Celestia awoke some time in the morning, still a little exhausted from her experience with the whirlpool.she looked up and around at everything trying to figure what was going on.
As she attempted to move her body around she quickly felt restraint against her body. Quickly looking around, she found that her body had been tightly strapped to a pole of some kind. Expanding her line of sight, she found that the post in question was connected to the top of some kind of ship. More perplexing and perhaps more frightening though, the ship appeared to be helmed by a collection of skeletons.
Truly there was no more accurate way to describe them, though stranger still is that there was no one consistent body type between the many moving piles of bones. She recognized some as minotaurs, centaurs as well as some gryphons, while others were shapes she’d never seen before. Other than being skeletons the only thing that was consistent about them was they were all garbed in rather filthy looking attire, befitting of stereotypical pirates.
Another glance up above her head and the sight of a black flag with a skull and crossbones all but confirmed what she had expected and fear….she was currently trapped on a pirate ship.
If nothing else, it at least helped explain the rather grim company she found herself in, all peering at her with vicious grins etched into their bones. Their grins however quickly dropped as they slowly spaced themselves out, allowing one particular skeleton, in the form of a griffon, to make its way towards Celestia, staring at her with the two empty, black voids it had for eyes. And despite its lack of well….anything, he still was able to make out what sounded like sinister chuckling.
“My my, and here we thought we’d never catch anything today, lucky us. Sorry missy, but there ain’t no leaving anytime soon.” His claim was met with cheers from the many other skeletons on the ship, all jeering with excitement at the Princess’s capture.
Celestia, managed to maintain her composure, but kept her expression harsh and serious as she spoke with the obvious captain of the ship. “I’m afraid that you don’t quite understand the situation you are in sir. I’m not someone who can be easily caged!”
Closing her eyes, the white pony princess tried to focus her magic into her horn and free herself from her bonds. Yet, despite focusing with all her might, not even a single spark appeared, much to her surprise and horror.
The skeleton pirate could only laugh at her effort, before pointing towards the metal chains wrapped around her body. “Give us some credit, just cause we’re skeleton doesn’t make us boneheads. Those chains there are made from an ancient metal, said to be capable of blocking even the most powerful magic. Long as you’re wrapped up in them, you’re powerless.” Before Celestia could say anything further she also felt the presence of something cold and metallic on her horn.
“Heh, yeah can’t be too careful with you magic users.” The gryphon captain continued to chuckle as lightly tapped his bony claw on something attached to Celestia’s horn. “A special ring, made from the same metal as those chains. Figured better be safe than sorry, especially since we know some of you ponies have an especially high amount of magic.”
Pulling back for a moment, he grabbed Celestia by her snot and pulled her in close, allowing her to see the many grooves and cracks in his bony body. “So, now that we have your undivided attention, I’ll only ask this once, who are yee and what are yee here?”
Celestia only growled, half tempted to spit in the face of her captor….except she was underwater so she settled for a simple response.“I never will!”
The pirate practically roared at the act of defiance, harshly slapping the princess across the cheek with a skeletal wing. “Shut it!”
Celestia again let off a growl, being the only course of action she had, only to now found a saber pointed directly at her throat, the captain looking more angry than before. , “Now then, thee will tell me about your kingdom and where thee comes from or yer blood will stain these nice clean waters, while your skeleton roots down here with the rest of us!” Just to emphasize his point, he pushed the blade’s tip closer to the princess’s throat, enough to sting, almost like being poked with a sharp needle.
In spite of her situation, Celestia’s expression of confidence and fearlessness didn’t waiver. While she didn’t want to die, leaving her sister and her student, simple fact was there was no other choice she could in good conscience make.
“If those are truly my only options, then I will accept death gracefully and without complaint. Better that than forsake my kingdom and its people.”
The entire crew stood in silence at the end of the Princess of the Sun’s speech, the captain scanning her expression for even a sliver of doubt or hesitation. Yet none could be found, she was truly committed to death.
After a few moments of silence, Celestia’s seemingly unbreaking visage pretty much shatter when a large grin broke out on the pirate captain’s face. Yet it wasn’t a sadistic one, rather...almost friendly.
