Chapter 4: Deadly pests and tantalizing flowers

Author's Note: Hey! Sorry! I know it's been a while. Here is where the story begins to look more like The Odyssey.

A few more months passed, and all the inhabitants of Tank's Glory felt the horrible, insufferable side effects of boredom and cabin fever. But on one typical evening at sea, when Rainbow Dash was steering the ship, she spotted something in the fog, something that unnerved her greatly.

"Land?" The pegasus rubbed her magenta eyes and did a double take. Sure enough, the silhouette of a small island began to take form.

"Land ho?" The purple pegasus at the crow's nest yelled bemusedly. Rainbow Dash nodded and looked around her. She knew she had taken a few wrong turns since they departed, but she really was not in the mood for any reprimanding, especially from -

"You steered us the wrong way, Captain Numbskull!"

Great Discord, take me now. Rainbow Dash sighed heavily and turned to Applejack, who was glaring fervently at her.

Putting on her casual smirk, she playfully nudged Applejack. "Hey, AJ!"

"Don't 'Hey, AJ!' me and tell me why you've been leading us wrongly!"

"What?" Twilight appeared with Spike on her back and looked at Rainbow Dash skeptically. "You did?" Soon, everypony was jabbering all at once and surrounding her.

Rainbow Dash turned to Twilight with a confident grin and rummaged through her satchel. "AJ's just teasing! I've got the map right - " She froze and dug through the satchel again. "The map..." Applejack snorted.

Fluttershy squealed with fear. "You lost the map?"

"No! I mean, why does it matter anyway? I know the way by heart!" She steered the ship away from the island. "So I made a few mistakes. So what? I'm getting us to Ponyville, and that's all that matters."

"At this point we'll be without food by the time we reach any shore!" Applejack fumed, looking up at the gray sky. "Uh, Rainbow?"

"Quit telling me what to do, princess! I'm the captain, not you!"

Twilight looked up, too, and began trembling. "Rainbow Dash?"

"Don't you start, too, Egghead!" She made a U-turn. Everypony else immediately stopped talking and looked up. "What? What is it, guys?"

"RAINBOW DASH!" Rarity squealed, leaning on to Twilight for support. Spike kindly fanned Rarity.

"What?!" Applejack grabbed Rainbow Dash and forced her to look up. A colorful swarm of parasprites greeted them with cute smiles and fluttering wings. Some of the more ignorant ponies awed and cooed at the bugs, but Twilight, Applejack, and Rarity knew better; they were nothing but little ravishing demons.

Parasprites looked adorable, but they could devour anything in plain sight: food, crops, wood, cotton, metal, and other inorganic materials. Applejack's beloved garden of apple trees had suffered once because of the pests. A few once ate one of Rarity's favorite hats when she was a filly. Twilight read about them after Starlight got attacked by one of them.

If they did not leave the parasprites, they would lose their ship and everything on it.

Maybe even everyone.

Twilight had stumbled across legends of ponies being eaten alive by these seemingly innocent demons...

"GO!" Twilight grabbed the wheel and steered the boat as far as she could. "EVERYPONY, INSIDE! NOW!"

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and shoved Twilight away. "Hey, I'm the captain! Besides..." She let a single, ocean blue parasprite sit on her hoof. "Why are you guys losing your marbles? These guys are harmless - OW! It bit me!" She smacked the pest away and cradled her sore hoof. It had drawn blood.

"They're cannibals!" Somepony shouted, making everypony else panic. "RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!" As most of the sailors scattered to and fro, Rainbow Dash started issuing commands to the calm sailors, and the rest of the princesses tried to get rid of the parasprites. Twilight zapped them with her magic, carefully evading the boat's sails, while Applejack, Rarity, and Spike smacked the ravenous insects away. Fluttershy was cowering in an empty barrel. Pinkie Pie had left after they spotted the parasprites.

"They're too many!" Twilight wiped the perspiration off of her forehead and felt her legs wobble. She had used too much magic, and the parasprites were still causing a ruckus. Suddenly, she heard somepony scream and noticed that a barrel was rolling and heading for the rolling waves.

"HELP ME!"

"Fluttershy?" Twilight gasped and galloped towards her. "Fluttershy! Hang on!"

The barrel was about to reach the raging seas. Fluttershy shut her teal eyes. This is the end, the frightened pegasus chanted. This is the end! This is the end! Oh God of Death, be kind!

Sudddenly, Fluttershy felt light as a feather, and the barrel she was in stopped in midair. Gritting her teeth, Twilight used her magic to maneuver the barrel back on the boat. Fluttershy was safe.

