Come young foals, don’t be afraid. Sit around my fire and watch the sunlight fade. Would you like Zecora to tell a story? Perhaps one of adventure, gold, and glory. It takes place in a world much like ours, a sister of Equestria, but with a new balance of powers.
Great ships, made of wood and magic, ponies with stories most tragic. It starts with our heroine high above the ground, destiny within her grasp and trouble bound. It begins with a chase and one yearning to belong, and as these stories should, it begins with a song. Closer my children, listen together, hear of six friends upon a Falling Feather.
*****
Shiver my timbers, shiver my soul,
Pony with a heart as black as coal.
Rarity stood on the main deck of the Falling Feather, wind caressing her mane as they sailed through the open sky. It felt wrong to be underdressed for such an important occasion, but sometimes propriety must give way to practicality. She wore a simple vest and belt. Her mane was tied back with a bandana and a cutlass rested in its sheath.
She sailed her ship across the wide sky blue,
A bloodthirsty captain and her cut throat crew.
It’s as dark a tale as ever was told,
Of a lust for power and a love of gold.
The large ship crested the clouds ahead of them. It was a cargo ship sailing from Canterlot to Baltimare. Aboard it was the one unicorn who could turn everything around.
Shiver my timbers, shiver my sides,
Hungers strong as the winds and tides.
Those stallions drowned their sins in rum,
Discord himself would have to call ‘em scum!
Every pony on board would have killed his mate
For a bag of bits or a piece of eight!
The Falling Feather was one of the fastest ships in Equestrian air, though it lacked the arms of a larger ship. The cannons protruding from the side of the Golden Alicorn gleamed dangerously in the sunlight, and Rarity remembered again just how outmatched they were, especially with the Feather sailed by a skeleton crew. She tensed, ready to give the order to attack.
Shiver my timbers, Shiver my bones,
Secrets sleep with Old Derpy Jones.
With the main sails set and the anchors weighed,
There’s no turning back from any course that’s laid.
And when greed and felony sail the sea,
you can bet your hooves there’ll be treachery.
“Pinkie Pie,” Rarity snapped. “For the love of Celestia, stop singing.”
“Righty-o, Captain my captain,” Pinkie Pie said, snapping a hoof up in a quick salute. She wore similar attire, though also had a pair of flintlock pistols hanging low on her left. “So, are we ready to go, or did’ja want more time to brood?”
Captain Rarity sniffed, turning her nose up. “A lady doesn’t brood. I was simply thinking.” She turned back to the front. The ship ahead of them had spotted the Falling Feather. Semaphore flags caught her eye as the Golden Alicorn tried to make contact.
“Is our unicorn ready?”
“Yup!” Pinkie giggled.
“Fire a warning shot.”
*****
“And then from Baltimare, we make our way into the neighboring Crystal Empire,” Twilight Sparkle concluded happily, straightening her simple dress with a quick flick of magic.
Applejack’s head jerked, as though she’d been on the verge of falling asleep. With a yawn, she said, “Yeah. Ah know.”
Twilight frowned. “Then why did you ask what we were doing?”
“Ah meant, what are we doing out here by ourselves?”
She turned a quick circle in the center of their room. True, they were alone for the moment, but they were hardly by themselves. “We aren’t alone. There’s got to be dozens of crew members. I mean—” Twilight was cut off by an orange hoof pressing her mouth closed.
“Why are we being sent without any guards?”
Comprehension dawned in Twilight’s eyes and she brushed the hoof away. “Why didn’t you just ask that? Between the griffon military movements in the south, and the exercises in the west, there weren’t resources to spare. It’s just a small diplomatic mission. The princess doesn’t expect any trouble. At least not more than we can handle on our own.”
Something like thunder cracked in the distance. Moments later, the ship’s bell rang five times in rapid succession. Five seconds later, it repeated, and again five seconds after that.
“What in tarnation?”
“Three, four, five,” Twilight counted. “Applejack, that’s the signal to beat to quarters. There’s some kind of emergency! Come on. Let’s see if we can lend a hoof.” Twilight turned to run, but a sudden tug on her tail pulled her back onto her haunches.
“No ya don’t. We were given very specific instructions for this.”
“But if there’s some kind of emergency, shouldn’t we at least try to help?” Twilight asked, but faltered under her friend’s glare.
“Sugarcube, Ah was told ta keep you safe, so that’s exactly what Ah’m gonna do. Now let’s git outta here.” Twilight reluctantly agreed and they left the room.
