“WHAT?” Storm Stalker bellowed. “Cap'n! 'Ave yew gone insane?”
“Me mind is as sane as the day I set hoof aboard this ship!” Trade Breaker yelled angrily. “I know what I'm doin', an' I know ye un'nerstood me orders! Now don' give me any back talk!”
Storm suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to punch the nearest live being.
“Cap'n Ah think yew may have hit yew're head a little too hard.” She stated.
Breaker turned away to watch the Bloodhound cut through the Marblehead's wake.
“We stole from, kidnapped, an' fought wit' Equestria.” He said. “They be lookin' fer vengeance, an' I want ye gone when they board the Marblehead.”
Storm was silent as she mulled this over, but quickly came up with a counter argument.
“Aye, but we're giv'en 'em those six mares back!” She pleaded. “We ain't even askin' fer a ransom!”
“After we kidnapped 'em!” Breaker spat.
“They jumped onboard!” Storm shouted in frustration.
“'Cause we were stealin'!” Breaker shot back. “Like common pirates! We took what we wanted an' gave nothin' back! An' ye know what they do to pirates in Equestria!”
Storm slammed her hoof down. “They cannae throw yew in jail if'n yew can outrun 'em!”
“I ain't runnin' no more!” The captain barked before his voice grew quieter. “I aim to pay fer me crimes, but I ain' lettin' you go down wit' me.”
Storm stared at him incredulously. “Crimes yew say? Look at what 'Questria did tae yew, yew were cast out by ev'ry shippin' comp'ny in the country. Yew were laughed at by ev'ry sailpony in port, mocked fer doin' naught but tryin' yer best tae survive! Cap'n, it's Equestria that should be on trial, nae yew!”
“Maybe, but they control the shippin' lanes wit' their fleet.” Trade Breaker said bitterly.
“But we got the Marblehead!” Storm yelled. “We beat 'em once an' we'll do it agin!”
“Fer how long?” Breaker demanded. “How long can we keep fightin' 'em? They'll find a way to stop us eventually! How long a'fore we end up facin' off against a shipload o' royal guards an' we ain't prepared? How long a'fore the Marblehead herself gives up? 'Questria won' stop chasin' us 'less I give 'em somethin' to blame!”
“THEN GIVE 'EM SOMEPONY ELSE!” Storm screamed, her eyes full of fright. “Ah won' lose yew agin, Cap'n. Ah nearly died when Ah saw yew fall, an' if'n yew're dragged away in chains, Ah'll kill mahself tae free yew a'fore Ah let yew rot in prison.”
Breaker was taken aback slightly, and his anger vanished and his expression softened.
“Storm.” He said, bring a hoof gently to her cheek. “Yer a strong mare, an' ye have more to live fer than wasting yer life o'er me. We both know yer not a first mate, yer the pirate queen o' the seas, now go show the world what ye are.”
Storm felt a tear roll down her cheek to land on Breaker's hoof.
“Ah don' want tae be a pirate queen.” She whispered. “Ah want tae be the first mate aboard the Marblehead.”
Breaker frowned at her, but his voice remained calm. “Storm, these are me orders, ye are to gather the crew an' board the Bloodhound. Ye will set sail fer whatever destination ye please, an' never look back.”
Storm felt her mouth go dry as she stared into her captain's eyes, but she managed to get to words out.
“Aye. . . Cap'n.”
“So there I was, Longhorn stompin' towards the first mate with his sword drawn when suddenly-”
'CLANG!'
The pirate's story was cut short as the metal door to the infirmary was suddenly slammed open by a very panicked Storm Stalker.
“CAP'N'S OFF HIS ROCKER!” She yelled.
“What'd he do this time?”
“He wants tae surrender the Marblehead!” Storm exclaimed.
“What?” Night Watch said incredulously. “The minute he sets hoof on the Bloodhound, it'll sink!”
“He has noe plans tae set hoof on the Bloodhound! Cap'n wants tae give himself up wit' the Marblehead!” The frantic mare wailed.
“WHAT?” The entire crew yelled.
“Aye! Says he wants tae keep 'Questria off'n our backs!”
“He can't do that!” Drip said angrily.
“Aye! Who does he think he is to up and leave us?” Another crewmember huffed in indignation.
“Da cap'n.”
All heads turned to look at the hippogriff entering behind Storm Stalker. Culinary turned and bowed his head apologetically to the first mate.
“Beggin' yer pardon, Miz Stalker. I was oen me way ta feed 'dis lot t'when I heard ye an' da cap'n arguin'. I o'erheard some dings an' wit' yer permission, I'd like ta share me thoughts.” He asked.
Storm nodded hesitantly and Culinary began.
