Riders of the Sea.

“Port Longhorn, 1695.”

Minotaurs, gryphons and ponies of all races filled the streets and docks of the port, thousands of boxes full of loads from all corners of Equestria were moved from one place to another while some others were loaded into the boats of all sizes docked at the loading bay.

The shouts of the sailors, combined with the sounds of the sea and the sound of load sheaves, endowed energy and life to the port. However, all this seemed not to care to a yellow coated pegasus, she walked with her head down, hiding her face with her unkempt pink mane from which protruded the head of a white rabbit, her only friend in the world.

"Move aside beggar!"

Shouted a sturdy pony that almost ran over her while carrying several barrels on a cart, in fear she jumped out of his way to avoid being crushed, but she fell face first on a mud puddle.

"I... I'm sorry..."

She said barely in a whisper, the pegasus remained on the puddle as tears appeared on her turquoise eyes, but the bunny jumped out of her mane and used his small paws to caress her dirty face, the gesture brought a smile to her lips and she hugged him tightly.

"Thanks Angel, I would be lost without you."

Her stomach decided to break the moment, it wasn't easy to say how long it had been since the last time she had have any food, her figure could indicate that at least a couple of weeks ago.

"The hunger is killing me."

Angel nodded, his own stomach joining to her owner's.

"Wait."

She began to search inside the pockets of her worn jacket; the bunny jumped to the ground and watched her with curiosity.

"... I think... yes! Here they are here!"

She said triumphantly after finding a pair of golden coins, Angel gave a couple of joyful jumps.

"With this we can buy a loaf of bread and maybe some cheese, does it sound good?"

He nodded but something caught his attention. She started to walk away and when she noticed that her pet wasn't following, she stopped and called him.

"C'mon Angel, are you not hungry? Mrs. Cake will open her bakery soon."

Without even looking at her, the bunny started to jump away at high speed; she ran after him as fast as she could but soon lost sight of him. It took her several minutes until she spotted Angel standing in front of a large box that was in the vicinity of a boat.

"Angel... I've told you so many times... you shouldn't do that."

She said panting and trying to catch her breath. It didn't take long until she noticed a soft, sweet fragrance in the air, her eyes opened wide when she recognized the aroma. Guided by instinct, she circled the wooden box just to find it open and full of succulent apples.

She could hardly speak, her mouth watered and her hunger grew after every second that she looked at all that fruit.

"No, Angel... we shouldn't... we can get caught..."

Her stomach once again demanded food, even her pet was now pushing her hind legs in an attempt to get her out of the trance that she seemed to be in.

"I guess... I guess we can take a few, no one will notice."

She looked at every side making sure no one observed her; slowly she walked into the box until her whole body settled comfortably thanks to its size. With a little of fear, she took one of the fruits and inserted it into the pockets of her jacket, meanwhile, Angel devoured apple after apple.

Taking another fruit, she took the time to see her reflection on its red shiny surface, even with the adversity over her, she kept part of her beauty, her battered hair covered part of her face making her look even more shy and innocent.

Suddenly, several memories came to her mind, the fire of torches, the voices of the ponies around her home with the intention of killing her family, the last image of her parents. She shook her head to stop thinking about them, it was still too painful. She bit the apple and an explosion of flavor filled her senses making her feel joy, but something brought her back to reality immediately.

"Dammit! The captain is furious!"

A gruff voice echoed outside the box she was sitting.

"Close those damn boxes and put them aboard immediately or we will end up hanging from the mainmast!"

Shouted one of the sailors, two more appeared behind him closing the box without even checking inside, she wanted to escape, but soon the lid plunged her into darkness. Her cries for help were not heard over the sound of hammers nailing the lid to the box; soon, the whole crew was busy loading many boxes into the ship. Carefully, she remove one  of the plugs on the edge of the box, she could  see all the sailors go to and fro on deck, some tying ropes and others pushing barrels. Slowly, the box rose above the entrance to the cellar.

