Pirates of the Alicorn: Legend of the Silver Spirit

Though the everyone on board the Golden Alicorn was sailing across the sea, Fedora on the other hand was traveling somewhere by air, it had been several hours and her wings were starting to give out, she may have been used to traveling longs distances due to her previous job as a reporter but  never this far, and certainly never across the ocean .

“Why?” she kept muttering to herself. “Why me? Ever since that stupid Changeling came into the picture, me and my poor Heatwave have been getting into nothing but trouble, sure we’re both wanted criminals but that chrysalis  is just making Heatwave even hotter under the collar. Huh?”

It was then she spotted it, a ship emerging out of the fog, a large forty gun ship with jet black sails with a jolly roger painted across them in luminous paint. Suddenly, Fedora felt a twitch in her wing, she had been flying for too long, and she was losing altitude fast, finally she came plummeting down, and before she knew it all went black. When Fedora finally managed to regain consciousness, she was met with nothing but blurred colours.

“Oh no,” she said, now scurrying across the ground trying to search for her glasses. “Not again, I really need to consider using contacts.”

Suddenly, her eyes widened in shock when she felt something else, another hoof.

“Well, looky here boys,” Said an unsettling voice. “It would seem that we have a visitor.”

“And a pretty one too.” Said another.

She may not have been able to see very well due to her bad vision, but she could easily tell that she was surround by a least half a dozen stallions judging from their voices.

“I call first dibs!” One of them

At first, Fedora cringed in fear, she couldn’t tell what was happening but she didn’t like it, suddenly another voice interrupted the others, a mare this time.

“Hey knock it off you animals!” she said. “Honestly sometimes you all make me sick to my stomach with such perverted ideas.”

“Oh lay off Sea Rose, it was only a bit of fun.” said one of the stallions.

“Perhaps, but don’t you think the Captain would have a better idea with what to do with our guest, here go sweetie.”

Suddenly, Fedora felt the mare thrust something in her hoof, upon its touch Fedora was relieved to find that it was her glasses. Now with her vision back, Fedora could see the large assortment of ponies, they may have been of every type but the one thing they had in common was that they were all stallions, save for one mare, she was a lime green Pegasus with a bubble-gum pink mane and was wearing a brown vest and a large hoop earring in her left ear, this had to be Sea Rose. Finally Fedora plucked up her courage and spoke.

“Um… excuse me,” she said. “But is… is the “Broken Unicorn?”

At those words, a few curious eyes all gazed at her.

“What’s it to you missy?” Sea Rose asked.

“I… I have a message for your Captain, f…from Queen Chrysalis”

Upon hearing Chrysalis’s name, many of the stallions obtained looks of fear and started muttering amongst themselves; Sea Rose however kept her composure and spoke to Fedora.

“Come with me.” She said.

Sea Rose then led Fedora to the upper deck and knocked on the door to the Captain’s Quarters.

“Captain Brokenhorn,” she said “There’s somepony here to see you.”

“Bring them in,” a rough voice said from the other side of the door.

Sea Rose then led Fedora inside, it was a dark and gloomy chamber with several shelves surrounding a four-poster bed with red curtains, on each of these shelves was what Fedora would have assumed was a personal souvenir from the many plunders this ship has performed, griffin skulls, gold and silver ornaments etc.  But what scared Fedora most of all was the Captain sitting at his black, wooden desk on the other side of the room, he was a navy blue Unicorn who had brown mane with a red strip, a torn up left ear, a scar across his left eye hat reached down to his small moustache and beard, and he was wearing a dirty brown hat topped with a red feather. However what intrigued Fedora most of all was the fact that his horn seemed to be broken I half, one could easily guess that this was why he was called Captain Brokenhorn.

“Who are you?” he said with a stern tone.

“M…my name is Fedora Green sir,” Fedora answered nervously. “And I bring you a message from Queen Chrysalis.”

At those words, Brokenhorn’s eyes widened in shock and he slammed his hooves against his desk, causing Fedora to jump back.

