Bubble Burst stared, frozen as her home, as well as the most precious things in the world to her that lay within those walls, crumbled under the weight of the massive angler fish.
Angle Glow laughed and sneered. “Seriously our Captain is such an idiot; this would’ve been over much sooner if we just did this in the beginning!”
Bubble Burst watched, frozen in disbelief and horror at the wreckage of what was once both her home and her biggest responsibility....her face quickly contorting in rage. “I’ll kill you!” she swam upwards, ready to tear the massive angler fish apart with her bare hooves if necessary.
Angle Glow rolled its mare-shaped lure’s eyes and sneered, moving at an incredible speed that outmatched the seapony’s own meagre attempt, using the girth of its main body to knock drifting back towards the ground, the mare regaining her ‘footing’ and swimming in place. Rarity looked between the two, completely lost.
“W-what the hay’s going on!?” The unicorn blurted out.
Bubble Burst, remembering the pony, snarled and turned to her. “This is your fault! I KNEW you were on their side, just like all those other ships I sunk before you! If only those IDIOTS from town didn’t bring you in here, we wouldn’t be in this mess! Why couldn’t you have just died like those other pirates!”
“We are not pirates!” Rarity countered, tearfully. “I just wanted to help a poor, injured mare! I didn’t know she was one of those mean pirates!”
“Don’t lie to me!” Bubble Burst shouted. “You were on the pirate ship I sunk earlier today! I can’t believe I let you trick me like that, I even told you some of my deepest secrets...”
“YOU sunk the ship?” Twilight’s voice broke out.
The seapony, the unicorn and even the angler fish all turned to the source of the voice. At the centre of the rubble, of the ruined building, was Twilight Sparkle, standing near the restored armour and trident under a sphere of pure magic, grunting with effort as she shielded herself. She gave the seapony a hard stare, a sight Rarity found very strange and unusual.
“YOU’RE the Sea Slasher?” Twilight continued. “The jerkface who’s been swimming around, sinking ships so much that a lot of fishermen are scared to go to sea? A lot of folks who did nothing wrong but do their jobs!”
“If by jobs you mean piracy...” Bubble Burst growled. “And don’t think I’m not lumping you in with your idiot friend, either!”
“NONE OF THEM WERE PIRATES YOU MORON!!” Twilight yelled out. “They were all fishers and salvagers! WE were just TOURISTS! You attacked innocent people and could have potentially KILLED a few ON A BASELESS ASSUMPTION!”
“LIES!” Bubble Burst interjected, and was about to add more but was distracted by Angle Glow, who floated above them laughing its head(s?) off.
Angle Glow smirked at them. “Well since you’re not friends, why don’ you ponies help me get the Moonstone? Surely you must know where it is, the white unicorn certainly seemed to think so.”
Twilight glared. “You...you horrible creature! You and those other pirates have been terrorising these poor seaponies long enough! Why do you even want the Moonstone anyway!?”
Rarity gasped as Angle Glow wrapped its lure around her body, lifting over its mouth, which opened wide to frame the array of gnarly, curved teeth surrounding his cavernous maw. “Okay, better incentive, DON’T give me the Moonstone, and I’ll swallow your friend here whole AND every seapony in this city!”
Bubble Burst snarled and swam towards the creature, only to be knocked back as it struck her with its tail. Rarity screamed in pain, releasing an air bubble as the angler fish tightened its grip around her threateningly.
Twilight paled. “W-wait! I...I don’t know EXACTLY where it is but...I...I think I can make a good guess! Just...just let her go!”
“Oh no.” Angle Glow refused. “Not until AFTER you give it to me.”
Twilight frowned and startedlooking around...only for Bubble Burst to scream out in desperation and swim towards a portion of the floor three feet to the south from her armour. Twilight’s horn glowed as she frowned guiltily, ripping off a piece of the floorand pulling out a large, glittering blue sphere, the size of a basketball. She pulled it close to her as Bubble Burst swam towards her, murder in her eyes....only for the seapony to be pinned under the weight of the giant anglerfish.
“I did your dirty work now let her go!” Twilight shouted.
