Chapter 30: A Brothers Love Part 2: Ponies and Pirates
On the ground in Port Royale Sora, Donald and Goofy were already at the port wearing pirate outfits, Sora looking like a pirate captain with a black coat and captains hat with black pants and a red vest and shirt while Donald and Goofy looked like a could of buccaneers, looking around the port to see if there was any sign of their friend, who they hope can help them. However, the ports were full of different ships of all sizes and all kinds, making it very difficult to see which ship was present and which wasn't.
"I hope Jacks here." Sora said. "We really need his help on this one."
"Uh gawsh Sora, maybe he's out at sea." Goofy said.
"Ah what do you know ya big palooka!?" Donald snapped. "He has to be here somewhere."
The three of them walked through the port, looking for the pirate vessel they needed to locate, but in the forest section of Port Royale, a flash of white light illuminated the tree line as it glowed brighter and brighter until the light faded, the forest getting dark again. Out of it, Spyro came out wearing a purple pirate captains jacket with gold lining with the black and white jewels all over it, black pants with black leather boots, a large circular hat with a black and white feather, and a white dress shirt. He looked down at his out new look, admiring how it looked and nodding in approval, finding this look to be better than the last one when he was here.
"Well, not bad if you ask me." Spyro said, turning to look at the girls. "Alright girls, we're-"
He froze the moment he looked back at his friends, horror on his face as his eyes shrunk to pin needles when he saw them. They were still ponies with Twilight wearing a dark indigo Captains coat with a massive circular hat with gold trim on both and feathers going around the top of it with three pink feathers on it with pink stars going around the underneath of the hat and white trousers. Rainbow Dash was wearing a white pirate shirt with a golden sash wrapped around her barrel and. Blue skirt around her flank, golden trim with gold hair bands at the end of her mane and on her tail with a red bandana and golden goggles. Fluttershy was wearing a blue vest over a white shirt with a bit of a pouffier collar, a green belt around her barrel and white trousers with a green short skirt and a green and white striped headband going around her head while Pinkie Pies was a white dress shirt under what appeared to be a dark indigo short skirt dress with a pink shahs wrapping under her barrel and over her flank with a pink bandana with large black dots. Applejack was wearing a dark leather chest plate over a dirty white dress shirt with red pants and green and gold plate skirt armor in the shape of leaves while wearing a dark brown hat with gold trim on it with a red feather held onto it with a apple brooch with an eye patch over her left eye. Rarity however stood out the most as she was wearing a blue sleeveless shirt with no collar and gold trimming with a red ribbon skirt with a dark blue hat that had three diamonds on it and a massive red feather attached to it.
"Oh no." Spyro said, pressing his fingers between his eyes. "Donald is going to kill me."
"Oh, Twilight darling, your outfit is magnific!" Rarity said. "Oh my, all your outfits are just divine!"
"Wow, we look like real pirates!" Pinkie exclaimed excitedly. "Does that mean we're gonna be pirates!? Does it!? Does it!?"
"Pinkie, calm down, will ya?" Rainbow Dash asked. "So Spyro, where are we meeting your friends?"
"Well, we're supposed to meet them in Port Royale, but I think that's going to be a massive issue for you girls." Spyro said.
"What?" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "How come?"
"Well, you're ponies." Spyro replied. "Ponies, who are unicorns and Pegasi, and who can talk."
"So?" Twilight asked.
He face smacked himself, not believing the smartest pony he knew didn't get what he was meaning until he pointed to a group of humans who were walking by, still not getting why it was a problem until they saw a carriage being pulled by an actual horse, an idea clicking into their heads.
"Wait, ponies here serve humans?" Applejack asked.
"That and there are no Unicorns and no Pegasus as well." Spyro replied. "And the cherry on top, they don't talk."
"WHAT!?" The girls shouted in unison.
"Are you serious!?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Ponies here don't talk!?"
"Yes, they don't talk." Spyro responded. "And when we entered this world, the world order should have changed you into humans with my magic helping out with the process like the way it did with Applejack when we had our date."
"It's true, Ah was a human during our date." Applejack responded.
"And Fluttershy and I were lions when we were at the Pride Lands." Twilight added. "Why didn't we change this time? Why did we only get these outfits?"
"Who cares about that darling." Rarity responded. "Why this is giving me ideas for a pirate themed season of dresses."
Knowing that he couldn't walk around with six talking ponies into Port Royale or else the guards were going to shoot them on sight, so he told the girls to wait in the forest while he went into town to find their friends and the ship they hoped was in port right now. As he entered the town, he looked around, finding a lot of vendors and shops open for business, some selling maps and charts, some selling weapons, others selling other basic necessities like food, water, spices and seasonings, even a few trinkets that no man should be without. He got close to the docks were there were dozens of ships docked in the port, making it difficult to tell where their friends ship was at, but found Sora, Donald, and Goofy nearby, looking through all the docks to find the ship they needed, so he walked up to them to see if he could help.
