The Mystery of ERN Marigold
Author's Note
New idea for every Halloween. My wife will be helping me with these as well.
Idea is every Halloween post a chapter or post the ones that get worked on every year, depending on how busy I am.
Hope you enjoy these Urban Legends.
PS: If anyone would like to edit, PM me. Had trouble finding one for this.
PPS: Submitted this story on Halloween, but as we all know, it takes forever to be approved. Maybe next year I'll have better luck if I decide to do another story.
The Mystery of ERN Marigold
So the story goes, a long time ago on the coastal waters off Horseshoe Bay, there stands an island that is known to swallow ships whole, leaving not a single soul to survive. The ships would either never be seen again or their cargo floats along the shore line, days after the ship had set sail. Even the ships of the navy tried to solve this mystery, only to be split in half by an unknown force.
One ship, the ERN Marigold, was due to depart for Griffonstone to help escort a merchant ship back to Equestrian waters. This ship was the largest in the Equestrian navy and the most advanced, but no pony could ever guess what would soon become of her.
“Get the powder loaded below deck!” The captain commanded, walking across the deck before going into his cabin. The captain’s name was Trilby Plesiosauria, also known as Captain P due to ponies not knowing how to pronounce his last name. He opened the door to find his first mate, Pop Tart looking over the maps of the ships that attempted the route they were about to embark on. The same route that has caused many ships to disappear.
“How’s the route coming?” Trilby asked.
“Not good,” Pop Tart replied. “If we go another route, we would be safer, but that would also make us late meeting with the Solaris. If we go the faster route, the chances of coming back or even making it to our destination is extremely slim due to ships vanishing in that area.”
“So no matter what way we take,” Trilby surmised. “The cons outweigh the pros.” Trilby closed his eyes to ponder the situation, knowing that the fate of almost two hundred ponies rested on his shoulders. On the one hoof, if he took the long way, Captain Crimson would try to sail back on his own and be attacked by pirates, causing the loss of precious cargo and lives. On the other hoof, he could very well be sailing into something unknown, causing his ship to be the newest victim in whatever was out there. He opened his eyes and turned to his first mate.
“We sail the fastest way possible,” he began. “Just concentrate on getting to our destination and then we’ll head home a different way.” Pop Tart could only nod.
“When do we sail?” Pop Tart asked.
“Tomorrow morning,” Trilby replied. “Just before dawn so we can get there sooner.” Trilby went off to his bunk and drifted off to sleep, unaware of what would await him in the morning.
Just before dawn the next morning, the Marigold unfurled its sails and hoisted anchor before sailing east towards Griffonstone, hoping to make great time before anything bad would happen. The morning watch kept his eyes peeled for any signs of pirates, believing that was the cause of so many ships going missing. The sun's light would soon spread over the sea, greeting them in a perfect day as they always enjoyed.
However, as the first rays of the sun appeared on the horizon, a red sky began to appear, startling many of the crew. The saying of “Red Sky at night, Sailors delight; Red Sky in the morning, Sailors take warning” took over the ship as the crew prepared for the worst. Captain Trilby came out and saw the red sky and turned to Pop Tart.
“Keep your eyes peeled for anything suspicious!” he commanded. “I don’t want to be the next victim of whatever is out there.”
Pop Tart nodded and went to the bow of the ship, taking out his journal as he began to log the journey, praying that should anything happen, somepony could figure out the mystery of the Celestial Sea and avoid it in the future.
By mid morning, the sky was still red as the Marigold spotted what appeared to be a small island coming towards them. Trilby grabbed his spyglass to get a better look at what was getting close, just as a massive wave hit the ship, splashing the whole crew in sea water. Trilby shook his head, getting the water out of his eyes when he felt the ship jerk. He opened his eyes to find a giant yellow eye staring right back at him.
“All hooves!” he shouted. “Battle stations!” The crew began to scatter, getting ready to fight against whatever this was, only for the mouth of the creature to turn to them, green slime dripping from its mouth onto the deck, causing many ponies to slip and fall overboard where the sharks would attack the helpless crew.
The creature snapped it’s jaws at one unfortunate cabin colt that tried to make a run for it, biting off his back left hoof, causing the poor colt to lay on the deck bleeding as the creature ate his leg before spitting out the bone. Trilby tried to slash at the creature, only for him to be picked up and flung high in the air as the creature opened its jaws, the smell of rotting fish hitting his muzzle. It was then that he knew what it was. Mosasaurus Maximus. A creature once thought to be a myth, now attacking his ship.
