Moby-Spike

Chapters

Prologue
Chapter 1: Setting Sail
Chapter 2: Derp n' Dash
Chapter 3: The Ghost Ship, Part 1
Chapter 4: The Ghost Ship, Part 2
Chapter 5: The Lemon Grotto
Chapter 6: The Serpent's Pass

Prologue

Moby-Spike

Prologue

Call me Twilight Sparkle. I am a lavender unicorn, once the bearer of the sixth element of harmony, magic. I was also the personal student of our great Princess Celestia, ruler of the land of Equestria. But those were of days past, and things have changed for more than just myself.

After Queen Chrysalis was banished from Equestria and her invasion stopped in its tracks, a new era of peace descended upon our country. There were no longer disturbances which required the elements of harmony to act, and many a pony was grateful for the lack of chaos and danger. But not me. A year after my brother Shining Armor and my foalsitter Princess Cadence were wed, Princess Celestia decided to once again lock away the elements of harmony seeing as no new threats were likely. I was happy to know that everypony in Equestria enjoyed the occasion, but I still resented her decision. While I was joyful that I had bountiful time to read, study, and hang out with my friends in Ponyville, I grew restless. And soon enough, I discovered that my friends had as well.

It started with Spike. As the years past, he had grown, as dragons are bound to do. While not fully an adult, he was having more and more trouble maneuvering about the library. I didn’t mind it much, but apparently he began to feel like a burden. I discovered he had a diary, and had been writing page after page about his longing to “leave the nest” as he termed it. I felt guilty for reading his diary, and apologized profusely for doing so, but Spike couldn’t care less about my transgression; he seemed a world away in his own eyes. One day, he called our group together for an announcement, so Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and I gathered in the library before him. He revealed that he was leaving, with the intent of finding a life for himself that he couldn’t find in Ponyville. We were shocked and saddened by his pronouncement, and despite many attempts we could not convince him to stay. A few days later, he gathered his belongings and set off west. I watched him go with tears in my eyes, for I would miss him most of all.

But he would not be the last of us to grow weary of our lifestyles. As we grew older, we realized more and more that we could not simply idle by in Ponyville for the rest of our lives. Soon, Rarity was offered an upscale position in Canterlot designing clothing for a fashion line under Hoity Toity. She accepted, and while we did protest her choice we did it with less vigor than what we showed towards Spike. She promised that she would come back to visit us whenever possible, and would make sure never to forget her best friends. There were no dry eyes, and many hugs were exchanged, and the next morning she departed on the train for Canterlot.

Things were mostly uneventful for a few months. The Cakes retired from running Sugarcube Corner and became full-time parents, allowing Pinkie Pie to take full control of the delicatessen. Business was booming for her, and she always seemed to have new recipes for us mares to try out whenever we came over for treats. One thing that did change was the Apple family; namely, Granny Smith passed away. The family was stricken with grief, along with all of Ponyville. A funeral was held, and once again tears were shed. However, Applejack and her younger sister Applebloom picked themselves up and helped to run the farm just as efficiently as ever. Big Macintosh took a little while longer to get over his sadness, but he soon returned to leadership of Sweet Apple Acres.

Finally, a day came when the last straw broke the camel’s back. Rainbow Dash left us. Instead of gathering us together before she left, she wrote a long note explaining herself, and then stole away in the night. Fluttershy found the note and read it to us. It went as follows:

Dear Applejack, Fluttershy, Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie,

I’m sorry but I really have to leave Ponyville. I’ve gotten bored with nothing to do but weather patrol, and I’m going to follow the Wonderbolts on their tour until I get them to welcome me as one of them. I swear, as the element of loyalty, that I’ll come back to you girls once I’m a Wonderbolt. I wrote this to you because I don’t like sappy goodbyes all that much, and we’ve already had our fill of those with Spike and Rarity leaving. I know it’s hard to let someone as awesome as me go, but I’ll be back soon, I promise.

Rainbow Dash

And then we cried again, the last time I would cry alongside my friends. With Rainbow Dash gone, I no longer saw a reason for myself to stay. Like her, I had grown tired of doing nothing but reading and studying. It was great, until I ran out of books to read. Even when I went to Canterlot and looked for books, it just kept getting harder and harder to find anything I hadn’t read countless times before. I had graduated from school, and no longer had studying of my own to do; it got to the point where I simply studied and took tests that I made for fun, but eventually that became boring as well. I longed for the adventurous days of years ago, when I had to conquer an Ursa Minor single-hoofedly. Eventually, I concluded that those days were gone, and I would never experience anything like them as long as I stayed in Ponyville. So I gathered my things and gave up my post as Ponyville librarian to a young stallion named Featherweight, who happily accepted the position. I talked individually to Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie, telling them of my plans to find adventure back east at Horse Shoe Bay. We exchanged our pained goodbyes, and at long last I set off for new adventure and a new life. I write this down as an entry into my diary and as a historical piece, for what unknown trials await before me serve only to invigorate my sense of excitement. There may be battles, or monsters, or even crystal ponies, but I cannot know. I also cannot wait, and will make sure to document all that happens to me.

My train to Horse Shoe Bay is now pulling into its station, and I am readying myself to begin my journey. I see cracks of sunlight over the open sea, and the dawn fills my heart with a giddy anticipation. My adventure has only just begun.

Chapter 1: Setting Sail

Moby-Spike

Chapter 1: Setting Sail

Dear diary,

In one simple day of going to Horse Shoe Bay, so much has happened. I just have to write it all down, to make sure it’s real and that it happened to me.

When my train stopped at the station, I gathered my saddlebags and entered the Bay. There was so much to see, and everything constantly reminded me of the new adventures set ahead of me. The bay was surrounded by markets selling all sorts of sea-worthy goods, and countless ponies looking upon them. Some shops even sold dead fish by the bucket-load, but I can’t fathom why anypony would need a dead fish. However, I was in a new culture, so I figured it would be best to ignore their traditions rather than question them.

While I explored the markets, I saw ponies with varying degrees of apparent sea experience. Some ponies were just like me, lost and overwhelmed by the scenery of a place where new ships docked and left every few minutes. Some ponies were grisly and salty, and looked as though they had spent their entire lives washing with the ocean’s water. Strangely, there were few pegasi; I suppose that flying ponies have no need or desire to use boats for transportation.

My main reason for exploring the bay before leaving for the water was due to my obsessive tendencies; I needed. I say obsessive, although I really don’t think of myself that way too often; my old friends used to say that I was, though. My nostalgia sets in from time to time, but I won’t let it rule me; I have a new life, and I’m enjoying it already.

Anyway, I began asking shopkeepers where I could find a good map of the oceans around Equestria. Most of them seemed to have no knowledge where I could find such a map, and a good lot of them refused to even speak to a “yellow-belly” like me. Eventually, a teal-colored unicorn directed me towards an old pony’s house whom supposedly had maps for any place one could want to go. The crazy mare also tried to sell me a severed appendage, which she claimed came from some fantastical creatures called “humans,” but I rejected her offer and ran off in the direction she pointed me, while she yelled after me. Poor filly, she likely has mental issues from spending too much time on the open water. Or maybe she’s just dehydrated, who knows.

I had to navigate my way through a poverty-stricken shantytown in order to find the house, avoiding criminals along the way, but I did find the place I was looking for. It was a particularly decrepit house, with shingles hanging off the roof at conspicuous and random angles. Cardboard was taped haphazardly over the windows, and small bugs marched about the grounds as though they owned it. A barely legible sign was jammed into the sparse lawn, with the word “maps” scrawled across in a hurry. I knocked on the door, and received a hacking response of,

“Come in.”

