> Pony Island
>  by All of the Above
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> The cruise ship, the island, and the whole shindig
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	"Stop shoving me!"  Rainbow Dash yelled at Pinkie Pie behind her.  "Before I make you stop shoving me!" 

"I'm sorry, Dashie. It's just that I've never been on a cruise before, and it's super exciting, and I can't get over how happy I am!  It's like I'm about to eat the biggest cake in Equestria!"  

"Well could you try to contain your excitement then?"  She said, in a softer tone.  "If you keep it up, you'll push me off the boat."

"Okay, I'll stop."  Pinkie's body stopped moving as if she was doing nothing in the first place.  

Though Rainbow Dash has known Pinkie Pie for years, yet she was still dumbfounded by her.  Rainbow rested her hooves on the rails and looked out into the ocean, waiting for the others to show up.





Rarity arrived at the dock with her little sister Sweetie Belle behind her, lugging her sister’s giant luggage cart.  Rarity trotted faster than normal.  "Hurry up Sweetie Belle, I'm going to be late."  She told her sister.

"I'm going *grunt* as fast *grunt* as I *grunt* can,"  Sweetie Belle said.  The cart was pretty heavy, but she had pulled the cart many times before, it was becoming as easy as opening a jar.  She had been pulling that thing ever since they got off the train at Canterlot, and it was become a really trial trying to pull it.

Right when she was about to pass out from exhaustion, the pressure of the cart lifted up from her.  "My goodness, a young filly shouldn't be pulling something as heavy as that?"  A voice behind Sweetie Belle said.  Sweetie Belle turned around.  A stallion with a brown mane and beige skin began tugging it.

"Thank you, sir!"  Sweetie said, relieved of the cart.  "Follow that pony with the purple mane 

When the stallion reached Rarity, she jumped in fright.  Once she figured out what happened, she just blushed and just kept walking.  When they reached their destination, the stallion unhooked himself from the cart, and wandered off.  The ponies that were in charge of luggage took one look at her cart, and gasped.  Both unicorns used magic to lift the cart onto the boat.  The luggage carried up the conveyor belt until it was out of sight.  



		

Twilight was walking beside Spike.  Her expression was a mix of happy and stern at the same time.  "And make sure to feed Owlicious regularly.  Mice only.  We happen to have plenty of those."  She informed Spike.  Spike wrote all of this down on some paper.  It was the first time in a while that he had the house to himself, now he could finally make that jewel cake in piece.  

"Got it, but where are the mice?"  He asked.  It was one of those days when Spike just forgot everything.  

"They're in the shelf above the sink."  She told him.  "Also, don't forget to water the plants."

"I won't.  Have a nice trip."

She carried her luggage over to the luggage place.  The carrier bowed down to his princess.  Twilight returned the bow, then walked up the boat.





A good distance away from the cruise ship, Fluttershy was doing all she could to keep Applejack out of her house.  "No, you can't make me go!  I won't allow it!"  She screamed.  Though Applejack was tough, Fluttershy was surprisingly strong for the shyest creature in Ponyville.  

"Gol' darn it Fluttershy, we're gonna be late if you won't cooperate!"  With that said, she kicked the door again.  With years of experience, she would've kicked the door down by now, but Fluttershy must have prepared for this.  

"I won't get on that cursed boat.  You know that I have a fear of boats!"  She whimpered.  Saying the word boat made her shiver in fear.  

"Why won't you get on that boat?  It's not like the boat will explode on us.”  Immediately, she wished she hadn’t said that.  Fluttershy was now screaming horridly, until there was no more noise.  With one more kick, the door swung open, to reveal Fluttershy on the ground, surrounded by a clutter of furniture.  

At first, the Earth pony was frightened, because she thought she killed the poor thing, but she was still breathing.  “Well, at least this’ll make things a tad bit easier.”  She said to herself. She put the pegasus in her cart, and dragged her off to the cruise ship.  



			

With everyone on the ship, the vacation could now begin.  As all the ponies waved goodbye to their friends back at the dock, the boat got farther and farther away from their sight.  Soon the boat was well out of sight, and the celebration was over.  Everypony walked to their cabins to unload their entire luggage.  Rarity's cart was too large, so she had to choose a small amount of her items to have with her on a regular basis.  

"What should we do first?"  Twilight asked.  Though she planned to read and study this entire trip, her friends convinced her that she should actually relax instead of read.  "Maybe we could eat first?"

"Yeah, I could get some grub,"  Rainbow said.  Everypony agreed. 

"I swear, if all they got is fancy food, I'm gonna starve on this trip."  Applejack mumbled under her breath.  She slumped her shoulders and stayed that way until they got to the mess hall.



		

"I know you’re going to crack soon."  The man sitting across from me had told me.  I knew I was losing, really, really badly, but I still kept my cool.  I knew that he wanted to see me lose, he heard about what I've done, and how I did it.  He knew I was good at poker, and he knew that I was the best in the county.  Look what a little lie can do in under a week.  So, yeah, I'm not that good at poker, and I sure as heck am not the best in the county.  Heh, Bruce Van:  Champion Poker Player of Portland, Oregon.  

You've probably seen this scenario before. Guy loses job, loses his girlfriend, girlfriend takes everything, guy has no money, guy gets desperate, guy gets a loan from a friend, then that guy goes and wastes it on a game of poker, gets lucky, starts to think that he's the best, challenges the best guy in the place, loses everything.  Well that's me. I'm that guy.

"We'll see about that, tough guy."  I know that this guy could rip my head off just by flicking my ear, but it's awfully fun to make him angry.  Every now and then, a vein will pop up on his head, and honestly, it's pretty funny to me.  He's blonde, with a crew cut.  Like every actor ever, he had no acne on his head.  Just a tattoo of a sword.   Oh yeah, and this guy was ripped.  I never caught his name, so I just call him Candy.  

"Come on Candy, we all know that you can't win."  I told him with a weird grin on my face.

"If I have to tell you that my name isn't Candy, I'm going to use you as a pillow."  

"Well that might not be that comfy.  I probably going to moan, move, and get up every ten minutes to get myself a drink."  

"What are you, a smart-guy?" 

"That's me, the King of Contradiction." 

That made him smile.  Maybe if I can make this guy like me, he'll go easy on me when he's burying me alive.  He may think that I'm calm and collective, but I'm actually pretty afraid.  Somehow, I'm not sweating right now, and hopefully I'll keep that up. 
“Let's see what happens." I look at his hand; I can see that he is stroking his card with his thumb.  Something inside me told me that I should call, and not being one to ignore something inside your body telling you that you should do something that could end up in a mistake, I follow it.

"I think you’re bluffing.  I call."  I place down my cards. "Two pairs, Jacks and Sevens."  I say.  He simply sits there holding his cards, with the weirdest facial expression I've ever seen on a guy like him.  

"How did you do that?"  I'll have to admit, I'm as surprised as he is.  

"Well... you were bluffing, simple as that."  I told him.  He stares at me for a matter of a few moments, then stands up in a flash. 

"You were cheating weren't you."  He accused me.  Before anything happened, I just shoved all of the money I earned into my pocket.  I think I'll move away before this guy finds me.  

"Let's not jump to conclusions, now I must be on my way.  Have a good life Candy."  I grab my jacket and backpack from my chair and rush for the door.  

I was a good ten feet away from the place, when I hear the door open, and then rapid footsteps heading towards me.  I start to laugh, and then I start running away, still laughing.  It was at this moment that I knew I was dead.  With the money I got, I could buy a plane ticket, or just drive away to who knows where.  I guess I'll see when I'm running for my life.

"Come back here so I can kill you!"  He yells in frustration.  Though I was faster than him, I think that his anger would boost his adrenaline.  I learned that when I turned around to see him running like a certain cartoon pony that I know of.  

I turn a corner, hoping to fool him with that ‘turn a corner, the people chasing you still keep running in the direction they think you're heading’ thing I always see in cartoons.  I quickly turn the next corner that I see and lean against the brick wall of the building, and the guy runs past me.  A chuckle escapes my mouth, but then he stops, and turns around.  I keep running through the alleyway.  Luckily, the alleyway didn't turn out like a dead-end.  I see a dock where a cruise ship is about to depart. The ticket guy was still there, waiting for any last minute people. 
I cross my fingers, hoping that two hundred dollars is enough money to buy a ticket.  I run to him, and ask him to give me a ticket.  

"That'll be one-hundred fifty there.  I think you may b-” I cut him off as I hand him the one-fifty.  "Well alright then, your room is 656.  Wait, where's your suitcase?"  

"I got all I need in my backpack.  Hey, thanks man, bro-hoof."  I say, extending my fist to him.  I kind of wish that I didn't say that, because usually that's not the thing that you do to people off the street.  He chuckles, lifting his fist up to mine.  I give him a smile, and run to the stairs 

I get up to the boat, just in time that they remove the stairway.  Passengers go over to the rail to do the “good-bye” wave to their friend or family.  I look over to see Candy running to edge of the dock.  He's looking at me with his angry expression.  I give a little wave with a goofy smile on me. It was hard to tell what he was saying with all the noise, but I think he just swore at me.  I walk off to my room, with everyone still waving.





The entertainment for the night was an alternative group called Breaking Brawny.  The lead singer was brown, with a black mane.  He had a microphone for a cutie mark.  The rest were pretty much the same, except that they had different cutie marks.  They were performing a song called 'Without You'. Octavia was playing the cello part of the song, eyes closed, with the world closed off around her.  She was doing this because of her friend, Vinyl Scratch.  She was sitting in the table closest to the stage, clapping like a seal.  She was obviously trying to make her lose focus, but as always, she failed.

A little further back, a certain six ponies were laughing like heck, because of a joke that Twilight cracked about the band.  Her friends cocked their heads back, while Pinkie Pie rolling around on the floor, dying of laughter.  "Oh, and the lead singer, what's his name?"  Twilight asked.  The speedster pony looked at her, summoning her inner sarcasm.  

"I'm gonna say that his name is Steam.  His name is Brawny Boulder."  

"Oh, hush Dash,"  The magician told Rainbow.  

The laughing finally stopped when the music stopped.  Octavia gave a bow, followed by applause.  She took her seat, giving Vinyl a little nudge.  Vinyl laughed.  The band began their next song, called 'Rain'.  

"I'll have to admit, they’re not that bad.  Hay, not that bad looking either,"  Rarity said.  

"Are you kidding, they’re fantastic!  They're like my favorite band!  Next to Three Days Grace, and Shinedown!"  She sat back in her chair with a smile on her face.  Humming a song by either one of the bands.  

"I only pay attention to the music, and it's pretty good,"  Twilight said.  

"It's a little too extreme for me,"  Fluttershy said.  "But the cello part was nice.  I  to go congratulate Octavia later."

