Pirates of Equestria

A campfire crackles, providing warmth to everypony during the chilling night. Snips and Snails have brought plenty of fruit and bread from their ship to share amongst the group. Sweetie Belle is tending to Apple Bloom’s wound, cleaning and dressing it with torn piece of cloth. Snips and Snails devour their portions like animals, and their captain sits far away enough from the flames to stay hidden by the shadows and brim of her hat. The stallion sits furthest away from anypony, intimidated by Apple Bloom’s occasional glare. “Again, I must apologize,” says the mare. “Your wound isn’t serious, is it?”

“It’s fine,” says Apple Bloom sternly with her eyes still glued to the stallion.

“The cut’s a bit deep,” says Sweetie Belle. “But she should be fine. The bleeding’s stopped, so that’s a good sign.”

“Well, that’s good to hear,” says the mare. “I’d hate to be responsible for the recklessness of my crew to harm an innocent pony.”

“Why don’t ya just get on with what you were goin’ to say?” says Apple Bloom impatiently. “Whatever nonsense you were ready to spew.”

“Well then, I suppose I’ll just get to the point. The captain of the White Stars follows some disgusting morals. If you’re not with her, you’re against her. Thus you must be punished, according to her. However, times will arise when she needs to recruit for the labor done around the ship. So, she’ll offer only some a choice. Either join her crew, or perish. Guess which option they all choose?”

“An’ how do you know how she runs her ship?”

“We snuck aboard, disguised as members of the crew. We’ve witnessed to entire process. First, she finds a target. In this case, a rival ship. Once they get close, the cannons are fired, and her crew invades. Cutting them down until a mere handful of them remain. Once the offer is presented to them, the first one usually turns it down. Then, with a simple glance to one of her crew members, he’s silenced and dumped into the sea. After that, the rest immediately accept her offer. They do nothing but work; swabbing the deck, scraping the barnacles . . . you know, the lowest level of the crew. Their minds become weak, and the captain’s babblings get inside their head. Next thing you know, they become mindless puppets that will listen and do whatever she pleases. It seems this one here was one of the stronger-minded ones.” The mare motions her head to the stallion.

“That’s sick,” Sweetie Belle comments.

“You think that’s sick, wait until you hear what she drills into her crew’s heads. She preaches about her philosophies, and her plans for this world. She infests their minds with her dreams of a perfect Equestria, and that only she can bring it to fruition. She has them fooled into thinking she’s some sort of savior, and they treat her like she’s a demigod. Well, I suppose that may not be entirely false.”

“What do you mean?”

“You all know the story, right?”

“No.”

“Not me,” Scoot adds.

“What do you mean by ‘not entirely false’?” Apple Bloom asks. “She’s just another pony like us, ain’t she?”

“Oh, not even close,” says Snails. “The story goes that she was only a crew of one. It was her and her little rowboat, against a massive ship with a crew of at least twenty!”

“She took them out in a matter of seconds,” Snips takes over. “Sending them and their ship to the depths of the sea. Of course, no normal pony could ever achieve such a feat. We all know the only possible answer.”

“. . . W-What’s the answer?” Scoot stammers.

“A unicorn,” he whispers. “Now, I-I haven’t seen one myself, but they say there’s still a few of them left! The queen of Ruby Root Island is one, and the captain of the White Stars is another. I’ll tell ya, no hunter is brave enough to go for either of them.”

“W-Wait,” Scoot intervenes. “If you were able to sneak aboard their ship, why didn’t you just try and—”

“Kill her ourselves?” The mare finishes. “That was the plan, but it proved to be nearly impossible. She has eyes and ears all over the ship day and night, and guards by her side at all times. We weren’t quite prepared for such conditions. One wrong word, action or look would put us at jeopardy. With a crew like this, I’m sure you can imagine how long we were able to last. Thus we had to cut our time their short, but we did uncover something quite intriguing.”

“What’s that?” Sweetie Belle asks.

“Any of you ever hear of ‘The Ruler of the Sea’?” Everyone shakes their head, and the mare reaches into her tattered coat to reveal a little book. “Here, you might want to read what’s inside this.” She holds the book out to Apple Bloom, who confusedly accepts it. She examines the book front to back. To her, it appears to be nothing more than an old, dingy book.

“What is this?” Apple Bloom asks.

“That, my dear, is what I’m calling ‘The Book of the Sea’. Tell me, what do you think the origins are of the Great Flood that befell Equestria?”

“I thought nopony really knew how or why it happened.”

“My, then you have some reading to do. What’s in that book will change everything you know about this world. I’m not sure who wrote it, but whoever did wasn’t merely writing a fairy tale. The book mentions an object labeled as the ‘Glass Dolphin’.”

“Glass Dolphin? Sure sounds like somethin’ from a fairy tale to me.”

“If I were you, I’d keep an open mind.” The mare then turns to everyone else around the fire. “That goes for all of you. From what I’ve learned at sea, you need to be ready to believe in the outrageous. The captain of the White Stars is indeed a lunatic, but she’s smart. No captain would put all of their faith in a fairy tale unless they believed it to be true. If she’s willing to spend the time and resources searching for this thing, then there must be at least ‘some’ truth to this story.”

