Ponies of the Cursed Seas

by iowaforever

Chapter 12

Now that school's out for me I can devote more time to this story. I'm seeing at least two more chapters in the future, and possibly a sequel to tie up loose ends and plotlines.
Anyway, I still own nothing, and comments and likes are welcome. Thanks again to everyone who has viewed this story

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Chapter 12

It had been two days since the Concordia left Ponaeus, and things aboard ship had fallen back to their usual routines: Rainbow Dash and Applejack helped out around the ship (although in Rainbow’s case, it usually amounted to not napping where crewmembers were working), Fluttershy would tend to the birds that visited the ship, Pinkie Pie did whatever she was in the mood for (usually pretending to be a pirate), Rarity would either sunbathe or join Fluttershy, and Twilight spent her time trying to learn more about the sailor ponies and their lives prior to coming to Equestria. Mays and the other officers kept to themselves for a bit, and Nolan was content to silently pout about the whole situation.

“Twilight, can you help me with something?” Mays asked.

“Sure. What’s the problem?” Twilight noticed that Mays had another sword resting against his left leg. “What’s with the sword?”

“Well, you said earlier that your combat skills are lacking a bit, and I need to practice using this brace. So I was wondering if you’d be interested in being a sparring partner.”

“Me? A sparring partner? I suppose I could try for a bit, but I don’t know the first thing about sparring.”

“You’ve never read anything about fencing?”

“... Wait, there was that one book my brother left out the day he signed up for the Royal Guards; it had a bit about swordplay and how to defend from potential attacks by griffins or Diamond Dogs.”

“Do you think you can remember anything from that book?”

“That was fourteen years ago.” there was a pause.

“I think we can work this out. Take the other sword.” Twilight used her magic and did so. Mays walked out to a clear space on deck and flipped open the brace. “Now, I want you to attack me.”

Attack him... That sounds easy. Using her magic again, Twilight swung the sword at Mays, the captain raising his own sword to block. However, since Twilight was not yet used to wielding a sword with her magic, she put too much force behind her swing and sent Mays flying. Her concentration broke and the sword clattered to the deck.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to do that.” Twilight said.

“That’s okay; that’s why we’re practicing. Pick the sword up and attack me again.” Mays got back into position and Twilight picked up her sword. Using less energy this time, she made another swing. Mays swatted the sword away and rushed forward, and in a panic Twilight dropped the sword yet again and shrunk back.

“Is something wrong?” Mays asked.

“Sorry, I’ve just never been charged by somepony with a sword before.”

“Oh. I didn’t mean to startle you. You’ll get used to it after awhile.” Mays backed up and got into position, Twilight once again picking up the sword.

This time, Mays struck first; he rushed forward, swinging his right front leg in a downwards arc. Twilight raised her own sword and sidestepped the oncoming captain, accidentally tripping him as he rushed by. Mays stumbled and fell in a heap on the deck, but hopped back to his hooves just in time to intercept a thrust from Twilight. He knocked her sword away and rested the blade against her neck.

“Are you hiding some secret skills from me?” he asked, collapsing the sword back into his brace and standing on all fours again.

“No I’m not. Why do you ask?”

“For somepony who hasn’t picked up a sword in her lifetime, you’re not that bad of a fighter.”

“Really? I just felt like I was flailing around.”

“Give it some time, that flailing might actually produce something. And don’t worry about form or anything; most of the sailors here, myself included, are self-taught when it comes to fighting.” That makes a bit of sense, Twilight thought. She used her magic to pick up the sword one more time.

“Do you think we have some more time to keep practicing?” she asked.

“Let’s find out.” Mays looked up into the rigging. “Have we spotted anything?”

“No sir.” one of the Pegasi on watch shouted back.

“Yeah, we have time.” They were about to continue sparring when there was a crash near the stern of the ship. “Now what?”

“I hope Rainbow Dash remembered to pull up.” Twilight said.

“Uh, Twilight, I’m right here.” Rainbow Dash said, landing next to the two other ponies.

“Well, let’s go find out what’s the problem.” the three ponies made their way towards the stern. When they reached the stern, they saw that Fluttershy’s bird feeder had been knocked over, its contents spilled out over the deck and on Nolan.

“This is your fault, you know?” Nolan said, pointing at Fluttershy. “If you hadn’t set this thing up in the first place then no one would be covered in this filth.”

