//------------------------------//
// Sailing the Night Skies 
// Story: Sailing the Night Skies 
// by EquestrianKirin 
//------------------------------//

"Spike, did you get everything?" Twilight asked, as she continued looking through the supplies in her library, just to make sure none of it was misplaced before she began her day. It was the usual thing for her to do, making sure each thing was in it's proper place and all that. Might as well try to keep the treehouse clean. Her little dragon companion came back down, with a large check list and quill in claw.

"Got it, everything check for this morning, and ready to go!" Spike said with a grin, as the purple unicorn began trotting to the door.

"Good work, Spike. Let's get -" Before Twilight could venture off out of her home to begin her day, it seemed that another pony had gotten a kickstart, as she launched herself into Twilight's home, knocking twilight over at lightning speed. The pink blur hugged her friend in a tight grip with her front hooves, spinning her around.

"Morning Twilight!" She beamed. It didn't take very long to know it was Pinkie Pie whom came to visit, who else greeting you with a hug that rivalled a snake constriction? Twilight smiled, though found it hard to breathe for a bit, so Pinkie loosened her grip so Twilight could catch her breath.

"Morning, Pinkie," Twilight said, after catching her breath, "What brings you here?" Pinkie gave her friend a huge beaming smile, teeth gleaming and all.

"No reason, just wanna give my friend a great "good morning"!" Pinkie winked, and hopped back outside in her usual giddy way. Twilight looked to Spike, whom simply shrugged, not having an answer to Twilight's unsaid question. But regardless, It's Pinkie Pie, so, no point in questioning it.


(Insert My Little Pony Intro Here)


Sometime later on, The Purple unicorn and Dragon duo went off into ponyville on their walk and schedule. The sun was shining bright in the sky, and the residents of Ponyville were going about their business as usual, heading by the two, talking to one another, usual stuff like that. Twilight Sparkle turned back to her companion, the list in his claws dragging behind them both, as his quill was ready to check off.

"Okay Spike, what's the first thing?" Twilight asked. Spike looked over the list. he already had about 5 things crossed out before they left, and they still had an extra 30 to go. Looking towards the top, he began reading off the next step.

"Let's see... You got a guest appearance at the school, to start," Spike said, Hopping onto Twilight's back. Twilight Sparkle began trotting off towards the school. She did have a appearance to make, to speak on about the subject of magic (go figure), and lucky for her, there's plenty of time to get there. As she went onward though, some pony had an eye on her from the sky. She slowly flew closer, bringing a cloud with her...closer...closer...and...

*BOOM*

"AH!"

Twilight and Spike yelped as a thunder boom shouted out in their ears, Spike falling off Twilight's back. The unicorn looked up, seeing a laughing rainbow pegasus right above her with a grey cloud. Of course, Twilight wasn't very pleased.

"Rainbow!"

"HAHA, You should'a seen your faces!" Rainbow Dash laughed, as she fell backwards on her cloud, she was laughing so hard. Twilight calmed down however, and used her magic to place Spike on her back again. Before Twilight could really say anything, though, Rainbow Dash saw another pony to prank, and flew off with her cloud. Yep, she's in one of those moods...

Rainbow meanwhile, flew off towards another group of ponies on the ground, sneaking up close to them, and pulling the same little trick on them, the ponies scattering. Rainbow laughed, and placed the cloud back up in the sky, her wings beginning to carry her in mid air once more as the cloud turned back to white.

"Good job, Rainbow," Rainbow said to herself, flying off from her cloud. The rainbow pegasus began flying off on her usual route, her wings giving their flap as she zoomed passed other clouds, big and small. She zigzagged through the clouds at high speed, loving every second of it as the clouds disappeared or spun in place as she passed through the sky above Ponyville. However, her reckless behavior...had her slammed into one of the rougher clouds. She flew through small clouds, no problem, but the larger clouds were more tougher to handle flying through. She tried getting herself out, the clouds shifting to her ramming, until she shot right out...and into a nearby tree.

"Ow." Rainbow managed to groan, just before tumbling out of said tree, landing in the middle of the forest, head first in the dirt as she was covered with scattered leaves. after a little while, Rainbow Dash got up to her feet, a bit sore and bruised but fine, as she brushed off some of the leaves from her mane and blue fur. A bit of a rough landing, if she said so herself. She got back onto her hooves, ready to take off again, until something ahead of her caught her eye in one of the other trees...something was nearby one of the tree trunks. Rainbow turned to the trunk, and saw some corner of something sticking out of the ground, probably dust blown onto slight by Rainbow's rough landing. Her eyes narrowed in curiosity, as she leaned in for a better look. It still was hard to tell what it was, so she used her hoof to wipe away the dust, seeing more of whatever was buried here.

"What's this?" Rainbow thought, her hooves starting to dig to figure it out. she only really needed to dig down a few inches before the object became clear. It appeared to be some sort of old map, as Rainbow lifted it up with her two front hooves to examine it. There were some fancy pictures on it, probably landmarks such as mountains, the ocean, stuff like that. There were also some fancy pictures of creatures as well, mostly in the waters (such as snakes, or whales). One thing that especially caught Rainbow's attention was that on one area, a large, black X was marked upon it. Rainbow could easily tell what this was; a Treasure map! Her eyes widened upon the realization, and began to fly in place.

"I gotta show this to Twilight!" She said to herself, as she gripped the map in her teeth, and flew right off back to Ponyville. This was something Twilight needed to see.

~~

It took a while for Rainbow to return to Ponyville, with map in her mouth. Indeed, it was interesting finding a map like this in the middle of a forest, and it didn't look like it was left behind by some filly, so she went off through the sky (not running into clouds that time), straight to Twilight's library. Twilight herself had finished her morning schedule, Spike's claw getting sore from checking each bit with his quill. Spike could handle a long check list, but sometimes his claw didn't always agree with his enthusiasm. The unicorn was about to put the quill away when...

"Twilight!"

The window of her treehouse flung open, Rainbow Dash barging in and nearly hitting her bookshelves in her flight. Twilight bolted around, the quill falling to the floor as she turned to Rainbow Dash, a bit annoyed in her expression.

"What is it, Rainbow, I don't - what's that?" Twilight noticed Rainbow's map, still in her mouth, as she used her magic to levitate it over to her. Rainbow and Spike both looked at the map with equal curiosity. Twilight took in each detail in the work, the art, the drawn compass in the left corner, the various animals drawn out in the water, and the X over across the way. Twilight took a minute before turning back to rainbow dash.

"Where'd you find this?" Twilight asked.

"Well, after I pulled this awesome prank on some ponies, I flew around for a bit, tumbled into a tree, and found that map laying in the dirt." Although Twilight sighed when Rainbow mentioned the prank again, she was more interested in the map Rainbow Dash had found. It didn't look brand new, but not "ancient" old either, in mid condition as a matter of fact. Twilight continued looking over the map in interest, taking in each detail in a bit more before answering Rainbow Dash again.

"I think this map goes outside of Equestria, some sort of treasure in the Griffin Kingdom," Twilight explained, pointing to the eastern side of the map, where the Griffin Kingdom was drawn, also where the X was established. Rainbow rolled her eyes.

"I know that already, it's a treasure map."

"Rainbow, if you knew what it is, why did you bring it to me?"

"DUH, I want to find it, and I need a navigator!" Rainbow exclaimed. That news was a bit random, but, could she really blame Rainbow? This is treasure she wanted to find, after all, and it was exciting. However, Twilight rolled up the map sometime after she said that. She wasn't that overwhelmed as Rainbow in finding this treasure.

"Rainbow, that would require you to fly oversea for days, and i can't really fly. Besides, how do you know if such a treasure exists, let along already found? But if it makes you feel better, I'll see what the princesses think. Spike?" Spike walked over as Twilight gave him the map. Of course, that didn't make Rainbow any better, she wanted to find the treasure. But, perhaps the princesses, given their years of ruling, would probably know something about that, so Rainbow didn't really complain...yet. In one inhale, Spike sent the map off back to Canterlot in a green magical blaze. Rainbow Had a hoof slapped on her forehead in annoyance, ready to begin her complaining.

"Why'd you do that?!"

"Rainbow, It'll be fine, we'll just see what the princesses think of the map, and then figure out what to do," Twilight insisted. But that didn't really change Rainbow's point of view on it.

"But what are they gonna do with the map?!" Rainbow protested, a bit peeved that Twilight simply threw her map away. Before Twilight could answer, Spike burped up a response letter from the map given to them. The letter was rolled in a scroll, as usual, but it was wrapped together with a moon medallion placed upon it, dark blue and white for the crescent. This letter wasn't from Princess Celestia, as first thought, but Princess Luna. The 3 looked to the letter as Twilight Sparkle opened it up.

