Monody Island (#12)

by LightningStar626

Chapter 2: Anchors Aweigh!

Chapter 2: Anchors Aweigh!

~Far away from the beach, below Canterlot High School, in the Equestria Girls' Hideaway, Steven Secret shuffled through a bunch of files. He scratched his head. A nagging voice tugged in his mind. 'Go and talk to her,' it insisted. The Chief rose at once and made his way with haste outside his office, and to the colourful tables in the form of a pinwheel, opposite to where Karly Crystal's room was. He stared at it intently. Above the hideout and beside the school, Karly sat beside the wall, sketching in her book. Everywhere the trees were sporting their fresh green finery above thick carpets of bluebells and scattered daffodils. Birds were busily and noisily building their nests, and the woodland glades were a buzz of activity as the art girl took full advantage of the fine weather. In spite of this, all was not well. It was not long before she was interrupted by faint barking and she found herself gazing up at two familiar figures coming towards her.~

"Karly! Karly!" came a voice from one of them.

Karly dropped her book and reached out her hand. "Stitch? Spike? Wh-What's wrong, boys?"

"P-P-Pirates! Down at the beach!" Stitch panted as his head touched Karly's hand.

"Lightning and the others are fending them off, but I don't know how long they can keep it up." added Spike.

"Fluttershy sent us down here to get you and your uncle! We must hurry now or- "

"Okay, okay, slow down, you two!" Karly interrupted. "Did you say 'Pirates'? Pirates don't exist."

"That's what we thought!" babbled Stitch.

"But we thought wrong!"

"Just come see for yourself!"

~He began tugging at her arm sleeve with his teeth. Karly had no choice but to stand up and follow him as Spike raced into the school to alert her uncle Steven. But before she could ask anymore questions, a sudden Lightning dropped down from the sky and landed in front of her and Stitch. The Shiba was relieved to see her.~

"Lightning!" he barked, and he dropped Karly.

"Oof!" she grunted as she hit the ground.

"Oh, me so glad you're okay!" Stitch said, leaping into her arms. "Must've shown those pirates what for then, eh?"

"Actually no," said Lightning. "Instead, I've asked to join them!"

Karly picked herself up from the ground. "What? What do you mean, 'join them'?"

"I mean, join them! Okay, here's what happened…"

~Ten minutes later, after Steven had just arrived with Spike, Karly and the others were listening to the tale of the pirates' quest for the discovery of treasure. Lightning explained that they meant no harm as well as cause no serious damage on Canterlot beach's property, and were simply just having a little adventure and got lost. She then went on about joining them on their adventure, wanting to enliven herself and cool off from the hottest day of the year. The Rainbooms too. After she was finished, she gestured to them to hear about their opinions. Karly had no words; Stitch and Spike both felt their tails waggle, but felt no enthusiasm; and lastly, Steven was livid.~

"Have you lost your marbles, Agent Star?" he groaned. "Pirates are never good news!"

"I...would have to agree with my uncle here," Karly then spoke up. "Do you even know what pirates do?"

"Of course I do," Lightning replied, "We encountered them in our last adventure, remember? There's even an old song about them. They pillage, they plunder, they rifle and loot! They kidnap and ravage and don't give a hoot!"

"Yes, that is exactly what they do!" Steven nodded impulsively.

"How can you be so sure that they are not tricking you, or something?" asked Karly. "Pirates are known for being untrustworthy."

Lightning gave a shrug. "Well, pirates are also known for being fearless, and threatening, but these ones at the beach don't seem that way."

"At first, they did begin to attack us and the beach, but then they stopped." Twilight explained.

"It's true," Rainbow spoke up. "Then they literally ran away from us when we showed off our rainbow lasers!"

"And when the captain of the crew came out, he realised that he made a mistake and apologised." Sunset finished.

Steven and Karly both glanced at each other with different confusing notions flowing in their heads. They didn't know where to start. So, Spike barked up. "Maybe we should go and see these pirates for ourselves then," he suggested.

