It had been a couple hours since Twilight and the others had arrived at the castle. Throughout the afternoon and into the evening they searched through the library, hoping to find something that might help them solve the map. But, almost none of the books they had looked in were of any use. And they still had a few more to go. Plus, being concerned for the young colt in the hospital, Twilight had sent Fluttershy back to watch over him.

"Arrgh! This is so frustrating." Twilight grumbled, looking between the map and an open book, "We've looked through so many books, but the markings on the map aren't in any of them."

"Well," Rainbow Dash said, standing beside the purple alicorn and looking over the map, "It's obvious it's a pirate's treasure map. But, I can't make out the signature in the bottom corner. And the riddles almost sound like something from a Daring-Do book."

As the two of them swapped thoughts, Pinkie was looking through another book that had a picture of a squid and a ship on the cover.

"Hey, I think I found something." She said, looking at the picture of a gruff earth pony stallion.

"Who's that?" Rarity asked, looking at the stallion on the page, "I've seen his cutie mark before."

"That would be Captain Moonlight."

Hearing those words, Rainbow Dash's ears perked up.

"Wait a minute." She grinned, "The Captain Moonlight? The richest, most feared, and coolest pirate in history?! Awesome!"

"How do ya know who he is, Dash?" Applejack asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Dad liked to tell me adventure stories when I was a filly. But, his favorite ones were about Captain Crimson Moonlight. He used to tell me that the captain had a way to control the sea, making it easier to rob ships, outrun pirate hunters, and disappear until it was time to attack again."

As interesting as Captain Moonlight sounded, Twilight was having difficulty making sense of it. The stallion she saw on the page was an earth pony. So, for him to control the ocean, it would have to be impossible. Even a powerful alicorn such as Princess Celestia would have difficulty. But, from what Rainbow had said, it sounded like the captain was able to do it with ease.

"Does it say anything else in the book, Pinkie?" She asked, looking over the pink pony's shoulder.

"Hang on." Pinkie replied, flipping the page, "It says here that the captain was the owner of a very powerful gem called the Ocean's Soul. But, when Captain Moonlight passed, the gem wasn't found and the holds of his ship were empty. There wasn't a single gold piece found aboard his ship."

Next to the portrait of Captain Moonlight, there was a picture of an ocean blue sapphire with the label; Ocean's Soul under it.

"I've seen that on the map." Twilight said, holding the map next to the book.

As they looked, there was in fact a gem that looked identical to the one in the book. However, the map was slightly weathered and was worn in some places. But, the gem in question was there.

"So," Rainbow Dash said with some excitement, "this map belonged to Captain Moonlight? Awesome!"

"It looks that way, Rainbow." Twilight confirmed, curiously looking at the map, "But, that still doesn't answer why our little friend has it."

Then, as if on cue, Fluttershy walked in with a smile.

"Good news, everypony." Fluttershy said, entering the big library, "The colt is going to be okay. He was just dehydrated and starved, the poor thing. But, the doctor said that he could be out of the hospital tomorrow morning."

Everyone breathed a say of relieve as they heard that news.

"Great." Twilight grinned, happy to know the colt will be fine, "In fact, we need to talk to him anyway. There are somethings we need him to clear up for us."

The next day, Twilight and her friends went back to the hospital to see the colt. Hopefully, the colt might be able to provide some information as to why he was in the crate. And why he had a treasure map.

"Good morning, Princess." A nurse said, giving a warm smile, "Your little colt friend is doing well, but he's very quiet. Hasn't said a word to anypony all morning."

"He's probably a little scared." Twilight replied, "After all, he was found in a shipping crate."

The nurse lead them to the room the colt was in and found him sitting on the edge of his bed with the doctor checking his heartbeat.

"Okay, son, breathe in." The doctor said as the colt inhaled, "Very good, breathe out."

Seeing the ponies enter the room, the doctor gave an approving smile to the colt, only to receive a shy grin.

"He'll be fine." The doctor said, addressing the ponies, "He just needed some food, liquids, and proper rest. But, it would be best if he was sent back to wherever he came from. His family is probably very worried about the young fellow."

"Thank you, doctor." Twilight said, approaching the colt, "Hello, little friend. My name's Twilight Sparkle and this Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash. What's your name?"