The inside of the house was just as mangled as the outside. Neglected shelves lined the walls, all with countless sheets stacked upon them. Most of the maps were dirty and hard to read, and many were significantly damaged. The house lacked a floor, and instead I trotted upon dirt with weeds interspersed at small intervals. A long-broken cuckoo clock adorned the space above the door, and the model bird meant to hide within the clock hung upside down from the pieces inside. The only other thing in the room was a surprisingly clean table, sitting not far from the back. A fully-functioning cash register rested upon the right edge of the table, and looked as though it could burst from all the bits it was holding.

Before I could guess why the table and register would be clean in contrast to the rest of the place, a door on the back wall rattled and opened, revealing a cranky-looking earth pony. His appearance was startling, to say the least. One of his hind legs was missing, and in its place a piece of rounded metal was connected in ways I can’t imagine. He wore a withered, brown eye-patch over his left eye, which I assumed he lost at some point. He looked and smelled as though he hadn’t bathed in years, and he had several teeth missing. His coat was a dark shade of gray, and his mane resembled the color of the dirt floor he limped upon. His cutie mark was a red letter X, like one that would be found at the end of a treasure map.

He awkwardly stumbled his way to me, and grumbled,

“Whaddya want? I was napping.”

While I was somewhat appalled at his rudeness, I replied,

“I hear that if somepony needs a map, you’re the pony to go to. Is that correct?”

He simply shrugged in approval, and gestured towards his swath of maps on the walls.

“Aye, I’m the pony ye speak of. Anything yer looking for in particular?”

He asked raising his good eyebrow. I spoke up with,

“I want a good map of the seas just surrounding Equestria, please.”

He seemed a little uneasy at my politeness, but simply nodded and moved towards a high shelf. Despite his physical anomalies, he was able to reach up and grab an appropriate map quickly and with surprising dexterity. After getting himself back into a comfortable standing position, he rolled the map towards me, and inquired,

“Would that be good enough for ya?”

I opened the map with a bit of magic, and was highly impressed. It was an incredibly detailed, albeit somewhat dirty, map of the ocean blue. Equestria was minimized in order to emphasize marked locations across the map, so as to help the viewer. I also noted what appeared to be a series of dots which eventually faded out, and a treasure chest on a landmark, along with several breaks in the dots to point out dangerous areas. The chest was circled, with a question mark scribbled nearby. I knew what it meant easily; it was the location of some hidden treasure!

I furrowed my brow, and looked back to the pony across the room, and asked,

“How did you know I was looking for adventure?”

He chuckled and shook his head, replying,

“Look, little filly, I’ve seen countless ponies through this place of mine. Some are more like me, ragged old sea-worthy ponies lookin’ for new loot and excitement. But most are more like you; land-lubbers lookin’ ta start an adventure on the wide briny sea.”

I grinned, and wondered,

“What if I’m just looking for a little geographical knowledge?”

His smile faded and his tone became serious, mouthing,

“Only one thing ever came into here looking for knowledge alone. That was Discord, just wanting to shake things up, as he would say. He’s the reason ma table and register are so clean; he cast some fancy chaos magic on them which keep them clean for eternity. He’s also the reason I haven’t died yet.”

He sighed at this, while questions flickered through my mind. The last time Discord was freed, my friends and I defeated him, and he never left Ponyville. The time before that was centuries ago…so this pony had been alive for hundreds of years? I immediately let my love for information take over, and began firing constant questions at him, but he just waved his hoof in my face. He yelled,

“Hey! This story ain’t fer you, and yer not gonna git it outta me. Leave it be.”

I hung my head, and whispered,

“Just one thing…are you happy?”

His eyes were sad as he answered.

“No. I curse that beast Discord for what he changed. I’ve seen countless ponies live and die, and I’ve lost everything and everypony important to me. Don’ never let anypony tell you that living forever is a good thing; it’s a nightmare.”

He grimaced, and opened the door to his back room.

“Now drop me my twenty bits fer the map, and git outta here.”

He slammed the door behind him, and I just looked at the ground. The map lay there, unfolded in its potential for adventure. I left him thirty bits, out of pity for his condition, and left with my map.

As I returned to the main area of the harbor, I stuffed my new map into my saddlebags and began my search for a ship that would accept my accompaniment. The ships varied widely in size and apparent use; some were enormous and shiny, obviously meant for cruises that only the wealthiest of ponies could afford. Alternatively, dinghies with grime galore dotted multiple available docking points, only big enough to hold one pony at a time. I began my search for a merchant ship, but after an hour of looking my hopes were nearly dashed. However, I spotted an office with the words “Harbor Master” written neatly above the door frame. I got excited, and rushed inside, startling a middle-aged unicorn. The colt’s mane resembled fire, although his pink coat starkly contrasted his fiery appearance. His cutie mark appeared to be a light bulb, although I can no longer remember for certain if that’s true. Purplish bags rested under his eyes, and countless cups of coffee lay strewn about the office. My entrance caused him to wake abruptly, and he fell out of the chair I assumed he’d been napping on. I helped him back up, and muttered a disgruntled thanks under his breath. After readjusting himself, he became more cheery and asked,

“What can I do for you, ma’am?”

I rushed out my response, saying,

“I’m looking for a merchant ship, and some adventure on board. Surely you know of one at the harbor today?”

He rubbed one hoof against his chin, pondering a response. When he got one, he stated,

“Nope. The only merchant ships that come here are the Equestrian Merchant Marine, and they left two days ago. They should be back in about a month.”

My ears flattened at the news; what if the adventure I sought would never come? He noticed my sadness, and suggested,

“There is something though.”

I perked up, and he continued while gesturing at a ship outside docked by the edge of the bay,

“You see that ship? It’s not a merchant ship, but I’ll bet anything you’ll find plenty of excitement on board. Just ask for the captain, and be wary; she’s real feisty.”

I nodded and gave him my gratitude, rushing outside once more.

I made it to the ship with excellent speed, and gave it a once-over. It was a slightly old vessel, of average size. Just like other ships, it was dirty and worn from days out on the sea. Strangely, both masts were made of wood, in contrast to the metal frame of the ship. There was a name on the boat, but the brine of the ocean had worn it away, so it read “S. S. L y ty” only. I teleported onto the deck, in search of other ponies. However, there was nopony in sight. I saw a door, with “Captain’s Quarters-No Disturbances” scribbled above it. It was unlocked and I peeped inside, but nopony was there either. I was beginning to wonder if the ship was just one docked for display and I’d been tricked, when I heard scuffling from beneath the deck. I opened the door to the brig, and saw a pegasus inside looking through some box of provisions. I asked,

“Hey, are you the captain of this ship?”

The pony was surprised, and tripped into the box, although she righted herself quickly and looked up out at me.

She gasped, and immediately flew onto the deck with an excited grin on her face. She asked me,

“Twilight Sparkle, is it really you?”

I was shocked in ways I can’t explain. The mare had a gray coat, and a dull yellow mane and tail. Her cutie mark was one of bubbles, and her eyes spaced out in separate directions that were specifically unique to her. It was Derpy!

To be continued…

Chapter 2: Derp n' Dash

Moby-Spike

Chapter 2: Derp n’ Dash

Continued from last diary entry

She quickly tackled me into a friendly hug, and I excitedly asked her,

“Derpy, I’m so glad to see a familiar face! But what are you doing here, anyway?”

She got up off me, and began explaining as I dusted myself off.

“Oh, well I’m part of the crew on this ship! Yep, I’m a pirate pony these days!”

She puffed out her chest in a show of pride, though with her eyes and my knowledge of her sweet nature, she just looked silly. I was, naturally, a little suspicious. Sure, I was looking for adventure. But becoming a pirate? Piracy is illegal in Equestria, and I began to wonder why the harbor master would direct me towards this ship.

“So you’re a pirate now, huh Derpy? Have you, um…stolen a lot?”

I asked with a tint of fear in my voice. I was more than hesitant about joining a pirate crew, especially if they were active in illegal tasks. She shook her head quite vigorously, and divulged,

“Well, not really. Occasionally we’ll take some food or treasure from places, but for the past year or so we’ve been doing other things.”

