My Little Pirates: Luffy's Adventures in Equestria

by Fullmetal Pony

Warrior of the Dawn: Lords of War

        The figure at the edge of the harbor loomed over a collection of marines. Lanky was an apt description for him with his elongated limbs and extended torso. His puffy black hair was held in place by a strap that connected to an eye rest which was currently in use. The rhythmic rise and fall of his his chest confirmed the the rest’s owner was indeed asleep, yet he stood tall like a tree. The white jacket with its yellow epaulettes draped over his shoulder like a cape was the only indication that the scene wasn’t meant as a joke. The rest of the man’s devastating power was hidden away under a yellow tie and formal wear.

        Celestia stood a few feet away, staring up at the sleeping man. She kept her eyes on him but directed a question to Momonga. “Is he going to awaken or are we to stand here?”

        “Huh?” the sleeping man yawned. He lifted up the rest and rubbed his right eye. Once the sleep was cleared away, he realized there were people— in a loose sense of the word— in front of him. “Oh, sorry, I fell asleep waiting.”

        His apology came out slowly and in a deep voice that carried his sloth on it. He extended out his right hand to Celestia. “Warlord Celestia, Admiral Aokiji.”

        Celestia grasped Aokiji’s hand and gave it a shake. “An honor.”

        “Well…” Aokiji mechanically spun himself around and methodically walked in the direction of the large structure that rose above the crescent bay Celestia had docked in. A massive cube-like building formed the foundation of it with the characters for “Justice” and the sigil of the marines scrawled across it. Above that, the structure got smaller with each successive level. The three topmost levels had curved, tiled roofs that crested at their corners like eternally frozen waves. “... we should be on our way. The other Warlords have already arrived.”

        Aokiji’s walking pattern was akin to a lumber, yet he and Celestia made good time to the foot of Navy Headquarters. Hundreds of buildings that housed countless marines were squished around the edge of Headquarters, but none of them rose higher than the protective walls with the massive characters written across them.

        The entire short journey was made in silence, not just from Celestia and Aokiji, but the entire island. Not a soul but the ones on Momonga’s ship, the marines in Aokiji’s attache, and Aokiji and Celestia themselves was seen. It left an uncomfortable feeling in Celestia’s gut.

        As they entered a lit hallway at the base of the wall, Celestia chose to speak. “The tension here is palpable.”

        “We are dealing with Whitebeard,” Aokiji replied. “I’d be worried if there wasn’t tension in the air.”

        “It just seems unnecessary,” Celestia implored. “Why open yourselves to an attack at your headquarters? Surely a smaller execution for Fire-Fist would suffice.” And reduce casualties if Straw Hat fails.

        “I suppose,” Aokiji sighed, “but Whitebeard would still unleash his wrath upon us. He’s not one to attack civilians, but inexperienced Marines would be at his mercy for the rest of his days if we didn’t face him here. It’s a pain, but our hands are tied… Blackbeard really threw us into a mess with all of this.”

“Yes…” Celestia lowered her head in thought. “He did.”

They quickly made their way through Headquarter’s multiple levels and came to a stop at a sliding door. Raucous sounds came from the other side. The change from the isolated nature caused Celestia’s ears to slightly twitch. Aokiji stepped forward and grasped the door. “The trip was probably a long one. Feel free to rest in here and have some refreshments before the briefing.”

Celestia stepped into the room, which was now even louder without the door as a shield. Aokiji didn’t follow and bowed out. Five people were seated at a long table that was stacked with plates of food.

“Sit” was a broad term to use for the way one of them was positioned. He was perched atop the back of his chair with his feet resting on top of the table. A devious grin stretched to each edge of his curved sunglasses, possibly caused by whatever he had read in the newspaper in his right hand. He gave it a slap with his left hand, which caused his pink boa to shift a little.

Two of the other people at the table sat normally, but their immense size made everything around them look like it was made for children. One had a blocky build and didn’t move an inch, while the other had a pear-shaped body. In addition, the latter had bandages wrapped around part of his head, over what appeared to be horns, and a few could be spotted underneath his black jacket and fluffy cravat. The ghastly stitches that ran from his purple hairline to below his clothes completed his ghoulish look. He shoveled food into his mouth and stood out far more than the other giant, who could have passed for a statue.

The fourth member was about half the size of the larger members, but easily the loudest of the bunch. He slobbered over his food and scarfed down whole pies like they were candy. Crumbs lodged themselves into his scraggly beard. The spectacle killed most of Celestia's appetite.

Finally, there was a normal sized individual leaning back in his chair. His feet were propped up against the table and his hands joined across his bare chest a little below a cross-shaped pendant. A large-rimmed hat obscured his piercing eyes from Celestia’s view, but the massive black sword that rested against his chair was enough of an indication of who he was. Celestia chose to pull up a seat next to him.

