Pirates of The Equestrian

Chapter 7: X Never Marks The Spot

Unaware of their three other friends' escapade with a salty sea captain, Twilight, Fluttershy, Pinkie and Shelly made their own way to quell the scourge of Blackmane. They had left Trotlantis earlier that morning after promising King Conch that the merpony kingdom would be free of the remnants of the dread pirate's destruction. Twilight closely studied the map she had smuggled from the Revenge and before long, the four finally discovered the location of the secret island, which held Blackmane's treasure and base of operations; Scurvy Shoal.

According to the map, the illustrious isle was in a thick crescent shape, with thick tropical overgrowth surrounded by a long distance of beach between the treeline and the water. It was the perfect place to hide anything from cider to vast amounts of looted gold.

After another trek through the suspenseful depths of the sea, the ponies at last came ashore onto the desolate island, breathing fresh oxygen for the first time in a long while.

"Brrrrrrrrrr!" Pinkie shivered from the salty moisture on her coat. "I've never spent so much time underwater! Hold on a sec." She then rapidly shook off the water giving her droopy wet mane its original poofiness back. "Whoo! Spin dry!"

"Um, Twilight," said Fluttershy. "What should we do now that we've found the island?"

"Blackmane must stop by here regularly to stash loot and restock his ship." Twilight explained, pulling out the map. "And when he does, we'll be ready for him."

"Ooh! What are we going to do?" asked Pinkie excitedly. "Booby traps? Are we gonna trap him in a net or hole? Ooh! Why don't we throw a pirate themed surprise party?! Blackmane will be so confused, he'll have to surrender!"

"...Um, well that's certainly thinking outside the box," humored Twilight. "But I got a better idea."

"It's not going to involve any scary battles, is it?" shivered Fluttershy.

"Hopefully not. But I think I know how to break Blackmane down. All we have to do is find his stashed treasure. When he arrives next time, we'll threaten to dump it all into the ocean, unless he surrenders to the Royal Equestrian Navy. Undead or not, he'll be living whatever life he has rotting in prison!"

"You really think that'll work?" asked Fluttershy. "How do you know Blackmane will buckle under?"

"Pirates are greedy. A pony like Blackmane would flip if one ounce of his treasure is harmed. But he won't dive into the ocean to get it back. Pirates from his time couldn't swim and were afraid of the deep. If Blackmane is as thick as I presume, we'll be able to put him away with good old fashioned negotiation."

"Aw that's no fun at all!" Pinkie stomped her hoof.

"Nopony ever said this was going to be fun, Pinkie. Now let's get to following this map. You coming, Shelly?"

Twilight then looked over to a disgruntled Shelly stuck in the shallow wake on the beach, unable to go any further. "Um, a little help please?"

"Oh, sorry! I guess I should return the favor." With an aura of magic, Twilight hollowed out a hunk of bark from a nearby palm tree and formed it into a tub shape. After filling it with seawater, she then used vines to tie the tub to Pinkie's back and helped Shelly inside.

"Yay! I feel like a sled dog!" smiled Pinkie.

"Yay, I feel like an idiot." Shelly glowered.

"Sorry, Shelly," shrugged Twilight. "It's the best I can do, since I don't know any air breathing spells for merponies as far as I know."

"No no, it's fine." Shelly replied. "I guess I could use a little rest from swimming."

"And I can live my foalhood dream of being a cart puller!" said Pinkie. "You want a ride, Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy just stared at her, unsure what to think. "Uh...I have motion sickness?"

"Alright you guys, let's get started on this map." Twilight unrolled the parchment and read began reading the directions to the treasure. "It appears that there are rhyming clues that will lead us. The first one says 'You land on the beach, after hauling today's loot, why not rest your head on the giant tree root?'"

"Aah! There's a giant snake on the beach!" screamed Pinkie.

"Aw, the poor thing is probably lonely here." Fluttershy added.

"Giant snake? What are you..." That's when Twilight noticed a deformed jungle tree leaning into the foliage. Underneath was a humongous brownish green root, detached and stretching out of the ground and coiling around the sand. The forked end of it seemed to resemble a gaping fanged mouth. Twilight smiled. "Looks like we found our starting landmark! Let's get moving!"

After reaching the twisted root, the four looked into the shady jungle preparing for the unknown.

Fluttershy gulped. "Why couldn't Blackmane just bury his treasure on the beach like a normal pirate? That jungle looks awfully dangerous."

"You were just feeling sorry for a giant snake not a minute ago!" glared Twilight.

"Well, um, it was just a root."

"Yeah but you...never mind! Let's just find the second clue. 'Into the jungle you shall march, take thirty paces to the old dead larch.' A larch tree on a tropical island? That doesn't sound likely."

