//------------------------------// // Not Enough Swords // Story: Pirates of Equestria: Dead Stallion's Chest // by The Phantom Joker //------------------------------// As Rainbow Dash, Lightning Dust, and Shining Armor kept fighting, Rainbow managed to get the key from Shining Armor before running off into the jungle, while Shining Armor and Lightning fought each other to go after her. Lightning knocked Shining Armor to the ground, before she kicked some sand into his face. “By your leave, Mr. Sparkle,” said Lightning, before she ran off after Rainbow. Meanwhile, at the shoreline… Several lizard-ponies from Spike’s crew crawled up onto the shore and found the metal crate to be empty. Back at the three-way sword fight… Rainbow Dash had found her way to a crumbling church, with Lightning Dust right behind her. Rainbow and Lightning sword-fought their way to the top of the bell tower, where Lightning managed to snag the key. Rainbow grabbed onto the bell’s rope, but was unexpectedly pulled downwards as Shining Armor was hoisted up, snagging the key as he passed Lightning. “By your leave, Miss Dust,” said Shining Armor. Lightning took off after Shining Armor, and the two sword-fought on the crumbling walls. Rainbow, having made her way back to the top, looked off the balcony and saw them. As the two ponies continued fighting, Rainbow tried to pluck the key from Shining Armor. After a few tries, she succeeded, but not without catching Shining Armor and Lightning Dust’s attention. Briefly uniting, the two managed to disarm Rainbow. “Please excuse me while I kill the pony who ruined my life,” said Lightning. “Knock yourself out,” said Shining Armor. “Hold up a minute, former commodore. I was nothing more than an...almost innocent bystander. Need I remind you who it was that when you had a notorious pirate safely behind bars, saw fit to free said pirate, and take your best friend all to himself. So, whose fault is it really that you’ve ended up a total wreck that takes orders from pirates?” said Rainbow. “Enough!” said Lightning, striking at Rainbow, who managed to jump off the church and avoid getting impaled. She then turned to Shining Armor. “Unfortunately, Mr. Sparkle… she’s right!” Shining Armor and Lightning Dust then began fighting again as Rainbow reclaimed her sword and put the key around her neck. “Still rooting for you, mate!” Rainbow called out to Lightning before walking off… and falling into an open grave. “Oh,” she said as she stood up. As she climbed out of the grave, Rainbow got stuck in a waterwheel that had come loose while Lightning and Shining Armor were fighting. When she got unstuck and landed inside the wheel, she ran inside of it, trying to get the key, which had gotten stuck on a nail, only to be hit in the face by a bar and knocked out for a moment. Meanwhile, with Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara… “We got it! We got it!” snickered Silver and Diamond as they ran through the jungle, before Cadence cut off their escape. As she reached for her sword, she remembered that Shining Armor was using it. She chuckled nervously as Silver and Diamond dropped the chest and drew their swords. “Hello, poppet,” said Silver as she and Diamond advanced on Cadence. They only stopped as the waterwheel that Shining Armor and Lightning Dust were fighting rolled past, with Rainbow Dash flying right behind it. Silver and Diamond simply looked at each other and shrugged before continuing to advance on Cadence. Just then, an ax flew by and stuck in a tree. From out of the jungle came Spike’s crew, weapons ready and looking for a fight. Silver and Diamond ran for it and handed their swords to Cadence as they grabbed the chest. Cadence was right behind them, screaming like a little girl. However, before they could get away, the chest smacked into a tree, sending Silver and Diamond to the ground. “We’ll have to make a stand!” said Cadence as she blocked an attack from one of Spike’s crew members. With everyone distracted, one of the lizard-ponies grabbed the chest and made a run for it Meanwhile… Rainbow managed to get back inside the waterwheel and was soon joined by Shining Armor, who snagged the key, and Lightning Dust. The three of them fought as the wheel rolled around and around. Until, finally, Rainbow snagged the key from Shining Armor, got out of the wheel, and snagged a coconut tree  before the waterwheel rolled down a steep hill. Coming down from the tree, Rainbow saw the crewpony who had the chest run past. Picking up a fallen coconut, Rainbow hurled said coconut at the lizard-pony and hit him in the head, causing him to drop the chest and wonder around in a dazed state. “I used to have a little kitty once… his name was Sugar Foots, because his feet were as white as sugar,” slurred the lizard-pony. “Oh, shut up,” said Rainbow. She stuck the key into the chest’s lock, which seemed to resemble a heart when shut, but a claw when it opened. As Rainbow opened the chest, she laid eyes on it: the still-beating heart of Spike Jones. Rainbow picked up the heart and slipped it into her vest pocket and closed the chest for she had heard the oncoming swarm of Spike’s crewmembers, and made a beeline for the shore. Moments later… Rainbow Dash ran over to the longboat. “Jar of dirt!” she said, grabbing the jar of dirt, opening it, emptying some of the dirt, and putting the heart inside. She was in the process of putting the dirt back when one of Spike’s crew members attacked her. Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara, who had the empty chest, along with Cadence who had their swords, soon appeared along with the rest of Spike’s crew. Mere seconds later, the waterwheel rolled in, running over some of Spike crew in the process before falling over. A very, very dizzy Shining Armor and a very, very, dizzy Lightning Dust climbed out. “Right…” slurred Shining Armor, flopping his way towards the fight. Lightning Dust meanwhile, made her way towards the longboat. There, she dug around in Rainbow’s overcoat until she found the Letters of Marque. Then, noticing there was a bit of dirt in the boat, realized where the heart was… Meanwhile, the others were doing their best to hold off Spike’s crew. Except for Silver and Diamond, who put the chest in the longboat and began to push it out to sea… only to be cut off by Shining Armor. When they reached for their swords and found them missing, Silver and Diamond grabbed a net and an ore. “Bring it, Sparkle!” yelled Silver, before she and Diamond were attacked. Shining Armor then examined the chest, before Rainbow, who had the other ore, hit him in the head, knocking him out. As Cadence came to Shining Armor’s aid, Rainbow said, “Leave him be! Unless, of course, you plan on using him to hit something with.” As Spike’s crew closed in on them, Cadence said, “There’s no way we’re getting out of this alive.” “Not with the chest, we’re not,” said Lightning, grabbing the chest. “You’re crazy!” said Cadence. “Don’t wait for me!” yelled Lightning as she ran into the jungle, Spike’s crew hot on her tail. “Uh, I say we respect her final wish,” said Rainbow. “Aye!” said Silver. Everyone got in the longboat, Cadence using her magic to get Shining Armor in, as Rarity pushed it out to sea. Meanwhile… Lightning ran as fast as she could from Spike’s crew. Unfortunately, she tripped and fell flat on her face… which soon had the sword of the crewpony that Rainbow had hit in the head in it. “Your bravery is wasted,” said the crewpony as Lightning got up. “I shall pry the chest away from your cold… dead… hooves.” “Here you go!” said Lightning, throwing the chest into the lizard-pony’s face before running off. “Company Dismissed!” yelled the crewpony before passing out.