//------------------------------// // The island with one single trap (edited) // Story: The Pirate & the Royal // by RavenFire2908 //------------------------------// The Island With a Single Trap Chapter 3 The week passed by quickly. Applejack was doing the work of ten ponies, while everyone else was barely keeping up with their own work. The cabin boys were only let out to eat. Rainbow had ordered them be kept in their cell, they'd caused nothing but trouble for her. The cook was also placed under heavy guard in the brig after trying to kill one of the crewmates. The captain from Applejack's ship was given the cooks job and put to work in the galley. Rainbow watched Applejack mopping the deck from the ship's helm. She was absolutely stunning. Rainbow had realized she loved Applejack after a fitful sleep of tossing and turning, thinking about her the night after they'd shared, stargazing. She just couldn't get over the fact that she'd fallen in love with a royal! But it was true, every night she wished she had Applejack beside her, every day she wanted to see her smile, every day she wished they would never reach the island. She just wanted to stare at Applejack forever. Forcefully wresting her gaze away from the princess, she called for her first mate. "Twilight!" Twilight looked over from her conversation with one of the crewmembers and dismissed herself. Walking over she wondered what the captain could want. Whenever she took the wheel, she usually stayed there until she needed to eat or sleep. After leaving the helm in the capable hooves of the navigator, Rainbow Dash and Twilight made their way to the captains quarters. Rainbow sat down at the table, across from Twilight, "you remember when you said that I could talk to you about anything?" she asked. Twilight nodded, "yes. Is there something wrong?" Rainbow felt her confidence melt away, wanting to run away in fear, but she stood her ground and looked at Twilight all the same. "I think... I'm..." she trailed off. Twilight perked up her ears, trying to listen. "I'm sorry, but you were a little too quiet there. Could you repeat that." "I'm in... love," Rainbow barely choked out. Twilight was a little taken aback, never having expected Rainbow to admit it. She knew the answer to her next question, but decided to ask anyway. "With whom, may I ask?" "T-the p-p-princess..." she stuttered nervously, looking down at her hooves. "It... its just that, every night, I wish she was there with me. I feel like all I want to do is make her happy and to see her smile," she paused and looked at Twilight. "I want her to be mine..." she whispered. Twilight chuckled, "well... love can come in all shapes and forms." Rainbow Dash remained quiet and unmoving. "What I mean is, it's okay. Love is natural, it's not strange or weird, and it's definitely not something to be despised," Twilight reassured as she put a hoof on Rainbow's shoulder. "But she's engaged," Rainbow argued, crossing her arms. Twilight couldn't help but notice a hint of disappointment in her voice. "Since when has something like that stopped you from taking what you want? You're the infamous Captain Rainbow Dash, she who takes what she can and gives nothing back. Sailors tremble in fear when they hear your very name, you're the terror of the seas and you don't ever let anything get in your way," Twilight praised as she walked out of the room. "Land ho!" a pony yelled. "Of course..." Dash muttered, she knew time was running out. She slowly made her way down to the brig. "Applejack? Come with me," she ordered, Applejack didn't really have a choice but to follow. When she walked out onto the main deck she got her first full glimpse of the island. It was quite large by the looks of it, she could see the shore continue out of sight in either direction. There was a dense jungle that started from the beach and covered the entire length of the island by the looks of it. There were a few small mountains, their peaks cresting the tops of the trees, scattered across the island. They walked over to the large dinghy that would carry them to the island shore, two other crewmates coming with them for protection. As soon as the bow of the small boat hit the sandy beach, two pirate ponies jumped out and tugged the boat out of the water. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Twilight and Pinkie Pie, had come with them. Pinkie was going to make sure Applejack didn't run away, and Twilight had insisted she be there to guard Dash. "Captain, it may take a while to make our way through and get to the treasure," Twilight said, after inspecting the undergrowth. "Take it slow, we have no need to hurry," Dash stalled. She didn't take her eyes off Applejack, who looked at Pinkie, confused. "Stay with the boat and mind the tide," she ordered the two pirates that had come with them. "But captain–" "Are you questioning my orders?" "No captain, but–" "The fewer members in our party, the less we risk one of us getting hurt." The pirate looked like he still wanted to argue, but decided to follow orders. "If we're done here, then lets move out," Twilight said pulling out a map they had constucted of the island after they'd discovered the location of the treasure. She lead the way as they walked to the edge of the jungle and started hacking a path with her cutlass. The vegetation was quite thick to push through, and impeded them at times, forcing them to find a better path. They kept moving forward for a few hours, never stopping their journey. Just as they stepped into a clearing, Twilight stopped. She couldn't move, her hooves seemingly fastened to the ground. "Why'd you stop?" Rainbow asked worriedly. "I can't move," she grunted, trying to get her legs unstuck. She then noticed she was sinking. "Shit! Quicksand!" "Don't move! You'll only sink faster!" Applejack warned. She ran over to a tree and pulled a vine off of one of the lower hanging branches and threw it over to Twilight. Twilight desperately grabbed at the vine, the quicksand already halfway up her legs. Pinkie, Rainbow and Applejack grabbed the other end and started to pull. She came loose with an audible pop, her hooves covered with quicksand. "Thanks for that, I thought I was a goner... but how'd you react so fast?" Twilight inquired. "...I-I just saw that you needed help, and did what I felt was right," Applejack stated, "by the way... you have that thing, why didn't you use it?" Applejack asked, pointing at Twilight's horn. "I panicked..." Twilight explained simply, flushing with embaressment. "Lets keep moving then, before something else happens..." Rainbow uttered suspiciously. It almost felt like Twilight was flirting with Applejack, but Twilight didn't like Applejack. She knew Rainbow loved Applejack and wouldn't betray her like that. They had walked all day and they still hadn't reached their destination. They were all starting to feel weary from the journey. Rainbow eventually chose to fly instead of walk, giving her legs a rest. "Are we there yet?" Rainbow asked, annoyed. "Soon... I hope..." Twilight said as she looked at the map, not paying attention to where she was going. "TWILIGHT, WATCH OUT!" Pinkie yelled as Twilight almost walked over the edge of a gorge. Twilight stopped and looked over the top of the map, seeing what she was just about to do. She quickly backpedalled and put a hoof to her chest, attempting to steady her frantically beating heart. "Thanks Pinkie, I owe you one," Twilight gasped, the pink pony had just saved her life. "How do we get to the other side?" Rainbow asked, looking at the map. "There's no way around it?!" "No, it looks like there used to be a bridge here..." Twilight said, again looking at the map. Hopefully there was some way to get across. Pinkie was no longer paying any attention to Applejack who was looking around. She saw an extremely long vine hanging from a tree branch. She had an idea, remembering an old plan to escape the castle. Applejack tied the vine around the trunk of the tree closest to the cliff and walked back so the plant stretched. She then ran... straight toward the edge of the cliff and jumped over. As she fell, she hoped this worked. Angling her body to hit the cliffside after the vine pulled taut, she landed her back hooves on the face then catapulted herself towards the other side, landing perfectly on the very edge with not even a scratch on her person. The three pirates were looking at the map, trying to figure out a way across, when an orange blur passed them. They looked up, just in time to see Applejack jump over the edge. They gasped and ran to the ledge and looked down, almost crying out her name. But Applejack had already bounced off the cliff and landed on the other side before they could say a word. "Well, you coming or not?" Applejack yelled over her shoulder as she began to walk deeper into the forest. "What–" Twilight asked. "–was–" Pinkie continued. "–that?" Rainbow finished. They all just stared for a bit after that. "Well that solves that problem," Pinkie chirped. Rainbow smirked and flew over the gaping chasm, she'd forgotten about Pinkie and Twilight. Twilight sighed and teleported herself and Pinkie to the other side. They kept walking, no further incidents hindering their journey. The sun was just beginning to set, painting the sky with hues of orange and red. "Maybe we should make camp here and rest. We can continue tomorrow..." Twilight suggested. "Yeah..." everyone agreed and just then, it started to rain. They hurried to a small cave they found and started a fire with what dry timber they could find. Rainbow had been burning to ask Applejack something all day. "How did you come up with that idea of jumping off the cliff?" Rainbow asked, as she looked at Applejack who was trying to dry herself off. Applejack looked up and smiled. "It was originally part of one of my many plans to escape the castle," she answered. She undid the braid in her hair and her mane fell over her shoulders. Rainbow's mouth fell open, stunned by the sight before her. Applejack didn't notice so she just redid her braid. "D-did it work back home?" Rainbow inquired, her voice shaking. Her wings had started to slowly rise. Twilight and Pinkie began to giggle, they had never seen their captain so nervous. Applejack sighed, "unfortunately, no... the guards spotted me as I jumped, and they caught me... I wasn't allowed to go anywhere without at least two guards by my side for two months. It was absolute torture." She laid down on the stone floor and looked into the fire, the memories playing before her eyes. "How did you know it would work?" Twilight asked, the logic of the entire thing didn't make any sense. "Quite simply, I didn't. It was live or die... just like the past 10 years of my life," she said. "I couldn't die back home. It was either liberty or captivity there." "How many escape plans do you have?" Pinkie asked, all of them knew that it might be useful information. Applejack sat up and scratched her cheek in thought. "Hmm... at least 30, if not more... I stopped counting