Over the dusty roads they travelled without trying to get much attention to themselves. Two anthronies wandered there, both wore the long coats and the hats covering their eyes and most of their faces. They didn’t wanted to be seen or recognized to say the least. Nopony knew what exactly they wanted but they knew one little thing for certain.
The fact that they would be getting into a heap of trouble if they angered either of them. Perhaps it was through luck or just science of Twilight’s mind that the two of them looked a lot more muscular under the coats. Applejack had no idea how it worked but she was glad that it worked.
Not even one anthrony even dared to be asking them anything. Nor were they stopped on the way towards the city of pirates, the mysterious inside out turned prison. Getting in would be easy, that wasn’t much of a worry to them. It was the getting out part that had Twilight wondering. Few word were exchanged between the two anthronies as their pace remained calm and easy. Any sign of weakness that would have been showed by them could be exploited.
Even though they were a long way away from the place, neither of them could deny the fact that the tensions already had been raising. They were on the road that headed to the place as more and more ships could be seen sailing through the night. Ships that were actually on a certain admiral’s hit list. The shine within the eyes of the earth anthrony was something that concerned Twilight.
Though to break up at such an important part of their journey or to even leave Applejack alone in the place was out of the question. They would stay together so there was only one thing that Twilight could be doing.
“Applejack,” she started while her violet rimmed eyes looked over to the admiral and away from the sea. With the wind blowing in their backs and the salt of the sea filling their noses, they were constantly reminded just where they were. And exactly who, ruled under the moon. “I know these ships belong to anthronies you need to capture, but don’t make any movement against them. Our mission, has the priority.”
The words of Twilight were some that got to the admiral like a brick being tossed at her. For the orange skinned earth anthrony shocked up from her dreams and blinked a couple of times. The words were processed inside of her mind before she gave a rather confused looking nod towards the other mare. “Y-Yeah, yeah, yeah, Ah understand. What did ya think Ah would be doing anyway, eh? Going in guns blazing?”
It was an attempt to soften up the situation they had gotten in but it didn’t exactly help for Twilight. The unicorn was still worried so she found that it was time to play open card to the admiral. “Don’t, call, the navy.”
Those words would have tugged on a couple of heartstrings from the admiral. All of the sudden she seemed like she had seen a ghost of yesterday. The vibrant orange skin turned more towards white. In the ears of Applejack they could be heard, those screams of pure agony and terror as the waves kept on crashing.
The memories that returned to her like the water on a beach was but turning. She saw herself again, standing on a deck as a deckhand of a vessel that was doomed to sink. Far off in the distance it laid, that formation of rocks with the jolly roger waving right above it. She remembered it, she remembered everything.
Twilight wanted to comment on the sudden change of appearance from the admiral but she was never given the opportunity to do so. “Don’t worry, Ah won’t make the mistakes as they once did,” countered Applejack in a dead serious tone. It was only after she had released a deep exhale through her mouth that the eyes of the mare were turned back forward.
The unicorn didn’t really knew what she had to say about it or what she could be doing against it even. All she could think of was the little fact that everything seemed to be alright despite the sudden change of emotion inside of Applejacks tone.
What Twilight didn’t knew was that there was a massive shiver going up and down the back of the admiral as she kept on reliving the past. The unicorn made the decision to keep her mouth shut for the rest of the time. She didn’t even knew what was going on in the mind of Applejack and that was perhaps left that way.
The only thing that actually seemed to have been able to get the admiral back in the there and then was the hellish thundering sound of a cannon being fired. The two of them didn’t knew where it came from but Applejack almost instantly pulled Twilight back down with her as they bend through their knees.
“What in tarnation?!” the admiral exclaimed before they heard the impact noise. A dull noise of grass being shifted around while earth was moved. It was close, too close for the earth anthrony’s liking. Yet they were also close enough to the walls of the town. The feelings weren’t the greatest and perhaps it was just a warning shot that was being fired towards them.
They both hoped it wasn’t of course, but the chance was there that it could have been. “I don’t like this, let’s make a way for the gate, now,” said Twilight. The admiral only agreed upon the matter and they changed their pace up and ran over towards the city.
Their eyes constantly peeked over the walls and the sea in the hope to not see a flaming, boiling cannonball being hurdled into their direction. The cavern system in which the ships sailed to dock was clearly visible but neither of them had the time to actually investigate the matter.
Once they were in the safety of the city’s gate, the two of them were finally allowed to get some breath. The only problem was that the total darkness of the hallway had dominated. Not even a single candle was lit up, so Twilight gently charged up her horn to shine some light on the matter.
