//------------------------------// // 2: The Pirate, The Mutt, and The Braggart... Sounds Like That One Narnia Book // Story: Redemption of the Fireheart // by Your Antagonist //------------------------------// Disclaimer:In the Highly unlikely even that this ever becomes the premise for an MLP Episode I own nothing. I mean the chance of that happening equates to the odds of someone slapping me with a frozen trout... wait, there’s a crazy man out in the street... he’s got fish... Redemption of The Fireheart By: Your Antagonist (VegaKS03) 2: The Pirate, The Mutt, and The Braggart Knight Corps Lower District Headquarters Which one is her office again? Sweetie Belle wondered as she wandered down the dirty halls of the Knight Corps’ Lower District office in search of her Senior Knight. She seldom ever set hoof in this building since K.I.T.s were required to stay inside the dorms unless they were on patrol and, as a result, she found herself unable to navigate the dark and filthy hallways in the poorly-designed and horribly-maintained structure. As she ventured into the lantern-lit corridors, Sweetie Belle heard somepony yelling in the empty building, and decided to follow the sound back to its source in the hopes it would help her find Lady Trixie. Sweetie Belle wandered deeper and deeper into the light-deprived building. Her only guide to the dark labyrinth was the constant echoing of somepony’s frustrated shouts in the halls that, while once unintelligible in nature, became more and more discernible as she advanced. Sweetie Belle could make out a few swear words here and there as well as Lord Blueblood’s name, but as for everything else it was all muffled ranting.The source of the noise revealed itself as a door emblazoned with a magnificent golden star that somehow shone brightly despite the poor lighting in the hallway, Sweetie Belle wished that Applebloom and Scootaloo were with her instead of reporting their attacker from earlier to Lady Rainbow Dash and Lady Applejack. At least then she’d have somepony around  to give her moral support. Another unintelligible shout resonated from behind the door, sending a violent shiver from the base of the filly’s tail through her spine.   Sweetie Belle swallowed hard as she nudged the door open, and another scream poured through, this time clearer than ever and twice as loud.  “—Bah! That buffoon Blueblood! Doesn’t he realize what a waste of equine resources it is to assign such a decorated and magnificent officer such as—ahem— Lady Trixie: The Great and Powerful,” Trixie shouted, throwing her forehooves to the sky as though she were addressing some imaginary audience. “To such a manure-hovel of a district!” Trixie gazed out the dirt-encrusted window to the lower district, grimacing in her disgust and abhorrence for the impoverished area. Sweetie Belle trotted into the room, her eyes falling on her superior officer who was nude while ranting and raving to a window. Sweetie Belle cleared her throat and called out softly, “Lady Trixie?” Sweetie Belle huffed in irritation as Trixie continued to rave like a madmare. “It’s all that Twilight Sparkle’s fault! If it weren’t for her, Trixie would still be Lord Blueblood’s Second-in-Command back in the Upper District! Trixie doesn’t know what Blueblood sees in that half-witted mare... can her inept magical ability best a swarm of dragons, hex a hydra into submission, or curse a cockatrice with it’s own venomous glare?! Trixie says neigh!” “Lady Trixie? Hello!” Sweetie Belle piped up, with a little more volume in her voice this time, but it fell short yet again as Trixie continued to ramble on in her state of dismay. “Trixie would bet her bottom bit that Blueblood is only acting like this because of his engagement to that dirty lower district cobbler! How could he forget everything he ever had with Trixie!? Trixie gave him the best years of her life, and her heart, and the mule just goes and tramples on everything? Trixie will see to it that he pays for—” “Lady Trixie!” Sweetie Belle shouted, startling her superior. The sudden outburst caused Trixie to jump in surprise and whirl around defensively, her horn aglow with a magenta aura, threatening to lash out at the first thing to identify itself as a threat. “Who dares to intrude on the Great and Powerful Trixie during her personal monologue? Identify yourself coward, before I turn you into a slug!” Sweetie Belle trotted out into Trixie’s line of sight, and halted. She brought both sets of her legs together, and rose her right forehoof in a salute. “Lady Trixie, I am Knight in Training Sweetie Belle, and I have news for you, so please don’t turn me into a slug!” Sweetie pleaded without breaking her salute. “And what’s a monologue?” She inquired tilting her head to the side. “Errr... nothing,” Trixie replied brushing off the question in hopes that the child would forget her earlier ramblings. “Now, what is it that you need to tell Lady Trixie? And be quick about it; Trixie has things to do!” Sweetie Belle dropped her salute and shuffled her hooves uncomfortably along the floor. “Ohh... ummmm... right! My team was attacked—” “Mmm-hmmm... attacked...” Trixie