"I don't care what kind of music it is, it's all good to me.  Hey, do you gals want to hear a song that I made up just now, I think you're all going to like it."  Pinkie Pie said.  She said it fast, much like a machine gun.  She took in a deep breath, then Applejack silenced her by putting her hoof over her mouth.  

"Now, we don't want to be rude to the singers.  They worked hard for 'dis, so it's their time to shine."  She put her hoof down, and continued to eat.  

"Okie dokie loki."  Pinkie said.  She then sat and watched the band play.  

"Well, I'm pooped.  I'll see you gals later."  Twilight says.

"I'll turn in too y'all."  Applejack says.  She was followed by agreements from everypony.  

"I'm gonna stay, I want to get their autographs."  The speedster pony says. 

"As will I, maybe I can get one of them to go to dinner with me sometime."  Rarity says, followed by a little giggle.

The four ponies got up and walked out of the room, followed by a couple others.  Rainbow Dash and Rarity waved goodbye, and continued listening to the song.  



		

I never thought that I would say this, but cruises are very boring.  I mean, it's all right, but I don't have much interest for the activities that they’re doing.  There was an alternative band playing called Breaking Benjamin, but they almost made me nod off.  They were good, but the songs were kind of slow and soft.  So I just went to my room and watched TV.  Sadly, they didn't have the hub network on it, so I can't watch My Little Pony.  

I fell asleep at about 8:30, which is not when I go to sleep, but I just wanted to fall asleep.  It was a tiring day, and I just wanted to put it all behind me.  About four hours into my sleep, I heard a loud, thunderous noise coming from outside.  I changed quickly, and went to investigate the sound.  I saw that most people had the same idea, because most of them were standing out there doors in their pajamas, looking confused.  

When I got to the main deck, a storm had brewed above the ship.  And this was no petty storm; it was a full on, Zeus's wrath, kind of storm!  I was shocked that no worker was struck by all the lightning that flashed.  After watching for a while, I heard a worker that was putting water in a bucket and throwing it off the boat yell at me.  I couldn't hear him with all of the noise.

"What?"  I yelled.  

"Get to your room, it's safer do-” In a flash, a huge wave rocked the boat, making the guy fall overboard.  

I started running to the rooms, when I looked back one more time.  Lightning flashes were all over the place.  But in all of the flashes, I swore, I saw some color in there, like an entire rainbow of colors.  I couldn't tell if it was my eyes playing tricks on me, or if it was all the My Little Pony I've been watching lately.  I stood back in awe at the sight, when all of a sudden, the biggest wave I have ever seen, was approaching the boat at top speed. 

I ran back to my room, but it was no use.  The wave flooded the halls, making everyone try to swim up to the surface.  None were successful.  As far as I know, I think I was the only one who made it up to the surface.  I made my way to the lifeboats, thinking that I wouldn't have to save it for any woman or children.  I got in it, untied the rope suspending the boat from the water, and fell into the water.  I hit the water pretty hard, but it didn’t hurt too much.  I grabbed a paddle, and started paddling as fast as I possibly could, but the waves kept pushing me back toward the boat.  I thought all I could do now was let fate do its thing.  

I let the water push me wherever it wanted me.  I knew I was going to die, and I made my peace with it.  Suddenly, a flash of lightning flashed in front of my eyes, and it shocked me.  Luckily, there was no water in the boat. Though it seemed impossible, I fried to a crisp.  The shock made me pass out, and I lied there for who knows how long.  I first thought that I had died, but I woke up a few minutes later.  The boat was no longer in sight, so I assumed it sunk.  I paid my respects for those who must've died, and I just let the boat take me to where it wanted me to go.  The storm was over, but the waves were still shaking like mad.  Out of nowhere, a large wave towered over me, threatening to fall on me.  The wave fell with a loud splash.  Crazy enough, I didn't pay attention to the wave.  I paid attention to the fact that the water looked like a different color.  Why did I notice this?  I have no idea.  The wave came towards me fast, like it had a bone to pick with me.  The impact of the wave sent me sixty-miles an hour, heading toward an unknown destination.  When it was all over, I managed to keep the boat as still as it could.  

I thought I wasn't going to sleep for the rest of my life, but I was wrong.  I fell asleep for a while until my head hit the edge of the boat.  I rubbed my head and tried to figure out why the boat hit my head,  I realized that I had struck land





"Twilight, wake up!"  A voice said.

"Ugh, what do you want?” Twilight responded.

"Get up, c'mon, you have to see this."  The voice.  Twilight realized it was Rainbow Dash.  

"What do I need to see so badly that takes presidents over sleep?"  

"It's... I actually don't know what it is.  So could you come take a look at it?"  She asked politely.

"Ugh, fine."

"Great."  Rainbow flew to the door, bursting it open. 

Twilight sat on her bed, trying her best to wake herself up.  She walked slowly to the door, closing it behind her when she left her room.  Unlike everypony else in the hallway, they were excited to get up to the main deck.  She was still groggy, but everypony else had smiles, and seemed to be wide-awake.  She hated those kinds of people, who were happy to be woken up at midnight, just to see something that they haven’t even seen before.  

Twilight got to the main deck about ten minutes later.  She spotted her friends closest to the rails.  She looked up in the sky, and saw nothing.  "I don't see anything in the sky, what is the big deal about a starry night?"  Clearly, she wasn't amused.  

"It's what's in the water that you should see."  Rainbow said. 

Twilight walked over to the rails and looked down into the water.  She saw a boat sinking into the water.  At first she was afraid, but then she realized that it must have been that movie Titanic.  

"Oh, I love this movie, but it's so sad."  Rarity said.  

The magician looked at the water suspiciously.  She saw the movie, and there wasn't a camera angle like this in the entire movie.  She also saw a lifeboat leaving the scene, and what was peculiar about this, was that there wasn't anypony on the boat.  There was a human. 

After everypony saw what was in the boat, everypony started to discuss what they were seeing.  They all saw a human with blonde hair, a medium body mass, wearing a black and grey hoodie, lying in a boat, His clothes looked burnt, and he was motionless.  Everypony was giving their input on it, and what was going on.   

After a while, the image started drifting away from the yacht.  It got a good distance away, before it disappeared, but it clearly wasn't finished.  A flash of light erupted from the water, unleashing a hundred foot wave on the boat.  The wave hit the yacht with great force, sending several ponies back into walls, and flipping the yacht over on its side.  The deck was filled to the brim with screams of terror and fear.  Twilight herself was fine, but her friends fared different.  Rainbow Dash broke one of her wing on impact, Rarity just cried no matter what kind of pain, Pinkie Pie grunted when she hit the wall, Fluttershy screamed silently, and Applejack didn't make a noise, but she obviously was hurt. 

Twilight did the only thing that she could do.  She grabbed her friends, and her horn lit up.  She cast a spell, making a large bubble erupt from nowhere.  Every last passenger was in the bubble floating around like a fairy.  In mere seconds, all of the ponies were gone.  Everypony landed in a mountainous area in the middle of nowhere.  All ponies cried tears of happiness, thankful that they didn't die.  They examined their surroundings.  But there was something odd about the place.  Everything was made entirely out of blocks.  Even the animals were blocks, but subtle hints distinguished the animals from one another.   When they looked up to ask Twilight where they were, they noticed that Twilight, along with five other mares, was missing.  There eyes darting to and fro, looking for the missing ponies.





Twilight opened her eyes, seeing the ocean in front of her.  She jumped back, realizing that she was on land.  It was sunset, but she remembered that it was about midnight before this happened.  She looked back, and saw many trees, along with five ponies passed out on the ground behind her.  She let out a sigh of relief when she saw them.  In her heart, she knew she had saved the passenger ponies, and her friends at the same time.  But at a cost, now she was Celestia knows where, in the middle of the ocean, and she was completely drained of power.

She breathed a breath of fresh air, falling to the ground to rest.  She estimated a good six days until her power came back, and until then, she might lose it without reading something.  She just hopes that she won’t end up a cannibal over the next few days.  With all of this in mind, she closed her eyes, hoping to get the only peaceful sleep that she might have for the remainder of these days on the island.  Maybe even her last days.





I might go insane on this island.  I’m pretty sure that everyone might go insane on an island with no one else in sight, but I thought I might as well say that anyway.  But I think I’ve already past insane, and I’m now going into hallucinations.  I could’ve sworn that I saw the ponies here, because I saw Twilight standing on the beach, looking over her friends sleeping on the sand.  I shrugged this off, and I went in the island to search for food.  I found a crap ton of fruit trees, so I might survive for the next couple of days.

I returned to where the boat is to put my supplies in it and hopefully make a shelter for the night.  The ponies are still there, still sleeping.  Again, I shrug it off and continue to my boat.  The tarp on the boat is enough for a blanket, and a roof.  I check again, this time, they’re all asleep.  I figured they might go away when I wake up, so I’ll just fall asleep now.  I cover myself with the tarp, I don’t want any animals sneaking in here and tearing me apart.  It takes me awhile, but I fall asleep.  I think I might be imagining things, because I swear I’m hearing voices.  To be precise, I’m hearing Twilight’s voice, talking to the others, and telling them that she’s going to investigate boat.





“C’mon, get up Fluttershy.  We need to find shelter for the night.”  Twilight says, shaking the animal lover.

“Twilight?  W-where are we?”  Fluttershy says.

“Were on an island, c’mon we got to get the others up too.”

“The other passengers, where are they?”  

“They’re safe.  I teleported them somewhere else.”

Fluttershy sighed.  She got up and shook herself from her sleep, and went to wake the others up.  Twilight paced back and forth, going over all the possible options that waited for her and her friends.  The others woke up slow and frustrated, but were willing to do whatever it took them to get home.  Once they were all awake, Twilight laid down the news.

“Alright girls, I have found out how we ended up on this island.  When I teleported all of the other passengers to an unknown area, I must have sent us to this island by accident.  I don’t know if we’re somewhere in the Atlantic, Indian, or if we're even in the right dimension.  But one thing's for certain, we're gonna be stuck here for a while."

"That's not going to be a problem at all, I can just fly above the island and- Owww!"  Rainbow exclaimed, forgetting that her wing is broken.  She tried to flap it, but again, she shouted in pain.

"Rainbow, you know your wing is broken, and we can't fix it for you.  You're just gonna have to refrain from using your wings until we get back home."  Twilight told her.   Rainbow didn't take the news kindly.

"Then how are we going to get off this island."  Rainbow asked.  

"We'll have to wait until I can cast the spell again.  I'm completely drained at the moment."  Twilight told her.  Rainbow crossed her arms and sat down. 

"I think we should look fer a place to sleep tonight.  We were lucky enough to sleep this last night with our lives."  Applejack said.  Though nopony said anything, they all knew that she was right.  

"OOH, OOH, I see a boat over there.  First one there is a moldy carrot!"  Pinkie yells.  She darted towards the small boat at the speed of light, the others jumped back as she did.  They all looked over to the boat, though nopony else saw it, Twilight recognized the boat, from somewhere, though she couldn't put her hoof on it.  

