Lost Harmony

by Miner

Chapter 6

Entry 124

It has been two days since Fluttershy found me. I haven't been able to leave her care yet. But hopefully, this will be the last day I am bed written. And trust me when I say that I have 'tried' to leave on my own earlier. Big mistake. She has some big friends to help her with a troublesome guest. I am talking about Bears if I didn't make that clear. I don't know how she does it, but she can communicate with any animal that can’t usually talk with ponies. Maybe I can ask her if she can tell me what Owlowiscious is thinking. I can never tell what that Owl thinks as it stares at me. It creeps me out. And I still have no idea why Twilight would want an Owl for a pet. You can't hug them, you can't play with them, and you can't talk to them. Which reminds me, why haven't I gotten a pet yet?

In any case, I got word from her that a ship would be leaving the Island soon. However, it wasn't going to Canterlot. It was going on a one-way trip to the Crystal Empire. She also told me that there aren't any ships heading back to Canterlot soon. The storm season is coming soon, and only a few ships are willing and able to make it through during this time of year. One of which is at Canterlot under repairs, the other one is halfway across the world, and the last one is two days away from here, located in the harbor of the Crytal Empire.

Once I was able to stand on my own, I was able to ask the Port Master if I could head to the Crytal Empire and request the use of their ship. However, she said that wasn't going to work.

The Crystal Empire is under the rule of King Sombra, and he wants nothing to do with islands allied with Canterlot. I only heard stories of the Crystal Empire. But I have heard that everything there is made of pure crystal and that the ponies shine like diamonds. And I believe they were once Allies with us at one point, but something happened to cause him to turn his back on us. I was a filly at the time and didn't remember much. However, I remember asking Celestia about it at one point, but she didn't give me a straight answer.

I don't have much of choice right now. Suppose my options are to stay here and wait out the season (which will take at least four months). And I will be declared lost at sea and probably have all of my stuff given away. But if I can get home in two months, I can still keep my stuff and not have to attend my own funeral. But If I wanted any chance of getting back home before then, I had to convince King Sombra somehow to use his ship. The worse he can say is 'no,' right?

Sunset closes her journal, puts it away in her saddlebag and leaves the room.

---

Spike has just returned from searching for sticks nearby as Twilight makes shift campsite. It is not the best campsite anypony has seen, but what do you expect from somepony who has never gone camping before. However, it does have everything they need. A place to sleep, a place to store wood, a barrel made of leaves to hold water, and finally, there is the stew pot on the fire where Twilight is at the movement making some stew. Twilight found the cooking pot hidden in a cave where they are currently are at the moment.

"I am Hungry," Spike said, putting down some sticks in a pile in their campsite.

"Hang in there, Spike. I am almost done." Twilight takes a sip and makes a face but swallows anyways. "It is not the best stew in the world, but it is better than nothing."

Spike looks at the stew bowl Twilight gave him. "What is this made of?"

"Some leaves and roots I found."

"I think I am better off starving." He said, giving back the bowl, but Twilight pushed it back to him.

"Spike. You have to keep up your strength. I can't have you get sick on me."

"But I will probably get sick on eating this." Spike notice that Twilight is glaring at him. "Did I say that out loud?"

Twilight pushes the bowl closer to Spike. "Eat it! And be careful it is a little hot."

"Twilight, I am a dragon. I can handle hot." Spike said, gulping the stew.

"I don't mean hot as temperature Spike. I mean hot as in spicy hot."

Spike let out a tunnel of fire that almost got Twilight.

"Watch it, Spike! You almost roast me."

Spike is trying to rub his tongue cool with his claws. "WHY it is so Spicy! My tongue is on fire!"

"It is all we got, Spike. So eat up." Twilight pours a bowl for herself and cringes at it. "While I try to stomach it too."

As both of them try their best to eat their supper. They were unaware of a creature staring at them in the forest's trees with its pupilless blue eyes. It blinks before it was covered in a green fire before a small bird can be seen flying away from the same spot.

---

"Are you sure you have to go, Sunset?" Fluttershy asked from her front door as Sunset put on her saddlebag.

"I have got no choice Fluttershy. I must get back home. And find my friends."

"Are you sure that they are alive?"

"Yeah, I am sure. They are too stubborn to die from a shipwreck. I bet that they are on one of the nearby islands where the ship went down."

"Well, You said that the last place where your ship was near the Sirens seas."

"That is right. What do you know about the area?"

"Well, there is are only two islands in the area, and the Zebras control both."

"The Zebras?"

