A Rose's Journey

Chapters

Prologue
Finding Her Place
A Party With the Princess of Friendship
Meeting Jackpot Spade
The Invasion
Who Wants to Save Equestria?
Spade's Mission
The Frozen North Part 1
The Frozen North Part 2
Meeting Snow Diamond
I Dreamed a Dream
Snow Diamond's Story
I Can Help You
Arriving at Mt. Bedlam
Escaping Typhon's Wrath
Ready to Save the World
Torment's Reveal
Steal the Show
The Final Battle
Saving the Day
A Happy Ending
Captured
On the Ship

Prologue

They say everypony in Equestria has a purpose; it all happens when a pony finally earns their cutie mark and discovers who they are and what they’re meant to do. But for one soul, it wasn’t that simple. This is the adventure of one pony who was more than what others thought of her. And remember, things aren’t always what they seem.

Finding Her Place

“Guys, come on! You’re being dramatic.”

Violet Rose was standing outside of a house in the seaside town of Seaward Shoals with her grandparents; they were practically bawling their eyes out at the young mare’s departure and she was blushing so much that her face looked like a tomato.

“I’m just moving out. It’s not the end of the world.” Violet said, making a sheepish grimace.

“We can’t help it, dear.” The stallion said, wiping his eyes with his hoof

“Our little grandfilly is all grown up!” The elderly mare wept.

“Grandma, I’m almost twenty.” Violet blushed, reminding the pair that she’s not so little anymore.

“I-I know. It’s just… so hard to believe.” Grandma continued to weep.

“I’ll write to you guys as soon as I can. And I’ll come back and visit.” Violet said, sympathetically placing a hoof on the mare’s shoulder.

“But Violet, do you even know where you’re going?” Grandpa asked. “You’re not even going to take the train.”

“I know. And no, I don’t know where I’m supposed to go, but I guess that’s the fun of it.” The orchid mare answered. “Not knowing where you’re heading or where to go; it just adds to the adventure. Plus, you guys know I don’t like taking the train. But don’t worry. As soon as I find the right place, I’ll immediately write to you guys.”

“You promise?” Grandma inquired.

“I promise.” Violet replied with a smile and a playful salute.

The two old ponies smiled sadly and wrapped their forelegs around their granddaughter with more tears streaming down their cheeks. She returned the embrace.

“We’ll miss you.” Grandma said.

“I’ll miss you guys, too.” Violet replied as a few small tears started to fall from her big blue eyes.

The trio of ponies parted. And with that last goodbye, Violet Rose was off. She walked along the dirt path away from Seaward Shoals hitched to the wagon containing all of the possessions she wanted to take with her along with a sufficient amount of money to pay for anything else she needed. She trotted along the path up north, through forests, across deserts, past mountains and canyons for a very long time. And a few times she had to rest in a town for a night or two.

Until finally after walking and/or trotting the paths for what felt like weeks, she finally found someplace different from the other places she had encountered. Violet Rose found herself in a town known only as Ponyville.

‘Hmmm, this place looks interesting.’ She thought, casually walking into town.

Violet looked around, trying to find any houses for sale or a job opening. She just saw different types of ponies chatting and talking with each other as she passed them.

‘There are so many different ponies living here. I bet this place could be…’ She said to herself.

“Oof!”

Violet’s thoughts were abruptly halted when she collided into somepony. She landed flat on her flank, still attached to her wagon.

“Oh, good heavens!” An unfamiliar voice asked.

Violet shook her head, looked, and saw two pairs of hooves standing side by side in front of her; she craned her neck up to see two ponies she didn’t recognize standing over her with concerned looks on their faces. One was a white unicorn with blue eyes and a curled purple mane while the other was a lavender pony with deep purple eyes, a deep blue mane with streaks of pink, and a horn… and a pair of wings. Violet’s eyes widened.

“Are you okay?” The Alicorn asked, holding out a hoof to the mare.

The orchid mare took the stranger’s hoof and got back onto her own hooves.

“Oh, yeah! Yeah, I’m fine. It’s all good.” She said, trying not to sound too flustered.

She glanced down and saw a fragile white box encased in a cerulean blue glow floating in between her and the two ponies she was talking to; Violet recognized the glow as her own personal magic. She saw a logo printed on the top reading: Sugarcube Corner; the smell of cake frosting and sprinkles tickled Violet’s nose.

“Close call, huh?” She nonchalantly asked.

“Nice catch.” The Alicorn said, taking the box into her own magical embrace. “Sorry that I bumped into you.”

“No, it’s my bad.” Violet replied. “I just didn’t see you two there.”

“It’s alright, darling. No harm done.” The white unicorn said, reaching out her hoof to brush Violet’s coat of any dirt. “Are you new here? I don’t believe I’ve ever seen you before.”

“Oh, I just arrived.” Violet replied. “But, um… who are you two anyway?”

“Oh, of course. Sorry about that.” The Alicorn said. “I’m Twilight Sparkle, and this is one of my best friends, Rarity.”

“Charmed.” The unicorn, now dubbed Rarity, said politely. “And what about you, dear? What’s your name?”

“Me? Oh, my name is Violet Rose.”

“Violet Rose, what a lovely name, darling.”

“Uh, thanks.”

“Where are you from?”

“Uh, Seaward Shoals.”

Twilight Sparkle and Rarity looked at each other curiously, then back at Violet.

“Seward Shoals, huh?” Twilight asked; the orchid mare nodded shyly.

“Did you take the train?” Rarity asked.

“No. I don’t like the train. Too crowded for my tastes.” Violet replied, shaking her head. “Plus, all of the stuff in my wagon probably wouldn’t fit in the baggage car.”

“So… you walked? All the way from the southern west coast of Equestria?”

“…Pretty much.”

Rarity and Twilight looked at each other again, this time with shocked expressions on their faces.

“Wow, that’s… very impressive, Miss Rose.” Twilight said, looking back at Violet.

“Please, just ‘Violet’ is fine.” Violet said, waving her hoof dismissively and blushing.

“Alright, darling.” Rarity said with a nod of her head. “Oh! Do you have any relatives here in Ponyville?”

“Yeah, do you have any friends or family you can stay with while you’re here?” Twilight added.

“Oh! Uh… no, I-I don’t. But that’s okay. I’m sure I’ll be fine on my own. I don’t mean to be rude or anything, but I’d better be going. It was nice to meet you.” Violet said before quickly trotting away from the two confused mares.

‘That was a close one.’ She thought, keeping her eyes on the dirt road ahead of her.

Violet kept trotting along the path with her wagon in tow, occasionally glancing from side to side to find a vacant building or a house for sale. Then she spotted a two story gray brick and mortar building with a thatch roof and a sign hanging above the door.

‘Hmmm, this looks promising.’ She thought, raising a hoof to her chin and smirking.

A Party With the Princess of Friendship

A few weeks had passed. Violet Rose was now working for a local grocer, helping him stock food at his stand and cleaning up afterwards. Violet was a very hard worker and she was usually done unnaturally quickly. Whenever she wasn’t at work, she kept to herself most of the time and she didn’t socialize with other ponies very much, but that was how she liked it. She always preferred her own company and doing certain things her way.

Most of the other ponies of Ponyville were very curious about Violet Rose, especially Princess Twilight Sparkle and her circle of friends. They all wanted to get to know Violet better and introduce her to other ponies, but they all had different ways on how to go about it. One day, they all finally came to an agreement; they decided to invite Violet Rose to their School of Friendship for a party with the students and lots of other friends from beyond Equestria.

It was the day of the party; it seems Pinkie Pie, Ponyville’s premiere party planner, had outdone herself yet again. Everypony and every creature had arrived and they were having a wonderful time, talking and laughing and making friends. Twilight had been scanning the crowds, hoping to catch a glimpse of Violet Rose but so far, she had no luck.

“Any sign of this mysterious new pony yet?” A light blue Pegasus mare with a rainbow mane asked the Alicorn.

“Not yet, Rainbow Dash.” Twilight replied, still keeping a lookout. “I sure hope she got the invitation.”

“Don’t worry, Twilight! She got it, I made sure of that.” A bubbly pink Earth pony said as she hopped over to her friend.

Suddenly, Twilight saw it: a small speck of purple trotting towards the school. The Alicorn’s face brightened as she recognized the face of the pony.

“There she is.” She said before getting out a microphone and clearing her throat. “Everypony and every creature, please welcome Violet Rose, a small town pony from Seaward Shoals. Let’s all honor her and properly welcome her to Ponyville.”

The orchid purple unicorn suddenly froze as the guests all directed their attention to her. After a long moment of silence, Violet smirked and blushed in embarrassment the moment every guest started applauding for her; she had no idea what this as all about.

“I’m so glad you could make it, Violet.” The Princess of Friendship said as she and her friends galloped towards Violet.

“Uh… wouldn’t miss it, Princess.” Violet said with a nervous chuckle.

“Allow me to introduce my other friends.” Twilight said. “This is Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Spike, Starlight Glimmer, and Sunset Shimmer.”

“Nice to meet you all. If you don’t mind me asking this… what’s all this about?”

“We just wanted to invite you to a party, silly.” Pinkie Pie said. “And make friends.”

Violet was about to open her mouth to speak when she heard a female voice she didn’t recognize say,

“Princess Twilight?”

The group of ponies all turned their heads and saw a pony with a dark purple coat, deep pink hair, and something that looked like the broken stub of a unicorn horn on top of her head approach. Twilight’s eyes widened.

“Tempest!” She cried as she went over to greet the stranger.

“It’s good to see you, Twilight. I missed you and the rest of your friends.” The pony said sheepishly.

“Fizzlepop Berrytwist! You’ve returned!” Pinkie Pie yelled, wrapping her hooves around the pony in a somewhat strangling hug. “Still the most awesome name EVER!!”

“It-it’s, uh, good… to see you too, Pinkie Pie.” The mare said, desperately struggling to breathe before the pink pony finally let go.

“It has been too long, darling.” Rarity cheered.

“Yay, you’re back.” Fluttershy whispered.

“Good to see you again.” Rainbow Dash said.

“Sure is.” Applejack added with a wink.

“We missed you.” A little dragon named Spike said excitedly.

“Uh, hi.” Starlight Glimmer said. “I’m Starlight Glimmer.”

“Oh, one of the Princess’s students, right?” Tempest inquired with a smile.

“Yep. That’s me.” Starlight said, shaking the mare’s hoof. “Oh! And this is Sunset Shimmer, another student of Twilight.”

“Nice to meet you.” Sunset said in a friendly tone.

“Nice to meet you, too.” Tempest replied with a nod before turning her head to see Violet Rose. “And who’s this?”

Tempest approached the young mare who took a few steps away from her in fear.

“Oh, Tempest. This is Violet Rose; she’s new in Ponyville.” Twilight introduced. “Violet, this is Tempest Shadow.”

“Nice to meet you.” Tempest said as nicely as she could.

Violet hesitantly took the mare’s hoof and stuttered, “It’s, uh, nice to… meet you too.”

Tempest gave Violet a kind smile before turning back to Twilight and saying, “Wow, this is some party.”

“Thank you. It’s in honor of our School of Friendship.” Twilight said, proudly showing off the school building.

“A School of Friendship? Whoa. You… really have come a long way, haven’t you?”

“Yes, the school is amazing. Hey, would you like to meet some of the students?”

“I’d love to.”

Before Violet could sneak away however, Twilight said to her, “You should join us, Violet. It would good for you to socialize.”

“Uh… okay.” Violet said as she reluctantly followed the group, not wanting to start a scene.

‘Good for me to socialize? Seriously, Princess? What are you, my grandma?’ She thought, rolling her eyes in annoyance.

“Eeeeee! Oh my Celestia! It’s them! It’s really THEM!!” A random voice screamed as ponies started to make way for some unknown group.

Twilight turned around and saw that a group of three stallions was approaching; everyone recognized these ponies as Deep Bass, Guitar Shred, and Hard Rock aka, the Applewood Vampires. The Princess gasped when the leader of the group, Guitar Shred, removed his sunglasses, looked her in the eyes, and said to her,

“Hi there. Sorry we’re late; we got lost in traffic.”

“We need to set up for our sound check for the show.” Deep Bass added.

“Sorry, Princess; we didn’t mean to disturb you.” Hard Rock said.

“Oh, you gentlecolts aren’t disturbing anypony.” Princess Twilight said politely. “I’m so glad you all came, Mr. Shred, Mr. Bass, and Mr. Rock. Just in time, too. I was starting to worry you three might not show up.”

“Are you kidding? We wouldn’t miss this for the world!” Guitar Shred said excitedly.

Violet stared with wide eyes at the three stallions; the Applewood Vampires were her favorite band in all of Equestria, but she never once thought she would ever get to meet them in the flesh. Depp Bass noticed the young mare staring at them and said,

“Hey, guys. Looks like a fan filly.”

Guitar Shred and Hard Rock all turned to face Violet and she felt the color almost drain out of her face when she met their gaze. They smiled politely at her.

“Uh… h-h-h-h-h-h-hello.” The young mare nervously, feeling her legs shaking underneath her.

“Hello. What’s your name, kid?” Hard Rock asked politely.

“Um, V-V-Violet Rose.”

“Nice to meet you, Miss Violet Rose.” Guitar Shred said as he shook the young mare’s hoof. “You’re a fan?”

She nodded and smiled shyly.

“It’s always a pleasure to meet a fan.” Deep Bass said; Hard Rock and Guitar Shred agreed.

Violet’s joy was short lived however when the skies grew dark and the party fell silent after a deafening boom was heard.

Meeting Jackpot Spade

“What?! Storm clouds? Thunder? I ordered perfectly clear weather for today.” Princess Twilight exclaimed before glaring at her rainbow-haired friend. “Rainbow Dash, what is going on? Is this a prank?!”

“Uh, Twi? I don’t think those are storm clouds. And that wasn’t thunder.” Rainbow Dash said nervously. “That looks more like… like…”

“Thick cannon smoke?” Tempest finished as she gazed up at the sky with wide, terror-filled eyes. “Déjà vu…”

After a few seconds, a large airship with a pony skull and crossbones on the sides suddenly appeared from the clouds of ink black smoke. Everyone in town stared at the ship in terror, unsure of what was going to happen next. Violet blinked and gulped, gawking at the ship just like everypony else; she knew this couldn’t be good. She started to unconsciously back away from everypony else and the ship, trying to get as far away from the scene as possible.

When the ship finally landed, no pony dared to move. That was when an elderly Earth pony stallion departed from the ship, carrying a microphone and a set of magical speakers as he did so. Keeping his distance away from the group, the stallion activated the microphone, cleared his throat, and said in a deep craggily voice,

“Ahoy, ponies and creatures of Equestria! We mean you no harm… unless one of you foolishly attacks any of us first.”

‘Us?’ Princess Twilight thought, raising an eyebrow.

“Excuse me, sir?” Tempest said as she boldly stepped forward. “What is the meaning of this? Are you the captain of this ship?”

“Me? Oh, no, no, no, no. I’m not the captain.” The pony scoffed at Tempest’s accusation. “I’m merely the first mate; Crab Claws, at your service. But if you want to speak to the captain himself, he’ll need a proper introduction.”

“Introduction?” Tempest repeated before Crab Claws spoke again.

“Fillies and gentlecolts!” He announced into the microphone. “Put your hooves… and paws and claws together for… Captain Jackpot Spade!”

When the name was announced, nopony had appeared. After a long moment of awkward silence, all eyes shot back to the first mate in confusion.

“Ahem, I said Captain Jackpot Spade!”

A few more moments of silence passed; Tempest gave Crab Claws a smug look before he called out for two other ponies.

“Sea Sponge! Star Fish!” He yelled before two earth ponies (one pink and one yellow) ran up to him and gave him a nervous salute.

“Yes, Crab Claws?” They said in unison.

“Where is the captain?” Crab Claws asked through gritted teeth.

The pair of ponies awkwardly looked at each other before glancing upwards. Everypony else looked in the same direction to see a tan Pegasus stallion lying on a hammock near the top of the ship… and he appeared to be sound asleep. His head was hanging over the side of the hammock with a bottle of something in his hoof that was dangling on the same side; ponies could faintly hear him snoring.

“Is that a… a Pegasus?” Twilight asked, squinting her eyes at the sleeping pony.

“I think so.” Spike asked, hiding behind Twilight.

“Is he asleep?” Sunset asked.

“Ugh, not again.” Crab Claws groaned, putting a hoof over his face in frustration. “Sponge, Fish, wake him up.”

“How can we?” The pink pony, most likely Star Fish, asked.

“Yeah, he’s up in his special hammock.” The yellow pony, Sea Sponge, added.

“No need. I’m on it.” An orange dragon named Smolder said before flying up to the ship.

It was then that Smolder leaned in to the sleeping pony’s face, took a deep breath… and at the top of her lungs she screamed,

“HEY, WAKE UP!!”

The Pegasus immediately snapped himself awake. He was so surprised that he fell out of his hammock and fell down to the ship’s deck, but his clumsily flapped his wings to try and keep himself airborne before he swayed the wrong way, rolled down, and landed right at the hooves of Princess Twilight herself. Everypony gasped and backed away from the dizzy stallion as he shakily got back onto his own hooves; the moment he stood up, the Pegasus stared at the crowds before him with a look of confusion on his face.

“Um… this may sound like a peculiar request, but could somepony explain to me as t-to why I’m h-here?” He asked in a slurred voice.

“Please tell me this is a joke.” Tempest whispered to Twilight.

Twilight simply just shrugged her shoulders and smirked before the Pegasus suddenly said,

“Oh, no, no, no! Wait, wait, wait! It’s coming to me! I need just a quick moment to clear me head.”

He smiled, opened the bottle he was holding, put it to his muzzle, and he gulped down all of the liquid that was inside. When the bottle was completely empty, the Pegasus squeezed his eyes shut and threw the bottle away, causing it to shatter with a loud crash on contact with a nearby rock; everypony winced at the sound. He shivered a little as the questionable liquid slid down his throat, then he opened his eyes, revealing the irises to be mismatched. The right eye was a bright purple while the left was a neon green; it was very unsettling, especially with the sinister, gold-toothed grin that now adorned his face.

“Ah, much better.” He said as he straightened himself. “So sorry about that, fillies and gentlecolts. I do tend to lose my edge after a long nap.”

“Jackpot Spade, is it?” Tempest cleared her throat.

“Captain! Captain Jackpot Spade, if you please.” He said, holding his hoof in front of her face.

The unicorn glared at the Pegasus and said nothing, clearly annoyed with his behavior already.

“Uh, hi there. I’m the Princess of Friendship.” Twilight said, sheepishly stepping forward. “Not exactly sure what’s going on here, but I’m sure we can peacefully talk things out… right?”

Captain Spade’s eyes widened as he gazed at the Alicorn; he smiled again.

“Oh! What do we have here? One of the four reigning Alicorn Princesses has come to greet lil’ ol’ me?! Must be my lucky day…” He chuckled, inspecting the mare curiously.

“Captain Jackpot Spade, sir, what brings you here today? Is there something any of us Ponyville ponies can help you with?” Twilight asked nervously.

“Actually… there is.” Spade replied slyly.

“You need somepony to point you to the nearest bar or something?” Rainbow Dash muttered with a snicker.

“Rainbow Dash, quiet!” Twilight hissed.

“No, I don’t need a bar or even another drink. What I need… is a pony.”

Twilight and her friends all looked at each other in concern before turning back to the stallion before them.

“A… a pony?” Twilight repeated in a nervous tone.

“You heard me, Princess; I need a pony, but not just any pony, mind you.” Spade explained. “This pony is special. VERY special…”

“Oh yeah? How special? Who is this pony anyway?” Rainbow Dash scoffed before Fluttershy pulled her tail to shush her.

“Uh, what my friend Rainbow Dash means to say is that maybe you could tell us more about this pony you’re looking for.” Twilight tried to reason with the stranger. “Like what their name is, what they look like, etc. Maybe we could, um…”

“Maybe we could find them for you!” Pinkie Pie obliviously added with a grin.

“Pinkie, shut it!” Applejack hissed, trying to keep her pink friend under control.

“Well… I can certainly give you a description, if that’s what you want.” Spade said. “The pony I’m looking for is a young unicorn mare with a light orchid purple coat, a long curly brown mane and tail, and large eyes that’re as blue as the ocean. None of you would happen to know of such a mare… would you?”

Twilight glanced over at her friends and students, who were all giving her looks of concern.

“WOULD you?” Spade repeated, sounding much angrier.

“Uh… Can you excuse us for just a minute, Captain?” Twilight said before pulling her friends into a huddle.

Spade sighed and rolled his eyes in annoyance.

The Invasion

“You all know who he’s looking for, right?” Twilight whispered.

“Of course!” Starlight quietly yelled.

“He just described Violet Rose, darling! In perfect detail, I might add.” Rarity added.

“We need to warn her.” Tempest said before looking around, only to see that Violet Rose is gone. “Wait… she’s gone.”

“Gone?!” Twilight exclaimed.

“She just disappeared.” Tempest replied.

“She’s probably somewhere safe by now. What are we gonna do?” Sunset Shimmer inquired.

“Well, we know what we’re not gonna do. We’re not gonna give her to him!” Rainbow Dash objected.

“You’re right, Rainbow. Who knows why this Spade guy wants her?” Twilight said.

“But what if he doesn’t leave until he gets her? What if something bad happens?” Fluttershy nervously asked.

“Maybe we should try negotiating with him. Just to see if there’s anything else that he wants?” Tempest suggested.

“That’s not a bad idea, Tempest.” Twilight replied.

“I guess it’s worth a shot.” Applejack added, nodding her head.

“Maybe we can hide Violet Rose until he leaves!” Pinkie Pie suggested… rather loudly.

“Pinkie!” Twilight hissed through gritted teeth.

Pinkie Pie paused before looking back at Spade and saying, “Oops.”

Tempest put a hoof over her face in frustration before whispering to Twilight, “Is your pink friend always this stupid?”

Twilight covered her face with her wigs in embarrassment and said nothing as she shook her head. Jackpot Spade raised an eyebrow and smiled wickedly.

“Violet Rose? So that’s her name!” He exclaimed before his expression turned into one of seriousness. “…So you do know her.”

“Well, maybe we do.” Rainbow Dash said. “But that doesn’t matter. There’s NO WAY any of us are gonna give her to the likes of YOU!”

“Eeyup!” Applejack added with her brow furrowed. “You ain’t getting’ her, partner.”

“Oh! Is that so?” Spade said mockingly.

“Yeah, that’s so!” Starlight added, stepping forward.

