Voyage of Peace

by Blueninetails

Chapter 4

As the sun rose on a new day, all the levels of the ship were buzzing with activity once more, though one deck level was particularly more active than the others. Most of the crew were currently busy cleaning up a mess created by Bronze when he and Silver were bringing up some fruit to the top deck, and he accidentally slipped, dropping the crate of supplies all over the third floor deck.

As much as Capt. Sparkling Seas found the incident rather irritating, she was still rather thankful it had actually happened; the accident gave her something to make Pinkie do, who had gone further than expected of her appointed duties yesterday and finished what would've been a list of chores for the entire cruise in less than a day. The Captain was still bewildered how Pinkie managed to do it.

While most of the crew were rather busy, the others were busy managing the top deck of the ship and mostly preoccupied keeping the ship on course and readying the vessel, and themselves, for its first dangerous obstacle on the journey. One made even more precarious by the presence of a morning fog.

"Are you certain about this Twilight Sparkle?" Capt. Sparkling Seas inquired, "I understand that we are a tight schedule, but is it really worth risking this ship to go through a dangerous island pass?"

"I'm afraid so, I've estimated that if we went through the we would cut time it takes to simply go around by at least 30 minutes." Twilight replied

"Thirty minutes isn't exactly a convincingly large amount of time."

"I did say at least. I estimated it would be a full hour to navigate around the island completely, given that the current direction of the winds, we would have to go around on the southern side of the island to go around, and according to my maps the southern area of the island is dotted with sandbars, pillars, and several large boulders that lay about only a foot under the water's surface."

"I don't think it would be as risky as going through the pass though." Accordant rang in.

"It isn't, but it's slow going. I have no doubt with the usage of magic and a little extra push with the pegasi onboard, we'll be able to navigate through it, but that's if we're lucky enough to coordinate all our movements properly."

"Right. And northern portion of the island would have us against the wind." Azure remarked outloud to herself.

"Understood. Have Rainbow back up on the crow's nest before we enter the pass. We're gonna need her keen eye to see the rocks in the pass before we enter." Capt. Sparkling Seas stated before turning her attention back to the front.

Accordant pulled up a scroll and quill using his magic and started writing down several notes regarding the decision to go through the pass.

While they were doing that, Twilight and Azure turned their attention back on Rainbow, who was suffering another bout of seasickness after spending an hour up in the crow's nest again that morning.

"Are you feeling better Rainbow?" Twilight asked with a concerned tone.

"I'm fine." she replied as she pulled herself away from the rails, sat herself down, and wiped her mouth with a hoof of any saliva.

"I might have something that will help with seasickness, though it will take me a moment to remember where I had stored it." Azure remarked, "Until then, I wouldn't recommend that you spend much time in the crow's nest as you do Rainbow. I'll admit though, I do wonder as to why this is an issue now when it never been in the past."

"Right now I'm just guessing, it might be the ship's doing." Twilight explained, "I believe our ship wasn't as large as this one, so the mainmast was never as tall as it is on this ship."

"Hm...Perhaps." she agreed with a nod, before heading back to her cabin to find her potion for seasickness.

Rainbow groaned loudly in disgust of herself. By this point, at least half the ship's crew was aware of her problem, and she hated that. She also hated the fact that Twilight knew and she was trying to comfort her, it annoyed her to no ends. Though she did have to admit, it felt kinda nice to know somepony was concerned for her. "I'm really hating this trip so far. Of all the ponies on board, why did it have to be me who has seasickness?"

"It's due to your position as our spotter Rainbow. Seasickness isn't uncommon for those who've spend far too much time up in the crow's nest."

Rainbow snorted in discontent.

"If it helps, I think I might know a spell that can help. It's only temporary though."

"Augh...., if it means I get to keep lunch later, then fine. I don't care, cast it."

"It'll only take a moment. You might feel some warmth around the area of your stomach." Twilight then closed her eyes as her horn started to glow.

True to Twilight's words, an area of Rainbow's belly started to feel warm. It wasn't really unpleasant per say, much more like the warmth from the first bite of fresh soup on a stormy day, but it was a bit higher than she expected.

Once the glow of Twilight's horn stopped, so did the warm feeling, and Rainbow was suddenly felt a whole lot better.

"Aw, yeah! That did the trick!" she excitedly stated as she did a small back-flip in the air, "Thanks Twilight, I owe ya."

"Remember what I said, it's only temporary. Just ask me again if you want me to cast the spell on you again. In the meantime though, I suggest taking Azure's medication. I'm not really the doctor anyway."

