> My Little Pony: Paisley Tales
>  by ukulelemoon
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Coming Undone 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

‘Ponies will ask me different sorts of questions all the time during tours of the Island. The most common question is, “What’s it like being married to a crazy inventor?” I have to laugh because seeing the humor in my situation is how I cope. I’m not on tour right now, but the question keeps running through my head harder than fillies and colts in the school-yard during recess.

You’re never bored because this whirl-wind romance offers you so many different experiences that you’d probably never encounter on your own. Just think, what lucky wife wouldn't adore the opportunity of having half her kitchen burned down during one of her husband’s experiments? Or what about having your prize-winning Moonflowers used as an alternative fuel-source for one of his hair-brained inventions? You almost forgave him for that little incident, almost. Did I mention that the soil is probably completely ruined and will probably never yield again? All in the name of science!

In your heart, you know he’s one of the most brilliant and gifted minds on the whole island. Gear Turner is always attempting to make life on the Paisley Islands better by creating inventions of convenience. Your husband is known as  reliable, gentle and true and just about everyone thinks he’s a swell pony. Being an eccentric scientist married to the flamboyant tour-guide of the Island does make you an odd-couple. Everyone on this island thinks your marriage is a blessed one, and it is! You don’t understand why lately he aggravates you so much with things as simple as the way he chews his food.

You should be grateful! You reason to yourself that he only gets under your skin because you love him so much.  He’s always got some great discovery just waiting to burst out of that wild imagination of his and right into your home like a canon! The mess left in its wake would surely point evidence that a canon had exploded in the middle of your living room, bedroom or porch.

They say that marriage is a journey that a husband and wife take together. It seems that the dashing stallion who stole your heart so completely may have also lost his marbles somewhere along the way. That witty smile and optimistic twinkle in his eye almost make it easy to forgive the idiot when he screws up so badly and leaves your bathroom sink in tatters. It seems that the pit-stops in this marital voyage never come soon enough and you find yourself running on empty.

Unrest. Words spoken too quickly and with little thought given to their weight and tone. You hurt him, cutting past his defenses and giving validity to his worst fears.  Sometimes when Gear Turner is faced with your anger, he shuts down. He doesn’t think the way his fertile mind allows and he does some really dumb stuff while he is in this state. Letting your temper get the best of you for something so insignificant seems trivial now. Home is nothing without the people in it, right? Now you’re beloved is missing somewhere in this mess and you’re paying dearly for the words that you used as a weapon earlier.

The question should be phrased as “What’s the very worst thing about being married to a crazy inventor?”



Loving him so much that you don’t think about all the consequences when you leave the storm shelter.”



Ukulele Moon’s hooves thundered down the path of the volcanic beach towards her home. Around the teal colored unicorn’s head the air-stream was really beginning to pick up quite violently. Large gusts of wind thrashed against her body without warning and almost knocked her down despite her best efforts. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see that the waves were beginning to grow in their strength and height. Soon, they wouldn't be abstract whitecaps drifting a few miles out from the coast. As every moment that passed in her search, she felt her chest tighten with fear. Gear Turner, that lunatic, was out in this jumble somewhere.

That feather-brained white Pegasus had gone back to their home after the evacuation order had been issued. All of the Islanders were required to head inland and to the storm shelter that had been built in the center of the town square for their protection during the tempest. All but Gear Turner, who after one of their famous arguments, had taken off into the chaos. He had quickly explained to the Mayor that he had to secure one of his inventions for everyone’s imminent safety before the storm hit. Against better judgment, the Mayor had allowed his passage back into the disorder and to complete his urgent mission. Ukulele had been busy helping elderly ponies get settled when she realized that Gear Turner had left. In the moment that she realized that her husband had departed into the confusion of the natural world, she felt he had committed suicide in his ignorance.

She was fairly certain as a wife could be, that he used rational of his invention as an excuse to hide from her and her over-powering irritability. He was running from her more often these days and the trend was disturbing to the heart-broken mare. She was also certain he did this on purpose, to spite her, for the nasty things she had said to him during the heat of their quarrel. The frenzied confrontation seemed as out of place in her world as the storm that enveloped her now.

The storm that was brewing so rapidly wouldn't have been so strange if it had happened a few months ago during the Paisley Island’s annual monsoon period. Being the wrong time of year made the squall extra deadly because it happened during the island’s much-needed tourist season. Not only did the island residents have to batten down the hatches of their own homes, but they also had to find shelter for almost 150 visitors from Equestria’s mainland. Tourism was just one of the ways ponies on this rock supported themselves through economic hardship. This had quite possibly been one of the worst years in Paisley Island’s history for mishaps and bad luck. The season had been fraught with pirates, poor crops and geothermal activity.

Ukulele’s heartbeat was quickening as she rounded the corner of the shoreline towards their home in Coconut Hollow. Debris began to whiz past her head and blind the vision of her lime-colored eyes. Tiny grains of sand pelted her body like miniature bee stings coming from every angle. Even breathing in this clutter was becoming a chore for the young, otherwise healthy mare.

She hated storms like this one ever since she was a filly. They always brought out the worst in her, stirring up panic-attacks and sleepless nights. It felt as if any control that she had was stolen away from her the way a thief will uncover weakness in defenses. Ukulele remembered the warm embrace of her mother’s comforting hold during these episodes as if it was yesterday. It was like a security blanket that she could use to shield herself from the terror going on just outside the shelter’s thick doors.  That protective bubble of splendid ignorance was long gone now as she made the decision to search for her husband against the reasoning of her mother and concerned friends. She was a grown-up now who had to face the reality of her own stupid decisions. Right now, as the intensity of the elements began to rattle her frail form, Ukulele felt as though she was drowning in a sea of regrets.

Her only life-raft in this chaotic battle of Mother Nature and fear was lost somewhere due to her short-fuse.

“The wind, it’s getting too strong! I can’t…” Ukulele choked out urgently to anyone or thing that could hear her pitiful pleas. Anxiety filled her chest more than the ragged, labored breaths she was frantically trying to feed her lungs. She was beginning to get dizzy and disoriented from asphyxiation and wide-spread fright. The stinging sands of the beach tore at her eyes and blinded her momentarily. In that obscurity, Ukulele had never felt more alone in her life.

“Gear Turner! Please!” She shouted hysterically. Attempting to look upwards at the darkened sky produced nothing for the unicorn mare except feeling even more flustered and frantic. “Please be out there, you idiot!” She felt her eyes welling up with thick, warm tears of hopelessness. She lowered her head in bitter defeat and closed her red-rimmed eyes. “I’m sorry…” Her velvet voice cut off abruptly as a hefty green palm frond finally tore loose from one of the trees along the coastline. The branch spun wildly out of control in the surge of wind that had gathered with the tempest. The loud ripping noise tore through the air like the crack of a bull-whip and caught the distracted unicorn off-guard.

Mother Nature roared as She unleashed the full strength of Her power on the Island in the form of lightning and thunder. Before Ukulele Moon had a chance to know what had hit her, she was knocked into unconsciousness by the frond. The wind pawed at her insignificant body like a wild beast. It raked through her pink mane as if it was made of straw like the roofs of the island homes. She rolled along the beach like a crumpled love note blowing in the gale, forgotten.  Eventually her body hit the blackened waves of the angry sea that had gathered like a pride of hungry lions on the coastline . The frothy waves churned angrily as they devoured the pony like some great, terrible monster. If this was the last moment of her life, Ukulele would have been grateful to be comatose for the duration of what was left. It seemed as if hell had split open and threatened destroy the foundation of life on Paisley.

Superficially it appeared that she was alone and forgotten. It seemed as if Fate had turned a blind eye on the unicorn mare that expired beneath the surface of the irate briny deep. Nature did not appear to show any kind of emotion outside it’s devastation that a life had passed in such a cruel manner and cared not the reasons why or how. A voice spoke through the wind, as ancient and unyielding as the elements themselves.

“Sometimes the choices one makes define them in ways they cannot readily see for themselves. Sometimes the lives we live and the consequences we face define who we are and show us the most important aspects of our characters. Often, the most terrifying reality we will face is the short-comings and victories of our own brief existence. “

Ukulele Moon sunk to the bottom of the abyss and trailed along the floor of the sea like a newly-formed polyp of coral. The tides and torrents that whined overhead were silent in this under-water world that had become her tomb. Pulled by the under-tow, her body made its way into one of the submarine caverns that were littered beneath the mysterious island of Paisley. Her body washed ashore one of the obsidian shorelines and rested there for a moment before the mare twisted and coughed hoarsely.

Her eyes fluttered opened to the spectacle of her own reflection along the cavern’s walls.
> Pele
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ukulele Moon’s eyes fluttered open and focused in on what seemed to be a mirror image of herself staring back at her in the dimness of the obsidian cave. For a brief moment, she thought that death was taunting her with visions of her past failures. Her joints ached as she struggled to stand upright on all four of her pink hooves. “Where am I?” she muttered to herself as she turned away from the reflection in the blackened glass. Always the adventurer, she couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of wonder for the cavern that sprawled out before her like some undiscovered toy.

“I must be in one of the fabled underground caverns on the island,” She began speaking to no one in particular. Ukulele had always had a bad habit of talking to herself when she was alone on her adventures. If anypony heard her, she’d surely be put in a loony bin for being unable to contain her sense of astonishment. “If only Blue Moon was here to see this,” her voice carried through the conically shaped cavern as if she was in concert in Manehatten.

As her thoughts turned to her cousin, Blue Moon, a feeling of dread began to fill her as she began to remember how she had begun this journey. Only one name  filled her mind and began pounding as rapidly as her frightened heart. “Gear Turner!” she shrilled, setting motion to a myriad of rocks and debris falling from the fragile cave’s ceiling. Gasping hoarsely in the dimly lit cavern, Ukulele could see that the ceiling was beginning to give way. Pieces of the roof began raining down around the young mare like thick black knives being tossed around by skillful assassins.

As she tore through the underground gallery, attempting to avoid being spliced in half by one of the slivers of volcanic glass, Ukulele noticed that the walls beside her reflected an image of herself that was unfamiliar.  She couldn’t help catching glances of her mirrored doppelganger that seemed to be leading her to yet another underground passage and away from the bombardment of the falling rocks. Full of remorse, the unwitting subject of some cruel game of cat and mouse, Ukulele followed her reflection to a safer room that seemed to be rising into some kind of platform.

Gasping for air after the aerobics of running for her own life, Ukulele realized that she had indeed found safety. As she surveyed the raised platform of granite and obsidian, she was faced with another polished wall projecting an image at her. Shivering coldly, Ukulele could not help but notice that the figure of herself began to glow and that the luminescence began to fill the room. She saw that the unicorn mare before her, trapped in the stone fortress, sprouted wings.

