Friend Ship

"We need to head back and get him!" Moon Charm squeaked out angrily.

"No way! There's a bucking alicorn back there!" Cozy Glow replied, angry as well.

Both foals glared at each other, waiting for the other to say anything else or make a move. Currently, all of the foals were on the deck of the ship. The only exception was Night Dew, the colt, was still steering the boat. "I'm the leader, so I say we go back and get him!" barked the bat pony.

Cozy Glow scoffed at the filly's words. "Leader? Oh please, you holding a glowing cube, and making bold speeches, doesn't make you a leader." The pegasus pointed a hoof at herself with a smug grin, causing Moon to bare her fangs and growl. "I would make a better leader for our group."

Moon's face shifted from anger to utter disgust after hearing what Cozy just said. "Cozy, putting up fake smiles and pretending to be nice doesn't make you a leader; it makes you a snake." These words caused the pegasus's mood to shift from prideful to hatred.

Cozy walked closer with a dangerous look in her eyes; she stopped when the both of them were muzzle to muzzle. "And this 'snake' is the reason why we're so well off! All the bits, the food, supplies, and information we got were thanks to me!" The filly yelled in Moon Charm's face, tired of keeping her temper in check. "I'm the reason why we haven't starved to death yet!"

The thestral kept her face neutral throughout Cozy's little rant; when she was finished, Moon spoke. "I won't deny your methods are effective, but that doesn't make you a leader." Her expression suddenly became one of sorrow. "Cozy, before I found you, you would pretend to cry and make ponies feel bad for you; once they had their backs turned, you would strike and rob them blind." The bat pony placed a hoof on the other filly's chest. "I saw what you did to that stallion, and it was downright evil what you did." Her voice held disappointment.

Cozy smacked the hoof off her chest with her own and sneered at Moon. "So what? That stallion was a foal toucher in the making. I just...Pushed things along. And I was rewarded for it!" Her smug smile returned; she lifted the back of her cloak a bit and pointed at her cutie mark. It was an Orange Rook piece. The pegasus brought her full attention back to Moon. "And so what? It was some random donkey; no pony will miss him."

Moon's disappointment became rage once more. "That right there is what I'm talking about, the average equestrian might not see the real you, but we can!" The bat pony pointed to the rest of the group, who looked away, not wanting to be part of this argument. Moon Charm brought her full attention back to the lying pony. "That's why you can't be a leader; if everypony saw the real you, they would run away in fear!"

Cozy Glow wasn't going to take this lip smack from some pegasus reject! "THE REAL ME IS CUTE AND LOVEABLE!" The filly screamed at the top of her lungs. "

Moon Charm backed away slightly, but she wasn't going to be outdone by a noble reject! "NO, IT'S NOT! THE REAL YOU IS MEAN AND CRUEL!" The thestral yelled back with fury in her voice.

The two were about to continue until another scream cut the both of them off. "SHUT UP, THE BOTH OF YOU!" Oleander yelled at the both of them, causing the two fillies to shut their mouths. Oleander flared her nostrils in anger and brought her attention back to the Unicornomicon, and continued to channel her magic into it. "While the two of you've been acting foalish, I've been trying to keep Fred out as long as possible!" The Unicorn whipped the beads of sweat from her forehead with a fetlock and continued. "Now, stay quiet; Fred and Raven are almost here." With that, the only thing the group heard was the howling wind, the sea, and the occasional baby babble from Jade.

It didn't take long until the group heard the familiar sounds of wings flapping. Both the Human and demon-turned horse came into view in less than a minute. The demon spoke first as he landed on the deck of the ship. "We're back! That Alicorn never stood a chance!" Raven didn't say anything as he got off the horse's back and stood on shaky legs.

"Thank you, Fred. Now back to your book." Oleander gave her familiar, a tired smile and stopped channeling magic into the old book. Fred whined as his body was turned into dark energy once again and was sucked back into the book. Meanwhile, the foals ran up to Raven to greet him or congratulate him on his victory.

"EEEEEE! You did it!" Moon Charm cheered.

