A Tropical Odyssey

Chapters

The Perfect Cruise
A Turn for the Worse
DJ Crusoe
Castaways
Crimson turns crimson
Raft of possibilities
The Adventure Begins!

The Perfect Cruise

It was a warm, cloudless night. The stars twinkled like diamonds in the sky. The moon beamed down upon the surface of the ocean, illuminating the sea with gleaming silver. A light breeze was gently blowing, cooling the stifling air, and the calm sea lapped lazily against the hull of the massive cruise ship; the S.S. Seagallop. It was, however, far from quiet! On the main deck, a party was taking place. Bright multi-coloured lights shone out from the deck, cutting into the inky black sky. The cruise was on its second day of the voyage, and everypony was enjoying themselves.

DJ BRONI3 placed another record on the turntables, propped up his red-tinted sunglasses on his forehead and grinned as "Pony Rock Anthem" blared out of the large speakers on either side of the turntables. The party was in full swing, with ponies dancing, laughing and enjoying one another's company. As the music played on, DJ looked out to sea, remembering back to the week before, when he had still been in Ponyville. At the time, DJ had received an invitation to host parties at night on the cruise ship S.S. Seagallop. His marefriend, Vinyl Scratch, was really excited to hear he was going. She knew that chances in the music career like this only come up once in a lifetime, and had encouraged him to go. Vinyl and DJ's friends saw him off at Ponyville station. He was sad to leave them behind, but he was comforted by the fact that he would see them again in two weeks.

As he came back to the present, DJ noticed the music had stopped. He hurriedly put on another record before looking back out to sea. His daydream was interrupted by an earth pony with bright pink highlights in her hair and pink neon bracelets that illuminated her hooves in the dim light. "Hey, could I DJ a bit?" she asked him.

While DJ was surprised by this sudden request, he was feeling pretty tired and felt he could do with a of relaxation time. He shrugged. "Sure, why not!" he replied. "I could do with a break anyway. Enjoy!" He left the party and trotted off to his cabin.

DJ trotted along the large corridor that led back to the cabins. The ship had everything anypony could possibly want! Broad dining rooms, exquisite designs and glistening chandeliers. This was a true, five-star paradise! When he returned to his cabin, he flopped onto his bed and started looking through his saddlebags. He pulled out a picture of himself with Vinyl. He smiled to himself, before taking out his portable speakers and putting on some music. He began to drift slowly off to sleep...

***

Back at the party, things were continuing as normal. At the bar, a grey pegasus was sipping a sarsaparilla. Steel Accord chuckled to himself. "Sweet nectar of the gods! Alcohol is for posers!" he thought. Nonetheless he knew he was equally as false as being here. The party just wasn't his scene. "Take a vacation!" Fancypants had told him. "We've both been very busy and you deserve a break." His employer had bought Steel a ticket, and so far he had been enjoying himself.

All the same, there was a reason Steel was out here. He was lonely. This vacation was the perfect opportunity for him to find a nice mare, fall in love and live happily ever after. Would it work? Probably not; this wasn't the first time he had been to a social event without meeting another pony. As one of his favourite songs came on, he had an idea. While he was unlucky, he certainly wasn't shy. He put on his sunglasses and flew to the stage just as the lyrics came in. He began to dance and lip-sync to the song. As the song finished, he posed with his wings spread before trotting back to the bar. Ponies cheered and hoof bumped him as he made his way back to the bar. Now all he could do was wait and hope that his gamble had paid off.

The current DJ, Neon Strobe, watched this display. "Good job!" She said as she winked at the pegasus and went back to DJing. Her pink neon bracelets illuminated the turntables as she changed records. She then noticed another pony, a fiery red pegasus dancing to the music and singing along. When the song was over, he trotted over to her and started up a conversation with her. "Hey," he called out. "you've got some great taste in music!"

Neon winked at him. "Thanks," she replied. "You're pretty good at dancing! What's your name?"

The red pegasus smiled. "I'm Red Talon! Do you maybe want to meet up at one of the tables when your shift is done? What's your name, by the way?" Neon smiled at him. "Sure, why not? Somepony should be coming along to DJ in a minute. I'm Neon Strobe, but you can call me Neon. I'll see you in a minute!"

Meanwhile, Steel had returned to the bar, where a small blue colt was trying to reach the buffet-table. He was a pegasus called North. He had wings, but didn't seem confident enough with using them yet. Steel trotted over to him. "Hello down there young sir." He greeted the colt with a smile. "Looks like you're hungry. How about this, I help you up, and you promise not to stay up much longer, deal?" Steel inched the chair closer to the table and even grabbed a dish cover to add an additional step. As he looked up, Steel noticed a beautiful mare, a white unicorn wearing a white dress, sipping some punch as she watched the party. She wasn't with anypony... could this be his chance? Could this be "the One"? He decided to give it a try. "Wish me luck, young one," he said, before patting him on the head and trotting over to the mare.