“Greetings, Mihawk,” she said.

Mihawk tipped up his head and met Celestia with his distinct eyes. “Celestia.”

Celestia took in the scene around her while she reached out for a cup and a kettle of tea. While she poured her drink, she said, “It appears I’m the last to arrive.”

“It’s an improvement to have someone capable of actual speech,” Mihawk replied. He eyed Blackbeard for a moment, but he was too busy using the tablecloth as a napkin to notice. “And table manners.”

“I’m assuming he’s Blackbeard.” A shiver went through Celestia and her skin prickled. She instinctively sent up a small barrier around herself which briefly lit up when something tried to intrude on her personal space.

“Interesting guy,” Doflamingo snickered, having apparently teleported from his own seat to behind Celestia. She kept her barrier up, but used her hand to shove him away. He still continued to grin. “All of this is.”

“I’d prefer if you kept to your own space, Doflamingo,” Celestia muttered. The prickliness in her skin hadn’t faded away even though there was no way for Doflamingo to touch her. “I don’t see what is so interesting about carnage of this scale. At least the marines know none of this will be pretty.”

“She’s right,” Moria grumbled. He set down his utensils and leaned across the table. An unnerving grin appeared on his lips. “War means corpses after all.”

Mihawk glared at Moria and Doflamingo. “You’re both annoying me.”

Moria clenched his jaw and retreated back to his food. Doflamingo overdramatically raised his arms to the sky and then went back to his chair while proclaiming, “Fine. Fine. I get a show no matter what.”

Blackbeard raised a tankard of ale. “Aye! Zehahaha!”

Celestia picked up her cup and took a long sip from it. The tea gave a brief moment of tranquility and was quite a smooth blend. Mihawk took note of her ability to screen out the rest of the room and poured a cup for himself.

After some time had passed, the doors opened again. In stepped a man whose jacket with tassels that reached to his elbows, the red sash across his chest, and the numerous badges and medals attached to it commanded more respect than even Aokiji’s attire. The image was slightly tarnished by the fake seagull perched atop his hat, but the sharpness of his eyes and the rigid line his lips formed above his lengthy braided beard helped balance out his look.

“Warlords,” said Sengoku. “I wish I had summoned you here under better conditions, but if that was the case, your services wouldn’t be necessary.”

Sengoku made his way to the front of the table where there was an empty seat, but chose to remain standing. “As you know, Portgas D. Ace was captured by you fellow Warlord, Blackbeard, and will face execution tomorrow afternoon. Already, Whitebeard has gathered his forces and could attack at any moment.”

He shot his hand down onto the table and the whole thing shook. “He will not stop us though. In addition to your own formidable powers, the top brass of the marines have come to Marineford and are now in a state of high alert. Right now, our consolidated strength could wipe out at least ten medium sized islands.”

“All for a single man,” Blackbeard chuckled.

“I would expect you of all people to know Whitebeard’s power,” Sengoku seethed. “You watch yourself on the battlefield Teech. I doubt Whitebeard or his men will pass you up for the crimes you’ve committed against them.”

“Crimes?” Blackbeard innocently asked. “Isn’t capturing pirates and executing them what the Marines do all the time? Eh, what am I saying, I know who to look out for.”

“Good, because most of your intel was useless too!” Sengoku produced a stack of papers and threw them at Blackbeard. Doflamingo snickered at the exchange. “Our surveillance has more information than you.” He reached down and produced five manilla folders that he slid across the table to the other Warlords. “Inside, you’ll find information on nearly every member of Whitebeard’s crew. Special attention has been given to those with Devil Fruit abilities. Our plan entailing a direct confrontation with Whitebeard is behind the profiles. However, given your status, not all of the strategy has been provided to you.”

“How are we to know if we’re not going against the plan then?” asked Celestia.

“It’s highly unlikely you could unless you purposely went against us. As you’ll see from what’s been given to you, the classified parts are more specifics than anything else. They’re withheld for no reason other than security of information which will become clear when the battle occurs.”

Hopefully, it will be nothing I’ll ever have to see, thought Celestia.

        The light of dusk streamed into the Warlord’s briefing room. Sengoku left as soon as he was content with the briefing. Blackbeard was the first of the Warlords to lumber out, murmuring about finding something to drink. Moria soon followed and sunk into wherever the marines had provided him for sleep. Mihawk gave the remaining Warlords a small nod of his head and slipped away to his lodgings. Kuma squeezed through the door and silently vanished into Marineford’s inner workings. Doflamingo strutted out like he was modeling his outfit with the same grin he’d had since Celestia had arrived.

        Celestia lingered a few seconds longer both to distance herself and admire the sunset. Luna would be directing Equestria’s illusionary sun downward right now. She sighed, gave the scene one last look, and left for her room.

