Chapter 3: Friendship on the ship
Author's Note: Okay, I can't reveal much. So, DisneyFanatic2364, sorry for confusing you but I used the term "women" in the last chapter loosely. Y'all have to read the latest chapters and find out whos' who! :) Thanks!
Also, there will be times when I succumb to writer's block. I'm going back to school! Yay!
A few weeks later...
"You were not raised by timerwolves."
"Yes, I was!"
"No, you weren't!"
"Yes, I was!"
The two arguing princesses did not even bat an eye when they heard Twilight's hooffall on the deck.
"Now you listen here, Captain Numbskull!" Applejack marched up to the headstrong pegasus and poked her chest. "Those wolves eat pony flesh. You'd sooner be dinner than kin to them!"
Rainbow Dash then smugly puffed out her chest. "Not mine! Because I'm just that awesome."
"What are you two arguing about?" Twilight questioned with frustration. "Everypony in the galley is threatening to spill today's lunch on both of you."
"The captain here says she was raised by timberwolves," Applejack declared. "Can you believe that, Twilight?" Everypony quickly dropped formalities at that point. Truly, it was the start of cabin fever.
"Actually..." She turned to Rainbow Dash. "I've read about you before. All the books I've read that mention you say you were indeed raised by wolves for most of your fillyhood. Sorry, Applejack."
"HA!" Rainbow Dash cried triumphantly in Applejack's face. The earth pony just snorted and rolled her eyes.
"HA!" Pinkie repeated, suddenly appearing behind Rainbow Dash. The startled pegasus jumped all the way to the crow's nest.
"What are we ha-ing about?"
A few days later...
"Spike, you just can't judge Fluttershy so harshly. The wind, a flea, a breath could startle her!" Twilight and Spike headed for their room.
She opened the door. "Now, since you're still a baby dragon -"
"Don't remind me," Spike groaned.
"Don't interrupt," Twilight scolded him. "Anyway, since you're a baby dragon, you need to take your daily nap now - RARITY?!"
In their room, wearing rolls upon rolls of toilet paper, was Rarity, sashaying and posing in front of the mirror. Twilight stared at the lovely mare incredulously, while Spike looked like he was riding on cloud nine.
"What are you doing?"
Rarity winced and turned to them. "Twilight! Spikey-wikey! Hello, dears! I was, um... Oh, darling! I just can't stand being without rich fabrics any longer! I just can't! Please keep this a secret! Please!" She latched herself on to Twilight and cried on her shoulder, while Spike watched them with pure envy.
Twilight awkwardly patted the other unicorn's back. "There... There... I will definitely keep this a secret. We should be on land soon."
Hopefully...
Spike: Pinkie, you know I love you, right?
Pinkie: Yep!
Spike: Like a sister.
Pinkie: Yep!
Spike: And you won't take my opinion to heart too much?
Pinkie: Yep! Um... I can't take your opinion to my heart, silly! Unless Twilight put it there.
Spike: I mean I won't hurt your feelings if I'm honest with you.
Pinkie: Yep!
Twilight: Spike...
Spike: Pinkie, this story is stupid.
Twilight: SPIKE!
Pinkie: (pouts) Well, that's your opinion alright, Spikey! But why don't you like it?
Spike: There's no way I would leer at Rarity like that, especially if she was covered in toilet paper!
Twilight: Okay, first of all, where did you learn the word leer?
Spike: You make me read a lot.
Twilight: Second, don't lie to me. You would love to see her pose and sashay in dirt!
Spike: I - I would not!
Twilight: Tsk, Tsk, Spike. Applejack would be so disappointed in you.
Spike: Please just keep reading.
Twilight: Whatever you say, Spikey-wikey.
A few months later...
"Captain! Captain!" Rainbow Dash was supervising some of her crew at the quarterdeck when she heard Rarity squealing from the galley. She hurriedly asked Cherilee to take over and flew to the deck and galloped down the stairs. "Rarity!" The unicorn was pacing obsessively. "What is it? Who's hurt?"
