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