“Cap'n's go' 'is priorities wrong.” The hippogriff stated. “He t'inks 'dat he's protectin' us by sendin' us away. 'is heart's in da righ' place, bu' 'is brain's a mile underwa'er.”
“So what do we do?” Drip asked.
“We 'ave ta force 'im to accept us.” Culinary answered.
“How?”
“By given 'im no udder option, we maroon ourselves aboar' da Marblehead.” Culinary explained.
Storm nodded. “Aye, Ah hate to do it, bu' if'n comes down between the two, Ah'll always choose Cap'n. What say yew?”
The crew raised their hooves and let out a hearty “Aye!” before several of them pulled their hooves back down and cradled them amid a few choice curses, having forgotten about their broken legs.
The sound of waves gently assaulted Trade Breaker as he tried to get some sleep, but it was not forthcoming. His wing ached and his skull was pounding from his injuries, but that wasn't what was keeping him awake.
No, it was a different pain that kept his eyes open as his mind continued to try and justify his reasoning. He knew it was best for the crew for him to leave right? They would be better off terrorizing the seas with Storm Stalker leading them.
And while he might enjoy the fact that he was the captain of a legendary ship, it was selfish of him to hold the crew back simply because he was going to miss them when they left. A lot. One pegasus mare in particular.
“Got to let her go a'fore I change me mind.” Breaker mumbled before he adjusted his position to sleep easier. Slowly, he drifted in a deep sleep, his thoughts continuing to plague his troubled mind.
With a sigh, Twilight realized just how hopeless her friends were at not being competitive. When the pirate in the wheel house told Applejack to “Come left four degrees!” of course Rainbow Dash instantly began telling the farm pony just how far she should turn the wheel. Applejack was quick to return the favor by commenting on how Rainbow couldn't figure out the the difference between full speed and flank speed.
“Shut up! It's not like you know, you're just repeating what he told you!” Rainbow Dash snapped while pointing at the amused pirate standing behind them. “And why does this ship have so many different speeds anyways? It should just be forwards, stop, and back. K. I. S. S. rule you know?”
Applejack rolled her eyes. “Ah'm pretty sure that only applies to you, Rainbow.”
It was a full minute before Rainbow Dash realized just what Applejack had been implying.
“HEY!” She yelled angrily, ready to begin her rant.
However, the entrance of a large unicorn into the wheelhouse stalled any further arguments.
“Stop the engines!” Big Sail ordered.
“All stop!” The crewmember repeated, motioning for Rainbow Dash to move the levers to the 'Stop' position.
Rainbow Dash did so, and within moments they could feel the vibrations slow to a stop.
“Dude, what's up?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Captain wants to surrender the Marblehead to Equestria, and himself along with it.” Big Sail answered. “Storm's wants all of the crew assembled on the deck and we're going to talk him out of it.”
Twilight stepped forward. “Why does he want to surrender the ship?”
Big Sail shrugged. “He thinks that Equestria won't stop chasing us, so he wants the crew to take the Bloodhound and get away while we can.”
“I can fix that!” Twilight said eagerly. “I could talk with Princess Celestia and tell her what happened!”
“Or we could just take the Bloodhound and sail onto the Equestrian fleet by ourselves.” Applejack interjected.
Big Sail nodded. “Either of those would be preferable to the captain's plan, however we'll have to go with Twilight's idea because I don't think Captain's going to let you mares on a ship by yourselves again. Princess Twilight, do you think you could talk Celestia out of throwing us all in prison?”
“I know I can.” Twilight answered.
“Then that's what we'll do. The only problem now is convincing the captain, go talk with Miss Stalker and find out what she has planned.” Big Sail ordered.
The lavender alicorn raced through the doorway and down the stairs. Big Sail turned back to Rainbow Dash and Applejack.
“Do you two think you can handle the ship for now?” He asked.
“You can count on us!” Rainbow Dash said while she saluted as Applejack nodded.
“Good. Hold position for now, but when I give the word, start her up again.”
“Got it!” Rainbow Dash saluted again and then gripped the speed levers with her hooves as if the ship was about to start racing away from her. Big Sail rolled his eyes and left the wheelhouse.
“Storm Stalker!” The lavender annoyance called. “Big Sail just told me what happened! What can I do to help?”
Storm Stalker glanced at her before nodding to Zabramn. The zebra turned and ran off to another part of the ship.
“This ain' yew're fight Princess. This is between us an' Cap'n.” She huffed.
Storm tried to leave, but Twilight blocked her.
“Storm, I know your upset, and probably more than a little mad at me and my friends, but I want to help.” Twilight said earnestly. “Whatever you want me to do, I'll do it.”
Storm heaved several breaths in and out to try and calm her nerves, then look Twilight in the eye.
