The book's words quickly passed by Twilight Sparkle's eyes as she carefully read through the chapter. She was sitting alone in the library with only two candle lights lightning up the dark room. At the end of the first chapter she interrupted her reading and took a quick look at through the nearby window. Raindrops were quickly falling down in the darkness and clouding her sight.
I'm glad I'm not out there in this weather, she thought as she renewed her spell that were keeping the sound of the raindrops hitting the ground out. I got this beauty to keep me company. She directed her attention back to the book and turned the page to the next chapter.
The minutes quickly passed by as she was almost completely engulfed by the book. A small knocking sound came from the door even though her isolation spell seemed to work, it made her look up every now and then and lose focus. It sounded very much like it was the rain hitting, but the sound only came from the door. Everywhere else where the rain would be hitting was quiet. Could I have forgotten to apply the spell there? She quickly redid her spell with her focus on the door. Yet, the sound still reached through to her ears.
"Twilight!" The voice only barely penetrated the door, but it did stop her from trying to apply the spell again. "Open the door Twilight! I have great news!" The more the voice spoke, the more it reminded her of Pinkie Pie. She glanced quickly at the open book lying on the wooden table. The sight made her sigh, but she still opened the door with her magic and revealed a very wet pink pony holding a piece of paper in her mouth.
"Hey Pinkie," Twilight said trying to sound enthusiastic. "What brings you over here in such weather?"
"This map!" Pinkie answered and jumped into the library squirting water all over the floor and walls. "It's a pirate map, and we're going to be rich!" She handed over the piece of paper to the unicorn that lifted it up with her magic while closing the door. The paper had some trees and water painted on it in a crude shape. On the tree in the middle of the map was a large cross with some lines after it. On the very bottom of the paper it was signed with a name, Captain Yargh.
"Where did you get this?" Twilight asked and handed the map back to Pinkie.
"I bought it from a merchant not long ago," the pink pony answered. "I've already figured out where the treasure is. The treasure is here. I've already asked Applejack to bring some supplies so we can start digging."
"We can't just start digging here Pinkie," Twilight responded to the earth pony's enthusiasm. "We don't know if this map even is real. It looks like some filly painted this recently; it doesn't even look like Ponyville. Besides, I've never heard of any pirate named Captain Yargh."
"Trust me on this, Twilight," Pinkie said and directed her attention towards a book. The book cover read, Unknown Pirates. "I have a feeling that we'll find what we're looking for in this book."
"That's just a poor copy of another book," Twilight stated and used her magic to bring down a thick book from the bookshelf behind her. "If we're looking for an unknown pirate, this is the book we should check. But I've already read through this one a few times, and I have no memory of any Captain Yargh." She started reading through the register and index of the book without any luck. The book had entire chapters of pirates that only were pirates for a few seconds before quitting. It had pirates that never had any contact with any society. But there was no Captain Yargh.
"Like I said, nothing,” she said and placed the book where it belonged. “I think you've been tricked on this one. You are welcome to stay here for the night if you wish." She looked over at the open book and realised that she wouldn't get to read it as long as Pinkie stayed.
"Don't be silly," Pinkie answered with a giggle. "She's right here." Twilight quickly made her way to the book that the pink pony had opened. It was small section without a picture, but it was labelled under Captain Yargh. According to the book she had been a pirate with a lot of fortune, but her thieveries were never recorded for fear of repercussion.
"So she exists," Twilight sighed. "It still doesn't prove that the map is hers. The book says nothing about her ever coming to Ponyville. It could be..." She was interrupted in her speech by a knock coming from the door. It reminded her of what Pinkie said when she first entered. Too late now, she thought and opened the door to reveal a wet Applejack carrying three shovels.
"Howdy Twilight, Pinkie," the orange earth pony said. "What do y'all need these for at such a time?"
"We're digging up a pirate treasure!" Pinkie exclaimed and jumped up and down in rapid succession. "It's buried right here. Oh, this is so exciting. Come on, what are you waiting for? Let’s start digging, we can't let it wait."
"Are ye sure about this Twilight?" Applejack asked before stepping inside and wetting down the floor further.
"Not really," Twilight admitted while Pinkie snapped up one of the shovels and started digging close to the table. "But I've been unable to prove her wrong. At least I can fix this place up like it now after wards, so I'll let her prove herself wrong." Her eyes moved to the open book for a second while she grabbed one of the shovels.
"How do y'all know where to dig?" Applejack asked after taking a quick look at the map.
"I just know that this is the place," Pinkie answered and pulled up a lot of dirt.
"We'll see soon," Twilight said and joined in with the digging using her magic. She positioned herself as close to the table side with the book so that she could read at the same time.
The digging went quick thanks to their combined effort and soon they found themselves in a dimple as Pinkie's shovel hit something hard.
"I found it!" she exclaimed high in joy. With a little more digging she revealed a large treasure chest of wood that had started to rot. Twilight carefully lifted it up with her magic and placed it on the floor next to the large pile of dirt. The lock had already fallen off, and Pinkie's eyes were glowing with desire.
"If Captain Yargh was so successful, then why is she still so unknown?" Twilight asked herself out loud as she looked at the chest. The amount of bits that could fit in it was beyond her imagination. Even a large number of books could fit in it, but she doubted it, the book had never described the captain as somepony who liked books.
"She must have been might fine with it," Applejack replied and looked tempting at the chest. It was drawing all of their attention, but neither one of them seemed to want to open it.
"We can't stand here imagining what might be in there," Twilight said after a while and moved forward to the chest. "Let’s open it." She looked once again towards her book; after the chest was opened she would finally get to read it in peace.
With the two earth ponies looking at her, she carefully opened the chest to reveal its content. There were no bits swarming over the sides, rather only a small piece of paper lied on the bottom of the empty chest. She levitated it up and started to read the short and crudely written text. "Yeargh, my mates. I felt the urge to go on a shopping spree. For this, I leave you this piece of paper that you can sell. From your captain."
"Ah knew it was too good to be true," Applejack stated with a disappointed voice while picking up all the shovels. "Do ye want any help filling the dimple, Twilight?"
"That would be very kind of you, Applejack," Twilight replied and gave the note to Pinkie who read it multiple times.
"I'll help as well," Pinkie finally said after a little while with a low tone. "Then I'll sell this. I know just the pony."
Together they pulled the dirt back into the dimple with their hooves while Twilight used her magic to help. She decided to keep the chest in one of the library's corners, with a little renovation it could become a great place for safe keeping. As they filled the dimple up Pinkie knock down the candle lights into the dimple. Twilight could see small parts of the burnt-out lights as they were covered in dirt. She considered levitating them back up, but decided not to as they were already burnt-out. Instead, she flung some more dirt into the dimple before using a magic spell to repair the wooden floor. It looked like it had been before they had started digging.
Applejack gathered up the shovels and headed towards the door followed by Pinkie. The pink pony held her head high as if the lack of treasure didn’t affect her.
"You can stay here for the night," Twilight offered as her friends arrived at the door.
"Thank ye for the offer, Twilight," Applejack responded while opening the door and letting the sound of the rain in. "But Ah need to be back at the farm in the morning. Good night, Twilight."
"And I need to find the merchant who sold me the map," Pinkie answered. "She can’t have gotten far."
Twilight smiled slightly as she waved goodbye to her friends. Now, it's just me and you, she thought. It had been a strange experience in her mind, but in the end she got to spend time with some of her friends. She pulled out two more candle lights out of the drawer and returned to the table ready to read. Only her book wasn't there any longer. It was here just a minute ago. She thought back on the events of the night, and it struck her. No! She looked at the floor where the dimple had recently been with sad eyes.