"No, but at least you know what you were doing." Rainbow commented, "Where did you learn that anyway?"

"A spell Princess Celestia taught me when I was younger. I got sick with a gastral disease, which I believe was rotavirus, and caused me mostly abdominal pain, lethargy, and vomiting." Twilight replied as she turned her attention back to the horizon in front of the ship, checking how close they were to the island she had conversed with Capt. Sparkling Seas and Accordant, before turning her attention back to Rainbow.

Rainbow merely nodded, her expression implying she only caught half of that explanation.

Twilight rolled her eyes and sighed. "The stomach flu."

"Why didn't you just say that?" Rainbow stated in an irritated tone.

"While it didn't help with the pain in my stomach or the fact I was lethargic the entire time, I had issues with losing most of what I ate, so the spell came in handy."

Rainbow remained silent as Twilight went back her maps, before breaking the silence by saying, "Thanks....Thanks Twilight." as she blushed.

"My pleasure, Rainbow. What are friends for, right?"

Upon arriving on the island, Twilight and about 3 other unicorn crew members helped use magic to slow the ship down to a near halt as they approached the mouth of the pass that split the island in half. The pass was really was something of an odd occurrence on the island, it appeared to be a wide river that cut the island in half despite that both ends were connected to the same ocean. The walls of it were steep cliff peaks that stood higher than the main mast. Most of the crew on board, especially Capt. Sparkling Seas, stared at the pass with concerned expressions.

The pass was fairly wide, more than enough for a their ship to fit in, but the appearance of a boulder near the entrance seemed to forewarn that it won't be so easy to pass. Unfortunately, the fog hasn't lifted on it's own as of yet, and a few of the pegasi on board ordered to help clear it out it only resolved the issue slightly. Rainbow wasn't allowed to help due to an argument she had with Capt. Sparkling Seas regarding her position to wishing to take any orders, which led to the Captain not willing to trust the cyan pegasus, at least for the moment, with the ponies under her command.

"This wretched weather still hasn't passed." Capt. Sparkling Seas complained outloud to no pony in particular. "How goes the progress by our pegasi?"

"Very little I'm afraid, this fog refuses to disperse ma'am." Arrow Point replied

She gave a loud frustrated sigh.

"Told you that you should've let me help." Rainbow stated cockily with a smirk.

Capt. Sparkling Seas responded with a growl, "Perhaps I was not clear earlier, you are not to undermine my command. Unless you wish to be fed to the sharks, then by all means, keep trying."

"Just saying, I could've easily done this all by myself."

"Rainbow...Now's probably not the best time to boast." Twilight whispered to her friend in a scolding tone, before turning her attention towards the captain, "With all due respect Captain, I'm sure Rainbow means well. Given the circumstances though, perhaps you could at least give her a chance?"

Capt. Sparkling Seas didn't say a word, but turned to look at Twilight with an unamused look on her face.

"I can vouch for her abilities with the weather myself. It couldn't hurt to at least try."

"Hm...Very well. I shall give her one chance to clear the fog."

"About time." Rainbow rang in before quickly taking to the air to join the rest of the other pegasi that were already up there. As soon as she was up there, Rainbow quickly added her strength to the group and the fog quickly started to clear up.

After about ten minutes or so, most of the fog had been cleared away, but it seemed that a fair amount remained stubborn and refused to disperse. At least it was enough for them to at least see a few yards out in front of them.

Rainbow was naturally frustrated with the results, she had strongly believed after she had helped, the fog would be completely gone, yet part of it still remained.

Capt. Sparkling Seas seem to take some mild amusement, but didn't show it as she quickly ordered the the crew to ready themselves in the event the ship sustains damage as they go through the pass. She also ordered Rainbow to take position at the bow of the ship to keep a steady eye for any dangers in the water.

Fluttershy positioned herself next to Rainbow to act as a second pair of eyes, while Pinkie and Twilight were on the starboard side of the boat to help monitor exactly how close they were to anything from that side. Twilight had been given temporary command over Pinkie and about two stallions that were there and would give a shout if anything was about to hit them from that side. The others were stationed on the other side of the ship, the port side, to do the same.

"Let us get going Captain." Accordant complained, "Our stopping in attempt to clear that fog has already left us behind my calculated schedule." He turned his attention back to a parchment he wrote notes on.

"We were just about to your honor." she stated, before turning her attention to the helm pony. "Proceed with caution."

