A week has passed ever since their departure of Vanhoover. The only piece of land they have seen was a large rock jutting from the sea. Despite this, the crew’s hearts were still strong, and intent on catching Korsan. On the following night, with a half-moon in the sky and several stars twinkling with it, the group was in the galley, eating apple pie quietly.
More apples, Rainbow Dash internally moaned. At this point I might well be eating those hard biscuits in storage for a better tasting meal.
“Hey Twilight,” Fluttershy called to Twilight at the other end of the dining table. “How much longer until we reach Thieves’ Hold?”
“We’re halfway there, another week probably.” Twilight answered with a mouthful of pie.
“Don’t worry Fluttershy,” Applejack reassured her. “I’ve still got plenty of apples.”
“Why does it have to be so far away?” Rainbow impatiently whined, feeling her stomach growing queasy from the apples.
“The Antlertic Ocean is huge,” Spike replied.
“It would be a great place to disappear from the world.” Twilight noted.
“You know what’s strange?” Rarity asked. “Throughout our entire time at sea, we haven’t seen a single pirate ship, or any ship for that matter, ever since we left the harbour. What’s up with that?”
Twilight gulpped down her mouthful of pie and answered, “You heard what the princess said about this ship. If any small pirate ships were to see us in the distance, they’d probably flee. Though, you do have a point about there not being any friendly ships... I guess rumors of storms and sea monsters drive most ponies away from this area.”
“Speaking of rumors,” Pinkie spoke. “How about we tell some ghost stories while we’re all here together?”
“In the middle of the night?” Fluttershy asked. “I’d rather not.”
Pinkie dismissed Fluttershy’s worries with a quick hoof and response, “Oh, come on, Flutter, it’ll be fun. I’ll start.”
Fluttershy groaned to herself before joining the others in listening to Pinkie’s tale.
“Once upon a time,” Pinkie began. “There was a trading ship that was set to sail to the kingdom of Ti, but was sent off course by a large hurricane. The sailors on board didn’t know and continued to sail forwards, and eventually fell over the edge of the world. Legend says that if you’re lucky, when approaching Ti oversea, you’ll see a ghost ship sailing towards it before it sinks underneath the waves and disappear.”
“That’s ridiculous.” Twilight noted. “The world’s round, not flat, and there is no such thing as ghost ships or ghosts in general.”
“Oh really?” Pinkie said, raising an eyebrow.
“My turn!” Rainbow Dash called out. “This one will make you all unable to sleep tonight. Once, there was a stallion. His name was Pablo. Pablo was not a very good pony. He liked to… have-”
“Inappropriate story Dash!” Twilight chirped out.
“What? It’s just us seven.” Dash replied.
“Who even told you that story?” Twilight asked.
“Who told you?”
“…”
“…Seeing as you know how it ends.”
“How does it end?” Applejack asked out of growing curiosity.
“Not well. Who’s next?” Twilight immediately answered, dismissing the conversation in whole.
A small snicker was heard coming from the cyan mare as silence drew over the candle lit room.
“I guess me…” Applejack said.
“Good. Make sure it’s an acceptable story.” Twilight warned her.
Applejack slowly nodded and begun, “Okay… Here is the legend of the Dark and Crimson Mare. There once was a young mare that lived alone in a house at the edge of a cliff that stood over the ocean. One day, during a very windy night, the cliff edge collapsed and fell into the ocean, taking the house and the sleeping mare, dressed in her sleeping gown, down with it. The mare drowned in her sleep in only a few minutes. Now, when you go to the missing cliffside at night at a new moon, you might be able to see the ghost of the mare hovering where she slept, with her fur coloured red, her gown completely black, and her eyes wide open, staring at you.”
“Ooh! That is scary!” Pinkie happily exclaimed.
“Too scary.” Fluttershy squeaked.
“How about you Fluttershy?” Pinkie asked, turning to the pegasus.
“Me? No, I’ve had enough scary stories for tonight.” Fluttershy replied.
“Oh come one,” Rainbow Dash insisted, hovering over to the yellow mare and giving her a noogie on the top of her head. “Just tell us a story and then you can go, please.”
“Well, okay I guess…” Fluttershy said. “Once upon a time, some fillies went into a haunted house. A ghost showed up and spooked them. But then the fillies remembered that ghosts weren’t real, and discovered that the ghost was just a stallion with a blanket over his head. The end.”
“It’s Pablo!” Dash instantly yelled.
“Quit it Rainbow Dash!” Twilight barked.
Rainbow started to laugh uncontrollably in the air, eventually falling onto the floor in her laughing fit.