mumbled half listening, half fascinated by a spot of dirt on her hoof and its remarkable resemblance to a star. “ —by this really crazy strong guy on two legs—” “Crazy strong biped.. yup.” Trixie held her hoof out in front of her face, checking for any other imperfections on the appendage. In her mind she had already estimated the threat to be a Diamond Dog, and as pesky as the rowdier members of that race were, they were nothing two senior knights couldn’t handle. Trixie was growing more and more impatient as she waited for the filly to finish her report. “—with this really cool transforming staff, and he spat green fire!” “...mmm-hmmm, transforming staff and— Did you just say green fire?!” “Yes, Lady Trixie!” Sweetie Belle shouted, whipping her right hoof back up in a salute. “He spat this weird green fire on his staff, and then he attacked myself, and Knights in Training Applebloom and Scootaloo. After the encounter, we woke up in the moat outside of the city. We never had a chance, Ma’am!” Trixie bit her lip, as she went over the description of the perpetrator in her mind. Two legs, transforming staff, breathes green fire, it has to be him! But how, and why now? Hmmm... then again this could be Trixie’s chance to get back in with Blueblood’s good graces... wait a minute though... Trixie looked at Sweetie Belle, and compared the details of the filly’s report to the actual K.I.T. herself, and immediately noticed a contradiction. “Knight In Training Sweetie Belle, was it?” “Yes, Lady Trixie!” “Where is the rest of your team? You did say there were two others with you, did you not?” “Oh! They went to report the intruder to Lady Rainbow Dash and Lady Applejack in the lower district.” Trixie glared at nopony in particular when Sweetie Belle mentioned the names of Trixie’s rivals. If anypony was going to get credit for capturing Sir Spike, it was going to be Trixie. Through grit teeth Trixie managed a compliment that slowly turned to arsenic on her tongue “Good work child, now go find your team in the Middle District and resume patrol.” “But Lady Trixie, what about the intruder? Can you really handle him on your own? He’s really, really strong.” “Child, do you dare to doubt the criminal apprehension abilities of Lady Trixie: The Great and Powerful!?” Trixie bellowed, the latter part of the sentence carrying enough force to startle Sweetie Belle into stumbling backwards. “N-no, Lady Trixie!” Sweetie Belle responded with a nervous and sloppy salute. “Then begone! Trixie must prepare to apprehend this criminal herself!” “Yes ma’am, Lady Trixie, ma’am!” Sweetie Belle shouted as she galloped out of the office, in her mind trying to remember the path to Knight Corps’ Middle District headquarters. Trixie waited until Sweetie Belle had left the office, before screaming out in frustration and stomping her hooves in a tantrum like manner. “Is Trixie doomed to spend the rest of her career in this sorry excuse for a shantytown? If Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and the insane one catch the traitor... no, it just means Trixie will have to catch the dragon first! Trixie is almost certain he hasn’t even left the lower district yet!” Trixie enthusiastically cantered over to a black trunk behind her desk and began pulling out her patrol attire. Within moments she had adorned herself with a black breast-plate decorated with silver stars, her trade mark purple star-studded cape and magician’s hat, full armor for her left foreleg while the others remained bare, and lastly she seized her always dependable golden trident, levitating it onto her back. “Trixie will capture the dragon or die trying!” she cried as she galloped down the halls and into the filthy streets she loathed so much.. Lower District Market Place Spike looked around and was surprised to find that a large crowd had gathered around since the battle with the Cutie Mark Crusaders. While fights in the Lower District were unsurprisingly common— In the crowd an argument between a pegasus and a donkey was slowly escalating into a minor scuffle— a battle on the scale of what had just transpired between Spike, Pipsqueak and the Cutie Mark Crusaders was a spectacle unlike any other. There is usually nothing out of place with the gathering of a crowd in the Lower District, but to have shopkeepers leave their stands unattended, and all of the foot traffic in the area stop whatever they were doing to gawk upon the skirmish, it can safely be said that the law enforcement knights wouldn’t be too far behind. As proof of this, one singular voice rang out above the cheers and jeers of the crowd: “Hey what’s going on down there? Clear a path, commoners!” “Uh-oh,” Spike mumbled. Almost immediately as he heard the voices, his eyes began darting around the surrounding area for some way out, but the crowd was packed too tightly together to offer a remotely effective escape route. Spike noticed that Snips and Snails had somehow wormed their way through the crowd and were galloping up to him at full throttle with panic spread wide across their features. “Mr. Spike, we’d best am-scray, and quickly!” Snips