The helmspony gave a nod in understanding before the boat started moving into the pass.

As they entered, parts of the crew looked up at the steep cliff walls in wonder and caution. This was especially true for Twilight who couldn't help but notice something about the cliff that caught her attention.

"Pinkie, would you mind looking up at the cliffs above us?" Twilight quietly requested of her friend.

Pinkie did just that as she looked up at the cliffs, "What's there to look at Twilight?" she asked in a cheerful tone, "It is a nice cliff. Very sedimenty, and moist from the fog, and...covered in moss. You know, one of my sisters might know what kind of rock this is, my sisters do li-"

"I'm well aware about your family running a rock farm Pinkie." Twilight interrupted with a slight smirk, "I'm also quite aware it was more you sisters' forte when it comes to geology-related matters."

Pinkie nodded as if to confirm exactly what Twilight had just said.

"What I meant was to look at the cliffs above us and the fog." Twilight pointed up, "The way some of the fog around the cliffs' edges, it almost appears as if it's flowing into the pass, don't you think?"

Pinkie looked up at the cliff again, along with the other two ponies that were with them, and noted how the fog did seem to drift downward into the pass.

"She's right, it does appear that the fog is falling in toward us." one of the sailor ponies stated.

"Boulder on the port side!" they heard Rainbow shout.

"I hope that's not a sign of a bad omen." the other remarked about the fog before quickly pointing out how the ship was seemingly getting a bit too close to the cliff on their side for comfort

"Getting too close on the starboard side!" Twilight shouted out to Capt. Sparkling Seas

The Captain nodded before making a gesture at the helmspony, as the helmspony bit her lower lip and adjusted the ship so it wouldn't graze either the boulder or the side of the cliff. It was relatively clear that she was not having a fun time maneuvering the ship in this pass.

Up front, Fluttershy silently pointed at another boulder on the port side to Rainbow.

"I see it. Another boulder on the port side!" Rainbow shouted.

"Rainbow...um, that is if you don't mind me saying...I didn't know you knew the parts of a boat." Fluttershy remarked as she hid her face behind her mane

"It's just this character, Fluttershy. We're pirates remember?" Rainbow replied with a smirk, "I couldn't care knowing this stuff. I'm not a sailor."

"Oh...right...I'm sorry for asking..."

"Hey, it's alright. Like I said, I don't care to know this stuff. Makes me sound nerdy like Twilight." Rainbow explained, "But, I think we better be happy I know them. Being the spotter and all, if I didn't know this, we probably would've -Starboard side!- we probably would've been in a lot of trouble by now."

Fluttershy timidly nodded in agreement.

Just as they passed another boulder, which nearly made passing through impossible without at least damaging the boat due to the rock's size, they started to faintly hear singing. It didn't really have any distinguishable words to it, more like humming or vocalizations. Either way, it was being sung beautifully.

"Does anypony else hear that?" Rainbow stated outloud to the others.

"Keep your eyes up front." Capt. Sparkling Seas commanded, though she was looking about wondering about the source of sound herself.

For several seconds the crew curiously looked all around themselves, as the singing started to sound like it was all around them, just before every male present fell to their knees as their minds became hazy.

"What in the-?! Arrow, what's wrong with you?" Capt. Sparkling Seas asked as she looked at her first officer, "Arrow Point do you hear me...?"

Rainbow and Fluttershy looked back at the others as they heard the captain.

Pinkie was staring at the two ponies that were next to her, "It can't be nappy time already. Come on, wakey-wakey sleepy headies." then tried pulling one up back into a standing position, and failing at that, "You're gonna miss the best part, and lunch."

"Pinkie, I don't think that's helping." Twilight stated to her friend, then looked toward where Azure and Rose were, "Azure...Any ideas what to make of this?"

Azure seemed to have preoccupied herself with looking over Bronze and Silver, finding both had ridiculous grins on their faces, "I believe we both have similar ideas what is going on Twilight."

Twilight looked back at the stallions she had been giving temporary charge over and muttered to herself, "Sirens..." then looked towards Captain Sparkling Seas, "Captain, I think it may be sirens."

"Sirens? You mean like the ones-?" Rainbow asked

"Yes, the same ones that lure sailors and their ships to Davy Hooves locker." Twilight interrupted

"Don't t-those only affect guys though?" Fluttershy timidly asked

"Yeah, those only affect guys." Rainbow confirmed loudly.