The colt didn't say or do anything to respond. All he did was look down at the floor and stay quiet. But, being the pony she was, Twilight wasn't willing to give up.

"I know you're scared," she began softly, "but you can trust me when I say that we're your friends. Nothing bad is going to happen to you. All we want is to help you."

The colt lifted his eyes back to her, but still remained quiet.

"Could we have his belongings brought in, please?" Twilight asked the nurse, who nodded, left the room, and returned shortly after with the saddlebag and neckless, "Thank you."

Upon seeing his neckless, the colt quickly snatched it in his magic and put it around his neck. That's when Twilight noticed the colt relax a little and a relieved smile cross his face. The colt then looked up at her with thankful eyes.

"That neckless seems pretty important to you, huh?" Twilight said, looking at the heart gem attached to the chain.

The colt nodded slowly, still remaining silent. But, the response was enough to tell her that she had gotten through to him.

"Is it from somepony special?" Twilight asked, receiving another nod, "You want to tell me who?"

The colt looked down at his neckless and held the gem in his hoof.

"It's from my mother." The little colt finally said, barely loud enough to be heard by all in the room.

Finally, the first words the colt had spoken since they found him. This was a big relief because it had proven that would be easier to talk to the young colt.

"I bet she's worried sick about you." Twilight said softly, trying to be gentle with her words.

"No..." The colt replied, curling his hoof around the gem, "No, she's not. She died a couple of years ago."

The ponies in the room shared a look of worry and sadness as they heard those words.

"What about your father?" Twilight asked, hoping to gain some ground, "Is he worried about you?"

"If he ever cared, he would've been there since I was born." The colt answered with a hint of anger in his words, "But, he wasn't. So, I doubt he cares."

Realizing that she was staring to lose the colt, Twilight quickly changed subjects. Using her magic, she retrieved the map and brought it between her and the colt.

"Are you familiar with pirates?" She asked, hoping to regain the colt's confidence.

"Actually, yeah." The colt replied, starting to calm down, "My home was near the harbour and I'd see all kinds of different ships and boats."

"Do you know who this map belonged to?"

"Captain Crimson Moonlight. I knew about him from hearing sailors telling tales about him. All though, it took me a while to realize that map was his."

Now they were getting somewhere, but it still left a few questions.

"How did you get it?" Twilight asked, looking at the map.

"I..." The colt began to say before pausing, "Burrowed it from someone."

The way the colt had spoken made Twilight believe he was lying. But, for the sake of earning his trust, she chose to go along with it.

"What's your name?" She asked, sitting next to him on the hospital bed.

"Surf Salt." The colt replied, looking back down at his neckless, "But, most just call me Surf."

"Pleased to meet you."

After Surf had introduced himself, the doctor approached Twilight with a slightly serious expression.

"Princess," he said respectfully, "may I have a word with you?"

"Of course." She said, getting off the bed and walking out of the room and into the hallway.

Once the doctor shut the door behind them, he looked through his charts.

"Is there something wrong?" Twilight asked, unsure of what the doctor wanted.

"Well," the doctor began, adjusting his glasses, "there is a slight problem. You see, since you found that young colt in a shipping crate, he's technically in Equestria illegally. By law, we are allowed to give him medical aid, but he can't stay here for long. And, even though he claims to have no parents or guardians, it is a likely possibility that he'll still be sent home within the next couple days. Now, I'm sure you already know all of this and I'm also sure you know there's nothing I can do to change what'll happen to him."

"Is it possible to find a suitable guardian for him?"

"I sent a letter to Foal Services last night. But, I'm not sure if they'll find anypony before Surf is deported back to his country."

Hearing all of this, Twilight began to think. On one side, Foal Services could find a good match for Surf Salt. But, it might take days, weeks, even months to find somepony. However, on the other side, having Surf being sent back without anypony to care for him didn't sound appealing at all either. But then, an idea entered Twilight's mind. One that could avoid and solve both problems for a while.

"What If I became his guardian?" Twilight asked, rubbing her chin, "For a temporary time, I mean."

The doctor was silent for a moment as he began to think. But then, after a while, he agreed.

