an' I'll take ya away from all this!"

"My, your men certainly are trying to catch my daughter's eye!" Papi Sunbright told Barnacle, as the two watched the spectacle from the deck of the chieftain’s hut. "I've never seen so many frogs trying to capture one fly."

"Aye must apologize for that, me good host." The captain replied sheepishly. "They be usually better behaved than this, but the lads have been at sea fer quite some time."

"I understand completely." He the chief replied with a laugh, as he trotted inside, and retrieved a navigation chart. "Now, here is the map, that will show you how to navigate though the storm that eternally surrounds the island."

"Ye, have a chart, that can predict the weather patterns?" Barnacle asked, astounded. "By the Horsemaster, what a valuable treasure!"

"Only for this island's maelstrom, I'm afraid." Papi replied with a sigh. "For you see, there is more to this storm than-"

"Say no more, my good stallion." Barnacle held his hoof up, silencing the chief. "Aye assumed it was some kind o' bewitchery when aye first arrived. We deal with this sort o' stuff all the time back home."

"We will be sad to see you go, my good Barnacle, for we have greatly enjoyed having visitors here on our island, after so many moons." The chief told the pony captain.

"Nonsense, Chief Sunbright." The old sea dog replied. "It is we who should be thanking ye, fer yer generous hospitality."

"If you wish to do that, then take my son, Ikki, with you." Papi encouraged the captain, as the teenage colt came trotting out of the cabin. "He has a strong set of hooves, and will be valuable on your journey!"

"Are ye sure ye wish ta go, lad?" Barnacle asked, taking a puff on his pipe. "We shan't be back towards this island for many a month, perhaps longer. Ye ready ta be parted from yer family fer that long?"

"Oh, yes!" Ikki replied, dragging his bag of belongings along behind him. "I have so wanted to see the sea, but never had the chance to do so before!"

"Then go speak with Salty, about gettin' yer things ta the ship." Barnacle replied with a laugh. "We've been havin' a need, fer a new swabbie!"
Away from the others, Bianco was trotting through the forest with Pipsqueak, as the long-shipwrecked sailor was telling the sailor how he had first come here.

"We were seven weeks outta port from Baltimare, when the mother of all storms swamped our ship!" The Equestrian earth colt told the Pegasus. "That nasty storm tore our ship ta pieces, dashing me mates against the rocks! Only I, all by meself, was able ta swim ta this island. Even as the rest o me comrades went down to King Leo's locker, Luna rest their souls!"

"So you're originally from Equestria?" Bianco asked, assuming he meant the southern colonies that still existed to the present day. "What made you want to take up a profession as dangerous as sailing?"

"Aye 'allways wanted to be a pirate as a foal, I did! Dressed up as a pirate every Nightmare night so's I could pretend!" Pip replied proudly. "Princess Luna always did favor me since I was a wee lad, she did. And sailing under her beautiful moon was the bestest way I could think of spendin' the rest o me days, it was!"

"How very... romantic sounding." Bianco replied with a chuckle, amused by the Equestrian pony's silly alicornist superstition. "Are you sure you wish to return with us, though? The chief seems to wish you to remain on the island."

"Blimey, ain't that truth." Pipsqueak sighed in annoyance. "He even offered me the hand o' his daughter so's I wouldn't leave, he did! Said I didn't belong out in that world anymore."

"Maybe he's right." Bianco replied, looking over at Salty pulling all the disgruntled sailors away from Moki. "Maybe there is something on this island worth staying here for."

"Ahh, Moki is a fine filly, Ta be sure. An I wouldn't mind takin 'er with me, if she wanted." Pipsqueak replied. "But I've been trapped 'ere for far to long, old chap. The sooner I get off this bloody island, the better." Pip slowly closed his eyes, and looked down. "All I want to do is be free again, Bianco. All I want ta do is go home."

....

"Raise the mainsail!" Barancle's voice bellowed, as the Saucy Mare glided out of the rocky cove. "Look lively now, lads! We're approaching the maelstrom!"

