Sealegs

Sea Woke with a start.
A dream, please, let it be a dream.
He looked around, frantically.
He was on a beach.
The Equila lay in the shallows, turned on its side, badly damaged.
The other members of the company were strewn out over the sand.
Everyone except...

Sombra regained consciousness.
He sat up abruptly, seemingly unscathed.
He turned and looked for Fluttershy.
He spotted her yellow coat, almost blending into the sand.
He trotted over to her, becoming increasingly worried with each step.
He came to a stop.
His worries were confirmed.
One of Fluttershy's hind-legs was broken.

Shining woke with a start.
Immediately, he looked about.
He saw Gold and Braeburn, clinging to each other.
Sombra was cradling Fluttershy.
Sea Breeze, he was the worst off.
The colt sat there in shock, tears in his eyes.
Shining Couldn't blame him. If he had lost Gold or Braeburn in that storm, he would be the same way.
And he didn't even want to think about what would happen if he lost them both.
He got up, trotting over to the two stallions.

"You guys alright?"

Gold looked up.

"We're fine. Shaky, but fine."

Braeburn just held Gold closer.
Shining turned to look at Sea Breeze.
He trotted over, placing a hoof on the colt's shoulder.

"Hey."

Sea Breeze looked up, his eyes filled with tears.

"He's dead, isn't he?"

Shining shook his head.

"You know what? I really don't know."

A glimmer of hope danced about in the young ones eyes.

"Then we need to look for him. Or his body."

Shining nodded.

"We will. But first, We have to deal with the problems at hoof."

Sombra called out.

"Is somepony going to help us?"

He was clearly having a hard time getting Fluttershy up onto his back without hurting her.
Shining trotted towards them to help, leaving Sea staring at the sand, tracing patterns with his hoof.

The sun was setting as the group put together a fire.
The six remaining ponies sat shakily on logs, trying to keep warm.
They had no idea where they were. Or how they were going to move forward.
It was a night filled with the air of uncertainty.
Shining nodded towards Gold and Braeburn.

"Guys, I need you to go and find us some food. There should be fruit somewhere nearby."

Braeburn nodded.
Finally, Something he could do - Harvest fruit.
He trotted off at a rushed pace, Gold trailing along behind him.
Sombra was attempting to improvise a cast for Fluttershy's hind leg.
Shining trotted over.

"Want some help with that?"

Sombra glared.

"What would you know about medicine?"

Shining rolled his eyes.

"A lot. How else do you think Gold has survived so long under service?"

Sombra opened his mouth, but couldn't find a snappy remark.
Shining had a point.
Sombra sighed, and let Shining take control of the materials with his magic.
Within minutes, a sturdy cast was attached to Fluttershy's leg.
Sea Breeze stared into the dancing flames.
It was his fault that Green had died.
Green was a friend worth protecting. He could have used a shield.
But he hadn't. He couldn't.
He had failed.
If he had acted differently, Green would still be here...
His melancholy thoughts were interrupted by a firm hoof on his shoulder.
Shining patted him a few times, before turning to greet a returning Gold and Braeburn.
Thankfully, they had managed to find plenty of tropical fruit.
The group ate in silence.
Tomorrow, they would have to begin work on repairing the Equila.
It would be a difficult task, but they would have to perservere.
Before they knew it, everyone was drifting to sleep, staring up at the twinkling stars.

The next morning was an early start.
The ponies began salvaging parts, and repairing the hull of the Equila.
Sombra was still unable to use magic, but Shining's was more than enough.
He heaved gigantic planks of wood up, and nailed them in with ease.
Everyone was solemn in their work, but Gold.
He was talkative, laughing and working.
Sea trotted up to Shining, waiting for him to finish his current spell before prodding him on the shoulder to get his attention.

"Hey uh.. Why is Gold acting all... happy?"

Shining smiled, just a small bit.

"When everyone around him is sad, he takes it upon himself to lift their spirits."

Shining went back to work immediately, clearly too determined to be distracted by chitchat.
Sea Looked up at Gold, who was bucking some rails back into place alongside Braeburn.
That stallion was a rare breed, alright.
Sea Breeze noticed something floating in the water.
It was a casket he knew well, one he kept dear to him.
It was his map collection.
Leaping down from the rocky outcrop, he splashed through the water.
The casket had held firm throughout the ordeal.
The maps inside were prestine.
Sea beamed, before bringing the casket back up to the rocky outcrop.
He began to study the maps, determined to play his part.

Sombra toiled, dragging felled trees back to shore.
If he had magic, this would be far easier.
He could just build a new ship from crystal.
But that wasn't his life anymore.
And journeying with everyone, he had come to accept it.
Fluttershy sat on the sand, watching with admiration.
Sombra had refused to let her work with her leg in such a state.
She had wanted to help, too.
But when Sombra makes his mind up, you can't really argue with him.
She looked back and forth, as Sombra brought more and more wood to the shore.
The repairs seemed to be going well.
The holes in the hull were being patched very quickly, thanks to the combined work of Sombra and Shining.
And the deck was taking shape once again, Gold and Braeburn's tireless bucking finally taking effect.

