Heart of the Ocean

by Silentpegasus

Chapter 3: Negotiations

Chapter 3

Negotiations

Razor Wind slept peacefully against the stone wall only to be awoken by a pounding pain in his stomach. He slumped to the ground and clutched his stomach in pain. He looked up to see Shining glaring at him with rage in his eyes and two other guards by his side.

“Get him on his hooves!” He yelled. The two guards grabbed the grey stallion and dragged him from his cell. The ponies made their way through the castle, Razor felt his back hooves being dragged across the tiled floor. He looked up to see Shining leading the way into a massive room filled with light. Razor tried to stay awake as he entered the room. He felt the guards cuff his front hooves behind his back which caused him some discomfort. The stallions then threw him on the ground with made his face slam into the tile.

“On his knees.” Shining barked. The two guards pulled the pirate up by his mane and made him kneel. Shining stepped in front of him and held Razors head up by his mane. “Just so you know. If it weren’t for the fact that we might need you, I’d kill you myself.” He said as he let go of his head. Razor heard the door open and looked up to see the enraged Princess Celestia glaring at him with a stare that could make a dragon die from fright.

“What’s all this about?” Razor asked.

“Don’t play games with me!” She yelled as she levitated him up by her magic. “Where is Twilight Sparkle?”

“How should I know? I’ve been in a cell for the past six hours.” He barked.

“Twilight Sparkle was abducted not long after some of your crew members paid her library a visit.” Celestia said in a cold tone. Razor then noticed the five mares from before enter the room and holding the same icy stare.

“None of my crew would dare take a hostage without my say so.” Celestia’s horn flared which sent the stallion crashing back against the wall.

“Don’t try my patience! I know your crew was there today!”

“They were probably looking for me.” He said as he sat up. He looked over at the mares who glared at him. “You must have seen them, what did they look like?”

“One was Griffin and the other was teal Unicorn mare.” Applejack spat out.

“Ace and Breeze. They’re my best crew members and they’d NEVER take a hostage.” He said as he couched up a small amount of blood. “How do you know she was taken?”

“I saw her being dragged out of the library.” Shining said in a cold tone.

“Anything else? Like who did it?”

“No, the place was hit with a smoke bomb and knock out gas.” Razor’s ears perked up at the news.

“Smoke bombs and knock out gas?” He asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes, we believe it was a mix of herbs.” One of the guards stated. Razor put the pieces together.

“And you saw nothing?”

“A pair of black hooves and I heard a deep voice. That’s it.” Shining added.

“Can I hear it?” Shining looked at the Princess who raised an eyebrow. She nodded and the guard captain’s horn glowed and a voice was heard. Razor listened to the words and smirked. “It wasn’t me or any of my crew, however I know who did take her.”

“Tell us!” Celestia bellowed.

“His name is Black Sun. He’s a pirate like me only a little more....ruthless.”

“What does he want?” Rainbow bellowed.

“Mind getting these cuffs off me? I’m a bit uncomfortable.” He said as he struggled in his restraints. Celestia bit her lip and motioned to the guard to remove the hoof cuffs. Razor rubbed his front hooves and let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you. Has he sent you a ransom letter?”

“No.”

“Well, that tells us two things; one, they don’t want money and two, they need her alive. So she’s safe.....for now.” He said as he stretched his back.

“What do they want her for?” Pinkie asked.

“No idea. Sun is smart. He wouldn’t do something like this if it didn’t have a purpose.”

“I’ll send out a search party and-” Shining was cut off as the grey stallion laughed.

“A search party? I doubt Celestia has the authority to send a full army into international waters.” The Alicorn frowned at the statement. “You guys have only one option.”

“Which is?” Celestia asked.

“Me.” He said as he took a step forward. “I’m the only one here who knows how to track him.”

“Why should I trust you?” Celestia asked.

“I’m your only chance of getting her back. Are you willing to risk that?” He said with a smug grin on his face. Celestia gritted her teeth. “Just so we’re clear, I won’t do this for free.”

“You’ll do it because I’ll kill you if you don’t.” Shining said in a rough tone.

“Oh please Shining, you’re willing to risk your sister’s safety like that?” He said as he spun around and slammed one of his hooves into one of the guards. Razor quickly avoided Shining’s uppercut and removed the captain’s pistol. The grey stallion cocked it and pointed it at the sun goddess who looked at him in surprise.

