//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: The Grogar's Boat // Story: The Adventures of Twilight Sparkle: The Secret of the Alicorn // by Lucasnike123 //------------------------------// A few hours later, following the scent of Twilight, Spike made it to the port of Canterlot City, to what appeared to be some kind of huge freighter. "Ready to move the load!" said one of the sailors who worked on the ship. At that moment, Spike saw Grogar his henchmen climbing aboard the ship, so he deduced that Twilight was also on it. "Shall we bring your guest on board, Grogar?" asked one of his henchmen, referring to Twilight. "Yes, she is a valuable cargo!" Grogar replied. "And what do we do with her?" asked Grogar's other henchman. "We dumped it discreetly... to the bottom of the hold!" Grogar said, before laughing like an evil man. Hearing that, Spike crept up onto the boat, unseen by anyone. A few minutes later, the ship sailed. A few hours later, as night fell, Twilight awoke from her unconsciousness. Upon awakening her, she discovered that she still had her hands tied behind her back, and she was sitting at the bottom of the hold of what appeared to be a ship. "What's going on?" Twilight thought "Where am I?" At that moment, the door to the hold opened, and Twilight saw Grogar and one of his henchmen walk inside. Grogar approached Twilight. "How do you like your new accommodation, miss?" Grogar asked. "Who are you?" Twilight asked, as she struggled a bit with her restraints "And where are they taking me?" "On a cruise" answered Grogar "Traveling broadens horizons, doesn't it?" Faced with this situation, Twilight tried to get answers. "Do you work for Mrs. Cinch?" Twilight asked both men. "Abacus Cinch won't give any more problems" said Grogar "She was very, let's say, collaborative..." Then, Grogar took out of her pocket an object that Twilight was interested in: the second scroll of The Alicorn that they stole from Mrs. Cinch. Twilight could see, for an instant, that the scroll Grogar had in her possession had a slight difference from hers: the numbers at the bottom of the scroll were "18" and "11". Grogar then decided to get straight to the point. "My boss wants the other scroll..." Grogar said, as he put his scroll back in his pocket "Where is he?" "I couldn't tell you" Twilight answered her question, pretending not to know anything "I'm sorry". Grogar growled angrily at Twilight's response. "Did they search her?" Grogar said to his partner. "Yes, boss. Twilight Sparkle. Student card. No scroll" replied the man "What do we do, boss? Shall we throw her overboard?" "Ok, miss Sparkle" said Grogar "I tried to do it in a nice way, but now..." However, before Grogar could finish his sentence, another of his men appeared, interrupting him. "Boss!" "Not now!" Grogar said, grunting at the interruption. "They need it!" said the man "It's the captain... she's..." "What happens now?" Grogar yelled, interrupting. "She has lost her temper!" the man finished. "Okay, I'm coming!" Grogar said, before turning to Twilight "If it were you, I'd start talking now, miss Sparkle... Before we get to port..." After that, Grogar and his men left the warehouse, leaving Twilight alone again. Faced with such a situation, Twilight tried again to free herself from her bonds, when she suddenly heard something coming from the bottom of the ship's hold. And when that "something" appeared before her, Twilight couldn't help but smile. "Spike! It's you!" Twilight said, glad to see her dog again. Spike jumped on Twilight and licked her face. "Quick, Spike!" Twilight said, showing her bindings to his dog "Untie me!" Seeing the bonds, Spike bit them, until they broke, freeing Twilight. At that moment, Twilight noticed that Spike still had the scroll of The Alicorn, hidden in his necklace. "That's it, Spike!" Twilight said, as she took the scroll "Good boy!" With the scroll in her possession, Twilight knew exactly what she had to do now. "Now... we need Grogar". Twilight walked to the hold's door, trying to open it... to no avail. "Shit!" Twilight said "It's closed!" At that moment, Twilight noticed that there was a small skylight that led outside and a rope with a hook on the end. Seeing both, Twilight had... a bit of a crazy idea. Meanwhile, the stateroom upstairs, a girl with red and yellow hair, similar in age to Twilight, was sleeping peacefully on the desk. Suddenly, a noise woke her up, and when she saw where the noise was coming from... she found herself face to face with Twilight and Spike. It turns out that Twilight had used the hold hook to climb up the skylight and, along with Spike, she entered through the stateroom window. As both girls looked at each other, Twilight began to walk slowly towards the door, with Spike in her arms. "Could you... say nothing, please?" Twilight asked "Okay. Nothing's wrong..." "What...?" said the red haired woman "Who