Spike brought up the rear of the group as they trotted through the thick jungle. He wiped sweat of his brow, shaking his head. He breathed fire, and he thought this jungle was hot!
But the mares showed no discomfort at all as they trotted happily behind Gold Shine like little ducklings. Spike didn't like this, not one bit. Why did all the others seem so entranced by Gold?
But he had complied when he had seen Dinky drooling over Gold. He felt like he had something to prove, like that he was better than Gold Shine. He had to prove that. Somehow.
They trampled through some bushes before crossing a small crystal clear rivulet. Spike looked at his reflection. What about him made him special enough for Dinky?
But all that was forgotten when Gold called out that they had arrived. He pushed back the bushes to reveal, dun dun duh: a small group of rundown wooden shacks surrounding a large fire.
A large pot full of boiling water boiled over the flames. Holding up the pot were two metal sticks. On the end of either stick was a gear. The gear on the left stick was a rusty silver. But the one on the right was gleaming and bronze. Spike saw Amethyst perk up at the sight of it, like a signal was drawing her towards it.
Spike looked around. There were about twenty ponies. Some of them were sucking on bones. And Spike was horrified to realize the bones they were sucking on weren't animal ones. They were pony bones.
===
Roseluck shook as they tied her forelegs together and then her backlegs together. They had done so with all of them except Spike, planning to kill him after their delicious four course meal. Spike was tied up to a nearby tree. Turns out the map said "Unicorn Cannibals" instead of "Unicorn Castaways."
Roseluck shook as she watched a unicorn mare that Gold Shine had called "Paprika" picked up Coco in her magic aura. Paprika had a white coat, while her mane was a dusty bronze. Her cutie mark was a shaker of paprika with a pan behind it. Her red eyes glinted madly as she lowered Coco into the pot of water. Coco screamed as her back hooves entered the scalding water. She was lowered to the base of her neck, and then stopped sinking. At least they would be able to breath while they were cooked alive.
Coco had been stripped of her armor and weapons, and the others mares had been to. But Spike still wore his. She hoped Spike had a plan, or this quest would be over before it practically even started.
She watched as Amethyst was put in next. She had confirmed that the gear on the right part of the spit was a piece of the weapon.
Another pony sauntered up to the pot, looking as Paprika lowered Dinky into the water. Roseluck shook from the filly's screams. Dinky was shorter, so the water almost went over her head, the poor filly having to tilt her head back to breathe.
The new pony was an old unicorn stallion, a grisly beard covering his chin. His coat was a light gray, and his mane was a vibrant green. A spearmint leaf adorned his flank.
Roseluck shook as she was picked up by Paprika. But then Gold slapped Paprika, disrupting her magic. He said" I want to keep this one. She's pretty." All the other ponies shook their heads and sighed, but let him guide her to the biggest shack. Apparently Gold was the leader of this place.
All Roseluck said was "How? How did you trick us?"
"My mother was a siren pony, my father the chief of this town, which we call The Cooking Pot. As soon as I was born, my father ate my mother. As it is tradition."
Roseluck recoiled in disgust. To parent a child ment death in this culture? Who would want children if you die if you have one? Suddenly Roseluck's mind was hit with several ideas of how a mare could get pregnant unwillingly. She shuddered.
"Now you stay in here" said Gold. "I'll be back tonight."
Roseluck began to whimper and then full out sob, the floor becoming drenched in her tears. Spike better have a plan.
===
Spike struggled against the restraints, waiting for his guard to become distracted. When the pink unicorn mare looked away from him and to a butterfly fluttering in the trees nearby, he quickly whipped his knife out of his hidden pocket and began furiously cutting at the thick rope made of vines. He was about to cut through all of it when the mare returned her attentions to him. He stopped immediately a struggled some more.
Spike watched as she got distracted as Roseluck was pulled away into that Gold Shine's shack. She hoped he didn't hurt that mare. He was starting to consider the others friends, not just some ponies put on a boat to save the world. Which they also were.
But anyways Spike cut all the way through the bonds. He threw his knife at the mare. He was surprised at his accuarcy and watched as the mare silently crumpled, the pommel of the dagger hitting her temple.
Spike found Dinky's retractable crossbow the nearest weapon to him. All the cannibals were around the pot, chanting over his burning friends. He also grabbed Coco's lance. He then ran forward, hoping he didn't have to kill any pony.
Spike shot his crossbow at the legs of the five nearest ponies. The all crumpled, one falling forward and having her whole body fall into the flames. She rolled out of the fire and rolled around, also setting the plants and ponies around her on fire too.
Spike whipped out the lance, cutting open a stallion's backlegs, while reloading the crossbow. With the reloaded crossbow, he shot down three more unicorns, including Paprika, in the legs. Gold Shine was leaving his cottage to see half of his ponies on fire and the other half laying uselessly on the ground, their legs gushing blood. He quickly grabbed a sword, but Spike had already refilled his crossbow while knocking a yellow unicorn mare in the temple with Coco's lance.
Spike shot at Gold Shine. But his aim was off, and instead of hitting him in the legs, he hit Gold in the chest. Blood ruptured from the wound as the stallion collapsed. He pulled the arrow out of him and ran away, grabbing a box of medical supplies before fleeing.
Spike looked around to see all the other ponies taken care of, and quickly sucked up all the fire from the fire under the pot and the fire burning the jungle, and burst it into a bucket of water, where it turned into smoke. He then ran over to the pot and poured his friends out. They were covered in horrible burns but were able to stand after her had freed them.
They put on their armor and procured their weapons before heading to the cottage where Roseluck was trapped. They freed her too and they all headed back to the ship, boarding and sailing quickly away, hoping to never see that place again.