"Does that boat look familiar to anyone?"  The lavender pony said.  Nopony responded.  "I'm going to take a look at it."  She said.

Pinkie was already over there, hopping around it.  The others arrived shortly after.  

"It seems like someone's made a shelter out of it.  Somepony else is on the island with us."  Pinkie says.  

"I think Fluttershy should go in first."  Rarity said.

"WHAT!?"  Fluttershy squeaked.  

"Yeah, I second that."  Rainbow said.  

"Are you up to it Sugar cube?"  Applejack said.

"No, I'm not going in there!  There could be something horrible in there!"

"No there's not, it's probably a lifeboat from the boat, it must've washed up here."  The country pony told her.  

"Oh come on, get in there."  Rainbow says, pushing Fluttershy into the curtains.    





I awoke to the sound of something entering the curtains I hung up.  I couldn't tell what it was, but it didn't seem angry though, just afraid.  I could hear it whimpering quietly to itself.  Not wanting to get torn apart by whatever was in my tent, I stayed under my covers.  It stayed in one spot for a second, then walked around my little home, slowly.  I was too afraid to look at what it was, but it was killing me not knowing what it was.  I lifted the blanket off me very slowly, and quietly.  

Yeah, I'm going insane, I'm seeing butter yellow hooves, with some pink hair drooped down to her knees.  I think I'm seeing Fluttershy.  I got up from my covers.  "Hi Fluttershy, I'm insane."  I say out loud.  Fluttershy jumps back, completely freaked out.  

"Who are you?!"  She asks me.  

"Oh, so I can interact with my hallucinations now?  This is perfect."

"I'm not a hallucination.  I'm a pony.  Who are you?"  

"That's what they all say.  I can't even fee-” I feel her back, expecting to phase right through her, but no.  Instead, I feel soft, yellow fur.  Completely bewildered, I look up to Fluttershy, who is about to cry.  I just look back and forth from my hand, to her face.  

She runs out of the tent, screaming like a banshee.  I'm still looking at my hand, probably making the strangest face.  		





"Fluttershy, what happened in there?  We could here everything darling."  Rarity said.  

"T-t-t-there's a-a-a-a-a-” She stuttered.

"C'mon, out wit' it!"  Applejack said.

"A-a-a-a h-h-h-human!"  She exclaimed. 

"What?!"  Four ponies say.  

"Oh c'mon now y'all, there can't be a human 'dere, they don't even exist."  Applejack said, walking over to the boat.  "I'll look in 'dere, and prove to ya, that there are no-” She stopped in mid-sentence.  Inside was a real human being.  His hand extended was extended front of him, wearing a shocked expression on his face.

She backed up from the boat, tripping over herself as she did.  "Did I just see 'dat?"  The orange pony said.  Fluttershy nodded.  Never has anypony in the entire Earth, see a poker face quite like Applejacks at that moment.  





I honestly stayed like that for a good twenty minutes.  I was shocked out of mind, and I thought I was dreaming.  When I came to, I pinched myself.  I pinched as hard as I could, but I didn't wake up.  I already was.  I thought that maybe I could walk out there, and try to make friends with them.  But that might not work, considering I just gave Fluttershy a heart attack.  

I overviewed my options to myself out loud.  "I could stay here, and wait until they leave.  Or I could try to make amends with Fluttershy and try to make friends with them.  Ooh, maybe I could take the boat, and go find another island.  That might work."

"Is he talking to himself in there?"  I heard Rainbow Dash say.  I still couldn't believe that I was in the presence of my favorite cartoon characters.  I can't really call them cartoon characters now, can I?"

"Hey, uh... I'm gonna come out, please none of you freak out."

"Don't let him come out, he'll try to hurt us"  Fluttershy whimpered.  

"Look Fluttershy, I'm sorry I scared you, now are you going to let me come out?"  I told her.

"That depends... wait, how did you know my name?"  The yellow mare asked.  I wasn't sure if I should mention the show to them or not, I was afraid that I might trigger something bad, or they would just ask me questions the entire time.  I recently became a brony, so I can't answer so many questions at a time.  

"That's not important right now, what is important, is that I can get out of here, so I can figure out what to do next."

"How do we know that you aren't some kind of Changeling."  Rainbow said.  

"What?  Never mind, I just want to come out."  A part of me wanted to come out because I wanted to put this to rest. The other part, just wanted to meet them all.  

"Look, even if we do let you out, you're going to go through some questioning.  Are you sure you want to do that?"  Twilight asked.

"Fine, fine.  Just let me talk to Fluttershy for a second."  

"WHAT, NO, NO!  Don't let him near me!"  Fluttershy screamed.  

"Fluttershy, this is a personal matter, I just want to talk to you for a minute."  That personal matter was the fact that I scared the crap out of a gentle, nice, and caring pony.  I just don't feel right having that on me.

There was just a little silence before she answered.  "O-okay."  She said timidly.  

I pushed open the curtains to see five shocked ponies, and a single alicorn, staring at me.  I tried hard to keep the smile off my face, and it was incredibly hard.  Each one of them stared at me, and I returned the stare, with probably the strangest face they've seen.  I turned to see Fluttershy, shaking.  I make sure to approach her slowly.  She backs up, but not too far.  As I grow closer, her whimpering gets weaker and weaker, like she's about to pass out from shock.  When I reach her, she accepts my hand to her back, but she's a little hesitant.  

"Do you gals mind letting me have some time with her?"  I ask.

Rarity giggles silently.  I give her a sharp stare.  She had a smug, smile on her.  

"No, go ahead."  Twilight says.  





"What do you think they're doing down there?"  Rainbow asks Pinkie Pie.

"They're just talking Dashie.  It's what everypony does."  Pinkie says.  

"Yeah, I know, but they've been talking forever.  It's driving me crazy not knowing."  

They continued their conversation, while another conversation was taking place.

"Twi, it's gettin' dark, shouldn't we get a fire goin'."  Applejack said.

"Yeah, go get some wood."  Twilight said.  Applejack got up from her spot, and walked toward the forest.  The foreboding trees loomed over her, threatening to strike at any time.  But she still carried on.  She's dealt with worse.  





"Oh, it's okay.  I feel like that at times too."  Fluttershy says.  I just told her that I feel like an idiot expressing my inner self, my softer side, if you will.  

"Yeah, it doesn't really help with my friends, but it sure seems to help with the ladies."  I tell her.  She chuckles, making me smile as she does.  Though I had no particular favorite, I had a soft spot for Fluttershy.  Along with every brony out there.  

"Can I ask you a question, Bruce?"  She asks.  

"Yeah, sure."  

"How did you know my name?" 

I stop breathing at the question.  I refrained from telling her this, because I thought that it might set something off, or she might not take it well.

"Well... in my dimension, there is a television show, and it's about you and your friends."  She becomes unresponsive.  A minute passes by before she answers.

"That show sounds like it should be for little girls.  And from my knowledge, you're not a girl."  

"Yeah, I know.  It's complicated."  I stand up, ready to go back to the others.  

"So, I'm sorry for startling you.  Do you forgive me?"  I say, rushing through it so I can get it over with.

"Yes."  She says.  My conscience cleared, we head back to the camp to join the others.





Twilight sat on a log, focusing on the fire.  Her horn lit up, and she tensed up.  The fire remained the same, then it started to rise slightly.  She tried harder, but the fire fell, burning out in the process.  She got on her knees, and blew on the little spark.  The fire grew again, and light illuminated the small campsite.  Applejack came back a few moments later carrying wood on her back.  She put some in the fire, and the rest on the ground.  

“Twilight, I thought you were an alicorn.  Shouldn’t your magic be more powerful than it was?”  Rarity asked.  

“It is, but I teleported a whole lot of ponies.  I can teleport up to twenty ponies without a problem, but I can’t teleport an entire cruise ship worth of them without losing a lot of magic in the process.”  Twilight told Rarity.

“What happened to those other passengers?”  Rainbow asked.  

“I don’t know, but I think they’re safe.  They probably got help already, and are safe in their homes.”  Twilight said.  Eventually, she knew one of them was going to ask the question she didn’t have an answer to.

“Where did the human come from?”  Rarity asked.

“I don’t know.  I’m still trying to find that out.”  





Fluttershy and I came sometime later.  

“It’s about time you two were done talking.”  Rainbow says.  

“I’m sorry, it was just a long conversation.”  Fluttershy said.  

I said nothing, I felt obligated to talk only when I received a question.  We sat down on a log, and watched the fire.  Nopony said anything for a while.  Just when I was going to burst from the awkward silence, Twilight directed a question toward me.  

“Who are you, where did you come from, and how exactly did you know Fluttershy’s name?”  She asked.

I sat there for a good long while until I answered.  

“My name is Bruce Van, I come from Portland, Oregon, and the last one is a little complicated.  

“I’m good with complicated, now tell me.”  Twilight said.  I told her exactly what I told Fluttershy.

“And you actually watch the show?”  

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“It’s a good show.”

“That’s designed for little girls.”

“Yes.  It’s just something that nobody can explain.”

“Don’t you mean ‘nopony?’”

“Whatever.”  

The conversation dragged on for what seemed like hours.  Eventually, I got tired and told them I was gonna get some sleep.  	

“Well, goodnight.”  Fluttershy said.  

I walked over to my little boat, and fell on the ground the second I walked in.  The blanket was so warm and inviting, it was just begging me to go to sleep.  I wrapped myself in its warmth, and fell asleep.  With all that happened today, I hope it wasn’t a dream.  It can’t be, it was so real.  I felt Fluttershy, and I talked to her for two hours.  It was just so amazing, that I can’t even compare it to anything else that has happened to me.  

When I was close to falling asleep, I heard some footsteps coming toward the boat.  I heard the curtains open up, and something lie down next to me.  I heard a sigh, and then it’s head fell down on the ground.  I lifted the blanket up, and I saw Fluttershy.  It was the most precious thing I have ever seen.  A smile crossed my face, and I put my head on my backpack.  It was the best sleep I’ve ever had in my entire life.
> No more water for us
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I awoke to the sound of trees being kicked, and then some items falling to the ground with a *thump*.  I'm guessing Applejack is awake. 

My eyes open wide, and the first thing I do is smile.  It wasn't a dream.  I look to my right to see Fluttershy still asleep.   I quietly get up, and walk out of the tent, not wanting to wake her up.  The orange pony was kicking random trees, making fruit fall.  She picks them up in her mouth, and then drops them into her sack.  

"Oh, hi 'dere sugarcube.  How'd ya sleep?"  The country pony asks.  

"Great, thank you."  I respond.  

She gave me a simple smile, and continued onto her business.  I return the gesture, and walk towards the campsite.  Before I arrive, I get tackled by a pink hurricane.

"Hey, do you happen to have any water with you?"  Pinkie Pie asks.  She knocks me down on the ground as she asks the question.  

