//------------------------------//
// 1: The Cepheus 
// Story: The Creepy Three: An Anthology 
// by CrackedInkWell 
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Everyone has heard of a ghost ship. The kind that is spotted on an overcast, stormy day as the rain comes down or the fog comes up in which, just beyond the gray is the outline of a boat that shouldn’t be there before vanishing forever. Or perhaps the kind in which pursued sailors into the cold nights to be dragged underneath the icy waves. Depending on who you ask that believes in such things, they would give you their theories from ships that have been caught in a never-ending time loop. Other say that those who happened to be on board were destined to be cursed to wander the seas for eternity, never to make land.

But every now and then, there comes a story in which ships are found abandoned, where no crew member, passenger or anyone remains behind to steer. Leaving the vessel to the elements until they eventually sink underneath the waves. However, there are very rare occasions in which such ghost ships are found by the living to walk on board. As it so happens, this is one such story.

Back when I started out as a Sub Lieutenant for the Equestrian Navy, I was station onboard of the Polaris in the vast South Luna Sea. Basically, we sailed in a very large circle starting off from Applewood, patrolling southward until we reached the border, turn westward for several miles out to open sea before returning northward. The purpose of this was obvious as we were part of a chain of ships that scouted for any threats that might happen from the ocean. Normally, nothing much happens as trading, cruising and privately own ships pass by so we give them the okay to continue.

As you could imagine, the job got boring pretty quickly. Since we were patrolling the seas, not much action happens out there except for the storms that come crashing in every autumn. There wasn’t much need for adventure when you’re going in a circle for weeks on end. However, there was one incident that to this day still sticks out of my mind.

I remember that we were somewhere in the middle of the ocean that was so far out, that land wasn’t visible as far as the eye could see. Neither were there any vessels of any kind for days. So at first, everypony on board didn’t think much of it as we were circling dead water once again. However, on a cold, foggy evening that was two in the morning, I was put on communications duty listening to the soft crackle of the ship’s two-way radio. For most of the evening, it was all dead quiet until at 2:13 in the morning, I heard the faint but undeniable sound of Morse code.

This was the message: 



C.Q.D C.Q.D S.O.S. S.O.S. This is The Cepheus. We request immediate assistance, come at once! C.Q.D C.Q.D. C.Q.D Is there anyone out there? Respond at once! S.O.S. S.O.S. S.O.S.



I admit, this was very unusual as at the time, radio was becoming more widely used throughout the seas, so to hear what was essentially a distress signal was offsetting but I, using the button on the side of the speaker responded in turn.



Equestrian Naval Vessel Polaris to Cepheus. What is your position and what is the trouble?

C.Q.D. C.Q.D. This is the Cepheus. Our position is 230 North, 35 West. The ship is on lockdown. Something is on board! All officers, including the captain, are dead. Lying in chartroom and bridge. Possible whole crew dead. Passengers locked themselves in rooms. Come at once! This is a C.Q.D, Old Sport. Position 230 North, 35 West. Please hurry!

Received. I’ll report to my captain at once.



And after I tapped out that… nothing. All was silent from the other side of the speakers. However, given what I heard, I rushed over towards the bridge towards the captain’s quarters. As I came up, I was met with his second in command. A unicorn that was a shade brighter than his dark blue uniform, it’s easy to say that Commander Tsunami was described as the one who’s in real command of the ship. He was the kind that didn’t appear to be surprised or afraid of anything. His rule was described by others as being tough but fair but at the same time… a little creepy too. You see, he rarely showed his emotions so it’s difficult at times to read what is going through his mind. However, with him on deck, it was startling to see him share the same startled awe that the captain had.

“Commander Tsunami.” I saluted.

He returned the gesture. “Any reason why you’re not at your post, Sub Lieutenant Fog Bell?”