“I-I’m sorry.” Fluttershy said, backing away “Nopony complained about it before...”

“Because no one saw that it was a hazard!”

“What’s going on here?” Nolan and Fluttershy looked at Mays.

“She set this contraption up in an incredibly dangerous spot and I tripped over it.”

“I didn’t mean to-”

“Quiet you.”

“Nolan, I really don’t see what the problem is; I said she could put the bird feeder there, and up until now nopony ever-”

“Will you stop that! I am sick and tired of hearing you and everyone else use such language as ‘somepony’ or ‘anypony’. Can’t anyone speak like a normal person anymore?”

“Why bother, then no one would understand a thing I’d say.”

“I should have assumed that earlier. Now, given that this pony here has clearly made an attempt on someone’s life-”

“What.” Twilight said. Nolan and Mays ignored her.

“I demand that she be punished properly.”

“What would you have me do?”

“You know the punishment for disrespecting an officer. She deserves thirty lashes.”

“That’s an idiotic idea; I’m not going to whip an innocent pony-”

“Whip?” Fluttershy and Twilight said, shocked. Again, the two officers paid them little mind.

“- Just because she spilled bird seed on you.”

“So you won’t take discipline into your own hands. I should have expected as much from someone like you. You’ve been corrupted by this society, and now you’re trying to spread dissonance to the rest of these men.”

“‘Spread Dissonance’? I haven’t seen any mutineers yet... besides you.”

“I am the only one who is willing to maintain a sense of normality, and you call me a mutineer?”

“I have my reasons. You have complained about every single thing that has gone wrong, you think I should be a trigger happy tyrant and whip half the crew to death because they looked at you funny, you have shown nothing but total disregard for the men since the first day you entered my command, and you think that the world revolves around you and everything must go your way. You constantly try to undermine my authority, and you’ve insulted our companions multiple times over the course of this trip.”

“You consider them equals? They’re just a bunch of animals!”

“Have you seen yourself? You’re no more human than this ship.”

“I will get back to Boston, even if it means I have to be the antagonist for a little while. I’d even steal that stupid necklace you have been obsessing over.”

“You were going to steal the Obsidian Crescent?” Twilight asked.

“I would destroy an entire city if it meant I could go back home.”

“Nolan...”

“I will not bow into your commands and listen to that trollop of a princess that you are so subservient to.”

“Nolan.”

“Furthermore, once we do get back, I will make it so you can never walk down a street without people-”

“NOLAN! Shut up!” the lieutenant did so, although Twilight could see his jaw twitching. Mays took a step forward and glared at Nolan.

“I have tried to put up with you,” Mays began, his voice much darker than usual “I have tried reasoning with you, I’ve tried ordering you to back down, I’ve even tried to be nice, but you continue to resist and act like the spoiled aristocrat you are. Now you’re going about insulting the closest thing we have to allies, mock their ruler, and threaten to steal a powerful artifact for your own personal gain.”

“I hardly consider-”

“Silence.” Mays took another step forward “I’m only going to say this once. When we get back to Equestria, I want you gone.”

“... What?”

“Gone. I’m terminating your commission as soon as we reach land. You leave all your stuff here and disappear. I never want to see you anywhere near this ship, or any ship, ever again. Write all the letters you want because no one will ever hear them. Now, I suggest you go down to your cabin and think about what you’re going to do without a job.” Nolan sputtered for a little bit, trying to come up with a coherent sentence. Eventually, he found one.

“So, you’ve finally fallen to their corruption.”

“That’s enough, Nolan.”

“Now you are removing the only person willing to execute any sort of discipline in this god-forsaken world. I used to think you could be a capable commander, but now I see that you are woefully unfit for commanding.”

“I said that’s enough, Nolan.”

“Is that the same thing that you said when you shot that little tramp in Algiers?” Twilight was getting nervous; she noticed that Mays’ muscles had been twitching ever so slightly, and that he was scratching the deck with his right leg. She looked for anything that might defuse the situation, but something was holding her back. She silently prayed that nothing too bad would come of this, and maybe the two officers would part ways and continue on.

She was completely caught off guard by what happened next.

