Sea

...only to be halted by Somerset as he raised his hoof.

"You smugglers." He looked down at the sloop. "We will give you mercy. Surrender your cargo and come aboard and we will not fire. We will bring you back to Sunsport, where you will be tried for the crime of smuggling, but you will survive." He flashed a menacing grin. "The other option is the more fun one. Resist, and we blow your ship halfway to the Black Sea." He drew his sword. "So, what'll it be?"

The smugglers looked at one another. After a second, one of them drew a pistol and began aiming it at Somerset, who just chuckled.

"I love it when they take the fun route."

The cannons on the Eagle all fired, one after another, into the hull of the poor sloop. Its sides and deck were covered in holes, and much of its crew had fallen to the deck or been launched overboard. Only about ten ponies remained.

"Marines!" Somerset called. "Launch hooks!"

Three heavy grappling hooks were brought out from below the deck and thrown onto the sloop, catching against the stern railing.

"Charge!" he shouted, leaping into the air. He landed on the deck of the sloop with an expert roll, drawing his flintlock and firing it at the first pony who caught his eye. The stallion dropped to the deck, gasping. As the marines made their way across the ropes, Somerset holstered his pistol and drew a sabre. Three crewmen charged at him, brandishing cutlasses.

"It'll take more than that to touch me!" Somerset shouted as he parried the first swing. He rolled to the side to avoid another attack, panting heavily. The three smugglers formed up to surround him. With a sly grin, Somerset let them get close before swinging his sabre around in a wide arc. Blood splattered onto the ground as one of the smugglers fell to the deck, bleeding. The other two just looked at their fallen crewmate for a moment before yelling and charging at Somerset.

He met their charge with a swift kick to the shin of one and a quick parry to the other. He rolled sideways once more, almost colliding with the railing on the side of the ship. There was a great bubbling from below deck; the two crewmembers looked at each other and then to Somerset before continuing their fight.

As the boat began to tilt sideways and slowly start to slip under the waves, Somerset made another swing with his sabre. He did little more than scratch one of the the smugglers, but it provided him with the opening he needed. Pushing off the rail, he tackled the stallion into the spiky remains of the mast. The stallion gurgled as the sharp wood penetrated his back, before lying limp. The last smuggler had a scared expression on his face. Somerset just walked up to him and put his sword to his neck.

"Surrender." he said. It wasn't a question, more of an order. The stallion dropped his cutlass and raised his hooves. Somerset grabbed him and handed him to one of the few marines still on the sloop.

"Take as much cargo as you can!" he shouted. "We'll need to bring it to Sunsport."

The marines disappeared below deck, resurfacing a few minutes later carrying unmarked wooden crates. One of them had an eerie red glow; Somerset watched closely as it was carried on one of the marines' backs up the ropes on the side of the ship and onto the deck. Making sure that everything he needed from the ship was had, he made his way back onto his own ship.