Dear Twilight Sparkle:

I humbly thank you for returning the map. I wish to speak with you and your friends as soon as you can. There's something i want to ask of you face to face rather than writing it out.

Signed: Princess Luna

The letter was rather short, but summed things up. Though it did raise some questions : What did she mean by that? "Returning the map"? Did the map belong to her? Twilight turned to Rainbow Dash and Spike, whom read the letter practically over her shoulders. It was rather interesting on what the letter had to say, despite short dialogue.

"You thinking, what I'm thinking?" Twilight asked her friends.

"I'll make sure Fluttershy is on board. You guys get the others ready," With that, Rainbow Dash flew off out Twilight's door, off to go get her friend as Twilight and Spike went out as well, watching Rainbow fly off at fast speed (usual speed for her). It's time for a little trip.

~~

Back in Canterlot Castle, the princess in question, Princess Luna, was still looking over the map in her room, that was brought to her sister's attention. It still held up the same look, dexterity, and appearance as Luna could remember, her hoof probing over the Map for a while. As she was, her older sister, Princess Celestia, came in to check on her younger sister.

"Luna? You've been in here for a while now, is everything alright?" Celestia asked. Luna was so deep in her map, she didn't notice Celestia until she spoke, to which she rolled the map back up again, and turned to look at her sister in the face.

"I'm fine, Celestia, it's just...It's been so long," Luna said, showing the map to Celestia. The sun goddess smiled towards her younger sister.

"I know it has been. Sister, you know you don't have to."

"But i do, Celestia. This treasure's very important, and now i could finally retrieve it back," Luna insisted. Celestia turned to her younger sister, having a look of worry on her face. Yes, she was shown how strong Luna was before, but being a bigger sister, she still had her worries over her...however, the Treasure she was referring to was truly important to not just luna, but for her too. Unlike Luna, Celestia had more responsibilities in Canterlot...Celestia nodded.

"Very well. I wish you good luck."

"Thank you, dear sister. I promise you, I'll be alright." With that, Princess Luna walked out with the map, leaving Celestia alone. She knew where the map was...and how long Luna would be gone for...she could only hope Luna would be alright through the dangers the path laid out.

~~

It did take a bit to reach, but the group of ponies had made it to Canterlot, as requested by the rulers. Things were becoming rather interesting on the matter: Rainbow found a treasure map, and now, they're requested to come to Canterlot castle. Overall, something worth noting, and something worth knowing. Each member of the mane six headed right into the Canterlot castle throne room, where Celestia and Luna were patiently awaiting their arrival inside. Twilight trotted in, and bowed before the princesses.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Princesses."

"It's no trouble at all. Are all of your friends with you, Twilight?" Celestia asked. Rainbow answered first.

"Yeah, but somepony was a bit slow," Rainbow rolled her eyes with her comment, as the white unicorn, Rarity, came in after a bit, looking a bit winded, but still formally attired for the princesses presence. Celestia smiled, slightly amused, as Luna got up and stepped forward, presenting the map twilight had given her. While Rainbow, Spike and Twilight, knew what the map was, the others were left in the dark, not being where Rainbow found it, nor near the library at the time. Yes,they were told to come to Canterlot, but the details were a bit left out for them as such. Pinkie, being the hyperactive pony that she is, was the first to pipe up about the map.

"What's the pretty paper for?" Pinkie asked, eyes targeting directly at it. Luna was a bit amused by the pink pony's curiosity over the map. Luna placed the map by her side, under her left wing, as she turned back her attention towards the mane six.

"It's great that you all could come here. I need to ask you of a favour, if you will."

"Anything, princess," Rarity insisted.

"Very well...Are you all interested, in a treasure retrieval?" That question got most of their attention, especially Rainbow Dash, since that's what she wanted to do in the first place. Pinkie too was very interested, but then again, she's very interested in pretty much everything. As fir the others, their excitement was minimal, but their interest was a bit high. Twilight looked over to her friends, a bit unsure.

"I don't understand," Twilight said, eventually, not sure what else to really say. The fact that Rainbow wanted to find the treasure is one thing, but when the princesses are interested in finding the treasure as well, the decision becomes a bit more unsure if they should or shouldn't. But Rainbow Dash was a bit less subtle on her decision.

"C'mon, Twilight, please? Who knows how much treasure there is!" Rainbow asked, a bit impatient about it. However, Rarity helped ring her in.

"Rainbow!, not in front of the princesses, please?" Rarity advised, reminding Rainbow on whom else was there with her. Rainbow Dash calmed down, but only a little bit.

"Ugh, can we PLEASE go and get that thing?" Rainbow asked again, a bit more subtle than before. Twilight thought about it for just a bit, it did seem the princesses were quite interested in getting this treasure, and her friends seemed on board with the idea (Rainbow, and Pinkie, anyway). Twilight simply nodded and smiled.

"It would be an honour."

That news got Pinkie and Rainbow very excited, Rainbow because their gonna find the treasure, and Pinkie...just because. Luna smiled down at the ponies, as Celestia nodded in approval, getting up from her throne herself.

"In that case, fallow me everypony. There's something i want to show you," Celestia said, as she turned and stepped out, the others following close behind her.

The group of ponies began to head off through the castle, eventually heading back outside onto one of the balconies. They then saw something new in front of them that will help them in their search. What the group saw in front of them looked like a large ship, like a sea-going wooden vessel of sorts. But, there were various differences that separate this vessel from those in the sea. Instead of sails, it was kept together and afloat by a large balloon that was nearly as big (if not, bigger) than the ship itself, tied down by assorted ropes tied to the sides, where windows leading to cannons were also noted. Also, at the front of said boat, appeared to be a yellow glass orb, looking like more something for a submarine than a ship, all things considered. Other than that, it looked like a regular sea-going ship worth various accessories for distinguishing it from other ships (like the night star and moon patterns on the balloon, or the small wings on the side of the ship). Luna smiled, and flew over into the ship, bringing out the plank in order for the others to get on. Celestia watched as the elements of harmony ventured up onto the floating vessel, looking around at it's integrity.

"Impressed?" Luna asked, seeing the ponies fascination.

"What a marvelous airship! such design on the frame too," Rarity commented, looking around.

"How long had you had this for?" Applejack asked.

"A pretty long while. Me and Celestia used to take rides in it when we were little. Though we didn't have much use for it until now," Luna explained, a hoof running the side rim of the ship, as if remembering her time as a filly playing around in it with Celestia. Rainbow Dash flew around the airship, taking in the details as she did so. The pegasus landed by the others after a bit, ready to go.

"Alrighty then, ready to head out everypony?" Rainbow asked, enthusiastically. The others, by the end, agreed as Luna turned to Celestia by the balcony.

"Sister, would you mind handling the raising of the moon while I'm gone? It might take us a while before we return," Luna asked, Celestia smiling to her younger sister.

"I'll be sure to. But, expect some extra work when you get back," Celestia remarked with a playful wink. Luna already knew what extra work would be ready for her during her absence, but, she was willing to accept that as she nodded and walked away from the edge, flying over onto the ship's stern. As if on cue, the ship began to take off, at a steady pace, as it began to ascend into the sky. The mane six looked down from the side, waving goodbye to Celestia, whom waved back. The ship flew up into the cloud bank, which Rainbow made sure that it didn't slow them down by blowing them away with her wings. After about a minute, Luna brought back out the map again, showing it to Twilight. However, although she did take it, Twilight was a bit puzzled.

"Princess?"

"I would need you to be the navigator, Twilight. I know it's a bit different, but, my memory of the treasures location, not to mention reading maps, is a bit hazy. Is that alright with you?" Luna asked. Twilight smiled at the moon goddess.

"No problem at all," Twilight assured. Upon hearing, Rainbow flew back down to them.

"I told you, you'd be a good navigator!"

"You just said you wanted me to be a navigator, Rainbow Dash."

"Well, same thing," Rainbow rubbed the back of her head. Before they could continue, suddenly Pinkie Pie popped up from behind Rainbow Dash, suddenly in pirate attire (the pirate hook, golden earrings, eyepatch, and blue waistband to boot). Rainbow jumped back as Pinkie gave a "AARGH", like a pirate would.

"Avast ye maties! We're setting sail!" Pinkie beamed, trying to act like a pirate would for the heck of it, they were on a wooden ship after all. The pink pony hopped off with her gear on, leaving the ponies a bit stunned, but not to the point of forgetting what they were talking bout, as Twilight opened up the map to look over.

