Deviates in Book 13 Page 9
“My Bandana-loving friend, these are the finest fillies evah! Applejack can cook in the galley, Twilight is a brainiac with maps, Rarity can pirate gear us all right up! Pinkie Pie… has her army of crabs! Spike is a--” bragged Rainbow Dash to the pirate pony.
“Powerful dragon?” asked the pirate.
“Close enough! And Fluttershy... Wait, where's Fluttershy?” asked Rainbow Dash.
Fluttershy flew by. “What are you mares waiting for, Luna's Eclipse?! Aye-Aye Captain! If that is alright with you.”
“You are sure about this Shy?” asked Rarity.
“Yes, I'm a pirate now. Avast, lets be going on t' ocean and gets lots o' treasure 'n find him right away. If ye don’t mind”
“Good enough for me! Lets go,” said Rainbow Dash.
“Yeah, it’s pirate time!” sang Pinkie Pie as she juggled live crabs.
The pirate captain wrapped his hoof around Twilight. “Your friends are ready to go, why don't you join them?”
“Pinkie Pie will do anything, Rainbow Dash never thinks things through and Fluttershy is clearly up to something. Where are you taking them?
“The Gallopinghost Islands” said the pirate captain.
“The Gallopinghost Islands? The lost islands that nopony has ever come back from? The island said to host giant versions on animals?” asked Twilight in amazement.
“Aye, only the smartest, brightest, most beautiful of navigators can find the safe way there. Don't worry I'm sure we will find some worthy stallions in town. You just leave your friends alone with me and a bunch of rough and tumble bilge rats.” said the captain. “Unless you think ye'd be clever enough fer the task...”
Twilight flew onto the ship deck. “Lets get this seacow on the ocean already!”
The rest of the ponies got onto the deck.
“This won't be fun but I guess somepony has to keep that knucklehead pegasus safe,” sighed Applejack.
Spike looked around. “What am I supposed to do?”
“You’re the one who knows all of these mares, and you're a dragon, you're going to be the quartermaster,” said the captain.
Rainbow Dash flew down. “No fair I wanted to be that! What do I do?”
The Captain smiled. “I'm going to give you the most important and dangerous job on the ship, you are the master rigger.”
“What does a quartermaster do?” asked Spike.
The captain smiled. “The quartermaster is in charge of making sure that the captain's orders are carried out and to address any issues that the crew might have.”
The captain turned to address all of the group. “Alright you mates, I am Captain Hoofbeard and our quest is two-fold: You are to find my old crew and retrieve the map that they stole from me, then we be searching for my lost Jewel.”
Fluttershy cried out. “Let’s go you landlubbers! We have an important quest to do as fast as we can!”
The ship was travelling fast through the ocean and everypony had settled into their roles. Captain Hoofbeard had in his room going over his maps and writing letters to stuff into bottles. Once he was finished with one he would toss it over the edge and watch as the currents took it away from the ship. He scanned his deck and smiled when he saw most of his new crew was adapting to their roles. Quartermaster Spike had done a great job assigning roles to the rest of the crew. Now he was next to the main mast monitoring the rest of the crew to ensure they were all working hard. Sailing Master Twilight was at the wheel directing the course of the ship and calculating their position through the use of navigational maps, a sextant and the weather. Boatswain Pinkie Pie had been running around the ship checking the ship's anchors, the cordage, and the deck for any damage that might have occurred. Earlier on she had reported that the ship’s fruit store had been augmented by the Pineapples she had brought aboard but they were low on kumquats and would need to restock at the next port. She was now playing a mandolin that and dancing across the deck. Sailmaker Rarity had somehow managed to sew all the holes in the sails shut while they had been in use and the threading now looked tight enough to survive even the roughest of storms. She had also managed to modify some leftover clothing into pirate outfits for her and her friends. Chief Cook Applejack was handing out the last of the oranges to everypony while Gunner Fluttershy was staring out on to the ocean. Neither of them had much to do since the crew was so small and no ship were in the area but they were keeping themselves busy. The only problem was Master Rigger Rainbow Dash who had spent her time flying around rather than checking the ropes.
Rainbow Dash flew down and landed in front of Hoofbeard. “Come on captain, shouldn't we be raiding a town or plundering a ship or fighting borders?”
Hoofbeard shook his head. “Not if I can help it Rainbow Dash, that's not what we have planned at the moment.”
“Well what are we doing then?” asked Rainbow Dash.
“You will have to ask Twilight or Spike that,” said Hoofbeard.
“But you're the captain, you make all the choices,” complained Rainbow.
Hoofbeard laughed. “Maybe on one of Celestia’s vessels, but on a pirate ship the power is separated in order keep everypony happy. The captain leads the men in battle and motivates everypony. Right now the quartermaster manages the ship while the navigator picks the course.”
Fluttershy flew over to Twilight who was looking over a map. “Do you need something Fluttershy?”
“Uh, Nope, not really, negative, not at all. Just wondering about the currents.”
