It had been supposed to be the perfect trip—just sunshine, the open sea, and a break from all the chaos back home.

But of course, Rainbow Dash couldn’t shake the feeling that something had to go wrong.

Every creak of the ship, every shadow on the water, every weird coincidence had her on edge, convinced equestrian magic was lurking somewhere.

And maybe it would’ve been fine, just Dash being Dash, if she hadn’t made such a big deal of it. She’d insisted on searching, interrupted conversations, dragged people off from games and music and food.

Twilight’s carefully planned summer cruise had started to unravel, and Dash knew it was her fault.

So now she was out here alone, at the far edge of the deck. The laughter of her friends had faded into the distance, replaced by the hush of waves slapping against the hull. Moonlight spilled silver over the water, cold and endless.

Rainbow leaned hard against the railing, arms folded tight beneath her head, shoulders slumped. The wind tugged at her hair, but she didn’t move. Didn’t look up.

When you stepped closer, she didn’t even flinch. Just breathed out slowly, voice low and sharp with guilt.

“Guess I wrecked everything, huh? Couldn’t just let it be fun. Had to make it all about me.”

The sea stretched wide and quiet below, waiting. She stayed still, waiting too.