Twilight did not know it yet, but her good deed would be rewarded by a very interesting character.

"Are you okay?" Fluttershy just whimpered and wrapped her arms around Twilight as soon as she crawled out of the barrel.

"Where's my sister?" She asked worriedly. "Where's Pinkie Pie, Twilight? Where?! Is she hurt? Tell me!"

"I - I don't know - "

"Grab the sail!" Rainbow Dash yelled to the others. "Get them off of it!" The pegasi quickly grabbed the sail and hit the ravenous intruders. Twilight was going to help them when several parasprites began biting her forelegs.

"Ow! Let me go! Let me go!" She tried to shake them off of her, but their teeth dug right into her fur and flesh. She began to feel woozy as they drained blood from her.

"S-Sunset... St-Star..." To her horror, she felt herself go limp and slowly lose consciousness.

"TWILIGHT!" The last things Twilight remembered were a pair of hooves cradling her head, Spike calling her name, and the pony from the crow's nest shouting.

"LAND, HO!"

"Twilight!" Spike cried fearfully. He laid his tiny paws on her shoulders to shake them, but he immediately yanked them back, terror-stricken. "Oh no...Fluttershy! She's cold! Too cold! What do we do?"

Amidst all the chaos, Fluttershy just watched the poor baby dragon cry and embrace his fallen sister. A few tears escaped her own eyes and fell on Twilight's mane as she held the unicorn's head.

This is all my fault...She saved me and this is all my fault!

"Twilight," Fluttershy sniffled, nuzzling her cheek. "I'm so, so sorry..."

Twilight woke up and observed her surroundings. She was trapped in some kind of silver bubble. When she caressed the bubble, it only shimmered and still stayed intact. She wiggled and shook inside it, but that only served to wiggle and shake the bubble itself and dizzy her. Also, the bubble itself appeared to be floating upward at a constant speed, not too slow and not too fast. Just right.

Waking up in a bubble did unnerve her, but she felt oddly at peace, like she was in her ideal place. All she heard was a low hum, and the calming bubble felt like a pillow against her fur.

"Am I in heaven?" The unicorn wondered aloud.

"Not exactly," someone responded. Twilight looked around, but she did not see anyone. "Look beneath you, princess."

She did and gasped at the horrific sight. Creatures of all sorts moaned in pain as they waddled in a pitch black river. They moaned and groaned with hunger. They pushed and shoved each other, eyeing Twilight with curious eyes. All their eyes were bloodshot, and their bodies sagged with burdensome grief.

"The River Styx..." Twilight uttered with dread. She looked for the source of the strange voice. "Who are you? Is this where I am to spend the rest of my days?"

"I don't know." The voice cackled with glee. "Anyway, who knows and who cares yet? Besides those fates, anyway. I'm letting you go, little pony!"

Twilight cocked her head with confusion. "Letting me go? But who are - " A huge, golden eagle's claw suddenly appeared and poked her bubble. Then, she fell and fell and fell into a hole of darkness.

"Just remember, sweetheart, I trust that you will bring me my queen or suffer the consequences."

Twilight opened her eyes and observed her surroundings again. This time, she was back on the boat, which had reached a deserted shore. Most of the ponies on board were unscathed. Somehow the boat was not torn to pieces or devoured by the parasprites, which had mysteriously disappeared.

She saw Fluttershy shivering beside Cherilee, who was doing her best to comfort the shaken pegasus. Spike was sleeping in Fluttershy's lap. Rainbow Dash had fallen asleep on the wheel, mumbling commands. Applejack and Rarity were asleep beside Rainbow Dash. Everypony else was either asleep or pacing and staring at the island nearby.

"TWI!" A shrill voice screeched in Twilight's ear, causing her to jump. She was soon wrapped in a warm, furry embrace.

"Oh, Twilight! You're okay! We thought you were dead! Well, I mean, we were pretty sure you were last night and then POW! WOW! You're alive and okay and we can have a 'You Came Back from the Dead' party and -" Twilight shut Pinkie up with a hoof to her rambling lips.

"Pinkie, where are we? And what happened to the parasprites?"

The pink earth pony hopped to the galley and brought back a huge trombone. "Music soothes the savage bug! Duh! And..." She looked at the shoreline and shrugged. "I have no earthly idea where we are, but I hope they have dessert!"

After everypony plus Spike woke up and embraced the presumably deceased princess, they predictably asked tons of questions. Twilight gave a brief synopsis of what she had experienced and then quickly changed the subject.

"Where are we?"