"Well, given the circumstances, we can release him to you as long as Foal Services are aware. Plus, I believe no one there will argue over the fact that you are taking care of him for now. I'll have our front desk draw up the papers." He said, turning to leave, "You can sign them on your way out."

"Alright then." Twilight grinned, "Thank you, doctor."

The group left with Surf Salt and made their way to the castle while Twilight carried the map under one of her wings. The young colt, now wearing his mother's neckless and saddlebag, looked around at the small town. In a way, he felt very out of place. But, since he was from a coastal village, it was a given.

"Where's the nearest ocean?" The young colt asked, seeing only mountains and hills in every direction.

"About a hundred and ten miles from here, darling." Rarity replied, "Manehatten has the biggest seaport in Equestria. Why do you ask?"

"It's just... Well, I'm more used to waves crashing on a beach, enchanting blue ocean as far as the eye can see, and the moonlight dancing across the water at night. Here, I just see hills, greenery, and land in every direction. Don't get me wrong, it's nice. But, I was born and raised with the ocean."

"I see."

Shortly after, they reached the castle and went inside. They returned to the library where they found Starlight and Spike reading separately.

"Hey, you two." Twilight said, causing the pair to look up from their books and greet her with grins, "How's it coming?"

"Well," Starlight replied first, "We've got good new and bad news. The good news is we figured out how the Ocean's Soul came to be."

"And the bad news?"

"The island on the map doesn't exist anywhere." Spike said, holding his book which was an atlas, "We checked the globe and every atlas we have, but that island can't be found anywhere."

"Okay, that's a problem."

Realizing that their chance to find the Ocean's Soul may be stopped before it can begin, Twilight began to think. The map only showed the island and some landmarks that could help identify it. But, what good were they if the island wasn't there to begin with. Then they heard Surf speak again.

"I think you're forgetting something." He said, taking the map from Twilight and opening it, "This is a pirate's treasure map that belonged to one of the greatest pirates in history. If I were him, I'd hide everything on an island that I would only know about. Plus, I'd want a way to find it if I forgot."

He turned the map and found a group of stars on the back as well as another riddle that read; To where the angels shine is where you'll find the arrow's line.

"What it means by that is," Surf began to explain, "if you find this exact group of stars, they'll point you directly to the island."

He inspected the group of stars carefully, before looking around at the library.

"Do you have a star map anywhere?" He asked, receiving a nod from Twilight as a book floated over to them and opening it, "Thank you. Now, if the stars here are correct..."

He looked at the globe in the room and saw the date on a calendar hanging on the wall.

"This constellation should be here." Surf said, pointing at a spot that was located in the middle of open ocean.

"How do you know all of this?" Rainbow Dash asked, looking at the spot, "I mean, that's pretty on the nose if you ask me. A little too on the nose."

"You learn a thing or two when you're around sailors long enough. Plus, I've read a few books on navigation."

The ponies exchanged glances before looking back at him.

"So, you can find that constellation?" Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow, "And understand that map?"

"Well," Surf replied, tapping a hoof, "I can understand some of it. The other messages and markings are a little harder to read. But, if you were planning on going to find the treasure, that constellation is a good start."

"Well, I'll admit, a little adventure would be nice. But, I'm afraid it would be too dangerous for a colt like you. Plus, I doubt that treasure will be going anywhere soon."

"Yeah... About that..."

Twilight looked down at the colt as he wore a nervous grin, causing her to think something wasn't right. In which case, she was correct.

"I, um..." Surf stammered, rubbing the back of his head, "May have lied when I said I borrowed that map..."

"Oh, then where did you get it?" She asked, almost unprepared for the answer.

"I may have stolen it from Sharp Edge. Most know him as the Master of Blades."

Immediately, the room went very silent as the group stared at the colt in bewilderment. No one moved as the name rolled through their minds. And his reputation was enough to make even Rainbow Dash shiver a little. And that was enough to make her next action understandable.

"YOU STOLE IT FROM SHARP EDGE?!"

Author's Note

Hey, everyone.

Okay, it took me a little longer than I wanted to get this chapter together. But, I think I got it. Part of me thinks I could've done it better, but I'm not really sure about that.