Rarity stopped pacing and flung herself on Rainbow Dash. "Oh, captain! It's terrible, just horrid!"
"What? What is it?"
"BLEH!" They both heard the unpleasant sounds of somepony vomiting in one of the galley's washrooms and grimaced with disgust.
Rainbow Dash carefully pried Rarity off of her. "Please tell me that's Spike... He only vomits half as much as a pony."
Rarity sadly shook her head. "Fluttershy's vomiting, unfortunately, and I always wondered... Why do we have washrooms near the galley?"
"So ponies can wash their hooves. Duh!"
"Yes, but all of them are near the galley."
"We had no room anywhere else to put the toilets and sinks," Rainbow Dash snapped, trying her best not to throw up herself. Applejack, Big McIntosh, and Twilight entered the galley.
"What's going on?" Twilight asked Rarity. Fluttershy sounded like she has hacking up a lung, and Rarity fainted on the spot.
Applejack caught the fashionista, rolling her eyes. "She can't help it, Rarity! My brother got seasick once!"
"Eeeyeup! That's true."
After Fluttershy came out of the washroom looking deadly pale, Twilight and Applejack escorted her to her tiny room that she shared with Pinkie.
Poor thing, Twilight thought, looking at the crying pegasus. She's so embarrassed. I'm sure I'd be, too. I mean, there was that one time...
Twelve years ago...
"Ugh!" Twilight had just thrown up so badly that she was still trembling. Sunset, who had been holding back her mane, gave her comforting pats and a glass of water.
Of course I would throw up the morning after my wedding! Twilight scolded herself glumly. She stole a glance of her reflection from the mirror beside her. She had been puking all morning. Her mane was frizzy and coated with shiny sweat. Beads of sweat trickled down her face from her forehead. Her eyes were red from crying and vomiting. Her lips were cracked, and the burning tastes of puke and bile were still on her tongue. She must really think you're quite the looker now, Twi!
"Small sips," her wife reminded her as she began drinking. "No gulps. Take it slow."
Twilight nodded and set the glass on the sink. Then, she burst into tears.
"Twilight? Honey, what is it?"
"I..." Twilight hiccupped and then sneezed, making Sunset giggle. Twilight glared at her and continued crying.
"Twilight! I didn't mean to - What's the matter? What'd I say? What'd I do? Do I do something wrong?"
"You...You're perfect, Sunset. You haven't said or done anything wrong." The violet mare suddenly found it very difficult to make eye contact with her best friend and new wife. "I don't deserve you."
Sunset quirked an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"
Twilight shut her eyes. She felt so humiliated that she could have thrown up again. "I said I don't deserve you, Sunset! I mean, I know we were good friends before we were married and your father gave me his blessing..." Fat tears welled up in her eyes. "But... when I saw you yesterday, in that dress, looking like that, looking at me like that... I realized you had made the greatest mistake in your life by marrying me."
They sat on the tiled bathroom floor for several more minutes. None of them said a word. Then, Sunset got up, went to the dresser in their bed chamber, and sat back down in front of Twilight. In her hooves were two wedding bands, both made of pure gold. Each had a gem in the middle. One had a ruby gem, and the other had an amethyst gem.
"I want us to wear these instead of those tacky silver decoys I bought for the wedding," Sunset explained with a small blush on her cheeks. "I kind of wanted this part to be more, you know, intimate." She uttered a spell, and the rings transformed into a heart of mist, shining and showing all the colors of the rainbow.
Twilight's jaw dropped as she stared at the heart. Then, in the blink of an eye, the rings returned to Sunset's hooves, and she used her magic to gently place the amethyst ring on Twilight's horn and the ruby one on hers.
"Diamond is so cliché and purple and red are our favorite colors," Sunset added. "So, I thought you'd like this. All you have to do is utter that chant to get the heart. To get the rings back, you simply imagine them as rings again."
"They're beautiful," Twilight whispered. "This gift is beautiful. Thank you."
