Moby-Spike

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…