The Old Sea Dog
Trixie and the group froze at the numerous weapons aimed down on them. No matter how hard they fought back, there was no way they could take all of the pirates, and the limited size of the Autumn's deck would make a horrid stand for them anyhow.
Sensing that Trixie and co had got the message, the red maned unicorn gestured to his crew to relax, though none of them turned away, keeping their weapons ready in case they were needed.
“Good, it is much easier for us when you co-operate. Now then, let’s see what plunder we can find aboard this little… ‘ship’,” the unicorn started to wander along the deck, ignoring the sharp glare from Sunset, who seemed particularly incensed from the comment about the Autumn.
“Just who are you, and why have you attacked us. This is just a tour boat with little value. What reason could you have to attack us?” Trixie challenged, keeping her eyes on the red maned marauder as he looked over the ship, his sharp eyes scanning for anything of value. He gave her the barest glance as he continued his search.
“My name is Captain Red Blade, and these are the crew of my vessel the ‘Arabus'. As for why we attacked you, isn’t it rather obvious?” when Trixie gave no reply he continued on, “We’re pirates my dear. To us, every vessel has value, no matter how small. If we can’t find any jewels or other valuables, we simply take the ship itself and sell it off. Sometimes we even break them apart and use the pieces from them for repairs. When you can’t simply walk into town and buy some timber, you make do with what you can.”
After a few more moments searching, he finally spied something of value. 5 large chests clumped together near the hatch to the lower deck. A smile lit his face as he approached them.
“Now what do we have here?” the pirate Captain could sense immediately that the chest contained something worthwhile from the looks of irritation and desperation that Trixie and her friends tried to hide behind their facades of determination and contempt. Savouring the looks on their faces, he moved far slower then he needed to as he walked towards the chests. Slowly he reached down towards the first one, his red aura lighting up his horn to lift up its lid.
The sudden kick to his back leg that Dinky gave him certainly stopped his smug attitude.
He let out a shout of pain and fell back on his flank, nursing the injured limb as the grey filly jumped on top of the chest and glared at him as best she could.
“This is our treasure, go get your own!” a voice called out, and Red Blade watched as Pip leapt up on the chest next to Dinky, his own glare joining hers. The Captain looked at them for several seconds before barking out a laugh.
“Well, well, it seems this treasure has some guards. I guess we’ll just have to deal with you then,” Red Blade smirked at them as he got back on his hooves and started dusting himself off. Dinky and Pip were about to enquire what he had meant when two blue hooves wrapped around them and lifted them into the air. The blue Pegasus had recovered from Raindrops attack and had snuck around behind them while the Captain had been speaking.
“Let them go!” Trixie cried, moving to step forward and stop the Pegasus, only to have the Gazelle slam into her side and send her sprawling to the deck. Cheerilee attempted to rise and help, only to have a wet saber slide in front of her neck as the white Tapir she had knocked overboard earlier scowled fiercely, as if daring the teacher to try and move. Lyra struggled even harder against the Hippogriff, but he was far stronger than her, and her efforts were useless. Sunset attempted to leap forward, only to be yanked hard to the deck by the male Tapir as he clutched tightly to the stallion’s leg with his tiny trunk.
However what none of the pirates noticed was that their efforts to hold back Trixie, Cheerilee, Sunset and Lyra had left one member of the group unguarded. One very angry and very strong Pegasus.
Unleashing a war cry, Raindrops roared forwards with as much force as she could muster in her wings. The speedy Gazelle attempted to stop her, but one back handed hoof from the Pegasus sent her sprawling.
“Let them go now!” she cried, as her wings brought her into a head on course with the flying pirate. The male Pegasus blinked before manoeuvring himself out of the way from her berserker hoof strikes. Dinky and Pip were swung back and forth as the Pirate hurled himself about to avoid Raindrops aggression. But dexterity can only take you so far in a fight, and after a few more swings, Raindrops got lucky and managed to land a punch to the side of the Pirates head.
The force of the blow knocked his head back and he started to plummet towards the deck. Dinky and Pip let out a terrified scream, before Raindrops snatched them from the Pirates hooves and held them close. The pirate Pegasus slammed into the Autumn's deck sending a few splinters of wood flying. A black eye was already forming and he gave a pained groaned.
“A pitiful display Seawing. You haven’t had to face an aerial adversary in some time and it has made you soft. I expect better from you next time.” Red Blade chided, shaking his head with slight disappointment. Ignoring Trixie and co’s cheer for their friend, the pirate Captain turned his head skyward to Raindrops, who continued to hover in the air, keeping Dinky and Pip out of harm’s way.