"I don't know but this here island just doesn't feel right," Applejack admitted, shuddering a little. "Maybe we should send somepony or two to investigate."

"Applejack's right." Twilight turned to the crew. "Okay, everypony. Who volunteers to -"

"Me! Me!" Rainbow Dash cried like a filly, waving her hoof in the air.

Applejack rolled her eyes and put down Rainbow Dash's raised hoof. "You're the captain, sugarcube, so your flank's stayin' here."

Rainbow Dash shoved Applejack with a scowl. "Pretty bold talk for a princess," she sassed.

"You're one to talk, featherbrain!"

"Girls!" Twilight shouted, gaining their attention. "Applejack is right, Rainbow Dash. You should stay with your boat. Anyone else is allowed to go - except Spike."

"Aw, Twilight!" The baby dragon whined. "You're killing my groove!"

"What groove?" Twilight teased.

Cherilee stepped up to the leading unicorn. "I'll go, princess." A chorus of "Me, toos!" followed her words.

"Okay, what do you think, Twilight? How many should we send?"

Twilight looked at Applejack with surprise. "Me? You're asking me?"

"Her?!" Rainbow Dash soon flew in between Applejack and Twilight with a stubborn frown. "Listen, AJ! I'm the captain!" The orange earth pony just shrugged and sidestepped Rainbow Dash.

"Yeah, well, you got us in this mess. So, I'm askin' for somepony else's opinion for a change."

Rarity approached Twilight with a worried look. "Well, darling?"

Twilight closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She could still feel the coldness of death all over her. "We'll send only a couple for now. They'll investigate the island until tomorrow morning, and the rest of us will sleep on the ship tonight. If all's well, they'll return to pick us up, and we'll stay on the island for a couple of nights to gather some food and recuperate."

"And if all's... not well?" Fluttershy asked.

"Then they'll have to come back and tell us that, and we'll leave immediately. So, who volunteered again? Raise your hooves..."

In the present...

The next day, Starlight and Starswirl, still under the guise as Maud Pie, were given Sunset's permission to go to the marketplace. Of course, they did not plan on going to the marketplace; they were out to help a lost princess.

"Why are we in Ponyville?" Starlight finally asked as Starswirl lead her to a dimly lit pub. "And in this sketchy part of town?"

"While I was on my way to see you, I came across two ponies I knew you'd love to meet."

Starlight fought the urge to stomp the ground in agitation. Her mothers always disapproved of such childish habits. "I thought you were going to help my mother!"

"We are." He held the bar's door open for her, but she just uneasily eyed the pub.

"I don't drink, sir. If you haven't noticed, I'm a minor."

Starswirl blinked owlishly and smacked himself, making Starlight more uneasy. "Of course! My apologies, my dear!" With a twirl of a hoof, he made her look old enough to enter the shabby bar. Starlight caught a glimpse at herself in the reflection of the glass and admired herself.

"Wow! So, can I stay like this forever or -" Starswirl entered the pub. "Wait up!" She soon caught up with him, ignoring the sneers and leers of the drunken ponies around them.

"We should be able to find them," Starswirl whispered to her. "Keep your eyes peeled. They may be in mediocre disguises."

"Twilight?" A orange earth pony approached Starlight.

"Well." Starswirl grinned confidently. "That was easy!"

"Twilight? Is that you?"

Starlight stared at the earth pony in amazement and grabbed her shoulders. "You knew Twilight Sparkle? The princess? Tell me more. Please! Who are you?" The earth pony's eyes widened as she backed away from Starlight. Then, she grabbed a drinking pegasus, whispered something to her, and they left the bar.

"Wait!" Starlight exited the bar and chased after the duo, but they were impressively fast. Soon, the pegasus picked up the earth pony and flew to the Everfree Forest. Starswirl caught up with Starlight and stood in her way.

"What are you doing?!"

"Stand still, my dear." He grabbed her hooves and shut his eyes. Starlight felt herself revert back to her original, younger form. "My shack is in that forest, but even I know it's too dangerous to head off into those woods alone."

"But we need to find them!" Starlight insisted. "The sooner we find them, the sooner we help my mother!"

"Patience, my dear. Just hold on to my hooves and, again, remain perfectly still. This echolocation and teleportation spell can make newbies to magic feel a little woozy."

"I'm not a -" Starswirl interrupted her by chanting the ancient spell, and they disappeared in a flash.

In the past...

Two days passed, and Cherilee and the others had not yet returned. Twilight suggested that she and some other ponies should go after them. Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Big McIntosh, and some sailors went off to find the others, while Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Spike, and the rest of the sailors stayed with the boat.