"Hm...well, looks like we have quite a ways to go. We just left Canterlot here (Twilight pointed to the area of the map, over Canterlot castle) so all we need to do is head east, pass through the Manantic ocean (her hoof goes over to the body of water on the map), and inside the jungle here (twilight floated her hoof over the X on the other landmass), by then, we should be able to locate it," Twilight rolled up the map again, as Luna flew over towards the stern, landing by the ship's wheel. her hooves were placed firmly on the wheel, turning it to the east, the wings of the ship shifting towards the right direction. It was a bit rough on the turn, but, it was in the right direction. Time to begin the big adventure in the sky.

~~

The day rolled on, as the ship kept on it's course towards the eastern wind current. Aside from Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, whom get good enough views back in Cloudsdale, the group was getting an amazing view of the landscape below, the land shifting as they ventured off towards the ocean. the grass, trees, and occasionally other ponies, looked so tiny from their perspective, like small toys or something. They saw rivers, and passed through large highlands as they continued onward, their ship's shadow casted as they went along their way.

"You sure get a amazing view from up here," Twilight commented, as Rainbow flew alongside the ship, on her back as if chilling on a condo.

"Eh, It's okay," Rainbow admitted. After all, being a Pegasus gives a pony these sort of views all the time, so being on a ship seeing such things wasn't much different to her.

"Well, you get these views everyday, Rainbow," Rarity pointed out, as Rainbow Dash flipped herself upright, still hovering next to the ship.

"True, True, Cloudsdale is well known for it's scenery. But, when you've grown up there, you get used to it," Rainbow commented, as she flew off around the ship from under and over. As she did, Luna watched them enjoying the time they were on the trip, happy that the mane six were having such a good time. After a bit, Luna flew over to them, having Spike take the wheel for her so the ship wouldn't go off course. Luna looked happily at them, as she glanced at Celestia's sun, which looked ready to set at any time.

"It'll be night time soon. Twilight, what position are we now?" Luna asked, as Twilight pulled out the map again, and looking it over.

"Looks like we should be about to go over the ocean soon, we've been going through Equestria for quite sometime," Twilight said, looking around off the ship at the landscape below. Luna nodded at the response.

"Good to know," Luna said, looking back ahead towards the bow of the ship. Luna then began to notice something; a slither of sparkling water. It was very small, but, it as enough for Luna to make out the surf that is the Maneantic ocean about a mile or two away. Luna knew it wouldn't be long before the vessel would be out in open water, so, Luna needed to be alert for the night to come. Who knew what would be out in the open ocean after dark...

As the vessel continued towards the sea, Fluttershy then noticed that some sea-going birds, seagulls to be exact, were flying alongside them, heading towards the same direction. Being the animal lover, Fluttershy flew over by the seagulls, the white birds enjoying the company of the yellow Pegasus. As she was enjoying most of the birds, one of them actually flew away from her, though Fluttershy didn't really notice the other seagull flying away. The bird kept a steady wing beat, flying higher in the sky, pass some of the clouds as it ascended...As it turned out, Luna's ship wasn't the only one that's flying in the sky. Another flying ship, similar to Luna's own, was flying off at a pretty good distance away. It looked similar, but various colourations made it stand out. For example, the balloon that held the ship up was a darker colour, mainly black instead of dark blue like Luna's. The ship's front bow had a mark of a Griffin on it, instead of a second orb, and overall the ship looked slightly more menacing. The seagull flew right for it, landing by one of the ship's rounded windows, giving a loud seagull squawk inside. The noise disturbed the ship's captain, who was awaiting his feather friend's return.

"What's the report?" He asked. The seagull made a few more squawks at him as he walked over, the sound of paw and talon hitting wood being heard.

"Interesting...go on," he encouraged. The bird continued it's squawking for a bit, telling the captain in it's own way on what the report was. eventually, the captain raised his light grey talon to it, getting the bird to stop.

"Ay, what a lucky catch. It's time for a little swashbucklin," He said, mostly to himself, cracking his bird knuckles together. Tonight, the pony group were going to have some unexpected company...

~~

Luna's ship sailed through the skies above the manantic ocean. The group was pretty far from Equestria's eastern coast, and at the point, about the middle of the maneantic ocean. Skies were partially cleared of clouds, though some clouds were still evident in their path, they didn't exactly cause any trouble for them. The crew of said ship were still up and atom, looking around at the night world around them. Luna herself looked over to the full moon, knowing that Celestia kept her promise thanks to the moon being up. The moon goddess smiled at the moon and stars above them, twinkling like diamonds. each pony (and dragon), looked at the stars in awe, even Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy didn't see nights this lovely as much.

"It's beautiful," Rarity said, marveling at the sheer beauty of the nightly sky. Luna overheard the compliment, and gave a smile.

"Thank you. I like making my nights this way," Luna said, walking to the side, looking onward at her stars and moon. Rarity turned over to Luna.

"Why princess, I didn't know you had such an artistic vision."

"Well, not many ponies stay up to watch my nightly work...such a shame really," Luna said, kinda trailing off, thinking back before how these thoughts managed to trouble her and turn her to nightmare moon. She knew it wasn't the right way, but that fact was still there, to this day. But, Luna was happy that at least some ponies appreciated her nightly sky. Rainbow and Fluttershy flew around the ship, Rainbow more quick than Fluttershy, as they went around the night sky, also enjoying the beautiful look. Pinkie Pie, still in her pirate outfit, was out on the bowsprit, holding onto one of the ropes as she looked on ahead in excitement. Her giddiness hadn't died down since they left, and she was ready for anything.

"ARGH, what a fantastical night for a sail, hey maties?" Pinkie said, still trying the pirate accent, as a giggle escaped her lips. Applejack saw Pinkie out there, technically off the ship.

"Careful, Pinkie," Applejack advised, though smiled seeing Pinkie acting all silly as she spun around the rope in one jump, landing on her back hooves on the wood again. With a chuckle, Pinkie actually leapt off the ship, using her teeth to grip the rope as she swung back onto the ship, safe and sound, the shock from Applejack notwithstanding. Applejack sighed in relief as Pinkie hopped away to the main deck, where Twilight and Spike were looking over the ship's side. Rainbow Dash was about to land alongside her friends, and turn in for the night, but suddenly an odd feeling swept over her...That feeling that something didn't feel right. Fluttershy noticed Rainbow's expression and hovered over to her side.

"Is something wrong?"

"Uh, yeah yeah...wait here," Rainbow instructed, as she began flying away from the ship. Fluttershy, not taking her eyes off Rainbow Dash, landed onto the ship's stern, keeping an eye on her close friend. Rainbow Dash looked around the sky, trying to make sure that everything was all good to go, and making sure they were alone. However, Rainbow began to see something dark move through the clouds towards them. The blue Pegasus squinted her eyes, trying to make an exact look on what was moving around the night sky in front of her. There was silence for a bit, barely much noise as the object shifted, going in the same direction as Luna's vessel. The clouds around it still made it rough to comprehend, as Rainbow Dash tried to gain altitude to get a better look...then it happened. As if by some odd signal, the thing suddenly shot out something towards their ship! seeing it, Rainbow Dash quickly flew right down at it at lightning speed, and with a powerful kick, knocked the object (which turned out to be a cannonball) straight down into the sea below. Then, Rainbow heard a faint voice give a signal.

Fire.

Another one was shot right at them, but this time Rainbow didn't catch it in time! however, her intervention caused the cannonball to zoom right across the deck, nearly hitting the various ponies on board. Rainbow Dash quickly flew back to her friends, as the object finally became more clear...a large, dark airship, right off starboard...And they don't appear to be friendly.

"What the heck!" Rainbow yelled, but that just triggered more gunpowder and cannonballs, as a barrage of them were blasted right for them! Luna quickly took action, and made a huge shield to block every single one, the cannonballs launching off into the sea. The crew on the attacking ship looked a bit annoyed by the act of magic. Each member of the crew were griffins, colours of brown, grey, white and black for each one. All of them looked towards the vessel, as some took flight, flying right to Luna's ship. While some were unable to go across Luna's shield, Luna only shielded the one side, as Griffins suddenly attacked her from the left, Pinning Luna down by surprise and the shield removed so the rest could invade. The mane six quickly took action to their new foes, trying to fight them off. Most of the trouble came from Rainbow Dash, who was fighting off 3 griffins at one time flying around the ship! Sure, she was fast, but quick hits weren't enough to drive these Griffins off. The ponies on the ship weren't much better off. Applejack continued bucking the Griffins back, kicking one right in the face as it was launched back into 2 other ones, but it still was rather hard to deal with. The only one who wasn't fighting was Fluttershy, whom coward away from the danger. However, that didn't mean she wasn't noticed, as a few griffins tried to get her. Rainbow Dash though, saw the griffins around Fluttershy, and rammed them right off the ship, lifting her friend back on her feet. The unicorns and alicorn weren't having it any easier off. The invaders were a bit stubborn, and no matter how much hits, kept coming back as Twilight, Rarity, and Luna kept blasting them back with their magic. However, Twilight herself was having more trouble aiming and shooting the enemy, when they kept coming back more than she repelled.

