Mist and Gunport emerged from the weather offices for Sirena Harbor and started making their way towards the main harbor. They had seen off Hurricane for her first shift as part of the storm patrol and were now on their way so Gunport could see off Mist and get to meet Siren Song for the first time. Mist had a small cart and harness attached to his back, filled with cases of luggage for an expected week and a half at sea.

Mist was telling Gunport about both his meetings with Siren Song, first in the tavern and finding the pendant – which Mist now wore - and then on the beach with Hurricane. Gunport remained silent while Mist told his story, listening attentively and hardly responding. When Mist finished, Gunport gave a discontented sigh.

“I mean, he seems alright,” Gunport said. “But Hurricane has a point: it is kind of weird considering it almost feels like he sought you out on the beach.”

“In hindsight, I have to agree with you,” Mist said. “But like I said, everything checked out and the forms came through like he said they would. The harbor does pretty extensive checks when looking for freemartin jobs; I’m inclined to think he’s okay.”

Gunport raised an eyebrow. “You know what this is starting to sound like to me?”

It might have been a rhetorical question, but Mist answered anyways. “Hurricane said ‘con-artist’. What’s your take on this?”

“…I wouldn’t go that far. It sounds to me more like that Florence Nightingale effect. You’re inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt simply because he rescued us.”

“Maybe?” Mist shrugged. “But he has been nice both times I’ve met him. I doubt he’d suddenly do something rude, especially in an official capacity like this one.”

“And that’s another thing: you kind of get a faraway look in your eye every time you speak about him. It’s like you really like him… despite having only seen him twice. Especially three days ago at the beach; you had a particular focus on him walking away.”

This made Mist pause, and it took him a moment before realizing Gunport had basically called him out on staring at a stallion’s ass. “…he’s got a nice physique?” Mist offered.

Gunport chuckled. “Look, I’m not judging you for who you like. I am a little confused as to why when you’ve been around him for all of an hour and a half.” Gunport stared off for a moment. “…I’d kind of question it on his end, too.”

They made their way to the harbor and Gunport waited while Mist checked in for his job. Mist got a badge signifying his entry for work and they trotted towards the main harbor entrance. Both flashed their badges – Gunport already had one for his coast guard patrol – and walked towards Dock C, where Mist’s ship was waiting.

She was a beauty. She looked like a small frigate except for a pronounced lack of openings for cannons, though her main body was a pure white that gracefully bobbed on the water. At her mast flew the flag of Equestria and a yellow flag with a dove holding an olive-branch on it, a sign of a purely peaceful ship. At the back stood a small raft powered by a gas motor, as well as a diving platform blocked off by a heavy steel door. Notably, she also had no steam pipes.

“I bet it’s one of those electric ships,” Gunport said as they approached. “They’re not used for sailing in open water yet; still not ready for major expeditions and fine-tuning them.”

“Maybe part of the research team is a group of engineers,” Mist offered. “Keep track of the equipment on board.”

There was a ramp going from the concrete dock to the main deck of the frigate, which looked like polished hardwood. On the dock stood a small group of ponies, including Siren Song, a pony in a white coat that Mist didn’t know but guessed was another researcher, and a purple alicorn accompanied by two white pegasus guards in gold armor.

“She’s small for a princess,” Gunport observed quietly. Mist turned around to notice his eyes trailing towards Siren Song, currently facing away from them while talking with the Princess. “…is that him? The purple unicorn with the aqua mane?”

“Yes. That’s Siren Song.”

“…he does have a nice physique…”

The two approached. The small alicorn noticed them first and waved. This caused Siren Song to turn around and look at Mist with a friendly smile.

“Ah, Mist, you’ve finally arrived,” Siren Song said. “Well, that means we’re all here. But first, let me introduce Princess Twilight Sparkle of Ponyville.”

Mist and Gunport bowed as they approached.

“Oh, you don’t need to be so formal,” Twilight said. “After all, we’re going to be on the same ship for ten days, and I’m really not a stickler for it like Princess Celestia is. What are your names?”