after 29. That, and all my plans were complete failures." The others looked at each other. Everyone yawned, too tired to continue the conversation. "Maybe we should get some sleep," Twilight suggested. They then all curled up in front of the fire for warmth, and drifted off. --- When morning came, the pirates woke up to the smell of something cooking, it smelled good. They looked around tiredly. Something didn't feel right. After a few quiet seconds the realization hit them. Applejack was gone. They rushed out of the cave, only to find her sitting in front of a second fire, next to which were four steaming hot makeshift bowls of soup. "Good your awake, eat up. We're going to need our strength for the rest of our journey," she said cheerfully. She grabbed a bowl and drank the entire thing in one gulp. The pirates just stared at her. One by one they moved forward, grabbed a bowl each and ate their breakfast. "This is really good, where'd you learn how to make something like this?" Twilight asked. "I used to work as a servant back in the castle, I picked up a few skills," she grinned proudly. None of them responded and just continued with their meal. As soon as they had finished eating, they started walking again. Not long after, they came to a large clearing in front of a stone wall. The surface was covered in some kind of ancient runes that were both beautiful and frightening to look at. "Well, this is it. Get to it," Rainbow grunted. Applejack had completely forgotten about her mother's letter at this point. She stepped forward and began to sing. As she continued, her voice reverberated throughout the glade. The runes began to glow and a line of light crawled its way along the wall, curving around to make a round indentation, split down the middle. The carved stone began to swing outwards and the light from all the runes shot towards Applejack. It gently swirled around her body for a little bit, then the song ended. The light flew into the open door, and vanished. "Can you promise me that, whatever we find, you won't use it for evil?" Applejack begged when she turned around. Still in shock from what they had just bore witness to, they nodded. They walked through door and inside a large cavern to find... nothing. It was a pitch black, seemingly empty room. "Where is the treasure?!" Rainbow screamed. She turned and glared at Applejack. "I have no idea. I didn't even know it existed before you kidnapped me!" Applejack explained wildly, her hooves waving about, attempting to contain the situation. Rainbow groaned, "Urgh!... now what do we do?" Before any of them could offer a suggestion, a voice echoed through the cavern. "Here they are!" Inside marched approximately 30 guards. Their armor bore the insignia of Blueblood's cutie mark. They all held swords, ready to attack on command. "Well, well, well..." came an extremely arrogant voice from the door. They turned around to see Prince Blueblood standing there. "What do we have here... the most wanted Pirate in Equestria and my bride. I knew you'd fall into my trap." "Trap?" Rainbow questioned. "Why yes! I knew you could only want the princess for one reason, the treasure," he stepped forward, "too bad nopony knows what it actually is..." He smirked gleefully, "kill them!" "No! Stop!" Every guard stopped and looked at Applejack. She had been the one who shouted. "Huh... why? They're pirates..." he said, confused. "No, please let them live. Please... just this one time..." Applejack begged. "Hmm... do you promise to never try and escape. I know about your past attempts to run away." Applejack knew that this was a difficult decision. Be forced into another prison, or see the pony she loved perish. No! This wasn't difficult at all. "Yes, I promise to never try to escape," Applejack said, she lowered her head in shame. "Good, and do you promise to never show your face anywhere near my country?" he disdainfully asked Rainbow Dash, who was near tears. She had just seen Applejack give up her own freedom for Rainbow's. The sorrow in Applejack's eyes was painful to watch, which made whats he next all the worse. "Yes." "Very well then. Stay here until we can no longer be seen. Come my dear, we have a wedding to attend," he declared smugly, walking out of the cave. Applejack, followed sadly. They made far greater time, since Blueblood had come in a chariot, with what looked like a bunch of industrial equipment that cleared a way for it. Rainbow hadn't moved from her spot, too shocked by what had happened, with Pinkie and Twilight trying to console her with little success. --- Applejack sat quietly at the forecastle, contemplating her decision. She knew she was doomed to live with that jerk for the rest of her life, but she would rather be a prisoner forever than see Rainbow Dash dead. She gave up her dream for... love? Applejack looked over to where Rainbow's ship had vanished. "I will miss you..." she whispered after Rainbow's receding vessel. Applejack just sat there for the rest of the night. She didn't say a word, but she did weep... alone. --- Rainbow sat in her room and stared out her window. She could see the royal ship disappear with her beloved. Rainbow regretted not doing anything, she would never forgive herself for this. She'd lost her beloved to an imbecilic, snobbish, arrogant prick. "I will miss you..." she whispered, as the royal ship finally vanished from view. Rainbow just sat in her room. She'd locked the door and refused to open it for anypony. She didn't say a word, but she did weep... alone.