"Pinkie, need a hoof here!" Twilight yelled, as Pinkie was bounding around, dodging each of the griffins as they kept charging in one another. Pinkie knew what Twilight needed, so she bolted right over, gripped Twilights head and tail, and began firing rapid blasting magic like Twilight turned into a gun, shooting away more griffins than before. One of the griffins, however, managed to cut one of the supporting ropes, causing the ship to slightly capsize! Applejack was the first to notice.

"No you dont!" Applejack galloped as fast as she could, and grabbed hold of the rope with her teeth, leaping off the ship to do so! However, the fact she was hanging miles above the sea made things much more intense on the earth pony. Her swinging on the rope did help her kick off some of the attackers, but that caused her hat to fly off, a griffin catching it as it went down. Applejack wanted to get it back, but she couldn't bring herself to let the rope go. Luckily for her, Rainbow found her and quickly managed to tie the rope back and get the orange pony back on the ship. During the chaos, Spike managed to hide himself away from danger, as he quickly was sending an S.O.S. back to Canterlot. But just before he could send it, a much larger griffin landed right in front of him, the shadow covering him completely as Spike looked in fear. The S.O.S. was knocked out of his claws as he was grabbed by the next. The griffin then gave a loud falcon roar, getting all of the ponies attention, as the griffin held Spike up to show to everyone. This griffin looked a bit different from the others. He had dark grey feathers, talons and beak a light grey, and a large red patch covering his chest up to his chin The griffin had an eyepatch over his right eye, and he wore a signature pirate hat on his head. with his left talon gripping Spike, his right talon threatened to slice him up!

"Let him go!" Luna demanded. But the griffin wasn't deterred by the presence of the princess of equestria (considering they weren't in equestria anymore).

"Then how about stopping pumblin my shipmates and surrender, eh?" He ordered, his talons closer to the baby dragon's throat as Spike shivered in fear. The fact the griffin was threatening the life of an innocent bystander was bad enough, but doing that and removing all respect from the ruler of equestria? That just downright cruel. The ponies all looked at each other with worry over losing a friend that way...they didn't had much choice. The ponies nodded as the griffins quickly tied them up by their hooves (and the winged ponies had their wings tied together so they wouldn't fly), as the leader griffin dropped spike on the ground, but another griffin gripped him so he wouldn't run off again. The griffin landed right in front of them, as Luna glared at him.

"Who are you? what is the meaning of this?!" Luna demanded, looking up at the griffin with anger in her eyes. The griffin huffed in her face.

"Name's Stormtooth, Ye got guts to venture into MY waters," the captain scoffed, not much of a compliment to the ponies ears. Stormtooth turned to some of his crew.

"Gather up the loot, men!" With that order, the 3 griffin flew off inside the ship to look around, as captain Stormtooth turned back to Luna. Rainbow was struggling the most in her binds, wanting to beat up Stormtooth for even daring to attack them at all.

"Hey, quit struggling, tis pointless anyway, mule!"

"What?! say that to my face, i dare you!" Stormtooth gripped the Pegasus's face so it's aimed into his own.

"MULE."

Stormtooth threw Rainbow Dash aside, the pegasus fuming with anger as she struggled like some rabid animal in her rope. She was so violent, it took the help of 2 griffins to keep her still. Stormtooth looked back to the other ponies, looking each over. Twilight tried shooting with her horn, but Stormtooth dodged easily, half because it was hard to aim then tied down. The griffin then saw Rarity, getting a grin across his beak.

"Ay, some dame ye got here," Stormtooth grinned, as Rarity tried to get Stormtooth to keep his distance, unable to thanks to the rope around her 4 hooves.

"Get away, you ruffian!" Rarity yelled, not wanting anything to do with the griffin.

"Ruffian, eh? Ye don't know the half of it. Keep the dame's down, men! Been a while since we've done the ol' plank-walkin," The griffins roared in approval, though the ponies weren't really amused. Luna's horn began to glow again in anger, and suddenly she shot out a small blue beam from her horn, cutting the rope from her hooves! However, the griffins quickly subdued her, gripping her horn with their sharp talons. But the magenta didn't go away, and Luna got up to her hooves, flinging the griffin off her. Stormtooth didn't hesitate to fly right at her, pinning her to the front of the stern, talons digging into her throat. Luna aimed her horn right at Stormtooth's head, but the griffin simply ducked as the beam shot off course, nearly hitting her own balloon!

"Watch it, ye triggerhappy horse! Tis a long way down," Stormtooth had a point, plus Luna didn't want to put any of her other friends in danger of plummeting into the surf below. Luna didn't answer as Stormtooth tossed her to his griffon pirate crew, that time Luna not fighting back, otherwise risking her friend's destruction. Eventually, Stormtooth's 3 other griffins, those he sent to find the loot, came back with nothing...except for a map in one of the Griffin's talons.

"Thee ship's empty, captain. Except for this," The griffin gave Captain Stormtooth the map, which the black griffin looked over, quickly growing interested as his one eye scanned the map. With a grin on his beak, Stormtooth gave a loud squawk again, signalling some of his crew to prepare Luna's plank. Again, LUNA's plank! They're using Luna's own plank so they could plank walk. With some rough ushering by the other Griffins, Applejack was the first onto the plank, alongside Fluttershy. Their rope was removed, except for the rope surrounding Fluttershy's wings, as they both walked steadily towards the edge of the plank, looking down at their impending doom far below. Twilight could no longer hold back. Focusing on her magic, she concentrated in silence as Applejack and Fluttershy both stood right at the edge a griffin right behind them ready to push them off. just as he did, Twilight teleported out of her binds, and right on the plank, knocking the griffin off as she did so! quickly, she used her magic to levitate Fluttershy and Applejack back on the plank.

"Stop her!" Stormtooth ordered, some of the griffins flying at her from the ship. Twilight looked to Applejack, who gave her a wink, knowing what she was about to do. In one quick motion, Twilight launched Applejack right at them, the orange earth pony, turning to place a powerful kick in one of their faces, launching them into the crowd! Applejack landed safely, and the collision got the rest of the ponies loose, Rarity finding the opportunity to remove their binds. Good thing too, since Stormtooth's crew was in full on attack mode. Luna freed herself from the binds as well, flying at some griffins before reaching the others. The griffins were about to attack them, but Luna wasn't having any of it. With a powerful blast from her horn, she managed to create a shield surrounding the whole ship, the Griffins launching off due to the shield.  The griffin pirate crew tried to get in, their claws scratching the shield for a bit, but then the ponies saw one of the griffins telling Stormtooth something, pointing off in the direction of the ship's flying...suddenly, the griffin crew began flying quickly back to their own ship, as Stormtooth gave the ponies a solute before leaving. Applejack was still deeply peeved that one of the griffins still had her hat, which she DEFINITELY wanted back at some point...however, the pony group had even worse trouble just ahead of them, as a dark shadow was cast over the entire ship, getting every pony to turn their heads...Then they saw it.

The airship was headed straight into a huge storm cloud, titanic in size, and lighting shooting off from inside it. The thundering was drowned out a bit thanks to Luna's shield, but the vibrations were still present enough to tell them that the storm was a very dangerous one. Spike quickly rushed for the wheel, trying to turn the ship away, but the winds were far too powerful for that, as the ship was quickly sucked into the deadly storm! The world turned very dark, as the ship was tossed around the storm like a feather in the wind, rain pouring onto the shield, making it harder for Luna to keep the shield up. The ship rocking around inside the shield wasn't helping Luna out either, as the rest of the group tried to stay on the ship, it rocking about like crazy! Luna began to grow tired as the shield was becoming harder and harder to keep up through such a harsh storm. Luna gritted her teeth, trying her best, but the violent swaying of the ship, and the beating rain from outside the shield, made it too hard. One ship sway finally made Luna slip, causing her horn to suddenly flicker off. Rain pounded on the deck and the crew like a ton of bullets, as Luna tried to regain herself. It was, however, far too late to regain the shield. Lightning shot around them and rain threatened to flood the deck as they tried to navigate out of the storm, being impossible to see. The lightning bolts became extremely close to their vessel. Luna tried her best...but her best wasn't good enough. One lightning bolt hit it's mark, right onto Luna!...