“I’m an alicorn?!” Ukulele Moon gasped in surprise.

As if spurned on by some unheard cue, the room began to fill with a hearty laughter.  “You are most certainly not,” answered a voice that seemed to originate from very far away and began to edge closer to a reality nearest Ukulele.

The figure in the wall stepped forward and became three dimensional. The teal and pink mass that was once recognizable as Ukulele began to fade. It twisted and contorted into a large alicorn with a tan, sun kissed coat and long fiery orange hair. Her eyes were most impressive and seemingly endless. Her voice seemed  familiar to Ukulele Moon, as if it had once visited her in her dreams or been part of the very essence that made up her being. The great alicorn mare carried herself like a queen before the tiny, tropical pony.

Ukulele felt herself being filled with an imposing sense of dread and wonder as the great smoldering entity walked towards her.

“I am Pele.” The alicorn said as if it were some kind of royal decree coming from Princess Celestia.

“Pele?” Ukulele’s mind raced to remember the name, as if she had once heard about it long ago as a filly.

Pele glared at the unicorn indignantly. She seemed as if she was offended by the young mare not honoring her with at least a glimpse of recognition. Her eyes flickered like a candle catching a tropical breeze. A deep, resounding sigh filled the cavern as did a friendly warmth. Although magnificent, Ukulele could sense a maternal feeling coming from the great alicorn.

“You’re an old mare’s tale,” Ukulele began. “I remember my mother telling me about you when I was a scared little filly. She always said that the Goddess Pele protected her children during the pirate raids.” She wasn’t sure if she had just outraged the alicorn or reassured her that she was indeed recognizable as something past a mere faerie tale.

“I am the mother of your people,” Pele initiated in a tone that sounded as warm as the beaches of Paisley Island.  “Your mother and I are old friends, Ukulele.”

“You know my mother? Is that that why am I here?” Ukulele was filled with her trademark insatiable curiosity.

“You are going to help me help your people.” Pele looked to her with twin orbs of melted chocolate.

“How could I help you? I’m no one special.” Ukulele responded. Her heart poured over with grief. She was mentally reliving the last argument with Gear Turner in her mind repeatedly.

“All of my little ponies are special,” Pele said in a heart-warming tone that brought Ukulele out of her sad repose. “Do you know how your people came to my Island?” She asked with a genuine inquisitiveness.

Ukulele Moon shook her head sadly. Even if she did remember those stories that her mother told her so long ago, present circumstance made them seem pretty unspectacular.

Pele’s stare turned from the unicorn mare to the polished walls of the cavern around them. Color and light burst from the blackness and turned the cavern into a living theater. The walls began to show images of the past coming to life like the seeds of the Moonflower in spring. Ukulele looked on in child-like marvel at the spectacle set before her. She felt a kin-ship with this faerie tale and calmness that replaced her terror.

“Over a thousand years ago, your people were merchants. They sailed from another part of Equestria and into the Pawcific ocean to trade with neighboring lands. They were skilled sailors and shrewd business-ponies. They encountered many hardships on their journey, but nothing as wicked as the storm that brought them here.”

Ukulele listened as intently to the story as if she was back in time, a young filly curled up under the blankets in her tree house bungalow. She saw through the eyes of Pele, an ancient being that had granted her special witness to a past that was long forgotten by her peers. She watched the ocean begin to boil and froth around the merchant vessel. Ukulele could also make out the forms of panicking ponies as they dashed from one end of the ship to another in a frantic battle to batten down anything they could.

A band of unicorns were using their magic to keep the mast of the great ship from exploding under the force of the gale. There were pegasi attempting to keep the ship straight on her course as it was whipped dangerously around. Their wings, bloodied, had been battered by the torrent of wind and rain savagely falling in chaos. The earth ponies were securing not only their precious cargo of trade goods but also vainly tying down the sails of their ship that were as tattered as the crew’s nerves. The battle seemed to be in vain as a terrible noise filled the air that seemed to supersede the wrath of the storm for just a moment.

Finally the unicorn magic could not hold out any longer and the mast snapped like a twig. Cries of agony filled the air but no  one voice could be heard. The great structure fell and crushed a few of the shipmates, killing them instantly. A unicorn stallion bravely ran to the rescue of a earth pony mare who had just lost her mate during the upheaval and pulled her to the false safety of the cabin. Ukulele’s heart twinged as she briefly thought of her beloved Gear Turner. The crew began to realize they were adrift and heading towards land. Unknown to them, they were perilously close to a coral reef that threatened to tear their ship into shreds of mangled wood and flesh.

Ukulele Moon saw an island coming into view just beyond the reef. On the beach of the island, a wisp of smoke gathered at the shore. It curled and flared and eventually took the form of a transparent being. Pele stepped forward, observing the cave wall’s reflected memories for a moment before speaking. She could tell that this moment must have been pivotal for the alicorn mare because her stare was as intense as an active volcano.

“I saw their impending doom,” Pele initiated. “Within a few minutes, it would all be over for them.”

Ukulele took her eyes away from the alicorn and back to the scene that was unraveling before her eyes. She felt protectiveness over her ancestors and completely hopeless even though she knew the inevitable outcome.

“I had always been alone on the Island. I had created it before these waters had known the touch of a sailing vessel or the cry of a sea gull.” Pele looked distraught as she retold the tale. “Saving them meant taking them in, and all the consequences of parenthood.”

“Parenthood?” Ukulele questioned. She wasn’t sure where Pele was going with this information.

Ignoring the fledgling unicorn’s question, Pele stomped at the ground with her hoof. Ukulele Moon could see forms rising from the ocean. They were dolphins! Beautiful, sleek saviors that were racing towards the sinking vessel as unstoppable waves crashed against its hull. “It was my choice, my call that saved you.” There was an eerie sadness in Pele’s voice that haunted Ukulele to her core.

The large pod of sea mammals seemed possessed as they began to push their mass into the boat’s port side. It seemed impossible, but the vessel actually began to turn away from the coral reef and make its way to the shallow waters of the Moonlight Bay. Ukulele was astonished to see that the beloved beach of the inhabitants had changed very little in over a thousand years and was still recognizable.

With a terrific crash, the merchant vessel was flung against the shore and broken beyond repair. Time began to lapse forward as the Goddess Pele chanted a song that filled the caverns around them with timeless echoes.  “My children emerged from that broken shell and we were at once united,”

Ukulele watched as the first survivors bravely made their way from the safety of the boat and deep into Paisley Island’s jungle. The ponies began to make significant changes. Instead of relying on a culture that was now a distant memory, they began to create their own world in the shadow of Goddess Pele. They honored her in all ways possible, their voices singing praise and appreciation to the unseen nature spirit.

“I did not always take this form,” Pele interrupted the vision with a voice that pierced reality as a hawk’s talon takes to the field. “Your people saw me as an Alicorn Goddess. So I became that for them. They in turn, took on my unique markings.”

Ukulele Moon could not help but grin when the first settler ponies displayed on the cave walls began to have offspring of their own. The unicorn stallion and the earth pony mare that had united over the loss of their loved ones had given birth to a beautiful unicorn filly with a light teal coat and pastel hair. Her fur was adorned with the distinct markings of the Paisley Island ponies. Wide-eyed and innocent, the first filly of the new tribe whinnied at the full moon.

“The fruit and fish eaten by the survivors, used as nourishment, became my link to them. It changed their biochemistry and created a new species. Old hatreds of unicorn, earth pony and Pegasus racial makeup were put aside to create a new tribe. Pegasi no longer controlled the weather as they did in other parts of the world. Earth ponies and Unicorns were not unique for using magic or growing things.”

“That’s why we’re so different, isn't it?” Ukulele Moon ventured to the Goddess. “You didn't want the old tribes warring about their differences,”

Pele smiled and nodded. “And for the gifts that were lost, new ones developed. That is what makes you all unique.”

“But what can I do for you, Goddess?” Ukulele looked to the brightly glowing spirit next to her with newly-inspired fascination.

“My children have forgotten me. They have fallen prey to a world of evils that threatens to destroy not only their existence, but all of pony kind in Equestria.”

Pele showed the tiny unicorn a present day vision of the Paisley Islands. There were no more shrines to the Goddess, only an island exploited for tourism. There were the neon lights of bars canvassing the horizon instead of the magnificent stars that littered the sky above. An unexplainable fakeness infused the atmosphere and painted a veneer over the past tragedies of pirate raids. Even though this was a world Ukulele Moon knew well, one she had grown up in, it suddenly filled her with nausea.

“How do I make this right?” Ukulele asked frantically. The gravity of the situation was finally hitting her. Here was a princess, no-a deity that was asking for her help in saving the balance that permeated through all life in Equestria.

“Ukulele Moon, you have lived a life full of pain and sadness. You have drifted away from me like all of your brothers and sisters. To aide me in my cause, you must make a sacrifice.”

Ukulele held her ground although her body was trembling in terror.

The Goddess’ eyes turned black suddenly. “You must die,”

With a horrified gasp, Ukulele Moon felt the air drawn from her lungs and her life force trickling from her being. Memories of her childhood ran past her and began to diminish into nothingness. She was forgetting everything she cherished and held dear. The walls of the cavern began to fade and revealed that she was under water. Ukulele again lost consciousness. The Goddess Pele’s stare was intense as she watched the unicorn flung by the undertow of the roaring ocean.

“And be reborn, young one.” Spoke the Goddess warmly. As quickly as the tropical storm had come upon the island it began to dissipate as if commanded by some unseen force. Clear, azure skies began to peak through the flurry of storm-gray clouds that had loomed ominously just moments before. Waves that were once the size of mountains began to tame into smaller hills and dales that sprawled the beaches like lazy butterflies.

A pod of dolphins crested the surface for air and life began to return to normal. There was a still silence after the storm that was haunting. The glass-like surface of the water was penetrated by four cinnamon colored hooves. A new figure strode along the beach looking for washed up treasures, her long mane and tail wet and sandy from the grasp of the tropical seashore. She was unadorned and free of Paisley markings, a horn or wings. The creature was a plain-Jane earth pony.

Cinnamon Swirl had long been a hermit on the island. She had traveled to the Paisley Islands four years ago and decided to set up her blacksmithing shop alongside the island’s various flamboyant shops. She hadn’t made any friends since moving there and wasn’t interested in that either. The storm not only brought sunken treasures from the briny depths but also the absence of the Island’s inhabitants. No pony could have expected to see the form of a teal unicorn washed up on the shore.

The earth pony cautiously ventured forward to inspect the damage on the mare that had been flung around carelessly by the storm like a rag doll. There was a flash of recognition in Cinnamon’s memory as she stared at the form before her. She knew this pony. Although she was not talented with introductions among the living, Cinnamon Swirl put a careful ear against Ukulele Moon’s chest. At first there was a long and terrible silence.