Karly found herself stuttering. "G-go and s-see the pirates?"

"Yeah!"

"Don't you take our word for it, Karly?" Lightning asked.

"N-no! Of course I do! It's just that…"

"They. Are. Pirates!" Steven interrupted angrily.

"Pirates that are not like the ones you're on about! Come on, Chief. We'll show you."

~Putting on an exasperated brow, Steven reluctantly gave in and followed Lightning as she sped off. Karly ran after them as well, taking Stitch in her arms while Fluttershy took Spike.~

---

~A long hour passed, during which time the people at the beach remained huddled together on the waterfront talking quietly among themselves, while occasionally one or other of them broke into loud yells. The pirates waited patiently for their new companions' return. Just as they were beginning to grow impatient, they spotted Lightning speeding low across the sand. Everyone else was pursuing her, trying desperately to keep up.~

"Here we arrrrrrre!" Pinkie cried cheerfully at them.

~Seconds later, Lightning landed onto the sand, not a hundred centimetres from where Captain Alonzo and his pirates and the beach folk stood expectantly.~

"So, these are the so-called 'pirates' you speak of?" asked Steven.

"That's right!" Lightning nodded her head. "Chief, meet the captain."

The captain tipped his hat at him. "Captain Marq Alonzo at ye service," he said.

"Charmed." Was all Steven said in reply.

Karly stared at the men in astonishment. "What the blazes...? Actual live pirates!" she gasped.

"Yargh! Right you are, lassie!" Sail replied as he appeared behind her, making her jump. "These Rainbooms told us 'bout ye havin' no treasure or valuables! Or even pirates o' ye own!"

"...U-umm...Y-you're a pirate too?"

"Yarrr, yer right, kiddo. But not from 'ere."

"Ah, I see da gov'ner of this port is talkin' with the cap'n." exclaimed Pip. "Whatta ya say we plunder 'is pockets? Yar can be the new gov'ner!"

"Wh-what? Are you thinking about robbing my uncle?!" gasped Karly.

"If he has treasure, that is." laughed Pip. Sail joined him.

Karly immediately turned to Lightning and cowered behind her shoulders. "Lightning, I don't like this." she shuddered.

"Karly, relax," her best friend assured. "The pirates are just joking around. Right, boys?"

They nodded. "Arggg, just jokin' 'round. Don't be so serious, lass." Sail said to Karly.

"It's kinda hard to be when you're face to face with a ravaging horde of thieves like yourselves." she replied curtly.

"Ey, watch it, you," Pip scowled. "I have a cutlass 'ere an' I'm not hesitant to-"

"Anyways," Lightning interrupted. "Let's go and find the Rainbooms."

"Yes, and go and make sure my uncle is still alive..." added Karly.

~She called Stitch and Spike from a distance and escorted them and Lightning to where the Rainbooms stood. Sail and Pip followed. They were watching their Chief and Captain Alonzo talk with each other for minutes on end, but were too far away to clearly hear what they were saying. Lightning and Karly shielded their eyes from the sun as they came to a halt next to Twilight. The tech girl turned to them with a simple adjust of her glasses.~

"So, how's it going?" Lightning asked.

"They are working something out," she answered.

"We can't hear much, but I think they're talking about the dock." Rainbow explained.

"The dock?" Karly repeated.

"We also heard the chief say what is in it for the captain to take us along on his journey, but we didn't hear his answer."

"Hmm…"

~Before Karly could ask anything else, her uncle and the pirate captain came towards her and the girls. They both stood up proudly, but didn't show a smile, until Steven began to talk.~

"Alright, we've come up with a compromise."

"And?" the girls asked.

"I've offered the captain the dock," he explained. "He and his crew can come and visit whenever they like, and take you girls with them on their adventures, as long as they leave the people here alone, as well as protect us and them from future invasions that could happen on this beach."

