G5 Adventures in Muppet Treasure Island

Chapters

New Friends and Old Friends at the Admiral Benbow Inn
Something Better/Attack of the Pirates
Meeting New Friends, Old Friends and Enemies in Disguise/Sailing for Adventure
Are There Other Alicorns?/A Trip to Opaline's Lair
A Meeting with the Ship Builder
Roll Call/Late Night Talks on Deck
Tortured for the Treasure Map
Cabin Fever/Uliana and Silver Get Rid of Mr. Arrow
Mr. Arrow's Funeral, and Learning of Treachery
When You're A Professional Pirate
Captured by Island Natives/The Search for the Treasure
Escape from the Island!/The Stakes Get Higher
Taking Back the Hispaniola/Love Led Us Here
The Rescue and the Final Battle
Farewell, Long John Silver/A Musical Ending for Our Heroes

New Friends and Old Friends at the Admiral Benbow Inn

The night was cold, dark and cloudy, with a chance of rain lingering in the air. A cozy building sat on the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean, known as the Admiral Benbow Inn to all those who stayed here and drank at the pub during the day.

A shimmering portal opened up outside the inn, and the Mane 6 stepped out of it to get a good look at their surroundings. “Huh… definitely doesn’t look like a place that we’ve ever been in before,” frowned Zipp as she scanned the surroundings with her visor. “It looks like some sort of inn.”

“I wonder who the Unity Crystals want us to help here,” Misty said in thought just before Pipp groaned. “Whoever we’re supposed to help, I hope THEY can help ME get some service on this phone of mine!”

“Um… excuse me, good ponies.”

The Mane 6 swiftly turned around at a soft, timid voice, and there was another pony standing in the doorway of the inn. It looked to be a young pegasus mare, with soft violet eyes, a pink coat with darker pink feathers on her wings, a blue, green and purple mane and tail (though her mane was a bit short), and a cutie mark of a treble clef.

The pegasus approached them with a kind expression. “Pardon me for interrupting, but… I wanted to ask if you all needed a place to rest. It looks like you’re a bit tired from whatever journey you’ve been on.”

“Well, if you don’t mind,” said Sunny, “we’d love a place to rest up before we have to find our mission. Is this your inn?”

“Oh, no… me and my friends just work here,” the pegasus shook her head. “It’s actually owned me a woman named Mrs. Bluveridge, who feeds us and provides us with a roof over our heads. Oh, sorry… where are my manners? I’m Harmony Oceansong. And… you are?”

“Sunny,” the earth pony mare shook Harmony’s hoof. “And this is Hitch, Izzy, Zipp, Misty and Pipp.”

Harmony smiled politely and bowed to them. “It’s a pleasure to meet you… wait,” she paused, looking at their unique cutie marks. “Your cutie marks… they’re familiar to me somehow. Like I’ve heard of them in the stories that my friends have told me.”

“Hey, Harmony!” called a voice. “Everything okay out there?”

“Yeah!” said a second voice. “It’s freezin’ in here!”

Misty gasped upon hearing those voices. “It’s Gonzo and Rizzo, guys! Come on!”

The Mane 6 rushed toward the inn at top speed, leaving Harmony to blink, a bit confused, before clearing her head and flying after them.

XXXXXXXX

“Gonzo? Rizzo?” Misty called as the Mane 6 looked around the Benbow Inn. “Are you here?”

Gonzo, a blue-furred creature with a curved nose, and Rizzo, Gonzo’s best rat friend, looked up from their world upon hearing such a familiar voice. “Holy provolone!” Rizzo cried out with a smile. “It’s our old pony pals!”

“Man, this is such a surprise!” Gonzo said as he hugged Sunny and Misty tight. “What are you guys doing here?”

“We’re here for our latest Unity Quest mission,” Sunny explained. “What are you and Rizzo doing here at this inn?”

“They’re the friends I told you about,” Harmony told her new friends with a smile. “Oh, and there’s one more-- Jim! Jim, you have to come and meet Gonzo and Rizzo’s friends!”

Out of the back came a young blonde-haired boy in old-fashioned clothes that Pipp would have described as… quaint, but his smile seemed genuine. “Jim Hawkins, please welcome Sunny, Izzy, Misty, Pipp, Hitch and Zipp-- some old pals of ours,” Gonzo introduced the ponies. “Guys, this is Jim Hawkins!”

“Pleased to meet you all,” Jim said, shaking their hooves politely. “Have you come for a visit?”

“In a way. We’re sort of on a mission right now, and since we’re here, we might as well catch up on what all we’ve been through since the last time we saw you,” Hitch said with a chuckle. “Do you think it’s possible for Mrs. Bluveridge to let us stay here?”

“Ohhh… I bet if you guys earn your keep around here,” Harmony said hesitantly, “I suppose it wouldn’t be such a big deal.”

“A big deal for what, lassie?”

A huge, fat woman with long black hair came out from the kitchen, causing Harmony to squeak in surprise. “How in the world does she do that…?”

“Um… Mrs. Bluveridge, these are Gonzo and Rizzo’s old friends,” Jim said politely, although a bit nervously as well. “They were wondering if they could stay here for a little bit, until they complete their mission, of course.”

“You mean… for free?” Mrs. Bluveridge asked with a raised eyebrow. “What do you take me for, a fool?”

“We would be willing to give you as much money as we have,” Zipp said, “and we could help our friends with their chores around here too.”

“Please?” Izzy asked Mrs. Bluveridge with a sweet voice. “We really don’t have anywhere else to go.”

Mrs. Bluveridge seemed to consider this for a few moments. Sure, a few extra helping hooves would be pretty helpful, especially with all these customers.

And the white pegasus did say that they would give her what money they had on them.

So eventually, the woman let out a sigh. “All right… you start immediately, and can sleep in Harmony’s room,” she said. “Now get to work! There’s dishes to be collected and tables to be cleaned!”

“Yes, ma’am!” Hitch saluted quickly before the woman walked out of the room, honestly frightening Hitch with her stern attitude. “Well, you can stay,” Rizzo smiled. “But I have a feeling she’s gonna be extra hard on you all due to your new nature.”

“We’ll be fine, Rizzo,” Misty brushed off. “Just show us what to do, and we’ll tell you all about what we’ve been up to the past few months.”

XXXXXXXX

The Mane 6 were quickly put to work alongside their friends, old and new, tending to the customers and cleaning up after them while telling Gonzo, Rizzo, Jim and Harmony all about the adventures that they had been on over the past few months.

But while they weren't telling their own stories or when they weren't working, the ponies found a comforting spot in the inn to listen to stories that the customers in the pub had to offer.

One of those gentlemen was a scallywag by the name of Billy Bones, who was rumored to be first mate to a fearsome pirate captain named Marcus Flint.

And on this very night, Billy Bones recounted one of his most classic and terrifying tales, and the Mane 6 had a front row view to everything. “I was Flint's first mate that voyage, three days east of Tortola in the Caribie,” Billy began the tale. “Flint knew an island. That's where we buried the treasure. Gold and blood, they were Flint's trademarks. He'd leave both behind him that day.”

And as she continued to listen to the tale, Sunny actually began to see a vision of that faithful day play out in her mind, a song beating in her ears as the tale continued.

Pirates: Shiver my timbers, shiver my soul
Yo ho, heave ho
There are men whose hearts are as black as coal
Yo ho, heave ho

Inkspots: And they sailed their ship across the ocean blue
A bloodthirsty captain and a cutthroat crew

Crocodile: It was dark a tale as was ever told
Of the lust for treasure
And the love of gold!

Pirates: Shiver my timbers, shiver my sides
Yo ho, heave ho
There are hungers as strong as the wind and tides
Yo ho, heave ho

Possums: And those buccaneers drowned their sins in rum

Sal Minella: The devil himself would have to call them scum

Crabs: Every man aboard would have killed his mate
For a bag of guineas or a piece of eight

Crocodile: A piece of eight

Octopus: A piece of eight

Mosquitos: A-five, six, seven, eight!

Stone Faces: Woona wacka, woona wacka, something not right
Many wicked icky things gonna happen tonight
Woona wacka, woona wacka, sailor man beware!

Crabs: When de money in the ground, dere's murder in de air

Totem: Murder in the air

Stone Face: One more time now!

Pirates: Shiver my timbers, shiver my bones
Yo ho, heave ho
There are secrets that sleep with old Davy Jones
Yo ho heave ho

Snakes: When the mainsail's set and the anchor's weighed
There's no turning back from any course that's laid

Skulls: And when greed and villainy sail the sea
You can bet your boots there'll be treachery

Shiver my timbers, shiver my sails
Dead men tell no tales!

BANG!!!

XXXXXXXX

The sound of a gunshot ringing through the air was enough to bring Sunny out of her vision, causing her to shake her head as Billy began to conclude the story. “Oh, aye. Fifteen men went ashore that day, and only Flint, his own self, returned.”

“Whoa whoa whoa, hang on,” Zipp interrupted, wide-eyed. “You mean… he killed his own crew?”

“Indeed, lass,” Billy nodded. “And then old Flinty up and died afore they could get back to that cursed island and dig up the treasure. No one knows to this day who has old Flint's map.”

“Now, isn't that a story worth the hearing?” all the patrons in the pub chorused all at once. “It was the first dozen times we heard it,” another patron muttered, causing another one to swiftly agree. “I'll drink to that.”

“But who has the map now, huh?” Billy then asked. “Some black-hearted, squid-suckin' buccaneer? Or maybe it's our very own Jim Hawkins. Eh, Jimmy?”

“If I had it,” Jim answered as he and his friends continued to do their chores, “my friends and I wouldn't be here serving you rum, Mr. Bones.”

“That’s right!” Gonzo said enthusiastically. “We'd be out searching for that treasure, sailing the seven seas on a five-year mission, boldly going where no man has gone before!”

“You know,” said Pipp with a smile, “that’s kinda catchy!”

“Huh. Not me. If I had that treasure map, I'd be tradin' it for a decent meal,” Rizzo said before noticing some scraps on Billy’s table. “Hey, Gonzo, you think he's gonna eat this?”

Deciding to not wait for an answer, Rizzo dove into the scraps. “Aye! Beware the one-legged man!” Billy warned the group. “He’s the one to fear.”

“Don’t worry, captain,” Jim assured, “we’ll watch for him.”

“Yeah, I’ll watch for him… if he’s deliverin’ a pizza!” Rizzo laughed at his own joke before Billy put an empty mug on him to silence him. “Even old Flinty feared him,” the old captain added. “If he comes pokin' around here, you run for me whippety-quick!”

“If we see him, we’ll tell you, sir,” Misty said as she continued to wipe the tables down. “Yeah. One leg, three heads, couple of dozen noses,” Gonzo said teasingly, “if anything weird happens…”

“And it'll be nay jokin' matter, hose nose,” Billy said, roughly grabbing Gonzo’s nose. “The one-legged man brings death!”

Sunny managed to pull Gonzo’s nose away from Billy, checking it for injuries before Mrs. Bluveridge came barreling through the inn. “Time, gentlemen! Closing time!” she announced. “Ya pays your bills, and then ya shove off. Go on, out ya go!”

With groans of disappointment, the patrons began to leave the inn, while Mrs. Bluveridge looked at the mess that was being left behind. “Kids, look at the state of this place!” she shouted, causing the group to quickly get back to work. “How comes it gets to be such a pigsty, huh?”

“Pigsty? Hey!” one of the pigs at the nearby table snorted in displeasure. “No offense meant, gentlemen, sirs,” Mrs. Bluveridge then said politely. “No offense meant.”

“Here’s to you, kids!” Billy said as he got up and tossed a few coins onto the table while the rest of the patrons began to leave. “I'm away to my room.”

“Thank you, Mr. Bones.”

“Thank you, Bill!”

“See you later, Mr. Billy!”

“There you go! Don't forget to come back tomorrow for our lunchtime special,” Mrs. Bluveridge told the patrons as they left. “Suckling potatoes!”

The pig shrugged as he left, only for a living potato to turn to Mrs. Bluveridge in distaste. “No... No offense, madam. No offense.”

The potato scoffed and left the inn after that, and after everyone had left, Mrs. Bluveridge turned to the ponies and their friends once again. “All right, you kids. When you're finished here, you can go and clean up in the kitchen. I left some table scraps in there for your supper,” she said as she began to climb the stairs to head to her room. “Oh, yes, and boys, last night you forgot to put out the lantern! If you forget that again, there'll be no table scraps for a week!”

And then, with a growl, she disappeared up the stairs. “Sheesh…” Izzy whimpered. “She’s not very friendly, is she?”

“She can be at times,” Harmony reassured. “She just has a reputation to maintain and she wants to keep us in line.”

“Even though she feeds you table scraps?” Zipp raised an eyebrow at this statement. “Isn’t that kind of wrong?”

“She doesn’t feel like she has to cook for us having to cook for all the patrons all day,” Jim answered with a bit of annoyance and sadness in his voice. “It’s kind of pathetic, really.”

“Sounds pretty pathetic to me too,” Pipp scoffed. “You guys should have the right to eat as much as anypony else!”

“Speaking of rights, we’d better get out there and put out the lantern, otherwise we’ll have no meals for the next week,” Harmony told the boys. “We’ll wrap up work in here while Sunny and Izzy go and help you guys outside, and then we can all start on the kitchen when you’re done,” Misty offered with a smile. “If that helps.”

“...it does, Misty. Thank you,” Harmony smiled before turning to Gonzo, Rizzo and Jim. “All right, follow me, boys… we’d better get into tower formation so we can show our new friends how it's done around here.”

Something Better/Attack of the Pirates

The Mane 6 had been joyfully reunited with their old friends Gonzo and Rizzo in an entirely new setting, and got the chance to meet Jim Hawkins and Harmony Oceansong, two orphans who lived and worked at the inn with Gonzo and Rizzo.

However, it seemed to the Mane 6 that their friends, old and new, had a hard time at the inn, being forced to do a lot of work and only having table scraps for meals.

They wanted to do something to help their friends, but they weren’t exactly sure what they could do without getting booted out of the inn themselves.

But what they didn't realize was that their chance to help their friends was going to come much sooner than anyone ever expected.

XXXXXXXX

“You're standing on my ear. Easy. Whoa, whoa, whoa! Easy, Rizzo!”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! That’s it-- steady…”

Jim carefully balanced Gonzo on top of his shoulders while Gonzo held Rizzo on his shoulders so they could reach the lantern, and Sunny, Izzy and Harmony remained at the bottom to help balance Jim. Eventually, the pink pegasus let out an unhappy sigh. “I hate my life…”

“I hate your life too,” Gonzo responded solemnly. “If I had a life,” Rizzo sighed, “I’d hate it.”

“I should just run off to sea like my father did,” Jim said after being silent for a few moments. “He was my age when he sailed to China as a cabin boy. He wound up a first mate!”

“Hold on a second, Jim,” Sunny frowned in concern. “You would run off to sea and just leave everypony?”

“Yeah!” Izzy nodded. “I have a feeling everypony here would miss you!”

“Who’s everybody? Harmony and I are orphans,” Jim responded with a desolate shrug. “We’ve got no family.”

“Hey,” Gonzo responded, “you’ve got us.”

“Yeah, we’re family!” Rizzo said before managing to put out the lantern. “Got it.”

However, Jim slipped just as the lantern was put out, causing the group to scream and fall in a huge heap on the ground. Harmony groaned and looked over at Rizzo with a concerned look. “I mean, some family we are. Be serious, Rizzo. We don't exactly look alike.”

“Okay, all right,” Rizzo nodded. “So I’m a rat, you’re a pegasus, Jim’s a human being, and Gonzo’s… a, uh…”

“Alien/whatever,” Gonzo responded. “Right,” Rizzo continued. “We’re still… we’re still family.”

“You know, Rizzo, you’re right,” Sunny said. “Family doesn’t have to be by blood… everything that makes a family is in the heart.”

This caused Jim to stand up, perching his foot on a nearby rock. “Yeah, but I wish my life were more like one of Captain Bones' adventures… sailing the high seas and searching for buried treasure.”

“Yeah,” Gonzo agreed. “Discovering lost islands and weird civilizations!”

Jim then pulled a compass out of his pocket and opened it up. “Navigating with my father's old compass to wherever the wind may take us.”

Rizzo rolled his eyes at this. “Oh, brother…”

“Off to Zanzibar!” Gonzo continued the game. “To meet the Zanzibarbarians!”

“Here they go again,” Rizzo said under his breath. “To the southwest!” Jim continued. “Pirate galleons!”

“To the southeast!” Izzy chirped. “Multi-armed Zanzibanian shark women and their exploding wigs of death!”

“To the northwest,” Mrs. Bluveridge called from the house, “dirty dishes!”

Gonzo looked surprised at this. “How does she do that?”

“Might as well start,” Harmony sighed. “Jim and I will wash.”

“I’ll dry,” Rizzo volunteered. “I’ll break,” Gonzo teased, causing Sunny to nudge him slightly as they went inside to finish up.

XXXXXXXX

After the dishes were all done, the Mane 6 and their friends worked on sweeping, dusting and mopping, but during this, Jim couldn’t help but think about what life as an explorer could be like.

Jim: I look around here
And I want to cry

“Ugh, me too,” Pipp nodded before she felt the cold water of Gonzo’s mop at her back hooves. “Hey hey hey!”

Jim: I feel like the world is
Passing me by

Gonzo nodded at what Jim aas saying, trying to ignore Pipp glaring scornfully at him. “It is!”

Harmony: And we just can't help but wonder,
Are we doomed to wash and dry?
And is it a curse we’re under
To do it till we die?

“Oh, I hope not,” Gonzo said hopefully, causing Rizzo to nod out of agreement. “Yeah.”

That’s when the song began to take a bit of a faster turn.

Jim: When I could be an explorer

“Sure you could!” Zipp said as Jim stepped on a step stool pretended his broom was an oar to a boat.

Jim: Sailing off to distant lands

“But not so fast!” Hitch warned, not wanting Jim to accidentally break something.

Jim: Instead of spending every afternoon
Just getting dishpan hands

Harmony: The future looks like nowhere
That we want to be

Mane 6, Harmony, Jim, Gonzo and Rizzo: There’s gotta be something better
Something better

Jim: There’s gotta be something better
Than this for me

Gonzo and Izzy each spared a smile at this. “Well, now you’re talking!” said Gonzo optimistically.

Gonzo: If it’s weird and wild, let’s go and find it
Ha ha ha ha!

Izzy: The crazier the better is what we say!

“Yeah,” Rizzo shrugged, holding a knife and a fork, “that’s true!”

Rizzo: To tell the truth
I really wouldn’t mind it

Misty: Mind what?

Rizzo: If we found some place
With 10 square meals a day!

Ponies: (laughing)

Harmony, Jim, Gonzo and Zipp: Let danger call my name

Pipp: If it does, we’re gonna hide!

Jim: I’ll put my courage to the test

Gonzo: And I’ll be by your side

Rizzo: He’ll be by your side

Jim: There's gotta be something better than this...

Gonzo and Rizzo: (Something more than this...)

Jim: I know that there's so much out there

Gonzo, Rizzo and Jim: To see

Harmony: And we know this life we're living
Can't be our destiny

All: There's gotta be something better
Something better

Jim: There’s gotta be something better
Than this for me

Gonzo: And me!

Rizzo: Wait a minute, what about me?

All: There's something better than this
For you and... meeeeeeeeee....!!!

But no sooner than the song was finished, they heard Billy Bones yelling to them from the bar area. “Enough of this singin'! Rum! I need rum, lads! I got the horrors! Give me rum!”

Using his sword, Billy slashed a glass bottle on the counter, causing Harmony and Misty to scream and hide under the bar with Gonzo and Rizzo in fear. “Rum till I float!” Billy continued to yell. “All right, all right!” Hitch said to calm him down. “Just a small one!”

Just then, Mrs. Bluveridge yelled to them from upstairs. “Don't be giving him anymore rum!”

“How does she bloody do that?” Billy wondered in shock, just before a noise caused him to shush the others into silence. It was quiet for a moment before a loud knocking sound came from the front door.

Harmony, Misty, Gonzo and Rizzo spared each other a nervous glance upon hearing this. “Uh… what do we do, Sunny?” Pipp asked quietly. “Should we answer it?”

“I don’t know…” Sunny murmured back. “Jim, go see who’s at the door, and we’ll be ready and waiting for the signal to charge if we have to.”

Jim nodded and slowly approached the front door before opening it. Stumbling into the inn was a figure with eye patches over both his eyes, laughing like a maniac and speaking in a French accent. “Billy Bones! It's me, Blind Pew. I know you're here, Billy,” he said, stumbling inside from the front door. “Ya sniveling coward!”

“I-It’s some kind of a blind fiend!” Misty whispered, worried as Billy began to motion the group in hiding to be quiet. “I believe,” Gonzo whispered back, “they prefer visually challenged fiend.”

“Ha! I heard that!” Blind Pew spoke. “There’s someone… here!”

He turned to the left, and he crashed into a stool or two next to him, with Sunny and Zipp moving away just in the nick of time. “Ooh! Uh, no… over here!”

Izzy did her best not to scream when Blind Pew nearly hit her, only for Hitch and Pipp to move her aside so he couldn’t. “Over here…” Blind Pew muttered before grabbing the muzzle of a moose head hanging on the wall. “Billy Bones! Ah, I'd know that scurvy mug of yours anywhere…”

“Excuse me, sir,” said Jim as he gently approached, “but the bar is closed.”

However, Blind Pew grabbed Jim and pulled him down to his level, causing Jim to groan out in pain. “Aha! A pretty little girl, is it?” Blind Pew began feeling Jim’s longer-than-average hair. “Yes. Take me to Billy Bones, my pet.”

“Y-You’ve come to the wrong place,” Jim stammered as Billy drew his pistol to shoot the fiend. “There's no Billy Bones here, and I'm not a girl.”

However, Blind Pew seemed to know better, smirking at Jim's false answer. “Oh, I may be visually challenged, but I can see you're lying.”

However, as Billy cocked his gun and prepared to fire, Blind Pew heard this, let Jim go and spun around quickly, reaching Billy and knocking the gun out of his hands. “Good evening, Bill. I know it's you. Yes… you thought you could get away with it, didn't you?” Blind Pew said in a sickeningly sweet tone. “Just take it all for yourself and leave your shipmates with nothing. We're not pleased with that, Bill. Not at all. We want you to have… this!”

He laid a single piece of paper in Billy's hand, causing him to cackle before staggering toward the door, tripping over most everything before walking out the front door and into the night air once again. But not even a moment after he had left, the ponies heard a cat's terrified meow, and Blind Pew immediately afterward. “Watch where you're going, you stupid cat!”

Zipp and Hitch immediately slammed the door shut, causing everyone to sigh in relief. “That was close…” sighed Hitch. “Is everypony okay?”

“For the moment… even though my heart is racing faster than it ever has,” Harmony said a hoof on her chest. “But… I don’t know if Billy is all right or not. He looks rather frightened.”

Truth be told, Billy Bones did look frightened. He held the paper he was given by Blind Pew in his shaking hands, a single black spot in the middle of it. “The black spot!!” he managed to shriek. “AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

As Billy Bones continued to shriek into the night, the ponies, although they were covering their ears due to pain, couldn’t help but wonder what all of this was really about.

XXXXXXXX

After Billy had finally gotten done screaming, he led everyone else upstairs to his room, where he quickly began to pack a sea chest full of his belongings. “But I don’t understand!” Jim said as the group became more and more worried. “What is the black spot?”

“The black spot is a pirate’s death sentence!” Billy responded with fear, causing the ponies and Rizzo to gasp in fear… although Gonzo found it slightly cool. “Fabulous!”

“They’ll be coming to kill me!” Billy continued. “Tonight!”

“I’m gonna help!” Rizzo volunteered to help Billy pack. “Yeah, yeah,” Gonzo nodded as he, Hitch and Sunny went to help Rizzo out. “Let’s get some stuff.”

“It's my old sea chest them lubbers are after!” Billy continued to tell the others. “Underwear…” Hitch said as he placed some in the chest before going after something else. “But I'll trick them!” Billy added on, fully panicked. “I'll shake out another reef and daddle 'em again!”

“Uh… I’m a little rusty on old pirate,” Pipp whispered to her friends. “What did he say?”

“Yeah,” Rizzo nodded. “You wanna run that by us again in English there, Mr. Bones?”

“It’s mine!” Billy went on. “I'm goin' for that treasure myself! And no one-legged son of a bilge rat will…”

Suddenly, Billy began to gag very badly, and mixed in with a scream, fell back on the bed, not breathing and not moving. “Captain Bones!” Harmony cried as Misty and Izzy shrieked in terror and Sunny checked Billy over, only for the earth pony mare to sadly shake her head after a few moments. “He died?!” Rizzo cried out in shock. “And this is supposed to be a kid’s story!”

“Ohhh...” Izzy whimpered as the others lowered their heads sadly. The Mane 6 may not have known Billy for a long while, but they still considered the old pirate a friend, nonetheless.

Suddenly, Billy snapped back into consciousness, much to the shock of the others, and grabbed Gonzo’s nose to pull him forward. “Jimmy... Jim. Jimmy, Jim, Jim, Jim, Jim,” he croaked, clearly out of it. “You alway been a decent sort to old Billy Bones.”

“But I'm not Jimmy, Jim, Jimmy, Jim, Jim, Jim, Jim,” Gonzo said, his nose still clenched as he gestured toward Jim. “He's Jimmy, Jim, Jimmy, Jim, Jim, Jim, Jim!”

Billy quickly let Gonzo go, letting Misty tend to him as Billy turned toward Jim again. “Jim?”

“Yes, captain?”

“Jim, Jimmy, Jimmy, Jim, Jim, Jim, Jim...”

“Yes, captain, what is it?”

“Take the map!”

Harmony looked confused at such a statement. “Uh... pardon me for being blunt, but... what map?”

“The map to old Flint's treasure! Don't ya understand what I been tellin' ya?” Billy clarified in frustration. “I was Flinty's first mate! We all were! Blind Pew and me!”

This led the rest of the Mane 6, Gonzo and Rizzo to gasp, their eyes widening in shock. “Oh, me own shipmates,” Billy couldn't help but shudder. “They'll gully me for sure! And anybody else to get their mitts on that map!”

