Ponies of the Cursed Seas

by iowaforever

Chapter 2

I don't own any of this. I am writing it as a bit of advertising, I guess; Pirates is a fairly obscure game, and I find that a bit depressing. So I want to spread the knowledge of Pirates around and get more people interested.
Also, comments are appreciated, as are likes. First fanfic ever, and I want to get off to a good start.

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Chapter 2

“Sorry to keep you girls waiting,” Fluttershy said “Some of the squirrels were a little greedy.”

“That’s okay, Fluttershy.” Twilight said. The six of them were seated around a small table outside the restaurant Twilight had suggested. The sky was clear and they were treated to an amazing view of the harbor. Pleasure boats and trade schooners floated in the harbor, and hundreds of ponies tended to the ships as they pulled in or cast off. They even saw some of the seals Fluttershy had mentioned, the big animals flopping around in the water without a care in the world. A small breeze blew through, bringing with it the strong smell of sea water.

Twilight focused her attention back on the rest of her friends; Applejack and Rainbow Dash were having a conversation over something Twilight could not pin down, Rarity was trying on different scarves she had purchased, and Pinkie Pie was playing with a small pile of salt.

“So, Applejack,” Twilight said “Did you get a chance to see your relatives?”

“Nah, they weren’t in.” the orange farm pony said. “The pony at the door said they’d gone on some sightseeing tour down south and wouldn’t be back ‘till tomorrow. So I went and found Rainbow and watched her try and impress everypony with those stunts she’d been braggin' about.”

“I wasn’t bragging about them.” Rainbow Dash said.

“Really? Then how come every time I tried talkin’ with you, you always started talkin’ about ‘em no matter what I said.”

“Only because you kept saying that I couldn’t do them.”

“I never said that, but I ain’t a superstitious pony; I’m not gonna believe everything you say to me unless you actually show me.”

“And I did, along with hundreds of other ponies.”

“The only one you managed to pull off nearly caused you to crash a cart and hurt some poor filly.”

“How was I supposed to know there was an overhang there?” Twilight shifted her attention again.

“So Rarity, did you get all the things you wanted?”

“Oh of course, Twilight; you wouldn’t believe the quality of the silk that passes through here. And seeing all the ponies of culture gave me an idea for an ensemble for the Gala next year… if only I had some paper then I could get started right away.” Rarity eyed one of the napkins the restaurant had set out. “Well, there have been many famous creations that came from napkins.” She pulled a piece of charcoal from one of her bags using her magic and began scratching out a rough design. Twilight would have left it at that, but something was gnawing at the back of her mind.

“Hey, Rarity?”

“Yes, Twilight?” Rarity said without looking up from her napkin.

“Did you feel anything… weird, like a magic flux or something?” Rarity looked up.

“I don’t think so. Then again, I might have been distracted by everything around me. Why do you ask?”

“When I was walking into Manehattan, my horn started giving off magical pulses. Princess Celestia said that only happens when there’s a major influx of magic in the area. Those magic fluxes can be very dangerous to ponies.”

“Maybe that’s what the doozy was.” Pinkie Pie said. All conversation at the table stopped as everypony looked at Pinkie.

“You had a doozy?” Twilight asked.

“Uh-huh. I wanted to tell you all, but you were all so busy and it wasn’t going to happen until we all got here so I figured we were fine until then.” No sooner had Pinkie finished talking that she began to shake again. Twilight and the other ponies began to panic; Pinkie’s doozies usually had a massive impact on ponies both physically and mentally, and they all had walked right into it. Pinkie stopped shaking for a moment and pointed to the harbor. “There it is!” Twilight looked to where Pinkie was pointing.

Entering the harbor were two ships, one towing the other. The lead was your average trade ship, a small two-masted schooner with sea green colored sails. Twilight did a couple of calculations in her head and came to the conclusion that the ship was designed for speed, not towing, and she could see it was under a lot of strain.

The ship behind it was massive, nearly twice the size of the schooner. It was severely battered, and several of its olive sails were torn in a few places. It had three masts and a wide hull, and Twilight guessed it was designed for sailing on the open ocean. This confused her; nopony ever sailed more than a couple miles away from the coast, so why would these ponies need a ship of that size?

Twilight studied the towed ship some more. The hull had two rows of large wooden panels, counting to thirty two panels in all. She was about to question what they were for when a thought came to mind. Maybe it’s some kind of cruise ship and those panels are there to keep water out of... I don't know, windows or something. She looked over it some more when she froze, her eyes fixated on one aspect of the ship she had missed.

The standard flag of Equestria was nowhere to be seen. Instead there was a large flag with thirteen stripes alternating between red and white, and in the upper right corner was a blue field with thirteen white stars arranged in a circle.

“Have you ever seen anything like it?” she said.