“Do you honestly think you can threaten me with a toy like that?” She said in a stagnant tone.

“Yes, I believe I can.” He said as he pointed the barrel towards his own head. The ponies eyes shrank at the motion. “If I die then your last hope of saving your pupil dies.” The ponies in the room looked at him in confusion. “I know how Sun thinks and when Twilight outlives her usefulness he’ll kill her on the spot.” He said with a blank expression on his face. “The choice is your Princess.” He said as he looked back at the Alicorn who was having an internal fight with herself. Razor started to pull the trigger slowly until he saw the Princess lower her head.

“What do you want?” She spat out. The stallion lowered the pistol and smiled.

“First, I want 20,000 gold bits for each of my crew members.” He said as he handed Shining back his pistol. The guard ripped it out of the stallion's hooves and secured it in his belt.

“Out of the question!” She yelled.

“Fine. 17,000 bits each. Final offer.”

“Done.” She said in a reluctant tone.

“Thank you. Two; my crew and I get to keep all the treasure we’ve accumulated over our....career.”

“Fine.”

“Finally, I want full pardons for my crew members and myself upon our return. A clean slate.” Celestia looked at him in confusion. “That’s the price and in return I’ll bring back Twilight Sparkle alive and in one piece.” Celestia pondered the stallion’s offer.

“Very well, but if anything happens to her then the deal is off and you will hang for your crimes!” She yelled.

“Fair enough.” He said in a flat tone. “Now here’s the difficult part. Pirate spies are everywhere so you can’t just let me waltz out of here.”

“What do you need?” Celestia asked.

“I need to break out of Canterlot.” He said as he looked around the room.

“How?” Shining asked.

“I’ll do a thing.”

“What thing?”

“I don’t know, but I’ll think of something. Respect the thing.” He said as Rainbow and the other mares trotted up to him with a stern look in their eyes.

“We’re coming with you.” She said as she narrowed her gaze.

“Forget it.” Rainbow grabbed him by his coat and burned holes through his eyes.

“Twilight is our friend and I’ll be damned before I leave her hanging like this!” Te cyan mare said as she glared at the stallion.

“You’re that dedicated to your friend eh?” He said as he raised an eyebrow. The mares all nodded. “Just so you know we’ll have to break the law and I can’t be held responsible if something happens to you.”

“We don’t care!” Applejack yelled.

“Fine, tell me what you can do and I’ll see if we can use you.” He said as Rainbow let go of the stallion. “Rainbow you’re up first.”

“I can break the sound barrier and clear the sky in ten seconds flat.” She said in a flat tone.

“Cocky huh? We’ll see. We can use you to help with weather control. You’re in.” He said as he walked past her and stopped in front of AJ. “How about you AJ?” The mare slammed him in the gut with her right hoof.

“Don’t call me that pirate!” She yelled as the stallion rubbed his stomach.

“You’ve got quite the right hook. We could use another heavy hitter.” He said as he caught his breath. “You’re a farmer right?” The mare nodded with a stagnant look on her face. “Do you know any knot’s?”

“I can tie anything with a rope.”

“Good, you can help tie down riggings.” He said as he stopped in front of Rarity. “Okay Rarity. What about you?”

“I’m a tailor.”

“So you can sew?” The mare gave a nod. “Think you could sew a torn sail?”

“In my sleep.”

“How about cut’s and injuries?” The white mare gulped.

“I-I never tried.”

“Well, you learn something new everyday. Stitch can teach you the basics.” He said as he approached the timid yellow Pegasus. “You guys sure she can handle this?” Applejack trotted over to her friend and put a hoof on her shoulder.

“Fluttershy, you don’t have to go if ya don’t want to. None of us will hold it against you.” The mare said in a reassuring tone.

“No, Twilight’s my friend and I want to help her.” She said in a strong tone.

“Fine, what can you do?”

“I....um.”

“She can talk to animals!” Rainbow blurted out. Razor looked at the Pegasus and smiled.

“What about fish? Can you talk to fish?”

“Y-yes, some of them.”

“Good, it’ll make tracking Sun easier. You’re in.” Fluttershy let out a breath as he stopped in front of the bright pink mare. “Okay Pinkie what about you?”

“Well, I can bake!”

“Can you cook meat?” Pinkie gulped as Fluttershy let out a gasp. “I have a few carnivores on my crew and they need meat.”

