Ponies out at sea

... Twas yet another day out on the open seas, the sound of hooves trotting around the deck, and Umbra, a new recruit of the anti-piracy foundation, a group of sailors, warriors, hunting and slaughtering pirate scum... He had skill with a blade, and a quick draw on his pistol, he was definitely a must-have... Though unused to the fact he'd have to wake early, he'd end up sleeping in often... Today... Well... Today was the one day that he'd regret not getting out early.

The waters were calm, skies clear, and the sailors moods were relatively high... That was, until he'd be awakened to a sudden, hard crash. The side of the ship he was sleeping at had suddenly been hit by a Canon ball, followed up another, barely missing him. He's stumble out of bed and to his hooves, grab his blade, and run out, unable to find where his pistol had flown off.

"Lower the sails!" would scream their captain, as the sails get hit by a chain shot, almost knocking them down, the crew finally returns fire, as Umbra helps load and aim cannons. They fire off their own cannons at last, however it does little, most missing ever so slightly, though a few do hit. The pirate's ship was smaller, weaker, slower, it would seem as if it was almost a suicide on their end... Little did they know the sheer skill of some of the ponies on there, as another cannonball fires off of the smaller ship, hitting one of their cannons dead on, not just disabling it, but also obliterating the stallion using it. The two ships fire off one after another, the smaller ship clearly showing a considerable amount of skill compared to the bigger one, soon enough, they'd get in close. As if their accuracy wasn't already terrifying, as the ship approached, thick vines shoot out of its side and grab the side of theirs, pulling the two close as pirates rush aboard. Umbra grabs his blade tight in his maw and rushes off to battle. The sounds of blades clashing echo along the ship, blunderbuss and flintlocks firing, with Umbra outperforming not just his whole crew, but every last pirate. The battle was starting to turn to their favor. They manage to fight them back and take the fight to their ship, the pirates already suffering casualties in the double digits. It was all but over, till their captain showed... Her, face. A surprisingly beautiful, well-kept mare. She had an overpowering aura of confidence, and a sly smirk across her face, joining her stallions in battle. She'd quickly prove to be a considerable issue, as she'd make their, almost guaranteed victory, turn to a sudden stalemate. Seeing as her death would likely win them this battle, which, was only going poorly as the pirates were just, lucky...

Umbra runs at the captain, slipping past multiple other pirates, their blades clash. He had an angry, determined, and vengeful gaze... She met his with a playful, teasing one in turn. They trade blows, metal scraping and clashing on metal, Umbra not holding back, and even tho the mare seemed to take this all as just some game, she was clearly not holding back... At least not with her blade... A little sidestep here, a little faint there, and the stalemate was suddenly broken, with Umbra landing a long slash of his blade along her chest, followed by a hard ram right into her to get her off her hooves, which, goes perfectly. He wasn't just done there, griping his blade harder, he'd go on to cut her down at last... Before she'd raise a hoof and a thick vine shoots right out, blind siding and hitting him aside, leading to him dropping his blade. The vines quickly entangle him, letting him watch as his captain takes a pointblank blunderbuss to the chest. The pirates, have won... He was... In disbelief... This was their first ever fight, and they weren't even that skilled... And what was with these vines!? He'd try to shout and scream and struggle, but to no avail as he'd watch what remained of his crew get killed off, they never stopped fighting... As the last one falls, the pirates rally and cheer, what little remained, of the 30 or so pirates only a solid 8 remained...

"atta fightin boys! Next time, we might not lose almost our entire crew, eh?... Now, who wants to see this one's life drain outa his eyes~?" taunts the Mare. "Gotta hand it to him, didn't fight as poorly as the rest of this pathetic crew..." she'd laugh, putting her blade away "go loot whatever they had, any prisoners or remaining crew, force em to come along, and for the love of God do not drink all the b-" she'd be cut off by a sudden chain of explosions.

Seems the pirate hunters had a remaining member... One who'd snuck down, and had lit all of their flammables alight... Umbra would not be awake to witness the destruction of the ship, as one of the blasts would knock him out...

Next thing he'd know... He was laying upon a beach, untangled, with his only possession his blade... Off in the distance, he'd see the two burning wrecks of their ships...

"oh, come on, you're alive? What am I gonna eat now?!"