Going East

Little D and Rainbow Dash sat in a crowded train car as it rushed them towards Manehatten. D leaned back in his seat while Rainbow Dash stared out the window.

“So, what are we gonna do when we get there?” Rainbow asked curiously.

“Get a boat,” D replied simply.

“Then what?”

“Sail to my island.”

“Then what?”

“Come home.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

“You really put a lot of thought into this plan, didn’t you?”

“Yup.”

“Come on, is that really the best you got?” Rainbow demanded.

“It’s not that complicated of a situation we’re in,” D countered. “We know where to go and we know how we gotta get there.”

“Yeah, but--”

“No buts. We go to the harbor, we grab the first boat we see, we got to Epona’s Isle, and then we come home. Short, simple, problem free.”

“Do you even know how to get to the harbor? I mean, Manehatten is a big place.”

“Look, all we have to do is go East. Thats where the water is and thats where we can find the harbor.”

“You sure about this?”

“Rainbow, trust me on this. Getting a boat and getting out to sea are gonna be easiest parts. What’s gonna be hard is finding my old place.”

Rainbow Dash thought for a moment. “D, it’s not that I don’t trust you, it’s just that this plan sounds really, really, simple. But if you’re positive, I’ll follow you wherever.”

D grinned. “Glad to hear it.” The trains loud whistle cut through the cart suddenly.

“Oh hey! Looks like we’re here.”

D looked out the window and frowned. “Where’s here?”

“Manehatten, duh.”

“Where is it? Is it behind all of those towers?”

“Uh, D, when was the last time you visited Manehatten?”
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

“Holy crap! This place is enormous!” D stared in awe at the towering buildings around him. “It’s only been, like, one hundred years or something. How did the city grow this big so quick?”

“D, a hundred years might not seem like a lotta time for you, but for normal people it’s more than enough time to create the biggest city in all of Equestria.”

“So it would seem.” D continued to crane his neck at the buildings around him. “Everything looks so different. I wonder what else has changed.”

“You wanna take a walk and find out?”

“Yeah,” D said dreamily. He shook his head violently and snapped out of his daze. “Wait, no. We don’t have time right now. We gotta get to the docks immediately. Follow me, Rainbow.” Little D willed his great wings to appear and flew off to the East.

“Right behind you!” Rainbow shot off after her friend. They spent roughly an hour flying around in their search for the harbor. Finally, Rainbow Dash spotted something far to the North. “Hey! Little D! I think I see the harbor!”

“Really? You sure?”

“Well I see a huge dock with a bunch of ships, so, yeah. I can only assume.”

“Then let’s go.” They quickly made their way over to the long pier that jutted out of the coast. They landed at the dock a few minutes later. “Alright, now we just gotta find a ship that’ll take us to Epona’s isle.”

“Well, we have thousands to choose from. Let’s just start with those guys over there.” Rainbow pointed to a group of tanned sailors wearing vests and jean shorts. Even from where they stood, D could tell that their hands were thick with callouses.

“Sounds good to me. They look pretty experienced.” Little D walked over to them. “Hey, you guys look like a capable bunch.”

“You bet we are!” A sailor with bright blond hair boasted. “I’ve sailed to every inch of these waters before with my da. Anchors Away got his sea legs before he got his walkin’ legs,” he pointed to a sailor with gray and black hair and crossed anchors on his biceps. “And Main Sails was born on a ship during the roughest storm these waters have ever known.”

“That’s great,” D smiled. “Do you think you can--”

“Yup. We’ve fished all the world’s dangerous seas and oceans. We’ve come face to face with hydras and krakens a thousand times over and killed just as many.”

“That’s cool and all but can--”

“Washed up on a thousand dangerous shores and sailed through a thousand dangerous coves. That’s why we’re called the Thousand Pirates. I’m the captain, of course, Captain Ship Shape.” He flexed his bicep to show off his ship-shaped cutie mark.

“Yeah, neat,” D commented boredly. “Can you take us to Epona’s Isle?”

“Are you mad?” Ship suddenly blanched. “You want us to take you through The Devil’s Sea and to The Devil’s Island?” he said, shaking in his boots.

“Um, yes?” A wave of panic washed over the Thousand Pirates.

“You can’t be serious!” Sails insisted. “Why would you want to go there?”

“I used to live there.” That set them over the edge.