“Well,” Scoot begins. “Can you at least tell us what the Glass Dolphin is?”

“The book describes it as a sort of key. It will grant whomever possesses it the ability to never drown, and will become untouchable by the creatures under the waves. The story says that it will be your guide to an underwater kingdom, where the Ruler of the Sea resides.”

“Okay . . . what happens then?”

“Well, it says that from there you’ll be granted whatever your heart desires most, and that is where the book ends. My apologies for ruining the ending for you.”

“So, if she finds it. . .”

“Who knows what sort of madness will come next?” Sweetie Belle adds.

“If all of this is true,” says Apple Bloom. “Then she needs to be stopped.”

“Or,” says the mare. “somepony must beat her to it. Which is exactly what I plan to do next. What say the rest of you?”

“Are you saying we should work together?” Sweetie Belle asks.

“That’s precisely what I’m saying. We both share a common enemy it seems, why not form somewhat of an alliance? You heard what Snips said. If no one else is willing to bring her down, why not be the ones to do it?”

“M-Maybe you’re right.”

“Well then, let us take an oath, shall we? Just so I know for sure we’re all together on this.”

“Sure, I’m in.”

“Yeah,” says Scoot. “Let’s do this.”

“Apple Bloom?” the mare asks. “You’re with us as well, are you not?”

“Yeah, a’ course I’m in,” says Apple Bloom.

“Very well, now listen carefully. The oath you make on this night, must be true to your heart. That no matter what is put before you, whether it be danger or hardship, you shall never revoke your oath. Do you all understand?”

“Yes,” they all say together.

“Perfect. Then under the night’s sacred light, and the sea’s restless tide, say ‘aye’ to seal the oath.” One by one, Scoot, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom seal their oath to the mare. The last to swear his allegiance is the stallion, and the mare smiles. “Then your oath is sealed.” A sudden, strong gust of wind erupts behind them, blowing out the fire and startling everyone except the mare. “Well, I suppose it’s about time I shove off.” The mare and her crew immediately get up to leave.

“Hey-hey wait!” Scoot calls. “Shouldn’t we stick together?”

“That might not be the best idea. It’d be safer for all of us if we kept our allegiance from afar.”

“W-Well when’s the next time we’ll speak?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll keep in touch. You’ll know it’s me.” Confused, Scoot raises an eyebrow as the mare and her crew depart into the trees. “Hey! We never got your name!” Without a response, they disappear further into the island, leaving the four sailors puzzled. “So . . . what do we do now?” Apple Bloom turns to the stallion with an intent look on her face, sending shivers up his spine.

“Apple Bloom, this isn’t right,” says Scoot as Apple Bloom finishes up tying the stallion to a palm tree using vines she found sprawled across the ground.

“You might not think it’s right,” says Apple Bloom. “But I think it’s necessary.”

“Why? Didn’t you hear what that mare said? It’s not his fault!”

“Yeah, I heard her say that. Did ya also hear her insane babbling about a mystical ‘Glass Dolphin’ an’ ‘underwater kingdom?’ Obviously, she’s been sailin’ the sea so long that it’s turned her head into a bowl a’ mush.”

“Sweetie Belle, you’re with me aren’t you?”

“Well. . .” Sweetie Belle ponders. “She did sound a bit off to me.”

“Exactly,” Apple Bloom reinforces. “So, if there’s no possible way I’m gonna believe in nonsense like that, then why should I believe anything else she said?”

“But, Apple Bloom, I don’t think ‘this’ is the solution.”

“Well, if you think about it, I’m doing him a favor. If he truly doesn’t want anything to do with the White Stars, then this way he’s out of their hooves, and also out of ours.” Apple Bloom tightens her last knot, then stand up to leave.

“Please,” the stallion begs. “Don’t do this. I saved you, doesn’t that mean something?”

“Oh yeah, thanks for remindin’ me. I appreciate that; guess you can consider us even then.” Apple Bloom ties the stallion's mouth shut once again and walks back towards the beach, but is stopped by Sweetie Belle and Scoot.

“Apple Bloom!” Scoot whipsers. “You can’t be serious! We’re just going to leave him here tied up like this?”

“Look,” Apple Bloom’s voice has now gotten low and stern. “Those knots aren’t that tight. He can easily wiggle himself free if he tries hard enough.”

“Couldn’t we have just dropped him off at another island that isn’t deserted?” Sweetie Belle suggests.

“I’m not going to risk keeping him aboard our ship any longer. If he was able to break himself free once, he’ll surely do it again. Next thing you know, he’ll be stabbing us in our sleep. I want us to get as far away from him as possible, and right away. Besides, it’s not like he’s of any use to us.” Apple Bloom storms off, as Scoot turns to Sweetie Belle.

“Sweetie Belle, we gotta do something,” says Scoot.

“I don’t know, Scootaloo. I agree with Apple Bloom, we can’t risk it.” Sweetie Belle leaves to join up with Apple Bloom as Scoot stays behind. She glances back at the stallion whose head is hanging low. With thoughts conflicting in her mind, she heatedly takes off to join Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle.