The Grand Crusade
Chapter 3
The ship was sailing straight for the mainland as the water churned and rocked the ship side to side. Suddenly, Ship Shape spotted the green orb flying over a wave towards the land.
"That's her!" he yelled. "Scootaloo, you take the wheel. Steer us as close as possible to Thorne. I'll be right back." Scootaloo took the wheel as he ran down below deck. Scootaloo turned the wheel, heading directly toward Thorne, gaining on the Plaguebringer with every passing second. Ship burst out from below deck armed with a harpoon and a cutlass around his back in a sheath. "Scootaloo! Steer us a little to the left and keep 'er steady!" he ordered. "I'm gonna try to skewer the demon!"
Scootaloo steered the ship as ordered; now being only fifteen hooves away from the retreating ball of dark green light. Ship ran to the right side of the ship with his harpoon in his hooves. He aimed at the monster, and fired! The harpoon's chain stretched out from the holder at lightning fast speeds, chasing after the ancient being. It flew directly at her and landed straight in the middle of the ball. It was hooked well inside the orb, when suddenly, the hook began to rust rapidly and crumble. The rust crept up the chain and began to disintegrate it. Ship saw this before it caught back up to the ship and threw the rusting harpoon into the sea. Thorne was still above the waves, retreating back to land.
"Arrgh!" Ship Shape growled. "OK, Scootaloo! Head straight for Thorne again! We're gaining on her!"
Scootaloo steered straight for Thorne, once again, gaining distance on her. She steered forward for one more minute until the orb was about five hooves away from the ship.
"Alright girls," Ship said. "Keep 'er steady! My next plan is probably the most reckless idea I've ever had, but it might work. Watch." He ran straight to the bow of the ship at full speed and leapt as far and as high as he possibly could. He pulled his cutlass out of his sheath with his mouth and brought it down directly into Thorne. It lodged right into her, and she stopped right in place. The cutlass was rusting away, just like last time, but during that time, Ship Shape started attacking Thorne with his bare hooves. He let loose a ferocious punch straight at her, which connected, and then another one, and another one. In about six seconds, the cutlass rusted away, and he started to fall, not holding onto anything. Luckily, the ship was right beneath them during his inevitable descent.
He landed hooves first on the deck, and Thorne just hovered where she was for only about one second. Then, she flew up to the top of the crow's nest, which Sweetie Bell wasn't occupying this time, and began to change shape. She changed from her sickly green orb form into a cream colored unicorn mare, about Celestia's height, with a thick, thorny, green vine that made up her entire mane and tail. The vine also coiled around her body and formed a large, thorny set of fully functional pegasus wings, making her an artificial alicorn. The three Crusaders stared at Ivy in somewhat amazement, as well as fear, while Ship Shape glared at her, steaming with absolute rage! Thorne glared at Ship with an evil look on her face, a look of almost equal anger she was receiving from him. She manipulated her vines to grow at astonishing speeds and lengths. She stretched them out and grabbed Ship with her ivy-like vine, and began to coil around and constrict him. She lifted him high into the air, and slammed him down onto the wooden deck with tremendous power. Ship let out a loud, painful groan, and lay flat on his back on the almost shattered wood. She smiled in delight at his pain, and reverted back to her green orb form, and flew straight at Ship. She dashed directly at him, and finally, into him. Ship began to turn a sickly green color, and cough uncontrollably. His muscles froze. He couldn't move from his position at all. He was helpless. He had been infected by her plague.
Thorne flew out from inside Ship and returned to the crow's nest, where she reverted back to her true form. Ship raised his head, just enough to look at his lifelong enemy.
"You dare add insult to injury?" he said in anger. "You DEVIL!"
"Flattery will get you nowhere, sea pony." Thorne said with an evil smile. She looked down at the three Crusaders. "I suppose I should thank you three for freeing me from my prison. I do wish we could spend more time together, but I'm afraid I've got some plans to carry out, hahaha. See you later." she said as she reverted to her orb form and flew off towards the mainland, twice as fast as before. She disappeared across the waves in a matter of moments. The girls ran over to Ship Shape immediately in worry.
"Are you OK, Ship?" they asked, scared for his life.