I was confused, so I inquired what kind of things she was talking about. A visible hint of trepidation struck and she mumbled,

“Um, I’m not really supposed to go telling ponies that aren’t part of the crew…”

She turned her head down, so as to break eye contact. I just shrugged, and assured her I didn’t mind not knowing.

“So Derpy, where’s the rest of the crew? Why aren’t you out with them?”

She gave a small grin, and explained,

“Oh, I’ve been ordered to watch the ship while they’re in the harbor. I do this almost every time we dock, anyway. I’m the deckswab, so the extra time helps with my duties.”

She pointed a hoof towards a mop and a bucket of soapy water underneath the deck, which she likely had been cleaning the brig with. She then put her hoof back to her chin, and thought aloud,

“Although, it’s also because every time I go in the harbor I seem to get somepony in a fight. I just can’t help being clumsy and knocking into somepony down there.”

I agreed; after all, it was really crowded, especially in the shops.

I was getting antsy waiting around for the crew to return, so I decided to go back to the harbor to look for them. Derpy told me that they had headed towards a rustic tavern called McShooty’s, so I left the ship and began my search. It wasn’t at all hard to find; the amount of noise coming from the bar could be heard all the way from the dock. I entered with the intention of complaining to the manager about the ruckus the patrons were causing, but as soon as I got inside I knew I wouldn’t be able to do that. The bar was dimly lit and incredibly filthy, and judging by the fact that it shook in the breeze I would say it was in major disrepair. Most of the ponies inside looked like criminals, and I instantly felt unwelcome and unsafe.

I made my way hurriedly towards a barstool, and asked the bartender if he knew whether any captains had stumbled into the bar. He raised an eyebrow at my appearance, but didn’t question me and pointed me towards a table in the back. I swaggered over in an attempt to look seaworthy, but looking back now it probably just made me look more foalish. There were five ponies sitting around the rickety table, all playing some kind of card game I never took the time to ask about, but they were definitely betting big amounts of bits on it. As I approached I only got more nervous; most of the ponies at the table were eyeing me, and I was sure they didn’t have pure intentions. I got to the table without a hitch, and coughed to introduce myself. At this point everypony’s eyes were on me, so there was no time to beat around the bush. I shakily asked,

“I’m looking for a captain, and I hear one of you is just what I’m looking for, right?”

At this, they all turned their heads towards a pony sitting on the other end of the table. It was a pegasus mare, although it was hard for me to see much else of her appearance due to her get-up, other than the fact that her coat was a bright blue color. An eye-patch lay on her left eye, and an open red vest covered much of her body. She also had a big and rather corny pirate hat on which she was using to cover her face, but she tossed it aside once all attention had been turned to her. She began a short inspection of me, during which I’m sure my bad poker face served only to worsen her image of me.

But after a few seconds her pupils dilated, and the air of strength emanating from the mare seemed to go away. Her jaw slacked open, and she got two words out, babbling,

“T-Twilight Sparkle?”

I nodded my head, worried about how this pony could possibly know me, but then she jumped up and grabbed me. She flew me out of the bar despite my protesting and dropped me to the ground. I tried to start lecturing her on not touching other ponies without permission, but she stopped me by tackling me in a big hug. I yelled for help and she quickly got off of me, with a smug grin on her face. She turned her head to the side and sarcastically asked,

“What, you don’t remember me? Your best bud Rainbow Dash?”

I was shocked at her suggestion; there was no way she was Rainbow Dash. But when I took a closer look in the light provided by Celestia’s sun, I saw her trademark cutie mark of a multi-colored lightning bolt. It really was Rainbow Dash! I got to my feet with an exuberant smile on my face and this time I tackle-hugged her. I started asking her questions a mile a minute, but she just laughed and pushed me off of her.

“Twilight, there’ll be plenty of time for questions on my ship. I’ll get my crew, you just head back and I’ll meet you there, okay?”

I nodded enthusiastically and skipped back towards the ship.

I found myself in the captain’s quarters again, with Rainbow Dash sitting at a desk with fine jewels lying all over the place. A treasure chest filled with gold sat in the corner, and multiple other expensive goods were strewn about. Most of it was probably stolen, but it was still just as dazzling as any one of Rarity’s dresses. After engaging with typical conversation, I started to poke around as to why Rainbow Dash was the captain of a pirate ship. She sighed and got up to close the door behind her.

“You remember how I said I was gonna follow the Wonderbolts, right Twilight?”

I nodded, and she continued.

“Well, that’s what I started out doing. I followed them from city to city, practicing my moves at any chance I got. Eventually, they had a show in Cloudsdale, and I decided to show them how awesome I could be. While they were doing their show, I flew out of the crowd and did the most awesome routine any of them had ever seen. But after the show, the Wonderbolts came up to me, and they were really mad. They told me I showed them up, and that I was a terrible flier who would never be a Wonderbolt.”

She hung her head, so I put my hoof to her shoulder and assured her,

“Rainbow Dash, you’re the best flier I know. You don’t need to listen to what the Wonderbolts say, because you know that you’re better than them.”

She smiled back at me, and explained,

“Twilight, there’s no need to console me; that happened over a year ago by now. I’m over it. It’s not like you came here just a few days after I left Ponyville, right?”

I hadn’t really thought about it, but I did leave around a year and a half after Rainbow did.

“But Rainbow, that still doesn’t explain why you didn’t come back home. Or why you’re the captain of a ship. Or why you have an eye-patch!”

She chuckled at my overbearing attitude, and kept going with her story.

“Twilight, I didn’t come back because I knew there wasn’t much to come back to. If I wasn’t a Wonderbolt when I returned, I would only come back with shame and humiliation. So I decided to find something else awesome to do, so I headed out here looking for pretty much anything. One day I was hanging around this harbor, and a pony asked me if I wanted to join his crew. I agreed, and I became a pirate. We had some great times stealing all the treasure we got here,”

she motioned towards all the gems in the room,

“but then something terrible happened. We ran into a huge sea monster!”

At this point Rainbow Dash got up and started impersonating her fight with the creature, doing all sorts of loops and punches every now and then.

“We fought hard, but we couldn’t hurt it for some reason. He got really angry all of a sudden, and he ate the captain in one gulp! I tried to save him, but the monster lashed out at me and got my eye out. After that, he just swam away, the coward.”

Rainbow Dash grumbled and shook her hoof out the window at some imaginary image of the beast. She looked back to me, and finished,

“I was the first mate when the captain died, so I rightfully became captain. And nopony had the guts to mutiny against me, anyway.”

I started to ask about Derpy, but Dash knew what I was going to say and shrugged.

“Derpy was actually a part of the crew before I got here. I never asked her why she’s here, but she makes a good deckswab.”

The whole story was a lot to take in, and I thought about all Rainbow had told me for a few minutes. She wasn’t a big liar, but sea monsters sounded a little unlikely. Still, it would explain why she’s a pirate captain pretty well. I decided that she was probably telling the truth, and even if she wasn’t it wouldn’t matter. She had the exact kind of adventure I was looking for, so I asked if I could join the crew. She raised her eyebrows, and asked,

“Are you sure Twilight? There’s some dangerous stuff out there, including other pirates. Not only that, but right now I’ve got this ship set on a course to find that monster that got my eye. You think you can handle all that?”

I agreed vigorously, and Rainbow Dash grinned, settling into an accent more befitting of a pirate.

“Well then, welcome to my crew, lassie! We be setting sail in a few hours, so make sure you’re ready for all sorts of danger!”

I got out onto the deck with a big smile on my face, waiting for the excitement to come. Pretty soon, my real adventure will begin, with one of my best pals by my side!

Chapter 3: The Ghost Ship, Part 1

Moby-Spike

Chapter 3: The Ghost Ship, Part 1

Dear diary,

My first day at sea was one of the most terrifying days of my life so far. I never realized just how horrifying and stress-inducing it is to go on adventures until today.

