//------------------------------//
// Treasure Bay 
// Story: Fairy Tales of Equestria Volume 2 
// by VioletRose13 
//------------------------------//

Once upon a time in a small village by the sea, there lived three little fillies named Bloom, Scoot, and Belle. They were best friends, orphans, and dirt poor, but they didn’t care. Since their parents had died, the trio always thought that as long as they had each other, everything would be fine. They lived at the Commander Bencrow Inn with only an old pony to look after them. Even though they were fed, safe, and warm, the three fillies longed for a life more exciting than this. A life of adventure, freedom, action, exploration, danger, enterprise; but alas, they were never able to go out and see the world. Until one day, their young lives changed forever.

One afternoon, a strange pony wearing ragged, baggy clothes came to the Inn with a large sea chest in tow. The fillies had never seen a pony like this before and they were confused and a little frightened all at the same time.

“Excuse me?” Belle asked as she stepped forward to the pony. “Who are you?”

The rugged mare looked at the tiny unicorn filly before her. She looked her in the eye and smiled. Bloom and Scoot soon joined their friend.

“Ah, three fine lil’ ponies before me, eh?” She asked. “Listen here, lil’ mates, and listen real good. See this?” The pony held up a silver coin in her hoof and showed it to the trio. “This is a silver bit. Every month, each o’ ya will get one o’ these from me if ya promise to keep your eyes peeled for an ugly sea mare with three legs. Understand?”

The fillies looked at each other in confusion before nodding their heads slowly and saying, “We promise.”

“Good. And remember, beware the sea mare with three legs.” The pony smiled.

For the past week, the mare stayed at the Inn without paying for rent and she often held parties at the Inn that mostly involved very close friends who were mostly sailors and gallons of apple cider. Bloom, Belle, and Scoot rather enjoyed the company of their mysterious guest, but cleaning up after her was another story. One that involves sponges, brooms, mops, brushes, rags, gallons of boiling water, and lots and lots soap.

One day, while they were cleaning the parlor after another one of the strange guest’s sailor/apple cider parties, they heard the front door slowly creak open and they saw a different pony in ragged clothing enter the parlor. Only this one had a long walking stick and her pupils were completely blank; it indicated that she was blind.

“Is anypony there?” The pony asked in a very soft voice. “If there is, can anyone tell a poor, visually challenged pony where he is now?”

“You’re at the Commander Bencrow Inn.” Bloom answered.

“So there is somepony here. Take me to the pony with the sea chest, whoever you are.” The blind pony commanded.

“Ma’am, I don’t really think we—” Scoot tried to intervene, but was interrupted by the blind pony.

“I said take me to the pony with the sea chest or I’ll—” The pony was interrupted by a different voice.

“What’s goin’ on out here? Huh?”

“Bones. Apple… Bones. It’s so good to hear from you again. What’s wrong? Aren’t you going to greet your old shipmate?” The blind pony asked. “Come here.”

The pony reluctantly walked closer to her unseeing acquaintance. “Good. Now I have something for you. It’s from me and your other shipmates. We really wanted you to have… this.”

That was when the pony forced a piece of paper into the other’s open hoof and with that, she walked away, leaving the group in confusion.

The pony, now dubbed as Apple Bones unfolded the paper in her hoof and saw that there was a small black dot in the shape of an apple drawn smack in the center of the paper. Apple Bones gasped in shock and suddenly collapsed onto the floor. Bloom, Scoot, and Belle were very confused. They walked closer to the pony and looked at her.

“Bad news?” Scoot asked.

“It’s… it’s the Black Apple.” Bones croaked to the fillies who only stared at her in worry.

“I don’t get it. What is the Black Apple?” Bloom asked.

“The Black Apple’s a pirate’s death sentence. Which means my death is near.” Apple Bones muttered. “Listen, fillies. Inside the chest… is the map. Take it, it’s yours now. Find that treasure before… before any o’ those other scurvy pirate ponies do. And be careful, girls… beware the sea mare with three… legs.”

And suddenly, Apple Bones shut her eyes and stopped breathing.

“A map?” Scoot asked, raising a confused eyebrow. “What does that mean?”