Mays threw himself at Nolan, knocking the lieutenant on his back. After pinning him with his left hoof, Mays raised his right hoof and slammed it down on Nolan’s face, a loud crack echoing across the ship as Mays’ hoof collided with Nolan’s skull. He threw his hoof back once more and struck again, this time a thin stream of blood trailing off Nolan’s face. Each strike was harder than the last, with more and more blood staining the captain’s hooves. Nolan tried to bring his forelegs up in an attempt to defend himself, but Mays switched to his left hoof and continued his attack.

“SHE! WAS NOT! A TRAMP!!” Mays screamed, switching to hitting Nolan with both hooves now. He reared back for another strike, but an aura of blue magic enveloped him and pulled him away from the battered lieutenant.

“Captain, control yourself!” Hacksaw said, running over to the scene “Nolan’s an ass, sure, but you can’t beat him to death for that.”

“Why not? He deserves it for everything he’s done!” Mays thrashed about, trying to break free of the medic’s restraints. Nolan spat out some blood before getting back on his hooves.

“See?” the lieutenant said, his voice no more than a hoarse croak “You are unstable, unfit. You are a disgrace to every officer everywhere.”

“You’re no better!” Mays shot back and continued to struggle. “I should have left you on that island with Blackheart when I had the chance!” Mays kept thrashing, but he could not break free of Hacksaw’s magic.

“Captain,” Twilight said, stepping forward “You already gave your punishment; he doesn’t need anything more.” Mays stopped thrashing and looked at Twilight “Is it really that important that you’re willing to kill somepony because of it?” there was a pause. Mays hung there, suspended in Hacksaw’s magic, just staring at Twilight. She thought that he might lash out at her now, but instead he just hung his head.

“... No. But I wish it was.” Hacksaw let go of Mays and the captain fell to the deck. Twilight readied her own magic in case Mays acted up again, but instead he walked past her and went below deck.

“Uh, Twilight,” Rainbow Dash said “What exactly happened here?”

“I... I don’t really know.”

“First rule when sailing with Captain Mays.” Hacksaw said, turning his attention to the beaten lieutenant “Never mention Algiers. This idiot forgot that rule.” He looked at Nolan “Were you trying to get yourself killed?”

“If mentioning a bit from his past is unreasonable-”

“Don’t start with that or I will finish the job he started.” Hacksaw pulled several bandages out of a saddlebag and began wrapping them around Nolan’s head.

“Why is Algiers bad?” Twilight asked.

“You’ll have to ask the captain about that. I wasn’t serving with him at the time, so I don’t know exactly what transcribed.”

“How can you not know?” Nolan asked “Every man in the Navy knows about Captain Mays’ little episode.” Nolan flinched as Hacksaw purposely tightened a bandage too much.

“My previous threat still stands.” The medic said, tearing another piece of fabric.

“If this is getting into deep seated emotional problems, I’m not going to be anypony’s shoulder to cry on.” Rainbow Dash took off and disappeared into the rigging. Fluttershy began to clean up the mess, with a few sailors pitching in. Twilight decided to help as well, using her magic to pick out the smaller seeds the other ponies may have missed, but she something was troubling her.

What happened to Captain Mays that made him so angry?

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

The next day, Mays did not come out on deck. The crew acted as if nothing was out of the ordinary, but slight changes in behavior told Twilight that something was wrong. Smith and Richard said it had something to do with Algiers, but failed to specify what. She tried asking what exactly happened at this “Algiers”, but nopony was willing or able to give an accurate description.

Around lunchtime, when Mays still failed to show up, Twilight decided to take matters into her own hooves.

She stood outside the door leading to Mays’ cabin. She decided against entering, since Mays might take it as an invasion of privacy, so she knocked three times before stepping back. When there was no response, she knocked again.

“Who is it?” a voice called from inside.

“It’s me, Twilight. I just wanted to see if you were okay.” there was a pause.

“I’m fine.”

“You don’t sound like it.”

“Really, I am.”

“Captain, something’s troubling you, and as your friend I want to help.”

“Friend... no one’s really called me ‘friend’ before. Usually it’s ‘Captain’ or ‘sir’, never friend. The only time I ever get called ‘friend’ is when my enemies are mocking me... or when I’m with you ponies.” Twilight was not sure how to respond; she had had her own issues with understanding friendship, but she had grown out of them fairly quickly once she arrived in Ponyville. She decided to set that train of thought aside for now.

“You are my friend, and friends listen to each other’s problems. What’s wrong?” there was silence. Twilight wondered if there was another way she could go about this, but Mays started talking before she could think of another way.