"Indeed. Luckily we have quite a few mares on board, so we should be safe." Capt. Sparkling Seas agreed, "Rainbow, Fluttershy, keep your eyes up front. Same with you Twilight, Pinkie, Azure, and Rose."

Just then a large stone fell from the top of the cliff in front of them, resulting in a loud 'Plop' as it fell in the water.

They all looked up in time to see what almost looked like the silhouette of a pegasus with shimmering wings sprint away from the cliff's edge and out of sight.

"W-w-what was that...?!" Fluttershy asked as she started backing away from the ship's bow, just before something swiftly glided in from behind them, quickly grabbing one of the stallions and diving down below the water in front of the ship.

"What in Equestria was that?!" Rainbow shouted, not entirely sure what to make of what had just happened, "Was that a si-?"

"Twilight! Behind you!" Azure shouted, interrupting Rainbow

Twilight was able to turn to see a dark-yellow colored pony with a blue mane, before quickly ducking in time to avoid its hoof. After missing, the pony jumped down and back into the water.

Two others then appeared on the port side near Rose, one grabbing a hold of one of the lulled stallions nearest to them, the other grabbing onto Bronze. The one who grabbed onto the stallion quickly pulled him over the side and into the water as it dove back down, the other was just about to do the same to Bronze, but Azure had managed to grab onto one of the dog's paws with her magic and began struggling to keep him on board.

"Hold tight, Azure!" Rose rang out as she grabbed a sword from one of the stallions and took a close swing at the siren's head, frightening it to return without its prize and causing Azure to fall backwards onto her rump.

"My appreciation Golden Rose."

"Curse these creatures!" Capt. Sparkling Seas shouted as she managed to chase away one that was going after either Accordant or Arrow Point, "Rainbow, Fluttershy, get those sails fully open! I want out of this pass, now!"

Fluttershy and Rainbow nodded and took to the air. Before Rainbow could touch down on the mainmast, one of the sirens jumped down from the cliff and glided till it tackled Rainbow in mid-air causing both to fall back down to the deck.

Rainbow shook her head to clear slight daze she fell into when she hit the deck, before looking up at the face of the siren that tackled her.

"Get offa me!" Rainbow shouted before kicking the siren off of herself.

Once off of her, Rainbow was able to get a good look at it. It had dark blue scales covering its body, with an even darker mane color. The lower part of it's body seemed almost serpentine, though it seemed to still within the same size of an average pony, the upper part clearly looked like a pony's, and it had these structures on its back which almost looked like wings except it was made up of transparent scales that shined with a rainbow-ish tint.

It stared at Rainbow for a brief moment before attempting to grab onto her again.

Before Rainbow could react to it, a blast of purple energy stuck it, tossing it off the ship. She looked toward where it had come from to see Twilight with her horn glowing.

Twilight released the focus on her magic before rushing over to Rainbow, "Rainbow, are you alright?"

"I'm good. No weirdo creature is getting the best of me." she replied getting back onto her hooves, "Where's Pinkie?"

Twilight pointed up toward the main mast, where Pinkie was helping open the sails, "She just ran up there when that siren tackled you."

"Hurry with those sails." Capt. Sparkling Seas shouted as she and the helmspony tried their hardest to avoid much of the boulders, though at this point, they've already grinded up against two boulders and once against the side of the cliff on the starboard side.

As soon as both Pinkie and Fluttershy got the main sail open, Fluttershy flew to the one near the back of the ship, the mizzenmast, and Pinkie slid back down and toward the ones near the front, the foremast.

"I got the foremast Pinks, just help Twilight." Rainbow shouted as she flew up to the foremast.

"Okie-dokie." she stated with a nod and quickly was beside Twilight, who was busy blasting any of the sirens that were trying to climb onto the ship. Similar to back during the changling invasion grabbed of Twilight's neck and tail and started using her like a gun, though the rate of fire was more similar to a shotgun with her having Twilight only fire off in short, powerful bursts.

Once all sails were open, they quickly started to pick up speed, and the more the Captain and the helmspony had to be quick to avoid hitting any of the boulders. Rainbow was already at work from the foremast watching out for any boulders and warning them whenever there was one, and Pinkie and Twilight made sure to keep the deck clear of any sirens who attempted to glide down to them.

Eventually they were back out on open ocean, where the fog seemed to have cleared up almost immediately. They all breathed a sigh of relief as soon as they were out of the pass. Twilight did look back to see the shape of about ten pony heads sticking out of the water, before silently diving back down below the water's surface. At about the same time, all the guys on board started coming to, and quite confused about what had just happened.

