Of an Unfortunate Boat Trip
After a luminous magical pop filled the air, the desert streets of the small town of Irwind at the edge of Equestria saw two rather untidy and leaf-covered Princesses appear in its warm vernal midst.
"Well, this little camping in the Arimaspi Lands really was a blast!" Princess Celestia joyfully exclaimed, shattering the calm morning atmosphere of the small town as she started walking through its sleepy streets along with her lunar sister.
The latter didn't seem as fond of the experience though "It may have been slightly too extreme…" she grumpily mumbled "Perhaps choosing to stay next to one of these creature's lair wasn't your greatest idea…"
Still happy, but slightly troubled, Celestia brough her gaze to her sister "But isn't this just like what you did in dreams?" she playfully asked "You just can't not miss it at all!"
Meanwhile, Luna tried shaking off the dirt and leaves that stuck to her coat only to fail, resolving to cast a quick spell that made it all disappear instead "Yeah, except for the feeling rested afterwards part…" she pleadingly retorted with a deep sigh.
"Oh, but don't worry! This town has a harbor, doesn't it?" Celestia happily exclaimed, making a small tourism manual appear in front of her before holding it in her magic "We'll get ourselves a nice boat trip! Doesn't that sound relaxing? I'm sure the marine views are amazing over here!" she assured looking at Luna with an eager smile.
Gladly sighing, Luna returned the smile "Well, that does sound quite nice." she agreed following her energetic (and still leaf-covered) sister with her eyes as the latter already started cheerfully trotting towards the distant sight of masts beyond the town's low roofs.
The masts now surrounded them. Well, as much as three masts could have surrounded anypony. Irwind really wasn't a big town. The few boats that stood at its docks had nothing of a cruise ship and only one really had somepony on it: a stern earth pony whose traits seemed oldened by the rough seas long before his time.
As he methodically set his ship ready to sail, his weary eyes glanced over the docks where an unexpected sight met him "Would that be the Royal Princesses themselves, here in Irwind? But why?" he mumbled in disbelief, his confusion matching the small spurt of pride that sparked in his mind. It was his hometown after all.
And how distraught he was when they came closer to speak! "Excuse me sir, but would you mind giving my sister and I a small trip around the coast?" Celestia, who still hadn't properly groomed herself, nonchalantly asked with a radiant smile as a small branch fell from her mane.
The pony however, remained speechless. He wasn't mentally prepared to be speaking with an Alicorn today. Not even with such an untidy one.
"Sir, are you alright?" Celestia insisted, her smile somewhat tainted as she noticed the pony's turmoil.
"Uh, yes, of course, your highness!" the latter panickily yelped after getting a relative hold of himself.
Hearing this, the Princesses just laughed "There's no longer need for that!" Celestia cheerfully explained "We've given up the throne, we're just like any other tourists now!"
After seeing the other's still skeptical face, Luna decided to intervene "And don't we perfectly blend in the crowd with these little outfits?" she added, gesturing towards the colorful flowery t-shirts they were wearing with a proud smile.
Completely halting his work now, the pony scanned the Princesses with his eyes "I'm lucky there's no crowd to prove them wrong…" he thought, averting his gaze from their welcoming grins.
"Of course, your highness!" he wanted to once again say, timely deciding to rather go for a forced "Yes, totally..."
Vague images of provoking newspapers with their sensationalist headlines he always refused to believe flashed through his mind "So they said true after all…" he internally sighed, suddenly realizing he still didn't give the Princesses in front if him any conclusive answer to their offer.
"Well, I had somepony already renting the ship towards Djenneigh…" he regretfully replied once his thoughts returned to a manageable level of turmoil.
"Oh, but we could just join you then, that'd be perfect!" Celestia gladly exclaimed, turning to Luna in search of approval "Don't you want to visit Zebrica next? I've heard they do safaris across cockatrice territory there! Doesn't that sound exciting?"