He tried to seem casual, but polite at the same time when he introduced himself. "Good eve-" he cleared his throat. "Hello there, young miss. Great party, huh?" The less practiced, more modern phrasing felt almost alien to his Canterlot tongue. "Where are my manners, Steel Accord. A pleasure to meet you, miss...?"

The mare looked a little surprised to be spoken to. She shook hooves with Steel and smiled at him. Hello," she said. "Pleased to meet you. My name is Clover." She liked the look of this stallion, and wondered if he felt the same way. She hadn't had a special somepony yet. Maybe it was time to get one...

***

However, not everypony was enjoying the party. Sterling Crimson, a red unicorn, was lying on his comfy bed in the cabin, trying to read. "Ugh! All this noise is preventing me from enjoying this book!" Sterling said to himself. While he was an amiable sort of unicorn, he never really like parties. He preferred the comfort of reading a good book, especially the ones about medicine.

On this particularly night, he was reading through an old book he found at his cabin's bookshelf. It was titled "Herbal Medicine: Equestria's Exotic Healing Powers." It was a book that intrigued him ever since his journey on the S.S. Seagallop began; in fact, it was the first book he saw on his stay. After all, Sterling never stops finding new methods of healing for his patients.

Nonetheless, this constant noise blaring from the upper decks was very distracting. "Oh, I stand it any longer!" Sterling shouted as he jumped up from his bed, extremely frustrated by the noise. He then calmed down and thought to himself. "I should see how things are going at the party. After all I can't get my reading done with all this ruckus!"

When he got to the top deck, Sterling noticed how bustling it was. He saw the dancing, the bright lights and then looked over at the DJ table. "I wish they were waltzing to some Strauss!" he pondered. He was very annoyed by the loud music and club dancing all around him. "All I wanted was some peace and quiet and this is what I'm welcomed to?" thought Sterling angrily. "And what on Earth is that terrible singing?! Sounds like a bunch of howling hyenas! And from a red pegasus no less!" He was referring to Red Talon's performance. Red then finished and talked briefly to the DJ, before trotting off to the bar. "Thank goodness he stopped singing! Hopefully that DJ girl keeps him from singing any further!"

Sterling was very cross, but at least there was a buffet table. It wasn't anything special, just a typical place for fruit and vegetables. Sterling decided to get himself a small snack of lettuce and cabbage. "Mmm... this should make me feel better!" he said as he heaped a lot of both vegetables onto a dish before he sat down at a table to savour the delicious meal.

To (almost) everypony on the ship, it looked like it was shaping up to be a great night...

A Turn for the Worse

After a short while, DJ woke up again. He turned off his stereo, put it back in his saddlebags and got up. "I think I'd better go and see how that other pony is doing," he said to himself. "I've had a long enough break." He put his saddlebags on his back and trotted out of his cabin. He could hear the music still playing from the party on the deck. "It must still be going well then!" he thought to himself. "Time I got back to the party!"

DJ noticed a clock on the wall as he was trotting past. "Whoa! Was I really asleep that long?" he thought. The wind was quite strong now, too strong for him to fly. He galloped over to the turntables, where the Neon was still filling in for him, but she looked a little bored. "Hey, sorry about that!" he said to her, smiling apologetically. "I fell asleep, and only just woke up there now. I sort of lost track of time. I'll take over again, so you can go back to the party!" Neon smiled at him. "Thanks!" she said to him. "I love to DJ but I also love to party!"

Suddenly, with an exceptionally powerful gust of wind, the lights on the ship went out. All DJ could see was the light from the other pony's glow-in-the-dark bands illuminating her face and the turntables next to her. "What's happening?" Neon said, starting to panic. "This is NOT good!" DJ cried over the force of the wind. "What are we going to..." Before he could finish his sentence, they heard a loud cracking sound, and the ship lurched to one side. Neon grabbed onto the turntables, but DJ was hurled over the side of the ship. He could hear ponies screaming and calling for help. He had seen another ship in the distance earlier; he hoped it would make it in time. As he plunged into the inky black depths, he blacked out...

***

Steel and Clover were still chatting together when the ship crashed. Clover reacted instantly. Using her magic, she levitated herself and Steel into the air above the sinking ship. She couldn't keep her magic going for long, though. As her magic collapsed, Steel grabbed onto her, trying to keep her above the ship. He then noticed the small blue colt, North, being thrown off the ship as it lurched to the side. Still holding on to Clover, he flew down to the side of the ship, where a life preserver was hanging. He placed Clover gently into the water in the life preserver, before swooping over to save the colt and placing him in the life preserver with Clover. "Hold on to that!" he instructed above the roaring winds. "I'll go and look for a boa- ahh!" A large wave knocked him out of the air and into the choppy sea. While normally a good swimmer, the merciless waves would make it difficult for him to stay afloat for much longer.