“Um, my pirate talk is a little rusty,” Misty spoke up, rather nervously, “but gullying hurts, right?”

“Oh, aye-- a lot,” Billy told her, causing Misty and Rizzo to whimper nervously before Billy gave the group their next set of instructions. “So quick! Go to my sea chest! Get the map!”

“Uh... y-yes, sir!” Zipp nodded in a hurry. “Come on, you guys! Help me look through this thing!”

And so, Rizzo jumped into the sea chest as the others began to work their way through it, pulling out all sorts of items... and Rizzo, after a few moments, popped out of the chest, wearing a pair of funny glasses on his face. “Hey, guys! Look!”

“Rizzo!” Gonzo and Sunny scolded before turning back to the search. “Oh, I found something!” Izzy said before turning to the others, holding a romance novel in her hooves. “Not the map, but it is definitely a book I wanna read later on!”

“Izzy, focus!” Zipp scolded slightly. “We gotta find that map and get it somewhere safe before those pirates show up!”

Jim stopped upon finding a rolled up piece of paper in the trunk, and Harmony softly gasped upon noticing it. “Is that the map?”

“Only one way to find out,” Sunny nodded. “Go ahead and unroll it, Jim.”

Jim nodded and did as she said, his eyes falling on the landmarks and directions scribbled on the page itself, and his eyes widened in shock and awe upon doing such. “It is a treasure map!”

Gonzo’s eyes lit up in excitement. “We’re gonna be rich!”

Rizzo, however, shook his head out of fear. “We’re gonna be dead...”

“Beware, lads!” Billy called out to them, causing many of them to shriek. “Beware!”

“What?” Pipp asked urgently. “Is it the one-legged man you told us about?”

“Aye! But also, beware runnin' with scissors or any other pointy objects,” Billy told the group, causing them to glance at each other, mildly confused. “It's all good fun 'til somebody loses an... AHHHHHHH!!!!”

And just like that, Billy fell back onto the bed... not moving... and not breathing.

Sunny shook the captain gently, to see if he was merely unconscious like last time. “Captain?”

However... no kind of response came from him. That confirmed Sunny's worst fears... Billy Bones was truly dead.

Gonzo gulped nervously upon realization, and that's when Rizzo finally spoke up with a fearful tone. “We’re standing in a room with a dead guy!!!”

This caused Harmony, Rizzo, Gonzo and Jim to run out of the room screaming, and the Mane 6 ran after them, just to make sure their friends were unharmed as they tried to escape the inn with the map.

XXXXXXXX

The Mane 6, Harmony, Jim, Rizzo and Gonzo rushed down the stairs to get to the front door when suddenly, as they reached the bottom of the stairs, a figure smashed right through the window, causing Harmony and Pipp to shriek as they saw pirates entering the house left and right, swords and torches in their clutches.

Finally, the door swung open, with Blind Pew leading the charge. “Oh, Billy Bones! Trick or treat! Ha ha ha ha ha ha!!”

“Split up! Scatter! Run!!” Sunny shouted to her friends, and while she, Zipp and Hitch followed Harmony and Jim in one direction, Pipp, Izzy and Misty followed Gonzo and Rizzo in another direction. “Don’t try to hide, Billy!” said a pirate with a dog-like appearance. “You know what we want!”

XXXXXXXX

Rizzo, Gonzo, Misty, Pipp and Izzy ran into one of the storage rooms in the inn, where Pipp slammed the door shut, panting out of panic. “Okay, we need to fight these guys off! There’s gotta be a weapon or something in here somewhere!”

XXXXXXXX

Harmony screamed as a pirate came through the broken window, and the rest of the pirates continued their search as Jim and Harmony's group ran upstairs. “Where are ya, Billy Bones?” the dog pirate called out. “Where are ya, Billy?!”

Upon reaching one of the bedrooms, Jim pounded on it relentlessly to be let in. “Mrs. Bluveridge!”

“You gotta let us in!” Hitch cried. “It’s kind of a life or death situation here!”

Inside the room, Mrs. Bluveridge woke up to their frantic knocking and got up, growling to herself. “Can't a woman get her beauty sleep anymore?” she muttered before opening the door, letting the group quickly rush inside. “Ooh! Jim, what you doing?”

“No time to explain!” Hitch cried. “The inn is under attack and we gotta get out of here!”

“But the window is too high for us to jump down!” Zipp cried after looking out of the window. “And unless you have wings, it’s not gonna be a safe landing!”

XXXXXXXX

“Okay, okay,” Rizzo said as he lifted the gun over to the others. “I found the gun!”

“Oh, now we gotta load it,” Gonzo said, and with Misty and Pipp’s help, they began to fill the gun with gunpowder, causing Izzy and Rizzo to sneeze. “Okay,” Gonzo said, accidentally trailing the rest of the gunpowder all over the floor. “Where does Mrs. Bluveridge keep the bullets?”

XXXXXXXX

At the same time, the dog pirate emerged from Billy’s room, confusion and anger written all over his face. “Billy's dead, and he hasn't got the bloody map!”

“Ahh! The little girls and their horsies must have it!” Blind Pew said, referring to the boys and the Equestrians. “Get them!”

“YEAH!!” the other pirates cried out before going off to find them.

XXXXXXXX

“Come on, come on…!!” Misty cried out, looking high and low for the bullets. “Those bullets have to be around here somewhere!”

“Gonzo, girls!” Rizzo cried from the top of the bookshelf. “I found the bullets! See? Here they are! They…”

But as soon as he showed them the bag, the bullets fell out all over the floor, leaving Rizzo to tense a bit. “...oops…”

XXXXXXXX

“Open up in there!” one of the pirates cried out upon reaching Mrs. Bluveridge’s room, where Jim, Harmony, Zipp, Hitch and Sunny were hiding. “We wants the map, and we'll skewer anybody who gets in the way!”

“Quick, kids!” Mrs. Bluveridge urged. “The back stairs!”

“Good idea!” Sunny nodded. “We can use those to get out of the inn without them knowing!”

Mrs. Bluveridge opened the door to the back stairs and urged the group to go down them before opening the door and facing the pirates head on. “Get out of my inn, you tattooed miseries!” she said as she kicked and batted at the pirates relentlessly. “Can't a woman get a night's sleep alone? You come here, you!”

XXXXXXXX

Gonzo groaned as he continued to accidentally spill the gunpowder on the floor. “This gun is useless!” he said to Rizzo. “Y-You lost all the bullets!”

“Well, you’re losing the powder,” Pipp shot back, “so it’s not ALL Rizzo’s fault!”

“Hey!” Rizzo shouted. “Standin’ right here, you know!”

Suddenly, the door to the storage room burst open, revealing a crowd full of angry pirates at the door, causing the mares to scream in fright. “The map!” the dog pirate barked. “Tell us where it is… or die!”

“RUN!!!” Misty cried out, sending the group on the run again with the pirates right behind them. But as they ran, a candle with its flame glowing fell on the gunpowder, igniting it like a stick of dynamite, and soon, all the pirates, Gonzo, Rizzo and the three mares were on the run from it.

Eventually, the pirate dog stopped running amidst the chaos. “STOOOOP!!!” he cried, but as soon as he did, he realized that he was standing right at the end of the gunpowder, realizing immediately what this meant. “...oh, woof.”

And just like that, the explosion from the gunpowder mixed with that small flame caused the inn to suddenly start going up in flames.

XXXXXXXX

Sunny shrieked and activated her alicorn form as soon as she and her group felt the inn start to go up in flames, sheltering the group with her shield as they climbed the back stairs and reached the outside.

But no sooner did they reach the ground when screaming filled the air, along with a shout from Gonzo. “GERONIMO!!!”

And before anyone could react, Gonzo and Rizzo, alongside Izzy, Misty and Pipp, crash landed on the ground near them. “Guys!” Jim cried out in relief. “Are you guys okay?!” Zipp asked in panic. “We were getting worried!”

“Wow! What an exit!” Gonzo exclaimed as Rizzo yelped in pain. “Yeah!” Izzy chirped. “Right through a brick wall!”

“I AM IN SUCH PAIN!!” Rizzo yelled just before another explosion caught their attention. “Hurry!” Harmony said as she began to run up the hill. “Come on!”

XXXXXXXX

Blind Pew was one of the many pirates still in the inn when it caught fire, but since he couldn't see, he could only rely on his sense of smell to guide him. “I think I smell something burning, no?” he asked, oblivious to the chaos around him.

XXXXXXXX

“What are we gonna do?! What are we gonna do?!” Pipp asked in panic as the group got a good distance away from the flaming in. “Well,” Jim said, “we can’t go home, so…”

He lifted up the treasure map, which had thankfully not caught fire, much to Gonzo’s delight. “Cool!”

The ponies seemed rather quick to comply with going to find the treasure (since being on the run was a lot safer than being here with the pirates so close by), but Rizzo didn’t like the idea one bit. “Oh, no! Uh-uh! No way! You're not takin' me on some crazy treasure hunt! I am staying right here!”

“Oh, good idea, Rizzo,” Harmony responded sarcastically. “Then you can see what half-burned, vicious pirates look like.”

Upon looking back at the inn and the pirates still within it, Rizzo realized that Harmony held a valant point. “What are we waitin’ for?” he asked with a nervous chuckle before trying to grab the map from Jim. “Gimme that map. Let's go.”

“Wait a minute,” Jim then realized. “What about Mrs. Bluveridge?”

All of a sudden, Mrs. Bluveridge's growl caught their attention, and they turned to find her breaking a window and throwing several pirates out of it before escaping the inn through the same window. “I’ll be fine, kids!” she assured. “Run for it!”

This caused the group to look at each other, wide-eyed. “How does she do that?!”

However, they didn't wait to find a way to answer that question-- instead, they ran down the path as fast as they could to get away from the flaming inn and the pirates that could be on their tail within a matter of hours... if they survived.

XXXXXXXX

After a while of running, the group stopped to catch their breath in a dense forest, causing Sunny to sigh. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I would actually prefer to be in Opaline’s lair right about now!”

“But, we have to keep our friends and the map safe,” Misty told Sunny. “Especially with those pirates, and possibly Allura and Twitch, still after us.”

“Allura and Twitch?” Gonzo repeated, confused. “You mean the snow leopard and rabbit you defeated back in Starlight Ridge? Why would they be after you guys?”

“Long story short, they’re not trapped in Starlight Ridge anymore, and they’re trying to find all the pieces to a star that will let them travel between worlds!” Zipp explained with worry laced in her tone. “And if we’ve been sent here to protect the map from those pirates, we must be here to find a piece of the star shard along with that treasure!”

“But to get to that treasure, we gotta get to an island way out in the middle of the ocean,” Hitch pointed out. “Does anypony around here have a speedboat or something?”

“If we did,” Jim rolled his eyes, “this would be a pretty short story then, wouldn’t it?”

“Wait! I remember something that my mother once told me of!” Harmony said. “There was a ship builder in London that she and I always passed when we went shopping… maybe someone there can help us!”

“Great idea!” Zipp smiled. “Lead the way, Harmony!”

“Follow me, everyone!” Harmony said. “And mind your step-- we don’t know what other creatures lurk in the forest at night.”

And so, the young pink pegasus took the lead with her friends right behind her, but as they passed a small cave in the dirt, they had no idea that Uliana and Shiver (the disguised forms of Allura and Twitch) were watching them. “Ahh… so a star shard is with that treasure, eh?” Uliana smirked. “That’s all we needed to hear. Come on, Shiver… we must get to London before they do so we can orchestrate the rest of our plan. Then… a second star shard will be mine, and my power will grow ten fold! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!”

Meeting New Friends, Old Friends and Enemies in Disguise/Sailing for Adventure

Our heroes were making very good progress in beginning their search for the lost treasure of Captain Flint-- they had made new allies with Squire Trelawney, son of a master ship builder, Dr. Livesey and his assistant, Beaker, and Lotus Sunrise, a unicorn with a calm personality and a heart of gold.

But what they didn't realize was that not all of the people they were going to meet on this adventure were as trustworthy as they seemed.

You'll find out what I mean as the story progresses.

Now, let's get back to the tale, shall we?

XXXXXXXX

The day quickly flew by, and by the next morning, everything was all set for the Mane 6 and their new friends' ocean voyage to begin.

And to Pipp's delight, Lotus made them all their very own outfits for the trip, so that way they would really be in the right mindset.

Sunny's outfit consisted of a white and lavender striped bandanna tied around her head, and a white and dark purple outfit with lavender stripes on the sleeves.
Hitch's outfit consisted of a dark green overcoat and a matching hat, with white and gold trimming all over it.
Zipp's outfit consisted of white stripes that went around her legs, a black jacket with white, puffy sleeves and a white collar.
Izzy's outfit consisted of a white bandanna around her head with blue polka dots, a white shirt with blue polka dots, white sleeves and pants and a gold bracelet around her left front hoof.
Pipp's outfit consisted of a dark purple/red dress with white puffy sleeves, a white skirt and a reddish-colored bow on her back.
And finally, Misty's outfit consisted of a white and dark purple bandanna going around her head, a white shirt with a purple vest over it, white shorts and puffy white sleeves.

Gonzo, Rizzo and Jim all wore similar outfits and hats, and Harmony decided to wear a simple purple dress for the occasion, while Lotus Sunrise decided to wear a blue dress similar to Harmony's.

As they reached the dock, Gonzo turned to Jim with excitement. “Well, here's the dock. Jim, where's our boat?”

“We’re on a dock?” Rizzo groaned. “No wonder I’m seasick.”

“Oh, come on, Rizzo, give it a chance,” Lotus giggled. “The sea can be a welcoming place if you just give it a chance.”

“Ahoy!”

That’s when the group looked over and saw Squire Trelawney, Dr. Livesey and Beaker approaching them.

“Hi!”

“Hey there!”

“Good morning, squire!”

“Welcome. Welcome. Ah, there she is,” the squire gestured to the ship before them. “The Hispaniola!”

That’s when our heroes and their new friends set eyes on the huge sailing ship that was getting loaded down with supplies. “Whoa…”

Jim and Harmony shared excited glances at this-- their wish for an adventure was finally coming true! “Come on!” Zipp urged. “Let’s go!”

“High seas adventure, here we come!” Izzy cheered as the group began to head toward the ship to get onboard…

…unaware that the two figure heads on the front of the ship, looking strangely like Statler and Waldorf, were complaining about their position on the ship.

“Take a cruise, you said. See the world, you said. Now here we are stuck on the front of this stupid ship!”

“Well, it could be worse. We could be stuck in the readers!”

This remark made both figure heads burst into laughter.

XXXXXXXX

Onboard the ship, our heroes were marveling at how big and busy the new environment was… and Squire Trelawney was once again talking to Mr. Bimbo, the man who lived in the bear’s finger. “Well, Mr. Bimbo, the ship is provisioned, the crew is in place, and the captain and his assistant should be on board within the hour,” he said proudly. “You have been a busy little man.”

“Ugh…” Pipp groaned with a shudder. “Could that get any weirder?”

“Trust me… it could always get weirder,” Zipp told her sister before Gonzo noticed Jim heading in a different direction. “Look! There goes Jim!”

“Zipp and Hitch? You guys stay up here and make sure nothing funny goes on,” Sunny said. “We’re gonna follow our old and new friends to make sure they don’t get into any trouble.”

Zipp and Hitch saluted in response to this, and the other mares followed Harmony, Gonzo, Rizzo and Jim to the steering wheel of the ship. “Ooh, look!” Izzy said. “It’s the boat-steering thingy!”

“This is called the helm,” Jim explained. “Captains usually stand up here and give their orders and steer the ship.”

Gonzo then let through a smile as Jim stood at the helm. “Hey… how does it feel, Captain Hawkins?”

Jim let forth a smile of his own. “Feels like… we’re really doing it.”

“Yes, exactly!” Harmony smiled. “It feels like we’re finally having an adventure!”

“Yeah… I’m starvin’,” Rizzo commented, walking back down the steps. “Where’s the kitchen?”

The others spared each other a look before sighing and following the rat away to find the kitchen.

XXXXXXXX

Unknown Voice: Hey-ho, and up she rises…

Rizzo sniffed the air as he walked down into the galley, otherwise known as the ship’s kitchen. “Mmm… something smells good.”

“And this will look great for my sailing feed!” Pipp said as she stood pictures of the place. “But… does anyone else hear singing?”

Unknown Voice: Hey-ho, and up she rises
Heigh ho and up she rises early in the morning

That’s when all eight of them stumbled into the galley and found a man sitting and peeling apples on the galley door, an unknown pegasus sitting beside him.

Unknown Sailor: Put him in the longboat until he’s sober
Put him in the longboat until he’s sober
Put him in the longboat until he’s sober, early in the morning

That’s when Misty politely cleared her throat to get their attention, and the pegasus mare, who we can now see as Uliana, turned to face them.

Beneath her Uliana disguise, Allura was somewhat pleased that the ponies were here… now she could finish them off for good. “What have we here?” she asked menacingly as the sailor turned, raising her wings. “Stowaways!”

This caused the group to whimper and freeze in place. “I’m afraid,” said the sailor, raising his knife, “ we shish-kebab and barbecue stowaways on this ship.”

Sunny prepared to turn into her alicorn form and defend her friends, but the sailor merely laughed, causing Uliana and eventually, the eight newcomers, to laugh themselves before the sailor seemed to recognize them. “Wait, I know. You must be the cabin boys and their little pony friends.”

“That’s us!” Izzy smiled. “Ready and waiting to help!”

“Well, are you hungry, kids?” the sailor asked warmly. “Ha! Well, in my galley, you're always welcome to help yourselves!”

“Yes! Thank you!” Rizzo couldn’t help but laugh before jumping right into a huge chicken sitting on the counter. “Well, he's got a healthy appetite,” Uliana commented. “How about you, funny face?” the sailor asked Gonzo, tossing him an apple. “Here.”

“Hey, thank you!” Gonzo smiled. “My name is Gonzo, and the guy in your chicken is Rizzo.”

“Yo!” Rizzo continued to gobble away. “And my name is Sunny,” Sunny smiled as the introductions continued. “And this is Harmony, Izzy, Pipp and Misty.”

Uliana nodded stiffly at this as the sailor turned to Jim. “And you must be Master Hawkins.”

Jim nodded at this. “Yes, sir.”

“Oh,” the sailor scoffed, “you needn't be callin' a lowly ship's cook ‘sir’.”

“Indeed,” Uliana said with a smile, hiding the devious nature in her heart. “Uliana and Long John Silver, at your humble services.”

“It’s very nice to meet you both,” Harmony said, “but we’re just cabin ponies and cabin boys, Mr. Silver.”

“Long John to his friends,” Long John Silver then told the pegasus, seemingly looking right into her soul and making her a bit worried. “And believe me, lass… a friend you can trust is worth his weight in gold. There's many a dark-hearted scoundrel in these ports.”

“What do you mean?” Jim asked, confused. “Pirates?”

Long John tried to silence him, but a lobster soon perched on Long John’s shoulder as Shiver (Twitch in his squirrel disguise) perched on Uliana’s back. “Pirates! Oh-ho-ho! That's rich!” the lobster laughed. “Pirates? What an imagination. Give me a cracker.”

“Ahem!” Uliana snapped to silence him before turning back to the newcomers with a smile. “Allow us to introduce my pet squirrel Shiver and Long John’s pet lobster, Polly.”

“Pieces of eight, pieces of eight!” Polly said with a whistle. “Raised him from a fingerling, I did,” Long John spoke about Polly as the said lobster smiled gladly. “As fine a crustacean as a man could ask for.”

“Awww, cute!” Izzy cooed. “I’ve never heard of anyone having a lobster or a squirrel for a pet before!”

“But,” Gonzo interrupted, “I thought sailors had talking parrots as pets.”

Uliana eyed him in suspicion. “Talking… parrots?”

“HA!! What an imagination,” Polly scoffed. “First pirates, now talking parrots? What's next? A singing, dancing mouse with his own amusement park? Whoo-hoo!”

“That's enough now, Polly. Go on! Shoo!” Long John knocked the lobster off his shoulder, causing him to fall to the ground before Long John eventually turned to the newcomers. “Right, me hearties, I'm gonna give you a cook's tour of this fine ship.”

Sunny took a completely stuffed Rizzo onto her back, letting the rat groan in discomfort. “If you’re gonna be the cook on this ship, Mr. Silver,” Rizzo spoke up, “I am definitely gonna need bigger pants.”

Long John laughed at this, and undid the door so he and Uliana could come out of the galley. But when the door swung away, Jim, Gonzo, Harmony, and the other mares (all except Sunny) let out a shriek-- Long John only had one leg!

This reaction seemed to cause confusion for the ship’s cook. “What’s the matter, lads and lasses?”

“U-Uh, um… I don’t wanna be rude or anything, but…” Misty pointed at the leg Long John was missing. “Oh, that? Lost that timber-fighting brigands off Madagascar under Admiral Hawke,” Long John said, and Uliana nodded, a malicious intent seen in her eyes. “There's many a man lost a leg and worse in the service of the king.”

To show them further, Long John lifted his hand, revealing only three visible fingers. “Why, look what a cannibal took off me in exchange for me own life.”

“Oh gross gross gross!!” Pipp tried her best not to puke… at least until she learned that Long John was only playing another trick on them, causing the ponies to chuckle weakly while Long John and Gonzo laughed out loud.

“Oh, you’re a fine crew, kids,” Long John said. “That you are. Bright as buttons, the lot of ye.”

“Yes… and such… interesting cutie marks,” Uliana said, as she examined the ponies closely. “You act like such a confident crew, even though you've never set sail in these kinds of waters.”

“Well, we do tend to stick together in dangerous situations, so… yeah,” Misty nodded a little stiffly, not liking how Uliana was speaking to them. “I guess you would say that we are a confident crew in situations like this.”

Uliana nodded at this, and soon enough, Sunny began to share Misty's sentiments. Something about Uliana felt off... but she couldn't quite place her hoof on what it was.

Suddenly, a bell above deck began to ring, grabbing their attention. “All hands on deck!”

“Come now, everyone,” Uliana beckoned. “The captain won’t be pleased if we’re not waiting on him above deck!”

XXXXXXXX

Above deck, a stern-looking eagle, looking strangely like Sam Eagle, another Muppet friend of the Mane 6, was barking orders around in time for the captain’s arrival. “Chop, chop! Look lively now. The captain will be here soon! Chop chop!”

Jim, Gonzo, Harmony, Rizzo and their Equestrian friends soon reached Zipp, Hitch, Lotus, the squire, Dr. Livesey and Beaker, and Izzy pointed toward the eagle in question. “Squire? Who’s that frowny-pants fella over there?”

“Oh, that is Mr. Arrow, the first mate, a capital fellow,” Squire Trelawney explained. “I wouldn’t get on his bad side if I were you,” Lotus warned the ponies with a worried look. “Rumor has it he can be quite merciless.”

Suddenly, a trumpet fanfare sounded in the distance, causing Misty to yelp. “What’s that?”

“That’s the heralding call that the captain and his assistant are approaching!” Lotus realized. “Come on, we have to go and see him first hoof!”

“Move aside! Make way! Make ready for the captain!” Mr. Arrow kept exclaiming. “Lollygaggers will suffer his wrath!”

“Wraith?” Gonzo repeated. “Is this captain bad-tempered?”

“Is he bad-tempered?!” Mr. Arrow repeated, frightening the group a bit. “The man is a raging volcano tormented by inner demons the likes of which mere mortals cannot fathom.”

“He’s got demons?” Gonzo repeated with excitement. “Cool!”

Zipp sighed… when was Gonzo ever gonna learn that dangerous stuff wasn’t always the cool stuff?

As the group was heading to the railing of the ship, Zipp found herself turning to Sunny, who had a nervous look on her face. “Everything okay, Sunny?”

“There’s something not right about Uliana, Long John Silver’s friend, but… maybe I’m just being paranoid due to the whole ‘finding alicorns’ thing back home,” Sunny admitted. “Will you keep an eye on her for me?”

“Sure,” Zipp nodded. “No problem.”

At that moment, a sleek black carriage came to a halt in the street, and once it stopped, out stepped a man with a firm expression and a black sailing uniform.

But... that's not what caught our heroes offguard.

The man stepped aside to reveal the true captain-- a frog that looked strangely like Kermit the Frog, and the Mane 6's old unicorn friend Persephone was there with him. “Hi-ho, everyone.”

To say the others were surprised would be a far-fetched statement, and Jim looked on in surprise as Persephone and the captain strutted closer and began walking up the ramp.

“That’s the raging volcano?” Jim asked the others. “He’s a frog, and his assistant’s a unicorn!”

“Maybe he gets hopping mad,” Rizzo joked. “Hopping mad!”

Izzy stiffled her laughter at this. “Hopping mad… cause frogs hop! Good one, Rizzo-Dizzo!”

Mr. Arrow blew into his whistle to signal the captain and Persephone to come aboard, speaking in a commanding voice. “Piping aboard Persephone and Captain Abraham Smollett.”

“Good evening, Mr. Arrow,” Captain Smollet greeted before he and Persephone walked away, the young unicorn trying to contain her smiles to look professional. But as they walked away, Mr. Arrow brushed his feathers over the railing, feeling the dust on it. “I knew it… he’s furious,” he muttered before turning to one of the crew members. “You were in charge of railing dust. Thirty lashes and then you walk the plank.”

This caused Persephone to turn back to him, a bit stern. “He didn’t say that, Mr. Arrow.”

“...I was anticipating his will, madam,” Mr. Arrow said politely. “That’s what I thought,” Persephone said before seeing Sunny and her friends, causing her to gasp, thrilled. “Sunny, Misty, everypony! I never thought I would get to see you again!”

“What are you doing here?” Sunny asked as they hugged. “Well, Captain Smollett needed an assistant who knew her way around,” Persephone explained, “so… he hired me! Exciting, right?”

“Uh, beyond exciting!” exclaimed Zipp. “At least we have another friend to catch up with.”

As Persephone reunited with her old friends, Captain Smollet turned to those remaining. “You must be Harmony Oceansong and the cabin boys.”

Gonzo saluted at this. “Yes, sir!”

“Which one of you is Hawkins?” the captain then asked. “I am, sir,” Jim said, and Captain Smollet looked at him with a kind expression. “I knew your father, Jim. He was a good man. And Harmony? Your mother was someone I knew as well… there was no one else like her.”