“Ah hahahahaha,now there’s something I never thought I’d see down in this abyss. Such fire in the face of death, and loyalty to others. That be something I can respect.”
He quietly removed his blade from her jugular and sheathed it, while the rest of the crew sent the bound princess looks of admiration and respect. Though their attention quickly shifted to the captain, who had quickly perched himself on the steering wheel of the ship, using it like a makeshift podium.
“My crew! It has been almost thirty years since our ship was sunk and we were cursed to live the rest of our days as dead souls, forced to forever wander the depths of the oceans. But now, after so many years, we’ve finally found our salvation.”
The captain quickly reached into a nearby bag and without missing a second, pulled out a very familiar looking orb. “Ya see this? It’s the legendary Pearl of Transformation! With this, we can transform anything into anything else we want, with no limit to the possibilities. With this pearl’s magic, we’ll finally rid ourselves of this wretched curse, return to the surface world and finally reclaim all that we have lost. Our time in this undersea prison is at an end.”
The crowd of pirates raised their rusty sword shouting with triumph as their leader raised the pearl for all to see. The captain then turned his attention back to the princess, who did her best to hide her frustration at what was transpiring.
“And to make things even better, we’ve got ourselves a audience to see our rise to the land above.”
His grin quickly turned sinister as he advanced. “Of course, we need to be sure this Pearl is the real one and what better way than with a perfectly willing volunteer.” The rest of the crew jeered in excitement while Celestia quickly realized what they planned to do.
“Wait, you can’t….” The captain quickly silenced the princess, placing the pearl directly on her body, causing it to glow with almost blinding light. Celestia could only watch in horror as her body quickly became stiff and slowly turned to wood. The change quickly covered her entire body and her lungs and vocal cords changed before she could even manage a single cry.
The captain laughed at the sight of their prisoner. “Well, seems like it’s the real Pearl alright. And quiet fine woodwork to. Perhaps we’ll use her as the figure head for our ship once we get above water.”
“Uh captain.” One of the crew quickly called out, interrupting the griffon’s speech.
“What is it you pest, can’t you see I’m having a moment right now.”
“I was just wondering captain, did you intend for the ship to transform along with the captive.”
The captain’s eyes registered confusion at the question. “What in blazes are you….talking...about?”
His words slowed to a crawl as he took a closer look at the ship and realized just what his crewmate was asking about.
The once old and rotted ship had been completely changed. It’s dark brown hull, covered in barnacles and seaweed, looked now almost pristine, aided by its new pure white paint job. Similarly, the once tattered and torn sails, we now replaced with similarly new white sails, emblazoned with the symbol of a bright orange sun, the steering wheel matching the new symbol adorning their ship.
The captain and crew could only gawk at their newly transformed ship, confused and unable to process what had happened. Though, eventually one of the crew members finally decided to chime in.
“So, was it supposed to do that?”
“I’m pretty sure only the one using the pearl can decide how it changes.”
“So did the captain want this to happen? I mean I’m not exactly complaining cause the ship was falling apart but….”
“WILL YOU BELLIGERENT BAGS OF BONES SHUT UP!” The captain roared, effectively putting the conversation to an end. Quickly taking a hold of the wheel as the ship rose through the waves and he shouted loudly, “Who cares what the ship looks like, all that matter is the pearl works and we’re on our way above water. For now, we focus on the path ahead...TO THE SURFACE!”
The crew raised their swords and clung to the ship as rose faster and faster, till it finally burst through the top of the ocean, the crew cheering louder than ever at the sight of the night sky before them.
“What’s that sound….The pirates?”
Celestia’s eyes opened, getting a clear view of the crew and now the open sky before her, making it clear the crew had succeeded in breaching the ocean. “Wait, I thought they used the Pearl of Transformation on me. So how am I able to think….and was this ship always white?”Celestia’s thoughts quickly became diverted as she felt an odd sensation, almost as if somepony was running their hoofs or claws through her wings, trying to spread them out.
