It was about an hour since Twilight left the bar with her friends. November was starting to convince herself that they had just straight-up left Thieves’ Hold. However, her doubts were soon crushed by a gentle knocking on the door.
“I got this.” Jarvis said.
He exited the table where his rivals were playing their games and walked towards the door. Opening the door, the green stallion’s eyes bulged open at what he saw on the balcony.
“Uh…”
“What is it?” November asked from the counter.
“You might want to see this.” Ivan told her.
Slightly nervous, the blue mare walked out of her workspace and next to Jarvis, parting her short ice-blue mane from her eyes to get a clear look. To her surprise, Twilight, Dash, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Spike, and their three fillies, were all gathered around two massive crates, brimming over the top with fresh apples.
November and Ivan were speechless.
“What the-”
“You said you wanted resources,” Applejack said to November. “We got resources. Now where’s your kitchen?”
“Jarvis, get the wagons from the back.” November said, still dazed at what was before her.
“Yes miss,” Jarvis answered in a stupor before backing inside.
“How did you-I mean-What?” November tried to ask, but words had become lost to her.
“Always come prepared,” Applejack pridefully replied. “These are the best apples in Equestria. We got two more crates back at our boat if this isn’t enough.”
November remained awestruck, with only a tiny squee escaping her vocals.
“If this isn’t good enough for those pirates, nothing is.” Rainbow Dash declared.
“...I don’t know what to say.” November finally managed to say.
“How about, ‘you’re hired’?” Twilight suggested.
November slowly nodded as she said, “Yeah, yeah, you’re all hired. Thank you so much. You don’t know how much this means to me and my fath-boss.”
“Don’t worry, we already know who your dad is. Thank you for giving us this chance to remove the bounties.” Twilight said.
“Alright, let’s get started.” November commanded, now brimming in confidence. “Load as many apples as you can into the wagons when they arrive and I’ll take them to the kitchen.”
“Wagons, November.” Jarvis called out from behind November.
“Yes, thank you, Jarvis.”
Promptly, the dark mare stepped out of the doorway as three large rustic wheelbarrows squeezed through, one by one, by the buff Earth pony.
“Here you all go.” Jarvis said.
“Jarvis!” Maurice yelled out from inside. “What’s going on?”
“You’ll see, Maurice.” Jarvis yelled back.
“Thanks Jarvis.” Twilight said as Jarvis headed back inside to his rivals with benefits.
With the wagons now set, the ten cloaked ponies started transferring their cargo from the crates to the wagons, filling one of the carts in a minute flat.
“That’s enough.” November gleefully said.
She grabbed the filled cart with her cyan magic.
“Want me to help you with that? I could help your father make the cider even.” Applejack said.
“No thanks, he prefers that only I see him. You’re okay with that right?” November asked.
“Yeah...”
“Thanks.”
With the filled wagon in tow, November went back inside, leaving her now co-workers alone outside.
“So, Pinkie, at the ship you said they were ex-crew members of Korsan?” Twilight asked.
“That’s what Cecil told me.” Pinkie asked, balancing five apples on her nose. “Though he and his rivals with benefits said that they don’t talk about Korsan that often for November’s dad safety or something like that,”
“Rivals with benefits?” Twilight said, confused.
“Cecil, Maurice, and Jarvis,”
“Oh, those Poker ponies.”
“What if November and her dad know Korsan’s weaknesses?” Applejack asked out loud.
“We could try and ask since we’re here, now that we’re working for them.”
“Wait,” Pinkie interrupted. “We can’t ask about Korsan with Nitin, that’s November’s dad. He gets nervous for some reason. It could cause him to speak or doing something when Korsan gets back.”
“Why?” Fluttershy asked.
“The two are enemies now or something. I don’t know, Jarvis caused a stir with Grivs before Cecil could get into any detail.” Pinkie explained.
“Okay,” Twilight said as she finished filling the second cart. “So we can’t ask her father then. Maybe November, Cecil, or one of his friends will. Pinkie, maybe you can sing some more shanties with Cecil and play with more of the pirates.”
“Okey-dokey-lokey,”
“Also, how good is your game?” Twilight asked.
“I won thirty more bits from my last game with Cecil.”
“Good, that can serve as our second form of income.”
“And what are the rest of us going to do?” Dash asked.
