Twilight stared down at the hardwood desk in front of her, though in truth it was more like she was staring through it. She again grabbed the metal tumbler of bitter amber liquid that sat nearby, taking another drink. Originally a celebratory drink, though it took on a much more mournful tone from the news she had just got. The drink threatened to come back up into her mouth as her stomach wound itself into knots, but a sobering gulp helped her to keep it down as she rose to her hooves from her seat.
She gave a second cautionary glance at that cursed piece of off-yellow paper before turning and stepping away. She growled as she thought back to it, the large printed letters at the top burned into her mind like a toothache that refused to go away.
NOTICE OF RELIEF OF DUTY - CAPTAIN SPARKLE, TWILIGHT
Her sailors were still celebrating the announcement of the end of the war. She could hear them even through the cabin walls, even as she struggled to hold back tears. Tears of anger, tears of betrayal. How many years? How many years of her life had she given at this point? How much gold had she given them, how much land had her efforts helped to liberate? And this was how they treated her. Discarded like trash.
‘For your faithful service to Her Majesty’s Royal Navy as a privateer, executing the privileges and obligations of your Letter of Marque with distinction, you are to be paid an officer’s pension for the rest of your days.
However, you have not been selected to remain in Her Majesty’s Royal Navy, and as such, you will be expected to relinquish both your position of command as well as the commissioned ship which you captained for the duration of your Letter of Marque. Her Majesty’s Office of Navigation thanks you again for your service, as does both Parliament and Her Majesty Herself. By opening this letter after it has been relinquished into your custody you verify that you have seen it, read it, and submit to the terms of this notification. You have two months (11/03/07) to comply with the terms of this notification, under penalty of the withholding of pension and further penalties and decided by Her Majesty’s Department of Naval Justice.’
All that bullshit topped off by the lovely parliamentary seal stamped at the bottom in ink like an execution notice. An officer’s pension was barely enough to live on the streets of Baltimare, much less to send back to her retired mother and father. A far cry from the buckets and crates and chests of gold, silver, and precious gems she was sending back to Canterlot for the entire war. She was one of the top-attainers in the Royal School for Navigation! She even surpassed her brother! They couldn’t find anywhere for her? Not an instructor, not a captain position to be gained anywhere? What did they expect her to do, become the captain for a merchant company? Toad around tea, tobacco, cotton, and rum to and from the new world she helped conquer for a nation that didn’t want her?
Maybe it was the brandy running through her now-dilated veins, but that didn’t seem fair. That didn’t seem fair in the slightest. And the more she thought about it, the angrier she was getting. Though, she came to realize that it was well and truly hopeless. No matter her rage, she was ultimately trapped. Bound by the chains of command. She sighed, walking past her desk towards the cabin door and running her hoof on the smooth, waxy finish. One last night of revelry with her crew, then she’d lose this place forever. The Star of the Sea had become like a home to her, and that attachment almost hurt more than the decommission hurt her pride.
Twilight pushed up against the door which opened after much persuasion as always. She forced the best smile she could in her current state, as she immediately was confronted by the sound of music on both hoof-drums and accordions, flutes and fiddles as the crew of her frigate were enjoying the night air and the triumphant spirit of knowing their privateering efforts had won the war. Twilight meandered her way over towards one of the groups of mares congregated, who seemed to be telling stories over a game of cards.
"...For a moment, all was deathly silent. All you could hear was the gentle distant howling of the winds, a wave here or there. But then, all at once, BOOM! Like a bomb going off, the wind picked up, the waves rolled over the top deck and just like that, the figure was gone." The Storyteller relayed to the other crew mates as they all gathered around the orange glow of an oil lamp; the closest thing to a campfire you could have on a ship without the whole thing burning down.
"...And you're saying all of this happened just last week while we were all asleep in our hammocks just below deck during a storm strong enough to throw water over the top deck?" One of the critical deckhooves questioned. "We're a long way from Tall Tale." The deckhoof parroted some idiom Twilight had heard once or twice, basically a way of saying someone's story was hard to believe. It was a strange saying, considering the name of the town had nothing to do with the phrase 'tall tale'.
"...Well I don't know if you all slept through it, I just know you weren't up on the deck with me when the tall pony appeared!" The Storyteller admitted with a shrug. "Either ors, it's the gods' honest truth. Swear ya." The stallion placed a hoof on his chest as if to accentuate his truthfulness.
Twilight couldn't help but stare up at the dark inky nighttime clouds and the splendid light of the stars as the chittering of her crew became background noise, just a distant droning she could only faintly make out.
