On the ship, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Discord, and Daring Do were in the captain's cabin and assembled the map pieces. Discord materialized a glass of lemonade in his paw and took a sip of it.
“Well, it looks like the treasure is buried in the dark part of the island jungle,” Daring Do said. “As soon as we get to the island, I will go on ahead and follow the map. I'll conceal it from the crew when I get back and no pony will have the treasure until we get back home.”
“Wait,” Scootaloo said. “You'll go? What about us?”
“Look, kids,” Daring Do said, “I get you're courageous enough to come on this voyage, but we don't know what might be on the island. It's safe if you remain here.”
“Hey, I survived an encounter with a chimera,” Apple Bloom said. “I doubt a bunch of snakes can scare me.”
“Nevertheless, I can't risk losing you three,” Daring Do said. “Your sisters helped teach me the value of teamwork. I owe a lot to them. I can't bear to encounter them again with you three gone.”
“Well, what about me,” Discord said. “I'm an only child and I can survive just as much in the jungle as any pony else can.”
“You may be financing this journey, Discord,” Daring Do said, “But I'm not trusting you with my own wings.”
“Come on,” Discord said. “I just want the Red Channel.”
“Look, I'll give it to you when I return to the ship,” Daring Do said. “In the meantime, I'll be digging up the treasure. I can't have any ex-villain alone, even if he did see the error of his ways.”
“Why, I oughta...” Discord threatened before he accidently spilt a drop of the lemonade on the map.
Suddenly, there was a new piece of inscription on the piece. Everyone saw it glow and were amazed.
“Discord, spill some more,” Apple Bloom siad.
“But not too much,” Daring Do said. “We want to be able to see the rest of the map.”
Discord dripped a small amount of lemonade on the blank section. Suddenly, a new inscription glowed until it couldn't anymore. It was a strange language.
“What is that,” Sweetie Belle asked.
“I don't know,” Daring Do said. “I've never studied any language like this.”
“I know this,” Discord spoke. “Being a millenia old, I can read any sort of ancient language. This seems to be written in gargoyle script.”
“Gargoyle,” Daring Do asked.
“Gargoyles just wanna have fu-un,” Discord chuckled. Everyone was silent. “Anyway... Tirek may have been an evil centaur, but his brother, Scorpan, was a gargoyle. Scorpan must have written this. And it reads...
“Beware, those who find this map
For the trail you blaze will be a trap
After the angry seas cause a loss
Greed shall take the vessel of chaos
After the touch of crimson burn
Dark events of the past will have returned
If unity doesn't triumph around the bend
Then all of magic will reach its end”
“It said all that,” Scootaloo asked.
“It's a highly complicated script,” Discord said. “You can fit a whole book on a napkin.”
“Well, Discord, you're good with riddles,” Daring Do said. “What do you suppose it means?”
“Hey, being able to create riddles and solving one are two very different things,” Discord said. “This is as nonsensical to me as it is to you.”
Suddenly, the door knocked. Quickly, the Cutie Mark Crusaders hid their map pieces with themselves and Daring Do stuffed the X-piece into the vase it was in before. When they were done, Trixie entered the cabin with a trey full of dishes.
“I do hope I'm not interrupting anything,” Trixie said. “Anyway, I brought Discord's order for chocolate cake with cotton candy frosting and chocolate milk with a taffy straw.”
“Ooh, food,” Discord said before swiping the cake and chocolate from the tray. “Not as much as I would've made, but doable.”
“So what are you ponies talking about,” Trixie asked.
“Is that any of your business,” Daring Do asked. “Just get some more food ready for the rest of the crew.”
“Fine,” Trixie sighed in annoyance. “Oh, and by the way, Discord, the entertainment auditions are waiting for you.”
“Excellent,” Discord exclaimed in excitement.
As soon as Trixie left the room, everyone gave a confused look to Discord.
“Entertainment auditions,” Sweetie Belle asked.
