The Machine Dragon

The Eastern Equestrian Coast, Storm Monitoring Station 55, early in the morning, several days earlier

Sunshower Raindrops stared out, her teal mane billowing a bit in the soft, salty winds. She blinked a few times, her stomach partly turning as she ran her gaze over the landscape. While she did this, the steamboat creaked as it pulled into the small wooden port of the island. Said island was utterly tiny, given she could see almost completely across it from the docks. The main thing of note was the large pink lighthouse in the epicenter of the rocky, moss-covered patch of land in the grainy blue waters.

All in all, it was relatively flat, with a pebble-laiden beach. Almost looked like the complete opposite of something like Silver Shoals. Her mind wandered briefly to the retirement center, with thoughts of her relaxing on a nice, warm beach with sunglasses and a coconut drink with one of those little umbrellas—

“Rookie!”

The gruff, feminine voice snapped the yellow pegasus out of her daydreams. Her eyes opened wide, blinking as she looked this way and that, nearly going walleyed for a second.

“Ma’am yes ma’am!” Raindrops belted out, standing as her eyes refocused themselves fully on the red coated, middle-aged pegasus in front of her.

“Don’t ‘ma’am yes ma’am’ me you airhead! Pay attention next time I’m talking to you!” the gruff mare growled like a drill sergeant.

Raindrops nodded her head up and down quickly, “Ma’am—yes, ma’am?“

The commander’s eyes only narrowed.

“I’ll… get my stuff and get out of your mane now,” Raindrops nervously giggled, turning away.

The wooden deck of the ship very slightly creaked as she walked across it, towards the rear end of the small steamboat, being followed by the unamused gaze of the older mare the entire time. Before long, the pegasus was down below, in the small, cramped room she had called hers for the past two days. The journey to the island was rough, but the mare managed. After all, the bits were worth it at the least.

Once everything of value was in her saddlebags, she took one last glance at the small cot she’d slept in, and then smiled to herself, “See ya, sucker!”

She then quickly shut the metal door, chuckling as she trotted down the winding corridor, back towards the entrance to the upper deck. However, as she turned the corner, the mare was jumpscared for the second time today by an old, bearded earth pony stallion. He had a long graying beard, and his body seemed frail.

She let out a “Woah!” and nearly fell, though the pegasus swiftly caught herself, taking a few hoofsteps backwards.

“Ya shouldn’ be ‘ere,” he said, his voice throaty and dry, as if he hadn’t had anything to drink in weeks.

She recognized him as one of the many deckhands aboard the ship. Never really talked to them, so they typically blended into the background… Guess this guy wanted to make an impression.

“Dude, if you wanna tell a pony something, it’s better to not give them a heart attack!” growled the mare.

“Ya shouldn’t bee ‘eereeee,” he repeated, much more quietly this time.

“What? Buddy, I’m here for a job now unless you have fifteen hundred bits, I don’t see any reason I should—”

“This place’s got a death curse,” he growled, not raising his voice but silencing her. She stepped back once more, looking deeply into his glazed over eyes. “Three ponies ‘ave gon’ missin’ without a trace in th’ last few months. Ya’ll be th’ same if ya ain’t careful.”

His accent was piling the warnings on thick. Made alarm bells in her head ring. Luckily, the money she was going to get by the end of this made her growl back. “Alright if you’re done, I’m gonna go back outside now.”

She went to step around him, however he stepped to the side, directly into her path.

“Get. Out. Of. My. Way.” she growled, leaning in.

Her narrowed eyes and pissed-off face was mere inches from his. He looked at her, keeping the same rugged expression, even as she snorted, sending steam into his face. The two remained that way for a solid few seconds. The silence between them was tense. However, before anything else could happen, her ears flicked back, hearing several hoofsteps approaching.

“Galleon. Leave her alone,” a deep, old voice rang out, making Raindrops turn.

Her gaze was met with a deep gray coated pony. He was the captain of the ship, as evident by his hat and uniform. A smaller, more trimmed beard lined his face.