“Chrysalis!?!” He shouted “Good grief, you ask one favour of a Changeling Queen and you end up paying for it for the rest of your life, alright, what does that hag want from me this time?”

Fedora might have been scared out of her mind, she knew that Brokenhorn is one of the most feared pirates in the world and with a bounty of 95,000 bits to top it all, but she had a job to do and so she told Brokenhorn what she needed to say. After passing on the message from Chrysalis, Captain Brokenhorn listened intently to the details about the situation; suddenly an evil smile appeared across his face.

“So, Chrysalis is search from the Silver Spirit is she?” he said with a smirk. “And she wants me and my crew to sail across the sea to hunt down the competition.”

“Yes,” Fedora said. “And she wants you to meet her at the coordinates I mentioned with both maps and whatever keys those pirates have.”

“Will she requiring any prisoners?” Brokenhorn asked with a smirk. “Or will I be able to let my crew have some fun?”

Fedora didn’t want to answer this, but then again what choice did she have at this point?

“She… she doesn’t care happens to the pirates as long as she gets what she wants.” She said.

“HA! Excellent!” Brokenhorn said with an ecstatic tone. “We haven’t had a good raid in months, and a little slaughter of some helpless ponies might cheer my crew up a bit. So who are the unlucky saps that we’re going to sink?”

“It’s the um… crew of the Golden Alicorn.”

Fedora would have expected Brokenhorn to laugh upon hearing the names of the poor ponies to taste his wrath but instead she witnessed him widening his eyes in fear and spitting out the bottle of rum he was drinking.

“The what!?!” she said choking on his drink. “Is that hag crazy!?! The Golden Alicorn is the one ship that the rest of us pirates stay clear of, that ship is home to one of the strongest crews to ever sail the seas. Don’t think I haven’t heard the stories surrounding that ship, in the past year alone that crew has destroyed the “Black Death” and its crew, found the lost Element of Harmony and that’s just on top of the dozens of ships that they have sent to the bottom of the ocean! Forget it, we’re not doing it! There is no possible way I am sending any of my crew up against them!”

Fedora couldn’t believe it, Brokenhorn, Captain of one of the most feared pirate ships on the entire ocean, was scared. Fedora may not have been sure whether this fear was justified but none the less she had a job to do, luckily Chrysalis managed to tell her a few details about Brokenhorn which she instantly put to her advantage.

“Well that’s too bad,” she said in a more casual tone of voice. “I guess Chrysalis will have to find another way you can pay off your debt to her, perhaps a certain crewmember of yours.”

At those words, Brokenhorn began to fill with rage, in a matter of seconds he jumped up over his desk and pinned Fedora to the floor by her neck.

“Don’t you dare say such things girl!” he growled. “Just remember where you are right now. Alright, we’ll do it but you tell Chrysalis that once we get what she wants then our arrangement is finished, I want nothing more to do with her once all this is over.”

Brokenhorn then released her and stepped back, allowing her to stand up.

“Oh I’m sure you can tell her yourself, if you get those maps to her before she gets too impatient.” She said rubbing her throat. “Oh by the way do you mind if I stick around to make sure you get the job done, it’s just that Chrysalis doesn’t want anything to go wrong.”

Fedora didn’t know why she was being so cocky all of a sudden, but whatever the case she knew she was in for a real headache with these pirates.

Meanwhile on the other side of the sea, the Golden Alicorn had reached the east coast of Prance, while most of the crew were on deck doing their duties, Shimmer Jack, Twilight, Luna and Rocky were in the Navigation Room looking over the map.

“Are your sure about this Rocky?” Jack asked

“Oh yes, yes, Captain Shimmer.” Rocky said with his usual goofy grin. “We simply travel up this river for about three miles and we enter the next port. After that we look through the town until we reach our destination.”

“So it’s just like the river you used to get so close to Canterlot the last time you were in Equestria.” Twilight pointed out.

