//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: Voyage of Peace // by Blueninetails //------------------------------// "Remind me again, why is HE here?" Rainbow asked in a hushed tone to Twilight, as she pointed a hoof toward Discord, who was currently laying down on the ceiling of the library's main room reading a book. "Princess Celestia suggested Discord get into reading as a way for him to relieve any chaotic tendencies he may have." Twilight whispered back, looking away from what she was working on the briefest of moments "How does books keep him from causing chaos?" "The same reason why ponies like you read Daring Do. It allows you a window, granted a small one, to forgo reality and, in a way, 'live' the adventure." "I can hear you two you know." Discord rang in, not tearing his eyes off the book that he was reading, "I may be over a thousand years old like your precious princesses, Tia and Lulu, but that doesn't mean I'm deaf." he added with a slight smirk. "Hey! No butting into our conversation. Didn't Fluttershy drill it into your skull that that's rude?" Rainbow shouted. "Quite the contrary Rainbow Dash. When you talk about someone behind their backs and expect them to not know, then you're the rude one." Discord remarked as he laid back to a more comfortable looking position the roof and pushed the book he was reading aside for the time being, and shot the pegasus a toothy smirk. Rainbow replied with an angry snort and went back to reading her book. Twilight remained silent for a moment before looking back up at Discord, "Are you done with that book? Because if you are, I'd certainly appreciate it if you'd get off my ceiling." "Oh please, Twilight Sparkle. Is that how you treat the ponies that visit the library? If so, I can see why it's so empty most of the time." "No, of course not, but I would've preferred that you weren't up there. The wood up there easily can capture bits of your fur. It's going to be more than just a chore to make sure it's perfectly clean up there." Twilight replied, "Besides, why do you think I set aside those pillows over there?" she pointed to pillows in the corner of the main room. "They were suppose to be for you to use." "That's the boring way of doing things. Besides, why bother with dusty old pillows like that when the ceiling can be just as comfy?" He claimed as he placed his hands behind his head. "You really should give it a try one of these days." "Uh, no thanks, I think I'll stay on the ground." Twilight dully stated just as there was a knock at the door, followed by both Pinkie and Fluttershy walking in. "Hiya!" Pinkie greeted. "Hey Shy, Hey Pinkie." Rainbow greeted from behind her book. "Do you girls need anything?" Twilight asked. "Oh,um..., not really....I was just following Pinkie actually." Fluttershy stated Pinkie remained silent for a brief moment, until she heard Fluttershy mentioned her name, "Huh...? Oh, yeah! I wanted to invite you and Dashie to my next party." she announced. "Oh, right, it has been a while since your last party Pinkie Pie. Let's see... when was the last party you threw?" Twilight asked, faking a curious tone. "What time is it?" Pinkie asked as she brought a hoof to her face and started tapping her chin. "It's....about 4:15 in the afternoon." Twilight replied while glancing at a clock. "My last party was exactly one week, four days, three hours, and 27 minutes ago." Pinkie replied, "Far too long." "I'd wager." Rainbow voiced in with a chuckle. "My party is on Friday." Pinkie happily declared. "Ooh, and don't forget, you promised to have Spike bring his super-ultra scruptious Triple-decker, vanilla-nut, chocolate chip cookies." "Of course. Don't worry Pinkie Pie, I already have it written on my to-do list: Remember to have Spike make his special Triple-decker, v-" "Am I invited?" Discord voiced in. They all looked up at him, Discord still laying comfortably against the ceiling, though he was now only half his usual size. Seems he decided to shrink himself to further 'hide' and simply eavesdrop on their conversation. "Ooh, I didn't know you were here." Pinkie stated as she looked up, "Of course you are, but you better bring something to the party." "I thought you were just going to check-out a book." Fluttershy softly rang in. "I was, but then I realized I don't have a library card." He explained as he shrugged. "Didn't Twilight give you one?" "He never bothered to ask for one." Twilight replied in her defense. "Not like it makes any difference anyway, this book gets read by me either way." Discord stated, as he picked the book back up and pressed on with his reading. "What are you reading anyway?" Rainbow asked as she looked up at the draconquus. "Not sure really, I didn't bother to read the title." he dull replied and with a shrug. "You didn't read the title...?" Twilight asked with a raised brow. "I'm just here to read a book, and that's exactly what I'm doing, reading a book. Besides, reading the title of a story...?" he asked with a smirk, "That's far too predictable, and I don't do predictable." "So what are you reading?" "If you must know, it's just some pirate