As Spike was steering his ship towards Flotsam skies, he watched as Rainbow Dash talked with Morgan Laffite, doing just as he had asked of her, gaining her trust.

As Rainbow Dash made conversation, she asked Morgan, "So, why exactly have you been seducing the captain?" This was a more personal question, since it really irritated her that this slut of a pirate kept making passes at the prince. Although Spike was old enough to have sex and make his own decisions, she didn't want him getting hurt in case this woman was trying to seduce him and sneak off with the treasure.

Morgan raised an eyebrow with a smirk, "Jealous, are we? Well, if you must know, I simply have a thing for younger men. Honestly, Avery was a good boss when I was training Swashbucklers to fight with finesse and grace, but I've been wanting to leave Skull Island for a long time."

Rainbow Dash growled lowly, but restrained herself from punching Morgan in the face and forced a smile, "Well, I will say the captain is quite the gentleman when he wants to be, but he doesn't seem to appreciate your advances."

Morgan giggled, "Yes, I know, but what can I say? I'm a tease. That doesn't mean I don't care about his safety. I'll be brutally honest, Captain Avery asked me to join his crew to pay back a debt he owes to the Moon Lily."

Rainbow Dash was shocked when she heard Morgan mention Princess Luna's pirate identity. She'd heard that Luna had run away to become a pirate, but she thought it was just gossip and slander. She now had an idea in her head that Luna might have given Spike the idea to run off. But Morgan seemed to be telling the truth, she wasn't trying to scam Spike out of the treasure, she was just a slutty flirt who was trying to get Spike in bed with her. That didn't make her like Morgan any more though.

As Adagio was keeping watch up in the crow's nest, she saw a ship coming towards them and said, "Cap'n! There's a Cutthroat ship heading our way, approximately ten clicks of the port stern!"

Spike growled, more of those annoying Cutthroats. If he wanted to send Finn a message, maybe making a necklace out of shark teeth would be a good message. He yelled to his crew, "Battle stations everyone! We're taking that ship down!"

As the crew ran to their assigned stations, Time Turner climbed to the crow's nest as Adagio made her way down. The crow's nest was the best place for him to snipe at the incoming ship. He looked through his scope and could see a strange looking shark that wasn't Finn, but it wasn't one of the normal Cutthroats either. "Cap'n! One of the sharks on that ship isn't a Cutthroat! I think he's from the Hammerhead Clan!"

Spike had heard about the Hammerhead Clan, they were honorable warriors, nothing like the Cutthroats. He looked through his telescope that Luna had given him and said, "What would a Hammerhead be doing on a Cutthroat ship?"

As the ship came into firing range, Spike yelled, "Fire!" before the cannons went off. The mast of the ship had been shattered by one of the cannonballs, but it still kept coming, albeit slower than if the mast was intact. As it came in to range, Spike yelled, "Bonnie Anne, you're on the wheel! Doctor, stay alert and snipe anyone if you think you should! And Bulk Biceps, keep the cannons loaded and wait for my signal! Adagio, Morgan, Jewel, you're with me!"

As Bonnie Anne ran up to the steering wheel and took control, Spike ran down and threw a grappling hook on to the Cutthroat ship's rigging, before jumping over.

As Adagio, Morgan, and Rainbow Dash followed Spike's actions, a Hammerhead shark came down from the nose of the ship and said, "I believe you are the one I'm hunting for."

Spike growled, "Hunting me? Damn, the girls must have put a bounty on me. Well, I'm not going back to Equestria without a fight! You have no idea what that life is like! I wouldn't wish the frivolous and boring life of a royal on my worst enemy!"

The hammerhead raised an eyebrow, "Royal, you? Finn said nothing about the target being a royal. That makes you even more valuable as a hostage then what Finn could possibly have paid me," he gleefully said.

Spike growled even more, "Finn, eh? So, Finn sent you... well, that makes this personal!" before dashing at the Hammerhead with his sword ready. When the hammerhead parried with his own sword, Spike smirked, "Finn hasn't been keeping tabs on me if he thinks I don't have more tricks up my sleeves." before shooting out his blade hand, which he'd had equipped with a spring-loaded launch mechanism, digging it deep into the hammerhead's shoulder, causing him to stumble back in pain.

As his blade returned to his arm, Spike kicked the off-balance hammerhead to the ground before pressing the tip of his sword to where his heart lay, putting enough pressure that anymore would pierce his body. "So, Finn really is nothing but a coward. But dead man tells no tales, so I'm forced to let you live. Just let Finn Dorsal know that if he wants me, that he should fight me like a man, instead of cowering behind his lackeys."

The hammerhead groaned in pain as Spike kept his blade against his chest, and grunted the words, "Fine, fine! I was just trying to make ends meet! I have to put meat on the table you know!"

Spike growled but pulled back the blade off of the hammerhead's chest, but not before punching his two front teeth out and picking them up and saying, "That smile will serve as a warning to Finn." before walking back to his ship looking up at Time Turner, who was looking down in his scope, targeting anyone who would be stupid enough to go after Spike.

Rainbow Dash was shocked at how brutal the prince had just been. Losing Zecora must have meant more to him than she realized. She headed back to their ship along with Adagio and Morgan, wondering if the prince was really the same boy she knew.

Spike sighed as they got away from the ship and was relieved, they got the message and went the other way. "Bonnie, steer us towards the closest port. I need to rest after that."

Bonnie nodded, "Aye, aye, captain."

As Spike returned to his quarters, Rainbow Dash looked at her pocket which held the orb she used to communicate with Twilight. She walked down to the lower decks while the rest of the crew was getting calmed down from the incident with the sharks. She contacted Twilight and said, "Twilight, we're about to dock at the Ruined Lighthouse and head to sleep. But I should warn you, Spike's become much more brutal towards his enemies. He nearly killed one of our attackers, only to let him live to relay a message to Finn Dorsal, that shark Spike was fighting back on Skull Island.

Twilight nodded, "Consider me warned. The prince seems very determined to stay with this life... I'm beginning to consider keeping you on his ship more as a guard than as a spy, but I'll need approval from the Queen before that becomes the plan. Just keep to your assignment for now. Is there anything else you'd like to report?"

Rainbow Dash nodded, "One of his crewmates, a raccoon named Morgan Laffite mentioned the Moon Lily, Princess Luna's alleged pirate name. I have a feeling Spike may have been encouraged by his aunt to flee and become a pirate like she did at his age."

Twilight sighed, "I never believed those rumors that Luna was a pirate in her youth, but I suppose I'll have to relay to the Queen just in case they're true. For now, the HMS Pinafore will operate out of the prince's locations. If we head straight to the Ruined Lighthouse, he may become suspicious of you, so we'll keep away for a while and wait for the opportunity to take the prince back. Get a good night's sleep."

Rainbow Dash saluted and said, "Aye captain." before placing the orb in her pocket and thinking to herself, "What compelled me to tell her we made port by the Ruined Lighthouse when we're on our way to Jonah Town for the night? Spike... he really loves this life of adventure... Is it my place to take him back to the life of a royal? Maybe he's right, I've never seen him this happy before, never as a royal... Twilight's always told me to follow my heart, and my heart feels as though it belongs with the prince, at his side, not as a spy, or as a duty-bound warrior, but as his crewmate..."

Next Chapter: Secrets Uncovered Estimated time remaining: 4 Hours, 22 Minutes