Equestria Girls: Love Is Magic

by onekface

The Isle of Magic

Freefall Island was a little plot of land slab right in the middle of the ocean. It was about an hour ferry ride from the city’s port situated close enough for people to visit but far enough to get the smog out of your face. It was about as big as an island could probably get so close to the mainland.

The island’s natural beauty was preserved thanks to the little interference to humans since its colonial days. The tree lines here were sparse which gave a perfect view of the island’s wide open meadows. A beautiful waterfall in which the island was named after stretched from the far off hill culminating into a gorgeous river snaking across the plains. The only two manmade structures around here were the fishing wharf where the ferry landed, and the enormous decrepit castle situated on the hill on the other side of the island. Everything here was covered with a thick layer of snow, hiding its true beauty within.

Sunset was the first to set foot on the pier, leaving the ferry with her friends in tow. The smell of salt water was in the air and the sound of waves crashing by the rocks.

“Looks like this is the place.” She motioned to her friends who walked out of the ferry in order. Strangely enough the ferryman stated that they were perhaps his only customers he had these last few weeks. “You guys ready?”

“Born ready!” Rainbow Dash was unsurprisingly thrilled about this. You could always count on her when the chips were down. The others followed suit in their own way.

Well… all except Applejack of course who raised a finger up as she leaned next to the pier, her face turning greener than her apple trees. “I might… need a minute… or two. I think I forgot to pack my sea legs again. Hurghhkk!!” She threw up a minute later much to their disgust. “Mind telling me who thought it was a good idea riding a boat so early in the morning?”

“I thought you like waking up early.” Sunset spoke.

“Don’t take it the wrong way. I like waking at the crack of dawn but only to harvest the apples and doin my chores. Not… ugh… cruising through the ocean. Hurgkk!” Another hurl came through turning her greener than a melon. “Ugh… next time we go on an adventure, we’re flying.” Fluttershy came up to her offering a mint which she gladly accepted.

“Relax AJ.” Rainbow Dash patted her friend on the back earning a glare from the cowgirl. “We’re finally on land. Just walk it off and you’ll be fine. Besides, we needed to get here early because we want to catch that Hoity guy by surprise. We don’t want to experience what happened when we fought Cinch. And… just for a peace of mind. We’re sure that he doesn’t have anything like that Magic Trap, right?”

“Absolutely sure.” Twilight confirmed it. “The one that Cinch used was the only one I made and it doesn’t look like she shared that knowledge with any members of the secret society. And the one she fixed was destroyed. Completely. But we have to remember: These people have known about magic far longer than we have and they’ve hoarded a number of magical artifacts. So there’s no telling what tricks they have up their sleeves.”

“I know someone who always has a trick up her sleeves.” Pinkie chirpily stated which didn’t really add much to the conversation. “Trixie…”

“Not to mention that Hoity has his hands on the Memory Stone.” Sunset reminded them, bitterly recalling that accursed relic. “We can’t let our guard down.”

“Speaking of Hoity.” Fluttershy interjected casting a glance to their surroundings. “Isn’t he supposed to be scouting a venue here? I don’t see anything close to a resort.”

“It’s probably just hidden inside.” Rarity shrugged. “You don’t find the perfect hotel with just a quick look darling.”

“There’s a jeep rental.” Twilight pointed at the said store, which seemed to be only building here. In fact… it was the only thing that was standing here other than the empty pier.

The door opened with a cute casual clink of the bell. The store looked old and lacked in maintenance. Everything looked like it was falling apart. Even the ceiling fan creaked and choked like it was ready to give up the ghost.

“Wow…” Applejack gawked feeling much better now that the ocean wasn’t in sight. “This place looks older than Granny Smith and Goldie combined.”

“More like ancient.” Rainbow Dash corrected shifting her fingers through a rack of magazines. “Look at all this junk. I think everything here is way passed their expiration date.”

“It can’t be that bad.” Sunset shrugged.

“Wanna bet? Their latest Hot Gossip magazine isn’t even updated. It’s from summer… of last year!”

Ouch. That makes you wonder what else here was past their shelf life.