"Nothing." Sora said. "Jack isn't here."
"Well now what do we do?" Donald asked.
"I'm sure he'll be here any minute." Spyro said, walking up to them.
"Spyro!" The three of them shouted, running up and tackling him into a group hug.
"Ah yuck, it's great to see ya again!" Goofy shouted.
"Good to see you guys too." Spyro said, the four of them breaking up the hug. "So Jack isn't here?"
"No, afraid not." Sora answered. "Looks like we'll need to find another ship."
Just as they said it, Spyro could sense something heading their way, looking to his right and motioning for his friends to look where he was, finding the ship they were looking for heading their way, The Black Pearl. As it docked, they saw an old pirate friend of theirs at the helm of the vessel, guiding the ship into the port and ordering his crew to release the anchors and bring in the sail, the crew doing as they were ordered as the loading ramp was lowered and he walked down the ramp, looking around and finding them.
"Oh, hello Sora, Donald, Goofy, Spyro." Jack Sparrow said.
"Jack!" The four of them shouted in unison, running to him.
"That's Captain Jack Sparrow to you mates." He responded. "So, what are you land lubbers doing in Port Royale? Hope ye haven't come looking for cursed pirates because there ain't any left, thankfully."
"Oh, no Jack, that's not why we're here." Spyro replied, relieving Captain Sparrow. "We need your help locating a cursed ship."
As soon as she mentioned it, Jack Sparrow's demeanor changed from cheering to spooked and cautious.
"Oh, a cursed ship?" He asked, looking to Gibbs. "Get the ship ready to sail within the hour."
"Aye captain." Gibbs responded.
"Jack, we really need your help." Spyro pleaded.
"Sorry mate, one adventure with cursed vessels is enough for me." Jack replied. "Besides, I only came to this port to drop off a shipwrecked sailor. A bit of a loon if ye ask me."
"I told you, I'm telling you the truth!" Jacks shouted, being pushed off the ship. "It's a witch with blue hair that turned her crew into plant-like monsters and has an orange talking horse prisoner."
"A talking horse?" Spyro asked, immediately taking interest in what he said.
"Yes, a talking horse with wings telling you a pirate captain is a witch on a ship made of rock and plants, ye told us before." Jack Sparrow said. "But mate, despite what I've seen previously and though I'm not the most sane pirate around, I know well enough there are no talking horses."
"Please, you gotta believe me." Jacks pleaded.
"Was this talking horse a filly?" Spyro asked, getting both Sparrows and Jacks attention. "Orange coat, underdeveloped wings, purple mane and tail, short and unkept and answers to the name of Scootaloo?"
"Well, I didn't catch a name." He responded. "But the rest of that is spot on."
Spyro's heart did a flip, hearing that someone knew about his sister and possibly where she might be at, so he walked up to the two pirates and grabbed Jacks' arm, pulling him in so their eyes could meet.
"Where did you see her?" He asked. "Where's the ship that took her?"
"Wait, you believe this guy?" Jack Sparrow asked.
"I do." Spyro responded. "Now tell me, where were they heading?"
"I don't know." He answered. "Northish I think. Somewhere towards Costa Rica. Didn't tell us where we were going."
"Well, guess I'll leave him in your care." Jack Sparrow said, turning to head back into his ship. "Must be off. Got no time to waste."
"Jack, we need the Pearl for this." Spyro said, going past Jacks. "It's important."
"Sorry, not my problem." The Pirate Captain said. "Good luck to ya."
As he was walking up the ramp, Spyro used the Force to turn him around to walk down, but he saw that he was walking towards them and turned around to head back to his ship, only to be spun around again and to turn again to go back to his a ship. But every time he tried, Spyro kept on spinning him around until he had enough and walked to Spyro.
"Can you please stop doing that?" She asked with a smile. "What is this horse to you anyway?"
"She's not a horse, she's a pony." Spyro answered. "And she's my sister."
As he mentioned that, Jack's face turned from being polite to being disturbed, turning around and running back to his ship as quickly as he could.
"Mate, what you do in your time is your business, not mine." He said trying to sprint, only to look down and see he was in the air, lifted by Spyro's Force abilities. "You know I hate it when you do that, right?"
"My god, you're a witch." Jacks said. "You're all witches!"
He then ran away, yelling out for help as he shouted about witches in the port, looking and sounding like an absolute maniac when he ran. Spyro then set Jack Sparrow down, turning him to face them so they can talk, and he knew he was going to regret what he was going to say.
"Jack, you know there are other worlds out there right?" Spyro asked.
"Of course I know." Jack replied, shocking them. "Tia Dalma told me once there were other worlds beyond the edge of the sea."
"Yeah, well, I'm taking a very big risk telling you this." Spyro said, getting Jacks interest. "So, if you could wait for us here at the dock for a couple of hours, and tell us where we can get six large barrels, I'll make it worth your while."