“Sorry, Fluttershy, for that little instance, it was a… enjoyable story.” Twilight said.
“Thanks.” Fluttershy cheered. “I’ll be going to bed now. Good night.”
“Okay. Good night.”
Slowly, the yellow mare exited from her chair and made her way to the door leading downstairs.
“So, who’s next?” Twilight asked.
“I guess I will,” Rarity declared as the sound of a door closing echoed from behind. “There once was a pair of young unicorn brothers. The only family they had was their mother and each other due to their father leaving years ago. One day though, the mother died from disease, leaving the two heartbroken. Desperate to have her back, the two attempted a forbidden magic. However, instead of it bringing her back, what they brothers created was a monster, at the unseen cost of the older brother losing two legs and the younger losing his body, having his soul sealed inside a nearby empty suit of armour. It is said that they now roam a distant and unknown land, seeking a way to return to their original bodies at whatever the cost.”
“Ooh, deep.” Twilight responded.
“Thank you, I heard it from the ambassador of Saddle Arabia during the gala.” Rarity explained.
“You want to have a go at it Spike?” Twilight asked.
“Wait!” Fluttershy’s voice yelled out from underneath the galley floor. “Do you hear that?!”
“Hear what?” The purple alicorn asked.
The mares and Spike immediately turned silent, listening to whatever it was. After a second of hearing nothing but constant candle flickers, Fluttershy suddenly burst from the door with a frightened look on her face.
“That laughing, coming from outside!” Fluttershy exclaimed.
“I don’t hear any, just us and the candles.”
“Must be because I was in the dark and below the main deck…”
“Whatever it is, we should check it out!”
“Wait, what if it’s the Dark and Crimson Mare? Or the ghost trading ship? Or Pablo?!” Fluttershy muttered, started to panic.
“There are no such things as ghosts, nor Pablo. You can stay in here.” Twilight comforted her worried friend.
“Okay… Just be careful.” Fluttershy caringly cautioned them.
Twilight turned to the others and commanded. “Everypony else, follow.”
Quietly, the five other ponies and Spike scrambled up to the main deck and started to hear the faint laughing as well. They wondered around the dark, searching for a source either onboard or nearby the ship.
“I hear it,” Spike whispered. “But I don’t see anything.”
“Sounds like a whole lot of laughers to.” Applejack softly replied. “Has anypony checked under the boat?”
“That’s stupid,” Rainbow Dash retorted. “Who’d be laughing underwater?”
Rainbow Dash and Applejack soon engaged in a silent argument. Spike turned his attention to the port edge of the deck, seeing Pinkie Pie looking up into the sky with her pupils shrunken, a green tint reflecting in her eyes, and her mouth at a gape.
“Pinkie?” Spike nervously asked. “Do you see something?”
“What if,” the pink Earth pony cryptically responded. “The laughing’s coming from right above us?”
Spike replied, “That would be odd, no pegasi would be flying this far out to sea. And the pirate ship we’re after is way ahead of us.”
“Then what’s that?” Pinkie said, pointing a hoof to the sky.
“What?” Spike turned his head up and was immediately shocked at what he saw.
“Oh…” Spike silently gasped.
Korsan’s airship was hovering right above the SS Raindrop, and with it, the source of the mysterious laughing noise.
“Twilight! Rainbow Dash! Applejack! Rarity! It’s Korsan’s ship, it’s right above us!” Spike exclaimed.
“What?!” The four mares excitedly asked, looking up and see the green glowing underbelly of the pirate ship as well.
“How is that possible?” Twilight asked. “Korsan had a head start.”
“Who cares?’ Rarity joyously replied. “We can just take care of that creep and his crew now and head back with the Diamond Eye!”
“I guess, but how? We can’t teleport on board with the ship blocking any good teleporting location in view. We can’t fight it directly with the size and artillery it has. What can we do?” Twilight asked.
“I got it.” Dash boasted. “You, Fluttershy, and I can just sneak on board, grab the diamond, and sneak back down. Simple.”
“It’s a heavy diamond, probably guarded. Are you sure we can do this?” Twilight replied, unsure of her abilities.
“Yeah,” Dash answered, crossing her front hooves in pride.
“I’ll go get Fluttershy, you go ahead and scout things out. Good luck.”
“On it!”
Swiftly the blue pegasus flew upwards to the bottom of the airship, hearing the laughing grow louder and louder. As Rainbow Dash made her way up the side of the hull to the quarterdeck, a bright golden glow could be seen, emanating from the windows where the joyous hollers were coming from. Curious, Dash poked her head up from the bottom and was immediately surprised at what she saw.