“Dash, you and Applejack will supply the apples from our ship. Fluttershy and Rarity, you two help November with serving.” Twilight commanded. “Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo,”
“Yes?!” The three fillies asked in excitement.
“Clean the dishes, mugs, all that stuff.”
“Aww,” the trio moaned.
“Deal with it.”
“What about me, Twilight?” Spike asked, gently tugging on her wing.
“Supervise the foals,” Twilight said.
“...Fine.” Spike huffed. “And what’ll you be doing?”
“I’ll be investigating around Thieves’ Hold for anything about Korsan.”
Behind the bar counter and inside a dimly lit kitchen, November pushed the wagon of apples towards the corner of the room. Bags of various foods were stockpiled there.
An old, rustic voice spoke as the wheelbarrow was set down, “What’s this, November?”
“Fresh apples from Equestria,” November gently replied into the darkness. “We have some new workers.”
“Those bounty mares Korsan’s after, I know. I heard it all, Korsan, your chat with that one mare behind the counter. I’m not proud.” The shaded stallion told November.
“Dad, this could save our tavern. And I couldn’t let them risk being captured by him.”
“Foolish child, you don’t know the half of it. You were so young, so innocent back then. Letting them join us is just putting us all at risk for an even worse fate.”
“I know you’re scared. I am as well. But we could only imagine how scared they are.”
“More than you think. Equestria’s a kingdom where there isn’t much death, isn’t much suffering, only life and prosperity. We fear death naturally, being cutthroat pirates back then. They barely even understand it.”
“Please, Dad, don’t feel so guilty for what happened. It wasn’t our fault.”
“We supported him. We fixed his cannons. We paved the path of time that led to that day. If your mother was still alive, she’d think we’re monsters. No, I’m a monster, I dragged you into this instead of-…”
“We didn’t know. Please, you’ve sealed yourself in here for three years. It’s time you let yourself open to the outside world and stop beating yourself up. If you hang onto the past, you’ll never move forward to a better life. At least take your medicine. You’re lucky your illness isn’t contagious.”
“There is no better life. I’m just a selfish wreck that’ll never change for the short rest of my years, medicine will only make the guilt last longer. The only reason I’m still here is you, my sweet angel. I don’t want you to make the same mistakes I did and end up suffering in the claws of that monster.”
“Dad, times will change for us. I promise. We just need to take that first step.”
“…Fine. Let them work. I won’t be able to do anything to stop you or them in this state, so I might as well make it easy for you.”
“Dad,”
“What?”
“I love you.”
“…I love you to.”
Patrons of the bar gathered around the serving counter as November emerged from the kitchen with a large wooden barrel, filled with fresh apple cider.
As November set the barrel in place, Rarity asked the crowd before her and November, “Which one of you rogues wants to have the first cup? Cecil?”
“Uh… Jarvis?” The blue pegasus asked, turning towards his stout Earth pony friend.
“Uh… Maurice?” Jarvis asked, redirecting the attention to his small unicorn rival.
“Wait,” Maurice squeaked. “Why me?”
“You’ve drunk more of the old cider without throwing up.” Jarvis replied
“My last mug of it was last month.” Maurice retorted.
“And Jarvis and I last did it at least two months ago.” Cecil retorted back. “You have a better tolerance.”
“Why doesn’t Jarvis take the first swig? He was the one flapping his gums about how fresh they looked.” Maurice noted.
“Please,” Fluttershy begged the ponies, slowly waving a cup already filled with the new liquid.
The contents swished around inside, right in front of the finely dressed stallion’s nose.
“Just one sip?” She asked.
“Gah, fine,” Maurice proclaimed.
Slowly, Maurice set down five bits onto the cracked countertop and took the drink in his telekinetic hold. He carefully held the cup up to his mouth and took a small sip, closing his eyes tightly.
However, as the juice flowed over his tongue, Maurice’s eyes bulged open. He started to rabidly gulp the rest down, forgetting manners on the spot.
“Is he choking?” A stallion in the surrounding crowd had asked.
“He could be just tricking us into throwing up.” Another customer called out.
“Or he just really needs a drink,” a mare replied. “Remember that one time when he went broke? He was so desperate for some water, he actually drank seawater.”
“Great glooming glops,” Maurice exclaimed, slamming the now empty cup onto the counter. “You’re not going to believe me,”
“We’re not,” Cecil stonily replies.