The two anthronies were just standing there. They leaned against the walls and were covered in the raspberry light. Neither of them heard the soles of the boots that were coming their way. Out of the darkness it then came. A rotten looking hand had managed to get Twilight and spun her around, all to look straight into the face of the mysterious stranger.
With the light that was shining down upon it, the face of white was revealed, one eye missing and the other bloodshot. The unicorn released a deep ‘wha’ sound from her mouth. Twilight didn’t even knew what was going on. But the figure just stood there, looking her deep in the eyes while it began to wheeze.
Wheezes that were blown almost directly into her face and Twilight was truly getting uncomfortable with the whole situation. She was shivering but Applejack didn’t have her sword. It would have to be a matter of muscle in order to solve the situation as it was. Something Twilight was familiar with by then.
“Beware of them,” the stranger spoke in a deep but also broken voice. Twilight wanted to question the stranger. But then he released her arm and hurled back into the darkness. The events were just so quick that Twilight didn’t even knew what she had to be doing. Yet the only thing that came to her mind was to widen her light.
The charge was increased to a truly noticeable rate and everypony that was looking into their direction could have seen them. Yet from the stranger itself, there was nothing to be found. At least, that was how it seemed. “Beware of whom?” Twilight asked herself with a raised eyebrow. The winds picked up again, yet they came in from a different angle that time.
“Winds of change, come and go as they please. Fortunate for desperate sailors,” enlightened Applejack. She knew exactly what kind of wind was blowing their way. Twilight first wouldn’t believe it, weren’t it for the fact that as she turned around to face the admiral, there was a piece of paper that was flung into her face.
After a couple spits and spats was the charges reduced to just a normal flashlight again before it the piece of paper was taken off of her face. The eyes of the soothsayer looked at what it said as she couldn’t believe her eyes.
Clearly there must have been some sort of mistake with everything. For the thing that she read on the piece of paper wasn’t possible, not in their time. “Beware, of dragons?” questioned Twilight when she looked Applejack right in the eyes and showed her the piece of paper. The little torn piece did show that one word of ‘dragon’ on it, but if it was the thing they should be watching remained to be seen.
“Ah don’t know any ships that want me dead that have that in their name,” returned Applejack just before she realized just what had been said. “A-Ah mean, ships Ah’m hunting.” The correction went unnoticed by Twilight as she was too busy trying to figure out just what on earth it could have meant in the first place. Something that was Applejack’s saving grace.
“Come on, we have to go in and ya know it. Ah welcome thee, in the worst place of Equestria,” the admiral said after she had removed herself from the wall and took a couple more steps into the hallway. Twilight placed the little piece of paper in one of her coats pockets before she joined Applejack.
The magical charge of her horn actually decreased before as the lights of the place where more than enough to show the two of them the outline of the place. It was Twilight who was looking out her eyes, whereas Applejack looked in a slight disgust.
Before them did the prison-turned-city stretch out like the horrifying beauty it was. Homes that were built into the walls or against them, streets and houses covering the courtyard as if it was a real town. Everything just looked like a town surrounded by a massive wall that only seemed to be having one exit.
The lights of the homes and the candles that were burning on the street gave each of the homes an oddly friendly look and managed to cast a little bit of light into the darkness of the place. That was just the exterior. When the music was caught in their ears, the singing of mares in bars and the glass either being broken of clanged together, they realized the place was filled with life that went on both day and night.
“Welcome to the biggest scum bar in the land, soothsayer,” commented Applejack to Twilight. Her eyes looked over to the unicorn with a serious look. “Here ya will be finding yar partner. Ah hope ya know what you have been doing.”
“So do I…” Twilight stated before she released a gulp. With her eyes had she looked once more over the world as it was. Something just didn’t feel right about the place, as if all of the evil in the land had come to that place. Almost, as if she had another place of interest right there.
~~~~
For five minutes had the two anthronies been going slightly undercover in the town filled with pirates. None of them made a talk to them and the two wanted to keep it that way. Though they weren’t getting any closer to the point of where they needed to be. So Twilight directed the admiral to perhaps the best known bar in the town.
Yet that same bar also had a massive point that turned everything down to it. For as the two came closer to it did the side of it is becoming clearly visible. There they saw perhaps the most dangerous thing of them all. Almost the whole wall is just covered in wanted-posters for anthronies. Wanted-posters for pirates that Applejack remembered ordering like yesterday.
Most of the faces she remembered, but there were some that were even from before her time as an admiral. Yet there was something strange about that wall. Something where Applejack couldn’t quite place her hand on.