"Uh, I'm sorry, I don't."  

"Dang it, we don't have any water with us, and I'm really thirsty."

"Well, maybe some of us can go look for some water in the jungle later."  Her hoof was right on my stomach, and it kind of hurt.

"Okay then."  She gets off of me, and then bounces toward Applejack, using my gut as a launch pad.  I get up, brush myself off, and head towards the camp.  Even though it hurt, it still made me smile.  

I see Twilight walking back and forth on the sand.  A groove is formed under her feet.  It makes me assume she's been doing this all night.  

"So how did you sleep?"  I ask her.

"I didn't sleep."  She says.

"Why not?"

"I can't sleep, when I have too much on my mind."

"What do you have on your mind?"

"Oh, the usual.  What are we going to do to survive, and how do I know that we won't become cannibals in the next few days."

"We have plenty of fruit trees around here.  I don't think we'll starve."

"Well that's great.  Now we just need to have someone go and look for water in the jungle."

"I could go."

"Okay then.  But how do we survive without a shelter.

"We could make a shelter.  There are plenty of trees around here so we could chop some down."

"It seems like you've been stuck on an island before."

"I haven't, I just watch TV shows about guys getting stuck on a random island."

"Oh."  She sits down in the sand, and then jumps back up.  "I think we need to make a canopy too, or the suns gonna burn us all.”

"Probably."  Twilight smiles, which causes me smile, making Pinkie Pie show up, jumping all over the place with a huge smile on her face.  As quick as she arrived, she left.  It was in her nature to do this kind of thing, but it still scared me half to death.  

"I think I'm going to walk around the island for a bit."

"Sounds good, I'll see you later."  I get up from my spot and walk away.  When I'm far enough away, I turn around to see Twilight lying down on the sand, eyes closed.  The sight makes me smile, and I walk away.
--------------------------------------------------------

Applejack took a look at what she has collected.  A dozen oranges, peaches, some coconuts, but not a single apple.  She scowled before sitting down.  Rarity came around later, and sat by her friend.

"Am I the only one here who finds him good looking?"  Rarity says.

"You find every colt that you come across good lookin' in one way or another.  But it crosses the line when you find a human 
good lookin'."  Applejack responds.

"Yes, I know.  But I try not to think of him as a human, I try to picture him as a pony.  Can't you picture him as one of us?"

Applejack sat there for a moment until she answered.  "No, no I can't."

"Well I can, and he looks absolutely dashing."  She blushed as her mind went elsewhere.  

"If you're thinking about beginning a relationship with this fella, then forget it.  He's from a different dimension than us, so it can't happen.  Besides, once were off this island, Twilight’s probably gonna to send him back to where he came from.  Do you understand that Rarity?"  Rarity didn't answer; she just kept smiling and giggling to herself.

"RARITY!"  

"Aaah!  What is it?"  

"Did you even understand what I just said?"

"Oh, yes.  Bruce is good looking, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.  Now I must be going, I'm going to make some dresses out of materials I can find lying around."

"Well I hope they turn out like you want them to." obvious sarcasm shown through her southern twang. 

"Thank you, Applejack."  Applejack rolled her eyes.  Love is deaf to.  
-------------------------------------------------------

I returned a little while later.  I wanted to go to my boat to get some sleep, but Twilight called me over to a place near the jungle.  
She looked kind of tired, like she just woken up, which she has.  

"We need to get talking about our water supply."

"I know.  I think I'm getting dehydrated."

"I already have the others over here, so let's get going." I follow her to the fire pit, where everypony (I think when I get off this island, I'm going to have a hard time getting used to saying everybody.)  was gathered.  I took my seat next to Fluttershy, where she proudly cuddled up to me.  It seemed almost impossible for me to stop smiling.  

"Alright, now that we're all here, I think we can get started."  Twilight said, followed by nodding from everypony.  

"I think you're all aware that we don't have a water supply, and that we're all dead without it."  She's always tried not to say dead, or any word related to it, around her friends.  "We need to venture into the jungle to find some kind of water.  After that, we should try to build a shelter.  Applejack, Rarity, I think you two could handle that."

"Oh, most definitely."  Rarity says.

"I reckon I can."  Applejack says.  

"Great, now all we need to do is find water.  Any volunteers?"  When she asked the question, I raised my arm against my will.  I looked at it and realized that it was surrounded by a purple magic.  I looked at Twilight with a look that said 'seriously?'  

"You're the one who came up with the idea."  Twilight says.

"I thought you asked for any volunteers?"  I say.

"I wasn't talking about you, I was talking about them."

"I'll go!"  Applejack says loudly.  I see Rarity glaring at her, looking like she's about to kill her.  

"Applejack, I couldn't ask you to do that.  You're already working on the house."  Twilight says.

"Doesn't mean I can't do anything else to help."

"But-"

"Twilight, I insist."

"Well... alright."  Applejack sits down, giving Rarity a troll face kind of smile.  Eliciting a death stare from Rarity.  "Then you and Applejack better be on your way, then."

"Can it wait until morning?"  I ask her.

"If your God gives you a task that can be done in a couple hours, would you put it off until morning?"  I don't respond.  "Then get a move on it."
--------------------------------------------------------

I pack the tarp I use for a blanket, in case we needed to make camp, my backpack, some water bottles that I had in the backpack, and some fruits from random bushes. (Just pray that these aren't poisonous.)  Applejack brought nothing, for I had all of her stuff.  We headed off into the jungle about ten minutes after we dispersed.  When we were in the jungle, we heard a rustling coming from our right.

"What was that?"  Applejack asks.  

"It was probably a squirrel or something.  Let's go."  She examined the bush before rejoining me.
--------------------------------------------------------
Rarity jumped out of the bush, taking a big breath of air when we were farther away.   'You've got to be more careful.  One more slip up like that, and you'll be caught for sure.'  Rarity thought to herself.  She got out of the bush, brushed herself off a bit.  “It’s all worth it.”  She says out loud.  She continued to walk towards them, making sure her steps are careful and quiet.
---------------------------------------------------------

"So... uh... how's life on the farm?"  I ask her.  

"Good.  There's always some kind of problem, but Big Macintosh usually takes care of 'em."

"Well that's good."  An awkward silence passed before she asks me a question of her own.

"How 'bout you, how was your life before all 'dis?"  She asks.

"Well, it's kind of a long story."

"Well, we have plenty o’ time on our hooves, or in your case, hands."

It takes a while before I answer.  "I had a moderately good life when I was a kid.  My mom and dad were both happy with their 
marriage, and everything was going pretty well.  It wasn't until I got into college when it all went wrong.  

"My parents both died in a car crash, and I had to finish college early and get a job.  Six years later, I get a girlfriend, which was 
the luckiest break I've had since college.  We had a terrible fight about... I can't even remember what it was about, she took all of my money, I lost my job, and I got desperate.  I won a lucky game of poker, challenged the best guy in the joint, who also happened to be the strongest.  I beat him, and escaped him by buying a last minute cruise ship ticket.  I thought that I would never be bored on a cruise in my entire life, but I was wrong.  The only thing interesting that happened was the entertainment for the night.  It was some kind of alternative group called Breaking Benjamin.  Next thing you know, the ship sinks. I'm the only survivor as far as I know, and I landed on an island... and I guess you know the rest."  

Throughout the description, she didn't say a word.  She was completely respectful, and didn't even stop me once.  "Y'know, there was an alternative group on our ship called Breaking Brawny."  She says.

"Really?"  

"Yes."

"That's... that's actually kind of cool."

"The fact that the same event happened in both of our dimensions?"

"Well there's that, then there's the fact that there's a pony version of them.  That could possibly mean that there's a pony version of everything, like bands, celebrities-”

"Like Three Days Grace and Shinedown?"
"Yeah, that's completely possible."  The thought of this was making me smile very hard.  "Wait, you actually listen to that kind of music?"

"Not on purpose.  Rainbow Dash keeps playing that stuff wherever she goes."

"Oh.  More of a country kind of gal, huh?"

"Yeah."

"That's cool, I guess."  The conversation went from interesting to awkward in ten seconds flat (HA).  Neither one of us said anything until I stepped in something wet.

"Hey, I found some mud."

"So?"

"So, if there's mud, then there's got to be water nearby."

"Well then let's get on it 'den."

I find another mud spot ahead of the first one.  Pretty soon, we find a little stream going across some dirt.  The stream got bigger as we go along, and it brought us to a waterfall.  The water from it lands in a pond, making the water splash all around us.  The water was not drinkable because it was so dirty.  But it was so warm, so I decided to go for a swim.  I stripped down until I was in my pants, and then jumped in.  

"Seriously.  We're probably gonna die of dehydration if we don't find water, and you're taking a swim?" She asked.

"I guess it's a good time to take a break, don't you think?"

She thought to herself.  "I guess."  She lied on a tree and put her hat over her eyes.
I swam around the pond about twenty times before I got tired.  Applejack lay on a tree the entire time, and she looked a bit bored from the looks of it.  “Why don’t you come in, the waters fine?”  I ask.

“Nah, I’m fine.”  

“Why not?”

“It’s nothing.”

“What, are you afraid?”  I knew that if I could make her angry, then she’d come challenge me.  Applejacks mind just worked like that.    

“No, I just prefer not to get wet right now.”

“You’re on an island, you’re gonna get wet eventually."

"Well that day is gonna have to wait now, is it?" I raised my eyebrow, while she just crossed her legs, hooves, feet, whatever word is correct.  We sat there in an endless staring contest until I decided to go under water.  

I try to hold my breath for as long as I possibly can.  I always thought that one of these days, I'm gonna have to go under water for a long period of time.  Right now, I can hold my breath for five minutes.  Obviously, that day hasn't come yet, but I will be prepared to do so if it happens.  After a while of hanging around, I saw something gleaming over by the waterfall.  I thought it was a fish, but I realized fish don't usually stay in the same place for a minute or two.  I swam over to it to realize it was a green pendant.  I stared at it until I realized something.  It was one of Zecora's doorstops that she used to trick Trixie in 'Magical Duel'.  

I looked above me to realize that I was behind the waterfall.  I mean, way behind the waterfall.  I swam up to the surface to examine what exactly was behind it.  I saw a staircase leading up to a torch-lit cave.  The architecture surrounding the cave seemed native, like it was made by Indians.  I suddenly remembered Applejack, and swam back to the pond to tell her.  I took a deep breath and went back to tell her.  

"Dang, Bruce.  You were under for quite a while."  She says.  

"I know, but you need to come see something."

"Eh, nope."

"I'm not trying to trick you, I'm being serious.  There's something you need to see."

"Sure, and Big Macintosh did nothing but sit when the Flim Flam brothers came and threatened to take over our farm."

"Who?"

"Flim and Flam.  Those guys with the giant contraption making cider admittedly faster than we can."

"Uhh... whatever, that's not important.  What is important is that you need to see this."