As Steel began to sink into the water, a hoof grabbed him and pulled him onto a life boat. It was Red Talon, who had already rescued Clover, North. Neon was also in the boat, Red had rescued her from the ship as it sank. North had already drifted off to sleep. "Luna be praised!" Steel said, thanking the Princess of the Night for his fortune to be saved in this dark hour. "Th-*cough* Thank you!" he said, coughing out the water from his lungs. He then noticed a small island a short distance away. "Look! There's an island over there! Let's try and reach that!" They all began to paddle the small boat in the direction of the island, in the hope of finding safety there.

***

Sterling was not as fortunate as Steel. He had returned to his cabin, and when the ship crashed he was asleep. He woke with a start on account of being thrown from side to side. He suddenly realised he was in water up to his ankles. "I've got to get out of here!" he said to himself, as he rushed out of his cabin. He galloped along the corridor towards the emergency exit, which led out to the front of the ship. As he came out onto the deck, he noticed that he was standing on the only part of the ship that wasn't submerged. "HELP!" he called out, hoping, somepony would here him. When he realised it was futile, he noticed a small island not very far away. "Well, the last thing I can try is swim!" he said to himself. "That island I see yonder doesn't look very far away..."

Now out of option, Sterling took a deep breath and dove into the perilous seas, uncaring of the risks that lie. He swam as fast as he could towards the island, but he found that he was tiring quickly. He was almost at the island when a large wave rushing towards him knocked him unconscious, washing his body away like sand being blown by the wind...

DJ Crusoe

DJ woke up to the sound of his alarm squawking at him. He groaned drowsily. He was still to tired to even open his eyes, so he just lay where he was. He reached for his sunglasses he kept at night on the chest of drawers next to his bed. "Wow! What a weird dream that was!" he thought. "At least it's over now. I think I'll go and see Vinyl today. Now where are my... Suddenly, DJ realised something. Alarm clocks don't squawk. Come to think of it, he didn't even have an alarm clock! Even stranger, he noticed that his feet were wet! He slowly opened his eyes... and found a large seagull perched on his stomach. "AHHHHHHHH!" he screamed, falling over backwards. The seagull flew off in surprise.

DJ sat up and looked around him. He found himself on a small island, just big enough to be about the size of Ponyville. It was still night-time, but there was no sign of the S.S. Seagallop. He was stranded. "Ugh... What is with me and trouble?" He then groaned. "Oh man! My records! They're at the bottom of the sea now!" He then stopped complaining and realised something. "Vinyl... I'll never see Vinyl or my friends again..." His ears drooped, as this realisation came to him. He quickly pulled himself together. "NO! I can't think like that! I've just got to get off this island, but how? Panicking certainly won't help. I need to relax. Now, if I'm going to think properly, I'm going to need some things." He trotted off into the jungle.

It was warm and humid in the jungle. There were lots of colourful exotic plants, and strange, slightly unsettling cries. He looked about him, trying to see if he could find any sort of food. He then found what he was searching for, a large palm tree that was laden with coconuts! "Sweet!" he said, before flying up to the top of the tree. He picked a few of the coconuts and wrapped them in the large palm leaves of the tree, using the leaves to carry the coconuts back to the beach. He then ventured back into the jungle to look for some sturdy vines.

After a while, DJ came back with some vines, and used them to tie some of the palm leaves between two trees, making a relatively comfortable hammock. As he stepped back to admire his handiwork, he happened to look back to shore. He noticed a small object lying in the shallows. As he approached, he realised that it was his sunglasses and saddlebags, both undamaged. He put on his sunglasses and began to look through his saddlebags. While the outside was soaking wet, his belongings inside were perfectly dry. He brought his saddlebags back up the shore, got into his hammock and began to drink from a coconut. He sighed contentedly. "This could work!" he said to himself, chuckling. "If I have to spend my time stranded on this island, I may as well do it in style, with some tasty refreshments!" He laughed at what he was saying. "This isn't a holiday! I've got more important things to worry about than the quality of refreshments on this island!"

The sun was beginning to rise, and he had front row seats. He looked out to sea, smiling as he watched another spectacular sunrise, courtesy of Princess Celestia. Suddenly he noticed a red figure on the beach. "Could it be? Another... survivor?"

***

Sterling groaned. "Uhhhhh... my whole body feels sore!" he thought to himself. He had awoken, after what had seemed like an eternity, when in reality it had only been a few hours. The first thing he noticed was the yellow sands he lay on. "I must have made it after all!" he thought to himself. He struggled to his hooves, due to his whole body feeling sore. He looked around him at the island, trying to see if there were any signs of life. All he could was lush palm trees, blowing in the wind, the calm blue waters that had washed him ashore, a hammock...

"Wait... a hammock?" he thought to himself, puzzled. "Who's that lying in the hammock? Is that somepony from the S.S. Seagallop?" He began to get excited. Ignoring the numbing pain he felt I his body, he galloped towards the pony. "HEY!" he called. "Are you from the S.S. Seagallop?"