Spade’s own brow furrowed and he frowned at the group of mares before him.

“I said it once, I’ll say it again.” He growled. “I NEED this Violet Rose pony and I’m not leaving this pathetic little backwater town until I get my hooves on her. You lot might as well just calmly hand her over to me, unless you would rather make it difficult… for EVERYONE.”

“And why should any of us cower before you, scoundrel?” Rarity declared huffily.

“She’s right. There are hundreds of us and only one of you. You’re clearly outnumbered.” Sunset Shimmer added.

“Outnumbered?” Spade echoed before letting out a frightening chuckle. “You know, I was rather hoping you’d choose difficult.”

“Uh oh…” Tempest muttered with wide eyes.

The Pegasus then stomped his hoof on the ground and Sea Sponge and Star Fish almost evaporated right next to him.

“Captain?” They said, standing perfectly straight.

“Sponge, Fish… release the beast.” Spade said with a somewhat evil glare in his mismatched eyes.

“Yes, sir!” The stallions said.

“That can’t be good…” Fluttershy whispered to Twilight.

The two stallions gave a salute before going back up to the ship and down below deck. They came back a few minutes later, each of them holding a hornpipe of some kind. They blew into the pipes and to everypony’s confusion, they began to sing a rather repetitive tune.

“Jellylelly lellyjelly jellylelly lellyjelly! It's the Jellyfishing Song!

Jellylelly lellyjelly jellylelly lellyjelly! Everyone sing along!

Jellylelly lellyjelly jellylelly lellyjelly! It's the Jellyfishing Song!

Jellylelly lellyjelly jellylelly lellyjelly! Everyone sing along!

Jellylelly lellyjelly jellylelly lellyjelly! It's the Jellyfishing Song!

Jellylelly lellyjelly jellylelly lellyjelly! Everyone sing along!

Jellylelly lellyjelly jellylelly lellyjelly! It's the Jellyfishing Song!

Jellylelly lellyjelly jellylelly lellyjelly! Everyone sing along!”

“What is happening?” Tempest whispered to Twilight.

Twilight was about to answer when an unfamiliar voice shrieked,

“STOP IT! Please, stop that horrible sound!”

Before anypony knew what was going on, a thick green mist emerged from the nearby Everfree Forest followed by an enormous creature with green scales, deep purple eyes, the head of a pony, and a long fish tail with fins. Everypony gasped and backed away in terror at the sight; Twilight and Sunset’s eyes widened as they immediately recognized the creature as a siren.

“Is… is that A SIREN?!” Sunset Shimmer screamed.

“Th-that can’t be!” Twilight added. “I thought there were only three in Equestria!”

“Apparently NOT.” Spike added, trying to hide behind Twilight’s tail.

“Hold up, you battled sirens?” Tempest asked with wide eyes.

“You failed to mention that during a few of our lessons.” Starlight added.

“Long story.” The Alicorn muttered, not turning her attention away from the pony-fish creature.

“Oh please, stop it! It’s makin’ my ears ri—” The siren began before she noticed the crowds of ponies. “Oh. I didn’t know there was an audience…”

Captain Spade scrunched his nose and cleared his throat rather loudly, which made the siren turn her head in his direction; she smiled before lowering her head down to his level.

“Captain Jackpot Spade. So sorry I didn’t see you there, darlin’.” She said slyly. “You need me?”

“Hello, Andante.” Spade replied slyly. “And yes, I do need you.”

“Name it and it’ll be done.”

“Andante?” Tempest whispered.

“I need you to round up all of these ponies and dragons and griffons and… and yaks… and whatever else there is within the borders of this castle, and do not let anypony or any creature escape.” Spade said, glaring at Twilight.

“…As you wish, Captain.” The siren, now dubbed as Andante, said before clearing her throat and looking back at the crowds of ponies with a wicked smile on her face. “Hello, ponies of Ponyville! Allow me to give ya’ll a performance you’ll NEVER forget.”

“Okay, everypony; follow my lead…” Pinkie Pie said before running away and screaming at the top of her lungs; everyone else followed suit.

Andante watched with a bored look on her face as the crowds scatter like tiny little ants; she rolled her eyes.

“Here we go again. Always wantin’ to do it the hard way…” She sighed before making her next move.

She turned her attention to Princess Twilight (who was frozen in terror), the red gem in her chest glowed, and she began to sing. Her hypnotic spell was drawing the Princess towards her and she was helpless to stop it. Sunset looked and gasped in horror.

“Twilight, no!” She screamed, holding her friend back as best she could.

Spike aided Sunset, flying into the air, climbing onto Twilight’s back, and reaching up to cover her ears with his little claws.

“Twilight, stop! Don’t listen to her!” Spike called.

“Remember the Dazzlings at the Battle of the Bands? If you don’t listen, she can’t control you!” Sunset yelled, trying to use her magic to pull her friend and teacher away from the siren.

“Dazzlings? Battle of the Bands?” Tempest asked, more confused than ever.

“Hey, I’m just as confused as you are if it makes you feel any better.” Starlight said.

The siren’s singing grew stronger and it proved too powerful for Twilight and her six dearest friends to resist. She mindlessly pulled away from Starlight, Sunset, and Tempest and they all wandered towards the siren, Captain Spade smiling all the while.

“That’s it…” He muttered as the rest of Ponyville fell helpless to Andante’s song.

“I don’t think so!” Tempest yelled before jumping up and attempting to kick the siren as hard as she could, but she was immediately smacked away by Andante’s massive tail.

“Tempest!” Starlight and Sunset screamed as they ran over to her aid.

“Nice move.” Crab Claws chuckled with a smirk.

“Are you okay?” Starlight asked, holding out her hoof which Tempest took.

“I’m fine. We need to get out of here. Grab anypony else you can find who isn’t under Andante’s influence and make a run for it! Quick! I can handle Spade.” Tempest said before running towards the Pegasus pirate; Spade rolled his eyes.

“Some ponies never learn, do they? Crab Claws? Grab that wanna-be unicorn and send her to the brig.” He calmly commanded.

“Yes, sir.” Crab Claws said before turning back to Tempest who was charging at full speed.

“Uh, Mr. Crab Claws? She looks pretty mad.” Star Fish said, his chubby legs shaking.

“Yeah, she really looks like she wants to hurt us.” Sea Sponge added.

“Oh no, Sea Sponge, Star Fish; you’re not fighting her. I need you two to go into town to commandeer some much needed supplies and food. I’m starving.” Spade said before spreading his wings and flying up into the air.

“Yes, Captain! Right away!” Sea Sponge and Star Fish said before eagerly running off towards town.

“And be QUICK ABOUT IT!” Spade yelled.

“Come and get me, missy. You’re outmatched.” Crab Claws said confidently.

“That’s what you think.” Tempest muttered before her broken horn started to glow and spark.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Wow. Princess Twilight sure picked the wrong day to throw a party. It was pretty awesome to meet the Applewood Vampires, though.” Violet Rose said to herself before trotting into the Sugarcube Corner bakery, only to find that it was empty. “Hello! Mr. Cake? Mrs. Cake? Pound, Pumpkin? …Huh. Where is everypony?”

She looked around the vacant sweet shop before her ears perked up; she heard the sound of air whistling as if someone or something was running or flying through the air very fast.

“What’s that whistling noise?” She asked herself.

“Look out!” A voice screamed.

She turned around, only to see two earth pony stallions she had never seen before run into the shop at top speed and crash into her as well as the front desk.

“Ow…” Violet whined as cupcakes, cookies, and other assorted treats started to rain down on her and the ponies who bumped into her. “What’s the big idea?”

“Oh, sorry about that.” One pony said as he attempted to stand up.

The stallions looked at themselves and saw what they and Violet were covered in; they were coated from top to bottom in various treats and sweets along with mushy pie filling, sticky cake frosting, and assorted nuts and sprinkles. Violet grimaced as she tried to shake the unpleasantness off of her body.

“Ew! This is disgusting! It’ll take weeks for me to get clean.” She whined.

“Not if you lick yourself.” The other pony said said before he started to lick some sprinkle-covered frosting off of his right hoof.

“Okay, dude? That’s just gross.” Violet said before shaking her body free of any baked good remains.

“Mmmmm, not bad. Is this butter cream?” The pink earth pony asked before getting a good look at the pony before him. “Sea Sponge?”

“Yeah, Star Fish?” The yellow stallion said before looking over at Violet; their eyes widened at her.

“Uh, why are you two looking at me like that?” Violet asked.

“Are you Violet Rose?” Sea Sponge asked, slowly walking towards the young mare.

“W-wait, how do you know my name? W-who are you?” Violet nervously asked, baking away from the ponies in fear.

“…It’s you!” The stallions yelled as they grabbed Violet and lifted her off the ground.

“What’s me? What are you…?” Violet asked before Sea Sponge and Star Fish ran out of the sweet shop as fast as they could, the young mare screaming all the while.

“We got her, we finally have her! Can you believe it, Star Fish?!” Sea Sponge excitedly said.

“I know, Sea Sponge! The Captain’s gonna so happy with us! Maybe he’ll give us a reward!” Star Fish added, just as excited.

“Like movie passes!”

“Or an oversized coffee mug!”

“What are you two doing?! Let me go!” Violet begged as she attempted to free herself.

“No! We’re taking you back to the Captain!” Sea Sponge said.

“And he ain’t leaving without you!” Star Fish added.

Then Violet thought of something. “Hold up, didn’t you guys need something at Sugarcube Corner?”

Sea Sponge and Star Fish suddenly stopped dead in their tracks when they heard the young mare; their eyes widened as they looked at each other.

“FOOD!!” They screamed before running back towards Sugarcube Corner.

When they made at back to the little sweet shop, Sea Sponge and Star Fish were either too scared or too stupid to leave Violet sitting right outside the door as they were inside, gathering up as many sweets as they could carry. This gave Violet the chance to sneak away, just like she did back at the party. She quietly tiptoed away from the bakery and the two crazy stallions and until she thought she was far enough, Violet ran as fast as her legs could go. She didn’t know where she was going, all she knew was that she had to leave and FAST; but as she was running, she’d been doing a little thinking.

‘What in the hay did those guys want with me? Who’s this “Captain” guy? What is going on today? What’s wrong with me? Is it something I’m doing?’

Violet was snapped out of her thoughts when she looked up to see that she was running towards Princess Twilight’s castle… and the siren, Andante. Her eyes widened and her mouth fell open in terror at the sight.

“What the hay is THAT THING?!” She screamed aloud.

The creature turned her head and saw Violet running; she smirked.

“Looks like I missed one.” The creature said to herself as her red crystal glowed.

“I’ve been forced to come to a party by a deranged pink stalker, I had to talk to Princess Twilight again, two random ponies attempted to kidnap me, and now I’ve been spotted by a gigantic pony-fish hybrid thing. It’s official; today is NOT my day. I just hope this thing isn’t too angry… or hungry.” Violet muttered before running away from Andante.

“Where do you think you’re going, missy?” Andante asked, trying to block Violet’s path with her hooves and tail; she glared at the young mare as she raised her hoof over her head. “You need to get back in line. Now come over here like a good little filly and join the others.”

Violet screamed, covering her face with her hooves and preparing for the blow. But just as the enormous hoof was about to strike, two blurred figures swooped down, snatched Violet off of the ground, and whisked her away. Violet continued to scream before she landed onto a hard surface, it felt like wood. Andante looked up in shock to see another airship flying away from her at top speed. At the wheel were three figures she didn’t recognize and they all appeared to be yelling and making fun of her.

“Nice try, fish-face!” One voice called.

“Better luck next time!” Another voice added.

“In your face!” A third voice shouted before blowing a raspberry.

As she watched the ship disappear into the ink-black clouds, Andante winced and growled under her breath.

Who Wants to Save Equestria?

“Please don’t hurt me! I’ll do whatever you want! I’ll swab the deck, I’ll walk the plank, I’ll bake you a cake! I’ll do anything you say, JUST LET ME LIVE!!” Violet screamed, her hooves shielding her face in terror.

“You should see your face right now!” An unfamiliar voice laughed.

Violet slowly opened her eyes and removed her hooves from her face to see who or what was talking to her. She saw Tempest Shadow, Starlight Glimmer, and Sunset Shimmer standing before her with concerned looks on their faces, but the others she couldn’t recognize at all.

“Are you okay?” Sunset asked, offering her hoof to Violet.

Violet reluctantly took the hoof as she got back onto her own hooves. She looked around and saw that she was on an airship, not the ship belonging to those ponies that just invaded the town.

“Sunset Shimmer? Starlight Glimmer? What happened? Where am I?” She nervously asked.

“You’re on a ship.” Another voice said.

Violet turned and saw three more creatures that weren’t familiar to her. The one that just spoke to her was an anthropomorphic parrot with magenta eyes, large ears, white and green feathers, and a long green gemstone for a right leg.

“My new ship, to be exact.” The parrot continued.

“Thanks for the assist, Captain Celaeno.” Tempest said, giving the parrot a nod.

“No problem, Tempest.” The parrot calmly replied.

“Wait, Tempest? You know them?” Violet asked.

“Our paths might’ve crossed a few times.” Tempest answered with an embarrassed smirk.

“Whoa, somethin’ real rotten is happening to Ponyville, huh?” An anthropomorphic cat with tan fur and green eyes said as he gazed down at the town below.

“You can say that again, Capper ol’ boy.” A deep unfamiliar voice chimed in.

“Huh? Who said that?” The cat now named Capper asked, nervously looking around him.

“I did.”

Everyone looked up and saw the source of the voice; a sly looking creature called a draconequus. Violet screamed and jumped back in fright.

“Oh, so sorry about that. I do have that effect on ponies.” The creature said before flying down to the deck with everypony else.

“Ugh! What are you doing here, Discord?” Starlight groaned, rolling her eyes.

“Well if you must know, I was about to crash Princess Twilight’s party when that big scary ship came along and crashed it before me.” Discord explained, crossing his arms over his chest and pouting; she shook his head. “Honestly, the nerve of some ponies. Anyway, when that green-scaled siren showed up and started singing, I knew something was wrong. I couldn’t see where Princess Twilight and her friends have gone to; then I saw your ship in the sky and I figured they might be up here. But it looks like I was wrong. None of you would happen to know where Twilight and the girls are, would you?”

“Yeah, where are Princess Twilight and her friends?” Celaeno asked.

“We could really use their help.” Capper added.

Tempest, Starlight, and Sunset looked at each other nervously before looking back up at Discord, Capper, and Celaeno. The three unicorns sighed and hung their heads in shame.

“They’ve been captured.” Tempest admitted.

“WHAT?!” Everyone else on the ship screamed in shock.

“Even Fluttershy?” Discord asked, glaring at Tempest darkly.

“I’m afraid so.” The unicorn replied.

“Who captured her?” The draconequus demanded, bearing his teeth.

“A Pegasus named Jackpot Spade.” Sunset chimed in, trying to separate Discord from Tempest.

“Where is he?! If he even harms a single hair on Fluttershy’s head, I swear I’ll—” Discord started before a pale yellow hippogriff came up and slapped him in the face.

“Get a hold of yourself, you creep!” She yelled in a high-pitched voice.

“Yeah, Discord; you’re not the only one who’s worried about Headmare Twilight and the others.” A younger hippogriff named Silverstream said as she stepped forward. “But there’s nothing we can do about it.”

“We don’t have enough power.” A blue griffon named Gallus said.

“What do you mean?” Violet reluctantly asked.

“I think that siren used a spell to drain most of our magic so we can’t use our powers against her or Captain Spade and his crew.” A pale blue changeling named Ocellus said.

“We’ll see about that. Pfft, amateurs.” Discord said as he snapped his claws.

“No, stop!” A small yak named Yona objected before bits of confetti floated through the air.

“Confetti? I wanted a gigantic cannon that shot exploding pies and cake. Let me try again.” Discord said before snapping his claws again, only for a rubber mallet to appear and gently hit him in the head. “A rubber mallet?! That was supposed to be a grand piano! Is this a joke?”

“I told you, it’s the siren!” Ocellus said, hovering near Discord’s head.

“Andante used some kinda spell to steal everypony’s magic, including yours!” An earth pony named Sandbar added.

“Andante?” Discord repeated, raising an eyebrow and stroking his beard. “How did this Jackpot Spade fellow come across a siren of all creatures? I always thought those things were extinct.”

“If they are, then that is one crazy fossil.” Smolder said. “Look at what she’s done to Ponyville, it’s in shambles already!”

“She’s right.” Gallus said as he gazed down at the town below. “And it looks like Andante has reinforcements.”

Everyone else joined the griffon at the edge of the ship and saw that he was right; ponies were either in cages or shackles and they all looked miserable and terrified at the same time. Andante was in the center of it all with Jackpot Spade’s ship as the centerpiece… and from the looks of it, it looked like a huge pack of Timberwolves showed up. Everyone gasped.

“Are those Timberwolves?!” Starlight shrieked.

“This is terrible!” Violet cried.

“Yak doesn’t like this, not one bit!” Yona said.

“We’ve got to stop them!” The yellow hippogriff exclaimed.

“Aren’t you forgetting something, Miss Skystar? That giant pony fish hybrid has just drained us of our power!” Discord said in an exasperated tone.

“Oh yeah…” Skystar said, looking away from the draconequus. “But we can’t just leave Ponyville like this! We need a plan!”

“Skystar is right. Anyone have any suggestions?” Celaeno asked.

“Why don’t we ask for outside help?” Tempest suggested.

“Help? You mean… from outside Equestria?” Ocellus asked.

“That’s not a bad idea, but where from?” Sunset asked.

“Well when I invaded Canterlot under the Storm King’s orders, Princess Twilight and her friends went south to seek help from the hippogriffs.” Tempest said before turning to Skystar. “…But I doubt Queen Novo would be willing to help us after… you know. And I imagine she wouldn’t be too happy to see me of all ponies.”

“Yeah, good point.” Skystar said, scratching her head with her claw.

“So Mt. Aris is out. What to do?” Silverstream said.

“Maybe we could go to the Changeling Kingdom and ask Thorax!” Ocellus suggested.

“Or maybe the Dragon Lands! We’ll be unstoppable with Dragon Lord Ember!” Smolder said.

“What about Griffonstone? With all of the griffons, we’ll be invincible!” Gallus added.

“Yakyakistan! Prince Rutherford and other yaks will help!” Yona exclaimed.

“What about heading over to Canterlot and asking the other Princesses?” Sandbar said.

“Those are all good tries, ya’ll, but I don’t think even all of those creatures combined could stop that.” Capper said, pointing his finger down at the chaos.

“Wait! Twilight headed south so… why don’t we head NORTH?!” Tempest said, pointing her hoof north. “There’s bound to be some other creature powerful enough to stop a siren!”

“North? As in beyond the Crystal Mountains?” Sunset asked.

“Doesn’t that sound a little risky?” Violet hesitantly asked.

“Well… it’s pretty much the only option we have left.” Starlight said. “I agree with Tempest, we should head north.”

“Whoever agrees, raise your right hoof, paw, or claw and say ‘aye’.” Sunset said as she raised her right hoof.

“Aye!”

Violet wanted to say ‘nay’ but she didn’t want to start any major conflicts so she kept quiet.

“North it is!” Celaeno said before she and Capper headed up to the helm.

“Ya’ll ready for an adventure?!” Capper exclaimed.

“Yeah!” Everyone screamed, raising a hoof or fist in the air.

“Uh, sure. What they said.” Violet whispered, reluctantly doing the same thing.

“Then let’s go!” Celaeno commanded.

And before Violet could say or do anything, they were already off.

Spade's Mission

“Look at this… It’s glorious.” Jackpot Spade said to himself as he looked down upon the citizens of Ponyville who were as dismal and frightened as could be. “The master will certainly be pleased.”

He chuckled.

“Captain! Captain Spade!” Sea Sponge and Star Fish’s voices yelled as the two stallions ran up to their captain, exhausted and gasping for air.

“Ugh, what is it now?” Spade asked before glancing behind the ponies to see a cart full of sweet things to eat; his face lit up at the sight. “Ah, I see you’ve done what I’ve asked you to do… for once. Well done, gentlecolts.”

“Yeah, uh… that’s the good news.” Sea Sponge said hesitantly.

“…There’s bad news?” Spade asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I’m afraid so, captain.” Sea Sponge replied, hanging his head; he nudged Star Fish in the ribs with his elbow, urging him to continue.

“Oh! Yeah, uh… you see, sir, we, um, we… Sea Sponge and I… we’ve found that pony you were after.” Star Fish stuttered.

Spade raised both eyebrows and said nothing before looking around, hoping to see the young mare… but she wasn’t in sight.

“Then where is she?” He asked.

“Uh, that’s a funny story, Captain Spade sir.” Sea Sponge giggled nervously. “We did catch her, we swear we did! But she… she, uh… she might’ve got away.”

Spade’s left eye twitched as he stared down at the stallions; they took a few steps back, unsure of what was going to happen.

“…WHAT?!?!?!” He screamed, anger surging through his veins; he snarled at the terrified ponies.

“Agh! We’re sorry, Captain Spade!” Sea Sponge and Star Fish cried, cowering in fear side by side.

“Please don’t hurt us!” Star Fish begged.

“It was an accident!” Sea Sponge added. “We said we were sorry!”

“That’s not good enough, NOT GOOD ENOUGH! UGH, YOU IDIOTS!!! Can’t you two do ANYTHING RIGHT?!?!” Spade ranted, bucking against a barrel as hard as he could a few times before it shattered into splinters; he glared at the terrified ponies, his mismatched eyes burning like fire.

“Okay, calm down, captain. Calm down. Take a deep breath, relax. Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out.” Crab Claws intervened, trying his best to calm the captain down.

Spade shut his eyes and took a few deep breaths, trying to regain his composure; every muscle in his body relaxed a great deal. Silence reigned; nopony dared to move. Sea Sponge and Star Fish looked at each other, then at Crab Claws, and then back at the captain who slowly opened his eyes and stared down upon them sternly.

“I need a moment to myself.” He said as he made his way over to a pair of doubles doors. “I’ll be in my cabin, do NOT disturb me. And Crab Claws? Give those two imbeciles a proper punishment, would you?”

“Aye-aye, sir.” Crab Claws said with a salute as Spade entered his cabin and slammed the doors with a loud slam.

Spade made his way over to a dresser mirror on one end of his cabin. He stared at his reflection for a second or two before tapping the glass with his hoof three times and saying,

“Call the master.”

And within a few moments, a dark figure appeared in the mirror. Spade stood straight and breathed slowly and steadily, trying not to lose his cool.