story. I'll admit, I think the antagonist in this is a mare after my own heart." He replied as he brought his clawed hand to his chest, an almost dreamy look on his face, "Steal one measly, boring artifact that turns out to be very important, and she manages to cause more chaos and disharmony than I can with a snap of my claw.” He chuckled at the thought. "Well, I'm glad you like it. I think..." Twilight remarked before scratching her head. "What are you working on Twilight?" Pinkie asked as she immediately invaded Twilight's personal space as she placed her head right next to Twilight's in an attempt to see what Twilight was working on. "Well..." she started as she politely gestured with her hoof for Pinkie to cease invading her personal space, "I was studying the latent magic within the comic book we got sucked into some time ago." "Oh yeah, that was fun!" Pinkie exclaimed followed by a giggle. "Anyway, it's a form of magic that I've never heard of, so naturally it would be a subject that peaks my interest." Twilight continued to explain, "The book I'm reading right now makes references to a kind of spell that is somewhat similar, but not completely." "Hm?" "Aside from a little history on enchanted items, it mentions a kind of spell created by Star-Swirled the Bearded that allows the caster to view the actual strength and base frequency of certain spells, including enchantments. Well, really disenchanting is actually very tricky, so really it would just make it more dormant than it was last time, but I digress. Seems to be primarily used for dispelling, but it can be used to also replicate certain spells as well, as long as the caster herself has the proper amount of energy and experience to cast it." she continued, "I wonder why I've never heard of it before?" "Why don't you ask your dear brother, Prince Shining Armor." Discord voiced in, "I know of that spell you're talking about. A fun spell, but it's only taught to Lulu's special night-guard." "..." "Oh please, since I can't cause chaos anymore, being reformed and all, I have lots of boring time to myself. You'd be surprised what you learn when you're trying to take a nap in the Canterlot Armory." "Well, I'd like to learn it. I just want to understand the enchantment that was on the comic book. Since I can't seem to locate the exact one we were sucked into anymore for some reason, I managed to find a shop that was willing to sell me a comic that had an enchantment." Twilight explained as she pulled out the comic book in question with her magic, "This one cost me quite a few bits, so if this one disappears, I'm going to have a word with the shopkeeper who sold this to me. Anyway, maybe I can learn to increase it's dormancy so we don't get sucked into it like the last one." "Aw! But that was so much fun!" Pinkie exclaimed "Don't worry, I really see no harm in doing another adventure like that one. I just want a few days of normal life here in Ponyville." Twilight explained with a smile, "If the others feel like doing so though, I suppose I could try reversing the spell on this one, and we could give it a try." "What kind of comic?" Rainbow curiously asked "I'm not sure actually." Twilight replied as she flipped through a few pages, "Something similar to Daring Do I think." "Oh...? Can I read it?" "Later, after I've casted the spell to increase the dormancy of the enchantment on it." "Sounds boring." Discord rang in before giving a yawn, "Speaking of 'normal' though, I really must be going. I must get back to work." This caught their attention, as Rainbow, Pinkie, and Twilight looked toward him. Fluttershy seemed to be the only exception. "Work...?" Twilight asked, checking to see if her ears weren't deceiving her. "You have a job?" Rainbow followed suit with her own question. "Of course. I'm sure Fluttershy can fill you all in, I'm already on the clock. Ciao." With a snap of his fingers, Discord immediately vanished. The book he read fell promptly to the floor, earning an annoyed groan from Twilight. She levitated the book towards her and checked for any potential damages. "So, what was Discord going on about, Shy?" Rainbow asked "Oh, um..., I think he means the special request I asked him to do for me." She timidly replied and averted her eyes from the others, "I asked him if he could help me catalog some of the fauna in the Everfree Forest. As Ponyville's animal expert, I thought knowing more about the animals there would be good, and that...maybe...Discord could do it without getting hurt. He isn't gonna get hurt, right...?" She added just before looking at Twilight, her expression showing great concern that she may have just sent him into a dangerous situation. "I'm sure Discord will be fine Fluttershy. We've all experienced what Discord can do, and how he can easily affect the mental state of individuals. Just because he's reformed now, doesn't mean he doesn't have those powers anymore. What's the worse that could happen?" Twilight asked as she set the book Discord was reading onto the center table, next to a pile of books that she was reading. "Well, an angry manticore might get him." Rainbow