sputtered as he slowed to a stop. “Yeah, there’s buck-ton of knights out there, eh!” Snails contributed. “What’s going on here? Clear a path, all of you, this is Knight Corps business!” Spike noted how close the shouts were, and he could see the faint silver glimmer of standard issue Knight Armor. Thinking quickly he turned to the subject matter expert of escaping law enforcement and angry shop owners. “Pipsqueak, you should have plenty of experience with getting out of sticky situations, do you see any good escape routes?” “You’re not going to like this, Mr. Spike, but it looks like we’ll have to fight our way out... again...” Spike clenched his jaw to the point he could feel his teeth grinding against each other. At best he could take five guards on his own, but with the amount of armor he saw pushing through the crowds, resistance seemed futile. It’s either try to take the guards  on, or face execution... guess I’ve got no alternative. “Pssst!” came a voice from behind Spike and the three colts. Immediately the whole group whirled around and fixed their eyes on a solid brick wall. “Did anypony else hear that?” Pipsqueak asked aloud. “Maybe the wall sneezed?” Snails drawled. The wall spoke again.“Psssst! You! Yes, You! Come with us! We get you out of here! You hurry, yes?” “Uhh...” Spike pondered the offer for a moment as Pipsqueak spurned the group into action. “Yes, how are we to get in there though?” “One moment.” The wall slid open, slightly revealing a dark alleyway just large enough to for every member of Spike’s party to enter one at a time.  Spike went first and was quickly followed by Pipsqueak, Snails, and Snips who struggled to squeeze through due to his portly frame. When they were through, the wall slid closed again, and the group was greeted by a tall silhouette sporting pair of bloodshot yellowed eyes. “Hmmm, pony... Rover not too fond of Ponies. But if they with fellow Diamond Dog,” the silhouette gestured to Spike, “Spot guess it okay. Come on, make haste!” Spot began walking down the hallway, while Spike and company followed suit. The party had been travelling down the corridor in silence until Snips verbalized his concern over something that had been bothering him since the meeting with the Diamond Dog.“If you don’t mind our asking good sir, what did you mean when you said fellow Diamond Dog?” “The one wearing jacket, he is Diamond Dog, yes? He walks on two legs like Spot, but he is much smaller than average Diamond Dog, but Diamond Dog nonetheless,” Spot responded while pushing open a rusty red door on the side of the corridor, revealing a large room with no ceiling containing what appeared to be a grungy and hastily constructed shanty-town, the inhabitants of which were more Diamond Dogs wearing leather armor that looked like it was being held together with screws and bits of metal..   A Diamond Dog wearing a red vest,  metal gauntlets over his massive forearms, and a tattered scarf approached the group and began conversing with Spot, all the while resting one of his claws on an oddly shaped sword he wore across the his waist. “Spot, who this,” the Diamond Dog gestured to Spike with his free claw “,and why do you bring ponies down here?” “Spot, see fellow Diamond Dog in trouble with the knights, so rescued him, but he bring ponies with him.” “Gahhh! You are too soft for your own good, but Rover supposes they can be used for— wait a minute.” Rover walked over to Spike and began sniffing the air around the dragon intensely. Spike shirked backwards as the Diamond Dog came closer and closer, but just as quickly as Rover began his assessment, he ended it returning his attention to Spot. “Spot, are your nostrils clogged?” “What do you mean, Rover?”  “That not Diamond Dog, you lunk-head!” Rover shouted, smacking Spot on the back of the head.  “He, not Diamond Dog? But he go on two legs! What other creature go on two legs, beside Diamond Dogs?” “Not know, but we find out later after we kill the intruder!” Rover snarled as he drew his blade from its sheathe, aiming the tip at Spike, had there been a tip. Rover’s sword was more akin to a massive double sided butcher’s knife, and it looked as though someone had broken the tip off of a particularly heavy claymore. “Hey, come on, can’t we talk about this?” Spike asked as he backed away from the sword. “Talk? Talk time over. Rover’s sword thirst for blood. First kill you, then we make lunch out of the ponies!” Rover cackled harshly, intimidating Snips and Snails to the point that the pair huddled together, wrapping their arms around each other wile they quivered in fear. Pipsqueak rolled his eyes at the pair of frightened colts before returning his gaze to the fight about to ensue, and he noted that a good number of the Diamond Dogs in the district had taken interest as well, forming a small circle as they gawked at the spectacle that was sure to ensue.  