After a farewell feast, and many tearful goodbyes the previous night, Barnacle crew had returned to the ship with a fresh supply of water and provisions. The stallions all braced themselves, for the difficult trial ahead of them.

"Can you believe it? This is so exciting!" Ikki squealed in delight, as he help another colt raise the flag. "This'll be the first time I've ever been away from my island!"

"Blimey, you'll love the outside world, Ikki!" Pip yelled up to him, as he helped tie the mainsail. "First thing I'm gonna do when we get home, I'm takin ya to Manehatten for a good old fashioned ice cream cone!"

"Quiet it down, boys!" Salty barked to the two of them. "We're approaching the maelstrom!"

The ship quickly passed back into the mass of clouds, rain and thunder. Just as before, the ship was torn about and tossed, as the deckhands scurried this way and that, trying to keep the ship in one piece. The first officer held steadfastly to the wheel, praying to the horsemaster he kept on the narrow path Papi's chart had indicated.

"Steady as she goes, Mister Salty!" Barnacle Barked, holding onto the ship's railing. "We're almost out o' the maelstrom!"

And their captain was right, for soon the storm clouds began to break up, and the rays of light began to break through the clouds.

"We made it!" Salty cried, throwing his sailor's cap into the air. "Horsemaster be praised, we actually made it!"

The entire ship erupted into cheers, and Bianco actually hugged Ikki in excitement. "We did it! We actually did it!"

"Well done, lads." Captain Barnacle replied, lighting his pipe in satisfaction. "Aye am proud of ye all."

As the ship slowly glided away from the island, Bianco dashed back to the spot where he had last seen Pip.

"Pipsqueak we made it! You're finally free!" He looked around frantically, trying to find his new friend. "We're away from the island! You can finally go..."

There, on the deck, was the shirt and Bandana that the brave young colt had been wearing, laying on top of a pile of dust. And all at once, Bianco's face suddenly fell.

"...home."

Comments

[La Vallett1]

RIP Pip.

[Al-1701]

Applejack gets to be immortal (though such an existence sucks), Cheerilee gets to Xerox herself, yet poor Pip is dust.

I can't wait to see how things are going on the homefront.

[Alex Warlorn]

3274420

We can hope at least he's with Princess Luna now.

[Paradise Oasis]

3274904>>3274943

Is he? Strange Ikki didn't disinigrate, too.

[FleetlordAvatar]

Poor Pip

Magic like that...it's...unpredictable.

[Al-1701]

3276034 I figured since Ikki was born on the island, its magicks was part of him. Are you suggesting Dream Valley will be adding another living relic to its population?

[Paradise Oasis]

3278360

No, but Just wait....

[Alex Warlorn]

3278708

Oh. So it'll just take LONGER to kill him? :-( That feels just mean.

[Alex Warlorn]

3276241

Another victim of this twisted trope. http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/NoOntologicalInertia Applied whenever anything remotely magical is in play.

It still await when someone casts a fireball spell, and casting a dispell magic causes the tree to reverse from being ashes.

[Al-1701]

3279493 Admittedly, I'm using the No Ontological Inertia in my own story as well, so I can't really complain. It's really for the convenience of the author.

An immortal character becoming mortal and instantly aging to dust is popular in fiction. I think Star Trek's Requiem for Methuselah is one of the few cases where an immortal character becoming mortal result in them just starting to age again normally.

[Alex Warlorn]

3281234

Ironically the expanded universe, which I'll admit is an absolute self-contradicting mess, had Flint FAKE him losing his immortality and simply moving on.

[Al-1701]

3281365 Especially since McCoy had come to this conclusion from examining him. I don't know how you fake aging. But again, it's the non-canonical expanded universe which is never sure what it's talking about.

Back to this story: Can I voice my hatred of the windegoes? They're like the boogie men of ponydom, and the ponies can't seem to even have a heated debate without them coming out and threatening to freeze everything. Though, I hated the general presentation of history in Hearth's Warming Eve and the context of unification.

[Paradise Oasis]

3281436

I will admit the Windigoes can be annoying, that's why I created ways around them.

And guys, things are not as bad as they seem with Pip. I've got a good plan for that, please just be patient.