voiced out. "Rainbow!" Twilight glared at her friend. "Or maybe that hydra we saw a while ago." Pinkie voiced in, "It tried to eat us, didn't it?" "Naw, he might just fall in some poison joke and end up having magical issues like Twilight did." Pinkie was about to say another thing when she suddenly felt something wrap around her muzzle and keep it shut, and apparently Rainbow had the same. "You two are not helping." Twilight firmly stated, before looking back at Fluttershy, who was now shaking violently out of fright that she had made a horrible mistake. "I'm sure he'll be fine Fluttershy. If it makes you feel better, Princess Celestia had actually informed that Discord had picked up a new habit to entertain himself as of late." "..." "Discord apparently has been practicing a variant of teleportation called 'Flash Teleportation'." "Flash teleportation...?" Twilight nodded, "It's a kind of teleportation that allows the caster to teleport in rapid succession. Essentially they would teleport to a location, then in about a second or less, already have enough energy to teleport to another location, and they can do this for as long as their magical reserves can allow. There is a trade off though, the caster would only be able to teleport in relatively short distances. At the most, the maximum distance a trained individual would be able to teleport, is about a fraction of the Grand Ballroom's width." "Discord can do that?" "That's what I've heard from Princess Celestia." Twilight replied as she began charging a spell, "Apparently he been using it after he angers Princess Luna in some way, to dodge most of her attacks." "Oh...my.... Maybe I should talk to Discord about that. It can't be good for Discord and Princess Luna to always be fighting like that." Fluttershy stated outloud to no one in particular. "Don't waste your time Fluttershy." Rainbow stated as she put her book aside, "If Discord wants to pick fights with Princess Luna, let him. It's not our problem if he decides to pick a fight with either of the Princesses." "But..." Fluttershy was saying before she trailed off. "Rainbow is right.... kind of. It's really none of our business. The only real exception is if their arguments got out of hoof." Twilight explained, "Now, can you all remain silent? I need silence if I'm going to cast this spell correctly." All three simply did as they were told and remained silent, as Twilight's horn started to glow and give a low hum and she shut her eyes and started casting the spell. After few moments, Twilight started lessening the amount of magic she was outputting, the glow and hum started to lessen until it was completely gone and Twilight opened eyes again. "Di-did it work?" Fluttershy asked after a brief moment of silence. Twilight didn't answer, at least not yet, as she carefully flipped through the pages of the comic book with a hoof. Every couple of pages, Twilight could feel some miniscule amount of magic jump from the page and onto her hoof. "I... can't tell. I can still feel a residual amount of magical energy coming from the comic, but it's certainly a smaller amount compared to earlier. Hm..., maybe I didn't do it right." Twilight went back to the spell book she was reading to see if she had missed anything. "Well, it isn't the first time that's happened. You casted a spell that didn't work the first time before." Pinkie stated cheerfully, "Maybe next time it'll work." "You're probably right. It's probably just a small miscalculation on my part." Twilight agreed just before her stomach growled Pinkie giggled, "Sounds like somepony didn't eat today." "I did eat today." Twilight stated defensively, "I just missed lunch is all." "I dunno if an apple and a couple of honey-crackers count Twi." Rainbow stated amusingly. "Well that's a boring meal." Pinkie declared in a somewhat sympathizing tone, "Ooo, I know, we just made a fresh batch of lemon meringue pie at Sugar Cube Corner. How about I serve my friends up a mid-afternoon treat. My treat!" "Well, that does sound quite good." Twilight remarked, the idea of food making her hungrier. Fluttershy showed her approval by nodding. "Count me in. Food is always good after reading." Rainbow stated as she put her book aside for now. "Woo-hoo!" Pinkie cheered, "Hey, we should get Rarity and Applejack to come too." "We'll have to check with them first, see if they can afford the time to just hang out with us." Twilight stated as they headed for the door. Before another word could be said, all four heard a squishing sound as Pinkie put her hoof on the doorknob. Pinkie looked at her hoof. "Huh...?" "What's the hold up Pinkie?" Rainbow asked impatiently. "Open the door and let's get going already." "I think somepony just painted your doorknob Twilight." Pinkie stated as she raised a hoof with yellow paint smeared on it to show them. "What are you talking about?" Twilight asked as used her magic to get a grasp on the doorknob. As she attempted to open the door, the knob pulled right off with only a thin rope of it keeping it attached to the door. "What the...?" A low but sudden groan echoed above them. "That d-doesn't