“Ah, Captain Spade.” The figure said. “That was quite a swift takeover, I must say.”

“It was nothing, especially with Andante at our disposal.” Spade replied. “It was a great suggestion telling me to hire her. Where did you find her anyway?”

“That’s not important. Do you have news for me?”

“I do, master. Everything is going according to plan. With Andante’s help, we’ve captured Princess Twilight Sparkle, along with her little friends AND the rest of the citizens of this Ponyville place, and we’ve taken full control.”

“That’s perfect! And… do you know anything about that pony? The one required for my plan to fully take shape?”

Spade’s eyes widened at the mention of Violet Rose; he didn’t want to tell his master that he didn’t have her. But then he thought of something; what if he chased after her in his ship and bring her back to Ponyville?

“You know something I don’t.” The figure said.

“…I do.” Spade sighed in defeat. “I found out what the pony’s name is. Her name is Violet Rose and she lives here right in this town.”

“Really? What luck! …And where is she now?”

“That’s what I need to tell you. My two cabin colts, Sea Sponge and Star Fish, they said that they did have her before, but being the complete morons that they are, they… let her get away.”

“…What?”

“Okay before you say anything, I know I messed up but I can fix it. Just give me three days, tops.”

“Three days for what?”

“For me to find Violet Rose and bring her back to Ponyville. And I’ll have everything ready for your arrival by then.”

The figure sighed.

“Remember, Spade; only I have the power to make you whole and bring them back. Find that filly, bring her to me, and you’ll get your reward. Fail me… and your mind won’t be the only thing that’s broken.”

“It won’t be a problem.” Spade replied.

“I hope not. Good luck; you’re gonna need it.”

And as quickly as it appeared, the figure in the mirror vanished and the looking glass reverted back to its original state. Spade let out a sigh and ran his hoof through his mane in relief. His throat suddenly felt dry.

“I need me a cider.” He said to himself before heading out of his cabin, only to be greeted by atrocious clarinet music combined with screams and cries of pain; he plugged his ears with his wings to block out the awful sound as he strode towards it.

“No, no, no! It hurts so much!” Star Fish screamed, covering his ears with his hooves.

“Please, PLEASE make it stop!” Sea Sponge begged, doing the same thing as his friend.

“Not until the Captain says otherwise!” Crab Claws said; he conveniently plugged his own ears.

“Okay, Squid Ink. I think they’ve had enough.” Spade said to a fourth Earth pony who was playing the clarinet.

He abruptly stopped playing and said, “If you say so, captain.”

“About time. I thought a cat was dying somewhere up here.” Andante commented as she made her way over to the ship.

“Andante, what news do you bring?” Spade asked, turning his head to face her.

“All good news, captain. Everypony is cooperating nicely.” She replied smugly. “Even Princess Twilight and her little lackeys are under my control.”

“Good work. But there appears to be a change of plans.” Spade said. “Violet Rose is on the run and we need to go after her and bring her back here.”

“Excuse me for saying this captain, but… why do you need this mare so much?” Squid Ink asked as he set his clarinet down. “She’s just one pony.”

“She is one pony with something the master NEEDS for his plans, Squid Ink.” Spade said through gritted teeth. “I just spoke with him via looking glass and he’s giving me three days to find her.”

“But what about the townsponies? And the Princess and her friends?” Crab Claws asked.

“Don’t you colts worry ‘bout a thing. I’ll keep an eye on them for you, every single one of them.” Andante chimed in. “And if any of them tried to escape, they’d have to answer to me and my posse of Timberwolves and Cragadiles.”

“You’d do that?” Spade asked.

“Of course. What are partners for?” Andante nuzzled Spade with her giant muzzle, but he quickly pushed her away.

“Very good, Andante. You’re officially in charge of everypony here until we come back. Remember; if anypony gets out of line and if your spell doesn’t work… you know what to do.”

“Don’t worry, I know the drill; we went through the plan a thousand times already. Plus, you brought hundreds of pounds of the stuff. I just hope I won’t have to resort to using it. And just so you know, I think I know where that pony of yours is headed. The airship she just boarded is heading north, possibly beyond the Crystal Mountains. And I suggest you take a quick look at Princess Twilight’s map before you go. It’s pretty impressive; it shows ALL of Equestria and beyond.”

“North, eh? Perfect; I knew I could count on you to your eyes and ears open, my little sea serpent.”

“No problem.”

“Just remember; that pony is the key to our success. If we don’t find Violet Rose soon, then everything we’ve worked for will be ruined… and the master will probably have my head on a silver platter and eat it.”

He shivered at the thought.

“Yeah, we know. And between you and me, captain, I want the master to lift that curse off of you as bad as you do.” Sea Sponge commented. “Because of it, you’re so unpredictable and loud… and pretty nasty and scary. Plus, with the mismatched eyes? It just adds to the creepiness of your stare, no offense.”

Spade turned around, glared down at Sea Sponge, and said, “Mark my words, Sponge. That little filly is NOT going to keep me from getting rid of this curse! All hooves on deck! Prepare the ship, we sail north! Effective immediately!”

“Aye-aye, sir!”

Sea Sponge, Squid Ink, Star Fish, and Crab Claws all saluted and ran off in different directions to do as their Captain told them. Spade then glared at Andante.

“Well? What are you waiting for? Do your job!” He commanded with a snarl.

“Yes, sir!” Andante nervously answered before speeding off, leaving Spade by himself.

He took a deep breath.

“Oh please, what am I saying?” He asked himself with scoff; he grabbed a large bottle of apple cider from the wagon of food, opened the bottle, and took a few heavy gulps from it. “She’s still just one little pony. How far can she possibly get on her own?”

He let out a belch.

The Frozen North Part 1

“Wow! I-I had no idea th-th-th-that it would be so c-c-c-cold up here. How do Pegasi manage?” Violet shivered as the ship passed through a bank of thick dark clouds.

“It’s a mystery.” Sunset replied.

“Ugh, how much further do we have to go until we finally reach our destination? I’m bored.” Discord complained.

“You’ve been saying that twenty-eight times already! It’s getting annoying; give it a rest.” Tempest grumbled.

“Well excuse me if I’m growing impatient, Miss Berrytwist.” The draconequus glared at her; she gave him the same glare.

“I told you NOT to call me that.”

“To-MAY-to, po-TAH-to. If I still had all of my powers right now, we wouldn’t even be up here and we probably wouldn’t even be in this mess.”

“But you don’t have all of your powers and you have no say in the matter; no one does. So there’s nothing you can really do about that, is there?”

“Oh, the things I would LOVE to do to you right now…”

“Oh yeah?”

“Will you two quit it already?!” Gallus retorted as he pushed the two creatures away from each other. “Your arguing is getting us nowhere.”

“Gallus is right. We’re all tired of listening to you ninnies fight. Either you suck it up and be quiet or just stand there and bicker like bratty, whiny babies.” Captain Celaeno added as she held a compass in her claw. “Luckily, we’re still heading north… even though we can hardly see anything in this cloudbank.”

Discord was about to speak before Tempest stomped down on his tail with her hoof and saying, “If you mention doing anything with your currently nonexistent powers again, I’ll snap your wings in half and throw you overboard myself.”

He kept quiet; Princess Skystar and Silverstream desperately tied to suppress their laughter. Discord glared at the two hippogriff cousins, which quickly made them go silent.

“Hey! Something is coming into view!” Starlight commented before she spotted something in the distance; everyone ran to the edge of the ship to see what it was.

“Whoa, what is that?!” Capper exclaimed.

“That’s… the Crystal Empire!” Violet replied, her eyes wide with wonder.

“Wow! It’s so beautiful from up here!” Ocellus cried as she gazed down at the crystalline city.

“Yes it is, but this is NOT the time for sightseeing.” Tempest intervened.

“Hey! Maybe someone down there can help us!” Celaeno suggested.

“That’s a great idea! Princess Cadance and Shining Armor will—” Sandbar exclaimed before he was interrupted by a loud rumble of thunder, followed by a huge bolt of lightning streaking across the sky.

Discord licked his finger and raised it into the sky and a chilling wind came from the south. He looked at Tempest with wide eyes.

“Oh no.” She muttered. “…A blizzard is coming.”

“A blizzard?!” Sunset and Starlight screamed.

“We need to get outta here!” Violet yelled.

“Secure the rigging, lock down the cargo! Everyone, get below deck and prepare for impact! Things are gonna get pretty bumpy!” Celaeno commanded as everyone went down below as fast as they could.

“Aww no, I HATE storms! Especially thunderstorms!” Violet cried as she fell to the floor and covered her face with her hooves in terror.

“It’s okay, Violet.” Sunset said kindly. “This storm will pass before you know it.”

“Brace yourselves!” Tempest yelled from above deck.

The storm came and it was fierce. Lightning flared, thunder boomed, snow and hail rained down, and the airship swayed, rocked, and bounced about as if it were a toy in a full bathtub; this went on for a good thirty minutes.

“The ship is getting clobbered out here!” Gallus commented.

“We need to do something!” Ocellus added.

“But what can we do?! We hardly have any power!” Princess Skystar cried.

“But we have to think of something! If we stay in this storm any longer, we’re all gonna DIE!” Smolder said.

Violet squeezed her eyes shut and out her hooves over her head in terror; she didn’t want to die this young.

‘No, I don’t wanna die! Not now! I haven’t done anything with my life!’ She screamed in her head as tears started to fall down her cheeks.

But Violet was so scared and confused that she failed to notice her horn had started to glow. Sunset and Starlight noticed the new light and looked at Violet curiously.

“Violet? Are you okay?” Sunset asked.

“What are you doing?” Starlight added.

Suddenly, the wind stopped and there was a loud crash. Everyone froze and looked around, unsure of what was going on.

“Uh… what just happened? Why is everything so quiet?” Violet asked, opening her eyes and sitting up.

“I have no idea.” Sunset commented.

“Yoo-hoo, ahoy! You can come up now, everypony.” Discord said as he poked his head down below the deck. “And by the way, you are NOT going to believe this.”

The group made their way back up to the deck, looked around, and saw that the ship was in the middle of nowhere. And the worst part of it was that there was ice and snow everywhere… but the strangest thing was that the ship itself was still in one piece. The entire group was baffled by this, especially Violet.

“That storm must’ve blown us miles away from the Empire.” Captain Celaeno pointed out.

“MEEOOOW!! It’s so cold out here! How can anypony stand to live all the way up here?! We’re in a total wasteland!” Capper hissed with a shiver.

“Not to mention, the ship is stuck in all of this snow.” Discord said as he inspected the undercarriage of the ship.

“And from the looks of it, we’re completely lost.” Starlight added.

“So what are we gonna do?” Skystar asked.

“There’s only one thing we can do.” Tempest said as she hopped off of the ship; everypony else followed suit. “We’ll need to walk the rest of the way.”

“Through all of this snow and ice? We’ll freeze; it’s impossible!” Silverstream whined.

“Only if you believe it is…” Violet said before trotting over to Tempest.

“Yak agrees! We walk.” Yona added, stepping forward.

“There must be another way.” Discord complained.

“It’s the only option we have. Unless anyone else has a better idea…” Tempest said; no one dared to speak up. “I didn’t think so. Now let’s get going, everyone. I can’t really tell, but I’m pretty sure it’ll be dark soon.”

And with that, Tempest started to trek through the frozen wasteland with the rest of the group following after her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Do you really think she’s gone this far, Captain?” Crab Claws asked Jackpot Spade who was standing at the helm.

“Oh yes, Crab Claws.” Spade replied, not turning his gaze away from the compass in his hoof. “I know she went this way; I can feel it.”

“Um… are you sure that’s not the three slices of pie and cake and the two bags of candy you’ve just eaten talking?” Crab Claws reluctantly asked.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Spade asked.

“Nothing, Captain. I’m just saying… you’re starting to look a little pale.”

“Pale, me? Ha! I can assure you, Mr. Claws, that I am perfectly f—”

Suddenly, a dizzy and sickening feeling suddenly overtook Spade. He wobbled on his hooves and he couldn’t balance himself as he tried flapping his wings; his stomach felt ill and his face grew pale.

“Ugh, okay. Maybe I should…” Spade started before his first mate stopped him.

“Way ahead of you, sir.” Claws said. “I already prepared your cabin. Now, you just go and rest while I take it from here.”

“What? No! What am I saying? I need to…” Spade retorted before he started to gag.

“Now, now; not another word, Captain.” Claws said as he pushed the captain away from the helm. “You go into your cabin and rest; you need it. And be sure to keep a bucket nearby.”

“Ugh, fine. I’ll go, if it’ll make you happy.”

“Good, good… I’m serious about the bucket!”

“Not again.” Squid Ink muttered.

“The Captain’s made himself sick again.” Sea Sponge and Star Fish said in unison.

The cabin doors slammed shut; Spade hobbled over to his bed, collapsed onto it, and instantly fell asleep.

The Frozen North Part 2

Icy winds howled, snow and hale blew, and the group continued through the frozen terrain, still determined to find help of any kind.

“How long have we been walking?” Smolder asked.

“I don’t know. A few hours maybe?” Princess Skystar replied.

“This is crazy, Tempest. We shouldn’t even be out here.” Sunset said to Tempest.

“This was the only option we had left. There needs to be something or someone powerful enough to stop that siren back in Ponyville.” Tempest replied.

As they trudged, Violet suddenly thought of something that made her stomach drop and the fur on the back of her neck stand up on end.

“I remember reading something about this part of the North being haunted.” She said through the wind.

“Haunted?!” Ocellus cried.

“Something about rogue Windigos or a vengeful spirit haunting the snow-covered plains, I don’t know.” The orchid unicorn answered. “All I heard was that not a lot of ponies have made it up this far without encountering some kind of danger. And even if they had, nopony has lived to tell the tale.”

“I read that, too. We need to keep our eyes open.” Sandbar said.

“How?! The wind out here feels like broken glass mixed with razor blades! I can’t take it anymore!” Discord whined.

“Would you quit being such a big baby?!” Starlight yelled.

“He’s not wrong. Walking through a few feet of snow with a peg leg is NO picnic.” Captain Celaeno commented.

“But what kinda dangers do ya’ll think are out here?” Capper nervously asked.

“Who knows? There could be anything.” Tempest replied before she and the others started to feel the ground shake beneath them.

“What’s happening?!” Silverstream cried.

“We need to run! NOW!” Tempest commanded.

No pony or creature hesitated; they ran as fast as they could just as the ground behind them was crumbling away, forming a giant almost bottomless ravine. No one had time to look back, they just kept on running further and further until they accidentally slid out onto a huge lake that was frozen solid. They couldn’t keep their footing and they all slid down the slippery cliffs until finally, they flew into the air and landed into a huge snowdrift.

“Is everyone okay?” Sunset asked as her head popped out of the snow.

“No! We are NOT!” Discord yelled. “We nearly fell off of a cliff, we slid down a mountain, we’re wet and cold, and we could’ve died back there!”

“But we didn’t; we survived!” Tempest retorted.

“Here we go again…” Skystar muttered.

“But we’re not going to survive out here for much longer!” Celaeno argued.

“This is ridiculous! We’re all gonna end up as popsicles!” Capper yelled.

“Oooh, Yona loves popsicles! Strawberry, please!” Yona cheered.

“Not now!” Gallus cried. “We need to do something before Spade finds us!”

“If Captain Spade really was all the way up here, he probably already would’ve found us by now!” Starlight commented.

As the party continued to argue with one another about what to do, Violet made her way out of the snow and looked at the bickering figures; she hated listening to others fight. But all of a sudden, she was blinded by a green light and she fell into the snow with her eyes shut; everyone else followed suit soon afterwards.

A figure in a dark cloak walked towards the band of creatures lying in the snow. A pair of mismatched eyes stared down at Violet; one eye was green and the other eye was purple.

Meeting Snow Diamond

Violet woke up with blurred vision and a splitting headache; she tried her best to sit up, but she felt unbelievably dizzy and rubbed her head with her hoof. She looked around and she had no idea where she was.

“You’re awake.” An unfamiliar voice said; Violet jumped.

She turned and saw a cloaked figure standing in front of a table in another corner of the room, facing away from her. The figure reached up and removed the hood to reveal a matted mess of pale blonde hair fading to a light purple at the ends; the pony turned around and Violet met the face of a unicorn mare she had never seen before. This pony had a pale white coat and mismatched eyes; the right eye was neon green and the left eye was bright purple. The stranger approached Violet and kindly offered her a cup.

“Drink this.” The mare said; Violet reluctantly took the cup in her magical embrace and took a small sip from it.

“Thank you… Who are you?” Violet asked.

“…My name is Snow Diamond.” The mare hesitantly replied.

“That’s a pretty name.”

“Thank you. And you are?”

“Oh, right. I’m Violet Rose.”

The unicorn, dubbed Snow Diamond froze for a moment before giving Violet a puzzled look.

“What were you doing so far out in the Frozen North? It’s no place for a city pony or tourist.” She said.

“Oh, I’m no city pony.” Violet replied. “It’s kind of a long story, but my town was invaded and my colleagues and I… Wait, where are they?! Where is everypony?!”

“You mean those creatures that were arguing out in the snow? Oh, they’re just in another room; I assume they’re still asleep.”

“Wait… did you knock us out?”

“…Yeah, that was me. I hate seeing ponies argue.”

“Really? Me too.”

“Huh, what a coincidence.”

Violet giggled before she thought of something.

“Um, Miss Diamond? If I may ask, what are you doing all the way up here?” She asked.

“Oh… I live here.”

“Y-You do? …Why?”

“Well… I like it here. It’s peaceful and quiet, most of the time, and it’s secluded… just how I like it. Being up here, nopony would bother me.”

“But don’t you ever get bothered by the constant snow and freezing cold?”

“Oh, sometimes. But luckily, my house is a few short miles away from the Crystal Empire. There, I can get all of the necessary things I need… provided I have enough money.”

“…And where do you get money?”

Snow Diamond walked over to another corner of the room and removed a curtain to show Violet a small dark room where many different kinds of crystals and gemstones were growing. Violet’s eyes widened at the sight.

“Wow… You grow your own jewels?” She asked.

“Yep. It’s a simple spell, really.” Snow Diamond replied proudly. “Would you like me to show you how?”

“What, really? I-I mean… sure.”

“Then follow me.”

Violet smiled as she followed the mare into another room.

“Violet? Violet Rose!” Tempest called as she stood up, only for her legs to feel like jelly; she immediately fell to the floor again.

The rest of the group begrudgingly woke up after Tempest; they were so dizzy and confused that they had no idea what was happening.

“Huh? What the hay is going on?” Capper said.

“Ugh, what happened?” Smolder groaned.

“What was that light from earlier?” Princess Skystar added.

“I think I died.” Gallus commented.

“How long have we been out for?” Discord asked.

“I have no idea, but Violet isn’t with us.” Tempest replied. “She could be anywhere by now; we need to look for her.”

“Wait, what’s that sound?” Captain Celaeno asked when she heard faint laughter.

Tempest listened very carefully and after a moment, she said, “It’s her; she must be close by. Come on.”

They wandered the house for a good few minutes until Tempest found Violet in another room reading a book with Snow Diamond, a mare Tempest had never seen before.

“Violet!” She gasped.

“Tempest?” Violet asked, looking up from the book in surprise.

“Oh, you’re awake.” Snow Diamond commented before the rest of the group entered behind Tempest. “…And so are the rest of you.”

“Excuse me, but…” Discord inquired as he made his way to the white unicorn and got up in her face. “Who in the name of Equestria are you?”

“…Snow Diamond. And back off.” The mare said as she pushed the draconequus away from her. “It seems pretty clear to me that you know nothing of personal space.”

“You have no idea.” Violet whispered to her new companion.

“Um, Miss Diamond?” Sandbar stepped forward. “Did you find us out in the snow?”

“I have.” Snow said.

“And… you brought us to your house?” Ocellus added.

“Yes. Anypony else wanna ask more candid questions?”

“…You were the one who knocked us out.” Tempest commented, furrowing her brow.

“That was only because she didn’t want to see you guys arguing anymore… and neither did I.” Violet replied.

“Hold up, what are you even doing in here?” Smolder asked Violet.

“Oh. I’m just learning to grow crystals and gems.” Violet replied nonchalantly.

Starlight Glimmer and Sunset Shimmer looked at each other for a minute, then at Violet before saying,

“Show us.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“How long have we been out here?! I lost track!” Star Fish asked as he and Sea Sponge held onto the ship’s rigging.

“I don’t even know anymore!” Sea Sponge replied, not daring to open his eyes.

“We’ve been sailing through this storm for HOURS!” Squid Ink added. “If we keep this up, we’re either gonna crash or freeze to death! The Captain is going too far!”

“Shut your trap, Ink!” Crab Claws commanded. “I’ll talk to the Captain if it’ll make you feel better.”

“You’d better convince him to go back.” Squid Ink said before the first mate turned away from them.

“Was he talking to me or one of you?” Star Fish asked stupidly.

“Captain! I think you ought to give it a rest! We can’t take it!” Crab Claws asked as the ship tore through icy cold winds and blinding snow.

“She can hold a bit longer!” Jackpot Spade screamed with one hoof holding the helm and his compass in the other.

“What’s got you in such high spirits, Captain Spade?” Crab Claws questioned.

“We’re catching up!” Spade replied with a deranged grin adorning his face; his mismatched eyes seemed to glow with delight.

“Glowing eyes?” Star Fish inquired.

“That doesn’t look good.” Sea Sponge commented.

“Nope.” Squid Ink added.

The ship drove on.

I Dreamed a Dream

“Wow, that is REALLY impressive.” Sunset Shimmer commented as she and Starlight Glimmer looked at the crystals Violet Rose had just grown.

“Thanks.” Violet said.

“Pretty much anypony can do it. Please, make yourselves comfortable.” Snow Diamond said as she brewed some more tea at a nearby stove.

“Thank you so much for being so kind to us, Miss Diamond.” Ocellus said politely.

“Yeah, we thought we were gonna freeze to death out there.” Gallus added.

“Don’t worry about it.” Snow Diamond replied before walking back to the group with a tray of teacups and a kettle; she started to pour the freshly brewed tea into the cups and offered them to her guests. “Here, have some tea. It’s hibiscus.”

“Thanks.” Capper said before he took a sip from his cup.

“Yes, thank you very much.” Discord added, doing the same as Capper.

“No problem. So, if you don’t mind… what are you all doing out here?” Snow Diamond asked, taking a seat next to Violet. “Violet here has told me your town was invaded. I don’t mean to pry, but what happened?”

The group of creatures glanced over at one another before turning their attention to Tempest.