Even Twilight didn’t feel like touching anything. “Why don’t we just rent a ride?” She turned to the clerk by the counter who was snoozing on the job, leaning on his chair, his trucker hat tilted over his face. “Excuse me? Hello? A little customer service here.”

“Zzzzzz… zzzzzz…” Well he’s certainly an employee of the month material.

“Hey buddy!” Sunset slammed her hand over the counter startling the guy off his chair.

“Gah! I’m awake! I wasn’t sleeping!” The man looked up and noted the two girls looking down on him. “Oh… uh… aheh. Customers! H… hi! Hello.” He added awkwardly which reminded them of Fluttershy’s brother. The man then followed it up by casting a glance at his desk clearly reading a sales pitch from a note he wrote down. “Welcome, sir or madam, to the Freefall Gift Shop and touring service. We offer you the best deals and pieces… er… I mean prices for all your shopping needs.” Even his smile looked forced and awkward. “So what can I get you girls? We got some of the latest island fashion design and limited edition souvenirs. Better get them quick while supplies last. You’ll never know what you missed.”

“You mean these things?” Rarity pointed at the empty clothing section which had two hats and a coat that seemed to have been stitched together by a flimsy seamstress. “I wouldn’t be caught dead in those things even if it kills me.”

“Aheh… yeah… sorry.” The clerk rubbed his neck shyly. “We haven’t really had any new stock in a while. Not exactly easy access aheh…”

But then Rainbow Dash noted something familiar about the guy. The awkward speech, the accent and the hair. “Hold up.” She brushed Twilight aside getting a better look. “Quibble Pants!? Is that you?”

The man’s eyes lit up like fireworks. “Rainbow Dash! Wow! Fancy meeting you here. I almost didn’t recognize you. What are you doing all the way out here in the middle of nowhere?”

“I should be asking you that question. What are you doing working at this dum-p… er… place? Weren’t you working at the newspapers before?”

“Eh… they laid me off.” He shrugged sadly. “After my article regarding Countess Coloratura got debunked, they had to let me go to save the company’s ‘reputation’ or something. So I decided to go for a change of pace and found an opening here.” He tapped the corner of the building which prompted a piece of the ceiling to come crashing down. “Ok it’s not the busiest place in the city but we get by… somehow. The island isn’t exactly getting a lot in the way of tourism but that’s going to change very soon. I hope.”

“Yeesh. And how is it?”

“Meh. The pay is ok. Nothing to fret about. I work here four days a week and get the weekend off. Not a bad gig considering this place being so far off. I also double as a park ranger.” He flashed his fake badge like it was his pride and joy. “Though I’m pretty much just a glorified tour guide to be honest.”

“I’m sure you’ll get somewhere someday.” Rainbow Dash assured him. “Speaking of which. How are you and Clear Sky doing?”

“Oh it’s wonderful. She’s been the most amazing and supportive lady in my life. And it’s never been better. I even got Wind Sprint to join us on a baseball game this weekend.”

“Uh… Rainbow.” Sunset called out feeling like they were being left out. “A little introduction here?”

“Oh! Right. Guys. I’d like you to meet my good friend, Quibble Pants. We met at a Daring Do convention a while back. He’s a writer back when I first met him. We’ve been pen-pals ever since your his fanfiction went public.” Quibble let out a shy puff of his cheeks. “Quibble. These are my friends. Twilight, Sunset, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy and the crazy one eating your expired ice cream is Pinkie.”

The pinkette’s ears twitched at the mention of her name, one hand already opening a wrapper of a Popsicle. “What? You do know these things are still edible, right? Ice cream doesn’t expire!” But apparently they do.

They decided to leave her be. If a girl like her can go through the Brain-Freeze challenge unscathed, a few bad icing won’t do too much damage.

“Anyway Quibble. As much as I want to catch up, we’re kind of a bit in a hurry. You wouldn’t happen to know about a new resort around here, would you?”

The employee tilted his head in thought before answering. “Oh! You mean that new place on the island that’s about to open this weekend? Yeah. Sure I do. It’s at the top of the island by the woods. It shouldn’t take you more than a 30 minute drive to get there. Just follow the path and up the hill. You seriously cannot miss it. Hope you brought a good ride. The roads here aren’t exactly comfortable.”