"Hey Twilight, what's a pace?" asked Pinkie.

"Just take steps with the same hoof, Pinkie."

"Ooh! So we get to limp like zombies?" she then stood up on her hind legs with her front legs straight forward. "I've come for your brains! Extra crispy!"

"Pinkie, if you don't mind, we're trying to stop a real zombie. Now let me count. One, two, three," Twilight then took the required thirty paces into the jungle in search of the mysterious larch. "Twenty eight, twenty nine, thirty!" She surveyed the area. "...What the heck?! I don't see a larch tree anywhere! I knew there couldn't have been one."

"Larch!"

"Maybe there's a typo on the map. There must be more to this clue."

"Larch!"

"Let's see. Larches live in temperate climates. Temp- temper- temperate- tempt- temptation. Pirates are attracted to temptation. Like the seven deadly sins. There are seven boulders in this area. I think I'm starting to put it together."

"Larch!"

"Pinkie! Please stop! I can't think when you're..." That's when Twilight found Pinkie staring at a wooden board sticking out of the ground nearby. Upon closer inspection, there appeared to be writing on the board, and there was a mound of dirt below it; it seemed to be a grave. Twilight read the inscription aloud. "'Here lies Old Larch; feared pirate and faithful first mate. Died from a combination of trenchhoof and a shark bite.' The old dead larch! Well done, Pinkie!"

"What? What I do? I just like saying the word! Larch! Larch! Larch!"

"Can somepony please tell me what a larch is?!" grumbled Shelly.

Twilight continued. "Okay, next clue. 'Feeling thirsty after a long day's sail? Stop for a drink at the river's tail.'"

"Is there a river on this island?" asked Fluttershy.

"According to the map, there's one nearby," answered Twilight. "But it goes all the way through the island. There's no end to it anywhere. So where would we find its 'tail'?"

"Maybe we should just follow it all the way through." Shelly suggested.

"I'm waaaaaay ahead of ya! Weeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

The others looked as Pinkie was carried down a flowing river that had been trickling silently under their awareness. Pinkie giggled the water sent her floating away without any sign of slowing.

"Pinkie! What are you doing?!" shouted Twilight. "Wait, where's Shelly?" She looked around for the merpony as she who no longer had a means to pull her across land.

"Finally! Water!" Just then, Shelly was seen bursting out of the river's surface with a joyous splash.

"Shelly, go help Pinkie." Twilight said. "Who knows what could be in that river?"

"I'm on it!" With that, she dove beneath and sped down the river aided by the strong current.

Twilight continued along the river on hoof with Fluttershy scouting from the air. They hoped that Shelly would save Pinkie before the river's undertow cast her out into the ocean on the other side of the island. Twilight looked at the map, carefully following the position along the river she was moving along. Eventually, she reached halfway down the river in the center of the island.

"Fluttershy, do you see anything?" she asked.

"Um, Twilight, I found Pinkie." Fluttershy said with a bit of confusion.

Up ahead, Twilight finally found her wily pink friend sitting on the river bank. Beside her was a strange rock formation with fresh water trickling down its side and into the brackish river. Pinkie was chugging down the falling water as if she hadn't experienced enough water already. Shelly floated beside her with an annoyed expression.

"Hey guys! This water tastes so crisp and fresh!" Pinkie said.

"Pinkie, what were you thinking?" glowered Twilight. "I mean why would you just..." She stopped and gazed at the rock formation pouring water into Pinkie's endless stomach. The water flowed down an appendage of the formation which seemed to resemble a pony's tail. Once again, she put the pieces together in her head. "The river's tail! Wow, Pinkie, you're actually proving to be pretty helpful this time!"

"Thanks!...Wait, what's that supposed to mean?"

Twilight turned to the map again. "Follow thee, to a tree, marked with a symbol in blue, scale the tree's height, and using keen sight, you'll find the final clue.' Who wrote these instructions? Zecora?"

"Well if you guys are going to be doing any climbing, count me out." Shelly said.

"You can stay here for now, Shelly." Twilight replied. "It shouldn't be hard to find a tree with a blue mark on it. Although the clue doesn't give much else detail about it."

"Wait Twilight, um, I already found it!" called Fluttershy, hovering high above. She pointed over to a tall fertile tree that stood out from most of the smaller ones around it.

Upon closer inspection, Twilight approached the tree and noticed a pony-made inscription on the trunk. It was the word 'BLUE' written in red paint. "Okay seriously? I'm starting to doubt the guidance of these freaking pirates!"

"Well what did you expect, Twilight? They're pirates!" added Pinkie.

"Whatever. What's the last clue? 'From atop your newfound crow's nest, you'll find the X that marks the treasure chest.' Fluttershy," she called up. "Do you see an X from up there?"