Twilight did breath a sigh of relief, but also felt a constriction at the pit of her stomach at the fact they had to leave two of them behind, and all because the pass had been more hazardous than she anticipated.

Once they reached a distance they felt was safe from the island, Azure started seeing to everyone on board, checking if they had any injuries, and treating any she found. In the meantime, Capt. Sparkling Seas ordered a couple of those without injuries to check for any damages to the ship.

"Outside of a few bumps and bruises ma'am, doesn't look like anypony on board has gotten injured." Azure reported the Captain as she wiped her forehead with a handkerchief

"Good to hear. What of the Grand Counselor?"

"He's uninjured. Any 'injuries' he sustained is nothing he can not fix by patting down his coat."

She nodded, then looked toward a pegasus that was approaching her, "How fairs the ship?"

"Not very well. There's damage to the port and starboard sides, and the bow certainly has taken plenty of damage."

"Have we taken on water?" she asked, her tone almost carrying an angry tone.

"It is fortunate that no, we haven't taken on water."

Capt. Sparkling Seas breathed a sigh of relief.

"I do suggest though that we find anchor near an island, we can properly check for further damages once closer to shore. We do have available supplies to fix any damages."

"It would be safer for the crew as well if we were close to shore if this ship does sink." Azure rang in.

"Agreed." then started looking around, "Where's Twilight Sparkle?"

"She's below in the storage deck checking if we were wrong about our first check for damages." the pegasus pony replied

"Hm, rather meticulous I see." she stated, "So be it. Arrow Point, you do know how to read maps, am I right?"

"Of course Captain."

"Then locate the nearest isle from our position, we'll go there. As for Twilight Sparkle...Tell her when she finishes checking the hull, tell her and the rest of the crew I want them on deck. We lost two of our crew in the pass."

After several minutes, everyone, including Accordant, were present on deck. Everyone were either standing or sitting silently on deck.

"I'm sure you are all aware of how important this quest we are on; and, I'm also sure you knew that it would be dangerous." Capt. Sparkling Seas began, "Today, we lost two of our fellow crew members. I'm not sure how well any of you knew them, but I know they will be missed."

The others simply gave a mournful glance at the Captain and fellow crew members.

"For now, we can only take a short time to mourn our loss. We will have a chance to properly mourn once this quest is over. We can not allow their deaths to be in vain." she added, "Our next destination is Needle Crag Island. We will be going there to make necessary repairs to the ship. Twilight Sparkle, I don't want a repeat of what happened today, can I trust you'll be able to find out more about this island?"

"I-I might have a scroll or two on the matter. I'll let you know what I find." Twilight replied in a melancholy tone, which earned a curious glance from Rainbow and Pinkie in particular.

"See to it that you do. For the rest of you, back to your stations. We have to reach the island before night fall." she stated before walking away.

As everypony retreated back to their original stations, Pinkie and Rainbow noted how slow Twilight seemed to respond as their friend retreated below deck. The two simply looked at each other and silently agreed to have a word with Twilight later.

Below deck, Twilight was staring down at the floor, only looking up to avoid bumping into something or somepony, as she slowly made her way to her and the other's bedroom. Before she could open the door, she felt somepony else's magic wrap around her before slamming her against the wall across the hall from the door.

Twilight groaned from the pain it produced, before opening an eye to look at who had caused it. Her view falling upon a white colored unicorn stallion.

"I hope you are finding amusement in this, pirate." he stated, "It was your dumb idea that caused us to lose them."

"I-I...It was an accident. Please, I didn't expect for all of that to happen, I didn't mean for them to die. I'm sure you can understand that there are things that are outside our control...right?"

"Yes, I do, but does not change the fact that you still played a part in their deaths."

"But...but, I-" she muttered as her ears folded back

"Save your breath. There's very little a pony who is suppose to be as well informed as you are can say to convince me otherwise." He interrupted before letting Twilight go, "That is what I detest about pirates like you, you have no regard for the lives of others besides your own and your 'fellow' crew." He then turned to leave.

Twilight watched him leave before quickly getting into the room, where she sat on the floor shaking before finally letting a few tears roll down her cheeks.

As light of the sun began to recede, and the natural dark veil of the night returned, Rainbow was once again in the crow's nest with 'her' telescope keeping to her job. Twilight hadn't been seen up on deck since that quick speech by Capt. Sparkling Seas, which made Rainbow's job all that the more difficult as she was looking for the island without Twilight's usually extensive calculations.