“Sir, I have received a distress signal in Morse code from a ship called the Cepheus. They’re positioned 230 North, 35 West requiring some assistance. Apparently, something came on board and attacked their crew and captain. Said they’re dead on the bridge and chatroom. Possibly a pirate attack as it mentioned the crew has been killed and the passengers are under lockdown. Sir.”

My Commander nodded and said that he’ll report it to the captain while adding that I should return to my post to see if I could find out more about the ship in distress.

       	Obeying, I returned to the communications room in which I tried to get the ship to tap out a response. A few minutes later, the loudspeakers came on. “Attention! All on Board! All hooves on deck immediately! We have received a distress signal that a ship has been under attack! All assistance is required!”

Soon after the entire ship has been awakened, Commander Tsunami entered into the communications room. “Any further sign on the distressed ship?”

“No, sir. I tried to reach out, but there’s been no response.”

“Perhaps someone cut the communications short.” Tsunami thought aloud. “In the meantime, the captain has turned the ship towards their direction at full speed. We should be able to reach them in about twenty minutes. Although, given the fog, we’ll have to be careful to make sure we don’t run into anything.”

After spending fifteen minutes of listening nothing but static and trying to reach out with no luck, I went up on deck. I remember that the ship became alive as the ship was scrounging up weapons and lights to peer through the thick mist. Searchlights scanned the waters while a horn blasted through the darkness in hopes for finding any sign of life.

“You’d think we might see something by now.” I was startled at first when this voice came up unexpectedly. However, after quickly turning around I found that it was actually one of my shipmates. A unicorn with an orange coat and white mane that wore the same uniform I had on. Event Horizon was in the same rank as I was and has been said to be a very good artist on his downtime. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to surprise you.”

“No. You’re fine,” I said. “But I take it that nopony’s found the thing yet?”

“Not even light.” Horizon followed one of the trails of spotlights that glided silently back and forth. “And have you noticed that it’s really quiet out here?”

“Maybe we’re not there yet.”

“I doubt it.”

“What do you mean?”

He looked over to me. “I overheard our commander that we’ve already reached the last position you got from, but so far, I don’t see any-”

“Stop the boat!” Someone cried, and before we could register what was going on, the ship suddenly jerked to a stop. And right in front of us, we saw why.

In the very early hours of the morning before the sun could rise up, surrounded by fog and shined with spotlights was a ship. A rusting, rotting iron ship on the bow starboard side with all its lights out and even with the spotlights illuminating it, we couldn’t see anyone on board. I remember that it was about as big as our vessel, but the very look of it was very old. Not only did it had two towering masts, but there was a towering steam stack in the middle with its paint faded away long ago. There was also a paddle wheel on the side in which the lower half looks like it had rotted and fallen into the sea. The very haul was heavy in rust, yet we could barely make out the black paint and white stripe at the top. Even most of the round, porthole windows were either broken or melted by time.

The captain came off from the bridge and onto the bow. An old fella that had as long years of experience in the navy as his beard. He wore the traditional dark blue uniform over his egg white coat at all times. Like everyone that came out on deck, he was looking at this decaying ship with awe.

After a quick teleportation spell, I was next to him. “Captain Porter?” I asked. “Do you think that’s the ship?”

“I’m not sure.” He said before turning to me. “Go hail it. Take the megaphone to see if anyone is on that.”

“Aye, sir.” I saluted and went towards the bridge in which the megaphone was kept. Returning to the bow and going towards the very front of the ship, I called out as I held it to my mouth. “Ahoy there! Is anypony on board?” No response. “Ahoy! This is the Equestrian Naval Ship Polaris! Are you in need of assistance?” Again, nothing. “If anyone is on that ship, please wake up and respond, your lights are out!”

But all remained quiet except for the lapping waves. All the while, more spotlights, and flashlights were illuminating more of the ship in which we finally spotted the name. The Cepheus.

The Commander spotted where I was and trotted up to me. “Report Sub Lieutenant,” he ordered, “any sign of life from this antique?”

I saluted. “Sir, I tried hailing the ship but there’s been no response, sir.”

