Two days later, the ship finally docked. Twilight had cast an illusion spell on the ship's flags- the only indicator that it was a pirate ship -so that they no longer looked black. Instead, they were plain white.
A few Kitsunes on the side of the dock watched the ship with interest, but no-one bothered them.
"Well, Princess." Rarity started, staring at the trio of non-pirates, Rainbow glared back "This is your stop. I do hope you find whatever vacation you're looking for here, but this is as far as I said I'd take you and no further. So this is likely the last we'll be seeing of each other. I'll let you collect whatever things you brought with you, but then I expect you to leave and not return."
"Fine, thanks for the lift." Rainbow replied stiffly. Then she motioned for her friends to follow her and they walked back down below deck to collect their belongings. Twilight followed them.
"Excuse me." She politely announced, when they looked at her she continued "I- sorry." She cleared her throat "I was wondering if you needed any help around here. I know most Kitsunes don't speak Equestrian, so I thought you might need help communicating with the locals."
"Nah, thanks for the offer though." Rainbow Dash said "Mother made me learn Neighgerian, and I know at least a little Yoruba, so we shouldn't have too much trouble...I should be good with reading too, the basics at least, long sentences get a bit more confusing. We'll be fine." Then she turned back to tightening her saddlebags around her barrel.
Twilight blinked, slightly startled, but recovered quickly.
"Oh. OK. Well, if you do need anything, I'm pretty sure there's a library down the street from here. I'll probably be in there." Rainbow raised an eyebrow at her "Sorry. I know I was a little stern with you guys, and how the Captain has been, uptight, this past week, but now that the stress of smuggling a Princess across the ocean is dying down, I think we can get along better. I know some of the crew have taken a liking to you, and that they would like to spend more time with you. If that's alright with you."
"Yay! More time with the pirates!" Pinkie cheered, jumping up in front of Twilight, dressed up in a traditional pirates hat, eye-patch, fake peg leg and a mug of cider. Twilight jumped back in shock.
"What? Where d'you get that stuff from? How?" Rainbow chuckled, while Fluttershy smiled
"Like I've told you almost everyday. Don't question what Pinkie does, you'll lose your sanity. Anyway, we're good to hang out, right 'Shy?"
"Oh, um, yes. I don't mind, I think some of them are really nice, even if they are a bit scary..."
"Well, there you go. As long as your Captain doesn't kill us for it, we'll hang out." Twilight grinned awkwardly
"Yeh, we'll have to keep that one from her. Just between you and me, I think she's jealous of you guys, and that's why she doesn't want you here."
"Jealous!? Of us? Why?"
"Because she secretly wants to be a Princess."
"Well, if she can find a magic potion that lets us swap roles or something, then that's fine by me. She can be the Princess and I'll be the pirate." They shared a laugh at that.
A small while later found them in the library with a few other members of the crew. Despite her captain's wishes of searching for information by herself, Twilight decided they'd have an easier time if she did a bit of research too.
"Hey, uhh, Twilight?" Applejack said, raising her head from the book she was reading
"Yeh?"
"Ah've jus' realised...Neighgeria's full o' Kitsunes." Twilight looked at her with a raised eyebrow
"...uh, yeh. I know. I was the one who told you." Applejack blushed in embarrassment
"No, tha's not what Ah meant. Ah mean, ya'll said tha' this artifact was made by Zebra's a few thousand years ago. An' tha' they tried ta get rid o' it by sailin' out ta sea and such. But, if it was made by Zebras...then why is it supposed ta be in the sea of a Kitsune's country?"
"Oh! I see what you mean. Well, yeh, the artifact was made by Zebra's, there are several found recordings of that. We don't actually know if it's at the bottom of the sea, that's just speculation, hence why the Captain is asking anypony if they know anything about it. Umm, there were both Zebra and Kitsune tribes here when that artifact was made, but the Kitsunes were more advanced and eventually took over the Zebra tribes, chasing out the remainders. That's why there aren't any Zebras living here now. At least, not en mass. There might be the odd one, but I wouldn't know." Twilight explained. Applejack nodded in understanding and turned back to her book.
"So, Twilight?" Rainbow spoke up "Why are you looking for this 'Heartless Amulet' thing?"
"Honestly? I don't really know. Obviously, since we're pirates, it's for the money, but Captain Rarity doesn't like to hoard money like other pirates. Usually, she'd use the money to pay off her mother's medical bill, but since that's now been payed off, there's nothing much she needs the money for. And we don't need it much either."
"Ah, personally, think tha' the Cap'n wan's ta quit piratin' and live a normal life, but she can' do tha' since she's a wanted criminal. Maybe she's gonna use the money to pay her bail or somet an' live out here."
"The Captain would never just leave us though!" Twilight exclaimed
"She'll leave ya in charge, ya know how she don' really wanna be a pirate."
"Well, yeh. I guess it's not fair of me to just assume she'll stay a pirate for our sake, but..." She trailed off, "Maybe she just wants to keep her reputation up around the other pirates. Stop them from thinking that we've gone soft and weak. I don't know. Sorry, Rainbow." She said, turning back to the Pegasus, who just shrugged and smiled as if to dismiss the unhelpful answer.