“Very well.” Angle Glow sneered and tossed Rarity at the other unicorn, who quickly tossed the stone at the anglerfish to free up her magic to catch Rarity. Angle Glow caught the Moonstone in its hooves, grinning wide.
“Pleasure doing business with you.” The anglerfish chuckled mockingly and swam up. “I’ll leave you mares alone, it seems you got a lot to....discuss among yourselves.”
Angle glow dived back under the seafloor, its lure peering above it and moving past the massive coral that was supposed to deter against creatures like it. Meanwhile, Bubble Burst got up, shooting a glance towards her broken home and heritage before glaring hatefully at the two mares.
“I knew I was right to be suspscious of you two...” She growled. “You were here helping them! Gaining my trust just so you could lead them here and steal the moonstone!”
“I did what I had to, I had no idea how serious that....monster was about its threat and I had to make a decision that wouldn’t result in anyone getting hurt or KILLED!” Twilight shot back, eyes narrowing. “Not that you care! The only reason we’re here in the first place was because you sunk our ship!”
“Well, technically, it wasn’t OUR ship.” Rarity pointed out. “We were ON it and were making use of being ABOARD it, but we didn’t technically own it, it belonged to that nice mare who was helping us out and I hope she’s okay.”
Twilight spun to face the white unicorn. “And YOU! None of this would’ve happened if you didn’t thoughtlessly lead one of the pirates over here! Did you even THINK for one second that MAYBE there was someone weird about a pony breathing underwater before they came into this place!?”
“Hey!” Rarity sat back, folding her forelegs. “You’ve been all mad at me all day for no reason! Are you saying that I should’ve let a pony drown on the off chance she was a pirate? I’m sorry, I messed up, but I didn’t intend for this to happen and it’s not fair to just blame me outright without thinking about things!”
Bubble Burst snorted and rolled her eyes, swimming past them to slip into her armour, Twilight’s shield having kept all the rubble off it. As she fastened the armour and its helmet around herself, a bubble of water being locked in around her, she lifted her trident and spoke to the pair. “I care not about your lies. I’m getting the Moonstone back and then I’ll be back to deal with the two of you.” Her motors whirred as she sped off, dashing through the water and an opening in the coral to give chase.
Rarity frowned, her ears folding back as she turned to Twilight in concern. “We should go help her...I’m worried she’ll get herself hurt...”
Twilight growled. “Who cares anyway? She’s a violent jerk who attacked us for no reason. Who knows how we’ll get back to the surface.” Even as she spoke, her horn glowed and she began lifting up the rubble one piece at a time. “Just....just stay out of my hair before you cause more trouble, you lazy good for nothing dolt!”
Rarity flinched at the venom in her friend’s words, biting her lip as she fought back tears. “You’re right...I...I need to make things right!” She turned and ran off, the water around her slowing her pace even as she ran down to follow Bubble Burst’s lead.
A few seaponies turned to Rarity as she passed them. “What’s going on!? W-We saw a big scary monster and heard a loud noise a-and Bubble Burst just LEFT THE CITY!”
“A pirate attacked and destroyed her home and it’s all my fault!” Rarity hurriedly explained as she ran. “I need follow her and make sure she doesn’t get hurt and I have to apologise!”
As she ran past the buildings and out through a gap in the coral, the sea ponies turned to each other with pale faces.
“B-Bubble Burst lost her HOUSE!?”
“Sh-she left us! W-w-what do we do if a pirate attacks!?”
One of the seaponies, a bright red one with a long flowing mane that danced around her in the water like several ribbons swam before everyone else. “One of the other ponies we rescued is still here! Maybe we can ask her for help on what to do!”
“Yeah!” The others agreed, the group turning to swim over to where Bubble Burst’s house once stood.
-------------------------------------
Angle Glow smirked as it neared the massive pirate ship that floated beneath the ocean. The derelict ship was practically falling to pieces, the front half of its bows torn enough to resemble a horrific maw of sharp fangs and cruel eyes. Hanging from the main mast was a slightly torn flag bearing a jolly roger in the form of a skull gripped by several grasping tentacles. Holding the ship up was an especially large, scarred orca.
The mare-shaped lure of the angler fish ducked in close to the ship, handing it to a large tentacle. “Here you go, Captain. It was easy.”
