Pony Piece: Yonko Journey

by Theblondeknight

6) Clash: Buggy's Delivery Service!

This time, Twilight held enough trust in him to let him see the map firsthand. Shanks looked at it for a moment, and began laughing. She couldn't entirely blame him, it wasn't exactly a map in the conventional sense. In fact, it now appeared more nebulous and distorted than when the lines first appeared. The arm that was once visible was now a twisting blob on the page, something amid rotation and stopped for examination; undeterminable without the rest of the puzzle pieces.

"I can't make heads or tails of it," the Yonko admitted with another swig of his mug.

"So, do you have any suggestions of what to do next?"

Right about now, Twilight was wishing more faces were inside the cabin. They had gathered together for a one-on-one in Shanks' cabin, and Twilight knew the Star was close by, but she felt so distant at the moment. It was a little embarrassing to have been saved so many times and pretend to be his equal. She was his equal in rank alone, but not all pirate captains were built the same. She was feeling pretty good about her status as Princess at the moment.

"I know that sooner or later you're going to have to face Buggy. He's not the kind of pirate to let something like this go, you know."

"I wouldn't expect that of a Warlord," Twilight replied, gazing out the window to her ship.

They had already started training with some of Shanks' men, but thus far, the guards-turned-pirates were not adapting well. They couldn't all expect to find devil fruits, and the average sailor wasn't gifted in haki, who, then, among her crew could she expect to be? Inside, though, Twilight could already feel her power adapting. She knew that haki was within her, and so did Shanks, based off his words from before and intent way he looked at her on occasion. Something inside her was dying to get out, and as soon as this instructor Shanks was intent on finding revealed himself, she could finally compete with this world's powers.

"But I also know he won't be trouble for you," Twilight spoke up after a moment of silence.

"No...Buggy and I go way back. But fighting him would certainly prove your mettle as a pirate and a captain. He's going to make a show of it, you know, you may as well make yourself a pirate to be feared."

"I'd rather find this teacher you're lining up."

"He's not quite ready. And Buggy's men were left alive, they'll lead him right to us. I'll step in to help, but I can't fight all your battles for you."

It was hard to get around. Buggy the Clown. Never having seen him, Twilight imagined just what he was like. If it was true that he and Shanks went way back, she might be taking him a bit more seriously....although, Shanks didn't seem to consider him any sort of threat. In fact, he was encouraging a battle between them, so this Warlord was probably all show..........right?

"Well...I guess if he's going to go to the trouble of finding us, we may as well return his efforts."

"I imagine you're wondering just how strong he is," Shanks said, as always knowing what was going on in her mind; was this another power of his Haki?

"And?"

"And don't underestimate him. Especially with a crew as green as yours. Truthfully, he's not a very great pirate, but neither were those giants, and they wholeheartedly believed that Buggy was far superior to them. Though, in a way, he's superior to a lot of pirates in the world..."

Twilight was beginning to get a little nervous when Shanks finished his thought.

"He's got the dumb luck of a drunken leprechaun."

She couldn't resist chucking along with him, but he stopped before she did, and concluded his statement:

"But even dumb luck is enough to break some crews."

---

"I find sugar is like laughter," Pinkie explained.

THUD!

"Quit it, bastard!"

"You're gonna get it now!"

CRACK!

"Guhg!"

"Oi! Shi-"

"Aaargh!"

BAM!

"You gotta lay it on thick!"

Pinkie, currently winning the multi-crew brawl (training session) aboard the Star, whipped out the giant mallet she used in the kitchen (on what, Twilight could only guess). Her simple evasion of swings and kicks and punches had led her shockingly far, and Twilight and Shanks were eager to see what she could do with a weapon in hoof. Shanks even cheered from his seat.

She did not disappoint.

First a wide swing, which took out the legs of two pirates and a pony, then her tail acted like a whip and strung up one of the men so she could take a baseball swing at his ribs. He went flying right into another pony. When a pirate came from behind to attack, she threw the mallet behind her and it KO'ed the sea dog with a blow below the belt and then, somehow, boomeranged pack into Pinkie's hooves. Shanks was smiling, Twilight was shocked. Impressed, of course, but mostly shocked. At times, Pinkie could be quite magical.