“Th-then you’re a demon!” Anchors stammered.

“Only a little,” D joked.

“A monster!” Sails gaped.

“Aren’t we all?”

“A murderer,” Ship swore.

“Excuse me?” D spat.

“Quickly, run away before he can eat your heart!” The brave and bold Thousand Pirates quickly boarded their large ship, unfurled the sails, hoisted the anchor and sped out of the harbor.

“How rude,” D commented dryly.

“Well, now what do we do?”

“I guess we keep checking.” D gazed at the people on the dock. Each person looked at them uneasily and began retreating to their boats. “But it looks our options have thinned out a bit.” Little D began walking forward and with each step he took, more and more people withdrew themselves from sight. Ducking into bait and tackle shops and going into their ships.

“What’s with these guys?” Rainbow asked.

“What those pirates said must have given them quite the scare,” D replied. “Being told that someone is a heart-eating monster is typically enough to make them weary.”

“Yeah, I guess, but that isn’t fair.”

“Eh,” Little D shrugged in response. “I’m used to it.” They continued walking down the dock and before long not a soul was in sight. They eventually reached the end of the docks without seeing a sailor that would talk to them.

“Well this was an utter waste of time.” Rainbow said grumpily.

“So much for my brilliant plan, huh?” Little D asked sarcastically and was answered with a loud snort. “Yeah, I know,” again, he was answered with another snort. “Yeah, I get it,” another snort. “Rainbow, I get it alright. Just stop snorting ok?”

“What? It’s not me. It’s coming from over there.” Rainbow pointed off to the side of the dock. Another loud snort erupted from where Rainbow Dash was pointing. She and D exchanged a quick look and went to investigate the source of the sound. They piered over the edge of the dock and saw a short old man with white hair fast asleep at the bottom of a row boat with a jug of alcohol cradled in his arms.

“Dude’s loud,” D commented idly. “Yo. Buddy. Wake up.” D reached down and smacked the old man in the face.

“Eh, what?” The old man looked around groggily before glaring a Little D. “What do you want?”

“We need a ship,” Rainbow Replied.

“And?” The old man asked.

“You got one?”

“Nope.”

“Know anyone that does?” Little D asked.

“Depends on where you’re tryin’ to go.”

“Epona’s Isle.” D replied.

“Eya hahaha! Theres only one man on this entire dock dumb enough to take you to that accursed place.”

“Yeah? Where can we find him?” Rainbow asked.

"Towards the middle of the dock there’s this little place called Spark’s Workshop. Ask him for help and he’d be more than glad to.”

“Alright. Thank you.” D nodded and stepped away from the edge of the dock and began walking the direction the old man pointed. He and Rainbow walked in silence, keeping an eye out for the building. Soon they stood in front of a shop with a sign pieced together from pieces of scrap metal that read Blue Sparks Workshop of Wonders. A metal shutter covered a service window. A sign on it read Out of Business.

"Well," Rainbow said.

"Shit," D finished. "What are the odds."

"Now what?" Rainbow asked. D turned and looked at the ships tied to the dock.

"How do you feel about theft?"

"You're joking, right?"

"Well, we don't have anymore options. This guy is apparently the only guy here that is willing to take us to Epona's Isle and who knows where he is now."

"Can’t you do some crazy god magic or something to help us out?" Rainbow asked.

"No, cuz I'm not a god."

"Demigod?"

"Close enough, and still, no. I can’t think of a single spell that could help us out. If Tear Drop was here she could probably summon a ship or something but,”

“She’s with Steel.” Rainbow finished, making D grimace.

“Yeah. She’s with Steel.”

“Can I help you guys with something?” A voice from behind them asked. They turned and saw a guy in his mid twenties wearing a tan work jacket, a white undershirt, loose fitting tan cargo pants and brown work boots. A pair a black welder's goggles hung around his neck and a pair of brown work gloves stuck out of his pocket. D noticed that, while his clothes were covered with grease and oil stains, his brown skin was flawless and his black hair was immaculately styled.

“I don’t think so buddy,” D said sadly. “The only guy that could has closed up shop for good.” He pointed to the workshop and looked back at the ships, missing the newcomer’s mischievous grin.

“Oh, you mean the guy who runs the workshop?” He asked innocently.

“Yeah,” Rainbow replied. “You know him?”

“Sure do! Better than anybody on this dock. Whatcha need help with?”