sound good." Fluttershy nervously stated as her eyes started to dart about the room and the yellow pegasus started backing away toward the center of the room. They remained silent as the building groaned a couple more times, until a chunk of the ceiling came falling down, ominously splattering upon contact. Fluttershy freaked out and hid behind Twilight as the group stared at the jello-y mass that was colored like the ceiling. As if on cue, three books suddenly flew off their positions from the shelves, one almost hitting Rainbow Dash in the head, another almost striking Pinkie on her ribs. A gush of multi-colored goop started to flow out of the gaps that the books had left in vast quantities. Luckily most of it seemed to be draining into the basement of the building. "Augh! What is this stuff?!" Rainbow asked loudly as she took the air, her hooves painted a shade of black and yellow. "It smells like paint." Pinkie remarked as she brought one of hooves, which was also covered in the stuff, up to her snout to pinch her nose. The paint that she now got on her face seemingly not bothering her in the least bit. "Paint...?!" "This isn't good." Twilight stated as she tried using some magic to shield the books in the library from the paint, "We better get out of here. We can figure out what's going on once we're somewhere safe." She added once she noticed that the level of the paint was now gradually rising in the room. The others promptly nodded in agreement and started toward the door, which Twilight was already trying to open it with her magic. Twilight wrapped her magic completely around the door and started trying to pull it open only to find her efforts in vain as the door refused to open. The door bent and bulged as Twilight pulled at it as if it were fused to the wall. "Come on Twilight, quit joking around." Rainbow stated, a slight tone of growing concern in her voice, as more pieces of the ceiling came crashing down, each looking more like paint globules than the last. "I'm not joking around. The door is stuck!" she exclaimed, now trying with enough force to practically tear the door off it's hinges. "The windows won't open either." Fluttershy stated in a panicky voice, as she tried escaping through that route. "Then move! I'll bust us through." Rainbow commanded as she flew over to the farthest point in the room from the door and prepared herself for impact. Before anypony could possibly say a word to convince Rainbow otherwise, the cyan pegasus sped up as fast as she could, and twisted her body just before contact to effectively kick the door. As soon as she made contact though, the door merely started to contort at the contact point till Rainbow came to a stop and the door pushed back, shooting Rainbow back into the room and into the center table. Rainbow crashing into the center table caused all the books that were once on it to fall into the paint goop, one being the book Discord had been reading, and which unbeknownst them had been giving off a dull glow. "Oh my...! Are you okay Rainbow Dash?" Fluttershy asked Rainbow gave a loud groan before shakily replying, "Yeah...." They heard something else give as a loud bang could be heard, as more of the roof gave way and paint flooding out of the cracks. As if to add to the urgency of the matter, paint also started to flow from the upper floor in vast quantities. "This just doesn't make any sense! Where is all this coming from?" Twilight asked outloud to no one in particular as the level was now up to her stomach and chest "Forget making sense. I just want to know what the hay is going on!" Rainbow yelled. Just as the level reached their necks, Twilight, Rainbow, Pinkie, and Fluttershy started to back up toward the middle of the room, and away from the sources of the paint entering. At that moment, Twilight instinctively casted a spell that created a bubble around them, sealing all four of them into an area with some of the paint, but at least one where it wouldn't rise any further. Within a matter of seconds, the only source of light was now the boundaries of the magical bubble, as the paint outside of the bubble's boundaries continued rising till the whole library's main room was completely filled. After a moment to catch her breath from almost drowning in paint, Rainbow shot Twilight a pissed off look. “You couldn't have done this earlier?" "Well, I didn't expect we needed it." Twilight replied defensively. "Tssk! Didn't need it...We almost drowned in this gunk!" "Um..., can we stop arguing please...?" Fluttershy begged. "Flutters is right." Pinkie declared in a serious tone, "Stop acting like grumpy-grumpersons." "Right, I'm sorry." Twilight sighed, "Hm..., well, we're still in the library. I can still feel the library floor below me." she added as she stomped her hoof a few times against the wooden surface below her, "This is still interesting. Where did all of this come from?" "Betcha it's Discord." Rainbow quickly accused, "This is probably just one of his lame-o pranks again. Bet he's hanging out on the balcony laughing his tail off right now." "I dunno...I mean, maybe it isn't him." Fluttershy