DJ got out of his hammock and smiled at the survivor. "Hey, I'm DJ BRONI3! I'm glad to see somepony else made it out alive!" He was glad to have met another survivor. Suddenly, he remembered. "Oh! I'll go get some more supplies. I'll make you a hammock. They're surprisingly comfortable, for being made out of leaves! Stay here, and I'll be back in a few minutes!" With that, DJ trotted off into the jungle in search of more materials.

Castaways

As they were paddling to shore, the survivors began to talk with each other, to pass the time. Steel was still looking a bit sickly after his time in the sea. Red looked at him, a little concerned. "Are you ok?" Red asked him. "I'm Red Talon, by the way."

Steel nodded at him. "I'll be fine," he wheezed. "I'll just have to try not to speak too loudly for a while." He introduced himself to the others somewhat quieter. "Steel Accord of Canterlot," he said, with one hoof on his chest and a bow of his head.

"Canterlot, eh?" Red Talon replied, as he recalling his first professional win at the Canterlot 300. Red loved to race, hence his cutie mark of a chequered flag. "I've been there a few times. The Canterlot racetrack sure is a great track!"

Clover looked up at Steel, the brave pegasus that had saved her life. She nudged him gently and smiled at him. "Thank you," she said sweetly. This was definitely a stallion she wanted to spend more time with. Handsome and brave! She then turned to the others and introduced herself to them. "I come from Trottingham," Clover added. "I have a shop there where I sell magic books. I studied magic in Canterlot, and I invent spells and write books. I came on the cruise cuz I haven't ever had a holiday, but I didn't expect anything like this to happen!" She laughed.

"Nice to meet you too!" replied Red Talon. "I live out in Ponyville, that's where my race team is based out of. I'm a race pony, competing in numerous air races across Equestria. It's the offseason at the moment, so I figured a cruise to a tropical island would be nice. Never knew that getting to the tropical island would be done in a lifeboat, though!"

By now, they had finally arrived at the shore. The group all disembarked onto the island. Sterling trotted over to greet them. He then recognised Red from the party the night before. "That pegasus... well, he may be a bad singer, but I'm sure he's a nice person inside!" he thought Sterling as he began to introduce himself. "I'm Sterling Crimson, a medical practitioner from Manehattan. I was hoping to have a calming cruise after completing medical school there, but yeah... we all know how that turned out." Sterling said. "Glad to make your acquaintance. If you noticed another pony earlier, that was DJ. I think he went into the jungle to find some things." added Sterling.

Having woken up, North crawled out of the boat, dropping onto the sand and landed on his back. He was so tired that he could hardly get to his feet. "I am... North Light... of Trotheim... Crystal... Mountains..." he said faintly, before falling fast asleep on the beach.

Neon woke up and noticed the others getting out of the boat. She was a little disorientated as she got out of the boat, before noticing North lying asleep in the sand. "Hey half-pint, you alright?" she asked him. North made no reply; he was fast asleep.

Red chuckled. "I suppose we all need a bit of rest, especially after all that has happened," he said, looking down at the small sleeping colt.

Steel nodded. "Well since we've all become a bit more acquainted with each other, I agree with Red." Steel gingerly hoisted the sleeping colt up into the crook of his right front hoof. "I say we follow Little North's lead and get some rest."

"I think we should try building some shelter and get some food!" Neon said to the others. "If we're to survive here we'll need something to eat!"

"We could use the lifeboat as a makeshift hut for the time being!" Red Talon suggested. "It would do until we could get enough materials. Is anypony here a survival pony? I'm not sure which sorts of exotic plants are safe and which are dangerous!"

Sterling smiled when heard heard this. "With respect to which plants are safe for eating, I'm your pony! In fact, I was reading a book about herbs on the cruise ship! Shame I couldn't bring it with me! Hey, maybe we should get going Red! After we've found some edible herbs, we could get some fresh water, and maybe build a beacon too!" With that Sterling and Red trotted into the jungle in search of herbs and water.

"Be sure to bring back a cupcake!" Neon said jokingly. "Alright team! Shall we find some stuff to build a shelter?" Neon said to the remaining ponies.

"Agreed!" Steel replied. He place North gently in the hammock DJ had made. "I'll gather any driftwood I can from the shore. We may even be able to salvage some supplies from the ship!" He then turned to Clover. "Would you... care to join me, Miss Clover?" he asked bashfully. She smiled and followed him off to the shore to look for driftwood.

***

A while later, DJ trotted out of the jungle again, his saddlebags filled with coconuts and a bundle of vines and palm leaves on his back. He noticed that there was now far more survivors on the island than just Sterling. "Cool! More ponies to meet! he thought to himself. "Hey there!" he said to the ponies that were at the camp. "It's a beautiful day! I know we're stranded, but that doesn't mean we can't relax!" He started making some more hammocks for the others.

When he was finished, Neon trotted over to him. He cracked a coconut in half with his front hooves and offered her half, while he gave North, who was just waking up, the other half. "Hey there! Try one of these coconuts! They're amazing! I'm DJ BRONI3, by the way. I'm a DJ from Ponyville!"