“...thank you, sir,” Harmony said in awe as he and Persephone walked away. She couldn’t believe that Captain Smollet actually knew her mother… she had so many questions to ask him later.

That's when Long John Silver and Uliana took the chance to approach. “Well, this is shapin' up to be a fine voyage, lads,” Long John told the group. “Oh, yes, indeed.”

“Come on, Long John,” Uliana beckoned. “We have more people to greet.”

The blue pegasus led Long John away, and once they were alone, Gonzo whispered to Jim and the others with worry. “One leg, guys. Count ‘em-- one,” he said quietly as they watched Long John and Uliana interact with some other people on the ship. “Remember what Billy Bones said.”

“Oh, Gonzo,” Jim brushed off. “He seems all right. I mean, Long John's only a cook. How dangerous could he and Uliana actually be?”

“Maybe you’re right, Jim… about a lot of things,” Sunny said before looking around. “Wait a second… where’s Rizzo?”

XXXXXXXX

At the edge of the ship, Rizzo was taking money from rats boarding the ship, all of them dressed up in tourist outfits. “Enjoy your cruise, sir. Next! All right, folks, have your checks made out to Rat Tours Limited. Remember, we put the rat in ‘pi-rate’,” he said before taking another check from a boarding rat. “Why, thank you, Mr. Plagueman. Next!”

“Rizzo?” Hitch looked over at their friend in concern. “What are you doing over here?”

“What? Oh… this,” Rizzo realized what Hitch meant before deciding to explain. “Well, I figure if the treasure map's a dud, the trip won't be a total loss… financially speaking.”

“Well, we can worry about your little cruise scheme later,” Sunny scolded lightly. “Right now, we need to get into position for the cast-off.”

XXXXXXXX

Captain Smollett looked over the marina with a satisfied expression. “Ah, the wind seems to be freshening. The tide is with us.”

“Mr. Arrow?” Persephone called with a smile. “This voyage has begun!”

“This voyage has begun!” Mr. Arrow cried out before giving the hard-working crew their orders. “Raise the gangplank! Let go forward line! Let go aft line! Hard to starboard! Any man caught dawdling will be shot on sight!”

Pipp yelped at that as she flew past, and Captain Smollett cleared his throat to get Mr. Arrow’s attention. “We didn’t say that.”

“I was just paraphrasing.”

“Uh, Mr. Arrow?” Persephone cleared her throat. “Just set the sails.”

“Set the sails!”

The Mane 6 pulled one of the ropes nearby, letting some of the sails down, and with the rat tourists waving goodbye to the friends and loved ones they were leaving behind, the Hispaniola began to pull out into the open ocean, and a hearty sea shanty began to play through the sails and rafters.

Pirates: When the course is laid and the anchor's weighed
A sailor's blood begins racing
With our hearts unbound and our flag unfurled

Calico: We're under way and off to see the world

Pirates: Under way and off to see the world

All: Hey ho, we'll go
Anywhere the wind is blowing

Mudwell the Mudbunny: Manly men are we

All: Sailing for adventure on the deep blue sea

Uliana strained as she struggled to lift Long John to the crow’s nest by using a pully, while Harmony flew up to the top and Jim used the rope ladder. “Safely now, Uliana and Mr. Silver,” Mr. Arrow told them. “Let's not get sloppy just because we're singing.”

“Aye aye, sir!” Long John answered as Uliana proceeded to lift him to the crow’s nest.

Pirates: Danger walks the deck
We say, "What the heck"
We laugh at the perils we're facing

Gonzo: Every storm we ride is its own reward

Misty and Rizzo: And people die by falling overboard!

Pirates: People die by falling overboard

All: Hey ho, we'll go
Anywhere the wind is blowing
Hoist the sails and sing

Squire Trelawney: Sailing for adventure on the big blue wet thing...

Lotus chuckled nervously at this part... he was so going to have to explain this to the squire later.

At the same time, Polly Lobster, Shiver, Clueless Morgan and Mad Monty were hidden off in their own corner of the ship, three out of four of them singing their own verse.

Polly Lobster: I love to see 'em cry when they walk the plank

Clueless Morgan: I prefer to cut a throat

Mad Monty: I love to hang 'em high and watch their little feet try to walk in the air
While their faces turn blue

That's when Shiver chittered to let them know they were being watched by Hitch and Mr. Arrow, causing Clueless Morgan to chuckle nervously. “Just kidding.”

Polly, Clueless Morgan and Mad Monty: It’s a good life on a boat

Pirates: There are distant lands with burning sands
That call across the oceans

Tourist Rats: There are bingo games every fun-filled day

Donna Plagueman: And margiritas at the midnight buffet

Pirates: Margaritas at the midnight buffet

All: Hey ho, we'll go
Anywhere the wind is blowing

Statler and Waldorf: Should have took a train!

All: Sailing for adventure on the bounding main

Harmony: The salty breezes whisper
Who knows what lies ahead

Jim: I just know I was born to lead
The life my father led

Uliana: The stars will be our compass
Wherever we may roam

Long John: And our mates will always be
Just like a family
And though we may put into port
The sea is always home

“All right, Mr. Bimbo!” Squire Trelawney praised. “I didn't know you had such a good singing voice. You're welcome!”

Pirates: We'll chase our dreams standing on our own
Over the horizon to the great unknown

All: Hey ho, we'll go
Anywhere the wind is blowing
Bold and brave and free
Sailing for adventure

Rizzo: It's so nausiating!

Pirates: Sailing for adventure

Gonzo and Harmony: So exilerating!

Pirates: Sailing for adventure

Tourist Rats: We're all celebrating!

All: On the deep blue sea!

Once the sea shanty was finished, there was one thing the Mane 6 knew for sure...

...this was definitely going to be an adventure on the high seas they would never forget.

Author's Note

If you need a reminder, this is what Persephone looks like:

DecPrincess User Profile | DeviantArt

Are There Other Alicorns?/A Trip to Opaline's Lair

Today, our story starts with a dream… a remarkable dream.

A dream where all of our heroes were alicorns, flying through the skies in an unknown part of Equestria, but honestly? They were having too much fun to care. “Look at us!” Sunny shouted to Misty as they flew side by side through the clouds. “We’re ALL alicorns now!”

“This is the best!” Zipp cheered as she flew past them. “I love it!!” Hitch laughed in agreement. But then... disaster struck. Hitch suddenly reverted back to earth pony form and began falling from the sky!

Sunny immediately gasped when she saw this. “HITCH!!”

But suddenly, as the others watched in horror, everyone except Sunny lost their alicorn forms and began to plummet from the sky and into the darkness below the clouds. “NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!” Sunny screamed and dove down after them into the darkness.

XXXXXXXX

Suddenly in the Brighthouse’s bedroom, an alarm clock started ringing as Sunny woke up with a gasp, panting out of fear at what she just experienced. “It was a dream...” Sunny panted as she turned off her alarm clock and pulling off the covers, revealing her messy mane. “It was just a dream...”

Zipp flew into the room holding a bowl of cereal. “Now, that is what I call bed-mane,” she chuckled at Sunny's messed-up mane before noticing something was wrong. “Everything okay, Sunny?”

“I just had the worst nightmare!” Sunny said, her face visibly showing immense fear. “We were all alicorns, and we were--”

“Whoa. All alicorns, huh?” Zipp asked, liking the sound of that. “But then everypony fell out of the sky! And I ended up... alone...” Sunny finished with a frown, causing Zipp to frown as well. “That sounds scary...”

“I think I’m just worried, Zipp,” Sunny admitted. “What if I’m the last alicorn in all of Equestria? I mean... the only other one we've ever met... was Opaline.”

The laughter of Opaline seemed to echo in Sunny’s ears, causing Sunny to wince and whimper. “Come on, there's got to be other alicorns out there,” Zipp optimistically said with a smile. “Do you really think so?” Sunny asked hopelessly. “Totally,” Zipp assured. “So, I think it's time to do a little investigating. And the rest of our friends can help too! I can text them to meet us there when they're done with their activities for the day.”

“How do we even know where to start?” Sunny asked in wonder. “I have an idea,” Zipp said as she put on her sunglasses with a flip of her mane. “But you're not gonna like it.”

XXXXXXXX

Unfortunately, as soon as the Marestream arrived at their destination, they arrived at the ruins of Opaline’s castle, with the Together Tree on the other side of it, lightning striking around it.

And Zipp was right about one thing-- Sunny was not liking this idea at all. “Opaline's lair?!”

“Think about it. She was the only other alicorn we know about. Maybe she knew something,” Zipp pointed out. “Don't worry. This place is totally abandoned now.”

Suddenly, the sounds of music started emerging from the castle. “Yeah, that doesn't sound very abandoned to me, Zipp,” Sunny said fearfully, but Zipp smiled rather confidently. “Relax. We've got this... especially since we've got backup.”

Sunny turned around at this, relief filling her body when she saw Misty, Izzy, Hitch, Pipp and Sparky coming up to them. “Man… am I glad to see you guys.”

However, she paused when she saw that Paradise Moonray, Misty’s biological mother and Opaline’s former adoptive daughter, standing with them. “Paradise?” Sunny questioned. “What are you doing here?”

“Mom was actually in town for a visit when Zipp shot us all that text,” Misty said. “We thought maybe we could help you search Opaline’s lair for any kind of sign that other alicorns might be out there.”

“Any friend of my butterfly is a friend of mine,” Paradise agreed with a smile. “We’re here for you, Sunny… no matter what we find.”

The group approached the castle doors and opened them slightly before activating their cutie mark magic.

“Hope!”

“Courage!”

“Kindness!”

“Confidence!”

“Empathy!”

“Creativity!”

And just like that, their cutie mark magic combined into an orb of light for them to see by. After a while of walking, they heard music coming from behind a huge set of doors. “Whatever’s making that music,” said Hitch, “it’s coming from in there!”

Then, in unison, Zipp and Pipp pushed open the doors. Out in the open, a crowd of racoonicorns were dancing and blasting loud music from the speakers, and it looked like they've been partying for a while now. “This is the exact opposite of abandoned!” Paradise told the others. “WHAT?! I can’t hear you!” Izzy shouted. “This place is SO not abandoned!”

“We just gotta get past them and look for something... alicorn-y!” Zipp agreed, and they moved around and over the racoonicorns before continuing on.

XXXXXXXX

After leaving the racoonicorns behind, they entered what was left of Opaline's study room, and Zipp took a video recording of the whole thing. “Opaline's lair is in total ruins since she's been gone from Equestria for so long. We could find anything in here.”

“Hey guys!” Hitch exclaimed, popping out of the dust with toys in his hooves. “Check out what I got!”

The others looked at the figurines in surprise, discovering that they looked just like Sunny, Zipp, Hitch, Pipp and Izzy. “Was Opaline THIS obsessed with stopping us?” Zipp asked, holding one of the figurines. “Unfortunately… I think so,” Sunny shivered, holding her own figurine. “Weird and creepy…” Pipp singsonged.

XXXXXXXX

But as soon as the group entered the next room, Paradise found what looked like an old throne in the center. “...this sure brings back a lot of memories…”

“Isn’t this Opaline’s throne room?” Izzy asked as they entered the room. Unfortunately, Sunny didn't hear her, for images of Opaline and her terror flashed in her mind. “Hey, guys! Guess who I am!” Zipp excitedly said as she flew up to the throne and sat on it with her chest up proudly. “I'll get you pathetic ponies if it's the laaaast thing I ever--”

Before she could finish her sentence, Paradise quickly pushed her away from the throne that was now crushed by the rocks that were above it.

XXXXXXXX

But even after 30 more minutes of searching, they still came up completely empty-hoofed. “Ugh... everything important must've been destroyed when we defeated Opaline,” Sunny said while giving a sad look. “And “even if there are other alicorns, how are we ever going to find them?”

Zipp put a hoof on Sunny's shoulder at this. “Sunny-- the one thing I do know about alicorns is that they never give up,” she said. “Also, they have the coolest friends. Come on, let's keep looking. No detail is too small!”

But, in an instant, she tripped on some debris and landed in a large pile. “Zipp! Are you okay?!” Izzy asked with alarm. Zipp spat out some dust before speaking again “I'm better than okay! Look!”

When the others looked, under some rocks was an ancient tapestry with alicorns on it, making Paradise gasp. “An alicorn!”

Paradise quickly removed the rocks so they could pull the tapestry out. “This... this tapestry! It looks just like my dream!” Sunny said as the tapestry seemed to show many different alicorns flying around floating islands in the clouds. “And look at all those alicorns!”

“I knew we'd find something!” Zipp cheered as Paradise hummed in thought. “It’s funny… I always thought that I saw all the tapestry Mother-- I mean, Opaline had in her possession, but… I’ve never seen this one before.”

“Do you remember Opaline ever saying anything that might be useful?” Misty asked her mother as Pipp took pictures of the tapestry. “To be honest, Opaline never really talked much about her past with me,” Paradise admitted. “She did tell me she had sisters many years ago, but… every time she mentioned them, it was with disgust and sadness, so I never really asked many questions.”

“Hmm… this may seem like a stretch,” said Zipp, holding out her FlyPad, “but do you remember Opaline ever saying their names?”

Paradise seemed to think about this for a long moment before suddenly remembering something. “...I believe she said the names… Celestia and Luna on more than one occasion.”

Sunny gasped deeply, her eyes going wide at this. “Celestia and Luna?! Those were the rulers of Equestria before Twilight Sparkle! Opaline was really their sister?!”

“I guess so,” Paradise sighed. “Like I said, I never asked many questions about them.”

“Well, we at least have some answers,” Hitch said. “That has to mean something.”

Suddenly, the entire group began to glow just like the tapestry was, before they looked down and saw the alicorns on it moving and the stars combining to reveal a big golden star, similar to Twilight Sparkle's cutie mark, and the alicorns seemed to circle around it. “Whoa!” Misty cried out with wide eyes. “Sunny, isn’t that…?”

“The Starscout crest!” Sunny finished in delight. “This has to be what we’ve been looking for!”

Suddenly, their cutie marks began to glow, and their magic sparked out a portal that sprung to life on the wall nearby. “Aw man!” Zipp groaned. “These quests always seem to call us at the worst times!”

“Sparky and I can continue the search while you’re gone,” Paradise reassured. “You all go on and do what you have to.”

“Thanks, Mom!” Misty smiled at her mother, Hitch setting Sparky on Paradise’s back before the Mane 6 jumped into the portal on their next adventure.

XXXXXXXX

However, back in the mortal world, Allura was preparing for her and Twitch to exact the next part of their plan as well. “Twitch, I’ve done it!” Allura declared. “I’ve figured out how to use the shard’s magic to cast a spell to change our appearances!”

Twitch muttered in confusion, wondering why they would need to do that, causing Allura to sigh out of frustration. “Because we don’t want those meddling ponies to recognize us and try to stop us before we can find the next piece of the star, you idiot! Now, prepare to have our forms altered!”

She held the star shard up to the sky, letting its magic begin to shift their bodies and change their appearances in a flash of light. When the light finally disappeared, Twitch saw himself as a bright purple squirrel while Allura's appearance changed... more drastically than she expected.

Allura now had the appearance of a light blue pegasus with a dark blue mane and tail, green and gold highlights within it, golden-brown eyes, darker blue feathers on her wings and a cutie mark of a crashing wave.

However, even with her changed appearance, Allura smiled, pleased with the change. “Perfect! We must assume new names as well, which I have heavily thought of. I shall go by the name Uliana, and you, Twitch, shall go by the name… Shiver.”

Twitch chittered in confusion, causing Allura, now going by Uliana, to sigh. “Just go with it,” she muttered with spite in her voice before activating another portal using the star shard. “Come, Shiver-- the next segment of our destiny awaits!”

And so, the two of them leapt into the portal to continue their own mission… unaware that the Mane 6 were on their next adventure as well.

Author's Note

Marina by IfIJustLayHere on DeviantArt

This is the pony who I am using for Allura's altered appearance.

A Meeting with the Ship Builder

Our heroes, the Mane 6, and their friends, Gonzo, Rizzo, Jim Hawkins and Harmony Oceansong, managed to escape the Admiral Benbow Inn after it was attacked by pirates and pretty much burnt to the ground in a harsh explosion.

Harmony knew of a ship builder in London that could get them a ship so they could pursue the treasure of Captain Flint, using the map that Billy Bones gave them to get them there.

However, London was quite a distance away, so they would need to walk and ride with others on their horse-drawn wagons in order to get there... and hope that the pirates weren't following them, trying to get the map for themselves.

XXXXXXXX

It was a long grueling night of walking and riding, not to mention our heroes were still covered in ash and soot from the explosions a few hours prior.

Our heroes managed to get another cart ride toward the city, so they could rest their feet and hooves for a little while.

Sunny thought she was the only one awake as the others slept, looking up at the stars with a mix of sadness and thought.

She had been thinking about whether there were more alicorns out there ever since they arrived at Opaline’s lair, and she couldn’t stop thinking about how Opaline was related to two legendary alicorn sisters and the tapestry they had found buried underneath the debris.

Suddenly, she heard a yawn as they got to a bump in the road, and turned to see Harmony Oceansong slowly waking up. “And I thought I was a night owl at times.”

“Sorry, Harmony,” Sunny apologized. “I hope I didn’t wake you.”

“No, I always tend to go out for a little while during the night,” Harmony said as she sat beside the earth pony mare. “What are you thinking so hard about?”

“...you know how earlier, I was able to turn into an alicorn to protect us from all that debris?”

Harmony nodded. “Yeah, it was incredible! I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

“Apparently, nopony before us has seen anything like it either,” Sunny said. “I mean… the only other alicorn in Equestria I’ve ever seen beside myself was an evil fire alicorn named Opaline Arcana. She wanted to steal all the magic in Equestria for herself and almost succeeded. If it weren’t for me and my friends, plus some other friends we’ve known for quite some time now, I don’t think we would have been able to stop her.”

“Wow… that’s quite a wild story,” Harmony said, a bit unnerved by the mention of an evil alicorn. “And… you haven’t seen another alicorn in Equestria since her defeat?”

Sunny shook her head. “Before we came here for our mission, we found evidence that there might be other alicorns out there, but… what if Opaline did something to them? What if I am the only alicorn left in Equestria?”

“I wouldn’t think like that until you’re sure,” Harmony told the earth pony mare. “I mean… I was never sure what I wanted to do after I got my cutie mark-- even though it isn’t the same thing. Every thought deserves a little exploring.”

“...you never really told us much about your personal life,” Sunny said curiously. “Is it a sensitive subject?”

“Well… I suppose it would be okay to tell you, since we’re alone,” Harmony sighed before beginning her story. “It was me and my mother for as long as I can remember. She and Jim’s father were close friends, so we spent a lot of time together since we were young. My mother loved to explore the stars, and supported me when I got my cutie mark in music. But… a few years ago… she fell ill, and… she didn’t make it.”

“Oh… I’m so sorry, Harmony. I know how that feels. My dad got sick and passed a few years ago too, and I haven’t seen my mom since I was a filly,” Sunny said with a trace of sadness in her voice. “I guess in a way, we’re all more similar than we think we are.”

Harmony chuckled softly. “I suppose so. Thank you for listening, Sunny. It was really nice to have someone to talk to that has been through a similar situation.”

“No problem. But you know... Misty… she’s also a good listener,” Sunny gestured to the sleeping blue unicorn with Gonzo. “If I’m not around, then she’s definitely someone you can talk to.”

“I’ll remember that,” Harmony smiled before yawning. “Come on… we better get back to sleep. We have a big day tomorrow, you know.”

XXXXXXXX

After a night of moderately solid rest, the group finally arrived in London on the back of that same cart. After strolling through the streets for a while, and as the sun began to rise, Harmony suddenly spotted the shipbuilder's house on the side of the street. “Oh! Look! There it is!”

“Oh, finally, we’re here!” Pipp sighed. “I sure hope they have a working shower-- I have to get the soot out of my mane.”

They leapt off of the wagon, and Jim looked over at the plaque hanging beside of the door on the side of the house. “Trelawney and Son, Master Shipbuilders. This is the place, all right.”

Jim knocked on the door, but as they were waiting, Rizzo suddenly felt the urge to ask something. “Whoa, whoa! Reality check here, guys! Do we actually believe some bozo's gonna give us a ship just because we show him Captain Bones' map?”

“We gotta try, Rizzo,” Hitch pointed out. “Especially with another piece of the star at stake.”

Suddenly, the door opened, and an older man with white hair soon emerged from the building. “May I help you?”

“Yes, thank you,” Jim nodded politely. “We wish to speak with Squire Trelawney, the ship builder. We need a ship.”

“Yeah, and the sooner the better,” Misty added. “It’s sort of a dire circumstance.”

“Ah, I’m sorry,” the man apologized. “The Squire's in Long Neddry for the grouse season. He will return on the feast of St. Lulu.”

“Feast of St. Lulu?” Zipp repeated, confused. “When is that exactly?”

“It’s not for a while,” Harmony sighed. “At least another month or so.”

“Oh, horse feathers…” Zipp sighed. “Well… thanks, anyway.”

As the group began to turn away, the man suddenly recalled something. “Of course, his rich, half-wit son young Squire Trelawney's here,” he said with a chuckle. This caused Sunny to smile. “Well then, we’ll see him about our ship. I just hope the young Squire Trelawney is nice.”

XXXXXXXX

To Sunny’s relief, Squire Trelawney was indeed very kind-- in fact, he bore a deep resemblance to another Muppet friend of theirs, Fozzie Bear.

Squire Trelawney studied the map closely for a few moments after meeting with them, and eventually turned to them with a smile. “Well, fillies and gentlemen, this is definitely a genuine, bona fide treasure map.”

“Oh my glitter!” Pipp gasped. “Sweet sauce horseshoe toss!” Izzy squealed. “Really?!”

The squire nodded cheerfully at this. “Oh, yes. Mr. Bimbo told me so.”

“Huh?” the ponies chorused in confusion at this statement-- even Jim, Gonzo and Rizzo seemed bewildered. “Oh, Mr. Bimbo lives in my finger. He's very smart. He's been to the moon,” the squire explained with a smile before leaning toward his finger for a moment. “Thank you-- twice.”

“...I smell a bozo…” Rizzo whispered in Gonzo’s ear, causing Misty to shush them scoldingly. That’s when a young pony came out from one of the rooms off to the side of that office.

It appeared to be a young unicorn mare, a bit younger than the Mane 6, with an off-white colored coat, sweet blue eyes, a pinkish purple colored mane with a blue headband across her head and a cutie mark of two lotus flowers-- one blue and one purple.

The unicorn set down a tray of sweets and teacups for the squire and their company. “Here you are, squire-- some special tea for our guests.”

“Excellent! Everyone, meet my lovely house-pony, Lotus Sunrise!” Squire Trelawney introduced. “She helps me and my papa take care of our house when we’re on business.”

“I also bake sweets and make tea for friends and guests,” the unicorn, now known as Lotus, explained. “I hope cookies and jasmine tea are to your fancy.”

“Oh-ho, sister, you’re talking my language!” Rizzo said before he stuffed his face with a cookie, causing Lotus to giggle. “I take that as a yes.”

“Thanks, Lotus,” Harmony sighed as she took a sip of tea. “It feels good to finally rest up in a place where I know we’ll be fully protected.”

Suddenly, an explosion caught everyone offguard, and a slim orange creature was shot through the wall, screaming, before his head got stuck in the wall… a creature that Sunny and the others recognized as their friend Beaker!

That’s when another figure, who looked strangely like Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, came through the doorway, putting out a match. “Well done, Beakie!” he said after coughing a bit from the smoke. “Now we know that is definitely too much gunpowder.”

The Bunsen lookalike chuckled when he saw his assistant still stuck in the wall. “Beaker, stop fooling around. We've got company.”

“I’ve got him,” Lotus offered before she used her magic to pry Beaker free so he could join them. “Oh, hello, chappies!” Squire Trelawney greeted. “Everyone, this is Dr. Livesey and his assistant, Beaker. They do research and development for my papa.”

“Hello,” Dr. Livesey smiled, and Beaker squeaked out a greeting. “Actually, squire,” Jim turned to Squire Trelawney again, “we were hoping to meet your father. We need a ship for an ocean voyage.”

“Ocean?” the squire repeated, confused. “Ocean… ocean?”

“You know, the ocean?” Rizzo tried to strike up a memory. “Yeah!” Izzy nodded. “The big blue wet thing with lots of water and fish in it?”

“Oh!” the squire suddenly realized. “The big, blue, wet thing! Yes!”

Zipp sighed quietly under her breath so no one else could hear. “Say, I know what's happening here,” Dr. Livesey then spoke. “You chaps are planning to sail to this island, aren't you? To dig up this treasure!”

“Yeah, but we gotta be quiet about it,” Sunny warned quietly. “There are pirates and who knows what else looking for this map.”

“And they wanna kill us for it!” Gonzo added optimistically. “Isn’t that exciting?”

“Well, exciting isn’t exactly the term I would use for it,” Lotus said with a frown, “but if it works for you, then… yes, I guess it is exciting in a way.”

“Pirates, eh? Well, that settles it!” Squire Trelawney said with a smile. “We'll use one of my daddy's boats, and I will personally finance the voyage for the treasure myself.”

“You would do that for us?” Harmony asked in delight. “Really?”

“Certainly,” Squire Trelawney told her. “What are rich, half-wit sons for?”

The others couldn’t help but giggle and laugh in excitement-- this may be their chance at the adventure of a lifetime, and they couldn’t miss it. “However,” Lotus said, “it won’t be ready for another day or so. Until then you’re welcome to stay here and get cleaned up.”

“You wouldn’t happen to have some nice hot water for a bath, would you?” Pipp said, fluttering her wings and causing dirt and soot to come off of them. “This soot is not going to clean easily out of my wings.”

“I have something even better,” Lotus winked. “You ponies can follow me. Dr. Livesey, will you show the boys to their room?”

“Certainly,” Dr. Livesey nodded before Lotus led the Mane 6 and Harmony away.

XXXXXXXX

Lotus led her new friends out of the back door of the house, where the group stumbled upon a relaxing pond in the back, its waters so crystal clear, it almost looked like glass.