The older stallion growled at the captain for a moment, before finally stepping aside, moving past the other two and trotting deep into the bowels of the ship. Before he was fully out of sight, he turned over his shoulder and growled, “Don’ say I didn’ warn ya’!”

With his warning stated, he was gone.

“What’s wrong with him? He’s a total weirdo!” growled Raindrops, however the Captain’s gaze was immediately turned to her.

“Do not insult any of my crew,” he said sternly. “I understand Galleon can be quite the hoofful, however he is a hard worker. He’s just got… issues.”

“Right… Like saying other ponies went missing here,” the mare replied, rolling her eyes.

The captain looked at her with a raised brow, “You’re unaware?”

“Unaware of what?” her tone immediately dropping to one of worry.

“Well, he isn’t wrong about a few ponies going missing up here. However, those incidents were a good few moons back; I still figured the weather control squad or whoever’s in charge would’ve still let you know,” he replied.

“Oh noooo… Nope nope nope!” the mare said, taking a few steps back. “I wasn’t told jack or diddly, and I am not going to fall for some elaborate ‘welcome to this super spooky middle-of-nowhere island’ crap for the next few months, no thank you!”

The captain remained stone-faced, raising a brow, “You think I would cause my passengers distress for my own amusement?”

Raindrops went to speak, however her voice trailed off, “I… well… I mean I did just meet you… Sorta.”

“Right,” he said, still deadpanning the mare. “If you think all I’m here to do is pull pranks, then feel free to leave.”

He then turned tail, trotting away with a “hmph.” However, before he’d even made it a few steps down the hallway, the quick pegasus flew over, immediately plopping herself down in front of him.

“I think we got off on the wrong hoof,” she nervously chuckled. “Can you uh… please tell me more about what kind of totally not pony-eating threats are out here? Please?”

He sighed, “Pony-eating sea monsters won’t be your worry thanks to the island. The real issue is the storm and the floods, those are more than likely what got—”

“They told me what to do in case of flooding, at my training I mean!” she interrupted, giving a frantic nod. “I just—th-there’s no giant evil monsters out here, right? I’d be alright if that’s the case!”

“Then you oughta be fine,” he nodded, giving a small chuckle as his tone became one of an almost fatherly warmless. “Look, I know staying out on the edge of society is a terrifying thought, especially for a child such as yourself.”

She nearly huffed at being called a ‘child’ but let him continue.

“But in truth, as long as you respect nature, out here where the weather can’t be controlled by pegasi twenty-four-seven, then you should be alright,” he assured.

“But what if—”

He cut her off by raising a forehoof. She silenced herself as he reached into his saddlebag, saying, “I assure only the utmost quality for my passengers and crew. If you are worried about safety, then take this.”

He suddenly pulled out a sheathed knife. It was long, easily longer than her hoof. She flinched back at the reveal of the weapon.

“Here,” he offered, holding the blade out. The sheath itself even had an adjustable strap, easy to wrap around her waist or barrel. “Free of charge.”

“A-are you sure?” she asked hesitantly.

“You’re the one worried about ‘vicious pony-eating monsters,' so you might as well take this to defend yourself if needed,” he said, moving it closer to the mare.

After looking it over for a few seconds, Sunshower Raindrops sighed, nodded to herself, and then reached out a wing, grabbing the blade off of him and tucking it into her saddlebags, “Thanks, cap.”

“You should be thanking the ocean, it let us get here in the first place,” he said, finally turning away and leaving the mare alone with her thoughts…

For about five whole seconds.

“Rookie!” she heard the muffled voice from above deck.

“Crap!”

Immediately the mare rushed away.

The island itself had a small dirt path on it, leading to the lighthouse and a small wooden cabin (now visible due to her being on the island itself) several dozen hooves away from the base of said tower-sized structure. There was also an even smaller storage shed a little bit further away from the cabin itself. Those three buildings were the only trace of ponykind on the islet.

A few rocks along Raindrops’ path crunched beneath her hooves. She was trotting along behind her superior at the moment, listening carefully as the older mare prattled on about things the yellow pegasus had learned in training.