"Well, it's a symbol." Sunset took a deep breath and looked Twilight directly in the eye. Twilight, however, could not look back. "Twilight." Sunset cupped Twilight's chin, forcing her to look at her. "I am giving you my heart, as I expect you are doing the same for me. Because let me say, loud and clear, that for an intelligent unicorn you don't know how much I love you."
Twilight hiccupped again and found the tears returning to her eyes. "Really?"
"Really," Sunset assured her. "It's okay to be afraid sometimes. You're so real, so genuine and compassionate, and those are only some of the reasons why I love you. Besides, do you think I'm an idiot?"
"What? No!"
"Then why would I marry somepony who I didn't think deserved me? If anything, I don't deserve you, Twilight Sparkle. Anyway, our carriage is going to pick us up today. Remember our honeymoon to Canterlot?" She leaned forward, brushed away Twilight's tears, and pressed her forehead against Twilight's. It was then that Twilight noticed that Sunset was fighting back her own tears. "So no more negative talk. Understand?" Twilight nodded timidly, making Sunset smirk. "You're so adorable, princess."
Feeling much better, Twilight hugged and kissed Sunset. "I guess that means we're both lucky, Sunset."
"Twilight?"
"Hmm?"
"I'll never love another," Sunset swore sincerely. "Even if you were to die. Please promise me you'll never love another like you love me now."
Breathing in Sunset's peachy perfume, Twilight did not hesitate to answer.
"I promise. My heart is your heart."
Several months later...
"Ugh!" Rainbow Dash gagged. She was on her lunch break with the princesses and was more than discontented by today's menu of dried up leafy green salad, dried dandelions, and some kind of creamy, white mush.
"I hate the food," she announced gloomily, earning a shove from Applejack.
"Hey! I tossed the salad, so the least you could do is try some of it before critiquing it."
Lightning Dust, a proud sailor, poked the mush on her tray with her fork. "In my opinion, it's... whatever this mush is that's scaring me." She watched her captain nibble on the dandelions and gritted her teeth.
She may be one of my best friends, but I should've been the bloody captain, whether she's a princess or not!
"We can't afford to be picky now," Twilight reasoned, glancing at the inventory Spike made. Over time, she had updated the list as the numbers of goods gradually dwindled. "We have not stopped anywhere, so naturally we have used up a huge portion of our supplies over these past few months."
"How huge?" Rarity asked.
Twilight shrugged. "From what I have merely observed, we've used about half. We should've been in Ponyville by now! Captain, do you think -"
"I know what I'm doing!" Rainbow Dash boasted angrily, leaving no room for any further arguments. This made both Applejack and Lightening Dust groan at the pegasus.
"Anyway, Big McIntosh provides the rest, and he's the best cook on this boat. Well, Pinkie makes good desserts, but that's about it. No offense, Pinkie."
"None taken, Twilight!"
"That's not saying much," Rarity muttered, earning a dirty look from Applejack.
"My brother's doin' the best he can..."
Pinkie's eyes twinkled, which unintentionally scared everypony else around her. "I know what will cheer everypony up! Dessert!"
Applejack just smiled sadly at the other earth pony. "Pinkie, there's no dessert on this boat. The war wasn't promisin' anything sweet and the rebel changelings didn't have any to give. And even if we did, most of the cheapest desserts won't sit well for months anyway."
Pinkie gasped loudly, startling the poor baby dragon beside her, and rushed down to the galley. Everypony else plus Spike heard several pots and pans bang and mysterious lions roar. Then, Pinkie skipped back up the stairs, carrying a huge, sepia brown cake and a bottle of honey brown liquid.
"RUUUMMM CAKE!" She sang aloud, hugging Rainbow Dash and Applejack and Twilight and anypony else she could grab. She kissed Spike's cheek, making him both blush and gag, and skipped around the confused group. "I've gotta rum cake and a bottle of rum! This will cure the frowny faces and the brooding and glum!"
How the hay did she get rum cake on the ship? Twilight wondered. I mean, she might've had some during the war. But now?
