//------------------------------//
// Chapter 4 
// Story: Ponies of the Cursed Seas 
// by iowaforever 
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Time to get the story moving. All good adventure stories have their mysterious atrifacts, and now we know what exactly our heroes will be hunting for.
Also, I encourage readers to like this story and leave comments; I want to know what you all think of the story.
Again, I don't own any character names, places or ships, except possibly the Sea Swirl and her crew.




Chapter 4

Carl Smith blinked. The sun was much brighter than he expected, but spending so much time below decks on a ship would have that effect on a person… or pony, as the case may be. He stretched, yawned and flapped his wings a little to get a better idea of where he was.
Rainbow Dash had taken him to the Pegasus city of Cloudsdale, and he had been impressed on what they could do using only clouds as building material. The architecture reminded him of some ruins he had seen during a tour in the Mediterranean, very fitting for a city of Pegasi. He refrained from mentioning this since none of them knew where the Mediterranean was and he wanted to avoid situations like that.
He yawned again and turned around. Rainbow Dash’s house was mostly open space, allowing for one to easily move from one room to the next. However, it also allowed Smith to hear Rainbow Dash snore throughout most of the night; he was used to snoring, but hearing someone like Rainbow Dash snore was a little out of place. He moved further into the house and found the pegasus sprawled out over a large cloud, sleeping peacefully.
While I’d hate to rouse her, he thought, we need to get to Canterlot quickly. He poked Rainbow Dash in the side, trying to rouse her. “Uh… Rainbow Dash?”
“Hrmn… yes, Spitfire, I’d love to join the Wonderbolts.” The Pegasus muttered before grabbing a small chunk of cloud and rolling over. Smith considered finding something that would make more noise before remembering he left his pistol back on the Concordia and even if he did have it he had yet to figure out how he was supposed to shoot it with no fingers. He decided to poke harder.
“Rainbow Dash, we need to leave now.” Rainbow Dash merely kicked out weakly and snuggled deeper into her cloud mattress. Smith wanted to avoid hitting Rainbow Dash, since he had seen some of the moves she could pull off and concluded that he’d get at least one bone in his body shattered if he tried anything stupid. Of course, like a good sailor and officer he knew when to improvise.
“Uh, Rainbow Dash… the, uh, ‘Wonderbolts’ are outside and they would like to have a word with you.”
“Really?” Rainbow Dash said, bouncing up and grabbing Smith. “Ohmygosh! I’ve been trying to get into the Wonderbolts for years. Now’s my chance. Oh, I hope I didn’t leave them waiting; they’d never want me if I left them waiting. Gotta go show them some of those moves I practiced.” Rainbow Dash flew out of her house before stopping. “Wait… the Wonderbolts are in Fillydelphia all this week.”
“I did not know that, but we need to find the others now.” Smith said, following her out. Rainbow Dash looked at him for a moment before realizing what he meant.
“Oh yeah, we’re supposed to meet the Princess today, aren’t we?” Smith only nodded. Rainbow Dash did not respond to this and merely took off, leaving a rainbow streak behind her. Smith followed the streak, assuming Rainbow Dash was headed to Ponyville, although wind currents generated by the cyan Pegasus made flying a bit slow.
Eventually, he managed to reach the library. Mays, Hacksaw and the other six were already there, and Twilight was setting up a small group of items for the teleportation spell.
“What took you so long?” Mays asked.
“Crosswinds.”
“Right.” Mays turned to Twilight. “How much longer until we’re ready to leave?”
“Shush; I need to concentrate.” Twilight stared at the small pile of items, her horn glowing with magic. The items began to glow and soon started spinning around the group.
“Will we need to do this to get to Manehattan?”
“No; when I first cast the spell, I put a trace spell on any place we’ve been. We could just teleport to Manehattan without any components.”
“Are you sure it worked?”
“Uh… no. But Princess Celestia could still help.” The items were now blurring past, reminding Smith of the light that had engulfed the Concordia. There was a flash and Smith looked around. They were standing in a street surrounded by large buildings and sophisticated looking ponies. Pegasi in gold armor stood on every other corner, watching silently as the rest of the ponies went about their business.