Eventually, Rainbow was able to make out something that obstructed some starlight on the horizon. Training her sight in that direction, she started seeing some more notable features of the object in her view, such trees and a mountain. The island, finally!

"Hey Cap'. Land ho!" she shouted down toward the bottom

Capt. Sparkling Seas merely gave a nod in response before putting her attention back toward the horizon.

With her job for the moment finished, Rainbow glided back down before trotting down below deck. The first level below was certainly much more noisier in comparison, as most of the crew had already eaten dinner and were just lounging around for the time being. Rainbow didn't let that bother her though as she made a beeline for the room she shared with Twilight, Pinkie, and Fluttershy.

Upon entering, Rainbow was greeted by the sight of Twilight with her nose deep in a book, while Pinkie was trying to get the alicorn to eat her dinner.

"Come on Twilight, open your mouth and say 'ah'." Pinkie stated as she demonstrated and held a lettuce leaf close to Twilight's mouth.

"Twilight still hasn't eaten?" Rainbow asked.

"No, she's just been reading all afternoon. I mean...I guess it's okay if she wants to skip dinner..." Fluttershy replied.

"Here comes the trainy-wainy!" Pinkie stated and poked the side of Twilight's mouth a few times with the lettuce leaf, which seemingly didn't faze Twilight at all as she continued reading away.

"Yo, Twilight!" Rainbow shouted

"..."

Rainbow raised a brow as she approached. Looking down at her friend, Rainbow placed a hoof on the book and pulled it away from Twilight.

"What...?! Rainbow give that back!" Twilight shouted as soon as she saw it was Rainbow who took the book away from her.

"No way. Not until you stop ignoring us and get a bite to eat."

"I'm fine Rainbow, I know how to take care of myself. Now give me back my book!"

"No."

"I said, give it!" she shouted before proceeding to grab the book with her magic.

"Not until you stop being stubborn." Rainbow snapped back refusing to let go of the book

"Quit it! Friends don't fight other friends!" Pinkie shouted, as Fluttershy sat where she was trembling.

Twilight and Rainbow continued fighting over the book as they tugged back-and-forth. Eventually a familiar sound of ripping could be heard as one of the pages Rainbow had a grip on started to tear.

"Rainbow, let go! You're gonna damage the book."

"No, you let go!"

At the sound of the page tearing even further, Twilight decided to let go, knowing Rainbow wasn't going to do so, causing Rainbow to fall backwards and right onto her back quite hard.

Rainbow groaned as she finally let go of the book and rubbed her sore lower back, "What the hay is your problem?!"

"'What's MY problem'...?!" she repeated incredulously, "I'm just doing my job Rainbow, I'm trying to learn more about Needle Crag Island before we set hoof on it."

"Stop..." Fluttershy quietly muttered, far too quiet for anyone to hear

"Well..., you've been at it for hours. At least stop for ten seconds to take a bite."

"I told you I'm fine." she stated before attempting to grab the book with her magic once more, only for it to be slammed back down on the floor by Rainbow's hoof.

"Stop." Fluttershy repeated, this time mildly louder.

"Rainbow, let me get back to work."

"And let you starve?! No way. All you ate today was breakfast, and that pile of brown mush the cook gave I'd hardly call breakfast."

"Stop." Fluttershy repeated once more

"I'll eat as soon as I give the Captain my report. For now, let me have my book back."

"No!"

"Why are you being so stub-"

"Stop!" Fluttershy shouted out loudly, which followed by a loud metallic crash in the room, causing Twilight, Rainbow, and Fluttershy to jump.

The source of the metallic crash was easy to see, Pinkie had taken the cutlass that Capt. Sparkling Seas had let Fluttershy begin carrying again after that day's incident and slammed it down against the floor with all her might, easily leaving a noticeable gash where it had penetrated the wood.

"Friends don't fight other friends." Pinkie repeated her earlier statement, the expression on her face though was far from the usual Pinkie Pie they knew. Pinkie now had a very serious expression on her face, one that seemed to dare them to challenge her; and, given that she had a cutlass in one of her hooves, that was probably a very bad idea.

She looked over at Twilight with a look in her eyes that seemed to match that of a true villain, "Eat." she commanded, "Fluttershy and I didn't bring you food to let it get cold and rot."

Twilight looked on with wide eyes, but quickly obeyed and picked up the same leaf that Pinkie had been poking her with earlier and shoved the whole piece into her mouth.

Pinkie then looked at Rainbow with the same exact look.

