Surviving Sand Island

by The 24th Pegasus

Ahead of Schedule

Rarity and Melody stopped for a moment to rest up and catch their breath a little further away from the door halves. Rarity didn’t want to stay near them because of what she knew was on the other side, and Melody simply didn’t want to wait near the doors that had caused her such annoyance over the years. Instead, the two sirens found a quiet place to relax near one of the grand halls of the structure, where there was enough light making its way through the seawater to allow them to more easily see the figurine Rarity had snatched from the coffin.

“Let’s get a look at you!” Rarity excitedly cooed, pushing herself backwards through the water until she could get a few rays of sunlight to fall on the statuette. Whereas the pegasus and unicorn statuettes had obviously resembled the Ponynesians’ gods, and she couldn’t even remember what the crystal pony statue had looked like, this one seemed much more plain and simple. It depicted a stout stallion with a spear resting against his shoulder and a fishing net draped over his back and held in his teeth at the corner. Instead of a figure of divinity or power, it seemed to be a simple depiction of an average Ponynesian, resolute and determined despite the harshness of a life in the isolated tropics of the world.

“It’s certainly not as impressive as the unicorn,” Melody said, drifting closer to Rarity to get a better look at the figurine. “Very finely carved, though.”

“Well, they all were, so that’s nothing new,” Rarity said. “I’d imagine you wouldn’t want to enchant a totem of poor quality if you want your magic to work well.”

“I wouldn’t know. Sirens don’t enchant things like ponies do.”

“Mmm.” Rarity spun the figurine around, looking it over from all angles. “Still, regardless of how it looks, it’s the last thing we need. With this, we can finally lower the barrier around the islands and go home. After all this time, all this suffering, we’ll finally be able to go home!”

“All this time?” Melody raised an eyebrow. “You aren’t in any position to complain.”

“Erm… yes, I suppose you’re right. Still, though, aren’t you excited at returning to your… flock? Pod?” Rarity blinked. “What is a pack of sirens called?”

“A choir,” Melody said. “Kind of obvious in hindsight, don’t you think?”

“That’s… yes, you’re right, that one should have been easy enough to guess.”

Melody nodded. “And to answer your question, yes, I’m excited to finally be with my mother again. I am nervous, though. I’ve been gone for a long time…”

Rarity touched her shoulder to reassure her. “By the sound of it, things should mostly still be the same, I would think,” she said. “When sirens live for a thousand years, I doubt there’s been much turnover in your choir while you’ve been gone.”

“My choir was roughly thirty mothers and daughters,” Melody said, “but who knows how its makeup has changed since I’ve been gone. But I’m not even worried about that; I’m worried about what they’ll think of me after I’ve been gone for so long.”

“I’m sure they’ll be ecstatic to see you again,” Rarity said. “If your choir was close with one another, I’m sure your separation impacted them all.”

“My mom would tell me that they would ask about me,” Melody said. “I guess you’re right.”

“I know I’m right.” Rarity smirked. “I wonder if I’ll get to meet them one day.”

“You’d certainly have to be a siren for a long while for that,” Melody said. “The choir is riding the currents toward the east for now. They’ll be gone for a few months.”

“Maybe I’ll get the chance to some other time, then.” Rarity lowered the figurine and turned her attention toward Melody. “I’d like to think that even when all this is over, I can still call you my friend and be able to see you.”

Melody smiled and rubbed her hooves together. “I’d… like that a lot. So long as it’s not near pony population centers or shipping lanes. I don’t want to be attacked by ponies who don’t understand me and my kind.”

“I will certainly be a very vocal advocate of fair treatment for sirens upon my return to Equestria. Perhaps I can have Twilight petition the royal sisters to set up an organization for it.” She shook her head. “The world could always be improved by understanding and spreading friendship between all species.”

“Certainly.” Melody swished her tail back and forth a few times, simply playing with the currents coming off of it. “I always found ponies an amusing paradox for that. They proclaim friendship as a great magic, but they are so terrified and fearful of some of the other sapient species around them. It looks like a stark hypocrisy at a glance.”

Rarity shrugged her shoulders and reluctantly nodded in agreement. “Unfortunately, you’re right enough, darling. But that’s something we’ve been helping to remedy for years now. We’ve made such great progress, and I have very little doubt that shortly after this ordeal, we’ll be able to add sirens to the list of ponykind’s friends and allies.” She blinked. “So long as sirens don’t fight with seaponies. They’re our allies as well, and that could make things… awkward.”

Melody waved a hoof. “We never did much to the seaponies, from what I knew growing up. Sometimes we had to scare them away from our breeding islands, though they were harmless and scared of us on principle. I don’t think there was much contact between our populations.”

“That’s good, then.” Sighing, Rarity turned her attention back to the halls of the sunken palace. “I suppose we should start moving out shortly,” she said. “We need to deliver this statuette back to the island and get out of here. I certainly don’t want to waste any more time that we could be using to bring ourselves home faster.”

“I certainly hear that,” Melody agreed, righting herself in the water and slowly paddling her way toward the door. “I’ve been here for eighty or ninety something years. I’d rather die before it becomes one hundred.”

“Hopefully it won’t come to that,” Rarity said, following Melody through the halls. “One way or another, we’re all going home. I just know it.”

Comments

[Admiral Q Ponyform]

some how I get the feeling Melody will end up in Equestria. I bet her magic she can make a pony form same with Rarity.

[Aurora Dimmet]

Celestia DAMNIT Rarity, Melody! All these death flags! Why not just have Melody say she's glad she finally gets to retire?

[Eroraf86]

8885102
You know, you keep saying that, but half of your predictions have failed to materialize. Is it possible you're being a bit cynical?

[Aurora Dimmet]

8885153

Is it possible you've misunderstood? This is not a prediction. Those are what are commonly known by most people as 'death flags'. The author has the choice of whether they are capitalized on or not, but that is what they are, regardless. Did any of that truly need to be said by either of us? I don't understand the point in questioning me so. Was something accomplished just now, friend?

[Eroraf86]

8885325
Honestly? I’m just trying to encourage a little optimism. I know that this last statue was too easy, and I’m expecting things to go to Tartarus soon, but I don’t think either Rarity or Melody are going to die any time soon.

[Aurora Dimmet]

8885390

I certainly hope they don't either. But let's have a little fun in the meantime, of course!

[zaponator]

With all these flags Melody is throwing up, she's starting to look less like a green siren and more like a... red herring.

[The 24th Pegasus]

8885915
that's offensive in siren culture