"Yes, they poss no threat to the Sirens and even help them from time to time. The Sirens keep the ponies away from the Island, and the Sirens get free medical treatment."

"I see. Is it possible to retrieve anything from the Siren's seas if a ship went down?"

"Well, most of the time. A Hippogriff would be able to help out, but even they wouldn't want to mess with the Sirens, so if there was anything on your ship that had value. It probably belongs to the Sirens now or some lucky hippogriffs."

"Well, that's just perfect. In any case, I better get going. I thank you for your hospitality Fluttershy. I will write to you sometimes. And if you are ever in Canterlot. Give me a call."

"Will do. Bye Sunset."

"Bye, Fluttershy." Sunset made her way to the dock. She sees the ship getting ready for departure but has already run into a roadblock.

"What do you mean you won't take me to the Crystal Empire?" Sunset argues with the ship's captain. "That is where you are going, isn't it?"

"Yes. That is where I am going. But I will not deal with Ponies that aren't welcome to the Empire. I am just heading there to trade with them. I will not stay there long enough for them to give you the okay to enter. And I can't stand the thought of leaving a pony stuck at the dock all alone."

"But isn't that my problem!?"

"Say what you want. But I am not going to let you on board my ship." The captain said, leaving Sunset on the dock.

Sunset smashes the ground with her hoof. "Great! Now how am I ever going to get off this Island."

"I can help you out with that." A voice said behind her.

Sunset turned around to see an aqua-green unicorn mare in a grey cloak. "Who are you?"

"A better question is. What is one of the Princess's students doing here?"

"You know who I am!"

The stranger turns to leave before looking back at Sunset. "Come with me if you want to know more." She leaves Sunset there. It didn't take long for Sunset to follow this mare. She followed her to a cafe, and the stranger had ordered some tea for them. After they had a cup of tea, Sunset spoke up.

"Okay, who are you?" Before Sunset knew it. The stranger throws yellow dust at her face. Sunset coughs as she looks at the mare. "What was that for?!"

"Sorry about that, Sunset. I had to be sure that you were who you appear to be."

"What does that supposed to mean?"

"Perhaps introductions are in order. My name is Agent Heartstrings of Canterlot."

"You work for the Princess? Then what was that dust?"

"It is a special mixture of urbs and dust that will glow a bright red when it touches a creature with magic covering its body."

"Why would you need something like that?"

"Because my team and I have been assigned to find a new creature spotted roaming these islands."

"A new creature?"

"Yes. There is very little knowledge about this creature besides that they can take the form of anypony or anything it wants."

"What?! That can be dangerous!"

"Indeed. That is why we are searching for any signs of them and finding out if they are dangerous. I was on my way to meet my contact when I ran into your here. Which concerns me more."

"What do you mean?"

"You were on the boat heading back to Canterlot with a cargo from Las Pegasus, correct?"

"Yes, I was. Celestia wanted me to bring that box back. What was in it anyway?"

"The better question is, where is the ship now?"

"I don't know. Probably somewhere at the bottom of the Siren's seas by now. Why?"

Agent Heartstrings left eye twitch before she puts a hoof on her face. "This is a disaster!"

"What? How is this is worse than dealing with a creature that can change their appearance at will."

Agent Heartstrings then looks at Sunset dead in the eye. "Sunset. You were transporting a shard of harmony."

"But aren't those just fake pieces of crystal ponies made up to make a name for themselves?"

"That is true that ponies have done that. However, you had the real deal on your ship."

"I HAD-"

Agent Heartstrings closes Sunset's mouth with her hooves. "Quiet!"

Only when Sunset had calmed down did Heartstrings let go. "You mean we found one of the shards! And now it's gone!"

"That is why we must get back to Canterlot as soon as possible."

"What about Twilight and Spike?"

"Right for your companions. Nothing."

"What do you mean nothing! They are alive, and I know it!"

"And if they are. Then they are lost on one of the Zebra's islands, and we ponies aren't welcome there. Our best bet is to head back to Canterlot and inform Celestia about what has happened. As for your friends. They are on their own until they find a way off their Island."

---

Nighttime is closing in onto the Island where Twilight and Spike are. Twilight has just finished getting their beds ready for the night and calls out for her companion. "Spike. Time for bed." Twilight sees Spike on the campsite's edge looking at the sea. She tries calling out to him again. "Spike time for bed."

"Hang on, Twilight," Spike said. "I think I hear something."

"I don't- wait." Twilight hears something unusual and joins Spike.

"What is it?"