The pirate captain stroked his beard and paced a bit, thinking about something before walking up to his second mate, going to ask him something.
"How many barrels of rum do we have left?" Jack asked.
"Only a single barrel captain." Gibbs replied.
"And how many empty barrels do we have?" Jack asked.
"I believe nineteen if the count is correct." Gibbs replied.
"Get six of them for Spyro." Jack ordered. "I don't know what he is on about, but he isn't going to let us leave unless we help him. We might as well play along. And set course for Tortuga, we need to resupply."
"Aye captain." Gibbs replied. "Lads, get six of those empty barrels for the captain, we got a request from some old friends."
The crew of the ship went down into the depths of the vessel and brought out six large empty barrels that use to have rum in them, but were now dried up, but the fumes from them were still very strong. When Spyro got them, he took a whiff and gagged at the scent, almost throwing up and asked Jack if he had any that didn't smell like rum, but to his dismay there weren't others, so he took what he could and found a cart where he could pull the barrels along, not look too suspicious. Sora, Donald and Goofy followed him out out of Port Royale, wondering why he needed six empty barrels when they came to the tree line outside of Port Royale, stopping the cart and drilling holes in the barrels and grabbing some hollowed out plants he tested to see if they could suck in air.
"Um, Spyro, what's going on?" Sora asked. "And what's this about taking a risk?"
"Yeah, and why ask Jack if he knew about other worlds?" Donald asked. "Did the spell I teach you go wrong?"
"Not exactly." Spyro said. "The spell was fine and I did cast it correctly, but... well..." he turned to the forest, cleared his throat and checked to make sure there weren't any people around for when he called the girls. "It's alright girls, you can come out. They're friends."
As he said it, the girls came out from the forests tree line and towards them, Sora and Donald both shocked that his friends were here, but Donald looked like he was going to loose his mind.
"WHAT!?" Donald shouted. "What are they doing here!? And why are they still ponies!?"
"Master Yen Sid said they could come." Spyro answered, opening one of the barrels. "And for why they are still ponies, that's what I don't understand. Maybe I got the spell mixed up when changing them."
"Ah, you can;t do anything right." Donald said. "Let me."
Donald got out his staff and mumbled a few words, the girls starting to glow as the spell did it's thing, making everyone close their eyes to keep from being blinded, but when the spell ended, everyone was surprised because the spell, even though Donald did it, did not work. The girls looked at themselves to see if there was any change, but found there was nothing different about them.
"Um, Donald, was something supposed to happen?" Twilight asked.
"Yeah, like what was with that light anyway?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"But... But that spell was supposed to change you into humans." Donald replied. "Why didn't it work?"
The girls looked at each other, not understanding most of what Donald was saying, but looked to Spyro, hoping he could help.
"Spyro, we can't understand a word he is saying." Rainbow Dash said.
"Oh, that's an easy fix." Pinkie said.
She pulled up some kind of menu screen and moved the cursor to character menus, turning on subtitles for Donald before pressing save changes and exiting the menu, shocking and confusing everyone as they watched the strange event unravel in front of them.
"Um, what?" Sora asked.
"Don't ask." Spyro quickly responded. "Trust me, you'll sleep better if you don't worry about it. Take it from me, I've lived and hung around them for a couple months or so, trying to understand Pinkie Pie is only going to get you hurt, both physically and mentally."
Not understanding what their friend was getting at, they just decided to take his word for it and look to Donald, wondering what Pinkie did to him.
"Well, anyway... WAAAAAH!" Donald screamed. "What is this?"
"She gave you subtitles." Spyro said. "Classic Pinkie. Breaking the fourth wall as usual."
"As usual?" Sora asked. "Dude, how do you still have your sanity?"
"I just don't think about it." He responded. "Now Donald, why didn't the spell work?"
"I don't know." Donald responded. "When you enter another world, it will change your appearance to help you blend in, that's how the magic works."
"But it didn't for the girls." Spyro said, putting his hand on his chin. "And it didn't work for Scootaloo either if that kid was describing her as a talking filly."
"Wait, somepony found Scootaloo?" Applejack asked.
"Yeah, before he lost his mind calling me a witch." Spyro replied.
The girls looked at him, but started laughing, the idea of him being called a witch and imagining him in a witches outfit.
"Oh my, Spyro darling, I don't think you'd pull it off." Rarity said, tears rolling down her face. "Anyway, what's with the barrels? Are'nt we going to meet with the ship somewhere?"
"Well, unfortunately, this is how we're going to get you onto the ship." Spyro responded, making Rarity gasp. "We can't take you guys through the streets as you are, otherwise they'd either try to buy you guys, knowing Donald he'd probably take the money..."
"HEY!" He shouted, making Sora don Goofy chuckle.
"Or they start hearing you girls talk and shoot you on sight as witches." Spyro replied, taking the lid off the last barrel. "Neither of those choices I fancy, so we're smuggling you onto the ship and into the captains cabin of the ship."