“It’s a long story. I don’t even know where to start.” She sighed.

“How about you start at the beginning? Just tell me what happened.” Snow Diamond said as she sat down on the floor next to Violet.

So that’s what they did; the group told Snow Diamond everything that happened in Ponyville. She listened intently, intrigued and shocked all at the same time. But when the mention of Jackpot Spade came up, she froze and her uneven eyes had started to leak small tears. By the time the story was finished, Snow Diamond looked almost catatonic.

“So, that’s about it.” Tempest finished; she looked up to see the white mare’s tears. “…Are you alright?”

Snow Diamond opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out as the tears continued to flow down her pale cheeks. She sniffled.

“Uh… yeah. I’m okay. Really, I’m okay.” She lied as she wiped away her tears; she glanced over at the clock on the wall and stood up. “Oh! Look at that, it’s almost midnight. You guys must be exhausted; you’re more than welcome to stay here for the night.”

“What? Oh, no. We wouldn’t want to impose.” Sunset said as she stood up.

“No, really! I insist. You all deserve a moment’s rest.” Snow Diamond quickly replied. “Luckily, there are a few spare rooms you can use. Hope that’s okay.”

“Uh yeah, yeah. It’s okay.” Capper said. “But you don’t have to do this.”

“But I want to.” The unicorn insisted as she used her magic to lift the group off the floor and into the hallway of the house. “Now go, get some sleep. I’ll see you all in the morning, bright and early. Sweet dreams!”

The door quickly slammed shut, leaving Snow Diamond breathing heavily. She looked and noticed Violet Rose still in the room with her.

“Uh… are you okay, Miss Diamond?” Violet asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine, Violet.” Snow Diamond replied as she went over to a sofa; her horn glowed and the sofa turned into a makeshift bed. “But you should get some sleep, too.”

Before Violet could say anything else, Snow Diamond went into another room and closed the door behind her. The young mare was very confused, but she didn’t think about it too much and laid down on the sofa bed. Her eyes started to slowly close, sleep threatening to engulf her… until she heard an explosion followed by a female scream that seemed to have come from nowhere. Violet shot up and looked around, hoping she didn’t cause any damage by accident. Luckily she didn’t.

“What in the world…?” She asked herself before she noticed a green glow coming from a slightly opened door.

With her curiosity kicking in, she walked towards it and as she got closer, she could hear faint sobbing coming from the other side of the door. She stopped right at the door… only for the light to disappear. She heard another door open and felt a cold wind blow, causing the door she was standing beside to open even wider.

“Miss Diamond?” Violet quietly asked as she poked her head into the room; she saw the door leading outside wide open and walked over to it.

She looked and saw Snow Diamond standing out in the snow and looking up at the sky. Violet was about to say something when she heard the mare begin to sing.

“There was a time when colts were kind

When their voices were soft

And their words inviting

There was a time when love was blind

And the world was a song

And the song was exciting

There was a time

Then it all went wrong”

‘Wrong?’ Violet thought as she listened intently.

“I dreamed a dream in times gone by” Snow Diamond continued.

“When hope was high and life worth living

I dreamed, that love would never die

I dreamed that the Sun would be forgiving

Then I was young and unafraid

And dreams were made and used and wasted

There was no ransom to be paid

No song unsung, no trough untasted

But the monsters come at night

With their voices soft as thunder

As they tear your hope apart

As they turn your dream to shame

He spent a lifetime by my side

He filled my days with endless wonder

He took me on this wild ride

But they stole him when autumn came

And still I dream he'll come to me

That we will live the years together

But there are dreams that cannot be

And there are storms we cannot weather

I had a dream my life would be

So different from this curse I'm living

So different now from what it seemed

Now life has killed the dream

I dreamed…”

She sat down in the snow as fresh tears fell from her eyes. By now, Violet had started to cry too; she felt so moved by this mare she hardly knew and yet, she felt a strange connection with her… like she knew Snow Diamond all her life. She stepped forward, causing the snow to give a soft crunch the moment her hoof touched it.

“You loved someone?” She asked.

Snow Diamond didn’t move or say a word for a good two minutes until she finally solemnly answered, “…Yes, a long time ago.”

“And you lost them?”

“…You want to know what happened, don’t you?”

Violet said nothing, but nodded to herself. Snow Diamond stood up, walked back over to Violet, and put a hoof on her shoulder.

“I’ll tell everything, as long you don’t bring any of it up with your friends.” She said.

“I promise.” Violet said.

“Good… But let’s go somewhere more private.” Snow Diamond said before leading Violet back into the house, closing the door behind her.

Snow Diamond's Story

Snow Diamond led Violet into a little room filled with books of all kinds and went over to a small desk in one corner. She opened a drawer, took out a little leather-bound book, and walked back over to Violet. She showed her the book.

“I’ve kept this journal since I left my parents’ home and started a life of my own.” Snow Diamond said as she opened to the first page. “Quite a few things have happened, but the moments that really stuck with me are the best… and the worst things that have ever happened to me. Do you like stories?”

Violet smiled and nodded.

“Good.” Snow Diamond sighed before she began her tale. “A long time ago, I was just like you. Young, spry, carefree, happy-go-lucky… but after I went out on my own, everything changed. I was always teased, bullied, ridiculed, and humiliated for no apparent reason and it made my life a living nightmare. But then, I met an Earth pony; his name was Death Wish.”

“Your lost love?” Violet asked.

“Oh no; he’s later on.” Snow Diamond replied as she flipped to another page. “I told Death Wish that I was lost and had nowhere to go, so he took me in and let me live with him. And from there, we just hit it off and we ended up really liking each other. At first everything was okay, but after a few weeks… things took a turn for the worse for me.”

“What do you mean?”

“I slowly started to realize that he wouldn’t let me do anything; he wouldn’t let me use my magic in the house, he wouldn’t let me go out on my own, he wouldn’t let me stay in contact with my parents… hey, he wouldn’t even let me talk most of the time. Death Wish wanted to follow these “simple rules” and I thought it would be no problem… but I kept breaking them. I never meant to break them, I just… I tried my best, I really did. But whenever I did anything right, he gives me no acknowledgement whatsoever. And whenever I did something wrong, even if it was the tiniest little thing, he would blow up in my face about it. He would yell at me, call me names… and even hit me at times. One time, he hit me so hard that I got knocked out AND I ended up with a broken muzzle. He also told me that I wasn’t good enough for anypony; he brought me down pretty much every single day and I dealt with it for THREE YEARS. But I never thought it was wrong because I had never been in a serious relationship before that. He would cause a lot of depression and anxiety for me; things just got worse and worse… and I was still living with him.”

“But what did you do?”

“Then after those three years, I decided that I couldn’t take it anymore. While Death Wish was at work one day, I finally decided to stand up for myself and leave; I packed up all of my things and hopped onto the next train… I didn’t even bother to leave him a note; I didn’t want him to follow me. I didn’t know where the train would take me, but I hoped it would take me FAR AWAY from him. To this day, everything he said to me is stuck in the back of my head and I thought that I could ever forget until… he came into my life.”

“Your lover?”

“Yes.”

Snow Diamond smiled and closed her eyes as Violet scooted closer to her; this story was getting really good and she wanted to hear more.

“He and I met at a small bar in Seaward Shoals.” The white mare continued; Violet wanted to tell her new friend that she was originally from Seaward Shoals, but she didn’t want to interrupt or seem rude so she kept quiet. “I got a job as a singer and one night while I was singing, a Pegasus stallion came in with a few friends and I could tell that they were all sailors. I was getting so into my song that I started to dance, but I stepped in the wrong place and I fell offstage… only to be caught by that same Pegasus just before I hit the floor. The song ended and everypony clapped and cheered and after the show, he and I started to talk. We talked, joked, and laughed up a storm; I still remember that very first joke he told me that night. It was a corny sailor joke, but it made me laugh all the same. Still makes me laugh to this day.”

“What was it?” Violet inquired.

“How much does it cost a pirate to get his ears pierced?”

“I don’t know. What?”

“A buck-an-ear.”

Both Violet and Snow burst out laughing, but they were careful not to wake anypony up. Violet wiped a tear from her eye and grinned.

“That’s a good one.” She giggled.

“That’s what I said when he told it to me.” Snow lamented before she continued her tale, flipping through more pages of her diary. “After the bar closed, he told me that he would like to see me again sometime and I told him that I wouldn’t mind meeting up with him again either. So we agreed to meet up at the pier, Tuesday at noon. So we met up on Tuesday and from there, we REALLY hit it off. Do you know the saying, ‘Lovers move in on the second date’? Well, he and I kinda started that one. He found out that I was staying in a… not so nice place and he just opened his door to me, just like that.”

“That’s really sweet of him.” Violet commented.

“You have no idea.” Snow went on. “He insisted since I didn’t really have anywhere else to go and I was a proper roommate too; I did my fair share and more of the cleaning and cooking, hoping that would kinda compensate for the quick move. Soon enough, it was as if we’d lived in that house by the sea together all our lives and didn’t know it. It just came naturally… and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Ever since I met him, I had been the happiest in all my life; he made me feel so comfortable, happy, and safe. Everything was perfect and from there, it got… better. One night, he took me to the pier for a surprise. He told me that I was the best thing that has ever happened to him and I told him that I couldn’t imagine a life without him. He then got down on one knee and… and he asked me to marry him.”

Violet gasped and smiled; she loved a good romance and this story kept getting better and better.

“When he showed me the ring and gave me that hopeful smile, I screamed ‘YES’ about a dozen times and I was practically sobbing with joy as I wrapped my hooves around him in a hug. I still have the ring.”

Snow Diamond then opened another desk drawer and took out an absolutely beautiful diamond ring; Violet’s eyes widened with awe at the sight.

“Wow…” She whispered.

“Yeah; he told me it was the finest he could afford.” Snow replied.

“But what happened?”

“Well… he and I were wed at the beach and we were just living together like we had before, only then we were husband and wife. However in stories like these, there’s always a dark twist. I wish I didn’t have to say it, but it’s important.”

‘I was hoping you wouldn’t say that.’

“You see, it started a few days after the wedding. This life we built together was… tainted. I had a place I could finally call my own; it was all mine… and then HE showed up.”

“Death Wish?” Violet asked.

Snow Diamond nodded and continued. “He was in the bar, that very same bar where my husband and I first met. I don’t think he saw me, but I definitely saw him… and he was nothing but an eyesore to me. When I saw him, I felt I had to run away again! …But I couldn’t leave Jack.”

“Jack?”

“The nickname of my husband. So, I did the only logical and rational thing I could think of: follow Death Wish home to see where he lived. And there it was: the perfect little house on the perfect little lane so perfectly placed in the heart of his perfect little world. A pretty little garden with perfect rows of flowers out front and white-painted shutters that perfectly matched the cream-color of his house. It was… so perfectly sickening. And fate likes to deal all the perfect cards all at once, right? I just happened to see his new little house mare greet him out front with nothing but smiles. Ha… “Smiles.” Pfft. I’m not even sure how he scored a mare like that. For her sake, I prayed she could at least cook. Then I saw a little colt with a blonde mane standing beside the mare and I froze; I prayed to myself that Death Wish didn’t harm him while he was here. I never told Jack about Death Wish because I feared that he would be disgusted and wouldn’t love me anymore. Everything was perfectly fine, just Jack and me; I didn’t need Death Wish there. I needed him as much as I needed an infected skin rash.”

Violet giggled under her breath.

“Oh you may laugh now, but just wait until this next part. A few months after Death came to town, I started to feel pretty woozy and sick almost all the time. I cut myself off from Jack, hoping it was nothing. I went to the doctor to check it out and what he told me… shook me to the core. That night, Jack and I were lying in bed when my stomach felt sick again. I went to the bathroom as quickly as I could and… puked my guts out, as the foals would say. Jack was very worried about me of course, so he asked me what was going on. I told him it was nothing, but he could tell something was on my mind. He kept pestering me to tell him until finally, I did. I told him… I told him I was pregnant.”

Violet gasped in shock. “With his foal?”

“Of course with his foal! Who else?! …Uh, sorry; I always get a little touchy on the subject. I waited for a reaction and after a minute or two… he smiled, picked me up in his hooves, and twirled me around the room, laughing all the while. That was not the reaction I was expecting, not at all. I asked him why he wasn’t upset and he told me that he had always wanted to be a father. I smiled at that answer before we shared a kiss. After that, my pregnancy normally progressed; I had a few cases of morning sickness and I was tired almost all the time, but that eventually faded. But then one night… something horrible happened. As we were cuddling in bed, Jack and I heard a bloodcurdling from outside. We went towards the scream and saw that it was from Death Wish’s house; I could just barely see water splashing from an upstairs window, probably from the bathroom. Jack told me to wait outside while he investigated; I didn’t want Death to see me again so I did as he said. I waited for a minute or two until I heard cries for help and crashing coming from inside the house. I was scared of facing Death Wish again, but I was even more concerned about Jack’s safety so I went in… and saw that the house was a total mess. Then I heard a struggle going on in another room; I went in and saw Death Wish squeezing Jack’s throat with his front hooves, strangling him. I was terrified but before I could do anything, Jack used his hind legs to kick Death right off of him and Death flew into a wooden cabinet, knocking him out and possibly severely injuring him.”

“And Jack was okay?”

“Yes, he was fine. So after that, we went back home, not even bothering to look back. And then more time went by… and I gave birth to my baby. She was a beautiful little filly with a brown mane from her father and blue eyes from me. Jack and I were overjoyed; we now had a foal of our very own and we couldn’t ask for more.”

Snow Diamond smiled before she let out a sigh; she looked at Violet again.

“This is where the story gets… a little dark.” She said solemnly.

“…I’m listening.” Violet replied.

“It all started when our daughter was a year old.” Snow continued. “We were all at the beach together… when it happened. Jack was building a sand castle with our daughter when three or four unicorn guards came up and hit him in the back of the head. I gasped and put our baby onto my back as she cried; I watched Jack being picked up by the guards’ magic and I reached out my hoof to grab his, but it was all in vain. The guards just… just took him away from me; I still remember the horrified and confused look on his face before he vanished from view. And the last thing he said to me? I’ll never forget that.”

“What did he say?” Violet reluctantly asked.

“He called out to me saying, ‘Snow! No matter how long it takes, I will find you!’ But only a few months after Jack was arrested, things got worse. One night my daughter and I were sitting by the fireplace when three huge stallions barged in and threatened to take my filly away. I tried to protect her, but… but they were too strong. It’s kind of a blur, but I remember fighting those stallions with all I had. One of them came at me and… lights out. When I woke up, my house was in ruins. I felt blood trickling down my face from the cut on my forehead; then I noticed my daughter was gone. I tried to look for her all over the house… but she was nowhere to be found. …I never saw my husband or my child again after that.”

It was then that Snow Diamond began to sob and she fell to the ground with her face in her hooves; she dropped the journal without even realizing it. Violet did her best to comfort the mare, but then she remembered something in the story.

“Wait… did you say your daughter had blue eyes? From you?” She asked.

“Yes.” Snow answered through tears.

“Your eyes weren’t always green and purple?”

“…No. The eye colors I possess now… are all because of a curse. I forgot the name of it, though.”

“And, um… forgive me for asking this but… what was your husband’s real name?”

Snow Diamond was very hesitant to answer, but she slowly at up and looked Violet dead in the eye. She sighed,

“His name… was Jackpot Spade.”

I Can Help You

“Jackpot Spade?!” Violet exclaimed in shock.

“Yes, but keep it down.” Snow Diamond hissed. “I don’t want your friends to find out.”

“Too late for that.” A familiar voice commented.

Snow and Violet looked and saw Tempest standing in the doorway with everyone else right behind her. They were staring at the two ponies in silence with wide eyes, unsure of what to say or do.

“Well no wonder you were so upset at the mention of Spade!” Discord exclaimed.

“She wasn’t upset.” Violet commented.

“I saw the tears.” The draconequus finished.

“You were married to Jackpot Spade?” Ocellus asked.

“…Yes.” The white mare said, nodding her head.

“But… but how?!” Gallus exclaimed. “How could you love someone like HIM?! He’s EVIL!”

“YOU SHUT YOUR DIRTY MOUTH!!” Snow Diamond snapped, grabbing Gallus’s wing with her magic and glaring darkly at him; her eyes seemed to glow with anger as she looked ready to slap him. “I oughta wash out your mouth with SOAP if you call my Jack ‘evil’ again.”

“Uh… okay, okay, I won’t!” Gallus cried, trying to get his wing free. “Sorry. Yeesh, I didn’t mean to make you THAT mad.”

Snow Diamond’s eyes stopped glowing and she calmed down as she let go of the griffon’s wing. She closed her eyes and shook her head.

“I… I’m sorry.” She said, rubbing her eyes and sighing. “I just… I tend to lose my temper a lot, especially over the smallest things. And I don’t know why; it’s complicated.”

“It’s okay, but we’re getting off-topic.” Starlight said.

“We just want to know… how?” Sunset added.

“How what?”

“How can such nice pony love mean pirate pony like Captain Spade?” Yona asked.

“He isn’t mean! He’s not evil, either.” Snow Diamond explained. “Jackpot Spade is the sweetest, kindest, most humble, most special pony I’ve ever met in my life. He was nothing like you said he was when you met him… at least not to me.”

“But… Death Wish?” Tempest began.

“Death Wish was TERRIBLE! He was the single most obnoxious, selfish, ungrateful, annoying stallion I’ve ever met! I wouldn’t get back together with Death Wish, even if he were the last pony on Earth!” Snow yelled, stomping her hoof. “Jackpot Spade is NOTHING like Death Wish! Sure Jack was a little reckless and emotional at times, but he never treated me like a slave or a punching bag! He treated me like I was… the toughest pony in Equestria. He had one of the kindest and most giving hearts of anypony in Seaward Shoals, maybe even in all of Equestria… and for some reason, he loved me. There was never a single doubt in my mind that Jack loved me and to this day, I still wonder what a stallion like him ever saw in me. He believed in me, he made me feel safe and happy, he loved me with all his heart, and if you ever asked him to choose between me and work or anything, he’d choose me… every time.”

The room was silent for a good five minutes before Snow Diamond finally spoke again.

“I know of a tribe of creatures that can help you.” She said.

“You do?!” Skystar and Silverstream exclaimed.

“Yes. They live on the highest peak of a mountain known only as Bedlam.” Snow Diamond explained before she showed the group a map of the Crystal Mountains; she pointed to a mountain at the farthest corner of the map. “That’s where it is located. I can take you there, if you want.”

“You’d do that?” Capper asked.

“Of course. You guys would be completely lost out there without me.” Snow Diamond replied. “I know this entire wasteland like the back of my hoof; you’ll be safe with me.”

“But how do you expect all of us to get to Mt. Bedlam?” Captain Celaeno asked. “The mountain itself pretty far away, in case you haven’t noticed.”

“Yeah; it would probably take several days, or even a few weeks at most, to get there.” Capper added.

“Don’t you worry your pretty little heads about that. I came prepared.” Snow Diamond slyly replied as her horn started to glow again.

And in a bright flash, the entire group was teleported to the bottom of a gigantic mountain. There was a large stone arch standing in front of them.

“Here we are, Mt. Bedlam.” Snow said, smiling.

“Wait. If this really is Mt. Bedlam, then why haven’t you teleported us to the top of the mountain and save us the trouble of the climb?” Sunset asked.

“Oh, that’s because normal Equestrian magic doesn’t work within the borders; it usually just disappears beyond this arch. I sometimes come here when I’m in need some special ingredients for potions. Now come on, let’s get going.” Snow replied before she began the climb.

“Ugh! I haven’t climbed a mountain in a millennium!” Discord whined; everyone else groaned before they followed after the white unicorn.

Snow Diamond was at the head while Violet took the rear.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“To think we’d be warm up here. We’re so close to the sun!” Star Fish whined.

“Yeah, we’ve been sailing up here all night. I REALLY need a nap.” Sea Sponge added before he began to drift off to sleep with his friend, only to be woken up by Crab Claws kicking them both.

“No lollygagging, boys!” The first mate yelled. “We need to stay vigilant; it’s what the Captain wants!”

“Well I don’t know about you, but I’m FINISHED!” Squid Ink exclaimed. “We’ve been searching since yesterday and we haven’t found even one trace of this Violet Rose pony! I’m starting to think this is a lost cause!”

“She isn’t a lost cause, Mr. Ink.” The Captain’s voice interrupted; the rest of the crew stood at attention as Spade approached them with that same compass in his hoof. “We’re getting closer, I know we are.”

“But Captain Spade, we’re tired.” Sea Sponge said nervously.

“And hungry.” Star Fish meekly added.

“Oh… I see what’s happening here.” Spade said as he glared at Sea Sponge and Star Fish. “So this is MY crew. You get a little tired and a tiny bit hungry, and YOU WANT TO GIVE UP AND SHOVE OFF FOR HOME! IS THAT RIGHT?! Do you want to hurt me, to RUIN me? Do you want me to DIE at the jaws of the master? IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT?!”

“Not at all, Captain Spade!” Sea Sponge replied.

“No way, Captain!” Star Fish added.

“Hmmm, good… Anypony else feel like a little trouble?” Spade asked the rest of the crew.

“No, Captain Spade!” The rest of the crew said, including Squid Ink; they gave a salute.

“Good. Now let’s keep going. And luckily, I know exactly where she’s headed now.” The Captain said as he flew up to the helm.

“Really? Where?” Crab Claws asked.

“All hooves on deck! We sail… for Mt. Bedlam.”

Spade smiled as he looked at his compass.

Arriving at Mt. Bedlam

Violet’s hooves ached as she and the group of creatures in front of her trudged up the mountain. Breathing heavily, she asked,

“How long have we been climbing now?”

“About a few hours. I don’t know, lost track.” Tempest replied.

“Ugh, are we there yet?” Discord whined.

“The last thirty-seven times you asked that, the answer was ‘NO’!” Snow Diamond yelled. “…This time, it’s actually ‘yes’. We’re here.”

The group craned their necks up to see a huge stone temple standing before them, which caused them to let out a collective sigh of relief.

“Finally! Let’s find these creatures and get outta—” Gallus exclaimed as he ran towards the temple, only to have his tail tugged on by Snow Diamond.

“Wait!” The unicorn said before letting go of the griffon’s tail. “You can’t just barge in like that! You could get seriously hurt!”

“What nice pony mean?” Yona asked.

“This place is bobby-trapped.” Snow replied.

“Uh… what do you mean ‘booby-trapped’?” Ocellus nervously asked.