That afternoon, the sun burned with the same foreboding feeling as days past.
The heat caused everyone to sweat, but they didn't let up.
By nightfall, the hull was completely patched.
With a tremendous amount of magical energy, Shining managed to flip the ship back over.
It floated once more.
The group climbed aboard, and noted the repaired and patched deck that Gold and Braeburn had worked on.
The inside of the ships hull, cabins included, seemed to be mostly intact.
Greens cabin was destroyed, however.
A testament to the company's loss.
That night, everyone retired early, thoroughly exhausted.
The next day, they would repair the mast.
After that, It would be up to Sea to discover their location, and steer them back to civilization.

Gold and Braeburn were both restless.
They were sleeping in a real bed again, yet they couldn't relax.
Braeburn leaned towards Gold, whispering in his ear, and nibbling on it.
Gold's eyes darted to the door, before he slipped down underneath the covers, locating Braeburn's point of interest, and licking it gently.
Braeburn's member quickly rose to attention, and Gold took it in his mouth, licking its head with his tongue.
Braeburn sighed deeply, in utter bliss.
Gold took Braeburn's throbbing member deep into his mouth, again and again.
Braeburn began to gently thrust in rhythm with Gold, moaning in pleasure.
Eventually, he tapped Gold twice on the shoulder, pushing him up and off of his member.
Twirling a hoof, and Grinning slyly, Braeburn flipped Gold over, quickly sliding into him.
Braeburn took Gold's ear in his teeth and began to thrust.
The air escaped Gold's lungs with each powerful, masterful thrust.
Braeburn wrapped his arm around Gold, resting his head on Gold's shoulder.
Gold finished on the sheets, out of pure pleasure.
Braeburn decided to be cleaner about it, Finishing inside Gold, before flopping down next to him.
The two fell asleep, arm in arm, completely oblivious to the trauma they had just caused to all other inhabitants of the ship.

The next morning, the group was forced to eat more of the disgusting oatmeal.
The sooner the ship was repaired, the sooner they could get some real food.
They searched the ship, and managed to find some cloth in the brig.
Shining tore the cloth into neat squares, handing one to Gold, along with some thread and a needle.

"Sorry buddy. This is all we've got. You're gonna have to sew those patches onto the mast."

Gold groaned.

"What? Can't you just take the mast down?"

Shining shook his head.

"None of us know how to. You're just gonna have to patch it in midair."

Gold groaned again.

"That's the worst. You're the worst."

Shining whacked Gold on the back of the head.
Again.

"Just do it, Featherbrain."

Gold grinned.

"Whatever you say, buckethead."

The rest of the day was on Gold alone, being the only capable flier.
Sea Breeze looked up in awe, Wondering what it would be like to fly.
Sombra noticed, and trotted over.

"Aren't you supposed to be finding out where we are?"

Sea Breeze snapped out of his stupor, returning to his maps.

Several hours passed, and the mast was looking considerably better.
The vessel would soon be seaworthy.
As the days went on, Sea began to lose hope.
There was no way Green survived. He was crushed.
Sea Began to tear up again.
He felt a hoof on his shoulder, and was surprised to look up and find it was Sombra's.

"Keep your spirits high, runt. We need you."

Sombra trotted off, leaving Sea Breeze shocked at his sudden kindness.

By nightfall, the mast was completely patched.
And more disgusting oatmeal was their reward.
As the company choked down the horrific sludge, Sea Breeze yelled out.

"I've got it! I know where we are!"

Gold leapt up.

"Alright!"

Sombra trotted over to Sea Breeze, checking the map he was poured over.

"So. We should be heading west, then?"

Sea nodded.

"Yeap. That's the biggest island in this archipelago, and it's where the changeling sightings were reported."

The company took careful note of the map, before returning to eat.
Shining looked concerned.

"Sea, Can you sail this thing?"

Sea nodded.

"Yeah, Green taught me..."

Sea trailed off, and made a choking noise.
Shining pat him on the shoulder, trying to console him.

"We're counting on you. It's your time to shine."

Sea Breeze choked back tears.

"I wont let you down."

Dawn of the next day, the group had set sail.
Their destination was a large volcanic island to the west.
Where changelings had been sighted.
The goal of their journey once again seemed to be in reach.
But something didn't seem right.
There was uncertainty in the air.
Nobody could put a hoof on it, but they all knew that something was wrong.
They soon realized what was wrong.
The Sun was setting at midday.
Luna couldn't maintain the astral cycle for much longer.
They were running out of time.
Even if they managed to reach the changelings, they might not make it back in time.
Time was of the essence.
The group continued to sail, even in the unnatural dark of night.
Thankfully, they managed to spot a lighthouse in the distance.
They had reached their destination.

They docked at the small port town, as quickly as possible.
Everyone was in a panic, the unnatural night had brought chaos.
The last time the night had overtaken the day, it had been the omen of Nightmare Moon's return.
If only the ponies knew of the omen carried by this night.
Shining left his whole bit pouch with the port-master in a frantic hurry.
He turned to face the other five ponies.

"Alright Everyone, It's do or die time. We don't much time left. We can't fail. We just can't."