It was a massive galley, five times bigger than theirs, lit up by hundreds of candles inside and other means of lighting. The large room held a gigantic a U-shape table, lined with one hundred chairs, with most of them taken by unicorns of all shapes and sizes. Stallions and mares, young and old, tall and tiny, shaved and bearded, bare and fully dressed, bald and lengthy manes and tails, fat and skinny, bearing every colour of the rainbow and more. Each had their own unique combination, with only a few being similar to one another.
All of the pirates were jubilantly laughing and cheering as golden bits, jewels, clothing, and large plates of food of every variety were being passed all around in the air by their magic. At the center of the room was a large serving table, with large black pots holding tons and tons of plants, breads, fruits, vegetables, drinks, and more delectable, making the spying onlooker drool beyond control.
However, the main focus of activity lied beyond the serving table. A young, pale mare with a long red mane and tail and armed with a small dagger was fighting against an old, dark blue stallion with a small grey braid wielding a large two-bitted axe. The seated pirates watching the fight cheered each time the two fighters’ weapons clashed, growing louder and louder and throwing around more and more items as bets.
Eventually, Dash’s attention was grabbed at the far end of the room, opposite of the dining, serving table, and brawl. There, sitting upon a large chair on an elevated platform, with his own large table with food and treasures sitting on it, was none other than Captain Korsan, quietly watching the fight.
It’s him… Rainbow thought to herself as she continued to spy inside the lively galley.
Soon, the fight ended by the mare tripping over the stallion with her magic and disarming him in the process. Immediately, the galley roared in both excitement and short-lived anger as massive amounts of stuff were sent soaring across the dining table to the watchers that won the bet, soon obscuring their faces with the amount of stuff they won.
As the old stallion rose back to his hooves, the young mare outstretched a hoof, prompting him to calmly shake it with his own. The two combatants then headed into a room to the right of Korsan’s behind with their weapons in tow.
Rainbow examined the room in the back, thinking, That might be the armoury where they keep the weapons. Wait a minute, Dashy, remember, find the Diamond Eye and get out. Don’t get distracted.
Suddenly, her train of thought was interrupted by her vision turning completely light blue and a blast of cold hitting her face. Rainbow Dash backed away in shock and saw with her recovering vision that it is Korsan’s ice phoenix attacking her. It loudly shrieked at her before charging in for another strike. Rainbow quickly flew back down to her ship.
“Stupid parrot! I’m not going to get back that diamond with that thing making a noise.” Rainbow hissed.
Inside the galley, with the post-fight chaos still roaring through the atmosphere, the fighters returned from the armoury and walked onto Korsan’s platform. The two bowed their heads to him, signaling the onlookers to quiet down, knowing that their captain will now be talking.
With silence now the only thing being heard, Korsan tranquilly spoke, “You both did well. Miss Maria Vanshwitz, mechanic, your use of surprise and overwhelming your opponent are quite adept. However your technique and stamina are still lackluster. Please try to exercise that.”
“Yes captain.” The young mare responded in a pant before walking to the dining table and taking an empty seat.
Korsan then turned to the stallion and spoke, “And Butch Taylor, cook, your strength and intimidation are well used. Yet your vigilance and speed need attention. I know you’re growing old, but please don’t let your age get the best of you.”
“I understand captain.” The old stallion responded before also heading to a seat.
Korsan then looked out over the pirates, and decalred, “Crew of The Perfection, it has been a fine night with you all. But I’m afraid I’m going to have to get to my chambers early to further study the Diamond Eye. Good night.”
However, upon Korsan exiting his chair, the ice phoenix soared into the room from an open door, screeching as it flew to him.
“Juliana, what’s wrong?” The pirate captain asked.
As Juliana reached her master’s outstretched hoof, a small feather from Rainbow Dash was sput out of her beak and into Korsan’s machine claws.
“A feather?”
Korsan held the small feather close to his eye, examining it thoroughly before lowering it to his nose and sniffing it.
“Northwester Equestrian Oak and refined steel…” He uttered below his breath.
Quickly, the pegasus jumped from the platform and ran for the door with Juliana leading him.
“Follow me!” He commaned.
“Yes captain!” The pirates at the table sharply answered as they follow behind him and his pet.
The crew reached the port edge of the main deck. With Korsan and his crew watching, the ice phoenix, Juliana, flew overboard and towards Rainbow Dash, now having touched down on Twilight’s ship below.
“It’s that blue wench from Equestria!” A stallion crew member yelled out.