"Bring it down, it's the last one."

Someone shouted from below, the box descend to the threshold of the cellar, there, a couple of gryphons guided it into place. Silence filled the storing place, just the sunlight coming through the gate of the cellar allowed her to observe her surroundings. When she was sure that there was nobody nearby, she let out a sigh, she sat on the floor of the box and Angel came to her snuggling against her chest.

"Well... at least now we have food."

He nodded; she took another apple and ate it without time pressure. The vessel raised its anchors; the sailors extended the sails catching the strong winds of the summer and left the harbor towards the heart of the sea. Several hours later, the sun was high in the sky, the waves made the boat rose as they crashed with the hull. She lay asleep, the gentle sway and the sounds of the open sea served her as a lullaby.

Angel was sleeping beside her, his ears moved to one side and soon he woke up after hearing whispers, but soon, those murmurs turned into deep voices that instantly put him on alert.

"Come on, help me here, we have to carry this supplies to the kitchen." Said one of the voices.

"I hate this part, I'm still tired from this morning ordeal." Answered someone else.

A couple of sailors were filling several sacks with diverse products. Angel immediately tried to wake his owner knowing that they could be in serious trouble.

"Hmmm?" She yawned. "Angel? What happens?"

She asked while yawning again, but the rabbit immediately closed her lips with his paws.

"Stop complaining, give thanks that you don't have to be washing dishes or cleaning the deck." Said one of them.

She was frightened and began to recede into the box, but the apples made her lost balance and slipped hitting against the wall groaning in pain.

"What the hell was that!?"

Her eyes opened wide, she knew they had heard her, now there was no way to escape.

"There's something inside here, quick, give me the crowbar."

The box began to shake; Angel climbed up her back and got into her mane. The lid was finally separated from the box showering her with daylight, fear had gripped her. Without giving her opportunity, both sailors removed her from the box dragging her up to the deck and although she tried to break loose and begged them to let her go, nor her strength nor her pleas served her of something.

The rest of the crew soon began to surround her laying their eyes on the poor pegasus. They formed a circle around her closing all escape route. They began to laugh and throw her from side to side of the circle, some of them began to hold her for a little longer to touch her body, soon they were looking at her with lust.

"What the hell is happening here!?"

Shouted a commanding voice causing all the laughter and murmurs to stop. Some of the sailors opened a space and she looked at the captain. Slowly, the gryphon approached to within just centimeters from her. She bent down, but the captain grabbed her by the hair causing her pain.

"What are you doing in my ship, beggar?" He asked sternly.

"We found her inside one of the boxes."

One of the sailors told him, the captain smiled in a diabolical way upon hearing him.

"You know, on this ship stowaways are not accepted." the captain released her mane and grabbed her by her chin.

"P-please... d-don't hurt m-me..."

She begged with tears in her eyes, but the pleas fell on deaf ears.

"It's too late for that, now you'll have to learn your lesson, have fun boys!"

The crew gave cries of excitement after hearing the captain's words and without wasting time, they began to go circle her again. While the crew was occupied with the poor mare, in the crow's nest, one of the sailors he was paralyzed by fear, through the spyglass he had seen something, and that something meant serious problems.

When he regained control of his body, his trembling hooves took the warning bell and rang it with desperation while shouting.

"Black Flag! Black Flag!"

All the presents on the deck remained unmoved and frozen in fear after hearing the cry of their mate completely forgetting the defenseless pony. The captain made his way to the edge of the ship in a rush, he rose the spyglass and his fears became real.

In the distance, a boat approached towards them at high speed, its black sails were an omen of death, at the top of the mainmast, a black flag with the figure of a skull crossed by two swords surrounded by a half sun and a crescent moon fluttered in the air.

The captain gulped, his mouth was dry and his body started to tremble, he was only able to whisper a word.

“…Pirates…”