“We were hoping we could rent one of your jeeps actually.” Sunset added.

He cringed. That was never a good sign. “Oooh… sorry. But all our rentals were already handed out.”

“WHAT!?” His fellow Daring Do fan snapped. “How’s that possible? I thought you said you barely had anyone coming through here?”

“Ehhh… tourism might be bad but business is actually kinda booming.” Was it though? Judging by this place and the lack of customers or sales for that matter, people might say that they were going out of business. “The guys at the resort rented my whole stock for some big gig happening next week. Those jeeps were pretty much the only thing here that were actually maintained around here.”

“All of them?” Twilight asked.

“Yup. The whole shebang. They even took out insurances for it. As a matter of fact… they came down here this morning twice to pick up some VIPs.”

That could only be for Hoity’s pageant show for sure. Sunset couldn’t think of any other reason why anyone would rent a fleet of cars just for fun.

“Would one of them happen to be Hoity Toity?”

Quibble blinked. “Is he a tall fellow with puffy hair, wearing super fancy clothes, smells like a million bucks, and wears shades that I could never afford with a year’s worth of this salary?” They nodded hesitantly. “Yeah he was here.” Damn it! Sunset hoped to catch the guy before he got to the island. But it looks like that fashionista was an even more early-bird than Applejack. “If you’re looking for him, he came by about an hour ago and rented the last ride we had here. I heard him talking with the resort manager about seeing the sights after their business. I bet my hat that he’s probably at the castle at the top of the hill.”

Rarity groaned. “It’ll take us forever to get there on foot. And I didn’t exactly pack my walking boots for this trip.”

“Maybe for you slowpokes.” Rainbow Dash chuckled. “But I can get there before any of you can say pie.”

“Pie!” Pinky cheered much to her chagrin. “Oh… you’re still here.”

“Well why don’t I drive you?” Quibble offered holding up the keys to his car. “I got my own ride at the back. I can get you guys there in a spiffy.”

“Really? That’s great!”

“Uh… are you sure it’s alright for you to leave the counter?” Twilight got her answer when Quibble put on a sign that said ‘Out for lunch’. “But it’s not even noon!”

“Give it a rest Twilly. The guy’s offering. May as well take it.”

“Besides, it’s not like this place gets any customers.” Quibble added gesturing to the emptiness of the place. “It’ll be good to stretch my legs. And I still owe you for that fiasco with the Tunnel Maze replica in the Daring Do Convention.”

Rainbow waved it off. “Oh please. If you had read the fourth volume of Daring Do’s Adventures, you’d know that the exit to the Maze of Pachu-Pichu was through the Snail Path, not the Eagle Path.”

“And boy was that fun. Besides it’s not that long of a drive. Come on.”

Flash had seen a number of resorts before. Some specialized in one feature or another but he had to admit that this one had to take the cake. Whoever designed this place really had an eye for architecture.

Certainly the rich and wealthy will be coming here to make use of this place and all of its facilities. Spa, outdoor sauna, massage and a variety of other services, this place will be rolling in cash in no time. Especially now with the holidays coming.

“Like what you see, kido?” An older gentleman asked in an overly friendly manner.

“It’s really impressive.” Flash nodded back, eyeing the place from his VIP booth where a very important meeting took place not long ago.

“Good to hear that from another man’s perspective. I spent a small fortune bringing this place up, and that place in Everfree Woods. It’d be a poor investment if it didn’t appeal to the younger generation. Be sure to tell all your friends about this place. I can guarantee that you’ll find no

“I will Mr. Rich.”

“Please. Just call me Rich.” Filthy added with a casual smile. “With your help we’re practically business partners at this point.”

“I didn’t really do all that much. I just signed a few papers.”

