It was quiet, quiet enough to lull any sailpony into thinking that it was going to be a peaceful night. Captain Wave Tumble, a stout earth pony, however, had spent far too many years at sea to be fooled. Something was bothering him, a gut feeling that wouldn't let him rest.
As he walked the length of the the small schooner, he carefully examined his ship. Small but fast, Tumble's schooner had two masts that could withstand most storms even with full sail thanks to the various spells placed on them by shipyard unicorns.
Tumble had paid a fair amount for that little upgrade, but what the unicorns failed to tell him was that a small schooner like his in a storm was likely to capsize at full sail, a fact that had nearly cost him his ship.
Checking the cargo, a full load of fruit bound for Manehattan, he was satisfied to see that everything was securely tied down and nothing was amiss. The ropes were practically brand new from his last stop in port, the sails were catching wind and making a good ten knots, and the helmspony was keeping a true course.
Tumble frowned, he knew that something was amiss, but what? If not with the ship, then was something else wrong? Perhaps there was a new shoal ahead that washed out from shore, or maybe a sea monster was looking for a late night snack, or even pirates were prowling tonight?
He chuckled at the last one. Pirates so close to the Equestrian coastline? That was practically begging for a visit from the Equestrian Royal Navy.
“Captain!” The lookout called from above. “Lights off the port bow!”
Captain Wave Tumble looked and saw a faint light in the distance. “Helm, what's your course?”
“Dead south, Sir, and not a point eastward this entire journey.” The helmspony answered.
Tumble looked out at the lights, thoroughly confused. “Ain't no land thataways, too many lights to be a beacon, maybe it's a Royal frigate?” He muttered.
As he was staring at the lights, they vanished as one. Now Wave Tumble was scared, he had no idea what was out there, no ship could simply vanish like that.
“Douse the lanterns!” He yelled.
“Captain?” The helmspony asked.
“Douse them. Now!” Tumble ordered.
One by one, the lanterns on the ship were extinguished, leaving the ship shrouded in darkness. It was a very dangerous move because if the pirates couldn't see them, then likely any other ship in the area wouldn't be able to as well.
“Captain, what's going on?” Swift Winds, Tumble's pegasus second in command, said as she emerged on deck.
“I don't know, but the lookout has spotted a mysterious ship over yonder shortly before it turned out its lights and vanished.” Tumble explained quietly.
“Pirates this close to Equestria?” She asked.
“Not likely, but all the same it's best if we take caution.”
There was a green glow from behind the two on deck, causing Tumble to whirl in anger. A unicorn sailpony was using his horn to pick up some line.
“Ye blasted fool! Turn your horn off before I break it off!” Tumble seethed.
The unicorn dropped the rope in surprise and backed away, fearing that the captain might break his horn anyways.
“Captain!” Swift Wind placed her hoof on his shoulder. “Twas an honest mistake, using magic is second nature to unicorns.”
“Aye, but if he gave our position away, an honest mistake could get us all killed and my ship scuttled!”
Swift was worried a lot more than before. “Captain, what's wrong? It's not like you to be worried about pirates, even when we were being chased by pirates you were laughing the entire time. What has you so scared?”
Tumble walked to the railing and stared at the sea. “I've got a feeling. Before, I knew we could outrun those pirates and the Royal Navy was waiting for them around the cape. Now, I've just got a feeling in my gut that says if those pirates see us then there's nothing we can do.”
Swift Wind looked at the sky and smiled. “Well you're in luck then, it seems that fortune smiles upon us. Look at the moon.”
Tumble looked and saw that the moon was being covered in clouds, leaving the entire surrounding ocean in nothing but blackness. “Aye, maybe it does! Hah, we'll slip right past that ship without even trying!”
Swift Wind clapped him on the back with her wing. “That's the Captain Tumble I know!”
Tumble was bout to respond when he paused. “Eh, Swift Wind, is your stomach rumbling?”
She paused and listened, hearing a deep rumble coming from off their port side. “Um.”
A blinding light suddenly bathed the schooner's deck in gold while a harsh voice laughed from above them. “Well, look what we've found here boys! A coastal tramp without her lights to give us any warning!”
Tumble stepped back, looking anywhere but the light. The deck pitched up towards him as the ship was rocked by a violent wave.