The next victim tried to play dead, leaning against a barrel with his eyes closed. Pinkie wasn't fooled, and when she squared her eyes on him, he sprung up and threw the barrel towards her. She blasted it apart with one swing of the kitchen hammer, negated his kick with another, and the third swing clobbered him over the head and left his mouth wide open. She promptly made her kitchen tips relevant by whipping out the can of sugar and pouring it down the man's mouth until he was desperately choking for air.

"Let me help you out!" Pinkie offered with a smile, jumped up, and swung the mallet into the man's back, cannoning him right into Lucky Roo.

"She's in trouble now," Shanks warned Twilight as the big man picked his mate up and rose from his seat near the open space that was their arena.

Shanks observed the session wholly, and noticed that Fluttershy was hanging in, though that was more for lack of activity. There was one pirate who was standing against her, and she was trapped in the corner now. How would this little one react to the pressure of warfare? The man smirked and took aim, she covered her head. Perhaps she wasn't quite there. He wound up the arm and let it fly, and Shanks moved his eye away, but brought it back at the last instant. The pirate's swing was true and firm, he wasn't holding back.

That was, until the last moment, and his aim lowered, and the strength behind the blow plummeted. Fluttershy was still cowering in the corner, but the pirate was on wobbly legs. The man ended up slapping the floor and fell on his butt, scratching his head absentmindedly. How interesting...

Usually a pistoleer, Lucky Roo stuffed the giant leg of meat he was usually stuffing himself on into his mouth and raised both fists to fight. Pinkie smiled wickedly, and charged forward. Lucky Roo was slower to advance, but found the speed to turn around when Pinkie sort of vanished and reappeared behind him. Curious, but not enough to stop him from fighting. The mallet could've knocked a giraffe in two (not that Pinkie would ever do that to a poor giraffe!), but Lucky Roo simply expanded his chest and the mallet, and by extension Pinkie, went back several steps. An impressively (some might say impossibly) fast four-punch combo later and Pinkie was all the way across the arena, nursing a large sore on the back of her head.

Pinkie laughed heartily, then got her mean face out. Lucky Roo was cheerfully bouncing from foot to foot, like a professional.

This time, the pirate made the first move. He wasn't very fast in moving longer distances, but Pinkie was wary, and slowly circled around, waiting for her chance to come. Roo dashed in to knock her again, but Pinkie hopped on top of his fist and raised the mallet up, but this too was blocked, by Lucky Roo's free hand. Instead of swatting it away, he grabbed it out of her possession and smacked her aside with it, winning cheers from the Red Hair pirates and looks and whispers of sympathy from Twilight and her crew. Lucky Roo was still all smiles.

Pinkie took a little longer to get up this time, but before she could do anything, Applejack held her back. Pinkie only now noticed that AJ had cleared out the rest of the room, and it was down to the three of them.

"We can duke it out between us soon enough," Applejack reasoned, "But personally, I don't think either of us has a chance against this big guy by ourselves."

Pinkie nodded her agreement and the two mares stood tall against the round pirate.

---

The brisk wind felt good. He almost had the urge to let go and become free in his smoke form, but such conduct was unbecoming of a Navy Vice Admiral. And it was about time they got their game plan together. Even more so, he ought to be furious that the odd scum evaded him last time. It was the second of two unsuccessful capture attempts, and just like the first one, Smoker swore that he would see the criminals be brought to justice.

"Smoker-san?" Tashigi questioned from behind.

"What?"

"We've made contact with the Admiral's ship. He's still on schedule, and we should be within their estimated position by the end of the afternoon."

"Very good."

"..."

"As you were," Smoker told her and proceeded to walk away, stopping at her quiet but strong request.

Neither spoke for a moment.

"Akagami no Shanks...I remember him from the war. We were all weaker then, but...."

"He's far beyond us. Hence Admiral Kizaru. The Gorosei themselves sent us after these criminals, they didn't care who travels with them. Nor should we."

Such confidence. Tashigi desired it as much as the power to defend herself and those around her, the same kind of power Pirate Hunter possessed. But even Fleet Admiral Sakazuki hadn't dared engage Red Hair back in the war. Surely her commander hadn't forgotten that.

"Yes Sir!"

Smoker walked on, and it was not long before he was once again driven from solitude, this time by Hina.

"Smoker," She greeted.

"Everything is in order?" He asked with clear desire to be alone.

"Yes, but Hina wanted to speak with you anyways."

"Don't tell me you've got butterflies in your stomach too? Emperor or not-"

"Red Hair Shanks is not Hina's concern. You are."