“It was back when I had my second ship. I was stationed in the Mediterranean and we made a stop in a city called Algiers. Big city, lots of people there.” Twilight knew better than to ask what exactly he meant; she had gotten used to the sailors using strange words “Anyway, I was invited to eat at some nobleman’s house during the visit. Food was lousy, but there was this girl there. She had long black hair and green eyes... and she smiled at me. I wasn’t sure what to do, so I asked her if I could see her again.

“Over the next week or so, we crossed paths a few times. She’d talk to me about life in Algiers, I’d talk about being a sailor. She was a bit shy, but intelligent; she was probably the smartest woman I ever met... You remind me of her a bit.

“Anyway, the night before I have to leave, she comes and asks if she can come with me back to America. She always wanted to see America, and she said she’d love to see it with me. I said that I couldn’t right now, but if and when I got called back, I’d come and fetch her.”

“Did you... y’know, love her?” more silence.

“I think so. We never really discussed anything like that... and we never got the chance.

“Two weeks later, my squadron attacks a fleet of pirates and scatters them. My ship chases some of them for a few days until they seek refuge in Algiers. I send an ultimatum to the governor demanding that the pirates be turned over, but the governor said I was in no position to make demands. I... got angry.

“I ordered my cannoneers to begin firing on civilian housing and sent the sailors and marines to sack the city. Two hours of complete destruction, and I felt good. I called myself ‘The Great Conqueror’ and claimed Algiers for America.

“But it started to get out of hand; when I sent word for the sailors on shore to return to the ship, they wouldn’t listen and continued to sack the city. I got mad again and came ashore to force them back on the ship. When I landed, someone took a shot at me. I fired back...” there was a long pause. Twilight thought she heard sniffling, as if Mays was trying to stifle a cry.

“It was her. I shot her right between the eyes. Dead. Only girl I’d ever cared for, and I killed her. Bam. Just like that, and it was over. Last thing I ever saw of her, and her eyes were fixed on me as if she was asking ‘Why’. I asked myself that same question a few times later, once I’d gotten my men back under control.

“That night, after we left, El Fantasma appeared to me. He ‘congratulated’ me on sacking Algiers, said it was just another step towards becoming like him. I tried to drive him off, but he showed me... her. She was crying, suffering, asking me why I killed her. He said it was because I thought she was a waste, scum of the earth, a whore. I struck out in a rage, trying to get rid of him, but once again I only saw myself shooting her.

“I broke; four days just sitting in my cabin, barely any food or water. I was ready to turn in my commission and leave the navy, but our ship got captured by the British and my instincts kicked back in. Now every time someone brings up the Algiers Incident... well, you saw what happened.” Twilight noticed that she was pawing at the ground. She stopped and took a step back.

“Almost every night, El Fantasma comes back and goads me about Algiers. That’s why I want to destroy the Cursed: to stop him from reminding me of that day.”

“Have you forgiven yourself?”

“How can I? I’m the one who screwed up; it’s my fault she died.”

“I realize that. But,” Twilight took a step forward “If you can’t forgive yourself, wouldn’t he still win in the end?” there was another pause.

“What?”

“It sounds like he’s trying to make you feel guilty and slip up, and make you angry with yourself. And I think that every time you get angry about it, you step closer to joining them. That’s what he’s after right?”

“... I suppose so.”

“Besides, would she want to see you like this, mulling over a mistake you made when you were younger? Wouldn’t she want you to move on?” another pause. Twilight started to paw at the floor again. In her mind, she thought that she had screwed up big, and that everything she had said was wildly out of context. There was the sound of hooves and the door slowly opened.

“You’re right.” Mays said “She wouldn’t want to see me like this. I’m sorry for how I acted the other day.”

“That’s okay. You’ve come to terms with it now.” Twilight gave Mays a smile. He gave a small chuckle and smiled back. He’s actually kind of cute when he smiles, Twilight thought.

“Captain!” Smith called from above “We’ve reached the islands.”

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

The Islands of the Moon were not much to look at; asides from sparse vegetation on the closest one the islands looked like nothing more than small piles of volcanic rock. Clouds had blown in, blocking the view of most of the islands, and strong winds threatened to throw the Concordia off course.

“I didn’t know my personal issues had this kind of effect on the weather.” Mays said.