He motioned for the girls to get into the barrels, but when Twilight looked in and got a whiff of the fumes, she gagged and coughed, followed by the other girls as they smelled what she did, leering at him.
"Couldn't you have gotten one that smelled better?" Rarity asked.
"Ah'm with Rarity on this one!" Applejack said. "These barrels smell like a rottin' fermented apple that got sprayed by a skunk!"
"Sorry, that was the best I could get." He replied. "It was either these empty rum barrels or I get six barrels of fish and hide you in a bunch of dead fish."
They looked at each other, imagining being buried under a bunch of slimy, dead fish, having to sit in it and let the smell of it soak into their clothes and into their coats, smelling like rotting fish for who knows how long. They all nodded, opting to take the rum barrels and walked over, Spyro helping them get in one at a time while giving them the hollowed tubes he found to help them breath from outside of the barrels so they didn't have to breathe in the fumes from the rum and possibly being tipsy when they get there. After sealing the barrels and making sure the girls were as comfortable as they could be, he pulled the cart back through town, being careful not to hit any bumps as it might cause the girls to make a sound or the barrel might fall off. After a little over an hour, they returned to the port and, thankfully, Jack was still there and his crew was stocking up on food and other provisions they could acquire from the port.
Jack looked over and saw his friends, finding that he brought back the barrels, probably filled with rum until he saw the hollowed out reeds from the top of the barrels and knew he was smuggling someone through town he didn't want the guards to see, which brought a smile to his heart.
"Oy, Spyro mate, you trying to smuggle something?" Jack asked.
"SHH." Spyro exclaimed. "Help me get these into your quarters and I'll explain everything."
Without another word, Jack had his men hoist the barrels onto the deck of the ship and let Spyro take the six barrels up the steps, two at a time and gently placed them on the floor of Jacks cabin, being careful not to drop them while he was carrying them up the stairs. When he got the last two barrels set onto the floor, Jack walked in and sat in the chair, a bottle of rum in his hand as he took a large swig out of the bottle, setting it on the table.
"Now Spyro, what is this about mate?" He asked. "And why do you believe that sun baked salmon in the first place? His story just sounds like something I would make up if I had enough rum in me?"
"Because it's true." Spyro replied, pulling the lid off the closest barrel. "Hey Rainbow Dash, need help getting out?"
She didn't answer as she just shot out of the barrel and coughed her lungs out, trying to get some air in them while Jack looked at her in a confused stupor, trying to understand what he was seeing, taking another drink of rum.
"Dude, never hide us in those things again." Rainbow Dash said, struggling to breathe.
"Sorry about that." Spyro said, removing the lid of Twilight Sparkles barrel.
She shot her head up from the barrel and took in a deep breath, coughing just like Rainbow Dash, which spooked Jack Sparrow enough to drop the rum bottle and catch it, looking at the bottle and putting it back on the table as Spyro was removing the lids from the other barrels, helping the ponies out of them and let them stretch their legs.
"That was the most repulsive thing I have ever done before in my life." Rarity said. "The fumes in there were so grotesque and so repulsive."
"Trust me, being buried in fish is worse." Spyro said. "Anyways, girls, I'd like you to meet our captain for this voyage, Captain Jack Sparrow."
The six ponies looked over to the half drunk pirate captain, watching him get up and stumble a bit, but stay on his feet and right himself and walk over to Spyro, clearly confused and disturbed by the talking ponies.
"Mate, I know I haven't had enough rum to dream these things up." Jack said. "So, that means, this is just a dream. And if it's just a dream, then they aren't real, savy?"
"Jack, they're real." Spyro replied, taking the bottle of rum from him.
"I was afraid you were going to say that." Jack said, taking the bottle back and downing the whole thing.
"This guy is going to help us find Scootaloo?" Rainbow Dash asked. "I'd have a better chance finding her while flying!"
"Yeah, and probably drawing unwanted attention." Spyro replied. "Besides, Jack has a compass that has the power to point to what you want most."
"Wait, really?" Twilight asked, peaking her interest. "How does it do that?"
"Don't know." Jack replied, sitting in his chair. "But the bigger question is, what are you, a bunch of talking horses with wings and horns?"
"Hey, we aren't horses!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, getting into Jacks face. "We're ponies! And I happen to be a pegasus!"
Jack fell out of his seat, getting up and running to the door to get away from the ticked off pegasus, but ran over to Spyro, getting behind him to avoid her gaze.
"A pegasus you say?" Jack asked. "What's a pegasus?"
"Basically a pony with wings, capable for flying." Spyro replied. "And the cyan one with the rainbow mane is Rainbow Dash, fastest flier of her world." He then turned to the rest of his friends, motioning Jack to look where he was facing. "And the yellow pony with the pink mane is Fluttershy, she's also a pegasus and she's great with animals."
The pale yellow pegasus hid behind her mane and then behind her friends, not use to being in the prescience of the pirate.