Captain Alonzo nodded. "An' I said that be a fair deal I s'pose. But me crew an' I want some gold included..."

"You can have fifty pounds per visit."

"Fifty pounds?" Pip exclaimed. "Yar? That amount o' money ain't 'nough to buy me better boots!"

"Well, too bad." Steven said grimly.

"So, we can go with them?" asked Lightning, her face lit.

"Yes, as long as you don't get into any bad trouble."

"Or die." Alonzo added.

"Sounds good to me!" Lightning smiled. "I promise the eight of us will keep each other safe."

"Ten," Rainbow corrected. "Stitch and Spike want to come aboard too."

"You bet!" barked Stitch as he wagged his tail.

"Pirates are awesome, so of course we shouldn't miss out on this!" added Spike.

Captain Alonzo looked at the two dogs with sad eyes, but said nothing. "Alright. You two can be our seadogs." Lightning prompted with a wink. She turned to the captain again. "Alright, Captain! Give the Rainbooms, dogs and I ten minutes to pack and prepare, and we'll meet you at the dock."

Captain Alonzo looked into her eyes. "Yargh! Don't keep us waitin'..." he said, with a hint of strange sadness. And with that, all ten sped off.

~The beach people had watched all this with amazement and, in spite of their own worries, burst into ragged cheering. Steven had a brief word with them. Word about the deal spread like wildfire among the crowd. But no one knew whether the deal would remain true and loyal, and it was considerable anxiety that the people watched as, led by Alonzo, the pirates reached the jetty and where their ship was parked. Karly watched too, before she turned to her uncle.~

"Umm, I don't suppose I'm...allowed to go too?" she quired.

"No." Steven answered without a thought.

Karly gave a frown. "Didn't think so. I didn't want to anyway. Pirates are pirates, and they scare me."

---

~Twilight and Spike were the first to arrive on the jetty. The pirate's boat was already waiting for them, but Twilight felt best as if they waited for the others to arrive, just to be safe, so they could all climb onboard together. However, Twilight was still in doubt about everything. How strange it has now become that she and the Rainbooms are finding adventure instead of the adventures finding them, and how intense they are becoming. Lightning Star certainly has the flair for the dramatic when it comes to adventure, she thought. The previous two journeys they had already put Twilight on the edge, and it seems as if it would not stop for a long while. Spike noticed her worried look.~

"Hey, Twilight, are you alright?" Spike barked, snapping Twilight out of her thoughts.

"Huh?" she looked down at him. "Oh! Yes. Sorry, Spike, I'm just a little nervous."

"But, we've been on a boat before?"

"It's not the boat I'm worried about."

"Oh right. It's the pirates, isn't it?" Spike asked.

The tech girl gave a nod. "It's just like what Steven and Karly said. They're pirates. Thieves of the sea. I have every right to not trust them."

"You're not the only one." came a voice. The two looked over to see Sunset and Applejack approaching them. "These adventures are just…appearing out of thin air without question. And they are becoming a lot more dangerous every step too. Think about it. Witches, goblins, now pirates..."

"Yeah, but let's be honest, I'm pretty sure this adventure won't be as bad as the first two." Applejack laughed.

"No, I would agree with Sunset here," Twilight replied. "We don't know what this adventure would hold, but I fear it will be alot worse."

"How can y'all be so sure?"

"I'm not."

Sunset nodded. "We are boarding a ship that is full of potential villains that may have found Equestrian magic." she said. "The first two adventures we had were in another world other than this one and Equestria, so it didn't have its magic. But, now we are here. So, we need to be careful. Okay?"

"Okay." Twilight answered.

"Right, we'll keep an eye out then." Applejack answered too.

"Thanks." Sunset turned to the boat and saw Captain Alonzo. "Lightning may not see it, but I have a feeling that the captain is hiding something. And we're gonna find out what."

