It was late morning, and Stirred Glass was still tending bar. Sure, nopony had shown up yet today, but the boss said the bar as open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. From experience, Stirred knew that the first ponies would be showing up in a few hours, but by then he'd be off work. Those sad little ponies would be Shaken's problem.
So it was very much a surprise when he heard the sound of the doors opening. He turned towards the bright sunlight tunneling into the bar's dark atmosphere, and saw a mare walking up to him. Her bright pink coat complimented the scarlet overcoat she was wearing, just as her blue vest matched her mane. The tri-corn hat she wore was the same hue of red as her coat, and carried the skull and crossbones that characterized pirate flags. It wasn't an odd thing to see in Loguetown. The thing that stood out the most about her, though, was her face. It felt as though her eyes were boring into Stirred's brain as she stared at him; he'd never seen a pony with eyes that intense. Her smile was something otherworldly. Her toothy grin stretched wide across her face, and it was easily the most sincere and the the most frightening smile he'd ever seen.
Terrified as he was, Stirred was a professional, so when the terrifying mare sat down at the bar stool in front of him, he asked her, "What's your pleasure?"
It didn't seem like it was possible, but Stirred would swear years later than at that question her smile grew even wider. "I'll have a glass of scotch, my good man." He nodded, and walked over and quickly pored her the drink. She took it with her wing almost before Stirred had set it down and downed it in one gulp.
Still thinking it a bit odd that she would come in for a drink this early in the day, Stirred decided to try making small talk. It wasn't as if he didn't have time to kill. "My lady, what exactly has happened that has led you to into a bar this early in the day?" he asked as politely as he could.
The pirate laughed, a rasping basso of a laugh, before responding. "You mean you don't remember me, boy? I've only been gone a year!" At that, he finally realized it. Her smile was wider, her clothes more odd, but it was the same mare.
"Firefly? Is that really you?" Stirred gasped. He looked her up and down and laughed. "When you said you'd be leaving for the Grand Line, I called you a fool. And look here, you're back already! I hadn't expected to see you back so soon, if ever again! So then, who was it who sent you packing? Another pirate? The Marines? Or was it just the weather?"
For a second it seemed as though all Firefly's joviality had vanished in an instant, her eyes piercing into his thoughts again. But the moment passed and she laughed even harder than before. "How is that a bartender is so dead to the world! I swear, Stirred, you might be the only one in Loguetown that hasn't heard the news! But that's perfect, I get to be the one to tell you!" She calmed down a little, and continued to stare at her old friend. "Stirred, have you heard anything about a Princess of the Pirates?"
Stirred rolled his eyes at that. "I might not keep up on news as much as some other ponies but even I heard about her. To think, some pony actually reached the end of the Grand Line, and claimed the treasure. She must be some real piece of work, a monster!"
Something about that must have struck Firefly as funny, because she nearly tittered out of her seat. "Oh, oh this is better than I could have dreamed!" She wiped a tear from her eye and stared smiling at her friend. "Stirred, I'm the Princess! My crew and I made it to Raftel!"
If any other pony had told that to him, Stirred would have thought they were insane. But with Firefly...she might be telling the truth. "But, Firefly, last time I saw you, you told me about your-" Before he could finish his comment, the door of the bar slammed open and marines started piling in, guns drawn. Firefly sighed and turned to face them. When it was done, at least fifty marines had squeezed into the bar and every single one of their rifles was pointed at Firefly. Stirred turned to look at them, and squeakily said, "Hold on, this is a private establishment! You have no right to barge in here like this!"
One of the ponies in the back unrolled a scroll and read it aloud. "Firefly Dreamer, you are under arrest. Please come with us." Stirred was scared. If Firefly really was the Princess of the Pirates, she was going to mop the floor with these goons, and possibly destroy the bar in the process.
Firefly turned her piercing eyes to the leader and said, "Of course, I'll come right along. Nopony needs to be hurt." She walked towards them, and Stirred could tell it took all of their willpower not to flee with every step closer she took. Once she was close enough, she extended her hooves, and sure enough one of the terrified marines pulled out a pair of stone handcuffs and arrested her. She looked back at Stirred one last time before being hauled off. It was the last time they saw each other.
The crowd in the city square was enormous, nearly every pony in Loguetown was there. And every eye was focused on the Princess, sitting in chains atop the wooden platform used for executions. Two marines stood nearby, lances held in their telekinesis. An official in a black suit stood facing the pirate, a scroll held in his wings. "Firefly Dreamer of Loguetown, you are hereby charged with the following crimes: robbery, extortion, breaking and entering, unlawful seizure of sovereign territory, assault, and piracy. How do you plead?"
The pirate princess let out a low rolling chuckle that only those on the platform could hear. "Guilty." She said, loud enough for most of the crowd to catch it. The official nodded.
"Your sentence is death. Do you have any last words?" he asked, and stepped back after seeing the fire in the convicted criminal's eyes.
Firefly stood up, and addressed the square, her voice loud enough for all to hear. "I am Firefly Dreamer, the rightful Princess of the Pirates! I journeyed across the entire Grand Line, looting and fighting every step of the way! I found Raftel, and with it more fame, power, and riches than any pony has ever possessed before today!" Her eyes played over the crowd, the silence was thick. Every pony was listening with rapt attention. "But none of you care about my journey, do you? No! You want what I have, what I had! You want my money! Well, if you truly want it, you can have it! I left everything I own in one place! Find the One Piece, find my treasure, and you will be the next Princess!"
The crowd exploded into cheers and gasps. The fervor was of such a magnitude that the marines stood ready to quell any riot that started. But it didn't come. Firefly sat back down, the crowd still wild yet nonviolent, and she turned towards the official and nodded. He was pale as a sheet, but nodded. The marines raised the lances and pierced Firefly through the back on both sides, skewering her twice over. Fresh blood whetted the wooden standing, one that had soaked up more than it's share over the years.
With that, Firefly died, the widest smile any pony had ever seen stretched across her face.
With that, the Era of Piracy had begun.
Author's Note
This is a little project I started thinking about a while ago, and I hope you enjoy.
