Sea of Misfits

by M48 Patton

Chapter 3

Miles out to sea, a strange ship lay at anchor. A dark shape made its way forward and with little difficulty, opened the door to the wheelhouse.

“Cap'n, yew wanted tae see me?” The pegasus mare asked as she stepped through the armored door.

The pegasus stallion in the tricorn hat nodded as he studied the maps. “Aye, we've been round these waters too long. I've got a feelin' that somethin's brewin' fer us.”

“The Roy'l Navy's been quiet, true.” She affirmed.

“Tis not the Navy I be fearin'. No, somethin' else is in the wind.”

The mare placed her front hooves on the table. “I s'pect that the last raid may have tickled the nest.”

The captain nodded again. “Aye, we'll loot one more ship an' then head south.”

“Aye Cap'n.”

---

Twilight and Fluttershy met up with the other two groups at a small cafe near the docks. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were there first and were eating hayburgers when Twilight and Fluttershy arrived. Sitting down, Twilight ordered a hayburger while Fluttershy asked for a water glass.

“So, what information did you girls find out?” Twilight asked.

“Not much that the report didn't have.” Applejack answered. “Although it seems as though these pirates ain't exactly your normal crew.”

“Yeah, the captain said that those pirates were almost too organized. They just took the cargo and left, no threatening or anything.” Rainbow Dash said, spraying crumbs from her half eaten burger.

Twilight lifted a hoof to block the crumbs and frowned. “Odd, I wonder if it's not actual pirates, maybe it's a foreign country trying subvert our economy by ruining trade.”

“Ah doubt it sugarcube.” Applejack finished her hayburger before continuing. “First off, we don't know of any country being hostile towards us, second off, there are a lot better ways to hit our country than the economy. Princess Celestia has the authority to redirect shipping as she sees it. Sure it might hurt Equestria, but in the long run it hardly matters. And third, there's the little matter of the ship itself. If there really is an alicorn behind it all, they could do a lot more damage than just affecting our trade. If Ah had to take a guess, Ah'd wager that it's just some pony abusing their power.”

Twilight frowned. “But why? What would a pony with that much power want with a bunch of pirates? It just doesn't add up.”

“Maybe, it's not a pony.” Fluttershy spoke up.

“What?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Maybe it's not a pony.” She repeated. “What if whatever is powering that ship wants to be a pirate, or simply doesn't even know what it's doing?”

The four considered this when Pinkie showed up with Rarity not far behind. Pinkie ordered a extra chocolaty shake topped with an entire pound of whipped cream while Rarity chose a sweet iced tea.

Pinkie managed to down her entire shake in less than fifteen seconds, unleashed a magnificent belch that only Pinkie could accomplish, and then asked how it went as if nothing had happened.

“Well,” Twilight began, “I managed to secure the perfect ship for our journey, but we're still going into this situation blind.”

Rarity levitated several bags over and opened them to reveal a set of dingy sweaters and caps that looked as though they had seen better days. However, Rarity wasn't the least put out by their appearance.

“Six sailpony outfits, just as you requested Twilight.” Rarity levitated each article of clothing out of the bags and showed them off as if they were brand new dresses that she made herself.

“Rarity, these are perfect!” Twilight exclaimed.

Applejack agreed. “Nopony will ever recognize us!”

“Now, I've got pegasus style sweaters for Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, however I opted to get an earth pony jacket for Twilight to hide your wings.” Rarity said as she passed the clothing around.

“Excellent!” Twilight said while putting on the jacket. It was baggy and loose, but the extra room made it comfortable when her wings were tucked against her sides. She looked around at her friends, surprised at how much the clothes changed their appearances.

Everypony had a different outfit, from Pinkie's striped shirt, eye-patch and bandanna to Rarity's roughly sown fog jacket and beanie. Twilight looked each of them over for a few minutes and then nodded, evidently satisfied.

“Good work Rarity. We'll blend right in with the crew.” She said before turning to Pinkie. “Did you get food?”

“Sure did!” Pinkie said, happily playing with her eye-patch.

Twilight waited a few moments before asking the inevitable “Where is it?”

“I put it on the ship!”

“What ship?”

“The ship you chartered for us!”

“Pinkie, I haven't even told you what the name of the ship is.”

Applejack leaned into Rainbow Dash and whispered “Here it comes.”

“It's the Sea Venture!”

Twilight stared at Pinkie for a moment before taking a deep breath. “Just ignore it.” She mumbled. “It's just Pinkie, there's no reason to get excited.”

Rainbow Dash and Applejack hoof bumped. Fluttershy was about to tell Twilight that she had met Pinkie by chance near the market on the way to the cafe and told her what ship that they were going to be sailing on, but decided to say nothing instead.