“And yet, this is the ship that hailed a distress signal. But… this doesn’t make sense. We’re in the right position, and that has the name of the ship… but why does it look like that?” Turning towards the Captain, I heard my Commander asking him: “Sir, your orders?”

After a pause, Captain Porter took in a deep breath and nodded. “We must investigate. As much as I don’t like the look of this, we must board to see if there’s anypony on this. This ship seems badly damaged and most likely unstable. I want a small team of our crew to look into this thing with caution. Send a small scouting party, but bring weapons in case there’s any danger on board. If there is anyone there, bring them to our ship.”

“Aye, sir.” Tsunami saluted and carried out the order.

My Commander had me Horizon to come along with him while some of the crew put up a gangplank up to the deck of this… for lack of better words… a ghost ship. Of course, all of us were cautious as we set hoof on the uneven water damaged planks. I cast a few mage lights for all of us as we investigated.

Apart from its grim appearance, I still remember the smell of the boat. A funky, disgusted, mildew, the rotten smell came from everywhere, and even worst from the inside. However, I can still recall the layout of the place. The sails were long have been reduced to tatters, the ropes were either coated in barnacles or unentangled into a mushy mess. Anywhere that once had paint on it was mostly faded. We couldn’t help but notice a few things on the deck alone. For one, the sails, while in ruins, there were still ropes around it to suggest that they were all tied down. And all the lifeboats were still there, meaning that if there was any foul play, no one had gotten away with it. However, as we walked over the slick, seawater covered deck, we couldn’t help but notice the molding life jackets were being sloshed around back and forth. And these weren’t the newer orange kinds, but the really old-fashioned white ones that you had to tie to yourself in.

Our Commander had to shove on one of the doors as it was so soaked with seawater that it had sealed up the doorway like a cork. But once it was busted open did all of us get a blast of that moldy perfume along with another smell that none of us could identify. The only way I could describe the inside was like walking into a decaying palace from over a century ago. The first room we’ve entered had finely carved wood panels that have been deformed into something grotesque, with elegant cast iron chandeliers that now rusted over and hung over our heads like claws, cracked and shattered stained glass windows, and a fireplace that was a gaping black hole. Everywhere there were green chairs with small tables that had shattered glasses and ashtrays.

At first, we were a little confused at what kind of ship this was, until we went into the next room, or rather, the remains of a grand staircase with eroded marble columns, cracked checkered tiles, wooden walls and an oxidized copper statue of a Pegasus holding up a torch.

“Is this an old cruise ship?” I asked without thinking.

“I think you might be right on that, Fog.” Tsunami said. “But this place is impossible.”

“How so, sir?” Horizon asked.

“Look at this place. This ship couldn’t be older than… 880’s or 90’s with that rotting water wheel outside. So, this should be over a hundred years old, and yet…” he walked down the staircase towards the statue in the center of it all, “all of this looks like everypony disappeared leaving everything behind. But even so, this thing should have sunk a long time ago from all the rust that’s eating away at the haul.”

“But what do you suppose happened here, Commander?” I inquired. “I don’t see much of a struggle anywhere, and the lifeboats are still here.”

“That’s why none of this makes any sense. But first, let’s go towards the bridge of this ship to see if we could find anything there.”

After that, the first place we went to was towards the bridge. Like the rest of the place, it too was decaying. The ship’s helm had fallen off, and we saw that old bronzed telegraphs were all set on full stop. To make things even more confusion, was that when our Commander retrieved the ship’s log book from the captain’s cabin, he flipped to the latest entry.

“Nothing.” He said.

“What?” I asked, “What do you mean nothing?”

“This is all it says,” he cleared his throat and read aloud: “‘August 23, 893 – Current position 227 North, 60 West. Ship heading 260 degrees West at 14 Knots. Sea calm and weather cloudy. Cargo secure. Passengers happy. Crew going about as normal.’ That’s it.”