But then…

The thrust of a heartbeat that hammered in the anti-social mare’s ears and a weak cough that was as much a greeting as it was a plea for life.

“Ukulele?” Cinnamon Swirl uttered as the lime-colored eyes of the mare gently fluttered open. She was in an incredible amount of pain and barely conscious.

“Who?” The mare said weakly before passing out again.

 
> Cinnamon Swirl
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cinnamon Swirl couldn’t believe for one moment what she was trying to do. She knew the teal-colored unicorn mare was in bad shape by just looking at her. Dragging her along without the aid of magic or even a cart was becoming a monumental  and time-consuming feat. Cinnamon knew if she didn’t act quickly and at least attempt to bring her back to town, Ukulele Moon could suffer more from her injuries. The earth pony grimaced as she struggled in vain to pull the injured mare along the wet sandy beaches sodden with the gales of the recent hurricane.

Her heart was pounding like a bass drum in her ears and she came to the realization that she was actually afraid that she was going to lose this mare before she made it to civilization. What was the unicorn thinking? She had heard from the others that Ukulele Moon had left the safety of the hurricane shelter and charged out into the full force of the monsoon. Cinnamon couldn’t for one moment find a reason why anypony would logically take such a risk.

Cinnamon Swirl let her mind drift for a moment. She was silently asking herself why she was even doing this in the first place. She had spent a lot of time and effort creating an aura of being anti-social so that the ever-pleasing Paisley Ponies would leave her alone. She was no hero, no friend to anypony on this Island. She had made it very clear to those who lived in the village that she came to town only to get supplies and not to socialize with any of the twiggy little mares that seemed to frequent the shops. She just didn’t care to be their friends.

It’s not like they didn’t make an effort to be her friend. So many ponies crowded her when she first arrived at the island. They couldn’t believe that someone other than a Paisley Pony would choose to live the hard island life that demanded so many practical survival skills. Paisleys were a close-knit group and seemed to have a connection to their island home that was so foreign to the rest of the ponies living in Equestria who seemed blissfully unaware of what was going on around them. Cinnamon Swirl had decided from that very first day of overwhelming attention that she would live somewhere far from the main village and only come to town as needed. The Paisleys really seemed to struggle with the concept of someone loving their island so much but being cold to their warm efforts of hospitality.

Although many tourists came to the Paisley Islands to see it during the winter months, very few stayed year-around because of the various dangers associated with residency. Not only were there hurricanes like the ones that put this unicorn mare in a coma, but there was the constant threat of pirate raids from the local species known as the Diamond Dogs. The villagers seemed to take these raids in practiced stride. They were a different breed than most ponies that Cinnamon Swirl had encountered in other parts of Equestria.

‘A different breed.’ Cinnamon Swirl snorted painfully as she began to remember why she had left the mainland of Equestria in the first place.

Her memories had turned to a bright summer day in her old haunt, Ponyville. Cinnamon Swirl spent her younger days as a very bright apprentice to a famed blacksmith. Anvil Hammer, her pegasus master, had shown the student everything he knew about blacksmithing and metal crafting. The two had grown very close over the years and genuinely enjoyed each other’s company. Anvil was extremely proud of the accomplishments of his only pupil. Cinnamon Swirl was not a social pony by nature, so finding a niche in society through an occupation was just what she needed to get her hooves dirty in a world that was based on friendship. For a time, the two enjoyed a father-daughter relationship that warmed the hearts of any pony that saw the two working together on the forge.

As Cinnamon advanced, more ponies were ever eager to have commissions completed by her. Late nights, stoking the forge and molding metal into ever changing landscapes of inspiring creation were how she passed time.  Anvil Hammer was always reminding his young student to take it easy and pace herself. The young mare had captured inspiration from nature and couldn’t be stopped. Ponies began to visit Anvil Hammer’s shop and refusing his services in favor of the unique creations that Cinnamon Swirl dished out effortlessly.

Completely oblivious to the pain that Anvil was going through, all Cinnamon could do was just progress forward. Anvil Hammer knew in his heart that the student must always surpass the teacher, but the feeling of uselessness and impending age was wearing him thin. Anvil had all but given up hope that anypony would ever commission him for a piece of simplistic jewelry let alone a sword or bit of armor. It wasn’t the money, it was the feeling of complete misery that tormented the ancient grey pegasus.

It wasn’t until the invitations to the Summer Sun Festival arrived did Anvil Hammer find a glimmer of hope.  Shoved carelessly through the mail slot in Anvil Hammer’s door by the ditzy grey pegasus mail mare, Cinnamon Swirl pounced upon the letters with youthful enthusiasm. Anvil managed to wrestle the invitations away from her though and read through the intriguing paperwork. Cinnamon Swirl sat in front of him like a young puppy waiting for a ball to be thrown. He could sense she was impatiently waiting for the contents of the letter to be read.

The old pegasus cleared his throat and spoke to the earth-pony mare. ‘The Princess has invited us to participate in a competition of sorts.’

‘A contest?’ Cinnamon Swirl answered back. She did this often to make sure she understood what she had just heard, a skill she had learned from her beloved master crafter and friend.

‘Yes, we are to each produce an armor set that will be judged by the Princesses themselves and the winning design will be worn by Princess Celestia as she ascends and raises the sun.’

‘Wow!’ mouthed Cinnamon with an aura of excitement that permeated the atmosphere.

‘It’s quite a challenge,  I hope you’re up to it. The winner will also go on to be invited into the Royal Equestrian Blacksmithing Guild in Canterlot. It’s a lifetime achievement,” Anvil Hammer stared off just past the young earth pony mare.

Cinnamon Swirl’s mouth formed her famous broken smile. Lovingly, she put a hoof on the old Pegasus’ large, chipped hoof. She looked closely at how age, experience and dreams had formed those hooves that had taught her so much. The love for her teacher filled her being in that moment and a gleam formed in her eye. ‘Anvil, you’re going to win. I just know it!’ The mare shot back at her aged tutor.

Anvil Hammer laughed at her youthful pride. He could barely remember being that young and enthusiastic himself, but he knew wisely that it was a learning stage for the young mare. One day, she would have to come to terms with reality. Not everything in life would be a cake-walk. Indeed, sometimes betrayal and hard times were the things that truly shaped a young pony’s life like a piece of malleable metal under the practiced hand of blacksmith’s hammer.

‘Cinnamon Swirl, ponies from all over Equestria will be competing in this. There are some very talented applicants entering this competition. We’re not going to be the only one’s entering. We must prepare that we will not be the winners. We will work as we always have, with quality in mind. Don’t let fame cloud your abilities.’ He said in a stalwart tone of voice.

Anvil could already tell that his words were going right over the young mare’s high-pricked ears. She had that look that only youth could produce. She smiled at him and began to trot off. Before she left their small kitchen, she turned in the doorway and looked at him. ‘But not one of those applicants is you, Anvil Hammer. I believe in you.’ And with that, Cinnamon Swirl disappeared into the rest of the house.

Anvil sighed heavily. The compliment washed over him and nearly brought a tear to his eye. He fought off the overwhelming urge to hug her. Ever since he had discovered the young filly at the Ponyville Adoption center, he had been enchanted by her ever-willing attitude and quick-study abilities. ‘One day, reality is going to hit you, Cinnamon Swirl. Life will bring you down and define you.’ Anvil said to the lonely shadows of the kitchen.

A few days later, Cinnamon Swirl had enlisted the help of the town’s friendly mail mare to aid her in a special project.

‘Uhh, tell me why you wanted me to carry you again, Cinnamon Swirl? I’m not the most reliable flyer in Ponyville, surely Raindrop would be a better choice. I might drop you.’ Ditzy Doo said with her usual worried tone.

‘Anvil Hammer wants me to enter the armor competition alone. He thinks if I provide my own entry, it will help me develop my skills. I’m creating armor for a Princess of the Sun. I have to understand her element. I want you to carry me to the sun. I want to feel what it’s like to be a Sun Princess. You’ll do fine, Ditzy! You won’t drop me! Besides, Raindrop is sweet and everything, but you’re the only pegasus in Ponyville not helping clear the skies for the Summer Sun celebration.’ Cinnamon Swirl answered back enthusiastically.

‘Well that’s because of what I did last year,’ began Ditzy.

‘Never mind that! It’s the past, and Anvil Hammer always says the past is just that. In the past.’ Interrupted the filly. ‘You’re going to be great. I’m all suited up. Let’s fly!’ Cinnamon Swirl had created for herself an earth-pony harness with a small handle that a Pegasus could grab on to and easily carry a passenger. The design of the harness was unique in that it would allow for the weight of the occupant to be distributed evenly.  

Ditzy sighed for a moment and grabbed on to the handle. Her wings, although a bit smaller than most of the other more experienced Pegasi, were muscled from mail delivery. She lifted Cinnamon Swirl off the ground effortlessly. She could hear the gasp of excitement escape from the lips of the earth pony.

‘Whoa!’ shrilled Cinnamon Swirl. ‘This is intense! It’s like I’m flying! You Pegasi are so lucky!’

Ditzy’s heart began to lighten at the youthful enthusiasm that seemed to make up the composition of her friend’s character. She relaxed and began to focus on her flying instead of being nervous about screwing up. ‘I guess it has to be hard for you earth ponies. No wings or magic to carry yourselves anywhere.’

‘But we have practical skill,’ Cinnamon Swirl said with the typical earth-pony pride which seemed to be a racial trait amongst the vast majority of them.

Ditzy laughed a little. ‘Yeah, I guess so!’

The pair ascended to the sky gracefully. Cinnamon Swirl felt herself struggling with a newfound fear of heights and the unbounded limits of her curiosity. It was early morning and Princess Celestia had already risen the glorious new sun. The wind was mild, even at their advanced elevation. Both ponies laughed and made small talk. As Ditzy approached the summit of her flying limits, the two beheld the radiance of the golden orb for which the celebration was being held.

‘Is this the inspiration  you were looking for, Cinnamon?’ Ditzy asked in an astounded voice. Even though she had risen nearly every morning to work her usual route and had seen this sun many times before, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of wonderment as soft rays hit her face.

‘Oh yes,’ responded the young mare in a sort of half gasp. ‘So this is what it’s like to be a Princess!’ she roared.

At that moment, Ditzy became distracted in her friend’s new-found sense of existence. Her birth defect, eyes that did not always align properly, had missed one critical detail.

‘BIRD!’ Cinnamon Swirl shouted in fear.

‘Wha?!’ Ditzy said, but it was too late. The large pelican slammed into the side of the Pegasus mare and knocked her unconscious. She let go of the handle of the harness that housed her precious cargo and began to plummet towards the ocean.