“So this is Canterlot.” Hacksaw said. “Looks kind of like London.”
“What would you know about London?” Smith asked.
“When I first joined the navy, one of the merchant ships we took had a big painting of London’s waterfront in the captain’s quarters.”
“I think I saw that picture once,” Mays said. “By any chance was it a schooner you captured?”
“Yes. What does that have to do with anything?”
“Ah… I might have shot a cannon ball through the painting.”
“I see.”
“Well, I hate to butt into your conversation, but we can’t keep the princess waiting… I don’t think she’d take that very well. Or maybe she’s okay with it. What do you think?” Smith noted that Twilight seemed stressed… well, more stressed than usual. Her mane had become slightly frayed and she was sweating, and Smith thought that he saw her eye twitch.
“Are you nervous about something?” Mays asked.
“Nervous? What makes you think I’m nervous? Do I sound nervous? I’m not nervous.” Mays looked at the other ponies.
“She does that sometimes.” Rainbow Dash said.
“Show us to the princess, Twilight; I’m sure everything will work out in the end.”


..................


Canterlot Castle was much bigger than Mays expected. It towered over the rest of the city, and the white painting was almost blinding. Huge steeples rose above the first wall, allowing anypony to get a full view of the surrounding land.
“Impressive.” He said.
“They don’t have a lot of things in your world, do they, sugarcube?” Applejack asked.
“No, not really.” they walked in before something crossed his mind. “Where is your accent from?”
“My what?”
“Your accent; I’ve heard a lot of accents in my life, but never one like-” Applejack was in Mays face in an instant.
“You sayin’ something funny about how I talk? I ain’t got no accent!”
“Okay, sorry for making you angry.” Mays backed down. Applejack eyed him for a moment before rejoining the rest. Hacksaw walked over to him.
“She had the same reaction when I asked her about it.” he said. “Besides, her whole family has some accent like that.”
“Ah… so, what was it like staying with them?”
“A big change from a ship, let me tell you. And Applejack’s family? Nice, honest folk; her sister Apple Bloom has almost as much energy as Pinkie Pie, and was incredibly inquisitive about the mark on my flanks.”
“I know; she was the one leading the draft board.”
“Right. Anyway, I helped them with some chores before heading to the party. I must say, farm work around here is very demanding, especially on your legs.”
“That’s why I stick to the navy. Come, we’re falling behind.” The two broke into a light trot to catch up with the other ponies, who had stopped in front of a pair of large doors. “So, this leads to the throne room?”
“Yes.” Twilight turned to Mays. “Please don’t make too much of a spectacle.”
“We’re just going to talk to the princess; how bad can it be?”
“You had to say that, didn’t you?” Pinkie Pie said. “Now everything’s going to go wrong; a chandelier might detach, the palace may catch on fire, and a bunch of mean ponies could go around hurting other ponies. You name it, it’s going to happen.”
“Uh… okay.” The ponies entered the throne room. Two unicorn guards stood by the door, watching them enter. Mays felt uneasy with the guards, but set aside that thought when he actually saw the princess.
Mays had originally expected Princess Celestia to be similar to Twilight and the other ponies, possibly a unicorn, but nothing like the pony that stood before him. The Princess was nearly twice as tall at the other ponies and had both a horn and wings. Her coat was snow white and her mane was a mix of three different colors, all blowing in some unseen wind. She wore a large golden chest plate with a purple gem in the center, and a large tiara with a similar gem right in the center. Mays had the sudden compulsion to kneel, but refrained from doing so.
“Twilight Sparkle,” Princess Celestia said. “It has been awhile since you’ve visited last.” Twilight was about to say something before the princess looked at Mays and spoke again. “You must be Captain Mays."
“Wha… But I didn’t even tell you his name!” Twilight said.
“Oh Twilight, you’re not the only pony who sends me letters.” Pinkie Pie shuffled around nervously for a moment. The other ponies looked at her.