The captain ignored that potentially mutinous comment as he grasped the Moonstone in his tentacles, his large, serrated beak grinning wide at the sight. He was a massive, burgundy coloured octopus with a few large, long tentacles; many however were reduced to stumps offset with wooden peg legs and a massive, serrated metal hook. Burn scars marred much of his body, particularly over the left side of his body, where an eyepatch covered where an eye used to be. His appearance was completed by a large pirate hat marked with a skull and crossbones.
“Excellent work, Angle.” Captain Squirk commended. “You make a wonderful lookout.”
Angle smirked. “Think the rest of the crew should be called up and join in celebration?”
“Hmmm I don’t see why not. We haven’t had a good party in a good long while.” The captain grinned widely. “Mates! Come aboard!”
As he called out, several of his crew members climbed up from below deck. Among them were: the bipedal crab, Crabnasty, who had fought Bubble Burst earlier, alongside the diving suit clad Murray, who held in his arms a small accordion; a large shrimp the size of a basketball with an enlarged, pistol-like limb; and finally a jellyfish with large eyes wearing a chef’s hat and apron.
Squirk frowned. “Where are the Doc and his nurse?”
“Th-they’re still below deck Captain, cleaning equipment.” The jellyfish said timidly. “Plus you know Helmut doesn’t like being all alone down there, so Nancy keeps him company.”
Squirk rolled his eyes. “Ugh...fine, Jerry.” He sighed then grinned, holding up the Moonstone aloft. “Look what Angle Glow managed to accomplish in mere hours what you lot took YEARS to fail at!”
Crabnasty’s eyes widened. “Is that...?”
“That’s right! The fabled Moonstone, right in our clutches!” Squirk grinned widely. “It’s time to celebrate!” He laughed, pulling out a second, larger eyepatch from under his hat, placing the moonstone in a large hole in the middle as he swapped it with his original eyepatch. “With this, the power of the oceans are ours!”
“Captain...” Crabnasty began. “Are you sure it’s wise to...wear the Moonstone like that? We don’t want to do anything to offend the Princess before we negotiate with her in return for handing it to her...”
Captain Squirk’s eye gazed icily at his crewmate, eye wide and bloodshot with rage. “WHAT. DID YOU. SAY.”
“We’ve....we’ve been after the Moonstone for so long Captain...” Crabnasty gulped, sensing something...untoward in the atmosphere. “Wasn’t the reason so we could try and find a way out of this piratical lifestyle by making a deal with her...? So we could find a real home for us, where we didn’t need to hurt anyone anymore...?”
Squirk shook with anger. “Are...are you AN IDIOT!?” He screeched angrily. “The Moonstone is MINE! What’s mine is mine, and what’s yours is ALSO mine! That is our motto, our CREED! We’ve been after the Moonstone for one reason and one reason only: so I can finally get revenge on Celestia after she scarred my body so many years ago! With the Moonstone’s power, I need no longer fear the Sun and the surface world EVER AGAIN!” He pointed a hook out to the where a large coral reef could be seen in the distance. “And we’re going to celebrate by making those seaponies pay for keeping it out of our reach for so long!”
“W-what...!?” Crabnasty sounded confused, uncertain. “Th-that’s insane! If we do something like that the Princess will surely not help us! W-we need her influence, resources and money to form a better life for ourselves, to give us a real home to live in...!”
“MONEY!? You think we need MONEY!?” Squirk laughed, many of the other crew members joining in. “Why spend when we can TAKE!? EVERYTHING under the sea belongs to ME, and I won’t part with a single coin! All our treasure stays with me!”
“But that’s no way to live!” Crabnasty argued, pleading. “Captain please, you took us all in, gave us a home, a family, after we had nowehere else to go! But what you’re saying is...madness!”
“The only madness I’m hearing is from you!” Squirk contested, pointing his sharp hook at the crab. “You were one of my strongest, most reliable shipmates, but under it all you were just a softhearted IDIOT! Only an idiot would serve me and assume such WEAK HEARTED GARBAGE!”