"Ah, a shy one." Jack said. "Don't worry little pony, you'll warm up to good old Jacky in no time."
A moment later, a monkey hoped down from the rafters of the, hanging from its tail and giving Jack a fright, scarring everyone in the room as the monkey jumped down and snatched the compass from Jacks belt, which he pulled out his pistol and shot the monkey, making it drop the compass and horrifying Fluttershy as she saw it fall to the ground, but get up and run.
"Filthy little beast." He said, putting his pistol away. "Fun to shoot though."
At that moment, Fluttershy got up in his face and kicked him in the gut, making him clutch his stomach in pain as he collapsed to the ground.
"How could you!?" She shouted. "Why did you shoot such a sweet little monkey? What did it do to you!?"
"Well... it did try to steal me compass." Jack defended."
"That's no excuse!" She shouted.
"Fluttershy, relax." Spyro said, helping Jack up. "The monkeys still alive. Look." He pointed to the uninsured monkey in the red vest, who was walking up to Fluttershy and hopped on her back, seemingly taking a liking to the yellow pegasus as she touched down on the ground. "Can't believe you still have the little troublemaker on your ship."
"Trouble maker?" Twilight asked. "He doesn't look like trouble. He's so adorable."
"You say that now, but that monkey belonged to Hector Barbossa." Jack said. "He and his crew of mutineers took me ship and took the Aztec treasure of Cortes."
The girls looked at their captain, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie looking at him, wondering who the person he was referring to was and what this treasure was, but Twilight, Applejack and Rarity immediately backed away from the monkey, remembering the story he told them about cursed pirates and correctly thinking the monkey was also cursed.
"Wait, Aztec treasure?" Applejack asked, backing away and looking at Spyro. "Does he mean..."
"That's right AJ." Spyro replied. "The 882 pieces of cursed Aztec gold." As he said that, the girls who didn't hear the story looked at Spyro, curiosity hitting them. "And if that monkey did belong to Captain Barbossa and it is not dead after being shot in the back, then that monkey took one of the pieces."
"What's bad about that treasure?" Pinkie asked.
"Because it was cursed by heathen gods to where, if one takes a piece from the stone chest itself, cursed to eternal damnation they shall be." Spyro said. "Food turns to ash in your mouth. Forever thirsty and never able to satiate that thirst. Never able to feel the warmth from your companion, forever a skeleton of your former self. And that monkey, he be cursed Fluttershy."
The yellow mare looked at the monkey on her back, seeing the sad face of the little ball of mischief, but just cooed at it and let the monkey climb onto her head, letting it jump onto Spyro's shoulder, who jumped and wanted to hit the little guy off his shoulder.
"Oh, I don't know." She said. "He seems alright to me. He just wants a friend."
"Believe me, the last thing that bag of fleas wants is a friend." Jack replied, getting away from Spyro.
But as Spyro looked at the monkey, seeing its adorable face, his heart melted as he reached his hand up and scratched the little guys throat, starting to actually enjoy having it on his shoulder.
"You know, Fluttershy might have a point." Spyro said. "It looks like he just needed someone as a friend since Barbossa died. And don't worry Jack, Fluttershy and I will make sure he doesn't get into trouble."
"Just keep it as far away from me as you can, and we won't have any issues." Jack said, rubbing his stomach.
"Anyway, moving on." Spyro said, walking over to Twilight and Rarity. "These two are known as Rarity and Twilight Sparkle. Rarity, the white one, is great with fashion and her attention to detail hold no rival, so if you need something checked or need something made, just ask her." Rarity flicked her mane and fluttered her eyes, making the pirate captain smile and tip his hat. "Twilight Sparkle is the smartest unicorn I have ever met. She knows more magical spells in her world than most scholars."
"Oh come on Spyro." She said, blushing. "You know just as many spells as I do."
"Um, pardon my lack of knowledge, but, what's a unicorn?" Jack asked.
"A unicorn is a pony that has the capacity to cast magical spells with their horns." Twilight responded. "Most unicorns use their magic based on what their talent is. Mine is the capacity to use all sorts of magic while Rarity can use hers to make clothes and locate gems."
"Oh, is that so?" Jack asked, a devious smile creeping on his face.
"Don't even think about it Jack." Spyro said. "No way am I gonna let you use a member of my herd to satisfy your need for treasure."
"Herd?" Jack asked, confused and bewildered.
"Don't ask." Spyro replied, moving to Applejack and Pinkie Pie, who was bouncing near the bed. "And these two are Applejack and Pinkie Pie, who are Earth pony's, so they can't use magic and cannot fly. Applejack is the hardest worker and has the strength of a full grown stallion, maybe two and it the most honest pony I know." Applejack blushed when he said that, tipping her hat to not be embarrassed. "And Pinkie Pie, she's the party animal of the group, and the most random, so if you don't want to loose your mind, just don't question the random antics she does."