“I tried inviting the Princesses to the party ‘cuz then it’d be even more super amazing, but they had other things that day.” Pinkie said.
“Although I do thank you for inviting my sister and I; I always enjoy some time to get away from the monotony of administration.” The princess smiled. “Now then, you wish to return home?”
“Yes.” Mays said, stepping forward. “Although your land is very nice and welcoming, we have duties that must be performed back in our world. There are forces at work in our world that would seek to destroy everything that we live for, and we need to be there in order to protect our people from them.”
“I understand; protecting one’s kin should come foremost in one’s duties. Now, I will need to understand the full workings of the spell that brought you here before I can attempt to send you back, so if you would hold still for a moment.” Celestia’s horn glowed with magic. Mays was surrounded with an aura of yellow light as the princess scanned for any magical oddities. Mays watched the princess, trying to gain some idea of what was going through her head; at first she was as calm as she had been when they first approached, then she looked shocked, confused, annoyed, and inquisitive in short order. A minute passed before she released her aura.
“That was… eye opening, for lack of a better term.” She said. “Unfortunately, I have bad news: the magic that brought you here is way beyond my knowledge, and to reverse it would be near impossible.” Mays’ emotions sank, and he looked back at the group. Smith did not seem fazed by this at all, Hacksaw looked a bit angry, and Twilight was in a state of shock that her mentor did not know something. He turned back to the princess.
“So, we’re not going back?”
“Sadly, no. I am truly sorry.”
“But then what are we supposed to do about the Cursed?” Hacksaw said.
“While it may seem harsh for me to say this, the others in your world will just have to make do without you.”
“Stand down, Hacksaw, and don’t make a scene.” Mays said. The medic backed down and Mays turned back to Princess Celestia “Do you know who brought us here?”
“I cannot say; there are only a few really powerful magic users in Equestria, and only my sister and I can generate enough magic for cross-dimensional spells, and even then it’s only enough to watch other worlds, not pull ships through.”
“I see.” he turned to leave. “Sorry for wasting your time, princess.”
“You don’t need to leave so soon,” the princess said. “Even if I cannot send you back, there must be something I can do to make life easier for you.”
“We could take some of the ponies in,” Twilight suggested. “There’ve been some new building projects in Ponyville, and they can live with us.”
"I don't see anything wrong with that." Smith said. "I could get used to being a pony."
"You would, Smith." Hacksaw said. "At least you can fly."
“I wouldn’t mind takin' in a few ponies,” Applejack said. “We could use a couple more workers down at Sweet Apple Acres.”
“Actually, I have a need for ponies of your… talents, if you are interested.” Mays turned around. Being stuck in Equestria with nothing to do was the worst option available, and he was not about to sell the Concordia, so taking this offer might be advantageous.
“What is it?”
“Well, in case Twilight has not told you, my sister and I had a… falling out a couple centuries ago. She tried to claim Equestria for herself, and I was forced to banish her to the moon.”
“Isn’t that a little extreme?”
“I’ve been wondering the same thing ever since that day. She has returned, thankfully, but when she became Nightmare Moon, she lost something very close to her.”
“What?”
“Twilight, what do you know of the Obsidian Crescent?”
“Not much, Princess.” Twilight said. “All I know is that it was a powerful artifact that Luna wielded, much like the Elements of Harmony.”
“Indeed. Wearing the Crescent increases the magical power of a pony, allowing Luna more ease in her tasks. When she became Nightmare Moon, I had to steal the Crescent and hide it from her to prevent her from becoming too powerful for the Elements.”
“Well, if you hid it, then why can’t you go find it?” Mays said.
“I didn’t get the chance to hide it; the Crescent automatically returns to a special altar somewhere outside of Equestria when separated from its owner, to prevent its misuse at the hooves of unworthy ponies, so it evaporated before I could find a suitable hiding spot, and only the ponies that crafted the Crescent know where that altar is. Also, it cloaks a fairly large area with an anti-divination spell, so I cannot use my magic to locate it. At least, not in the traditional sense.” Celestia’s horn glowed again and a map appeared next to her. She levitated it over to Mays and opened it; it was a complete map of Equestria and the surrounding oceans, with a large circle right in the middle of an even larger blank space.