Fluttershy floated above the top of the marked tree and surveyed the area. Eventually, something caught her eye. "Well, I see a clearing with two swords crossed in an X. Does that count?"

"That works for me!" smiled Twilight. "Now let's go get that treasure!"

"Um, Twilight? Just a thought." Fluttershy spoke up. "Wouldn't it have been easier to just skip all the clues then have me fly up and find the X in the first place?"

Twilight stared without a word for a moment, realizing just how pointless following the clues was. She took a minute to rub her forehead and recoil from her rare moment of ignorance. Then she sighed. "Shall we go to the X?"

Within a short walking distance, the ponies finally found the crossed swords which marked the end of their treasure hunt. Twilight removed the swords and prepared her magic.

"Okay girls, once we dig up this treasure, we'll have the edge we need to bring Blackmane to his knees!" She then used her magic to remove the earth in front of her, creating a hole that grew gradually deeper. However, after removing about twelve feet of dirt, there was still no sign of a chest of any kind. Twilight began feeling confused as she dug even more.

"Wow! Are we about to uncover lava?" asked Pinkie.

"I don't get it!" grumbled Twilight. "I don't see any treasure no matter how much I dig. This doesn't make...oh no! Those slimy pirates! This treasure map must be a decoy! I guess Blackmane isn't as thick as I thought."

"Um, guys?"

"So we don't know where the treasure is?" Pinkie reiterated. "How are we going to threaten Blackmane now?!"

"Hey guys?"

"I guess we'll just have to keep looking." Twilight sulked. "We'll dig up this whole island if we have to."

"Um, I think there's-"

"In that case, Twilight, use your magic to lift the island up and we'll search underneath! It'll be like looking under the couch for loose change!"

Suddenly, something flew past between Twilight and Pinkie piercing the air. They both looked in shock to see a sword vibrating from inertia as it was embedded in the ground. Then they looked the opposite way to see where it had been thrown from. They were even more shocked to see Fluttershy who had just flung her hoof.

"Oh my gosh!" the awkward pegasus whimpered. "I'm so sorry! I don't know why I did that! I was just trying to get your attention! Please don't be mad!"

"Fluttershy, what's the matter?" asked Twilight.

"Um, well, I was just wondering, have you noticed that all the seagulls here seem to be flocking in the same direction?"

"...Uh, no. We haven't really been focusing on the seagulls."

Fluttershy explained. "Well, there must be something that's attracting the birds to a certain spot. And I know for a fact that birds, especially seagulls, are attracted to shiny objects. If I'm right, all we have to do is follow the birds and we'll find them nesting around the treasure!"

"Fluttershy, that's genius!" perked up Twilight. "Are you sure it'll actually be the treasure?"

"There doesn't seem to be any food on this island that the gulls would normally eat. So they must be more attracted to something else."

"It's worth a shot. Let's follow the seagulls!"

With Fluttershy leading the way, the three followed the direction of any seagulls they spotted to somewhere on the western part of the island. They trekked further through the thicket, avoiding any dangerous wildlife. At one point, they were blocked off by an angry viper, but it was no match for one of Fluttershy's stares. Finally, they began to hear the cacophony of seagull calls and they at last found where they were gathering. They came upon a withered and rundown wooden shack, near the riverbank, surrounded by congregating seagulls. The shack was fully open on one side where an entire cluster of seagulls were fighting over possession of something hidden inside. After Fluttershy gently cleared away the pesky birds, Twilight finally found it.

Under an old tarp sat a chest of rotted wood with a busted open lock. But it was the contents inside that drew gasps from the three mares. The chest was filled to the brim with gold doubloons, pearls, gems of all colors and cuts, and gold jewelry fit for a princess.

"Sweet Celestia!" they gasped in amazement at the vast wealth.

"I can already hear Rarity screaming over this!" said Pinkie.

"Nice thinking, Fluttershy." Twilight smiled. "We wouldn't have found this without you."

"Aw shucks." She blushed.

"We did it, guys. With this treasure, we can force Blackmane to give in to the navy, and we'll have saved the ocean!"

"I still say we should have a battle!" Pinkie rolled her eyes.

"Guys! Guys, come here!" Suddenly, they spotted Shelly swimming vigorously upstream and ran up to meet her. "I found something that washed on the beach. You're gonna want to see this!"

Hurriedly, Shelly led the three down the river, once again through the jungle. Before long, they reached the beach, a bit further from where they started and Shelly swam over near the wake where the river dumped out. Resting on the edge of the beach was an odd spherical machine with propellers and a large thick glass bubble. But it was the ponies inside the bubble that caught their attention.

"Oh my goodness! What happened?!" shrieked Fluttershy at the sight of Rarity and Applejack lying unconscious.