“Girls, Miss Bones meant that she wants us to get some kind of map.” Belle insisted.

“She said it would be in her sea chest.” Bloom added.

“And where are we supposed to find that?” Scoot asked.

“His room! It must be in the room he was staying in! C’mon, girls!” Belle said excitedly as she and her friends ran up to Apple Bones’ room.

They soon found the sea chest sitting at the foot of the bed. They opened it wide and found that it was full of any and all pirate needs; they decided to dig through it until they found the map everypony was after. Bloom, Belle, and Scoot went through some chewing gum, stolen jewelry, bottles of spare cider, a few pistols, some trinkets and seashells, and one compass until they finally found a map drawn on a piece of parchment all the way at the bottom.

Sadly, Apple Bones had died and the fillies had inherited her map. But later that night, the Bencrow Inn was attacked by a hoard of vicious and ruthless pirates: Apple Bones’ old crew mates. They set fire to the old Inn and the fillies were now homeless and were left on their own. So they did the only thing that they could do; go into the village and have someone examine their newly found map.

The next morning, the trio went to go see Dr. Rarity; she was the most upright gentlemare they knew. The doctor was accompanied by Squire Trelawney Pie, an enthusiastic mare. In Dr. Rarity’s private office in town, the group was looking over the map together.

“Hurry up, Doctor! The suspense is killing me!” The Squire said in anticipation.

“Patience, Squire. Patience.” The Doctor said as she broke away the seal and unfolded the map to reveal the picture of a remote island and a large, red X right smack in the middle of it. Squire Pie gasped and her eyes widened.

“Just as I thought. It bears the initials of Captain Lord Tirek.” She said.

“Captain Tirek?” Bloom asked with wide eyes.

“Yep; he’s the most black-hearted, bloodthirsty buccaneer to ever sail the Seven Seas of all of Equestria.” The Squire answered.

“Is there a great fortune buried here?” Dr. Rarity asked, pointing her hoof at the X.

“Greater than you can imagine.” Squire Pie said excitedly. “We have to set sail immediately. You Rarity will be the ship’s doctor. I will be the admiral. And you girls would make three fantastic cabin boys.”

“You girls had better brace yourselves. This voyage could be dangerous.” Dr. Rarity cautioned.

“We can imagine, Doctor.” Belle chimed in. “But I think we should keep this quiet.”

“Yeah, pirates are lookin’ for this map. And they’d wanna kill us to get it.” Bloom added.

“And I’d hate to think what might’ve happened if they caught us back at the Inn. And who knows what they’ll do with the treasure?” Scoot commented.

“Pirates? Well, that settles it then. I’ll find one of my finest boats and we’ll all go out to search for that treasure together.” Squire Pie announced.

“You’ll really do that, Squire?” Belle said excitedly.

“Of course. What are friends for?”

“So what do you say, girls? Are you with us?” The Doctor asked.

“Aye, aye!” The fillies cheered before giving a salute.

A few days went by and it was soon time to set sail. The three fillies were as excited as can be and they couldn’t wait to get onto their ship. When they made their way to the docks, they were greeted by Squire Pie.

“Mornin’, Squire.” Bloom said warmly.

“Hey, girls. Glad you made it.” Squire Pie said. “Well, there she is, the S.S. Gala.”

Sitting in the water near the dock, there was the largest, most beautiful ship the fillies have ever seen. They walked towards it, all three eager as can be. As they set hoof on the main deck, Bloom made her way to the helm with her friends close behind.

“Hey, how does it feel, Captain Bloom?” Scoot asked with a smile.

“Feels like… we’re really doin’ it, gals.” Bloom said enthusiastically.

“It feels like we’re finally having the adventure we’ve been looking for.” Belle added.

“Hey. Do ya gals know where the kitchen is? ‘Cause I’m hungry.”

“Yeah, me too.”

“Sure, I could eat. You know, the kitchen on a ship is called the galley.”

So, the fillies went down the stairs into the room under the main deck. As they made their way down the stairs, they heard a pony humming a shanty of some sort; it sounded female and a bit deep. They looked for the source and the girls saw a tall pony with a dark gray coat, teal hair, and she appeared to be wearing rags.