        The directions Sengoku had provided said that her room was located relatively close to the briefing room. A couple of turns down Headquarter’s winding halls and Celestia found herself at what should have been the right location. She reached out to clasp the knob in front of her, but stopped when a large gloved hand wrapped around her left shoulder.

        She spun around and put up a forcefield at the same time. However, the spell failed to fling off the hand and instead pressed down hard on Celestia’s shoulder. She canceled the spell and readied a different one but paused when she saw who her assailant was.

        Kuma stood over her with the same neutral expression he’d held at the meeting. His mouth opened and his voice played out of it, even though his jaw remained stationary. “Apologies if this meeting with you is informal, Princess Celestia.”

        “How do you kn—”

        “I’d have preferred to have done this in person,” Kuma’s voice continued, “but circumstances have pushed up my mechanization schedule, so this message has been made to fulfill that role. I don’t have time to explain everything, but I shall try my best.”

        What in Equestria is going on? From the sound of things, Kuma had made the recording knowing her true identity. That raised enough questions on its own, but right now the discrepancy between Kuma’s message and the cold way he was grabbing her was the biggest puzzle.

        “I’m assuming our meeting is at Marineford close to Portgas D. Ace’s execution. That is not relevant right now. My main concern lies with Straw Hat Luffy.”

        Straw Hat? Celestia almost said it aloud, but there was no point asking a recording.

        “I’ve scattered Straw Hat Luffy and his companions in the hopes of saving them from destruction at the marine’s hands. He should already be in your kingdom by the time of this message’s recording. I know your history with humans is touchy, but I humbly ask that you assist him in mastery of haki. If you refuse, please direct him back to Silvers Rayleigh on the Shabondy Archipelago once this war is over. Straw Hat will most likely want to go back to the Archipelago anyway.”

Kuma’s voice stopped and he shut his mouth again. He released Celestia and began to walk away.

“Wait,” Celestia called out. “You can’t expect to give me such a request and not explain things. You know far too much, even for a Warlord. I demand some sort of explanation.”

Kuma’s form vanished in response. Celestia shook her head and placed a hand to her left temple. She opened the door to her room and collapsed on the bed inside. She replayed the “conversation” and pieced it together with everything else.

Kuma purposely sent Straw Hat to Equestria, for haki training no less. That requires explicit knowledge of me and Equestria, but that shouldn’t be possible. Straw Hat was the first human to breach Equestria in decades. This whole thing is mysteries and no answers. 

With a sigh, Celestia summoned her magic and put an invisible lock on the door. Between Impel Down, the briefing, and Kuma’s revelation, all her energy had been drained. She used her unnatural hands to pull herself under the bed’s covers and felt the sheets contort around her human frame. Her clothes were just an illusionary extension of her body so there was no need to remove them. She pressed her head against the pillow and drifted off to sleep amidst the unknown waters she had waded into.

        The small creak of a window sent Celestia straight up. She raised her right hand and aimed it at the sound’s direction. A shadow was perched atop the windowsill, but the way it was propped up and the distinctive contours of its boa made Celestia scowl.

“Doflamingo, get out.”

“Hey, hey, I’m having trouble sleeping is all,” he chuckled.

“Perhaps you should be out drinking with Blackbeard then. The gutter is a perfect place for you.”

“Eh...” Doflamingo lept off the windowsill and fully entered Celestia’s room, but took care not to take a step further into it. “The gutter is a horrible place for things like us. Crappy view of the world from there.”

A faint golden glow swirled around Celestia’s hand. “Don’t lump me in with you. Now, don’t make me ask again. Leave.”

“Sheesh.” Doflamingo shrugged his shoulders and lept back to his original perch. “Ya know, I always was curious what Devil Fruit you ate but now I find out you’re something much more int—”

“Leave!” Celestia unleashed the magic built up in her hand and sent a blast of pressure at Doflamingo. All that was left after the attack was a busted window.

Celestia moved to the edge of the bed. Her heartbeat pounded in her ears and a tremor ran through her body. Dammit, does everyone here know me?

She realized sleep would not be coming back to her, so she stared out the busted window. The sea beyond Marineford rippled with tiny waves, small enough that the sinking moon was able to reflect off of them. I should inform Luna of my findings.

A piece of parchment and an inked quill materialized from Celestia’s hands. She moved them over to the small desk provided for her and jotted down the day’s events. When it was finished, she made the quill dissipate and enwrapped the letter in her magic. “Luna…”

The letter vanished in a flash of gold. Outside, night’s darkness was beginning to give way to the grey-blue tinge of dawn. The sun wouldn’t be far behind. Celestia stood over the ruined window and stared out over the ocean.