“This started blowing in before you caved Nolan’s face in.” Smith said, landing to prevent getting battered by the wind “We’ve had to stow a few sails before anything bad happened.”

“I tried breaking up the storm,” Rainbow Dash said “But every time I tried it just threw me back down here.”

“Wait, I think I have an idea.” Twilight galloped back down below deck.

“So, you’ve calmed down, sir?” Smith asked.

“Yes Smith. Twilight helped a little...”

“You didn’t get all mushy or anything, did you?”

“No Rainbow Dash, we did not get ‘mushy’. Why would you be interested?”

“I’ve been stuck on a boat with Rarity for almost two weeks; she’s starting to rub off on me... Wait that’s bad. I don’t want to be like Rarity.”

“That’s not all that's bad,” Twilight said “Look at the Elements.” Mays had never gotten a chance to see the Elements of Harmony, except the drawings in that reference guide Twilight carried around everywhere she went. Looking at the five necklaces and giant tiara, each with its own gem cut in the shape of the Bearer’s cutie mark, he admitted he was impressed. All six were flashing with some sort of magical energy, the pulses strong enough that Twilight’s magic was straining to restrain the Elements.

“I take it that’s not supposed to happen?” Smith asked.

“This has never happened before. I think it’s the Crescent; Celestia said that it attracted magical users, so maybe it has a similar effect on the Elements.”

“Are you feeling anything out of the ordinary, magic-wise?”

“Well, my horn started getting magic impulses at random intervals when we reached the islands, and then the Elements started acting up.”

“I have an idea.” Smith said. “You said the Crescent does weird things with magic. We can use the Elements like some kind of beacon to lead us to where the Crescent is. We did something similar a few weeks ago when we found that little statue near Tortuga.”

“You mean use the magical impulses to direct the ship?” Twilight asked. “That should be rather easy; I can just wave the Elements around and try to pick up magic impulses.”

“Twilight, do you know anything about navigation?”

“A little, but if it’s just directions I shouldn’t have to do much.”

“Okay. Go stand at the bow and hold the Elements somewhere where we can see them.” Twilight nodded and carried the Elements to the bow. Mays looked at Smith “Go to the helm and point the ship in whatever direction she tells us.”

“Yes sir.” Smith walked off. Mays decided to join Twilight at the bow and began walking in that direction, followed closely by Rainbow Dash. Rarity and Applejack joined them soon after.

“So y’all are thinkin’ the Elements are screwin’ up the weather?” Applejack asked.

“Either that or the Crescent.”

“Well, not to sound like Pinkie Pie,” Rarity began “But that’s a bit predictable, don’t you think? I mean, magical artifacts that affect the weather when brought within close proximity. That sounds like something out of a boring fantasy book.”

“Obviously we haven’t been living in the same stories.” Mays said.

“But you seem rather calm about all this.” Rarity continued. “Why?”

“Because he’s a super awesome sailor, that’s why!” Pinkie said, popping up in front of Captain Mays. “He’s probably found a bunch of cool magic stuff when he’s out fighting pirates. You have, haven’t you?”

“A few bits and pieces here and there, but most of the ‘cool’ artifacts tend to attract trouble from imperialists and the Cursed. Besides, usually they only really work once or twice.”

“Well that’s no fun. We’d all be in trouble if the Elements only worked once.” Mays and the others reached the bow, taking position behind Twilight. Twilight raised the Elements into the air and began to move them back and forth, trying to get a better reaction from the Elements. At first, nothing more happened, but after one sweep the Elements began to flicker faster when passing one of the islands.

“The pulses are strongest here.” She said.

“Set course in that direction.” Mays shouted back to the sailors at the helm.

“Aye sir.” the Concordia began to turn and more importantly gain speed, and as they near the island the Elements began to flicker faster and faster.

“This won’t do anything life threatening, will it?” Rarity asked.

“Just because I destroy one oven everypony thinks everything I touch is dangerous.” Twilight grumbled. Mays stepped back from Twilight and looked back at the Elements. They had stopped flickering and were glowing now, with each Element giving off a different color based on the gem planted inside it.

“Richard.” Mays called out, turning away from the main group.

“Captain?”

“I want you to get one of the smaller boats ready. I’ll be taking Twilight and her friends ashore.”

“Should I find some marines to go with you?”

“No.”

“Taking more risks I see? I’ll get the boat ready and make sure the boys cover you when you land.”