Rainbow instantly got the message and quickly backed away from the book.

"Good, there will be no fighting among my crew." Pinkie stated as she pulled the sword out from the floor and handed it back to Fluttershy.

Twilight blinked a few times before, "Are you...are you playing out your character?"

Pinkie looked at Twilight for a brief moment before bringing a hoof up to her mouth in thought, before quickly perking up and saying, "Yep."

"'Yep...'?"

"Yep." Pinkie repeated.

"Jeez Pinkie, I thought that character of yours was like you, cheerful." Rainbow stated, "No wonder she's the pirate captain."

A long moment of silence filled their room as Twilight finished up the food that Pinkie and Fluttershy had brought in before attempting to get a hold of the book using her magic and bringing it over to her.

"Thanks for bringing me food. I really appreciate it." Twilight said in a quiet voice as she broke the silence.

Pinkie and Fluttershy smiled in response.

"Twilight, what was so important anyway that you wanted to skip eating to read?" Rainbow asked from her hammock.

"Don't worry about that. It's really only a problem I can understand at this time, so there's really no need for any of you to be too concerned about it."

"We're your friends Twilight, I'm sure we'll understand if you explain it."

"Yeah, we're your friends. Through thick or thin, we'll be there to help." Pinkie agreed, "Cause that's what friends do."

"Well...It's really kinda silly actually."

"Just spill it Twilight." Rainbow then jumped out of the hammock and trotted over

"I...I-I just..." Twilight sighed, "I can't let what happened today happen again."

"You mean what happened at the pass?" Fluttershy asked

She nodded, "I can't help but feel guilty about what happened."

"We're in a story Twilight. I think it was suppose to happen." Rainbow stated, "It's not like we can change what's already written in the book."

"I know, but...I still feel guilty. It was my idea to go into the pass. I'm the one who suggest taking the risky chance without taking proper time to consider all the dangers."

"You didn't know there were sirens in the pass. I mean, those things could've been all over the island for all we knew."

"Exactly. It's because I didn't look into it when I should have." she then slumped her head low as a tears formed in her eyes, "I know they're just characters in a book, but it's my fault they're not here anymore. I'm the one who got them killed."

They gave Twilight a sympathetic look before Pinkie slowly trotted over and gave Twilight a hug. Which was quickly followed by one from Fluttershy and even Rainbow.

Rainbow may not have been big on giving hugs, or showing much affection, but given what exactly was bugging her friend, she decided to make this time an exception.

As the time flew by, the ship eventually began to quiet down as more and more of the crew turned in for the night and retreated to their beds. Only a few remained awake, making last minute checks, standing as security, or simply just because they didn't want to sleep yet. Two of which were Rainbow and Twilight.

It has been at least an hour since they arrived on the island and were properly anchored, and Twilight wanted to be absolutely sure that anything she could possibly learn about the island, she'll be able to report to Capt. Sparkling Seas. As such, she was still reading, though it was quickly becoming obvious that she was indeed sleepy as she constantly fell in and out of sleep. Rainbow was also awake, though she was just lounging in her hammock watching Twilight, waiting to see if the alicorn will actually completely fall asleep and knock her head against the book in front of her. As much as she did want to see that, Rainbow did feel a bit bothered about watching Twilight fight off slumber to read.

Despite a few close moments where Twilight's head dipped down close enough, she seemed to always manage to catch herself and wake up before it could make contact. After a few more minutes of this, a few minutes longer than Rainbow liked, Rainbow quietly got out off her hammock and quietly approached Twilight.

In her drowsy state, Twilight barely noticed Rainbow until she saw a cyan hoof being placed onto the page she was reading.

"Okay, Twilight, I think that's enough reading. You're going to bed right now."

"I'm fine Rainbow. I...*yawns*...I think I can keep going a little longer."

"Are you kidding? I've been watching you, waiting to see if you were gonna faceplant yourself on this book, for almost an hour." and began pushing Twilight towards the alicorn's bed.

"What about the report? I still have to tell her what I found." Twilight complained, as she could only muster a miniscule amount of resistance against Rainbow.

"Here, I'll get it to Captain Pain-in-the-flank for ya. I'm tired but I'm not walking-into-a-wall tired like you."

"I'm not that tired..." she argued under her breath as Rainbow nudged her get into her bed and sleep.

Rainbow waited till Twilight pulled the blanket over herself and was very much likely to stay there and actually fall asleep before turning her attention away from her.