“Signed a few papers? Egads boy.” The billionaire entrepreneur gasped feigning shock. “Don’t sell yourself short. It might look like a small thing to you just moving your hands and smiling for the camera. But those papers helped this place out more than any money could do. And make no mistake, sonny boy. Once we get this place up and running with the first batch of customers, we’ll be rolling in so much dough, your father’s election campaign will be in the bag.” Oh right. Now it’s all starting to make sense. “At this point, it’s all about waiting for people to cast their vote. You must be pretty excited for him. Becoming the son of the future mayor of Canterlot.”

“Yeah… ecstatic.” Yeah, he was definitely looking forward to having a protection detail around him once his dad gets into office. It took him a whole lot of effort to hide his pedigree from his friends. Now it’ll be practically impossible to hide his when his dad’s face is projected on TV whenever something big happens.

“Speaking of our grand opening. You wanna try out some of our facilities here? We also double as a hotel. I’ll give you the deluxe penthouse free of charge~.”

“Thanks. But I think I’ll just head back to the pier. I got some friends back in the city. And no offense Mr. Rich. But I kinda want to spend the rest of my Winter Holiday at home.”

“Hmm… a shame, but I can respect that. Don’t let that stop you from buying something from our gift shop though. They have some limited items for sale. Get them while they’re in still stock.”

“Mr. Rich, sir.” A shy employee interjected much to the man’s annoyance.

“What is it now Teddie Safari? Can’t you see I’m with a very VERY important guest right now?”

The little lady flinched, her bones fearing unemployment. “Y… yes sir. S… sorry to interrupt. But we have a problem with the catering service. They said that they won’t be able to get the imported peach drink that you ordered.”

“WHAT!?” Filthy roared poking one finger over the woman like he was trying to drill holes into her skin. “This is unacceptable! I paid full price for that delivery. How can they not bring it?”

“It’s… it’s the weather sir. The flights are being delayed due to the light snow storm coming through and the ferry isn’t exactly moving 24/7.”

“Then find another way to bring them here. Hoity Toity’s pageant show has to go perfectly. That man paid upfront on the whole resort. For the whole week and I expect everything to be like he wanted. If anything goes wrong and he wants a refund, it’ll be coming out of your pocket!”

“Hoity Toity?” Flash’s ears perked up to the name. “He’s… here?”

Filthy dismissed the attendant and returned his attention to the boy. “Sorry about that. Some big shot in town made some orders for next week for some pageant show. You know him?”

He shrugged casually, hiding his excitement. “I might’ve heard about him. My friend is actually part of his show. He… wouldn’t happen to be here, would he?”

“No. I think he just wanted to rent the place and bolted off after he gave all his instructions. Cash in hand. Some of his contestants already rented rooms here too. I think he said something about visiting the castle on the hill.”

The castle on the hill. Flash remembered seeing that place when he arrived at the pier. It looked mysterious and ominous from afar. A perfect place for some kind of magical activity.

“You wouldn’t happen to have a ride I can rent for the day, would you?”

Gloriosa Daisy held a gleeful smile that morning as she made her way through her office looking at the camp’s financial statement. It wasn’t this often that she would be this chippy but she couldn’t contain her joy.

With the number of people wanting to make reservations on the camp, her numbers have skyrocketed through the roof. Ever since the renovations were done and the advertisement sent out, her family’s camp would be making enough money to keep the place running for a long while. She was worried that Filthy Rich’s new spa resort next door would hamper her operations here but instead it just brought more people to her doorstep. At this rate she might even say that she was stealing customers from him. Not that she was complaining. Heck with the money they made from the fundraising events she was even able to hire a few hands to help out with the camp.

No more ‘I got this’ slogan when you got someone else to handle them.

And thankfully there really wasn’t much to do. With the snow coming in hard, the campers pretty much just wanted to enjoy the cabins for themselves. Even happy couples paid extra in advance to rent a few of them for the whole week. Normally she wouldn’t allow such a thing, but if they were paying top buck, who was she to say no?

“Hey.”

“GWAHHHH!” Her papers flew in a fit of panic when a voice startled her. “Timber!? How…? You’re… here?”

“Oh… sorry. Is this a bad time?”

“What? No! Pfft. Of course not.” She huddled down and gathered her papers. “I was just… surprised. You don’t come as often as before. Wait… you’re not here for the cabin you rented out earlier, are you?”