are you?" "Me? Uh... nobody!" Twilight replied "Forget about me... I'm leaving!" But just as she was about to leave the stateroom, the door swung open, forcing Twilight and Spike to hide behind her. It turns out that the ones who had opened the door were Grogar and one of his henchmen. "Were you talking to someone... captain?" Grogar asked the girl with the red hair. "Eh ..." said the red-haired girl, who decided not to rat Twilight "No, with no one." Suspicious, Grogar sat down in the other chair at the desk. "So what's this fuss about, captain?" Grogar asked the girl with the red hair. "I'm sick of being locked in here, Grogar!" replied the girl with the red hair. "But why?" Grogar asked "It's a nice stateroom". "I'm locked in this place" said the girl with the red hair "And what I want is to get my ship back, MY ship!". "That doesn't sound like a good idea to me" Grogar said. "The captain is ME!" yelled the red haired girl. "Sure..." Grogar said "But, as you well know..." "What?" the red haired girl asked. "Her family have never been good at boats" Grogar said "We know why". Suddenly, hearing those words, the red-haired girl clutched her head in pain, as if something in her mind had reminded her of something. "Ahg... The curse...". "Exactly" Grogar said "Listen, the ship is in good hands with me. But you will get it back soon. I only need the command for this operation". At that moment, Grogar got up from his chair. "Listen! As I was saying to Pedro..." said Grogar. "Me?" Grogar's partner said, revealing himself to be the one named Pedro. "As I was saying to Pedro... We need her" said Grogar. "Huh?" said the girl with the red hair. At that moment, Grogar put two pencils on the table: one red and one blue. Seeing them, the girl with red hair knew exactly what Grogar wanted. "There you go: red is for longitude, blue for latitude" said Grogar. "Colored pencils?" asked the red haired girl "Really!?" "Be good and calculate the heading for the next two hours, huh?" Grogar asked the girl with the red hair. "Do you take me for a fool?" the girl with the red hair asked angrily "You rascal! Imposter!" "Have fun" Grogar said, as he started to leave the stateroom "Anyway... I have a passenger to deal" Hearing that, the red haired girl got a little curious. She although she could deduce that it was Twilight. "What kind of passenger?" "An untimely one..." Grogar said, leaving the stateroom "Remember: red for latitude, blue for longitude". "But ... you said otherwise, boss ..." said Pedro, as he followed Grogar. "Uuh ..." Grogar growled "Go a plank ... then walk it for her!" Then Pedro closed the door to the stateroom, leaving Twilight and Spike alone with the girl with the red hair. "Who was that man? Was he Grogar?" Twilight asked "Where was he going ...?" "Oohh ... Up. At the helm!" the red haired girl replied "In the... control room ..." So before leaving the stateroom, Twilight asked one last question. "Is it true that you are the captain of this ship?" However, the girl with the red hair did not answer, causing Twilight and Spike to leave the stateroom. As they moved discreetly through the corridors of the ship, Twilight and Spike overheard a conversation between Grogar and one of his henchmen. "BOSS!" yelled Grogar's henchman "We have a problem!" "What happens now?" Grogar asked. "The girl we kidnapped!" the henchman replied "She has disappeared!" "WHAT!?" Grogar yelled "Look for that parasite! She can't go very far". "Y-yes, boss..." said the henchman, starting to look for Twilight. Hearing that conversation, Twilight knew she had to hurry. A few minutes later, Twilight and Spike finally reached the ship's bridge, where they found Grogar manning the wheel. Taking advantage of the fact that they were both alone, Twilight began to talk. "Three sisters together, three Alicorns together..." Twilight said, reciting the poem on the scroll. "Why did she decide to stick her nose in my business, Miss Sparkle?" Grogar asked, after noticing Twilight's presence. "You're the ones who forced me to come along" said Twilight. Grogar gave a little laugh at Twilight's comment. "Good, if you give me the scroll, I'll let her disembark at the next port" Grogar said, starting to negotiate. "Lie" said Twilight, declining the offer "Besides, this is not her boat..." Hearing that, Grogar knew immediately what Twilight was referring to. "Ah, you've already met Sunset Shimmer" Grogar said "Well, she's not the captain anymore. We could call her a walking shipwreck". Then, hearing that information, Twilight thought for a moment, until she had a hunch. "Shimmer? The captain's name is Shimmer?!" At that moment, taking advantage of that moment of doubt, Grogar picked up an oil lamp and threw it at Twilight, who managed to dodge in time. Then, just as he was about to hit Twilight, Spike bit Grogar on the leg, giving Twilight a chance to hit him on the head, knocking