“Shame on ye sirs.” The voice said again. “If'n we hadn't kept such a sharp lookout, we might've run ye down and split your pretty little ship in half!”
There was a chorus of agreements from ponies that were definitely not part of his crew. The harsh voice spoke over the din. “Now, as I see it, that be a safety hazerd right there, and I'm afraid that I'm going to have to take a token fee for such a violition of protocols!”
The voices all laughed at the voice's statement, their jeering only froze Tumble where he stood. Then, to his horror, Swift Wind spoke up. “Begone you scum! We are prepared to defend ourselves from the likes of you!”
With a sudden twang, a crossbow bolt embedded itself into the wood right between her legs. It stood there quivering as the pony with the harsh voice yelled out again, all humor had gone from his tone. “This be ye only warning! Should ye make any resistance at all, yer ship will be turned into driftwood and yer crew will be sentenced to the mercies of the depths!”
Tumble grabbed Swift Wind and pulled her to the far side of the ship where most of crew had gathered in fear.
“Now is not the time for foolish words, Swift!” Tumble said. “I'll not lose a member of my crew to her own stubbornness!”
Forcing her to stand with the crew, Tumble turned back to the light and spoke up. “Take what you want, only leave my crew alone. That is all I ask.”
“A fair deal!” The pirate yelled. “Very well, we will be relieving ye of yer cargo and nothing more! Jump to it lads!”
With several loud thuds, a group of large and imposing stallions jumped onto the deck and proceeded to open the cargo hatch. One of them waved at the blinding light and with a loud squeak and an odd hum, a metal crane was swung out over the deck of Tumble's schooner. The rope lowered itself into the cargo hold when two of the pirates jumped down after it.
The rope went slack for a moment before it began to rise. Along came with it were several crates of fresh fruit that vanished behind the light. The process repeated itself several times over, and each time Tumble felt a bit of his pride go with the crates.
In five minutes, the pirates had emptied at least half of the cargo hold when the pirate captain gave Tumble a bit of good news. “That's all we be takin for now. I thank ye for not makin things needlessly bloody, and wish ye well on the rest of yer voyage.”
The pirates on deck either grabbed onto the last crates coming out of the cargo hold or simply jumped back to their ship. With a deep rumble, the light began to move away from the schooner before it was extinguished and once again the night was dark and still.
Finally, Swift Wind spoke up. “Those bottom-feeding-barnacle-sucking-halfbreeds! How could they do this to us!”
Tumble ignored her and walked over to the cargo hatch. Striking a flint to light the flame in a lantern, he stepped down into the hold. The forward half of it was completely bare, not a single crate of fruit left. He turned around and was relieved to see that the aft hold still held the fruit that had been placed there two days earlier. The pirates had robbed him, but not broken him.
Climbing back out on deck where Swift Wind was still ranting, he began to give orders for the crew. “Quit your lollygagging! We've got a schedule to keep and we'll be in Manehattan by morning or I'm throwing you overboard and sailing this schooner myself!”
The crew quickly set about trying to look busy, but Swift Wind made straight for him.
“And you Captain!” She yelled. “Have you no pride? How could you just let them take our cargo? Why didn't you let us fight them?”
A smack echoed around the ship, causing the crew to pause and stare at the two ponies with mouths agape.
“Do not be so eager for a fight.” Tumble said, his tone dark and menacing. Swift Wind stared at him, holding her cheek and tears brimming in her eyes.
“The pain you feel is nothing compared to cold steel cleaving bone. Pirates are not ones to be taken lightly, and I would rather be robbed blind and my ship sunk than to lose a single member of my crew, no matter how stubborn and reckless they be.”
Tumble turned and slowly walked back to his cabin, leaving the rest of the crew speechless. The sound of his door closing brought Swift Wind out of her stunned state and she quickly did the same for the crew, yelling and cursing to motivate them.
Once she was sure that they were busy Swift turned back to the door and rubbed her cheek, nearly losing her facade of being the tough and gritty sailpony she had established. She realized that she had almost gotten not only her but the entire crew killed with her action and tears welled in her eyes before she quickly brushed them away.
With a sudden about face, she made her way to the nearest pony she could find and began to curse him for no particular reason at all.