"Well, if it implies a relaxing boat trip first, I guess I can take it." Luna agreed, reluctantly at first "And then, I'm never against discovering a new culture. Also, pottery." her eyes suddenly lit up with wonder as she passionately exclaimed "Oh, they're just the best at pottery! You know what? Actually, that's just the perfect place for us to go!"
"Alright, but we'll need to see what my client says first." the other pony explained, returning to his work "There ain't that much space on that ship, you know?" he added, regretfully shrugging.
Suddenly pausing as if he forgot something, he apathetically declared "Oh, and by the way, name's Loose Becket, no need to tell yours."
After waiting for several minutes, only notable by the fact Celestia finally realized her untidiness due to a leaf that suddenly fell onto her snout and promptly cleaned herself up, Loose Becket suddenly seemed to have his attention caught by something in the distance.
"Oh, and here she comes…" he mumbled, noticing a speedy, thin unicorn mare pop from behind a street corner, quickly reading through what looked like an especially ancient book that she held in her magic.
"Hey, miss, I've got some ponies willing to join!" he called out to her after she got closer enough.
Returned to reality by Becket's voice, the mare raised her eyes from her book "What? Who? I'm not sure if I can…" The next second her sight fell on the Princesses standing on the town's decrepit docks, just next to the ship she had booked "Oh."
"What do you say?" Becket apathetically insisted in the meanwhile.
"Well… Of course, why not, I'm totally up for it!" the mare rapidly agreed after Celestia and her met eyes. Nervously swallowing she nodded "Uhm, good morning, your highness! I'm Brushy."
Hearing the sign of agreement, Becket didn't wait for any further clarifications "We'll be getting off in less than a minute then." he disinterestedly declared, entering his ship's cabin.
After following him with her eyes, Celestia sorrily brought them to Brushy "So… How is your day going?" she decided to ask in hope of breaking the tension.
Though anxious, the other seemed quite keen to talk "Well, since it kind of just started, I couldn't say it really is going anywhere. Except to Zebrica that is." she hesitantly chattered "Oh, and have you heard that they've discovered new cave paintings there? Fascinating, isn't it?"
After having a short look at Luna to confirm that she also had no idea what the pony was talking about, Celestia politely replied "In all honesty, we haven't."
"Oh well, should have expected it." Brushy shrugged, slight disappointment visible in her eyes "Few ponies are interested in archeology nowadays… Anyway, that's why I was heading to Djenneigh actually."
"We're ready to go." Becket suddenly barked from his boat, making the others promptly climb on board as he slowly pulled the sails up the mast. Once he got back to the helm, the ship unhurriedly floated out of the docks and into the open ocean.
"Oh, I just love this little port!" Brushy happily exclaimed, looking at the small town getting further.
"There might be few ponies here, but still, the folklore is amazing. I've interrogated a few and they told me about things ranging from mysterious isles to enormous underwater creatures that crush ships. And in myths, there's often a part of reality, you know?" She grew pensive for a moment, staring into the surrounding waves "Who knows, we might be sailing right towards a new discovery at this very moment!"
Her reverie was however interrupted by a dry remark "Legends stay legends till I see 'em with my own eyes. I've heard many tales 'bout these waters but none ever proved itself true to me despite all these years on the sea." Becket sternly declared, giving the other pony a skeptical look "You really shouldn't get your hopes up."
"Perhaps." she simply agreed, impassively turning her gaze to her saddlebags before suddenly exclaiming "Oh, sorry, I almost forgot I still had some research to do!" The next second her book was back, hovering in her front "Tell me if we do run into something unusual, I'll be over there!"
She then headed for a small spot of shade on the deck, getting a cushion out of her saddlebags and quickly sitting down on it, continuing to browse through her book's oldened pages.
Meanwhile, Luna peacefully watched the clear horizon, relaxedly leaning against the ship's taffrail.
"Sorry, but do you have lounge chairs?" she suddenly asked, turning around to bring her inquisitive gaze to Becket.
