G5 Adventures in Muppet Treasure Island

“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!”