"Ma'am?" Bloom asked, clearing her throat.

"What do we have here?" The mare asked as she whipped her head around to see the fillies standing behind her. "Ah, you three must be Bloom, Scoot, and Belle, the cabin boys."

"That's right." Scoot said.

"And who are you?" Belle asked.

"Me? My name is Long John Chrysalis. I'm the ship's cook." The mare answered.

But as Chrysalis walked closer to the fillies, they noticed something off about her walk. It was almost like she had a limp. And when the rest of her body came into view, the trio saw that Chrysalis' left hind leg was gone. There was only a stub where that leg should be. The trio remembered what Apple Bones had said before he died.

“And be careful, girls… beware the sea mare with three… legs.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you fillies.” Chrysalis said, offering her front hoof to them.

“Uh… yes. Yeah. Sure.” They said, nervously shaking hooves with the mare one at a time.

As days went by, the voyage went on and the fillies watched Long John Chrysalis narrowly. After a while, they thought she meant no harm, but they still had their doubts. And one day, the girls made a fateful discovery. It all happened when Bloom found Scoot and Belle hiding in an apple crate while playing a game of hide-and-seek.

“Found ya!” Bloom cried, looking into the barrel.

Her friends let out a surprised yelp. “Hey, Bloom. You hungry?” Scoot asked.

“A little, but maybe I’ll eat later.” Bloom answered.

“C’mon, share an apple! We know how much you love them!” Belle insisted, grabbed her friend’s hoof and pulled her into the barrel.

But as the three friends were having some apples, they soon began to hear voices, one they didn’t recognize, but another they knew all too well.

“Our crew is getting antsy.” One voice said. “When do we strike?”

“Soon enough, Pupa.” The other voice said, it belonged to Chrysalis. “Before you know it, I’ll have that map in my clutches faster than you can say "Salsa Verde." And then we can deal with Rarity, the Squire, and those fillies.”

“You know what they say, “Dead mares tell no tales.” Ha!” The pony called Pupa laughed.

“Trust me, Pupa. We’ll do what we must to get our hooves on that treasure. Throw me an apple so I can wet my pipe.”

Pupa then reached his hoof into the apple barrel where the fillies were hiding. But before he could grab an apple, everypony heard someone call, “Land ho!”

“Forget the apple. This calls for cider!” Chrysalis laughed as she and Pupa made their way out of the galley and onto the main deck.

The minute the two ponies were gone, Bloom, Belle, and Scoot stuck their heads out of the barrel and looked at each other with worried looks.

“Oh my goodness!” Belle cried.

“Oh no!” Scoot commented.

“This is horrible!” Bloom added.

“Girls, we have to do something!” Belle suggested.

“Yeah, we have to stop those pirates and Chrysalis!” Bloom added.

“But how can we do that?” Scoot asked.

“We have to tell the doctor and the squire! Now!”

The ship had finally reached the island. The trio was as scared as anypony would be in their position, but they also knew that as strange as it seemed, safety would come through them. So they went to find Dr. Rarity and Squire Pie and they told them everything they had heard while hiding in the galley. The doctor and the Squire ordered the girls to stay in their cabin while the crew went to shore. But, of course, that was impossible for them. The fillies wanted to help and they needed an adventure.

So, they stowed away on a lifeboat Chrysalis was taking and the crew went in one direction while Bloom, Scoot, and Belle went another. As the trio made their way through the island’s jungles, they soon encountered a draconequus in a rather frantic and terrified state and wearing ragged clothes. They all jumped back in surprise.

“Promise not to harm me!” He said in a deep voice.

“No, no! It’s okay, sir; we don’t want to hurt you.” Belle said calmly.

“Who are you?” Bloom asked.

“My… my name is Discord Gunn. I haven’t spoken with another soul in three years.” The creature said.

“Three years? Were you shipwrecked?” Scoot asked.

“No, marooned. Left behind.” Gunn said. “I’ve lived on wild fruits all these years, but all I really loved was chocolate. Any of you fillies wouldn’t happen to have a big old piece of chocolate on you, would you?”

“Uh, no, we don’t. But if we get back to our ship, you can come with us and have all the candy and chocolate you want.” Scoot offered. Her friends agreed.

