Captain's Journey

by Sphinx_Herald

Chapter 1

He stands at the helm of his ship, he is the image of perfection. He is a large earth pony with a dark orange coat, a long black mane and tail, a skull and crossbones for a cutie mark. He is the captain of a of a pony-o-war called the 'Black Fortune' which he had stolen from Celestia’s Royal Navy all by himself. His crew, the most loyal bunch of ponies a captain could wish for, and each and every one of them had the same goal as him. To make a fortune, raise an army, and liberate the seas from the tyranny of Celestia.

Everypony knows, and fears his name. He has a bounty of well over three million bits, but he knows no one is brave enough to try to claim the reward. There is no navy in the world strong enough to even scratch 'Black Fortune'. He knows he is the unspoken king of the sea.

This day he is going after a convoy that is carrying over twenty million bits. The day is sunny, and the wind carries the scent of gunpowder and smoke from a very recent victory. He can’t help but smile as he watches the ship disappear under the waves. He knows the convoy will enjoy the same fate soon enough. He is about to return to the wheel when he hears something unusual.

It sounds like singing. It isn’t like any of the shanties that the crew sings. This is being sung by a female voice. It only gets stranger when he realizes that it is coming from the sea. He has to get closer. He feels an attraction to the water. He quickly looks around and sees his whole crew are as mesmerised as he is.

“Lower a rowboat, men,” he says.

A few moments later he is climbing into a rowboat, the singing slowly growing in volume. As soon as he is settled the singing stops, and then there is silence. No more sound, there is, no wind, no splashing waves, and no cries coming from the seagulls overhead. He sees the figure approaching through the water. It looks like a pony at first, but as he focuses he can see that its lower half is that of a fish. She is a siren, a creature of death for sailors and pirates alike.

The siren comes right up to the rowboat. He can’t believe his eyes! How can this elegant, beautiful creature be the killer of thousands? he thinks. He approaches the side of the boat. He can’t take his eyes off of her eyes. They are just so alluring. There is no way she is a killer, he thinks as he closes the distance between him and the siren. Then their lips meet.

---

He wakes to find himself on the floor on an old tavern, staring at an empty rum bottle. He quickly realizes he has a massive headache, and thinks he can feel something trickling down the side of his head. He puts his hoof to the general area, only to find that he is bleeding. He looks up at an angry stallion standing above him.

“Imma gonna teach ya somethin’ for kissin’ me!” the stallion shouts.

He winces at the volume of the voice. However, against the pain, slowly, his mind starts to put the pieces back together. Well, that’s a bucking ugly siren, he thinks. “Woah, wait a sec. How about we get a bottle of rum, share a few jokes, and forget any of this ever happened.”

His only reply is of the stallion trying to stomp his head in. However, even while prone, drunk, and in a slight state of confusion, he is still faster than this fool. The stallion’s hoof meets hardwood with a resounding crack, leaving a large hole. With a quick, strong punch, he sends the stallion sliding across the floor. There is a high pitched scream, causing him to wince again.

“Get out of here!” screams a barmare.

“Why, almost half of the other ponies in here are passed out too.”

“Because he’s the owner!”

“Oh, and who’s going to make m--” He fails to notice the chair flying at him from the direction the barmare is in. He is immediately knocked out.

---

He slowly opens his eyes, only to cover them with his foreleg to protect them from the glaring sun. His headache seems to be worse. Gee, I wonder why. He moves his foreleg, blinking a couple of times as his eyes get used to the light.

Unlike his vivid dream, he isn’t what would be called intimidating. He is a well built earth pony, with a light blue coat. While that might seem normal, his pink mane with dark green streaks, and green eyes aren’t. The only thing that makes him seem vaguely like a pirate is his cutlass cutie mark. He has no massive war ship, he in fact has no ship at all. He also has no crew, or friends. His only possessions are his compass, a rusted cutlass, a hoofful of bits, and half a map. He has been stuck in the pirate hating city of Hayvana for a few weeks now with no way off. The only thing that was right is that he is a captain, as in he calls himself Captain.

I have to get outta here, he thinks. Captain blinks a few more times as he gets up, ignoring his body’s will to not move. He scans the area he is in. A harbour spans before him, crates and barrels are stacked along the water’s edge. Several merchant, and warships are docked along it as well. His gaze slowly moves to the galleon, a ways down the harbour.

“I would love a ship like that,” Captain mumbles to himself.

He notices a small group of soldiers approaching him from the galleon. Their uniforms making them much more noticeable. Their uniforms are made of white fabric with gold trim, a large gold colored sun sits on the middle of their chests. Captain jumps behind a stack of crates to avoid being seen, and waits till they are an earshot.

“Sir, how was the search today?” asks one of the soldiers.

“Horrible, I don’t know why I even bother with this stupid thing. Maybe I should just put it into lock up,” says the leader of the group.

“Well, I don’t think it would be easy, but you do have the half with the ‘X’ on it. That’s all you need right?”

“Yes, that and a good navigator!”

“He has the other half,” Captain says.

“Did you guys hear that?” asks one of the soldiers, Captain quickly shuts his mouth.

“You’re just being paranoid,” says the leader. “Come on, let’s get back to the fort. The sooner we’re done, the sooner I can see Sally.”

Captain slips out of his hiding spot and follows the group of soldiers. He sees two pieces of paper attached to the leader’s belt. “There you are… but which one are you?” he whispers. He manages to get behind the leader without being noticed. He reaches forward for one of the slips of paper, but turns away just before the group turns around. The group quickly scan the area before continuing on their route with Captain in close pursuit. He takes another try at pickpocketing the slip of paper off the leader, slipping away before anyone notices anything is amiss.

He quickly unrolls the paper, eager to see the other half of his map. Dear Sally, I miss you every day we are apart. I wish I could see yo--

“This is a love letter,” he says before crumpling up the paper and throwing it away. He looks back at the other piece of paper the leader has. “You shall be mine,” he whispers, taking pursuit once again.

Author's Note:

I would like to thank all of you who have read this far. I hope you liked it as of yet because there is more to come. This is my first chapter so please be easy on me if you happen to find any mistakes, and don't worry the spelling improves over time.