"No." he answered. "She got me with her plague. I can hardly move. Don't worry, it's not contagious. She can only spread it individually. But if I don't get cured within a couple of days, I'm gonna die."
"Oh no." they said, saddened.
"How do we cure you from the plague?" Sweetie Bell asked.
"It's a plague." he reminded. "Medicine won't do any permanent good. The only way I can think of to permanently cure it is to kill Thorne. And the only ponies that can kill Thorne are you, because she refuses to plague you for now as compensation for her freedom. You three must find some way to destroy her before she kills anypony. You have the fate of Equestria in your hands, girls."
The girls were tense. None of them had ever been in charge of anything remotely important like this before.
"I know, I know." he said, beginning to smile. "It's a lot to take in and a huge responsibility. But the world needs you. Please don't let us down."
"We won't!" Scootaloo said, trying to be the brave one. "Equestria is safe with us! We won't let Thorne get away with this!"
"Uh huh!" Apple Bloom and Sweetie Bell agreed.
"That's the spirit, girls!" he said. "Hey look! We're almost to the docks. Remember what I taught you and park this ship."
Scootaloo ran back to the steering wheel and directed the ship into one of the empty spaces in the harbor. Apple Bloom raced to the anchor and lowered it into the water immediately. They did a pretty nice job parking. Sweetie Bell put the gangplank out for a ramp and walked back over to Ship with the other girls. They lifted him up and carried him on their backs down the plank. They took him inside his house and laid him down gently on his bed.
"Thank you girls." he said with a happy smile. "Now go after Thorne! There's not a moment to lose!"
"Right." the three nodded. They ran out the door and looked around for Thorne.
"I don't see her." Apple Bloom said. "I'll bet she went to Ponyville."
"Then c'mon!" Scootaloo said, looking down the road to Ponyville. "Let's try to beat her to it!"
The girls ran down the path to Ponyville, leaving no time to waste. When they finally got there, they saw Ponyville's citizens running around frantically, trying to avoid the plague. Some ponies were already lying on the ground, infected. Most of them were running inside any house or building they could find, trying to get away from Thorne. It was an awful sight, but they couldn't stop and check on everypony, so they ran straight to Sweet Apple Acres. They came to their tree house headquarters and went inside. They dropped of their treasure hunting saddlebags and found their trademark capes. They fastened them on as a symbol of who they are, and also to enhance the feel of the situation. They started to walk out the door when they saw Applejack running toward them in a panic. She stopped right in front of them.
"Apple Bloom! Come quick! There's terrible news!" she said in a worried panic.
"What is it, Applejack?" Apple Bloom asked.
"It's Granny Smith. She's been struck by some kinda plague! She was helping me with harvestin' the apples when this green ball thing flew into her and made her fall over with some kinda nasty disease. She needs your help!"
"Oh no! Not her too!" she said. "Where is she?"
"Big MacIntosh is takin' her to the hospital. C'mon!"
Apple Bloom was really worried about her grandmother, but she had to tell her sister what was going on.
"I can't Applejack." she told her sister.
"What do y'all mean you can't?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I was the one that released the plague in the first place!" Apple Bloom told her with tears beginning to form in her eyes.
"Apple Bloom?" Applejack said in disbelief, as well as compassion for her heartbroken sister.
"We were out treasure huntin' when we found this chest. We opened it, and inside was Ivy Thorne the Plaguebringer. She plans on killing everypony in Equestria, but she won't plague us yet because we released her. So it's my job to try to kill her and stop this plague." she finished explaining.
Applejack was speechless. Not with anger, but she just couldn't think of anything to say regarding what she had just heard. "…Well alright then." she finally said. "I'll go tell Granny Smith that y'all are tryin' to save her. I just hope you know what y'all are gettin' yourselves into. Good luck girls. Maybe this is what you three are meant to do to earn your cutie marks."
"Hey, maybe you're right!" Apple Bloom exclaimed, perking up. "OK then! Cutie Mark Crusaders, onward!" she ordered.
The girls ran down the tree house stairs to the path off the farm, looking for Thorne.
"I sure do hope y'all know what you're doin'." Applejack said quietly to herself, watching the Crusaders run off. "We're countin' on you three."
To be continued…