"I had complete faith in you!" Cozy offered her best smile.

"Welcome back, Mister Raven. Are you okay?" Xuez asked, a little worried.

"You were awesome!" Dew pumped a hoof in the air.

"I BET YOU MADE HER GO BOOM!" Amber yelled out.

"Rauuuvun," Jade babbled out happily.

Raven just stood there, not saying anything, and staring into the night sky. "R-raven?" Xuez asked worriedly. Then it happened, the Human dropped his sword and doubled over in pain. The other foals got out of the way, with only the Zebra to move in to check what was wrong. "RAVEN!"

The Human started to dry heave until the contents of his stomach came spilling out of his mouth. What came was rather disturbing: A puddle of black sludge mixed with blood, bile, and black vines. The smell was putrid, causing the others to back away even more.

"Oleander, I need the medical supplies now!" The Unicorn ignited her sore horn again and brought out the Medical supplies as requested from her pocket dimension. She Levitates everything over to the frantic Zebra.

Xuez pushed the injured Human onto his side; he needed a full scope on all of Raven's injuries. The Human fell over without much effort, considering he wasn't entirely there. "Where does it hurt?!" The colt didn't get any form of response, just more pained breathing, and the occasional twitch.

The Zebra placed an ear over Raven's chest and heard his rapid heartbeats. Next, he noticed blood spilled out of his pants, mainly from right side. Finally, he looked up at the man's face and saw that one eye was rolling back to the back of his head. "Everypony! Please help me get Raven's armor off! He's going into shock!"

Everypony galloped over and did as they were told. "Oleander, I'm going to need your help with stitching up his leg!" No matter what it took, the Zebra wasn't going to let his friend die on him. "Don't worry, Raven, you'll be fine," Xuez whispered.

The last thing Raven would see was the teary-eyed Zebra colt before losing consciousness.

Shores of Horseshoe Bay

Three figures stood on top of a hill and watched as the battle between Princess Luna and this mystery creature ended. The first figure was a female changeling drone. She had the usual dark green chitin, legs with multiple holes, a dark blue carapace on her back, and arctic blue eyes. But certain things stood out: unlike normal changelings, her wings weren't riddled with holes and looked like they belonged to a butterfly. The Changeling also wore tiny spectacles that didn't cover her eyes. "Well, He's certainly strong." The Changeling spoke softly and impressed.

The second figure was a Unicorn stallion; he was taller than the average pony and was only a few inches shorter than Luna. He had a dark gray coat and a grayish-white mane with one green eye. He only had one look because the other half of his face was missing; the thing there was his skull and blue flames in the place where his eye should be. He wore a cloak covering the rest of his body. "Yes, but he had help, and I've noticed that he has limited range." The stallion spoke in a throaty voice, not bothering to move his mouth much. He wasn't as impressed by the creature's performance.

The last figure was the strangest of the three. The top half belonged to a mare, and the lower half belonged to a snake. The snake pony's upper half had a dark green coat with a black mane that reached her withers. She had light green eyes with slit pupils, complemented with her golden eyeshadow. The lower snake had dark green scales and had big dark spots that ran down it. The snake pony also was wearing jewelry; Golden bracelets around her hooves a golden belt around her waist. And a golden circlet with a diamond-shaped ruby in the middle on top of her head. "Yesss, he needed help, but I ssseee so much potential." The snake pony spoke in her raspy voice and stuck out her fork tongue. "Yesss. so much potential." The creature had a hungry look in her eyes.

The Changeling rolled her eyes at the snake pony's antics. "Well, yes, I still want to meet this 'Dark Lord' face to face. So let's get going-" The bug pony cut herself off, remembering what the rest of the members of her group were doing. All kinds of 'ponies.' were here; some were like the snake pony and the undead stallion, while others were vamponies. But what currently drew her attention and ire were the five ponies presently feasting on the recently deceased night guard. "'Would you ponies hurry it up! We need to catch up with the creature and his group."