There was a stand nearby with juices and water for them to sip on, plenty of fruit for snacks, and a relaxing atmosphere that honestly made Izzy feel like she was back in Bridlewood-- Lotus even had crystals hanging around for ambiance.

Hitch sighed as he and the other girls soaked in the pond, which was surprisingly warm. “I gotta admit it, Lotus… you sure know how to make a pony dragon dad relax.”

“Aww, thanks,” Lotus smiled as she sat down in the pond with the rest of the group. “I like to create relaxing atmospheres for anyone who comes by the house, but… it’s mostly just men going out on business. I’ve never met anyone who wanted to go treasure hunting before.”

“We think there might be a shard of an important star in that treasure chest,” Sunny said, “so we have to get to it before those pirates or… anyone else does.”

“Don’t worry-- Squire Trelawney will make sure the crew for the ship is top notch,” Lotus smiled. “Now… why don’t you tell me about these adventures you’ve had?”

“No problem. But you better brace yourself,” Zipp chuckled. “This is probably gonna take a while.”

However… the group of ponies had no idea that Uliana (who was really Allura in disguise) and Shiver (who was really Twitch in disguise) were listening to the entire thing before they snuck off, ready to enact the next part of their plan.

Author's Note

This is the pony I decided to use for the second OC-- all rights go to the artist.

#2665308 - safe, artist:star-gaze-pony, oc, oc only, oc:crystal flower, pony, unicorn, female, mare, simple background, solo, transparent background - Derpibooru

Roll Call/Late Night Talks on Deck

Adventures were something the Mane 6 were getting accustomed to each time the Unity Crystals summoned them... but this adventure reunited them with a few of their Muppet pals for an adventure so big, they needed to travel the ocean to find a treasure and protect it from thieving pirates...

...and one snow leopard and rascally rabbit in disguise.

Of course, our heroes had no idea that Allura and Twitch were there in plain sight, but Sunny and Misty were getting worried about what Uliana might be thinking.

But we can get further into that later-- right now, we have to proceed with the story where we left off.

XXXXXXXX

Mr. Arrow blew on his whistle long and hard, getting everybody's attention. “Roll call!”

Once everyone had gathered around, Mr. Arrow quickly sifted through a list in his hands. "Sunny Starscout."

Sunny saluted optimistically. “Right here, Mr. Arrow!”

“Hitch Trailblazer?”

Hitch stood up straight. “Aye-aye, sir.”

“Misty Brightdawn.”

Misty raised her hoof at this. “Here!”

“Zipp Storm.”

Zipp unfolded her wings with a smile. “Right here.”

“Pipp Petals.”

Pipp tossed her mane a bit. “Here and ready to shine, sir!”

“Izzy Moonbow.”

“Aye, aye, captain!” Izzy chuckled happily. “Uh, I'm the captain, Izzy,” Captaun Smollet corrected, causing Izzy to chuckle a bit nervously as Mr. Arrow resumed the roll call. "Harmony Oceanside. Lovely name by the way."

Harmony blushed heavily at this. "Here. And thank you."

“Lotus Sunrise?”

Lotus sat up straight at this. “Right here.”

Then things started to get weird as the roll call continued.

“Long John Silver?”

“Aye-aye, sir!”

“Uliana?”

Uliana smirked up at him. “Here, sir.”

Each of the names after Uliana seemed to get weirder and weirder, honestly grossing some of the ponies out with their appearancss. "Short Stack Stevens."

"Aye."

"One-Eyed Jack."

"Aye."

"Black-Eyed Pea."

"Here."

"Walleye Pike."

"Aye."

“Polly Lobster.”

Polly squawked and whistled at this.

“Shivers?”

The purple squirrel chittered with a small salute to show he was there.

"Mad Monty."

"Aye."

"Sweetums."

“...aye.” said the furry monster from behind the group, which startled them all. “Oh,” Sunny said with a nod. “You’re the helmsman?”

“Yes, ma'am,” Sweetums nodded before Mr. Arrow resumed the roll call. “Old Tom.”

“Aye aye.”

The bandaged mummy let out a wheeze. “Aye.”

“Dead Tom.”

One of the pirates held up a skeleton with two eye patches on it. "Aye, aye."

The ponies stared in horror. Smollet whimpered and shuddered. "Cool." Gonzo whispered, causing Zipp to look at him strangely. "What is it with you obsessing over the most graphic and deadly things?"

“I'm not obsessive. I just simply appreciate the craft.”

Mr. Arrow and Smollet exchanged unnerved glances before Mr. Arrow continued. “Clueless Morgan?”

The goat pirate looked confused at this. “Huh?”

"Headless Bill."

There was no reply. "Headless Bill?" Mr. Arrow called out again. Hitch started to get a sinking feeling. If Dead Tom was actually dead, then... there was only one explanation. “Please don't let this be true... please don't let this be true...”

The group leaned to the other side of deck and saw, to their absolute bewilderment and horror, one of the pirates was indeed headless and it saluted at them respectfully.

Pipp held a hoof to her mouth to keep from vomiting. “To be honest,” Zipp whispered, “I'm starting to sympathize more with Dead Tom.”

“H-How... how is he still alive?” Lotus whimpered while Captain Smollet shook his head dejectedly ans Mr. Arrow went back to the roll call. "Big Fat Ugly Bug-Face Baby-Eating O'Brian."

Sunny and Captain Smollet looked at the list, and the name was there in bold lettering... just as a pretty young woman spoke in a deep, gruff voice. “Aye.”

The eagle and frog went slackjawed, along with the ponies. "Oh, that's... that's just insulting..." Harmony muttered, feeling sick at her stomach. “Who gives their child that kind of name? A sicko?” Sunny asked in disgust. Mr. Arrow cleared his throat and, once again, went back to the roll call list. “Angel Marie.”

“Aye aye,” an ogre-like creature said out loud. Persephone put a hoof to her face and slowly shook her head. “This cannot be happening right now...”

Captain Smollet nodded his head emotionlessly, trying to make sense of the situation. He turned to Mr. Arrow, who was frowning at him and then, he turned to Gonzo, Rizzo, Jim, and the ponies. "Ladies? Gentleman? May I see you in my cabin... immediately?"

The group looked amongst themselves and somehow, they knew where this was going. Izzy was the most fearful, her ears pinning against her head. “We’re so gonna walk the plank for this...”

“Come on, Izzy. This is Kermit, er... um, Captain Smollet we're talking about, ”Zipp assured. “I'm sure it won't be that bad.”

XXXXXXXX

“Who hired this crew?!” Captain Smollet demanded, causing Persephone to whimper out of fear. “This is undoubtedly the seediest bunch of cutthroats, villains, and scoundrels I have ever seen! So, who hired them?!”

The captain was breathing like mad, trying to catch his breath.

The group of friends around the table had varying degrees of shock and dread on their faces. They all silently pointed their fingers and hooves to Trelawny at the end of the table.

The squire retaliated by pointing an accusatory finger at his left pointer finger. “Your finger hired the crew?” Smollet asked incredulously. “No, that’s silly. The man who lives in my finger hired the crew, Mr. Bimbo,” Squire Trelawney said before he put his finger up to his ear. “What? Aah. Yeah, he relied heavily on the advice from our excellent cook, Long John Silver, and his friend, Uliana.”

Captain Smollett sat down wearily and turned to Mr. Arrow, who didn't have much of a response. “A cook… and a guy who lives in a bear’s finger?”

“Exactly!” the squire said happily. Mr. Arrow groaned and put a hand to his eyes as Captain Smollett let out a weak groan. “I'm starting to worry about this voyage.”

“Yep…” Pipp sighed. “We’re in for the long haul on this one.”

Persephone, who remained silent all this time, decided to speak up. “Come on, sir. Not all of them are bad. I mean… our friends here are totally fine.”

“Well, yeah. I don't have a problem with them, Persephone,” Captain Smollett told his young assistant. “The rest outside I do have a problem with.”

“I’m sure we can keep an eye on them,” Harmony volunteered. “Right, everypony?”

“...say what now?” Hitch blinked. “Thank you, Harmony. And on another note,” Captain Smollett said, turning to Jim. “Uh, Jim, I know Billy Bones gave you the treasure map, but I hope you'll give it to me for safekeeping.”

Jim simply tucked the map into his jacket, completely out of anyone's sight. “I’ll be careful with it, sir.”

Suddenly, there came a knock at the door, and in came Long John Silver and Uliana, the latter pulling a cart with alcoholic beverages on it. “Begging your pardon, ladies and gentlemen,” Long John said as he interrupted their conversation. “I've come with a bit of a treat for you. Tis my very own best brandy, laid down by the brothers of Buckfast Abbey, vintage 1737, to toast to a prosperous voyage.”

“It’s our treat to all of you,” Uliana said with a smirk... something that made Sunny begin to shudder. “Please… enjoy yourselves.”

“Oh, spiffy!” Squire Trelawney began to pour himself some brandy, just as a whiff of it caught Zipp’s nose, causing her to gag. “Man… whatever’s in this stuff, I’m not sure I want any part of it.”

“I'm sorry, Mr. Silver,” Captain Smollett said to the cook and Uliana firmly, “but I'm not going to allow drinking on this voyage.”

“You heard ‘em, squire,” Misty said, tossing the brandy in the glass out the window. “Rules are rules!”

“Oh, but sir,” Uliana protested with a sly grin on her face, “it’s a tradition for the officers and their… closest allies to toast to the success of a voyage.”

“Oh, very true,” Squire Trelawney filled his glass. Livesey and Beaker filled up their glass for the sweet, burning taste of the vintage, liquid courage. “No. We must set an example for this questionable crew,” the captain said firmly. “There will be no consumption of alcohol of any kind.”

“Yeah,” Sunny said. “We ponies don’t consume that sort of stuff, and… I really don’t think Jim is of that kind of age yet.”

“Oh, sir, but I can vouch for this crew myself,” Long John spoke. “You can sail to heaven and back with these men.”

Squire Trelawny, Livesey, and Beaker poured more alcohol into their glasses. “Well,” Captain Smollett said, “I'm afraid I must disagree with you.”

“Oh…” the half-wit bear squire threw the hard drink through the open window again, causing a female voice to scream from outside. “You wanna knock it off with the booze?” a male rat asked from outside. “It's peelin' paint off of the shuffleboard court.”

“Oops!” Lotus yelped. “Sorry!”

“Sheesh… come on girls,” said the male rat, and the three rats walked off. “And that’s that,” Captain Smollett finished his statement sternly. “This conversation is finished.”

“Captain’s orders,” Persephone said. Uliana growled, but Long John Silver spoke first. “We understand, sir,” he said, putting the glasses back in the chest he brought. “We shall tend to our duty and see to it that every drop of alcohol is thrown overboard.”

While he was polite in standing down from the captain's word, the ponies, primarily, picked up on the drop of anger and frustration hidden deep within Silver's sincere words. “Come on, Jim,” Long John beckoned. “Don’t bother captain.”

“You can go if you want to, Jim,” Captain Smollett spoke. Jim, deciding to follow Silver, made his way out of the cabin. Uliana was the last to follow out. She flashed a quick glare at the ponies.

She was going to make those ponies fall. One way or another.

Gonzo and Rizzo walked toward the door to follow them, and the cabin door slammed shut on them, surprising the ponies a bit. “Oh, well,” Rizzo spoke indignantly. “I guess the human beings wanna hang out together, don't wanna spend time with a rat, ponies, and a… uh…”

“Alien/whatever,” Gonzo responded. “Yeah,” Rizzo nodded with a huff. “Hey, don’t be like that, you two,” Zipp scolded softly. “Yeah,” Sunny nodded. “If Jim wants to hang with John Silver, he's free to do so.”

“Well, we were his friends first,” Rizzo huffed. “Shouldn’t he be hanging out with us?”

“Of course we’re his friends,” Harmony said. “But, there's a lot of other people on this ship. Doesn't hurt to talk to them, too.”

“The girls are right,” Lotus agreed. “They might not be so "seedy" as you think.”

“I wouldn’t get your hopes up,” Captain Smollett told the ponies.

XXXXXXXX

Nightfall had come, coloring the sky a pitch black with bright stars sprinkled about. The hustle and bustle on the ship slowly died down to make way for a more calming atmosphere. The gentle rocking of the ship caused most of the crew nod off into a deep slumber. A few stayed awake, feeling soothed by the motherly swaying of the boat.

On the main deck, a band was playing slow jazz while the rats were spending their romantic night with their significant other ones. Some the crew members were just passing the time, carving wooden blocks, or messing with unused rope.

A photographer rat came up to a couple at a bar stand. “Say cheese.”

“Cheese!” the couple said cheerfully. The camera flashed, taking a picture of them. “Oh, that's great,” The photographer said. "Cute couple."

The rat couple left the bar with their drinks. Some rat couples were dancing around the main deck, turning it into a dance floor. One male rat began kissing his significant other's neck. "Stop it," the lady rat laughed. “Wheeee!!!” Izzy spun around like a ballerina. “Now this is how you have some fun!”

Some other rat couples sat on barrels or railings, simply enjoying the scenery and the band.

"I never felt like this before."

"Denise, what I'm trying to say-"

"Yes?"

"What I'm trying to say is-"

"Yes?"

"What I mean to say is, I--"

"Yes?"

The two rats leaned in for a deep, passionate kiss. Meanwhile, at the bow of the ship, Jim, Harmony and Silver was watching the never-ending waters and the twinkling stars in the night sky. “I'm sorry your present didn't work out,” Harmony said sympathetically. “Oh, kids, Smollett sails by rules and laws. That's what bein' a captain's all about,” Long John took a deep inhale of the salty, sea air. “Me? I sails by the stars.”

“The stars?” Jim asked, confused. “North, Jim,” the cook reiterated. “Find me north out there among them stars.”

“Well, that’s easy,” Jim said as he brought out his compass. “Ah, yeah, but what if you don't have a compass?” Sliver took the compass and hung it over the ship's front, chuckling as he did so. Harmony let out a startled gasp at this, panic hung in her very being. “Long John, please don't drop it,” Jim pleaded, holding out his hand. “It was my father's. It's all I have of his. Please. Please.”

Upon realizing that Jim really held that compass dear, Long John did as he was told. “I'm sorry, lad. I were only foolin’,” he said before patting Jim’s back in sympathy. “How old were you when he died, then?”

“Seven,” Jim answered. “Harmony’s mother passed about two years ago.”

The cook turned to him with sympathetic eyes, then turned back to the stars. “I were eight when my father died at sea. First mate, he was.”

“Jim’s father was a first mate too!” Harmony said with a smile. The cook turned to them again. “Was he, now?”

The boy nodded feebly. “By the powers. What a coincidence,” the cook smiled, and Jim and Harmony smiled back. “"Now, Jim, that be Polaris, the North Star,” Long John pointed high into the sky to a specific star. “Even in the China sea, that's north.”

“North… Polaris,” Jim pointed at the same star that Long John pointed to. “So…” Harmony muttered, “...we must be heading southwest!”

“Smart as paint you are, kids. Smart as paint,” the one-legged cook said brightly. “Now, that gets old Long John to wonderin'. Why would we be sailin' southwest?”

Harmony and Jim glanced at the cook, unsure of what he was getting at. “The scuttlebutt among the crew is that, uh, we're sailing for buried treasure…” Long John leaned closer to Jim. “...and, uh, someone on board has a map.”

Jim looked away, refusing to meet's John's gaze. He remained undeterred, but deep down, he was growing worried.

Was the cook on to him? Did he know something he didn't? Was it that weird pony that told him? What and how did she know about the map?

“Of course, none of my concern, Jim. I'm just a ship's cook,” Long John said dismissively. “Such matters are best suited to Captain Smollett. He runs the ship, not I.”

“Come on, Long John. You could captain this ship,” Jim affirmed, leaning against the railing. “That I could, lad,” John said simply, but there was a slight, ominous edge to his tone. “Maybe someday I will.”

The cook began to chuckle. Jim joined in and their chuckling turned into a heart laugh. John wrapped a hand around the boy's back...

...but they were all unaware that Uliana and Shiver were watching their every move and listening to their entire conversation.

XXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, the slow jazz began to come to a close, and the rat couples deciding to do other activities. “Moonlight swim?” one of the rats asked. “Okay,” his girlfriend agreed, and the two went on their way.

The band came to a slow stop, and they shared a small laugh as Izzy came up to them. “Can you guys do a pop song next?”

“Sorry, sweetheart. We don't do that genre,” the guitarist said. “Oh…” Izzy lowered her head a bit. “Shouldn't you youngin's be in bed by now?” one of the crew members asked. “No way! I can dance all day and all night,” the lavender unicorn said before she then let out a yawn. “Let’s hit the sack anyway, Izzy,” Zipp said, putting a hoof around her. “I've babysat you for long enough.”

And with that, the two ponies retired to their sleeping quarters for the night.

XXXXXXXX

In the cabin, Smollett was preparing for bed. His eyes fell upon a small picture of someone on the desk. Benjamina Gunn... a woman that had been the love of his life... at least once.

Captain Smollett grabbed the picture and held it, still hearing her angelic voice in his mind. “Oh, Smolly, my love for you is deeper than the deep, blue sea.”

Smollett hugged the picture frame, as if he was hugging her. He let out a sorrowful sigh and turned to the open window, showing off the weaving waters and the sparkling night sky. He looked at the photo, then out into the sky. He had never been quite the same since the day he lost Benjamina... how he wished things had been different. How he wished he could've...

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!

The captain quickly put the picture frame on the desk. “Come in!”

The door opened and in came Sunny with a dilapidated look on her face. “Um… Captain Smollett?” Sunny cleared her throat. “Am I interrupting anything?”

“Oh, no, you weren’t,” the captain said before clearing her throat. “What are doing here? I thought you had gone to sleep.”

“I couldn’t really sleep,” Sunny sighed. “I've been thinking about a lot of things, and I really need an outside opinion.”

Captain Smollett gestured for her to sit down, and then sat down next to her. “Well… what is it?”

“Well for starters, that Uliana pony really rubs me the wrong way,” Sunny started. “I really can't put my hoof on it, but I just can't help but think she's up to something.”

“Like a mutiny?”

“Maybe, but I don’t know for sure,” the earth pony/alicorn responded. “Regardless, I feel that she's going to do something that puts us all in danger. She'll probably some others of the crew involved. Like you said about them being villainous cutthroats, I really have a bad feeling about them.”

“I certainly agree with your concern, Sunny,” the captain said. “Unfortunately, I can't really do anything about it unless they end up doing something.”

Sunny sadly sighed, remembering her thoughts and worries that surfaced from back home. “There's also the fact that I might be the last alicorn left. Aside from Opaline, I’m the only alicorn ponies of this age have known. I just… I’. worried that, if something ever happened to me, all the progress, everything I did with and for my friends will become unraveled, and earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi will just go back to hating and fearing each other.”

Captain Smollett listened intently as Sunny continued speaking. “And, all the adventures and quests me and others have been through, we've been in pretty dangerous situations, I've always had this underlying fear of getting killed and, subsequently, everything just falls apart,” Sunny said, getting close to bursting into tears. “The three pony species being segregated again and loathing each other. What would happen to my friends? How will I ever forgive myself if something like that ever happened…”

Smollett was quiet for a minute, taking in all of what Sunny had said. It was a lot, to be sure. The captain cleared his throat before speaking. “That's a lot of emotional baggage. But, Sunny, in my experience, living through dangerous situations build a strong fortitude and brings friends closer together,” he said. “Even if you were to... snuff it, as some say nowadays, your friends would want to carry your legacy and continue with bettering the relationships of those ponies. I may not fully understand it, but seeing how close you are to your friends, that wouldn't let everything you've been through be for nothing.”

“But… what if the relations end without an alicorn?” Sunny asked. “And if I really am the only alicorn left?”

“Well, something tells me those relationships won't just break just because there's no alicorn,” Captain Smollett said, putting a hand on her back. “Like I said, if one day your life does come to an end, your legacy would still be continued. Such a large building of friendships and whatnot would be so fragile in the face of tragedy. There's always a chance another alicorn could be out there, but if there isn't, you shouldn't let that hang over your life.”

Sunny thought over the captain's words. Her friends would with her until the very. Smollett was right, even if she passed on, Hitch, Zipp, Pipp, Izzy, and Misty would still be there to keep the magic of friendship going. And there was no sense of being fixated on finding another alicorn. Maybe Equestria will still prosper without it.

Eventually, she let a smile through. “Thank you, captain… I really needed to hear that.”

“Well, I'm happy to help,” Captain Smollett told her with a smile. “Now, I think it’s time we get some rest. Big day tomorrow.”

“Agreed,” Sunny nodded and headed for the door. “Good night, Captain Smollett.”

“Good night, Sunny.”

Sunny exited the cabin, leaving the frog captain be himself. Sleep came much easier for Sunny that night. The reassurance of the captain, the cool air, and calming sway of the ship swiftly lolled her to sleep.

Author's Note

I had Indywriter's help with this chapter, and I could not thank them enough for being a loyal friend during these loyal friends.

Tortured for the Treasure Map

Jim Hawkins and Harmony Oceansong were beginning to develop a close relationship with Long John Silver, and Sunny was beginning to find a confidante in Captain Smollett, having confided in him with her alicorn issues back in Equestria.

However, everyone remained unaware that Uliana was really Allura, and her squirrel sidekick was really Twitch, and upon hearing late last night that they were heading for buried treasure, Uliana/Allura knew that this would be her chance to find a another piece of the star and claim it before those ponies did.

And since she and Long John were developing their own alliance... she and him both would know just what to do when the time was right.

XXXXXXXX

By the time the sun rose the next morning, everyone on the ship was busy with their own activities-- some with chores, some doing their own thing... it really just depended on what tasks they had.

Harmony giggled as she flew ahead of Jim, who was using Long John's crutch to get around, and Long John playfully chased them by using ropes and other things to maintain balance, since he was missing one of his legs.

As they went by, they passed Misty, Gonzo and Rizzo, who were happily sharing a snack. In fact, the three tried to make conversation as they went past.

“Morning, Harmony!”

“Hi, Jim!”

“Yo, Jimbo! Mornin', Long…”

“Hi, Long John. Good morning…”

However, the three went on past without saying a word, causing Misty and Gonzo to shrug at each other before Misty started eating an apple she had conjured. “Well,” Rizzo huffed, “at least one of us is having a good time.”

“Aw, Rizzo, it’s not so bad,” Gonzo shrugged. “Angel Marie said that later on, he'd throw a line out the back and let me drag along the bottom.”

However, Rizzo shook his head, still concerned with what had been going on here recently. “I don't know about this crew. I feel like they're always watchin' us, just waitin' to pounce.”

“You know, Rizzo, I didn’t wanna admit it at first,” said Misty, “but I agree-- especially Uliana, that pegasus Long John and that squirrel hang out with? Something about her doesn’t feel right.”

However, Gonzo shrugged at their worried nature. “Ah, that's just a figment of your imagination.”

Suddenly, the three were grabbed by Polly Lobster, Clueless Morgan, Mad Monty and Shivers, and the three of them screamed as they were forced below deck through a hidden trapdoor.

XXXXXXXX

Misty looked at Gonzo as she, Gonzo and Rizzo were tied up below deck, waiting to be tortured by their captures. “This is a figment of our imagination?” she asked her friend before sighing and trying to struggle out of her ropes. “Oh brother…”

“Now…” Polly began slowly, “...tell us where the map is... or we'll tear ya limb from limb!”

“Never! My friends and I will never tell!” Gonzo said defiantly, leading Misty to nod in agreement. “Hey, hey, there could be extenuantin’ circumstances.” Rizzo stammered as the pirates gathered around him. “I mean, you know, uh-- wh-- I b-- if, uh…m-maybe they’ll ask real nice.”

“Have you forgotten who we’re dealing with here?” Misty asked quietly. “In your dreams!” Bad Monty spat, just as Shiver chattered to get on with the torture. “Yeah, what the squirrel said. Do it, Monty! Do it!” Polly Lobster said sadistically. “Yeah!” Gonzo nodded. “Do it to me!”

Monty began turning a large wheel that pull the ropes around Gonzo’s wrists and ankles. His limbs began stretched out like spaghetti. “Woah! Oh! Oh!” Gonzo practically moaned. “Yes! Aah! More!”

Misty clamped her mouth shut as tight as she could to keep from puking. “Oh, no, I can’t look...” Rizzo turned away. “Look at this!” Gonzo exclaimed. “I’m taller. This is so cool! I may even have a future with the NBA! Ha ha ha ha ha!”

“This guy’s a masochist, but I gotta love the guy...” Misty whispered to herself. “This won’t work! He likes it!” Polly said angrily. Shiver then chattered something in the lobster’s ear. “Oh, good idea...” a twisted grin formed on Polly’s mouth. “Let’s torture the rat and pony!”

“Say what now?!” Misty said, fear taking over her. “Huh? No! No, no, no, no!” Rizzo began to panic. Clueless Morgan picked up a metal rod, hot to the touch, and brought it over to the tied-up pair. “No, please. Can’t we talk about this?” Misty pleaded as Rizzo began to scream. “No, no, no, no, no! No! No! Oh, no! Oh, please, no! I hate basketball!”

“I don’t think that’s what they have in mind,” the cerulean unicorn said to the rat in despair. The other pirates began to laugh as Morgan brought the hot metal rod just inches from Rizzo and Misty. “I have a lovely recipe for blackened rat with a side of freshly seared pony legs.”

Rizzo and Misty began screaming bloody murder, cause the two could feel the excruciating heat radiating from then rod. Misty tried breaking free from the ropes, tears threatening to spill, but the pirates just laughed.

However, by some miracle, Mr. Arrow entered the room just before the worst happened. He staggered back in shock upon seeing the entire kerfuffle.

The rat and pony stopped screaming upon seeing him. The pirates froze, and Morgan put his hand around the sickly orange part of the rod to hide it. “I say. This does not look safe!” Mr. Arrow admonished. Suddenly, Clueless Morgan began to shake-- apparently, putting your hand around a metal rod is not a good idea. Eventually, the goat pirate screeched and blew in his burning hand. “What? What? What? What?” Polly asked, confused. “Oh, I b-- I burned my hand!” Morgan cried out in pain. “Oh, kiss it or something!”