“No… that’s still next week.”

“Oh great. Because I rented it off to a couple for the weekend. You can’t begin to imagine how many people are asking to rent our newly built cabins! My phone has been ringing non-stop. We even got clients from out of the city. People from out of town actually know of our camp! Do you know what this means!?”

“That we have a more diverse customer base?”

“It means that Camp Everfree is now on the map, baby! That’s right. This place will be going international in just a few months. I knew those posters we put out in the city was going to work out.” That and the updated website that he made for the camp. But he wasn’t gonna mention that. “Oh and by the way. That wifi deal we signed on was a great idea. I can get so much work done with the internet. So why are you here? Finally decided to drop that big city dream of yours and return to your roots because you realized that it was your destiny to run this place with me?”

He rolled his eyes. “No and never will. And will you please stop asking?”

“Meh. It’s worth a shot.” Gloriosa took her seat by her desk. “So why are you here?”

He rubbed his head shyly as he replied. “I was… actually looking for some… help.”

Gloriosa blinked. “Help? What kind of help? You’re not in trouble, are you? Did you run into debt? Did you take a loan off a shady character who’s now threatening to break every bone in your body because you won’t pay!?”

“What? No! And you really need to stop watching those old gangster movies.” Timber grumbled lowly, tracing one hand over his face. “I need help. The relationship kind. You know that I’m dating Twilight, right?”

“That girl from CHS. Yeah. I remember.” She nodded. “Has a cute hairstyle, wears glasses and has that strangely talking… dog. Wasn’t she moving in with you? You pretty much bragged about it the other day.”

“She’s supposed to. But then she got all this magical adventure so we’re holding it off.”

“You didn’t let her see my room, did you?”

“That’s not important right now. What’s important is that… I got a feeling that… she’s distancing herself from me.”

“Oh…” His sister closed her mouth. “Oh… I see. You mean THAT kind of relationship problem. Well… I’m not exactly the best when it comes to these kinds of problem. But as your sister… I can hear you out?” She offered him a cup of coffee from her pot. “Now. Tell me what’s bugging you. Twilight seems like a nice girl last time I checked. She doesn’t look like the type who’d break up with someone without a good reason.”

“She’s the best. Really.” Timber nodded back taking a quick sip from his cup. “It’s just that this is her first ever serious relationship and I think she doesn’t exactly know what she’s doing… or feeling for that matter.”

“Oh? And what makes you say that?” She switched to her camp counselor mode tapping her index fingers together as she listened. If she were a psychiatrist she’d be sitting on a comfortable chair while timber laid on a couch mentioning all his woes to her.

“It’s a feeling. You know? Like the kind of feeling I get whenever you’re up to another one of your antics.” Yeesh. And we all know how well that went. “But honestly… I… I think there might be another guy involved.”

Gloriosa’s eyes shot up through the roof. “Really?” She brushed her paperwork aside, her attention fully on her brother. Gloriosa wouldn’t call herself a girly kind of girl. But when a scandal of this proportion comes to your table, you’d drop everything just to listen. “Another guy? You think someone’s trying to steal Twilight from you? That’s bold. Who is it?”

“Some weird-crazy rocker, Flash Sentry. He was in the same group as Twilight and her friends.”

She tilted her head up in thought. The name sounded familiar. “Flash Sentry. Oh! Isn’t he the singer for that super-famous rock band that’s been on the internet lately? I think they played for the fundraising event in the city.”

“Yeah… him.” Ooooh~ someone’s grouchy. Jealously grouchy.

“I remember him. He was that blue haired guy with the guitar. He’s not that good looking.”

“Thank you!” He waved his hands up frantically. “Finally someone notices.” He was so easy to please.

“And you think this guy is trying to take your Twilight?”

“Well… no. Yes. I mean… I think so.” Make up your mind kid. It was one or the other. “It’s just that whenever we’re together, she keeps talking about him like he’s the next big thing. It’s like she got this crush on him but she doesn’t even know it.”

“Wow… that’s bad.”