Cinnamon Swirl screamed as she saw her friend drift away from her and she began to aimlessly plunge into a tail-spin descent. As she passed the cloud layer, she soon realized that they had flown over the ocean. She knew that the likelihood of either one of them surviving such a fall, even landing in water was pretty slim. She closed her eyes and began to have a panic attack. Swirl was as helpless as a newborn foal.

A gust of wind passed her suddenly and with a whoosh of motion, she felt the harness once again being held by someone. She looked up in surprise and saw Anvil Hammer struggling to keep himself, Ditzy and Cinnamon Swirl from diving into a death-fall. ‘You came for me, Anvil!’ She shouted in surprise.

‘Yes, but we’re not out of it yet. Damn it, wake up you clumsy mare!’ Anvil yelled to the stunned Ditzy Doo who was being ferried by his large, strong back. As lesser stallion would have not been able to carry that weight so effortlessly. Inertia alone would have knocked out most of his pegasus brothers and sisters as evidence from Ditzy Doo’s failure.

‘Huh?’ Ditzy began to regain consciousness.

‘GET OFF MY BACK YOU IDIOT!’ he roared at the blonde-maned mare in his usual gruff tone.

‘Oh! Right!’ Ditzy slid off his grizzled back and recovered her flight. Their plunge had slowed considerably as Anvil Hammer took control of the descent.

After a few minutes, Cinnamon Swirl’s hooves felt the soft impact of earth hit her hooves as the harness was let go gently from her teacher’s mouth.

Ditzy landed beside her and ran towards her friend. ‘Oh Celestia! Cinnamon, are you alright? I am so sorry!’ she began.

‘She’s fine, no thanks to you!’ roared Anvil Hammer as he landed. He came towards the couple with a few forceful hoof steps.

‘Anvil, please, don’t blame her. We both got distracted,’ Cinnamon Swirl started.

‘What were you thinking? With your handicap, somepony like you should never get to that elevation! You could have killed yourselves!’ He snapped at Ditzy. Everyone in Ponyville knew that Anvil Hammer, although a talented crafter also had a terrible temper. He loathed incompetence.

Ditzy began to cry. She had once more allowed herself to believe that she was just like everypony else at the youthful urging of Cinnamon Swirl. No, she wasn’t. She was her handicap. Huge tears welled up in her eyes. ‘I’m sorry, I am so sorry, okay?’ She cried. And with that fateful sentiment, Ditzy flew away, bawling loudly.

Cinnamon Swirl could barely believe what had just transpired. She didn’t let the situation color her admiration of the old stallion. She didn’t like how he handled things, but she also knew that he was right, in a way. He must have a reason for being the way he was, and it seemed to serve him in being the best Blacksmith in all of Ponyville.

Anvil Hammer glared angrily at his young apprentice and snorted. He was awash with fitful anger and fear for his beloved child. His child. Unable to voice the right words and unwilling to tear her apart as he did Ditzy Doo, he merely walked away from her, leaving the filly alone on the beach. Her head was full of the motions of the day and Anvil Hammer’s terrible words. But a glimmer across the horizon caught the gaze of the earth pony.

‘Ohhh’ exclaimed Cinnamon Swirl as her attention went back to the glory of the Princess’ bright new sun. Far across the ocean, Cinnamon Swirl saw the waves ripple and glimmer with sunlight. The inspiration for the suit of armor hit her like a ton of apples from Sweet Apple Acres. She took a moment to take in the scene before heading back to find her terrorized friend.



Later that evening, Cinnamon Swirl was working on the framework of her contest entry. She had to get the dimensions just right. She mentally argued with herself for taking so long to calm down her friend, Ditzy Doo from the earlier happenings of the day. Ditzy seemed alright but she couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that her teacher’s words had somehow diminished the spirit of the clumsy mail mare. Sighing to herself, she almost burned a hoof as a voice pierced the air in the workroom.

‘Your teacher, Anvil Hammer, is a real jerk.’ A beautiful light-grey unicorn with fabulously styled mane entered the dingy mess of the blacksmith’s forge. She carried a small package with her light-blue magic field.

‘He didn’t mean it, Rarity.’ Cinnamon Swirl sighed heavily. Part of her knew it was indeed very true.

‘You don’t insult others. It was a mistake. Ditzy has been at Twilight’s all day, crying.’ Rarity said firmly.

‘I know,’ She said with a taste of regret in her mouth.

‘I know you love him, but he really should apologize to her. It was an accident after all, darling. Just because he’s a black smith, doesn’t give him any right to be so rude!’ Rarity gazed at the suit of armor that was quickly forming before her eyes under the skilled hooves of Ponyville’s newest rising star.

‘Do you have the gold filigree I ordered, Miss Rarity?’ Cinnamon Swirl said politely, attempting to change the subject from the current one at hand. She knew Rarity was as right as the rain. She had noticed that her beloved friend and teacher had grown more cold and callous lately for some unexplained reason.

‘I do indeed. The finest I could find for you, my dear. This armor is inspired. The Princess will no doubt pick you over your friend,’ Rarity interjected.

‘No! Never! Anvil Hammer is the finest Blacksmith in the land. I just know his entry will be perfect.’ Cinnamon Swirl’s tone changed to defensive. She faced Rarity’s clear blue eyes. They reminded her of the ocean she had seen earlier that day, and the far-off sparkle on the horizon.

The Element of Generosity smiled ambiguously at the filly. She used her pristinely manicured hoof to brush a lock of dingy hair aside so she could look into the fiery eyes of the earth pony mare. ‘Listen to me, Cinnamon Swirl,’ she said in an almost motherly tone, ‘You have a brilliant fire inside of you. You have a talent not only for molding metal, but also for molding the minds of ponies. Ditzy flew better today than she has ever flown before. Why? Because she believed the words you said. She told us everything. That is a beauty and grace that is absent from your teacher. That alone will carry you to heights you couldn’t imagine.’

Cinnamon Swirl stopped working for a moment and took in the unicorn’s words. They touched her deeply. She had never heard anything like that from her old teacher. Rarity smiled at her as she excused herself and left the filly to her great masterpiece. Cinnamon Swirl worked until early the next morning. The Summer Sun Celebration was just mere hours away and all entries should be brought to the staging arena to be judged an hour before the sun was set to rise and cover Equestria in a glorious, warm blanket.

Anvil Hammer entered the young mare’s workspace and gasped as he saw the tired mare finishing the last of a brilliant gold coat of arms. It was the most inspired piece he had seen in quite some time and definitely better than anything he had come up with for the competition. Cinnamon Swirl was loudly yawning as she finished the last part of the intricately woven design and barely noticed the soft hoof steps of her heavy-framed teacher.

‘You need to get a few hours rest, Cinnamon Swirl.’ He said in a stern, fatherly tone to the tanned mare.

‘I need to take our entries to the staging grounds.’ She yawned back, almost ashamed of how weak she was acting in front of the iron-grey stallion.

‘You need your rest, daughter. I will take our entries to the competition and make sure they are properly entered.’ He turned briskly away from Cinnamon Swirl as he gathered the pieces of armor and loaded them into a nearby cart.

‘Daughter?’ She woke up from her misty-mindedness. He had never referred to her as anything more than an apprentice or student. Even the concept of their friendship was little more than a theory in the young mare’s mind. She felt her eyes began to tear up with emotion.

‘I did adopt you, didn’t I? You are technically my daughter. Now don’t prattle. Get some rest.’ Anvil Hammer retorted.

Cinnamon Swirl knew better than to press the issue any further. She turned away towards the exit of the forge works and began to head to the house. In the dimness of the early morning, she could just see the outline of Anvil Hammer’s strong frame pulling the loaded cart towards the fair grounds. With a deep breath, she smiled at her friend, her teacher, her daddy.

Ponies had assembled from all over Equestria to witness the might and magic of their beloved Princess during the Summer Sun Celebration. The large crowds and gaiety of the festivities made Anvil Hammer feel very much out of place. He felt most at home in the dark, heated forge works honing weapons in peace. He grimaced as tourists were pouring from every angle and filling the grounds. He pulled the heavy cart up to the contest entrants area and met with a rather large red stallion with a hay-colored mane.

‘Is this where the armor for the competition is to be dropped off?’ He asked the earth pony.

‘Eeeyup.’ The stallion answered simply.

‘Ya’ll got to right place, that’s fer sure.’ Interrupted a smaller but well-muscled earth pony mare who bared a resemblance to the stallion.

‘Applejack,’ began Anvil Hammer. ‘Good to see a pony with some sense around here.’ He took a long, sideways glance at some of the visitors who were fumbling with lawn chairs and blankets on the grounds of the fair arena.

‘Oh don’t mind them ponies, they’re just a tad excited. Is this your entry, Anvil?’ Applejack said in a most hospitable voice.

‘Uh well,’ Anvil began to correct her. She had mistakenly thought that the brightly gilded suit of armor was his entry. The other suit, the one Anvil had created, was a more practical piece and less flashy. Applejack must have thought that the piece looked less inspired compared to the golden filigree and must be the work of the student, not the teacher.

Anvil Hammer was so angry in that moment. He had taught that young snot of a mare everything he knew and now he was going to be living in her shadow. Constantly upstaged by a filly that was just a fraction of his age and didn’t know her hindquarters from her withers. His business and reputation had suffered so much from his inspired student. He had to win this contest and prove to everypony in Ponyville that he was still the finest blacksmith in all of Equestria. A choice was made in that moment that was going to irrevocably change the course of many lives.

‘Yes, the golden suit is my entry. That one, the plain one, is Cinnamon Swirl’s entry.’ He said with a practiced tone of assertion.

‘Right. I’ll mark your names down. Now you just take her easy and enjoy the Summer Sun Celebration. I’m sure it will be a real dozy.’

‘Yeah, right.’ Anvil’s heart sank. The deed was done.

Just a few hours later, Cinnamon Swirl was awakened by Ditzy Doo who was tapping her window frantically. ‘Come on, sleepy head! The Summer Sun Celebration is just a few minutes away! We have to see if your entry won! Wake up!’ She shouted.

‘Oh my goodness! I overslept! Why didn’t Anvil wake me?’ Cinnamon Swirl wondered out loud. Still covered in the previous night’s grit and grim, mane styled by her sleep, she peeled out of the empty house and towards the fair grounds.

A hush had fallen over the land as the gilded orb ascended to the heavens. The Princess was wearing the gilded suit of armor that she and her sister Luna had picked from hundreds of applicant’s entries. The Princess was almost blindingly aglow with waves of freshly created morning sunlight. No pony present, even dear Luna, could remember a time when her sister looked so regal.