Rizzo began laughing, while Misty got her breath, trying to calm herself down. Mr. Arrow shook his crossly. Shiver face-palmed, their plan now in pieces. “Thank you, Mr. Arrow...” Misty sniffled. “No problem.” Mr. Arrow replied despondently, his focus remained on the pirates.

XXXXXXXX

Harmony and Jim were busy scrubbing the deck when they turned to see Gonzo having the time of his life with his spindly, new limbs. The ponies all stared around with… varying expressions. “This is wrong, this is gross... It’s just unnatural.” Sunny said with a shudder of disgust. “Agreed.” Hitch nodded. “Dr. Livesey, please tell me this is reversible.”

“It sure is. It’s quite the easy fix,” Dr. Livesey replied. “I don’t know, guys. I can get used to this.” Izzy rode one of the limbs like a rodeo horse. “Whee!! This is fun!!”

“More power to you, Izzy.” Zipp said to the unicorn sarcastically before she turned to Misty, who was still shaken up by the incident. “You going to be okay?”

“Y-Yeah… just a little distraught and shaken up,” Misty nodded. “Don’t worry,” Zipp assured, wrapping a wing around Misty gently. “You’re finally safe now. Plus, Persephone and Captain Smollett are definitely going to do something about those monsters.”

The captain and Persephone, indeed, were going to do something about them. As the duo stalked the deck, Gonzo caught sight of them. “Oh! Poodly, poodly, poodly, poodly, poodly!”

As Gonzo used his longer limbs to tickle Captain Smollett, both he and Persephone remained unfazed. In fact, they were both furious, but not with Gonzo or anyone else. “Mr. Arrow!” Persephone barked. “Lock those four up for the remainder of the voyage!”

Mr. Arrow gave a salute to this. “Yes, madam!”

“You can’t hold us!” Polly objected as Clueless Morgan began to cry. “To the brig! Move along!” Mr. Arrow demanded angrily. “Will you stop crying? Will you shut up!” Polly yelled at Clueless Morgan as Shiver began chattering obscenities. “Whoa, language, mate,” Bad Monty said, a little surprised by the ferocity of the squirrel. “Move along,” Mr. Arrow pushed them away.

Harmony and Jim watched as the four pirates were led away, and they also saw Sunny and Hitch using ropes and hoisting Gonzo up the mast. “Oh, good. That’s good. Yeah,” Gonzo said pleasantly, clearly getting enjoyment out of this. “Whoo!”

“Master Hawkins?” Captain Smollett called. “May I see you and Harmony in my cabin, please?”

“...yes, sir,” Harmony nodded, having a feeling of what was going to happen as she and Jim followed Persephone and Captain Smollett back to their cabin. “Are you going to make those four walk the plank?” Izzy asked with excitement as she walked alongside them. “Sorry, Izzy… that’s not exactly our thing,” Captain Smollett told her politely before they entered the cabin, leaving Izzy to pout. “Oh, poo…”

“Well, they deserve it,” Pipp huffed. “Nopony hurts our Misty and gets away with it.”

“Oh, sure. Gloss over the fact we were in there,” Rizzo rolled his eyes. “Oh, of course. Nobody hurts our friends period,” Pipp corrected with a nervous smile. By this point, Gonzo was fully stretched out, hanging from the mast. “Are you sure this will work, doc?” Zipp asked. “This seems a bit unorthodox.”

“Absolutely. I’ve done this many times before.” Livesey replied brightly. Zipp and Hitch turned to look at each other. 'Many times'? What was that supposed to mean? “Ready, Mr. Gonzo?” Livesey called up to the stretchy guy. “Ready!” Gonzo said. “Tie off the rope, Beaker!” Dr. Livesey said, and Beaker immediately did as told. The doctor then pulled out a pair of scissors. “We call this the window shade cure.”

“It has a name, too?” Hitch asked incredulously, leaving Izzy to shrug casually. “All right...” Livesey began cutting the rope. “Snip, snip, snip!”

As soon as the rope broke, Gonzo shot upward and wrapped around the the mast’s sidepole. “Yeow! Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!”

He stopped spinning and held onto the pole, his limbs returned to their normal length. “Oh, great! Wow! Ha! Aah!”

Then he plummeted back down to the deck, landing on top of Beaker, leaving all the ponies to cringe from the impact. “That’s gonna leave a mark.” Zipp stated. “Hoo-hoo! That was so cool!” Gonzo laughed.

Beaker, however, was stuck halfway down his shirt. He tapped Gonzo’s shoulder, his voice muffled. Gonzo turned to the assistant, who was now pointing at his center. Gonzo quickly understand what needed to be done. “Oh, sure.”

Gonzo jabbed his finger against Beaker’s chest and his head popped out from underneath his collar. Beaker dusted himself off, while Gonzo laughed. “Well, at least Gonzo’s back to normal,” Misty said. But as she looked toward Captain Smollett's cabin, she couldn't help but wonder what was going on in there.

XXXXXXXX

Inside Smollett’s cabin, Jim was sitting down waiting on the captain, grabbing a picture frame from the desk. “Who’s the lady pig, sir?” Harmony asked curiously. “Never mind that, guys,” Persephone said as she set the picture down on the desk. “This is starting to get way out of hoof, if you know what I mean.”

“Persephone’s got a point,” Captain Smollett agreed. “Listen. I’m hoping you’re willing to give me the map now, considering what’s just happened.”

“I’d rather not, sir,” Jim said, remaining adamant about keeping the map. Captain Smollett sighed and shook his head to this answer. “I’d hoped it wouldn’t come to this, Jim, but…as captain, I order you to give me the map.”

Harmony gasped lightly at this… she had never been given a captain’s order before… and Jim hadn’t either.

What were they going to do now?

Jim frowned. He really didn’t want to give away the map, but, he couldn’t reject an order from the captain. Begrudgingly, he searched in his coat and grabbed the old map out. “Mr. Arrow?” the captain called. The eagle entered the cabin, having taken care of the prisoners. “Aye aye, captain.”

“Lock up this treasure map,” Captain Smollett ordered. “Hmm.” Mr. Arrow gestured his hand out, and Jim begrudingly gave him the treasure map. “It will be safe in here, sir,” Mr. Arrow said as he placed the map in a cabinet and locked it.

This led Harmony to sigh, her ears flattening. “You and Jim did the right thing,” Persephone said to the pegasus softly. “I hope you guys know that.”

“...we know that,” Harmony said. “It’s just… I wish it didn’t have to happen this way.”

Persephone nodded in understanding, offering a hoof and helping Jim and Harmony onto their feet again. “Come on… I’ll help you with the rest of the chores so everypony can get a good night’s sleep tonight.”

And they would need that good night's sleep pretty soon... especially if they knew what was going to be coming.

Cabin Fever/Uliana and Silver Get Rid of Mr. Arrow

After Harmony and Jim were forced to give Captain Smollett the treasure map, everything on the ship seemed normal for the next few weeks-- chores were being done, the ship was still right on course… and the Mane 6 were actually beginning to enjoy the sailing trip, now that the pirates who tortured Gonzo, Rizzo and Misty were locked away.

They couldn't wait to get to the island, get the star shard and be one step closer to defeating Allura once and for all.

But of course... no sailing trip would be a sailing trip without some... bumps along the way.

And you'll soon find out what that means.

XXXXXXXX

The Hispaniola sat in the middle of the ocean at a stand-still, and the crew onboard were... pretty much board out of their minds.

Without the wind, they couldn't move, so they were pretty much stuck in that particular spot for the time being.

Finally, after a long while of silence, one of the sailors, named Easy Pete, finally spoke. “It's been six weeks since we left England.”

“Five days since we had a breeze…” another sailor named Calico Jack, droned on. “Oh, I don’t think it’s honestly that bad,” Izzy said as she worked on some friendship bracelets. “It gave me a lot of time to finish these friendship bracelets for the crew!”

However, this didn’t seem to brighten anyone’s spirits. Instead, it only seemed to make Calico Jack that much more antsy. “Oh, no. I got the madness!” he said, standing up and shaking violently. “I got cabin fever!”

“I got it too!!” Easy Pete shrieked, much to the Mane 6’s alarm. “CABIN FEVER!!!” two more crew members shrieked in panic before darting off… just before a very peppy song began.

Pirate 1: I got cabin fever
It’s burning in my brain

Mudwell the Mudbunny: I got cabin fever
It’s driving me insane

Pirates: We got cabin fever
We're flipping our bandanas
Been stuck at sea so long that we
Have simply gone bananas!

Then, before the Mane 6's eyes, the ship was transformed with tropical-themed party decorations with the sky darkening, and most everyone, even the Mane 6 themselves, got dressed up in Cuban-&-Mexican-style costumes and danced around the ship.

Vocalists: Ariba!

Chica chica boom
A chica chica boom boom chic
Chica chica boom
A chica chica boom boom chic

Fortunately, the Mane 6 seemed to not mind this strange behavior, and simply got into the dance and song with their friends.

Pirates: We, we
We got cabin fever, we lost what sense we had
We got cabin fever, we're all going mad!

Cowboy Pirate: Grab your partner by the ears
Latch him to the wheel

Hitch: Yeeeeeeeee-haaaaw!!!

Cowboy Pirate: Do-si-do step on his toe
Listen to him squeal

Allemande left, allemande right
It's time to sail or sink
Swing your partner over the side
Drop him in the drink

Posh Pirate 1: We got cabin fever

Posh Pirate 2: No ifs, ands or buts

Posh Pirate 1: We're disoriented

Posh Pirate 2: And demented

Posh Pirates: And a little nuts!

German Pirates: Ach du lieber Volkswagen car (Yodel-lay-ee-hoo)
Sauerbraten, wienerschnitzel
Und wunderbar (Yodel-lay-ee-hoo)

Men: We were sailing, sailing, the wind was on our side

Dead Tom: And then it died

Spotted Dick: I've got cabin fever
I think I've lost my grip

Pipp yelped and ducked in order to avoid a flying maraca.

Pipp: I'd like to get my hands on
Whoever wrote this script!

But that wasn't even the weirdest part of the experience-- the next thing the ponies knew, Angel Marie passed by, playing a ukelele and wearing a dress.

Angel Marie: I was floating 'neath a tropic moon
And dreaming of a blue lagoon
Now I'm crazy as a loon
Ha ha ha!

All: Cabin fever has ravaged all aboard
This once proud vessel has become a floating psycho ward
We were sailing, sailing, headed who knows where
And now though we're all here
We're not all there

Cabin fever! Ah...!

But at that moment, when the song ended, the wind finally returned. “Guys, look!” Lotus cried. “The wind is back!”

Fortunately, as they went back to their ship-bound duties, no one except the Mane 6, Persephone and Lotus had any idea of what just occurred… or so they thought.

XXXXXXXX

Down below deck, Polly, Clueless Morgan, Shivers (Twitch in disguise) and Mad Monty yelled out for help, begging to be released from the bars of their prison cell, since they had been in there for what felt like weeks.

As they continued to yell out and plead, the door to the room opened, and in the doorway stood Long John Silver and Uliana (Allura in disguise), looking irritated and peeved. “Hey, Uliana! Long John!” Polly cried, waving his claws around. “Hey! Get us outta here!”

“Hey, Polly?” Clueless Morgan tapped the lobster’s shoulder after looking around a bit. “What was that song that just happened?”

“What are you talking about?!” Polly cried out as Shiver chattered in confusion. “You know… ‘Cabin fever, ah’...” Clueless Morgan repeated the last line of the song. “That.”

Shiver slapped his face with his paw, utterly confused and irritated with Clueless' behavior. “You see, John? Uliana?” Polly begged. “You gotta get us outta here now! Clueless is startin' to go crackers!”

Long John and Uliana continued to glare at the imprisoned bunch, when Jim and Harmony came in with a rationed plate of bread and a wooden jug water. “Here you go. Your bread and water for today,” Jim set the plate on a barrel. “And make sure you guys shared it,” Harmony advised. “It's all that you've got.”

“But, I ordered shrimp scampi,” Bad Monty pouted. “It's more than you deserve, ya villainous dogs!” Long John snapped, pressing his face against the bars. The four backed away in fear, even Uliana was a little taken aback from the cook's abrasive tongue-lashing. “Oh, Jim. Harmony...” Silver put on arm around the boy's shoulder. “By, rights, I should be locked up too for lettin' thieves like them aboard this ship.”

“Quite right. We're not any better than those scoundrels for even letting step foot on this humble abode,” Uliana played along. “Oh, it chills me to think that they almost killed your little friends...looking for some daft treasure map,” Silver said. “I know,” Harmony nodded sadly. “It's horrible what they tried to do to Misty, Gonzo, and Rizzo.”

“None of this would've happened if I'd have Captain Smollet the m--” Jim then stopped himself, realizing he was saying too much. “I mean...”

He tried to backtrack, but the fated damage had already been done. Harmony winced as Long John slowly turned to the two with a beguiled look. Uliana's ears perked up upon Jim accidental confession. “You mean... there truly IS a treasure map?”

“Well...” Harmony fidgeted a bit. “It's kinda... confidential.”

“I'm not really sure I should be talking about this with you or anyone,” Jim said, unease painted in his expression. “You mean, you've really got a treasure map?” Long John asked in surprise. “Not anymore,” Jim responded. “Mr. Arrow took it and locked it up in the captain's cabin.”

“Ever since the incident with those four,” Harmony pointed to the prisoners, “the Captain that it was best he kept the map.”

“You must promise to keep it a secret,” Jim implored.

“Oh, don't worry your heads about that. You've only told old Long John, and his good friend, Uliana,” Long John said with a smile. “Now, you both run along and do your chores. Go on. Go on.”

Harmony and Jim stepped through the door. Jim turned back to Sliver, who gave him a thumbs up and chuckled. The two left with that, thinking their little secret was well kept. And with the pony and boy gone, John and Uliana exchanged wicked, scheming grins. “Well, our plans have just gotten much easier for us,” Uliana said slyly. “That it be, lass,” Long John grinned. “Though that still leaves us with how we gonna get our hands on that map.”

Uliana stroked her chin, deep in thought. He eyes widened and she grinned evilly. "I believe I have an idea."

XXXXXXXX

Night had once again fallen upon the voyagers, and, along with it, came a thick, blanket of fog. Almost everyone had gone to sleep, the exception being the helsman, Mr. Arrow and a few others. An unnerving wail seemed to carry with the ship. Meanwhile, Mr. Arrow was carefully looking over the ship. "Safely now. Safely."

He came to the current helmsman, who was imitating a foghorn. “Steady as she goes.”

That's when Long John and Uliana came up to the eagle. “Mr. Silver. Ms. Uliana. Good evening.”

“A wicked fog tonight, sir,” Uliana said, looking out at the dense fog around them. “Reminds me of the night we ran ground off the pampas. Half the crew drowned in leaky lifeboats,” Long John falsely reminisced. “Ah, it were a terrible shame.”

“Leaky lifeboats?” Mr. Arrow repeated out of surprise. “Oh, yes. It was a tragedy,” Uliana said dramatically. “Oh, a common occurence, too, sir,” Long John added. “A little-used piece of equipment falls into disrepair and becomes, uh, shall we say...”

"Unsafe?" Mr. Arrow gawked. “Oh, I'm not sayin' our lifeboats our unsafe, sir,” The scheming cook said.

“But, we're also not saying the lifeboats are not unsafe,” Uliana hinted. “But, um...”

"Still...” the eagle began making his way to one of the lifeboats, causing Long John Silver and Uliana both to smirk at one another.

XXXXXXXX

Mr. Arrow carefully checked over the lifeboat he was in, while John held the rope to keep it from floating away. Uliana watched with hidden anticipation.

“Hmm. Hmm. The caulking appears tight. No dampness under the gunwale,” the first mate said. “This one seems seaworthy.”

“Oh, well, sir, they do, of course, until you get them out in the open ocean,” Long John said. “That's what happened to the other crew members we worked with... when they drowned in the middle of the ocean,” Uliana filled in on the rest of the fake story. Mr. Arrow surveyed the lifeboat, as if he was weighing his options. Then, he looked up to the pair. "Cast me off, Mr. Silver."

“Oh, yes, sir,” Long John said. Now came the final part of the plan. “Oh, sir, is there anything we can hold for you for safekeeping? Your hat? Your coat? Um... your keys?”

“Hmm? My keys! Of course!” Mr. Arrow said as he placed his keys in his hat before turning them over to Uliana and Long John. “If they we to fall overboard, it would be disastrous.”

“Oh, that it would, sir,” Uliana purred, hiding an equally wicked grin just as the eagle sat back down on the lifeboat. “Cast me off, Mr. Silver!”

“Aye aye, sir!” Long John threw the end of the rope unto the lifeboat as it began drifting away from the ship. “Thank you, Mr. Silver!” Mr. Arrow said as he rowed away, and Long John saluted a bit. “Just doin' my duty, sir.”

Mr. Arrow's lifeboat soon disappeared into the thick fog, far away from the ship. Long John pulled the keys out from Mr. Arrow's hat, and he and Uliana let out a sinister chuckle. “Soon, that treasure will be ours, and we and we alone will be running the whole show...” Uliana began to chuckled which quickly turned into a full-blown evil laugh. “Oh, I can just taste it.”

“Now you just milkin' it,” Long John deadpanned, which earned a glare from the fake pony.

XXXXXXXX

Morning came along quicker than most would think it would. The fog had long since past and the bright, early sun peeked through the hazy cloud cover. However, things were not so cheery on the ship.

“MAN OVERBOARD!!!!”

XXXXXXXX

Another member knocked on the captain's cabin. Captain Smollett opened it, with Persephone by his side, both of them wearing their pajamas. “Uh, yes?” Captain Smollett asked. “Oh, uh, I'm sorry, sir...” the crewmate handed the captain Mr. Arrow's hat, causing Captain Smollett and Persephone to gasp, the former trying to find the words to speak. “Wha...”

“Mr. Arrow's gone overboard, and...” the crewmate couldn't contain his sobs. “...all we found was his hat!”

Smollett just held the hat in shock. “Oh, no...”

“H-He's... Mr. Arrow's... gone...?” Persephone said between choked sobs. “But... but, why? How?”

The poor unicorn began to sob, devastated tears flowing down her cheeks. Even if Mr. Arrow was on the stricter side, she still saw him as a good friend. And to lose him so suddenly... she didn't want to believe it.

Captain Smollett kneeled down and put a hand on Persephone's back to comfort her. “There's only one thing we can do for him now. Wake the others, Persephone... we must organize a funeral for Mr. Arrow, effective immediately.”

Author's Note

Once again, I had the help of Indywriter Productions to write some of these chapters-- show them your love!

Mr. Arrow's Funeral, and Learning of Treachery

“Sunny?” a whispering, trembling voice called, nudging the earth pony mare softly. “Guys? Please wake up… something really bad has happened…”

Sunny yawned, her emerald eyes slowly opening to see a crying Persephone standing beside her bed, causing her to instantly sit up. “Persephone? What’s wrong?”

“Ugh… what time is it?” Zipp groaned, rubbing her eyes. “It’s early, and I’m sorry,” Persephone sniffled, “but… C-Captain Smollett wanted me to come and tell you… Mr. Arrow… he went overboard!”

That seemed to wake the rest of the ponies, Rizzo, Jim and Gonzo up immediately. “What?” Hitch looked shocked. “What happened?”

“We don’t know,” Persephone sniffled sadly. “All they found was his hat, and… and then…”

“Oh, Persephone, we’re so sorry…” Harmony said comfortingly. “Yeah. Mr. Arrow might’ve been a bit… rigid,” Rizzo said politely, “but… he was all right.”

“What can we do to help?” Misty asked, putting a hoof on Persephone's shoulder. “Well… Captain Smollett told me to wake everyone so we can get on with the funeral,” Persephone said with a sniffle. “It’ll take place in a little bit, so… we better get moving.”

XXXXXXXX

Within the hour, everyone on the ship, except the prisoners below deck, were patiently waiting for Mr. Arrow's funeral to begin, their hearts heavy with emotion. Long John Silver and Uliana even attended, faking sympathetic expressions to the loss of the first mate.

At last, Captain Smollett stood at the front to speak to the small crowd of crewmates that had gathered. “And so, my friends, the sea has claimed another loyal officer and friend.”

Izzy sniffled sadly as Squire Trelawney handed her a handkerchief while he used another handkerchief to wipe the tears from Mr. Bimbo’s eyes (if you can believe that, of course).

XXXXXXXX

Down below deck, Clueless Morgan was able to use the keys that Long John and Uliana had gotten from Mr. Arrow, unlocking their prison cell. “I got it! I got it!” he whispered, opening the cell door. “After you, Monty.”

“No,” Mad Monty said politely, “after you.”

“Oh, will you just come on?!” Polly whispered before leading the two of them, plus Shiver, out of the cell.

XXXXXXXX

While everyone was distracted with the funeral arrangements, the four prisoners snuck up above deck and snuck right over to Captain Smollett's cabin... all while he was giving his speech about his lost friend. “Mr. Samuel Arrow, a wonderful man who used to get us up from our beds before dawn for a good flossing.”

XXXXXXXX

Polly opened the door for the other prisoners, guiding them inside the cabin to begin their search for the treasure map. “Okay, okay… now spread out and find the map.”

XXXXXXXX

Captain Smollett turned to the vast ocean around them. “May the wind be ever at your back, Samuel Arrow. Rest in peace, my friend. Amen.”

“...amen,” everyone else chorused sadly, the ponies being the saddest ones of all.

XXXXXXXX

Eventually, Shiver found the cabinet that Mr. Arrow had locked the map in, and Monty opened it, revealing the treasure map in all its glory. Polly cackled in glee, only to be shushed so their cover wasn't blown.

After Polly had grabbed the map from the cabinet, Clueless Morgan felt the need to open it and check and see if this was all too good to be true. “Open it, open it!”

“No no no, we gotta take it to Uliana and Long John,” Polly reminded the other prisoners of their plan. “Come on. Lead the way, squirrel.”

Shiver chattered excitedly and led the way out of the cabin, making sure that they weren’t caught by anyone else in the process.

XXXXXXXX

It was a few hours after Mr. Arrow's funeral, and many people were off doing their usual ship-bound duties... except Harmony, Sunny, Pipp, Izzy, Gonzo and Rizzo, who were down below deck having a snack in a large crate that seemed to hold all six of them.

Gonzo bit into one of the apples, but instantly spit it out due to disgust. “This apple has a worm in it.”

“That’s not a worm,” Rizzo told him. “That’s my tail.”

“Eww, Rizzo!” Pipp gagged. “Way too TMI!!”

Gonzo heavily sighed, and Sunny immediately caught onto what Gonzo was feeling. “What’s wrong?”

Gonzo shrugged, unsure of how to explain it. “It just feels so weird.”

“You mean that Mr. Arrow’s dead?” Izzy asked him sadly. “Yeah, that,” Gonzo nodded. “And my pants are filled with starfish.”

This caused Rizzo to look at him with a mix of surprise and disgust. “You and your hobbies!”

“So… how much longer until we reach the island with the treasure?” Izzy asked. “And do you really think we’re gonna find that next star shard and get rid of Allura for good?”

“I’m not exactly sure, Izzy,” Sunny shook her head. “But I do know one thing-- things aboard this ship are getting interesting… and not in the best way.”

“Girls!”

“Rizzo! Gonzo!”

The sound of two voices caused the group to scream, but Harmony sighed as she saw it was only Jim and Pipp’s older sister. “Zipp, Jim, we’ve missed you!”

“Come on, sis!” Pipp urged. “Climb on in!”

“Pipp, you know we can’t,” Zipp said sternly. “We have to do our chores. And besides, is that crate even gonna fit all of us?”

Pipp only shrugged at this remark. “We’ll make it work.”

“Oh, come on,” Rizzo urged. “Share an apple.”

“Yeah! Come on!” Sunny urged, and she and Harmony pulled Zipp and Jim into the crate, which actually was big enough to hold all of them… if they repositioned themselves a little bit.

But as they began to eat some of the apples in the crate, they heard a door open, and then… the voice of the prisoners.

“Anyway, here's the plan.”

“I say we should kill that captain now!”

“Oh, yeah, and then those little prissy ponies.”

“Then we'll get that twit of a bear!”

“Can we make a rug out of him?”

These comments caused the group to look at each other while the prisoners laughed... they had no idea how they got out, but they couldn't let the prisoners know they were listening. Suddenly, during the laughing fit, Clueless Morgan saw two more people entering the room. “Oh, hi, Uliana. Hi, Long John.”

This caused all four prisoners, including Shiver, to stop in surprise. Long John Silver, who didn’t look at all pleased, glared at them with Uliana by his side. “I'm an easy man. A gentleman of fortune, says most,” Long John sneered. “But it makes me sick at heart to sail with the likes of you.”

Harmony quietly sighed in relief… she was sure that Long John would take care of these prisoners. “Now, get this straight,” Uliana threatened Shier and the others, her wings spread wide as her pupils turned into slits of anger. “If anyone mutinies before we say so, we’ll throw you overboard like we did that scurvy mate Mr. Arrow!”

Shiver and his newfound allies shuddered out of fear, and Harmony, Jim, Gonzo, Rizzo and their friends looked at each other with wide eyes.

Sunny was right… Uliana was a traitor! And Long John was one too!

But before they could decide what to do next, Long John spoke up again. “I says, let the captain steer us closer to the island. I've got the lad's treasure map now.”

“And when the time is ripe,” said Uliana, a sadistic grin on her face, “we’ll kill them all!”

Izzy covered her gasp with her hooves as the others shook in terror, and the villains cackled madly…

…that is, until a cry from above deck caught their attention. “Land ho!”

“Come on, lads!” Long John cried out. “Let’s go!”

The other villains, followed by Uliana and Shiver, immediately followed behind the villainous cook, leaving the group alone, slowly peeking out of the crate for a moment. “Oh my goodness…!” Gonzo whispered while Izzy shuddered. “I knew it…” Sunny growled. “Uliana IS a traitor! She and Long John must’ve been planning this from the beginning!”

“What do we do now?” Jim asked quietly. “We have to tell Captain Smollett and the rest of our friends,” Harmony said. “That’s the only thing we can do without revealing we heard their plan!”

“Harmony’s right,” Sunny said. “Everybody out of the crate-- we have to go find help, and fast!”

XXXXXXXX

As is turned out, the island bearing the treasure of Captain Marcus Flint, the island they had sought to find for so long, was finally within their sight.