“You are quite the fighter my dear. I haven’t seen such anger and rage used so skilfully before. Perhaps you might be interested in joining my crew. I would hate to pass up an opportunity to recruit such a talented individual.”
Raindrops just gave the Unicorn a glare, “Sorry ‘Captain’ but I would never join a bunch of dangerous criminals like you. The only place I use my ‘talents’ is to help my friends.”
“Yeah so just sail away and leave us alone you big meanie!” Dinky threw in her own 2 bits.
Captain Red Blade’s reaction wasn’t what they were expecting. He didn’t look, angry or disappointed. Instead, a genuine looking smile came to his muzzle.
“Well my dear, that may be your decision for now…” suddenly his horn lit up and a red aura grabbed hold of Raindrop’s tail.
“But I can be very persuasive.”
Before she could react, Red Blade tugged down and pulled her from the air. The Pegasus only had enough time to role onto her back to protect Dinky and Pip before she slammed down onto the deck, cracking her head on the planks and rendering her unconscious.
Red Blade chuckled darkly as he withdrew his magic. Trixie vainly attempted to get up and help her friend, but the Gazelle grabbed her in a choke hold and punched her horn to stop her using any magic. Cheerilee and Lyra were still detained by their captors and Sunset could barely move, as the male Tapir had jumped atop him and forced him to his belly.
“Captain, I believe we should be heading off now. The Navy may have reduced its patrols, but leaving ourselves exposed like this is not wise.” Seawing climbed back up to his legs and faced Red Blade, a scowl on his face, though his eyes showed his concern. Red Blade Blinked before giving a thoughtful nod.
“Quite right Seawing. It wouldn’t do for us to complete a successful raid only to be caught by the Equestrian Navy moments later.” With that he turned his gaze towards Raindrops, who still lay in an unconscious heap, Dinky and Pip still held tightly to her body preventing them from scrambling away.
“Seawing, I believe we have been needing a few more deckhands to keep the ship clean. Take these children aboard. I think we might find them useful.” The dark smirk on his face caused Dinky and pip to freeze with fear.
“Don’t you touch them!” Trixie cried, sending a blast of magic to force the Gazelle back, before rushing forward to grab the kids.
However she wasn’t the only one who could use magic, and a red blast slammed into her knocking her off her hooves and through the top of the deck into the lower section of the Autumn. The Captain grinned, while Trixie’s friends all cried out in shock and anger.
“Not the brightest that one, but definitely a strong heart. I can remember a time when I was that foolish. But that time has long passed. Seawing, take the children aboard, and the Pegasus as well. I suspect with the right motivation,” Red Blade glanced at the terrified foals, still clamped tightly in Raindrop’s unconscious grip, “She might become an excellent member of this crew. Certainly not a bad one to look at.” With a chuckle he turned his gaze to the Gazelle, Hippogriff and Tapir’s.
“Swift Chase, Ironclaw, come over here and start loading the treasure aboard.” The Gazelle gave a salute then bounded along the deck to grab a hold of the first chest. The Hippogriff turned to Lyra who was still struggling to break free of his muscled arms.
“Time to sleep pony.” Turning his free claw into a fist, Ironclaw smacked the back of Lyra’s head, knocking her out with a single strike. Without any care, the Hippogriff simply dumped the unicorn on the deck and proceeded towards the treasure, passing Swift Chase who was already lugging the first chest up the boarding ramp onto the Arabus.
As the hybrid criminal started his job, Red Blade turned to the Tapirs who were still Holding Sunset and Cheerilee at bay. “Grunt, Punt, knock out the rest and tie them up, we must make way.”
Following their instructions, Grunt, the male Tapir grabbed Sunset’s head and slammed it into the deck while his sister Punt sneered at Cheerilee, who did nothing but give her the stink eye.
“Night night pony. Pleasant dreams while we make off with your loot and your friends” Cheerilee said nothing, but the Tapir could see the anguish and frustration in her eyes. Then like her brother, Punt grabbed the back of Cheerilee’s head and slammed it into the deck, knocking the school teacher out cold.
Satisfied with their work, Red Blade turned to the final member of his crew. Seawing was having a difficult time with the foals, who wouldn’t stop kicking and squirming in his grip. The pirate Captain merely chuckled before lighting up his horn and grabbing them with his blood red aura. “Now now, enough of that children, otherwise your stay may become… unpleasant.”