Another sound caused her attention to drift to the sails, now fully opened with the wind blowing into them and moving the ship forward. “Good work lad! Now let’s keep our new ship clean and ready for land! Just cause we be pirates, doesn’t mean we can’t practice decent hygiene.”
The skeleton crew saluted and quickly went about their various tasks, with Celestia immediately being bombarded with sensations on all sides. It felt as though her entire body was being touched, petted, scrubbed and many number of other odd sensations.
“Just what did that Pirate do to me….Wait a moment.”
Taking another glance at the ship, she quickly noticed the all too familiar mark adorning the sails and the wheel, along with the color scheme of the ship, from it’s white body to it’s mast, now painted a mixture of green and pink. And right then, it all clicked.
“I’ve become the ship itself.”
Any sense of composure she was maintaining all but disintegrated as she went into panic mode, with only one thought present in her mind.
“Sister, where are you?”
Luna found herself confused, slightly frustrated, but above all things, elated. Having found herself inside a large dark cave upon awakening from her earlier experience, the Princess of the Night was quick to try and gather her bearings regarding the area around her. And to her immense surprise/joy, she’d somehow managed to come upon a massive treasure horde.
From what seemed to be a rather large series of small chasms, about the size of a large pool, each fill with vast stores of treasure of every type. Gold coins littered the ground with strange glass orbs thrown throughout the piles, gold and jewels flowing from countless treasure chests like blood from a wound.
“Tis possible I have stumbled upon the den of a dragon. Or perhaps something else….I do hope it’s the later.”
Taking a moment to think about something other than the treasure, another quick scan revealed something more pressing. “Where is my sister?”
As if to answer her, one of the strange glass orbs began to glow with bright blue light, prompting the princess to pick it up, ever curious. To her shock upon contact the scales on her skin quickly began to change into a slippery skin while her body shrank.
In seconds the transformation gracefully stopped, leaving Luna staring at her reflection in the orb. Where once she was a seapony, now there was a dark blue dolphin, complete with slippery skin, blow hole and everything. Even her cutie mark could be seen near the base of her tail.
“Oh, my goodness.” Luna muttered loudly to herself as she looked over her newly transformed body. Taking a quick glance at the orb she’d touched, a thought quickly entered her mind.
“I wonder.”
Hesitant at first, she picked up another orb and squeaked as the magic spilled over, causing her body to become bigger while her teeth grew long and pointed. A quick glance at her reflection revealed she’d transformed again, only this time into a large shark.
Luna’s concern effectively melted away and she started jumping up and down like a happy little filly, clapping her fins with joy.
“How wondrous. It would seem fate has decided to grace me with a new form of fun to enjoy.”
She swam around, admiring the speed at which she could move in her new form, before she came to a stop at the sight of black flag with a skull and crossbones, laid out almost like a blanket on some of the treasure piles.
”This, this is a pirate’s hoard!” He joy quickly turned to shock and surprise at the only revelation
She then heard a strange noise and turned to see a boat rise from the depths that look oddly like her sister.
A few hours upon rising from the seas,the captain was standing before the front of the ship, gazing straight into the horizon of the sea stretched out before him. His cloak flapping under the breeze of the open air, his mind set on course to find where their captive had come from and most importantly, seek plunders once again. After all they might have been skeletons but they were still pirates.
Still, despite all the good fortune he and his crew had been met with, he couldn’t help but growl in anger as he recalled what had put them in such a situation before. Even after all the time that had past in the depths, he’d never forgotten the Storm King or how he’d destroyed their ship and the crew, before casting them to an entirely below the waves.
Yet, most of all, his anger was replaced with regret and sorrow at what he’d lost personally, that he wondered if he’d ever reclaim.”I’m so sorry Celeano. Hopefully you’ve been living a happy and fulfilling life.”
Quickly shaking his thoughts clear, he returned his attention to his crew, still hard at work He swabbing the decks, while his navigator manned the wheel and his look out scanned the seas from the crow’s nest. As he approached, the navigator, gave his captain a quick glance, keeping one eye on the sea in front of him.
“So, what be the plan captain. Head for the closest land or do you have a specific destination in mind?”
