We'll Get Back to This Later
“I’m going to name it: The Breakwater,” Ballast said.
Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow at him. “You know he’s going to hate that, right?”
“Oh yeah,” Ballast nodded. “But that’s not important, what’s important is my appreciation.”
“Hmm...” Rainbow said as she flew up and inspected the submersible. She flew around and over its entire body, looking at every screw, every piece of metal, the viewport, the propeller, it was now all suspended by more sturdy looking girders and winches than just chains. “Cool thing you got here dude. So this is what those plans we got back were for?”
“That’s right, gotta thank you for that again,” Ballast said.
Rainbow Dash tapped against the glass of the viewport and was rewarded with a pleasant thunk-thunk-thunk. “Huh.”
“Er, could you not do stuff like that though?”
“Right, sorry,” Rainbow apologized and flew back down to the ground floor. “Anyways—we’ve got other stuff to do right now.”
“Yeah, you said you were going to be leaving soon again. When’s the Heart of Azure going to arrive?” Ballast asked.
“Sometime tomorrow probably,” Rainbow shrugged.
“Lot of time to prepare for their arrival then… that’s good,” Ballast nodded and then shot an inquisitive look to Rainbow Dash. “Where are you going this time anyways?”
“Well, I don’t know how big of a deal it is but I figure someone who lives in the Hundred Kingdoms might. We’re heading to some place called “The Lost Isle of the Lizard People” or whatever.”
Ballast’s eyebrows both shot up. “Seriously? That place is a legend just like Merlantis, didn’t even know it was real. You all know how to get there?”
“Got a magical map and everything,” Rainbow nodded.
“Huh, go figure. Guess I really shouldn’t be surprised by anything anymore after helping all of you out.”
“True.”
“Well um, do you know how long the trip is going to be? Are there any repairs I need to do on the ship when it gets back?” Ballast asked.
“Nope—no repairs or anything like that this time. And… I dunno, the island looked farther away than any other island we’ve been to from here. Figured I would just help you get your usual stuff or do whatever you needed me to do,” Rainbow said.
“Honestly then there’s not really much for you to do at all. Or for me to do if the ship’s in just as good condition as when it left last time,” Ballast shrugged. “We’ll just have some boring errands to run and plenty of food to get for the trip by the sound of it. Long-lasting food, preserved stuff that doesn’t take up much space would probably be for the best now.”
“We also got a huge treasure chest full of Malkonrik coins from the Sarraroccon Order to help with our expenses.”
Ballast blinked.
A quick inhale. “Okay, that’s certainly good to know. But we should still probably just go for the cheap and healthy food that lasts a while and doesn’t take up much space. You’ve been on the Heart of Azure for a while now, you know there isn’t much storage room.”
“Yeah, that’s true,” Rainbow nodded.
He tapped his hoof a couple of times, furrowing his brow and thinking a bit. “Still plenty of time left in the day, I bet we can get to every shop we need to before places start to close up. Especially if we’re both doing it.”
Rainbow Dash grinned and gave him a silly salute. “Just tell me where I need to go, boss.”
This time he raised an eyebrow at her. “How many times have you gotten on Breakwater’s nerves out there by now?”
“Uhh… definitely not as many times as Gilbert at least.”
“Well, that’s certainly fair.”
“What the—does this thing actually work?” Daylight Gleam asked as she stared up at the submersible.
“Sure does,” Ballast said. “Er… well… it’s not like I’ve done a test run to prove that it works, but all my math checks out. So it should work perfectly well no matter how deep you go.”
The Heart of Azure and its crew had arrived early the following morning. When they had docked at Ballast’s they were pleasantly greeted by a smiling Rainbow Dash surrounded by crates and barrels of food and supplies while Ballast held a clipboard as he got ready to give a quick inspection of the ship. The moment they were safely secured, they finally noticed the huge—finished—submersible, hanging there above the water with them. When the four others had gotten out onto the metal deck they ended up gawking at it much the same way as Rainbow Dash until Ballast filled them in on just what they were looking at.
“Tell them what you’re naming it,” Rainbow Dash grinned as she playfully elbowed Ballast in the side.
Ballast coughed and shyly looked away. “It’s um… it’s called The Breakwater.”
“Oh no. I didn’t just hear that. Please tell me that’s not what’s really happening,” Breakwater shook his head, staring at Ballast.
“It’s meant to show my respect and gratitude. It’s happening,” Ballast resolutely stated.
“Ohhhh...” Breakwater dragged a hoof down his face.
“I think that’s wonderful!” Gilbert smiled. “You have an amazing new vessel named after you, Captain! Your name will go down in history now.”
“I don’t want it to go down in history,” Breakwater growled at him.
Senax giggled and took another look at the submersible. “Well, I think it’s a nice thing to do too. You should be happy.”
“Actually I think I’m going to just channel Rainbow Dash and wish I had something to drink right now instead,” Breakwater sighed. “Anyways, did you already get everything we’ll need to make the trip to the Lost Isle?” He asked the two of them.
Rainbow grinned. “Oh yeah, I had a whole day to get ready, course’ it’s already done. You guys didn’t have any trouble on the way over here after I left you by the way, did you?”
“No pirates if that’s what you’re asking,” Gilbert said.
“In fact we didn’t see a single other ship until we got back to Malkonrik’s port,” Daylight added.
“Good, well then I guess we’ll be able to get back out there real quickly,” Rainbow shrugged.
“What kind of food did you get for the trip?” Breakwater asked her.
“Unfortunately we got a lot of hardtack, dried fruits, cans, bread, and dried meat for Gilbert. That kind of stuff. Nothing fun or really tasty since it’s going to be a long trip.”