‘Oh that is just inspired,’ Rarity began, ‘Applejack, darling! The Princess picked Cinnamon Swirl’s entry. That young filly is going to be so excited!’

‘What? Rarity, you got that all wrong, Sugarcube. That’s Anvil Hammer’s entry.’ The pair looked at each other quizzically.

The two ponies were seated in the VIP section of the fair grounds that gave a fantastic full-view of the event. The shimmering unicorn carefully regarded the work-worn earth pony. ‘Oh, Celestia. He didn’t!’ Rarity shouted angrily and pierced the calm of the event grounds. Other ponies began to hush her as the unicorn began to throw one of her famous emotional fits.

Applejack’s cheeks were almost burning from embarrassment. ‘Rarity, calm down! What’s gotten into you? You’re acting like a wild bison stampede that tore into a hornet’s nest!’ She exclaimed.

‘Indeed!’ Rarity answered back and looked deep into the verdant eyes of her good friend.

A few of the Princess’s royal guards proudly took the stage just under their beloved Princess. After the sun had been raised, the Princess stood alongside them flanked by her younger sister. Another pony took her place in front of the Princess and respectfully bowed to the rulers of Equestria. ‘Thank you, dear Princesses, for blessing us with your presence.’ She began, eyeing not only the princesses but also the crowd.

Celestia and Luna coolly nodded their heads and smiled in a most regal way to the large crowd of assembled ponies. It was Celestia that really stood out. The crowd went wild for their Princesses and affectionately cheered their names. Celestia and Luna smiled at each other with mutual enjoyment coloring their timeless expressions. The sound of admiration had drowned out the angry fit of the unicorn mare whose heart cried for Cinnamon Swirl.

The announcer continued, ‘I suppose you are all wondering which applicant has won the contest. Our beloved Princesses have chosen the finest blacksmith in all of the land. This very special pony will be inducted into the Royal Equestrian Blacksmithing guild and create special pieces for all in Canterlot. That privilege has been awarded to the very creator of our Princess’ outfit, Anvil Hammer.’



‘Oh, Cinnamon, he didn’t,’ Ditzy said in a hurt one.

‘He took my entry,’ Cinnamon Swirl’s voice was colored with shock and disbelief. Her eyes were wide with disbelief. ‘He must have made a mistake… yes.’ She whispered to herself. Ditzy landed just next to her friend and put a comforting hoof on her back. The tears could no longer be walled up inside of her. A life time of trying to prove herself to her teacher, only to be so cruelly treated.

‘It was no mistake, Cinnamon,’ Ditzy said in a subdued tone.

The pair witnessed the old grey stallion trot up to the stage. In his eyes burned a pride that almost made the sun seem dull by comparison.

‘He betrayed you,’ Ditzy finished.

A light seemed to flicker off in her friend’s crushed gaze. Ditzy watched helplessly as her friend began to slink away, dejected by the entire circumstance.

And no pony in Ponyville ever saw Cinnamon Swirl again.

She knew she could no longer live with other ponies and trust them so much. Those words that inspired others, the wisdom that she had to give the world, must be snuffed out. Those were the dreams of a filly who had been wronged by some pony special to her. Cinnamon Swirl had wandered back to that fated beach and found a ship bound for the Ponynesian Islands. She walked along the length of the dock, completely silent, her hooves barely making a noise upon the hard wooden surface.

The filly glanced at the itinerary of the boat from the ticket master’s book. Her eyes fell upon a name. ‘The Paisley Islands, remote getaway.’

‘One ticket please. One way.’ She stated to the Ticketmaster.

The unicorn pony looked at her quizzically but didn’t question her. ‘Enjoy your journey,’ but the warm words sounded empty and hollow to her now. Where once she looked deeply into every pony’s eyes and saw them as they were, she could only see the lies and facades of others.

Cinnamon Swirl boarded the S.S. Sea Biscuit sullenly. She climbed to the main deck and stared out into the open water blankly. She was searching for the sparkle she had seen just over the horizon, the one that had given her the inspiration that once fueled her heart like the hot coals of her former forge. ‘Maybe one day again, I’ll find that. I will never trust another pony again,’ she said quietly to no pony in particular. The ship’s engines roared to life like an angry pride of lions and carried Cinnamon to her fated destination.

‘And here I am, helping this idiot mare,’ Cinnamon Swirl brought herself back to the current situation. The skies had cleared considerably since the end of the hurricane. She was quickly becoming exhausted from the effort of dragging the unicorn’s near lifeless body across the tropical sands. That same glorious sun that had once inspired her, had peeked out from behind the puffy, grey storm-clouds that had littered the sky just hours before.

Cinnamon Swirl took a deep breath and let the unicorn mare down gently as she could, not wishing to cause any further damage to the battered soul. She felt completely defeated. She had yet again failed. There was no point in carrying her any further. Ukulele was barely breathing and as good as dead in the eyes of any sane pony. The warm tropic breeze began to blow even more clouds away and it seemed as if the sun was chasing them away. As the rays began to illuminate the beach, they caught the purple, interwoven star and flower that adorned Ukulele’s flank. Cinnamon Swirl stared down at the purposeful looking cutie mark was temporarily blinded by a spark of light.  ‘Ugh, why does your cutie-mark have to be metallic colored?’ She grimaced.

She inhaled for a moment and realized that she heard voices carrying over the sands of the long beach. She could make out a pink Pegasus with electric blue hair and another unicorn who looked very similar to Ukulele bounding down the beach towards her. ‘Great. Some help. Now maybe I can rid myself of you.’ She grumbled under her breath.

Nani Moku, Ukulele’s mother cried out in fear as she saw the lifeless body of her daughter being carelessly dragged by the island’s hermit as if she was a piece of driftwood. She ran faster than she knew she was capable of to her little girl’s side. She looked at Cinnamon Swirl and stared into her eyes. The earth pony turned away to face her companion.

‘Get your filthy hooves off my friend! You’re nothing but a scoundrel!’ Mai Tai exclaimed. The pink Pegasus shouted at the earth pony who rewarded her with a positively menacing stare.

‘That means a lot coming from the village trollop,’ retorted Cinnamon Swirl in a sinister tone. Mai Tai snarled at her and went to rush her with a flap of her powerful wings.

‘Mai Tai, please.’ Nani Moku spoke in a tone that caught her attention before total chaos broke out. Stern and motherly, Nani Moku, also known as ‘Pretty Island’ was a well-respected mare in the community. She spoke rarely and when she did, it was pretty important. Most ponies who had a lick of sense listened carefully to her advice. ‘Ukulele is still alive. We need to get her help.’

‘But,’ Mai Tai began to argue back.

‘She is badly hurt. Please, Mai Tai, let’s but differences aside and try to save my daughter.’ The usual cool tone of Nani was broken with a mother’s fears that were rising with intensity.

‘I’ll help you,’ Cinnamon Swirl found herself saying. She couldn’t believe what she had just agreed to, but a lot of things lately didn’t make any sense to her.

The three ponies began to work to pull Ukulele back to civilization without furthering her injuries. Silence swept over the group of unlikely allies as they all worked to save the life of a unicorn that had all touched them in some way.  By the time they had reached the town doctor, Pineapple Passion, they found a long line of wounded ponies who had been caught in the storm just as Ukulele had been. A few nurses were quickly triaging the injured.

‘Everyone and there brother is here!’ Mai Tai growled in frustration. ‘Ukulele needs help now!’

‘Hey!’ shouted Cinnamon Swirl. Her voice pierced the air with a tone of command made all of the ponies present turn and stare at her. She felt an overwhelming urge to vomit as so many eyes reached her glance. ‘This mare here, she’s pretty badly injured. She needs help.’

Pineapple Passion appeared from the crowd, caked in the blood of her patients. She looked into the mouth of Ukulele Moon for a moment and exclaimed. ‘Dear me, she is! Get her on to my table immediately! I think she has internal bleeding. We have to stop it or she’s a goner.’

Worried friends gathered around as Ukulele Moon’s body was hauled into the office of the town’s doctor. Many of them were crying or speaking to each other in hushed tones as no one knew the fate of their companion. Nani Moku watched helplessly as the doors to the office were closed, surrounding her daughter like a tomb. She looked over at Cinnamon Swirl, eyes full of agony and feeling. It was almost unbearable to meet her glance.

‘What you did for my daughter,’ She started, ‘Thank you. May Goddess Pele rain blessings upon you, child.’

‘Uhh yeah. Right. Ummm,’ Cinnamon Swirl slowly backed away and used the crowd as camouflage to escape back to her hut near the mountains.
> Nani Moku's Pretty Island
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nani Moku had been working on helping as many victims of the hurricane as she possibly could that day. Cots and make-shift hay beds were sprawled unscrupulously all over the front grounds of Paisley Island’s main clinic.  The moans and wails of injured ponies that had been caught in the up sweep of the recent storm were almost deafening. All of the Island’s inhabitants were working hard to care for the injured and the bereaved visitors who just happened to be in the right place at the wrong time.  Even though she was completely surrounded by villagers and visitors alike, she felt completely alone. Her husband, Sand Castle and her nephew Blue Moon were caught up with running errands for Mayor Easter Island.

Her body was beginning to fail her with aches and pains. It was time for Nani to call it quits and focus on her own problems at hand. She was not a young pony by any means and age was finally starting to catch up to her. The recent stress of her injured daughter who was currently in surgery was not helping the situation and seemed to be the only thing she could think of at the moment. She had spent the day keeping busy by helping others, but now, her mind raised and bordered on a panic attack as reality began to take full grasp on her emotions. She wasn’t use to being the helpless one in situations like this, she had always been the comforter.

As she left the grounds in front of Pineapple Passion’s clinic, she caught a glimpse of her reflection in one of the windows of the nearby huts. She stopped for a moment to let herself fully realize her situation. She almost laughed to herself when she saw the haggard pony that stared back at her. “To think,” she said to no one in particular, “My name means Pretty Island,” her voice trailed off to a faint whisper. Her voice was flavored with anxiety.

“I still think you’re pretty,” answered back a familiar voice from somewhere behind the teal unicorn mare. As she turned to face the responder, a gust of tropical wind blew her tangled pink mane into her nose and caused her to sneeze loudly. The dying afternoon sun had also produced a last aggravating glare that temporarily blinded her. The blue pegasus stallion chuckled as he used his hoof to gently push away stray wisps of his wife’s mane.

“Sand Castle,” Nani Moku warmly embraced her equally exhausted husband. “What are we going to do?” Her voice was colored with a sort of distraught tenseness that was foreign to her beloved mate.