“I mean that this place is filled with them, to keep out any and all intruders.” Snow Diamond explained. “When I first discovered this place, I made the mistake of stepping in the wrong place, and as a result… I ended up getting pelted with different kinds of pie and I had to wash whipped cream, banana peels, and occasional pumpkin seeds out of my mane for a few weeks. And the worst part was that those pies literally exploded right in my face. So I made up my mind to never come back here unless I come prepared.”

“Can’t we just fly over?” Silverstream asked.

“Nope. The air is filled with invisible triggers that go off with even the slightest movement. So you’re not safe there either.” Snow replied.

“Then how are we supposed to get into the temple?” Skystar asked.

“That’s the problem… I have no idea.”

The rest of the group groaned in frustration. That was until they heard a twig snap from somewhere unknown; they froze.

“What was that?” Capper whispered.

“Um pardon me for pointing out the somewhat obvious, but… I don’t think we’re alone.” Discord replied.

Violet suddenly felt a cold wind touch the nape of her neck; her eyes nervously glanced around to find the source, but there was none.

“You shouldn’t be up here.” An unfamiliar voice hissed.

“Show yourself.” Celaeno demanded.

“Come on out and fight.” Tempest added.

“We don’t want any trouble. A pirate invaded their homeland and they need help from this tribe.” Snow Diamond said, trying to reason with the mysterious voice.

“…How do I know you’re not lying?” The voice asked. “We don’t help outsiders; it’s not our way.”

Discord’s eyes narrowed when he noticed the Hispanic accent; he knew this voice.

“Okay, you can stop playing games. Come on out, Babel.” He called out.

“BABEL?!” The rest of the group shouted.

“You mean ‘Babél’, old friend.” The voice said before a bright flash appeared.

Everyone was shocked to see another draconequus standing before them, only this one had pink eyes, the head of a leopard, the tattered wing of a changeling, and the tail of a fox. Discord smugly grinned at the creature as he approached it.

“Why hello there.” He said.

“Hello, Discord.” The creature replied. “Are you impressed? I think I almost sent a chill or two up your spine back there, if you know what I mean.”

“Wait, wait, wait! You KNOW her?!” Smolder yelled.

“We used to be friends… somewhat.” Discord answered. “But that all changed when the rebellion started.”

“Rebellion?” Capper asked.

“Ugh, there’s no time for stories.” The creature, now known as Babél, groaned. “Why are you here? Why have you returned to Bedlam, Discord?”

“Because Miss Snow Diamond here said that there was a tribe who can help us defeat a siren that has stolen our magic and invaded our hometown, Ponyville.” Discord replied.

“A siren?! I haven’t seen one of those in centuries! I thought they were extinct.” Babél said in surprise.

“That’s what I said.” Discord joked.

“Yes, siren invaded home. She is under control of mean pirate pony.” Yona chimed in.

‘He’s not mean.’ Snow said to herself with a furrowed brow.

“…That’s impossible. Sirens cannot be controlled by a mere pony. Something is VERY wrong here.” Babél said.

She looked at the group before her; she sighed.

“Come with me. I shall take you all to the Queen.” She said.

“The Queen?! You have a queen?” Silverstream exclaimed.

“Of course. We also have a king, but he’s… not himself today. Come on.” Babél said before she flew over to the temple.

“What about the traps?” Snow Diamond asked worriedly.

“Don’t worry, only a draconequus can evade the booby traps we’ve set up. You’ll be safe with me.” Babél replied before everyone reluctantly followed.

They made it to the temple, but it had two entrances.

“Which way are we supposed to go?” Skystar asked.

“We go left; this door leads to the Queen’s chamber.” Babél replied, turning left.

Everyone followed her… except for Violet. She heard a faint voice coming from the right tunnel and for some odd reason, she felt the need to follow it. So, with her curiosity kicking in, she went right without anypony or any creature knowing that she was gone. The group continued down the hall until they came across another room that was filled with sheer curtains.

“Your Majesty? We have visitors.” Babél said as she bowed her head; she looked at the guests. “What are you waiting for? Bow before her!”

“Oh please, Babél! There’s no need for any of that!” An unfamiliar voice said.

Discord’s eyes widened at the voice; he hadn’t heard a tone like that in so long. He bowed, everyone else reluctantly followed suit. A pair of blue polka-dot curtains opened to reveal a female draconequus with white hair, blue eyes, a blue jay’s wing, and a blue snake tail. She looked at the group with curious eyes.

“Rise, all of you.” She said; everyone rose. “So… why have you brought strangers here, Babél?”

“Because their homeland has been taken over by a siren, Your Majesty.” Babél replied.

“A siren? I thought there were only three in the world.” The Queen said, scratching her chin.

“Oh don’t worry. Princess Twilight took care of them.” Sunset remarked.

“Princess… who?” The Queen said before she noticed the colorful coats of the ponies gracing her court; her eyes widened in shock. “PONIES?! Babél, you brought ponies here?!”

“We mean you no harm, madam.” Tempest said, stepping forward. “We just need your help.”

“How do I know I can trust you?” The Queen asked, giving Tempest a dark glare.

“Because they’re my friends and we’re not leaving without some kind of help.” Discord commented, taking a step forward.

The draconequus Queen’s eyes widened at the sight of Discord. She approached him and put a claw to his face; her eyes began to water.

“D-D-D-Discord…?” She whispered before she burst into laughter with tears streaming down her cheeks; she wrapped her arms around Discord’s neck and hugged him tightly. “Oh, I knew it! I knew you’d come back to me someday! I missed you so much, my little cub!”

“Cub?!” Discord exclaimed, prying the elder creature off of him. “What are you talking about? Am I supposed to know you?”

“You don’t remember me? It’s me, Echidna … your mother.” The Queen said.

“MOTHER?!” The rest of the group screamed with wide eyes.

“Yes, mother.” The draconequus, Echidna, sighed; she looked back at Discord. “I didn’t really expect you to remember me; you were just a tiny, fragile cub when you were separated from me and your father.”

“Father? …My father is here too?” Discord asked.

“Yes, but he hasn’t been feeling too well lately.” Echidna replied. “Now… tell me everything.”

She flapped her wings and flew over to a lavish looking armchair in which she sat down; they told her the whole story.

“I see.” Echidna said, nodding her head. “Well… if this Jackpot Spade character has a siren working for him, then this pony he’s after must be very important. Where is she anyway?”

“Violet? Oh, she’s right…” Sandbar turned his head to where he thought Violet was standing, but he saw nopony behind him; he looked back at his companions. “Uh, guys? She’s not here?”

“Violet’s not here?” Snow Diamond asked worriedly. “Why isn’t she here? Where could she be?!”

“Oh dear…” Echidna muttered. “I think I have a pretty good idea where your friend might be.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As she wandered through the darkly lit hallway all by herself, Violet couldn’t help but feel as though she were being watched. She felt a cold gust of wind go up her back, causing the hair on the back of her neck to stand up.

“H-hello?” She nervously called out. “Is anyone there?”

Nothing but a foreboding echo answered her. She gulped. She took a deep breath and continued down the dark path. Pillars of rock separated her from a rushing stream. Rustling came from behind her, the noise echoing over the flowing water. She quickly snapped back. Still nothing.

‘Keep it together, Vi. You’re just imagining things.’

Violet shook her head slightly and continued on as the passageway began to turn slightly to the right. The cascading noise of rushing water intensified as she approached what awaited her below. The antechamber opened up to what looked like a massive throne room, rays of clouded sunlight coming in through a porthole embedded into the ceiling. She gazed around at the ancient brick walls that seemed to be shadowed by humongous stalactites, looming over a rushing stream that flowed around the central platform.

‘What is this place?’

Making her way across a worn stone bridge that extended onto the platform, she examined the various marking across the walls. From what she could tell, they were depicting a battle of sorts, a great many years of war, and a large figure that was long since faded. There appeared to be writing that accompanied the pictures, written in a language that was completely foreign to her. She made her way to the center of the room and discovered piles of different and somewhat random things. One of them was a cowbell; she picked it up with her hoof and examined it curiously.

She suddenly felt another cold wind brush up against her neck; she froze and dropped the bell, causing it to emit a loud clang when it made context with the stone floor.

“You, pony.” A deep, unfamiliar voice said.

Violet slowly turned around and looked up at a huge figure that was completely shadowed by the darkness it was sitting in; she figured the voice came from there.

“Do you come from the east, the west? What part of the world?” The voice asked; no answer. “Where are you from, little filly?”

“I um… I’m from down south, in Equestria.” Violet reluctantly answered.

“Equestria? Never heard of it.” The voice replied. “So tell me. Have you ever had a taste of any choco-berries down in this ‘Equestria’?”

“…No, I don’t think so.”

“Well, you don’t know what you’re missing. Choco-berries are probably the greatest confectionery creation this world has ever seen. Try some.”

Something was gently tossed Violet’s way; she looked and saw that a small cardboard box was lying at her hooves. She picked it up and opened it to see different kinds of berries covered in different kinds of chocolate.

“Go ahead, have some.” The voice insisted.

As hesitant as she was, Violet took a berry out and took a small bite out of it. She nodded.

“It’s good.” She said.

“You know who I am?”

“…No.”

“I am the King of the Draconequui.”

Violet’s eyes widened and she took a step back in surprise as the figure slowly moved into the pale light. The face of a male draconequus with graying hair, red eyes, and a red tail appeared.

“Call me Typhon.”

Escaping Typhon's Wrath

“We need to find Violet! NOW!” Snow Diamond exclaimed. “For all we know she could be in danger!”

“Wait!” Echidna called out, stopping Snow in her tracks. “Can I talk to you about something for a moment?”

“About what?”

The draconequus inspected the unicorn curiously like a foal that just discovered a new butterfly; then Echidna noticed Snow Diamond’s mismatched irises and she froze.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” Snow nervously asked.

“You’re cursed…” Echidna said simply.

Snow scoffed under her breath. “Tell me something I don’t know.”

“…with a Muddle Mind Spell.”

Snow Diamond’s eyes widened; she said nothing.

“Muddled Mind? What’s that?” Starlight reluctantly asked, stepping forward.

“It’s a spell that causes anypony or any creature inflicted with it to go completely insane; but it’s also rather random.” Echidna explained. “Sometimes you see things that are real and other times it’s just like crazy-crazy-CRAZY in your face all the time! But Miss Diamond? I haven’t seen a case like yours in centuries; the form of this spell is incredibly rare and very powerful. It still causes you to see things that aren’t real, but it can only affect two creatures at once; their moods can switch back and forth at random. One can be angry while the other is sad and vice versa. This spell is even known to slowly drain creatures of their power and energy, taking away their life essence until there’s nothing left.”

The chamber was deathly silent.

“So… that’s the type of curse I have?” Snow Diamond asked worriedly.

“…Yes.” Echidna replied. “You’ve had it for the past twenty years, but it’s still potent. It also makes your eyes the colors they are now.”

“Hey, Jackpot Spade as green and purple eyes too!” Silverstream pointed out.

“You’re right, he does!” Smolder added.

“Jack is cursed with the SAME SPELL?!” Snow cried in terror. “Oh no! Echidna, is there any way to break the Muddled Mind Spell?”

“Uh, that’s the problem… There’s no known cure.”

“NO KNOWN CURE?!”

“I’m afraid so, dear.”

“There can’t be! There has to be some way to—”

“Okay, okay, okay! That’s enough!” Tempest intervened. “Thank you for letting us know about Snow Diamond’s condition, Your Majesty, but we’re getting off track. Where is Violet? You know where she is, don’t you?”

“I believe I do.”

Echidna snapped her claws and a floating crystal ball appeared in front of her. She taped it a couple times and she could see an image of Violet.

“Ah, there she is! …But I think she’s in a bit of trouble at the moment.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“And you are a lost little filly who’s on the run from a deranged pirate. Violet Rose is your name?” Typhon said.

“How did you know that?” Violet asked.

“Kid, I have supernatural powers that allow me to do anything I please, including read your mind. But if you want to get away from that Jackpot Spade pony once and for all, you need someone who can protect you.”

“But… who?”

“That’s where I come in. Only I can protect you from that pirate and ANY other form of threat that comes to pass and I will… for a price.”

“But I don’t have anything to give you.”

Typhon smirked at the unicorn.

“I think you do.” He said, twirling a lock of her hair with his finger.

“…What?” Violet asked, taking a step back.

“Look around, Miss Rose. I have everything I need; I have plentiful food, endless treasure, command over my own personal armies, and a loving, beautiful wife who cares the world for me. But there’s still one thing I don’t have and that’s the one thing you can give me… the Blue Flower.”

“Blue flower? You mean like poison joke?”

“Poison joke? Oh, no way; I have a whole garden of that crud in the back. I mean a rare blue flower and I know for a fact that you, and only you, possess it.”

“No I don’t. I don’t have anything like that.”

“Of course you do. You’re a unicorn, aren’t you? You know how to summon the Blue Flower and control it to your own free will. That’s what I’m after.”

“But I-I-I, uh…”

“You’ve been told not to even go near it. But do you know WHY they tell you that? Because once you have it, you rise to the top. Nothing in this world can stop you or stand in the way of the Blue Flower. So what do you say?”

Violet’s eyes nervously darted back and forth, trying to think of something to say so Typhon wouldn’t get mad.

“I-I… What if I don’t know how?” She asked hesitantly. “I just want to go, please?”

Typhon looked at Violet curiously.

“Now don't try to kid me, Miss Rose” He sang.

“I'll make a deal with you

What I desire is a rare blue fire

To make my dream come true

Now, give me the secret, Miss Rose

Come on, clue me what to do

Give me the power of your Blue Flower

So I can be like you”

‘MY Blue Flower?’ Violet thought, taking a step back.

“Oh, oobee doo” He continued.

“I wanna be like you

I wanna walk like you, talk like you, too

You'll see it's true someone like me

Can learn to be like someone like you

Now you might think it's ridiculous

That me, a simple draconequus

Would ever dream I'd like to team

With the likes of you, Miss Rose

But together, we'd have powers

All the planet's treasures, ours

I got desire, you got the fire

But the dream I dream takes two

So, ooh, I wanna be like you

I wanna use that flame just the same you can do

Oh, how magnificus it would be

A good ol’ draconequus like me

Could learn to do like you ponies do”

Violet couldn’t understand what was going on; why did Typhon want her magic?

“Just one thing we both need to reach our full potential.” Typhon said in a deep voice. “Hand over your Blue Flower and in return, I will protect you and you will never be hunted for anything ever again.”

“Uh-uh-um…” Violet stammered, trying to find the right words. “That sounds like an amazing offer with a lot of pros… but there’s at least ONE con. What if I can’t?”

“…You can’t, or you won’t?”

“I can’t!”

“You WILL!”

Violet furrowed her brow and her lips curled into a sneer.

“What makes you think you can tell me what to do?” She asked.

Typhon paused. “Because I am the King of the Draconequui and every creature here takes orders from me.”

“Well, I’m not from here. So you have NO power over me.”

“Don’t toy with me, Miss Rose. If you are, you are going to be in serious trouble. Because I’m big, you’re small, I’m right, you’re wrong, and there’s NOTHING you can do about it. So do as I say and GIVE ME YOUR MAGIC!!”

“NOOO!!”

Violet’s horn suddenly let out a shockwave of magic, causing Typhon to stumble backwards a bit. He got back up and looked at the young mare who was now glaring daggers up at him.

‘How interesting. Your magic is even MORE robust than I thought… How delightfully chaotic.’ He said to himself as his eyes started to glow with hunger; his irises remained bright red, but the rest of his eyes turned to inky black.

Violet didn’t back down; her horn still glowing, she stood her ground. Disarray licked his lips and he began to open his mouth, which revealed many rows of razor sharp teeth.

“Typhon!” Echidna’s voice shrieked; Typhon paused. “What in the name of Bedlam are you doing?!”

He looked up and saw Echidna and Discord standing in the doorway; Echidna had a disapproving glare on her face while Discord had a look of confusion.

“Echidna!” Typhon cried out; he eyes turned back to normal. “W-w-w-w-what are you doing here?”

“I just want to know what’s going on.” She replied. “…I also wanted to introduce you to our son, Discord.”

“Son?” Typhon asked; Discord gave a nervous wave. “Bring him here.”

Discord took a few steps forward and looked at his father; he gasped dramatically.

“Oh my goodness, YOU are Typhon?” He exclaimed. “Wow! The legends do you NO justice, sir. You are truly… a wonder! How chaotically majestic!”

“How do I know you’re really my son?”

“Well, let’s see…”

As Discord continued to talk, Tempest, Starlight, Sunset, and Snow Diamond snuck into the chamber while Typhon was distracted. Violet turned to look at them and gave a soft sigh of relief; they gestured for her to follow them and while Discord kept his father busy, Violet slowly and quietly snuck away from Typhon and over to her friends. Snow covered Violet with her cloak and they started to walk away, but Violet’s hoof caught on an invisible wire which caused them to hear some kind of scream over a magical loudspeaker… which quickly alerted Typhon.

“Oh no…” Tempest whispered.

“RUN FOR IT!” Starlight screamed as the five mares ran towards the exit.

“No one leaves!” Typhon yelled as Echidna ran towards the exit as well.

“No need for a ‘farewell’; I can show myself out. Thank you so much for having me, bye-bye!” Discord said quickly before following after his mother.

An army of stone creatures suddenly emerged from the floors and walls of the chamber and chased after the group.

“Don’t worry, we’ll hold them off.” Captain Celaeno said as she took out her sword.

“Leave it to us.” Tempest added.

“This way, c’mon!” Snow took Violet’s hoof and they ran off in a different direction.

A loud, ear-piercing roar suddenly emitted from Typhon; it was so loud that it could be heard from even Jackpot Spade’s ship… which was nearby. Sea Sponge and Star Fish jumped at the sound.

“Whoa! What the hay was that?!” Sea Sponge cried.

“It’s coming from the mountains! She’s there, I know it! Starboard, NOW!” Spade demanded as he turned the helm to the right.

Violet and Snow ran to the exit until Typhon cut them off.

“Where are you going, Miss Rose?” He casually asked.

“Stay away from her!” Snow Diamond yelled.

“Why should I?” He asked. “She doesn't have anyone now. I'm your only hope, Miss Rose. I can make it real good for you here. Where else are you gonna go?”

“I’ll go back home to Seaward Shoals! With Grandma and Grandpa!” Violet answered.

“Oh, you didn't hear? They went to this Ponyville place of yours… and they were captured and are now held hostage by that siren, Andante. Must've been on account of you.”

“…No. No, no, no, no, no! You’re lying!”

With tears of bitterness in her eyes, Violet ran away back towards the temple to hide.

“Violet, no! Come back!” Snow Diamond cried before Disarray pushed her out of the way and flew after the orchid unicorn; she ran after them.

“Don't run away from who you are! You hear me?” Typhon screamed as he chased after her.

“Get away from me!” Violet screamed as she continued to run.

“There’s too many!” Echidna cried.

“How many of these things are there?!” Smolder asked.

Before Echidna could answer, Discord suddenly let out a terrifying roar which caused everyone to freeze… before they stone creatures continued their attack.

“What was that?” Gallus asked.

“I have no idea.” Discord answered.

In the temple, Violet was desperately trying to hide from Typhon as he looked for her. He was snarling and crawling on all fours.

“Think about it, Miss Rose. We can rule this world, together. Listen to reason.” Typhon said, trying to make an offer she couldn’t refuse.

Violet was having none of that. After a long moment of silence, she believed that he was finally gone. So she slowly peeked her head out from her hiding place to see if she could find him anywhere.

“Gotcha!” He screamed.

Violet screamed and continued running, her heart beating faster and faster with every hurried step she took. Typhon ran after her, his eyes as black as ink and his mouth watering.

“Stay away! You can’t do this to me!”

“Who says I can’t?!”

“Violet, over here!”

Violet opened her eyes and saw Snow Diamond. She ran towards her, hoping she has a plan on how to escape. Snow took her hoof and ran though the temple until she spotted a small opening in the wall on the other side of the chamber. They ran towards it with Typhon still hot on their trail.

“Get back here! There’s nothing you can do to save your skins!” He yelled.

“Oh yeah? How about THIS?!” Violet screamed as she blasted a beam of magic at Disarray’s face, which caused him to cry out in pain and surprise.

“We’re gonna have to jump!” Snow yelled. “Ready?”

“No!”

“One, two, THREE!”

And with that, the two mares jumped out through the hole, just before Typhon was able to grab either of them. Suddenly, the temple started to crumble and before anyone knew what was going on, the entire temple started to collapse right on to Typhon and the creatures of stone.

“Violet! Snow Diamond!” Tempest cried.

“You need to leave! NOW!” Echidna said before she and Babél snapped their fingers, causing the rest of the group, including Discord, to vanish into thin air.

Ready to Save the World

“This whole journey was just a big, fat mistake.” Gallus complained as he was laying in the snow.

“All we wanted was someone to help us.” Ocellus added.

“I just can’t believe how ungrateful Violet is!” Smolder ranted. “We only wanted to protect her.”

“…Do you think maybe it’s time we try and talk to her?” Starlight asked.

“I doubt she’ll want to see any of us right now.” Celaeno commented. “She said she wanted to be alone, so let’s leave her alone.”

“Help! Someone, HELP!!” Tempest’s voice screamed.

Discord shot up and he turned his head to see Tempest running towards the group with a terrified look on her face. She slid to a stop, gasping and wheezing for air.

“Tempest, are you okay?” Sunset asked, coming to her friend’s aid. “Where’s Violet?”

“She… she’s… she’s been CAPTURED!” Tempest panted before she collapsed onto the snowy ground in fatigue.

“WHAT?!?!” Sandbar shrieked.

After taking a few breaths of air, Tempest explained everything. “Violet’s been taken by Spade and his crew. They ensnared her in some kind of magic proof net and took her onto their ship. They’re probably heading back to Ponyville right now!”

Everyone gasped.

“We need to get her back!” Capper exclaimed as he stood up.

“How?! We’ll never catch up with Spade’s ship!” Silverstream said.

“And Timberwolves and Cragadiles have us outnumbered.” Yona added.

“And don’t forget; we’re powerless against Andante.” Smolder pointed out.

“It’s official. We’re doomed.” Gallus sighed in defeat.

“Don’t say that, little griffon.” A familiar voice said.

The group turned their heads to see the source of the voice; they cringed.

“Well, look who decided to show up to the party.” Discord groaned, rolling his eyes.

“Good to see you too.” Babél said sarcastically before she let out a sigh; she approached them. “I know you all feel like you’ve already lost, but you shouldn’t give up so soon. You all still have a chance… especially with us on your side.”