“Thank you.” Mays turned back to the group “Twilight, you can row a boat, right?”

“It’s simple telekinetic manipulation of the oars; any unicorn could do it easily.”

“Then you’re rowing. So do you have a fix on the position yet?” as if to answer his question, a small ball of light appeared in the middle of the Elements, slowly growing in size. When it was about the size of a large cannonball, a thin rainbow shot out of the ball and struck the island near the top of its highest hill.

“And we have our location. Richard, get that boat ready.”

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

At Richard’s insistence, two marines accompanied the party to the island. While the marines remained to guard the boat, Twilight lead the group farther into the interior of the island. Twilight had distributed the Elements to their respective owner, reasoning that they could control their powers a little better than just herself.

“Now, we should be looking for something like a temple or an altar.” Twilight said.

“Hey, I can just fly up and look around.” Rainbow Dash flapped her wings and took flight, but a powerful gust of wind slammed into her from the south and sent her tumbling head over hooves into the ground.

“Silly Dashie, the Crescent doesn’t want you to cheat.” Pinkie said “What would the fun be if you just flew up there by yourself?” Rainbow Dash scowled at Pinkie before joining the group again.

“Twilight?” Mays said.

“Yes?”

“I remember reading something about this altar. I don’t think it’s safe for anypony to touch it.”

“Hopefully the Elements can destabilize the magic before somepony gets hurt.”

“How, exactly? You’re not just going to wave the Elements over the altar and expect everything to work, are you?”

“Did you have to do that with some of the artifacts you found?”

“... Sometimes.”

“To answer your question, no, waving the Elements around would be a waste.” Pinkie looked like she was about to say something, but decided them finding the altar was more important.

The altar itself was nothing more than a giant stone table that appeared to have been carved out of a boulder. It was covered in small carvings, with several pictograms spaced in between columns of text depicting various ponies the group could not identify. The altar flickered a little when the ponies approached, but otherwise did not react.

However, it was missing one very important thing...

“Where’s the Crescent?” Mays noted that Twilight had started twitching a little at this turn of events. “It’s supposed to be waiting on the altar. Somepony must have stolen it! Quick, somepony go back to the ship and find my book on trace spells! I’ll stay here and look around.” Twilight rushed towards the altar before being thrown back, a magical barrier flickering around the altar as Twilight collided with it. Fluttershy and Rarity rushed forward to see if Twilight was okay while Mays, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie inspected the barrier.

“And you were the one that said nopony would be injured.” Mays said.

“I’m fine, just a little startled.” Mays looked back at the altar in time to see Pinkie throw herself at the barrier, bouncing off it with a giggle. “At least we know that the magic’s still working. But how could somepony steal the Crescent without getting thrown back like that?”

“Hey Twilight, can we just use the Elements and get out of here?” Rainbow Dash asked “This place is starting to creep me out.”

“I must agree with Rainbow Dash,” Rarity said “This altar is a bit spooky, and I don’t want to risk you or anypony else getting themselves hurt.” Twilight moved closer to the altar, but not close enough to activate the barrier. She circled the altar a few times, cast a spell, then rejoined the group.

“I don’t see any hoofprints besides ours, and the magic traces show that this barrier hasn’t been activated in almost three thousand years.”

“That’s a good thing, right?”

“Well, we know that the Crescent wasn’t stolen, unless they somehow bypassed the magical barrier, but this is powerful magic were dealing with; nopony besides the Princesses could break through a spell this strong.”

“Pathfinder did say he was able to walk up to it without any problem.” Mays said.

“Yeah, but that was thousands of years ago... when Luna still had the Crescent...” Twilight’s face lit up and she ran back to the group “Okay, we’re going to use the Elements now. Captain, you might want to stand back.”

“Please, don’t tell me what might happen if I don’t.” Mays stepped back while the six mares arranged themselves in a semicircle, with Twilight standing in front of the other five. The wind picked up a little, lashing out at the seven ponies, and small drops of rain started to fall. The ponies paid little mind, focusing instead on the altar before them.

Twilight lowered her head and the crown on her head began to glow. Not sporadically like before, but a steady glow which increased as the spell gained power. The other Elements also started glowing, and there was a faint humming sound that grew as the Elements brightened. Mays shielded his eyes and took another step back, slipping a little on loose rocks.