“A'righ' Princess.” She said slowly. “Seein' as how yew an' yer frien's are the oe'nly ones nae injured, Ah want yew tae do some heavy liftin'.”
Twilight nodded. “You need something moved?”
“Aye, a lot o' thin's.” Storm smiled. “A whole boatload. Ah wan' all o' Longhorn's treasures, va'ubles, an' anythin' else that Ah can think of tae be moved tae the Marblehead. Oh, an' while yew're at it, take Zabramn wit' yew when yew go.”
Twilight nodded and ran down the corridor to find Zabramn while Storm entered the galley. Culinary wasn't in there like he usually was, but Storm was hungry and she was certain that she could find something to eat.
Stepping up to one of the many cabinets, she opened it up to find several raw ingredients, but nothing that look edible. Undeterred, Storm opened a few more before a slight crackle caught her ear, almost silent, but Storm's training let her find the exact location of the intruder from just that one hint.
Silently making her way to a large wall pantry, Storm placed an ear on the door and listened. Sure enough, there was shallow breathing on the other side. In the blink of an eye, the door was open and Storm had grabbed the pantry's occupant with her hooves. She yanked them out and slammed them on the floor, preparing to beat them senseless should they resist.
However, the familiar scream of Sun Flowers as she was hurled through the air in the midst of several flying crackers before her breath was knocked out of her lungs by the floor stopped Storm from performing any further damage to the unfortunate mare.
“Miz Flowers?” Storm asked, staring down at the crying mother, a cracker still held in her hoof. “What 'appened tae yew? Are yew a'righ'?”
Sun Flowers took several deep breaths as she wiped a hoof across her tear stained eyes.
“Ah'm serry fer throwin' yew like that.” Storm said apologetically, helping the earth pony to her hooves. “Ah didnae know it was yew in there, an' Ah may 'ave over reacted.”
“I'm alright.” Sun said in gasps. “It's. . . It's just that. . . After what happened. . . I came in her looking for some food. . . And I hid when I heard somepony coming.”
She started crying again.
Storm stood by her side awkwardly for a few moments before hesitantly reaching out and patting the mare on the shoulder. Sun Flowers responded by only crying harder and wrapping Storm Stalker in a tight embrace.
“I kissed him!” She wailed. “What does that mean? Do I love him?”
“Uh.” Was all Storm could formulate.
“I mean, I've always appreciated how much he cared for my little Rose!” Sun Flowers continued on obliviously. “And I'll admit that when he was on the island, I was really worried for him! But I kissed him! In front of everypony! WHY DID I KISS HIM?”
Storm eventually got tired of the mare crying on her shoulder and shook her off. Grabbing the distraught mother with her hooves, she looked Sun Flowers straight in the eyes.
“Ah don' know what'chyew're talkin' aboot, but Ah do know one thin' fer certain!” Storm said with such intensity that Sun was instantly silenced. “Ah tried tae ignore mah feelin's fer the stallion o' my dreams fer o'er a year now, an' now he's tryin' tae go off an' do some'tin' stupid! If'n Ah had only told him the way Ah feel sooner, Ah wouldnae be in this mess! Now go an' take charge o' yer life a'fore he takes charge o' his!”
Sun Flowers was stunned for a moment, but she began to nod.
“O-Okay!” She said. “I'll do it! I'm going to tell Drip I love him!”
The earth pony turned around before Storm knew what was happening and disappeared out the door. Storm was left standing in the galley for a moment before what Sun Flowers had said registered in her brain.
“She's in love wit' Drip?”
Fluttershy tried desperately to keep Henry down as he rose to what might be called hooves. Ice and snow billowed around him as the freezer seemed only to augment his physical attributes, causing his entire body to ripple in translucent patterns, often times giving the wendigo a ghostly appearance.
“Please be careful!” The yellow pegasus pleaded. “Your wounds haven't healed properly yet!”
Henry simply pushed her aside with one of his massive hooves.
“Your concern is appreciated, but unneeded.” He gasped, his breath freezing the air in front of him. “My goal is not to injure myself, but to save my captain.”
Fluttershy placed a hoof on the scaly shoulder.
“But if you put too much stress on yourself, you could end up hurt even worse than before!” Fluttershy argued, her meek voice carrying a surprising amount of force. However, Henry would not be deterred.
“I owe a debt to Captain. I will die before I let any harm come to him.” Henry growled. “If we cannot convince him to give up this foolhardy quest, then we must hope that Celestia will be forgiving of our actions.”
His voice lowered and his steps out the door spread ice onto the deck.
“If she wishes to take the captain prisoner, then it will take a deity greater than her to rip him from our grasp.” He said darkly.