"...Right captain?" First-Mate Yew, the skeptical sailor, asked for her agreement after some statement or objection or something, though it was only him calling her that woke her from her thoughts.
Twilight cleared her throat, doing her best to regain her posture and focus, blinking several times before looking down to get a better bearing of her surroundings. "Uh, yes, of course." Twilight concurred thoughtlessly.
"Sheesh cap, the news must've hit you harder than we expected. I guess should've known you'd take it hard."
That sudden revelation left Twilight genuinely speechless. They knew? How did they know? She opened the letter in the cabin, the note was still sealed when it got onto her desk! There should have been no way-
"Chin up, Cap'n. The Changelings got off easy this treaty, but there's always next war. I doubt this is the last we've seen." Yew reassured with a stained smile.
Oh. They meant the peace treaty. To be fair she hadn't heard the terms yet, though she had kind of assumed they would be lenient. Demanding an end to the Trans-Lunar Oceanic Slave Trade was a hefty ask, a lack of concessions made sense. "Shame for them natives though," Yew added on at the end with a slightly downward inflection.
That caused Twilight to pause and require a double take. A shame? "What, you prefer they stay in bondage, sailor?" She demanded to know, leaning in slightly with an insinuating of a touch of offense on Twilight's part.
"Uh, Cap'n, Miss, have ya not heard?" Yew questioned, a sympathetic look beginning to take root across his face as he gestured with his hoof to another crewmate, who gave a large, folded up slip of paper to Twilight.
Twilight immediately put her lightning-fast reading to use, blitzing her way down the printed pamphlet which detailed the terms and conditions of peace with the Changelings which had been printed in the newspaper. Annexation of all territory between the Crisálinda river and the Rockiest mountains, Conditional access up and down the Maressissippi river for the Changelings, a cessation of all Changeling espionage and Equestrian privateering…
But nothing about the slave trade or the natives. Not even a single line?! But that was what the war was about! The Changelings were enslaving native ponies, draining them of love or working them until they dropped! Cutting off their horns, hooves, and wings if they didn't bring enough gold! That was what the war was about! And they didn't even get a mention in the treaty?!
"Where is the rest of it?" Twilight demanded to know,flipping the pamphlet with her magic only to see the blank reverse-side. "This can't be all there is. What about the slave trade? Or the practice of love harvesting? What about all those poor natives?"
The crewmates that now watched the frustrated public display simply shrugged, with Yew reaching to put a hoof on the captain's shoulder. Despite how well-intentioned this gesture might have been, the captain quickly pulled her shoulder away in refusal to be touched.
"This is an outrage!" Twilight roared, lifting the paper with her magic. "This is a betrayal! What did we bleed for if not for liberty?! What did we kill for if not for our common mare?! So that Equestria could get a few more miles of dirt in the New World? Is that why we buried crewmates?" She scowled deeply. "These terms wouldn't do to wipe a swabbie's arse…"
"Cap'n, I get you're mad, plenty of us were too. But is it really that great to be spoutin' off all this? The war's done. The fight's won. We don't gotta kill nothin' anymore." The level-headed swabbie did their best to calm Twilight down. This failed utterly, however, as the rage and alcohol swelled together and came to a boiling point as Twilight raised her voice to the top of her lungs. “First they demand I give up my ship and my crew and retire, then they spit in my face?! I won't stand for it! Seven years sailing for the crown and this is what it gets us! I say damn the Crown, and damn Parliament too!” Twilight tore the pamphlet apart with her magic, first into halves and then effectively shredding it into dozens of tiny pieces, before throwing it up into the wind.
Twilight had no intention of ever, in her life, giving orders while drunk. It was against everything they had ever taught about Gentleponily conduct in Her Royal Majesty’s Naval Academy. But she couldn't handle what she was being asked, and she knew she probably couldn't muster the courage sober. “Mister Yew, you said you and the others weren't happy about the terms of the treaty, correct?”
Yew snapped back to reality, still flabbergasted by the display before him. Was she serious? “Um, yes, Captain. That's what I said, and from what I heard from the others it's true,” Yew cautiously admitted.
“Then gather the crew. Let them know this ship no longer bears a letter of marque from the crown. Or a commission from the crown. As a matter of fact… Mister Yew, have some pony haul down the colors.”
“Captain, maybe we-”
“Are you thick between the ears? That was an order! Have somepony haul down the Royal colors! We don't need colors where we’re going! And if anypony doesn't like it, they're free to leave!” Twilight’s teeth-clenched grimace softened bit by bit, until it was a stoic frown. “I'd understand if any number of you want to leave. But they're going to have to drag me off this ship, and if there are enough of you willing, I’d like to be gone before they can try.”