Breakwater nodded. “Well that’s good, even if you don’t like it. However though I was thinking we’d probably stop at another island along the way to restock and maybe get some luxury items. It’s going to be a long trip and we have plenty of money now, once we’ve cleared out some room in storage maybe we can put some nice cheese and fruit down there when we’re only a day or two away from the Lost Isle.”
“Yes!” Rainbow Dash pumped her hoof in joy.
“It’s not that big of a deal,” Daylight said to her.
“Maybe if you’re someone who gets no joy out of life,” Rainbow snorted.
Daylight’s eye twitched. “I’ll have you know that back at the Archipelago I-”
“By the way-” Breakwater put a hoof on Daylight’s back to calm her down. “We noticed something about the map Coral Sea gave us after you left.”
“Huh?” Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. “What about it?”
“Gilbert saw it first,” Senax said as she and Gilbert walked up to her, the griffon pulling the map out from under his wing.
“Look at it, do you notice anything different?” Gilbert asked her.
Rainbow Dash took it from his talon and held it in front of her face, narrowing her eyes and roaming all over the map’s surface. To her confusion though she couldn’t really notice anything different about it. Sure, she had barely looked at it before, but there wasn’t really anything jumping out at her. And she had a great memory for stuff like this.
“Uhhh… I’m not seeing it,” Rainbow said as she lowered the map and looked at them.
“It’s smaller,” Gilbert grinned. “Look, the western edge of the map has closed in, it’s not showing the entire ocean anymore.”
Rainbow Dash blinked and took another look. He was right, the former border of the map that showed off the farthest reaches of the Grand Ocean had closed in slightly and was now parallel with the western-most Kingdom.
“I noticed it for the first time when we were getting closer to Malkonrik. The physical size of the map hasn’t changed, but what’s drawn on it has shrunk down,” Gilbert said.
“We think it’s happening as we get closer to the Lost Isle,” Senax said. “I bet the closer we get, the more detailed the map will become as well.”
“Coral Sea did say it would help us get through the fog and currents around the island...” Rainbow said.
“Guess that’s what makes it magical besides just showing where this fabled lost island is,” Daylight said as she squeezed in and looked down at the map too. “If we’re right and eventually the map just shows the island and the waters directly around it it’ll be a huge help. Especially since we have no idea what the shape of the island is, or if there will be a safe spot to dock at. For all we know at this point the island’s coast could entirely be made up of high cliffs.”
“Unless the island itself is completely magical I doubt it’ll be like that,” Breakwater said. “But… who knows really? There’s definitely some kind of magic at work to have kept the place safely hidden all these years, maybe it’s even altered the terrain of the island itself.”
“If the island had something like a tall mountain on it though it probably would’ve been discovered already. Something easy to see from far away would make hiding difficult,” Gilbert scratched his beak.
“I don’t think we can make any assumptions about it right now,” Senax said. “Not until we get there.”
“And speaking of that—when are we leaving?” Daylight asked, raising an eyebrow at Breakwater and Ballast in particular.
Breakwater glanced at his ship and all the new supplies Rainbow and Ballast had already gathered. “I dunno—an hour? If we really want to get a move on and get to that island as fast as possible. Nobody wants to rest here for another day or anything?”
“No,” Rainbow Dash immediately said. She then winced and sheepishly looked over at the others. “I mean, not me at least...”
Daylight rolled her eyes. “Well not me either, I’m fine with leaving as soon as possible. I’m assuming you are too, Senax?”
“Yes,” the merpony nodded. “I’d like us to get going immediately.”
“And we don’t really need to listen to Gilbert’s opinion,” Daylight finished.
“Well while I agree with you on that I would still like to say that I’m fine with leaving immediately as well,” Gilbert said.
“Sweet, so let’s finish this all up as fast as we can and get out of here! On to the Lost Isle!” Rainbow shouted and flew up above them. A wide grin spread on her face as she looked down at them all. “I can’t possibly be the only one this excited, right? Senax, you’ve gotta have your blood pumping too right now don’t you? This is a real adventure coming up! You can feel it! We’re getting that Necklace and nothing’s going to get in our way!”
“Let’s hope that doesn’t count as tempting fate,” Daylight said, though there was amusement in her eyes and a smile threatening to tug up her lips.
“I am just as excited as you, Rainbow Dash,” Senax said. “Probably even more so, honestly, even if I don’t show it on the outside. I almost can’t stop my heart from beating out of my chest. This is… ever since we first went to the Archipelago I’ve had a feeling. A different feeling from ever before while searching for the Necklace here.”
Rainbow Dash nodded flying down to eye-level with her and smiling. “Yeah, I know that feeling. It’s the same kind of thing I’ve felt a lot on my journey.”
“You know if you all do want to get out of here quickly we’ve still got work to do, right? So why don’t you start lugging up those barrels and boxes onto the ship,” Breakwater said.
“Right! Let’s do this,” Rainbow punched her hooves together and moved to start carrying things.
“I’ll help,” Gilbert said and flew up to join her.
In the end it didn’t even take an hour before they were ready to leave. Ballast’s inspection of the Heart of Azure was over quickly, and nothing really needed to be done with it. With everyone eager to get to the Lost Isle, the excitement in the air was palpable and pretty much just as quickly as they said hello they were waving goodbye to Ballast and his submersible. With a new feeling of hope, they sailed out into the Malkonrik harbor before it was even noon.
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I'm curious to see what the lost island will be like and what is keeping it hidden.
Yeah I like how he just accepts it at this point.
You just know he's gonna have a fun (read: awkward) time explaining the name later on.
I hope after all this is said and done that map still maintains some similar functionality for them. A magical auto-updating map seems like it would come in quite handy.