Almost barking a dry "Why would I?" the latter timely realized who he talked to, replying with an apologetic "Uhm… no, but I can find something…"
Luna however, didn't seem to mind "Oh, that's no problem." she reassured as, in a small explosion of blueish magic, right behind her appeared said lounge chair on which she promptly sat with a satisfied smile.
Lose Becket sighed in a mix of relief and exasperation before returning his hooves to the helm and his alert gaze to the calm sea ahead "I ain't ready for this type of tourists." he internally griped, stirring the boat along the gentle waves.
The Sun was shining bright above the horizon, the bright halo around it reflected by the waters. A few seagulls passed by, avoiding the ship's masts as they headed for the shore. Everything was going well.
A few hours have passed since their departure and the waves beneath the deck were not so gentle anymore.
As the skies slowly faded to darker shades, clouds menacingly gathered above the waves and it seemed the idyllic nature of the boat trip was starting to get compromised.
And as the ship went forward, it only grew worse. The air was getting heavier and an unpleasant chilly wind was rising, further stirring the waters below. The looming clouds even seemed to descend upon the ship, merging with the ocean in a thick, gloomy fog.
And as the rumbles of distant thunder resounded from the beyond the mist's murky veil, there was no more place for doubts: a storm was gathering.
"Gosh, I hope my things don't get soaked." Brushy agitatedly exclaimed as she noticed a small droplet fall onto her book. And in the next second, it was already back in her saddlebags on which she promptly cast a protective spell.
"And you were talking about a nice relaxing boat trip!" Luna whined, shuddering as she tried and failed to see something through the cold fog around them. She was now all curled up on her lounge chair, shielding herself from the wind and rapidly intensifying rain with her wings.
Also shivering, Celestia apologetically started "Well, I can't control the weather…" then, as her face suddenly brightened up in a smile, she suddenly exclaimed "No, actually I can and so do you, so let's fix this instead of complaining."
Seeing her sister's horn ignite in the flash of a teleportation spell, Luna didn't really gain any motivation "Oh, of course. That pegasus part of an alicorn we never really use except when it comes to flying." she mumbled under her breath "I see it can be practical for once."
The wind was getting faster though and the irregular droplets that just fell here and there at first were now turning into a true downpour. Overboard, the waves looked like small hills that relentlessly rammed into the ship's sides as it struggled to remain upright.
"No, wait! We're going to capsize. You can't just leave now." the captain desperately cried out, watching the Sun Princess disappear in a flash of magical light.
But it was already too late. As, while Celestia luminous form reappeared, battling the elements among the swarm of grey clouds above, yet another noxious wave came crushing into the poor vessel, flooding the deck and making it tip dangerously.
"Curse you, ravenous waters, this ship ain't going down yet!" the captain cried out, desperately holding on to the helm.
But still, only a few seconds later, the next wave arrived to finish the job, leaving the helpless passengers in the cold murky waters as their vessel slowly sunk within the ruthless abyss.
Their dismay did not last for long however. As, her eyes ignited by arcanic might, Luna shook off her discomfort, diving down to their rescue. Getting a hold of the poor ponies with her magic, she illuminated the seas with a protective shield that sealed the space around them.
Tediously flapping her wings to rise above the waters, she desperately scanned the surrounding sea in frantic search of a safety haven. The storm did not leave her any more time to decide though. And so, hurled to the side by a gust of vicious wind, Luna continued to struggle not to fall back into the midst of the merciless waves.
How great was her relief however, when, emerging from the mist and raging waters, the sight of a coastline met her eyes!
"I can do this." she murmured, steeling her resolve. Her forces were however fading, drained by the retreat of adrenaline and the inevitable shortage of mana. The light flickered in her eyes. Could she really do this?
When, all of a sudden, as a golden angel of light and hope Celestia appeared from behind the opaque curtain of mist "Perhaps cleaning the weather could have waited…" she sheepishly admitted with a small shiver. And the next second, as her soothing magical aura encompassed all, the four ponies found themselves teleported to a hard floor of cold rocks.
Luna immediately crumbled to the ground "Never again am I accepting any of your relaxing boat trips…" she murmured before sinking into the dark embrace of fatigued slumber.