"Too late, already lost me head." Jack replied. A second later, Pinkie's stopped bouncing and looked at her tail, seeing it twitch, she jumped under the bed, her eyes poking out from beneath the mattress and shaking. "And what is she doing under me bed?"
"Twitchy twitch!" She shouted. "Twitchy twitch, Twitchy twitch!"
As she said that, everyone but Jack ran for cover, hiding under the deck, under a table, whatever they could take cover under as they knew that meant that Pinkie's Pinkie sense was going off and had to take cover. Jack however was confused, looking around the room trying to understand what she meant and why everyone was freaking out until they heard something crash outside, Jack running out of the cabin to see what it was.
"Oy, what's going on out there!?" Jack asked.
"Sorry captain!" One of his crew shouted. "We were finishing loading some barrels of food, but dropped the whole load."
"Well, be more careful next time you gutless deck hand." He shouted, turning around. "We are gonna need that food for the journey to Tortuga!" He then walked back into his cabin and watched as everyone was coming out of their hiding spots, even the monkey came out of a draw he was hiding in and jumped back onto Spyro's shoulder. "Care to explain what that was about?"
"Oh, that's just my Pinkie Sense." Pinkie replied.
"You're what?" Jack asked.
"Sometimes will have these random things happen to her body called twitches and combos." Spyro replied. "Depending on the twitch, some times they're good, other times they're a warning. Like her twitching tail, it warns her something is going to fall. And if you see her twitchin', you better listen."
Jack didn't know how to respond to what he heard, looking at the Pinkie mare as she just hopes up and down, wondering how he got himself into this mess in the first place as to him, this was complete madness. He just decided to take his friends advice and not question the random party pony as he went outside to give orders to take off and head for Tortuga, leaving Spyro alone with the ponies, who seemed disappointed in their captain, Fluttershy out right hating him for shooting the undead monkey, and Pinkie who seemed to like the pirate captain.
"So, guess going outside is a no go?" Rainbow Dash asked, knowing what the answer would be.
"Afraid so." Spyro responded. "If the crew saw you guys out in broad daylight, walking and talking, wearing pirate outfits, then we'd have a serious problem."
"I don't like him." Fluttershy said, flying up to the monkey and letting him. "Even if this monkey is cursed, you don't harm animals, no matter what the reason is."
"I do have mix feelings about the little bugger myself, I will admit." Spyro said. "But, give it time and you'll realize that Jack Sparrow is a good man. He just doesn't know how to express himself as one."
He walked over to Jacks maps, hoping to figure out where the cursed vessel as according to the kid that ran away, they were heading to Costa Rica, but the only place he knew that might be of interest to her is the Isle De la Muerta and it was reclaimed by the sea and the chest of cursed gold moved to another location, to which she would need Jacks compass to find it and the isle. As he looked over the charts, Jack came back in with a large thing of hay, setting it on the nearby table, which was a good choice as the girls ran to the table and started eating, Fluttershy giving him a murderous glare as she walked by.
"She doesn't seem to like me all that much." Jack said.
"As I told you, she loves animals." Spyro said. "Best thing to do is to apologize it her and to Jack. Otherwise she's gonna hold that grudge for life."
jack looked at Spyro, then back to the yellow pegasus and then back to the charts, watching as he was using some of the instruments to look at Costa Rica, which jack knew what he was looking for.
"The isle is sunk mate." Jack said. "Why would ye be looking for it?"
"The kid that ran away said May was heading towards the coast of Costa Rica." Spyro replied. "So that means she will try to get the cursed Aztec gold, believing it's still there."
"Ah, well too bad for her, it ain't there no more." He said. "Now then, this Scootaloo, she's your sister?"
"I adopted her." Spyro replied, Jack looking at him funny. "Her parents dropped her off at an orphanage saying they'd return for her in a few months, but it was nearly a full year and they never came back. Now She's been foal napped and my friends and I are going to get her back. That's why we need you Jack, we need you compass to help find the ship that took her, and in return I can raise the Isle de la Muerta for you to get all the treasure off it."
Jack looked at him, standing up and going to his left, his hand on his friends shoulder and looked around the room a bit, contemplating the price for his help before taking the compass off his belt and handing it to him.
"You helped me once before to get the Pearl back and I am grateful." He said. "But, lets keep that island sunk and, if you can, just get the treasure from the depths if your whatever kind of... magic you have... can raise an island, then it can claim the treasure lost at sea. Savy?"
"Done." Spyro replied, the two shaking hands.
"Right. Now, if you excuse me... I think I better go make amends before things get awkward." Jack said, going to apologize to Fluttershy but turned around to look back at him and the monkey. "Sorry Jack."
"Hey, apologize to the monkey, not to yourself." Fluttershy snapped.
"Oh no, the monkey's name is Jack." Spyro replied, surprising the mare. "Barbossa named him after Jack as an insult."
"Oh." Fluttershy said, looking at her friends, who were just as surprised as she was.