...silence...

~~

The world was all quiet...calm...dark...too dark to be nightfall. What happened?...Well, it took a while before the moon goddess managed to come to, her eyes blurred from the event that unfolded the night prior. Her whole body felt sore and slightly singed from the lightning strike. the skies were clear and bright blue, as if the storm had disappeared from existence. Luna's head felt heavy, and she felt like her legs were crisped. Her eyes started to scan around from where she was laying, her eyesight beginning to clear up a little bit more. The ground she was laying on was soft, yet warm, sand. And she could feel the seawater wash over her midnight mane and feathers. The wind from the sea blew over her, making sure she wasn't burning in Celestia's sunbeams. The alicorn, slowly but surely, got up on her 4 hooves, though her legs needed some more time to get their strength back than the rest of her. One good advantage of being a goddess was that usual crashes, and physical pains like the lightning bolt, aren't as effective as it would be to any other pony. However, Luna's eyes gazed around the landscape. It turned out, Luna was on the beach of some unknown landscape (at least, it didn't appear recognizable). A huge amount of foliage that was rainforest, right next to her. As she looked around, she noticed the rest of the mane six, scatted far apart along the beach. And also; her ship was in a bit of a wreck. Crash landing thanks to the storm, the front of the ship shattered in a mess of wood and glass, the balloon on the side of the ship, torn and deflated. That was probably how they ended up shipwrecked in the first place. However, her first priority came to the others, as she began trotting along the beach in search for her friends, as they too began to come to (some quicker than others). The Alicorn had managed to gather everyone back together, though injuries were still evident on each pony.

"Oh dear, what now?" Rarity asked, looking over the wreckage alongside Rainbow Dash and Applejack.

"Spike, maybe if you could...you know," Twilight said to Spike.

"Way ahead of you," Spike replied, holding onto the S.O.S. slip he somehow kept during the whole affair. With one quick blow, the letter was sent on it's way back to equestria. However, it might take a while longer for the princess to retrieve the letter, not to mention find them. Luna saw them send the letter away, but, didn't exactly protest against it. It would be a good idea to let Celestia know what happened to them. Though the other half of her told her to not let Celestia worry over her, so, it felt a bit muffled to her on how she should feel about that. After that though, Rainbow continued looking around the ship, inside and out, and came back with a angered look.

"What's wrong, Rainbow Dash?"

"Our map! Those birdbrains stole OUR MAP!" Rainbow yelled, ready to fly off when Luna quickly stopped her with her magic around her tail.

"No, we can't involve ourselves with Stormtooth any further. For now, let's try to find out where we've landed, understood?" Luna advised. Rainbow, though peeved about the loss of their treasure map, had to agree. Even if they had the map with them, how were they to know where they'd end up in that storm? Rainbow calmed down (a bit), and landed nearby Luna. As each member tried to figure out what to do, Pinkie suddenly popped up by them, grinning as usual

"We're in the griffin kingdom, silly!" Pinkie beamed. The rest of the ponies turned to their pink pony friend in quite of confusion.

"How do you know?" Twilight asked.

"There," Pinkie pointed a hoof towards the jungle, the others looking in. The time being, the ponies didn't notice anything that'd gave Pinkie the clue, until they looked in a bit more closely. Just inside the foliage, the ponies all saw a sign, wooden, with a bone X on it, a griffin head in the middle. Pinkie smiled triumphantly as Luna nudged Applejack.

"Is the pink one always like this?" Luna whispered.

"More than you'd think," Replied Applejack in similar tone. The rest of the group thought about it for a minute, Luna especially. She wanted to continue, but trying to go on without the ship would be dangerous. So, Luna turned towards the shattered ship.

"Stand back," Luna advised. Her horn began to glow again, her magic beginning to get to work on the ship, but the lightning blast done more damage than Luna thought. She could get up and move just fine, but the lightning strike had done major damage to her horn, as she suddenly stopped due to a sharp pain within her head. Luna tried again, the same result. She can't repair the ship in her condition. The pain felt similar to the electric bolt that struck her the night before, and was enough to force her to stop her magic.

"You okay?"

"I...I can't repair the ship right now. That storm must've damaged my horn, thus my magic isn't as precise, nor as powerful. We'll have to continue on hoof from here on out," Luna explained, a hoof rubbing her sore horn as she was talking. The very idea that the Alicorn was unable to perform her magic did surprise many of the ponies, which before this point, thought Luna could be able to handle such a hit. The Alicorn princess then turned to Rainbow Dash, as she flew upward. The pegasus knew what she was about to do, so they both flew up high in the sky, pass the tree line, to get a better view. Unfortunately, all they could see was rainforest in one direction, and vast ocean the other way. No signs of any civilization of any kind, let alone Ponykind. The 2 fliers flew back down to the beach.

"Uh...anything?" Fluttershy asked. Luna and Rainbow turned to each other, and shook their heads. They were lucky to even find just a house beyond that point. Twilight sighed.

"Well, since we can't repair the ship, only thing we could do is either wait here, or continue into the jungle. What's it gonna be?"

The rest of the ponies turned to each other: what are they gonna do? On one hoof, they could wait here for help to arrive, which none of them knew how long it'll actually be. In the other hoof, they could go off and find the treasure, which they were looking for in the first place, though might be more difficult without the map, and the fact Stormtooth might be after the same thing...Luna turned to the jungle, and began to hover in place, starting to head in. They'd made it this far, they can't back out. The mane six looked to each other, and decided to follow Luna as well, some hovering, some trotting along behind her.

~~

The jungle around the caravan of treasure hunters began to become more dense, and the heat started to climb upward as they trailed onward into the kingdom. the trees all dwarfed them, scaling high in the sky like the buildings in manehattan, the sun itself barely making a dent down on the forest floor where they were. The ground was completely covered in dead leaves, moist dirt, and the occasional fallen fruit, and the air was filled with the sounds of various creatures up above them. The air felt rather moist, and warm to the touch. The group continued onward through the jungle, making sure they didn't get lost from each other during the walk. As they continued onward, the only one who was enjoying the walk at that point, was Pinkie Pie, who happily hopped along the way, sightseeing as she went.

"Wowzies, this place is SOOOO big!" Pinkie exclaimed.

"You ain't kiddin. I never seen trees so big in my entire life. The apple trees back home don't even come close," Applejack added, remembering the apple trees back at sweet apple acres, and comparing them to these gigantic rainforest trees that towered overhead along their path.

"That's the rainforest. Trees here are usually this tall. Sometimes they even pass the cloudline," Luna explained, looking up into the canopy, as birds began to flutter around them. Twilight then walked next to Luna. To assure her own safety, she turned over to Twilight and asked "Twilight, do you remember where the treasure is located?" Twilight took a minute to remember the map. Though they no longer had it, Twilight's mind was pretty sharp.

"All the map said was somewhere in the jungle. The X didn't exactly make any details clear..." Luna simply sighed, and looked on ahead, where Fluttershy was looking at one of the creatures that just bounded out of the brush. It looked very small, about an inch long, and brightly coloured blue in tint. It looked like some sort of frog, and Fluttershy was about to pick the little guy up. Luna suddenly got scared, but before she could react, Rainbow Dash already pulled her away, as the little frog hopped back into the brush.

"Don't touch that!" Rainbow shouted, making sure Flutters didn't even touch it. Fluttershy was, of course, a bit spooked.

"W-what's wrong? It's just a frog, right?"

"Thats a poison dart frog! One touch of those and you're gone," Rainbow explained, Fluttershy keeping her distance. Luna and Twilight looked to Rainbow Dash with an impressed look.

"I'm surprised you knew what species of frog that was, despite never being in the griffin kingdom," Luna said. Rainbow just shrugged.

"Well, Daring Do's books aren't all just action, y'know," Rainbow said. The sense of the situation became very clear; After all, Daring Do had gone through many familiar habitats in her stories, so, Rainbow got some slight memo on the jungle. Regardlerss on how Rainbow knew, they were glad Fluttershy didn't end up poisoned...

Meanwhile, just back at the wreckage, a familiar airship hovered overhead, observing the damage the storm had left in it's wake. The crew members, who attacked the pony group last night, flew down onto the beach, with their griffin captain Stormtooth taking the lead. Since that storm blew, his crew had just managed to avoid it, and watched as the crew made their crash. However, they didn't went down until daytime, risking of ending up in the same storm. Stormtooth, map in talon, looked over the sand carefully as his crew, one of which wearing Applejack's hat, flew down as well, and secured the ship at the shore.