The others simply stood there, quite shocked by the whole scene that just occurred, blankly staring into the raging rain for a long moment of silence.
All of a sudden, Becket spoke, contemplatively frowning at the dark abyss in which his boat now lied "I might have lost my ship, but at least, we haven't lost our lives." he sternly enounced, bringing his gaze to Luna, then to Celestia who was torn between being proud and ashamed of herself "Thank you, your Highness. You may no longer officially have the title, but you sure still earned it…"
After a second in silence, the former captain took a quick glance around the small rocky beach they stood on and his frown deepening "Now what really troubles me here is where we ended up landing…"
Of a Town Beneath the Watchful Mists
The passed-out Princess didn't take long to regain her senses. And while the others regained theirs, taking account of all that was lost and of what they still managed to save, the looming question of where they found themselves never truly left their minds.
"This ain't no isle I know of, not as a sailor at least." Becket explained after carefully examining a nautical map he had managed to salvage "But then, there ain't no stars above us to make sure of anything."
"Perhaps we'll see clearer when the storm calms down and the fog goes away." Luna hopefully suggested, still shuddering under the never-ending onslaught of rain.
"Yeah… But I fear this won't happen that soon…" the other pensively replied, tucking his map away "You see, that's no regular mist."
In the meanwhile, Brushy, who was carefully examining the rocky cliffs around suddenly exclaimed "Hey, look over here! I think it's a trail of some sort." And as she disappeared into the mist, her curious voice could be heard from beyond its veil "And here, there's even some wooden rubble on shore. Looks like planks. Extremely old ones though." she cried out, still invisible to the others.
"Who in their sane mind could be living here?" Luna perplexedly wondered, turning towards Brushy's voice with a mix of fear and disgust on her face.
"Not to sound too dramatic, but I'd rather refer to whoever they were in past tense." Brushy replied, reemerging from the fog with a small piece of soaked ashes in her magic "The place does look pretty abandoned."
"We still better check out what there could be." Becket proposed with weary determination, making a resolute step towards her.
"Of course we should!" Brushy excitedly exclaimed, concurrently transferring the ash from her magic into a small container that she promptly stored into her saddlebags "See? I knew we were on the verge of a revolutionary discovery!"
And it was while hope mixed with fear in their hearts that the group unsurely stepped on the remains of a path that disappeared somewhere in the mist, its ancient stones clearly untouched for countless years already.
The rocky peaks of the coast soon vanished behind, concealed by the omnipresent fog that continued even inland, now surrounding them completely.
"Where are we going?" Luna fearfully asked, constantly glancing around in hope of distinguishing just anything in this mist "It feels like we have been going for quite a while already and there is simply nothing around!"
"I don't like this either, but there's no point in coming back to shore." Becket unhappily sighed back "We better keep at it, this path can't just lead nowhere anyway."
"I'm starting to fear it could…" the other mumbled with a small shudder.
But all of a sudden, a decrepit structure emerged from the mist "See?" the captain supportively looked back "No need to worry."
In the meanwhile, more houses, or at least their crumbled remains, appeared along the path they followed. And soon, it became quite clear that they now stood in the midst of a small town.
Carefully stepping amidst the ruins, the group advanced through the empty streets. It was quiet, undisturbed by the sounds of a living creature or any wind. The mists loomed from every side and direction, always concealing the path ahead as much as the one behind.
Still, in this unease and dread, a feeling almost akin to tranquility settled. The town might have been dead, but it seemed to be quite keen to remain so. No beasts were heard lurking in the empty houses. No long-forgotten escapees of whatever disaster occurred in this land. No creatures of the arcane even. Just a serene and unchanging nothingness that seemed to inspire calm as much as it did fear.
All of a sudden, the serene silence was shattered by a cry "Oh my gosh! How ancient these sigils must be!" Brushy exclaimed startling everypony else.
After a second of heavy silence and dark gazes, she realized her mistake "Oh, sorry." she sheepishly added with a small shrug.