“Now rookie, I’m legally required to give you one last warning,” her superior said, turning to her. “No going back after this. Are you sure you can withstand it here for a few weeks?”

A slightly cocky look crossed Raindrops’ face. Despite this newfound “confidence,” her voice stuttered a bit, “I al-already—ahem—signed the papers, didn’t I?”

“If that’s a yes, then let’s speed this up,” the older mare said, quickly trotting towards the living quarters. “Now, let me introduce you to your partner.”

“Partner?” questioned Raindrops, with her speeding up her pace to match her superior’s. “I thought you said I’d be working alone.”

“I said you might be working alone… six weeks ago, when you first signed up,” the older mare chuckled, “Since then, things have changed.”

Raindrops inadvertently held her mouth open in surprise, “And you decided to not tell me?”

“Figured it’d be a way of keeping you on your tippy hooves. Gotta expect the unexpected. Besides, he doesn’t bite… as far as I know,” the older mare teased as the duo reached the house.

Without further delay, the red pegasus opened the door, letting Raindrops look inside. She could see the warm interior of the small building. There were two small, dinky looking beds on either corner of the room. As her eyes continued to scan, she saw an entire wall’s worth of weather-monitoring radar gear on the far side of the lodging. There weren’t any lanterns on, with the interior being illuminated only by a singular window which had its thick, wooden shutters cracked open, letting in the sun’s rays.

Though none of those features were really the standout of the small cabin. What was the standout was directly in front of her; that being her partner in question. He was seated behind a desk, writing in a small bound notebook, being a broad looking pegasus stallion, whose fur coloration was a deep purple. His wings were tightly bound against his back, almost seeming tense, strangely enough.

“Swift, here’s your partner!” the older mare belted out at him.

He nodded, barely looking up from his notes as he continued scribbling.

The superior merely shrugged, turning to her fellow mare, “Alright, with you two introduced, my job’s done.”

“Y-you’re gonna be back in five weeks, right?” asked Sunshower Raindrops.

“Yeah newbie. We stick to our schedule here,” her superior answered, already trotting away. “Now I’ve gotta skedaddle, rain’s gonna be coming in tonight and I wanna get as much distance from the storm tonight as possible.”

“R-right…” Raindrops nodded, watching as the mare left. She stared nervously at her as she trekked all the way down the path and back to the docks.

“Are you going to come in or are you just gonna stand there with the door wide open all month?” growled the stallion behind her, finally looking up from his notes. A gust of wind flew in, making him have to hold them down with his freehoof.

The mare turned on a dime towards him, a small blush of embarrassment on her face as she stepped inside, closing the door behind her. “S-sorry!”

“Whatever,” he sighed, going right back to writing.

She stared at him in nervous silence for a few seconds as he continued typing. After a little longer, he sat down his pencil and walked over to a magically powered minifridge sitting in the corner. He pulled out a small bottle of water and chugged half of it before going right back to his desk.

The yellow pegasus remained staring at the stallion for a few more seconds, finally forming what to say, “So… you’re Swift, right?”

“Mhm.”

“I’m Sunshower Raindrops… J-just Raindrops is fine,” she explained. She was too far away to offer a forehoof for him to bump, so she simply remained still.

“I’m Swift Wind… Swift is fine,” he said, focusing on the mare fully, “...Or Wind. Or Wind which is Swift.”

The yellow mare gave a soft chuckle at his strange, almost monotone tone saying something so goofy with such a straight face. She lightened up a tad, “You ever done one of these weather control jobs before, Swift?”

“No,” he said, his eyes going back down to the notes.

“You ever work as a guard?” she added.

“No. I prefer to lay low than to deal with excessive black tape and obnoxious superiors,” he said with a glowering expression.

“I hear ya! When I worked on the Ponyville Weather Team, you wouldn’t believe the amount of idiots I had to deal with!” she said with a snicker, before putting on a faux-gruff voice, “‘Destroy this cumulonimbus!’ ‘Put this cloud there—no, there!’ ‘You’re a waste of feathers you stupid—’”

He cut her off with a slightly cold voice, “I assume that is why you’re here; out on the edge of society?”