“But it can’t be.” Horizon objected. “There must be something that happened here.”

“Agreed.” Tsunami closed the log book. “Something did happen, but so far, it just raises too many questions. In fact, did anypony else noticed something odd about this scene?”

“No sir,” I answered, “what is it?”

“Fog Bell, do you recall what that message said about what was happening?”

“That their captain and crew were dead on the… Oh.”

“There’s no bodies anywhere.” He explained. “Ever since we got on board, there’s not a single corpse anywhere. If there was foul play, and all the lifeboats are still here, might suggesting a mass death on board… so, where are the bodies? With an old cruise ship this size, you’d think there might be bones everywhere.”

Then I turned my attention towards finding the communications room. If this ship is under distress, that would mean that there must have been a functioning machine to send it out in the first place. But nearby the bridge, I was shocked to see that it wasn’t so. Inside the communications room, was indeed an ancient electric machine with century-old batteries, switches, and meters that are either rusting or oxidizing to the point they turned green and flaky. I could easily tell by looking at it that there was no possible way that I could have heard that message as this machine wasn’t capable of doing that anymore.

However, there was one thing about this abandoned room that was completely off. If anything, it stunned me so much that my commander and Horizon took noticed as they peered inside. On that table with all that machinery, was a single cigarette that was still smoking. Tsunami walked right in to examine it.

“Somepony is still here.” He concluded. “This was lit not too long ago.” Turning to us, he added. “We’re searching this vessel, top to bottom.”

“Aye, sir.” Both Horizon and I automatically said. Thus, we began to go deeper into the ancient ship. At first, we explored the upper decks that appeared to be of the first-class rooms. Even though all the doors were indeed locked, that due to time, they were very easy to break through. Every room in those narrow, claustrophobic hallways had made beds with items that no doubt belonged to the passengers on the ship, many of them had suitcases still filled with moldy clothes. But even among the decaying elegance of each room, what caught our attention was that some of them had a weapon that looked like to have been dropped in the middle or near the door. Some of them were knives, and others were blunt heavy objects, but in any case, even with these weapons, there were still no bodies.

We noticed, however, that when we got to the dining room part, the three of us had trouble getting in as we found that the doors were barricaded with chairs and tables. But even when we had to hack at the door and even though the softwood, we couldn’t help but notice that even in here too, there was not a single corpse anywhere.

“None of this makes any sense.” Horizon commented as he picked up one of the few intact glasses. “Why would this room be barricaded if there’s nopony here? Could have they gotten out somehow?”

“Like where?” Tsunami questioned. “I don’t see any holes in the floor or the ceiling.” He then went over to inspect the windows. “Plus, these are all locked too. Sub Lieutenant put that glass down and go see if there’s anything in the kitchens over there.”

“Aye, sir.” After setting the glass down on a table, he went over to push the swinging doors to pass through, only a second later he quickly returned with a sick look on his face as if he was trying hard not to throw up.

“You okay?” I asked.

“That is disgusting!” He exclaimed. “There’s still food in there that’s all rotting and… and…” Horizon’s face turned green as he closed his eyes tightly to take a moment to breathe.

Our Commander went up to him. “But is there a way out from there?”

He shook his head. “There’s a metal stool jamming the doors.” He finally said.

“Well, this certainly is a puzzle,” I remarked. “We get a distress signal from a ghost ship asking for help, seeing signs of ponies trying to defend themselves, only to find that there’s no one here. Where did they all…” I trailed off as I looked at the glass that Horizon sat down. The antique glass was filled with wine. This was unsettling from the fact that I had both my Commander and Horizon within my sights and neither of them was near the glass.

Tsunami trotted up to pick it up and sniffed it. “It’s fresh.” He looks over to me. “Was this you?”

“No sir, I just noticed it myself.”

“But how can that be?” Horizon asked, just as puzzled as the rest of us. “We didn’t hear a thing, and I just sat that down a moment ago.”