Still, she slowly approached the remains of one of the houses to inspect strange arcanic engravings that decorated what must have once served as its porch "But it's so rare to see such early Equestrian runes in so good of a state." she passionately explained before suddenly igniting her horn " I wonder if they still work." She was however immediately interrupted.
"I'd rather not test this right now." Becket sternly declared, putting a hoof on her shoulder "We better make sure this place is safe or at least explore a bit before doing any experiments."
"Oh… Well, OK, but we absolutely need to come back to this place!" the other reluctantly agreed, canceling her spell.
The next second, something inside the house in front of which she stood captured her attention once again "Wow, there's bones in there! I just need to take a sample!" she exclaimed, making everypony else shudder at her unwarranted excitement.
Before they could argue however, she already delved into the ruin, a small sample container already out of her saddlebags.
"I already don't like this place." Luna wincingly declared in the meantime.
"But isn't this all just so exciting?" Celestia much more enthusiastically argued, looking around at the crumbled walls and decaying remains of furniture "And then, I'm sure these ponies had a great culture back in the days." she sneered, noticing a small pile of rubbles that might have once bin a statue or monument.
"Yes. Maybe they had." Luna nervously sighed "But I'd rather avoid discovering why they do not have it anymore…"
In the meantime, Brushy exited the house with some blackish dust in her container and a concerned smile on her face "It's odd. They turned to dust as soon as I touched them." she pensive explained, looking at the decayed remains "I took all the usual precautions and all, but they still just crumbled. Unfortunate..."
Her concerns however, quickly faded away as she caught Becket's exasperate look. She immediately packed the sample into her saddlebags, sheepishly exclaiming "Oh, right! Let's go."
The rest of the walk was not very chatty. And it wasn't very long either as, soon enough, they reached the town's end, where the main street they were walking upon stopped, running into a structure way bigger and better preserved than any others.
"It's strange. I've never seen this kind of architecture." Brushy commented as they were sizing the enormous temple up "These columns and arcs do seem pretty characteristic of more ancient civilizations though. But I'm still not really sure of anything."
"Wow, this place might trace back to when we were young even, can you imagine?" Celestia fascinatedly mused, giving Luna an awed look.
"And we still never heard of it…" the other pensively added, gazing at the enormous columns whose tops couldn't even be visible behind the mist.
While the others still observed the monumental structure in different degrees of awe, Becket already had a different thought in mind "We could take a break here if you want." he dryly proposed "I think I've got things to say."
A wordless agreement transpired. And once they all sat down onto magically summoned cushions, still contemplating the grand structure around them, Becket pensively started "You see, there's no name to this place, only stories, and few of them. It's a place of legend if you will."
After a second, he continued, diverting his gaze "Yeah, I remember what I said. But, after all these years, I would have never imagined finding myself in one of these mythical spots that somehow transcend folklore… It all seemed like nonsense. And it still does, but since I'm here, I'm just curious now. How much of what they said was true?"
"So, do you know what happened to this place?" Luna suddenly asked with great concern "Or at least, have you heard a theory of some sort?"
"I doubt anypony still alive does." the other grimly replied after reviewing his memories "I've only heard tales from sailors who got swayed to it by the vicious wind or who simply lost course, and even they didn't seem to know much."
After a sigh and a pensive look into the mist-concealed distance he continued "They only mentioned rocky shores washed by ferocious waves that only vaguely appeared behind an opaque wall of mist that never went away. The mist seemed to be the worst part of it. Some were so freaked, saying it watched them with thousands of eyes. That's why I don't like it. And nopony ever actually stepped on here despite the tales. I doubt many would even dare to do it if presented with a chance."
All of a sudden, Brushy seemed quite bothered. Taking a small block note out of her saddlebags, she hastily browsed through its pages "Strange, I didn't get anything about this one in my research…" she mumbled, quickly marking something down.
In the meanwhile, Luna seemed to have a much bigger problem "Wait, you said the mist was watching them?" she fearfully enquired, nervously glancing around "How would that…"
She was about to add something, but suddenly froze in place, fixing a spot in the hazy distance in absolute terror "You see these lights there, right? Don't they look just like eyes?" she shakenly asked, pointing trembling a hoof into the distance.
