Sea

The ship's deck was busy. Some ponies walked to and fro across the deck while others climbed high into the rigging, turning the yards of the massive sails.  The canvass sails pulled against their mountings and ropes, and on more than one occasion a sailor would have to run up to the yard and fix the sail back into position. Only the topsails, spanker, and jibs were out, pushing the ship through the moderate winds with a steady force. They billowed in the breeze. Lower down, the ropes were covered in ponies crawling up and down to work on the masts. The deck itself was made of planks laid horizontal to the ship's keel. There was no wood in the center of the deck; instead, the space was covered by a two-piece canvass tarp wrapped around the mainmast. The wreckage of her dhow - easily dwarfed by the ship she was now on - lay just behind the mainmast, ahead of the stern deck.

A sailor bumped into her, giving her a stinkeye. She looked at him for a second, before looking down and walking out. Even on the relatively low height of the sixth-rate frigate, she was much higher than she'd ever been at sea before. Looking over the ship's railing gave her a minor case of vertigo as she saw the waters parting around the sides of the hull. The side was painted yellow, with a white stripe near the middle over what looked to be the second deck; a number of doors were inlaid into the hull below, all in a line, painted white. Below that was another bit of yellow, and just before going under the water the hull color switched to black. Twilight just watched the water next to the ship for almost five minutes, before looking back up at the deck. Far ahead, a boom stuck out of the front of the ship, with a number of triangle-shaped sails sticking out of the top. She navigated her way through the crowds towards the front of the railing.

Here, the sea air was much fresher. There were few ponies this far forward; those who were were busy holding onto the ropes along the bowsprit. She put her legs over the railing and sat on her flank for a while, watching the sea and sky ahead. The ship rocked slightly with the gently rolling waves, and the sky to the west was clear and cloudless. She was only disturbed by a shouting from behind. Curious, she turned her head back. The ponies were running across the deck now; a number disappeared into a door that led under the deck. She walked across the deck, through the crowd again, and disappeared below the deck.

The second deck of the ship was a dank, dark dungeon of a place. The air reeked of a smell similar to that of fireball spells, or like firework powder. Her nose wrinkled at the smell. Visually, it wasn't much better. A lone lamp, hanging off the mainmast, provided most of the lighting below deck. The doors on the side of the deck were flung open quickly, though, and then suddenly a significant amount more light flooded into the ship. She saw ponies working together to push strange, metal cylinders on top of wooden blocks with wheels attached to the sides of the ship. She was curious, but decided now was probably not a good time to question. A bell rang out from somewhere above deck. Boxes full of a strange powder and of round iron balls were placed next to the strange metal contraptions. Twilight ran back out onto the deck.

"What's going on?" she asked nopony in particular. She heard a familiar voice behind her.

"Smugglers." Captain Somerset looked through a gilded spyglass towards the horizon. "Looks like we have a fight on our hands. Get into the cabin."

"But-"

"That's an order. Now."

Twilight sighed, and ran back into the ship's stern cabin.