“Exactly.” Jack said with a smile. “But unlike the Equestrian river, the we have to travel up now  is far more narrow so the Alicorn won’t fit through.”

“So what exactly is our plan of action?” Luna asked.

“Well, since the canal we need to go up is too narrow for the Alicorn to travel through, then we need to just take a smaller boat and travel with a small group of crewmembers so that we don’t look suspicious.” Shimmer explained.

“Let’s not forget that while we’re welcome in Equestria we Pirates are still wanted everywhere else.” Jack added.

“So what do we do?” Twilight asked. “Use one of the longboats?”

At those words, a smile spread across Jack and Shimmer’s face.

“Not exactly,” Jack said with a smirk. “I think we should use something a little faster. Don’t you agree Shimmer?”

“Absolutely father,” Shimmer said, returning the smirk. “Rocky, tell T-Cog to get his newest project ready.”

“Aye Captain Shimmer,” Rocky said with a salute, before running out the door.

“We’ll need supplies,” Jack pointed out. “It may take a while to find that key, oh and we’ll need disguises as well so that no pony recognises us from our wanted posters.”

“I’ll let Rarity know about it,” Twilight said. “She’ll be able to whip up something quickly.”

And with that, she rushed out the door herself.

“And here I thought it was a BAD idea for Rarity to take all those suitcases.” Shimmer chuckled.

“So what will it be princess?” Jack asked Luna. “Will you be joining the shore party or staying on board?”

“As I have told my sister Jack Silver,” Luna answered. “Heatwave has insulted my honour and as Princess of the night I intend to make sure that he does not succeed in his mission. So I SHALL be joining the shore party.”

Hearing this, another smile appeared across Jack Silver’s face.

“That’s what I love to hear,” he said. “I love a Mare with a bit of determination.”

At those words Luna couldn’t help but blush.

“Then we’ll need a disguise for you too,” Shimmer pointed out. “If those locals see and Alicorn they’ll start swarming us.”

“To see one in these parts is like seeing a comet that appears once every three generations.” Jack Added. “And we’ll have to do something with your mane as well, if an ordinary Alicorn makes the locals go crazy then imagine what they will do when the princess of the Night land on their shores”

“That does seem to be a problem,” Luna said touching her chin thought. “But…”

Suddenly a smile appeared on Luna’s face and a blinding light appeared across her body, when it finally faded, Luna’s appearance was quite different, her coat was now a lighter shade of blue and her mane and tail were no longer translucent but instead looked like a regular mane, which was a lighter blue in colour. In perspective, she looked like she first did when the Mane Six first met her after the whole Nightmare Moon incident.

“I should be able to blend in more easily with this form I presume.” She said with a smile. “Of course I will need something to hide my wings.”

At those words another smile appeared across Jack’s face.

“Oh I’m sure we’ll come up with something.” He said.

Before long a small shore party began gathering out on deck, consisting of the Mane Six, Princess Luna, and a small group of pirates, along with the two civilians Slash let on board in exchange for a few gems. All the preparations were made, while Rummy provided the necessary food rations for everyone, gladly assisted by Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy of course, every pony was dressed for the occasion thanks to Rarity’s efforts. Each and every one of them was dressed in either a simple yet, stylish dress or a smart looking suit, both of which suited for the culture of Prance. Even Gem and T-cog were prepared with Gem wearing a light blond wig to hide her mane and T-Cog using a change of prosthetic limbs that looked more like real hooves. At first glance you wouldn’t even guess that most of these ponies were pirates, especially since rarity made sure they all combed and tied their manes, even the Alicorns looked like regular unicorns due to the dresses hiding their wings and Dripfang easily looked like a real pony due to his abilities. The only one who wasn’t dressed up was Slash, who at this point was reluctantly swabbing the deck with a filthy looking mop, with Marina keeping a very close eye on him.

“Oh come on, why can’t I come along?” he moaned.

“Because you’re still being punished for that little stunt you pulled,” Shimmer said sternly, though seeming less threatening due to the frilly dress she was wearing.  “Once again I apologise for the misunderstanding girls.