“N-no I’ve never cooked anything besides pastry’s.” She said in a defeated tone.

“Okay, this may sound like dumb question, but do you know how to work a cannon?” The mare’s eyes lit up and quickly and withdrew a bright pink cannon out of nowhere.

“I never leave home without my party cannon!” She said as she pressed the fuze and a small amount of confetti burst from the end.

“Where were you keeping that?” He asked.

“If it’s one thing you should know about our group, it’s don’t question Pinkie Pie.” Rainbow said as she exhaled.

“Unpredictable, crazy and knows how to work a cannon. You’re in.” He said as the pink mare smiled. “We’ll leave tomorrow at dawn. Take tonight to gather supplies and say goodbye to your friends and family. Be at Ponyville Port by six am sharp. If you’re not there then we’ll leave without you.” He said as he started to walk away from the group.

“I’m going too.” Shining said.

“Like hell you are. You honestly think my crew will let you make it past the port?” He said in a flat tone. “If they don’t kill you then other pirates will.”

“I can handle myself and how do they even know what I look like?” Razor rolled his eyes and withdrew a small black leather bound book. He opened a page with Shining’s picture on it.

“You’re worth 100,000 bit’s dead and 125,000 alive. Every pirate knows who you are along with your wife. We won’t even make it half way with you on board. It’ll be easy for them because pirates know very little about the Elements of Harmony.” The guard captain grumbled. “You’d not only put our lives in danger, but your sister’s as well.” Shining let out a sigh and hung his head.

Razor closed the book and put it back in his coat pocket. He then walked over to the window. He opened it to have the white phoenix land on the ledge. “You get all that Snow?” The bird cawed. “Good go tell Breeze and the others. It’s a direct order.” The bird nodded and flew into the sky. The stallion put a hoof to his mouth and whistled. The doors suddenly burst open to reveal the pirate’s two swords and pistol flying towards him. Razor wrapped his effects around his body and smiled. “For the record, I could have done that at anytime.” He said with a smirk.

“How are you going to escape?” Celestia asked.

“Oh don’t worry about that.” His right ear twitched and a smile crept across his face. “You guys might wanna take cover.”

“Why?” The cyan mare asked as the far wall exploded with a deafening boom. As the smoke cleared the ponies saw a massive hook with a piece of rope attached to it latch itself onto the far wall. The grey stallion galloped towards it and held a sheathed sword between his hooves.

“Remember, six am at Ponyville Port. Don’t be late.” He said as several guards filled the room. The stallion smirked and put the sword on top of the rope. Razor jumped and slid down the rope into the city. The ponies looked in amazement as he kicked a few guards off the roof tops. A Pegasus guard pulled out his sword and cut the line.

Razor fell just shy of the port. He fell on the hard cobblestone road and quickly shook off the fall. The stallion got to his hooves and ran over to a nearby cannon. He pointed it towards the port as several stallions surrounded him. He lit the fuse and climbed inside the cannon as the guard captain appeared beside the large metal cannon.

“You’re crazy!” Shining yelled.

“That’s good, otherwise this would probably never work.” He said with a smile. The guard captain frowned at him and let out a sigh.

“Please bring back my little sister.”

“I give you my word.” The stallions eyes shrank as he felt the fuze end. “Geronimo!” He yelled as the cannon ignited and launched him into the sky. The guards watched in amazement as the stallion breached the port and seemed to vanish from sight. One of the guards trotted up to the stunned captain.

“That’s got to be the best pirate I’ve ever seen.” The guard said in an amazed voice.

“I hope so.” The captain said in a reluctant tone.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“See him yet Ace?” The teal mare yelled up to the crows nest where the Griffin was looking towards the castle with a telescope.

“Hang on.” He said as he saw a small puff of smoke and a grey object rocketing towards the ship. “Here he comes! He took the cannon route again.” The mare nodded and her horn flared. The shield covering the ship fell apart as the grey stallion entered the ship’s proximity.

The grey stallion flew into the port to see the space in front of him open up and see a white sail with a black hawk imprinted on it. The stallion over shot the deck to see several pairs of eyes looking up at him. The stallion grabbed a rope and swung around the mast to land near the helm of the ship.

“And that was without a single drop of rum.” He said as he hopped down to the main deck. The teal unicorn mare walked up to him and hit him over the head.

“IDIOT!” She yelled as he grabbed his head in pain. “What were you thinking?”