"Took you long enough!" she said. "I'm starving! Everyting was so nice, until what happened on the boat... I'm Neon Strobe. The best DJ in Ponyville!"

"Cool! You're from Ponyville too?" he replied. He then registered fully what she had just said. "Oh you, think so, do you?" he said with a mischievous grin. "Well, when we get back to Ponyville we'll have to put that to the test!" he chuckled to himself. "While we wait for the others we might as well relax. Pick a hammock, sit back, relax and enjoy yourself!"

"Oh, I don't think I'm this best DJ in Ponyville, I know I am!" Neon said, returning the grin. "You don't have to tell me twice about relaxing! I'm so tired after all that's happened!" She then got into one of the hammocks and began to drink from one of the coconuts

Suddenly, DJ realised something. "Wait a minute, what am I doing, standing around here?" he said. "If there are any more survivors, they may need help! You stay here and I'll go and take a look, just in case!" As he turned to trot towards the shore, he heard a faint voice. "Wh-where am I?" It came from one of the hammocks. As he approached it, he saw that North lay fast asleep in it.

"Hey there!" DJ said to him cheerfully. "You're safe now! Maybe do you want to come for a walk with me? I was going to go and check for more survivors. You're more than welcome to come along if you like! I'm DJ BRONI3 by the way. What's your name?"

"I am North Light... And I guess I can tag along." he replied, in a strange, slightly foreign accent. He managed to get up and slowly made his way over to DJ, placing a wing on one of DJ's front-hooves.

"Nice to meet you, North!" DJ said as he shook North's wing with his hoof. "Let's get going. If there's any survivors hurt or unconscious, the tide could sweep them back out to sea soon!" DJ started to trot off in the direction of the shore, with North following alongside him.

Crimson turns crimson

As they trotted along, North stayed close to DJ, occasionally bumping into his leg by accident, as he tried to figure out his surroundings. "So... are we on a tropical island of some sort?" he asked DJ, seeming a little bit disorientated. "And what happened on the ship. The last thing I remember was my ears hurting a lot, then flying..."

"Yeah, we're on a tropical island," replied DJ, smiling down at the young colt. "I think I know what probably happened to you. When the ship sank, you must have been thrown off the boat. That happened to me too! The others must have found you, because you arrived here on a life boat with them! Boy, have things been getting pretty crazy around..." Suddenly, DJ stopped talking. He had seen something. A body, lying in the shadows. "Stay here, North. I've just got something to check out!" He thought it better for North to stay here, just in case. "I don't want to scare the little guy!" he thought to himself. "Especially if that pony over there is...

He galloped over to the body. It was a purple unicorn. The mare was injured quite badly, her hind leg bleeding. He looked at her for signs of life, checking her pulse and looking for her breathing. He sighed with relief. She was still alive. He called back to North. "Hey, it's ok! Can you come over here? I've found another survivor!”

"Oh... On me way." he said, starting to walk. He almost walked past them, before realising a distinct lack of white or purple in his vision, and turning back towards them. He noticed a small red blotch near the pony's leg, before realising she was hurt.

When North had come over to him, DJ smiled at him. “Don’t worry, she may be hurt, but I think our friend Sterling can help! Right now we need to get her back to the others. With North’s help, he hoisted the unicorn onto his back before trotting slowly back up the shore to the others. “I hope she makes it...” DJ thought to himself.

DJ and North finally made it back to the others, and found that Sterling had also returned. "Phew, I'm glad he's back too!" thought DJ. "I don't know what would happen to this filly if he wasn't here to help her out!" As he neared them, DJ called out to him. "Hey, Sterling! We're gonna need some help over here! We found another survivor, but she's injured quite badly! Could you see if you can treat her?" He brought the unicorn over to one of the hammocks and set her gently into it.

"I really want to stay and help out, but I'm no use at medicine! Anyway, I think it's time we started thinking of a way off this island." DJ said to the others. "I think, if we could cut down a few of these palm trees that they could be tied together to make a raft. I'm gonna need some help though. If anypony wants to help me, I'll be just down the shore a little bit. I've no idea how we're going to cut them down though!" With that, DJ trotted off towards a clump of trees a little further down the shore.

After DJ had left, Sterling rushed over to the injured pony as fast as he could. It would be his first ever test as a doctor, so the situation unnerved him quite a bit. He noticed the dark purple unicorn's scratches and bruises. "I hope I don't mess up with this patient. She looks like a fine young mare..." thought Sterling apprehensively, worried that he would make a grave mistake. "Maybe I can try this herb I found to help her inflammatory response work more quickly first, and then I could find some sort of covering to close the wound..."

The herb Sterling was thinking about was one shaped like a palm tree with many leaf brushes. It was colloquially known as 'Superclot' because it was supposed to be able to help create clots for a scratched pony, accomplished by the salts that washed onto the leaf's surface as it is removed from the herb to maintain water balance. However, Sterling knew it would be a risk because not every pony experienced the same effectiveness with the herb. He prayed in Celestia's name that it would be effective for the beautiful purple unicorn... 'Oh I hope this works... she looks too dashing to be injured like this.' thought Sterling with hope.