There was a crack and a giant lightning bolt shot down from the sky and struck the crown in the center. Mays’ first instinct was to rush over and pull Twilight and the others out, but not only had Twilight not shown any concern that her crown had just been struck with lightning, she was actually smiling. He backed off again, but only after detaching his sword from the brace to make sure no lightning sparked and hit him.

Smaller bolts of lightning arced off the main bolt and struck the other Elements. The Elements flashed for a bit before launching the lighting back out, each bolt being absorbed into the star atop Twilight’s crown. The humming intensified before a rainbow-colored lightning bolt shot out of the crown and struck the altar, the resulting explosion throwing Mays and everypony else off their hooves. A wave of magical energy washed over all ponies present, causing their coats to stand on end and small sparks of energy to arc between them.

“I... I think that was supposed to happen.” Twilight said, getting back to her hooves..

“Awesome as that was, I don’t want to do that again.” Rainbow Dash said. Applejack nodded in agreement and trotted off to go find her hat. Rarity, meanwhile, was panicking.

“It took me four hours to comb all the salt out of my mane, and now it’s ruined. Ruined, I say! How am I supposed to go through life looking like this?” She pointed to her mane, which resembled a giant ball of purple string “Could you imagine what everypony would think if they were to see me like this? I would be the laughing stock of Ponyville!”

“Rarity, we don’t have time for that right now.” Rarity opened her mouth to reply, but relaxed a bit and nodded.

“You’re right, Twilight. I suppose my appearance is not high on our list of priorities right now.” Rarity collected herself, straightened out her mane as best she could, and gave a weak smile. Pinkie was grinning from the experience, but otherwise said nothing, and Fluttershy had fainted in shock. Mays decided not to go find where his hat had gone, but he was surprised to see that his sword had stayed in one place.

“Not that that wasn’t impressive, did it actually achieve anything?” he asked.

“I’m not sure. We’ll have to check the altar and see-” Twilight froze, her mouth hanging open. The altar was gone, and in its place was a necklace, hanging in the air by some unseen force. The center pendant was a mix of diamond, obsidian and onyx, held together by a frame of silver and arranged in the shape of a crescent moon. a ring of diamonds surrounded the design, and the whole thing was supported by a large silver chain. Magic sparked off the necklace, forming small representations of the sun and moon before disappearing in the atmosphere.

“The Crescent was inside the altar the whole time?” Twilight said after a long pause. “I should have noticed that earlier.”

“So, is it safe to pick up?”

“I... I hope so.” Twilight used her magic to gently pluck the Crescent out of the air. The necklace offered little resistance, and had stopped sparking as soon as Twilight’s magic closed around it.

“Make sure to put that somewhere where no one will steal it.” Mays said “I don’t think we can trust Nolan to keep to himself and I really don’t want to come back here.”

“I know where I can hide it. Come on, we’d better get back to the ship.”

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

Unbeknownst to anypony, they were being watched; on the other side of the island, hidden behind a small cliff, the Chum Maker lay moored, its crew awaiting the orders of its captain.

“So, they finally found the Crescent.” Sammy the Skull said to nopony in particular. He chuckled a little and began pacing the deck of the Scorpion Ship “My master’s prediction was off by a few days. Shame he could not enter this world fully; I would have liked to present it to him in person.

“No matter. The storms shall slow them down for a day or two. The other city is a problem; it is too close, and they may seek refuge there if I act too soon.” The pirate pulled out a crudely drawn map and looked at it for a moment.

“There,” he said, jabbing at a part of the map “there is where we’ll make our strike.” he turned to the helm.

“Chart a course to the shoals near their home port, and prep the blade.”

---

Next chapter, Concordia vs. Chum Maker. Predictions?

Comments

[Codexwriter476]

Concordia v Chum Maker:
476 to 1 saying the Chum Maker wins the fight, steals the Cresent, and unleashes Hell on the waters.
100 to 1 saying the Concordia blows Sammy out of the water.
50 to 1 saying Nolan dies from the first salvo
1 to 1 saying there's a very small spelling errors in the last paragraph, third line down, second word in the row.

[iowaforever]

755210 Thanks for pointing that out
I will say that at least one of your guesses is right, more or less, not counting the spelling error

[musicluvr1974]

Predictions? Elements of Harmony vs. Sammy and his "master"? After all, the Rainbow of Light defeated Tirek in a similar manner back in the day...!