"Now what're we gonna do, captain?" one of the griffins asked. Stormtooth gave a rough huff.

"Ay, you're as dense as rocks. We're finding thy's treasure, of course!" Stormtooth made known, looking into the forest as he noticed hoofprints going into it.

"But, the treasure's being tracked by the moon goddess, right?" one of them said, slightly worried. Stormtooth took his worries in his own way: slapping him in the face.

"Yee think she's anything special? That winged horse is nothin compared to us griffins. A bit of a punch, sure, but nothing else! now, follow me, ya swabs!"

The day dragged onward as the caravan continued through the jungle. The heat and moisture in the air didn't exactly help them out much, feeling like a sauna as dusk started to roll around. The bugs that started to stir didn't really help either, as mosquitoes began their annoying assault on the mane six. Probably the only one not bothered by them was Spike, having scales instead of fur helps when keeping the bugs off. But the MOST bothered was Rarity; she's a fasionista, not a explorer, and the dirty and wild world around her made her feel VERY uncomfortable. After some more walking, Rainbow decided to fly back up again to check for civilization (asking first, of course). Since the trees were so tall, Rainbow Dash needed a bit more time to fly all the way up out of the canopy in order to see above the rainforest. Soon as she broke through some foliage, and got above the forest, she looked around to see if any sort of village, or town, was visible...Nothing but a sea of green leaves, branches, and trees. Not a sign of civilization for miles. Annoyed, Rainbow Dash flew back down to the others, feeling a bit down.

"Nothing except trees," Rainbow sighed, landing next to the rest of the group.

"Lost? We can't be lost, I can't take these vicious insects!" Rarity pleaded, swatting more of the blood-suckers away from her head.

"Ya'll calm down, we can't be that far. Just loop around and head back if it's too much," Applejack suggested. Rarity began to trot away, but, Rainbow Dash stopped.

"Hold it! We can't turn back now, maybe the treasure's not too far away."

"But I can't stand this! I'm going back - "

"Rarity, c'mon! It just some annoying bugs and some mud, I'm sure you could -"

"Rainbow, this is becoming barbaric! Besides, how do we know if a treasure exists here, anyway? This place is simply horrid, and I refuse to take a step any further!" Rarity stated crossly. Before Rainbow could talk any further, suddenly Luna appeared in between, reminding them both that the princess was present while they were arguing. Though Rarity and Rainbow quit arguing with each other, Rarity still didn't want to continue and would much rather turn back. Rarity simply sighed, and turned to Twilight, who had gone ahead a little bit.

"Twilight, can you help me out here?...Twilight?"

Twilight didn't exactly respond, eyes fixated ahead of her. After a bit, the unicorn turned back to the others.

"I think you guys should see this..."

The group walked over to her side, Rarity included. As they did, each pony looked off the the direction the purple unicorn was insisting...then they saw it.

Just ahead of them, about a few feet away, appeared to be some sort of ruin. The foundation of the area appeared abandoned for a millenium, vines wrapped around the squared estate, wrapping around each other in an impossible puzzle of plants. Columns rose up from each corner of the ruined fort, as if holding some sort of roof, one of which worn down and collapsed, unmoved by any force for years as vines wrapped around that too. The area around them seemed rather large in comparison to the caravan, probably, at least, as big as  the old castle of the 2 sisters, though the exact measurements would've been inaccurate, since one corner of the foundation crumbled away anyway. Although the vines had trouble making it out, there seemed to be some sort of odd symbols engraved in the light grey stone, marked in a circle around some sort of large square shape that was placed in the middle. Luyna and the mane six ventured off towards the ruins, examining the architecture (well, Twilight was anyway).

"Amazing. This must of been here for hundreds of years," Twilight gasped, looking over one of the columns of the ruined foundation. Rarity looked over the area too, though more like looking at a design than the ancient history. While looking at one of the cracks within one of the columns, a small lizard bolted out, making her jump back.

"Could use some sprucing up," Rarity commented, keeping her distance. As of were, Luna was looking the place over with equal fascination. But, not exactly the same fascination as Twilight Sparkle, or Rarity, but more of a feeling when someone returns to a place after so many years, to catch up and all that. Eventually, Applejack and Fluttershy did notice the princess and her reaction to the ruins.

"You alright, princess?" Applejack asked. Luna walked on ahead as the others noticed her reaction to the place...after sometime, Luna turned to the mane six.

"...We're here..."

That news seemed to make them all stop in their tracks: Sure, they were wandering for a while, but who'd thought they would be lucky to find this? Rainbow was excited, and Luna too was a bit enthusiastic about it, looking down at the square between the symbols. The rest of the mane six watched as Luna turned back towards them. Luna tried her magic to remove the vines, but the lightning strike still had it's effect on her, making her stop. So, she simply used her teeth and hooves to pull away the vines from the square frame. As she did, the images became clear: 6 various symbols engraved in stone...

"Aren't those...?" Twilight was trying to ask the question, but it didn't pass her lips, as Luna insisted for them to come forward.

"Yes. These symbols are the Elements of Harmony. And, since the elements now reside in new owners, only they could open it." Luna explained, turning to the mane six: the new owners of the Elements of Harmony. They turned to each other a bit, thinking it over on what Luna just said.

"And you didn't tell us this earlier because..." Rainbow asked, after a bit. Luna turned away from them, now looking slightly shameful all of a sudden...Twilight got it first.

"You wanted to bring us, only so you could get in, did you?" Luna didn't answer, but her reaction to the question was enough of an answer to convince them on that fact: Luna couldn't control the elements of harmony anymore. The mane six could, and without them, she would be unable to open the ruins. Luna felt guilty for the fact being known now...

"I'm sorry everypony..."

.....

"What for?" Rainbow suddenly said, catching Luna by surprise. Oddly, the mane six looked at her with a calm expression rather than anger. Why? Twilight walked towards Luna as she looked back at them all.

"Luna, it's okay. We wanted to come anyway," Twilight said.

"If you needed the elements of harmony to do it, you could've just spoke right up," Added Applejack.

"Just hiding the secret away wouldn't make things any easier," Added Rainbow Dash. Luna took in each word as they were spoken out to her. Even if she brought them along for that purpose, they didn't end up mad at her, or angry, or anything. In fact, it felt like they simply brushed it off for the sake of their friendship...Luna gave a smile to them, but didn't bother upon words, not needing any...

"Hugtime," Pinkie beamed, suddenly getting all of them in a tight hug. The others smiled, though Luna needed a minute before she smiled too, hugging pinkie back. Soon after Pinkie's surprise hug passed, Luna turned back to the entrance.

"so...how do we open it?" Fluttershy asked.

"Each element is like a key. Just stand on your respected element, and it should open."

With the instructions in, the mane six walked over to each of their respective elemental symbols, directed by Luna since the elemental markings didn't match to any current one of present day. Twilight stood on the northern piece (the element of magic), Rainbow stood on the eastern side (Element of Loyalty), Fluttershy to the west (Element of Kindness), Pinkie to the south (Element of Kindness), and Applejack and Rarity stood to the northeast and northwest (Elements of Honesty and Generosity). Each one of them waited for something to happen as Luna and Spike backed away...After about a minute, the elemental symbols suddenly began to glow in their presence, each one their own respected colours. The ground in front of them began to shift away from eachother, like a sliding door, revealing a set of dusty stone stairs leading underground. The entrance had been opened up for them. Luna smiled at the mane six, happy that they agreed to do that, despite Luna's reason in the first place.

"...Thank you..."

Luna and the ponies all looked down inside the passage that opened up for them. However, fate had different plans. Right before any of the caravan could enter, suddenly some sort of black blur rushed out of the foliage from where they came in, barreled past the ponies, and right inside! They could barely grasp what rushed past them, but, Rainbow was the first to react.

"No you don't!" Rainbow Dash quickly rushed in after the blur, blind to whatever laid inside for her. The others were about to rush in too, but suddenly a bunch of familiar griffins suddenly landed in their way. The pirates had caught up with them! All of them flew right at them, talons at the ready. Luna tried her best to get a spell going, but the condition of her horn hurt her more than ever! Quickly, Twilight created a small forcefield around them, the Griffins slamming into it. Unlike Luna though, Twilight can't take such it so easily, as the forcefield shattered after each griffin slammed into it!

"Make sure they don't get through!" Applejack ordered, charging right in and bucking a griffin in the face! Time for yet another rumble.