Misty Skies and Gunport each introduced themselves, though Gunport with the reservation he was only seeing Mist off.

“Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you both,” Twilight said kindly. “Now, if you excuse me, I must double-check and make sure all my research equipment is on board. See you later!” And she trotted off down the ramp to the deck, the pegasus guards right behind her.

Siren Song chuckled, looking after her. “She was ecstatic when she got the invitation,” he said. “Couldn’t wait for a chance to join in on a research project in a new area to her.” He turned back to Mist and Gunport. “So you’re Gunport, eh? Mist has spoken favorably of you.”

“He’s been a good friend of mine for a long time,” Mist said. He turned to Gunport. “This is Siren Song, the unicorn that rescued us from the shipwreck and helped me find my pendant.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Siren Song,” Gunport said, bowing his head slightly. “Mist has told me quite a bit about you, much the same. And thanks for rescuing all of us.”

“It was nothing. Speaking of which, how have you been since the wreck?” Siren asked, surveying the pegasus stallion with a musical trill in his voice. “You look strong, like you made a full recovery.”

“I can still fly and I can still man the cannons,” Gunport said cheerfully. “No straw on my back, if you get what I’m saying.”

Siren Song chuckled genially. “I think I can. It’s too bad we don’t have cannons; we could have always taken on another hoof.”

“Oh, I’d probably just be in your way in a fancy research expedition like this.” Gunport waved him off with a look that said ‘No big deal’. “And I’ve got my job on coast guard anyways. But how about we all head out for drinks when you get back, eh?”

“I’d be happy to,” Siren Song said, then put a hoof around Mist and added teasingly, “so long as Mist here doesn’t mind me tagging along.”

“Oh, not at all!” Mist said with a slight blush. “It’ll be nice to have another drinking buddy. The one you really have to watch out for is Hurricane.”

“So I gathered,” Siren Song said as he removed his hoof from Mist’s shoudlers. But I promise not to tread on her corns, just as I promised her not to tread on yours.”

“Ah, so it’s one of those agreements, I see,” Gunport said. “Eh, she puts up a strong front, but she’s really nice once you get to know her.”

“And you are quite the gentleman yourself,” Siren Song said as he took a slight, almost teasing step towards Gunport. “I can see why Mist picked you two as his friends.”

Mist saw Gunport actually blush and his wings flare as he brought a hoof to rub his head. He just giggled for a moment without saying anything before biting his lip in an awkward grin.

Siren Song laughed for a moment before turning to Mist. “I need to check something real quick, but I’ll be back in a moment. Head on board whenever you’re ready.” And he trotted down the gangplank to the deck, with both Mist and Gunport following his every move.

“I like him,” Gunport said. “I can see why Hurricane may not have liked him, but he seemed rather friendly to me. A little on the touchy-feely and rather forward for me, though.”

“What do you mean?”

“He was pressed up to you almost the whole time. And… he kind of was a bit teasing towards the latter half.” Gunport soon shrugged it off. “No biggie. I can see why you like him. Still not totally sure why you really like him, but I’d totally hang out with him more.”

This made Mist feel very happy that Gunport approved and he smiled. “Yeah, I was a little unsure myself, but he seems the trustworthy sort.”

“…he does feel like he’s hiding something, though,” Gunport added as Siren Song went into a door and out of sight.

Mist was dismayed, but not totally hurt by the idea. “How do you mean?” he asked, looking at the larger red pegasus.

“Well… I don’t know, really. Maybe there’s something about the wreck he knows he isn’t telling anyone. Ask him if you can.”

“I’d try to anyway. I still can’t remember the details of it, so it’s a good idea nonetheless.”

Gunport smiled at Mist. “He likes you, that much I can see. I’m sure he’d tell you if you asked him. Politely, of course.”

Mist smiled at him. “Yeah, probably.”