“Y-yeah…” she said, her tone softening as she looked down, eyeing up the flooring. “I’ve just been feeling—... out of it, I guess? I wanted to go out and do something different than the same old thing, you know?”

“Mhm,” he mumbled, adding more to his notes.

She narrowed his eyes at his lack of care, her tone becoming fiery, “Are you just gonna be Mr. Stoneface to me the entire time I’m here!? I’m trying to open up and be your friend!”

He gave a deep sigh, closing his notebook for once. His eyes peered into hers, with the mare feeling a faint chill up her spine, “Listen, I am not here to make friends, alright? Everyone back where you’re from might want to sit down and talk about sharing and how nice they are. But where I’m from, you do your job and shut your mouth. I am here to do my very important job and keep my mouth shut. Understand?”

Her eyes remained narrowed at him, however after a few seconds, she sighed, turning away, “Sorry… you’re probably right.”

“If it makes you feel any better, know this job is of utmost importance to Equestria,” the stallion said. His tone was stern but slightly less antagonistic than it had been. “I do what I do to keep everyone safe.”

“Right,” Raindrops nodded. “Anything you need help on at the moment then?”

“No. I already did all of the scans and we’re getting nothing but a moderate thunderstorm which will dissipate before it reaches the mainland,” he said, calm and calculating. “I’ll scan once more tomorrow night, and then the night after.”

“Wait, you don’t want me handling the equipment?” she protested, “That’s like… eighty percent of what I was trained for!”

He raised a forehoof, “I’ve got it covered, Raindrops. Don’t concern yourself any more than you need to.”

“Well that’s no fun,” she huffed.

He deadpanned at her, “You’re getting paid to sit there and do nothing.”

“You do have a point… I’m gonna get some rest,” she sighed, trotting over placing her saddlebags under one of the beds.

“Yes, I believe that would be for the best,” the deep purple stallion nodded, getting up to go check the radar equipment.

Raindrops sighed as she heard him fiddle with the machinery, with a strange sounding morse code ringing out. She laid down onto her bed, and onto her side, partly stuffing her large, moderately fluffy pillow over her ears so she didn’t have to listen to anything else. Soon, the mare managed to drift off to a not-so-restful sleep…

A few days later

Raindrops stared out at the coast, looking over the swishing waves as she leaned against a large, water-slickened rock. She could see a storm far out in the distance, easily several miles out. The collection of clouds were thundering and flashing with lightning. It was a strange sensation, seeing weather the pegasi herself hadn’t created. Made her feel small and insignificant in the face of such vast, natural power. Her mind vaguely flashed with reminders of flooding and the fact several other ponies had gone missing here. Even if it was a few years back, the thought made her skin crawl.

The wind picked up, and her mane billowed in it, her eyes squinting as she turned away from the sea, blinking a few times to clear her vision. She saw the cabin door open up, with Swift Wind soon exiting. She gave a small sigh. He was as cold to her now as he had been on the first week, giving her little in the way of warmth or comfort. As she watched him, her brow raised as she spotted him rushing over to the storage shed. She flittered her wings and quickly took to the air, her mane billowing further as she flew over to the shed within a few seconds.

As she landed, the stallion stepped out of the shed with several large, filled sandbags on his back. She approached, finally speaking, “What are you doing?”

He turned to her, his face one of shock as he nearly dropped his bags. However, he managed to quickly right himself and growled at her, his expression morphing to annoyance.

“The storm cell I picked up this morning appears to have grown in the past few hours,” he huffed, walking back towards the cabin. “If you want to make yourself useful, help me place these sandbags against the interior walls; they help prevent any flooding or leaks.”

“We’re gonna hole ourselves up and you didn’t grab any food in case it gets worse?” she questioned, raising a brow.

“It’ll only be for a night,” he scoffed, rolling his eyes as he continued advancing towards the cabin. “Now enough chatter, you either help me or stay out of the way.”