him unconscious. "Ugh..." Twilight sighed "You got what you deserved for kidnapping me". Then, taking advantage of the fact that Grogar was unconscious, Twilight took her wallet from her, revealing what she was looking for, along with a small photograph of Grogar. "Ah! The second scroll! It's the one stolen from Mrs Cinch!" Twilight said, as she put the scroll and photo in her pocket. At that moment, Twilight realized something. "And now, I have to get to the bottom of this matter with… Sunset Shimmer!" Twilight said "If she has a relationship with Elizabeth Shimmer... maybe she can help us". Then, after leaving Grogar's wallet where it was, Twilight began to put the pieces together. "Three sisters... We know there are three scrolls: mine, Mrs. Cinch's ..." Twilight said, as she looked at Spike "Mm, let's think, Spike... I don't know who Grogar works for, but I bet something that he has the third". So, Twilight and Spike decided to go talk to the person who might have the answers they're looking for. A few minutes later, Twilight and Spike re-entered the red-haired girl's stateroom, who they deduced was that Sunset Shimmer. "You again?" Sunset asked when she saw Twilight "What do you want now?" "Just one question" said Twilight, closing the door to the stateroom "Are you a descendant of Elizabeth Shimmer, captain of the three-masted ship known as The Alicorn, under the reign of Celestia XIV?" Hearing that, Sunset turned her attention to her guest. "How do you know that!?" Sunset asked "Who are you?" "My name is Twilight Sparkle... An my dog is Spike... And right now, I have in my possession two scrolls in the handwriting of Elizabeth Shimmer herself..." Twilight explained "I'm going to search for a treasure... The Lost Treasure of the ALICORN!" At that moment, Sunset got up angrily from her desk. "Enough!" Sunset yelled "I don't want to talk about any of that! GROGAR!" "Grogar is a scoundrel" said Twilight, trying to calm Sunset "He betrayed you to take command of the ship from him, and you know it!" "I'll have the shackles put on you!" Sunset threatened, before going to her stateroom door "GROGAAAAAR!" However, before Sunset reached the door, she slipped on the colored pencils Grogar gave her, falling to the ground. "Sunset... We can help each other" Twilight said, as she helped Sunset up "Each other". At that moment, Twilight showed the scrolls to Sunset, who recognized them instantly. "Tell me everything you know..." Twilight asked Sunset, as they began to chat at the stateroom desk. At that moment, while Sunset was talking to Twilight, her mind drifted back to ... the past. We are in the year 1698. The Alicorn, an imposing ship of the fleet of Celestia XIV, sets sail from Port Royal, bound for Europe... As the ship sailed, a red-haired woman, whose appearance looked exactly like the photo in the book that Twilight bought at the Canterlot City market, gazed at the horizon with her spyglass. The captain is certainly my ancestor, Elizabeth Shimmer... to my great misfortune. They have been sailing for two days, and the Alicorn has all its sails hoisted ... when suddenly a cry is heard from the crow's nest... "A sail to port!" Hearing that, Elizabeth Shimmer looked with her spyglass in the direction they had shouted, and one of her crew, who was next to her, was startled when she saw something on the approaching ship. "Black flag!" the crewman pointed out "Pirates!" "Worse... It's Nightmare Moon!" said Elizabeth Shimmer, who recognized the flag. "We must leave them behind!" the helm crewman yelled. "Everyone to the bridge of the ship!" another crewman yelled "Ready to turn!" But the pirate ship did not let them do it, so Elizabeth Shimmer made a decision, while she drew her sword. "Well then... we will fight!" Elizabeth Shimmer yelled "Gunners, to your battle stations! FIRE!" At that moment, the cannons of The Alicorn fired at the pirate ship. "We have pierced their jib!" yelled one of the crewman, pointing as the pirate ship began to sink. But it wasn't enough... At that point, the boarding hooks snagged the ship's sides, causing the pirates to climb aboard. "Prepare for boarding!" shouted one of the crew, drawing his sword "They're coming on board!" At that moment, both Elizabeth Shimmer and the crew member next to her saw the same thing: a woman clad in black armor, emerging from the flames of her ship and leading the pirates. She was Nightmare Moon, in person. "W-who is she, Captain?" the frightened crewman asked Elizabeth Shimmer "The Devil!?" "I wish it were, mister Le Guennec..." Elizabeth Shimmer replied, before leaping into battle between her sailors and the pirates "I wish..." During the battle, the pirates cornered the sailors with their sword skills, but none could surpass Elizabeth Shimmer. In one of the fights, Elizabeth Shimmer was able to throw one of the pirates overboard. "Best regards to the sharks!" Elizabeth