A Tropical Odyssey

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...