The crew all stood in stunned silence, not only the ones stood before the captain bug all three decks of ship worth of sailors. It seemed word had traveled that something was happening above deck, and just about the whole crew gathered around to hear Twilight’s last few lines, and those that didn't hear had it whispered by those who did.
“Now, as you all know, we are here in port. All of you who want to leave may do so. I will be returning to my cabin to chart a course. I don't know where to, yet, but I’ll sail alone, somehow, if I have to.” Twilight choked up, being overwhelmed by emotion. “And to all of you, every single one of you, thank you. Thank you all for making me a real captain. Thank you for making the Star a real ship. Thank you for making these years the best of my life.”
Twilight turned away, fully expecting that to be the last time she saw even a single face that peered up at her, though they grew fuzzy from the blur of tears. She sauntered back into her cabin as not a single hoof or voice stepped out of line to comfort her. The door closed, she felt the walls closing in as she tore a map from the pile of parchment and began to get to work.
Author's Note
Well, here it is. I decided to finally turn an idea that's been tumbling around in my head into a fanfic. This is my first try at making something serious that I'm actually planning on continuing, so if anybody reads it and likes it, let me know! This is an AU I'm very interested in exploring and fleshing out in story form, so I just hope others agree.
Boom. A loud thud of a cannonball crashing into the side of her ship, followed by the sound of splintering timbers and ponies below deck crying out, whether out of fear or out of being wounded by the shrapnel that used to be the hull of the ship. The terrible scent of burnt powder stung in her nose, and adrenaline coursed through her veins.
Twilight shook herself from her stupor as she quickly drew her sword, realizing this was no time to be in her head. That Changeling galleon had an angle on them she didn’t think they’d be able to get in time, so they needed to think fast and respond quickly.
“Hard to port, we need an angle on them!” She ordered with a roar, her helmspony quickly working to follow her commands as she continued to order all of the sailors to manipulate the masts to complement this endeavor, all the while Twilight quickly barged downstairs to assess the damage. There was a gunner who now had several large splinters of wood in her leg, and a large hole in the hull of her ship that some crewmates seemed to be attending to. It was bad, but it should be alright in terms of keeping the ship afloat. Down below, blood mixed with the scent of powder to create a gloomy and suffocating cloud of misery that Twilight could seldom bear to be around if she could help it.
“All gunners on the starboard side, get ready! We’re going to give them a volley, else we’re sunk! I only want the surgeon on that wounded mare, the rest of you are just gawkers!” she chastised as she quickly gestured to the unmanned guns, which the loiterers quickly solved and began loading, though often looking back to the screaming mare who was by now strapped down off in the corner. Other crewmates began to work hard to plug the holes in the hull with oakum and seal them with tar, desperate to prevent the sea from dragging the ship any further down. Their captain, meanwhile, returned back on the topdeck, quickly pulling out her spyglass to hopefully get a better idea of what exactly the Changelings were doing.
That was when she asked herself the question. What WERE they doing? They were at the perfect angle for a broadside a second ago, but they seem to have moved out of that angle. Was the galleon… starting to face their ship? They were! The massive galleon was beginning to point towards their ship, before dropping every sail it had and angling them to catch the wind. That bug captain must be insane!
“Captain, what are they doing?!” Yew demanded to know from his captain while tying one of the ropes attached to the sail which he worked alongside several other ponies.
“The bastards seem to be trying to get in close! I think… I think they’re planning on ramming us! Or boarding us, at least!” Twilight shouted in disbelief, quickly putting her spyglass away as she looked from left to right in a frenzy. She had to come up with a plan, and fast.
That was when she realized it. Fast. Fast and light. The enemy galleon had the superiority of more guns and crew, but their ship was faster and far lighter in the keel, significantly shorter-set in the water. It would have no problem gliding over most sandbars, whereas the heavy Changeling galleon would struggle.
“Turn this ship around, ponies! Hard to port! The gunners will get their volley, then we’re running for the coast!” Her throat was beginning to ache from roaring orders over the sounds of panic and chaos, but her voice was the one lifeline her crew had back to the realms of order and logic. It needed to reach them no matter what.