He stopped abruptly, and she seemed to be expecting it, for she synchronized with him perfectly. The look in his eyes would make her laugh if she weren't so worried.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Hina means it's not like you. Hina read the reports and heard some of the talk among your men. It sounds like you went ballistic over a misunderstanding."

"They attacked my crew and my apprentice. I don't care who you are, if you go against G-5, you go against me."

"That's awfully pirate-like of you to say."

He sighed heavily, thick, white cigar smoke exuding from his mouth as though he were a dragon.

"Vice Admiral Garp chose to let fate decide the destiny of Portgas D. Ace. We both know Fire-Fist was like a son to the Vice Admiral. He chose duty over family, and it sounds as though you did the opposite," Hina defended her position.

"And how did that turn out for Garp?" He looked down and spat overboard for the remark, but did not waver in his outlook, "Besides, you're beginning to sound like you sympathize with these criminals."

"What happened to the Smoker of two years ago? The one who told the World Government off for wrongfully congratulating him on the defeat of a criminal?"

He did not answer right away. He turned instead to face the open seas as the Marine ship glided along the water, and Hina waited patiently for his answer. It was a while longer before she got one.

"Listen...the things I saw on Punk Hazard...I'm beginning to understand why the World Government does some of the things it does. I don't agree with a lot of them, and I'd sooner die than sink as low as some of the high-ups. But I will carry out their orders as best I can....the world can't risk even a one percent chance that another pirate like Doflamingo comes about."

"So...you're maturing? Is that your answer?"

"It's as good as any you'll get right now. Ask me again when I figure the rest out."

With that, the White Hunter retreated into his long-awaited solitude, and HIna remained on the deck, watching the waves and the clouds and the birds.

---

Buggy the Star Clown, the Criminal King of the Underworld (now that competition had been crushed, thanks to that idiot Straw Hat), was smiling wide as the reports came in.

"Mission success percentage of the last week, 94%."

"Chance of future business with first-time parties, 92%."

"And? What about the bad rep caused by those yellow-bellied giants?" Buggy inquired.

The next swab came forward, paper in hand, "Chance of bad reputation lingering, 13%!"

Buggy laughed and rubbed his hands together, sending his torso flying up into the air while his legs remained in a reclined position, "Gya ha ha ha ha! Even without those useless giants, we're still the best in the world!"

Mr. 3 quietly sorted out fact from Buggy's fiction to himself, as he had grown accustomed to doing since the end of the Paramount War, "No...that's really only because Straw Hat defeated Doflamingo and stopped the Donquixote Family...I'm pretty sure they would've crushed us sooner or later...."

Buggy, if he heard the dissent, did not mind it, "Now then! On to crush the fools who crushed our secondary giant team! What is it with these worthless giants recently!?"

This time, Mr. 3 spoke up; even this madness had to be tempered with reason here and there, and with Alvida on more and more missions these days, he was left to be the sole voice of reason within Buggy's Delivery.

"Shouldn't we figure out who could beat that team? They may have been the second best giant team, but they still regularly undertook A-rank assignments. It wouldn't be wise to just barge in and-"

"Nonsense! I'm the Great Captain Buggy of the Seven Royal Warlords!! I fear no man! I'll crush them all!"

"If you say so..."

Galdino had a bad feeling about where this was going...but dumb luck wasn't the worst thing to have on your side. And Buggy had it in spades.

"Not long now, Captain!"

"Forward!"

---

Lucky Roo spat out the bare chicken bone and smiled a wide smile. Pinkie and AJ were huffing and eyeing the other's bruises. Lucky Roo hadn't been touched since they joined together. Pinkie was faltering now, and Applejack had underestimated the foe, and clearly overestimated herself. She stepped forward with wobbly legs. The pirate laughed.

Pinkie dropped.

These were the moments where growth happened.

"Come on then!" Applejack dared, "Let's finish it here! Winner take all!"

"Commendable," Shanks noted to Twilight.

"Yes. Very," Twilight agreed, hoping against hope that Applejack would win this round for the Equestrian Pirates.

Even as she said it, Applejack was falling down, she felt her legs going numb, her eyes shutting....her thoughts were drifting....her hat was floating down beside her. Make room, Pinkie.

Lucky Roo wasn't one to leave something matters unfinished, however. Especially after a gauntlet had been thrown.