"Okay, I'll bite.  What is it?"

"It's a cave."

"Heh, sure there is.  And you got me excited over nothing."

"If that's true, then explain this." I toss the pendant her way, and it lands at her hooves.  She stares at it until her eyes open wide.  She looks my way, and then got up.  She walks slowly towards me, trying to stay as far away from the water as she 
possibly can.  

"Get a move on, we don't have all day."  I yell at her.

"I'm coming, just let me... get in the water first."

"Look, if you can't swim, then that's alright.  But you need to try your best to swim."

"It's not that, it's... something else."

"Applejack, why won't you get in the water?"

"I... I can't talk about it."

"C'mon Applejack, you can tell me.  Don't you trust me?"

"Not exactly, I did meet you just two days ago."

"Applejack, this is kind of important, so let's hear the reason why you won't come in."

"Alright, alright... I'll tell you."  When she said that, tears began to form in her eyes.  "After Apple Bloom was born, there was a 
flood at the farm.  My parents tried to get some of their belongins'.  The water got deeper, and I saw them fall into the water.  I didn't see them come up.  I tried to help 'em, but... but-" She was on the verge of crying, and I didn't want to see that.  I walked to her, and wiped away a tear from her eye.  

"Applejack, will it make you feel any better if I swam with you?"  I say in a softer tone of voice.

Applejack, still in tears reluctantly responded.  "What do you mean?"

"I'll keep you next to me the entire time.  My hand will never lift from your back.  I may not be able to carry you, so you'll have to try to swim along with me.  Do you understand?"  For a moment or two, she doesn't respond.  Instead, she stands there, trying really hard not to cry.  "Do you understand, Applejack?"

"I-I do."

"Then let's go."  I take my time going to the pond, making sure every step is safe.  I feel her struggle a bit, but she calms down when we enter the water.  My hand grasps her back while she slides in closer, making herself comfortable next to my body.  
Pretty soon, the water gets deeper.  It was deep enough that we can't feel the ground, so we're driven to float.

"We're gonna have to go under.  I need you to take a deep breath, okay."  She nods her head, and then takes a deep breath.  Before we do, I wipe away another tear from her face.  I smile at her. She doesn't smile back.
-------------------------------------------------------

Rarity was reduced to tears by her friend’s story, and touched by the way I made Applejack feel safe in the water.  She sat by a tree, waiting until we had gone underwater.  She was curious about what I found, and wanted to see what I wanted to show 
Applejack.  She walked over to the pond, but before she took a step into the pond, she stopped.  

'What's more important?  Finding love or getting your hair wet.'  She overlooked her options, and then came to a conclusion.  
'Your hair will be fine.  It just needs to be dried and styled again.'  

She steps into the water, surprised by the warmth.  She follows us underwater, forgetting everything else but the possibility that we could make a good couple.
-------------------------------------------------------

"Hey, has anypony seen Rarity?"

"Nope, did you need something Pinkie Pie?"  Rainbow Dash asked.  

"No, it's just that I haven't seen her since Applejack and Bruce left."  

"Where do you think she is?"  

"Maybe making some dresses somewhere along the beach."  

"Probably.  Hey, do you want to swimmin?"

"Pinkie, you do realize that if we don't start getting to work on the shelter we might not survive, right?"

"Oh yeah, right."  Pinkie trotted off towards the jungle to grab some more wood.  
-----------------------------------------------

The trip underwater was fast, I didn't know how long she could hold her breath, so I went as fast as I possibly could.  When we popped up on the other side, she swam over to the staircase, ran up the stairs, and then danced around on the ground.  

"Oh, sweet land, I missed you so much."  She tried to hug the ground, only to hit her head.  I walked up to her, and made her look in the direction of the cave.  

The cave went farther than I thought. It stretched for about seventy feet, until it reached a door.  It was round and small, like Frodo's door in The Lord of The Rings.  It was black and white, with a large imprint of the pendant on the door, and gold knocker on it.  I was about to knock on it, but Applejack stopped me.

"I don't think we should knock."  She says.  

"Why not?"  I respond.  

"We have to find water for the others, or we might not survive."

"True, but I can't handle not knowing what's behind those doors."

"We can find out later, but right now we need to find some water." I was going to protest, but she persuaded me otherwise by guilt-tripping me with those eyes of hers.  

"Alright, let's go."  We got to the staircase when she stopped again.  I offered my hand, and she took it.  This time, she didn't struggle.  

Before we enter the water, I see something swimming in the water, coming up to the surface.  I couldn't see much of it, but it was large.  This obviously wasn't a fish.  What I could tell was that it was white, with a hint of...purple.  I realized it was Rarity.  
She breached the surface, only to realize that we were staring right at her.

"Oh... hello."

"Rarity, what on Earth are you doing here?"  I ask her

"What on what?"  She responds.  

"Ear-" I growled to myself. "Equestria.  What on Equestria are you doing here?"

"I'm... uh... I'm just, um."

"You maroon, you're not supposed to come with us."  Applejack tells her.  "Why did you put yourself in this kind of danger?  Who knows what kind of monster could be around here?"  

"Well I just can't let you run off into the forest with him."

"Wait, what?"  I ask.

"Can't you just let this one go?"  Applejack asks Rarity.  

"No, no I can't."  

"Just can't handle me hangin' out with your crush, can't you?"  Applejack says.  

"I'm sorry, what was that?"  I ask.

"Quiet down, Applejack!"  Rarity says.

"What, are you afraid that he might find out?"  Applejack says.  

"Find out what?"  I ask, quite confused.  

"Nothing darling."  Rarity says.  

"Rarity's got a crush on you."  Applejack tells me.

"Oh, no I don't!"  Rarity says.

"Don't deny it, Rarity, you told me just this mornin'."

"Can I say something?"  I ask.

"Admit it, Rarity."  Applejack yells.

"So what if I am, what's wrong with that?"

"Other than the fact that it's not going to work out, it's just plain creepy."  Applejack says to Rarity.  

"Look, I-" Before I could finish, I get cut off.

"Love can overcome any obstacle!"  Rarity yells.  

"So you plan on making him one of us?"  Applejack asks.

"We'll see what happens."

"You're relationships last as long as zap apples!"

"That does it!"  In a flurry of rage, her horn lit up, and a magic volt came rushing towards her.  Applejack dodges it and jumps towards Rarity.  Both mares are fighting in the water, trying to drown each other.  The bolt of magic ricocheted off the walls, eventually hitting the door at the end of the hallway.  The door opens slightly, revealing something in it.  I couldn't concentrate on it, due to the two mares trying to kill each other right behind me.

I ran to them and separated them.  "Knock it off you two!"  I yell.  It did nothing but fuel their rage.  It was like I was the referee in an internet fight between two girls.

"Get a hold of yourselves!"  I yell.  The two finally calm down.  "What's wrong with you two, I thought you were friends."

"Right now, we're frienemies."  Rarity says, sticking her tongue out at Applejack.

"I think the two of you need some space."  I say.

"I couldn't agree more.  So Applejack, you'd better get going."  Rarity says.

"I'm sorry, who volunteered first?"  Applejack retorts.

"I'm saying the both of you go back to camp!"  

"What?"  Both mares say.

"You heard me, get going!"

"C'mon, can't we just go on with our task?"  Applejack asks.

"No, you two need to get to apologizing.  Friends don't fight, and I can't handle
it when friends fight."  

"Why can't we stay?"  Rarity asks, trying to make me feel guilty by trying to look adorable.  

"You two need a little time out.  Now if you could kindly get a move on, that would be great."

"There's no need to treat us like kids."  Rarity says.

"I wouldn't have to if you two didn't act like it.  Now MOVE IT!"  I yell.  Both of them jumped back at my rage.  Applejack puts her head down, while Rarity looks away from me.  I walk into the water, and grab Applejack.  I see Rarity make an angry face as I do this.

When we reach the other side, I tell them to head back.  "Applejack, you head that way."  I point my finger the direction we came from.  "And Rarity, you head to the right.  Get a move on."  Neither of them says a word, but they obey.  With their heads down, they head into the jungle where I tell them to.  

With them gone, I decided to go look for water.  The best way to find water is to go to the top of the waterfall and find the source of it.  I walk around, until I get to the top of the waterfall.  Right when the reality of what I said hit me, they were already gone.  I continue on, in hopes that I can find water in time.  
-------------------------------------------------------

After walking for a while, the two ponies reach a crossroad, and begin walking with each other.

"Oh the nerve of him.  Treating us like children, and then sending us back!  I can't tell you how angry I am with him!"  Rarity says angrily.  

"You can't blame 'im Rarity." Applejack says, still looking at the ground.  "We were actin' childish back 'dere."

"I know."  She said, letting her head down.  "Bruce is right, we need to make amends."  

"Yeah, I'm sorry I acted like that."

"I'm sorry too."  Both of them gave each other a quick hug, and then continued on.  

"You think he'll find some water?"  Rarity asked.

"Eventually.  I know he-" Applejack suddenly stops talking.  Rarity looks at Applejack, just to see her on the ground.  She observes the area, and then feels something pierce her neck.  She pulls it out, and sees a needle dipped with a green liquid.  
Her head starts to spin, making her fall to the ground.  Before she loses her sight, she sees a figure walking among them.  She steps around them for a while, and then puts bags over their heads.
--------------------------------------------------------

I return with three full bottles of water.  I left a trail from the place I found the water, back to camp so we could find it again when we run out of water.  In the ocean, I see Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash gathering wood, Fluttershy talking to a squirrel in a tree, and Twilight pacing around. As she's pacing, she's looking in several different directions.

"Are you looking for something?"  I ask her.

"Rarity.  She's gone missing."  Twilight says

"She showed up at this waterfall me and Applejack found."

"Okay, so she snuck off with you two.  But where is she now?"  

"You mean they're not back yet?"

"What do you mean?"

"I had to send them back, because they were fighting."

"Did you say anything to them to make them upset or mad?"

"I-I-I yelled at them for behaving like they did."

"Oh no!  You don't think they decided to head off somewhere else, do you?"

"No, they wouldn't have done that.  They would have come back."  A million thoughts go through my mind at the same time.  "Do you think that we're not the only ones on this island?"
-----------------------------------------------

Applejack awakes to see nothing but black.  She feels a rope tied around her hooves, and behind her is another set of hooves.  Probably Rarity.  She can't hear much, but she can hear different voices around her.  Most are male, and a few are female.  She can only make out a few words.  "What... other... where... they... fail... task"  

After what feels like hours, the darkness lifts from her eyes.  Her vision is blurry, but she sees figures in front of her.  Seven in all.  The one in the middle steps forward, taking off its hood.  As it gets closer, Applejack can see the figure better.  When the figure is right in front of her eyes, she regains her vision.  Looking back at her is a female zebra
> Other Inhabitants
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight said nothing to me.  Instead, she threw random faces of anger at me.  

