“I’m sorry, the library has been closed for the night. You’ll have to come back tomorrow.” The young dragon stifled a yawn and turned around to the door of the library. “Twilight, you’re back!” He jumped at the purple unicorn and put his arms around her neck.
“I missed you too, Spike.” Twilight chuckled and leaned into the hug. She turned her head a little and examined the library. “Wow, everything looks great. Maybe I should leave more often.”
“Well,” Spike replied, “my job was a whole lot easier without Rainbow Dash crashing into the library once a week… Or a neurotic unicorn reorganizing all the books every second day.”
“Yeah, I guess it would be– Wait, was that a jab at me?”
“You don’t know how long I’ve waited to use that one.” Spike stuck his tongue out at Twilight. “Since I had some time on my claws I thought ´What would Twilight do?´ So I made a list with witty comebacks.”
“As if you would need to make a list for that,” Twilight laughed and sat down nest to Spike on the couch. “Ah, I have so many stories to tell you. We’ve had a real pirate adventure. Rainbow Dash can probably tell them better than me, though. He’s already told us three different versions of the story, and we were all there. But enough about us, how was your week all alone in the library? Did you have any problems?”
“Well, it’s Ponyville, it never really gets boring around here.” Spike grinned. “Though, now that I think about it, it was a lot calmer without you six. Oh, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders caught a wild manticore when it appeared on the marketplace,” he added.
“They what? How did they manage that?”
“Nopony really knows, even those that were there at the time.” He laughed. “I don’t think they know, either. But I do remember Scootaloo saying that none of them got their knitting cutie mark that day.”
“By the way Octy, have you heard the stories about these weird ponies yet?”
“Weird ponies? I can’t say I have.” Octavia looked up from her salad. She and Vinyl were sitting outside one of the cafés in Canterlot, having a small lunch.
“You know that pony I told you about, Works? Anyway, he told me some stories about a group of ponies staying at Canterlot Castle. And apparently some of them can do really freaky stuff. Like, split themselves in half, or stretch their legs like rubber, or even turn into fire.” Vinyl was getting really into the story now, completely ignoring her food.
“I don’t know,” Octavia replied, “that sounds rather far-fetched, even for a rumor.”
“That’s what I thought, too. But Works is, like, the master of information. I think he has hundreds of contacts from his job. If he’s telling me something like that, there must be something behind it.” Vinyl paused. “Or he’s just messing with me. Or maybe both. You never really know with him…”
“Vinyl! Totter!” A grey pegasus with a blond mane set her hooves carefully on the street and trotted over to the table. “I haven’t seen you in a while.”
“Ditzy Doo!” Octavia exclaimed. “Are you on business in Canterlot again?”
“Yup, just finished my assignment,” the pegasus replied happily. “Were you talking about those ponies in the castle?”
“So I’m not the only one who heard about that?” Vinyl asked. “That’s– Wait a minute… Were you eavesdropping?”
“It kinda comes with the job.” Ditzy put a hoof to her neck and gave the couple a sheepish grin. “I was only flying by overhead, I swear.”
“Don’t mention it,” Octavia smiled. “After all, we owe a lot to your work experience.” She turned back to her salad. “I’m still not convinced about that story, though.”
The three ponies turned around when they heard a noise down the street. An earth pony with a straw hat and two large bags over his back was galloping in the direction of the café. Another – orange – earth pony and a blue pegasus were chasing after him.
“Luffy!” the pegasus yelled. “Give those cupcakes back now! They’re for everyone!” He swept down to the ground and lounged at the earth pony. The earth pony dodged with a ridiculously high jump, but was intercepted in the air by the pegasus. He placed a hoof on the earth pony’s side and kicked him back to the ground with so much force that the pony’s head smashed a hole into the stone.
The three mares watched with open mouths as the earth pony scrambled back to his hooves and tried to pull his head out of the street. His neck stretched for a moment until the head finally snapped back up. The pony looked around for an escape but found himself surrounded by a circle of fire.