He moved like the wind, despite being massive, his fist curled back to send Applejack to the wall instead of the floor. The crowd, pony and human alike, were raising their voices. The first training session between crews was going to end. It had been more fun than any of them could have imagined.

And in the end, the ponies showed real mettle. They wouldn't need to be carried forever.

Lucky Roo was in range. His fist slid forward like a bullet in the wind. It was over.

Until an orange leg covered in black rose up to meet it, and swatted it away like a paper ball. It swung suddenly in the other direction and caught Lucky Roo right in the nose. The castle of a pirate stepped backwards in a daze, holding one hand to his nose, the other to his knee as he squatted down to let gravity show him the extent of the damage.

Applejack was smiling, weakly. The crowd of ponies, and of humans, was going wild. Alcohol was thrown all about, food flew in every which way, hooves and fists were colliding. Twilight found herself standing, unable to believe what she was seeing.

"That's...is that I think it is?"

"Yes," Shanks confirmed, "Commendable indeed. She wins this round."

Though Applejack had managed to come back from certain defeat, she was still shaking in the stillness. A punch was not needed where a flick would suffice. She was too weak to resist the worst of Lucky Roo's assault now. She took pride in her short comeback, and noted the drips of red falling into the man's hand; it was a perfect counter attack. It felt perfect at least, she couldn't quite recall acting it out. Instinct really was powerful.

But true to Shanks' words, Lucky Roo stood tall and lost his smile. He examined the earth pony closely, her trembling form, the glean of sweat in her roughed up face, and the brighter smiler therein. He lamented his loss with another customary smile of his own, and plopped down onto his back. Shanks stood up.

"Well done everyone! Progress like this gives us the courage to face another day. Tomorrow will be no easier! For now, run wild and party! Dahahahahaha! Bring out the healing water!"

The first thing Twilight did was teleport to the once-farm pony's side, and keep her on her feet. She deserved all the recognition coming her way. The first among them to achieve haki use, if for but a second or two. Twilight cheered as loudly as the rest of them, and although Applejack was already falling asleep, Twilight noted that she was also still carrying that proud, Apple Family smile. These were the moments where happiness was found, in the moments after growth.

---

The celebrations came to an abrupt ending as an unfamiliar jolly roger was spotted from the deck of the Star.

As the ponies prepared for the incoming boarding parties, a loud shriek erupted from across the waves, and a torso shot into the air, the arms rocketing higher and falling back to the deck in a mess.

"SHANKS!?!?!"

The slightly drunk captain strode up behind Twilight and Rainbow Dash.

"I'd say he wasn't expecting me to be here."

"Leave him to us," Rainbow urged.

"Of course."

From the other deck, the unsettled pirates watched their captain pull himself together - quite literally. Galdino was the first to speak.

"M-Maybe we should let this one go...he is classified as Yonko after all."

The crew immediately turned against him.

"What? How could you say that!?"

"What's he talking about, Captain Buggy stood his ground against Red Hair at Marineford!"

"That's true, I was there!"

"He's not alone though, Galdino urged, "we have no idea how strong this other crew is...but they could've been the ones to beat the giant crew. If not, the Red Hair pirates certainly wouldn't have trouble doing it!"

"Captain Buggy, tell him we'll beat them and maintain our reputations...as a Warlord Crew!"

"Yeah! Tell him, Captain!"

Buggy had finally stabilized himself against the railing and set his eyes intently on his former cabin boy cohort. He was still shaking, and a deep and troubled growl was growing in his throat.

"See, look at that," one zealous dog encouraged the others, "He's shaking in anticipation! What a man! Raring to take on a Yonko like that!"

The stirring growl sputtered louder as Buggy temporarily looked at the rowdy pirates behind him, then looked at Galdino. The growling settled down and he smiled his usual charmed smile. With a shrug and a hearty thumbs up, he raised his arm high.

"We can....definitely....take them all down! Let's...Let's go!!!"

One of these days his luck would dry up, and he was going to get them all killed. Warlord or not, Buggy was far from a crushing fighter, and Galdino made one final attempt at backing out as the other men prepared for battle.

"You really think you can beat Red Hair in a one on one fight!? Especially with only this ship!?"

"W-Well yeah...if I go all out!"

Galdino's jaw nearly hit the floor, "You said the same thing about Whitebeard two years ago! And he knocked down Admiral Akainu!!"