The two hugged. Gunport wished Mist farewell and safe travels and insisted he have a day without Siren Song to tell them all about it when he came back. But Mist made no promises as he walked up the ramp and onto the deck of the frigate.

The ship left port an hour later around one in the afternoon, once all the bags were in place and Mist had been shown to his room. A final check of supplies and systems, a roll call courtesy of Twilight Sparkle to make sure everyone was on board, and the ship slowly eased her way out of port and onwards to the open sea.

There were 16 ponies on board. A Captain in charge of another vessel had been hired for some easy work and a few days of sea and sun. Then there was Mist serving as navigator, a cook, a handyman for cleaning and general repairs, a medic, two engineers hired to monitor the technology, and a lifeguard rounded out the crew. The research team consisted of Siren Song, two other researchers, and Twilight Sparkle, who was continuously flanked by two sets of two guards, one for the days and one for the nights.

As soon as the ship left port, Mist went with the Captain to the Captain’s cabin where the navigation things were located and started directing him on an eastward course. Once they were heading in the general direction at a steady twenty-five knots, the Captain made a call for one of the research team to come give them direct coordinates to the first of three locations.

Siren Song was the one who answered the call.

“You rang?” he asked with a playful smile.

The Captain seemed impervious to the unicorn’s charms. “Give us a helping hand, would ya? We need coordinates for the first location.”

“Of course.” He went over to Mist and told him the first set of coordinates. “And now, I sit and watch the master navigator at work.”

Mist was surprised that Siren Song was going quiet so soon, but nevertheless set to his work with pride. Using the charts, compasses, and maps he had available to him, and every once in a while checking his radio for weather reports – clear with mild clouds for miles around – he swiftly and easily directed the Captain in the direction of the first set of coordinates. They would be going approximately sixty miles out and nearly ninety miles down.

“We should be there in just under four hours if nothing goes wrong,” Mist said. “You think you can take it from here, Captain?”

“I got my music and I got my books,” the Captain said with a note of content at the clear and positive report. “Come back every hour or so just to make sure we’re on the right path, but I think I got it now.”

“And now, a tour of the ship,” Siren Song said. “Come on, Mist. Let me show you around.”

The frigate was remarkably similar to the trading ship Mist had been on earlier, but it felt sturdier and sailed smoother and was built on a smaller scale. There was the engine room, the kitchen, the cabins, the storage areas, and even a few lounges for hanging out. The deck even had a shaded pavilion with lounge chairs like those on the beach. It was almost like going on a pleasure cruise.

“We won’t actually start diving until tomorrow,” Siren Song said. “It’ll be too late for us to get a real dive going by the time we get there.”

“So, what do you do before then?” Mist asked.

“Well, we’ll just spend some time hanging out,” Siren Song replied matter-of-factly. “You know, get to know each other, trade stories, share info, that sort of thing. We need to work as a team, you know? Best way to do that is just having a little casual time now and then. But the other researchers and I will probably have to go over the equipment we brought for the dives: air tanks, rebreathers, flippers, sample collection materials, et cetera et cetera, you get the idea.”

“Well, wouldn’t I have to be there to make sure it fits me?”

Siren Song gave a wry smile that Mist could not entirely place the meaning. “In a sense. But I’ll explain more tomorrow. But why don’t I introduce you to the rest of the team for now?”

They stopped in at the Captain’s cabin first so Mist could check the ship’s progress. All was well, so they headed down below deck where the other researchers were setting up their rooms and making sure everything was in order.

Coral Reef was a sprightly and brightly-colored unicorn mare with a Master’s in Zoology with a focus in marine life from a nearby university in Vanhoover; she’d just finished her thesis to high acclaim but was already a star with research, and was a fan of card games. Her partner, Pacific Skies, was a pegasus stallion with a Master’s in Ecology from the same university, graduating three years ago and was in the middle of getting his Ph.D., and liked cloud soccer and pub quizzes.