Raindrops shrugged, quickly advancing into the shed. She herself made sure to grab a rucksack’s worth of canned fruits, veggies, and water. She dashed back to the small house, using her wings to help speed herself up. As she entered, she could see her stallion partner setting up the bags along the walls, even moving the storm-monitoring equipment outwards so he could shove sandbags behind them.

She sat the food and water on her bed, and then dashed out again, quickly going to the shed to grab more bags. They were heavy, but surely that was a good thing. It’d meant they’d help stall the water and prevent any leaks!

The next hour was nothing but her and him grabbing and hauling bags. The wind picked up even more by this point, and before long, the rain itself had started, spraying the two as they hauled another load of sacks back to the cabin. The waves were getting fierce, splattering harshly on the rocky beachside. As the hours continued to pass, they grew larger and angrier, whirling about and spraying the island with saltwater. Raindrops pelted down onto the rocky islet like hail, hitting the roof with a tap tap tap! sound.

Inside, Swift Wind was looking over his notes, same as ever. Raindrops had taken much worse to the situation, munching on a chocolate bar she’d found in the supply shed. The mare continued stress eating as she occasionally looked around the interior for any signs of leaking or water damage, with smears of chocolate on her lips the entire time. The singular window of the house was shuttered, however the mare herself soon walked over to it, wanting to peak outside, to observe the fury of nature’s wrathful storm.

“Clean yourself up, you look ridiculous,” the stallion growled, glancing up from his notes for only a brief few seconds.

“Inamminute,” she replied, before swallowing the candy clinging to the inside of her mouth. She’d been so utterly focused on listening to (and soon enough, viewing) the rain, she’d lost track of her sugary treat. The mare grabbed a rag from inside a small drawer nearby, wiped her mouth with it and then pulled a chair over to the window.

She took a seat and slowly unlatched the shutter before opening it, revealing the thick glass separating her from the outside. Raindrops (of the water, not the pony, variety) slammed into the glass as she stared wide-eyed. She could see the lighthouse from her vantage. Still was a couple dozen hooves out, around fifty or more away from the small cabin. As she continued to gaze outside, she noticed the illuminating beam seemed dimmer than it had been the night before.

“Hey Swift… I think the lamp’s running out of fuel,” she said, turning to look at the stallion.

He only sighed in response, “And what would you like me to do about it?”

“The lighthouse can be the difference between life and… well, the other thing for a lot of ponies!” she argued.

“If a few ships go under, they deserve it for sailing in this weather,” the stallion scoffed.

She narrowed her eyes, growling in annoyance, “You said this storm came out of nowhere! What if a few ponies got caught up in it out there!”

“I’m not the one who’s in the storm, now am I?” he replied, writing down some more notes without a care in the world for anypony other than himself.

“You know what, you can plop your lazy flank in that chair all season! I am gonna go out there and actually try to keep a few ponies safe!” she hissed, trotting over to the door, before moving several sandbags out of the way and unlatching it.

“I’m going to lock it when you leave, knock three times if you make it back,” he said coldly, leaning back in his chair.

She couldn’t be sure but… was he faintly smiling? The mare shook it off, seeing him for nothing but a stone-faced lay about. She didn’t verbally berate him any further, instead quickly opening the hefty wooden door and exiting out of the sturdy cabin.

The door soon slammed shut behind her, and she heard it latch closed. Raindrops only growled, advancing through the—raindrops… Headlessly she continued on, towards the small shack. While it was only about forty paces away, the wind really hammered her hard.

She lacked a raincoat, so all she could do was hunker down as she advanced, thinking about all the ponies she might save if she pulled this off! Those thoughts drove her hooves forwards across the craggy, wet ground, with her grunting in effort at each step. Even with her determination, the kerosine lamp in the lighthouse seemed to be giving way, as it dimmed. Her path faded with it, making the mare have to go towards the shack via memory over sight now.