“You let us go you big meanie or else you’re gonna be in big trouble!” Dinky looked determined, but despite her brave words, Red Blade could see that the little Unicorn was definitely afraid, and Pip was no different.
With a chuckle the Captain just brought the foals closer to him before staring them down. “My dear, I think you may be misunderstanding the situation. Your friends lay unconscious at my hooves, your treasure is now mine and you, the dashing Pegasus mare and your tiny little friend are being taken aboard my ship as prisoners, with nopony to save you. I am far from in trouble, but if you and your friends don’t cooperate, there will be big trouble, for you!” he finished with a growl that turned Dinky’s brave scowl into a whimper.
Sensing that he had suitably cowed the girl into submission, Red Blade turned back to Seawing, who gingerly rubbing his swelling eye, glaring at the Pegasus that had given it to him.
“Seawing, grab our feisty friend and bring her aboard. I believe it is time we made our exit.” With a swirl of his coat, the Pirate Captain followed Swift Chase and Ironclaw who were bringing the last chests up the boarding ramped, carrying the terrified foals with him.
Seawing didn’t look happy about his new task, but he complied and draped the unconscious mare over his back and joined the Tapirs twins, who had just finished tying Lyra, Cheerilee and Sunset back to back next to the remains of the Autumn's mask. As Seawing flapped his wings and ascended onto the Arabus, the twins cut all the boarding ropes and pulled the ramp back in, separating the two ships.
It was only as the Arabus started to drift away that a frantic clambering started from below the Autumn's deck, until a bruised and beaten Trixie, covered in splinters and not a few gashes from her unfortunate landing, scurried onto the deck, desperate to save her friends. Her eyes widened and angry tears started to slide down her cheeks as she looked over the ruined deck, filled with cracks, holes, and the bodies of her unconscious friends, with 3 noticeably absent, and the culprits sailing off into the distance, their roaring laughter carrying back over the breeze.
With a glare that could melt steel, the magician growled out the only words she could think to say.
“Bloody Pirates!"
---
Raindrops gave groan as she started to come to. Her back hurt and body felt uncomfortably stiff, but the Pegasus ignored it as she slowly opened her eyes. Instead of sunlight shining warmly over the calm ocean, all that met her sight was the dark and dingy wooden boards of a ship. She strained to move so she could assess the situation clearly, when she discovered the reason for her stiffness. Her legs had been hogtied and her wings and been secured to her sides, completely restricting her movement. She gave a grunt as she tried to use her unusual strength to break free, but the ropes were too thick and held firm.
“Finally you’re awake. I hope you aren’t always this lazy or you might not be worth the effort to keep around.” A deep voiced barked, somewhere outside of her field of vision. She tried to move her head to see her captor, but she could only move so far with her legs pinned as they were.
“Who are you? Let me go you pirate scum!” she growled, doubling her effort to break the ropes around her but still yielding no success.
“Shut up you freak. You don’t get to give me orders. Now do as you’re told, or a black eye will be the least of your problems!” the pirate snarled, walking around to face her, revealing himself to be Seawing. Raindrops could see that the black eye she had given him had swelled and blocked his vision to the eye, but the glare he gave her with the other wasn’t lessened at all.
While she wanted nothing more than to give him matching bruise, she wasn’t in a position to fight back, and throwing petty insults wouldn’t help her situation any. However she needed to find out what had happened since the attack on the Autumn, and find out what had happened to her friends.
As if sensing what she was thinking, the pirate Pegasus gave a smirk and leaned a little closer towards her. “Wondering what happened to your friends? They’re mostly fine, probably just coming to now and trying to untie themselves. But don’t worry, the Captain didn’t want you to be lonely, so we brought you some playmates.” He moved away for a moment only to dump a frightened Pipsqueak and Dinky in front of her. The foals weren’t bound as she was, though Dinky had a magic inhibitor secured around her horn to stop any magic.
Raindrops had always been filled with anger. It had been a problem for her all her life. Right now though, seeing the two terrified foals cowering against the deck, she was amazed that Seawing didn't suddenly explode from the sheer hatred that she glared at him.
“Let them go now you miserable pile of…!” her threat had barely left her tongue before the Pirate gave her a rough kick to the ribs to silence her.
“Now you listen to me you pathetic wench! You don’t get to make demands. Right now the only reason you are still breathing is because the Captain commands it! But if you push me, I will toss you and those wretched children overboard, consequences be damned! So shut up and do as your told!” Seawing barked, pulling out his dagger to emphasis just how willing he would be to follow through with his threats.