Unlike a normal ship, skyships had no risk of sinking as long as their magical core was undamaged. Since they couldn’t flood, the center of the ship was often the safest area. At least it was best protected against cannonballs, shrapnel, or natural elements. A storeroom on the lowest level held just enough room for the two ponies.
*****
“Oh look, they’re slowing down! Are they surrendering? I thought you said this wouldn’t be easy.”
“No, Pinkie, they aren’t going to surrender,” Rarity said. “They’re coming about for a broadside. They mean to blast us out of the sky.”
“Oooh. Well, it’s a good thing we have you as captain, ‘cause I totally thought they were going to stop and surrender. Then we could have taken them prisoner and thrown them parties! But you knew what they were going to do. You’re always so prepared. What did you do? Did you coat the ship in rubber? Are the cannon balls gonna bounce off? I wish I could see the looks on their faces when that happens.”
“Actually no. If we take a broadside at this range, the only thing that’ll bounce is us when we hit the earth.”
“Oh.” A small crinkle appeared on Pinkie's forehead. “You do have a plan, right?”
“But of course, darling,” Rarity said. Smiling, she raised a hoof and called out, “Drop altitude. Trixie, now!”
*****
The small ship had remained in range as the Golden Alicorn came about. The captain frowned at it. Its crew was clearly insane, first attacking a more heavily armed ship, and then not using their speed to stay out of harm’s way.
The captain opened his mouth, ready to give the order to fire. Before he could, the Falling Feather disappeared.
The captain stared, cigar falling from his slack jaw.
*****
“That’s enough,” Rarity said. “Tell Trixie to dispel the illusion.” She watched the image of the Falling Feather sail for a moment longer, and then flicker out of being. A long count of three later, the Golden Alicorn’s cannons boomed. The projectiles sailed uselessly through the open air.
With a victorious smile, she looked up at the hull of the massive ship floating directly above them. Skyships were a newer inventions. Too many captains had earned their experience at sea and saw the battlefield in two dimensions.
*****
“Those were our cannons, Ah think,” Applejack said, ear pressed to the door. A long minute passed. “They aren’t firing again. The enemy must have ran. That or they sank ‘em right then and there. Ah think somepony’s coming!”
The door swung open before Applejack could remove her weight. She gasped and fell forward.
Twilight didn’t look up right away, still fuming in her corner. After a moment of silence though, she glanced at the empty doorway. “Applejack?”
A pink blur dived into the room, bouncing off a wall and rushing Twilight without losing momentum. Her horn glowed in a panicked attempt to defend herself, but the pink something was just too fast. It hit her at the center of her mass and drove her into a wall. Her head impacted against the bulkhead, and stars flashed over her vision. Everything started to slide into darkness. The last thing she noticed was a giggle followed by off-key singing.
Shiver my timbers, shiver my sails,
Dead mares tell no tales.
Listened to this as I wrote, obviously. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RisL9l8HzmM
i2.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/295/561/d99
Okay, this actually sounds funny! Will follow.
Will the six Elements of Harmony gather the seven pieces of eight? Nein! But ten, at least they try.
[youtube=2bps50aqu2o]
amazing man cant wait for an update
god dammit you beat me to it! i wanted to write something like this!
I don't usually favorite an adventure story, but you got me hooked Is it interrogation time for Twilight?
Anyways, looking forward to more of this!
Okay...this has promise.
Even though it's only one chapter so far, I think the story is
fc02.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2012/185/f/7/sherlock_brilliant__gif_by_sherlocksscarf-d55svm4.gif
Can't wait for more!
This certainly seems relevant to my interests!
Edit: And it is! Please keep writing.
"Derp Pirate Roberts"
You are mad you know, mad mad MAD!
Then again, we're all mad here.
*Fave'd, and thumb-uped*
Will read later but for now....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t38DPnkDjTM
Oh, definitely watching this. intriguing to say the least. Do continue this.
Nicely done. Favoriting this. One question though, are the airships because steampunk or because of the airship in "I'm the Type of Pony"?
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Steampunk and magic. Sails and wooden hulls rather than giant balloons.
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The mental image.....
I'm going to quote a semi applicable elf.
"I should avoid casting any spells tonight, if only to give the laws of physics time to cry alone in the corner."
The coolness factor of literal flying wooden ships is well worth it.
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These ships run on rule of cool, so they don't put nearly as much strain on physics as an overweight dragon.
Song is win? song is win. Excellent.
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Glad to see you caught the reference. And cool is an ecologically friendly alternative fuel.