When he said that, I saw something that was truly incredible. The permeant stoic mask that my Commander wore was showing some cracks in it. When Horizon said that, Tsunami calm composure took on a look of shock. “Well uh…” clearing his throat, he commanded that, “we should keep looking. Something might be playing with us so be on your guard, both of you.”

Thus, we went deeper into the ship, towards where the second-class area where we couldn’t help but noticed that funky smell was getting stronger. Like the wealthier part of the ship, all of them too had their doors locked, and the few that we did manage to break through showed that there was some kind of weapon that was dropped on the floor. But again, no bodies either.

At one point, after opening a door, I found that in the sink was a straight razor with a coating of a dried, rusty like substance that was on both the blade and the porcelain. I called my Commander over to take a look at it. Picking up the razor, he traced the side of the blade to examine what rubbed onto his hoof. “It’s dried blood.” He said. “Looks like whoever was in here, would rather face suicide than face whatever was on this ship.”

“That’s what I don’t understand, sir,” Horizon spoke up. “What got on this ship to put this whole ship under lockdown? It couldn’t have been pirates, all this stuff is still on board.”

“To tell you the truth,” he said, “I rather hope that it is pirates. But I’m starting to think that it might have to be something else. Something that never left the ship. C’mon, let’s keep go- AH!” The sudden scream came unexpectedly as he tossed the razor back into the sink and we saw the cause of it – now the blood on it was fresh red and dripping.

At first, we thought that Tsunami had cut himself, but there wasn’t a scratch on him. Yet, there was blood on his hoof as he looked up at us. “What in Tartarus is going on?!” In all the time we have spent in the Navy, neither Horizon or I have ever seen someone like Commander Tsunami react in such a way before. The always cool-headed stallion that seemed to be immune to fear was showing just that.

For a moment, neither of us had any idea how to respond as he whipped the blood onto the blankets of one of the beds. However, after giving him a moment to calm down, I asked if we should still keep on looking.

He nodded. “Only to find out what is on this ship.” Then a thought accrued to him. “Let’s go find the cargo hold. I think that perhaps this vessel is carrying a magical artifact.”

“What are you talking about?” I questioned him.

“Think about it: we’ve found a lit cigarette, a glass of wine that smelled like it just came out of the bottle, and now this. On top of receiving a distress signal with nopony on board, this could mean that something magical was brought on board and it did something to everypony on it. That has got to be the only explanation.”

And so, we descended further into its depths. As the further down we went, the more potent the rotting smell became and the more unstable the wooden planks became. Every step we took wailed and screamed up at us, threatened to disintegrate underneath the very slightest touch. Needless to say, we became paranoid that perhaps the floor would give out to send us tumbling down into an abyss. Every step we took was cautious as we felt our way down, no doubt right underneath sea level.

The creepiest part of the whole ship was at the very haul in which took on more resemblance of a cave. The iron all around looked melted with age as pipes above us dripped and bend like hanging teeth. Even the old steam engine looked like the corpse of a muddy dragon, guarding a treasure of coal that’ll never again be used. Indeed, even the very air was frigid as that mysterious smell was getting stronger with every step we took towards the cargo hold.

“Be sure you have your defense spells ready.” Our Commander told us as we approached a watertight door that was held at ajar. But even when I did light up my horn, the smell was overpowering as at this point it smelled like corpses. However, even with the door opened and light is shown in, we didn’t see much outside of piles of crates that were rotting away. However, Tsunami had us press on. None of us were sure what exactly we were looking for. But within a minute after we stepped through, we saw his ears went straight up and held up a hoof.

“Commander?” Horizon was about to ask but Tsunami shushed him.

“Do you hear that?”

At first, I myself didn’t apart from the creaks and groans of the ship. However, as we held still to focus, a chill ran down my back as I heard a soft wheezing sound. Almost like someone was suffocating or being choked but was still barely able to breathe. We all knew right there that it is true! Someone was down here!

“Hello?” our Commander called out. “This is the Equestrian Navy, is anyone here?”