“What about the currents?” asked Twilight turning and raising an eyebrow.
“Well how fast can a fish swim and can we be faster than it so we can catch them, for piratey stuff,” said Fluttershy as she hid behind the table.
Spike and Hoofbeard came over. “Don't worry lass, the salty sea mare can move faster than any fish, especially with the crew running like this!”
Fluttershy softly spoke. “That's great, we can catch Gil and I can rescue him!”
Twilight sighed. “Fluttershy what is going on here?”
Fluttershy turned to her. “What do you mean Twilight?”
“You've been acting weird ever since Hoofbeard appeared and now you're talking about Gil. What are you planning?” asked Twilight, who was staring at Fluttershy
Fluttershy tried to hide behind her mane and squeaked.
Spike looked down at Fluttershy and held her hoof. “Fluttershy did you set Gil free?”
Fluttershy nodded.
“Are you trying to get him back?”
Fluttershy nodded again.
“Why?”
Fluttershy squeaked and tried to pull away from Twilight and Spike.
Hoofbeard gently placed his hoof on Fluttershy back “Dear let me tell you a story. Back when I was a swabby my captain had a found a parrot floating among some derbies. He loved it very much, he took it everywhere with him and fed it from his own plate. One day the parrot was strong enough to fly away but he couldn't let go, the bird kept flying harder and harder and he held it tighter and tighter until it finally collapsed. When he went to check it he found that the parrot had died from the struggle. We all learned that day an important lesson, if you love something, truly love something, you have to be willing to let it go. I know you care for him but if you keep him confined he is never going to be happy.”
Fluttershy began to cry. “You don't understand, I need him.”
Twilight and Spike hugged her. “Fish can find their way home from an amazing distance, going all the way from the wide ocean and a little individual tributary, he will come back one day.”
Fluttershy smiled.
After he and Twilight let go Spike smiled. “Fluttershy I want you to go rest down below”
“LAND AHOY!” shouted out Rainbow Dash.
Hoofbeard addressed his crew. “Spike you take half the crew and retrieve my map.”
Spike nodded and left with his team.
Spike and his group entered into the tavern to see it full of pirates, trading, gambling, drinking, fighting and comparing tattoos. Twilight tried to get their attention but nopony paid her any attention.
“Allow me Twi,” said Spike before shooting a large flame over all of the pirate’s heads getting their attention. “Avast, I be looking for Hoofbeard's crew, we need the map of the wandering X!”
A scarred grey pony stepped up “Ye be wanting the map Aye? Only trouble can come from that!”
“We come from Ponyville, trouble is our normal day. Between us we have a princess powerful enough to lift an Ursa Major, a pegasus that can break the colour barrier, a pony who can see the future and a fire breathing dragon,”
The pirates in the tavern were eager after hearing princess, but Spike's speech combined with the looks on the mares behind him stopped them from trying anything.
“Alright, I will take you to the map,” said the grey pirate
The group walked through the jungle until they came to a large hole in the ground.
The grey pony pointed. “The map be in there, but ye should forget it. That map is cursed and Hoofbeard is crazy. We spent months following it but every time we were near the X moved. When we left, we took the map, hoping he would give up. Clearly he has found a group dumb enough to follow him. Best of luck.”
The grey pony ran away just as a ghostly glowing crab sprung from the hole. Twilight began to call out orders to her friends, Twilight and Pinkie danced around the crab while Spike and Rarity threw near by coconuts at it. Slowly the crab was drawn further and further out of his hole until it was standing on the ground.
When she saw her chance Rainbow Dash swiftly flew by it and dropped down into the cavern. She looked around and saw a small golden statue of a dragon holding a fire ruby, a pony skull with silver teeth and a pile of cannon balls among other treasures. She dug through the pile until she found the map and flew up to find the crab had grabbed the rest of her friends. Rainbow Dash tried to free her friends but neither physical nor Twilight’s magical attacks seemed to make him want to let go.
A light bulb appeared over Pinkie's head “Girls and Spike I have an idea!” she whistled as hard as she could until a large grow of little crabs began to crawl down the hole and carry things away.
“So. Mr glowly crab, do you want us and this wittle map, or all of your other shiny trinket things?”
When the crab sighed and let go of the ponies Pinkie called the crabs back to return the goods.
Twilight gently took a bottle with a letter from one of the crabs. “Wait a moment girls, this is one of those letters that Hoofbeard has been throwing into the ocean, I want to read it.”
Rainbow Dash tried to stop her. “You can't do that Twi, he is the captain!”
Twilight shook her head. “He has been acting odd, it is our duty as his crew to make sure he is fit for command.”
Rainbow Dash huffed but didn't try to stop Twilight from reading the letter. She muttered to herself as her eyes scanned over the page with a lot of confusion.
“I don't get it, this makes no sense, let’s see if I can translate this. Show your face or I will find you! My jewel be mine or all of your family will face my poisonous truth.” said Twilight.