Buggy shrugged again, and turned out towards the sea, clearing his throat.

"And Red Hair Shanks was the one ended the war..."

Buggy paused.

"By coming out of nowhere and stopping Akainu. With ease."

"..."

Some hope was finally breaking through the night. If he pressed on...just maybe...

"And former Fleet Admiral Sengoku retired because he was afraid of fighting Red Hair in the war....even with all the other Warlords and Admirals and powerful warriors on his side...we can't hope to match the power he had in the War...."

"........and?"

This time, Galdino himself hit the floor. Hard.

"WHAT?!? YOU STILL WANT TO FIGHT???"

"I will become Pirate King! I can't let a mere Yonko stop me now!"

Galdino got to his knees, and then fell on his back again, this time muttering depressingly to himself. Buggy smiled and turned back around and then steadied himself again on the railing, pure terror back on his mug. Mr. 3 wasn't wrong.....this wasn't a good situation.....but, he'd lived through worse. This couldn't possibly be the end of his winning luck.....he hoped.

"We're ready Captain!"

"Just give the order and we'll start the attack!"

Buggy raised his hand high into the air and lifted his torso up in front of the jolly roger, "Men! Let's take down Akagami Shanks and his allies! To victory!"

A chorus of applause rang out, and from the other side of the waters, Rainbow Dash smiled.

"Good. I almost thought we'd have to chase him down."

"Any tips?" Twilight inquired of the Yonko as he turned to go below deck.

"There's no defense for dumb luck."

"And he's luckier than drunken leprechaun..." Twilight recalled.

The ships were steering towards one another, already the cannons were raining out fire. Twilight let her volley fly and flew up behind it to shield the Star. The demonstration of her powers mostly confused the enemy, but she didn't mind the edge it gave her side. She almost smiled when she saw the Warlord's face.

"What...what the hell?"

"My name is Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Equestria," the lavender captain announced from the air, "I fight with Red Hair Shanks, any attack on our vessel is an act of war against our alliance. We won't hold back!"

She partly desired to end this without conflict, but she knew Shanks was wise to have her fight with Buggy. He was a considerable opponent for the Equestrians, the way they were now. It was like a test, and not all tests were fun, a maxim she was very familiar with. But she was always ready to pass a test.

"Just get them! Go!!" Buggy ordered.

The pirates opposing them threw several lines in hopes of securing the vessels together, but Twilight would not have it, shooting all the lines down in impressively quick succession. Meanwhile, her own crew were preparing defensive measures, and fired a second volley of shots. A few hit their marks well, but the Buggy pirates were not dissuaded.

Twilight found herself deflecting another wave of cannons, but as soon as her shield dropped and she doubled checked the integrity of her ship, she found an unexpected attack landing its mark; a pirate she hadn't noticed before shot a string of goop at her and it landed perfectly on her horn.

"Wax-Wax Whip!"

Wax, eh? Then burning it might not be the best idea...luckily Rainbow Dash was there to lend her helping hoof. Sword bared, she let it fly against the white line, only for the wax to absorb the blow and hold the weapon hostage. Before Rainbow could try again, several knives flew at her and she took evasive maneuvers away from the enemy ship.

"Chop-Chop Shot!"

Twilight continued to struggle, but it seemed that just further entrapped her horn, and therefore, her magic. Someone among Buggy's crew was more intelligent than she had been led to believe. And to her misfortune, she saw the Buggy pirates had readied their cannons before the ponies on her own ship.

"Brace for impact!" she called as the black orbs launched, a couple coming close to hitting her in the air. Only a couple were aimed true, but it did not help ease her nerves. She ordered another round to be fired, and Buggy's ship once again flamed up in damage, but still they went forward. And now, without Twilight to block their attempts at connecting the ships, the lines pulled the Star into a deadlock.

The first few Buggy pirates to board Twilight's ship met with cruel fates at the hands of traps, surprise attacks, and a very ornery Pinkie Pie with mallet. But Buggy would win in a long run numbers game, and it quickly began to seem that in pure crew conflict, his men outgunned and outslashed Twilight's.

Rarity went to work on the wax whip, while Rainbow, Pinkie, and Applejack led the defense from the deck. Captain Buggy himself preferred to remain on his vessel for the time being, but the wax man stepped forward upon seeing Rarity chipping away at his hold on Twilight.

