Spike and his crew were still at the Kraken Skulls tavern drinking. Spike had gone outside for some fresh air, and to get away from the smell of passed out drunks. He looked at the emerald necklace his aunt gave him and rubbed the emerald. "Aunt Luna? Can you hear me?"

Meanwhile back in Canterlot, Luna was reading a book in her room when she saw her emerald necklace glow. She picked it up after she locked her bedroom door. "I'm here Spike, is something wrong?"

Spike explained, "There was a bit of an accident that cost me my left hand. I had to get it replaced with a blade."

Luna's eyes widened when she heard him say that "Faust damn it Spike! What happened!?"

Spike recoiled from his aunt's yell and said, "I was taking out a slingshot the Troggies were using to fling powder kegs back at the town, and I lit a powder keg using a trail of powder. The powder trail was too short, and I lost my hand in the explosion."

Luna took a pillow from her bed and put her face into it before screaming her lungs out. "Ok, now that that's out of the way, we need to talk. The HMS Pinafore has made port in Skull Island. Considering they don't know what's happened to you, and they wouldn't expect the prince to lose his own hand, they may not go on your trail. But one last thing. If you get in a situation like this again, I will come out to Skull Island and drag your ass back here myself. Twilight and her crew are good naval officers, but they don't know how to think like a pirate, I do. I'll be able to find you a lot easier than Twilight's crew. This is a warning, and it will be your last warning. Before I go, your mother has been grieving. She's blaming herself for you running away. I know I said you need to find out who you are, but if you love your mother the way I hope you do, you'll come back instead of me or the HMS Pinafore dragging you home."

Spike sighed, "I'm sorry Aunt Luna. I should have been more careful. And you know I love my mother. But... I don't know how she'll react to my injury. She's bound to be mad at me, and my injury will only make it worse. I'll talk about it later." Spike went back into the tavern and sat at the bar for a drink. He turned around when he heard some commotion as the door opened. His eyes widened as he saw six young women walk in. It was the crew of the HMS Pinafore.

A pirate with a scar over his eye said, "Holy shit... is that the HMS Pinafore's crew?"

Adagio drank some of her drink before saying, "What're they doing out this far from Equestria?"

Time Turner tipped his hat as to avoid eye contact with the officers, "Perhaps somebody angered the Royal family. Whoever they're looking for must have really pissed them off to send the HMS Pinafore."

One of the girls stood in the center of the tavern and asked aloud, "Greetings pirates. My name is Captain Twilight Sparkle, of the HMS Pinafore from Equestria. May I trouble any of you for a bit of your time?"

Spike's voice was deeper when he had his helmet on, so he answered, "What would a naval officer from such a high and mighty realm want with some lowly pirates like us?"

Twilight grumbled lightly, "We're looking for the Prince of Equestria, Spike. He fled here and his mother has asked us to bring him home safe and sound. Have you seen anyone who looks out of the ordinary lately?"

Spike chuckled, "Depends"

The rainbow haired girl growled, "On what?"

"How much you're willing to pay. I'm a pirate, not a charity. You want information, I'd like a bit of gold for me to finish repairs on me ship."

Before the rainbow haired girl could reply, Twilight stopped her, "That's enough Rainbow Dash. It's no surprise that a petty pirate would want to be paid for information. The drek that infests these skyways are only concerned with profit. Very well, name your price."

Spike was laughing internally, dumbfounded how the HMS Pinafore's crew would be gullible enough to pay him for false information, "50,000 gold pieces."

"I'll give you 20,000" Twilight said calmly, but with a stern glare on her face.

"You're in no position to negotiate. I have the information you want, and I'm not giving it up for anything less that 50K."

Twilight sighed, "Very well, on one condition. Information first, payment next. Not to be rude, but I couldn't trust a blackguard like you as far as I can throw you."

Spike chuckled, "I suppose that's fair enough. A few hours ago, a kid with green hair came into the Tavern. He asked me if I could offer him passage to Jonah Town. I told him my ship was being repaired, so he left. If he's not anywhere on the island, he must have found a captain willing to get him to Jonah Town."

The girl with yellow hair in a braid said, "Isn't Jonah Town where the Frogfather lives? We'd best search the island quickly to confirm that the prince has left, then make our way to Jonah Town if he isn't here."

Twilight nodded, "Right you are Applejack, but first, we hold up our end of the bargain. Rarity, if you would?"

The fourth girl, who had beautiful curled purple hair stepped forward and started to hand Spike a sack of gold, "50,000 gold pieces, as promised. Be grateful that we Equestrians keep our word, unlike your ruffian pirates." But before she handed over the gold, she stopped to look into the spot where she knew his eyes would be underneath that helmet and warned him, "A fair warning pirate, if we find out you've sent us on a wild goose chase, we will come back here, and take back more than our gold."

On the inside, Spike was sweating bullets, he knew how fierce the girls could be. However, he kept a calm demeanor and said, "I can't guarantee you'll find who you're looking for, but If you try to pick a fight with me, I'll be damn sure to go down swinging." before taking the gold from Rarity and going back to his drink as the crew left.

Before they left, Rarity said "For your sake, you better hope it doesn't come to that. Until then, have fun with the gold darling."

The girls headed back to their ship, and the one with pastel pink hair asked, "Captain, didn't something about that pirate strike you as odd?"

Twilight looked at her, "What do you mean Fluttershy?"

"The way he was dressed, it's a rather fancy suit for a pirate, don't you think?"

Rainbow Dash nodded, "Yeah, I mean, it looked like he had rose petals on his sleeves. What kind of pirate wears that sort of stuff unless they're really successful and can afford the finer things?"

Rarity sighed, "Well, as much as I hate to say it, the ruffian does have good taste in fashion. If he wasn't a pirate, he might make a nice suitor, in that outfit he could easily pass for a gentleman. Although I doubt it."

It seems that young Captain Spike has eluded the famous crew of the HMS Pinafore. He was able to throw them off his trail, but how long will he be able to keep that up?

Next Chapter: An Explanation (Retconned) Estimated time remaining: 4 Hours, 59 Minutes