It was very clear what Twilight Sparkle liked. Mist and Siren Song entered her private cabin and noticed the entire thing was filled to the brim with books and parchment and quills and ink. She’d brought an entire library with her so long as Mist was concerned, and gaped at the room in awe.

“You’re welcome to borrow anything from my collection so long as it’s returned by the end of our trip,” the excitable alicorn replied. “I’ve got a few primers on marine biology to get you started, and I’ve got a few fiction collections if you’re looking to pass the time.”

“…do you really need all that?” Siren Song’s question echoed the same thing going through Mist’s mind.

“This is just light reading! I’m not even sure if I packed enough! But among our other work, I’ll probably be fine.”

“I will take one of those primers, though,” Mist said. “I’m mostly on as navigator, but Siren Song did say I could dive.”

“Ah!” Without looking, Twilight picked one book out of a pile almost as tall as she was and brought it over in front of Mist. “This is a good starter text. It’s high-school level, so it should be fairly challenging but readable and packed with information.”

Mist took the book in his hoof and flipped through it. It was about 400 pages and reminded him of some of his old school textbooks. He put it in his mouth and politely set it on his back. “Thanks. That’ll probably be enough for now, but I may come back about the fiction stuff sometime.”

“Not a problem! Let me just make a note here… What was your name again? ‘Misty Skies’, right? Alright, I have that catalogued and ‘checked out’.” She blushed slightly. “I used to run a library before my ascension. I still kind of use that system sometimes out of habit.”

Mist chuckled. “No worries. I’ll make sure it comes back in good condition.”

They parted ways and headed down a few rooms to where Mist and Siren Song had their rooms. Except for Twilight’s and the Captain’s private suites, each cabin was connected to another by a shared bathroom; the researchers had one, the guards had another, the engineers had their own, the lifeguard and the cook shared one, and the servants had their own. The remaining one, nearby Twilight’s, belonged to Mist and Siren Song.

“Figured it’d help you to have a familiar face nearby,” Siren Song explained. “Well, relatively speaking, anyways. I’m going to go over my things and set my room up. I’ll be there if you need anything.”

Siren Song went to his own room through the connecting bathroom and shut the door, and for the first time since boarding the ship Mist was left alone. His room had a double bed, his own closet and vanity, a few shelves for books, a nightstand with alarm clock, even a radio and television. His bags were packed neatly off to one corner and the bed was nicely drawn down if he wanted to get inside and sleep.

The bathroom contained a shower, toilet, and sink with full drawers including a fresh roll of toothpaste and plenty of towels and washcloths and soaps. Everything was clean and pristine, and gave Mist the impression this was either the maiden voyage of the frigate or the servants and crew had done a more thorough once-over than he was used to seeing.

Though tired, Mist didn’t have much time to sleep just yet. He unpacked his things, placing his toothbrush and special toothglass in the bathroom, organized a few warmer and weather-resistant items for out at sea, and unpacked some of his own equipment; books, weather charts, almanacs, a compass, and a few items for a medicine cabinet. Soon afterwards, he went up to the Captain’s cabin for his second check.

The course was steady. Mist excused himself back to his room, set his alarm clock for a half hour, and took a nap.

They kept an even course and arrived late in the afternoon. The sun was still high and the skies were still clear and cool as the Captain and the crew dropped anchor and secured the boat as well as they could. Weather reports from back at Sirena Harbor showed no signs of storms anywhere around and the crew settled in for two whole days at the reef.

After his nap, Misty Skies had woken to find Siren Song with the others in the storage bay going over the diving equipment. With the unicorn occupied, Mist went over the book he borrowed from Twilight until it was time for the final stretch to drop anchor. Once the anchor was dropped, Mist went to the kitchen and managed to get himself an apple, and went onto the pavilion to eat.

The weather was very pleasant and the gentle rocking of the boat was almost calming. Much like the weather when the ‘Dreamweaver’ set out, he reflected. He wondered if that was an omen of things to come, but shrugged it off. The storm the night the ‘Dreamweaver’ sank was a freak accident. No small frigates for ocean exploration had sunk, only trading ships.