The day began as I expected it would. Derpy was the first to wake up, so she rang the wake-up bell Rainbow Dash had put into the brig. All the ponies of the crew rushed to attendance on the deck, so I joined in without hesitation. As soon as we were all on deck, Rainbow Dash came out of her quarters and started barking various orders at each of us. Pretty soon, ponies were spread all over the ship. Some manned the steering wheel and miscellaneous devices on the upper deck, while others started unpacking provisions and tools of all sorts from beneath the deck. Derpy and I were assigned to raise the sail, which was done quite easily with my magic at hoof. Once everything was in order and to Dash’s liking, we set off from the harbor, and within minutes I couldn’t even see land anymore.

Since Rainbow Dash looked to be just guiding the ship in a general direction, I decided to show her my map. After all, how could a “pirate” like her resist the temptation of finding hidden treasure? I giggled at the thought of Dash’s reaction, and went to grab my map. When I approached her, Dash looked at the sheet of paper I was levitating and asked,

“What’cha got there, lassie? Somethin’ in there I should be seeing?”

I nodded in anticipation, and unfurled the map with magic, explaining to Dash that we could find all sorts of adventure if we just followed the dotted lines. She scrunched up her face to read the map while I pointed out the marked stopping points, but her squeal of excitement cut me off when she noticed the treasure chest drawn on the map. Her good eye fluttered between me and the map in earnest, and she loudly called out,

“Derpy! Come here, I got me a map I need ya to see!”

Derpy flew over in her usual jumbled fashion while Rainbow Dash snatched the map from my magical hold over it. Before I could scold her for taking things without permission, she shoved the map at Derpy, who quickly grabbed it and focused her eyes on the map. It almost looked like she was trying to burn a hole through the map with heat vision.

This continued for a few minutes, during which I kept trying to get Dash to explain what was going on, but each time she simply put a hoof to my lips and shushed me. Derpy would every now and then turn the map around sideways, as if that would change how it would read. Eventually a grin tugged her lips all the way to her ears, and her eyes lit up. She nodded her head excitedly, confirming,

“Yup, this map is one-hundred percent true. It’s a real treasure map!”

Rainbow’s apprehensive look became one of extreme joy, and she hoof-pumped her way into the air. I was confused; how could Derpy know whether or not the map was genuine? Why did Dash not trust me that it was a good map, and not just some fraud? Rainbow Dash shook her head and chuckled, responding,

“Twilight, you know I trust you. It’s the maps and ponies who sell ‘em that I don’t trust. And c’mon Twilight, ya might be book smart, but ya are kinda naïve when it comes to being social with strangers.”

I had to admit, she wasn’t entirely wrong. Even after all the years I spent in Ponyville with friends, I consulted books for social tips until the day I left. Rainbow wrapped a foreleg around Derpy, and commented,

“And in addition to being me Deckswab, Derpy doubles as the ship’s navigation expert. She gets us where we need to go, and never leads us astray.”

Now that one I found harder to believe; Derpy was one of the sweetest, most innocent ponies I knew, but she was also the clumsiest. How could she read maps and use a sextant for direction if she could barely see directly in front of her? Derpy blushed lightly at the praise from Dash, and I decided not to question how she could be the navigator without crashing the ship daily. After all, I figured I couldn’t doubt everything I saw and heard if I wanted to get some unabridged adventure.

Derpy and Dash flew down and landed next to me so I could get a look at the map while Derpy told us about where we were going.

“Alright, so here’s where the map is gonna take us. First, we have to go east towards the Lemon Grotto. Once we get there, we’ll head northwest towards the Serpent’s Pass. If we can get the ship through there, we’ll be able to get to this…place which I don’t recognize,” Derpy explained as she pointed a hoof towards the third landmark, “and then we’ll be able to see the Prench Cove from there, and that’s where the treasure is hidden.”

Rainbow’s good eye widened at the mention of the location of the treasure, and in an instant she and Derpy were hugging and jumping up and down in joy. I was feeling happy but out of the loop, so I asked what was so important about some cove. Dash smiled and cocked an eyebrow, answering,

“Well it looks like you picked up the perfect map, Twilight. The Prench Cove happens to be the place we wanted to go before you joined the crew. Derpy and I worked a long time to figure out where the beast went that took my eye, and we tracked him there. Now we’ll get to kill that monster, and get a boatload of moolah at the same time!”

Derpy and Dash brohoofed, but I still had some things that needed answering. I had heard that the Serpent’s Pass was extraordinarily dangerous, and wanted to know how we’d find the third landmark if we didn’t know what it looked like or even what it was. And lastly, I wanted to know what was so important about this “Prench cove.” Derpy decided to step in for my questions, answering,

“The Serpent’s Pass is the only way we can get a ship through that region before winter sets in and the seas will be too dangerous to get around. As for that third landmark, we might not know what it is or what it looks like, but the map says there’s nothing else around it, so we should be able to notice it. The map does show that it’s a pretty big place, after all.”

I silently agreed; the third landmark was a huge island, so it would be hard to miss.

“And lastly, the Prench Cove used to be a prison for Prench enemies of the state, but it got abandoned years ago. That might explain why there’s treasure buried there; rumor has it only one pony ever escaped there, and that he got really rich afterwards. I’ve heard that before he died, he stashed away a big chunk of gems and gold there. And that would explain why our monster would be hiding there; sea beasts are known to be quite greedy.”

Derpy wrapped up her answer with a self-approving nod, and I couldn’t help but admit that she was right. Going around the Serpent’s Pass could take months, so we would have to go through it. And I also realized that all of the danger and trials ahead sounded exciting to my newly adventurous heart. I capitulated to Derpy’s and Dash’s plans for our ship with a meager smile on my face, and Dash laughed heartily at getting my acceptance. As Dash and I started thinking how to get the ship to the Lemon Grotto, Derpy started looking over the map again and frowned, taking a closer look every few seconds. I asked her what was wrong, and she confusedly responded,

“Well, um, there’s this thing on the map marked along the way to Lemon Grotto, it’s…I’m not entirely sure. Captain Rainbow Dash, can you come take a look at this?”

Dash floated over, interested in what could befuddle her best navigator. I peeked at the map, and noticed that along the path to Lemon Grotto there was a drawing of a pirate ship, and the word “beware” scribbled above it.

“Well, Derpy, it looks like another pirate ship. It probably just means that there be other pirates in the area. We’ll have to keep a look-out fer competition, but I think our cannons can handle anything.”

Rainbow calmly patted one of the nearby cannons, eliciting the clangs of old metal. Derpy’s innocent smile returned, and she nodded vigorously. Dash ordered her and me to set a course for Lemon Grotto; it was time for us to get a move on. We agreed happily. We had no idea what we were going to find just a few more miles out to sea.

We were about halfway to the Lemon Grotto when things started changing all around us. We had been sailing smoothly for a few hours, and it had become late afternoon. The sun was hanging over the horizon, just beginning to make the sky all sorts of shades of orange and red. The crew had become a little lazy and most of the ponies just idled about the deck talking, but that wasn’t a problem seeing as our destination wasn’t far off. We even had the perfect weather for the occasion: not a cloud was in the sky.

I was the only pony that didn’t relax while we sailed. I just kept getting more and more nervous about the ship drawn on the map, and the warning the map had given us. For all we knew, there were bands of other pirates out here that were dangerous enough to warrant inclusion in the directions to our treasure. I wanted adventure; I was in no rush to die in a battle with pirates. But the further out we went, the calmer the seas became. The air was quiet, and we hadn’t seen any birds or fish in a while.