“Certainly not.” Rarity said. “The flag is a nice touch, but olive is such a depressing color for sails. Now, if I were sailing a ship, I want something really eye catching and stunning, like red, or maybe even purple. And those panels add nothing to the allure of the ship; they make it look bulky and thrown together. Whoever designed that ship obviously had no sense of fashion whatsoever.”

“I don’t think they design ships for looks, Rarity.” Applejack said. “There is such a thing as practicality.”

“Well one can still be practical while maintaining beauty. Also, there is the question of why it's so... big. I’d think that whoever would have a ship like that would be rich; rich ponies do tend to slip up on fashion sometimes. Otherwise there would be no justification for something so big… and perhaps, whoever has that ship wouldn’t mind if I offered my services in sprucing up the thing.”

“Rarity, I thought you hated ships.” Rainbow Dash said.

“I think I’d be willing to set aside my prejudices for one project.”

“But that flag is wrong,” Twilight said. “Where’s the flag of Equestria?”

“Maybe they’re not from Equestria.” Pinkie said. “Which means they must want to know more about us, and I know the best way for a pony to learn about new places they’re visiting.”

“No Pinkie, we can’t throw them any parties.”

“I think we should go meet them.” Fluttershy said. The other five looked at her. “I-if you think that’s a good idea, that is.”

“Fluttershy’s right.” Twilight stood up “As Princess Celestia’s personal student, it is my duty to contact ponies from different cultures for the benefit of Equestria.”

“But wouldn’t the Princess know about something like this?” Applejack asked.

“I don’t know if she does; otherwise she would be here to meet them. Come on girls; let’s go see what Pinkie’s doozy really is.”

....................

The flag was merely a formality, but Mays had it raised to show the ponies who they were. Most of the ponies on land paid no attention, and he guessed that they had become jaded to the appearance of ships coming in and out of the harbor. He considered ordering Richard to fire off a cannon or two, but these ponies seemed fairly pacifistic and he did not want to start a riot or a war with the only group that could help him.

“I don’t think it’s going very well.” Smith said, hovering just behind Mays.

“We haven’t even docked yet. And will you please land, you’re starting to annoy me.” the yellow Pegasus did so.

“So, what do you think the markings are for?” Smith asked.

“I have no idea. Yours doesn’t even make sense.”

“Sure it does.” Smith looked at the mark on his side, a coiled snake. “Didn’t you ever see the flags at the beginning of the revolution? If anyone's doesn’t make sense, it’s yours.” Mays nodded. The mark on his flank looked like four horizontal bars beneath an upside down star. He tried thinking of all the possibilities that it could represent, but found none forthcoming.

“Maybe whoever runs this place knows more about them.” The Sea Swirl had pulled the Concordia into a shallower part of the harbor, and dock ponies began tying the two ships up to prevent drifting. Mays turned back to Smith.

“Go find the others; I’d hate to face the politicians alone.”

“Why? You didn’t seem to do that bad before we got turned to ponies.” Smith flew off. A couple more Pegasi flew up to Mays from the dock.

“Sea Strider said you needed some repair work?”

“Yes; the deck’s ruined and there’s been substantial damage to the rudder.”

“That doesn’t sound so bad.” the lead Pegasi took a moment to inspect one of the planks on the ship. “Nice woodwork, by the way; what is this, oak?”

“I think so; I was never really interested in trees.” The Pegasus tapped his hoof against the hull.

“Wow, that’s high quality stuff right there. I don’t think I’ve ever seen oak this good before. Where’d you get this from, the Everfree Forest?”

“Uh… I think so.” the Pegasus gave a whistle.

“Means it’s rare too; I wouldn’t want to go after trees in the Everfree Forest. I’ll get your ship fixed, but it might take some time. What happened? Did you get caught in a storm or something?”

“Kraken, actually.” The Pegasus gave Mays a weird look before flying off. Smith, Richard, Hacksaw and Nolan were standing on the main deck, with Richard and Smith organizing the repair details. Mays walked to them.

“Richard, you’re in charge until I get back.”

“Why is Richard in charge?” Nolan said. “I should be in charge; I outrank him.”

“Last time I left you in charge of anything I had to fight Blackheart’s entire fleet just to get you back. Besides, this will only be for a few hours, and I need more commissioned officers with me to make a better impression.” The Master Chief looked at Mays.

“No offense, captain, but how much better of an impression were you hoping for?”

“Mutinies and riots are no way to make yourself look good. Come now, it’s best not to keep the locals waiting.” Mays and the three other ponies made their way down a gangplank one of the workers had set up to get supplies onto the ship faster. They would have continued had not a skinny unicorn with a bag and a large book stopped them.

“I am sorry sir, but you must pay a docking fee before I can allow you to proceed. And I shall need to record your name and the name of your vessel.” Mays nodded before turning and nosing through his coat pockets for any spare change he might have had. Wish I still had hands, he thought. It would make this easier. He found two gold coins and dropped them into his hoof.