“It is! And just because they have magical adventures together the two of them have something in common. He has the unfair advantage!”

“Come on now Timber. I’m sure you’re just overreacting. Twilight is sweet. A little nosy at times but very sweet. They’re probably just good friends.”

“She goes to him whenever there’s a crisis, she thinks he’s the best ever.” He added, hands gripping on his cup noting that it had somehow been emptied. “And because of that, she talks about him every chance she gets. She doesn’t understand it that every time she does that it makes me feel like…”

“You’re the third wheel in the relationship?”

“EXACTLY!” He shouted refilling his cup and consuming it at the same time. After finally drinking the last drop he smashed the cup on the table clattering everything. But thankfully that did the trick and calmed him down. “It’s just… frustrating.”

“Aww… sweet sweet Timber.” She cooed, ruffling his hair cutely. “While I’m the last person you should be talking about with this. As your sister, I might have some advice.” Well mostly stuff she heard on TV but she wasn’t gonna mention that. “I think you should really be discussing this with Twilight. I mean… the first step to a good and healthy relationship is communication. I’m sure that if you two talk it over, she’ll understand completely that she’s been making you feel… well… miserable.”

“Ok?” The boy understood that. “But what if she decides to break up with me and go with this Flash guy instead?”

“Stop thinking about the worst case scenario and start thinking of a solution. Twilight loves you and you love her. I know it’s hard but nothing worth doing is ever easy. If you try hard enough I’m sure you’ll reignite that feeling you two have for one another.”

“We’re already moving in together.”

“Ah pfft. Easy maneuver.” Gloriosa puffed her lips mockingly. “When was the last time you two had a proper date? When was the last time you gave her flowers or chocolates? Big moves are fine in long intervals but it’s the small gestures that really stacks up.”

“Well we did go on this one date to the movies.”

“Ugh… bleh.” She stuck her tongue out in disgust. “Movies? Please sweetie. You gotta go for something more… grand. Take her somewhere nice.”

“We’ve been dating for over a year now. I think I’ve taken her to all the coolest places in Canterlot.”

“Then spice it up!” She chastised him. “Like… remember that time when she took you to the planetarium?”

“Yeah?”

“And remember how you told me how magical and memorable it was?”

“Yeah…”

“That’s how you get her back. Mix it up a little. Give her both a sense of nostalgia of the happiest moments of your relationship and put something new on the table. You can’t just wait and wander thinking that it’ll just work out. Relationship takes hard work.” Gloriosa pumped her fist up. “You need to show Twilight that you’re twice the man this Flash Sentry ever could be. Show her that you can step up your game. Show her that she’s already dating the best guy in town!”

“Yeah… YEAH!” Timber wasn’t really sure why he seemed so pump. Either he was just desperate for some advice or his sister’s words actually moved him. “I am the best. I’ll show Twilight that she’s already dating the best. You’re right. I can’t mope around doing nothing. I need to step up my game.” He drank what remained off the pot and bolted off. “Sorry, but I got some arrangements to make. Thanks for the pep talk sis.”

“Any time. Just remember: My room is off limits.”

“You never come visit anyway!”

“Still my room!”

Twilight gasped at the historical site of Castle Hoofbeard. She read about the place on the internet a few times though most of them came from folk tales and legends.

The castle was built during the early years of the colonial period when settlers first came ashore on the mainland. It was used by the militia first as a lighthouse to guide ships, and later as a stronghold to keep pirates away. But when the city grew over time and roads built, the place came into disuse and disrepair. The locals came to abandon it entirely which brought pirates to use it as their hideout.

Therein came the legend of the castle itself.

A certain (in)famous pirate called Hoofbeard became a legend on these waters. He robbed many vessels and plundered hundreds of villages across the shorelines becoming a villain in the history books. It was said that his ship would appear one moment and then vanish the next. A rather pointless exaggeration. But the interesting part came next. Some say that many of the things he store included magical relics from a bygone era. It was along his prime that a myth came to be.

Somehow he angered the sea and brought upon its wrath upon his domain. A mighty tidal wave strode in, slamming its outer walls and weighed it down until the cliff collapsed. It was as if the very ocean itself was trying to pull the castle to the depths of the ocean.