And then the fog rolled in. At first, it wasn’t much; just enough to obscure the water our ship was plunging through. But in no time at all, we couldn’t see our hooves in front of our faces. Even Derpy, the ship’s best navigator, had to stop the ship so we could get our bearings. While Derpy and Rainbow Dash tried to find out a way to clear the fog, I was quaking in my boots. Metaphorically speaking, of course. We were out on the sea, blind to our surroundings, and there was a strong chance we might possibly be in danger of pirates.

I was suddenly struck by how quiet it got on our ship. For some reason, every conversation that was being held was cut off. I saw everypony looking off to one direction and shivering, and everypony’s eyes spelt absolute terror. I turned to see what could possibly frighten them all so much, and my heart went icy cold. There was a massive pirate ship close to us, and it was heading closer. They were going to ram us! I shouted out to the crew,

“Quick, everypony! They’re gonna crash into us! Brace the ship for impact!”

While the crew and I scrambled to prepare for the ride of a lifetime, Derpy and Rainbow Dash remained frozen in place, staring up at the looming pirate ship. I ran over to them, and asked,

“Hey! Why are you guys just sitting there? We need help getting ready for when that pirate ship hits us!”

Dash just gulped and pointed her hoof out, replying,

“T-t-twilight, that’s no n-normal pirate ship…”

Before I could ask what kind of pirate ship would be classed as “normal,” we were hit. But instead of teetering to the right and being forced to hold onto the deck for dear life, nothing happened. Not a single pony slipped overboard. The other ship began to pass directly through the center of our own, and I just gawked at what was happening. And then it stopped, leaving our two ships intersecting down the middle. Derpy and Rainbow Dash were too scared to investigate, so I decided to step up. I trotted slowly towards a large hole this intangible ship had in its hull, and looked inside for signs of life. After a few seconds of looking, a bright pair of eyes opened to stare back at me.

My heart stopped. Those weren’t pony eyes looking back at me.

To be continued…

Chapter 4: The Ghost Ship, Part 2

Moby-Spike

Chapter 4: The Ghost Ship, Part 2

Continued from last diary entry

Ghost ponies. As far as I knew, they were just a myth. My entire life, I’d been told that when ponies died they were sent to Celestia’s kingdom in the sky for eternity. The ponies that were bad in life were sent to suffer in solitude alongside Discord in a realm of darkness, and that was that. But there I was, looking right into dead eyes.

The ghost slowly flew off the ship, unblinking eyes staring me down. They were almost as bad as Fluttershy’s stare. The other ponies on board immediately started freaking out. Some jumped ship, forgetting to lower the life boat in their hurry. Derpy and Rainbow Dash huddled at the top of the lookout post, shivering in fear.

I could have moved if I wanted to. I’m pretty sure I could have. But I just stood still while that ghost floated directly towards me. I was certain I was about to die. I shut my eyes and covered my face with my hooves, waiting to wake up and see my grandparents in the sky. But nothing happened. I didn’t die (thank Celestia), and I didn’t even feel anything at all. I moved my right hoof over my eye, and took a peek to see what was happening.

The ghost pony was still there, hovering in his special creepy way. More ghost ponies were moving around the ship now, scaring the crew even more. I could just hear Dash squeak; she must have been really afraid of ghosts.

But when I stood up, the ghost did nothing. It just kept floating, looking at me. I tilted my head in confusion; why wasn’t it eating me? Or killing me, or doing something besides just looking at me? I had to find out why it wouldn’t do anything.

“Um, are you…alright?”

No response, outside of a brief and quiet moan. Out of curiosity, I decided to touch it. Nothing bad was going to happen, I figured. And nothing did. I carefully reached my hoof towards the ghost, and got exactly what I expected. My hoof went right through, like there was nothing there in the first place. I waggled my hoof around inside him, hoping for some reaction. I wanted him to do something, even if he was going to attack me. I had plenty of defensive spells I could try if he attacked.

But he didn’t. He just kept looking at me, as if expecting me to know what to do right then and there. And then I realized something; he was waiting for me. I didn’t know what he was waiting for, but I knew he came aboard expecting me to do something. But what? I retracted my hoof from him, and began pacing around his floating body. Maybe he wanted me to attack him first? Maybe he wanted our treasure? Did he want us to help him sack the mainland or something? I had no idea what a ghost pony could possibly want that he couldn’t already take, so I sighed and sat down to gather my thoughts.

Rainbow Dash solved my problem for me. It was her that shouted from up above,

“W-w-what do you want from u-us?”

I looked up, to see that Dash had gotten back some of her courage while snuggled up next to Derpy, who stayed hidden out of fear. Finally, something happened. The ghost pony moaned once more, and looked inside his ship. He wanted us to go in his ship!

But I still didn’t trust him. What if he wanted us to go in there so he could trap us? He could torture or kill us in there; he was a ghost, after all. I wasn’t the captain though, so I raised my head back towards Dash.

“I think he wants us to go inside, captain Rainbow Dash. What should we do?”

She stopped her quaking for a few seconds, and put a hoof to her chin. Eventually, she turned to Derpy and whispered something to her, and Derpy then nodded. Dash puffed out her chest and pulled out her wooden sword, swooping down to the deck by my side.

“I’ll go inside, Twi. I’m the captain of this ship, and I’ll be able to handle this varmint if he tries anything funny.”

She smirked with pride, and started trotting towards the hole in the ghost ship’s side. I tried to convince her not to go inside; surely my magic would be better for dealing with ghosts, right? But she refused, and pushed me away the more I tried to protest. She disappeared inside the ship, and the ghost pony floated inside right behind her. I bit my bottom lip; what if this was the last time I would ever see Rainbow Dash? There were so many things I wanted to say right then.

There was silence from inside the ghost ship for a few minutes. I could only hear faint grumbles from Rainbow Dash about the ship being really old and dirty.

You’re one to talk about dirty, Dash. I've seen your house, and it’s no clean paradise either.

Eventually, I started to consider running inside after Dash. There was no way whatever she was doing in there would take this long, unless it was sinister. I walked up to the hole, my heart beating heavily through my chest. There was a good chance if I went in there, I would die and join the ghost crew. I gulped, and lit my horn with a little magic.

Right before I entered, I heard Rainbow Dash call out to me.

“Hey, Twi! Come in here, we need your help with something.”

I let out a huge sigh; at least she was okay. I went inside the ship as she ordered, and followed a trail of hoof prints she had left. Strangely, the ghost ship supported my weight, even though I should have fallen right through it.

Something isn’t right here.

The trail led to a door, which I tried to open. But things just kept getting weirder when my hoof went right through the knob. This ship made absolutely no sense; parts of it were solid, but that ghost pony could float through whatever the buck he wanted to.

I sighed, and walked right through the door. Dash and the ghost pony were waiting inside what looked like an engine room. A huge metal engine that looked older than Celestia was jammed into the center of the room where Dash was waiting. I ran up and hugged her, but she just smiled and lightly pushed me off of her.

“Whoa, matey. There’s no need to have been worried; it’s not like this guy could’ve smacked me around anyway.”

Relieved, I asked her what I was needed for.

“Well, this guy’s engine is fueled by magic, ya see. He’s on empty, so he needs you to re-fill him with some of yer magic. Think ya can handle it?”

I took a look at the only meter on the massive contraption, and noticed it was on “E.” Not wanting to have to spend much more time on a creepy ghost ship, I powered up my horn, and started squeezing energy into the engine. It filled up faster than I expected, so I stopped using my magic once the meter looked to be full. The ghost pony moaned, as if to say “thanks.” But I still had some questions.

“You’re not a unicorn ghost, so why have an engine powered by magic? Why didn’t you just get some other unicorn ghosts to join your crew? Why can you phase through things, but parts of your ship can’t? And how is your engine storing magic, when I can put my hoof right inside of it?”

While I said this, I wiggled half of my body inside the engine, and felt nothing while I did it. The ghost pony gestured back to the meter, so I looked up at it again. I noticed something in fine print, just at the bottom of the meter.