And just as could be expected from the expertly drilled crew, they followed her orders with precision and haste. The ship’s sail raised to half-mast, the ship began to turn as hard as it could without tearing itself apart. The near-second the starboard gunners got their chance they took it as instructed, which filled the air with the noxious smoke and the thundering boom of two whole decks firing in near-unison towards the Changeling galleon. Twilight’s ears rang as she forced them flat on her head and she watched the cannonballs fly through the air expectantly. One landed on the target, likely taking a few lives on one of the lower decks, and several more soared higher than anticipated. Whilst most of the straying cannonballs simply hit nothing, she counted at least two that seemed to tear into the sail attached to the main mast of that massive galleon.
She half expected the buggy madmen of that other ship to start turning to return the favor, but whoever captained that ship simply carried on his mad mission to reach the Star of the Sea. Perfect. Twilight smirked as she continued to watch as the ship finished its turn, with its nose now pointed just a touch past the shore. Quickly, she ran to the front of the ship and gazed into the clear coastal waters to verify what she had suspected. And just as she had hoped, not too far ahead was a rather large shoal, part of what these islands were famous for. It was likely too deep for the Star of the Sea to risk getting caught on it, although it’d get close. So close, that there was no way a Changeling galleon would be able to go over it without getting stuck.
So, they carried on their dash to get over that sandbar. The crew didn't seem to even know exactly what their captain had in store for them, but they didn't need to. They just needed to follow orders. Twilight turned back around to look back at that galleon, and just as she expected, they were still chasing. They were even gaining on them a touch, since the sails were fairly slack.
Twilight grinned as she imagined the look on the over-confident bug’s face when he ran face-first into the sandbar and realized he was…
THUNK.
A loud crashing sound came from below, that reverberated up the ship until it made Twilight’s footing fail, falling to the ground unbalanced.
Twilight awoke in her cabin with a jump, bouncing up from her position slouched over on her map table. She must have passed out whilst charting the ship’s course. Far from becoming of a gentlemare, but she had a few more drinks in the comfort of her cabin than she perhaps should have had. She wiped the tiniest touch of drool from her cheek as she groggily lifted her head, looking from side to side to get her bearings straight, a slight fuzzy haze lingered over her vision as she did so.
She also couldn't help but think back to last night. Had she really said all those things? Worse question yet, had she meant them? Would she go out of her cabin and find an empty ship, a sitting duck for the constables who would surely drag her to the naval court and try her for refusing to follow an order? Or worse, treason? These things all spun around in her analytical mind which found itself weighed down by the heavy chains of her binge last night.
Twilight glanced down at the map on her table, as her eyes worked to focus themselves. A map of the western Equestrian coast, as well as the eastern coast of the New World. Upon the map, a clear (although somewhat messy) line was drawn from their position in Baltimore all the way to Boarston in the New World. One of the larger Equestrian settlements, it would certainly be an excellent place to restock and hire on new crew to replace anypony who decided to walk away, though risky if the Navy notices quickly that she didn't report for decommissioning and sends a light packet ship to carry the news of her arrest warrant.
She rubbed her eye with the back of her hoof as she felt the cotton-dry prickling sensation of her dehydration plaguing her mouth. That certainly didn't help the headache she was nursing, she'd have to go below deck and get more water to hopefully recover quicker.
Either way, she needed a better plan than simply landing in the port. She was putting the cart before the horse a bit, but either way it doesn't hurt to come up with a plan. She's royally screwed no matter the weather if she has no crew, so might as well give herself a few more minutes of imagining she’ll be alright.
Running her hoof on the map again, Twilight pondered what to do. She couldn't dock directly in Boarston, couldn't walk right in the front door… maybe she could try to be a bit stealthier. Drop anchor along the coast next to the wilderness and head to Boarston by hoof to then recruit all the extra sailors she needed.
She'd need a disguise, though. Her current attire, especially her fine purple jacket, would immediately make her too memorable. Anypony and everypony would be able to say they saw her. Just some simple, common-pony clothes would suffice for a disguise. Maybe some ash or dirt to further obscure her identity. She stroked her chin with her hoof thoughtfully, though in truth she was just wasting time. She wasn't getting that much done.
But unfortunately, the future is always on its way. A loud, firm knock on her cabin door alerted her to that as she bit down on her tongue and silently cursed everything that could come to her mind to curse. The Queen, whatever gods there might be, whatever gods were never there. All of them drew her ire. She approached the door at a slow pace, staggering somewhat as her head spun with a fierce bout of vertigo. Her horn glittered and glowed in the darkness of her cabin with its curtains drawn as she opened the door with her bright pink telekinesis.
Despite being fully ready to face the powers that be, she was pleasantly surprised to only see a familiar face. Seapony Yew stood in the bright of the late-morning sun as he smiled his yellowed smile, seemingly glad to be the one to surprise Twilight.