Vinyl scatch pulled her fangs out of the dead guard's neck, sat up straight, and gave the Changeling an annoyed look. "Cool your jets, love bug." This caused the Changeling to hiss at the white Unicorn, but Vinyle continued after wiping the blood off with a hoof. "It's been a while since I drank some blood, so let me enjoy myself. Ain't that right Photo?" The DJ nudged a pony with a white mane and a light grayish cerulean coat with a hoof. This same pony wore a black and white dress and sunglasses with purple lenses.

This pony withdrew her fangs from the dead pony's foreleg and sat up straight as well. "Yes, it's true. I hafn't had blood in so many moons." The pony that spoke up was none other than Photo Finish! But she seems less over the top and more passive. She wiped the blood from her mouth with a napkin and continued talking. "But I must ask. Vhy are zey here?" The photographer pointed a hoof at three ponies who seemed out of place. "zey're normal."

"I won't be staying long." The first one spoke up; her voice was monotonous and dry. This pony was covered head to toe with a black cloak, which hid everything. The only thing that indicated that she was a mare was the voice. "My...sister needs help, and my senses are telling me to follow him." No pony knew what she was talking about, but they all assumed that the pony next to her, wearing the same cloak, was this 'sister.' The sister didn't say anything, just nodded along.

"I only came because Monarch promised me ancient books," said the final normal pony. This pony was the spitting image of twilight sparkle! Or she would be if she wasn't the wrong color, had bushy eyebrows, and wore glasses. The pony's mane was brilliant amaranth with moderate purple and grayish violet highlights; Her coat was light yellowish gray. Typically she would have had her mane tied up and wearing a sweater, but she didn't have time when being dragged off.

The Changeling named Monarch spoke and smiled nervously. "Yeah, Moondancer is with me. I need a capable magic-user."

"Vhy not bring anozzer Changeling?" Photo finished asked before diving back in to finish her bloody snack.

Monarch frowned at the question. "Simple, every other Changeling from my hive is a bucking coward and doesn't have what it takes to overthrow Chrysalis. I had two candidates, but Thorax is a bucking pansy and-" The Changeling let out a long-suffering sigh and continued. "Kevin is Kevin. The other changeling Queens would kill me if I went to them. Look, all of us are here for different reasons, okay, now let's get going before we lose them." She received a round of agreements.

While everypony talks amongst themselves, the three dazzlings still feed on the dead guard's body. Sonata pulled out another piece of the small intestine and spoke. "Why are we eating this guy again?" The disguised siren said with a full mouth.

"Cause stupid; we need his memories. Did you forget we can gain access to the memories of the dead if we eat them?" Aria replied with a piece of hindleg in her mouth.

The blue pony swallowed and pouted at her fellow siren. "It's been a while, okay? It's only been. Actually, how long has it been since we've been stuck in that human world?"

"Less than a year, and but over a thousand years here in Equestria." The leader of the Dazzlings replied with a mouth full of heart. Adagio finished her gruesome snack with a smile. "Starswirl just didn't send us to another dimension but also fling us forward in time. Meaning that accursed Unicorn is dead, along with those damnable pillars." Things couldn't get any better for them, but they could. "And that Human is stronger than we could ever imagine. With him on our side, we could take over the world!" The Adagio grinned evilly at her own words. "We just need to put him on a leash."

"But leashes don't come in Human-sized," Sonata replied, confused. The other two sirens faced hoof at her stupidity.

"No moron, we control his mind, we sing to him, and he's under our control," Adagio replied matter of factly. "If his mind is powerful, we sway our hips and lift our tails, and he'll be ours. All stallions are the same after all." She was about to continue until Photo Finish came back for seconds. Causing the siren to groan internally, they could continue another time. For now, they wait and watch.

Ferry, Two hours later

The first thing that came to Raven's mind was pain; his entire body screamed at him. Bones ached, muscles were beyond sore, stomach felt like it was doing backflips, and his claw was aching again. But he was feeling something even worse; Raven felt naked. The Human used his right arm and felt around, and he was correct. All of his armor was removed, but he still had his undergarments on by some miracle from the goddess.