The orange pony slowly trotted up to him, his mane a blazing line of flames. “Sorry, Luffy, but you’re not going to get away with my food.”
“I was going to share with you,” the pony with the straw hat whined, “honestly!”
“I’m telling you, they’re here!”
“Seriously Lyra, can’t you just stop with that stupid obsession for one week?” The beige pony with the blue and pink mane let out an annoyed groan and rubbed her forehead with a hoof. “I thought a few days in Canterlot would take your mind off of those ridiculous claims, but I guess I should have known better.”
“I’m serious, Bon Bon!” Lyra leaned closer to the table and fell into a conspiratorial whisper. “I’ve seen one of them last night.”
Bon Bon had put a small bag on the table and took four bits out of it to pay for their drinks. “Really?” She raised an eyebrow.
“Well, I only caught a glimpse,” Lyra conceded. “But I know what I’ve seen!”
“Listen, Lyra.” Bon Bon put her front hooves on the table to emphasize her point. “I have no idea why you’re so hung up on those crazy theories, but it’s really getting on my nerves. I’m telling you for the last time: There is no such thing as a ´Devil Fruit´!”
Lyra didn’t listen. Her eyes were fixed on a point on the table, right beside Bon Bon’s front hooves. Bon Bon rolled her eyes at her friend’s antics, but followed her gaze nonetheless. A pair of hooves was slowly trying to pull the bag of bits off the table unnoticed. No legs were attached to the hooves.
“Got you!” Lyra pounced over the table and pinned one of the hooves under her own front hooves. “Where’s the rest of you, huh?”
“Hey! Let go of my feet!” A pony head floated out from behind a cart, followed by the pony’s body and lastly a second pair of hooves trotting over the stone independently. He had orange fur and a blue mane.
Lyra gasped. “A Devil Fruit user! I’ve finally found one! Don’t try to deny it, I know what you are.” She was examining the confused stallion from all sides, taking mental notes of dozens of important and unimportant facts about him.
“There you are Buggy.” A second stallion trotted around a corner. “What are you doing here? We’re supposed to set sail in three hours.”
Lyra gasped again. “You! You’re the one I’ve seen last night. You’re a Devil Fruit user, too, aren’t you?”
The white stallion with the black mane tried to back away from the hyper unicorn that was staring at him with wide eyes and an even wider grin, only inches away from his face. “Uhm, yes, but–“
“Can you show me? Please?” Somehow the unicorn had brought her head even closer.
“Yes, yes! Just… personal space.” The white stallion watched the unicorn sit down a few feet away to stare at him expectantly noticing the golden lyre on her flank. He let a small amount of wax flow out of his front hooves and gave it form. “Here! This wax is extra hard, keep it away from fire and it should be fine.”
Lyra watched the two ponies move back towards the castle. When they were out of sight she looked down at the small white lyre in her hoof. “Ha-hah! Look Bon Bon! Here’s the proof that Devil Fruits are real. Who’s the obsessive lunatic now?”
Bon Bon just stared in the direction the two ponies had galloped off to with an open mouth. “Bwuh–?”
Lyra sat back down at the table with a wide grin. “You just can’t admit that I’m right, can you?”
“Princess Luna?”
The night blue alicorn turned away from her preparations to the pony behind her. A pink unicorn mare stood on the street, looking up at her. Her black mane was shimmering with a green hint and her cutie mark showed a red heart with a green glow in its center. “Can I help you?”
“I’ve seen your flyers. You’re looking for crew members for a pirate crew?”
“That’s right,” Luna replied. “I wasn’t sure if anyone would actually sign up…”
“A friend showed me the flyer,” the unicorn said. “I don’t know much about fighting, but I can still be of assistance.”
“I didn’t expect anypony in Equestria to have much battle experience,” Luna laughed. “If you would like to join my crew, I certainly won’t turn you down. But first, what is your name?”
The unicorn gave her a warm smile. “My name is Crystal Love. I’m pleased to meet you, Princess.”