“Us?” Celaeno repeated.

“That’s right.” Another female voice said.

In a bright flash of white light, Echidna and Typhon appeared right next to Babél. Discord took a few steps back in response.

“What’s wrong, kiddo?” Typhon asked. “I thought you’d be happy to see your ol’ mom and dad.”

“You tried to attack Violet and steal her magic.” Discord retorted.

“I know, I know. And I’m sorry.” Typhon said. “I never wanted your friend’s magic. I just don’t know what came over me; I felt like… like I was under someone else’s control. Like a puppet.”

“Why should we believe you?” Capper asked.

“Because it’s the truth.” Echidna replied. “This morning, I knew something was wrong with Typhon. I could see it in his eyes; they glowed black and I haven’t seen eyes like that in millennia. Something is very wrong and we are going to help you fix it, which includes saving your friend.”

“You need us. Who else is going to help you?” Babél asked, folding her arms.

“Could you give us a second?” Discord said before pulling his comrades into a huddle.

“I think we should trust them.” Skystar said.

“What? Why?” Sandbar asked.

“Because they obviously have a pretty good idea of what’s going on and we REALLY need all the help we can get.” The hippogriff princess replied.

“That makes sense.” Tempest nodded her head. “I say we recruit them. Any pony or any creature who agrees, say ‘aye’.”

There was a pause before the rest of the group looked at each other, nodded their heads, and said, “Aye.”

“Motion carried.” Tempest smiled.

They broke the huddle and faced the three Draconequui.

“It’s a deal.” Sunset said.

“Are you sure about that?” Typhon asked, raising an eyebrow.

“We’re sure.” Discord answered.

“…It looks like our course is clear.” Echidna said. “Who’s ready to save the world?!”

“Yeah!” Everyone cheered.

‘We’re coming for you, Violet.’ Snow Diamond thought. ‘Just hold on. I’ll save you… and Jack.’

Torment's Reveal

The residents of Ponyville were either locked up in large cages or had rusty shackles around their necks and ankles; everypony was miserable. Princess Twilight and her friends were all crowded in one solitary cage with Andante keeping a close eye on them; the Applewood Vampires were in another cage on their left while the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Chancellor Neighsay were in a cage on the right.

“I miss my freedom…” Sweetie Belle lamented.

“I miss it so bad that I could cry

If I don’t get my music—!”

“We don’t sing the blues here, kid.” Andante said, banging her hoof against the cage bars.

“Sorry.” The little unicorn whimpered.

“No tin cup banging, tiny.” The siren shouted at Spike.

“Aw man.” Spike said as he dropped his cup.

“And no carving keys to your cell outta soap!” Andante yelled at Rarity who quickly hid her makeshift key behind her back.

“This is torture.” Neighsay sighed.

“We know what you mean, pal.” Guitar Shred replied.

“This is probably the worst gig EVER.” Deep Bass commented.

“This thing even confiscated our instruments.” Hard Rock added.

“Because rock and roll is for MULES! Now be QUIET, all of you!” Andante yelled as she slammed her tail fin on the Vampires’ cage. Her ears perked up; she looked and smiled as she clapped her hooves three times. “Attention, everypony! Attention! The Captain has returned.”

Everypony turned their heads to where Andante was looking and they saw Jackpot Spade, Sea Sponge, Star Fish, Squid Ink, and Crab Claws approach… with Violet Rose right behind them. She looked at the ponies around her who were giving her looks of disgust, shock, and confusion; she felt even more ashamed than she had before. She was led into the throne room of Princess Twilight’s Castle where a circle of chalk was drawn in the middle of the floor. She sat in the middle of the circle before Andante took Princess Twilight and her friends out of their cage and placed them into their respective thrones around Violet.

“Need anything else?” Andante asked the Pegasus.

“No thank you. That will be all.” Spade said.

The siren nodded and left. The ponies surrounding Violet stared at her in shock.

“Violet Rose?” Twilight asked.

“I’m so sorry, Princess.” Violet said, turning away from the Alicorn; she looked up at Spade who was hovering in front of her. “Captain Spade, please don’t do this. Don’t give this guy—”

“Your magic?” Spade scoffed. “Did you really think you would keep it all for yourself? I say it’s about time you learned to share. And besides, you’re far too important to this expedition to go unnoticed.”

“I’ll say.” An unfamiliar voice said.

Everyone turned their heads to a dark corner of the room to see a tall dark figure step out from the shadows. It was a draconequus, only this one had dark brown fur, ram horns, bat wings, and the lower body of a scorpion. There was also a long curved horn of a unicorn sticking out from the middle of its forehead and its eyes were glowing bright red with two black cat-like pupils. The mares and young dragon gasped in shock and terror at the sight, Spade on the other hoof remained perfectly calm. In fact, he seemed rather happy to see the creature.

“Hello, Master Torment.” He said casually.

“Hello, Spade.” The creature, now dubbed as Torment, said as he stepped forward; he turned his attention to Violet and his face brightened. “Is this the pony?”

“It is.” Spade replied with a proud smile. “She and her friends put up a bit of a fight, but she’s on her own now. She won’t be a problem.”

“Good.” Torment said before he took a small wooden box out from behind his back.

“Hey, what’s that?” Applejack asked.

“Oh, nothing special.” Torment replied as he opened the box and took something out of it; the group gasped when they saw the Alicorn Amulet.

“Where the hay did you get that?!” Rainbow Dash demanded.

“I thought we hid the Alicorn Amulet where nopony would ever find it again!” Rarity shrieked.

“Don’t underestimate a creature of many talents, my lady.” The draconequus said, putting the Amulet around his neck.

“What are you doing?! Get that away from her!” Twilight demanded.

“Fat chance, Princess! I need the Amulet for my plans. Now let’s quit wasting time and get on with it, shall we?”

“Get on with what?” Violet asked.

“The transfer.”

Torment then took out another necklace identical to the Alicorn Amulet and put it around Violet’s neck, only this one was white and blue instead of black and red. Violet didn’t say a word, unsure of what was going on. Pinkie Pie suddenly got a shutter and her friends froze.

“Is it a doozy?” Fluttershy nervously asked.

“Yep. Big time.” Pinkie replied, still shivering.

‘That can’t be good.’ Violet thought before Torments unicorn horn started to glow a pale yellow.

Torment than closed his eyes, grabbed both sides of the young unicorn’s face, and touched the tip of his horn with hers, which made her horn ignite. Twilight and her friends started to glow soon after and as quickly as it started, their eyes glowed white and their own magic started to drain from their bodies and flow into Violet’s horn, which made its way into Torment’s horn. Violet strained and groaned as the magic was pulsating and coursing through her; it felt like her body was on fire. This pain was like no feeling she had ever felt before and she hated it; Spade shielded his eyes from the light, a look of slight guilt and confusion on his face.

By the time Torment pulled his horn away from Violet, the seven mares and dragon collapsed onto the floor in exhaustion and pain. Breathing heavily, they all tried to stand but their bodies ached all over and they could hardly move a muscle.

“What… what did he do to us?” Spike asked weakly.

“So tired.” Fluttershy whimpered.

“I feel all woozy…” Pinkie Pie moaned.

“It hurts so much, all over.” Rainbow Dash groaned.

“Our strength… was just drained out of us.” Twilight concluded. “And it transferred to him.”

“I get that, but… but why did he need Violet?” Applejack asked.

“Exactly. That’s what I don’t understand.” Rarity added.

“Hey, I’m just as confused as you guys.” Violet commented, rubbing her head. “The only thing all of that magic stuff did was give me a monster headache.”

“Finally, at last! Let’s get the party started!” Torment cheered.

Spade said nothing and started to approach the dark creature when he heard a voice call out to him.

“Hey, hey, hey! Hold it right there, partner!” Applejack yelled. “There’re still a few things I don’t get.”

“Yeah.” Her friends added.

“Which is?” The draconequus asked, turning around to look at the farm pony.

“Firstly, where did you find Andante? Secondly, how is she so powerful so fast? Thirdly, why can’t anypony leave town and get help? And lastly… why’d you need Violet Rose for your plans?”

“You know, she makes a pretty good point.” Spike commented.

“QUIET!” Torment roared in the little dragon’s direction; Spike shrank back in terror. Torment sighed and shook his head. “To answer your first three questions, it’s pretty simple. Firstly: I found Andante when she was only a tiny little guppy. She was tired, starving, and alone so I did the only thing I could think of: give her a fraction of my original power.”

“WHAT?!” Twilight and her friends shrieked.

“Yes; she has powers similar to mine, though she prefers to stick to her original roots. Shame, really. Secondly: the reason she is so powerful is because she feeds off of ponies’ fear instead of their negative energy. That’s why she gained so much power so quickly, EVERYPONY in this town is afraid. So with every cry, shriek, squeal, or scream in fright, Andante is given more and more strength by the second. Ain’t that right, honey?!”

“You know it, babe!” Andante called back.

“Babe?!” Rainbow Dash blurted out in shock and disgust.

“She’s also been storing the rest of Ponyville’s energy in her crystal so nopony could try any tricks. And thirdly: the reason nopony can leave this tiny little town or get help from anyone outside its borders is because the little cloaking device spell Andante and I set up. True the Princesses can see what’s happening, but nopony, not even them, can get in or get out even if they tried.”

“Then how is she still afraid of me?” Spade asked.

“You know nopony wants to get on your bad side, no matter how powerful they are.” Torment replied.

“And the last question?” Rarity inquired.

“The answer to your last question? Oh yes. The reason why I needed Miss Violet Rose for my little scheme is because she possesses a rare magic FAR more powerful than all of the Alicorns in the world. It’s called the Blue Flower.”

“Disarray told me he wanted the Blue Flower.” Violet commented.

“Oh no, my dear. Typhon didn’t want it; I did. I was only using his body as a temporary vessel to trick you when you arrived at Mt. Bedlam.”

“Mt. Bedlam?” Fluttershy looked at Violet.

“Long story.” The young mare replied.

“Anyway, your Blue Flower was stronger than I first thought. You still had access to your magic while your little friends were practically powerless.”

“But… why do I have this Blue Flower?”

“It’s genetic. Your mother had a tiny fraction of it and it’s been dormant in your family tree since your ancestor, a unicorn mare by the name of Blood Moon, discovered it and harnessed its true potential. But she was afraid it would cause more harm than good, so she made it so the magical trait itself would just gather up piece by piece until finally, it become whole again… and now it’s inside you, Violet Rose. Or at least it used to be.”

Torment chuckled; Violet shut her eyes and laid down on the floor in shame.

“But why are you doing this, Torment?” Twilight asked.

“Why? …Because I’ve always been craving more and more power since the beginning and now that I have it, there’s nothing in this world than can stop me.”

Torment then began to sing.

“A sheep has left the fold” He began.

“Hoof beats go trotting, trotting

Up to heaven, bold

At the gates, knocking, knocking

Sheep in wolfish clothes

Holy jaws are dropping

Up in Heaven's hold

Plant my hooves, my hooks, my books”

As he continued to sing, Torment failed to notice Spade coming to Violet’s aid. He offered her his hoof and helped her back onto her feet.

“Once upon a time

Heaven was a towered tower

Tethered in its pride

Castor's grace is sour, sour

Thought the ink was dried

But deathly gardens flowered

Ivy to be climbed

Spread my filth, my wings, my weeds, my weeds

My fairest wheels are turning

Hark the angels wail

Bedtime is a-burning, burning

We've got grace for sale

How the worm is turning, turning

Lay you down to sleep

With wicked little stories

Count your missing sheep

Shed my skin, my fleece, my sin, my worms

They burrow up the line

Serpents in the branches, branching

Up those crooked vines

Vultures of a feather hatching

Circus lullabies

Carousels are ramping up to heaven

I raise my claw, my cane, my stakes, my snakes

Tongues, tongues

Slither in the mud

That's how a carnival grows, my son

Tongues, tongues

Slither on your hopes

That's how a carnival grows!

All these fickle beasts

Heaven hath rejected, lapping

Glory for our feats

Each of them is tested, blessed

Cast out for your sin

Come here for redemption

We've got grace for cheap

Lest you end up bested, lost and torn to shreds, dissected

Tongues, tongues

Slither in the mud

That's how a carnival grows, my son

That's how a carnival grows

Tongues, tongues

Slither on your hopes

That's how a carnival grows, my son

That's how a carnival grows

Fa la la, to Tartarus we go

Cross your heart and hope to fly

To Tartarus we go

Fa la la, to Tartarus we go

Stick a cupcake in your eye

To Tartarus we go”

Torment’s horn glowed again and a bright red light suddenly shown outside the castle. He gestured for Spade and Violet to go out onto the balcony and take a look. They did and what they saw made their blood run cold. Everypony was dancing and hopping in a large circle around a huge bonfire. They were also singing.

“Fa la la, to Tartarus we go

Cross your heart and hope to fly

To Tartarus we go

Fa la la, to Tartarus we go

Stick a cupcake in your eye

To Tartarus we go

Fa la la, to Tartarus we go

Cross your heart and hope to fly

To Tartarus we go

Fa la la, to Tartarus we go

Stick a cupcake in your eye

To Tartarus we go

Fa la la, to Tartarus we go

Cross your heart and hope to fly

To Tartarus”

Violet blinked and gulped; she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Everypony from Ponyville had been turned into slaves and mindless zombies. Spade couldn’t believe what he was seeing either. He didn’t say a word; he only stared at the scene down below with a look of shock and pure terror.

‘What have I gotten myself into…?’

Steal the Show

“Oh no! This is even WORSE than I thought!” Echidna exclaimed as she put away a magical periscope.

“What’d you see, honeybun?” Typhon asked; he and the rest of the team were huddled behind a few bushes and trees in the Everfree Forest just outside of Ponyville.

“It’s terrible.” Echidna replied. “Everypony in town is dancing and hopping around a fire and they were singing about Tartarus.”

“Tartarus?” Tempest repeated in disbelief.

“Yes. And believe it or not, I know exactly who is behind all of this madness… Torment.”

Babél and Typhon froze.

“What’s wrong with you two?” Smolder asked.

“Yeah, who’s Torment?” Sunset Shimmer asked.

“Torment… is the most dangerous draconequus that ever lived.” Babél answered. “Millennia ago, Draconequui lived in harmony on Mt. Bedlam, but all of that changed when Torment entered the picture.”

“What did he do?” Starlight asked.

“Yes, what did he do?” Discord added.

“He was the one who started the rebellion.” Typhon replied. “He said that we Draconequui should rule the world in destruction and chaos, but it’s not the chaos we’re used to. He wanted to enslave ponies and other creatures alike and turn the world into his own personal playground. We wouldn’t have any of it; we beat him of course and he was banished from Bedlam forever, but we never knew what happened to him after that, nor did we care. But now we know what he’s been up to after all this time; he wants to release every creature and monster imprisoned in Tartarus and take over your world.”

“No way! Is there no way to stop him?” Silverstream asked.

“There is.” Echidna answered. “The only way to beat Torment is to take away his powers and lock him up in Tartarus so he can’t bother anypony or any creature ever again.”

“But how are we gonna do that?” Gallus asked.

“We should worry about that later.” Tempest commented. “We need to find Violet and save everypony in Ponyville.”

“But how? There’s a force field surrounding the whole town.” Sandbar said.

“Don’t worry; I have a plan on how we can get in.” The unicorn said before she pulled her comrades closer to her and whispered her plan to them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At the entrance of town, Sea Sponge and Star Fish were standing guard, keeping an eye out for any suspicious characters. But they stood there so long that they decided to take a break and whacking each other with pool noodles.

“I say I'm Dirty Dan.” Sea Sponge argued.

“I say I'm Dirty Dan!” Star Fish retorted.

“I say I'm Dirty Dan!”

“I'm Dirty Dan.”

“I'm Dirty Dan!”

“I'm Dirty Dan.”

“I'm Dirty Dan!”

“I'm Dirty Dan.”

“I'm Dirty Dan!”

“I'm Dirty Dan.”

“I'm Dirty Dan!”

“I'm Dirty Dan.”

“I'm Dirty Dan!”

“I'm Dirty Dan.”

A wagon holding a very large and beautifully decorated cake came out of the forest and along the path towards Ponyville. It was being pulled by a group of ponies wearing long dark cloaks over their faces and bodies; it was Sandbar, Starlight, Sunset, Snow Diamond, and Tempest in disguise. Sea Sponge and Star Fish noticed and stood at attention, pointing their swords at the lead pony.

“Halt! Who goes there?” Star Fish asked.

Tempest cleared her throat, took out a clipboard, and in a disguised voice and faux English accent, she said to them, “Why hello, gentleclolts.”

“State your business, lady.” Sea Sponge demanded, trying to sound intimidating.

“So sorry to disturb you, but I have a special delivery for a mister ‘Jackpot Spade’?” Tempest asked, looking at the clipboard on her hoof.

“It’s Captain Jackpot Spade.” Sea Sponge corrected her.

“Whatever. I was given explicit instructions to bring this cake to the Friendship Rainbow Kingdom Castle’s throne room. Would one of you be so kind as to point me in the right direction?”

“Did you order a cake for the Captain, Sea Sponge?” Star Fish asked.

“I didn’t. Did you?” Sea Sponge asked.

“Nope.”

The two stallions looked at the cake in confusion, then back at Tempest. She smiled and batted her eyes at them, trying to make them believe she was innocent.

“Sorry, lady. No can do.” Star Fish said, shaking his head.

“Yeah; nopony is allowed past these gates.” Sea Sponge added. “We think it’d be best if you move along.”

“Alright, fine. Have it your way.” Tempest said. “Oh but before I go, could one of you please be a dear and go tell your boss that he isn’t getting his “Congratulations on Pillaging, Plundering, Pilfering, Ransacking, and Invading an Entire Defenseless Pastel Ponies’ Village” cake? Because I’d rather not be the one responsible for your captain to miss his extra special treat. You know what I mean? And I’m sure you two know perfectly well how angry he gets when he doesn’t get his way. Yes, of course you do…”

She backed away from the two ponies and turned around to look at her colleagues.

“Are you sure this is gonna work?” Snow Diamond whispered.

Tempest said nothing and just smiled; while her back was turned, Sea Sponge and Star Fish were whispering amongst themselves, trying to decide whether to let Tempest in or not. After a few seconds, they looked at Tempest again.

“Okay, you can go in.” Sea Sponge said as a section of the force field opened.

Tempest winked, turned back around, and walked back over to the ponies as she said, “Why thank you so much, boys. I’ll be sure to put in a good word for you both.”

“Make it snappy.” Star Fish ordered.

“Of course. And don’t worry; I won’t tell your captain about your little shenanigans.”

Star Fish and Sea Sponge nervously smiled at each other; Tempest nodded her head at them as she and her friends made their way past them through the gates into Ponyville. When they were out of earshot, Sea Sponge and Star Fish looked at each other.

“Did something about that pony seem familiar to you?” Sea Sponge asked.

“Like what?” Star Fish asked.

“…I have no idea.”

In town, Tempest and the others cautiously walked through the streets and around the fire, hoping not to draw any attention from Andante and her army of monsters. The incarcerated ponies watched Tempest through their cages and they all wondered what she was doing. She glanced over at the cage containing the Applewood Vampires and nodded at them, nonverbally telling them that they were all going to be okay.

Suddenly, a large bipedal dog-like creature noticed the wagon and walked up to it, tempted to have a bit of cake. He took a sniff, licked his lips, and greedily shoved a handful of frosting and icing into his mouth.

“Mmmm! Yummy!” The dog said before he noticed something inside the cake; it was a large eyeball that blinked after a few seconds of staring.

Before the dog could yell anything, Capper grabbed him and pulled him into the cake as fast as he could. A pack of Timberwolves suddenly surrounded the cart, corning the terrified ponies that were pulling it. This quickly caught Andante’s attention.

“What’s going on over here?” She asked, joining the wooden beasts.

“Oh no…” Tempest muttered under her hood.

“We’ve been sniffed out.” Snow Diamond whispered.

“Looks like it’s time for plan B.” Sandbar said before he kicked the wagon with his back hoof.

The cake in the wagon suddenly exploded, causing Disarray, Eris, Babél, Discord, Capper, Celaeno, Princess Skystar, and the rest of the Students Six to jump out ready to attack.

“Ataque!” Babél screamed in Spanish.

Battle quickly broke out. The Timberwolves, Cragadiles, and Diamond Dogs attacked, but the group of heroes fought back and boy, did that fight. Through the commotion, Ocellus and Snow Diamond freed the ponies of Ponyville from their prisons and join in on the fight as well. Andante sneered and went back up to Torment, who was watching everything from the castle balcony.

“What?! HOW?!” He yelled.

“Uh, Torment? Honey?” Andante asked.

“You can do whatever you like with them, love, just as long as they’re stopped.” Torment commanded.

“You got it. I know what to do. Just gimme a quick beat.”

Torment nodded and snapped his fingers, causing music to start out of nowhere.

“Thanks.”

Everyone was confused by the sudden music, then Andante began to sing.

“Ugh, not again…” Tempest muttered.

“Clear the way, center stage” The siren sang.

“Hit the spotlight!

Looking bold, sounding fierce

This is my night!

Watch me go through the show

The stage feels so right, stage fright!

So put a star on my dressing room door

Stand up, scream my name, beg for an encore!

It's my first verse, versus everyone

And I've won!

Get ready for a standing ovation

Buy a ticket and off we go!

I'm the next big stage sensation

Listen up, 'cause I came to steal the show!

Watch me steal the show!”

“Relax; I know how to handle her. Just lead Starlight, Sunset, and Snow Diamond to the castle.” Babél said before she began to sing as well.

“Scat Cat!” She started.

“Get off stage, hit the bricks,

This is not right!

You stole their home

And I'm here to pick a cat fight!

Let it go, don't you know,

On stage are a fright, stage fright!

They call you Andante, you’re nothing but a LIAR!

The audience should run like you're yelling fire!

Your real voice is a caterwaul, no curtain call!

Get ready for a singing violation

Get a ticket and off you go!

I'm the next big stage sensation,

Listen up, 'cause I came to save the show!

Watch me save the show!”

As she sang, Tempest, Snow, Starlight, and Sunset quickly ran over to the castle while the rest of the group handled Andante and her forces.

“For a fish with stolen pipes”Babél continued.

“You talk a big game

You may fool some folks

But it's pretty lame

Let it go, don't you know

The stage is not your right

See the light!

Nobody loves the bright lights more than me,

The spotlight is a prize

You gotta be ready!

You're a phony

You're so batty

Take it, Echidna!”