"Look Twilight, I didn't expect something that dangerous in the jungle.  I thought that they could handle themselves.  Like what they did with the manticore.  They handled that well, didn't they?"  I ask.

"First of all, Fluttershy handled that well.  Second of all, we’re in the middle of the ocean!  There's no mercy in the ocean!"  Twilight yells.  

"I'm sorry.  I didn't think that this would happen."  

"I'm sorry.  I know you couldn't have predicted that.  You just need to be more careful."    

"Well, why don't we go investigate that room you were talking about?"  Rainbow Dash says, joining in on the conversation.

"How do we know they're in there?"  Twilight responds.

"Uh... the door that Bruce saw had the same kind of symbol of that door stop that Zecora had.  Maybe they were taken by Zebras."  Rainbow says.

"Yeah Rainbow.  They were taken by Zebras.  That is the most logical explanation I have ever heard."  Twilight responds.  She 
rolls her eyes at the theory.

"It could happen."

"It could, but I don't think it will."

"So basically, we landed on an island populated by Zebras."  I say, taking Twilights side.

"Well, yeah.  Doesn't that explain the pendant and the cave?"  Rainbow says.

"Yeah, I guess it does."

"Are you serious?  You actually believe her?"  Twilight says.

"Well... it makes sense.  I say we go and investigate."  

"Me too," Rainbow says enthusiastically.

"Okay.  Let's say that there are zebras here.  How are we going to approach them?"

"Let's get a bunch of weapons, and take them by surprise."  I say.

"First: what weapons.  Second: I don't think that they're that stupid.  They have to have some kind of security system."  Twilight says.

"And what would that be, some sticks and rocks?"  Rainbow Dash asks.

“No, it would be more like logs, poison darts, giant stones, acid. The usual.  

“So, they can’t hit me when I’m goin’ this fast.”  Rainbow jumps up in the air, only to come falling back down.  

"Look Rainbow, you can't fly.  You're wing is broken, get over it.   We also have to be prepared for anything.  We can't just waltz right in, there's probably an army waiting for us."

“Well I didn't find anything when I checked.”  Pinkie says.

“Pinkie, where did you come from?”  Twilight asks.  

“I just came back from the waterfall that Bruce talked about.  I checked that cave behind it, and I found a door.  It was a round, black and white door with a gold knocker on it.  It also had a swirl around it.  There wasn't anything behind it besides a bunch of buttons.  I bet that's the way to open something.  Do you guys want to come and see?”  Pinkie says at the speed of light.

The others give enthusiastic answers, while I just say yes to anything.  I can't help but say yes to anything they ask, unless it's something that requires the answer no.

“Well let’s go then.”  Rainbow Dash says.  

“Um, can I stay here?”  Fluttershy says.  

“No, we’ll probably need you for something.”  Twilight says.  Fluttershy simply tries to crawl back, but I grab her.  She looks back, nearly giving me a heart attack by her facial expression.  It was a scared look, which I expected to come from her.  She walks forwards, with me by her side.  
--------------------------------------------------------

Rarity woke up a few hours later than Applejack.  She was afraid to say anything, because she was being studied by a zebra.  
He looked kind of like Zecora, except he had a more manly stature.  His mane was long enough to stretch down to his calves.  He had several bottles, jewels, and pendants, on him.  The thing that was more noticeable was a golden necklace that wrapped around his neck like a cobra.  After closer inspection, Rarity realized it was a cobra.

The cobra slithered all across Rarity, playing with her fur.  The scaly beast wrapped up around her, making it difficult for her not to scream.  The stallion looked over her with his eyes partially closed.  He eventually backed away, going behind her to expect Applejack.  He did the same, but the cobra didn't slither over her.  Instead, it eyes her, beckoning her just to attack.   Applejack stayed right where she was, returning the stare to the cobra.  He retreated back to the group of zebras. The male zebra whispered something to the female.  She nodded, and then spoke.  

"What are your names?"  The lead zebra asks.  The two don't respond.  "I said, what are your names?"  

"First, we need to know who you are, and why you have brought us to such a dirty place."  Rarity says.  Neither of them have regained their vision.  As far as Rarity could tell, it was dusty.  From what Applejack could tell, it was old and native.

"If you must know, I am Centika.  I am the leader of this group."  Centika did a little bow.  She motioned two of the zebras to untie the two ponies.

An older zebra walked toward Applejack, while the stallion with the cobra walked toward Rarity.  The cobra slithered to the rope that tied up the fashion pony.  It bit the rope and the rope fell off.  Rarity simply backed away from the snake.  It started to make repetitive hissing noises like it was laughing.

The older one untied Applejack by cutting the rope with a knife.  His hair was styled much like Zecoras’, but it was a bit more curly and shorter.  He seemed a tad bit weaker than the other male, but he was more armed than the other.  He had knives all over his body, and they all looked sharp.  His body was covered in jewelry, but the scar on his legs took away the attention.  His eyes were pure black, even looking at them made you fall into the spell of them.

She rubbed her hoof and looked up at the stallion.  He had no expression.  Both ponies got up, and faced their captors.  

"Thank ya kindly, but now we need to know why you kidnapped us."  Applejack says, staring straight at the

"This was a mistake, you were just trespassing."  Centika says.

"Tresspassin'?"  Applejack asks.  

"Yes, we have boundaries around here.  This is our home."

"Well we're sorry for trespassing.  Now if you would be so kind as to sh-" Rarity almost finished her sentence when Applejack shoved a hoof in her mouth.

"This is your home?  How can a tiny little island in the middle o' nowhere be your home?"  Applejack asked.

Centika pondered this question for a while until she answered.  "You see, our ancestors have come here a long time ago.  Long before the Princesses rule over Equestria.  They came here to escape the tragedy of war.  Our Ancestor's original plan was to come back to civilization after the war was finished, but they became too familiar to the island to leave.  Now our home is here."  

"Took a while to answer my question."  Applejack says angrily.

"Applejack, I don't think we should be rude of them.  They are letting us go after all."  Rarity didn't really want to stay here any longer than she needed to.

"It's quite alright.  There's just a little side effect when the sleeping potion is exposed to a tougher pony like her."  

"And what would that side effect be?"  Rarity asks

"Temper issues."

"Hmm, okay then.  Now could you show us the exit please?"  Centika raised her hoof in the direction of a doorway.  "Thank you.  Come along Applejack."  

"I got a few more questions for you.  How come y'all aren't talking all rhymey like a zebra we know?"  Applejack says.

"Speaking in such a manner is only customary for witch doctors.  We are simply the tribe leaders."

"Why aren't there more of you?"  

"Most of them are off doing their responsibilities across the island, or in their rooms working on other projects."

"What kind of proje-" Applejack is suddenly interrupted by Rarity

"Okay then!  Can you give us a map of the island, so we know where the boundaries are?"  Rarity asks.

"Certainly.  Dillick, could you bring a map of the island to me?"  The older stallion nodded his head, and walked over to a doorway.  He returned with two maps in his hand.  

"The exit is down at the end of the hall, take a right, there should be a large statue of a zebra.  Take another right, and you should end up at the exit.  Also, here's the boundary map, and here's the other map."  Rarity only had a second to study the other map, before Centika swiped away from her.  The map had several arrows in an 128x128 grid map.  It had some white areas surrounding a large, green area in the middle.  Large areas of blue surrounded the large island with a bunch of rivers.  
Before the zebra swiped it away, she managed to make a mental picture of it in her head.  Rarity tucked the map in Applejacks hat, while Applejack tried to swipe her hoof away from her.

"I'm sorry, that is the wrong map.  Dillick is getting old." Centika says.  

"I'm not getting old.  I am still the same stallion."  Dillick snaps.

"Right.  You better be on your way.  Night is almost upon us."

"How can you tell, you can't see the sun down here."  Applejack says angrily.  

"We have this here."  Centika lead them over to a strange contraption.  It was half of a square.  The entire thing had a wood texture, while the inside was complicated machinary.  Next to it was glowing, red powder, going over to a square lamp.  "It shines through this hole that we made.  When the sun is up, it will power this here powder, turning on the lamp.  When the sun is down, the machine will turn itself off, deactivating the powder, making the lamp turn off."  

"Interesting.  And what do you call this."  Rarity asks.  

"We call it the daylight censor.  And this red powder's real name is too long and complicated, so we call it... Redstone."
-------------------------------------------------------

It was about nightfall when we got to the waterfall.  The entire time, Rainbow Dash kept trying to jump and fly away, but she always came down with a crash.  I knew the fact that she couldn't fly was killing her, but I really couldn't do anything about it but tell her to stop trying.  She didn't listen.

"Where did you say this cave was?"  Twilight asks Pinkie Pie.

"It's behind the waterfall, let's go."  She responds.  In an instant, the party pony jumps higher than the trees, and lands in the pond with a thundering splash, this soaked us all.  Pinkie rises from the water, smiling like an idiot.

"Well, what are you waiting for?  Jump in."  Pinkie begins swimming towards the waterfall, and then dives into the water.  
Rainbow darts over to the water, jumping in.  She lands in the water doing a belly flop.  I thought that she did this on purpose, but her face said otherwise.  It was really hard to not break down and laugh.  We didn't really do a good job hiding it, and Rainbow got mad.  She followed Pinkie down into the water.

"Um... if it's okay with you, I'll just stay here."  Fluttershy says.  

"Come one Fluttershy, it's not that bad down there."  I tell her.

"I believe you, but I'm not going to take the chance."  

"Suit yourself."  I walk down toward the water, looking back at Fluttershy.  "Are you sure?"

"Yes, yes I'm sure."

"You know there's more to life than being afraid the entire time.  Didn't you learn that when you rehabilitated Discord."  

"Well... yes... but-"

"It's time to put those lessons into your everyday life."  I dive into the water, heading toward the cave.
-------------------------------------------------------

"Where's the stupid exit, we've been walking for a while now!"  Applejack yells.  

"It's been two minutes."  Rarity responds, clearly annoyed.

"Well to me it feels like a while."  Applejack snaps.

'Sweet Celestia, when will this wear off?'  Rarity thinks to herself.  

Pretty soon, they're lost in a labyrinth of hallways.  So many doors and different pathways boggle their minds.

"Which bucking door did we come from?"  Applejack yells.  

"There's no need for that kind of language.  We'll find our way out of this place."  Rarity says, trying not to yell back at her.  She 
knew that if she did that, then it would fuel Applejack's rage.  "Why don't we try this door."  

Rarity opens a random door to her left.  It's completely dark until Rarity switches a light on.  Inside the room are different kinds of paintings.  They were quite beautiful.  There was a painting of a mountain, the scene from Hamlet where the guy is holding a skeleton in his hoof.  Then there was the mysterious portrait of a zebra staring down into an abyss.  

"We ain't got time for art.  We need to get out of here!"  Applejack yells.  