A servant came and reported that dinner was being served in the kitchens. Mist went down and joined the line of ponies getting their food. The cook started serving at six o’clock on the nose, served the Captain and the Princess first, then went down the line.

Dinner was a wonderful stuffed Portobello mushroom with steamed fingerling potatoes and vegetables with a small cup of au jus for dipping. Small personal wine bottles were even given out to help celebrate the start of the trip, and each also got a small slice of chocolate cake.

Mist grabbed his tray by the mouth and started looking for a place to sit. It wasn’t long before he heard his name, and his eyes and ears quickly swiveled to see Siren Song waving him over to a table for two. Mist walked over and joined him, and they both quickly dug into the delicious food.

“You ready for tomorrow?” Siren asked. “Tomorrow’s just an exploration dive; we’ll head in and map out the important places. Then the next day we do our sample collection. You’ll be able to come on the exploration dives.”

“Sounds good to me,” Mist said. “I’m not exactly a good swimmer. I can manage in a pool but not in the ocean.”

“We’re around reefs the whole time. The currents won’t be as strong and you’ll have a set of flippers. And you have me,” Siren Song said proudly, placing a hoof to his chest. “I’m probably the strongest and fastest swimmer here. If you have any problems, I’ll be nearby.”

“Good to know,” Mist said. “I’ve never exactly swam out in the deep ocean before. This is going to be fun. I’ve actually been really excited and looking forward to this for a while.”

“You must have been,” Siren Song commented. He pointed towards Mist’s eyes with his fork. “You seem to have not gotten much sleep over it lately.”

Mist’s smile turned to a frown. “Actually, that’s not from the excitement.”

Siren Song’s own smile became a look of concern. “…is something the matter?” he asked.

“Can I… can I tell you something? And can you not tell it to the other ponies? I mean, Hurricane and Gunport know, but nopony here.”

“Of course.”

Mist gulped. “I… I have nightmares about what I saw on the ‘Dreamweaver’ the night of the wreck sometimes. But I can’t remember what actually happened.”

A look of sadness came into the unicorn’s eyes. “I… I’m so sorry. I didn’t even know…”

“It’s not PTSD,” Mist said, knowing the eventual question that would come up. “I’m not afraid of going out to sea again. It’s just… every once in a while, I remember some of what happened that night and it’s not pretty.”

“Still, it’s sad to hear about.”

Mist shrugged. “They’re infrequent enough and I’m usually able to go back to sleep afterwards. But… I wanted to know, what happened when you rescued us? I don’t remember you being on board.”

Siren Song nodded. “I’ll tell you what I know. Hopefully that will help give you some peace of mind.”

“I heard a news report about being trapped in the storm soon before the wreck,” the unicorn started. “I teleported myself a fair way out close to the position, then swam with the currents until I came into sight of the capsized ‘Dreamweaver’. I flipped over a small lifeboat with my magic, grabbed a few nearby paddles, and started looking around.”

“But it was terrible,” he said with disgust. “Ponies were floating everywhere. Some were just floating lifeless in the waves and didn’t respond to anything. Drowned, I suppose. Others had flesh and limbs torn off, or massive shreds out of their bodies, but I didn’t see any predators about. But it was a reef, and perhaps they’d been driven away when the waves got really strong.”

“You and your three friends were clinging on for dear life to a piece of metal shrapnel just large enough to support you,” the unicorn continued. “You seemed to be going pretty strong but were tiring fast, but Hurricane appeared to have passed out and Gunport wasn’t going to last much longer between holding on and keeping Hurricane afloat. I got Hurricane first to ease Gunport, helped Gunport inside, and that’s when you gave way. I quickly grabbed you with my magic, and balanced you three out among the boat. I paddled until I was out of the worst of it, then checked you all over.”