timidly said as her ears flattened against her head. "As much as I'd like to blame Discord too, I think Fluttershy might be right on this one." Twilight remarked as she brought a hoof to her chin, "This is chaotic, yes; but, this is complete destruction of property, something I doubt is Discord's usual style of mischief. He only causes partial damage from past experiences, something like this is much farther than I believe he would do." "Well, who else would it be?" Rainbow asked as a small cracking sound started to be heard, making all four ponies look toward the top of the bubble as it started to crack. "Uh-oh." Twilight stated with wide-eyes "Uh-oh?" Rainbow repeated, "'Uh-oh' what?!" "The magical shield is starting to crack." she replied as her horn started to glow brighter to increase the magic and fix the crack, which didn't seem to be working, "and I can't fix it! Something outside is either weakening my magic, or there some amount of pressure that's now acting on the shield." "So, what does that mean?" Rainbow asked as she and the others gave very nervous expressions, already guessing what that could've possibly meant. "Hold your breath!" Twilight yelled before the shield shattered, casting the four into absolute darkness. As they felt the paint fully cover them, they started blindly looking for a place to escape or someplace a bit of air could've gotten trapped before they were forced to inhale the paint. Soon though, the feeling of the fluid seemed to ease as it became a lot less viscous, and quite cold. Against her better judgement, Twilight opened an eye and found herself under water. Looking in all directions she eventually found which way was up, as she noticed what she could only guess was the light of sun shining down from the surface, and three distinguishable dots, that based on the color of yellow, pink, and rainbow, was the others and started swimming up towards that. Upon reaching the surface, Twilight quickly felt a hoof grab her's and pull her closer. It was Rainbow. Rainbow had grabbed hold of Twilight and helped the alicorn onto a bit of wooden debris that all of them were now hanging onto. Where they were right now seemed to be in the ocean, not very far from land though as the sight of a large city could clearly be seen. If anything they could probably swim, or fly, to the location. "You okay there Twi?" Rainbow asked "Y-yeah...I think so. Thanks for the help." "Don't mention it." "So, where are we now?" Twilight asked before noting that Rainbow, Pinkie, and Fluttershy seemed to be wearing something, "For that matter, what are we wearing?" She asked as she looked down at herself, noting that she also now wearing some form of clothing. Twilight seemed to be donning a white shirt with a tight black vest, of which both cut-off just above her flank. Rainbow was wearing black vest as well, though it was fairly loose compared to the one Twilight was wearing, and she was also wearing a red bandana. Fluttershy was wearing a green bandana with a decorative white butterfly insignia just in front of her right ear and, while currently unseeable to the others, also a belt and cutlass. Pinkie was the most clothed out of the four as she wore dark-pink frock coat, boots, and had a tricorn hat upon her head. The hat itself was the same color as the coat and had a balloon with cross-bones on it. "Your guess is as good as mine." Rainbow replied. "Ooo, we look like pirates." Pinkie said as she adjusted her hat and gave a devious smile. "We'll wonder about that later. For now let's worry about reaching that city over there." Twilight stated, "Rainbow and I can probably carry Pinkie over there. I can only imagine that the coat she's wearing must be quite heavy since it's wet." "It's not that bad actually." Pinkie rang in with a grin. "Besides, there's a problem you're forgetting about Twilight. We can't fly very well with wet wings. We'd need to dry off our feathers before we could fly." Rainbow stated as a matter-of-factly. "We probably won't need to worry about that anyway. Look, a boat's heading our way." she added before pointing at a large boat quickly approaching them. As the boat neared them, it started to slow down so as not to hit them, but also so those on board can look down at them. They were only able to make out what looked to be golden armor, Princess Celestia's guard maybe, before they felt a magical aura pick them up and bring them onto the deck. "Thank you sirs." Twilight thanked them, "We are very much-" she was saying before she felt one of them force her down onto her stomach, along side the others, and all the guards pointed a spear at their heads. "Silence! How dare you speak a word to us!" one of the armor-cladded ponies shouted, "After what you've done, you should be glad that you need to stand trial for you crimes! Although leaving you out here to drown would've been far more befitting of thieves such as yourselves." "What?! But we haven't-" "We didn't do anything!" Rainbow shouted, interrupting Twilight, as she started to struggle against the pony who was holding her down. "Save your breath for the grand council. It may