“Enough Seawing! The Captain gave you instructions and you will follow them or Red Blade will see that it is you who goes overboard and not the prisoners.” Another voice echoed around the room as another pony entered Raindrops field of vision. He was a rather old earth pony, his coat a dull brown and his mane and tail a shaggy grey. His fur was dirty and ruffled, almost hiding his cutie mark of two hooves holding a small bag. He walked with a slow gait and had a haunting look on his face, appearing as though he hadn’t slept in some time.
Whomever the pony was, his appearance had greatly incensed Seawing, who had turned from Raindrops to glare at the newcomer.
“Silence Rusty! How dare you tell me what to do! You have no more rights aboard this vessel then this filth does!” the Pegasus gestured towards Raindrops and the foals, earning another glare. “Why should I do anything you ask of me!?”
“You should do nothing I say Seawing. It is the Captain’s word that is law upon this vessel, and it was he that gave you an order. Will you obey, or should I report your disobedience to him?” the Earth pony, now identified as ‘Rusty’ replied calmly as he reached the Pegasus and the captives.
Seawing grit his teeth in anger as he stared at the older pony. Nothing was said for a few moments until Seawing gave a resigned sigh. “Fine I will get them there bloody food. But you mark my words merchant. One of these days the Captain won’t be around, and then your sorry hide is mine!” with that the Pegasus stormed off to other parts of the ship, his hooves stomping loudly against the old wood.
Once he was gone, Rusty turned back to Raindrops and the foals, a soft smile stretching across his gaunt features. “I’m terribly sorry about Seawing. He’s always been an unpleasant pony, but the injury you gave him has really wounded his pride and has left him with an even worse disposition. Now then, enough about that fool, how are you all feeling. Are you hurt?”
Raindrops stared at him for a moment before her glare returned. “Why would you care? You’re just apart of Red Blade’s crew.”
The Earth pony just gave a resigned expression and didn’t reply. Instead he moved to the foals. At first Dinky and Pip tried to scuttle back, but when the only action he performed was to remove Dinky’s inhibitor, they stared at him curiously.
“Why did you remove the metal thingy? It was stopping me from using my magic and it hurt” the little unicorn asked, rubbing her horn to sooth it a little from the clamp that had been attached to it. Once again Rusty said nothing, this time turning towards Raindrops and leaning towards her back.
“Let’s get these ropes off so you can move about a little.” With that he worked to untie some of the ropes, letting a feeling of relief flood over Raindrops as the restriction on her movement was reduced. After a few minutes, the Pegasus could move her legs about, though some rope was still looped around her waist to restrict her wings. As she got to her hooves, she gave the Earth pony a cautious look, moving to stand next to the foals.
“Why did you untie me? Who are you?” her questions didn’t seem at all surprising to the older pony as he ceased standing and sank to his haunches.
“My name is Rusty, and like you, I am a prisoner aboard this vessel. Unlike you however, my capture is not recent. I have been here for 3 years.” This caused the foals to gasp and Raindrops hard expression to soften slightly. “As to why I untied you. Well, beyond the Captains orders to make sure you aren’t mistreated by the crew, well I simply didn’t want you to be hurt. I have seen many cruel deeds in my time aboard the Arabus, but if I can do anything good to make up for it, then I will. Nopony deserves to be mistreated.”
Raindrops gave him another sharp look before relaxing. Being the element of Honesty didn’t give her some supernatural ability to tell whether or not someone was lying, but it did give a good judge of character, and from what she could see of Rusty, the poor stallion had evidently been here a long time and he was far from happy about it. If his words were lies, he was certainly an experienced actor.
“I believe you Rusty, and thank you. Those ropes were really starting to get on my nerves.” The Pegasus said relaxing herself and stretching out her sore muscles. Sensing no further hostility, the old stallion let a smile grace his muzzle.
“Yes they were wrapped rather tight, but as I said, Seawing can be rather unpleasant. Unfortunately, loose restraints is the most comfort I can provide you while you’re stuck here. I’ll make sure that there are pillows and blankets for you to sleep, and that you are well fed, but that’s all I can do. Being a prisoner myself, the only real authority I have is that Red Blade seems to like me a little, so the rest of the crew tend to at least listen to when I say things, but that’s it.” The smile stayed on his face, but it didn’t reach his eyes.
Dinky and Pip were slightly more at ease now that they knew there was at least one other pony aboard the Arabus that was nice, but they were far from alright.