“ECHIDNA?!” Torment shrieked in shock.

“Nice try, fishy fish” Eris sang.

“With the voice jack!

I got friends looking out

They've got my back!

Now, you know

Stealing the show is a crime

Unless you do it right!

Alright!

You can try and imitate me, copycat!

But my voice is made of more than that!

You can't bite my style

Let's face it: you're just a fish stick!

Get ready for a standing ovation!

Buy a ticket and off we go!

I'm the original stage sensation,

Listen up, 'cause I came to steal the show!

Watch me steal the show!

Get ready for a standing ovation!

Buy a ticket and off we go!

I'm the next big stage sensation,

Listen up, 'cause I came to steal the show!

Get ready for a standing ovation!

Buy a ticket and off we go!

I'm the next big stage sensation,

Listen up, 'cause I came to steal the show!

Watch me steal the show!

Watch me steal the show!”

At the end, Andante was already tied up in licorice whips that were as strong as rope and her Cragadiles and Timberwolves where either smashed or captured. The rest of Ponyville was free.

“No, no, no, no, NO!” Torment wailed. “This can’t be happening! I can’t lose!”

“Wanna bet?” Tempest’s voice asked from behind.

Torment, Spade, and Violet turned around to see Sunset, Starlight, Tempest, and Snow Diamond standing a few yards away from them with dark glares on their faces. Torment merely smiled the moment he saw the white unicorn with her horn ablaze.

“My, my, my! Snow Diamond? Is that really you? …You look terrible.” He teased.

Snow Diamond suddenly froze; she knew that voice all too well.

“D-D-D… Death Wish?” She muttered.

The Final Battle

The throne room was deathly silent. Violet, Sunset, Tempest, and Starlight stared at Snow Diamond with wide shock-filled eyes.

“You remember me, don’t you my diamond?” Torment asked tauntingly.

“Your diamond?” Spade whispered; he still couldn’t believe what he was seeing or hearing, even if it was standing right in front of him.

“No. No, no, no, no! It can’t be! It can’t be you! It CAN’T!” Snow Diamond stuttered, backing away. “I saw you! You were knocked out! You were taken to prison for murdering that colt! You attacked Jack!”

“MURDER?!” Violet, Sunset, Starlight, and Tempest cried out in shock.

Torment roared at the mention of Spade. “I can’t believe it! I just don’t believe it! Even after all these years, you still choose HIM over ME! You unfaithful SHREW!”

“Hey, hey, hey, HEY!” Starlight yelled, stomping her hooves down on the floor as Snow Diamond conjured up a force field around her and her three friends. “How can YOU be Death Wish? He was an Earth pony if I recall, and you are no Earth pony.”

“Oh, you really hadn’t figured it out yet?” Torment asked before bursting into laughter. “That Death Wish pony was just a silly disguise I used for the past thousand years so I could fit in with pony society. I easily blended into crowds as Death Wish; I made my way to Canterlot, easily got a job shining the armor for the guards, and I was practically “living the dream” as you would say. I admit it was difficult adjusting to life without chaos at my disposal, but I had everything. Then about twenty or thirty years ago SHE came into my life.” He pointed a finger at the white mare. “She was in Canterlot looking for a place to stay and when I introduced myself, I opened my doors. I practically gave her everything she could ever want; a home, a future, and even love, the one thing she never really had even from her own family.”

“You never loved me!” Snow Diamond yelled, trying to fight back tears.

“But if you really are Death Wish, then… why did you abuse her?” Tempest asked.

“Yeah!” Sunset, Violet, and Starlight added.

“Wait, ABUSED her?” Spade asked in disbelief; he looked at the mare he had lost so long ago. He didn’t know what to think now.

“Was it just because of the “rules” you made that she “broke” or was it something else?” Violet questioned.

“Nopony asked you!” Torment screamed in the young unicorn’s face before he looked back at the other mares within the green force field. “Well… at first it was the broken rules, but after a while… I beat her and called her names pretty much every single day just for the heck of it! It’s called tough love, look it up. I’ve always liked watching others suffer from my own hand and Snow here was practically my own personal toy… until she left me.”

“You drove her away, you creep!” Applejack yelled from across the room.

“That’s not tough love!” Rarity shrieked.

“Yeah, it’s abuse!” Spike called out.

“You’re sick!” Rainbow Dash screamed.

“Be quiet!” Torment snapped his fingers and taped the mouths of Twilight and her friends shut as well as chain them to their thrones.

“Leave them alone!” Violet stepped forward and furrowed her brow; Spade put his wing in front of her to stop her, but he didn’t say a word.

“I still don’t understand why you left me, though.” The draconequus continued. “I had everything a pony could want: a career that involved the royalty, an extraordinary home, the unbelievable luxury, the rare social status… A mare would have to be a complete idiot to not want me. Nopony can deny the fact that when we first met… there were sparks. I recall the look in your eyes when she first saw me, the want… the lust. You wanted it just as badly as I did. So I gave it to you… I gave you all of myself.”

A soft sob escaped Snow Diamond’s lips and a few tears streamed down her pale cheeks; she put a hoof over her eyes as her magic faltered slightly. Tempest frowned and put a tender hoof on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. Torment chortled at the sight.

“Just to hear her like that again? Oooooh, it’s so intoxicating… exquisite, don’t you think so?”

“What?! No! It’s awful to even think about her like this! You’re CRAZY!” Sunset yelled.

“I may be crazy, but it’s the craziness that works. I mean, come on! How could she try to replace me… with something like you, Jackpot Spade?” Torment glared down at the Pegasus at his side. “A common, filthy Pegasus with such an ill-behaved, ignorant, and unrefined demeanor… A pony who uses his own sorrow and pain as a crutch to justify his unforgivable doings… I think after all’s accounted, you are by far the greatest insult. Even after all these years, she still does not understand what she really lost.”

Spade’s eyes widened in fear and he took a step back as Torment leaned in closer to him, his breath that smelled of old fish and rotting fruit wafting through the Pegasus’s nostrils. Spade gagged and coughed at the horrid smell.

“I’m the one who belongs with Snow Diamond. That’s why I sent you away.” Torment went on. “While I was in prison, I quickly broke out and framed you of drowning that colt that night; I also hypnotized those guards into taking you away from Snow and your little filly and throwing you onto that prison ship heading south… I even sunk the ship halfway through its voyage! But I never expected you to SURVIVE. So in the end while you were on that deserted island… I cursed you.”

Everypony gasped.

“You cursed Spade with the Muddled Mind Spell?” Starlight asked.

“And Snow Diamond too.” The draconequus answered. “Heck, I was the one who created the spell in the first place!”

“You did all of this? Cursed Spade and Snow Diamond? But… why?” Violet asked.

“So I could finally get my paws on YOU!” Torment wailed, turning to look at Violet. “The only pony in this world who was able to wield the Blue Flower! You are the ticket to my goals, my success, my VICTORY! While you were alone with your mother, I sent those ponies to take you away, but before they could even touch you, you poofed away and found yourself at your grandparents’ place where they took care of you for all that time.”

“Yes, yes, yes! We get it, Torment; you got what you wanted!” Spade interjected. “Now I think it’s time for you to give me what I want.”

“Oh?”

“Yes. Give me back my family.”

Torment paused before letting out a maniacal laugh.

“Even after all of this, you STILL haven’t put 2 and 2 together? You’re already reunited with your family! Your wife… and your daughter.”

Everypony gasped again. Snow Diamond stood up straight and gazed at Violet in shock; Violet was looking at her the same way. Spade’s mouth fell open.

“You mean… all this time… YOU TORE MY LIFE APART?!” Spade yelled, flapping his wings.

“Yes and as of right now, I’m going to finish the job.” Torment said, pushing Spade away.

“Oh, it is ON!”

Torment’s horn ignited and proceeded to blast Spade with a beam of magic, but Spade was too quick and the draconequus kept missing. Violet stared in shock; was she really Spade and Snow Diamond’s daughter? She suddenly gasped; Spade had been hit in the wing with a blast of magic and he was hurled over the balcony. Thinking fast, she ran over and grabbed his hoof in her own before he could fall.

“Hold on!” She cried.

“After everything… why are you saving me?” Spade asked.

“…Because this is what family does.”

Spade’s face softened at the mention of family. Violet tugged on the stallion’s hoof and pulled him back onto the balcony.

“Wait here.” Violet said before directing her attention to Torment.

“Now for you.” Torment said as he approached Snow Diamond’s force field.

“STOP!” Violet yelled as she slammed her hooves down on the floor.

The draconequus turned around to see Violet Rose glaring daggers at him.

“You hurt my mother, stole my father, cursed both of my parents, chased me around all over Equestria… you have messed with THE WRONG PONY!!!” She screamed as she charged at him with her horn glowing.

“Wait, what?! You still have your magic?! But how?” Torment asked before a beam of magic blasted him in the face.

“I’m a lot stronger than you think, PUNK.”

She jumped onto his back, grabbed the Alicorn Amulet with her teeth, and tried to pull it off of him. Torment thrashed around as he tried to pry the young mare off of him.

“Let go of me! Get off of me!”

“Not until you give in and turn everything back to normal!”

“Fat chance!”

“Then you’re about to face some powerful hurt!”

“Let her go!” Snow Diamond’s voice yelled as she pounced onto him too.

“My diamond? What do you think you’re doing? Get off!”

The two mares jumped off of the enraged draconequus. Tall and proud, Snow Diamond radiated with green brilliance; Violet standing right beside her.

“She is not your diamond!” Violet retorted.

“Yes, she is. You will always be my—”

“I’m not a play thing; I’m not an object you can toy with and control!” Snow snapped, stomping her hoof. “All of the horrible things you did to me, every punishment you put me through… Did you honestly expect me to come back to you… to ‘love’ you again?” Snow’s aura shined brighter with each word she spoke.

“You are such a brat, Snow! You never knew what was best for you, for us!”

“For us? Really? This has always been about you, Death! If that even is your real name. It was never about what I wanted, what I really needed, what I felt! It was always about you and what you wanted from me! All you ever did was hurt me; you tried to break me! Newsflash, diamonds NEVER break no matter how hard you hit them! But do you even know how bad you hurt me… how scarred I was after I left? I couldn’t trust anypony! Because of you, I honestly thought I wasn’t good enough for anyone, not worth anyone’s time. It was all because of you! Jack was the one who saved me!”

“Why do you still put your faith in this filthy, pathetic excuse of a Pegasus!?” Torment growled.

“Because I know he isn’t evil! He was under your control this entire time; he obeyed you no matter what because he was afraid of you! You treated him like a marionette; you played with his emotions, toying with him and torturing him until he joined you to make you stop. He is TWICE the pony you will ever be! You’ve always had a darkness inside you from the beginning. You feel nothing. No remorse, no love, no regret, no ANYTHING; only a sick twisted pleasure for the pain and misery you cause others! No matter how much you toy with my husband, hurt my daughter… torture us, our love will always be stronger; stronger than anything you throw at us! I’ve been afraid of you for far too long. This ends now, Torment; once and for all. I am not your doll, your puppet, your punching bag, or your diamond. I am Snow Diamond, and I will always—”

“Shut up!”

Torment suddenly picked up Snow Diamond with his magic and he threw her across the room until she collided into a wall in another corner, which caused a large fragment of crystal to fall from the ceiling and strike her right leg. She screamed in pain.

“Snow!” Jack cried out.

“No!” Violet gasped.

“Ow, my leg.” She whimpered, trying to stop the bleeding from her hoof.

Violet snarled in anger at the draconequus.

“The King and his crew

Stole the Queen from her bed” She sang.

“And bound her in her bones

The seas be ours and by the powers

Where we will we'll roam

Yo ho, all hooves

Hoist the colors high

Heave ho, thieves and beggars

Never shall we die”

Tempest, Starlight, and Sunset looked at each other in confusion before they began to join in, along with Spade.

“The King and his crew

Stole the Queen from her bed” They sang.

“And bound her in her bones

The seas be ours and by the powers

Where we will we'll roam

Yo ho, haul together

Hoist the colors high

Heave ho, thieves and beggars

Never shall we die

Yo ho, haul together

Hoist the colors high

Heave ho, thieves and beggars

Never shall we die

Yo ho, haul together

Hoist the colors high

Heave ho, thieves and beggars

Never shall we die”

“Rrrrrrr! I’ll have you ALL in my teeth!” Torment roared before charging at Violet.

“Not if I can help it!”

Before he could do anything, Violet suddenly charged at the creature and jumped onto his back again, trying to get the Alicorn Amulet off of his neck. This struggle went on for a minute or two before Violet covered Torment’s eyes with a tapestry from the wall. He cried out in surprise and he stumbled back towards the balcony, until finally he stepped in the wrong spot and he fell… along with Violet.

“Violet! NO!” Snow Diamond wailed.

Saving the Day

Twilight and her friends got out of their restrains and stood in silence; everypony stared at the balcony on shock, unsure of what to make of the situation. Snow Diamond then began to weep, covering her eyes with her cloak; she had lost her daughter all over again. A struggling sound was suddenly heard; everypony froze and looked at the balcony… and Violet suddenly came back. She climbed up the side of the castle wall with the Alicorn Amulet in one hoof. Everypony cheered and went over to her, happy to see that she was alright.

“Violet! You’re okay!” Sunset exclaimed as she and Starlight hugged her tightly.

“But… how?” Tempest asked, joining in on the hug.

“Tail Growth Acceleration Spell. Don’t worry; it’s only temporary.” Violet replied, implying to her tail which quickly reverted to its original length.

Snow Diamond limped over to Violet with a tiny, hopeful smile on her face.

“V-Violet? …Are you okay?” She asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Violet answered. “Are you?”

She nodded. “Thanks to you.”

“…I am so sorry, mom.” Violet cried before she wrapped her arms around Snow Diamond.

Snow was surprised, but she soon found herself hugging the young mare back. She smiled to herself and closed her eyes as tears started to well up.

‘I’m a mom, I’m a mom…’ She thought.

Unbeknownst to everypony else, Jackpot Spade was standing in another corner of the room, watching and listening to everything. He frowned to himself and he started to walk away before his ears perked up. He turned around and gasped when he saw Torment climbing back up to the balcony… and he was holding some kind of hose. Spade realized it was the hose leading to a barrel of a special caramel sauce he had prepared. He ran over to the balcony and just as Torment was about to blast the mares with the sauce, Spade screamed.

“Nooo!”

The caramel sauce made a direct hit right into Spade’s open mouth. He tried to spit out the sauce, but it made its way down his throat. Spade coughed and gagged at the awful taste before he tried to fly over to Torment, but his battered wing prevented him to do so.

“What are you doing, you idiot?” Torment sputtered.

“This is where our story ends.” Spade announced bravely yet weakly; his words made Snow Diamond’s eyes widen. “Come, Torment! Come dance with me.”

Torment gasped. “Oh no!”

Gathering the last of his strength, Spade threw himself onto Torment, hurling the two adversaries off the ledge.

“JACK!” Snow wailed in horror.

As the two of them gradually fell through the air, Snow Diamond jumped off the balcony with Violet following close behind. Snow reached out her hooves and wrapped them around her husband, Violet doing the same to her mother. Unfortunately, Torment couldn’t flap his wings fast enough and he was quickly consumed by the flames of the unforgiving fire below, never to be seen or heard from ever again. But before the three ponies were met the red fire as well, they froze.

Violet reluctantly opened her eyes and saw that she, Snow, and Spade were floating in midair. She looked up and saw Discord, Typhon, Echidna, and Babél using their magic to float them back onto the balcony to safety. The Student Six were standing beside their teachers in surprise.

“Violet, are you okay?” Ocellus asked.

“Yeah, we’re okay.” Violet answered before she heard a whimper.

She turned her head and saw Snow Diamond kneeling on the ground with Spade in her front hooves. His eyes were shut and his body was limp and unmoving.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” Twilight asked.

“Jack isn’t moving, he won’t wake up!” Snow said worriedly.

Tempest gently touched the corner of Spade’s mouth with the tip of her hoof and noticed the caramel-like substance. She took a sniff and gagged in disgust.

“This caramel sauce was laced with poison.” She concluded.

“Poison?!” Everypony else cried.

Tempest nodded solemnly.

“So… is he dead?” Fluttershy asked; the unicorn shrugged and said nothing..

“Whoa. I can’t believe he did that.” Gallus commented.

“…I can.” Violet said.

Through her tears, Snow Diamond began to sing to Spade’s body.

“My heart is pierced by Cupid” She lamented.

“I disdain all glittering gold

There is nothing can console me

But my jolly sailor bold

Come all you pretty fair maids

Whoever you may be

Who love a jolly sailor bold

That ploughs the raging sea

My heart is pierced by Cupid

I disdain all glittering gold

There is nothing can console me

But my jolly sailor bold…”

She suddenly burst into tears as she cradled her husband’s body in her hooves; the last thing she wanted right now to lose him, not again. Everypony just stood in silence around the two ponies. Violet looked at the golden amulet that was around her neck and took it off, wondering why she still had it on. Then she noticed something; it was spade trying to move.

“Mom? Squeeze him tighter.” She said.

Snow didn’t hesitate and she squeezed with all her might and within a few seconds, the poisoned caramel sauce suddenly spewed out of Spade’s mouth like a fountain and his eyes fluttered open. Hearing the coughing, Snow looked and saw her husband tumble to the ground and hack up the rest of the caramel sauce. He moaned and put a hoof to his abdomen.

“Ugh, what happened?” He asked. “Oh no, not another tummy ache. Ugh, I feel awful.”

Snow reached out her hoof and helped Spade back onto his feet. Spade rubbed his eyes, shook his head, and looked at the creatures standing before him.

“…Why are you lot looking at me like that?” He asked before turning his attention to Snow Diamond; his eyes widened at the sight of her. “S-S-S-Snow Diamond…?”

“Jack?” Snow reached a hoof up to touch Spade’s cheek. “You’d really give your life for me and Violet?”

“Of course.”

“But… why?”

“Because you are my wife and best friend and I could never do anything bad to you.” He looked sorrowfully at her. “I’m so, so sorry, love; for every awful deed I’ve ever done over these past several years. I was under Torment’s control; he forced me to act so vile and evil and told me it was the only way for me to get you and our daughter back. I should’ve known that the both of you were still out there and you of all ponies knew that none of those terrible things are what you would’ve wanted me to do. And I promise to always be there for you, no matter what, and to never leave you alone again. That is, of course, if you’ll have me back…”

He held out his hoof, hoping for her to take it.

“Oh, Jackpot Spade… How could I not?”

And without hesitation, Snow Diamond thrust herself upon Spade and pressed her lips against his. Their manes blew in the wind. The two ponies suddenly rose into the air as white mist swirled around them. The light around Snow and Spade grew brighter as they rose into the air. Then the two opened their glowing white eyes. The bubble burst and expanded towards the group of ponies.

Violet took a step back in surprise but when she did, she accidentally stepped on the two amulets, breaking them apart; her eyes glowed white as her horn glowed bright blue. A huge shockwave of light and magic emitted from her horn, spreading all over Ponyville and the rest of Equestria. The fire was put out, Andante were put in chains and sent to Tartarus for her crimes, the Timberwolves, Cragadiles, and Diamond Dogs retreated into the Everfree Forest, and everypony in Ponyville had their magic returned to them.

When the couple floated back to the ground, their lips were still locked. The world around them had returned to normal and no evil creature was in sight. Everypony hopped out of their hiding places and cheered. When the pair finally pulled away, Spade was smiling like an idiot.

“Wow…” He lamented, opening his eyes.

“I’ve forgotten how wonderful that felt.” Snow added.

When he did, he gasped; he saw both of Snow Diamond’s eyes.

“Snow, your eyes.” He said. “They’re blue.”

“And yours are brown.” Snow added in astonishment.

Tempest stepped forward and smiled as she said, “The Muddle Mind Spell is broken. You’re both free.”

Snow and Spade looked at one another and smiled as they hugged each other tight.

“True love’s kiss really is the most powerful thing in the world.” Rarity commented.

“Ugh. Do you realize how corny that sounds, Professor Rarity?” Smolder asked.

They giggled. Snow looked and saw Violet with her eyes still glowing. She gasped and went over to her daughter, Spade followed close behind.

“Violet? Violet, are you okay?” She asked, shaking the young unicorn’s shoulder.

Violet suddenly rubbed her eyes with her hoof and shook her head; when she opened her eyes again, she saw everypony staring at her in shock.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” She asked.

“Violet, love? …You just crystallized yourself.” Spade commented.

“What? No I didn’t.”

“Yeah, you did.” Gallus said, pointing a claw at her front hooves.

Violet looked and gasped when she saw that they were right; her coat and mane were crystallized. The clouds parted and the light of the sun shined onto the young mare, making her sparkle with every movement she made.

“This is amazing! How did I do that?!” She commented before cheering suddenly rang through her ears.

She looked over the balcony and saw all of Ponyville cheering for her. The rest of the group joined her.

“Violet Rose! Violet Rose! Violet Rose!” The citizens of Ponyville chanted.

“Whoa! I did all of this?!” Violet exclaimed.

“Yes, you did.” Princess Twilight said.

“It’s the Blue Flower.” Snow Diamond commented.

“You reached its full potential.” Spade added, wrapping his hoof around his wife’s shoulder.

“You did it, Violet.” The Alicorn said as she stood beside the orchid unicorn; her friends joined her. “You saved Equestria.”

“Yeah… I guess I did.”

“So how does it feel?”

“How does what feel, Princess?”

“To save Equestria. How does it make you feel?”

“It makes me feel… big.”

The young mare smiled and waved her hoof as she looked down at the cheering ponies.

“Hey, Violet!” Pinkie Pie said.

“Uh, yes Pinkie?” Violet asked nervously.

“Is there anything we can do for you?”

“Why?”

“After everything you’ve done for us, you do deserve some kinda reward. What do you say? You want a party?”

Violet thought for a few moments before she remembered something.

“Hey, what’s today?” She asked.

“Thursday, silly.” Pinkie laughed.

“No, I mean what’s the date?”

“The 25th.”

“Of what month, Pinkie?”

“Of March. Why do you ask?”

“Did I forget to mention… today is my 20th birthday?”

A Happy Ending

“Happy Birthday, Violet Rose!”

That night, everypony and every creature in Ponyville, even Celestia and Luna, were having the time of their life at Violet’s Congratulations on Saving Equestria Party/20th Birthday Extravaganza. The town was decorated in all shades of purple (Violet’s favorite color), there were all of Violet’s favorite sweets, there were presents of all shapes and sizes, and even the Applewood Vampires were playing a concert just for her.