be your last." At this point Pinkie remained stunned, not quite sure if saying anything would at least lighten the mood. Fluttershy nervously remained quiet, of which Twilight followed suit. Rainbow was going to argue further, but remained quiet as she noticed that three blimp-boats had flown over, each one donning three cannons each and every single one pointed at them. Once it became clear that they were going to be compliant, the guards that were holding them down let them stand back up again before placing an anti-magic ring on Twilight's horn to keep her from casting anything, and tightly tied Twilight, Rainbow, and Fluttershy's wings to their sides with rope. Once the leading guard was satisfied that they couldn't in anyway retaliate he signaled for one of the guards to tell the ship's captain to head back to the city, and for two of the guards to lead the others down below deck. The trip back to the city that Twilight, Rainbow, Fluttershy, and Pinkie had seen earlier didn't take very long. During the trip they could only guess at what the charges against them were. While she may have been cooperative earlier and kept her mouth shut, once below deck Rainbow was more than happy to voice her protests. One of the guards had actually whacked her once in the head with his spear to simply shut the pegasus up. Once properly docked, they were given over to three new unicorn guards. One of the guards used magic to summon something that clamped onto their ankles and kept them chained together so they wouldn't run off while they walked through town. The walk through town probably should've been quite embarrassing to say the least, chained together, being lead by city guard through the busy streets, and every pony they came across stopped to watch; but, it seemed to be the last thing on their minds as they were taken back by the architecture of the city. When they were still at sea, holding onto that bit of debris earlier, they could only tell it was a large coastal city, but now actually being there, it was breath-taking. The lower areas, the area closest to the piers, were mostly made of wood, while the closer to the heart of the city, structures made of neatly carved stone and marble started to become more frequent including beautiful statues and fountains. What really caught their attention though in the center-most area of the city, was the presence of three tall towers that stretched out toward the sky. The center most was taller than the other two, but all three seemed to have gold plating at their very tops. Eventually they arrived at a stone building that had four guards stationed at the front, and were lead down one level before the restraints on their ankles and wings were removed and all four were promptly thrown into a jail cell. "Your trial is tomorrow, so you better get comfy. This might be the last time you scum get a place so nice to sleep." one of the unicorn guards stated before slamming the cell doors shut. "What a big fat meanie grumpy-pants." Pinkie stated in a pissed off tone as she rubbed her flank, since she had landed hard on her rump when she was thrown in. Fluttershy seemed to agree with that sentiment as she silently rubbed one of her wings. Rainbow snorted before giving the jail cell door a swift kick to see how secure it was, and show her discontent of what had just happened to them, "What the hay is going on here?! First we almost drown in paint, then almost drown in water, get pony-handled like trash, then thrown into the dungeon?!" "Relax Rainbow, we're just as confused as you are." Twilight tried to calm the pegasus down. "I'll relax as soon as we finally get some answers!" Rainbow stated firmly then gave the door another hard kick. At that moment, another set of three guards came in escorting two familiar ponies and two diamond dogs. One of the ponies was a light blue unicorn mare with periwinkle and blue mane and tail, the other was pale yellow earth pony mare with raspberry mane and tail with a light raspberry streak. The two diamond dogs were both quite tall, and one was colored a light brown color and the other a very light grey color. "Oh dear..., is that...?" Fluttershy started in a surprised tone "Roseluck...? Dr. Colgate...?" Twilight tried addressing them as she approached the front of the cage to make sure her eyes weren't deceiving her. Both diamond dogs were both wearing just a vest and belt each. Rose seemed to be wearing the same as Fluttershy, a bandana and belt, her cutlass having been taken from her. The bandana she was wearing was a deep red color and, similar to Fluttershy, a white silhouette of her cutie mark embroidered onto it. Colgate seemed to be wearing a nice coat, one that made her look like she possibly came from a fairly rich background. Before they could reply, the guard ponies did the same to them as they had with Twilight and the others, unbound them before promptly tossing them into a jail cell. "Captain Pinkie, Twilight, Rainbow, Fluttershy." Colgate stated, though the bit of accent in her speech seemed to suggest otherwise, "Thank the stars you four are alive." "Huh...? 