Sand Castle quietly lead his wife away from the center of town and towards the eastern beach. He knew she was about to ignite emotionally and didn’t want to cause a stir on their behalf. Nani Moku had given her all today and was showing signs of her inherent frailness. She was practically hanging on him for support. He was aggrieved to see the normal energy and vibrancy that his wife seemed to possess in great quantity to have dissolved like morning dew drops on a sunny day. Their marriage had been a long and happy one. They had produced one beautiful daughter, a miracle child, that came into their lives when they had all but given up hope of ever having a foal of their own. Now her life was hanging in the balance.

Sand Castle could only produce a small sigh. His heart was heavy not only for his wife, but their daughter Ukulele Moon. He heard Nani Moku finally start to break down into tears at his side. Her small sobs produced a cry of grief that crushed his heart and made his head slump to meet hers. The diminutive unicorn mare began to wail in great heaps of helpless regrets. He tried his best to comfort her wordlessly but knew that his inability to tackle social situations was only posing as a hindrance in a time of desperate needs.

“She’s our only baby,” His Pretty Island continued.

“And she’s strong, Nani. She always has been,” he said in the most reassuring voice he could possibly muster. He had no idea how incredibly hard it would be to pull this kind of strength together for his beloved wife. He had always assumed if you loved someone, it should come naturally. This wasn’t some scared tourist he was comforting through a surfing lesson, this was his soul mate.

“I couldn’t stop her, she ran out of the shelter,” Nani continued. Her voice was breaking into high pitched squeals.

“There was nothing you could have done. Ukulele has always been headstrong. It’s not your fault.” Sand Castle sucked in air through his teeth in an attempt to distract himself from his own remorse.

“What are we going to do if she,” Nani began. “And Gear Turner, he’s gone, isn’t he?” her voice came to a sharp peak and drifted off as if hopelessness was overcoming her entire being. The loss of their son-in-law was hitting her as hard as a fresh crop of coconuts. They could only assume that the quirky Pegasus stallion had been lost in the violent clattering of the hurricane since there was no word from the search party. Not even his body was found, only a few stray white feathers with his distinctive Paisley markings.

“Let’s not think of it, Nani. All we can do is pray.” Sand Castle wasn’t the religious type but he knew his wife was very much a spiritualist. If he had to play the part to calm her down enough to think clearly, then he would certainly do just to protect her. He stomped his hoof angrily in the sand. The feeling of helplessness was not something he was used to dealing with gracefully. Many times he had seen Nani Moku face situations with such refinement and humility to other ponies in need and it stunned him. That’s what he loved most about his wife, her ability to rely so strongly on her own beliefs that she could put everything else aside. It’s no wonder she was known as a motherly figure to many ponies around the island.

Sand Castle watched his normally poised wife break down in front of him, uncharacteristic of her enduring personality. It was like watching a complete stranger dealing with emotions and discomfort foreign to him. “I need some time alone, husband.” Nani said as she looked deeply into his pale blue eyes.

“Of course, whatever you need.” He almost felt a sense of relief when she asked to be by herself for a time. He suspected she was going to use this time to commune to her Goddess or something. It wasn’t a topic he was exactly comfortable dealing with, but he respected his wife’s beliefs. He had mostly thought that the tales of the Goddess Pele and their origins had been a myth which was the widely accepted concept throughout their society. Ponies like Nani Moku were somewhat of a rarity in terms of social norms. “You’re going to be alright?” he asked dutifully.

Nani nodded slowly at her husband. “Yes, I just need time with Her.”

“Ah,” he tried to sound like he even remotely understood what she was talking about at the moment. He knew that a lot of ponies thought his wife was really strange and maybe even a little scary. No one had seen or heard from the supposed Goddess savior of the Paisley Ponies in centuries and only a few healers and priestesses still clung to their beliefs as if they were rare gems. He turned away from his wife and gave his old wings a good flap. He lifted off the ground with a small gust. He turned to his wife one last time. He could have sworn that she possessed the faintest glowing aura around her horn. Nonsense, he quickly dismissed to himself. Paisley Ponies did not possess the magic of the rest of Equestria for some unknown reason. Their magic was unusually weak compared to ponies from other lands.

“I will keep watch over the clinic. You go and do whatever you need to, Nani. I’ll let you know if anything changes.” He said to her.

Nani Moku pursed her lips and nodded. She turned and ran in a northerly direction down the beach. The sky was beginning to turn shades of purple and pink as the sun began to kiss the top of the ocean in the embrace of twilight. A helpless Pegasus stallion could only hear her soft hoof beats fading away on the pure white sand and the idle flapping of his azure wings.



Elsewhere…



The Electric Lime was the kind of club that was a rare sight in most of Equestria. It certainly drew large crowds during the tourist season that seemed to be dazzled by the kind of music and performances that were held there. Unlike most establishments in Equestria, the iconic club had endured a barrage of pirate raids and severe run-ins with the unpredictable weather. It was still the largest and most brightly lit building in Coconut Hollow, the capital city of Paisley. It’s odd purple color and alien architecture had earned it the nickname, “The Purple Cow.” Many villagers of Paisley would have liked nothing more than for the eye-sore of a nightclub to be demolished by a tropical gust.

Fizzy Grape, the club proprietor was one of the oddest ponies that anypony could come across. She was a brash and outspoken Pegasus that seemed to employ only the Island’s dregs that could otherwise not find a job at the more polished resorts. Fizzy prided herself and her band of rag-tag ruffians on their ability to not fit into the normal mold of tropical pony paradise. They were always trying to bring performances and shows that astonished tourists and angered the local denizens. The entire building was cast from metal and surrounded in an unnatural glow of green neon lights that clashed heavily with the ornate exterior.

“How’re the storm-shutters holding up, Mai Tai?” yelled Fizzy from the bottom floor of the club. She was quickly trying to assess the damage to her beloved establishment.

The pink pegasus with the stunning green eyes and electric blue mane seemed to explode from behind a set of brightly colored stage curtains. “I think she held up pretty good,” Mai Tai answered back.

“We got lucky, Mai, really lucky,” Fizzy reminded her younger protégé.

“Oh Fizzy, you’re not happy unless you’re freaking out about something, are you?” Mai Tai landed beside her with a gush of youthful energy. Mai Tai could easily have been the prettiest pony on the Island. There was hardly a young stallion that wasn’t dazzled but her unusual looks. However, most every other pony on the island dismissed the boy-crazy pegasus mare as nothing more than a floozy. She smiled crazily at Fizzy who could only smile back. It was hard to be upset around a pony like Mai Tai even if the whole town secretly prayed that your nightclub would spontaneously burst into flames. It was no wonder that Fizzy had chosen the beautiful dancer as her successor until her own daughters, Mojito Madness  and Grape Nehi were old enough to take the reins.

Fizzy’s own family were still busy helping the tourists and islanders that had been hit hardest during the outrageous tropical tempest. Mai Tai and her had spent the day attempting to salvage what was left of their profits from the night before the storm had hit. They had donated water, food and other miscellaneous supplies to the rescue effort. Mai Tai and Fizzy had even spent the morning hours after it was deemed safe looking for survivors. One of those survivors just happened to be one of her best friends and biggest supporters, Ukulele Moon.

Fizzy Grape sighed to herself as Mai Tai went behind the bar to check what drinks needed to be reordered. She wondered to herself how much time her club had without the support of the islanders.  It was useless to try to convince the rest of Paisley that the nightclub was an economic necessity. These days, pony tourists just weren’t as interested in quiet nights and palm trees swaying in sultry breezes. What attracted ponies was the kind of cutting edge music and skilled dancers that were on Fizzy’s payroll. The Major, Easter Island, seemed like a hawk poised to strike on her club as if it was a field mouse. A life time of work and investment ended because the stucco exterior didn’t match the rest of the boring little shops around her.

“They’re just a bunch of prudes, Fizzy,” Mai Tai assured her friend. She could see the worry sprawled across her face like stars spreading across a darkened night sky.

“Yeah, well we’ll see how those prudes vote during the next Town Hall meeting. This storm put a hold on things but it didn’t stop what’s coming around the corner for us,” Fizzy spat back a bit more angrily than she intended.

“Surely they’re going to take into account all the stuff we donated and all the time we put into helping the other islanders. Come on, you have to stop worrying yourself to death like this, it isn’t good for anypony!” Mai Tai gently put her hooves on Fizzy’s back and gave her dear friend and teacher a small backrub.

Fizzy could have melted right there. Even her husband, Lightning Strike, was not nearly so skilled with his hooves as the infamous Mai Tai. It was no wonder why so many stallions chased after her in vain. She craned her neck towards Mai Tai and closed her eyes. She let the vivacious pegasus mare work her magic on tired and sore muscles and tried to dissolve her anxiety in Mai Tai’s soft voice. “If you keep this up, I’m going to have to give you a raise or something,”

“Ah, is that a promise now?” Mai Tai chuckled softly.

“Ugh, did you hear what happened to Ukulele?” Fizzy interrupted the peace that had seemed to swell over the room as the evening tides that lazily hung on the sandy local coastlines. As soon as the words came out of her mouth, she instantly regretted them as she felt those skilled hooves drop from her stinging muscles. She heard Mai Tai gasp a little and as she turned she saw the unmistakable expression of a crestfallen friend.

“Yeah, I was one of the ponies that found her,” Mai Tai said in a soft, distressed voice. “There’s still no word from the clinic as to her condition.”

“Pineapple Passion is one of the best doctors in all of Equestria. Ukulele couldn’t be in better hooves, Mai Tai. She’s going to pull through this,” Fizzy tried to say with some confidence in her voice. She placed a work-hardened hoof on the lovely rosy pegasus’ rounded shoulder.  “She has to,” Fizzy said suddenly as if she was trying not only to convince Mai Tai but also herself.

“Pineapple said she was bleeding internally. I don’t know much about medicine but I know that isn’t good. And Gear Turner, he’s gone, isn’t he?” Mai Tai said sadly and with an air of acceptance laced into her usual musical tone. She pushed away a stray tress of her voluminous mane and sucked in a hard breath.

“It certainly looks like it, Mai.” Fizzy looked at her dear friend and caught the stare of those powerful verdant eyes.

“Why would he have been out in that storm? What in the name of sweet Celestia was he trying to prove? I know they had a fight earlier that day but seriously!” Mai Tai stomped a hoof angrily down on the cold tiled floor of the club.

“Now, you can’t be splitting hairs, Mai. You know Gear Turner is,” she paused for a moment to correct herself, “was an inventor. Those types are always so eccentric.”