"Thanks Rainbow. Are you sure you won't mind telling the captain for me?"

"Yeah, it's no big. Just give me the short version Twilight, I need to sleep too you know."

"Okay....thank you Rainbow. Tell her *yawns* that the island is inhabited. There's natives there. There's also something about a Roc."

"A...rock? As in a stone?"

"No, a roc, as in a giant predatory bird."

"Great...Alright, is that all?"

Twilight nodded

"Cool." then turned to leave

"Wait, Rainbow, I want to ask you something."

Rainbow stopped to look back.

"Why are you doing something like this? You're never like this."

"What? Helpful...? Is that suppose to be an insult?" she asked, her tone indicating she was not happy with the idea.

"No, no, not like that. Yes, helpful, but past experience shows that if it doesn't matter to you, it wouldn't be something you'd care to help with. Also, the Rainbow I know wouldn't have hugged me or been so pushy to get me sleep."

"Hey, I'm just making sure to watch out for my friends. I am the Element of Loyalty after all."

"I'm not sure if it's along the lines of being loyal, but I'll believe you. Still though, thanks for at least trying to comfort me earlier." Twilight stated before shifting around trying to get comfortable.

"That whole thing about the those two stallions really bothered you that much?"

Twilight nodded, "Fictional characters or not, I'm sure you'd still feel at least a little guilty knowing you did something that lead to somepony's death."

"Yeah, I guess so....Hey, just don't worry about it, alright? Just worry about the other stuff for now, like us finishing this quest like the Captain said."

Twilight silently agreed before finally closing her eyes, and letting her mind finally rest.

Rainbow sighed audibly before leaving the room and quickly made her way to the room the Captain was staying.

"Hey, Captain, I got something to report to ya." Rainbow stated loudly as she knocked just as loudly.

Rainbow heard a loud groan come from inside, "What is it Rainbow?"

"It's about the island. Twilight says-."

"This couldn't have waited till the next morning? Just tell me tomorrow."

"Whatever."

Rainbow heard some light muttering, but couldn't quite distinguish what was being said. It probably didn't matter, so Rainbow went back to their room to get some sleep.

Upon returning to the room she looked around the room at the others. Pinkie seemed to have shifted around enough to completely twist herself in her hammock, as a pair of pink hind hooves on her pillow seemed to indicate, which did bring a slight chuckle out of Rainbow. Looking at Twilight, Rainbow couldn't help but snicker in amusement.

Twilight had completely fallen asleep, and already had a small trail of drool rolling down her cheek. If only they actually had cameras during this time period. Still though, Rainbow couldn't help but feel somewhat beyond relieved to see Twilight resting...which actually bothered the cyan pegasus as to why.

Shaking her head, Rainbow shook the thought out of her head, blaming it on her being tired herself, and crawled back into her own bed to get some shut eye.

Author's Note:

Sorry this took so long, my editor was rather busy with his final quarter of college, though I'm unsure how busy he actually was considering he had the file for almost 3 months and the most demanding of his courses were finished sometime during winter. I mean, it's gotta mean something when even he gave me permission to threaten to brand his butt till he checked it. (Not literally of course, just pestering really)

Anyway, I hope this chapter was good for you guys. Also, yes, I did take some creative liberties with the sirens. There's were a few variants I found surfing the web, some describing the more familiar complete familiar body design to versions that looked a little more fish-like, and apparently even Russian variant known as a sirin. I hope the more pony-esque version I went with is fine with you guys.

I'll try to get the next chapter out as soon as I can.

Comments

[Blueninetails]

4332272
Apologies for the late reply. To answer your question...yes, I did happen to have seen "The Pagemaster". It was actually a personal favorite of mine as a kid.

[Dark-Gold-J]

Are you going to ship and at any time

[Blueninetails]

4586902
Well, it wasn't really in the originally outlined plan, but I suppose I have more time to reconsider/alter a few things. Why do you ask? Would you like me to do that?

[Daring Cammie Do]

This is really good. Sadly, I get the feeling there won't be an update for many more months. Still, this is really good.

[Blueninetails]

6204004 Sorry about the delayed reply. Yeah, unfortunately, don't get me wrong, I still have every intent on finishing this, but the drive has been rather small, so at best it won't see an update for some time. For now I'll be working on other things till I can recover the drive for this story.

[Daring Cammie Do]

6228368 the reply isn't that delayed. I usually expect about a week in between my comment and getting a reply since not everyone is on the Internet all the time. I'm glad that there might be a chapter 5.