A walk that usually took five seconds tops had been stretched out to five minutes, though it felt like longer for the poor pegasus. As she reached the building, she shot out a forehoof, quickly knocking the door open and letting her tumble inside of the shack. She laid down on the concrete flooring of the tiny structure; its cold wetness was a million times better than the hellscape waiting for her outside. She took a few deep breaths, stumbling back up to her hooves as she looked around. In the corner of the room she saw a large metal fuel canister. Bingo.

Raindrops grabbed it with her wings, holding it steady on her back as she mentally prepared herself for the trek ahead. After taking a few deep breaths, she flung open the door. Wind and rain battered her face again, however the extra weight seemed to help her out a bit, as she was able to trek forwards at a slower, yet steadier pace.

As she advanced towards the lighthouse, she soon faintly spotted something out in the distance, past the beach. The light up above was dimming even further now, so she couldn’t make out exactly what was in the water. To the mare, it just looked like a few big rocks…

Wait, were they moving?

She squinted her eyes in the darkness as the large, jutting, spiky rocks seemed to move closer to the island. Wait—Was it merely a weirdly shaped ship? No. It would’ve been more rounded if it was. It had to be a bunch of rocks—big ones at that;easily over several dozen hooves high…

Raindrops took a step back.

The light above her fully died, leaving her enveloped in pitch blackness. She couldn’t even see her way back to the cabin now. She might be able to find her way but she felt lost. Utterly and completely alone as the rocks—grew?

No. Not grow. They were rising. They rose up and up and… up.

“Oh Celestia,” she managed.

She hoped it was some big patch of coral or a gigantic mass of seaweed or something which had come undone from the seabed. Surely it was just that, right? There was no way some big, pony-eating… sea monster had come, right to her isl—

THUMP!

The ground below her quaked, and she dropped the fuel to the lamp. Lightning began to pick up, going from the occasional flashes in the distance to heated electrical blasts that rained down closer and closer to the island. The sound of thunder roared as the storm itself seemed to worsen at the loud, earth-shaking sound.

THUMP!

Raindrops fell down now, ducking and covering her head almost like a terrified filly. Her wet yellow coat was muddied immediately, however the grime didn’t matter in the slightest as she put her hooves above her head, as if an attempt to act as cover. While she initially wanted to shut her eyes, she couldn’t help but stare out at the growing mass. Lightning flashed, illuminating the figure.

She saw claws and teeth and spikes, big, powerful legs. It was so utterly gargantuan she felt as if it could sink the whole island with its mass. Waves slammed into its knees, breaking against its titanic body as it took another advancing step.

THUMP!

She shivered, more from the utter panic she was in than the cold, frigid rain. Her eyes were wide and staring at the beast, with fight or flight trying to kick in and uselessly being tossed aside for the frozen with fear tactic. She felt tears welling in her eyes as the massive, bulky behemoth continued stepping. Each thunderous impact with the craggy ground shook the entire islet.

The beast seemed to ignore her. Likely didn’t see her in the darkness. She held her breath to make sure. Maybe it would just walk over the island and continue on and she’d go home tomorrow and never ever see this horrific creature agai—

The lighthouse flashed on, illuminating the surroundings entirely. Her eyes nearly bulged out of her skull as she saw the monster in all of his detail. He was titanic, easily close to three-hundred hooves tall! Her mind could hardly focused, only imprinting the important details on the poor pegasus:

Durable looking scales which could endure cannonfire adorned his entire body.

Massive, jagged spikes that could slice apart a building ran along his back.

And a long, swishing tail drug along the ground behind him.

He jerked his head towards the lighthouse, letting her get a glimpse of his face. He had a long snout packed with a row of sharp teeth. His terrifying visage was complete with a snarling expression, his eyes narrowing in annoyance and anger at the sudden brightness.

He reared up and then let loose a deep, powerful—

SSSSKKKKKRRRREEEEOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNKKKKKK!!!

He turned, swinging his gargantuan tail like a whip at the lighthouse that dared to challenge him.

KA-RAACK!

It snapped apart like a twig attempting to stave off a rushing rhino, giving way and shattering into hundreds and hundreds of small pieces of scrap and broken wood.