Twilight nodded with Sunset but before she could add on, Pinkie Pie chirped in, "Hi girls!"

"Sorry we took so long," Rarity apologised. "I couldn't decide whether to wear the purple or black hat." and she pointed at her head where both a black and purple hat sat upon.

"It took her the eight out of ten minutes we had to decide on that!" Rainbow fussed. "It probably would have been longer if we didn't eventually drag her out!"

Fluttershy giggled, then looked about for Lightning. Seeing no sign of her, she asked, "Hey, where's Lightning?"

"I don't know. We haven't seen her or Stitch yet." answered Twilight.

"Well, they better hurry, otherwise, they will miss out on the adventure they've been so stoked to go on..." said Sunset.

"Hey, look! The pirates are waiting for us!"

~Pinkie Pie pointed over at the pirates who stood on the prow of the boat with their hands in the air, waving. A feeble greeting rose from the seven girls back at them, then, assisted by each other, they began to clamber aboard the craft. The man that greeted them first was Jan Onslow. He was a sailor with a classical sailor look. A blue and white striped shirt with torn sleeves, a red bandana tied around his head and baggy black shorts to match his black buckled boots. He was a mischievous guy that liked to fool around alot. He will drive his fellow crewmates crazy with his naughty nature, and take pleasure out of it. Jan never does anything too seriously however, he just acts like a child, and most times his mates will call him foolish names or a manchild whenever he got in their way.~

~Next to him was Sail Ellistar. Sail was the quartermaster. He had an intimidating look in his eyes and skin that looked as tough as an elephant's hide, but Pinkie Pie could see through all that intimidation that he was friendly at heart. He wore a simple thin soiled blue captain's uniform, and always seemed to be holding a cutlass of some kind under his arm. Sail took charge of the ship ever since the captain felt sad. The girls could tell he takes his job very seriously, seeing the way he treats the other crew members and is always screaming at them to coil ropes, or swab the deck, or climb the ladders. He greeted the Rainbooms with a bow, and tried to kiss Rarity's hand but she backed away in disgust.~

~The third crew mate, Mast, was Sail's brother. He only looked a couple years younger than him, but he had the same eyes and skin as him. The only difference was that he had ginger hair and was short and stocky, while Sail had a lanky body, nutty-brown hair and a stubble. Mast spoke with a lisp. He cannot say certain words and gets sloppy when saying words that include the letter 's'. Jan makes fun of him and his lisp at any chance he gets, and everyone fears that one day Mast will cleave Jan to the brisket out of rage from the teasing. Mast wore a leather jerkin, torn shorts, a peg leg and nothing else. He doesn't like wearing a lot of clothes, he admitted eventually to the girls.~

~Finally, the fourth and final pirate of the crew to greet them was Pip Hunt. Pip was a scrawny little fella, and had a bit of a temper too. He looked like a child, but was actually a full grown man. He had a condition caused by a growth hormone deficiency. He stopped growing when he was only ten years old. He was technically a dwarf, but he had normal body proportions. He hates it when people mistake him for a small boy or dwarf or make fun of him however, and he will always blow up in their faces when they do, both figuratively and literally. Which is why Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash held in their breaths to keep them from snickering. Pip eyed them carefully as they climbed aboard. The Rainbooms clung to every part of the boat as Jan spoke to them with a smile.~

"Ah, lassies, welcome aboard our pirate ship! So glad ye could join us on our quest!"

"Thank you," said Sunset, her voice still sounding unsure. "It's a pleasure too..."

"Just drop ye luggage down below next to ta crates an' barrels." Sail ordered politely. "They'll be safe down there."

"No, that's okay, I think we'll keep an eye on them up here." Twilight insisted. "Hopefully they won't weigh down the boat."

"Alright. Suit ye 'self." The pirate began darting around the area. "Ey, where's ye energetic, animaniac friend?"