He approached the purple unicorn with great care, being careful not to aggravate her too much as he approached. He applied the herb by letting it sit on the cut. Hoping that the process wouldn't be too painful, he also gently swiped the herb across the cut so that the salts covered the entire area.

As he worked at trying to care for the unicorn, he couldn't stop thinking about her. "What's her name? Where's she from? Why do I suddenly want to know her more?" thought Sterling with great confusion. "If this feeling is this so-called 'love' everypony else went through in University of Manehattan, then I'm not buying into it! I'm only 20, and I still have to set up my career! What if she doesn't want to know me either? That happened when I had a crush on this other pony long ago. I thought she was beautiful as a cheerpony with her long yellow hair and cheery nature, but all she wanted was just a jock, not some "no-lifer" as she would say! UGGH Why am I suddenly thinking so much about this pony?!"

Sterling was mired in his thoughts for that purple pony. Maybe it was because he was jealous of other stallions getting their mares because they were strong and buff, while he was merely a puny, nerdy stallion. "Besides, who would want me anyway? It's not like I've got muscles or anything, and I realized that with my previous crush anyway..." he said to himself. "Well that's all I can do for now. I still need a covering for her wound!"

Suddenly, the unicorn stirred. Her eyes opened slowly and heavily. She groaned quietly and closed her eyes momentarily. She opened her eyes again and lifted her head up to see a quite handsome red stallion close to her, she blushed before looking down at her legs. One front leg was scratched and bruised and the other was bleeding a little bit, but you could see it was bleeding quite a bit before. She looked around where she was. There were other ponies here, quite a few other ponies, she looked back at her leg then back at the red stallion with another small blush. "W-where am I?" she asked with a soft voice "What happened?"

"Oh hi..." Sterling said shyly. "Umm right now, we're on a tropical island. The S. S. Seagallop sank. It probably hit something but none of us are really sure. DJ BRONI3, one of the survivors, saw that you were badly injured. When I came back from the jungles collecting food and herbal medicine, he told me to care for you. I applied this herb onto you, hoping that its salts would speed your recovery and clean the wound." Sterling explained. Throughout the explanation he stuttered profusely, obviously feeling flustered at the pretty looking unicorn.

"Oh I forgot to introduce myself!" Sterling shouted with sudden realization. "I'm, I'm... Sterling Crimson. I didn't mean to shout sorry... I'm from Manehattan. I just.. graduated from their university's medical school in hopes of being a doctor. In fact, you're my first patient haha..." Sterling laughed uncomfortably. 'Why am I so nervous around her?' thought a confused Sterling. "Umm... by the way... what's your name?" Sterling asked cautiously.

The unicorn giggled at Sterling's nervousness and blushed slightly, "I-I'm Evening Glory" she said, getting out of the hammock slowly. "I come from Canterlot. I'm n-not much, just a mare who loves her garden" she blushed a bit deeper then let it fade as she stood up on all fours with a wobble, she lifted her head up when she was stable to continue a conversation "A-A doctor? Wow, you must be pretty smart.." her blushed returned as she looked around where they were, they seemed to already have collected something before they found her. Looking back at Sterling, trying to manage her blush to a low level.

Evening's stomach was flittering, she had never felt like that before, she never liked other ponies, she was always one to be by herself in a garden, or practicing her magic at night. So why did she suddenly want to talk to this pony? Her mind spun with thoughts as she tried to make herself look busy balancing herself.

"Well, there's a few others." Sterling replied. "Wait, you're from Canterlot? Wow umm... that's a classy combination if I do say so myself. I collect lots of plants for medicine. People may think I'm weird for using organic methods, but I find them very useful."

Suddenly, Sterling had an idea. "I'm going to keep looking for plants and herbs for food and medicine. Would you like to come? I know about some plants, but I'm still trying to be fully acquainted with them. I was hoping your expertise on gardening would help."

"Oh, I w-wouldn't call myself an expert.." Evening protested, lower her head and looking down at the ground, she swayed her hoof against the ground as she looked back up at him. For Sterling, it was calming and unnerving at the same time when it came to speaking with this unicorn. It was a different feeling he had from the cheerleader he crushed on long ago. He wasn't sure why it was the case, but one thing was certain; he wanted to be with her more.

"I-I'd love to c-come with you." she smiled, she moved closer to the red unicorn, still blushing, until she was almost touching him. "Which way are we going?" she asked. With that Sterling and Evening, still talking cheerfuly to one another, trotted off into the jungle in search of herbs...

Raft of possibilities

Steel and Clover were busy collecting driftwood from the shore, so that they could build a fire for the others. Steel also had another goal in mind. He was searching the pieces of debris that had washed up from the cruise in the hope of finding some particularly special possessions of his. He was not a materialistic stallion, but there were a two of his belongings in particular that were very precious to him.