“What?! Why didn’t the lookouts see her?” Korsan barked.
“They might have fallen asleep from that last joyride you did.” The stallion replied.
“Get me a spyglass!”
Almost immediately, a small telescope was levitated in front of Korsan. He swiftly grabbed it from the air and held it up to his eye, looking down at the ship below.
He told his crew, “It’s Princess Twilight, from Equestria. She’s with five others and a baby dragon. They’re probably here for the Diamond Eye. They’re following us with a galleon, fifty metres long, twenty small cannons, six sails, thirty centimetre thick hull. The thing must be royal class.”
“Easy pickings, let’s just sink them already.” A mare called out from beside her captain.
“No.” Korsan retorted, as his sights set on Rarity, looking back up at his ship.
“What?” The female pirate inquired.
“There’s a mare on that ship down there, a unicorn. She could serve very well in our crew.”
“So? We can just drop down, snatch her up, and then sink ‘em.”
“I’m afraid it’s not as easy as your initiation as yours, Barbara Shores.” Korsan said in a calculating tone. “We have to be more welcoming to this one, but it will be worth it. And I don’t want to distract myself from our goal by having to do repairs. We’ll instead run down their defenses, give them and her some distress without getting our hooves dirty.”
“How so?” Butch, the fighter from before, asked.
“We’ll take them through Siren Gulch.” Korsan answered swiftly.
Butch raised an eyebrow and further questioned, “Are you sure captain? Very few travelers have ever made it through alive.”
“We’ve seen it in action plenty of times. It is very possible for a ship of this sort. And for the crew down there, that’s the funny thing about these ‘hero’ types. They always do manage to ride out that slim chance.”
“You mean that there’s such thing as fate?”
“In a scientific sense. Prepare yourselves, sea artists! I’m going to need one of you to keep an eye on that ship and sketch me their faces. As for the rest of you, we’re changing course to Siren Gulch!”
“What is going on up there?” Twilight asked as the massive airship above turns. “They’re changing their course. I would’ve thought for certain they were heading for Thieves’ Hold.”
“Rainbow Dash was caught by that weird blue bird up there. What if they’re trying to throw us off course?” Rarity suggested.
“Maybe,” Twilight nodded.
“Dumb bird!” Rainbow screamed at Juliana, who had already gone inside the airship. “Sorry guys, I couldn’t find the Diamond Eye. That stupid bird probably ratted us out.”
“That’s fine,” Fluttershy comforted her. “Did you at least learn anything about the pirates?”
“Their galley is on the lowest portion of the quarterdeck and the armoury is right next to it. And they have mountains of food in there.” Dash told them.
“That’s quite a lot of food.” Fluttershy noted.
“Are you kidding?! It’s practically heaven on a boat!” Dash exclaimed, her senses recalling luscious scent of the food.
“Oh no,” Twilight interrupted Rainbow. “This isn’t good.”
“What isn’t good?” Rarity asked.
“After doing some calculations, I just discovered where they’re going now.”
“Where?” The others asked, now scared.
“They’re heading towards the tip of the Central Ley Line. Korsan might be to throw us off, but it’s just as likely that going to Thieves’ Hold is throwing us off.” Twilight explained.
“What’s so bad about some Ley Line?” Spike replied. “It doesn’t sound that bad.”
“Do you even know what the Ley Lines are?” Twilight asked.
“No.”
“Anypony else?”
No response was given by the others as they blankly stared back at her in confusion.
The alicorn mare sighed and explained, “The Ley Lines are large uncharitable sections of land that surround the known world. Usually seen with extreme weather and abnormal phenomenon, they’ve been regarded as impossible to go through. And for the few explorers that go into the Ley Lines, it is said that no two ponies experience the same thing, if they even come back…”
“Eep!” Fluttershy squeaked. “We should go to Thieves’ Hold then.”
“I’m with Fluttershy.” Rarity agreed. “Wherever Korsan’s going is definitely not there. He’s just trying to throw us off.”
“Wait, if Korsan sees us still going to Thieves’ Hold, then wouldn’t he know not to go there?” Applejack noted.
“You’re right.” Twilight replied. “If we’re ever going to take him, we’re going to have to play along. Who knows, the Ley Lines may give us an upper hoof for when we confront him.”
“Wait,” Rainbow then asked. “If he already knows we’re here, then why isn’t he attacking us? He’s got a giant flying ship with giant cannons.”
“I don’t know. Something doesn’t seem right. But if we’re going to get any answers, we might as well follow him.” Twilight answered.