Twilight herself looked at the wall a little bit more curious before she thought to finally realize just what it was. “It’s a hall of fame,” she whispered nearly inaudible towards the admiral. The earth anthrony suddenly turned her head towards the soothsayer and almost wanted to remove her hat just to be able to hear it even better.
No word managed to leave the admiral’s mouth, Applejack seemed to have been in a state of shock. A state of shock she had never entered in her life before. The town was insane, that much she had to admit. They were idolizing the worst scum that was out there on the seas. But it was nothing compared to the shock still waiting for the mare.
Twilight had already gone around the corner and wanted to enter the bar as she realized that Applejack was gone. A cold shock suddenly went through her and she rushed back to the corner in the hope to find the admiral unharmed.
Even before she managed to make the first step, the admiral came around the corner, mumbling words to herself that not even the unicorn was able to make something from. “You alright?” she asked her in the hope to get some response out of the earth anthrony.
“Hm? What? Yes, yeah, course Ah am, why wouldn’t Ah?” Applejack replied to her. It was in the hope that Twilight would be oblivious to the facts as they were. Though if she could still fool Twilight, was a question in and of itself.
Yet the unicorn wasn’t in the mood to argue with the admiral so she just allowed it to sail away for the time being. “Get in here,” she just spoke up and walked back to the door of the bar. There was no turning back, whatever they would be finding behind that very door, they would be having to deal with like that.
Twilight placed her hand at the door knob and pushed the door open. With the opening door did the sounds became louder, the scents stronger and the hopes continued to rise.
What they encountered was fairly much the thing they could have expected in the first place. The music that was being played by the band were happy tunes that seemed to be calming most of the anthronies there. Wasn’t it for the music, certainly the mares dancing would have done the trick. Tables were full of crew members of various ships all spending their hard earned bits like that.
Both Applejack and Twilight weren’t looking for anthronies like that, they needed somepony with information, lots of it. And the only one who perhaps could be having some information was the barkeeper. Thought just going up to there wouldn’t have helped them in any way, they had to buy their way in.
The two of them closed the door behind them and walked calmly up to the bar where two stools were still free. The waiters were going off and on as they took the plates filled with drinks to other tables. The two of them calmly sat down and they looked at the near countless bottles of liquor that were standing above the bar, the choice in booze was at least rich in Twilight’s eyes.
Yet the only drinks that really seemed to have been ordered were beer, gin and rum. The bar itself really had a sailor mood and feel to it. Everywhere there were pieces of a ship hung up as if they were just taken and taken away like trophies. Perhaps it even was that way.
Though out of everything was it the mirror that was standing directly in front of them that could have been their saving grace. For that mirror was big enough to make them see the whole of the bar with minimum effort. If there was another anthrony coming their way, they would be able to see it. Not to mention the fact that they could spy on others if they wished.
It took him a couple of seconds, but then the barkeeper finally managed to get to the two of them and took their orders. “A rum for me, as for mah partner, something less strong. She can’t hold her liquor,” the admiral said against the stallion, who released a chuckle.
He then lowered his body and allowed one of his arms to lay itself upon the bar as he pointed a finger towards Twilight. “So you can’t hold your liquor, eh? Why did you came to this place in the first place?” His yellowed teeth were almost a pain to look at for the soothsayer. The breath that left him was horrible to say the least.
She still had to answer him though, as the admiral wouldn’t help her out that time unless things would have gotten really tricky and iffy. “One isn’t allowed to drink if you have the first watch.” Twilight made up as an excuse from her limited knowledge of how ships and sailing worked.
The barkeeper understood the direction she was coming from and simply nodded before chuckling. It also gave the two of them this strange feeling that he could be trusted. Maybe not as much as an actual friend, but enough to get some information out of him.
Though with the stallion gone to get their drinks was Applejack looking around the bar while she kept her head hidden as much as possible. “As Ah thought…” she mumbled.
The soothsayer didn’t have a clue on what the mare was talking about and perhaps wouldn’t even wanted to know it. Though the words still managed to leave her mouth, the sheer curiosity that was going through her actually managed to almost break her. “What’s what you thought?” she asked with a slight tremble in her tone. Fear had taken over as she didn’t even dared to look over to her partner.
The admiral gently nudged her head to a couple of other anthronies that were sitting on the other side of the bar. Then her voice spoke up in a low and careful tone. “Some of ‘em made it in mah personal hit list. Anthronies that Ah hate with every fiber of mah body, gently put, Ah hate ‘em.”