Just then he noticed a large piece of wood that was long and relatively straight. He dropped the load of driftwood he was carrying and picked up the wood in his mouth. He swung it about for a while, as if in combat with other individuals. He grinned, relishing the familiar movements. He spun on his hooves, and swept with the stick, before backflipping and using the stick to send sand flying as he swept it downwards. He landed and spun around again, sending water flying everywhere with his wings.

Steel, panted, slightly tired, and smiled, before looking at the stick he had been brandishing and frowning. He set it down, picked up his load and trotted back to where Clover was still collecting driftwood. "Look what I found!" she said, proudly to him. "I know some spells I can use to build the huts as well! In fact, I know a lot of spells, some of them invented by me. It'll be fantastic to finally be able to put them to practical use here!"

"That's great!" Steel replied. "Having a skilled spell caster will no doubt prove a great boon to us. Especially when we endeavour to journey home." They trotted back off towards the camp.

***

When DJ arrived at the small clump of trees, he started to have doubts. "Well, I guess I should have planned ahead a bit further than finding a group of trees!" he said out loud. "How in Equestria am I going to cut all these down, let alone get them back to the others? Well, I guess all I can do is try!" DJ tried to kick one of the trees down, until finally he gave up. "Nope! Not gonna work!"

He then tried flying up to the top and pulling the trees to the ground, hoping that they might snap. Instead, the tree sprang back, catapulting DJ into the sea and leaving his sunglasses behind him on the sandy beach. A soaking, exhausted and far from happy DJ then plodded back to the trees, put on his sunglasses again and sat down in front of them, trying to think of a way to knock them down. "If only there was some way to cut those down. I doubt I can actually pull these down otherwise." he thought to himself. Just then, he noticed Steel and Clover approaching. "Hi there!" he said to them. Clover trotted over to him.

"Looks like you need some help! Let me!" she said to him. "I created some spells for a unicorn lumberjack a little while ago as one of my commissions; I think it would come in very handy. Let me demonstrate." She concentrated, her horn glowing, and immediately, blades of magic sliced the trees at top and bottom, laying them neatly in a pile. Clover had a very tidy mind, so the logs were very neatly cut.

DJ's mouth hung open and he sat down in surprise. "W-wow!" he managed to say. "Uh...thanks!" He then began to laugh. "If I'd known it was that easy for you, I would have asked in the first place! Can you use your magic to help me get these back to the others too?" he then proceeded to pick up a few of the logs, put them on his back and began to trot slowly back, carrying the heavy logs with him. Clover used her magic to carry the rest of the logs back to the camp with them.

When DJ, Steel and Clover returned to camp, they set down the logs in a pile, ready for them to use. North was lying in a hammock, eating a coconut, while Red and Neon were talking to one another. Sterling and Evening were not there.

DJ trotted over to Red and Neon. "Hey guys! Do you think you could help us build a raft? We have lots of wood, and the vines for the hammocks could tie the logs together. We should try and get off this island, because I don't know if we'd last long out here!"

As the group began to build the raft, North, unseen by the others, got up from his hammock and trotted off into the jungle. Everypony was too busy coming over to help make the raft to notice. North didn't get very far, before tripping and falling into a deep pit in the jungle. Inside the pit, was a small, dark cave. "Finally, some proper darkness..." he said to himself as he trotted deeper into the cave. The cave was slightly damp, with water dripping from stalactites on the ceiling. After a short while, he came to an exit, almost on the other edge of the island. It looked like he had found a small cove! Suddenly, he spotted something. "Now... This could be useful..." he said to himself, before galloping back the way he had come to go and find the others.

***

The group all worked together to make the raft. It was tough work, and took them long into the afternoon, but eventually they were able to finish building it. They stood back to admire their handiwork. It wasn't the sturdiest of sailing vessels, but looked like it would be able to support them in the sea for long enough to get them to civilisation. "Well, now that that's finished, we may as well test it to see if it floats!" DJ said to the others.

The group pushed the raft to the shore. DJ pushed it into the shallows and hopped onto it. "Hey, this doesn't seem to be too bad!" he called out to the others. "We've done it! It works! Now we ca..." Suddenly, he heard a loud cracking sound beneath him. "...Oh boy..." he said, before the raft began to split.

He quickly flapped his wings and took off, flying above the raft as it split in half and sank into the water. “NO NO NO NO NO! Oh, hay!” said DJ angrily to himself. He flew back to the shore and landed on the beach. Looking up, he saw the others sporting less than happy looks on their faces. He shrugged and grinned apologetically at them. “Umm… sorry?”

Clover stared at DJ, crossly. "Now look what you've done," she said. "If you'd waited, I could have put a strengthening spell on the raft and that probably wouldn't have happened. At the very least, it would have held together til we could have reached a wooded island!"

"DJ!" Neon yelled "I can't believe this! We could have gotten off of this island but you destroyed the raft! You should have been more careful!" Neon said madly then sat down on the sand "Now how are we gonna get out of here?" Neon said less mad. Neon cried a bit, she was used to being indoors, she didn't like it here.