'Captain'...?" Rainbow asked as all three of them looked at Pinkie, who looked just as puzzled as they are. "Dr. Colgate, are you-?" Twilight started before being cut off. "Colgate? That's not my name." she said as she looked at her curiously, "The name I was given by my parents is Azure Coral. Though I am a mare of medicine." "Do you still recall my name...? It's Golden Rose." the one that looked like Roseluck stated, then paused for a moment to see if their faces indicated anything, "Did you four get wounded during the battle?" "..." "What about us?" the light grey diamond dog asked, "Do you remember-?" "Well, duh! Of course I'd remember my boys." Pinkie stated almost on instinct as she crossed her hooves, "Bronze and Silver." she added, before giving a shocked look as her eyes went wide at how she could've possibly known that. Twilight cleared her throat for a moment, "Perhaps that, er...the battle left us a little worst for wear mentally. I can vaguely recall certain details myself. Perhaps you can help us fill in the details." Azure, Golden, Bronze, and Silver looked at each other in confusion, wondering how they could possibly forget, but shrugged it off and helped fill them in what had happened to them in the last 24 hours, which was more than a shocker to Twilight, Rainbow, Pinkie, and Fluttershy to say the least. According to the light-blue unicorn, as well as Silver, the debris they had been on was one of several pieces that use to be their ship. Apparently they were a pirate crew that was fairly known throughout the Equestrian Seas and were lead by Captain Pinkie Diana Pie, a particular pony captain known for her spontaneity and unpredictability. Though they were a relatively small crew, they had strength through their skills alone which was why they were fairly recognized. Fluttershy was Pinkie's second in command, occasionally also doubled as the ship's cook as well, and she apparently had a fairly strong reputation that seemed to be almost just as confusing as Pinkie. Rainbow was the spotter and the scouting pony, a matter that seemed to only be supported by her agile flying. Twilight was the ship's navigator, as well as the organizer in the group. Her advanced knowledge of the stars, maps, and trained calculations helped give the crew an edge in all they did, which is why it's somewhat debated whether she was the third-in-command or not. Azure was the ship's doctor, and while not much of a fighter, she gained some infamy for her knowledge in medicine. Rose was another fighter on board, and was supposedly the best out of the eight. Her tried-and-true fighting techniques granting her a strong edge against even against multiple enemies. Bronze and Silver were the ship's muscle, as well as twin brothers, and while they possessed little skill with a sword, they were an effective duo when it came to brute strength. While they were an incredibly effective crew, especially for a small one, the particular reason as to why they haven't been added to the "Most Wanted" list in every coastal city was due to a unique approach that Pinkie and Fluttershy seemed to have adopted. Despite their pillaging and ransacking, they were known to aiding ponies who had lost their ships out at sea, even if they were the ones they were just fighting. While they were still tied up and bound, they were usually well taken care of till they could be left at a nearby port; and, were known to even help official navy ships whenever they had a common enemy, which is why many government officials were willing to turn a blind eye to their activities. Anyway, apparently they had decided to port for the night at the city they were currently being held at the night before, which was known as Sapphire Port, a large coastal capital city. While quite cautious, the locals allowed them to dock under the conditions they wouldn't do anything against the law and were merely there for rest and trade as they had stated, mostly to restock on much needed supplies like food. The next morning, having taken time for some R&R and resupplied, they undocked and were headed back out to sea, that is until two navy ship started firing at them just a few hundred yards out from the port. The ensuing fight was filled with cannon's going off and sword clashing as both sides fought to their fullest. The fight eventually ended when a portion of their ship was hit where they had stocks of gunpowder, causing an explosion that sealed their ship's fate, but they were able to at least sink one of the navy ships. The rest, they already knew. Twilight raised a brow as she brought a hoof to her chin and closed her eyes in thought, "That sounds awfully familiar...Why though? Why does it sound familiar?" she quietly muttered to herself as she thought. True, this was all relatively new to her, but in combination of what has recently happened to them and Azure and Silver's explanation just rings a bell. After a couple of minutes had passed, Twilight's eyes shot open as she came to stunning conclusion, while she's never fully completed the book, the events that's happened sounded similar to the ones in the book Discord had been reading.