But no reply came as the wheezing noise continued. We continued to move forward, navigating our way around the labyrinth of boxes but listening intensely to the sound. But the closer we got to it, the stronger the smell was to the point that I nearly vomited from the overpowering scent.

Then we reached the very front of the ship in which we found a horrific, dreadful sight. The first, noticeable thing was that swinging from a cable was shriveled up, browned mummified remains of a mare that had no eyes or lips as her yellowed teeth were exposing a skeletal grin.

Next to the thing was a statue that I swear was where the smell was coming from. It was a towering figure of black, glassy thing that stood on its hind legs with a thin, drooping face of a jackal with long ears and carved, hallowed eyes filled with hatred for all who looked at it. The torso and forelegs were carved in hieroglyphs of Southern Equestria.

“Commander…?” Horizon’s voice was filled with dread as he shines his light on the statue. “What do you think it is? Commander?” When we realized that Tsunami didn’t respond, we turned to him as his light wasn’t on the corpse that swung gently, but what was written on the wall. A message in ancient dried blood that read:

Get out! Set is alive!

Before any of us could speak, a sharp wheezing gasp was heard in which was coming from the statue. Its mouth hung open and a black mist poured out from its eyes and muzzle that as quickly as a snake attacked Horizon. He stumbled backward, crushing into the crates in which I saw him flaying his arms to get the mist off of him as he grew old before our very eyes. Within a matter of seconds, his coat wrinkled and shriveled, his mane and tail grew out before turning gray. Before we knew it, he was rotting and decaying away as his flesh was eaten by maggots, eyes desiderated until there was nothing left of him except for bones, but even when they fell to the floor, they turned to dust.

At this horrific sight, my Commander yelled as he grabbed hold of my uniform. “RUN FOG!” We knew that we have to get off the ship. In a full gallop, we were engaged in a race for our lives, pushing those crates, climbing the collapsing stairs and down desiderating floorboards with that mist following close by. I never looked back once, but to this day I still remember how the doors suddenly flung open, suitcases tumbled out and chairs tried to block our path as the vessel seemed to become rocky like it was in a storm.

The rows of cabins became a blur as we ran for our lives as we retraced our steps back to the top deck. “Faster!” My Commander cried. “Go fast- AHH!” I don’t know if he tripped or the mist had caught up to him, but with my heart pounding and my lungs were sucking in the decaying, dying air, I screamed my way up the molding wooden floors and flew down the gangplank.

“SINK THE SHIP NOW!!!” I screamed as loud as I could. Several members of the crew tried to ask me what was going on, but I used my horn to toss it into the sea. I shrieked like a madmare to fire our cannons at the ship and sink it. That there wasn’t any time to explain but we had to sink it right there and then.

The Captain ordered to have our guns loaded quickly and set fire to the ship. In that stillness of that night, our cannons roared out as it blasted holes at point blank range. Before we knew it, water was quickly filling up, so our vessel had to move out of the way as the hundred-year-old ship went down underneath the waves.

Captain Porter came up to me while I had slumped over in shock of what I just saw. “What happened?” he questioned, “Where’s Commander Tsunami and Sub Lieutenant Horizon?”

I shook my head, “They… They didn’t make it…”

A grim expression came on his face. With a sigh, I was escorted to sickbay in which he added that while I need rest, he expected to report directly to him exactly what happened. So, I was taken down to where the doctors said that I was experiencing shock, so they put me to bed. However, before I could be left alone to ponder over what had happened, a sailor came down saying that I had a message that the guy put it down on a card.

“I don’t know if he’s in the right condition to be receiving messages.” One of the doctors told him.

“But I think it’s something he needs to see.” The sailor said. “It’s from The Cepheus that I recorded just now. And it has something that–”

“Let me see that.” I lit up my horn to snatch up the card. And what was written on it, would haunt me for life.



Help us Fog! Come back! Don’t leave us here to rot!