The Captain’s expression hardened….or atleast the holes that were his eyes narrowed in a way reminiscent of a glare. “Aye, now that we’re free, first thing we’re gonna do is hunt down that bastard Storm King and pay him back in full for all the pain he caused us all.” His gaze turned to the bow of the ship. “Perhaps we can use his bones as a new figure head, little touch of irony ought to make things even.”
The crow of skeleton’s cheered and jeered at the idea of punishing their tormentor….all except one party on the ship seemed to agree.
“Revenge will do little to amend the pain the Storm King has caused all of you.”
The Captain immediately looked down at the deck of the ship and shouted.He grows snapping. “Shut it boat, I don’t need your input.”
Once Celestia had realized she’d been transformed into the ship itself, she’d made attempts to speak with the crew, who to her surprise could actually hear her. And after they got over the initial shock of having a talking ship, seeing how little control she actually had, made her little more than an annoying voice they most opted to ignore.
“I understand your anger towards the Storm King, truly I do. My home was also attacked by him and my people very nearly conquered and enslaved.
The Captain, intrigued, opted to continue listening turned “Did he now?”
Celestia...tried to nod or atleast they assumed she nodded in response.“Yes, he attacked our country's capital, placed countless citizens in chains and imprisoned it’s rulers.” The Princess made a point to avoid any mention of herself being a monarch, not trusting her captor which such information yet.
The Captain sighed. “I see,is that why you turned yourself into a sea creature, to escape him? Like those other creatures?”
”You know about the hippogriffs?” The captain only laughed.“Of course, did you think after being trapped under the ocean for so long we’d never seen or even heard of them? I know how the Storm King ravaged the south of the badlands and carved it into an enormous empire. Back when I was still flesh and blood scourged the skies, destroying his trade routes and making him pay anyway I could.”
Celestia could only feel sympathy for the pirate captain, yet another life ruined by the Storm King’s tyranny.“Well, you’ll be happy to know that the Storm King is dead. He was killed by his own servant known as Tempest Shadow.”
The pirate looked completely stunned by the revelation, though it was only a momentary pause before his face morphed to one of rage. “Curse that wretch! Destroying that heartless beast was my mission, my duty, and she took it away from me!”
”I don’t understand, surely you can’t still be angry over this. The Storm King is gone, you should be happy about that.”
The captain scoffed.“Hah, I’m not going to reward some pony for defeating my sworn enemy. But in any case, at least he’s gone. However, that leaves one question.”
Celestia eyed him as he smiled suspiciously at the ship. “You said that the land you hail from was Equestria is it not? I heard rumors it was of a land of ponies. But now that you just confirmed my suspicions I guess it’s ripe for the taking!”
The crowd of skeletons raised their swords in agreement and Celestia shifted into complete and utter panic mode.“No you can’t!”
The captain only laughed at the ship’s cries, “Yes we can, and seeing as we’ve heard you ponies are all about kindness and friendship, you’ll make a perfect bargaining chip that’ll allow us to get anything we want. Maybe even a way to reverse the curse upon us!”
Celestia roared, all pretense of composure gone as she tried in some way to manipulate her new ship body, but found no success of any kind despite trying every feasible option. The captain continued to cackle madly along with his crew as they resumed their actions.
Celestia was left alone and now all but crushed, knowing her citizens were in trouble and there was little, if anything she could do to save them.
“Luna, where are you?”
Just as these thoughts entered her mind, a strange, dark blue shark pulled up along her starboard side, waving one of its fins trying to get her attention.. “Sister, it’s me,how did you become a boat?”
Celestia looked down and gasped. “Luna!? Thank Laura Faust you’re alright!”
Luna giggled as she swam backwards through the water and smirked. “Well, I suppose if you consider being shark can count as alright….Which I most certainly do.”
Celestia giggled at her sister’s childlike display, before shifting back to a serious tone. “Luna, we don’t have much time. Do you have someway to change us back to our original forms or atleast into seaponies. We need to stop these pirates before they reach Equestria.”!?”