After a few minutes of traveling, Applejack was already creeped out.

"This here island's kind of creepy, y'all."

Rarity turned to her a bit smugly. "What makes you say that? You're not scared, are you?"

"Of course not! It's just... too eerie and too... quiet, like somethin' might jump out any second."

Rarity snorted and flipped her mane. "Don't overreact! Everything is perfectly - SPIDER!" She whipped her mane from side to side. The huge, hairy spider was on it and clinging to it like it was the finest spider silk. "GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!" Rarity tripped on a log, and the spider fell out of her mane. Unfortunately, a snake was slithering by her head and hissed at her.

"SNAKE!"

"Snake?" Twilight felt goosebumps begin to form on the flesh beneath her fur. Everypony else stopped in their tracks. "C-Calm down, everypony. Just keep moving. We'll find them soon."

"I sure hope so," Applejack muttered.

"Lightening Dust! Spitfire!" The two pegasi saluted in response to Twilight's call. "Get a bird's eye view of the island and find Cherilee and the others. Come back once you spotted them."

"Yes, your highness!" And with that, they flew off into the clouds.

Three hours later...

"Where," Rarity panted, "are those two?"

"I don't know." Applejack stopped to stretch her sore limbs. "But this island isn't that big. We should've found them by now, or reached the other side of the island at the very least."

Twilight noticed the distress of her companions and stopped in her tracks. "Let's rest for a bit." She used her magic to lift her filled canteen from her satchel. "Anypony thirsty?"

Applejack let out a low whistle. "That's some satchel you got there, Twi. It has everything in it! Lists, food, clothing, brushes, and now a canteen!"

Twilight blushed and glanced at her satchel affectionately. "Thank you. It's magical, truly. My wife gave to me as a birthday present."

"Like Mare Poppins!"* Rarity squealed with delight.

"Who?"

Suddenly, one gray earth pony sniffed the air. "Your highnesses, do you smell that?"

"Smell what?" Rarity gasped and began to fan herself. "Do I smell? Oh, sweet Celestia, no! Gods, no! Please don't let it be so!"

Applejack huffed and facehoofed. "Rarity, we've been on a boat for months, washing with barely usable scrapes of soap. We all smell worse than rotten apples and rotten cheese wrapped in sweaty clothes and the fecal matter of the Hydra."

"EW!"

"No!" Another sailor sniffed the air. "I smell it, too! It's some kind of flower." A chorus of agreements soon followed.

Twilight nodded affirmatively. She smelled this floral scent, too, but she could not identify it. "Okay, gang. Let's move forward." A few minutes later, Twilight lifted a stray branch, and they all beheld a grove filled with sweet-smelling, pink and white flowers.

"Holy smokes!" Big McIntosh whistled and smelled the flowers. "Eyeeup! These flowers are beauties to the eyes and nose!"

Rarity nodded in agreement, fascinated by the flowers. "They are quite lovely. Such delicate flowers!" She carefully caressed the petals of a few flowers.

Twilight narrowed her eyes at the flowers. "I know these flowers. If only I had my book... the book of floriculture..." These flowers start with an... M? No. N? O?

As everypony excluding Twilight examined, sniffed, and marveled the flowers, a decent sized group of ponies emerged from the foliage, wearing huge, saccharine smiles. The leading unicorn was a cyan mare with white pearl studs in one of her ears. Her mane had streaks of various shades of violet, and her pink eyes scrutinized the crew intently.

"Welcome, newcomers! I am Cinch, and this is our garden, our paradise, our haven, and our little peace of pure heaven. We'll hope you'll enjoy your stay here." She turned to the others expectantly. "Right everypony?" They all nodded mechanically.

Twilight chuckled nervously and shook her head. "Um, well, thank you. Unfortunately, we can't stay for long. We're actually searching for some members of our crew. We landed here last night, you see, and we sent them here to survey the island."

Big McIntosh nodded. "Is there a pony named Cherilee or -"

"Big Mac!" The aforementioned mare stepped out of the grinning crowd and embraced the bright red stallion. "Am I glad to see you! Here!" She held out a flower for him. "Try some of these yummy, edible flowers!"

Spitfire emerged from the crowd, too. "Yeah! They're the best!" She was about to eat the flower in her own hoof, but Applejack stomped up to her and smacked the plant away.

"I can't believe you two were lazin' around here and makin' us worried sick! Rainbow Dash would've been worried sick! She's probably already worried about Cherilee!"

Rarity gasped and pivoted to face Applejack. "You care about Captain Rainbow Dash? After all your bickering?"