Twilight was oblivious to the discreet chuckling of her four friends as she calmly worked herself back from a nervous breakdown.

“Okay, with that out of the way, I believe it's time we get acquainted with the ship.” She finally said.

“I couldn't agree more!” Rarity announced before covering her mouth to hide her last few giggles.

---

Arriving at the docks, Twilight quickly found the ship that she had hired. It wasn't too large, carrying only one mast with a square sail, but it's cargo hold was big enough to warrant a merchant designation.

As Twilight walked up the gangplank, she saw a unicorn arguing with an earth pony over a pile of grocery bags. Walking up to the two of them, Twilight gave a small cough to get their attention.

“What?” The unicorn whirled on her.

“Excuse me, but I believe that those are for me and my friends here.” Twilight gestured to her five companions. “We're-”

“I know, I know, the passengers!” The unicorn cut her off sharply. “Boss came down and said I had to take on six landlubbers. Didn't say why, just that I had to do it and keep quiet about it.”

Twilight gave a nervous laugh. “Well, about that, I need to talk to your captain.”

“You're looking at him!” The unicorn snarled.

“Oh, perfect, can we talk in private?” Twilight said hopefully.

“No, if you need something, ask one of my crew.” He said gruffly.

Twilight continued to press him. “Captain, this is a very delicate matter that I would prefer we discuss in your cabin.”

“Later, I'm busy! Now get your junk off my deck!”

Twilight frowned but didn't press the matter and picked up the groceries in her magic. “Where will we be staying?”

The captain pointed to the rear of the ship. “There's a cabin just in front of mine. It will be a bit cramped, but it's the best we can do.”

Twilight thanked him and carried the groceries to the cabin, followed by her friends. The cabin was small, but clean and there were six mattresses laid out on the floor. Placing the groceries in a cold spell to keep them fresh, Twilight walked back out on deck.

There she found the crew busily preparing to leave port, two earth ponies casting off lines while a trio of pegasi unfurled the sail. Standing on the rear deck was the captain giving orders with a helmspony skillfully maneuvering the ship away from the dock.

As soon as they were away and traveling down the channel towards the entrance of the harbor, Twilight made her move and cornered the captain.

“We need to talk, now.” She said.

“I'm busy.” He responded while trying to push past her.

“Captain, this concerns the safety of the ship and crew.”

He paused before continuing on. “I've been at sea longer than you've been around. I know perfectly well how to keep my crew safe and I don't need some landlocked mare telling me how to do my job.”

Twilight rolled her eyes and cast the teleportation spell she'd been preparing. The two of them were instantly transported to the captain's cabin where she shed her disguise. As her wings stretched out behind her, the captain took a step back in fear.

“My most humble apologies your highness!” He said as he prostrated himself on the deck.

Twilight picked him up in her magic and sighed. “Never ignore a pony when she gives you a warning, Captain. Far too many times have I seen others learn the hard way.”

The captain nodded rapidly, having difficulty finding his hooves once Twilight set him down. Clearing her throat, Twilight got down to business. “Captain, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but your ship has been chosen to act as bait.”

“What?” He asked incredulously.

“For the past year, a pirate ship has been harassing our trade lines along the coast.” Twilight explained while walking over to a map. “So far, the raids on our ships have been fairly peaceful, but the mere fact that the pirate ship is out there stealing cargo is already having an effect on our trade along the coast.”

The captain nodded. “So, you want my ship to get captured then?”

Twilight shook her head. “In essence yes, but no. As soon as the pirates show up, then the Elements of Harmony and I will apprehend them.

The captain grunted. “What makes you so sure that they'll come after my ship?”

Twilight pointed at the map. “The pirates have last been spotted somewhere in this area. From now on, every ship leaving port will have an Equestrian Navy escort.”

“Every ship but mine.” The captain mused.

“Exactly. We can't chase the pirates, so we're making them come to us.” Twilight smiled as she said this.

“Can you guarantee the safety of my crew is certain?” The captain asked.

“Captain, you have my word that I will do all that is within my power to keep your ship unharmed.” Twilight promised.

He chuckled. “Well, seeing as how you're an alicorn, I think I'll accept that.”

Twilight paused for a moment. “By the way Captain, I never did get your name.”

“Tide Rider, captain of the Sea Venture.” He said, offering a hoof.

Twilight placed her hoof in his and they shook. “Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship.”

Author's Note:

I wonder which ship the pirates are going to raid? Anyways, feedback is always appreciated.

Comments

[StarzGecko]

So far so good! Can't wait to see more!