Opening his one good eye, Raven found himself lying down the ship's deck with a blue tarp covering him. He lifted the tarp to better look at the injures he sustained and was surprised to find that he was covered chest to toe in bandages. Even more surprising were all the sleeping foals cuddling up against him; even Cozy was cuddling him. Raven couldn't but smile at the site. "These kids." He whispered out softly.

It was only two quiet words, but it was enough to wake up Moon Charm. The young thestral looked up and saw Raven's one open eye and smiled widely. The Human prepared himself for the yelling and crying soon to come. "He's awake!" This woke up the other foals, and as he predicted, there were tears of joy, cheering, and hugs.

"I was so worried!"

"Yeah, dummy, don't do anything like that again."

"Mister Raven, I'm so happy you're okay! don't anything so reckless again!"

"We knew you would pull through!"

"That's bucking right; you're the toughest!"

"I WAS SO SCARED, YOU FELL OVER, AND RED STUFF STARTED COMING OUT, BUT I'M SO HAPPY YOU'RE OKAY!"

"Raaaauuuvvvveeeeen"

"These kids make a guy feel wanted" Raven thought happily, with a warm feeling in his chest. He looked around and saw that Oleander wasn't anywhere to be seen. " I'm guessing Oleander is steering the ship right now?" The man all but whispered out.

Moon charm nodded. " Yup, she said she'll check up on you soon. Also, we got something special for you!" Raven raised an eyebrow at this. He gestured for the bat pony to continue. " We're going to sing to you! A get well song!" Every foal cheered out except Cozy Glow, who hated that song. " It's a song everypony knows, and I think you're going to like it." Moon charmed cleared her throat.

"Goddess, give me strength," Raven thought as Moon charm started singing, and after a few seconds, the others started singing as well.

My Little Pony, My little Pony
What is Friendship all about?
My Little Pony, My Little Pony
Friendship is magic!
(My Little Pony)
I used to wonder what Friendship could be.
(My Little Pony)
Until you all shared its magic with me.

When I was young I was too busy to make any friends.
Such silliness did not seem worth the effort it expends.
But my little ponies, you opened up my eyes
And now the truth is crystal clear, as splendid summer skies.
And it's such a wonderful surprise.

(My Little Pony)
I used to wonder what Friendship could be.
(My Little Pony)
Until you all shared its magic with me.

When danger makes me wanna hide, you'll Dash to my side,
Kindness is never in short supply, once smitten twice shy.
For honesty no pony can deny, you are the Apple of my eye,
A heart that shines so beautiful, a Rarity to come by
And you all make fun and laughter as easy as Pie!

(My Little Pony)
I used to wonder what Friendship could be.
(My Little Pony)
Until you all shared its magic with me.

Our Friendship's magic and it's growing all the time.
A new adventure waits for us each day is yours and mine.
We'll make it special every time!
We'll make it special every time!

(My Little Pony)
What a wonderful wonder friendship brings
(My Little Pony)
Do you know you're all my very best
(Friends!) Friends, you're my very best
(Friends!) Friends, you're my very best
(Friends!) Friends, you're my very best
(Friends!) Friends!

The song came to an end, and Raven was beyond embarrassed. These children treated his wounds and just sang about Friendship and magic to him. The Human was blushing from ear to ear and couldn't make eye contact with any of them. He hasn't felt like this in a long time, and it was infuriating! The warm feeling in his chest increased as well; it felt so wrong. Someone like him shouldn't feel like this, a man who gave up his morals for the pursuit of vengeance. A man who couldn't protect those he loved. He... felt happy.

Moon charm smiled brightly at the Human and asked him. "Did you like it?"

Raven smiled back and placed a hand on the filly's head. "I loved it."

Footnote:

Outcasts

NEW PASSIVE SKILL:

Friendship is magic - - A bond that transcends time and space itself, logical and nonsensical all at the same time—a concept with no start, middle, or end. A guiding light to a better and brighter future. May your Friendship last forever.

Author's Note

All right everyone, another chapter is out! also I couldn't replace rarity in the song, sorry about that. Also, there isn't much lore on MLP sirens so yeah, got to make things up. Hope you enjoy it!