Magic engine courtesy of Discord, god of chaos. Presence of this engine may cause special fluctuations, and loss of a grip on reality. If you are unsatisfied with this product, please scream horseapples at it until an octopus comes along to deal with your complaints. Toodles.

I gasped. Discord had been sealed up for years; how could he have made a magic engine? I peeked at the date of manufacture; it was just a few years ago. That meant that Discord had somehow made this entire ship go into chaos, all while trapped in stone. When I left, he was still in that garden, in that same pose. Something was really wrong. I tried to ask the ghost pony how he encountered Discord, but of course he was a ghost, and couldn’t answer me. I sighed, and led Dash off the ghost ship.

The moment we got off, the ship lifted into the air a little, and started drifting away. A minute later, the ghostly fog went away, and our crewmates started peeping out from their hiding places. Derpy flew down from her post, and enveloped us in a group hug. She was crying, and kept babbling about how happy she was to see us safe, but we couldn’t understand her because she kept talking in between sobs. Dash struggled her way out of the hug, and flew into the air, bellowing,

“When did I tell y’all that ya could slack off? No ghost ship is keepin’ us from our treasure! Keep on course for the Lemon Grotto, ya swabbies!”

The entire crew zipped into place, including Derpy. She wiped her eyes, smiled softly at me again, and flew up to her position. The ship set sail, and I predict we’ll reach the grotto by morning.

I’m still wondering about Discord. This is the second time I’ve found out his chaos magic has corrupted something since I left Ponyville, and I’m determined to find out what he’s up to and how he’s doing all this. The last time Discord got out, I nearly lost all my friends. I looked up at Rainbow Dash, that usual cocky smile plastered over her pirate’s face.

This time, I’ll be ready. I’m not going to lose the few friends I have left. Even if it kills me.

Chapter 5: The Lemon Grotto

(Note: some swearing here. You've been warned.)

Moby-Spike

Chapter 5: The Lemon Grotto

We made some good progress towards getting our treasure today, and surprisingly we didn’t almost die this time. But that’s not to say we didn’t have a weird and awesome day. In fact, it was even weirder than the time I tried to understand Pinkie Pie.

I woke up just before Celestia raised the sun, so I decided to make some breakfast for Dash, Derpy, and the rest of our crew. Unfortunately, there really wasn’t much hay or anything else to eat on the open ocean, and I didn’t want to dig into our provisions without permission. So, I had to do something which makes me cringe: I went fishing. Actually, I just lowered a big net on the side of the ship into the sea and let the fish swim into it, but I still hated having to see them squirm around. It made me shudder, thinking about how anything could eat meat without vomiting once or twice. But we were out on the ocean, and a pony can’t let herself starve, right? Oh, I hope so.

The crew didn’t seem to mind eating the fish as much as I did, but I guess they’re just more used to it than I am. Even when I was back at the harbor, just seeing ponies selling fish was nauseating. Dash congratulated me on taking some initiative, and then told everypony to dig in. I only took a few bites, before I noticed Derpy wasn’t eating with us. I decided to tell her that there was nothing else she could eat, but then she pulled a muffin out of nowhere and started chowing down. I trotted over and asked,

“Derpy? Where’d you get that muffin?”

“Oh, I always carry muffins on me! They’re the best!”

She smiled with crumbs in her teeth as she said this, but I didn’t really mind; the thought of not having to eat fish was music to my mind. So I turned my head to the side, and suggested,

“Hey Derpy, why don’t you toss one of those muffins my way. I could really use one.”

She nodded, and pulled another muffin out of nowhere, this one blueberry flavored.

She’s like a mellowed-out Pinkie Pie.

But right then, I didn’t care. I was just happy to know I wouldn’t have to eat much fish as long as Derpy would share her muffins with me. I’ll have to pay her back for them someday.

And then our ship crashed. Well, not really crashed, we just bumped up against an island. We weren’t really going fast enough for it to sink us, but it did make everypony fall over. Dash got up in a flash and turned the ship to its side, and stopped it.

“What the hay is that, and why did we run into it? Derpy! You’re supposed to be our navigator. Why’d you make us crash into this lame rock?”

Derpy stood up at hearing her name, and flashed that same clueless innocent smile of hers.

“Well, the map said to go to Lemon Grotto, so I brought us here. I mean, lemons ARE yellow, right?”

She pointed towards the top of the island when she said this, and the crew started to murmur.

The tip of the island was a bright yellow color!

While most of the crew started to get real excited, I wasn’t so happy.

“Alright, so we reached a big rock with a yellow top. But there’s supposed to be a grotto here, right? I don’t see anything.”

I gestured towards our big rocky friend, and the crew’s eyes followed my hoof. Sure, it was a big pretty shiny island-sized rock, but there were no caves in site. If there was an entrance, it definitely wasn’t going to be easy to find.

Dash’s eye lit up, and she turned to me.

“Yeah, there’s no way to get in here, Twi. But maybe it’s underwater, ya know? Grottoes are supposed to be watery, right?”

She grinned at me, and the crew started whispering in approval. How Dash knew anything about grottoes is beyond me, but I decided to give her theory a test. I walked to the ladder on the side of the ship, and climbed down until I was right above the water. I encased my head in a magic bubble, and took a look under the sea.

I have to say, it was pretty wonderful. I always read a lot about underwater life back in Canterlot and Ponyville, but I never got to see much of it since I wasn’t by the ocean. There were all sorts of fish, vibrant coral, and even an old shipwreck not far in the distance. It had a gaping hole right through its center, like somepony had launched a big tube at it. Pequod was written on the bow, but I’m still not sure I saw it correctly.

I was saddened when I realized there was still no cave down under the water. The big rock got thicker as it got closer to the sand, but it was still just a big rock, and not a grotto.

Just as I was about to get back on the ship and tell everypony this wasn’t the grotto, I saw some strange creature swimming around the rock. It looked kind of like a pony, but it definitely didn’t have four legs. All of a sudden, it nudged the rock, and a cavern opened up! The creature swam inside, and the hole closed not long after.

I emerged from the water, and climbed back on board with my announcement.

“Alright, everypony, I’ve got good news and bad news. The good news is there is a grotto, and we can get in.”

The crew cheered, but I knew it wouldn’t be for long, so I interrupted them saying,

“Don’t cheer yet, because that’s not all of it. The grotto is deep underwater, is activated by touch, and closes the instant you get inside.”

The clamor on board died down as Dash and the others groaned thinking of how much work it would take to get us into a cavern underwater.

“There’s something else. I saw…something open the cavern up. I don’t know what it was, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t a pony. It might be dangerous.”

Derpy gulped and huddled next to Dash, who just flashed her yellowed teeth.

“Oh, yeah? Well, we handled a ghost ship, so I’m sure we can handle some little fish. I mean, we DID just eat a whole bunch of them a few minutes ago.”

Rainbow’s encouragement got the crew riled up, and I knew there was nothing stopping them now. I sighed, and asked Dash how she planned to get a buoyant ship underwater for so long.

“Well, you’ll just use that head-bubble spell you used on ur’self on the entire ship. Ye can do that, right?”

“Yes, but it’ll be really tough, and it only lasts as long as I can hold my breath normally. What if there’s no air in there?”

Dash wasn’t phased at all.

“It’s a grotto, Twi. There has to be air pockets somewhere, otherwise it’d just be an underwater cavern.”

She scoffed at my lack of in-depth grotto knowledge, and trotted off to command her crew.

“Alright, everypony, we’re going under! Lock down everything that could float away, and put everything in the barracks for now! That includes the sail! Once everything’s put away, we’re gonna go down there until we come up for air, so be ready!”

Instantly the crew started running around gathering everything on board and tossing down into the barracks. By the time I grabbed the map and got down there, it was more crowded than the harbor market. I gathered up all the magic energy I could, and cast the bubble spell on the entire ship.