Up on the main deck, Captain Smollett was giving out orders so they could dock at the beach safe and sound. “Throw the mainsail! Drop anchor! Bring her up hard of starboard, helmsman. Prepare to lower the longboats!”

“Captain Smollett, what can me and Hitch do to help?” Misty asked as she and Hitch approached Persephone, Lotus and the captain. “You guys can stay here and help with the rest of the preparations to go ashore,” Persephone said as Jim, Gonzo, Rizzo and the rest of the ponies emerged from below deck. “You know, shovels, food, stuff like that.”

“Helmsman,” Captain Smollett turned to the helmsman, who looked a lot like a large Muppet the Mane 6 knew by the name of ‘Sweetums’, “give a hand with the longboats.”

“Captain,” Jim said as the others hastily approached, “may we speak with you?”

“We’re kind of busy now, Jim,” the captain said, “but maybe we can talk later?”

“But, captain! Uliana and Long John are planning a mutiny!” Harmony said desperately. “And,” Zipp added, “they’ve got the treasure map!”

“What?” Hitch repeated, eyes wide. “Are you sure?”

“As positive as anything!” Izzy said. “They’re gonna take the treasure all for themselves!”

“I see…” Captain Smollett said as the other ponies gasped in fear. That’s when the captain turned to Long John, who was discreetly helping Polly, Shiver, Mad Monty and Clueless Morgan into one of the longboats. “Mr. Silver?”

“Aye aye, captain!” Long John said, ready and waiting for his command. “Mr. Silver,” the captain instructed, “I want you and Uliana to take the crew ashore at once. We need water and provisions. Take as long as you want.”

Lotus’ eyes went wide at this. “What?!”

The rest of the pirates cheered at this claim. “Sir!” Long John saluted. “Tis a task to my liking, sir. That it is!”

“And to mine as well!” Uliana announced before she smirked and lowered her tone. “And to mine as well…”

“Quickly, kids,” Captain Smollett urged the frightened group. “Gather the officers and meet me in my quarters-- quickly!”

“You heard him, guys!” Sunny urged her friends, new and old. “Let’s move!”

And so, the group split up to do as they were told.

XXXXXXXX

The longboat was beginning to get lowered down into the water, and Polly turned to Long John with an impressed smile. “This is a lucky break, the captain lettin' us go ashore. Us with the map and all.
It's like giving the treasure to us on a silver platter.”

“That is is, Polly,” Uliana said, her voice beginning to change to the villainous voice of Allura once more. “And that’s why I give you one piece of advice. Never trust a silver platter.”

“Hey, uh… Uliana?” Polly looked surprised. “What’s up with your voice? It’s raspier than usual.”

“Never mind that now,” Uliana snapped. “Right now… we just need the bait for the next part of our plan.”

“Jim, lad!” Long John called, stopping Jim and Harmony in their tracks. “There's room in the boat for two more. Come along for an adventure.”

“Uh… we can’t,” Jim said. “Yeah,” Harmony nodded. “The captain needs us and the rest of our friends.”

“Oh, what a shame. I'll miss you and Harmony, lad. That I will,” Long John said before noticing his crutch up on the deck. “Uh, Jim! I seem to have left my crutch on board. Hand it to me like a good lad, will ya? There's a good boy.”

Against his and Harmony’s better judgment, Jim grabbed the crutch and reached it out to Long John, keeping a bit of distance between them. “Ah, it'll be a bit closer than that,” Long John chuckled. “I can't reach it from there.”

As Jim tried to get the crutch closer, and Harmony grabbed him to keep him balance, Uliana’s voice changed back to her Allura voice, giving out her next command. “NOW!!”

And just like that, Jim and Harmony were pulled into the longboat, causing Harmony to scream as they touched down into the water. “Hush now, girl!” Uliana, speaking in her Allura voice, threatened the whimpering pegasus. “You and that Hawkins boy are just the bait that I need, and you’re not going to ruin my revenge now!”

XXXXXXXX

“The plan is simple,” Captain Smollett told the Mane 6 and all their friends. “Once the pirates are ashore, we set sail and return in a year or so. By then, all the fight should be out of 'em.”

“Oh, I get it!” Lotus smiled. “That’s a brilliant plan!”

However, Rizzo was paying attention to something a little more desperate at the time. “Except for one thing.”

Gonzo turned to him, confused. “What’s that?”

“The pirates have Harmony and Jim!”

“HEEEEELP!!!” Harmony screamed as the pirates continued to hold her and Jim down. “LET US GO!!!”

The Mane 6, alongside their friends gathered at the window, and as soon as she saw them, Uliana smirked. “The jig is up, Shiver… or should I say… Twitch.”

The pendant around her neck, the star shard in disguise, began to glow, and before the Mane 6’s eyes, the pegasus and squirrel duo… turned back into the flying snow leopard and rabbit duo.

Harmony screamed upon seeing this, and Sunny’s eyes widened in terror. “No… no, it can’t be!”

“Uliana and Shiver were really Allura and Twitch?!” Hitch cried before suddenly thinking for a moment. “You know… that actually makes sense if you think about it a minute.”

“Hear me good, ponies!” Allura snapped back to the Mane 6. “We have your friends, and the map! Soon, another shard of the star will be mine, and there’s nothing you can do to stop us this time! HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!”

Persephone gasped in terror upon realizing something... quite disturbing. “Do you think they…?”

“Pushed Mr. Arrow overboard?” Zipp snarled. “I wouldn’t put it past ‘em.”

“We have to do something!” Lotus shrieked. “But what?” Squire Trelawney asked. “I mean, come on! She’s a leopard surrounded by a rabbit and a crew of pirates!”

“...we do what we do best,” Sunny declared, an angry look crossing her face. “Captain Smollett, we’ve got to get over there and save our friends… and the star shard, before its too late.”

“And Persephone and I are going with you,” Captain Smollett promised, making the Mane 6 smile. “Crew, prepare another longboat! We’ll use that to get to shore and put these pirates out of our hair once and for all!”

When You're A Professional Pirate

The truth had finally been revealed-- Long John Silver was indeed the one-legged man that Billy Bones had warned our heroes about, and Uliana and her pet squirrel Twitch were really Allura and Twitch in disguise.

And now, they had the treasure map and were holding Harmony and Jim captive on that island.

Sunny knew that her feelings toward Allura were right all along, and couldn’t believe she never figured it out before.

But she had to put her personal feelings aside for now-- they had friends and a treasure to save… and they had to do it fast.

XXXXXXXX

As the sun set over the island, an extravagant celebration on the beach began with a bonfire and music, where Jim and Harmony were blind-folded and pushed around by the pirates and Twitch, the latter having fun with his new dark-hearted companions.

Harmony’s ears remained pinned against her head the entire time, hating the fact that she was somepony’s play-thing.

She had to find a way to get Jim and herself out of here…

…but how?

Finally, her and Jim's blindfolds were removed, and when their vision finally cleared up, the first thing they saw was Allura and Long John Silver smirking over at them, filling Harmony and Jim with a sense of hurt and betrayal. “Easy now, kids,” Allura purred with a smile. “This is all in good fun.”

“Pleased I am to initiate you into our enterprising, um… company,” Long John added, causing the pirates holding Jim and Harmony, as well as others around them, to laugh before Long John spoke again. “Which entitles you to all the benefits thereof.”

“We don’t want any benefits!” Harmony spat, but her courage immediately left her throat as soon as Allura got in her face. “This is a one-time, special offer, kids,” she said dangerously. “Say no, and Long John and I will be forced to… terminate what relationship we had. I’m certain Starscout and her friends have told you what powers I have… and what I’m capable of doing.”

“Sunny was right to not trust you,” Jim said, refusing to not back down. “You're nothing but murdering pirates.”

“Pirates?!” Long John snapped, causing Harmony and Jim to whimper, frightened. But then… Long John laughed out loud for a few moments. “Pirates… oh, Jim,” the former cook sneered, getting closer to Jim’s face. “If that's what you're thinking, you're dead wrong.”

Harmony and Jim continued to glare at them for a few moments, just before Long John led the pirates in a spirited sea shanty.

Long John: When I was just a lad looking for my true vocation
My father said, “Now, son, this choice deserves deliberation”

Allura: “Though you could be a doctor or perhaps a financier
My boy, why not consider a more challenging career?”

Pirates: Hey, ho ho
You'll cruise to foreign shores

“Sing it, lads!” Long John cried as the pirates sang. “Show ‘em what you’ve been practicing!”

Pirates: And you'll keep your mind and body sound
By working out of doors

Long John: True friendship and adventure
Are what we can't live without

Pirates and Allura: And when you’re a professional pirate

Polly: That’s what the job’s about

“Upstage, boys!” Allura snapped at the pirates and Twitch. “This is my ONLY number as my true self, you know!”

Long John: Now, take Sir Francis Drake; the Spanish all despise him
But to the British he's a hero and they idolize him

Allura: It's how you look at buccaneers
That makes them bad or good

Long John: And I see us as members of a noble brotherhood!

Pirates: Hey, ho ho

“Oh, I love it!” Long John exclaimed. “Tis poetry in motion!”

Pirates: We're honorable men
And before we lose our tempers, we will always count to ten!

Allura: On occasion there may be someone you have to execute

Pirates and Allura: And when you’re a professional pirate

Clueless Morgan: You don't have to wear a suit

This led to many of the pirates, Allura and Twitch giving Clueless Morgan a hard glare, much to his confusion. “What?”

Mad Monty: I could have been a surgeon
I like taking things apart!

Harmony: (whimpers)

Polly: I could have been a lawyer
But I just had too much heart

Clueless Morgan: I could have been in politics
Cause I've always been a big spender

Black-Eyed Pete: And me... I could have been a contender

Long John: Some say that pirates steal and should be feared and hated
I say we're victims of bad press; it's all exaggerated

Allura: They’d never stab you in the back, they’d never lie or cheat

Long John: We're just about the nicest guys you'd ever want to meet!

“Well, look at us, Jim!” Long John said triumphantly. “We're a festival of conviviality.”

Clueless Morgan laughed at this. “Congeniality.”

“That's conviviality, idiot!” Allura snapped. “That’s what I said,” Clueless said, a bit frightened of the snow leopard's fierocity.

XXXXXXXX

“We’re ready, mon capitan!” Squire Trelawney said from the deck of the Hispaniola, watching as the Mane 6, Persephone, Captain Smollett, Gonzo and Rizzo got into a large rowboat to get to the island and rescue their friends. “Good. You men guard the ship while we’re gone,” the captain told the squire, Lotus, Dr. Livesey and Beaker. “We'll be back as soon as we get Jim and Harmony.”

Lotus saluted proudly. “Aye aye, captain!”

“Cast off, Mr. Beaker!” Zipp said, and Beaker dropped the rope, allowing Gonzo, Izzy and Misty to begin to row the boat over to the island. That’s when Captain Smollett turned to the others, a grateful smile on his face. “Thanks for coming along, guys.”

“Are you kidding?” Gonzo asked. “Jim and Harmony are family!”

Rizzo nodded at this. “Yeah!”

“And besides, this is Allura and Twitch we’re dealing with too,” Hitch said. “You guys need all the backup you can get.”

“Knowing those two,” Misty shuddered with a bit of fear, “and by teaming up with Silver… they’re probably gonna do something really sickening.”

XXXXXXXX

Back on the island, the musical number was still going on, and Long John turned to Jim and Harmony after a moment. “Tell the truth, kids,” Long John spoke. “Do you really think the captain and the squire are planning to share the treasure with the likes of us?”

Jim and Harmony remained silent. “Can’t hear ya… no?” Long John said before frowning. “And we being the rightful owners. Flint's own crew, who shed our blood getting it here!”

“I suggest you and your little friend join us, Jim,” Allura said. “Donate your compass to the treasure hunt and get a full share!”

Allura and Pirates: Hey, ho, ho
It's one for all for one

Pirates: And we'll share-and-share-alike with you
And love you like a son

Allura and Pirates: We're gentlemen of fortune
And that's what we're proud to be
And when you're a professional pirate

Long John: You'll be honest, brave, and free
The soul of decency
You'll be loyal and fair and on the square
And most importantly

Pirates: When you're a professional pirate
You're always in the best of company!

As soon as the song ended, there was a brief pause when all of a sudden, a cannon fire from the Hispaniola, causing everyone to get down to avoid getting hit. “There! Captain Smollett coming to rescue us!” Jim smiled. “Yeah!” Harmony nodded. “And Sunny and her friends too!”

“Don't get your hopes up, you kids,” Long John sneered. “I've taken the liberty of hiding a few of my best men aboard. If a second round follows, it means they've taken over the Hispaniola, and I'm the new cap'n.”

Everyone waited a few seconds, and then, much to Jim and Harmony’s horror, the second round of cannon firing followed.

They were surely doomed now.

XXXXXXXX

Lotus strained as she, the squire, Dr. Livesey and Beaker were tied up to the mast of the Hispaniola. “How infortuitous our firearms weren't loaded, Beakie,” Dr. Livesey spoke. “I'll say,” Squire Trelawney agreed. “We could have shot somebody!”

Lotus sighed with the shake of her head.

Hopefully, someone would be back in time to rescue them...

...cause she was afraid of what might happen if they didn't.

XXXXXXXX

Harmony sniffled back tears at the thought of what could be happening on the Hispaniola, fearing the rest of their friends were still onboard.

Long John and Allura, on the other hoof, were pleased to see their displeasure as another pirate cut through their ropes. “We’re the only friends you've got in the world now, dearies,” Allura said in the kindest tone she could muster. “We’re very much the same, the four of us. We've all lost someone important to us... and it isn't fair, now is it?”

“Let's dig up the treasure together, eh? Shipmates, remember?” Long John urged them. “We'll be needing your compass, though.”

Jim clung to the compass that his father gave him tightly, not wanting anything to do with this madness anymore. “No...”

“We'll be taking it either way, Jim,” Allura said sternly. “Consider this... as a friendly intervention.”

“Jim... don't do it,” Harmony begged. “Don't let them win...”

Jim looked at the young pegasus mare with worry, but... if he didn't do what Long John and Allura wanted... there could be dire consequences for both of them.

So, he reluctantly handed it over, causing the pirates to cheer. “Come on then,” Allura wrapped a wing around Harmony, causing her to whimper. “Let’s not waste anymore time. We have a treasure out there to find... and I have ponies to destroy once it's finally uncovered.”

Captured by Island Natives/The Search for the Treasure

Jim and Harmony had been taken captive by Long John Silver, Allura, Twitch and the rest of the pirates, with Jim being forced to give up his father's compass in order to spare his and Harmony’s lives.

Harmony completely understood... it was a life or death situation at the time.

But unfortunately, the pirates and Allura weren’t planning on letting them go anytime soon... as soon as Allura had the next star shard in her possession, she was going to destroy the Mane 6 and gain even more power than what she had.

They just had to hope and pray that things would work out in the end.

XXXXXXXX

Misty, Izzy and Persephone led the way with their glowing horns while Captain Smollett used the lantern he had brought from the ship to light the path through the dense jungles.

However, even with the light, it was beginning to get way too dark for their own good. “Captain, it's getting really dark,” Hitch frowned. “I'm not even sure I would be able to see my own hoof in front of my face if the lantern was put out!”

“You’re right about that, Hitch,” Captain Smollett realized with a nod, setting the lantern down on a flat surface. “We'll camp here and wait for first light.”

Rizzo whimpered nervously as the group tried their best to make themselves comfortable, and Sunny immediately caught onto how Rizzo was feeling... she was feeling the same way, but showing it differently. “Oh, hey, Rizzo, relax! Don't be so afraid.”

“Oh, I've gone way beyond afraid,” Rizzo spoke, terrified. “Right now I'm somewhere between bed-wetting and a near-death experience.”

“Look... I know that this seems really scary, everypony. I'm worried about Jim and Harmony being surrounded by pirates at every turn... Allura and Twitch being near them...” Zipp began to growl before she shook her head. “We just gotta keep moving forward-- with finding Jim and Harmony, with stopping Allura... with pretty much everything. And we can't do that until we get some good rest.”

“You’re right, Zipp,” Persephone agreed, blowing out the candle. “Good night, everypony… sweet dreams.”

And so, everyone in the group, except for Rizzo, began to settle down and retire for the night. Rizzo trembled in place, too frightened to go to sleep, when suddenly… he began to hear strange snorting sounds all around him. “Gonzo? Is that you, Gonzo?” Rizzo asked nervously, hoping that it was. “Boy, Gonzo, it sounds like you're coming down with a little cold there. I-I’m just gonna light a match if you don't mind, here.”

Rizzo found the matches and quickly lit the lantern... but he honestly wished he hadn't.

Dozens of wild boars had surrounded the group in the darkness, and Rizzo's screaming woke the others up, leaving them to panic as they were suddenly grabbed by the boars and drug into the forest, out of sight.

XXXXXXXX

Harmony kept her head low as she was forced to walk alongside Allura and Twitch (the latter being on Allura’s back), scared out of her mind.

She really thought that Uliana was someone she could trust, but… it seemed as if she was wrong.

Finally... she decided to speak up, a certain question lingering within her mind. “When you said that… we were more common than I thought? The part about each of us losing someone? W-What did you mean by that?”

“...my brother and I were separated many years ago, after we were exposed of our… unusual treatment of our homeland and the creatures that lived there,” Allura said, eyes forward as she kept walking. “I was banished to Starlight Ridge, home of the auroricorns, where I learned that the star that had been used on me and my brother had been broken up into different fragments… and those ponies have been trying to stop me from finding them and freeing my brother.”

“...I’m sorry that you’re so far from your brother,” Harmony muttered, feeling sorry for Allura and how things have went for her, but still wary of the circumstances. “It sounds really hard. I miss my mom every day… but have you ever stopped to consider that maybe your brother is in a better place? Maybe he’s happy where he is.”

Allura snapped her head to look at her, eyes glowing white for a second out of anger. “...you’re wrong. He and I belong together, and I’m going to make sure he’s returned to me safe and sound.”

Harmony sighed to herself... there goes her chance of reforming Allura and sparing the Mane 6 of all that trouble.

“Long John, look!”

Everyone in that group looked up to see skeletons being hung from the rocks above… a sight that made Twitch scream and hide on Allura’s back. “Flint hung 'em up there after he gullied 'em to mark the trail to the treasure,” Long John said with a wicked grin. “Wicked sense of humor ol' Flinty had.”

“If you call that ‘wicked sense of humor’, then yes…” Harmony rolled her eyes to this remark. “It is very wicked.”

“I-It’s a sign,” Clueless Morgan trembled. “This is a cursed place.”

“Well, there's an informed opinion,” Allura smacked him on the back of the head with her paw. “All right, Jim… where to from here?”

Jim looked at the map as the pirates glared at him. “On a heading of 179 degrees, walk 312 paces from where the dead men hang high.”

“Okay, so… which way is that?” Harmony asked as Clueless Morgan trembled again. “That way!” Long John proceeded to walk down the trail on his one leg, and reluctantly, the pirates, Jim and Harmony followed him, Allura and Twitch down the path.

XXXXXXXX

Around the same time as this, the Mane 6, Captain Smollett, Persephone, Rizzo and Gonzo were tied up around bamboo poles with strong ropes, and as much as they tried, they couldn't break free from their bonds.

That's when one of the wild boars that imprisoned them came forward, clearly not pleased with their presence. “Howdy, vous, stinky froggy man and friends,” the boar said gruffly. “I am Spa'am, High Priest of the Boars. You mucho wickedness go trespass on island.”

Several more boars began to surround them, making Izzy and Hitch that much more nervous. “N-No no no! I-It is SO not like that!” Persephone tried to defend. “We were just laying down to rest for a while before we found our friends!”

Izzy, on the other hoof, giggled at what Spa’am had said. “He called Captain Smollett ‘stinky frog’...”

“Now,” Spa’am continued, “you suffer the wrath of our queen, Boom Sha-Kal-a-Kal.”

“Terrific…” Rizzo groaned sarcastically. “Captured by wild pigs and sacrificed before a pagan alter!”

“Are we lucky or what?” Gonzo asked enthusiastically, and the others turned to him with disturbed looks. “Gonzo, you're a good friend and all,” Zipp said, “but the things that get you excited are… concerning, to say the least.”

“Silence, smelly sailor mans and womans!” the boar priest yelled, causing the others to wince. “You have violated sacred island!”

“Uh-uh, excuse me. I am Captain Smollett,” the frog captain introduced, drying to de-escalate the situation. “We mean no harm to your culture. We embrace all creatures of different nationalities.”

“SILENCE!!!”

The friends gasped and whimpered at the harsh snap… just before Spa’am brought out his next orders. “Bring forth Boom Sha-Kal-a-Kal…”

“...that can’t be good,” Persephone muttered, ears pinned back against her head. “Really?” Pipp asked sarcastically. “No kidding.”

One of the boars sounded a large gong, then the stones faces and boars began chanting.

Boom Sha-Kal-a-Kal
Boom Sha-Kal-a-Kal
Boom Sha-Kal-a-Kal
Boom Sha-Kal-a-Kal

More boars entered the grounds. Some beating drums, others carrying large torches. As the chanting continued, Smollett, Rizzo, and the ponies grew more and more frightened... while Gonzo seemed to be enjoying the chanting and ominous nature of the scene. “We have to get out of here,” Sunny told her friends, “or else we’re ALL dead!”

Sunny then tried to wrestle her way out of the rope, but the binds were too tight-- and if she couldn’t move, she couldn’t turn into her alicorn form either.

XXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, the vacationing mice were watching the spectacle from a makeshift restaurant area. “These tropical floor shows are so exotic!” one of them said, causing another one to agree.

XXXXXXXX

The music began to intensify, and just in time, too. An elephant slowly lumbered onto the grounds, carrying a floral chariot on its back. It didn't require much thinking for the group of friends to determine who was in that chariot. “Well,” Hitch sniffled, scared out of his mind, “at least I know that Paradise will look after Sparky…”

Unfortunately, that was the worst thing he could've possibly said, because a second or two later, they heard Misty crying. “I’ll never get to see my parents again!!”

“...oops…” Hitch looked embarrassed. “Way to go, Hitchster!” Rizzo fussed. “Now you got the empathic one all teared up!”

“Don't worry, Misty, we'll get out of this,” Gonzo said, trying to be reassuring. “We promise.”

“B-But what if we don’t…?” Misty sniffled, trying to bat away her tears. “Come on, Misty-Twisty!” Pipp said confidently. “We’ve been through WAY worse than this, you know.”

The boars gathered around the stone stairs as the elephant approached. One of them cut the ropes off Smollett, Rizzo, Gonzo, and the ponies, but not to free them. They brought our heroes forward and pushed them against a stone platform, forced to bow.

Boom Sha-Kal-a-Ka-a-a-al!

Finally, the tribe finished their chant, bowing toward the top of the stone stairs. The flower curtains to the chariot opened, revealing a gorgeous pig (who looked and acted a LOT like Miss Piggy from back in normal times), in a stunning, leopard-skin dress, along with a pink feather headdress. “Bonsoir, mes amis. Ha ha ha…”

The group of friends all looked up, and Smollett silently gasped-- he recognized his lover from anywhere... even after all these years. “Oh boy… and I thought Pipp's dresses were flamboyant,” Zipp whispered, but unfortunately, Pipp heard this. “Hey!”

“Come, Flaubert,” the Miss Piggy look alike said to the anteater in front of her. Flaubert, unfortunately, in his excitement, hastily walked down the steps, dragging her with him. The Queen tumbled down the steps, screaming and grunting as she did so. The boars, ponies, frog, rat, and whatever Gonzo was watched her fall down each stone step. Finally, she came to a stop at the bottom. She groaned, her pet anteater was by her side, licking her to see if she was okay. “Flaubert! Get away, you stupid anteater! You spoiled my entrance!” the queen reprimanded her pet. The boars began chanting again, much to her annoyance. “Oh, knock it off!”

They immediately did so, quickly realizing she was now in a foul mood. The queen turned to the tribes new captives and quickly giggled in embarrassment. The friends just stood with looks of confusion and bemusement, except Smollett, who was in complete shock. “Greetings. Moi am Benjamina Gunn,” the queen said as Smollett stood up completely. “Maroonee, temptress and queen of this i--”

Benjamina stopped and gasped when she finally got a good look at Smollett, immediately recognizing him. “Wait…” Persephone immediately gasped. “Is she… are they…? She’s the…”

“Stop interrupting yourself and tell us already!” Hitch snapped, causing the other mares to glare at him, causing Hitch to chuckle nervously. “...too soon?”

Smollett gulped and slowly walked up to Benjamina, and she did the same. “Smolly, can it be you?” Benjamina asked, almost not believing her eyes. “Benjamina…” Captain Smollett said compassionately.

The sweet moment was cut short when Benjamina reared back and delivered a mighty punch at the captain. “HI-YA!!”

Captain Smollett screamed as he sailed through the air. He crashed into the gong. The rats all began cheering and whistling, while Rizzo, Gonzo, and ponies stared, slack-jawed. “Well…” Zipp blinked. “That was unexpected.”

“Yeah,” Hitch said. “It was like a roller coaster full of emotions.”

The captain got up shakily, and the gong boar looked down to see if he was all right. “Oh, uh, old girlfriend…” the captain said before falling to the ground, causing Persephone to gasp. “Captain Smollett!”

“Tie'em back in their stakes!” Benjamina barked and stormed off. “Oh, great…” Pipp groaned. “If we never get out of this, I’ll never be able to get the juicy gossip on what just happened!”

“Pipp…” Zipp took a deep breath to calm herself before turning to glare at her younger sister. “Not the time.”

Pipp, immediately remembering they were on a serious and possibly risky mission and upon seeing her friends glaring over at her as they were led back to their stakes, nodded stiffly. “...point taken.”

XXXXXXXX

The hike up the mountain seemed a lot shorter for Allura and Harmony, since they had four legs and many of the others had two legs.

But eventually, they got closer to where the treasure was supposed to be-- all they had to do was walk a few more paces. “306, 307, 308, 309, 310, 311, 312.”

Finally, the pirates had arrived, but there was no sign of the X that marked the spot anywhere... and this honestly got Polly nervous. “What if Clueless is right? W-W-WWhat if it is cursed?”