“This, stuff, is liquid gold. I can already feel my insides become flesh and blood again.” Maurice declared.
“Ridiculous.” Cecil said
“Try me.”
“Fine,”
Swiftly, Cecil placed five of his bits on top of Maurice’s and was immediately given a fresh cup by Rarity. As the skeptical stallion took his drink, his body did the exact same thing Maurice did, finishing by slamming the cup onto the counter as well.
Cecil gasped, “What the-”
“See?”
“Maurice isn’t lying!” Cecil announced to the others.
Immediately, the silent crowd of onlookers turned into a raving mob. Bits were flung left and right across the mob and onto the serving counter, pelting Fluttershy, Rarity, and November.
“Take it easy!” November exclaimed with a grin. “You’ll all get some in time.”
“I gotta tell me crew!” A middle-aged mare yelled out before charging out of the tavern, soon followed by several others, all off to tell their friends about the cider.
“You know,” Rarity loudly said to Fluttershy among the roars of thirst in front of them. “Despite the fact that we’re serving ferocious criminals in a rundown bar that reeks, this is kind of nice.”
“At least our only threat is the noise. Ow!” Fluttershy replied. “And bits,”
“I believe this calls for a shanty!” Cecil declared.
“Cue the music!” Pinkie screamed.
She joined her tall partner in the center of the room. In seconds, music was blaring throughout the building.
Outside the tavern, Applejack and Rainbow Dash were rapidly stacking apples into wheel barrows. They soon heard the music blasting from inside amongst gleeful roaring.
“Sounds like quite a party.” Applejack said to her partner.
“It is Pinkie Pie.” Dash casually replied.
“Hey, Rainbow Dash,” Applejack said.
“Yeah?”
“I’ve been thinking-”
Dash immediately joked, “A dangerous pastime-”
“-Whatever. Remember when Twilight talked about the attack during the gala a few days ago?”
“After she shot me down when I started talking about Daring Do? Yeah…”
“Well, remember Twilight telling us about how Korsan was insulting Celestia for having Earth ponies and pegasi for soldiers, later using his unicorn-only goons to hold them in place while they fought whatever was left of Celestia’s guards?” Applejack asked.
“What are you getting to? Korsan wasn’t fighting fair and he’s a hypocrite.”
“What if he does have a point? Maybe it’s not unfair fighting, rather it’s that you and I are at a natural disability.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Korsan’s just some nutcase with a big vocabulary. I’m pretty sure whatever he’s saying is just crazy-talk.”
“Dash, you can’t simply be oblivious to whatever he’s saying because he’s a villain. He did prove something during the gala-”
“Are we sure that you’re the stubborn one and that I’m the not-so stubborn one?” Dash asked, desperate to change the subject.
“What does that mean? Aren’t you the ignorant one and I’m the one with awareness of what’s going on?”
“Excuse me?”
“…Bah. I’m sorry for fighting. I’m probably just a little tired.”
“Same here, maybe I’m missing some piece of logic in my head and Korsan’s making sense for some reason or another.”
“After this first crate, how about we hit the hay?”
“What about the other one?”
“It’s a heavy crate. It took Twilight a moment to focus her magic enough to even lift it an inch from the floor. I don’t think anypony would be able to take it.”
“I guess, unless it were a bunch of unicorns.” Applejack thought out load.
“Grivs probably won’t mess with it.”
“Yeah,”
“Almost done,” Dash declared.
I just can’t shake it. Applejack thought to herself. I know that somewhere inside me, Korsan’s making some lick of sense.
Would you look at that? An entire mob hurling themselves around just for some apple cider, what a sight to behold. I haven’t seen such a thing in a few years. And look at my little November, that beautiful smile on her face. I can already feel myself feeling better, seeing her childlike grin. Her mother always said it could cause miracles.
Maybe November was right. Maybe we just needed to take that first step. Those workers of hers, those mares and dragon, they don’t even look like their struggling to stay alive, though the foals don’t look too entertained under the counter. But they’re just children, it’s natural for them.
This is what I wanted for her future when we left Korsan, a bright new start, filled with smiling faces, music, adventures, and happiness, every day. Perhaps I will take my medications today.
A small smile then grew on Nitin Gale’s face.