"Don't ask questions," Fluttershy whispered to her, as if she had read her mind. "It's Pinkie."
A few minutes later, they all went back to work so that other sailors could have their lunch break.
"And so..." Rainbow Dash slurred, swaying ever so slightly. "I s-said if you think you're s-so h-hot, then beat me in a race, chum!"
Twilight cradled her cup of rum and looked around her. Thankfully, Cherilee did not drink and was on night duty that night behind the wheel. A lot of ponies had dropped like flies after some heavy drinking, while others held their rum, including Applejack and the boasting captain. Some ponies were in some kind of drunken limbo, half awake and half gone, including Pinkie and Rarity.
She did not usually drink a lot, so she just took a few sips and ate some cake after dinner. Fluttershy, Big McIntosh, and some of the currently working ponies did not take a sip that night, and Twilight sent Spike to bed hours ago.
"And then what happened?" Pinkie asked while hiccupping and giggling. She fell back, but her sister quickly caught her.
Rainbow Dash scoffed and arrogantly sashayed over to Applejack. "I beat him, that's what!" She teasingly tipped Applejack's light brown stetson cowpony hat over her eyes, making the earth pony grit her teeth.
Shrugging, the pegasus turned to Fluttershy, who was still holding an inebriated Pinkie. "Hey, Fl-Fluttershy! You gotta try some r-rum!"
Fluttershy shyly shook her head, sobering Applejack. "Don't push her, Rainbow Dash!" The earth pony scolded. "She don't have to if she don't want to!"
"I better take my sister to bed," Fluttershy announced softly. "Excuse me." She escorted Pinkie back to her room.
"That sounds like a good idea for the diamond princess," Applejack muttered. Big McIntosh heard her and nodded in agreement.
"Eyeeup! I'll help." He trotted over to Rarity, who was lazily clinging to a mop and bucket. "C'mon, Miss Rarity. You best get to bed." Rarity nodded and allowed the stallion to help her.
Meanwhile, Applejack looked for and spotted Twilight, who was sulking and laying down beside a sleeping Lightening Dust, watching the rolling waves in the darkness of the night. She approached the two ponies and sat beside Twilight.
"You okay, Twi?"
Twilight gave an unconvincing smile that clearly did not fool Applejack. "Okay, fine! I..." Tears stung her eyes. Was she really that intoxicated? "I just miss Sunset!"
Applejack looked at he skeptically. "Uh... Who's Sunset? You mean the sunset? Well shoot, sugarcube! You'll see the sun set tomorrow!"
Twilight slightly shook her head. "No. Sunset is my wife."
"Your wife?" Twilight nodded and showed Applejack her wedding ring that rested on her horn.
"Golly! That's some ring!"
"Thank you." Her violet eyes never left the waves.
Applejack pat Twilight's back comfortingly. "We'll get there, sugarcube. Just be grateful you have a home you can return to."
Remembering the earth pony's story, Twilight blushed and turned to her. "I'm sorry, Applejack."
She just shrugged and stood up. "It's the world's loss if nopony believes the honest truth that comes outta my mouth, not mine." And with that, she left Twilight alone with her thoughts.
In the present...
"How exciting!" Sunset cried sarcastically. "Fourteen bouquets, one less than usual." She placed the final bouquet of daisies in an empty corner of her room. Hundreds occupied her room already. Her room was beginning to look like a botanical garden, and the guest room was already stuffed with chocolates and jewels!
She smiled wishfully to herself. "Maybe I'm an old maid to all those suitors now." Hopefully...
Sunset jumped when she heard somepony knocking at her bedroom door. She answered the door and resisted the urge to glare at the bored messenger pony. He was carrying a humongous bouquet of roses and shoved it at her.
"Delivery from Sir Iron Will: three dozen roses."
"Thanks," she told him dryly, shutting the door with her back hoof. Then, without a second thought, she dumped the gift in her trash bin.
This is the last straw! If any of them think a few gifts or even thousands of gifts will sway my heart away from Twilight, they're dead wrong.