It were blunt words but they at least were understandable for Twilight. Which was pretty much all that counted in the moment. Whether it was liked or not, the tension was high once again as Applejack wanted to continue talking about the anthronies. “No, I’m not interested in on whom you have a grudge against, we’re here for somepony else, remember?”
“As crystal,” the admiral whispered just before they got their first drink. The barkeeper gave them a couple of glances before he turned back around to help other clients. Whether he was onto them or not remained to be seen. The two didn’t mind it as they had their drinks and Applejack took a swig from her rum.
Twilight was still curious as to what was in her glass. She eyed the liquids for a moment and then took a gentle sip. All of the sudden were the taste butts on her tongue teased with the sparkling taste of apple cider. It wasn’t what she had expected, but it was delicious in her eyes. Though those same eyes never stopped looking around the bar for their own safety.
Wasn’t Applejack looking around, then it were Twilight’s eyes who scanned the mirror constantly. Much talking wasn’t done between the two of them and it managed to work its way towards the barkeeper. The silence from the two mares gave him a rather genuine concern.
It was after a couple of drinks that the barkeeper actually stayed by the two of them to enter the conversation. Both of the anthronies actually seemed to be able to keep themselves together pretty well despite the amount they had already drunk away.
“So, why the silence, lasses?” he asked in his curious tone. The eyes constantly switched between the two mares. It was a little bit where Twilight had actually hoped for, for it meant that they could be talking to the right anthrony without stepping on somepony’s hooves. Which was exactly the thing they were looking for.
Though the question remained whether or not he would actually have been able to tell them what they needed to know. “My partner and I are, calm, because of the simple fact we believe a certain vessel has come in. A vessel of which we don’t want trouble from.”
“Jah? What vessel are you talking here, eh?” he replied to her. He leaned against the bar. Whether it was Twilight’s intention or not, she managed to get the full attention of the barkeeper. One of his assistants took the job over while he just focused himself upon the two of them. Curiosity was the right word but perhaps he was also going to hear them out.
In the mind of Twilight did the picture of the vessel shot by countless times. How much did she wanted to tell him exactly how it looked? In the end, she just did it. The more she spoke about the ship, the whiter the stallion seemed to become. He just couldn’t believe it, for there was only one ship in the cavern system below that looked like that. A mighty vessel that he knew all too well.
“Ain’t no doubt on the reasons of why you want to keep yourself quiet. The crew of the Vengeful Belle don’t go easy on anyone,” he spoke in a concerned whisper before he peeked his eyes into the bar. Immediately he saw some of the crew members that sat at the tables, clashing their glasses together and just enjoying the time they had.
“The Vengeful Belle?” Twilight repeated in a near silent whisper. At least she had a name for the ship they were searching to. “What about its captain?” she then asked to the barkeeper. Whose eyes turned back to her with a bit of a questioning gaze. Had she asked him the wrong question already? Or was he thinking about the words that he needed to tell her? Little was known about it but Twilight could only hope for the best.
Yet the thing what happened next was that the stallion placed a finger on both of his lips and shushed her silent. The looks in his eyes turned into a dead serious one as he didn’t wanted the conversation to be getting too loud.
“There’s a rumor, of whom captains that cursed vessel of yours. An unicorn that lives under the name of White Widow. A stunning beauty to see, but as deadly as a manticore and as sly as a griffon. That’s one mare you don’t want to mess around with. I understand why you want to keep quiet,” the barkeeper spoke to them. He almost felt sorry for the two of them.
Applejack’s eyes turned themselves over to the barkeeper just for a moment at the mentioning of the name. She even stopped taking a swig from her drink for just a little moment. Something about the name gave a bit of her away.
“She is ferocious, ain’t stopping for anything or anyone. If you have that ship on your tail, it’s over. Don’t even bother loading the cannons, she’s like a phantom of the sea. No, not a phantom, it’s that other creature, opposing of mermaids…”
The three of them were all of the sudden engaged in a battle of actually finding the right word for the creature that the barkeeper wanted to name. All kinds of things came by like that but none of them were right. That was until Twilight finally dared to open her mouth. “Like, a siren?”
Within a second did the barkeeper clapped his hands together before pointing to the mare with a massive smile on his face. The concern of somepony having heard the relief of emotion wasn’t there as they were all clapping because of the show being over. “A siren of the sea, luring you in with beautiful songs before ripping out your heart. You two, your crew, your ship, made a powerful enemy.”
Applejack had been listening to the whole story of the barkeeper with literally a ton of salt. She didn’t believe much of the words that he spoke about this White Widow. She was even getting more and more fed up with the talk about the mare.