“You were all half-drowned,” Siren Song continued. “I thought you weren’t going to make it. I quickly did CPR first on Hurricane, then Gunport, then you. You all returned to semi-consciousness, but were in no state to help return to shore.” Siren Song chuckled. “But even half-conscious, you remembered. Skilled navigator indeed! You pointed me in the right direction and saw me off before seemingly falling asleep. Knowing the effort required to stay afloat for who knows how long in the waves, I didn’t bother to wake you up. I simply paddled as quickly as I could in the direction of the harbor.”

“A few minutes later, the storm broke. A few hours later, the sun came up. In the early morning mists, I finally made it back to Sirena Harbor. I would have called for an ambulance, but someone spotted me coming in with you three unconscious in tow and by the time we made it to the dock the ambulance had already arrived. You awoke just long enough to confirm you were home, but passed out again before the dock.”

A few things were solved to Mist. How Siren Song had found them, how they had managed to somehow survive floating on the waves, how come they had all been unconscious, even how Siren Song had managed to get them back to Sirena Harbor.

“That still leaves a few gaps,” Mist said. “I only remember from the start of the storm to finding Hurricane. I still don’t know how we found Gunport, or what finally caused the ship to capsize.”

Siren Song shrugged sympathetically. “I’m afraid I can’t tell you that. But hopefully some of it will help jog your memory as to the rest of it.”

Mist nodded. “I suppose I owe you something.”

“Consider your debt paid by coming on this. And even then, you’re still getting paid for this.”

Mist chuckled. “That I am.”

By the time Siren Song finished telling Mist what happened the night of the wreck, dinner was finished. Twilight supervised a shift change in her guards, and Mist joined the research team as they went out to the pavilion to watch the sun set and the moon rise. They chatted and a table and cards were brought out and Coral Reef taught them how to play poker. After a while, though, the poker conversation turned to rumors and legends.

“Anyone know any good scary stories?” Twilight asked. “Like, any sea-faring stories or legends? That sort of thing?”

Mist did not offer his. And for a while, no one offered any of their own, and it was suspected they were lost.

“I have one,” Siren Song replied. “It’s a ballad, though I warn you it is very dark. It’s called ‘The Rhyme of the Lost Mariner’.”

“Oh, I’ve heard of that one!” Twilight said, clapping her hooves excitedly. “But I’ve heard only half the text is known. There’s supposed to be twelve verses, but only five verses are in modern Equish.”

“That’s because the whole thing is thirteen verses, and it’s in old Equish,” Siren Song said. “But, it happens to be popular around Sirena Harbor, as it deals with the legends of the sirens that give the town it’s name.”

“Ooh ooh ooh! Let me get my quill and parchment; I want a copy for the library!” And Twilight skittered off, laughing giddily as she did.

It was only when Twilight had returned, and a good portion of the table had been cleared for her writing utensils, that Siren Song began.

There once was a stallion of great Canterlot;
A noble content with his life and his lot.
He had a great wealth,
Good life and good health.
When asked what he missed, he would say “I do not.”

The unicorn’s voice was soft and clear amidst the quiet night. He sang slow and almost mournful like he was singing a funeral dirge, with clear and present sadness in every note. And yet there was something beautiful and almost passionate about it, as though he sang not just with his voice but with his heart. And the further it went on, the more Mist began to almost see the lyrics play out like a film in his head.

One day he journeyed out to the great sea
For he liked the feeling of being so free.
He went out on his boat
But was barely afloat
When a voice compelled him to a nearby beach.

On land lay a creature, half mare and half fish,
Whose fin-tail beckoned with each graceful swish.
Entranced by her voice,
He soon made his choice;
That she become his was his ultimate wish.

He asked for her love and to come home with him.
She blushed and she chuckled and she said with a grin:
“To have this heart of mine,
You must now relinquish thine
And let our blood mix in the sea’s ancient hymn.”

But the noble was certainly no common fool
And he saw the vile nature of this once precious jewel.
“I’d prefer now to live;
So my heart I won’t give!
Tempt someone else, but to me don’t be cruel!”