~~

the room the stairs had let right down to looked even more ancient than the outside of the ruin foundation. The room itself looked more belonging into a museum rather than here, worn away yet seemingly unaffected by the elements outside. The black blur stopped over at the entrance, revealing to be captain Stormtooth, as he began to look around. The room was rather stuffy, being locked away for many years and all that. The walls were littered with ancient symbols, all of which Stormtooth found impossible to read. The room seemed to stretch out in a rectangular shape, the far end of the room seemingly empty and deprived of any treasure of any sort. The room had various columns as well, each on the side as if lining some sort of path set in front of him. The path in question had a ton of odd symbols, many varying in shapes, colours, and patterns, effects are unknown for the moment. But, before he could process the room's events, Rainbow Dash quickly bolted in, and tackled him to the ground, missing landing on one of the squares.

"I got you now!"

"Get off of me, you bronko!" Stormtooth whacked Rainbow Dash off of him with his leonine back legs, knocking her on one of the squares. The square she landed on had a wing on it, marked red. The pony was about to take off from her square, unaware of the effects the square had given her. She glared back at stormtooth with an enraged expression, but then noticed something odd...Stormtooth's wings had disappeared! Stormtooth had a similar surprised reaction when looking at Rainbow Dash, who (whom Rainbow checked) lost her wings too!

"What the hay?! My wings are gone!"

"ye just noticed?" Stormtooth scoffed, examining the ground more carefully with his one eye. The square Rainbow was standing on, a red wing, seemed to meant that wings would be removed. By that odd logic, the other squares might do other things, be it good or bad depends on the square the pony would step on. The black griffin looked to the square in front of him, a blue arrow engraved on it. He placed a talon onto it, as it suddenly began to react, on of the columns opening holes, and quickly shooting at him! Stormtooth just avoided it, Rainbow too, who watched as the arrows jabbed in the walls, disappearing in mere seconds.

"Ay, tricky blocks. Watch ye step!" Stormtooth warned, though mostly it was for himself. Whatever Rainbow would step on, it'll affect him too, and he didn't want that. Rainbow didn't say anything to him, however. With one giant leap, Stormtooth caught up to Rainbow Dash, landing on a symbol, showing some sort of odd symbol of colour swap...and as such, Rainbow got Stormtooth's colours, and Stormtooth got hers. At least the effects didn't go in as deep or as life-threatening.

"Ay, this is brutal."

"Ah, shut up, birdbrain, you deserve it," Rainbow snapped.

"HEY mule, I'm a pirate, you got in my turf -"

"Trying to find a treasure that YOU shouldn't care about!"

"That's it you little -" Stormtooth took a step towards her, his talon stepping on yet another square. That time, the symbol appeared to be an orange axe. All of a sudden, a huge axe was shot out of one of the columns, missing Stormtooth by inches...though his pirate hat wasn't so lucky, splitting in half... Stormtooth stood back on his square, Rainbow just as scared.

"Nevermind, we'll talk later," Rainbow decided.

"Agreed," Stormtooth replied. The two looked on ahead; they weren't even close to the end, by any means. The 2 gulped, and Rainbow Dash looked over which square to jump on next. Seeing an, apparently safe symbol, Rainbow jumped for it...However her leap didn't exactly make it, tumbling over 2 different squares. one fire, one a raindrop! Stormtooth frantically looked around, waiting for something to shoot. Nothing was shot...but MAN did he get burned in his feet. Rainbow and Stormtooth tried their best to keep off the floor, but having no wings made this torturous, as they tried to avoid getting their feet melted away.

"You dumb pony, watch what your -" Before Stormtooth could finish, Rainbow suddenly felt to her side, burning her side like crazy! As both were burning, suddenly the fire square turned off, and the raindrop square began. The floor quickly turned from lava hot, to icy cold, the effects quickly having more of an affect on their hooves/talons/paws. at first, it was sweet relief, but quickly turned to frostbite! In fact, their feet were suddenly covered in frost, stinging their feet like crazy. All they could do was screech in pain, their echos being heard all the way back to the battlefield, making them stop their out right brawl, looking towards the entrance.

"Rainbow!" Twilight gasped, blindly running towards the door. However, back inside, Stormtooth got his talon unhooked from the icy grip, accidentally landing on yet another square...with a closed door...As such, the entrance slammed shut, right before Twilight could get in! It was serious, by that point, every creature stopping the fight to see what happened.

"No, captain!" one of the griffins screeched, knocking Twilight out of the way and trying to open the door. No luck. The other griffins tried their best, but it wasn't any good.

"What happened?!" Pinkie asked, Luna feeling some distraught with the event.

"The traps. They must of set off one of the traps."

"You meant to do this, didn't you?!" One of the griffins accused, aiming a talon finger right at the alicorn, as he also said, "Our leader's trapped because of you!"

"It wasn't entirely intentional. To be honest, I thought the traps would a worn off by now," Luna said, trying not to lose it with the accusation put on her.

"Yeah right! Our leader's gonna die down there now! You're stupid trap's gonna end -"

"ENOUGH!" Luna finally released that royal canterlot voice, making everyone back up, and shut up, especially the griffin accusing her. The voice was so powerful, Applejack's hat was blown off one of the griffins, to which Applejack quickly caught before they could retrieve it back again...and she bonked him in the head rather hard.

"What the buck?"

"That was payback." The griffin didn't respond after that. The group looked back to Luna again.

"Alright. I didn't plan for this to happen, Our own is trapped inside...looks like they're on their own for now..."

"What? but we just unlocked the door, why won't it open!"

"All the elements must be present in order to get in. But now, one of our own is trapped inside, and without her, that door is going to remain shut..."

"So...that's it then? Rainbow's trapped forever?" Twilight said eventually, after a few minutes of silence, as if the griffins forgot all about the brawl for that moment...Then Luna thought of something.

"There is one way. Follow me," With that Luna spread her wings, and began flying again. Without much other thought, the rest followed Luna. Perhaps there was a way to reach them.

~~

Back inside, Rainbow Dash and Stormtooth both thawed out of the ice that was formed around their feet, but had trouble knowing where to move next. Who knew where the next step would cause for them both. Stormtooth wasn't going to take any chances on his next move so, on a whim, he jumped onto rainbow, and used her as a platform, while he leaped for the otherside. However, he didn't reach it, landing in yet another Blue arrow, causing more ice spikes to shoot at them. Rainbow, being on the floor, was missed, while Stormtooth dodged each one.

"A warning next time would be appreciated!" Rainbow snapped, Stormtooth not caring otherwise.

"Shut your muzzle, pony, you'll live longer," Stormtooth growled. Rainbow looked ahead of him, and saw the end of the hall not too far away. If she could make her plan work, she could make it across...She went for it. With one leap, she made the exact same tactic Stormtooth pulled on her: leaping onto his back and jumping off. However, his feathers made her slit, making her tumble into yet another square...with a black skull...Stormtooth and Rainbow Dash braced for whatever danger would attack them. They heard some sort of latch open up above them, and suddenly they were buried in pony and griffin skulls!...and that's it...

"Seriously?" Rainbow groaned. 

"That's it?" Stormtooth groaned. They both got out of the skull piles, which didn't disappear that time. They tried not to land on the squares again...but Stormtooth stepped on one final square, which had a wave on it. This time, the square symbols disappeared, and a sudden rumble could be felt. They both turned around them and, out of nowhere, a tidal wave materialised, and heading right for them! Without their wings, all they could do was run.

"Go go go go!" Rainbow shouted, beginning to gallop across, off the symbolic floor. Stormtooth did the same, though wasn't as fast as Rainbow Dash. Stormtooth made a huge leap across, just making it pass. The tidal wave hit an invisible wall just as they made it through, disappearing afterwards. they both looked back, neither wanted to deal with all that again.. After a bit though, suddenly a big flash occurred, and Rainbow Dash and Stormtooth returned to normal, wings and colours all. Soon after that, another hatch opened up, revealing a new hallway. Stormtooth had enough of this, and began to go on ahead, rushing pass Rainbow Dash. Rainbow quickly began chase again after the Griffin once more. Stormtooth kept on his way, bolting pass corners much faster than Rainbow Dash. Although he wasn't as fast as rainbow, he was much more evasive, giving him the upper hand on the situation. They both bolted side to side as each wanted to beat the other to the treasure, but however, after passing down one hall, suddenly Rainbow felt a much stronger pull, and a blue neon cord appeared between them, ends connecting to each individual, and from nowhere, suddenly crashed into Stormtooth, both of which tumbling on the floor. Rainbow jumped off Stormtooth before he could kick her off again.

"HA! See ya never!" Rainbow Dash flew off ahead again, but that same pull suddenly yanked Rainbow back after flying 5 feet ahead, forcing her to nearly run into Stormtooth again.