Rarity shuttered. “That sounds horrible!”
Twilight shrugged. “What do you think it means?”
Spike came over and looked at the paper carefully ”As odd as the wording might me he is trying to express his love. I want to meet you, You will with me no matter what your family says. Very Romareo and Juliet. I've seen these kinds of letters before, sometimes it can be very hard to write down the right words in order to show your emotions. I imagine being a pirate makes it ever harder.”
Twilight sealed the letter back into the bottle and slipped it into her bag. “We have to get back to the ship before Hoofbeard gets suspicious, for the moment let’s keep an eye on him and see what he does. If these are really love letters we should be able to help him. If not we might need this as evidence.”
When both groups were back on the ship, Rainbow Dash gave the map back to Hoofbeard.
“Thank ye lass, when me crew left with me map I didn't think I'd ever get it back. I suppose those landlubbers told you me tale?”
Twilight stared at Hoofbeard. “Yes, they did.”
“So ye know that we be following meandering X to find me jewel?”
“They called you a mad pony that would doom us all,” said Rarity.
“You are of course free to leave the ship at anytime, we will be tracking the X until we find it. It could take a while,” said Hoofbeard pointing to the gangplank with his hoof.
None of the ponies wanted to leave the ship, so Twilight and Rarity let the sails free and the ship was quickly back on the open ocean. Hoofbeard was at the wheel following Twilight’s directions as she charted a course with the map. Spike ordered Pinkie and Applejack to load the fresh food supplies in the galley and to prepare dinner. Rarity and Fluttershy were on the deck scanning the watery horizon for any signs of the treasure.
It had been three days since they had last seen the shore and the crew was getting antsy. Applejack was tired of cooking seaweed and pickled vegetables for every meal, Pinkie had played her mandolin so much the strings had been worn straight through and Twilight was having a minor breakdown from following an X that kept going in circles.
Rainbow Dash was taken to the boredom the worst, shouting out pirate words at everything she saw. When she landed by the wheel and heard they they were once again travelling back they way they had come she screamed mutiny and swung a sword at Hoofbeard.
'So ye be mutinying eh?”
“Yep,” said Rainbow Dash with the sword in her mouth.
“Why?” asked the captain as Twilight come up to them.
“We want to go home,” said Rainbow Dash while Twilight nodded.
“I gave you a chance to go home, I even told you we would be wandering for weeks, why are you surprised?” questioned Hoofbeard.
“I thought this would be swashbuckling fun!” complained Dash.
Hoofbeard put his hoof to his head. “Piracy is not a game, it is a hard life of monotony and loneliness. Mutiny is crime punishable by death.”
“Big talk come from a pirate like you,” said Twilight Sparkle
“Technically I am a privateer, and what laws have I broken?”
Twilight and Rainbow Dash looked at each other. “Umm...”
“If you want to change course all you must do it have the crew vote on it, the quartermaster will then decide where we go. Then it is up to you navigator Twilight to take us there.”
“You'd really let us go just like that?”
“This is a pirate ship, not a slave ship. If the crew wants to go someplace they are free to ask. Of course that doesn't mean you get to take my ship, but I would be happy to take you to the nearest port.” said Hoofbeard.
“Why are you so obsessed with finding this treasure anyway?” asked Twilight.
“I must find my Jewel!” said Hoofbeard as he steered the ship closer to the X on the map.
“You are doing all of this, risking for life for a jewel?” asked Rainbow Dash.
“Not a jewel, my Jewel, my beautiful, lovely Jewel,” cried out Hoofbeard gaining the attention of the rest of the ponies.
Twilight was about to say something but the ship was suddenly stopped in the middle of the ocean. The ponies rushed to the side of the boat to see a miracle of mermares pushing waves against the hull.
Hoofbeard leaned out, “Jewel I've missed you so much I've been searching for you for months!”
A mermare leaned towards the captain. “Hoofy, I am so sorry they made me go!”
While Rainbow Dash moaned about not going after plunder and adventures, Hoofbeard and the queen mermare argued over what was best for Jewel. Finally Spike blew a fireball over the crowd stunning everypony.
“Both of you have got to stop it! This is not how love works. You can't destroy it, you can't sever it. Love is a tireless force. Love will always find a way to bring you back together. Hoofbeard risked everything and everybody in order to get here; he sacrificed his crew and his health in order to find Jewel, you can keep putting up barriers but I assure you, Love will find a way to get through them!”
The mermares and ponies were stunned until the queen mermare nodded. “Well spoken young dragon, I had forgotten to power of love.” she turned to Jewel and Hoofbeard “You are both free to love who you wish,”
The ponies and mermares cheered and Twilight quickly cast a spell to give Hoofbeard gills and fins. In return Hoofbeard blew on a conch in his satchel summoning a giant mantahawk.
Twilight and her friends boarded their new ride and waved goodbye to their new friends as the pirate and mermares disappeared into the sunset, then the group began the long trip back home.