The jaws of Maximus shut as they chewed on Trilby’s flesh, spitting out the bones in front of Pop Tart. All Pop Tart could do was look up and scream like a mare just before the jaws snapped around him and the remaining crew, sealing their fates. As soon as the bones were spit out on the deck, the Mosasaurus Maximus splashed a massive wave over the ship, causing the remaining bones to fall into the sea, leaving an empty ship sailing along, waiting for her fate to sail into some rocks or be picked off by the sea.
A week has passed as the Solaris was sailing west towards home, no sign of her escort anywhere. Captain Crimson was able to avoid most of the pirates, but was now running low on supplies and needed to get home soon. The sun was high at noon when they spotted another ship in the distance.
“What ship is it, Stone Edge?” Crimson asked his first mate. Stone could only stare in disbelief.
“I think it’s the Marigold, Captain.” Stone answered. Crimson’s eyes narrowed at the mention of the Marigold.
“Get us close to her!” he ordered. “I want an explanation from Captain Trilby.” Stone nodded and went to the helm and moved the ship close enough for Crimsons crew to throw grapples at the ship. As they pulled the ship close, Crimson and Stone, along with a small handful of marines that were stationed on the ship, went onto the Marigold, only to find the ship deserted.
“This can’t be good,” one of the marines said. He looked down to find a spot in the deck that was darker than the wood. “Captain!”
Crimson came over to see what the marine was looking at, only to also be confused by what had happened.
“Search the ship for any clues!” he commanded. Crimson and Stone went to the captain’s quarters when Stone spotted a book on the deck. He picked it up as Crimson walked inside, only to find it as empty as the rest of the ship. He met with the marines back on deck to listen to their report.
“No sign of the crew anywhere,” the officer began. “It’s as if they vanished.”
“I did find this,” Stone Edge said. “Maybe this will help us figure out what happened.”
Just as soon as he said this, a strange noise was heard coming from the other side of the ship. They all turned to see a hoof coming from the other side, only this hoof was missing part of it’s flesh. Soon, more hooves appeared, as Crimson’s group backed away from the ship. As soon as the first creature made it on the deck, Crimson took out his pistol and shot it, only for it to ignore the pain and keep coming towards them.
“Get back to the Solaris!” Crimson shouted, as they all ran back to their ship. As soon as Crimson was over the gangplank, the grapples were cut and the Solaris was at full sail back home, putting as much distance between them and the Marigold. “Stone, open that book.”
Stone nodded and began to read the last entry.
‘We’ve left Boltimare and began our voyage east to meet up with Captain Crimson. I worry about what Captain Trilby wanted us to do. We should’ve gone to the north around these dangerous waters, but now we can only wait to see what fate awaits us. I know that the crew was worried about the red sky this morning as it seems to not let up. I fear the old sea tales of the Mosasaurus Maximus being real. That would be the only creature I know of strong enough to bring down a ship. If it was pirates like the admiralty believes, then the cargo would be stolen as well, not found floating along the shores. I better go. The captain thinks he found something. I just hope whatever it is, is peaceful.
First Mate Pop Tart, ERN Marigold.
The crew of the Solaris was silent after hearing the entry. No pony could imagine something like that beast to exist, but after hearing what Pop Tart said, it seemed to only add to the mystery of these waters.
“Keep plotting for home,” Crimson said, his voice quiet in shock. “We need to report that the Marigold is lost.” The crew went back to their jobs, allowing Stone and Crimson to look over the journal. “Never forget.” was all Crimson said before walking back into his cabin.
“So the Marigold is doomed to forever sail in these waters, now a rotting shell of its former self, but they say that one red mornings, the Marigold will appear as a warning to those that travel these waters, making sure that what happened to them will never happen to any pony else,” the stallion said, as he held his lantern high over his head.
“What a load of rubbish!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “There are no such things as ghost ships!”
“I agree with Rainbow,” Twilight added. “There is no scientific evidence that there are any ghosts.”
“Believe what you will,’ the stallion said. “But to deny the evidence is just as fatal as any storm.” With that, the stallion got up and went over to a kirin that was waiting for him. “It’s time.”
Both soon walked down the dock, slowly vanishing, before there was nothing left of the two.