Man, all it's missing is the frame of someone telling the story. I really look forward to more; is this going to be a long-running fic?
i love it....pikie is best pirate
I thought of that song mere minutes before I discovered this. It cannot be a coincidence. Let's have a look, shall we?
You... you actually wrote Zecora well! NOPONY writes Zecora well! The opening gave me shivers, well done!
The song is what caught have of my attention. I WILL READ THE REST OF THIS BRILLIANCE!!!
I roflmao'd. At this point is, I think, when I decided I was going to love the hell out of this story. And by the end of the first chapter I have no regrets save that the end came way too early.
As a minor nitpick, it's always bugged me a bit when people try to give Equestrians guns--not out of some sort of conflicting the sugarbowl-y innocence or whatever, I have no problems with making it a more plausible fantasy world...but because they don't have fingers, and the occasional light "grasping" things with hooves is one thing...but a complex maneuver like holding something and then pulling a trigger or even pushing a button on it with the same appendage stretches my suspension of disbelief even in "hoof magic".
Still...it is Pinkie Pie. And to be honest, it would not surprise me much if those things shot confetti instead of bullets.
As someone said earlier, I feel the need to confirm: Pinkie Pie is best pirate. Seriously, she's having way too much fun with this, and that is so awesomely appropriate.
Now, on to the next chapter!
I just hope they're mindful of where those cannonballs land!
Read up to the most resent chapter, commented on first because of song.
The opening narration reminded me heavily of Marcus from Borderlands.
Oh my god! this is F#&!ING Awsum!!!!!
Aaaargh, tis be a great start to a pirate pony story. I cannot wait to read more.
Yo ho ho and a bottle of awsomesauce!
This has the makings of something awesome. I've only read the first chapter, but I feel the need to comment regardless. (And yes, I look forward to the Derp Pirate Roberts. What can I say, she's my favorite.)
As for the question about guns and hooves, I'll have to put in my two bits: Anthropic principle.
Or, to elaborate: If a gun, rifle or other device is made by a pony and intended to be used by a pony, it must also be constructed in such a way that it can easily be operated by a pony (and does not require 'cheating' such as unicorn telekinesis). Ergo, Pinkie's pistols are made so she can hold, aim and fire them with ease. Once you start thinking in this way, it makes much more sense.
Guns of Icarus anyone?
I read this to my friend out loud. Song and all. B00m
static.fjcdn.com/large/pictures/a7/8f/a78fa4_2337236.jpg
YARRRRRRRRR! T'was the only pirate thing I could think up matey!
Someone remind Pinkie to fix some Pink Lemonade so they don't get Scuvry.
BTW, you think we could get an rendition of "An Equestrian Tar" in this fanfic?
Or if you prefer Star Trek...
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If there's going to be shout outs to Gilbert and Sullivan, then a little something from "Pirates of Penzance" probably won't go amiss. Or maybe a line or two from "For She Is an Equestrian".
Even if it doesn't happen, I suspect I shall be thoroughly entertained here.
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Oh, thank Celestia - I thought for a moment there no one was getting the reference. I was singing along in my head; this is one of my favorite movies EVER. And thank you for posting the ponified version - it's great!
And brrr... that is one of the two grimmest songs ever done by the Muppets. The only one that is close is "Chains" from Christmas Carol.
Oh, and: this story looks fun! I'll be reading it through. Pirate Ponies Ahoy!
Light and laughter,
SongCoyote
Hmmm... floating ships with magical core, huh? I'm thinking someone read the edge chronicles, no?
Let me be the one to say I'm quite jealous. I really wanted to make a story involving a pirating life but could never work out the kinks. Mostly of it making sense and how something changing could cause this to happen. Kudos to you on such an intriguing story.
This story is showing some promise. I mean sky pirate ponies and Captain Rarity, there's no way you could ever go wrong with that story idea. And nice used of the MLP version of Shiver My Timbers. I could picture Pinkie Pie singing it.
I had a mental record scratch noise when the singer was identified. I had it pegged as simple, sourceless background music to add flavor. Well played.
Whooo! That was a good start to the story! I really like how you've managed to put the characters into different roles but still seem to have them be themselves (somewhat). However, if there's one thing I don't necessarily like, it's this: if you haven't updated this story for so long, why the hell haven't you listed it as cancelled or abandoned yet? Or did you just conveniently decide to forget about and ignore your account on this site and leave it to rot in cyberspace?
Either way, I think I'm gonna continue reading this for as long as I can.