“Yeah, and that idiot is dead now and my best friend probably will be too! This is so stupid!” Mai Tai shouted back angrily and careless flung her foreleg out. As her hoof slammed down, it struck the table she was nearest and sent a martini glass rocketing to the floor with a crash. Broken glass showered Fizzy Grape like a sudden burst of sharp confetti. Uninjured, the proprietress of the club expressed a look of surprise and unusual concern for her normally composed employee. Mai Tai realized her outburst had not only caused her friend to shrink in her presence but also damage part of her livelihood.  She softened her stance a little and tried to calm herself to prevent another careless mistake from happening. She wasn’t really angry at Gear Turner or Fizzy, she was angry at life.

Mai Tai and Ukulele Moon had been fast friends since childhood. They had met when Mai Tai still went by her given name of Love Potion. She was born into a family that didn’t understand or accept her from an early age and generally made life very difficult for her. When she was around Ukulele in those early days, she couldn’t remember being happier as the pair would explore Paisley Island’s backcountry together. A wrecking ball of tragedy stuck Mai Tai’s life and Ukulele had provided unending support for her beloved companion.

Mai Tai spent a portion of her life in care of the Island’s orphanage after a pirate raid had killed both of her birth parents. Unfortunately, that wasn’t an unusual story on Paisley Island. It it still didn’t make the soreness she carried any less real. There was literally a baggage claim department worth of emotional issues to sort through. With deceased parents, a pony really can’t make peace with anything except excruciating memories and scares that softly faded on her pelt. Mai  Tai had been taken in by Ukulele’s family and treated as if she had been born into the family. They had even given the former Love Potion the nickname ‘Mai Tai’ after a crazy adventure that her and Ukulele Moon shared together.

Picturing life without such an essential friendship wasn’t something Mai was prepared to do yet. She had always envisioned her and Ukulele Moon growing old together and ending up pranking orderlies in some old pony’s home. The dream of the both of them being married two their childhood sweeties and having huge families seemed so alien from the reality that was creeping up around her like weeds in one of Ukulele’s gardens. Mai Tai could feel her cheeks beginning to flush with blood as she mulled over all of the possible outcomes of this situation. Either she was going to have a friend that was so badly brain damaged that she wouldn’t be able to remember a thing that they had shared or she wasn’t going to have a friend at all.

Fizzy Grape didn’t need to be in Mai Tai’s head to sense what was going on inside of the wily Pegasus mare. A flurry of concern overtook her and she moved closer to Mai Tai in an attempt to comfort her. The moment was short lived as the doors to club burst open.  A diminutive brownish-hued Unicorn with a streaming blue mane trailing behind her came trotting quickly into the establishment. It was Butterfly Bay, another close friend of Mai Tai.

“Butterfly, what is it?” Mai Tai said as she looked up. Her tear-streaked eyes only took on a more lovely and deeper hue of green and resembled twin jade orbs.

Butterfly Bay was in that moment caught up in that enticing stare of the intimidating figure before her. Quickly though, she snapped back into actuality and looked at her acquaintance. “There’s been a change in her condition, I just heard from one of the nurses. Ukulele is crashing. They need blood donated and they can’t find a match. They’re asking everyone on the Island for help. They can’t find her mother.”

Before Fizzy could say another word to her employee, she realized that she was talking to thin air. “I’m guessing it’s Ukulele’s lucky day. I think they just found a blood donor match,” as she glanced at the doors of the club flapping in the wind like the wings of a seagull caught in a storm.

“How do you know that, Fizzy?” Butterfly said in her quiet, bashful tone of voice.

“Because no pony moves like that unless they’re on a mission.” Fizzy said with an air of confidence in her voice.  For some reason, she felt like everything was going to be alright after all. It wasn’t like her to base her reactions or intent on something that was just a ‘gut feeling,’ but knowing that Mai Tai was going to donate blood on Ukulele’s behalf seemed like a righteous action that should be rewarded.

“I hope so.” Butterfly said gently, not wanting to provoke the unpredictable nature of the night club owner. She turned to leave quietly but she caught Fizzy’s attention.

“Where do you think you’re going? I still need help cleaning this place up! I’ve got a Town Hall of angry villagers to face in a few days. I need the place spotless! Some old storm isn’t going to keep The Electric Lime down!” roared Fizzy Grape.

“Uh, uh,” Butterfly stuttered. “I don’t work here?”

“Like that matters!” She exclaimed. “Hard work never hurt anypony, and girl, you need all the help you can get! Less yapping and more sweeping.” She then threw a broom in the direction of the unicorn mare.

“Okay,” Butterfly Bay was not about to argue with the imposing mistress of the nightclub.

Meanwhile…

Mountain Moon was a long way from the usual hustle and bustle of the big city of Coconut Hollow but it was also the sacred home of the Goddess Pele. Nani Moku was really feeling a strong sense of exhaustion as she rounded yet another part of the trail to the top of the inactive volcano that had been the supposed birthplace of Paisley Pony kind. Her aged hooves moved purposely along the hard rock trail that was littered with natural dangers such as sharp pieces of volcanic glass and scorpions. Even though her own heart beat was hammering in her ears like an ancient tribal drum, she did not even stop to rest.

Princess Luna’s magnificent orb was beginning to rise high in the night time sky. Nani Moku’s older eyes, afflicted by cataracts, could not clearly see the path. She had traveled this way so much as a filly that memory served her well where her body could not. Usually she would stop and take a moment to absorb the natural beauty of the remote island but tonight she could not afford to dally. There was so much at stake and so much that she must petition to the Goddess Pele. Even in the darkness, Nani could make out The Electric Lime Nightclub that showered the valley beneath her in a weird synthetic glow from its volley of neon lights. She frowned a bit at the sight but knew that the club’s owner was a very hardworking mare.

As she reached the summit of the long-dormant volcano, she stared down into the massive crater that time had formed over thousands of years. The sight still inspired emotions that awakened the core of her being and charged her soul. Her heart skipped a beat at the vision that was laid before her in the milky light of the celestial body. She swore that she saw the very middle of the crater smoking in the pale moonlight. That was impossible as the volcano was deemed completely safe by local geologists. That was one of Paisley Island’s driving points for tourists was the sight of the magnificent Mountain Moon towering over the ancient tribal pony civilization that was birthed from legend.

Nani Moku grimaced as an annoying body pain ripped into her side from muscles that were overworked and stressed. Her attention was momentarily diverted as she attempted to walk the cramp off and resume her spiritual journey to the altar that had been set up some time ago by the ancients who worshipped the tumultuous earth Goddess. In that moment, the smoke that had been pooling in the center of the crater began to take form.

The night wind swept Nani Moku’s mane and gave her a much needed burst of fresh air to her weary lungs. As she turned back to approach the alter to make her maternal plea to the Goddess she was caught by a surprising sight of a fully formed, tanned Alicorn slowly making her way from the gorge beneath her. It seemed as if the form was floating on air and birthed from the smoke that wreathed the walls of the stone mass.

The massive Alicorn was at once standing before the beleaguered unicorn mare. “Nani Moku,” the Goddess spoke to her in a voice that sounded of thunder on the plains.

Nani Moku was speechless. She had many times felt the presence of her beloved deity but never had she beheld the sight that was before her right now. She almost wanted to turn tail and run from the spectacular figure that seemed to make even the huge rocks around her appear as pebbles. Nani knew that kind of cowardice had no place in the worship of this Goddess and that she must attempt to gather all of her courage from every fiber of her being.

“You sought me,” the Alicorn remarked. Pink-tinged tendrils of her seemingly non-corporeal hair gathered around her like the lava that spewed from volcanoes such as Mountain Moon.

“I did, my Goddess,” Nani said in a tone that almost came off completely unrealistic to her. She could hear the fear in her voice as it trembled in the presence of the deity. She felt herself pointedly attempting to bring her besieged body into a low bow of respect in front of Pele.  

“Rise, little one, I am honored.” Pele said in a tone that sounded both powerful and maternal. Nani couldn’t help but noticing that the Goddess in all of her glory looked somewhat diminished that night as if She had spent a great deal of energy or effort on some great project. “You have come on behalf of the child that I gave to you, long ago.”

Nani Moku nodded. She could easily remember the night that she had prayed to Pele for a foal of her own. She had only heard clearly the voice of the Goddess that reassured her that she would indeed conceive a child and carry it to term. After four terrible miscarriages, Nani had all but given up hope that she would ever feel the soft, warm feeling of a foal in her grasp. “My daughter is very ill right now. She might die.”  

“I am aware,” Pele sounded almost distracted as She turned her gaze away from the unicorn and out in the direction of the western sea.

“I can’t lose her. She’s my baby.” Nani’s voice broke in a shrill unbefitting of her normal demeanor. She had always envisioned meeting the Goddess and being a shining example of a devoted follower but the pain she was feeling right now overrode all of her intent.

“A mother always shares the pain of her child. I feel the pain of my children echoing from all over Equestria. At times, a mother must sacrifice herself for the nourishment of her children,” Pele glanced back at her follower with large, luminous eyes that struck her like a rock skipping across the surface of the water.

“You’re asking for a sacrifice?” Pretty Island said. “Goddess, I will do anything I must do. If you’re asking for my life in trade for hers, consider it done.” Although she was secretly terrified of facing the unknown throng of death, she felt compelled to offer herself in place of her daughter.

“You have already given of yourself,” the deity corrected her swiftly “ the sacrifice comes from another mother. Soon you will witness the children of Paisley sacrificing much to achieve something that they never thought possible. That is the destiny of my progenies. ”

Although she was terribly confused by the sentiments of the Goddess that seemed to be dissolving in front of her, Nani Moku’s heart that had bared so much pain began to lighten.  Perhaps there was a chance that her daughter would pull through and find happiness even without the loving embrace of her cherished husband. Nani Moku witnessed the form of the Goddess begin disband around her and disappear into the sultry night air of paradise. Nani Moku smiled to herself and looked out over the valley beneath her.

The calm and quiet that peace afforded the mare was temporary as she saw Sand Castle tearing through the sky and towards her position perched high above the city. “Pretty Island! I was hoping I’d find you here! Pineapple Passion has news for us! Can you get on to my back?” he shouted in a voice that was a little louder than he intended it to be. He would be lying if he didn’t say he was excited and a bit afraid of what was to come.

“Yes, of course!” She mounted the strong back of her work-hardened husband. Years of hauling up fish and surfing had awarded the older stallion an impressive set of muscles that rippled as he flew. He was beginning to show his age as well but at least he was able to do it as elegantly as possible. The night wind was acting up and gave a strong gust as Sand Castle took off from the cliff that Nani Moku had been perched upon.

“Who were you talking to?” He asked in a very matter-of-fact tone.

“I think you know,” Pretty Island leaned forward and whispered into his ear lovingly. It sent a happy wave of pleasure through the old stallion that rekindled some dear memories. “She’s going to be alright.”