“Yeah,” Discord said. “I figured, if the map's a fake after all, we might as well not let this trip be boring. So I invited some entertainers to... well, entertain the crew. I'm going to choose the best performer to play in our voyage. The rest will wallk the plank and sleep with the fishes.”
“DISCORD,” the CMC shouted.
“Just kidding,” Discord laughed. “But seriously, I'm just going to put them on a lifeboat and they'll row back home.”
“Discord, we have a limited number of lifeboats,” Daring Do asked. “How are you going to pull this off?”
“Easy,” Discord said. “I put an indestructible string connecting this ship to all the lifeboats. Once they pull the string, I'll pull them back.”
“Really,” Daring Do asked with a sigh. “I expect more from you, Discord.”
“Well, stay tuned,” Discord said. “I have a few more creative ideas. But in the meantime...”
Discord snapped his claw and he disappeared.
“I'm starting to have doubts about our choice in crewmates,” Apple Bloom said.
Meanwhile, on the back of the boat, another wave splashed on the Diamond Dogs latched on.
“Boss, we're sick of getting splashed,” Spot said.
“Yeah,” Fido said. “We might get pneumonia. We've got to get on board now.”
“Oh, fine,” Rover growled. “But we must find disguises. We can't ambush them until we get the map.”
The three climbed up and slipped over the rail. Rover grabbed ahold of a black blanket and put it over his head. The other two just hid underneath with him.
“What are you two doing,” Rover asked.
“We can't find blankets,” Spot said. “We've got to be with you.”
“Do you have any idea how wrong that sounds,” Rover asked angrily. “Get out, you idiots!”
Suddenly, they all tripped and the hood fell onto a stage. Rover peeked and saw Discord in a chair. He was confused. Spot and Fido tucked themselves under the blanket and Discord didn't see them.
“Well, this is interesting,” Discord said. “I don't remember hiring an extra-long pony.”
“Pony,” Rover asked. He looked and saw that Spot and Fido made him look like a long pony. He then changed his voice to a mare's voice. “Uh, yeah, a pony.”
“And what are you called,” Discord asked.
“Called,” Rover asked. “Oh, we... I am... the... the Long Hood.”
“All right, Mr. Hood,” Discord said. “In order for you to ace our performance, you'll need to beat all the other performers. Show me what you got.”
“Of course,” Rover thought to himself. “That chaos creep must think I'm here to entertain. Well, I shouldn't disappoint him. This might be my only way to get near the map.”
“Come on, lady,” Discord said. “I don't have all day.”
“Oh,” Rover said still pulling his hood. “You see...”
“There's destiny around the corner
You just have to see it through
If you have the opportunity
A mare's gotta do what a mare's gotta do
Some ponies wouldn't be expected
To understand the whole game
To me
It's destiny
But to them, it's all the same
Where is Equestriaaaaaaaa
If there are just ponies around
Where is my rooooooooooole
If I'm just stuck underground
Now, some ponies have it made
In the warmth and the sunlight
Meanwhile, the rest are under hoof
Not even seeing the night
Digging through the rocks and dirt
Just for the rich soil
Getting our true
Credits due
Despite all the toil
Where is Equestriaaaaaaaa
If there are just ponies around
Where is my rooooooooooole
If I'm just stuck underground”
Meanwhile, Fido and Spot swiped some musical equipment and played an instrumental break underneath the hood. When the break was over, the two played their music louder.
“WHERE IS EQUESTRIAAAAAAAAAA
IF THERE ARE JUT PONIES AROUND
Where is my rooooooooooole
If I'm just stuuuuuuck... undergrooooooouuuuuuuund”
When the music ended softly, Discord was seen tearing up.
“Are you crying,” Rover asked in his mare voice.
“No,” Discord answered. “I can't cry; I'm crazy. Anyway, LET'S GIVE A CONGRATULATIONS FOR THE LONG HOOD! You are officially the entertainment portion of the ship.”
“Perfect,” Rover chuckled evilly.