After a quick argument about how to use a compass, they start towards the east. Which they hope is the right direction to Neighsau. Captain stands by the helm. Ebony lays on the deck with her head resting against the mast as she eats an apple.
“Where did you get that?” asks Captain.
“The apple? It was in the boat when we stole it,” replies Ebony.
“Really? what else did we get?”
“A couple more apples, a spyglass, and a few bits.”
“Any rum?” he asks with a large, hopeful smile on his face.
“No," She takes a bite of the apple. "What’s your real name?”
“What do you mean? I told you my name is Captain.”
“Captain is a title, not a name. So, what’s your real name?”
“Captain.”
“So, you’re a pirate named Captain then. Funny how you weren’t one until a few hours ago.”
They continue on in silence for a while. It doesn’t bother Captain in the slightest though; he’s just happy to be back in his element. On the open water with the wind at his back, the sound of waves lapping against the side of the boat. The cries from the seagulls overhead. This is his element.
“What’s the plan now?” asks Ebony.
“Huh?”
“What do you plan on doing now?”
“I plan on making money, I don’t really care what comes after.” He could hear her facehoofing.
“How many bits do we have?” asks Captain after a short moment of silence.
“Not much, really. We only have enough to buy some food, and hire one pony… maybe.”
“Ok then,” he says with a smile on his face once again.
Really, that smile was starting to irritate Ebony. How can he smile at a time like this? The military is after us, we’re pretty damn well lost, and we have no money, she thought.
“Land ho!” shouts Captain suddenly, startling Ebony.
“What?” she looks off the bow of the boat, and sure enough they could see a sliver of land on the horizon. “I don’t believe it.”
“I told you I would find it.”
“You were trying to convince me we should go the other way,” she replies.
By the time they dock in Neighsau, the sun has risen to a bright morning. The dock is nothing special, a wooden dock in fair shape, the harbourmaster’s shop just off to the side. There are a few houses after that, which aren’t anything special either. In fact, most of them seem to be in a slight state of disrepair. There are a few colts running around on the road, playing with wooden swords. They fight each other for the treasure, which in this case is a small wooden box off to the side of the road.
“Okay, let’s go find us a crew,” he says, happy to be back in a place where pirates won’t be executed for what they do. He jumps off the boat, taking a good whiff of the musky scent of the town.
“Give me a second,” said Ebony from the boat, which had recently been docked.
“What are you doing?”
“Trying to come up with a good disguise. Pirates might be accepted here, but changelings aren’t.”
“Fine, hurry up, though.” he says as he takes in his surroundings again. That is, until he spots the dog sitting at his hooves. “What do you want?” The dog just looks at him. “Get lost mutt.” The dog barks then tilts its head to the side. “Ebony, do you wanna have lunch?” he asks.
“I don’t kill, remember?”
He continues his staring contest with the dog. “Get outta here,” he says. This time the dog actually gets up and jumps into his boat. “Buck,” he mumbles.
“Oh, just leave him be. He’s only a dog.”
“I don’t like dogs.”
“Well, I like him and he’s staying… Okay, I’m ready lets go.”
Captain turns around, spotting a beige pegasus coming off his boat. Her mane and tail are made of several different shades of red, and are just as messy as his own. Her cutie mark is an open treasure chest filled with bits. She did, however, decide to keep the green eyes.
“ Alright, then. Let’s get a crew,” he says.
“A tavern?! You decided to go to a bucking tavern and get some rum!” Ebony shouts at Captain as he drinks his third bottle. As it turns out, Captain has chosen to a tavern called “The Lucky Mare.”
“I find that it helps me think more clearly,” he says.
“We barely have any money as it is!”
He passes her a bottle of rum. “Here, you need to relax a bit,” he says.
She reluctantly sits down at the counter and starts drinking.
After a few minutes (and bottles) Ebony no longer cares about the money wasted on drinking, since it is helping dull her migraine, and helping her enjoy the show of Captain fighting a good number of the ponies. He has taken up an odd fighting style, standing on his hind legs, and his forelegs brought up to his chest.
“I’ll give you all two options. First, you try to fight me and lose. Or we can all get a bottle of rum and forget everything that has happened. Which is it going to be?” he yells at his opponents. They all charge him, but he stands his ground. Ebony couldn’t help but smile at how confident he is even thought it was seven to one.
A new bottle of rum is placed on the counter next to her. She looks at the drink, then up at the barmare. “I didn’t order another drink.” Ebony says over the shouting from the fight.
“I know, it’s on the house. I figured you’d need it if you’re dealing with him,” says the barmare. She has a cream colored coat with a red mane and tail, and hazel eyes. A few freckles dot her face. Her cutie mark is covered by the dress she’s wearing.
An unconscious stallion lands on the counter, then falls onto the floor on the other side. “Yeah, I think I’ll need it too,” she says as she opens the bottle. “My name is Ebony, by the way.”
“Nice name. I’m Rose,” says the barmare as she lifts the stallion over the counter. Another stallion lands at Ebony’s hooves, a steady stream of blood coming from his nose. “I think you should stop them before they rip apart my bar.”
“Maybe, but I’m enjoying this too much.”
“I’m guessing you’re a pirate?”
“Yeah.”
“If you don’t stop them I’ll have to close the tavern for repairs.”
She sighs and gets off the stool. “Fine, but I’ll need another bottle of rum.” Rose quickly places a bottle on the counter. Ebony picks it up and throws it at Captain’s head. The bottle shatters, and Captain falls to the floor. “I’ll bring him back to the boat.” says Ebony. Getting up and dragging him out of tavern.
After throwing him rather unceremoniously into the boat she couldn’t help but to smile at the state of her liberator. More so when the dog comes up and cuddles with him.
She returns to the tavern, and takes her seat back at the counter. “Good to see you came back,” says Rose.
“Of course I came back, I didn’t have anywhere better to go. Oh, by the way, I’m looking for a crew. Do you know of anypony who’s looking for a captain?”
“So you’re a captain?”
“No, first mate. The guy I knocked out is the captain.”
Rose leans in closer. “So you’re his mate, eh?” she says with a sly smirk creeping across her face.
“What?! No, not like that!” she yells, her cheeks almost the same color as her mane. “I’m just part of his crew.”
Rose’s smile only widens at this. She leans in even closer and says “Well, I bet that captain sails this ship all night long.” Ebony slams her head into the counter, Rose laughs at her.
“Give me another bottle, I think my migraine is coming back,” Ebony says in defeat.