“Mr. Rusty, um, can… can I ask why the Captain Red Blade attacked Captain Sunset’s ship, and why did he capture us?” Pip asked, moving forward a little, but never leaving Raindrop’s side. Rusty had to think a moment before answering.
“Well why he attacked your vessel isn’t hard to answer. You were a small unguarded vessel, sitting out in the middle of the ocean and far from land. Ships in that position are nothing but prey to the Arabus. Pirates are nothing but greedy thieves, taking anything of value they can find, but they are also cowardly, always looking to pick on the smaller vessels so that they can always win. Disgusting.”
Rusty paused here, a dark expression washing over his face as he stared off into nothing. The Ponyville ponies waited a moment before Pip gave a cough to recapture Rusty’s attention.
“Huh, oh sorry. Just thinking back about some of Red Blades other… targets. Anyway, as to why he captured you. He said that he was going to put you and your little unicorn friend here to work, swabbing the decks and carrying around equipment. But for Miss…uh”
“Oh sorry, my name is Raindrops, and this is Dinky and Pip. Sorry we didn’t introduce ourselves before. Being captured and tied up by pirates doesn’t make for good introductions” the Pegasus answered a little sheepishly.
“Well Miss Raindrops, I believe he captured you because he wants you to become part of his crew. From what some of the crew told me, your strength and skill are very impressive and Red Blade wants that skill for his crew.”
“Well he can forget it. There is no way I will ever join a gang of crooks like Red Blade’s crew!” Raindrops growled, thoughts of breaking the smug Unicorn’s teeth flashing through her mind.
“Well you can tell him that yourself you overpowered freak, because he wants to have a little chat with you.” Seawing sneered as the Pegasus returned, carrying a tray of bread and water.
Raindrops, Rusty and the foals watched as the Pirate brought the food and place on the ground in front of them. As he rose again, the mare just glared at him.
“And why should I speak to that arrogant bastard?” Seawing just gave her a menacing smirk.
“Because if you don't, I'm gonna have a real fun time daggling those kids off the plank and feeding them to the Sharks.”
Also LikedSimilarAuthor
- Planetarian · 15k words · 27 0 · 1.1k views
- Zap Apple Smash · 9.1k words · 16 1 · 827 views
Stats
Page generated in 0.108 seconds
Total duration
641 users online
852,424 hits today, 2,561,572 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Seawing is an ass. Plain and simple. Sadistic pirates. I half exxpected Trixie to let loose a curse in Prench.
4298745 Whose saying she won't
Prey.
4298997 Damn I didn't notice that. Thanks, I'll take of it
4299045
.
No problem
Also, that's some great cover art.
4299195 Thanks
How quickly do you think the pirates are going to regret taking those three on board?
4337552 About 2 more chapters
Quite nice. Is it good or bad I'm hoping those pirates, with the exception of Rusty, suffer painful deaths? Or at the very least Luna makes sure they have nightmares for the rest of their lives?
4359765 Well no, but I don't intend to delve deeply into their crimes, just hint at them. Don't worry though, they'll get what's coming to them
4359956 Excellent!
Have you ever heard of The Albinocorn?
5032329 Indeed I have, a very talented author. I quite love his Sunset Shimmer stories
5032437 And how do you feel about how he writes Rainbow Dash?
5032730 Very well in character actually. Fierce and Loyal but with a hidden caring side that everyone sees despite how much she tries to hide it. I like how well he gets her too, because for me, Rainbow Dash is best pony
. He's very good at getting his characters written as true to the source material as possible (there are some exceptions like his take on Sunset Shimmer, but this is usually different for a reason ie: a different Sunset from the future in one story).
Odd question to ask though, any particular reason you wanted to know or just curious?
5032812 Well when I heard you say you like how Rainbow is written in Tales of the Oppressed, (witch I wholeheartedly agree with, by the way) it made me want to see how you thought The Albinocorn wrote her.
5034467 Fair enough then. There are some slight differences in the Rainbow from each author, but this is more due to the story itself and the circumstances that each Rainbow finds themselves. Overall, I believe both authors portray a very good Rainbow Dash showing the correct levels of Bravery, Brashness, Loyalty, and all the other aspects that make up Rainbow Dash.
Another excellent Rainbow Dash author I would recommend is Trinary. He has written some very good stories about Rainbow Dash which give a good focus on her character as well as providing some very interesting and awesome scenarios. Certainly worth a look for any Rainbow Dash fan