“Oh, thank you so, so, so much, girls! I’ll make you three rich for this kind deed! I’m rich, I really am; I’m the richest creature alive.”

“Of course you are.” Bloom said with a fake smile.

“The island fruit; does it to ‘em every time.” Scoot whispered.

That was when the group heard a gunshot fire and Discord Gunn suddenly ran off in fear. The girls wondered where he was going, but then they noticed why he ran away. They looked to see Long John Chrysalis and her crew standing above them.

“Top of the morning, girls. Glad you could come; you’re just in time for the treasure hunt.” Chrysalis said wickedly.

The girls looked up and found out that Chrysalis was holding up shackles with her magic. She put them around their necks and they walked further and further into the jungle. Chrysalis had already stolen the map and Belle, Bloom, and Scoot were her prisoners. It was humiliating; for the girls, it felt like they were all on a leash.

“What do you say, girls? Have you come around? Are you with us?” The pirate asked.

“Never!” The fillies said together.

“Yeah! We’d rather die than join you!” Bloom commented.

“We don’t fear you more than we fear a fly.” Belle added.

“And there’s nothing you can do that will change our minds.” Scoot huffed.

“Really? We’ll see about that!” Pupa said as he was about to pull out a sword. But Chrysalis stopped him.

“You’d better not, Pupa. These fillies are very brave, braver than the lot of you. Come on.” She said, leading the group further through the island.

Chrysalis was smart; she stood up for the fillies because she knew that they would be able to save her one day. They kept walking.

“Now, according to the map…” Chrysalis started before stopping in her tracks; she gasped in shock.

The crew suddenly stopped and looked to see what had their leader so spooked; they realized that they came across the remains of a dead pony. They all gasped and the three fillies nearly screamed in fright.

“It was a sea mare.” Pupa said, examining the bones.

That was when they heard a scraggly unfamiliar voice singing. It seemed to be coming from the bones themselves.

“Fifty mares on a dead mare’s chest

Yo, ho, ho and a bottle o’ cider”

“The voice of the dead pony!” Pupa cried. “Let’s go back, captain.”

“Ha! Ponies of fortune never turn back. There’s seven hundred million bits only a quarter of a mile from here and this old bag of bones is pointing the way there. Let’s keep going!” Chrysalis commanded.

And soon enough, they finally found the treasure. But they found that it was already dug up and the treasure chest was clearly seen. But inside, there was no treasure. There were only two silver coins. Pupa held them up to Chrysalis.

“Two silver bits? Two stinkin’ silver bits?! That’s all there is?! This is your seven hundred million bits, Chrysalis?!?!” He screamed.

“Say something to them, Chrysalis.” Belle whispered.

“I’m sorry, but it is what it is, mates.” Chrysalis said bluntly.

“Uh… maybe say somethin’ else.” Bloom nervously added.

“Then, perhaps it’s about time we settle the score!” Pupa said as he and the rest of the crew took out their sword.

But Pupa’s blade was knocked out of his hoof by a gunshot which came from Dr. Rarity’s own pistol. She and Squire Pie were standing near a bush with Discord Gunn by their side.

“Stay where you are, scoundrels!” She demanded.

“How goes it, girls?” Squire Pie asked.

“We’ve been better, Squire.” Scoot said sadly.

“We’re really sorry, for everything.” Belle apologized.

“We shouldn’t have stowed ashore against orders.” Bloom added.

“Never mind orders, girls.” Dr. Rarity said. “You saved our lives, found out the plot…”

“…And your new friend over here, Discord Gunn discovered the treasure!” Squire Pie added.

“He did?!” The three asked, shocked.

“I told you I was rich! I’m gonna make you three fillies rich beyond your wildest dreams!” Discord said.

“That explains so much.” Bloom whispered to her friends; they nodded.

In the end, they left the island richer than kings. Chrysalis had protected the girls, so despite her treachery, they granted her a safe passage home. However, she escaped with a small hoof full of the treasure off of the coast of the Hayseed Swamps. But the money mattered very little to the girls; they had the adventure they wanted, they’ve been to Treasure Island. So, they all lived happily ever after.