He left and returned to his life and his home
But what once seemed so full now felt so alone.
Something seemed strange,
As though life had changed,
But what happened to him, he did not know.

He saw, in his dreams, the mare in the night
And every last movement set his nerves alight.
He looked everywhere,
But she was nowhere;
Yet her voice had stirred a deep, primal fright.

“She is the one, to her I must go!
This obsession is hers, a curse from my foe!
But I cannot lie:
For her, I will die,
Oh how wretched her seed has grown!”

He returned to the beach as though in a dream
And found the fish-mare in the bright moon-gleam.
“You came back, at last,
But not very fast.”
Replied he: “Yet nights are one unending scream.”

And so were engineered his terms of surrender:
One night of passion, so gentle and tender.
His heart she would bite;
He’d be hers that night,
And become in and part of her splendor.

The stallion sank into the mare’s bliss
And she sealed his fate with a passionate kiss.
Then his chest she did rent,
And to her his soul went
And two became one in the sea’s dark abyss.

She chewed on his heart like a delicacy;
Her tongue savored his taste so affectionately.
With the last gulp of red
He came back from the dead
Now transformed like herself, hers unquestionably.

The noble disappeared, his wealth is all gone.
None knew where he went the very next dawn.
Though some have witnessed
A new love and mistress
Way out to sea; to her, he is always drawn.

For a long while, there was silence. Mist found himself in awe of the stallion before him, who he didn’t know could sing like that. It became clear where he got his name; an excellent swimmer and an excellent voice was the only one capable of bearing the name of a legend, even though Mist now believed the actual siren would make him pale in comparison.

And yet… there came a shiver up and down Mist’s spine that was only in part due to the beauty of the unicorn’s voice. The song’s lyrics were dark and disturbing, and he suddenly remembered what the guard had told him that night on the pier, about how the last one to jump off was ‘lucky’ to have the guards catch him. He wondered whether or not he would have met the same fate as the noble had he jumped off; the guard certainly couldn’t have been playing games with him, not with how mournful he himself looked.

An expletive from just out of Mist’s sight disturbed his train of thought; Twilight had only managed to write one verse of the lengthy ballad. Siren Song promised a full recital for her collection the next evening. But now it was late and they were trying to get an early start the next day, and so it would have to wait.

The others agreed. A few more hands of poker were played just so everyone could calm down from the ghost story, and soon the table and cards were put away and the team went away to bed. Each went to his or her cabin, the guards posted outside of Twilight’s, and slowly the lights were shut off except for the ones in the main hall.

Mist and Siren Song took turns in the bathroom before Mist hopped into bed with the book he borrowed from Twilight. The television, while small, had decent reception, and he was soon watching a variety show from one of the local Sirena Harbor channels while he read.

He wasn’t reading long before Siren Song came and stood in the doorway to the connecting bathroom. Mist looked up at him questioningly.

“You okay?” the unicorn asked gently, almost tenderly. “You seemed unnerved by the song.”

“Yeah,” Mist said dumbly. He nodded. “Horror has never exactly been my thing.”

Siren Song chuckled. “I’ve got nicer ones I’ll sing for you some other time. You can blame the Princess for the request.”

Mist smiled. “Know any funny ones?”

“I know about the pony from Nantucket, though that’s a bit overdone by this point.”

Mist laughed. Not just chuckled, but outright laughed.

Siren Song smiled at him. “Listen, if you need anything, you come see me, okay? I know I’ve said it over and over again, but I just really want you to know I don’t mind.”

Mist smiled and nodded again. He wiped an eye with his hoof. “Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind. I suppose a fair warning that it may happen tonight. Tends to happen if I hear something horror-related close to when I go to sleep.”

“Warning taken. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

But that night, Misty Skies had no nightmares. He drifted off around eleven to a peaceful, dreamless sleep.

Author's Note

Twilight will have a major part to play later, but she's not a main character.