“For the last time don’t worry about it, we weren't expecting a pleasure cruise.” Octavia said rolling her eyes, clearly this apology has been going on for a while.

“Yeah, the cabins aren't anywhere big enough for that.” Vinyl added.

“Well either way I hope you will accept our deepest apologies,” Shimmer continued. “And rest assured Slash will be punished severely for what he put you through.”

“I said I was sorry,” Slash pointed out. “Plus it’s not like I wanted them to come aboard in the first place.”

“And yet you let them on knowing that they would have to be put to work despite them not knowing a thing about sailing,” Shimmer argued. “And to top it all you ate all the gems that they gave you.”

“Uh just to point out Shimmer, none of us knew a thing about sailing and we turned out fine.” Applejack stated.

“Yeah don’t you think your being a little hard on the guy?” Rainbow Dash added. “I mean, he was been Swabbing the deck all by himself for two days straight, don’t you think he’s had enough?”

Shimmer then pondered for a moment, was she being too hard on Slash? She may have been Captain now but Slash has been like a little brother to her since her father hatched his egg.

“I’ll tell you what Slash, you can stop swabbing the deck…” Shimmer began.

“I can!?!” Slash said, interrupting her.

“But you will still have to wait on the ship until we get back.” Shimmer finished.

“Aww!” Slashed moaned.

“Marina, I know you want to come along too but a Kelpie will be too much for the ponies of Prance to handle,” Shimmer explained. “But can you keep an eye on Slash and make sure he doesn’t sneak off.”

“You have my word Shimmer,” Marina said, giving a salute.

“Oh great,” Slash mumbled to himself. “Here I am on one of the greatest treasure hunts ever and I’m stuck here being babysat by a Kelpie.”

“Alright every pony let’s move out!” Shimmer called out.

Hearing this, all members of the shore party followed Shimmer below deck to the deepest regions of the ship, when they reached the lowest deck they found a large empty space with a dip in the floor that had a large contraption covered in a dirty sheet right at its centre. T-cog then pulled off one of his prosthetic limbs to reveal his hook and inserted it into one of his makeshift keyholes on the wall, upon doing that, a gush of water began flowing from the side of the ship and filling the dip in the floor.

“Ahh!!! We’re sinking!” Rarity squealed.

“Whoa, relax there lass, all this water is deliberate.” T-Cog quickly explained, trying to calm everyone down. “About a month after we dropped you lot off back to Equestria I was given permission to turn this whole area into a dock system.”

“This part of the ship remained empty for so long, it was a shame to let it go to waste.” Jack added.

“After docking in Trottuga, I began converting this whole area into a base for my latest project,” T-Cog continued, placing back his prosthetic limb. “Making sure to keep above the water line of course.

“And what project would that be?” Twilight asked.

At those words, T-Cog’s smile became so wide every pony could see his golden tooth.

“Fillies and Gentlecolts, allow me to introduce you to…”

T-Cog then walked over to the contraption and pulled off the dirty sheet.

“…the Mini-Ally!!!”

Though amazed at what they were seeing, all couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at T-Cog’s announcement.

“Okay, so the name needs a little work, but this little beauty has been built to withstand anything from magic to cannonballs,” he explained. “And as you can see by the built in machinery, there is no need for oars, all it takes is a few kicks from the built in peddles driven by our own Big Rummy here and she’ll be moving even faster than the Alicorn herself.”

It was indeed incredible, from first glance one would think that this small boat was a miniature version of the Golden Alicorn, however instead of sails it looked like it only moved due to the power of the motor T-Cog built at its rear. It may have been small, but it looked spacious enough to hold at least thirty ponies. When everyone was aboard, and the water was at the right level, T-cog nodded his head in approval and Jack used his magic to open the side panel in the Golden Alicorn, allowing the Mini-Ally to be paddled outside by Big Rummy. This was it, as they all made their way up the canal towards the centre of Prance, the first step of the adventure had begun.