Spike tried again  to establish some amnesty in the situation, carefully preparing his cane for transformation. “Look, we’re just trying to pass through to the upper district, we don’t want any trouble all right?” “You not have much choice, freak! Fight!” Rover cried as he hefted his heavy blade upwards with one claw, swinging it straight down at Spike’s head. “Whoa!” Spike leapt to the side, avoiding a devastating blow that shattered the very ground he was standing on moments ago. As Spike rolled to recovery, he observed the aftermath of Rover’s swing, taking note that his opponent was having some minor difficulty getting his sword out of the ground. Spike took advantage of this opportunity, and  released his bo-staff from the cane, readying a swing as he charged at Rover. Rover had finally removed his sword from the ground when Spike released a mighty staff swing with all his might, catching his opponent in the face, and knocking Rover back a few feet. “You not bad, stranger,” Rover paused to spit blood, “but you not stronger than Diamond Dog!” Rover hefted his sword again, and leapt at Spike with a wide clumsy swing. Spike blocked the blow with his staff, but the force of the impact was so great that it knocked Spike’s staff out of his hand, leaving him exposed and unarmed. Rover capitalized on Spike’s shortcoming and unleashed a barrage of slow, clumsy, but devastating swings, each one driving Spike further and further away from his weapon.   Pipsqueak unable to watch this spectacle continue any longer prepared to jump into the fray with Spike. “Mr. Spike! Hold on, I’ll—” “Pony not interfere, or Spot kill pony.” Spot proclaimed with crossed arms. “What? Why?” “Diamond Dog honor code not allow interference in duel. This between Rover and the strange one. If pony interfere, pony’s hide will become Spot’s new armor.”         “Grrr... fine.” Pipsqueak ceded through grit teeth. It was painful to not be able to assist his friend, but he’d seen Spike fight off wild creatures, and multiple bandits in the Everfree Forest, so he knew the knight could handle himself.         Rover, finally sick of the constant misses, held the giant cleaver with two claws allowing for much faster swings. As one of the improved swings sailed inches away from Spike’s chest the dragon contemplated his situation. If I get hit by one of those I’m a goner, but I cant keep dodging forever. I guess this is where— Spike paused his train of thought to duck a fresh swing— I’ll mount my retaliation then. “Rover have you now!” the Diamond Dog shouted in triumph bring the blade straight down for the second time in this battle. Spike side stepped the attacked, and with a spin and a flourish he slipped his arm out of his jacket, hurling the article of clothing into Rover’s face.”Gahh! Can’t see! Can’t see!” Rover shouted. In his panicked state, Rover took his claws off the sword and was focused on peeling the jacket away. Spike sprinted and leapt at his blinded foe, winding up and releasing a mighty haymaker that connected with satisfying THWACK! sending Rover reeling backwards to the ground. Spike seized this opportunity, and jumped straight above Rover simultaneously  using his tail as a pike as he crashed into the Diamond Dog’s belly. “GYYYAAAHHH!” Rover shrieked as the pain shot through his body. Using his armored claw, Rover hurled a wild punch at Spike, who stood atop his belly. Spike parried theswing with both claws, inhaling deeply and charging his dragonfire as he did so. Sssss.... BANG! Sang the loud report of a pistol as it cut through the shouts and barks of the spectators silencing them almost instantly “That’s enough!” A new female voice resonated through the shanty town, captivating the attention of Pipsqueak, Snips, Snails, the Diamond dogs, and Spike, their collective attention settling on a figure who stood on the roof of one of the shoddily built shacks. “C-Captain G-Gilda!” Spot whimpered, backing up as Gilda spread her wings and jumped from the roof, gliding towards the ground. The moment she came into view Spike took note that Captain Gilda was adorned primarily in pirate garb: she wore a white blouse top with a black vest faded from years of use, an eyepatch, and a belt with five single-shot flintlock pistols and a blunderbuss secured to it. Rover pushed Spike off of his chest and sprinted over to Gilda, saluting lazily as he did so. “First Mate Rover reporting, bird... er... Captain.” “Can’t some-gryphon get some sleep around here? Just what are you idiots fighting about anyway? And why are there ponies and a dragon here?” “Spot bring them Captain, and what dragon? Spot not see a dragon, only ponies and purple freak, but he too small to be dragon,” Rover inquired tilting his head. Gilda face-taloned and muttered something under her breath, but only the latter portion was discernible. “... and somehow you’re the most intelligent of the Diamond Dogs.” Gilda seized Rover’s head with her talon and redirected him to Spike who was presently exhaling the orange fire he never got to release due to the interruption of the fight. “That is a dragon, don’t tell me you’ve never seen one before, I mean look at him: He’s even breathing fire.” Spike  finished expelling the flame. “Well, actually that’s a common misconception, see dragons don’t really breathe fire. It’s more like regurgitating gems that we’ve eaten and converted into—” “Shut it, nerd! No one asked you. Why are you here anyway? You’ve got a minute to explain yourself and why I shouldn’t shoot you down like a common sea-rat for assaulting my first mate.” Gilda placed a talon on one of her still loaded flintlocks to get her point across. “Well, we were on our way to the upper district when we ran into some trouble, and these dogs—” “My dogs,” Gilda stated sternly. “Right, your dogs saved us from the knights by bringing us in here.” “Not too friendly with the knights, huh?” Gilda removed her talon from the pistol. “You’re all right with me then.”         “What did the knights do to you?” “I’m a pirate, so the real question here is: what haven’t they done to me? We docked here just after some scumbag by the name of Blueblood took command of Knight Corps, and started cracking down hard on the ports. They took our ship, detained most of my crew, and labeled me a rogue privateer. Can you believe it? Me a privateer... that’ll be the day.” “Aren’t you though?” “Ha! Privateers are soft, yellow-bellied cowards who would bow down to the government and play in whatever pond they’re told to. Privateers have rules and limitations, and are content with being complete and utter embarrassments to the sea. Dogs, what do you think of privateers?” At once all of the Diamond Dogs straightened up and barked out as a singular unit: “Privateers, Captain? Don’t you mean breakfast? AWWWOOOO!!!! Kill! Pillage! Plunder!”   Gilda grinned before turning back to Spike. “No, dear dragon, what I am is a pirate. Captain Gilda, the Hound-Mother of the Equestrian Seas.” The Diamond Dogs once again as unit sounded off at the mention of their Captain’s full title:  “AWWWWWOOOOOO!!!! Kill! Pillage! Plunder!” “What’s your name dragon?” “Spike Sparkle, formerly known as Sir Spike the Fireheart of Knight Corps.” “...” Uh-oh...I forgot she doesn’t take too kindly to knights, this could be bad... “Sparkle? Spike Sparkle? Are you kidding me?” “Ummm... sorry?” “I’ll just pretend you never said that. Anyhow, why were you running from the knights, Mr. Former Knight?” “Well...” Spike pondered the ramifications of explaining himself to a pirate. Given the circumstances, there were no obvious negatives in trading stories with a fellow criminal. “Long story short, that Blueblood guy, he poisoned our queen and framed me for it, I escaped for a few months, and these three managed to to drag me back to Canterlot.” Spike gestured to the ponies behind him. “So I figured since I’m here, I may as well kick his flank and clear my name as well, but not five minutes into the Lower District, we got into it with some Knights in Training, and you know what happened from there. Now I don’t mean to sound rude or impatient, but I have to get to the Upper District, so if you could please show us out—” “There’s a girl involved isn’t there?” Spike flushed a shade of crimson at Gilda’s blunt assessment, and he began stumbling over his words. “What? Oh, I...uh...”  “Ha! An honest and true cliche in this day in age,”Gilda cackled heartily, patting Spike hard on the back. “I like the cut of your jib, Former Knight. We’ll show you out of the hideout, but I need to get ready first.” “Get ready? For what?” “Isn’t it obvious? I’m comin’ with you, as leader of course. Besides, what you see here is only a fraction of my crew. We’ve got hideouts established in all three of the Districts, I just prefer this one because you can get away with just about anything in the Lower District.” Gilda turned her head to the mass of Dogs and whistled a sharp piercing tone. At once, Rover and Spot sprinted over to their waiting captain. “You whistled, bird?” Rover huffed. “Rover, get ready to go. We’re accompanying our dragon friend to the Upper District. Spot, you’re in charge of the hideout until then, got it?” Both Diamond Dogs saluted and sprinted off in separate directions, and Gilda nodded to Spike before going her own way as well. As quickly as Gilda left, Pipsqueak, Snips and Snails galloped up to Spike, a mix of concern and excitement plastered across their faces as they crowded around asking rapid-fire questions. “Sir Spike, what did she say?” Snips asked, advancing closer to Spike. “Are they gonna eat us?” Snails pried, glancing around nervously at the Diamond Dogs going about their business. “Pirates are awesome...” remarked Pipsqueak. “How soon are they going to let us go?” Snips inched even closer to Spike. “I don’t taste very good, dude. You told them I don’t taste good right? Right?” Snails prodded. “Pirates are awesome...” Pipsqueak reiterated. “All right, all right, one question at a time,” Spike instructed, distancing himself from the information hungry colts with his fully extended arms. “Snips: Captain Gilda said she’s coming with us, and we’ll be leaving as soon as she’s ready, so it shouldn’t be too long.” “Sh-sh-she’s coming with us?” Snails sputtered, and Spike nodded in affirmation. “Traveling with Captain Gilda... awesome...” Pipsqueak rambled, clearly starstricken by the recent change in events. “No, no, no, we can’t travel with a pirate, she’ll stab us in the back the first chance she gets!” Spike ignored Snips’ protests and turned to address Snails’ concerns. “Snails: They are not going to eat you...” Snails exhaled a sigh of relief  but quickly sucked it back in as Spike added an extra stipulation with a smirk “...yet. Pipsqueak, do you have any questions?” “We’ll be traveling with a pirate... awesome...” Spike nodded approvingly, at least Pipsqueak was getting into the spirit of things. “Ponies and freak, you ready to go? Captain is waiting,” said Rover from behind the group. “Yeah, all right you guys, let’s not keep the lady Waiting,” Spike ordered. “Lady? Ha! The bird more like a Timberwolf!!  