"I know we're going to regret this," Galdino lamented, "but now that we've come this far...Wax-Wax Whip!"

Another thread of wax rocketed towards Rarity, but she managed to scramble away. Galdino had no qualms in repeating the gambit, and shot several more whips her way, all the while Twilight continued to remain trapped. Worse still, though her friends efforts were valiant, the overwhelming numbers on Buggy's side was beginning to seriously push the ponies back, and the deck was already very compromised.

Knowing this could not keep up, Twilight decided to do something a bit drastic, and flew away from the battle, hoping to weaken the whip by stretching it thin. Galdino noticed, but only smirked.

"There's no escaping my wax!"

This time, instead of shooting for Rarity, he aimed it upwards and a second whip went Twilight's torso. Ever the opportunist, Buggy followed up from his place by shooting a knife-filled hand behind the whip. Dumb luck....this wasn't good.

Rarity could not stop the wax, but knives was another story, and she created a dome which entrapped the hand; Twilight attempted to maneuver away from the wax whip, but it began spreading as it closed in. She closed her eyes and dug deep, forcing a teleportation. It actually worked, she was amazed to see, though the wax residue was all over her face now.

"Twilight!"

Her victory became very short lived when Spike fell back to the deck, totally encased in a wax ball.

"I was going to save you..." he explained with misery.

This wasn't enough to keep her down though. She smiled and looked towards Galdino and Buggy. Dumb luck's reign was over.

"Don't worry, you'll be free in no time!"

"I wouldn't be so sure!" Galdino retorted, which made Buggy chuckle heartily, "Wax-Wax Mace!"

The wax engulfing Spike became more round and spikes were fashioned all over it, then Galdino swung. Spike screamed for dear life as his trapped form battered multiple ponies, and even a few pirates, Galdino quickly swinging right and left, again and again. Buggy, having broken his hand free from Rarity's magic, laughed loudly.

So there was a little dumb luck left in him...Twilight was free now. It wouldn't be long before the tides turned!

In fact, it was the wax man causing her crew most of its biggest problems, keeping the most useful mates trapped or occupied, so hse set her sights on him.

"Rarity!"

The unicorn heard the call of her Princess and captain, and understood what she intended to do. She concentrated hard and formed a dome around spike and the mace-like wax. Twilight teleported across decks, appearing behind Galdino, who hastily used his now free right hand to shield himself.

"Wax-Wax Dome!"

Twilight had successfully entrapped him, and turned her attention on the appendage before her, firing an incendiary spell, which lit the mace ablaze, causing Galdino to quickly detach himself. Spike, meanwhile, was protected by Rarity's magic.

"After you, I'm going after Shanks!" Buggy called, clearly empowered by his success so far.

Twilight decided to play the wax man's trick back on Buggy, and she lifted the dome of wax high with her magic, shielding herself and causing the man inside to to question why he was floating. She fired another fire spell and lit the dome ablaze, then threw it down at Buggy.

Galdino bailed fast as lightning, his arm and leg both on fire; Buggy's head shot up to the same level as Twilight's while his body quickly ran to her deck.

"Clever bastard! Don't think you've gotten anything on me!"

His head zoomed after his body which was well protected by four particularly large, axe-wielding men. Twilight flew back to the Star, and knew the best time was now.

"Get him! Get Buggy!"

Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity ran to engage the guards, while Twilight met the now whole Buggy.

"Why you..."

"You think you're a match for Shanks?" Twilight asked, "You might be a struggle for us with your schemes and your dumb luck, but you can't hope to do anything to Shanks and his crew."

"What? You hoping I'll surrender or something?" Buggy asked, his aggravation threatening to tear him apart.

"Not a chance. I'm just glad to know that if I can beat you, it means I'm improving...getting closer to his level."

"Heh...cheeky too. You really irritate me, Princess. I'll kill you for the trouble...I'm a Royal Warlord, the future Pirate King! You don't stand a chance!"

His words alone seemed to give his men strength, and Twilight was beginning to understand that though dumb luck was the root of his power, it was not his only weapon. His followers were strong, and the tide was beginning to shift in his favor once more. He could detach himself, thus anything related to cutting or slashing was futile. Haki was...not yet an option for her, though she did have the confiscated weapon Smoker used, made of sea-stone, she had learned. That would do the trick.

Then again, Buggy's strengths didn't seem to be at all in the realm of actually fighting.