“Will this do?”

“Strange markings.” The unicorn said, inspecting the coins. “Where did you get these?”

“It’d take too long to explain.” He held the coins out to the unicorn.

“Well, they look authentic enough… very well.” the unicorn’s horn glowed and the coins lifted up and dropped into the bag. He then used a similar technique (Mays decided to call it magic and leave it at that) to open the book and pull a quill from the bag. “Your name?”

“Montana Mays.” The unicorn looked at him before shrugging and writing something down in the book.

“Name of ship?”

“U.S.S. Concordia.”

“Class?”

“Does it really matter?”

“More than you think; all the shipbuilders want to know how many of each class of ship are still afloat. Helps them keep track of potential losses. So, what class is your ship?”

“Concordia-class ship of the line, sixty four cannons and 1,750 tons, more or less.” The unicorn looked at Mays.

“I’ve never heard of such a ship. Tell me, who built this for you?”

“No one you’ve ever heard of.”

“Ah, private contractors, I see. Well, I can always add to the list.” The unicorn scribbled some more notes in his book before closing it. “Enjoy your stay in Manehattan, Mister Mays.” The unicorn left.

“What do you make of that?” he asked the assembled crew members.

“They must not have a navy, or if they do they must not have many large ships.” Smith said. Nolan was about to say something before Hacksaw cut him off.

“Think we could offer our services to them?” He said.

“Maybe. I just need to find whoever’s in charge of-”

“Uh, excuse me?” Mays turned and came face to face with a lavender unicorn with a purple and pink mane. The unicorn was accompanied by five other ponies: one other unicorn and two Pegasi and regular ponies each.

This should be interesting.

..................

Twilight looked at the other ponies. There were four of them: a large blue unicorn, a yellow Pegasus with the weirdest cutie mark she had ever seen, a green earth pony who looked as snobby as the ponies at the Gala and a white earth pony with a blond mane and goatee who was wearing a dark blue coat and hat. The lead pony was armed with a sword and they all looked a good deal tougher than most of the sailor ponies they had seen, and for a moment Twilight was regretting having approached them.

“May I help you?” the white earth pony asked.

“Um, yes.” Twilight mustered all the courage she had. “I’m Twilight Sparkle, personal student to Princess Celestia. My friends and I were visiting when you sailed in, and since you don’t seem to be from around here I thought that it would be best if I came to ask why you are here.” The pony regarded her and her friends. She heard a small whimper that she guessed came from Fluttershy before the other pony responded.

“You seem fairly trustworthy, and if you’re a student of a princess then it’s in our best interest to make your acquaintance.” The pony turned to face her fully. “I’m Captain Montana Mays of the United States Navy, and these are some of my most trusted crew members.”

“Where’s this ‘United States’; I’ve never heard about it.”

"We're... Not exactly from around here."

"I kind of figured that out from the flag."

"No, I mean we're really not from around here. I don't think this is even the same world we started on."

"What do you mean?" Mays gave Twilight a brief explanation of how he and the others had gotten to Equestria; he told her of the kraken attack, of the whirlpool, and the balls of light.

“Then... you must be what caused the magic spike.”

“Come again?”

“All unicorns are in touch with the magic in the area around them; sometimes we feel disturbances when somepony uses too much magic or when magic goes out of control. Whatever brought you here must have triggered that disturbance.” Twilight smiled. “Maybe Princess Celestia can help get you all home; she is the most powerful pony in all of Equestria, and I think she could do it.”

“Why? This doesn’t seem like such a bad place.” Smith said. Mays ignored him.

“If she can, then I would appreciate it; I’m not big a big fan of nobility, but I won’t let my political inclinations get in the way.”

“We’re just going to let some… princess order us around?” Mays’ thoughts about everything working out fine were dashed. Nolan’s family had been patriots on the verge of fanatics during the Revolution, and this made Nolan a very bad person to bring along for diplomatic affairs, especially when patrolling European waters. Mays guessed that his family was the main reason British ships were attacking American vessels in the Caribbean and the Pacific.

Mays was just about to tell Nolan to shut up when Rainbow Dash flew up in the lieutenant’s face.

“Hey! What gives you the right to talk about the Princess like that?” the cyan pegasus shouted.

“I have my rights. I am a citizen of the United States and a Member of the American Navy, and I will not let some stuck up royal brat command me like she has-” a heavy hoof slammed against Nolan’s head, knocking the pony unconscious. Hacksaw stepped away from the scene.

“Apologies for my colleague’s behavior,” Hacksaw said. “He doesn’t know when to keep silent.” Rainbow Dash backed down, though she kept eyeing Nolan in case he woke up.

“Was that really necessary?” Twilight asked.