Rover like you, you funny, freak!” The Diamond Dog cackled as he walked to the exit of the shantytown. “Uhhh, Sir Spike, are you sure we can trust pirates, I mean they’re pirates!” “I’m a fugitive from the law, and he’s a kleptomaniacal colt who’s been banned from.... what is it three cities now?” Pipsqueak nodded to affirm Spike’s claim. “Heck Snips, you and Snails used to be sales-stallions, and next to lawyers, sales-ponies are the last group who should talk about trust.” “He’s got a point, dude,” Snails concurred. “Shut up Snails...” Snips grumbled trotting after Rover who had opened the door and was waiting for the rest of the party. As the group advanced through the door, they were greeted by Gilda who was leaning against a wall on two legs, rubbing her talons on her vest. “Sorry to keep you waiting Captain Gilda,” Spike apologized with a playful inflection. Gilda nodded to Spike “Took you long enough,” she chuckled before turning to the ponies in the group, her friendly demeanor making a full one-eighty as she did so. “Listen up you whelps, I’m in charge of this little misadventure now. If you have any questions complaints or concerns, you can address them to me as you’re picking grape-shot pellets from your flanks, got it?” To maximize the effect of this statement Gilda retrieved one of her Flintlock Pistols and aimed it at Pipsqueak’s face causing Snips and Snails to jump back in fright. Even with a barrel of black powder activated death only a trigger pull away, Pipsqueak’s enthusiasm remained intact, not a hint of fear splayed across the colt’s face. “Pirates are awesome... I think I wanna be a pirate!” “You wanna be a pirate, huh?” Gilda inquired lowering the pistol. “Uh-huh,” Pipsqueak nodded affirmatively. “What’s your name?” Pipsqueak threw up a sloppy salute before responding. “Pipsqueak ma’am. Pipsqueak the Pickpocket!” “I like you kid, you’ve got a bright future ahead of you, c’mere.” Gilda picked up Pipsqueak by the back of his neck, and placed the thief on her back. “If you stick with me you’ll go far in the sea-faring business.” Pipsqueak turned to Spike for approval, and the knight shot him a thumbs up. “All right, you salty dogs, let’s move out,” Gilda barked as she began moving down the corridor, her makeshift crew in tow. “But not all of us are dogs,” Snips pointed out “Oh,shut it you land-lubbin’ weakling, it’s a nautical term,” Gilda stated in a matter of factly tone. “Sir Spike, she’s not really in charge is she?” Snips whispered. Spike shrugged before responding, “Does it really matter? We’re all going to the same place, aren’t we? Her network of hideouts in the city may prove invaluable to us. Besides, I’m not the lackey here, you are,” Spike chuckled as he walked. The corridor ended at what looked to be another brick wall that Rover pulled open with minimal effort revealing another side of the Lower District Streets. As the rest of the party emptied out onto the streets, Rover pulled the wall shut behind them, and they prepared to make their way to the middle District gate when a shrill female voice from behind ceased their advance “Hold it right there criminal scum!” The whole party turned around, their collective attention falling on the  visage of Lady Trixie. “The traitor Sir Spike the Fireheart and Rogue Privateer Hound Mother Gilda working together? It is of little consequence, as this double capture will only enhance the reputation of,” the figure paused to rear up on her hind legs as she kicked her fore legs in the air, “Lady Trixie the Great and Powerful!” The mare’s introduction was accompanied by a display of magical fireworks that failed to even impress Snails who decided to vocalize his expert opinion on the subject in a rare moment of intellectual insight: “That was lame.” “What was that whelp?” Trixie snarled at Snails who cleared his throat and continued. “Well, your pyrotechnic skills are shoddy at best. You clearly put too much emphasis on the size of the explosion as opposed to the arrangement, color, or burst pattern which are all areas that you’ve failed miserably in, therefore making your fireworks display dull, amateurish, and uninteresting. Perhaps maybe if you’d tried to make it not suck, you’d stand a chance of being awe-striking, intimidating, or at the very least more interesting than a foal with matches.” Everyone, including Trixie, stood slack-jawed at Snails’ assessment of the introduction. Spike, Pipsqueak and Snips were taken aback at his in-depth knowledge of the subject, while Gilda and Rover nodded approvingly, impressed that at least one of the two sales-ponies showed some semblance of a backbone. Trixie on the otherhoof was silently fuming over the response her patented introduction garnered. “What did you say to Trixie?” “I think he said you suck,” Gilda spat venomously. Trixie gritted her teeth in anger and returned fire with a poison laced inquiry “Oh? And Trixie supposes you can do better, bird?” She hissed while stomping towards Gilda, establishing  telekinetic connection to the Trident on her back simultaneously.  “Heh, why would I need to waste my time with a fancy introduction like that when I can just let my reputation and skills do my speaking for me?” Gilda gestured for Pipsqueak to hop off of her back before she stepped forward to meet the knight’s challenge.   “You in for a treat, ponies and freak. Bird rarely take interest in combat, but she best fighter in whole crew. She even beat Rover!” Rover whispered to the rest of the party.         “Well, I beat you too, so where does that put me?” Spike inquired with a smug grin plastered on his face.         Rover glared at Spike, “Just watch Captain fight, freak.”  “We’ll see who the skilled one is after Trixie spills your blood all across these streets!” “Oh, you talk too much, just shut up and fight!” In one swift motion, Gilda extended her wings and flapped them hard behind herself, sending the Gryphon skimming along the ground at high speeds towards Trixie. “Trixie needs not dirty her trident’s blade with your blood!” Trixie’s horn began to glow a faint magenta that was barely visible from beneath her hat, and a lumniscient pentagram of light adorned with odd symbols materialized in front of Trixie. A heavy blast of wind erupted from the pentagram and collided with Gilda, knocking the gryphon out of her flight path, causing her to skid along the street. Trixie took advantage of Gilda’s fallen state and galloped full force at her fallen foe, her trident floating just ahead of her as if it were a lance. “Take this, you scum!” Trixie cried as she drove the weapon at Gilda, who rolled to the side and retaliated with a lunging uppercut talon swipe, catching Trixie in the chest , sending the cocky mare reeling backwards, but the great and powerful knight stood her ground, adamant on not going down.   Gilda pressed her advantage by rushing Trixie with a flurry of wild talon swipes, the majority of which Trixie was able to halt with the shaft of her trident. The final blow of the flurry managed to cut Trixie on the cheek. Trixie retreted from Gilda, aiming the fully extended trident at her to create some distance between herself and the gryphon. “Not bad, bird, not bad at all. It’s been a while since Trixie has had an opponent who could lay a single scratch on her, much less two. Perhaps maybe you can be of some amusement to Trixie after all.” Trixie sneered as she whipped the trident forth in a wide arc at Gilda, who was preparing to to dodge and charge again when Rover leapt in front of the attack, halting it with his sword. “Captain, Rover help you fight, get the pony now!” Rover commanded as he struggled with the trident’s advance, a grinding screech resonating from the power struggle. Gilda ran up to join her first mate, and almost immediately she released a powerful claw swipe into Rovers side, sending the Diamond Dog tumbling into the dirt.  In one smooth motion Gilda pulled  one of the flintlock pistols from its holster, aimed it at Rover’s head, and squeezed the trigger. Sssss.... Boom! In a spark of light and sound the flintlock discharged its payload, ejecting the round towards the fallen Diamond Dog. “Gah!” Rover cried as the round grazed his cheek leaving a searing hot cut in its wake. “Captain, what you do that for? Rover on your side, she the enemy!” Re-holstering the expended pistol, Gilda ignored her first mate’s inquiries in the interest of  getting her point across. “Rover, if you interfere again, I’ll have you keelhauled for insubordination, do you understand me?” “But Captain, this one too strong, and she use magic!” “Keep whining about it, and I’ll just put you down right now. You bring shame to your crew when you speak about your Captain like that. Have you no faith in your Hound-Mother?” “Uhhh...errr.... Rover sorry, Captain.” “Stay out of my battle. This is between me and her. Any intrusions are punishable by death.” “Ha! A pirate with honor? Now Trixie’s seen everything.” “You ain’t seen nothing yet...” Gilda muttered, flapping her wings and slowly gaining altitude. “This looks high enough,” the gryphon mused aloud before diving towards Trixie, her wings beating furiously behind her. “You think you can beat Trixie head on? You’re either really brave or really stupid, canary!” Trixie began charging her horn for another spell that manifested itself in the form of a multitude of smaller pentagrams akin to the one from her earlier spell. Black clouds began to emerge from the center of the pentagrams , each one was bursting with electrical energy. “Take this!” Each of the clouds released a stream of lightning that whipped past Gilda at insane speeds, causing the gryphon to take swerve left and right, while maintaining her direction and momentum. Trixie was taken aback by Gilda’s agility and with a a push of her magic, changed the formation of the clouds by bringing them closer together until they formed one massive storm cloud.  “Let’s see you dodge this!” The cloud discharged an insanely large burst of lightning that resembled a serpent as it jolted erratically towards Gilda. “Oh flock!” The Pirate reacted to the massive lightning bolt by changing her trajectory into a straight dive towards the ground as the dragon roared overhead, burying itself into one of the poorly constructed dwellings behind its intended target. Gilda peeled out of the dive at the last second, utilizing her increased speed to crash into Trixie, the impact knocking all of the air from the mare’s lungs. Without missing a beat, Gilda grabbed the mare around the throat with her talons and quickly picked Trixie off her hooves, slamming the knight into the ground twice as hard. While Trixie was dazed, Gilda promptly mounted the mare with her hindlegs, withdrawing and shoving a flintlock into the braggart’s open mouth, while choking Trixie with her free talon. “Now, that I’ve finally shut you up, how about I blow a hole in the oversized head of yours so we can let that ego deflate, hm?” “Mmmph! Mmmmph!” Trixie cried and struggled, but in Gilda’s iron grasp she was virtually helpless. “Say hello to Davy Jones for me, sweetheart.” As Gilda slowly pulled back the trigger of the flintlock pistol, Trixie saw her life flash before her eyes. Every precious moment she could recall from her life up until this point overtook her vision  all at once. Precious childhood memories, first love and first heartbreak, her enlistment into Knight Corps, meeting and becoming enamored with Sir Blueblood, the countless nights she’d spent perfecting her magic to impress him, to the moment that he banished her to lower district and spurned Trixie’s affections in the interest some common dressmaker.Trixie’s only regret is that she’ll never be able to make that bastard pay... Was Trixie’s last thought as the hammer swung itself forward with a mighty and dry Click! Trixie awaited the unwanted release of the death that never came. Instead, she opened her eyes to see Gilda staring at her with an enormous grin spread across the gryphon’s beak. A moment of silence passed through the empty streets before Gilda  burst into a fit of maniacal laughter. “Oh Luna, you should have seen the look on your face, ahahaha!”Gilda sputtered out between chuckles. Trixie spat the pistol from her mouth and turned towards Gilda.“Trixie does not understand, why are you laughing? Why does Trixie still live?” “Sheesh, aren’t you just the grimmest pony I’ve ever had the pleasure of beating on. Most other folks would be happy that they weren’t killed, but you need a full explanation about it. Well let me put it to you this way, if I wanted you dead I wouldn’t have pulled an empty pistol on you. All in all, I guess you could say that I own you now, as in you may as well have died right there, because your life belongs to me, got it weakling?” Trixie’s eyes fell to the side in a melancholy fashion as she contemplated tis turn of events. “Hey if you don’t like it,” Gilda pulled a fully loaded flintlock, placing it to Trixie’s temple “We can always rectify this situation....” “T-Trixie understands, bird! Trixie swears on her knight’s honor she understands!” Gilda removed herself from atop Trixie. “Good, I’m glad we’re both on the same page, I’m always looking for strong lackeys. Now, how about you prove your newfound loyalty to your Captain and show my companion,” Gilda gestured to Spike, “and the rest of my minions to the upper district, hm? The dragon and I have some personal business with a mule by the name of Blueblood, and we’d like to— ” “Blueblood? You’re going to take down Blueblood?”  Trixie asked exasperated, unable to believe her own ears. “Did I stutter? That jerk jacked my ship, and I can’t leave until I’ve kicked his flank and reclaimed my vessel and my crew.” Spike stepped forth to address his take on the situation. “The bastard poisoned Queen Celestia, and harmed innocent civilians, just to set me up. I can’t very well let that slide now can I?” A wide grin slowly over took the corners of Trixie’s lips, as the mare picked herself off the ground, and levitated her trident to it’s resting place on her back. “Well, Trixie supposes she could willingly lend her talent to this ragtag team of scoundrels. If it means exacting her revenge on that filthy philanderer. Come all of you, Trixie will guide you through the middle district, but be warned, the security there is much more intense since Lady Rainbow Dash became the head Knight.” “Did you say Rainbow Dash?” Gilda inquired. “You got some kind of history with her?” Spike asked. “Let’s just say she and I go way back. I’m certain the story will make itself known if we have to run into her. Anyhow let’s go, I’m done looking at this lame district.” Trixie led the way towards a large gate, and the rest of the party followed suit, enroute to the middle district. Chapter 2 End.