"What the buck? Yee leaving or not?" Stormtooth asked, annoyed as ever. Stormtooth flew off ahead that time, but, ended up in the same result. Seemed this next trap forced them both to stay together, which Stormtooth was NOT AT ALL wanting to do. The griffin got to his talons/paws, and, without saying a word, began walking. Rainbow, knowing that she will be pulled anyway, followed behind him as they continued deeper into the ruins. Stormtooth didn't want to deal with Rainbow Dash at the moment, more focused on the treasure than much else. The hall ended in a larger room farther down, the entire room expanded into a large cavern-like area. There was light that leaked into it that time, from a hole up in the roof, it's beams going down into their main goal: a small chest. Right in the middle. The chest was up on some sort of shrine, nothing around to seemingly set off any sort of traps...

"Mine!" 

Stormtooth quickly made a dash for the chest, but that same pull quickly yanked him back to Rainbow Dash. Rainbow tried her best to reach it as well, but that same force kept trying to keep them together, as much as they didn't want that by any means. Stormtooth flew in one direction while Rainbow Dash flew in the other way, the force strongest on both sides. No matter how strong they pulled, the force kept them together. So much for leaving each other alone. Before they could continue, the room around them began to feel...more aware of them...Suddenly, above the chest, the ceiling suddenly became alive as parts of it fell down in front of them! Rainbow and Stormtooth jumped back as the stones that landed in front of them suddenly glowed, and began to morph into something else: humanoid rock minotaur!

"Minotaur? when did she get time to add these stuff?!?!" Stormtooth gasped.

The minotaur quickly began to charge at them, without much thought and strategy: just charging in. Of course, Stormtooth and Rainbow Dash bolted to the side, their chain becoming visible to the minotaur. One of the minotaur slammed into it, making it snap and cause an explosion! Stormtooth and Rainbow Dash were glad they were now free, but the minotaur were still after them, and they didn't have much time to think things over, or figure things out. Stormtooth began to attack the minotaur, slashing them as he goes, as Rainbow tried to fly by the fast moving guards.

"How are these things are so fast?! their rocks!"

"Who the buck cares?!" Stormtooth Yelled, flying around the area trying to avoid the deadly beasts. The stone minotaur kept trying to attack them both, but while they're strong, they weren't very fast, giving them both a better advantage towards the stones. Rainbow had enough.

"That's it!" Rainbow bolted at the minotaur that time, full force, as the stone minotaur was tackled back to the wall with brutal force, even causing the stone to crack in numerous places. However, it wasn't enough to completely shatter the beast, as it knocked the pony off of it. The other minotaur, seeing this, charged at Rainbow as well, leaving Stormtooth alone for that one precious moment. Stormtooth looked to Rainbow Dash, now fighting both minotaur, and saw the chest still nearby. He found his chance. With a sly grin, he quickly took flight right towards the chest at full speed, snatching the chest right off it's stand. Rainbow saw Stormtooth snatch it right up, beginning to fly out, so the pegasus bolted upward, and knocked back Stormtooth, the chest flying through the air. Both sides watched as it hurdled through the interior, bouncing on the floor until it hit the wall. The minotaur caught up to them soon afterward, ready to pummel them both to a pulp. Getting tired of these brutes, Stormtooth barreled through them, slicing off their stone heads with his sharp talons, as he went for the treasure! Rainbow, being faster, quickly blocked his path, ready to fight.

"argh, want another beating? mule?" Stormtooth asked with a grin, cracking his talon knuckles.

"You first, Pigeon," Rainbow snapped back, a grin on her face. Stormtooth got VERY mad after being called a pigeon, and immediately charged at her in rage. Course, Rainbow turned around, and bucked him good and hard, right on the beak! That stopped Stormtooth for a bit, him making sure his beak wasn't bent, as Rainbow grabbed the chest and attempted to make a break for it. This fight wasn't going to end anytime soon...

~~

Meanwhile, outside, Luna, the mane six, and the rest of Stormtooth's crew continued following Luna as she was guiding them. As far as they knew, this other way could be their only hope in finding and saving Stormtooth and Rainbow Dash from their imprisonment inside. Luna knew where they were going, yet, she didn't expect to actually use her other ideal, as she wanted to keep that secret to herself alone. However, the circumstances had forced her to it; the world needed the elements of harmony, and without Rainbow, that's a permanent risk that she won't take, no matter what cost it'll be. Fluttershy flew close to Luna, keeping her distance from the griffins trailing close by.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to bring the Griffins?" She asked, worried on what they'll do to them once they're reunited with Stormtooth.

"Not like we have much choice, I'm not willing to sacrifice any lives for the treasure. Besides, they'd follow us anyway if we let them or not," Luna explained, although she was having slight doubts as well over her own decision. But, that wasn't the time to think about that, they needed to find their new answer soon. Luna looked on ahead as she was flying, and, lucky for them, their answer became clear.

It turned out, they ended up by the ocean once again, the sand and surf looking all too familiar to them, remembering when they woke up from the crash earlier that day. The difference between there and here was that a rock wall edged downward to the sand, as the ponies and griffins were up on a clifface. Luna flew on downward, along with the other fliers (some carrying the non-flying ponies). She stood facing the rock wall, away from the others, and gave a sigh, her horn glowing again...

Back inside the treasure room, Stormtooth and Rainbow Dash were still fighting like mad over the treasure chest, each side trying to go off with the chest. The battle left them both deeply bruised, battered, and slightly bloody. Rainbow Dash had gone through various cuts by Stormtooth's beak and talons, and her wings became deeply wounded during the fight, bruises covering her body. Stormtooth wasn't much better off, a tons of deep bruises all over his body, and tail cut. One damaged area, though, was he ended up with a shiner from one of Rainbow's powerful kicks, nearly blinding him. Both sides currently were taking a second to rest, each one eyeing the other, with the chest right in between them. Stormtooth gave a rough huff, trying to balance on a weakened back right paw.

"You're much tougher than i'd thought, landlubber," Stormtooth scoffed between breaths.

"You're not too bad yourself, seagull," Rainbow replied, a bit weakened and tiring voice. Both sides needed to figure out what to do at that point. Rainbow figured it out first, and started galloping towards it. Stormtooth saw this and ran as well, both sides grabbing the chest simultaneously. They both glared as it turned into a tug of war, both pulling and yanking with all their strength.

"LET. GO!" Stormtooth grunted, pulling back hard.

"YOU. LET. GO!" Rainbow replied, also pulling hard. However, Stormtooth's weakened leg made it hard to keep his footing, Rainbow pulling harder. Desperate, Stormtooth finally had enough, and gave one final slice on Rainbow's hooves, his claws sinking deep into them. Rainbow screamed in pain, and finally let go, the black griffin tumbling backwards with the chest in talon. Rainbow managed to get to her hooves, but felt severely weakened thanks to Stormtooth's final grab.

"FINALLY! IT'S MINE!" Stormtooth yelled in triumph, as his talons began to open up the chest, right in front of Rainbow Dash. The chest was swung open by Stormtooth's claws, waiting to grab...silence...dead silence...Why was he silent? Before the rainbow pony could get an answer from anything...

"Rainbow!"

Rainbow dash turned to the direction of the sound and saw (To her shock and disbelief) the rest of the mane six! But how? They'd accidentally closed the entrance, right? The five other ponies rushed to her aid, including Luna herself, as the griffins flew over to the blank faced Stormtooth.

"Rainbow, you alright?!" Fluttershy gasped.

"Yeah, I'll be fine, but something's up with Stormtooth," Rainbow said, looking over to him. everypony else looked to the griffin as he stared into the opened chest, the griffins standing nearby. His look of happiness turned to neutral...than disbelief...then anger...

.....

"WHAT?!?! IS THAT IT?!?! I RISK MY LIFE FOR THIS PIECE OF GARBAGE?!"

The screech from Stormtooth startled everyone, as Stormtooth slammed the chest shut, and threw it so hard at Luna, it looked like a bullet as the chest slammed in the wall! Stormtooth slammed his hat in the dirt, stomping on it in frustration.

"Take your bucking garbage!" Stormtooth yelled, angry as all heck. The griffins simply stared at Stormtooth as they began to walk out where they came from. Stormtooth, no longer caring for crap at that point, simply fallowed his crew out, but not before giving one more buck to the chest

...Okay then...

Luna levitated the chest up towards them all, them giving her a skeptical look.

"Princess Luna?..." Twilight asked.

"Stormtooth had yet to understand the value of an item...This means more to me than anything else."

The six ponies all crowded around luna, as the moon goddess set the chest back down in front of them...She gave a look to the others, which had a smile with curiousity, especially rainbow dash. So, with a nod...she gave her approval...and opened the chest...