"You can't even appreciate art, Applejack?"  Rarity asks.

"No, I just want to get out of here.  Do you remember where the exit was?"  

"I was busy looking at the map."  

"Well we better get out of here before somepony catches us!"  

"Will you stop screaming for a few moments?"

"No, I will keep screaming if you don't mind!"  Rarity gave Applejack a cold stare.  

"We better get going then.  Why don't you lead the way?"  Applejack turns around and walks towards another door.

"This door is locked."  Applejack shakes the door knob several times.

"It can't be this way, the exit has to b-" She jumps at the sound of a crash coming from the room Applejack inspected.  She turns around to see the door wide open with some massive dents in it.

"Now it's unlocked."  Applejack walks inside.

"Applejack, what are you doing?  We shouldn't be in here."  

"So?"

"Soo, they might lock us up in cages for snooping."

"We ain't snoopin'.  We're investigatin'."  Applejack looks around.  "It's just a dumb work place."

Rarity walks to Applejack.  "Applejack, let's get out of here."  The office was littered with paper.  A small wooden desk was in the corner, also covered in paper.  But the only thing on it that wasn't paper was a wooden idol.  Applejack walks over to the desk.  
"Come on now, before we get caught."  Rarity really wants to get out of this place.

"No!"  Applejack turns around, knocking over some papers, along with the idol.  Suddenly, the wall starts to spin around, revealing a secret room.  

"Well now we have a reason to stay."  Applejack says.  She walks into the secret room.  

"Wait."  Rarity says while chasing after her. Rarity was more focused on the many potions that filled the shelves of the nearby desk.  She picked up a random potion that read "Splash potion of Damage."  

Applejack was more intrigued with the machinery.  Most of it was in the shape of a square.  There was a particular machine that looked like a surprised face.  A lever was right above it.  As you'd expect, Applejack flips the lever.

"Applejack, stop messing wi-" An arrow flies above Rarity's head.  It strikes the wall, making a loud thunk.

"If only that was a little lower."  Applejack says, making an evil smile.  

"Ha ha ha, that was quite funny.  Now if we could just-"

"What's this?"  Applejack says.  She was directing her attention towards a large sphere covered in cloth.  As quick as a bullet, she ripped off the cloth.

"Are you going to keep this up for the rest of the day?"  Rarity asks.

"I'll keep this up until I wanna stop."

"Great, that's great, you're acting like a spoiled child."

"That comin' from you."  Applejack didn't even realize what was under the tarp until Rarity gasped.  "What the buck is that?"  Floating around in the sphere was an unconcious Octavia.
-------------------------------------------------------

Fluttershy walked towards the water very slowly.  'Come on Fluttershy, you have to do this.'  She took another step.
She knew that her friends were probably at the door by now.  She took another step.  'Just go in the water.  What would mom think?'  She stopped in her tracks.  Memories came flooding back to her like a wave.

She remembered the little cloud home that she used to live in.  She remembered that specific day that her father left her and her mother.  A sad memory that Fluttershy never wanted to remember.  

The sound of yelling was all the Fluttershy ever heard those days.  Her mother always messed up on the cooking, her job, even simple tasks she messed up.  It wasn't her fault that she had an accident years before.
Fluttershy couldn't exactly remember what she did that day, but it was enough to set her dad off.  Fluttershy's dad was a bulky pegasus.  His coat was a brilliant shade of white.  Fluttershy used to call him the god of hide and seek when she was really young.  He had a grey mane that never changed color as he grew older.  She never found out why.

Her dad used to be the nicest stallion that she ever met.  But that all changed when he lost his job.  He resulted to gambling to make money for the family.  That's when he got into drinking.  It got so out of control that one day.  She remembers screams of pain and crying coming from her parent’s room.  The screaming stopped after several hours.  Fluttershy was lucky that she didn't get that much pain like her mother.  

The day he left, her mom came into her room.  Her wing was broken, and she had a black eye.  She wasn't crying though.  She instead had a blank expression.  She lied on Fluttershy's bed for a long while before she said it.  A simple phrase that Fluttershy could never, ever forget in all of her days.  "Don't be afraid."  Fluttershy's mother then got up from the bed and left.  She never saw her again.  Fluttershy rarely raised her voice ever again, only when it was necessary.  She hated it when people argued around her.  It reminded her of that terrible day.

That's when Fluttershy went to the flight camp.  That's when she met Rainbow Dash, and they became friends.  All of this floated around her head until she opened her eyes.  She leaped into the pond with a great swan dive.
-------------------------------------------------------

The cave remained as it was when I found it.  The door was slightly open like it was before.  But inside was like Pinkie said.  Buttons.  

"I can crack this."  Twilight says.

"How, it can't just be 1 2 3 4.  It's gotta be something else."  I tell her.

"It's just a simple Canterlock system, it'll be easy."  Twilight stares at the machine intently.  Then she bashes the lock by kicking it right smack in the keypad.  The door opened just like that.  We all give her a shocked stare.  "You go a little mad when you're stuck on an island."  She happily trots inside.
-------------------------------------------------------

"Well don't just stand there, get her out of there!"  Rarity yells at her.  

Applejack looks at the control pad.  "Aaw, buck it."  She violently kicks it, and the cello playing pony gently falls to the ground.  

After a few moments of a motionless silence, her eyes open up wide.  She quickly grasps the reality of the situation, and she 
beats the glass with her hooves.  Her screams are silenced by the glass.

"What's she saying, I can't understand her."  Rarity says.

"Well no duh, idiot."  She kicks that glass as well, scaring Octavia.  

As the glass falls, Octavia shields herself from them.  "What the hay was that for?"  Octavia yells.

"A simple thanks would have done it."  Applejack says.  

"Whatever.  But right now, we need to get out of here."

"Why?"  Rarity asks.  

"No time to explain, we just need to leave.  Now!"  Octavia quickly rushes away.  

"Now can we leave?"  Rarity demands.

"Yes."  The two ponies dart towards the other one.  Before they chase after her, Rarity grabs the potion that she was looking at.
-------------------------------------------------------

The first thing that catches my attention is the statue.  I expected something like a pony, but I saw a zebra.  It looked like Zecora, but it was a male.  There was a plaque that said:  'Rovern.  Founded the great island of Giba. 1850-1931'

It was a giant room with nothing else in it.  

I wondered why it was this large when there was just a small statue in it.  I expected something else, but this was it.  It didn't seem that this room would have any kind of relevance to the architecture to the rest of the area.  

"Shouldn't we be looking for Applejack and Rarity?"  Fluttershy says.  She startled the rest of us just by speaking.

"I thought you were still at the beach?"  I ask her.

"I thought about it, and you were right.  I need to take a step out of my bubble for a change."  Fluttershy blushed a little.

"We're just glad you made it."  Pinkie Pie says.  Her smile suddenly fades from her face.  She looks down at her knee.  

"What's wrong?"  I ask.

"It's nothing, it's just my knees are a little pinchy."  She smiles again, and then her eyes pop out of their sockets.  Everypony gasps.

"What's going on?"  I ask again.

"It's her Pinkie sense."  Twilight tells me.

"Her what?"

"Her Pinkie sense, when she gets random movements in her body, something happens."

"Yeah.  Like when my tail starts to wiggle, it means something’s about to fall.  And when my knee gets pinchy, it means something scary is about to happen."  Pinkie says, sounding scared.

"Didn't your knee just get pinchy?"

"Yes *gulp* yes it did."
-------------------------------------------------------

Octavia leads the escape.  Her eyes look all around the place, trying to find a sign that says 'EXIT'. "Do you think you made an alarm go off when you broke the sphere?"  Octavia asks.

"If we did, then shouldn't an alarm go off?"  As if by command, a loud blaring sound fills the hall.  "I guess that answers your question."

"Can we ask what you are doing here now?"  Rarity yells at Octavia.

"They're trying to summon something by using my body as an offering."

"What are they trying to summon?"  Applejack asks.  The cello player doesn't answer.  "What are they trying to summon?"

"Him!"  Octavia leaves it at that.  Applejack looks at Rarity with a confused look.  

"There!"  Octavia points out an exit sign.  "Hurry, they're probably on their way!"  At the exit sign, Octavia makes a sharp turn to the left.

Applejack nearly crashes into the wall, which makes Rarity react a little more cautiously. Running as fast as they can, they eventually find a statue room with some other ponies in it.  At first she thought they were zebras, but she realized they were the other four ponies that were missing from the group.  Then she notices the human.  She thought she saw it all, but she hasn't even scratched the surface.  

This makes her pass out.  
-------------------------------------------------------

"Who the heck is she?"  I ask.

"There ain't no time for that!  Let's go!"  Applejack yells.  

I didn't see the point in arguing when the alarm went off.  I guess that’s what the scary thing was.  Quickly, I pick up the grey pony, being surprised by how light she was.  I run towards the others who were far ahead of me.

Just when I'm about to escape, I hear some hissing coming behind me.  A giant cobra is slithering towards me with impossible speed.  I mean seriously, I don't think cobras can go that fast.  It jumps at me, but I kick it away.  It hisses again, and it tries to bite my leg.  Again I kick it away, and I run towards the others.  

It takes no time for me at all to get in the water, because I simply jump into it.  I still have my grasp on the pony, so she doesn't fall out of my arms.  Pretty soon, we're in the jungle and being followed by menacing zebras.  I was moving slow, while they were picking up speed.  I managed to slow them down my pulling a tree branch back and then letting it go.  It hits one of them in the face, and he gets tackled by the other ones.  I would have laughed, but I don't think it would be very appropriate in this situation.

After a long run in the jungle, we finally arrive at camp.  The pony in my arms is still passed out, so I just put her on the ground.  I thought we escaped them, but they come out of the trees, scaring the crap out of me.

Just when they were about to attack me, a glass bottle flew at one of them, cracking the vial on his head.  Both the zebras fly backwards, hitting a log behind them.  I look behind me to see Rarity in a sweat.  She discarded the bottle by throwing it aside.

"What’s happening here?"  I ask.

Rarity takes her sweet time before answering.  "I think there's something bigger happening on this island."
> Chapter 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After what happened with the zebras, Rarity and I made quick work with them by tying them up to a log with some rope that I found in my boat.  The entire time, Rarity just smiled at me.  

It took us about ten minutes, and we went back to the campsite.  

"So how'd it go?"  Pinkie asks as she bounced around the campfire.  

“Good.”  I couldn’t help but smile at Pinkie’s usual antics.  I never thought I would experience them up close. My mind wandered over to the new-comer, as I near her.  “Who is she?”  I ask Rarity.

“Her name is Octavia Melody.  She is a resident in Canterlot.  She was playing the cello on our cruise when it sank."  

"She was playing the cello part in the song 'Without You', wasn't she?"

"Yes.  How did you know that?"

"That's not really important right now."  That's about as much time as I wanted to spend with her.  It would have ended in an awkward silence anyway.

