Pirates of Equestria

8: Arrival

Shining Armor examines the port town he and Braeburn are now entering. It is rather unsightly and run down but it is part of the only lead he had on Sky Runner’s whereabouts. He had been searching for four weeks straight without a single lead or sign of Sky and he is becoming discouraged. The current lead is that there is increased pirate activity in the local waters, which started when a prison ship belonging the Royal Coast Guard went missing, and a new pirate captain who matches Sky’s description. Shining holds onto hope that this new captain is only similar to Sky and not Sky himself. What reason could Sky have for engaging in piracy?

Shining and Braeburn wander through the run down town talking to resident after resident for any information about Sky. Unfortunately, no pony has seen the pegasus. Shining begins to become more depressed until he is directed to the local tavern.

“Any pony that comes through here goes there,” the local says. “That would be the best place to go.”

Shining thanks the local and heads off. Once at the tavern he reminds Braeburn to stick close before entering. Inside, the place is packed with ponies eating and drinking to their hearts content. A few stumble around drunk while several sing lively tunes, some way off key. Several others simply eat and enjoy the company of their fellows. Shining heads to the bar to talk with the owner, a white unicorn with a brown mane and mustache.

“I am looking for a pony, a pegasus to be more precise,” Shining says and hands the owner a picture of Sky. “He may have come here and I was wondering if you’ve seen him?”

The owner looks over the picture then at the prince. “I remember him. He came here about four weeks ago. I do make it a point to remember all the customers I’ve had. He came in half-starved and dying of thirst. He had no money so I gave him a meal on the house seeing as I can’t have any pony die of hunger and thirst on my watch.”

Relief takes hold of the prince before depression reenters. He now has a lead to Sky, except that it is four weeks old. It is highly likely that Sky is long gone leaving the trail as cold as before. He starts to leave when the owner continues.

“He ended up in a fight with a few of the patrons. Not really his fault, they attacked him. He beat them down without even breaking a sweat. ‘Course that started an all-out brawl. He vanished during the whole thing and I haven’t seen him since.”

“Thanks for your help,” Shining says as he a Braeburn leave.

The prince and settler pony wander through the town heading towards the docks as Shining contemplates the information he has. Sky does have a rather hot head and does get rather excited about fighting so the bar fight scene is not that farfetched. There is no question now that he came through town. As for the new pirate, the description is vague enough that Sky can be ruled out as being him, though not entirely. More than that, Sky is far too noble and loyal to the crown to turn to piracy as a means of escape, despite what he has done or has been accused of doing.

Shining thinks even more as he nears the docks. Was Sky really capable of becoming a pirate? The prince had only known Sky since their time in the Royal Guard, but they built a rather strong bond during that time. They had been comrades, even brothers. Shining shook his head to dispel the negative thoughts. There was no way that Sky would become a pirate, let alone attempt an assassination on Princess Celestia. Right?

As the prince mulls over everything, Braeburn takes a look around at the docks. The settler pony had never seen ships before, much less any as large and magnificent as the ones here. Ponies load and unload cargo and passengers from each ship as others scurry around the market-like stalls that dot the harbor. After a bit, one pony in particular catches his eye.

“Uh, Mister Prince Shinin’ Armor, Sir?”

“What is it?” the prince asks, slightly annoyed that his thought process is being impeded.

“What was that new pirate pony suppose ta look like?”

“A red or orange pegasus wearing a black coat and hat,” Shining answers as he looks up in curiosity. “Why do you ask?”

“I think I see him down there.”

Braeburn points down towards one of the ships. Shining sees several rough looking ponies loading cargo onto a ship as a pegasus in a black coat barks out orders. Shining moves in for a closer look trying to hurry before the crew finishes loading their cargo. The pony in the coat looks his way giving the prince a clearer look at his dull orange face. The distance makes a positive identification near impossible but it is enough to make the prince stumble a bit. Even at this distance it is strikingly similar to Sky.

Shining hurries faster as the pony follows the last load of cargo onto the ship. The ship itself bears a striking resemblance to the lost prison ship, if not an identical match. Shining continues to tell himself that he is imagining things as he gallops faster. The crowded market area slows him down forcing him to go around and barge through ponies. When he finally reaches the pier, the ship is already sailing off. He watches the ship as it sets off to sea taking with it his first chance in weeks to discover the truth.

“There’s no positive proof yet,” the prince says to himself. “That may not have been Sky. There was not flag flying which means it possibly wasn’t a pirate ship.”

Braeburn finally catches up to Shining, out of breath and breathing heavy. “Was that…him? Whew.”

“I don’t know yet,” Shining says. “But there is only one way to know for sure.”

Though he still denies that Sky has turned pirate, the prince manages to calm himself and realize the reality of the situation. He needs to find Sky and clear up this situation with the assassination attempt and the only lead he had is a ship that bears either Sky or a pony that looks like him. Either way, Shining needs to find that ship. But how?

Shining plans his next move carefully. He could send out pegasi, especially the Wonderbolts, to search for the ship by air. But given the vastness of the ocean, such a search could take weeks even months. Even when they found the ship, Shining would need at least one more ship himself to transport his troops to intercept it. Waiting for the ship to dock again could still take too long, and may result in the ship docking somewhere he could not get to without a ship of his own such as an isolated island out in the middle of the ocean. All options require a ship to track and catch this ship.

“Braeburn,” he says, “we need a ship. I’m going out to sea.”

“Alright. Let’s go!” the settler pony says full of excitement.

“No, you will stay back at the base where it’s safe.”

“Where ever you go, I go,” Braeburn said in protest. “Besides, you said that I need to stay close to you no matter what.”

“This is going to put you in harm’s way far easier than before.”

“That doesn’t matter!” Shining is taken aback at Braeburn’s response. “I want to do whatever I can to help you and that’s final!”

Once again, Shining had to admire the settler pony’s determination. He certainly has the same sense of honor and courage that his cousin has.

“Fine, but you make sure you get some place safe if things turn for the worst.”

“You can count on me Mister Shinin’ Armor, Sir!”

Shining smiles at Braeburn, happy now to have the settler pony with him. He is going to need an optimistic attitude like that to keep him going. Especially, if Sky turns out to be the new pirate captain. Such a thing will make helping his old friend that much harder.