His ears drooped. “W-well, everypony. I-I’m sorry… I, um…” He looked at them one by one, looking at their looks of annoyance. Suddenly, he realised that somepony was missing. “Umm… not to change the subject or anything, but has anyone seen North? He’s disappeared!” Determined to make his new friends happy again, he had an idea. “Stay here guys, I’ll go find him! I bet he ran off into the jungle!” Maybe he could regain their faith in him if he was able to find North! He then galloped off into the jungle in search of the young colt, almost bumping into Sterling and Evening as they came out of the jungle.

"Hey, DJ!" Sterling called. "Wait! What's wrong?" he then looked over at the beach, seeing a few splintered pieces of wood floating in the shallow water. "Oh..." Sterling said. "Now how are we going to get home?"

The Adventure Begins!

North was at the bottom of the pit. As steep as it was, somepony his size would have to run fast to get up. Trotting back a little further into the cave, he tried to gallop up the edge, however as soon as his head poked up above the top of the pit, he lost his footing and slid back into the hole.

He tried galloping up once more, but with the same result. This time, however, he noticed a familiar pegasus galloping through the jungle. He called out, in the hope that he would be heard.

***

As DJ galloped into the jungle, frantically in search of the missing colt,he passed a large pit. From the depths of the pit, he heard an "Oi!" that sounded a lot like North. He looked down into the hole, and saw the young colt's face peering back at him.

"Hey there, North!" he said to the young colt. "Hold on, I'm coming down!" With that he flew into the pit and landed beside him. He looked around and noticed the cave that led deeper into the island. "Hey, before we go back, can we explore this place a bit? The others are a bit mad at me, and I'd rather let them cool down a bit! Anyway, this looks like there could be an adventure to be had here! Come on!" North led the way through the dark cave, with DJ trotting along behind him.

After a short while, North led him to the small cove, where the cave became a cavern. DJ looked in surprise at what North had noticed earlier. "Wow! What do you say we take this back to the others then? I think they'll be pleased to see this!"

North nodded his head in agreement. "If I hadn't had trouble with that pit, I would had gone back to the others and showed it to them. I too thought it a good idea to bring back."

DJ smiled at him. "Then let's get going!"

***

Back, at the camp, the others were trying to work out what they could do now. "What I suggest is that we build a new boat somehow," Sterling suggested. "I know these palm trees aren't great, but like Clover said, we could try finding another nearby island. The cruise did say there were many islands around these parts that many ponies have never set hoof on. Maybe we could find some more wood there!" He wasn't normally this determined, but he didn't want to stay on this island forever! He really missed his beloved Manehattan a lot.

As they were still talking amongst themselves, they all heard a strange noise like churning waves. As they turned back towards the shore, they all stopped talking in surprise. A galleon, slightly smaller than the S.S. Seagallop, sailed into view. It's large white sails billowed in the gentle breeze, as it sliced through the water like a razor sharp knife. At the helm... was DJ, North by his side.

DJ leaned over the side and called out to the others. "Hey, everypony! Guess what North and I just found! I think this just about makes up for the raft incident earlier! Climb aboard and we'll set sail! Don't forget to bring supplies!" He lowered the gangplank, which splashed into the shallows, so that they could get board the ship.

Steel was also dumbstruck. "Okay . . . this is full blown divine intervention!" He declared. "We have some one on High looking out for us, and I, for one, take this as a sign of bigger things to come!" Steel looked up at North and smiled. He had discovered this, inadvertently as it may have been. Steel had taken a liking to the young colt. Perhaps they could be friends. A thought struck Steel, "If it's a galleon . . ." He launched himself onto the deck and tried to find a way to the lower ones. "Armory, armory, my kingdom for an armory!" He said to himself gleefully.

"Well, there goes my speech..." thought Sterling, as he and Evening trotted onto the ship "Well, I'm definitely getting home to Manehattan on this beauty!" he said as he looked in admiration at the galleon.

Evening had been listening and watching everything quietly, staying right next to Sterling the whole time. Her shyness seemed to force her to stay near Sterling, due to his kindness towards her when she woke up; inviting her to come looking for plants with him even if they didn't talk much. The ship DJ and the North and brought in was quite a step up from their little raft that broke earlier. She looked back at where half the raft was and turned back to the ship, before she began to smile. "Do you want to take a look around the ship?" she whispered to Sterling.

When Sterling the soft, but tantalizing whisper in his ear, he suddenly felt like he was in some sort of paradise! To hear a mare speak to him like that... It reminded him of a song he used to hear at a musical called "South Pacific..." It was such a relaxing song to hear that it nearly put him to a daydream about being with lots of mares who loved his intelligence. Maybe it was also because of the tropical they had stranded in, but he didn't care. He was in la-la land!

Once everypony was on board, DJ pulled up the gangplank and the ship sailed gently away from the island. They were off, on the adventure of their lifetime...