She fired a spray of blasts and bolts that made the Warlord dance and nervously jump about.

"Why you...!"

He shot his legs towards her, blades on his feet, spinning like a deadly top; she made sure to erect a shield was send them flying to the side. They flew back to Buggy before straying too long, and the combatants remained quiet for a moment. Buggy was quick, perhaps his most redeeming physical quality, and both hands shot out to her, but she easily flew up and over them, also taking care to duck low when they boomeranged back to him.

Shaken, but still willing to fight, Buggy shot his left hand, which missed, his right, which missed, his legs which missed, and finally barely jumped to the side to evade a scathing blast. She tried twice more, both times damaging him slightly. He screamed and hid body exploded into many parts, knives hiding in many clever places.

"Chop-Chop Carnival!"

A simple dome shield repelled them all, and once again he missed...until dumb luck reared its head again, and Twilight's heart almost stopped.

One blade went flying and landed right under Rainbow Dash's right-side wing, and as she cried out from the sneak attack, the axe cut her across the chest, her blood coating the deck and the pirate together.

"NO!!"

Twilight lunged forward, and Buggy's poor aim did not help his attack land...on her. But it had a possibly worse effect.

"Muggy Ball!!"

The red explosive zoomed past Twilight but landed squarely on the main mast, and it fell quickly; Twilight's only option was to hold it up, or let the ship sink under its weight.

"Pinkie, Applejack, somepony help Rainbow!"

Pinkie jumped away and scooped up her friend, while the distraction caused Applejack to turn away at a crucial time and allow the pirate to land a devastating blow with the hilt of his weapon on the top of her head. Seeing that made the mast so much heavier, and sweat was falling like rain from Twilight's brow.

"Enemy ships ahoy!!!"

Twilight didn't know who called out, but the mast became even more overbearing when she saw three vessels on a rapid interception course, all of them flying Buggy's colors.

She was beginning to lose herself in the chaos. Balance! Strategy! It wasn't over yet!

First thing was first, she had to get rid of the mast. With great effort she began moving it over the hectic waters, but Buggy was not keen on giving his chance up.

"Gya-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!! I told you! I'll kill you all!"

That wasn't helping her balance, and the mast began to slip out of her control.

"I'll blow you away! MUGGY BALL!!"

BAlaNe....

This wasn't good... this was VERY BAD...by CELESTIA THIS WAS BAD

The red orb blew but before it could reach Twilight it blew up in a flash of smoke...and a green pellet emerged in its stead.

"SPECIAL MODEL: POISON!!" Buggy finished.

A green gas blew up all around Twilight and the mast fell into the side of her ship, compromising it right down the middle as the mast sank below the waters.

Twilight coughed and heaved and saw through burning, bloodied eyes that Fluttershy and the unconscious Applejack in her care had also been caught in the blast.

BAL-LANCE C ON T R O LL

A pain unlike any other struck her and she saw a knife handle sticking out of her stomach. She stumbled about, her horn trying to pull off several different spells at once, the only result being some of the green powder on her body blasting off and floating right down onto Fluttershy and Applejack.

BA - OU

Another handle stuck out of her forehoof, she struggled to stay standing.

S TA Y In ContrOlL KEEp Fo CUS nd BlNACE

It was all just too much.

"Twilight!" Pinkie called out as another bullet ripped the coating off her leg.

Red tears flowed down her green and purple face, her voice barely audible, and extremely weak.

"Ssshanks..."

Buggy's next knife flew out of his hand and held good aim, and his smile grew the widest it'd been in days.

And the next thing he knew, everyone of his pirates had fainted and his knife flew into the deck harmlessly in front of Twilight.

Buggy looked around and quickly lost his enthusiasm, and his head literally flew off his shoulders when a familiar and hated voice spoke from behind him.

"Come on Buggy, let's call it a day and get drunk together."

Author's Note:

Wow....I made updates to other stories on other accounts...on other sites, so I apologize for the near 2 month break in progress on this one. Alas, life is filled with the brim these days. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed, there will definitely be more to come!

Thanks for reading, feel free to drop a review with your feelings on the chapter, any ideas you have, or whatever. It's always appreciated!

-TBK

Comments

[Daxen123]

Damn that was close.

[Theblondeknight]

7424194 A lot of people brush Buggy off, but the power of an idiot should never be underestimated (especially an idiot with a silver tongue and the luck of a drunk leprechaun)