In the end of it, she got so fed up that she dropped her bits on the bar. Only to leave the stool and simply walked away from the conversation like that. Literally in an instant had the admiral been gone and left Twilight there with the barkeeper. “What’s her problem?” he asked the unicorn, who only shrugged a bit with her shoulders.
“If I will ever be able to figure her out, I deserve a prize,” replied Twilight before she finished yet another mug of her cider. “But please, continue about her for just a bit more. The more I know, the better it is.”
“Tsk, you can better stay on land,” the barkeeper said to her in response. Then he released a huff from his nostrils. The stallion took a step back, took the bits left by Applejack and crossed his arms over each other while taking a rest against the mirror. “Stay on land, never go out on sea again, if you value your life that is.”
The unicorn nodded to the warning and took out the bits for her drinks as well. “Thanks for the info, now I have to reclaim my mate, if you don’t mind,” she said to him as some sort of an excuse. She wanted to use any excuse just to make sure to get the hell out of his place and get back by Applejack.
Twilight wasn’t attached to the admiral in any way, but she also didn’t wanted to have her ending up in a gutter or anything. It was a thing that was troubling since the very beginning for her, or since the admiral actually left. With a steam powered leg and no sword to fight with, getting into trouble was easier than getting out.
The soothsayer had almost left her seating when the voice of the barkeeper entered her ears once more. “Unless of course, you want to rise to the challenge and face her in a duel. I know where the ship is being docked. But it will cost ya.”
The offer certainly was something tempting in the eyes of Twilight, but if they had to get the most feared pirate of the seas in their group, any bit of information helped no matter the cost. “Alright,” she said before she turned back around to face the stallion, “name your price and let’s see if we can come to an agreement.”
“As you wish, milady.” The stallion uncrossed his arms again and flung himself a little bit forward before he took her cider mug and filled it again, but with rum that time. The mug was set against his lips and within twenty seconds was the whole thing just gone.
With a loud tok did the thing made a connection to the wood of the bar as he said his price. The bidding war for the location of the Vengeful Belle had begun.
“Hahaha, hahaha, whahaha! I hope you have everything ready for your own funeral lassy! You’ll need it!” the barkeeper bellowed up after Twilight had paid the price for the location and actually got the right one. The price she had to pay was still heavy, but a lot less than she had originally in mind.
Though it was the warning that was given to her as she left that worried her. Every single anthrony in the place had heard it without a doubt but they just didn’t wanted to react to it. All that remained to be doing for Twilight was to find Applejack again. Before she would be doing that though, she had a little score to settle with the barkeeper himself.
When she made her departure had her horn charged itself up lightly. One of the bottles behind the stallion was calmly levitated up. Before he could even do a single motion it came crashing down on his head, breaking the bottle and pouring the liquids all over his scalp. It was both a cold shower and a knockout blow at once.
Not to mention an event that pretty much got the whole bar erupting out in a massive fight as if it was nothing. “Good evening,” added Twilight then in a stone cold voice. Moments later had she closed the door behind her.
Once again she stood on the street in the dead of night and looked around the place in the hope to find Applejack somewhere. Which was something that was truly something a lot easier said than done. Yet in a town filled with scum and villainy, trouble is something that’s a lot easier to find. It only different to the kind of trouble that would either create a mess, or a giant mess.
Not even a minute after Twilight had left the bar, she felt something pushing up against her and forcing her against the nearest wall. Her head crashed into the stone bricks which made her a little bit light headed before she managed to get a grasp of reality again. It were seconds but they seemed like minutes to her.
Without any warning was she turned back around to face the mysterious attacker. In her eyes she caught a dark coat and dark hat with just a little bit or orange skin visible. Only one anthrony in the world and that she knew of had that combination and just from the looks alone it could already be seen that the being was angry.
And then the words came in that accent that could be recognized out of thousands. “Ya better heeds mah words Twilight, for Ah am only warning ya once. Stay away from that ship, ya don’t know whom yar going to be dealing with and what trouble ya be getting in.”
Though the words didn’t really go through to Twilight. Instead she charged up her horn and teleported herself out of the hold of Applejack. With a poof was she gone and with a poof she reappeared behind the earth anthrony. With their backs together did Twilight drill an elbow into the spine of the admiral so that she was either flung towards the wall or down to her knees.
One moan of pain was all that came out of the earth anthrony before the unicorn just walked away like it was nothing. “I don’t care what you say, I’m done with warnings from everypony here. Don’t walk in my way again if your only intent is to stop me.”
With those words spoken did Twilight simply leave the admiral in the literal mid of the town. All while she left for the vessel of the dreaded and feared captain, who was dubbed: White Widow.