Which it certainly was one. Even through the blinding light of the sun and the hangover she was nursing, she couldn't help but smile back at him even despite her squinted eyes as she raised a hoof to shield herself from the rays.
“Cap’n,” the stallion greeted with a slight smirk, clearly reveling in Twilight’s surprise. “Don't be so surprised t’ see me. Ya didn't really think we’d flake out on ya, did ya?”
Twilight had to shake herself to be sure she wasn't dreaming. She had a lot of faith in her crew, but not so much as to expect them to follow her onto the other side of the law. She now realized how foolish she was to think she'd be facing this alone. “We?” Twilight asked for clarification. She needed to know how much of the crew had left and how many had stayed, in case she didn't have enough to sail.
“Yes ma’am, Cap'n. Whole crew ‘cept four stayed. The cookey left, so did two swabbies, and the chaplain,” her first mate prattled off. Twilight thought about it for a moment through her sluggish thoughts. They could easily sail without four ponies, especially since the chaplain and cook were the two that left. She always found the need for a chaplain superfluous, and just about anypony could replace the cook.
“So nothing strictly essential. We may just make the trip then,” Twilight groaned out as she rubbed her eye.
“Our trip where, Cap’n? Crew’s alight with theories n’ speculatin’.”
“Where else but the gateway to the West? Boarston. We can restock on supplies there, and recruit a few more sailors,” Twilight explained with a slight smirk, though her charming air was weighed down by the malaise of last night, especially since the light beaming into her face did her no favors.
“Right. Well, I ain't so sure, but ya word’s good enough for me. I'll tell the crew, full speed ahead. Ya better get some water, you're in no state,” Yew said with some mild concern as he turned away from the captain.
Twilight nodded, despite Yew being faced away. She was glad to still have her handy first mate, and while he gathered the crew she went down below deck to get water, collecting some from the fresh water reserves and gulping it down like it was the last freshwater on earth before wiping her mouth off with the ruffles of her shirt, taking a similarly large gasp of air. This is before pulling out her handkerchief with her magic, and getting some of the water to come out of the tap onto it, wetting the cloth as she then quickly washed her face. Lastly, she filled a small canteen with water. More for later.
“There we go, Twilight. We’re never sad-drinking again,” she commanded herself as her shoulders raised and lowered alongside her chest with a heavy breath of composure, before beginning to trot up the steps again. Hopefully, by now, Yew had everypony gathered and brought up to speed so she could go ahead and give the orders to set sail. The longer they were in harbor, the riskier every passing second became.
As Twilight got back up above-deck, she arrived just in time to hear Yew finish his explanation.
“...An’ that port will be Boarston, where cap’n says we’ll resupply an’ get a few new shipmates.”
“With what money?” one of the sailors called out inquisitively.
Twilight, having stepped up to reach Yew and thereby capturing the attention of the whole crew, immediately spoke up. “We’ve still got some bits stocked up, especially in my emergency trunk in my cabin. As you could imagine, this counts as an emergency.” Twilight smiled, content with that answer being perfect to satisfy the crew. How fortuitous she thought ahead!
“But what about after that runs out? There’s no war, no enemy to raid ships of!” The questioning sailor continued.
Well… damn. Twilight actually hadn’t thought that far yet. She could only blush slightly in embarrassment at having been caught out like that, as she couldn’t help but pause slightly. A pause her crew seemed to find disconcerting, as many of them began to look unnerved.
But then, without missing another beat, Twilight had an epiphany. “It’s simple! We’re not Equestrian privateers anymore. The Changeling treaty doesn’t mean anything anymore, so we raid the buggy bastards anyways! Slavers deserve no peace!” She declared dogmatically and firmly, raising her hoof into the air. Her crew seemingly agreed, whether out of principle or greed. So the crew had all agreed, as Twilight pulled out her compass and took a look at the wind-vane. The winds were perfect for leaving port and heading out West. She could feel the New World calling her name. Calling the name of her crew. Sailing by their own rules, and she’d make sure no changeling ship was safe if it dared fly the Changeling royal colors under her watch.
So, as she swaggered back to the top and took her place a few paces behind the helmspony, she breathed in deep from the salt sea air as they once again put out to sea before anypony was any the wiser.
She would remain a captain, she would remain a privateer of sorts.
Though, no, not a privateer. No, she is something else. They were going to be something different, freer. A renegade ship sailing the seas, freeing slaves, and taking ill-gotten gold.
She’s a pirate.
Author's Note
Yet another chapter. Hope y'all like it. Took me a while. Hopefully next one won't take as long.