The back of her dress ruffled and flowed outwards. The lowest parts of it attached to Celestia’s spine while the edges of it bent into their original shape of hollow bones, flesh, and feathers. When the partial transformation was complete, she took to the air and fluttered out her window.

A cool breeze blew through Marineford. Below, Celestia could see a few lights sprinkled throughout the island. They didn’t matter much to her and she rose to the top of Headquarters. Atop its highest roof, she swept down and reverted her wings back to a dress. The view was quite grand with the first rays of sunlight hitting the roof and basking it in a rosy light.

“Feels surreal, doesn’t it?” a voice asked. Celestia spun in its direction and was met with the slumped form of a bulky man. Even in the early light, his tanned skin from years at sea, scruffy beard, and the scar that circled around his left eye were easy to make out. His back was arched in a way that made it seem that some great invisible stone rested on his back.

“Vice-Admiral Garp.” Celestia’s dress shifted to cling to her frame in place of adjusting it to make siting easier. She kept some distance from Garp, but didn’t put up a forcefield. If stories were true, he was a monster on the battlefield, but his appearances at Marineford often led to Sengoku berating him. The routine occasionally had got a silent chuckle out of Celestia, not that she’d ever let it be known publicly. “I didn’t expect to see anyone else up here.”

“It’s a nice place for a nap.” A smile crossed Garp’s face. “Plus Sengoku hates me coming up here. Bahahaha!”

“You seem in high spirits.”

“Do I now?” Garp turned his sights to the sea. “I always laughed when I’d run into Roger. Some things never change. Heh, listen to an old man remember his glory days.”

“Garp, you know as well as I do that your ‘seniority’ is fleeting next to mine.”

“I suppose, Princess,” he sighed deeply. “Ya know, Sengoku let me look through some of the files on your kingdom. Thought I’d be a good envoy in emergencies threatening your land. Between you and Jinbei, it feels like we’re bringing torches to all the wrong bridges.”

“The waves from this war could rock both our kingdoms, but in different ways. We’ve taken our sides and now face this day.” If only the marines were also on his side.

“Yes… yes, we have.” Garp’s attention stayed focussed on the sea, but its intensity made it seem like he was looking beyond it. Whatever it was was far beneath the waves and unseeable to Celestia. He pushed off the roof and brushed off his white pants and jacket. “I’d best grab some breakfast. Care to come along? I hear they have bacon today!”

A previous meeting came to the forefront of Celestia’s mind. It was an infamous one in her memory from the sheer levels of Sengoku’s irritation. It was the second time Straw Hat had been brought up in conversation. The first time was a much more secretive affair heard only amongst herself, Kuma, Mihawk, Doflamingo, and Sengoku. Instead of pulverizing a Warlord, Straw Hat had pummeled an entire island.

Back then Celestia had innerly delighted at the stress Straw Hat had caused the marines. In reflection, the damage to property and lives was likely immense and the chaos is caused secretly added to her inner turmoil.

After captured images of Enies Lobby were shown, raised bounties on Straw Hat’s crew were released and spread amongst everyone in attendance. A few eyes lit up at the new numbers, but were crushed with Sengoku’s final proclamation that Garp had been sent out to deal with Straw Hat. Those once expecting to claim the bounty sighed in defeat while other officers whispered how Straw Hat was done for.

Sengoku then added one additional bit of information: Garp was likely to fail. A roar went up and a swarm of questions bombarded Sengoku, which he silenced with a call for order. Just when the climate in the room calmed down, he revealed Garp’s family tree and the room exploded. Even Celestia couldn’t help but guffaw at the fact that the living legend of the marines was a grandfather of such a notorious pirate. It felt as plausible as a hereditary tie to Discord for Celestia.

Now armed with a personal knowledge of Straw Hat, Celestia politely declined the offer. If Garp had passed even a single gene down to Straw Hat, the chance of them both having the same ravenous hunger was too much for Celestia to stand at the moment. Garp shrugged and climbed his way down while Celestia flew back to her room.

However, Celestia paused mid-flight when the rest of the meeting’s details came to her. Her eye’s widened and her gut clenched. Oh my stars, Fire Fist is also his grandson.

 The sky grew brighter every second, it was looking more and more like it would be a clear day. The bay was stretched out below Celestia and ships calmly listed in it. This is madness.

        Spike’s snores reverberated off the walls of Twilight’s guest room in Canterlot. He nuzzled his snout into a pillow and peacefully slumbered. A buildup of a bubbling sensation in his throat ended his dreams. He lazily raised his head and belched.

        A letter flared out of his mouth and rolled across the floor. He rubbed his eyes and lumbered over to the piece of parchment. He slowly unrolled it and began to read:

        Spike,

        This is a very important and personal letter for Luna. Please deliver it to her immediately.-Celestia