Turning around, they all saw it. There, just behind one of these columns, there was someone or rather something. And it stared at them with its glowing eyes. Unblinking.
"Was it watching us all along?" Brushy anxiously asked, peering at the dots in an unwinnable staring contest.
"Probably." Becket gravely agreed, a frown upon his face. "I knew I didn't like this place." he mumbled under his breath, sternly getting up.
The Sun Princess too bolted upright, stretching her wings and igniting her horn in a truly imposing stance "Whatever you are, show yourself!" she regally demanded with her Canterlot voice. Yet there was no reaction. The dots just stayed there, unmoving. Watching.
"Alright, you've been warned!" she exclaimed noticing this lack of movement "Let's see what it is."
And as the small area around them illuminated in Celestia's magical glow, she concentrated her might on the tip of her horn, shooting out a grand beam of concentrated light.
To everypony's great dismay however, the beam revealed nothing more than before, only fading into the murky haze without any trace. The mists remained unhindered, only slightly illuminated by this light, more bright reflections dancing in its miniature droplets as small will-o'-the-wisps in a dark forest.
"Well, that's disappointing." she dryly remarked, returning to a normal stance.
"We cannot simply leave it there though, can we?" Luna upsetly asked, never leaving the eyes with her sight.
"We can't indeed, we better be aware of any danger this place can hide…" Becket grimly added, giving the others a supportive look "Let's find out what this thing is for good. And stay together, no one knows what we're on against."
"Of course. We aren't some horror movie characters to just split up at the worst moment." Brushy agreed with a small nervous chuckle also getting up before tucking her small cushion away into her saddlebags.
And so, the environing mist illuminated by Celestia's glowing horn, the ponies set to the discovery of whatever danger lied within the fog.
It was already quite a while that they marched through the mists. And once again, after the last house of the ghost town disappeared behind its veil, nothing was visible around. They were sunken in the foggy sea of this mysterious isle.
And after following these lights for so long, nothing else really seemed to change either. The eyes remained where they were. Watching. As relentless in their observation as the ponies were in their attempt at discovering these eyes' nature.
It was as if the mysterious creature that lurked in the mists sought to lure them into its invisible lair.
The town was quite a long way behind now. The distant sounds of crushing waves were no longer so distant and sharp rocky peaks were arising all around.
"Are you sure this isn't a trap?" Brushy suddenly asked, shattering the silence that had settled for a long time now.
"She's right." Becket agreed, quickly glancing around to see only mist "We should be careful. Not that we weren't up to this point, but still."
After a small pause in his though, he added "Whatever that thing is though. I doubt it'll stand a chance against two Princesses."
At these last words the latter shared a concerned look. Was it really wise to have such blind confidence in them?
This question didn't get the chance to get an answer though. As, as suddenly as they were seen, the eyes in the mist vanished, fading into nothingness as the group simply ran into a wall.
A confused "Oh…" from Celestia voiced the general disappointment.
But while they all confusedly looked around in a mix of fright and relief, Luna suddenly pointed to the sky "Wait, I think I see them over there!" she exclaimed.
The next second, Brushy too raised her hoof "Here, look!" she called out.
The problem was, they weren't pointing in the same direction, and the group quickly realized eyes peered at them from every direction.
"We're surrounded! I knew this wasn't a good idea!" Brushy cried out, her sight jumping from one pair of eyes to another.
Everything was calm though. None came out to attack. The eyes simply watched, menacing but apparently inoffensive.
"The mist had eyes they said… Let's hope that's the only thing it has." Becket grumbled after they all calmed down a bit.
"Perhaps it's just a natural phenomenon." Luna unsurely suggested, still anxiously glancing around.
"There ain't nothing supernatural in this world." Becket calmly said in the meantime, already thinking about the long trip back to the town "Just magic of different kinds. Though I really don't like this one."