I struggled constantly with the spell, but I did manage to make us water-proof for a bit. Meanwhile, I directed the ship towards the spot I saw the swimming thing go earlier, and gently rubbed the ship against the spot. A cave opened up, and the rushing water pulled our ship in. For a few seconds, we saw the bright green walls of the grotto welcome us. But then the opening closed, and it became pitch black.

Well, we’re screwed.

The entire crew held their breaths, even though they didn’t really need to. It was me they should have been worried about. I was moving the ship slowly through the dark cave, and I only had a little bit of air left. If I didn’t find a spot to breathe above water soon, we were all going to die.

Out of the blue we received a blessing straight from Celestia and we surfaced. I don’t know how I didn’t notice the light coming from above me, but it definitely felt great just to breathe again. The crew was ecstatic to be safe, and we all rushed aboard. What we saw stunned us.

The entire grotto was made of yellowy gems lining the walls and ceiling. I’m sure Rarity would have loved to see it; she probably would have had a fashion-gasm. But while Dash and everypony else started floating up to the gems to get a closer look, I was much more interested in something in the water.

There was a pony’s head poking out of the water, but it was no pony. It had no legs, just fins on its side and a curly-tail. It was a seapony! I’d heard of them in Equestrian folklore, but they were supposed to be extinct. It was just looking at us, like it had never seen ponies before, which it probably hadn’t.

Meanwhile, Dash and Derpy decided they wanted some of the gems. So they started pulling at the walls, trying to get their hooves to pull one or two out. When the seapony saw this, it yelped.

“Bargle bargle bargle!”

We immediately stopped what we were doing. It obviously wanted to say something, but it was a seapony, so of course it couldn’t speak. Instead, it went back underwater. While I scratched my head trying to figure out what would have provoked her, I saw something coming up from under the water.

“Uh, everypony? You might want to look at this.”

The crew turned their heads just as hundreds of seaponies surfaced, and they looked angry. They collectively sucked in a breath, and shouted at us,

“BARGLE BARGLE BARGLE BARGLE!”

It was one of the most annoying sounds I’ve ever heard, and they wouldn’t let up. They were almost as bad as Pinkie Pie! As soon as their barrage started, a voice from somewhere else yelled and they stopped immediately.

“Ugh, what is it now, you guys? What, did another crab climb onto the walls again or something?”

I hadn’t heard it happen, but another secret opening appeared in the wall while the seaponies shouted at us. Out of it stepped a pony I recognized all too easily.

Lyra Heartstrings!

She looked like she had just rolled out of bed, but what really got my attention was that she was wearing the yellow gems all over herself. She had a dress and tiara made out of them, and her hair was tied with coils made from the gems. She had a particularly big gem on her necklace, and it shined brighter than the fire ruby Spike gave to Rarity years ago. But more importantly, why the hay was Lyra here in Lemon Grotto?

Her eyes snapped to focus when she saw us, and she gasped,

“Twilight? Rainbow Dash? Um, uh…w-what are you guys doing here?”

She put on her best poker face, and tried to hide all her gems, failing miserably. Dash flared her wings, and spoke up.

“We could ask ye the same thing, ya harpey!”

Lyra narrowed here eyes.

“Bitch, what did you just call me?”

“You heard what I said, now answer the question!”

Lyra was steaming at this point, and I couldn’t help but giggle just a little.

“For your information, I happen to be the queen of this seapony colony. One day after no sales at the harbor, I went to the beach wondering whether I’d ever be successful. And then one of these guys popped up out of the ocean, and started staring at me. I must have been the first pony he ever saw. He swam up to the shore and grabbed my tail with his teeth, and started dragging me out to sea. I fought hard with my magic, but seaponies are immune to it. Eventually, he brought me here, and showed me off to all his friends. They were all real excited, and started giving me these gems. I started telling them what to do, and they somehow understood me, so I made myself their ruler. Now, I live a double life. By day, I’m just a hopeless merchant at Horseshoe Bay trying to make a living for me and my wife. But when the sun goes down at the bay, I head out to sea for my life as queen of the seaponies!”

She struck a dramatic pose to fit her fantastical story, expecting us to praise her, I think. Instead, I heard Rainbow Dash mutter under her breath,

“Tuh, lame.”

Instantly, the crew burst into laughter at Dash’s joke. Even I had a hard time suppressing a smile; it WAS kind of funny, after all. But Lyra didn’t think so.

“Alright, if that’s how it’s gonna be. Get them, my seaponies! Devour their entrails!”

At her command, the water turned a briny white as the seaponies rushed our ship. We all stopped laughing and began to scream as the seaponies tried to climb aboard and even eat our hull. I tried to remove the seaponies, but like Lyra said they were immune to my magic; I was useless against them! I had to try negotiating with Lyra, so I climbed to the observation deck for safety, and shouted,

“Lyra, please stop this! You wouldn’t kill your friends, right?”

Lyra gestured for the seaponies to stop by waving her hoof, and they stopped attacking us in an instant.

“Oh, I’m your friend now? Typical. Everypony runs away from me when I try to strike up conversation back home, but with your backs against the wall suddenly we’ve known each other, like, forever.”

Lyra was sneering at us now, but I could hear the sadness in her voice. I had to do something.

“Lyra, I am your friend. I always have been.”

“Oh yeah? I bet you don’t even know me that well. Who’s my special somepony?”

Oh, this is too easy.

“Bon-bon, of course. Everypony knows that.”

Lyra gritted her teeth, and prepared more questions.

“Where was I born, and why do I hate that place?”

“You were born in Canterlot, and hate it because of the stuffy attitude you think everypony there has. You also got bullied there for liking mares.”

I noticed Lyra wipe a small angry tear from her eye on hearing that; I didn’t realize how bad it had been for her.

“Alright, one last question. I saw you at the harbor, remember? What was I trying to sell you when you blew me off, like I was crazy?”

That one I had trouble with. I remembered her frantically trying to sell me some kind of body part, but I had no idea what it was. It was a hand, but to what? What was Lyra obsessed enough about to try to sell its body parts?

As I racked my brain trying to figure it out, Lyra started crying more openly, but she was still pretty steamed. She looked like she could blow at any minute, and I knew we wouldn’t survive a new onslaught from the seaponies.

She’s obsessed with mythical creatures…that’s it!

“You were trying to sell me a human hand!”

Lyra stopped crying abruptly, and choked back a sob. Her eyes were wide in disbelief, but after a few seconds she was smiling bigger than I’ve ever seen her before (except when she’s been with Bon-bon).

“Wow, Twilight. I didn’t know you knew me so well. I guess…we really are friends.”

Her horn lit up, and she built a bridge using the seaponies to our deck. She frantically ran up her bridge, and hugged me almost as tight as Pinkie Pie used to.

“I’m so glad that at least you care about me, Twi. It’s nice to have one friend.”

It was hard for me to breathe, but I managed to squeak out,

“Lyra, you have more than one friend. What about Bon-bon? You two love each other very much. And what about Vinyl Scratch, Octavia, Derpy, and the Doctor? I used to see you guys hang out all the time in Ponyville.”

Lyra let me down, and started to explain.

“Yeah, but Bon-bon and me aren’t getting along right now. She seems real nervous around me for some reason, and I don’t know why. As for the rest of them, I haven’t seen them since I started living at Horseshoe Bay. I don’t know where any of them are, except Derpy here of course. But she’s always traveling and doing pirate stuff.”

I felt guilty for laughing at Lyra earlier, and so I decided to cheer her up somehow, even if my guessing wasn’t correct in the end.

“You know, Lyra, maybe Bon-bon’s acting nervous around you because she wants to step forward in your relationship? If you know what I mean?”

Lyra’s pupils dilated drastically, and her face turned beet-red.

“You, you really think so? That she’ll, you know…propose?”

“I think it could definitely happen.”

I winked at her, and she squealed in delight.

“Oh, this is SO awesome! Come on you guys, I wanna celebrate! I’ll have the seaponies throw us a feast fit for a queen! A queen of the seaponies, that is!”