“We’re trying to go to Epona’s Isle.”

“Oh that place?” The guy replied. “Well, I see your problem. He is the only guy with the means to get there. But it’ll cost major danger pay.”

“How much?” Rainbow asked suspiciously.

“Oh, anywhere between twenty and twenty five...hundred.”

“Twenty five hundred!” Rainbow exclaimed.

“Thousand.” The guy finished with a nod.

“Wha--” Rainbow’s jaw hit the floor. “You can’t seriously--”

“Done.” D replied. He turned around and pulled a large bag of bits from behind his back. Both Rainbow and the new comer were speechless.

“Where'd you get that money?” Rainbow asked in awe.

“Will this be enough?” D asked, ignoring Rainbow.

“Uh, w-well let’s see.” The guy took the bag and almost dropped it due to the tremendous weight. “Urp,” he grunted. “Let me just take this inside and get it counted up.” He struggled with it but managed to carry it to the workshop’s door. He quickly pulled a key out of his pocket, unlocked the door and ducked inside. Rainbow Dash and Little D stood outside for ten minutes before they heard a loud cheer erupt from the workshop. Suddenly the shutter shot open and the guy in the tan jacket was standing at the window with a big grin on his face. “Howdy stranger! Name’s Blue Spark, inventor extraordinaire! So ya’ say you need to get to Epona’s Isle.”

“That’s right,” D replied as he walked up to the window.

“Well say no more friendo, you paid the fee,” Blue Spark slammed the shutter closed and a second later he opened the door. “Come on in and I’ll take you to Epona’s Isle in a flash!"

They walked inside the workshop and the first thing they noticed was that the walls were lined with all manner of tools ranging from small hammers and drills to blow torches and wrenches as long as D's arm. The flooring was cement around the perimeter of the workshop and the middle was the same spaced wooden planks that made up the dock outside and in the corner was a tarp covered table. The second thing they noticed was a horrible stench. "Sweet Celestia!" Rainbow gagged. "What smells like rotten eggs and dead fish?"

"Dead fish and phosphorus! One for two, so close. Well, one for three, considering the motor oil."

"Why?" She groaned.

"The phosphorus is for a super secret hundred billion bit idea of mine. The oil and fish however is for a less secret creation of mine." He opened a trap door that revealed a ladder leading down to the water and a wide floating platform. "Ladies first," Blue said with a bow.

"Thanks," Rainbow said and climbed down the hole.

"Generous detonators next," Blue said with the same bow. D nodded his thanks and climbed down next.

"Handsome inventors next," Blue laughed and climbed down after D. He reached the platform and beamed proudly. "Alright gang, all aboard the S.S. Blue!" He hopped into a black metal boat with a single blue racing stripe. It was about eighteen feet long with an open area in the middle with two seats in the front and a few seats five feet behind the front set. A black ship wheel was in front of the front left chair.

"What the heck is this thing?" Rainbow asked.

"I call it a motorized boat," Blue grinned and put on a pair of bright blue goggles.

"Motorized?" D repeated. "Are the sails motorized?"

"Nope. The whole thing is."

"Really?" Asked Rainbow, eyes wide in awe.

"Yupper! Hold on tight cuz this thing is crazy fast." Blue jammed the key in the ignition and turned it, making the engine roar to life.

"Is there anything to hold onto?" D asked as Rainbow got into the front chair and he jumped into the cushioned bench that wrapped around the back. "I’m not seeing anything."

"Huh, thought I forgot something. Oh well. Floorin' it!"

"Doin' wha--" D was suddenly thrown back in his seat as the boat rocketed forward, out of the dock, past sailboats and rowers, and out into the ocean. The small ship skipped across the water as it gained more and more speed. They maintained their speed for a half hour before they started to slow to stop.

“How was that? Pretty cool huh?” Blue smiled.

“Ugh,” D groaned from the floor of the boat. “That was waaay too bumpy.”

“Yeah,” Rainbow moaned, face pale. “I’m used to flying fast but that was super rough.”

“Eh,” Blue shrugged and moved the boat along slowly. “You get used to it. I have other models planned out that max out between twenty and forty miles an hour, but right now we have to go pretty slow. Don’t want to disturb any beasties.”

“What kind of monsters are we talkin’?” Rainbow asked as she leaned over the side of the boat and peered into the water.