Twitch muttered in agreement, visibly shaking from fear. Allura growled in frustration. “Silver and I will show you what we think of your curse!”

Long John drew his sword, knocking Polly and Twitch backward before he began to slice through the vines in front of them. “You mewling little lily-livered, toffee-hearted little wuss of a crustacean!”

Finally, Long John sliced the vines just enough so the group could climb through, using torches to light their way. Jim looked at the map, and then looked to see a large hole right in the middle of the cavern. “Treasure buried here.”

Three large chests sat in the middle of the hole, making Harmony a bit curious… and worried. Why would the chests just be sitting out there in the open like that? “Oy!” one of the pirates said. “We don't even have to dig it up!”

“Come on, mates!” cried Polly. “The treasure's ours!”

The pirates cheered as they, Allura and Twitch got down into the hole, but when they opened the chests… they were all empty!

The treasure, much to their shock... was gone!

And needless to say… Allura, Twitch and the pirates were not pleased. “There’s no treasure here, Silver!” Allura snarled, her wings spread in anger. “You brought us here for nothing! Those ponies will never be destroyed now!”

“And now we'll be tried for mutiny!” Polly agreed. “YEAH!!” the other pirates shouted in agreement. “I say,” Mad Monty said calmly, “we should kill him!”

Harmony shrieked as the other pirates drew their swords, but Long John drew his pistols and held them out. “Run, lad!” he shouted to Jim and Harmony. “Save Harmony and yourself!”

But, as they turned to leave, Jim suddenly turned back to Long John, confused. “Why are you doing this for us?”

“Yeah,” Harmony said suspiciously. “Aren’t you on the side of that vile snow leopard?”

“It’s because I like you, kids,” Long John told them sincerely. “I hope you didn't think I was lying about that.”

Jim and Harmony spared a glance at each other, wondering if Long John's words were true. That’s when Allura let out an angered roar. “GET HIM!!!”

The pirates then took the opportunity to charge, and Jim and Harmony managed to escape the cavern just as the pirate crew became infested in battle, Allura and Twitch leading the charge.

Escape from the Island!/The Stakes Get Higher

The Mane 6 continued to strain in their binds-- it had been hours since they, Captain Smollett, Persephone, Gonzo and Rizzo had been taken captive by the wild boars, led by Captain Smollett’s former flame, Benjamina Gunn.

Now, since all the boars and Benjamina had left, our heroes had no idea how they were going to work their way out of this mess and save their friends.

As the Mane 6 and their friends struggled to think of a plan, Spa'am, followed by two other boars, came over to them, causing Misty and Izzy to tense. “Take greeny, flippy, bulgy-eyed one away,” Spa’am ordered, looking over at Captain Smollett. “Others stay. Chop chop!”

“W-What?” Sunny muttered before Captain Smollett was cut loose and was led away by the boars. “Stop! Where are you taking him?!” Persephone strained to get loose from her ropes. “Captain Smollett!!”

“I’ll be okay, Persephone, don’t worry!” Captain Smollett called back. “We’ll get back to each other soon! I promise!”

And just like that, Captain Smollett was led out of sight, causing Persephone to whimper, trying to fight the tears forming in her eyes. Rizzo let out a terrified whimper. “I wish we were back at the Admiral Benbow eating table scraps.”

“Rizzo, I think food is the least of our problems right now,” Zipp said scoldingly. “Yeah,” Gonzo nodded. “We’re about to become table scraps!”

“Well, this is terrible!” Rizzo said as he walked in front of the others. “This is the worst thing that's ever happened to me! I…”

“Rizzo, stop for a second!” Sunny said, wide-eyed when she saw the cut ropes around the rat. “You’ve been cut loose!”

“But it couldn’t have been any of us,” Misty shook her head, “so… who…?”

“Hi, guys!”

The group let out a shriek of surprise when they saw Harmony and Jim cutting all of their ropes, much to their relief. “Harmony, Jim!” Gonzo sighed. “They’ve got Captain Smollett!”

“We know,” Harmony said as she undid the ropes, freeing the group completely. “Come on. We've got to get help.”

“You guys go on ahead and try to get back aboard the Hispaniola,” Sunny said. “Hitch and I will navigate the jungle and see if we can find Captain Smollett.”

“We will?!” Hitch looked at her in shock before correcting himself. “Uh… of course we will! Heh… I knew that.”

“Good luck, everypony! We’ll be back together soon!” Zipp promised, and the groups immediately went their separate ways.

XXXXXXXX

Things were not looking too hot for Long John Silver. He was currently tied up against a tree with a bunch of angry pirates around him. Well, Mud Bunny, on the other hand, was crying on Dead Tom's body. “Tom, Tom, Tom!” he sobbed. “Ohhh! Dead Tom's dead!”

Walleyed Pike looked back at the other pirates, who were just as confused, and Allura put a paw to her face in exasperation. Mud Bunny continued to cry and even kissed Dead Tom's corpse. “Long John shot him!”

“But… but, Dead Tom's always been dead,” Walleyed Pike mentioned. “That's why he's called Dead Tom.”

“Exactly,” Allura said quietly, “so you can stop crying over a corpse.”

“Oh…” Mud Bunny dropped Dead Tom on the ground. “Can we get on with this?” Polly shoved the pirates aside. “Get outta here, will ya? Clueless!”

“Yeah, yeah?” Clueless Morgan asked as Polly turned to look over at Long John. “Give it to him!”

“Yeah!” Clueless said, but then hesitated. “But, uh, it's not even his birthday.”

Polly jabbed the goat in the stomach. “No, no, no, no! The paper!”

“Ohh…” Clueless chuckled evilly, as Allura approached Polly. “I’m starting to think this guy’s a complete idiot instead of being just clueless.”

Polly nodded at this. “You and me both, sister.”

Clueless came up to the tied up John and handed him a piece of paper. “This is for you.”

John looked at the paper for a moment with fury in his eyes. “The black spot?”

“Yeah,” the pirates confirmed. “You dare to give me the Black Spot?!” Long John was seething with rage. Suddenly the victorious arrogance began to dwindle… while Allura couldn’t help but be confused. ‘Instead of being in fear and despair, he's furious? What does he know that we don't?’ she wondered. “He-- he told me to,” Clueless pointed at Polly. “Shut up, will ya?!” Polly scolded. “And it's drawn on a page from the Bible,” the mutiny captain said darkly. “You tore a page from the Holy Scriptures to make a pirate's death sentence?!”

The other pirates turned to Mad Monty, who was the one holding the Bible, which he tried to pass onto someone else. “Well, I'm not religious,” Allura muttered to Twitch, “but why does it matter that we used a book page for the black spot?”

Twitch merely shrugged, confused. “Ohhh, the red hot gates of hell are creeping open!” Long John shouted as the pirates began to shake in fear. “Satan is heatin' his pokers for you, you blasphemous heathens!”

Each and every crewmate was quaking in their boots, fear gripping them like a snake's vice. Allura couldn't help but get a little nervous herself. While she prided herself of not being afraid of anything, so were pirates. And considering they were beyond terrified at this point, whatever exactly they were scared of, was justifiably so.

Even Twitch was starting to sweat from Long John's religious words. “Fall down to your knees and beg for deliverance from damnation!”

The pirates immediately bowed and started pleading, crying, and begging for mercy.

“Please forgive us!”

“Please forgive me!”

Allura bowed, but she didn't say anything. She wasn't entirely believing Long John's words, but it was better to be safe than sorry. “Very good,” the cook sucked in a breath. “You're forgiven. Now untie me! And let's go find that treasure!”

“Hold on,” Allura simply raised a paw as she spoke. “Let me say something first.”

This caused the pirates to stop trying to untie John and look at her. “Choose your words carefully, Allura,” Long John told her. “I will rejoin your crew… on one condition,” Allura began. “Hey hey, pussy-cat,” Polly began to threaten. “If you think you can take the treasure all to yourself, you can…”

“No! I could care less for the treasure. Frankly, I've grown tired of playing this nonsensical game of follow-the-leader,” Allura snapped. “All I wish for is the star fragment. That's only reason I'm here. That fragment belongs to me, and if any of you decide to take it for themselves, I'll do things to you that will make Flint's actions look like child's play! Is that understood?”

Then… there was a long pause. The pirates all turned to Long John, waiting for an answer, and eventually… he smiled. “Consider your conditions met.”

Allura smirked. “Purr-fect. Now, you idiots, get him untied!”

The rest of the crew all cheered and went back to work, leaving Allura to roll her eyes. “Rapacious scoundrels…”

Well, the deal was met, now it was best she played her part on the crew. “Oh, you are a good man,” Clueless hugged Long John and stroked his coat. “You are a kind man. A handsome man.”

“Precious,” Polly whispered, and Clueless added onto his most recent statement. “Oh, he's-- you're precious a-and…”

“Beautiful.”

“And he's beautiful. Oh.”

XXXXXXXX

Jim, Gonzo, Rizzo, Zipp, Pipp, Presephone, Harmony, Izzy and Misty traversed through the jungles of the island in order to reach the beach.

As soon as they found the boat the Mane 6, Persephone, Gonzo, Rizzo and Captain Smollett used, they would row back to the ship and figure out how to save Captain Smollett, Sunny and Hitch from the boars and their queen. “Yeah!” Gonzo pointed out along the shoreline. “Here’s the boat!”

But when they approached the boat, they found that it had been completely wrecked and demolished, leaving Persephone to gasp. “Oh no!”

“Well, that won't help us,” Jim sighed. “We're gonna have to swim to the ship.”

“Hello? Earth to Jimbo!” Rizzo frowned. “Swimming to a ship that's full of killer pirates to save the captain is not a good plan!”

“Well, Zipp, Pipp and I can’t carry everybody to the ship without being seen,” Harmony pointed out with a frown. “We’re just gonna need to think outside the box.”

That’s when Zipp pulled out her visor and pointed to something along the horizon. “Guys, look!”

When the others looked out, they immediately saw someone rowing toward them… and to their immense relief, it was Mr. Arrow, alive and well! “Yes. The gunwale and keel are definitely safe.”

“Mr. Arrow! It’s me Jim!”

“Mr. Arrow!”

“Over here!”

“We need your help!”

“Oh. Oh, children! Come join me aboard this exceptionally safe little boat,” Mr. Arrow said as the unicorns used their magic to pull the boat closer to shore. “By the way, that Silver fellow may not be trustworthy.”

Pipp scoffed at this remark. “Now he tells us.”

“We don’t have time for this, Pipp!” Misty pointed out. “Mr. Arrow, we gotta get back to the Hispaniola right now-- the fate of our friends may depend on it!”

XXXXXXXX

Sunny and Hitch continued to wander through the jungles, searching for Captain Smollett after Hitch found out which direction the boars took him in when they suddenly heard a voice. “I cannot believe this!” it growled, irritated. “How can this be happening to moi of all maroonees?!”

“I think I hear that Benjamina pig that the captain reunited with before!” Hitch said as he pushed a few leaves aside. “Come on! It’s coming from up ahead!”

“Right behind you, Hitch!” Sunny said as she galloped after her childhood friend. Eventually, they stopped galloping when they got to some sort of ancient stone ground, where Sunny immediately gasped when she saw Captain Smollett, safe and sound. “Captain Smollett, we found you!”

“Sunny, Hitch!” Captain Smollett turned to the two earth ponies, relieved. “How did you find me?”

“It helps when you’re a Trail Trotter in the making,” Sunny giggled. “Now, not to be rude,” Hitch said, “but can we get out of here before we’re found by one of those pirates?”

However, Benjamina Gunn wasn’t set on letting them leave until she gave her ‘Smolly’ a harsh talking to. “Of all the backwater, no-class piles of sand in the ocean, you had to wash up on mine!”

“Yikes…” Hitch grimaced. “I take it their relationship isn’t all that great.”

Captain Smollett tried to ignore that and cleared his throat again. “Benjamina, I just want you to know that I'm sorry.”

“Sorry? No, no, sorry doesn't cut it,” Benjamina dismissed. “You left me standing at the altar!!”

“Captain Smollett, is that true?!” Sunny asked, wide-eyed with shock. “Uh, well… y-yes,” Captain Smollett nodded, “but… I was on a ship headed for Zanzibar. I got cold feet.”

“You’re a frog,” Hitch deadpanned. “You’re supposed to have cold feet.”

“My mother came all the way from France,” Benjamina continued. “I was wearing her white lace dress. The cake was filled with lemon custard!”

Benjamina quickly turned away with a whimper, and Captain Smollett knew he had to take this situation lightly. “Mina, fate has brought us together again. Well, actually, buried treasure and pirates brought us together…”

“Don't you start with me about pirates!” Benjamina snapped. “After you jilted me, I took up with this Bernie Flint? The man was totally codependent.”

“Wait wait wait,” Hitch interrupted out of shock. “You and Captain Flint?!”

“Well, he was a pirate, I was a lady. You know the story,” Benjamina brushed it off before turning to Smollett again. “Smolly? He marooned me. Meeeeeeee!!!!”

And just like that, Benjamina broke into sobs, and while Hitch glared over at Captain Smollett, Sunny tried her best to comfort Benjamina. “Oh, this is all my fault!” the captain said. “Oh, what have I done to you?”

“Uh, I hate to interrupt the moment here,” Sunny said, “but maybe we can talk about this somewhere that DOESN’T have any kind of murdering pirates around. Like… back on the Hispaniola? Our friends have to be back there by now.”

Suddenly, her ear twitched as she heard something behind her, and the four of them turned to see the entire group of pirates, led by Long John Silver, Allura and Twitch, standing behind them, mocking them while Long John slowly clapped.

Hitch and Sunny immediately got in front of their friends as Allura and Long John stepped forward. “Bravo, captain!” Allura said with a pleased smirk. “You, Starscout and Trailblazer make quite the theatrical troupe.”

Hitch growled at this, but Sunny managed to keep him back as Long John turned to Benjamina with a knowing smile. “Touchin' reunion, Benjamina. This seems to be your day for renewing old… acquaintances.”

Benjamina chuckled at this. “Oh, well… ahem. Hello, Long John.”

“Oh, no!” Captain Smollett felt sick to his stomach at this. “Him too?”

Benjamina gave him a push on the shoulder. “Well, if you'd married me!”

“What does that have to do with it?”

“I'm a pig! I need commitment!”

As Smollett and Benjamina continued to bicker back and forth, Long John pulled out his pistol and pointed it at the group, causing them to instantly freeze. “Now, I'm not gonna be really patient about this, Benjamina,” he threatened. “Yes. What we really want to know is,” Allura’s gaze grew colder, “where is the treasure?”

Sunny and Hitch prepared to leap at them and give Benjamina and the captain a moment to escape, when Benjamina saw her boar army on the nearby hill, getting an idea. “Um, I just may not tell you.”

“Right!” Hitch agreed, suddenly seeing where Benjamina was going. “We wouldn’t tell you in a million years!”

“Oh, don’t you dare play games with us,” Allura threatened. “The ponies should know… I’m not a very patient leopard when it comes to hunting my next meal.”

Suddenly, a spear from the boars flew down and landed in front of her, causing Twitch to scream, and everyone to look up at the boar army. “Stop! Give up now, weak and tiny pirate mans,” Spa’am told the pirates, “or die like stinking dogs!”

The boars cheered and growled in agreement to this, but when Silver shot his pistol at them, the boars screamed and ran off into the forest.

Hitch sighed wearily at this as soon as he saw that the boars had left their sight. “We’re doomed, aren’t we?”

“Is it that obvious?” Benjamina deadpanned, putting a hand to her face. “Now, we’ll ask you again, pig,” Allura said as she got closer to their faces. “Where… is… the… TREASURE?!”

She snarled at Sunny and Hitch, causing them to jump back and protect their friends if necessary. “There is no treasure,” Benjamina suddenly said. “It was all a clever ruse!”

“Ha!” Long John scoffed, not believing a word of this. “So where did you get that gold necklace you're wearing? The one made of Spanish doubloons.”

“...um… shopping channel?”

Sunny and Hitch looked shocked for a few moments before the two earth ponies slapped their faces with their hooves. That was the WORST thing she could have said!

The pirates, Allura and Twitch cackled before Allura grabbed Sunny and Hitch in her magic, and Captain Smollett was grabbed by Silver before they began to take the three away. “NOOOO!!!” Benjamina cried out in terror.

What had she done to the frog she loved and his friends?!

No matter… there was still time.

She had to fix this… she had to!

Taking Back the Hispaniola/Love Led Us Here

The worst possible situation had occurred-- Allura, Long John Silver, Twitch and the rest of the pirates captured Captain Smollett, Sunny and Hitch, and were going to kill them if Benjamina didn't reveal the location of the treasure chest!

Now, it was up to the rest of our heroes to find a way to rescue them before it was too late.

But could they accomplish such a feat in time?

That's the real question now... isn't it?

XXXXXXXX

“There!” Persephone said as she lit her horn, pointing her hoof to the bottom deck of the Hispaniola as the group got closer to it. “Our friends are being held somewhere below deck!”

“Steady as she goes, Mr. Arrow,” Zipp whispered. “We can’t let those bilge-rats know we’re here.”

“Bilge-rats?” blinked Pipp. “Seriously, sis?”

“What? It was bound to come out sooner or later!”

Misty and Izzy managed to use their magic to create a small door in the side of the ship, and then, one by one, our heroes entered the ship in order to rescue their friends/fellow crewmates, and then convince them to go face off against Silver and Allura once and for all.

XXXXXXXX

Lotus, Dr. Livesey, Beaker and Squire Trelawney were still tied up, having been moved to the very bottom of the boat while the pirates assumed control above deck.

No matter how much Lotus strained or tried to use her magic, she couldn’t get her and the boys free.

Even Squire Trelawney was turning to Mr. Bimbo out of extreme desperation. “Make yourself useful! Try and save us! Do something!!”

Luckily, Jim was able to cover the squire’s mouth before he gave away their location, causing Dr. Livesey to gasp. “Oh, Master Hawkins, you've come to rescue us!”

Squire Trelawney seemed impressed as the ponies began to untie their friends. “I should've let them live in my finger.”

“Are you guys okay?” Misty asked as Lotus became free from her binds. “For the minute, yes,” Lotus nodded. “But unfortunately, all those pirates still have control of the Hispaniola, and… wait… where are the others?”

“That’s why we need to get control of the Hispaniola again,” Zipp interrupted with a look of worry. “Silver and Allura could have the treasure by now, and Sunny, Hitch and Captain Smollett could be in trouble!”

“Uh oh…” Beaker managed to squeak. “Well, whatever you need us to do, we’re your crew for the job!” Lotus said determinedly. “Does anypony have a stable plan?”

“Don’t worry-- we already have one,” Misty smiled. “And Mr. Arrow is gonna have the starring role!”

XXXXXXXX

After going over the plan with everyone, Jim peeked out of the door leading above deck, seeing the pirates all around before he ducked back down, letting Dr. Livesey approach him. “We're ready, Master Hawkins.”

“Do you think this will work, Dr. Livesey?” Jim asked. “Oh, yes,” the doctor nodded. “My research indicates that pirates are very superstitious.”

“And with Izzy and me using our fashion and creativity sense to make Mr. Arrow look the part,” Pipp said, revealing that Mr. Arrow had been decked out with white paint and seaweed to make him look ghostly, “this is gonna be a real breeze!”

“Okay, everypony,” Harmony smiled confidently as she looked at her friends. “Operation: ‘The Ghost of Samuel Arrow’ begins now!”

So, Mr. Arrow slowly began to rise from the door in order to get the pirates around to notice him. “Boogie, boogie, boogie! I am the ghost of Samuel Arrow,” he groaned in a ghostly voice, getting the pirates to shake and shiver from fright before Mr. Arrow quickly turned to them, trying to act menacing. “BOOGIE!!!”

This was enough to get all the pirates to scream and retreat from the ship altogether, diving into the water and swimming far away, in order to get away from the supposed ghost.

The others came out below deck, cheering and congratulating on a job well done… but that’s when Gonzo suddenly had a thought. “What do we do next? What do we do now? Uh, Jim?”

Jim thought for a minute as everyone looked to him for advice, and Jim said the first thing he could think of. “Weigh anchor?”

“Weigh anchor!” Mr. Arrow told Misty, Lotus, Persephone, Gonzo and Rizzo, causing them to salute. “Set the sails!” Jim then spoke. “Set the sails!” Mr. Arrow told Zipp, Pipp and Izzy, causing them to salute as well, just as Jim turned to a very nervous Squire Trelawney. “And you, Squire Trelawney.”

“N-Now Master Hawkins, I…”

“...you,” Jim said, putting his hand on the bear’s shoulder, “take the helm.”

This caused Squire Trelawney to smile. “Ah! Step aside, Mr. Bimbo. I shall be taking the helm.”

Gonzo and the three unicorns pushed the wheel to raise the anchor from the bottom of the ocean, while Rizzo could only hang onto the wheel for dear life. “Come on!” Persephone urged quickly. “Hurry, Rizzo!”

Rizzo strained as he held onto the wheel. “I’m going as fast as I can!”

“Sunny, Hitch and Captain Smollett,” Pipp cried out, “here we come!”

XXXXXXXX

Sunny strained, trying to get free from the ropes that held her, Captain Smollett and Hitch over a perilous cliff right over the ocean... and over some very jagged rocks. And with Sunny's ropes being in a very particular position, even if she could transform into her alicorn form, she wouldn't be able to get her wings loose to fly them all to safety.

As Long John Silver, Allura, Twitch and the rest of the pirates watched this in pleasure, Benjamina was watching with nothing but pure terror. “Smolly! My love! Ponies!” she cried out before turning to Silver and Allura with anger. “You can't hurt my frog! Or his friends!”

Hitch strained as he tried to get his hooves free. “Don’t tell them anything, Mina! We beg you!”

“They’ll only kill you too!” Captain Smollett agreed. “Don't listen to him!”

Allura only sighed sadly, shaking her head. “It’s a shame it all has to end right here. But for me… it’s all worth it.”

“Now… for the last time,” Long John turned to look at Benjamina, who whimpered. “Where’s the bloody treasure?!”

“YEAH!!!” the pirates shouted in agreement, and Long John raised his sword to cut the ropes and send the group plummeting to their deaths. “STOOOOOP!!!” Benjamina then shrieked. “Stop, stop, stop, stop! The treasure's at my place. North trail, split-level hut with the pink lawn furniture. You can't miss it. Now free them at once, you scoundrels!”

“Oh, we’ll do you one better,” Allura said with a smirk. “Twitch, get some extra ropes-- the lady pig will join her friends after all!”

Long John then kissed Benjamina on the face, causing her to spit in disgust and the pirates to laugh as Twitch did as Allura told him to do.

XXXXXXXX

And within the next few minutes, the pirates, Allura and Twitch had finally left to find the treasure, leaving Benjamina tied up with the captain, Sunny and Hitch. “You know,” Benjamina began after a moment of silence, “I'm beginning to see a pattern in the men I date.”

“Yeah, well,” Sunny added nervously, looking down at the jagged rocks below them, “the past is behind us. And the future... below us.”

“I guess this really is the end for us,” Hitch sniffled. “I-I’ll never get to see Sparky or Grandma Figgy again!”

Hearing Hitch begin to whimper caused Benjamina to whimper as well, and while Sunny tried to comfort Hitch as best she could, Captain Smollett found himself comforting Benjamina. “Oh, it's okay, Mina. We're together again.”

“Yes…” the pig sniffled. “Despite it all… we have… each other…!!”

“Aw,” Captain Smollett said sympathetically. “Don't cry for me, Benjamina.”

Both Benjamina and Hitch looked at him in surprise. “Pardon?”

At that moment, while the pirates, Allura and Twitch found the treasure and rejoiced in its riches, Captain Smollett began to softly sing… the only way he knew how to tell Benjamina of his true feelings for her.

Captain Smollett: Was I dumb or was I blind
Or did my heart just lose its mind?
Why'd I go and throw our perfect dream away?

Benjamina: Looking back I'll never know
How I ever let you go
But destiny could see we deserve to have another day

Captain Smollett and Benjamina: Love led us here
Right back to where we belong

Sunny and Hitch: We followed a star
And here we are
Now heaven seems so near

All: Love led us here

The four weren't even bothered that the ropes holding them up above the jagged rocks were slowly beginning to burn, bringing them that much closer to their doom.

Captain Smollett: Now I know that life can take you by surprise
And sweep you off your feet

Benjamina: Did this happen to us

All: Or are we just dreaming?

Captain Smollett and Benjamina: Love led us here
Right back to where we belong

All: We followed a star and here we are
Now heaven seems so near
Love led us here

Captain Smollett: So take my hand

Benjamina: And have no fear

All: We’ll be all right
Love led us… heeeeeeeeeere…

But the second the song ended, Benjamina and Captain Smollett's ropes snapped due to the flames, causing Hitch and Sunny to use their free hooves to grab Captain Smollett as the captain grabbed Benjamina, trying to keep themselves from falling any further.

Benjamina screamed for a few moments… at least, until she realized that they were no longer falling. “Oh! Smolly! You saved me!”

Captain Smollett strained as hard as he could, just like Sunny and Hitch were doing… but it was clear that they couldn’t hold their friends for much longer.

The others had to rescue them, and fast!

XXXXXXXX

Long John, Allura and Twitch managed to help the rest of the pirates get the treasure (plus the star shard, which Allura was now holding) to the beach. “Come on, men! It's back to blighty now, lads!” Long John urged. “The treasure's all ours!”

“Yes…” Allura smirked. “And soon… all worlds will be mine!”

But as the pirates celebrated their success, Polly suddenly looked out onto the ocean and saw something quite startling. “Long John! Long John! Look! The ship!”

Long John pulled out his spyglass as the pirates began to mutter, confused. Turns out, Polly was right-- the Hispaniola was coming their way, and fast! “It's coming straight for us!” Polly cried out as Clueless Morgan began to shiver. “I-I-It's the ghost of Captain Flinty!”

“He’s coming to kill us!” Mad Monty wailed before the pirates began to flee. “Come back here, you cowards!” Allura shouted. “There’s no such thing as killer ghosts!”

But as Long John looked out at the approaching ship, he only knew of one boy capable of pulling off a rescue mission such as this. “...Hawkins…”

“And where Hawkins is,” Allura agreed, eyes narrowed, “then those puny ponies can’t be too far away. I'll get the chance to ensure their defeat after all...”