As night was coming, Jack went outside and to the helm, relieving the helmsman of his duty so he could get some sleep and, once everyone was off deck, he smacked his foot on top of the roof of his cabin and everyone inside came out, Rainbow Dash zooming out into the open air, happy to finally be able to fly again while everyone else walked around the ship, looking at all the cannons and over the side of the ship to look at everything.
"Finally, you have no idea how much I wanted to bust through that door and fly around." Rainbow Dash said. "I was loosing my mind."
"We know." Twilight replied. "Spyro had to walk over and hug you to keep you from doing such while scratching you behind the ear."
"Yeah, well, it's not like I enjoyed it or anything." Rainbow Dash said.
"Then why was yer face red the whole time and yer leg bouncier than Pinkie after she meets somepony new?" Applejack asked, laughing as she saw her friend's face turn completely red again.
Everyone laughed at Rainbow Dash as she tried to hide her blush, trying to keep her composure, but failing miserably after her friend's comment. Spyro walked out with the compass still in his hand, turning with he arrow to see where their course was, but when the arrow stopped, it pointed in the direction they were already taking, on their way to Tortuga, which he shook the compass, thinking it was busted but the arrow remained where it was at. Fluttershy flew over with Jack the monkey on her back, flying over to Spyro and hovering over his shoulder to see where the compass was pointing to.
"So, we're already on the right path to finding Scootaloo?" She asked.
"Maybe." Spyro replied. "This compass points to what you desire most, and what I desire is finding Scootaloo. But the compass is pointing me towards Tortuga, which doesn't make sense because the kid who Jack dropped off said May was heading to Costa Rica."
"Maybe he was wrong?" Twilight said, walking up to the two of them. "Could be when he was thrown overboard, he didn't see the ships course correctly."
"Maybe, maybe not." Spyro said. "Regardless, we're heading to Tortuga anyway, so might as well just follow where the compass leads."
"That's the spirit mate." Jack Sparrow said, using a rope to keep the wheel from turning. "Just stay your course and it will lead you places." He walked up to talk with them, but Fluttershy turned her back to him, still angry with him for shooting Jack the Monkey, but then turned around when she felt jump jump off her back and over to his shoulder, where jack was uncomfortable for a moment, but accepted the monkey, just to make Fluttershy happy, which worked as she giggled a bit. "So, guess we're friends then?"
"Yes." Fluttershy replied, no longer mad at Jack.
"Good, now can someone get this hairy beast of me please?" He asked, making everyone around him laugh.
Fluttershy flew up and reached over to pick the monkey up, but the clouds over them parted, the moon light lite the whole ship up, but when it washed over the monkey, the fuzzy ball of fun Fluttershy once saw turned into an undead monkey with its bones exposed, it's clothes burnt and shredded, freezing the pegasus. Her eyes shrunk to pin needle size as she felt her blood freeze, her wings tucking in as she screamed, running for the captains cabin and slamming the door shut, everyone but Spyro and human Jack paralyzed with what they just watched. The girls backed away while Spyro just walked up and held his hand over the undead monkey, the little undead fiend taking his hand and being lifted off jacks shoulder and onto his, no longer spooked by the little guy.
"Something tells me I'll be taking care of this little guy for a while." Spyro said.
"Yeah, probably so." Rainbow Dash said, keeping her distance from the skeletal monkey.
A ways away, May was consulting her charts with the helmsmen of her ship, trying to chart a course for the skunked Isle De La Muerta, hoping to reach it to get the chest of Aztec Gold that she still believe to be there while her crew was cleaning up all the dead bodies and tossing them over the side of the ship to be eaten. One of the corrupted crew members walked up the stairs and approached the captain, stopping far enough away to be heard.
"Captain, we have a problem." He said, his voice distorted, deep, and hollow. "The attack from the Royal Navy has destroyed our food supply. Without food, the Corrupted will starve and start eating each other within three days. We repaired all the damage we could see, but other than our food problems, the only source of nutrients is grain, bread, and hay meant for the prisoner. And most of the water barrels have been destroyed as well, so we must make land somewhere and resupply."
"Disappointing." May replied. "Helmsmen, where is the closest port to dock at?"
"The closest port at the moment is Tortuga." He replied. "A pirate port where there are no laws, no royal navy, and not a care for anything."
"Can we resupply there?" She asked.
"Despite its decedent nature, yes we can resupply there." The Helmsmen replied.
"Perfect." May replied. "Set a course for Tortuga. And have one of the crew take the prisoner some food and water. She must be hungry."
With Scootaloo, she was yanking and pulling at the chain after her collar was put back on, trying to get it off, even trying to jump up and kick the hook that the chain was connected to, but it was no use as the hook was too high up and her wings couldn't lift her. She heard the cell door being unlocked as one of the corrupted crew members walked in carrying a tray of food with a large container of water, shambling over to the filly as she backed away, trying put distance between her and the creature, but she it got into the light, she recognized it as Jones, though his face was rocky and covered in red moss, it was him. He set the tray down and walked over to the nearby seat, sitting down to make sure she ate her dinner.