Crabnasty cried out in pain as the statement was puncatuated by a strong slash from the Captain’s hook, knocking him back and shattering parts of his shell. His crewmates parted away from him as the Captain closed in.
“You MUTINOUS TRASH!” Squirk snarled, a mad look in his eyes. “You want to STEAL from me, take what is MINE, after EVERYTHING i’v done for ya! I gave you a home! I gave you FOOD! I gave you a place to belong! We’re OUTCASTS! PIRATES! We belong on the sea with all it has to offer! If ANYONE on my crew says otherwise, THEY DON’T BELONG ON MY SHIP OR IN MY CREW!”
Crabnasty screamed out as he was slashed several times by his Captain, someone he saw as a father. Squirk merely sneered, his blows knocking the crab against the railing.
“Ca...Captain...” Crabnasty wheezed out, tearfully, looking to the other crewmembers. “H-Help me....”
Jerry the jellyfish looked nervously and pale as the other crew members merely glared disdainfully at the crab. The large shrimp, Pistolero, held up her arm.
“Those who defy the Captain are mutineers.” She said coldly. “And mutineers are no longer part of our crew.”
She fired a shot of pure, kinetic magic from her arm, hitting the crab square in chest and knocking him overboard, his eyes wide in disbelief and pain.
The crew turned away as their former friend was cast aside, jerry sweating and heading below deck as the others turned to their captain who wiped his hook clean.
Squirk grinned to the crew, spreading his tentacles wide. “Okay, crew, that’s it! Let’s celebrate and lift our spirits with a song! Murray, hit it!”
I’ve fought across seas
Beneath the salty brine
Laying claim to all I see
Anyone who defies
Shall surely find
The bitter taste of steel
Celestia I no longer fear!
Her sun will never hurt me!
NEVER AGAIN! NEVER AGAIN!
All her treasure
All her trinkets
ALL WILL BELONG TO ME! ALL WILL BE MINE!
OVER THE WAVES
BELOW THE SKY
ALL IS MINE TO TAKE
I AM CAPTAIN OF ALL I SURVEY
BE IT GOLD
BE IT JEWELS
BE IT RUSTY SILVER SWORDS!
IT ALL BELONGS TO ME!
CAPTAIN SQUIRK! SQUIRK!
UNDEFEATED!
EVERYTHING MY HANDS GET!
I have waited so many years
For this fated day
For the day the Moonstone is mine
The oceans themselves
Will follow my whim
And crush all foes beneath my path
Celestia I no longer fear!
Her sun will never hurt me!
NEVER AGAIN! NEVER AGAIN!
All her treasure
All her trinkets
ALL WILL BELONG TO ME! ALL WILL BE MINE!
OVER THE WAVES
BELOW THE SKY
ALL IS MINE TO TAKE
I AM CAPTAIN OF ALL I SURVEY
BE IT MIRRORS
BE IT TOYS
BE IT LITTLE WOODEN SHIPS!
IT ALL BELONGS TO ME!
CAPTAIN SQUIRK! SQUIRK!
THE FEARED!
EVERYTHING MY HANDS GET!”
“What did ya say captain!?” Angle Glow called out, swaying with the music.
“OVER THE WAVES
BELOW THE SKY
ALL IS MINE TO TAKE
I AM CAPTAIN OF ALL I SURVEY
BE IT THE SUN
BE IT THE MOON
BE IT EQUESTRIA ITSELF!
ALL IS MINE TO TAKE
CAPTAIN SQUIRK! SQUIRK!
THE GREATES!
EVERYTHING MY HANDS GET!”
He and his crew laughed as they finished their song, hearing a noise.
“YOU DARN PIRATES!” Bubble Burst screamed out as she swam towards the ship before her.
“Her again.” Squirk grumbled in annoyance. “Take her down.”
Pistolero fired a shot towards her...along with several cannonballs. She grunted, struggling to move, but her body soon went still and began to sink, only to be caught up in a net that dragged her slowly up above the sea.
Squirk laughed. “She’s surface food now! How poetic! This is a good omen, men! Let’s go show those seaponies what for! ZEHAHAHAHA!”
The crew members got to work hoisting the sails, as useless it was, as their ship began to move forward, onward toward the Seapony city.