Raindrops didn’t even hear any of it though. Her ears were pressing against her skull, a ringing sensation in them. Her eyes blurred and as she stared up at the large creature, she felt her body simply give out. Her vision faded, and she drifted away, passing out either from shock or the temperature, or the loudness of the beast’s roar.

The last thing she saw before everything went dark was his goliath frame, moving fully to the other side of the island and ducking into the waves…

???

Her eyes snapped open, only to immediately shut as the blinding rays of the sun entered her retinas. Growling, Raindrops raised a forehoof as she looked around. She was back in the cabin and drier than ever. As she sat up, she soon realized there was nopony else in the building with her. Briefly, she considered if what had happened last night was even real, debating whether or not it was some overly-extended dream.

The door creaked open, and the mare bundled herself up into the sheets as she instinctively backed away from the noise. She was only greeted with the sight of Swift Wind entering, followed by her red-furred superior. Her ears flicked, tuning into their conversation.

“—the damages to the lighthouse should be repaired within the next few months with your crew here,” she heard Swift Wind say. “After that, everything can go back to normal.”

The red pegasus mare turned her attention to Raindrops, “You alright rookie? Swift Wind here told us what happened.”

“Oh thank Celestia!” the yellow mare sighed, “I guess he told you all about the giant monster tha—”

“Giant monster?” the oldest of the trio interrupted, looking over to the stallion.

“It was likely a delusion on her part. I did warn her that rushing out into the rain was a bad idea. I couldn’t follow, had to take care of the equipment and such,” he explained slyly, making the superior nod.

“Why you stupid flank-faced bas—”

“Okay cool it, newbie, I don’t need you two to be friends, but I am not listening to an argument right now,” the mare said sternly, making Raindrops immediately drop her angered shouts into a grumble. “Now we don’t have any track record of any monster; you better start explaining.”

The mare sighed, before coughing, rubbing her lips with a forehoof, “There was this super big sea dragon thing! It had two legs and massive spikes. It walked right over the island and smashed the lighthouse with its tail—ripped through it like it was plywood!”

“We haven’t seen any signs of a dragon, Raindrops,” the older mare replied, her face softening. “No scales, no footprints, jack.”

“I must assume even if she did see something, it was a delusion or exaggerated, thanks to the storm,” Swift Wind chimed in.

“But it was REAL! I saw it!” the mare exclaimed.

The older of the two raised her forehoof, silencing Raindrops, “And maybe you did, kid. We can’t just go out hunting for it though. Not when our resources are needed fixing the tower.”

“Perhaps you could escort her home? I’d hate for her to contract hypothermia or worse after enduring the rain,” Swift Wind offered, concerned in his voice. “Why, it’d be enough to make anyone sick.”

“That’s her call,” the older mare hissed at him, before turning her gaze back to Raindrops. “I’ll leave it up to you newbie. Nopony’s gonna judge you if you wanna go back home. Not much to do here without the lighthouse anyways. Swift can keep the equipment running.”

Sunshower sighed, looking down at the crumpled-up sheet that was partly draped over her. She blinked a few times in thought, before her eyes began to scan the room. Ponyville would be at least a bit better. Could grab some carrot soup with Top and a few drinks with Berry. Maybe they would at least believe her—

She saw her saddlebags off in the corner, opened and with her sheathed knife partly sticking out...

Wait. Maybe her friends would help her? Maybe she could even get a meeting with Twilight or somepony who could do something about this big evil seabeast! Maybe she could even help them bring it down! The thought filled her chest with a deep, warming sensation. Felt good, like whenever she busted up a big patch of clouds or participated in the Winter Wrap Up! That was it! She’d save Equestria by killing that monster!

Raindrops remained silent, hopping out of her bed to trot over and grab her saddlebags, snapping them shut and tugging them tightly over her barrel. With that done, she looked up with determination, a fire in her eyes, “I’m going home.”

Her superior nodded, and Raindrops was so engrossed with the idea, she didn’t even mind when Swift Wind silently snickered, before hiding it immediately.