“That circle is the anti-divination spell; the Crescent is somewhere within that circle. I cannot leave my duties to go find it myself without alerting Luna, so I need you to take your ship to retrieve it.”
“Why is alerting Luna bad?” Hacksaw said.
“Consider this a surprise for her.”
“Surprise?” Pinkie said. “Why are you surprising her? Is it her birthday? Ooh, I should throw her a party when they find the Crescent! Luna’s only been to one of my parties, and I’m sure she’ll love this one. I wonder how long it would take to make moon-themed decorations… unless she likes pirates too; I’ve still got lots of pirate party stuff left over from yesterday.”
“No, Pinkie Pie, this is merely me trying to make up for what I did to her.”
“Why us?” Mays asked. “There are plenty of sailor ponies that know these waters better than we do. Why haven’t you send some of them to find the Crescent?”
“None of these ponies have really been more than a few miles away from the coast, and only your ship is fitted for traveling on the open ocean. And the waters around Equestria are much more dangerous than you think, captain; there will always be those that would harm my little ponies, no matter what I try to protect them.”
“You have soldiers; you could-”
“There has not been a full scale army in Equestria in over five thousand years. You and your ponies, however, are trained and experienced; should anything arise, I know that you will be able to handle it.” Mays paused for a moment, looking at the map.
“What’s in it for us?” he asked.
“Though I cannot send you home, I am willing to give you whatever you wish; I do not know what you would consider fair payment, but I am sure we could agree on something.” Mays looked back at the map, then back at the others.
“Sure, we’ll go find the Crescent for you.” Mays took the map, placed it in one of his pockets, and was about to rejoin the group when Twilight spoke.
“Wait… the Crescent returns to the altar when separated from its owner, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then won’t it just go back as soon as they leave?”
“It will, which is why I’m sending you with them.” Princess Celestia said.
“Me?”
“And the rest of the Bearers of the Elements, of course.”
“Us?” the six ponies said in unison.
“One blast from the Elements of Harmony can destabilize the magic the Crescent possesses, allowing a pony to bring it back.”
“Not that that doesn’t sound practical,” Mays said “but I don’t think we could accommodate six more ponies onboard the Concordia. Also, if we do encounter something dangerous, I don’t want them panicking or causing anything-”
“You underestimate Twilight and her friends, captain; they are much more resourceful than they seem, and they may just end up saving your life.” Celestia smiled again. “I wish the best of luck for all of you, and hope to see you when you return.” Mays gave a short bow.
“Thank you again princess. We’ll get your Crescent for you… by any chance do you have a picture of it, so we know what we’re looking for?”
“You will know; the Crescent attracts magic users, so Twilight should be able to find it easily once you reach its resting place. Oh, and one more thing.” Celestia’s horn glowed once more and a large piece of folded cloth plopped on the ground at Mays’ feet. “It’s merely a formality, but I would like you to take this for when you set sail, just so other ponies know who you are.”
“What is it? A flag?” he asked.
“Yes. Although I respect your own sense of national identity, I would like you to fly it to avoid confusion and potential hostility.”
“Very well. Smith, come get this.” Mays walked over to Twilight. “We’ll stop in Ponyville for some more supplies, and you can fetch these 'Elements of Harmony' you seem to be in charge of, then we’ll head to Manehattan… by the way, have any of you ever been sailing before?”
“Well, once when I was younger.” Rarity said. “It was dreadful; the sea was rough, the ship was dirty, and the space was quite cramped.” She looked at Mays. “Please tell me this won’t be like that.”
“Uh… I can’t guarantee anything, but the Concordia’s not that cramped.”
“Oh, that’s a relief. By the way, I was wondering if you and I could take a few minutes to talk about those sails of yours; I really don’t think olive is a good color for a ship.” Mays would have replied, but Twilight’s spell activated and the nine of them were teleported back to Ponyville.