With nothing else to do, I decided to go look for some food.  Call me an idiot, but I was starting to get hungry.  The zebras may be looking for Octavia, and here I'm going to go look for food.  

I grab my backpack, grab some sticks for defense, and head out into the jungle. I was soon tackled by a cyan colored pegasus.
We rolled around in the sand until we finally stopped.  Rainbow stood up before I did.  She brushed herself off, then took a look at me.  She chuckles a bit.  "Uh, excuse me."  Gee, where have I heard that before?

"You're excused Rainbow.  What are you doing?"

"I was trying to catch some air, but some creature was blocking my way."

"Catch some air?  You're wing is broken."

"What are you talking about?  No it isn't."  
I looked at her with a strange, confused look.  Why is she denying that her wing is broken?  She only chuckled at the expression I was making.  She kept a smile on her face when she stopped laughing, which drove me to forget about what just happened... somehow. 

"Where are you going?"

"I'm just going into the jungle to find some food.  Applejack got some fruit, but I think we need a little more than that."

"Can I come?  I'm getting really bored just hanging around."

I didn't say anything.  Rainbow wasn't exactly my favorite pony.  But I couldn't just say no to a mare with a broken wing.  "Sure, why not?"

I turned around and heard Rainbow say a soft "Yes", and followed me into the jungle.  
-------------------------------------------------
Let me tell you, spending time with Rainbow wasn't bad at all.  She was a little annoying, but I didn't really pay much attention to it.  She was telling me about some times where Equestria's fate was hanging on the balance, and she and her friends stopped it like bosses.  I actually quite liked how she described them at times.  Sometimes it was serious, other times she was acting sarcastic.  If this Wonderbolt thing doesn't work out, she may have a career in storytelling.  She might even make a brilliant author.

After an hour of walking blindly in the jungle, we heard some rustling coming from the right.  At first, I thought it was Rarity following me once again, but I found out it was something not as harmless.  

"Get down."  I whispered to Rainbow.  She showed a questionable look on her face, but then she obliged.

"They couldn't have gotten that far!  We have to find them.  They're the only ones who know how to activate the totem." shouted a gruff female voice.  

"We'll find them!  I bet Fenreet and Jaggern have already captured them by now.  They're probably back at HQ right now."  The male voice sounded much calmer than the females.

"First this, then that we were robbed by... Something." the female stated.

"I know, right? Have you seen the look on Centika's face when she found out?  My ears still hurt from her yelling."

"Well, no time to worry about that now.  We have to keep searching for them."

"They're probably back by now.  Maybe they lost them or something."

"How are you so calm?  The only zebras on this island who can summon Him are gone, and you're completely calm about it!?  What the hay is wrong with you?"

"I have hope that they're back at HQ!  Now calm down, Basprom."

"Shut up Samor!"  The two zebras kept arguing until they were out of hearing distance.  But we still stayed hidden behind the bushes, just in case.  

I checked to see if they were still around.  They seemed to be heading away from our camp, so we didn't need to worry about that.  

"Are they gone?" Rainbow asked.

"Yeah... they're gone."  Without a moment of hesitation, Rainbow jumped up from her sitting position and walked away, as I followed her.  

She looked around, trying to spot a berry bush, or even some kind of fruit hanging off of a tree, even though I told her not to.  I don't want her to do any kind of work while her wing is broken.  She managed to find some fruit, and threw them into my backpack.  I didn't feel like telling her not to, so I let her continue.  

The entire trek through the jungle also consisted of her telling me about how she saved the Wonderbolts, over and over again.  I decided to get on her about that when we got back.  

"...as Rarity knocked them out by thrashing her hooves around, they also started to fall.  And I was the only one that could save them.  I quickly went down as fast as I possibly could, when BOOM!"  Rainbow jumped, and landed on the back of my shoe, giving me a flat tire.  "I save them when they're inches away from the ground.  I also ma-"

I couldn't hear the sound of sticks or leaves cracking under her hooves.  I turned around, to see her looking at something.  Closer inspection showed that she was looking at a peculiar flower.  "You'll have time to look at plants later.  We have to keep moving."

"This plant," I stopped in my tracks.  Her voice didn't sound very well.  It sounded like a pair of scissors being dragged on a piano string.  "It seems... so familiar."  

The flower in question looked like a normal rose.  A very big difference was that there were green threads drooping from eight places on the flower.  

Rainbow studied it, looking at it in every angle she could think of.  She touched it, making it sway backwards.  "OUCH!"  She screamed.

"Every rose has its thorn, doesn't it?"  Rainbow didn't respond.  She seemed too focused on her hoof.  "Hey, you still with us?"
Rainbow turned around to look at me.  "Bruce."

"Yeah?"

"I think you're gonna have to carry me."  Rainbow fell to the ground, making a pretty nasty landing.  

I stood above her, waiting for her to jump up and scare me.  But she remained on the ground.  "Haha, real funny Rainbow.  Now get up."  Once again, she did nothing.

I flipped her over to see if she was hiding a smug smile, but she wasn't.  She was hiding the blood that flowed freely from her eyes.  
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Twilight sat in her usual place under the sun.  It was nothing particularly exciting, but she enjoyed it nonetheless.  Being alone with her thoughts was just what the doctor ordered.  She learned earlier that Bruce and Rainbow had ventured into the jungle to go searching for some food.  She was told by Bruce before they left.  She didn't see why, because Applejack had gotten some fruit earlier today.  

It was funny.  Their time here was no more than three days, but it felt like months.  She didn't mind this at all, but she found it amazing how slow time can go.  It seems that nowadays, ponies everywhere have so much time on their hooves and spent it doing absolutely nothing at all.  Why not read a book, or learn a new trick?  It would make up for all the lost time.  

During Twilight's thoughts, she decided to go check up on the zebras.  They were bound to be awake by now.  Twilight got up, stretched a little, and started to trot.  She took her time walking over to them.  She had to think about what she was going to ask them.  There was so many questions that they needed to answer, but she didn't want to take too much time asking questions.
It was getting dark by the time she had arrived.  As she predicted, they were awake.  Twilight sat down in front of them.  Their eyes followed her every movement.

"Good evening, gentlecolts.  My name is-"

"Twilight Sparkle." The one on her left said.  "We know who you are."  The zebra on the left looked much like a certain brown stallion back in Ponyville.  If she remembered correctly, his name was Time Turner.  

"How do you know who I am?"  Twilight innocently asked.

"We knew that you were going to arrive on this island, and we knew you would bring the other elements bearers along with you.  We know a lot of things Ms. Sparkle."

"You know us, yet I don't know who you are.  What are your names?"

The zebra on the right spoke up.  He looked older than the other zebra, and he shared similar features, besides his mane.  His mane was more unkempt, and it was longer.  "I'm Fenreet.  And that's Jaggern."  

"Alright, now just why are you two on this island?  In fact, why do zebras inhabit this island?"

"This is our home.  We were born here.  If you didn't know already, this island is called Giba." said Jaggern.

"What are you doing here?"

"That's not important.  What is important, is that Rainbow Dash character.  She's got a problem that you have been too blind to see."

"What are you talking about?  What about Rainbow Dash?"

Fenreet raised his hoof, pointing in the direction of an opening into the jungle.  Twilight directed her attention to the opening.  She saw nothing special about it.  Until...
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With all the strength I had in my legs, I sprinted as fast as I possibly could back to camp.  I tried my best to keep Rainbow from moving too much.  I could hear her breath starting to grow faster, which wasn't a good sign.  It only made me run faster.

I eventually arrived where we entered into the jungle, and dashed into camp.  I
was greeted by Twilight sitting next to the zebras.  Twilight jumped back in surprise when she saw me.  

"But... what?"  Twilight said, clearly bewildered.  

"No time to explain.  We just need to get help.  Fast!"  I lowered Rainbow safely to the floor.  She seemed unconscious.

"What happened to her?" Twilight asked.

"I don't know what happened.  We were just walking around the jungle, when she spotted this plant," I told her what happened after she spotted the flower.  Her strange sounding voice, and her falling to the ground.

"Get the others. Have them grab the tarp from your boat."  I stayed there even though she gave me pretty straight-forward directions.  I couldn't take my eyes off her hers.  They seemed to yell at me for help.  And I couldn't do anything.  

"BRUCE!"  I shook my head, breaking myself free from my own thoughts.  "Get going!"

Not another moment of hesitation.  I ran as fast as I possibly could.  The others were preparing themselves for the night.  They're probably not going to get any sleep after this.

"HEY!"  I get their attention quickly.  "Somepony grab the tarp from the boat!"

"Why?"  Pinkie asks.  

"Just do it!"  I quickly yelled.  Not waiting for a response, I turned myself around and ran back to Twilight and Rainbow.  

Before reaching her, I was cut off by the grey mare known as Octavia.  I skidded to a stop before running right into her.  She still had that terrified look on her when I first saw her.  "You're coming to."  

"What?  What's going o-"  

I quickly picked her up. "No time to explain."  She tried to buck me in the face, but I somehow managed to dodge it.  She squirmed around a lot, but I kept running nonetheless.  Despite her efforts to be put down, I still ran.  There was nothing else I could do but run.  All the obstacles I had to face while running to Rainbow meant nothing.  Nothing did.  Nothing but her.

Nearly passed out from exhaustion, I stopped when I was, maybe, eight feet away.  I set down Octavia, and she bucked my leg.  
Sure it hurt, but I really didn't care.  I limped my way towards the body of Rainbow, while the other four were close behind.  
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Two zebras walk down a cobblestone path, lit by a dozen torches.  The path led to a large, block based building. The building was built in the middle of a massive forest, which led to It may have been nothing fancy, but the architects were in a hurry to build it.  Perhaps in the future, they'll add something a little fancier.  

The zebras continued walking.  They eyed each other with a silent rage.  Their angry silence spoke over two-thousand words.   Two-thousand more than they wanted to.

Basprom left Samor's side, attending some business that had to be dealt with.  It's about time she left.  He thought to himself.  
He was supposed to head towards his assigned business quarters, where he sorted the various weapons that they have acquired, but he instead strayed from his path.  He trotted over to a bush, and took out an axe that he had hidden there.  

He raised the axe up over his head, and let it fall onto the fence.  The fence cracked, but only slightly.  He repeated this process, until the fence had cracks all over it, even in places that he didn't even touch with the axe.  He delivered one last blow, and the fence broke.  Well, not really broke, just shrunk down to a smaller size.  

The now smaller fence hovered up and down and spun around, while staying in the same spot.  Samor ran through the gap in the gate, and into the forest.

Samor wandered around the forest, leaving hoofprints that led to dead ends.  He stopped when he decided it was safe to do what had to be done.  

The zebra sat on the ground.  He let himself get a little comfortable before he began his process.  He shut his eyes, and in a flash, he changed shape.  Samor was no longer a zebra, but an insect.  A changeling.