Shimmer said, saying goodbye to the defeated pirate, before realizing that his crew diminished "MY MEN! MY ALICORN! WITH ME!" Later, after another of the fights on the ship's deck, Elizabeth Shimmer took care of the pirates who were in the area of the hold. Suddenly, an ax appeared out of nowhere, nailing itself into one of the wooden pillars, revealing to Elizabeth Shimmer that the person who threw it was one of Nightmate Moon's lieutenants. "I knew you would find her here, Shimmer" said the lieutenant, pointing his sword "Shaking with the rats at the bottom of the hold!" But then, during the fight, something very strange happened: Nightmare Moon's lieutenant exchanged himself for another person: Twilight Sparkle. "SUNSET SHIMMER!!" Twilight yelled "STOP, PLEASE!!" At that moment, Sunset fell to the ground, realizing something terrible: while telling the story of her ancestor, she was so focused on it, that she imagined herself to be Elizabeth Shimmer and, with a wrench in her hand, destroyed the motor of the ship, unaware of what she was doing, until Twilight and Spike stopped her. "Sunset, control yourself!" Twilight pleaded "You're tearing up your own ship!" "Oh no!" Sunset said, recovering "What have I done!?" "We have to get out of here!" Twilight said, scooping Spike into her arms "And quick!" As they escaped, both girls heard voices over the ship's emergency megaphones, indicating only one thing: The ship was sinking! "A short circuit in the engine room! All abandon the ship! Repeat: all abandon the ship!" said the voice from the megaphones "Warning: extensive damage to engine room! The ship is flooding rapidly!". When Twilight and Spike walked through a door, Sunset paused for a bit to rest. "What do you want from me, anyway?!" Sunset asked, as she gasped with fatigue. "Hold on!" Twilight said "I still need you, Sunset..." Suddenly, a locker by the door flipped over, closing the door and separating Twilight from Sunset. "Sunset!" Twilight yelled "Sunset, come back!" Unfortunately, the locker was too heavy and Twilight was unable to lift it. "Ah! It's impossible!" Twilight said "We'll have to get out of here alone, Spike..." A few minutes later, just as dawn was beginning to dawn on the horizon, the ship had its bow raised in the air, while the rest were sinking. Suddenly, two heads came out of the water, searching for oxygen. It was Twilight and Spike! "Spike!" Twilight said "Are you okay !?" Spike barked in response. Suddenly, they both heard the sound of something falling into the water, and when they saw it, they were happy. "Look! A seaplane!" Twilight said, while she laughed with happiness "Spike, we're saved!" Then, just as Twilight and Spike got on one of the floatplane floats, they heard voices behind them. "Come on! Row you idiots! FASTER!" When Twilight saw where the voices were coming from, she was surprised to see Grogar and his henchmen, rowing a lifeboat and away from the sunken ship. "Looks like they were saved too..." said Twilight. Suddenly, they both heard moans from a person coming from the other float of the seaplane. And when they saw who that person was, Twilight was shocked. "SUNSET!?" Twilight yelled, relieved to know that she was still alive. But then, Twilight noticed that Sunset kept staring at the sinking ship, looking sad. "A captain must always go down with his ship..." said Sunset. "You must not sink with your ship!" Twilight said. "I should..." said Sunset "And my ancestor, too..." Those last words caught Twilight's attention. "Your ancestor...? Why?" Twilight asked "How does her story end?" Then, for Sunset, she saw Elizabeth Shimmer going away in a rowboat, while she watched as The Alicorn exploded through the air in a huge explosion. "She fled. Like a coward... She abandoned her own ship... and destroyed it" Sunset said "She sacrificed her own men..." In the end, as the seaplane moved away over the horizon, with its three passengers on board, the ship finally sank into the sea. A few hours later, the seaplane, with Twilight as the pilot, began to move into the storm clouds. "You sure you know how to fly this thing, right Sparkle?" Sunset asked. "I'm trying!" Twilight answered. In the end, after coming out of the storm, Twilight decided to take the opportunity to find out more. "Where was the ship going?" Twilight asked Sunset. "We were heading to Klugetown" replied Sunset "At the northern tip of Morocco". "Then, let's go to Klugetown!" Twilight said, setting the seaplane's course "We'll find Grogar there!" "But you don't give up?" Sunset asked annoyed, after seeing how determined Twilight was. Taking advantage of the conversation, Twilight asked another question. "Out of curiosity... why did Grogar lock you in your stateroom?" Twilight asked. "He used to be my second-in-command..." Sunset answered "Until he found out about my family's treasure and took control of the crew from me..."