The Rescue and the Final Battle

After successfully taking control of the Hispaniola again, our heroes set the course toward the cliffs where Captain Smollett, Benjamina Gunn, Sunny and Hitch were now dangling for their lives above the perilous jagged rocks at the bottom of the cliff.

And once they rescued their friends, they had to get the treasure back from the pirates, Twitch and Allura... especially before Allura used the star shard's magic alongside the other one she had stolen to increase her powers.

If their friends didn't act fast, Sunny and Hitch didn't wanna think about what Allura might be able to accomplish next.

XXXXXXXX

As they sailed along in the Hispaniola, Gonzo pointed into the distance-- more specifically, toward the cliff where Sunny, Hitch, the captain and Benjamina were hanging. “Look! It’s Sunny, Hitch, the captain and the pig!”

Rizzo and Harmony gasped and Zipp pulled out her visor. “Oh no!”

It looked as if those ropes were going to snap at any minute, so Zipp knew that they had to act fast if they were going to save their friends in time. “Head for those cliffs!”

“Head for the cliffs, squire!” Mr. Arrow shouted. “Aye aye!” Squire Trelawney nodded and steered the ship in that direction. “Oh, Beakie, Beakie. Look, look!” Dr. Livesey pointed to the group in trouble. “I think we're going to need a net. Come along!”

“I’ll help with the net!” Lotus offered and followed them away.

XXXXXXXX

“Get back there, you yellow-bellied bilge rats!” Long John shouted to his crew. “Allura and I aren’t losing that treasure now!”

“And if you don’t hurry it up,” Allura snapped, “I’ll use my purr-suasion and force you to follow our orders relentlessly!”

This immediately got the pirates and Twitch to do as they were told, rushing back for the treasure on the beach.

XXXXXXXX

“Okay, guys!” Misty shouted to Gonzo, Rizzo, Harmony and Jim. “We’re lowering the net now!”

The other ponies began to pull ropes, which began to lower the net into the perfect position for catching the others. “All right, let's go. Okay. That's it,” Gonzo said to the group. “Beautiful. Beautiful.”

“We’re coming, Captain Smollett!” Persephone shouted. “And you too, Sunny and Hitch!”

“Are we ever glad to see you guys!” Sunny said in relief. “I don’t know if our grip or those ropes will hold much longer!”

True to her word, the ropes were beginning to get thinner and thinner, causing Benjamina to believe that it was all over. “Au revoir, mon capitaine.”

Just like that, the ropes snapped just as the ship got into positon, and Sunny, Hitch, Benjamina and the captain screamed as they plunged toward the rocks below.

Unfortunately, they missed the net, causing the other ponies to scream and rush to the front of the ship. “NOO!!!”

But when they all got to the ship’s front, they found out that Stalter and Waldorf, the figureheads at the front of the ship, had caught the two earth ponies and their friends just in time.

“Waldorf, you old fool! We're heroes! We saved the ponies, the pig and the frog!”

“Well, it was too late to save the story!”

Both figureheads let out a laugh as Sunny and Hitch sighed in relief. “Welcome back aboard, you all!” Jim saluted with a smile, and Mr. Arrow looked down at Benjamina. “And welcome to your lady pig friend.”

“Uh, guys?” Lotus gulped upon realizing something quite horrific. “If we’re all at the front of the ship, then who’s steering this thing toward the beach?!”

That’s when Lotus, Persephone, Gonzo and Rizzo looked toward the beach and gave a shriek of fright. “LOOK OUT!!!”

Everyone on board realized, to their horror, the unmanned ship was sailing right for the island shore.

Long John's crew backed away from the shore. The Hispaniola smashed into the sand. The impact sent Smollett, Benjamina, Sunny and Hitch flying out of the figureheads' and into a bush. As for the rest, they didn't fall off the ship, but they certainly jostled off their feet and hooves.

The two earth ponies, Smollett and Benjamina got up from the bushes, spitting out the sticks and leaves from their mouths, but were otherwise unharmed. “Is everypony okay?!” Sunny yelled back to the ones on the ship. “We’re fine for now!” Pipp cried. “But we still have blood-thirsty pirates and a snow leopard to stop!”

“So… what do we do?” Misty asked nervously. “What we must,” Mr. Arrow grabbed a loose rope. "The captain must have his sword."

Holding a second sword in his mouth, Mr. Arrow and Persephone rode the rope down to the shore, much to the others’ surprise.

“Whoa!”

“Wow!”

Jim, taking initiative, grabbed another rope with Harmony, both of them yelling out for battle as they swung to the shoreline. Several pirates ducked out of the way from their landing.

“Captain!” Mr. Arrow shouted as Sunny was in her alicorn form, trying to help the captain dodge the spear attack. "Fight, you idiots!" Long John shouted angrily. Mr. Arrow locked swords with another one of the pirates, and he strained as he tried to to hold his ground. Then, Persephone gave a mighty shoved and headbutted the pirate. “Captain!”

Smollett turned in his direction as he dodged another spear thrust from the pirate, inadvertently causing it to lodge in a palm tree. Mr. Arrow threw the sword toward the captain, who caught it and brought it down, snapping the spear in half. Benjamina delivered a right hook to the purple, lizard pirate, knocking him down. “All right! No more Ms. Nice Guy!”

And just like that, Benjamina raced up to another pirate carrying a handful of gold treasure. “No one maroons me and gets away with it!”

She smacked the treasure out of the pirate's hands and followed up with a chest blow and an uppercut. She then turned he sights on Black-eyed Pea. He thrusted his sword at her, but Benjamina dodged and retaliated with a punch to the face, a kick to the crotch, and a headbutt to send him back into the bushes before flipping her hair indignantly.

XXXXXXXX

“I’ll deal with Allura-- you and the others help take on the pirates,” Sunny told Hitch before taking to the sky and spotting Allura in the middle of the fight. “Allura, your scandalous treasure hunting ends here!”

Allura put the star shard from the treasure under her wing before she growled and took to the skies. “I will not let you and your pathetic friends take away what's rightfully mine!” she shouted and conjured up a ball of freezing magic in her paws before she threw it at Sunny, who expertly dodged it and fired a blast of her own at the leopard.

That’s when Allura dodged it and encased her claws in ice. “Oh-ho, Starscout… I'm going to make this hurt.”

XXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, Mr. Arrow, Persephone and Smollett were fighting side-by-side fending off the pirates. “Good to see you alive, Mr. Arrow,” Captain Smollett told his first mate, who nodded in response. “Thank you, captain.”

XXXXXXXX

While that was going on, Gonzo, Rizzo, Squire Trelawny, and the rest of the ponies swung down from the ship and into the fray. “GERONIMO!!!” Izzy and Gonzo cried out as they reached the shore, and they each split up into their own respective battles.

Well, all except Pipp, who was trying to avoid the fight in any way she could. “Oh, man, I’m really not a fan of all this!”

“Hope you like being a fan of dying, then!” Walleyed Pike laughed evilly as he approached her, causing Pipp to shriek and causing Walleyed Pike to laugh again. “”Don't worry, princess, it will only hurt a lot.”

“Oh, your breath is disgusting!” Pipp gagged, covering her muzzle with her hooves. “I gotcha covered, Pipp!” Izzy came in with a roll of duct tape in her magic, and in a flash, she taped Walleyed Pike's mouth shut. He tried to yelled, but all that came out was muffled, unintelligible nonsense. Pipp, quickly getting the memo, reared back on her front hooves and delivered a might buck to Pike's face, sending him flying away.

After he was gone, Pipp sighed in relief. “Thanks, Iz. #PiratesBeware, selfie?”

“Sure!” Izzy chirped. Pipp put a hoof over Izzy's shoulder and held her phone for a selfie. She and Izzy smiled brightly and took the picture.

XXXXXXXX

“Come on, you!” Clueless Morgan shouted at Jim, and Jim pulled out his sword and charged at the two. He locked blades with Jerry and forced it to the ground. Clueless swung back, but missed and struck the other pirate in the leg. Jerry let out a pained grunted and glared at the goat. “Oh, sorry.”

Clueless quickly swung his sword at Jim, who blocked it.

XXXXXXXX

“Oh, butterflies!” Misty cried out, dodging some of the fights with wide eyes filled with fear. “I'm only starting to realize we're outnumbered!”

“Not to worry, Misty. Size doesn't matter!” Gonzo said, just before a pirate shrimp appeared beside of them. “En garde!”

“I got this, Misty!” Gonzo stood in front of her. "Mi casa es su casa."

“Ah, I make cheese out of you. Come on!” the shrimp pirate taunted, but then, Gonzo let out a karate yell with starfish in his hands. “De soto! Hi-ya!”

He threw the starfish at the shrimp, nailing his forelegs against the ship. "Cucaracha!"

Then, Gonzo threw even more starfish, nailing the shrimp by the back legs and antenna. “Wow!” Misty exclaimed. “That was great aim!”

“Ha! I knew it was a good idea to keep those starfish in my pants!” Gonzo snickered, earning a weird look from Misty.

XXXXXXXX

“Take… THIS!!” Hitch stomped his hooves into the sand, and plants sprouted from the ground and wrapped around Short-Stack Stevens. The plants lifted the pirate upside-down into the air. Stevens wailed and flailed around, but it was pointless.

Once he was taken care of, Hitch looked over at Zipp. “How are things going on your end?”

“Holding up just fine!” Zipp delivered a knock-out blow to One-Eyed Jack. “They won't be for long,” Mad Monty jumped in front of the athletic pegasus, holding a sword. “Oh-ho, man,” Zipp chuckled. “You sound a bit too over-confident.”

Before Mad Monty could retort, Zipp grabbed him and flew high into the air, over the sea. “Have a nice swim!”

"Waaahhh! I'll get you for this!" Mad Monty yelled as he plunged into the salty waters.

XXXXXXXX

Back with Jim, he blocked another swing from the human pirate and kicked him back. “Come on, Jerry!” Allura cried as she continued to fight Sunny from the air. “He’s just a child!”

The two pirates locked swords again, but Jim was more prepared this time. He shoved his sword to the side, causing Jerry to turn completely backward to keep himself balanced. Taking the opportunity, Jim sliced a hole in the pirate's pants. Clueless Morgan laughed in amusement just before Jim swung at him again, which Clueless was able to block and retaliate. Jerry came in for a killing blow, holding his sword up high for a vertical stab.

Jim blocked the blade, then turned his body to the side and kneeled. Jerry's forward momentum betrayed him and he tripped over Jim's body before the young boy performed a back body drop and quickly straightened back up, sending the pirate into the sand. “Okay, okay, okay! Okay, I give-- uncle. Uh… I'm dead,” Clueless said before he closed his eyes and flopped to the ground. Jim rolled his eyes, but he was met with the sight of Misty (who had stolen the shrimp pirate's sword) and Gonzo in trouble, so he quickly raced over to them and battle the two attacking pirates.

XXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, Squire Trelawny was squaring off with Angel Marie. “Oh oh oh! Mr. Bimbo, help!”

Angel Marie came down with his sword, but somehow, Trelawny's hand directed his sword to block it. Whether it was sheer luck or Mr. Bimbo actually existed, it saved the half-witted bear. The ugly pirate tried striking Trelawny, but every time, his sword blocked it. While that was happening, Dr. Livesey and Beaker rolled a cannon to one of the firing holes.

Then, suddenly.... BANG!!!

The cannon went off and a cannonball whizzed by, striking a tree. The snapped trunk fell over and bonked Angel Marie in the head, knocking him out.

Trelawny finally opened his eyes and saw the nasty pirate had been dealt with, and he quickly gasped and held out his finger. “Mr. Bimbo! That was some amazing swordplay!”

XXXXXXXX

Not far away, Lotus was locking swords and Real Old Tom, well really it was the pirate controlling him, and Headless Bill. She was protecting Harmony, who was hiding behind her. “Are you sure this will work?!” Harmony asked, frightened. “It has to!” Lotus answered. “I don’t have any other ones!”

Giving the signal, coconuts began raining down onto the pirates. Confused and alarmed, they tried fighting back, but kept getting battered by the hard fruit, causing them to quickly retreat.

XXXXXXXX

Back with Persephone, Captain Smollett and Mr. Arrow, the three of them were fending off three pirates at once. Then, to make matters worse, Sweetums charged in with a giant log in his hands. “"Watch out, Mr. Arrow!” Captain Smollett warned them of the inevitable creaming they were about to receive. However, instead of hitting the frog and captain, Sweetums swung the log and took down the three pirates. “Oh… thank you!” Persephone beamed. “But, aren’t you supposed to be fighting against us?”

“Are you kiddin'? I love you guys,” Sweetums said. Smollett and Mr. Arrow shared confused looks, then turned back toward Sweetums before he ran off to assist the others.

XXXXXXXX

Mr. Arrow searched around to assist anyone else, when suddenly, he heard a shrill voice coming toward him. “COWABUNGA!!!”

Polly came swinging down as fast as the rope he rode on could take him, and Mr. Arrow quickly stepped out of the way, and the feisty lobster smacked into a tree and plopped to the ground. "Come on. Fight. Where are you?"

Mr. Arrow answered with a backhand strike, sending Polly back into the tree, earning a satisfied nod from Hitch.

XXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, Benjamina dodged sword blow after sword blow from another pirate. She headbutted him in the chest and punched him in the face. She then gave him a kiss, just to rub it in. The pirate dropped, leaving Long John Silver all on his lonesome. “And,” Benjamina declared, turning to Long John, “as for you…”

But, as she said this, Long John pulled out a gun and pointed it at her. Benjamina bit her lip and quietly squealed. All that pent up anger, frustration, and the need for vengeance, drained away, replaced by fear.

Luckily, Smollett saw this and immediately held up his sword. “Silver!”

And then, within a few quick hops, Captain Smollett came right over and used his sword to knock the sword from Silver’s reach. “Why don't you pick on somebody your own size, huh?”

Long John merely laughed at this, and just as Allura and Sunny began to fight on the ground, Long John and Captain Smollett were beginning their own sword fight.

However, it would appear that with the captain’s frog-like reflexes, he had the upper hand, much to Benjamina’s delight. “Yes! Yes! Smolly! Yes!”

“Ha ha, Silver! Hmm hmm…” Captain Smollett bragged, quickly moving his sword around. “Not bad for an amphibian.”

Nearby, some of the rat tourists were doing a cheer to root Captain Smollett on to victory. “Smolly, Smolly, he's our man! If he can't do it, no one can! YAY!!”

“You’ve got this, Captain Smollett!” Sunny shouted as she deflected another one of Allura’s purrs. “I believe in you!”

Smollett continued to wave his sword around willy nilly, while Long John just stared at him rather blankly. “Excuse me.”

“Pardon?”

But unfortunately, when Smollett did this, Allura kicked Sunny back into him, and the sword flew from out of Captain Smollet’s hands, causing the ponies to yelp and duck as it nearly struck the shrimp pirate, still trapped to the side of the ship. Mr. Arrow facepalmed at this, before punching Polly without looking.

Captain Smollett and Sunny got up off of each other, and Captain Smollett turned to Silver and Allura nervously. “I'm a frog. You know, slippery hands?”

Long John merely laughed before he and Allura both pointed swords at their necks, causing Sunny to tense in fear. “Y'know, I never really believed violence solved anything anyway.”

“Really?” Long John questioned. “Allow me to disagree, Ms. Starscout.”

“And with you FINALLY out of my way,” Allura sneered, “getting the other star shards will be easier than I thought!”

Captain Smollett and Sunny each shared a nervous glance, but before they could move, Jim pointed his sword at Long John and Allura. “Kill Sunny and Captain Smollett and you’ll have to kill me.”

“ Kill Jim and you'll have to kill me,” Gonzo agreed as he, along with many others, stepped forward with their own swords. “Kill Gonzo and you'll have to kill me!” Squire Trelawney agreed with a firm look. “Kill Squire Trelawney and Mr. Bimbo,” Pipp added fiercely, “and you’ll have to… negotiate strenuously.”

“Going somewhere, John-John?” Benjamina asked as she reappeared with her own boar army once again. Now even Allura seemed nervous. What was she going to do now? “...it’s over for you and Twitch, Allura,” Harmony said, breaking the silence. “You know… you still have the chance at having a happy life again… even without your brother. Just… give up the shard. You’re outnumbered… both of you are.”

Allura growled and glared at each and every one of them before she realized something.

Harmony was… right.

She was outnumbered… and even though she could easily freeze them all with one blast… she didn’t want to… this time around, anyway.

Besides, she still had another shard out there to find. It would be easy to track it down before the ponies could and get her brother back then.

All she needed right now... was the right time.

So reluctantly, she sighed and tossed it to Sunny. “And before you say a word, I haven’t gone soft. I just… need to perfect my strategy a bit more. Mark my words, though, Starscout-- I won’t make it easy on you then. Trust me on that. Come on, Twitch. We’re getting out of here.”

And then, with Twitch on her back, and her other star shard around her neck, she flew off and out of sight.

After she had gone, Long John turned to the others, who still had their swords drawn, and realized that he too was outnumbered and outmatched. So… he really had no choice in the matter either. “Well, Master Hawkins, it seems your little family has come together against me.”

And so, he handed Jim his sword, much to the others’ surprise and delight, and allowed the heroes to escort him and the other pirates to their holding place.

XXXXXXXX

A few hours later, as the Hispaniola began sailing home, the other pirates murmured to each other how they were going to be finished when they finally returned to England for trial.

Clueless Morgan, on the other hand, actually seemed… rather positive about the whole experience. “Well, you know, I, for one, feel better about myself. Yeah. And I believe that I have learned a valuable lesson.”

Unfortunately, none of the other pirates seemed to take this well, and began bashing Clueless with whatever they had repeatedly.

Meanwhile, in another cell, no one knew that Long John Silver was smirking in his cell. He still had Mr. Arrow’s set of keys… and with them…

…he was going to escape with the treasure, and they wouldn’t realize it until it was too late.

Author's Note

I owe Indywriter Productions so much for helping me write a bunch of this scene.

Farewell, Long John Silver/A Musical Ending for Our Heroes

Our pony heroes had succeeded-- they thwarted Allura’s plans once again, and helped their new friends and old friends defeat Long John Silver and his band of pirates before they could take the treasure of Marcus Flint off the island.

And on the bright side, the Mane 6 now had their fourth star shard.

Only one more to find out there somewhere... and one more to reclaim from Allura's clutches.

But, what they didn't realize yet was that Long John Silver was plotting his escape... and he would stop at nothing to ensure that the treasure was his and his alone.

XXXXXXXX

Harmony and Jim Hawkins slept close together that night, not wanting to take any chances with all the pirates being held below deck.

But as they were sleeping with their friends nearby, they suddenly heard a thud... then a splash.

As if someone was getting into the water with a huge load.

Having been woken up by this noise, Harmony and Jim went onto the deck to investigate… and what they didn’t expect to find was Silver, getting into a rowboat, having escaped his prison, with the treasure in the boat with him! “Silver!”

Long John heard both of them cry out, and Harmony flew to the side of the ship with Jim immediately following afterward. “I suppose you'll be blowing the whistle on me now, won't you, Jim?” Long John asked. “I suppose I will,” Jim said firmly. “You have to return to Bristol to stand trial.”

Harmony handed him the whistle from her pocket, but that’s when Long John chose to raise his pistol and aimed it right at them. “Oh, I'm sorry, Jim. I got a terrible fear of hanging.”

“Jim… we have to do it,” Harmony whispered. “No matter how much we used to like him… we’re not going to give him a ticket to freedom.”

However, Long John tried to manipulate Jim to turn the other way. “We're shipmates, aren't we, Jim?” he asked, getting exceedingly nervous with each second. “Gentlemen of fortune, together. Give us one more chance?”

However… Jim did not back down, and neither did Harmony. And then… after a long pause, Long John lowered his pistol, having a change of heart. “Oh, hell, Jim. I could never harm you, or that pretty pegasus lass of yours,” he sighed. “You’re both honest and brave and true. You didn't learn that from me.”

“...we learned it from our friends, Mr. Silver,” Harmony said stiffly, although it sounded more like she was trying not to cry. “Now take your oars,” Jim added on, “and row away. We never want to see you again, ever.”

Long John began to do as he was told, but then, he remembered something. “Oh, Jim!”

He tossed something small back toward them, which Jim caught.

It was his father’s compass.

Honestly? Jim couldn’t believe that Long John would give it back… and Harmony was equally as stunned. “Tis a shame, really!” Long John called out as he rowed away into the night. “We'd have made a great team, Jim!”

And after a few moments… Long John Silver had disappeared into the night.

Jim struggled not to cry at what just happened, and Harmony wiped away tears of her own, trying to comfort him despite the circumstances.

Captain Smollett, the Mane 6, Gonzo, Rizzo and Persephone approached the two, having seen what had happened… but only Captain Smollett had the voice to speak to them. “Well done, Jim. And you too, Harmony.”

“Yeah,” Zipp said. “Letting Silver go was… pretty intense.”

“And we’re sure of another thing too,” said Misty with a kind smile. “Your parents would have been proud.”

Harmony and Jim smiled for a brief moment before turning and watching the sea again. Only a few seconds later, Mr. Arrow approached the captain, looking a bit worried. “Captain Smollett, I have most distressing news. One of the jolly boats is missing, and I know for a fact that it was terribly unsafe.”

The group looked at each other with worry laced in their faces, knowing for a fact the only jolly boat that was missing…

…was the one Long John just took.

XXXXXXXX

As it turns out, that same boat sank to the bottom of the ocean along with the treasure as the sun rose that next morning, causing Silver to swim back toward the island, which was not too far away.

It seemed that Long John Silver would get the punishment he actually deserved...

...and that would be a lot worse than hanging, in itself.

XXXXXXXX

Around the same time that next morning, the boar (who Captain Smollett happily let come along with Benjamina) were happily playing with the ship steering wheel, all while Squire Trelawney was still hanging onto it and trying to steer. “Whoa! Whoa-ho-ho! This is not fun!”

“Flaubert,” Benjamina said to her pet anteater, sitting beside Captain Smollett with a smile, “meet Dada.”

The anteater sniffed Captain Smollett and Persephone, the latter giggling before turning to the captain. “We’re ready to sail, sir!”

Captain Smollett nodded at this, turning to Jim with a smile. “Where to, Captain Hawkins?”

“To wherever the wind may take us!” Jim responded, leading Gonzo to nod. “Off to Zanzibar, to meet the Zanzibarbarians!”

“Oh, brother,” Rizzo sighed before he and Pipp looked at each other. “Here they go again!”

However, everyone laughed at this, excited for whatever adventure came their way next. After a few moments, the laughter died down, and Harmony stood at the front of the ship for everyone to see her. “I just wanted to say thank you to you all… especially to our friends from Equestria, who helped us go on the biggest adventure of mine and Jim’s lives. We couldn’t have done any of this without you,” she said. “And to thank you… I wanted to sing a song that reflects my new outlook on life, and I asked Lotus and Persephone to help with the dance routine. Pipp? Do you have that audio track on your listening device?”

“Sure do! Whenever you’re ready!” Pipp held her phone up. And once she had gotten the signal, Pipp turned on the music, and as the music began, so did Harmony’s singing.

Harmony: There's something wonderful
About finding my own way (Mm-mm)
It's so fantastic how I'm learning out to say

What's in my heart, what's on my mind
Helping my friends, doing what's right (Mm-mm)
I let the magic that's inside of me shine

I'm making waves
I'm swimming to the rhythm of my own beat
Playing my song and I keep on singing, "Ayy, yeah, yeah"
I show the world what makes me me

Turn up the melody like hey
I'm making waves
I'm singing, "Ayy"
I'm making waves

I'm singing, "Ayy"
I'm making waves
I'm singing, "Ayy"
I'm making waves

And as the song reached the second verse, Persephone and Lotus decided to step in and perform their parts, as well as do the dance routine they had come up with.

Persephone: A new discovery in every single day (Mm-mm)
See something ordinary in a brand new way

Lotus: What's in my heart, what's on my mind
I use my voice to do what's right (Mm-mm)

Harmony: We let the magic that's inside of us shine

Lotus, Persephone and Harmony: We're making waves

Harmony: We're swimming to the rhythim of our own beat
Playing our song and we keep on singing

Lotus, Persephone and Harmony: "Ayy, yeah, yeah"

Persephone and Lotus: I show the world what makes me me
Turn up the melody like like

Lotus, Persephone and Harmony: Hey
I'm making waves
I'm singing, "Ayy"
I'm making waves

I'm singing, "Ayy"
I'm making waves
I'm singing, "Ayy"
I'm making waves

Soon, the song reached its end, allowing the three ponies to bow before their audience, entranced with the performance. But at that moment, the portal back to Equestria opened up, causing Zipp to sigh. “That’s our cue, ponies. We better get going.”

“Thank you all again for your help,” Captain Smollett said with a smile, shaking Sunny’s hoof before handing her the treasure map. “Here… something for you to remember this adventure by.”

“Thank you, Captain Smollett,” Sunny smiled gratefully. “I hope we see you all again soon! Bye!”

“So long!”

“See ya later!”

“Asta la vesta!”

And just like that, the Mane 6 ventured off into the portal, heading for someplace they longed to be.

Home.

XXXXXXXX

Paradise smiled in relief as she and Sparky watched the Mane 6 come out of the portal. “We’re so glad you’re back,” she said as Sparky hugged Hitch happily. “Tell us-- how was your adventure in the mortal realm?”

“Pretty scary, but… pretty amazing,” Zipp said with a smile “Pirates, treasure hunts, defeating Allura again… it was pretty intense.”

“But… it was all worth it to come back to Equestria and see this again,” Sunny said with a smile, looking fondly at the tapestry they had uncovered. “This changes everything, guys. And after this adventure, I know one thing for sure. There's got to be more alicorns out there.”

“And we’re gonna find them,” Zipp promised. “Together.”

Sunny smiled gratefully at her friends as they walked out of Opaline’s old lair… grateful for the adventure of a lifetime, and excited for the adventures that were to come.

Author's Note

I thought this song reflected the journey our heroes went on pretty well, so I decided to use it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGyKz7p2yVw

Also, I decided to not have Opaline's lair destroyed-- it might be a handy shelter in the future. See you in the next story, everyone!