“Great big ol’ nasties that could eat a big ship whole or even two moderately sized ships whole. These things are big as skyscrapers and they only get nastier the closer we get to Epona’s Isle.”

“I’ve been meaning to ask,” D said weakly as he climbed back into his seat. “How do you know about Epona’s Isle? It wasn’t on any of the newer maps I checked out.”

“It’s an old tail sailors pass down from generation to generation. Anybody that works on a dock or sails to trade or plunder knows about the Devil’s Isle. I’ve actually been there myself.”

“Really?” D asked. “What’s it like?”

“I didn’t get too far in,” He replied. “I decided to check it out after I built the S.S. Blue. First I had to make it past the monsters and when I made it to the dock there this huge guy with a red hood. I thought he was going to kill me but he just looked at me and smiled. He told me that he was impressed that I made it that far and that he was waiting for someone.”

“He did, huh?” D said sourly.

“Yupper. Then I turned around and got the hell out of there. Dude was mad scary. Like he radiated hate.”

“Sounds like Steel,” D commented.

“And it sounds like he’s ready for a fight,” Rainbow replied.

“Sounds like it,” D agreed. They traveled in silence for an half an hour before an island appeared on the horizon.

“There it is,” Blue said with a smile. “The Devil’s Island.” He sped up and took them into the dock. “I’ll stay here and make sure the S.S. Blue is safe. You guys go on ahead and do,” he looked back at D. “Wait. Why did you wanna come here again?”

“I used to live here four thousand years ago or so,” D answered simply as he and Rainbow climbed out of the boat.

“Wait, what?”
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Little D and Rainbow walked up a wide path made of cobblestones that cut through a forest of lush green trees. There was no noise except for the sound of their footsteps on cobble and the occasional rustling of wind through leaves. The walked for what felt like hours at a gradual incline until the path lead up to a large gate set between two large trees. A steel lock the size of a pumpkin kept the gate closed.

“Should we knock?” Rainbow asked slyly.

“We could,” D thought aloud. “Or,” he jumped up, kicked the lock off, then sent another quick kick into the gate, shooting it wide open and revealing a very angry Red Walker.

“It’s about time you showed up, brother dear.”

“Hey,” D replied coldly. “Sorry I’m late. I had to remember where I lived first and I would have hated to stop and ask for directions.”

“It is an embarrassing thing to forget.” Steel replied with the same chill. He began strolling towards them. “But, where are my manners? Allow me to start our welcome home party.” He reached over his shoulder and slowly drew his steel great sword out of the sheath on his back.

“Rainbow,” D said, his hand going to his waist where folded hand hand sickle hung at each side. “Get out of here as fast as you can. You won’t last a second against him.”

“Please,” she snorted. “The bigger they are, the slower they--” She was cut off by a large fist to her jaw.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

“We-we made it,” Johnny grunted as he rowed his dinghy.

“No buddy, we made it!” Numb Nuts cried cheerfully.

“Yeah, that’s what I..what?”

“Forget it,” Reason interrupted. “We’re here now. What’s the plan?”

“You’re voices in my head dude. Can’t you hear me think?”

“You don’t think,” Reason replied.

“Oh ho ho, sick burn, but, seriously, fuck you. Anyway, the plan is simple. Wait here and provide kickass fight music for when my bro fights my former bro.”

“What makes you think they’re still there?” Reason asked.

“What?”

“What makes you think they’re still there? You’ve been paddling there for hours. They could be long gone by now.”

“Dude, we would have seen them coming back to Manehatten if they left.”

“He does have a point,” Numb Nuts remarked.

“No he doesn’t. This is the Goddamn ocean. There’s a twenty percent chance that they would have come back the exact same way they went to the Island and that’s the same percentage that we would have of us taking the same route they did.”

“Dude, trust me, it’s fine. All we gotta do is chill here for a bit.” John said as he leaned against the subwoofers he had hooked up to a record player. He closed his eyes for a few seconds before snapping them open annoyedly. “Kay bored now.” He sat up with a groan. “Well, at least I have this.” He reached into his jacket’s inside pocket and brought out a brown JoyBoy and turned it on.

“Ooo! Ooo! Can I play?” Numb Nuts asked excitedly.

“Technically, you already are,” Johnny said as he began to play his game.

“Yaaay! Technicalities!”

Author's Note

Don't forget to check my blog for super important informations!