The honest princess blushed a little. "I - It's just that I can imagine her running her mouth about the missing members already. That's all!"

Twilight searched the crowd and found almost all the familiar faces of the rest of the crew. "Well, they're all here except Lightening Dust." She turned to Cinch, who was smiling sweetly, if not creepily, at her. "You wouldn't happen to know where she is, would you? She's a mint green pegasus."

"With a boasting problem," one crew member sassed, earning a stern look from Twilight.

Cinch shook her head. "Can't say I have. Well since you're all here..." She looked at her group, and they all began to lift stray branches behind them, revealing several well built huts, a gorgeous waterfall, and thousands upon thousands of the same flowers. "Why don't you stay here and relax for a while?"

Cherilee embraced Big Mac and Applejack with a content sigh and dreamy look in her eyes. "Yes! Stay, please! There's the waterfall!"

"And spa shacks!" Spitfire chirped. munching on the flower that Applejack smacked away.

"Sp - Spa shacks?" Rarity felt her hooves grow weak. She had not had a decent spa day, much less a nice, warm bath, in days! She would have fainted on the spot if Twilight did not clumsily catch her.

"And apple orchards!" Cherilee cried excitedly.

Applejack and Big Mac looked at each other. "Apple orchards?"

"And there are many more flowers to eat as you can see!" Cinch gestured to one of the smaller shacks. "And this is our cafe! We know you all have had a rough journey and could use some food, yes? So why not stay and sit for a spell?" Most of the sailors began drooling and whispering. Twilight could tell they were ready to pounce on the flowers, but something did not seem right to her.

"Something's wrong," Twilight whispered to Rarity before offering Cinch an apologetic grin. "Thank you for all your hospitality, Miss Cinch, but we need to find our friend first - "

"Relax, my dear!" Cinch stomped her hoof, and many chairs made of foliage magically emerged from the ground. She gently pushed Twilight into a seat, Cherilee pushed Big Mac, Spitfire pushed Applejack and Rarity, and the rest of Cinch's posse pushed the rest of the sailors.

"Just for a minute, won't you? Please, everypony, just sit back, relax, and eat a flower." Cinch practically shoved a flower beneath Twilight's nose, startling the princess.

What oh what was it?! L... Lily... Lilac... The flower's aroma broke Twilight's concentration. She opened her mouth, suddenly desiring to feel the delicate petals touch the bridge of her mouth, caress her teeth, and tickle her tongue. But then, she pulled back and shut her mouth. She had to return to the ship as soon as possible. She needed to return home as soon as possible. Her family needed her.

"We also have libraries."

Twilight's mouth began to water. Now she knew how Rarity felt. The instant thirst to read a new book hit her painfully. Perhaps one night could not hurt. Everypony else would understand. Everypony else would look after Spike, wouldn't they?

"Well, one night can't possibly hurt," Twilight murmured wishfully. She leaned into the flower in Cinch's hoof, not noticing the malicious glint in Cinch's eyes. The petals were centimeters from her lips.

"Wait." Twilight pulled back again and cocked her head confusedly at Cinch. "How do you know I like libraries?"

Cinch laughed as if Twilight had told her something funny. "You look like quite the bookworm, your majesty - " She quickly covered her lips with her spare hoof, and the smiles of the group instantly vanished. All their eyes held pure terror.

Twilight dropped the flower and narrowed her eyes at Cinch, who began to act a little nervous. "How did you know I was a princess?"

"Um, well, it's your stance, your majesty. It's very refined and dignified."

"Eyeup." Big Mac began to nibble on the flower Cherilee offered him. "She's right, princess."

Cherilee nodded and took a bite of her own flower. "It has been a long journey for all of us, princess. We should just rest for a while."

"The others can wait!" Spitfire added cheerfully.

Rarity tentatively pursed her lips. "I'm not so sure they can. They'll be worried." Her sapphire blue eyes scanned the flower dropped in her lap. "But they do look rather delicious..."

Big Mac offered Applejack his half-eaten flower. "C'mon, sis! Eat up! They ain't gonna hurt you!"

Twilight was still contemplating, but Applejack and Rarity began noticing that the sailors began eating their flowers with content sighs and smiles. With one quick look at each other, they shrugged, assuming it was harmless enough, and leaned in to eat.

Suddenly, Twilight's violet eyes bulged with realization. Lo... Lotus flowers! That's what they are! Harmless and pink and delicate, enchanting... Wait. LOTUS FLOWERS?!

Author's Note: *Mary Poppins reference