"Eat." He said, his voice dark and harsh.
The filly inched to the tray of food, pulling it to her and took a few bites of her food, taking a few peeks at her rescuer, corrupted and miserable as he looked to the ground and then to the filly, making sure she ate.
"My brother will come for me." Scootaloo said. "He'll find me."
"He abandoned you, like mine did." He replied. "They left me to a fate worse than death."
"They were scared, as am I." Scootaloo replied. "He'll sense my fear and come find me. He promised he would look after me, no matter what."
The corrupted sailor got up and went to the nearby port hole, filled in with glass to keep the water out and looked out to the night sky, seeing all the stars and the waves as they crashed into each other, anger in his heart.
"James died running." Jones said. "Jacks was shot overboard, both are dead. Do I care?" He then turned to the filly, the red glowing eyes burning bright with rage. "No, I don't. They deserve their fate."
"But he was only shot overboard, you said that." She replied. "He might still be out there, trying to find a way to help you.'
"If he did find away, why would I take it?" Jones asked, getting closer to the filly. "They abandoned me. Left me to die. They are not my family!"
"No, you blame them for abandoning you, but you chose to stay behind." Scootaloo said, not afraid to confront him. "My brother told me the heart will always leaved somepony to do the right thing, even if it's a long chance. The heart will always know what it wants and what it wants to do, you just need to listen. You listened to yours when you stayed behind to free me, even though you knew you'd be killed or corrupted. That means your heart is kind and pure, a light that will never be lost."
Jones was getting angry, getting ready to lunge at the filly to keep quiet and not to challenge him when the guard on duty called him over, motioning for him to approach and to speak with him outside of the fillies cell. Jones walked to the door, going out of the room and leaving the filly alone, her heart racing as she believed she was going to die right there and then, not feeling very hungry, but kept eating to keep up her strength. Out of the cell, Jones approached the guard, not caring what he had to say as he shambled closer and closer until he had finally reached the station, watching as he took off the keys and hung them onto the hook and went to the stairs, turning to address him.
"The captain has released me of duties for the night." He said. "She has ordered that you guard the prisoner until we reach Tortuga in the next few hours to resupply. Guard her until the relief arrives."
"Aye sir." Jones replied.
The guard walked up the steps to get some rest while Jones went over to the station sitting down while he waited for the relief, but what remained of his mind wandered to the filly, still not believing the fillies words and just put it off as her trying to hang onto hope in her darkest time. As he sat, however, her words intruded in his mind, still playing in his mind, wondering if the fillies brother would come for her and what she said about himself, that his heart chose to stay behind to free her, playing it over and over again, feeling something inside reawaken. A while later, two new guards came by and walked over to the cells and took the keys from the hook and nodding to the young Jones, telling him he may go now, so he got up and went back to Scootaloo's cell, seeing that she has finished her food and picked up the tray, the filly watching him.
"You're right." He said, surprising her. "I did stay behind to save you because it was the right thing. But you're wrong about my brother. He can't help me, even if he is alive." He got up from the ground, shambling towards the door, but before he left, he turned his head, starring at the filly. "Sometimes you need to understand, you can't depend on others. Not even your family to save the day. In the end, they will disappoint you."
With those words, he left the room, the door closing behind him and locked, leaving the filly alone in her cell, curled up in the corner, shivering from the cold as she tried to keep warm. She knew he was wrong and Spyro was coming to save him, she felt it as he made her a promise, but wondered if what he said was true and he might not come for her, but didn't believe it, shaking her head and started to think of a way to get out. She closed her eyes, hoping to come up with a way to escape when something bright hit her eyes, opening them and being hit with bright light, covering her eyes to at least see what it was, finding a white butterfly flying through her room, watching it as it flew to the ground, landing just in front of her, wings going up and down slowly to get her attention, which it worked as she slowly approached.
"Spyro?" She asked hopeful that it was her brother.
"No." A female voice replied.
"What?" She asked, her hopes dashed. "If you aren't him, then who are you?"
"Hope." She replied. "Hope survives in the darkness. When rekindled, darkness shall fade, fear dispersed, anger expelled. Hope awaits for you, Scootaloo."
"You know my name?" She asked, her heart racing with joy. "How? Do you know Spyro? Is he here? Where is he!?"
The butterfly didn't answer as she flapped her wings again, slowly but bright enough to cause discomfort, make her cover her eyes from the bright light as she looked at the insect, but when she could see again, she saw something that made her heart dance for joy, a key where her tray used to to be.
"Tortuga." The butterfly replied, fading as she spoke. "Look for a ship with black sails... he is there... Tortuga."
The filly was left speechless, her brother had come to find her, possibly sending her a sign that he hasn't given up on her. She took the key and went back to her corner, her back to the door and she struggled with the key, trying to figure out how it worked so that when she reached Tortuga, she could escape.