“And now, to celebrate the fact that we're all still here in one piece, let’s give it up for the birthday filly herself, Violet Rose, and her friends!” Guitar Shred announced through the microphone.

Everypony cheered for Violet, who was standing with her grandparents; she blushed before she was ushered on stage to make a speech. She stood at the microphone and cleared her throat.

“Hello, everypony.” She began. “You know, a little while ago, I left my grandparents’ house in Seaward Shoals to find a place of my own. I wandered Equestria for a long time, then I found this place. I thought it was just like any other town I visited… boy was I wrong. I ran into the Princess of Friendship herself, and I was pretty flustered. I met her again, about three days ago. She wanted me to socialize and make friends, which is something I really didn’t care about. But now, I can honestly say… ‘I wouldn’t be standing her if it weren’t for the ponies and creatures who tried their hardest to protect me, even if I didn’t appreciate it at the time.’ You know, I’m still blown away by everything that just happened; I met a princess, I sailed on an airship, I left Equestria, I was kidnapped by pirates, I found out I possessed a magic nopony here has ever heard of, I defeated a bad guy, I nearly died, and… I found my parents. And none of that would’ve been possible without the support of my family… and my new friends. Tonight, I pretty much consider myself the luckiest pony in all of Equestria. Thank you, friends. Thank you, family. Thank you, everypony!”

Everypony cheered; Violet smiled and trotted off the stage, back to her friends and grandparents.

“Oh, Violet! I am so proud of you, sweetheart!” Grandpa exclaimed as tears fell from his eyes.

“Are you crying again, Grandpa?” Violet asked jokingly.

“Of course not! It's liquid pride. Totally different thing.” The old stallion replied with a laugh.

“You know, for a pony who never studied magic before… you did really well.” Starlight commented.

“Indeed.” Princess Celestia’s voice said as she and Princess Luna stepped forward. “I'm glad to see you've reached your full magical potential, Violet Rose.”

“You truly do have a special gift.” Princess Luna added.

“Thank you, Princesses.” Violet said, bowing her head.

In the corner of her eye, Violet noticed Jackpot Spade sitting near the entrance of the Everfree Forest and looking up at the sky. She galloped up to him, wondering what was wrong.

“Everything okay?” She asked.

“I’m fine, just getting some air.” Spade replied, patting a spot of grass with his hoof; Violet promptly sat down next to him. He sighed. “I’m sorry.”

Violet giggled. “You apologized to me and practically everypony else like a hundred times already. We all forgive you; even the Princesses have pardoned you.”

“I know, I know… but still.” Spade went on. “It happened. I allowed myself to be led astray; Torment twisted me and corrupted me… because I let him. I thought he could return to me what I lost, but he took everything away from me. I was just a pawn in his demented game, I am so ashamed.”

“Don’t be.” Violet put a comforting hoof on the Pegasus’s shoulder. “We all make mistakes and have moments of weakness; you and I are no different. I spent pretty much all of my time alone; now Princess Twilight has offered me a place at her School of Friendship, where I could learn all about the subject. I've made a lot of mistakes in my life, and I know I'll probably make a bunch more. But I learn from them. I think that's what growing up is. Have you learned from your experiences?”

“…I have. And you know something, love? That’s still one thing that never changes around here. The party… I was never into these sorts of gatherings.”

“I understand. I was never one for parties either, but Princess Twilight and her friends are helping me come out of my shell and be more social. After all, this party is in my honor.”

“You did say it was your birthday.”

They laughed until a third voice chimed in.

“Mind if I join you?” Snow Diamond asked; she was holding three plates each with a piece of cake on it.

“Not at all.” Spade said as his wife sat down next to him.

“So what are you two talking about?” Snow asked, offering her husband and daughter a slice of cake.

“Nothing much.” Violet said as she took a bite of cake.

“…I need to make amends.” Spade suddenly said.

“What do you mean, Jack?” Snow asked.

“I need to travel Equestria and apologize to everypony I have wronged. It’s the least I can do; I owe them that.”

Violet paused before saying, “It’s your choice… but I was sort of hoping you’d stay. As the Princess of Friendship told me, more friends are definitely merrier. And besides… I don’t want to lose you again, dad.”

Violet wrapped her arms around Spade in a hug; he quickly hugged her back.

“I don’t want to lose you either, love. I don’t want to lose either of you, never again.” Spade said before Snow Diamond joined in on the hug.

“That’s never going to happen.” Snow Diamond said; the hug broke. “You know, Violet? I always knew you were destined for great things, especially with the Blue Flower.”

“But… but I still have to learn how to control it.” Violet said, looking at her horn solemnly. “It’s still really unpredictable and pretty much anything can happen.”

“You know, your horn is very powerful… just like the pony it belongs to.” Spade said, giving his daughter a kiss on the forehead. “So I know for a fact that if you believe, you can control the Blue Flower.”

“Thanks, dad.” Violet said.

“And… have you always wanted to show Equestria what you can really do?”

“Not really.”

“Well, if you do… I think now would be a good time.”

Violet slowly stood up and looked at the sky, then back at her parents who nodded their heads at her. She smiled, closed her eyes, turned her head back to the sky, and ignited her magic. Magical fireworks of all colors graced the night sky, lighting up the faces of every pony and every creature down below. Spade and Snow went up to their daughter and affectionately nuzzled her.

“That’s my girl.” Spade commented.

“Nice touch, Violet!” Pinkie Pie said.

“Thanks, Pinkie. Tempest taught me that one.” Violet replied as she and her family went back to the party.

Sea Sponge and Star Fish were running around on stage and acting silly for the audience.

“Look, I’m Peggy the Pirate!” Sea Sponge said as he tried to walk on nothing but peg legs; he ended up falling flat on his face.

“I’m Blindbeard the Pirate!” Star Fish joked with eye patches over both of his eyes; he quickly lost his balance and fell right on top of Sea Sponge.

Everypony laughed at the two stallions got up took a bow. Guitar Shred ushered the ponies off the stage and said into the microphone,

“Thanks for the comedy act, fellows. Now for one extra treat tonight. We're going to hear a song from a good friend of mine. Mares and gentlecolts, let’s give it up foe Captain Jackpot Spade!”

“ME?!” Spade cried out in shock.

“Yeah, come on Captain!” Typhon said.

“We wanna hear you!” Echidna added.

“Play for us, Captain!” Gallus chimed in.

“Yaks wanna hear pirate pony!” Yona grinned.

“Come on, Captain Spade! Captain Spade!” Babél started as she gestured everypony to follow.

“Captain Spade! Captain Spade! Captain Spade!” Everypony chanted.

Spade was very shy, but Snow Diamond used her magic and teleported her husband onto the stage in front of everypony. The Pegasus looked out towards the enormous audience and felt his knees buckling beneath him; he had never sung in front of a crowd this big before and he had n idea what to do. Then he noticed his wife and daughter standing in the front row, giving him assuring smiles. Spade reluctantly grabbed a guitar and started to play. Everypony watched in awe; they had no idea he could play guitar. The Vampires followed suit and reluctantly, the Pegasus began to sing.

“I, I wish you could swim” He sang.

“Like the dolphins

Like dolphins can swim

Though nothing, nothing will keep us together

We can beat them, forever and ever

Oh, we can be heroes just for one day”

The audience watched Spade in awe and they started to cheer louder for him.

“I, I will be King” He went on.

“And you, you will be Queen

Though nothing will drive them away

We can be heroes just for one day

We can be us just for one day”

Snow and Violet looked at each other before they were levitated on to the stage by Princess Twilight, Rarity, Sunset Shimmer, and Starlight Glimmer. A wide grin spread across Spade’s face as he continued singing. Soon he was lost in a world of his own where nothing but he, Snow Diamond, and Violet Rose existed.

“I, I can remember”

The two unicorns sang backup with the Vampires, “I remember”

“Standing by the wall”

“By the wall”

“And the spells, shot above our heads”

“Over our heads”

“And we kissed, as though nothing could fall”

“Nothing could fall”

“And the shame, was on the other side

Oh, we can beat them, forever and ever

Then we could be heroes just for one day”

“We can be heroes” Spade and Snow sang.

Spade then pulled Violet over to the microphone

“We can be heroes” The three of them sang.

“We can be heroes

We can be heroes”

“Just for one day” Spade finished.

“Thank you, Ponyville!” The Applewood Vampires screamed.

Everypony in the audience roared and cheered for her, Spade, Snow, and the Vampires. The young mare grinned as balloons and confetti of all colors of the rainbow showered down on her and her parents from the sky. She hugged her parents tight and they showered her with kisses; this was no dream. This was truly the best night of Violet’s life. Who could ever ask for more?

Captured

The next thing everyone knew, they were at the bottom of the mountain again. Violet still had her eyes shut and when she opened them, her horn stopped glowing. Everyone was looking at her, flabbergasted.

“Violet? …What did you just do?” Gallus asked.

“What? You think I did that?!” Violet asked in disbelief. “I didn’t make the temple collapse!”

“But you were the only one of us who had access to Equestrian magic, were you not?” Discord inquired.

“Wait, wait, wait! That’s still the one thing I don’t get!” Starlight intervened. “Violet, how did you still have your magic while the rest of us were powerless?”

“I-I-I-I-I… I don’t know! When I ran into Typhon, he told me that I had some kind of rare fire and that he needed it, but I have no idea why he thought I would have it, whatever it is. He called it the Blue Flower.”

“Blue Flower? Never heard of it.” Ocellus commented, shrugging her shoulders.

“Why would he think you had it?” Capper asked.

“I don’t know! He said he would offer me protection from Jackpot Spade and everything else if I gave it to him, but I didn’t give it to him because I don’t know how. Okay?”

“Okay… but there’s still one thing I don’t get.” Sandbar stepped forward. “What were you doing in Typhon’s chamber in the first place?”

Violet opened her mouth to speak when she paused; Sandbar made a good point. Why was she in Typhon’s chamber? She was supposed to follow the group.

“I… heard something calling my name and I felt compelled to follow it. I don’t know.” Violet answered before she thought of something else. “But… what do these ponies see in me?”

“What do you mean?” Tempest asked.

“I mean, why does this have to be all on ME?” Violet ranted. “Why am I the one Spade wants? What did Typhon want with me? I’m not special. I… I’m nothing!”

“No! Violet Rose is special! Every creature is special.” Yona said.

“Maybe you all are, but not me.” Violet said. “I’m not important, I’m not smart, I’m not great I’m not enough for anyone… I’m practically nopony!”

“Violet, stop talking like that!” Snow Diamond said. “Everypony is special, including you. You have to trust them.”

“That’s what everyone keeps telling me, including all of you! You’re happy, Ponyville is happy, even the Draconequus tribe is happy. But do you know who isn’t happy?! ME!”

Violet suddenly reared up and stamped her hoof on Discord’s right leg; he cried out in pain.

“Ow, my foot!” He whimpered.

“Oh I’m sorry, but that probably wouldn’t have happened if you weren’t practically standing on my tail!” Violet yelled. “Not even my family stands so close!”

“What family?” Discord retorted.

Violet glowered up at Discord, staring daggers at him until Smolder and Gallus pulled them apart.

“Hey, break it up you two!” Gallus yelled.

“Yeah, this arguing is only making things worse.” Smolder added.

“Why can’t any of you just leave me be?!” Violet screamed, breaking away from Smolder’s grip.

“Because it’s not safe for you to be out alone.” Skystar replied. “Especially not with that no-good Jackpot Spade after you. Trust me.”

“What if I don’t want to be safe? What if I don’t want to trust any of you? What if I just want to be alone?”

“Nopony wants to be alone.” Sunset stepped forward.

“Well, maybe I DO! And maybe I would be better off if I didn’t have any of you freaks breathing down my neck! Ugh, I just wish would all just go away and LEAVE ME ALONE!!”

Violet’s horn ignited and let out another shockwave of blue magic, causing everyone to stumble and fall into the snow.

“Violet, calm down!” Snow Diamond cried. “I know you’re frustrated, but you can’t take your anger out on them. They just want to help you!”

“Well I don’t want their help!” Violet spat.

“But you NEED it!” Ocellus argued.

“No, I DON’T!”

“Apparently, everyone sees some kind of strange, unknown power within you and no one in this world will stop until they get it. You can’t run away from your problems… like me.” Snow sighed.

Violet’s eyes twitched as she stared daggers at the white unicorn.

“…The last thing I want is to end up like you.” She hissed before running away from the group.

The group was left in awkward silence; the only thing that could be heard was the howl of the lonely winter wind.

“Wow…” Gallus gasped.

“What’s all that about?” Capper asked.

“She sounded pretty upset with us.” Celaeno pointed out.

“Should I go talk to her?” Snow Diamond asked.

“No, I will.” Tempest said. “And don’t worry, I’ll get her back and I’ll try to get to the bottom of this. Wait here for me.”

And with that, Tempest followed the fresh tracks I the snow to see where Violet had run off to. After fifteen minutes of searching, she finally found her. She was sitting on the ground in front of the stone walls of the mountain, solemnly looking up at it, as if lost in thought.

“There you are.” Tempest breathed a sigh of relief. “I’ve been looking for you. Everyone is worried.”

“Go away, Tempest.” Violet muttered. “I’m bad and you shouldn’t be around me.”

“You? Bad? That’s ridiculous… Look Violet, I know you’re frustrated and upset and I may not entirely know what any of this really means, but—”

“Yeah, you don’t. Because if you did… you wouldn’t even be talking to me.”

“…Violet, what’s gotten into you?”

“I told you to leave, Tempest.”

“Too bad; I’m not leaving until I get answers from you. Now tell me the truth. What is going on with you?”

It took a moment for Violet to answer, but eventually, the air that was clogging her throat came loose and a sob broke past her lips. Tears streaming down her cheeks, Violet fell to the ground and buried her face in her hooves. Tempest suddenly felt very uncomfortable; she had no idea why Violet was crying or what made her cry to begin with.

“What’s going on with everypony? Why does everyone want me for themselves? Why do they want my magic? Why do I destroy everything I touch? Why can’t I do anything right?!” Violet sobbed. “I can’t do anything right on my own. I’ve ruined everything for everyone. I’m no fighter; I’m just USELESS. I’m nothing. This is all my fault.”

Suddenly, Violet noticed something move in the corner of her eye. She wiped her eyes and stood up, trying to make out what she saw.

“Did… you just see that?” She sniffed.

“See what?” Tempest asked.

“There!”

Violet pointed a hoof at a dark figure that vanished behind another wall.

“Hey! Hello?” She called as she ran towards it.

“Violet? No, wait! Come back!” Tempest called, running after her. “You don’t know what that is, it could be dangerous! Wait!”

Violet didn’t listen to Tempest, nor did she care; she just wanted to follow the strange figure to see what it was. She ran deeper and deeper into the mountains, only to be met with a pony-sized hole in the ground. Burning with curiosity, Violet rubbed her eyes and looked into the hole; it was very dark and it looked very deep, so she couldn’t see much.

“Hello?” She called out.

Tempest caught up with Violet again, only to see her gazing into the hole. She was about to call out to her when the same dark figure came up from behind Violet. Tempest gasped in shock but before she could do anything, the figure reared up and pushed Violet into the hole, right before they jumped in after her.

“Violet, no!” Tempest cried out.

Violet fell down and down the hole, screaming all the while. Then she went up and down, left and right, as if she were on a ride at an amusement park. She thought the tunnel would go on forever until finally, she could see light in the distance. She slid towards it, flew out of the tunnel into the air and she landed with a thud. She groaned and rubbed her head with her hoof, unsure of what just happened. Before she could react, a net was suddenly thrown onto her, which made her cry out in fright.

“Yeah, we did it!” A familiar squeaky voice cheered.

“We got her!” Another voice added.

“Hoist us up, Squid Ink!” Both voices said.

Violet recognized the voices as the voices of the stallions who had attempted to kidnap her back in Ponyville: Sea Sponge and Star Fish. She tried to poof her way out, but it was in vain; the net was magic proof. Violet screamed and struggled, trying to get herself free, but it was no use.

“Good luck trying to get outta this.” Sea Sponge commented.

“Yeah, you’re coming with us.” Star Fish added.

“No, no, no, no, no! Help, somepony! Anypony!” Violet shouted. “TEMPEST! HELP!!”

“Violet!”

Violet faintly heard Tempest’s voice call out, her name; she looked down and saw Tempest down on the ground, trying to get to her. But it was too late; Violet had finally been captured.

On the Ship

Moments later, Violet was on Jackpot Spade’s airship. Her front hooves were tied together with worn rope and she was blindfolded; the rest of the crew started to push her around and play with her, mocking her and laughing at her until she stopped and the blindfold was removed. There, she saw the pony everyone was talking about: Jackpot Spade himself. He was giving her a tiny, sinister smile; it frightened her.

“Violet Rose, we finally meet.” He said in a friendly tone.

“So you’re the one who’s after me?” Violet spat.

“Yes but take it easy, Miss Rose.” Spade chuckled. “It’s all in good fun. Pleased I am to initiate you into our enterprising company. Which entitles you to all the benefits thereof.”

“What if I don’t want any benefits?” The young mare retorted.

“Don’t get too cocky. This is a one-time special offer, little lass. Say no, and I will be forced to… take rather drastic measures.”

“You’re nothing but murdering pirates.”

“Pirates? Pirates?! Ha! Oh, Miss Rose; how naïve of you. If that’s what you’re thinking, you’re dead wrong.”

A pony with a concertina started to play and it was then that Spade began to sing.

“When I was just a colt looking for my true vocation” He began.

“My father said "Now, son, this choice deserves deliberation

Though you could be a doctor or perhaps a financier

My dear, why not consider a more challenging career?”

“Hey, ho, ho” The crew sang.

“You'll cruise to foreign shores

And you'll keep your mind and body sound

By working out of doors”

“True friendship and adventure are what we can't live without”

“And when you're a professional pirate

That's what the job's about”

Spade went on.

“Now, take Sir Gallant Truth; the dragons all despise them

But to the Griffons they are heroes and they idolize them

It's how you look at buccaneers that makes them bad or good

And I see us as members of a noble brotherhood!”

“Hey, ho, ho” The crew sang.

“We're honorable men

And before we lose our tempers we will always count to ten!”

“On occasion there may be someone you have to execute”

“But when you're a professional pirate”

“You don't have to wear a suit

…What?” Star Fish stupidly asked.

“I could have been a surgeon

I like taking things apart!” Crab Claws sang.

“I could have been a lawyer

But I just had too much heart” Squid Ink added.

“I could have been in politics

'Cause I've always been a big spender” Star Fish chortled.

“And me… I could have been a contender” Sea Sponge concluded.

“Some say that pirates steal and should be feared and hated” Spade continued.

“I say we're victims of bad press; it's all exaggerated

We'd never stab you in the back, we'd never lie or cheat

We're just about the nicest guys you'd ever want to meet!”

The crew laughed.

“Tell me the truth, lass.” Spade spoke. “Do you think anypony in this world would be willing to be friends with the likes of us? Would even the Princess of Friendship accept us? …No? And we being the rightful owners. This one noble crew, who shed our blood finding you! Join us, girl. Donate your magic to the hunt and get a full share!”

Violet said nothing.

“Hey, ho, ho” Everypony on deck sang.

“It's one for all for one

And we'll share-and-share-alike with you and love you like our own

We're gentlecolts of fortune and that's what we're proud to be

And when you're a professional pirate”

“You'll be honest, brave, and free” Spade sang.

“The soul of decency

You'll be loyal and fair and on the square

And most importantly…”

“When you're a professional pirate

You're always in the best of company!”

The music stopped, but Violet remained silent. Spade sneered at her before he stomped his hoof on the deck.

“Send this little brat to the brig. We sail back to Ponyville at once.” He commanded.

Star Fish and Crab Claws lifted Violet off of the deck and carried her down to the brig. They threw her into a cell, unbound her hooves, and locked the door. Violet just sat in the middle of the cell, feeling even more ashamed of herself than before.

“Oh, what have I gotten myself into…?” She asked herself.

“Nighty-night, milady.” Crab Claws taunted. “You’ll have many more down here.”

The door shut, leaving Violet alone in her cell in darkness with a broken spirit and a broken heart. She started to weep and eventually, she cried herself to sleep. She was suddenly woken up by the sound of a knock.

“Wake up.” A familiar voice demanded.

Violet looked and saw Jackpot Spade; she glared at him, but said nothing.

“How does it feel?” He questioned. “Being in a cage? Held prisoner? With no way out?”

“…Why are you doing this?” Violet asked. “You’re a pony, just like… me.”

“I’m nothing like you!” He snarled. “I’m more than you will ever be.”

“How would Snow Diamond feel if she saw you like this?”

Spade froze at the mention of Snow Diamond.

“How do you know of Snow Diamond?” He asked.

“I’ve met her, back in the mountains.” Violet answered. “She said you two were happy; she called you generous and kind, and you were taken away from her… What happened to you?”

“Why so curious?”

“I just want to know what really happened… But you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. I understand.”

“…You really want to know?”

“I do.”

Spade sat down on the deck next to the cell door, Violet sat down with him and scooted closer to the door; he took a deep breath.

“I’ll tell you. But I warn you, it’s not a cheery tale.”

“I’m listening.”

Spade closed his eyes, trying to recount the tale as best he could.

“There was a sailor and his wife

And she was beautiful

A foolish sailor and his wife

She was his reason, and his life

And she was beautiful

And, she was virtuous

And he was… naïve”

Violet listened, entranced and intrigued in Spade’s story and gentle voice. It was as if he was singing to her, singing a very sad song. He went on.

“There was another one who saw

That she was beautiful

A zealous agent of the crown

Who sought to bring their whole world down

And sent the sailor far away

While his true love was forced to stay!

Then she would slip!

So soft

So young

So lost

And oh so beautiful!”

“And… what do you think became of her?” Violet asked; she noticed a few tears starting to fall from Spade’s eyes.

“Ah, that was far too long ago

I doubt if anyone would know”

He sighed and sat in silence for a moment. Violet sat back, in awe of such a sad story albeit disappointed in the ending. She couldn't fathom the idea that one pony would do something so cruel to another. It was almost painful to think about.

“I… I’m so sorry. I had no idea you felt so alone.” She muttered.

“Of course you had no idea! You weren’t there!” Spade snapped. “You know, I saw the truth that day. My so-called “loyal friends” abandoned me and left me to die when times got tough… And it looks like I’m not the only one who was betrayed. Face it, Miss Rose. Friendship has failed you, too.”

“No. Friendship didn’t fail me… I failed friendship.”

Violet sighed and shut her eyes.