"You mean Lightning? No idea. I figured she would be here earlier than all of u…"

"YO HO HO AND A BOTTLE OF BLINKEROOTS!"

~A scurvy but familiar-sounding voice suddenly screamed from the top of the crow's nest. Then, Lightning's head peeked out from above the barrel hood, and smiled at the little dots of her friends from down below. Stitch was perched on her shoulders. The Rainbooms looked up at her confusingly, while the pirates were shocked by her spirit as well as attire. She was decked in a complete pirate set, along with an eyepatch and hook. She clambered down from the mast with relative ease, and dropped onto the deck before striking a pose.~

"Annnnnd she sticks the landing!" she said to herself proudly.

"Oh-ho! Wow!" All the pirates laughed.

"We're just as surprised as you are." said Sunset briskly.

"Nice attire, lassie!" Jan spoke up again. "Where'd ya get it?"

"It's my cousin's old Halloween costume actually." answered Lightning. "He liked zombies and pirates so he dressed up as...a zombie pirate. So, now I'm wearing it! Without the zombie part of course."

The pirate burst into laughter. "That's great! I love it!"

"An' I love that we have more crew members comin' on this voyage an' adventure." Caura laughed. "We're gonna 'ave so much fun, right lassies?"

"You bet!" Pinkie smiled while Rainbow nodded and the others nervously laughed at their unsure excitement.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Lightning asked. "Let's go!"

~With that, the Rainbooms got settled into their positions on the boat. After securing their luggage by hiding it under the stairs that led up to the wheel, they stood onto the deck where Sail asked them to for the moment. Lightning couldn't stop shaking with excitement.~

"Alright, lassies." Sail started. "This ain't no joyride, so make ye 'selves useful. Weigh the anchor an' hoist the mizzen!"

~He tossed them a strand of five hundred and fifty cord, and the girls nodded at his command. All but Lightning. As the seven swung round the mast, with it's huge silver-blue sail billowing forth, cast all off the lines and tied knots around the hooks, Lightning stood there, dumbfounded.~

"Oh, darn it…" she mumbled.

"What's wrong, Lightning?" Fluttershy asked, noticing her look.

"I don't know how to sail!" she exclaimed. "Ugh, I should have thought of that before I asked to join the crew. Before any self-respecting captain will take us aboard, we've got to make ourselves seaworthy!"

"Well, because of our yachting experience during last spring break, we can quickly teach you a crash course." Twilight offered.

"Really? Oh, that would be helpful. I don't want to be seen as useless among these pirates."

"No problem!" said Rainbow. "Just do what we do, and you'll get the hang of it."

~Lightning smiled and prepared herself. Firstly, she stripped herself of her pirate outfit and got back into her original clothes, since the waistband was sorta chafing her waist, and was handed a notebook that Fluttershy conveniently brought with her. In a short while, she sat down onto the decking, and began to listen.~

"I know that the front of the boat is called the 'bow', and the back is the 'stern'." she noted first of all.

"That's right, darling!" said Rarity.

"And movin' towards the bow of the boat, is 'fore' or forward. Towards the back is going 'aft'." Applejack explained.

"Fore is forwards, aft is backwards…" Lightning repeated, jotting it down in the notebook. "...Okay."

"Now, how about if someone tells you to go 'starboard'?" asked Twilight.

"Oh, I know that too! Starboard is the…right side! And port is left!"

"Correct!"

~Lightning had made good progress. The Rainbooms had explained all the words that a sailor/pirate should know to her, so the next task was to show her how the objects work. They started with the most important object of the ship, which was the steering wheel. The eight gathered around it as Twilight began to explain.~

"Now, the next important thing to learn is how to turn the ship."

"Don't you just turn the steering wheel?" asked Lightning.

"Well, on a sailboat or ship, it's not that simple. We've also got to change the position of the sails, so they'll still catch the wind. Here, I'll show you."

"Wait, are we even allowed to touch the steering wheel, let alone steer it?" asked Rainbow.