A bit of a romanticizing but not unwelcome.

“Here we are, ladies.” Quibble declared as he drove up to the flimsy drawbridge which looked ready to collapse at any moment. “Castle Hoofbeard. The legendary pirate fortress.”

“It’s… kind of scary.” Fluttershy shuddered as the rest got out of the jeep. And she wasn’t wrong on that regard either. The castle looked ominous up close. Even more so now with the snow piling on its walls.

Rainbow Dash nodded in agreement, though for a totally different reason. “Decrepit look, creepy atmosphere, ominous shadows, and possible mystery and secrets hidden below? This has all the hallmarks of…”

“Daring Do and the Castle of Fate!” She and Quibble declared in unison.

“I know, right? I totally had the same idea when I came here first! It even has the deep moat of doom, deadly traps. And pit falls.”

The sports gal grinned. “All that’s missing now is the poisoned tip ballista at the top of the watchtower!” They giddied like a bunch of fans in their own world.

Twilight rolled her eyes at them but quickly came to a stop when she realized something. “Wait… did you say traps?”

“Yesiree. This place is riddled with tons of traps from back in the day to ward off trespassers. Rotating walls, spikes that poke out of the floors and ceilings, even giant rolling boulders at one point.”

“That’s awesome!”

“It’s too bad that they’re all broken after this whole place got torn up.”

“Aww…” Rainbow sulked.

Still, that didn’t exactly sit well with Twilight knowing that they were walking into some kind of death trap. But before she could complain, one of her gizmos started acting up. “Whoa. Looks like we hit the jackpot guys. My tracker is picking up a strong magical signature coming inside. And from the looks of it. It’s the same kind of magic from the other Yaztec artifacts.”

“And lookie what I found.” Applejack called out pointing to another two jeeps that hid just outside of the bushes. “Looks like someone’s here before us.”

“Hmm… Chartrise and Sons. That is definitely Hoity Toity.” Rarity confirmed it after a quick sniff which earned her a look from her friends. “Attention to detail is my talent dearies. I’ve hung around that man for a long while now. The stench of his cologne leaves a very distinctive and expensive smell. Chartrise and Sons is a brand you don’t just buy for kicks. And… there is another one, but I don’t quite remember where I smelled this.”

“That’s good to know.” Sunset nodded back, thanking her confirmation. “But why would a Yaztec relic be here? These ruins look nothing like them.”

“It’s possible that the relic was stolen.” Twilight added her hypothesis. “The pirate Hoofbeard, who this castle was named after its capture, was notorious for robbing all sorts of treasures and trinkets from all over the world. It’s possible that he might’ve taken it from someone or someplace else. They say that all of his ill-gotten loot was dragged to the ocean when the cliff collapsed and was never recovered or found.”

“Pirates, treasures, and now magical artifacts!?” Rainbow glee, barely containing her excitement. “This totally makes up for missing out on that adventure in the caves! I may as well be writing the next Daring Do film. What are we waiting for? Let’s go in there and find us some Evil Magic!”

Her enthusiasm was refreshing but some feared that it might just lead her to danger.

“Well I’m heading back.” Quibble announced returning to his vehicle. “As much as I like a good adventure, I prefer to read them from the safety of my books.”

Sunset nodded back in understanding. The last thing she wanted was for another friend to be caught in the crossfire. “Thanks again for the drive Quibble.”

“Anything for Rainbow Dash and her friends. Just remember to get back to the pier before sundown. That’s when the last ferry leaves for the city. Otherwise you’ll be stuck here all night. And trust me. This isn’t a place you’d wanna get stranded on. I should know. I learned that the hard way.”

And with that last warning the young gentleman drove off leaving the girls behind to turn and stare at the castle. If this were some kind of movie, they’d be the heroes about to storm the lair of an evil villain.

The whole castle looked even more ominous on the inside.

With the amount of critters and insects scurrying around, one could tell that no one had been here for a very long time. In fact, when they finally got a good look of the place, it was a miracle that the castle was still standing at all. It looked like the whole place could come down at any moment and the only thing holding it together were the cobwebs and dust. One wrong move could probably spell disaster for anyone inside.