Lyra giggle-snorted, and led the crew and I off the ship down into the cave she came in from. She led us into a huge throne room with a lavish dining table in the center. And we ate better than we had eaten our entire trip, talking and laughing the entire time. Lyra sat next to me, and kept thanking me for being her friend. It felt good to remember the magic of friendship.

I can’t wait until tomorrow!

Chapter 6: The Serpent's Pass

The Serpent’s Pass

For a long time, I didn’t know what happened to Spike after he left all of us back in Ponyville. I never really did get over him leaving; he was like a little brother or a son to me. I finally saw him again today.

The day started with me waking up and preparing the ship so we could set sail from the Lemon Grotto. The noise woke Rainbow Dash and Derpy, who had fallen asleep in each other’s hooves after drinking a bit too much cider at the feast. After some awkward blushing and frantic movements, the two finally separated. I just giggled at how cute they were and kept on raising the sail. Dash put a hoof on my shoulder, and told me to take a break.

“You work too hard, Twi. We don’t need to set sail for a few more hours; the Serpent’s Pass is pretty close by. Just take a freaking break already.”

Dash grinned cockily as she said this, and while I wanted to protest, I had to admit I was a little exhausted. I decided to go outside and climb to the top of the Lemon Grotto; there had to be a reason the top was yellow like that. When I got to the top, I found something really weird. Not yellow rock, but a ton of lemons super-glued together.

“I guess it isn’t called the Lemon Grotto for nothing,” I muttered.

There was something else at the tip of the mount: a plague. Engraved on the plague were these words:

Lemon Grotto Seapony Producing Plant brought to you courtesy of Discord Industries, Inc. Customer complaints can be mailed directly up your flank. Shoo be doo, shoo shoo be do.

Discord’s influence again. I should have suspected something once I found out seaponies were here; those things were supposed to be extinct. Only chaos magic could possibly bring them back. While I was excited about maybe studying them someday, it just wasn’t a natural way for it to happen.

“Hey Twi, come back down! We’re settin’ off!”

Rainbow Dash was hollering up at me, so I slid down the mountain as quickly as I could and got on the ship. I bumped hooves with hers, and we set sail with Derpy telling us to go northwest. She told us we’d hit the Serpent’s Pass in about an hour, and then things would get hairy. But I wanted to know what she meant.

“Well, it’s just that, ya know, the Serpent’s Pass is kind of…thin,” Derpy admitted. “Our ship might not fit through there, and rumor has it there’s a, uh, monster there.”

I raised an eyebrow.

“What kind of monster, Derpy?” I asked.

She gulped, replying, “The kind of monster that could totally destroy our ship and, and…eat us.”

She whispered the last part, shaking in her hooves. I patted her head to calm her down, but I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of monster would randomly roam the middle of the ocean. It’s not like Equestria has lots of big fish in the water for a monster to eat. Unless, of course, it only ate sailors. I shuddered at that thought, and went to take a short nap while I waited for us to arrive. Once we did, I’d be ready to face whatever kind of monster was waiting for us.

I fell off my bunk with a thud, groaning from the sharp pain in my head.

Why the hay is the ship rocking? Wait, rocking?

I got myself up clumsily and rushed onto the deck. It wasn’t good; we were barely screeching by the rocky pass, and Rainbow Dash couldn’t get us a few feet without a minor crash happening. The scrapes were taking a toll; the hull wouldn’t last too long before the sides cut open and water rushed in, drowning us. Sure, the crew was all pegasi, but nopony can fly forever, and nopony was going to hold me up forever either. There had to be something I could do, and in a few seconds I had an idea.

“Dash, you keep trying to straighten us out! I’ll try to move the rock face outwards so we can go through easier!” I shouted.

It was a big gamble, sure. I’ve done teleportation spells, but moving an entire rock face? It was a big one for me. I gulped, closed my eyes, and tried. The magic went right through me, and that rock face was heavy. I can’t even describe how heavy it was; heavier than the biggest cake Pinkie Pie ever baked. I felt like dying the instant I got a hold of it. How the heck does anypony go the gym and do stuff like this by choice, anyway? I cast the teleportation spell, hoping for the best. I let one eyelid open, cringing at my expectation. I was certain I had failed; how could I ever lift and teleport an entire rock face, anyway?

It wasn’t there. It didn’t go far away like I’d hoped; it just moved a few feet to the side. But it was just good enough, and we would be able to sail through without dying at the very least. The crew sat and stared at me for a few seconds, mouths agape. Dash lifted her eye patch to get a complete look, exposing her eye-hole.

It’s surprisingly clean, I thought.

And then they started cheering, and whooping, and Dash hug-tackled me. I couldn’t believe it either; Princess Celestia would be so proud of me if she knew!

After a bit more celebrating, we started making our way on out from the Serpent’s Pass. The monster didn’t seem to be around, so we were completely safe and home-free. We were making great time on our journey; pretty soon, we’d reach the treasure and climactic adventure I’ve been looking for.

Suddenly, things went wrong again. The water started to boil around our ship. We were knocked sideways, forcing me and most of the others to fall onto the deck. Big green spines poked out of the ocean for a few seconds, and then went back under. For just a few moments, everypony got so quiet. I’m sure Fluttershy would've sounded like a flugelhorn if she said something then.

And then, my world turned upside down, literally. A huge sea monster exploded out of the water, grabbing Derpy and I by our hooves in its claws. It roared at us, showing rows of fangs and a forked tongue.

Big enough to eat our entire ship in one bite.

I tried to teleport Derpy and I back onto the ship, but Dash had ordered the crew to attack. They flew around the monster, kicking any open spot and causing him to thrash around constantly, so I couldn’t focus my magic. Instead, I tried squirming in its claws, but that didn’t work either. As for Derpy, she was having trouble just stopping herself from losing her breakfast.

I figured that if I couldn’t escape from the monster, maybe I could use some spells on it. After all, what’s the worst that could happen, right?

I started by firing some basic confusion spells at him. The hardest part was aiming while he swung me around, but I did get a few hits in. The problem was that they did nothing! My magic just glanced off him like it was nothing. Bad news for me though, he noticed what I was doing, and started breathing fire out of nowhere to get the crew to stop flying around him. It was working, too, and pretty soon he stopped flailing to get a good look at me.

He brought me up to his giant face, glaring at me angrily. It was worse than the times Princess Celestia stared at me; at least then, I was pretty sure she wouldn’t eat me. This thing could burn me to death, drown me, eat me.

Or sniff me. It didn’t want to kill me, or make me suffer. It took one big inhale, nearly sucking me inside its nose. A few moments later it brought me closer to its eyes, taking a better look with wide eyes. Those big green eyes. I recognized them; it was Spike! Spike was attacking our ship!

“S-Spike? Is that…you?”

Spike narrowed his eyes at me. I could tell he could recognize me. There was no way he forgot me, Twilight Sparkle. I took care of him for years, he was my best friend!

He grumbled and shook his head back and forth, and stared back at me. His pupils dilated and he threw me roughly to the ship. Lucky for me Derpy broke my fall, but Spike didn’t turn back into his normal self. I wasn’t expecting him to become a baby again; he was bigger than that when he left. But I did think he might change back like he did for Rarity. The last I saw of him he shot back underwater, but I did catch a glimpse of the worst, possible, thing. On his side, right above his tail, there was an imprint. Just one letter.

I know it sounds insane. Rainbow Dash kept telling me that there was no way it was true. The crew celebrated our survival into the night, and eventually we decided to get some rest before setting off tomorrow. But I can’t sleep, and as I lie here writing this, I can’t help but be sure that Spike wasn’t himself. I know that Discord did something to him; why else would a big D be tattooed on him? Somehow Discord got to him, otherwise he would have changed back after seeing me. He can’t forget me, he just can’t.

Right?