"Ask the captain." answered Sunset, who pointed at him sitting glumly on the stairs, lost in thought.

Lightning did just that. "Hmm...Hey, Captain! Is it alright if we steer the ship?"

Alonzo turned to the girls but said nothing. "...I don't care." he then mumbled after a while.

"Huh. Welp, sounded like a yes to me." Lightning said with an oblivious shrug.

~Sunset's mind felt uneasy as the captain settled down to rest again, and she whispered something unwholesome, but nobody heard her. Twilight, meanwhile, continued to educate Lightning.~

"So, Lightning, when I shout 'come about', we'll turn the boat starboard, and secure all the sails port side."

"Got it!"

"Hey, Applejack! Make sure the boom of the mainsail doesn't hit you in the head when it swings past!" Rainbow laughed.

"Sure thin'!"

Everyone got into position as Twilight began to count down. "Three...two...one...COME ABOUT!"

~Twilight grasped onto the wheel with both hands and spun it to the right. Lightning and Applejack immediately zipped down the stairs to where the mainsail was billowing in the wind, and caught the rope securing the boom. They pulled it as hard as they could to the left, causing the sail to pick up more air and begin speeding on the water, out of the dockside. Pinkie Pie shot her hands in the air and cheered excitedly. Minutes later, the air began to slow, so it was safe to let go and let the sail blow its own course. Lightning was buzzing with joy.~

"Hey, I did it!"

"Nice job, Lightnin'!" Applejack complimented. "I think we're ready to actually leave now."

Twilight approached them. "I agree. You did well, Lightning. Let's get Sail to steer, then we'll be off!"

"Awesome!"

---

~Lightning and Pinkie began climbing all over the craft as they finished securing the mast and sail in position. They showed what they could do and impressed Sail well enough for him to approve of them and welcome them warmly. He had a good feeling. After they were done, the girls dropped from the boom.~

"Ahhhh, this is so exciting, Lightning!" Pinkie shrieked. "We succeeded in joining Captain Alonzo's crew aboard the Cloudy Parrot!"

"I know! Soon enough, we'll be on our way to seek adventure, find treasure and discover more land beyond our wildest dreams!"

"But we've still got to stay alert and be careful." Sunset piped up in between them. "What if we run into even more pirates?"

"Then we'll blow them down an' send them to Davy Jones' Locker! Arrrgh!" Pinkie Pie answered in a pirate voice.

"Pinkie Pie, I'm serious. It's one thing to fight our way past Cropers and Zards...but now pirates?!"

"Sunset, Captain Alonzo and his crew seem pretty capable. Not to mention, we aren't new to the danger game, ourselves. We'll be fine." Rainbow assured.

~They eyed Jan working nearby, and saw that he had large salmon in his hands. Suddenly and randomly, he smacked the shark around his face and laughed until he got a red fish-shaped mark on his face. He then went screaming towards his crewmates and told them he was almost 'krilled' by the fish. The Rainbooms were unamusingly disturbed.~

"Well, they are sorta capable." Rainbow sighed.

"Hmm. I hope you're right." sighed Rarity.

Applejack gave a smile. "Let's just relax an' follow the captain's orders. An' have an apple or somethin'. You don't want to get scurvy!" she gave a wink, and Rarity laughed.

Lightning stood upon the bow and peered at the deep blue water ahead. "Alright, girls, let's cut ourselves an apple then and settle in. We're on our way to adventure!"

~Lightning's listening ears seemed to speak of free skies and open seas, of salt-laden air and space-scented islands, of endless sunlight and fish dancing in the silvery spray off far-distant shores. Lightning felt she might at this moment fly forever. Under the power of the pirates, the ship sped off westwards, and they were on their way to begin an exciting adventure.~

Author's Note:

I apologise for being very slow again, people. But, I am working on a new project with somebody. Coming to YouTube 2022...