Luna stopped and nodded. “I found some orbs that can transform ponies. Hopefully one will get you out of this, though I have no control over what you’ll transform into.”
Celestia paused, frightened by the unknown but quickly steeled herself., “It’s worth the risk, just please move quickly!”
Luna made a salute with a fin. “Very well sister. I shall return quickly!”
Luna quickly dove beneath the waves and returned to the treasure horde. Quickly she began digging around, looking at all the random orbs. However, in her haste, she accidently touched one of the orbs and found herself turned into a rather small blue crab. ”Drat, cursed orbs!” Quickly sliding over to another orb, she was again transformed, this time into a slippery eel. “Come on! One of these has to turn me back to a seapony!”
Finding another orb, she silently prayed that if nothing else, the orb would turn her into something useful. A single touch and her body began to transform, this time growing larger and larger in size, actually threatening to fill the entire cavern.
A quick glance at her reflection revealed her new form to by that of a giant octopus, with giant thick tentacles and her cutie mark adorning her now bulbous body.
“’Not exactly the most flattering form I could have assumed, but ll at least I can stop the pirates.” Thanks to her now boneless body, navigating out the caves was rather simple and she quickly made her way out of the ocean’s depths and towards the ship.
Back on the ship, the captain was laughing with his crew as they sailed,singing a sea shanty together in chorus while Celestia groaned, beyond the rather poor singing of the pirates, she also felt something starting to cling her body. “Are those barnacles?”
The captain laughed even harder at her complaint. “Aye, better get used to it! Your hull is going to be covered in them by the time we reach shore.”
Celestia cringed feeling the odd things clinging to her bow and groaned. “Even though I’ve endured much in my life, this is a feeling I would like to have purged from my memory.”
The pirates only continued to laugh at their ship’s continued misery, until the boat started to shake violently, as the sound of the waves below started to become more violent.
“What in the world is that?”
The captain quickly found his answer upon seeing a giant blue coated tentacle filled with pink suction cups burst from the ocean below.
“KRAKEN!”
The rest of the crew quickly rolled into action, rolling out the cannons while the captain took out his sword and aimed it straight at the writhing tentacle and shouted, ”Ready...Set….FIRE!”
The cannon exploded with fire as their projectiles of iron soared towards their target, only to be swatted back into the ocean by another tentacle appearing beside the first. Quickly more followed suit, with one coming around the boat and knocking many of the skeletons into the water.
The navigator at that wheel groaned as he tried to turn. Knowing what may come, Celestia quickly focused her mind as much as she could on the wheel itself.
“STOP!”
To the navigator and Celestia’s surprise, it worked, as the wheel was now firmly locked in place, the navigator unable to move it no matter how much he tried. Thankfully he wasn’t able to for long as another tentacle quickly smacked him and several more crew members into the ocean.
The captain growled angrily at his crew. “You worthless fools, if cannons don’t work, then stab the darn thing!”
Sadly, while the crew seemed to get the message and draw their swords, all eight tentacles had risen out of the water and few members of the crew were still on the ship. It only took a few seconds before the remaining crew found themselves joining their comrades back in the depths below, leaving only the captain behind.
Said captain quickly turned his attention to the ship itself. “What in blazes are you even doing, why are you allowing this thing to attack you. Don’t you care if you sink?”
Celestia only mockingly gasped in response. “What? Let a kraken attack me? Why I’d never allow such a thing to happen.”
The captain seemed to smirk at this revelation, only to immediately change his tune as Celestia spoke again. “Of course, it’s fairly easy not to worry about such a thing when the Kraken happens to be your sister. Isn’t that right Luna?”
The massive head of the octopus quickly surfaced, appearing as tall as the ship’s masts, with two very large dark blue eyes the only thing present on its face. The symbol of the moon easily visible right below the two orbs.
“Indeed it is true sister. And I do believe it’s time this captain and I had a talk regarding your current state.”
The previously brave skeleton captain now found every bone in his body visibly shaking as he took a step back towards the cabin of the ship, as the many tentacles cut off every possible escape route he might have had.
Celestia only laughed at his predicament. “Now then captain, about the matter of my current state.”