Twilight closes her eyes and listens. She is unsure what she is hearing, but she puts out their fire to be safe. She turns to Spike and waves her hoof to let him know to follow her quietly. They follow the sounds as they get louder. They see a campsite on the beach of their Island. There are creatures that they have never seen before. However, the shape of their ships makes their owners known to Twilight. "It's Yacks!"

"Yacks! What are they doing here?"

"Probably going to raid a village on this Island or store supplies, or I don't know, smash something. Whatever the case is. We better get a move on."

They both moved quickly away from the yacks campsite. But the ground beneath them disappeared. They fell to the bottom of the pit with a loud thud, sending dust everywhere. Twilight groaned as she coughed out the dust in her lungs.

"Spike, where are you?"

"Gut ofs," Spike said from underneath Twilight.

Twilight gets off of Spike and helps him to his feet. "Sorry," Twilight looks around them before looking up to where they were a few seconds ago. "This is a deep hole."

"We better get out of here," Spike said while dusting himself.

"How? We can't fly out of here. And there is nothing to grab on to."

"Twilight." Spike points to Twilight's horn.

She blushes and makes a small smile. "Oh right." She covers both of them in magic and lifts them out of the hole.

"How can you forget that you have a horn?" Spike asks, crossing his arms,

"I can become forgetful under stress, okay." Twilight had just gotten them out of the hole when they saw that they were surrounded by a group of Zebras warriors holding torches and spears. There was an awkward moment of silence between the two parties as they continued to stare at each other. "Oh, hi. We were just... Bye!" Twilight teleports them away and starts running away with Spike on her back. Twilight looks behind them to see if the zebras are following them when she hits something big and fluffy, stopping her in her tracks.

"Who hurt Yack!" Twilight backs away from the yack to see that they have run into a group of yacks patrolling the area. "A pony? A purple pony and a purple dragon."

"We don't mean any problems," Twilight said quickly. "We just want to go home."

"Pony spies on Yacks!"

"I would never!"

"Yacks gets Pony and little dragon." Before Twilight could do anything, both she and Spike were at the bottom of a yack pile.

Twilight found herself in a wooden cage and in chains with a magic cork on her horn when she woke up. She finds Spike in a metal cage with a muzzle around his mouth, preventing him from using his fire. Twilight notices the yack she ran into earlier is in front of her cage and looks at her.

"Purple Pony and dragon have two choices."

"What?" Twilight asked.

"Yack give prisoners to Zebras. Or yack sells Pony back to ponies."

Twilight is confused, "You are giving us a choice?"

"Yacks reasonable. Choose Pony."

"Well, let's see here. We either get sold to zebras and mostly have a killed. Or be sold to other ponies for who knows what reason. But we only want to go home. Is there a chance that you can give us option three?"

"Pony only has two options."

"Well, option three is just letting us go."

"Sell back to ponies it is. Smolder!"

A young orange dragon with purple fins flies next to the yack. "Yes, sir?"

"Find how much Pony and Dragon are worth and who will buy them."

"On it." Smolder writes on a scroll before burning the letter in her flames as the ashes flew overseas.

Twilight looks at the ashes before being startled by the yack, "Ponies aren't welcome on Zebra Island. Where is pony ship?"

"That is what I have been trying to tell you, yacks." Twilight said, "We are shipwrecked here."

"Unfortunate for Pony. Now Pony belongs to Yacks until Yacks sell them to other ponies."

Twilight looks down in her cage and thinks about what her life will become now. But Smolder spoke up. "Sir, look at this mare for a moment."

"What does Smolder see that Yack doesn't."

"Well, besides from the leaves and dirt from the juggle. This mare is very well taken care of. And she also has a baby dragon with her."

"What is Smolder getting at?"

"Whoever she is. She is from a wealthy family. There is no way a regular pony could afford to take care of a baby dragon. I think we just hit the big times. Ponies like her don't like to leave their Island of Canterlot very often."

Twilight eyes widen at Smolder's deduction of her home island. "How did you know that I am from Canterlot?"

"You just told me," Smolder said, smiling at Twilight.

The yack nods his head at what Smolder was getting at. "So purple pony is worth more for ransom as a slave?"

"That is what I am saying,, sir. And if her ship went down nearby. Just imagine what was on it."

"We must ask Hippogriff of this island to look for yacks."

"Think of it this way, Miss. You are still going home. Just poorer."

Comments

[Starlight Nova]

Why isn't there a Discord tag?

[Miner]

9277227
Because he is still a statue at the moment.