“I know I screwed up, but we hit the jackpot.” He said as he explained the plan to his crew. The pirate’s eyes boggled and their jaws hit the deck.

“Are you jerking me?” Ace asked.

“Nope. 17,000 bits and a free pass once we complete the mission.”

“No strings attached?” Breeze asked as she cocked an eyebrow.

“One, we have to take five mares with us.” Some members of the crew grinned. “Don’t even think about it.” He said in a stern tone. “We need to pick them up at the port tomorrow at dawn.”

“I don’t like this.” Breeze said in a concerned tone.

“Neither do I but what choice do we have?” He said with a shrug. The mare looked at him with an uneasy look on her face. “Look I know this is BUBAR, but this could be our one chance to get our lives back.” He said as he put a hoof on her shoulder. “If you want out. I won’t blame you.”

“Want out?” She said as she hit him again. “You couldn’t navigate this ship to save your life. You need me.” Breeze said in a teasing tone. The stallion looked out to the other crew members to see their smiling faces.

“Okay folks! Back to Ponyville!” He said with a smile “On the double!” He said as the ponies scrambled on the deck.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Twilight’s eyes fluttered open. The mare sat up and rubbed her head with her left hoof. Her eyes shrank as she saw a shackle attached to her front and back hooves. She looked ahead to see a large metal cage door. Twilight noticed a window behind her. She got on her hind hooves and looked out to see the dark ocean. A wave crashed against the side sending a good amount of sea water into the mare’s face soaking her mane and sending her back onto the floor.

The mare coughed up the swallowed water and wiped her wet mane out of her face. She felt a tear roll down her cheek as she brought her hooves close to her stomach and went into the fetal position. Twilight looked towards the door to see a large black Unicorn stallion with a dark red mane staring at her. His right eye had an eyepatch over it while his left one was bright red. He was donning a black tricorne hat with a red plume sticking out the side and a long dark coat that covered most of his body. The stallion opened the door and entered the cell.

“It’s an honor to meet you Ms. Sparkle.” He said as he tipped his hat.

“W-Who are you? What do you want?” She asked as she got to her hooves and stared at the stallion.

“I’m Black Sun. Captain of the Eclipse Pirates and your host while you’re on board my vessel.” He said as he walked closer to her. Twilight’s horn glowed a magnificent purple aura. The mare felt a massive pain surge through her head. She collapsed to the ground and grabbed her head in pain as the aura dissipated. “Ah yes. Can’t have you running amok with that powerful magic now can we?” The mare looked up at him with rage in her eyes. The stallion held up a mirror and faced it towards the mare’s face. Twilight let out a gasp as she saw a line of small pin stripe ink wrapped around her neck

“What did you do to me?” She said in a fear filled tone.

“Relax Ms. Sparkle, it’s not permanent.” He said as he pointed towards his horn. “Just something to ensure that you behave during your stay.” Twilight immediately got to her hooves and punched him in the cheek. The stallion took a step back and his horn flared a dark red aura. Twilight felt a the chains attached to her limbs tighten and pull her up against the wooden wall of the ship. The chains kept pulling until her back was flat against the wall. The dark stallion walked up to her and put his hoof under her chin.

“Let me go!” She bellowed.

“That depends on your behavior Ms. Sparkle. I may be a pirate, but I’m fair. You have three options; one, you can stay here in this cell where you’ll get food and shelter. Two, you can bunk with the crew, keep in mind that they haven’t even seen a mare in eight months.” Twilight’s eyes shrank at the realization. “Three; my quarters are well furnished and I can be quite...accommodating.” He said with a smug grin. Twilight’s eyes were filled with rage. “Those are your choices.” He said as he removed his hoof from her chin.

“My quarters are fine.” The stallion cocked an eyebrow at her. “Captain.” She said in a disgusted tone. The stallion smiled as his horn glowed and the mare dropped on the hay covered floor. The stallion walked away and closed the door. Twilight sat up and looked down at the floor boards with tears in her eyes. She laid down on the pile of hay and her thoughts drifted to her family and friends.

Author's Note:

BUBAR= Bucked Up Beyond All Recognition

Comments

[WildStallion]

Lol Pirates of the Carribean reference for the win.

[JDPrime22]

HA! That author's note killed me!

[Kickback]

Why is the rum always gone?

[Silentpegasus]

2832502 Just wait.

[Nightflight406]

The cannon escape you couldn't help yourself