“Ha! Well, I think you’re right, wife! Praise be to the clouds if they helped our daughter recover!” He burst out into the brisk chill of the darkened heavens. Sand Castle was delighted that something could be salvaged from this tragedy and bring back the fire that normally burned in his bride’s heart. They charged through the clouds together as if they were leaves on the ground for anypony else.

“It still isn’t going to bring back Gear Turner,” She felt herself lamenting for the loss of her son-in-law. She knew how much her daughter loved the crazy pegasus even if they spent most of their time having huge arguments. Even though her marriage to Sand Castle had been a smooth one, she suspected that Ukulele Moon and Gear Turner related to each other by bickering about everything. “Ukulele is going to be very different when she learns what happened to him.”

“I know, but there’s nothing we can do about him. I miss him too, Nani, he was so good to our daughter.”  Sand Castle affirmed. “All we can really do is just be there for her and be supportive of her recovery.”

“You’re right, as always,” Nani quietly said back to him.

They landed just a few yards away from the clinic doors. A crowd had formed on the outside that was anxious to know the fate of the island’s infamous tour guide. Blue Moon, Ukulele’s cousin, stood closest to the door displaying his usual face that was almost impossible to read. He noticed that Sand Castle and Nani Moku had arrived and the ruggedly handsome earth pony stallion stoically approached them. His amber eyes were full of something that Pretty Island couldn’t place.

“Ukulele is conscious and in recovery. Pineapple has been waiting for you two,” rumbled the deep voice of Ukulele’s cousin.

Nani found a wave of relief that crashed into her welcomingly and instantly lightened her voice. “She made it?”

“Well, apparently she needed a blood transfusion,” he began.

“But I had that covered, Nani!” entered the playful, carefree voice of Mai Tai as she interrupted Blue Moon. He only sighed and grumbled at the precocious pink pegasus. He was quite used to being interrupted but it still stung him at times.

“You, Mai Tai?” Nani said as she carefully stepped forward. Even though she was running high on adrenaline, she was still aching from her physical exertions on Mountain Moon earlier that evening.

“Yeah, a long time ago we both got typed for blood donation. Turns out, we’re a perfect match.” She said with cool confidence as she landed next to Blue Moon and attempted to jolt him out of his usual calm demeanor. She was always trying to shake his foundations but she never saw as much as an eyebrow lift from the stoic stallion.

“You truly are sisters, Mai.” Nani said in a warm, welcoming tone of voice that was music to the high-energy pegasus’ ears. She knew Mai Tai, having lacked a proper mother, was always seeking approval from maternal figures. She had nurtured that relationship carefully over the years and saw past what many ponies refused to accept about the young mare. She knew Mai Tai was a lot smarter and more courageous than others in the city gave her credit for in the past.

Mai Tai could only blush at the kind words that were showered upon her from her adoring adoptive mother.

“A huge risk, getting blood from the likes of you,” interrupted Easter Island, the island’s elected leader. The purple unicorn with waves of yellow hair the color of straw pushed her way between Blue Moon and Mai Tai. She wrinkled her nose and gave a disapproving stare to the magenta mare with her light pink eyes that reminded Mai Tai of an albino rat.

“Hardly, actually the screening process for blood donation is very stringent,” Blue Moon continued. He didn’t seem to bat an eye at the Island’s major as she rudely stepped in front of him and seemed to breath in his face. “Besides, Mai Ta here is actually quite responsible and that takes the risk percentage for a blood borne pathogen down to…”

Again, Blue Moon was interrupted by a few choice words shot off by Mai Tai to Easter Island. Sand Castle grabbed her before she could land a punch to the tall, lavender colored unicorn. An act that would have assuredly put her behind bars in the island’s brig and given rise to more rumors. Before the small crowd of ponies broke out into an all-out brawl, the doors of the clinic opened with a gentle swoosh and Pineapple Passion, the city’s doctor stepped out to face the scene. She cleared her throat to get the attention of those before her. In any other instance, she may have found the scene to be quite comical with ponies with oddly fixed expressions looking dumbstruck at her.

“Ukulele is ready to see you now,” Pineapple said directly to Ukulele’s parents.

“Please! Let me come in! She’s my sister.”

Easter Island clicked her teeth and made a mocking noise to no pony in particular as if the idea of Mai Tai having a family was completely beneath all reason. Mai Tai shot her a dangerous warning look but then refrained from allowing herself to slip back into old habits. She looked pleadingly at Pineapple Passion and Nani Moku for some kind of support in this situation.

“I can only allow two visitors.” Pineapple said reaffirming her position on the matter. The citrus colored earth pony mare was usually quite professional in most situations even if they involved some of her dearest friends. Personally, she had no malice towards Mai Tai or any of the other orphans that inhabited the island. She couldn’t understand why so many families chose to give the cold shoulder to children that had lost so much during pirate raids. Easter Island wasn’t the only pony on the island with such obvious prejudices. It took a very special pony family to adopt one of the survivors of the raids as the children were usually completely terrorized from their experience and could be hard to handle.

“Mai Tai, you go with Nani and see Ukulele first. I can wait,” Sand Castle said quietly. A few of the ponies assembled gave a surprised look to the father of the injured unicorn.

“Sand Castle, I couldn’t,” Mai Tai began to suddenly feel very guilty for being so greedy about her best friend. She should be thinking of what was best for Ukulele and not for herself. She hung her head low in regret with her ears pinned back to her head.

“No, it’s alright,” assured Nani Moku. “We’ll go see her together. She’ll be happy to see you,” She gently nudged the pegasus through the wide doors of the clinic. Pineapple Passion quickly swept the doors closed behind them and brought up the rear.

“Wait, before you two see her, there’s been a few complications.” Pineapple interjected.

“Complications?” Mai Tai’s face fell.

Nani turned to face the doctor’s amber eyes. “Whatever it is, we can handle it, Mai Tai. Have faith.”

“You see, Ukulele lost a lot of blood. Sometimes the brain processes this trauma by changing its chemistry. She’s also been through a great deal of physical harm. All of those wounds will heal, but her mind is altered.” Pineapple began. “I’m hoping when she sees you, that it will clear up some of the anomalies I’m seeing.”

“Anomalies?” Mai Tai was beginning to raise her voice in panic. She burst past Nani Moku and Pineapple and headed for the doors of the recovery room. Quickly she pushed them open with little regard for the poor nurse that was just behind the entrance. She sent the earth pony mare flying backwards into the furthest wall from the force of her entry. “Ukulele!” she cried as she ran to her hospital bed.

A teal unicorn, a shade darker than Nani Moku was laying on the bed. A wild mop of curly magenta hair with two colorful stripes running through it was carefully tied up in a pony-tail to keep the blood from her wounds from caking into it. Large, lime colored eyes popped open at the commotion that surrounded her. Mai Tai had gotten herself tangled in some equipment and kicked a tray over. She rushed to her friend’s side as a bunch of hospital supplies went toppling over in a whirlwind of pegasus power.

Nani Moku entered quietly behind Pineapple Passion who was quietly cursing the rude intrusion of the overly emotional pegasus. There was a long, deafening silence in the room as Ukulele Moon looked to each of the individuals before her for some sign of recognition. She shrank back from Mai Tai’s energetic advances as if she was some kind of poisonous snake.

“GET AWAY FROM ME!” shouted Ukulele. She almost looked as if she would fly off the hospital bed and threaten to tear her surgical stitches open. The earth pony nurse from earlier quickly recovered and helped Pineapple Passion restrain the patient until they administered a sedative intravenously. Ukulele slumped almost instantly as the powerful drugs found their way into her frail system.

“Ukulele?” Mai Tai seemed diminished when the realization of the situation hit her head on.

“She doesn’t remember anything. I was hoping that if she saw you, she would remember something. The injuries she suffered cause this to happen.”

“This is the sacrifice of the mother the Goddess was speaking about,” Nani Moku said out loud suddenly. It had earned her three very confused glances from those that were still conscious in the room. “There’s something I have to do for my daughter, I just have to figure out what that is.”

Pineapple waited for Ukulele to slip into a dreamless slumber induced by the drugs before speaking. As she felt the strength from her patient slip, she leaned forward to address the small group. “I understand Gear Turner was lost in the storm. He is presumed deceased, correct?”

Both Mai Tai and Nani Moku nodded their heads in grief-struck approval.

“You can’t tell her that. Any more trauma is going to cause more physical and mental problems for Ukulele. She may remember fragments of her life or she may even remember large portions, but right now we have to concentrate on keeping her calm for the sake of the foals.” Pineapple coaxed her voice into a lightened tone. “While I was performing the surgery on her perforated stomach, I discovered that she’s about 12 weeks along. We can’t even let her know, for right now, that she’s with foals.”

“Foals?!” Mai Tai roared making Nani Moku jump. She felt the room spinning around her with an intensity that almost made her pass out in the arms of the ever-ready attending nurse. She received a rueful glance from the earth pony care-giver.

“She’s carrying Gear Turner’s foals. It’s twins.” Pineapple said happily. She made no attempt to hide her encouraging tone. Pregnancy and childbirth were the bright sides to her job and were stark welcomed contrast to the illness and death she battled in a daily basis.

“This is what the Goddess Pele must have meant,” Nani looked to her frail looking daughter sprawled carelessly on the sickbed.

“We’ll do whatever we have to, for Ukulele and Gear Turner’s foals,” Mai Tai said with a confident tone in her voice that made Pineapple Passion and Nani Moku regard her.

“Ladies,” a deep voice pierced the already chaotic atmosphere of the recovery room. “We’ve got a huge problem.” It was Blue Moon. The usually resigned stallion sounded noticeably aggravated.

“Don’t any of you ponies have any respect for the recovery process?!” Pineapple asked in an annoyed tone. She realized that the hallway and entrance of the hospital was crowded with more ponies that should be there. Sand Castle pushed ahead of Blue Moon and looked at the doctor with a worried look in his eyes. “Now Sand Castle, Blue Moon, really. I expected more from the both of you. I know you can both count. I said two visitors only!”

“Yes well naturally, but,” began Blue Moon.

“PIRATES!” somepony shouted from outside in a panicked tone. She suspected it was one of the tourists by the tone of disbelief that colored the voice.

“Damn it!” cursed Pineapple Passion. “I guess the storm wasn’t enough of a flank whooping for us, huh? Now those damned Diamond Dogs have to pick through the wreckage!”

“I’ll rally everyone. It’s going to be one hell of a night!” Sand Castle embraced his wife and took off into the night. Blue Moon charged out of the hospital gallantly and to the armory. Tourists were ushered back to the safety of the fortress-like shelters and islanders began to ready themselves for the oncoming battle. An eerie still and calmness loomed menacingly over the island despite the chaos that was unfolding.



Goddess Pele watched from Mountain Moon as the second wave of the storm began to hit.