Relics from the colonial age could still be seen around here. Ancient cannons from the sailing days stood where always have, remaining vigilant, even though the ones that manned them no longer existed. There were even a few cannonballs piled besides them, never to be fired. The smell of salt, brine and gunpowder lingered in the air while seagulls hugged the coastline. Back in the day this place would’ve looked very intimidating to the ordinary sailor. But now… looking at all the wear and tear and the giant gaping hole where half of the castle used to be, it had a more sense of mystery than fear.

“Alright everyone. Group meeting.” Rainbow declared calling everyone to attention. “We don’t want to follow the same trope as all the other mystery hunters fall for. So rule number 1: No matter what happens, we stick together. I don’t know why the adventurers split up in movies but that’s always how the bad guys pick them off. I don’t care if we can’t cover more ground. So from here on out, no one goes anywhere alone.”

“Sounds like you’re the expert on dungeon crawling.” Applejack chuckled under her breath. “I guess all them video games did pay off in the long run. But it makes sense. That’s how these shadow monsters have been picking us after all. I’m all for this buddy system.”

“Me too.” Fluttershy agreed wholeheartedly, already grabbing Pinkie’s arm. “There’s no way I’m going in there alone.”

“Then it’s settled. We work as a team! So… where to first?” Rainbow picked out some options. “How about that creepy room in the corner with the equally creepy creaking door? Oh! How about the deathly gorge below with all those dangerous looking rocks sticking out of the cliffs? Or maybe we could go through the deathly scary hallway that’s bound to be full of traps and haunting ghosts!?” Each mention seemed to make Fluttershy shiver harder.

“We can start… right… here.” Rarity pointed over to a fireplace at the far end corner of what looked like the remainder of the castle barracks. The walls were torn down and most of the beds were shattered to splinters but you can tell that a lot of folks slept there. The fashionista took a whiff of the place sensing a certain smell. “Oh my. Yes. He’s definitely been through here.”

“How do you know?”

“The smell of his perfume is feint but recognizable darling. I never forget a stench.” She added before turning her phone-flashlight on the ground where a shoe mark was present. “That and… these fresh footprints. You can hide the mud under all that snow, but you can’t hide the mud from the floors. Hmm… an Alexis McQueen… size 10. Now I’m absolutely certain he was here.”

Twilight couldn’t contain her amazement. “Wow Rarity. That’s… impressive. We’d never have noticed that. You’d make an awesome detective.”

“Oh I know darling.” She struck a pose before suddenly changing her attire to that of a private eye before pulling out a magnifying glass out of her pockets. “Now if you’ll all follow me, we can follow this trail to our perp!”

“And don’t forget these.” Sunset pulled out her backpack producing the artifacts from Equestria. “Remember how we practiced with these artifacts?” They nodded back, a few of them gathering the tools they were familiar with.

With one last nod the gang followed suit, keeping a watchful eye over their steps. But unaware to our fair girls, a shadowy figure slithered out of the corner of the room, grinning menacingly like a predator watching its prey walk right into its trap. It chuckled softly before slinking into the walls, traversing the castle like a snake.

Deep within the bowels of the castle, Hoity Toity sat comfortably in what looked like the captain’s quarters, sipping a cup of coffee he brought from the resort some time ago. While the rest of the place looked old and decrepit, it still had some places that was livable.

…

When his minion returned, his ears perked up to listen. “They’re here? Already?” He looked shocked, sounded shocked, yet his face contorted this twisted smile. “Did they bring the portal stone with them?”

…

“No? But they have other magical artifacts? Are you sure?”

…

“Other magical sources? Here?”

…

“Well now. This certainly turned out to be quite interesting.” He put down his coffee and brought out his bracelet. “It looks like Cinch was hiding more from us than we originally thought. I was hoping for a simple trap. But these girls brought me a bigger prey to snack on.” He chuckled softly before turning to his shadow. “I do so love a good scavenger hunt. That and… a good game of hide and seek.”