“He would have just complained every chance he got.” Mays turned to Hacksaw. “Pick him up; we’ll leave him with Richard and go with Miss Sparkle here to meet the Princess.” Hacksaw nodded before attempting to use his telekinesis to lift Nolan. He only succeeded in hauling the unconscious lieutenant up by his tail and dragging him across the ground. While Hacksaw and Smith carted Nolan back to the Concordia, Mays turned back to Twilight.

“Can you give us a minute to get rid of him and coordinate with the rest of my crew?” he asked.

“Of course.” Mays trotted off.

“Well, they seem nice… kind of.” Fluttershy said.

“Yes, except for that green one. I could never imagine somepony being inconsiderate and rude enough to insult the Princess; even Prince Blueblood had better manners than him.” Rarity focused her attention back on the Concordia. “Though now I can see why they would want those wood panels… they still could use something more eye catching.”

“Are you sure it’s a good idea to help those ponies?” Twilight looked at Rainbow Dash, the Pegasus floating right behind her.

“I… I’m not sure; they seem a little rough, and pretty violent. Princess Celestia might not like it if we get too involved with… whatever it is that they do.”

“You’re jumping to conclusions, Twi,” Applejack said. “If the Princess did think they were dangerous, she’d want them to go home as soon as possible. Besides, maybe they they’d stop being so violent if they were around us.”

“Also, think of the parties!” the three looked at Pinkie Pie.

“What do parties have to do with anything?”

“Everything! Think about it; they’re sailor ponies from another world that’s not nearly as nice as it is here. That’s bad, but they’re sailors, which means they’ve probably seen pirates! And since everypony loves pirates, then inviting them to parties would mean super-awesome pirate stories!” Pinkie gasped. “I’ve always wanted to throw a pirate party. Mr. Cake has a recipe for rum cake that he said I could make someday, and a pirate party is the best place to try it!” Pinkie grabbed Twilight “Do you think before we leave we could get some rum? All the best rum comes through Manehattan. Can we? Can we? Can we?”

“Uh…”

“Thank you!” Pinkie Pie ran off, disappearing into the crowd before Twilight could get a coherent thought about what had just happened.

...................

“Captain, are you sure this is a good idea?” Hacksaw said. He had managed to extend the telekinetic aura over Nolan, so he was not dragging the lieutenant across the ground.

“No. Do you happen to have a better one?”

“But what if this Princess Celestia turns out to be a tyrannical dictator and has us imprisoned for trespassing or some other ridiculous crime.”

“We have a warship. What do they have? All I’ve seen is telekinetic magic of a sort.”

“What if they have something we don’t know about? Did you see the yellow one when you mentioned the kraken? Her eyes lit up until you mentioned how big it was.”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Smith asked.

“Maybe she can control them like the Cursed can.”

“If they were at all like the Cursed, we’d be dead right now. Look, this is the best option we have short of just staying here; these ponies seem very friendly, and they know a way that we might get back. Besides, how bad can it be to be a pony for a few days?”

“I was wondering that myself.” Smith said. The three ponies reached the ship and dropped Nolan on deck.

“Why are you sending him back?” Richard asked. Mays looked up at the Master Chief.

“I have no choice; the idiot let this patriotism get the best of him and he insulted some princess. Hacksaw had to knock him out before he started a war.”

“He’s ahead of schedule. Well, I’ll put him to work as soon as he comes to.” Richard turned around before remembering something. “Captain.”

“Yes?”

“I figured out how to make the marines useful again. Watch.” Richard used his new magic to lift a piece of lead shot off the deck. Concentrating, he aimed the shot at a patch of water before releasing more magic. There was a crack and the bullet flew forward as if shot from a normal gun, creating a large splash when it hit the water.

“Nice, but it’s only fitting if you can actually use magic.”

“That’s when it gets good, captain; all the marines can use magic, and quite a few of the others can too. Give us time, and soon we won’t need all the excess powder for muskets and pistols.”

“That… actually is a very good thing. Start training the men, and try not to kill anyone while you’re at it.”

“Aye captain.” Richard left, dragging the unconscious Nolan behind him. The other three ponies returned to where Twilight was standing.

“We’ve gotten that taken care of; now take us to Princess Celestia.”

Comments

[iowaforever]

506981 Thanks for the comment. I honestly didn't think about moden warships when I started writing this fic... maybe a later one.
Thanks again for the comment

[iowaforever]

509759 Yay! it's always good to find others who share the same interests

[Northwest Brony]

I like it so far, but Pinkie's comment about them being from another world really threw me for a loop. If you decide to edit the chapter, I would recommend rewording the sentence.

[iowaforever]

572550 The sailors had explained how they got there and got turned into ponies. besides, it's Pinkie; she seems to be the one who would jump to that kind of conclusion. I will go back and try to expand on it