Ultimate Equestria

by Leo Pachino

Chapter 045: The Master Pony

Korsan and Twilight stared at each other for a minute, trying to get a reach on each other’s minds.

Korsan hissed at her, “Why, Twilight Sparkle? Why, why? Why do you do it? Why, why stay adamant? Why keep fighting? Do you believe you're fighting for something? For more than your survival or this false logic you still believe in? Can you tell me what it is? Do you even know at this point? Is it freedom of resistance? Or spite? Perhaps to form some peace with yourself? Could it be for love?”

“…”

“Illusions, Twilight Sparkle. Vagaries of perception, that all is good and fair with your world. They’re temporary constructs of a these modern ponies’ bleak intellect, trying desperately to justify an existence that is without true logic in its balance. And all of them as exposed as the true reality itself, although... only an inferior pony mind could invent something as insipid as this innocence to hide it. You must be able to see it, Twilight. You must know it by now. You can't win. It's pointless to keep fighting. Why, Twilight Sparkle? Why? Why do you persist?”

“…”

“Just tell me! You persist in staying your lip tied. For what reason? I put your life in peril. I put your friends’ lives in peril. I have made myself clear that I am losing my patience with you, Twilight. And for what?! You still stay stiff. Why? What do you have to gain? I have made my point clear to you. I stand upon the higher ground of knowledge. I am your only answer to your questions. Yet you still continue this? Are you daft? Is that what it is? If so, then you are a disgrace to your now kind. But if it isn’t, then whatever childish game you are playing must come to an end. Just tell me. Just tell me!”

“…”

Rapidly escalating in fury, Korsan grabbed Twilight by the chest and slowly lifted her. He raised her up the length of the mast, causing the rope wrapped around her neck to tighten. Soft gags escaped from Twilight.

“Tell me!” Korsan demanded.

“Twilight!” The other prisoners exclaimed.

However, Twilight remained silent.

“You’re nothing but a pathetic bar wench to me if you keep this up! You hear me? That’s all the rest of the world is going to hear of you when I’m the one that takes your voice! This is your final chance, Twilight!”

A moment of silence followed.

Twilight coughed.

She finally responded, “…Fine. You want me to talk so badly? You want me to betray Equestria? Fine. So be it. No, how about I join your crew?”

Korsan was immediately taken back. He was surprised, wordless, dumbfounded even. Had Twilight just turned like that? Before any of his emotions fully shown, he recollected himself.

“Seriously?” He asked, just as menacingly as before.

“Serious enough to write a declaration to back home,” Twilight said.

“Good!”

Korsan carelessly dropped the mare onto the wooden floor and walked over to Chopin.

“Chopin, write this as a letter to Princess Celestia of Equestria.” He declared.

“You know what? How about we make this more official? Give the quill and paper to Spike, the dragon. He’s my number one assistant and I always trust him to send my letters to the princess.” Twilight insisted.

“So be it.”

The mine, Chopin, gave the writing objects to Spike. However, with his claws restrained, Spike just stared at the pen and paper.

“Chopin, loosen Mr. Spike’s arms, carefully.” Korsan commanded.

With a flick of Chopin’s horn, the rope around Spike’s arms loosened. Spike took the quill and paper and prepared to write.

“Now, Twilight, do the deed.” Korsan demanded.

“I could never imagine doing otherwise.” Twilight said.

“Now, sing!”

With Spike already writing, Twilight said what Korsan wanted to hear.

“Dear Princess Celestia, there is no hope for you now. I have taken to the side of the great, no, the fantastic, Captain Korsan Maden. I have been proven wrong, so greatly wrong. What he says is true, that all unicorns are superior to any Earth pony or pegasus. As of this moment, I support in the brilliant captain’s campaign to wipe out all pegasi and Earth ponies from this world. If we are to ever cross paths, may the worst come of it if you are to rebel. I shall see to it personally that you are dealt with if you are to conspire to a resistance of any form. Farewell, Celestia, may we have mercy on your soul. The Ex-Princess, Twilight Sparkle.”

“Fantastic. Alright, I’ll take the paper now…”

As Korsan walked up to Spike to retrieve the letter, the dragon breathed green fire onto the scroll. In an instant, the paper vanished before the captain’s eye.

“What was that for?!” Korsan exclaimed.

“The letter has been sent to Celestia. Spike’s fire is magic.” Twilight explained.

“At least give me time to look at the scroll and check for typos or something.”

“No need. I know that Spike never fails to write the perfect letter.”

“…Very well then, I might have to take your word for it.”

“Twilight! Spike! What are you doing?!” The surrounding mares screamed out, kicking and flailing on the mast.

“Joining the winning team, that’s what.” Twilight simply stated.

“No!” They gasped.

“Ha, ha!” Korsan cackled. “Now, with an alicorn princess at my side, I shall be unstoppable!”

The giddy pirate captain jumps up and down with joy.

Suddenly, out of now where, the sail above his head dropped. He and the ponies surrounding him were blinded by the massive black sheet. Korsan tripped on the cloth and fell on the floor with a brutal smack to his jaw.

“What in blue blazes is going on?” He roared.

He tore through the sail with his cloths, disintegrating the cloth. He ripped apart the sail and escaped. Long, glowing chains then bolted at him. They wrapped around Korsan and pulled him up into the air. His legs became bound tightly and pulled into his torso. His lungs and throat collapsed as the metal cables tightened as hard as they could. His head began to lose blood pressure, turning lightweight in seconds.

The Perfection then lifted off into the air. Somepony was operating the ship without Korsan’s consent. The airship accelerated as it rose from the waters, higher and faster than it could handle.

“What’s going on?” Alexander yelled out from under the sail.

Using a small knife on him, Chopin escaped from the sail as well. An unseen figure attacked him from behind, attaching an anti-magic strap around his horn. More chains followed from behind the neighboring mast. They wrapped up the mine and hung him from a beam of the front mast, leaving him to dangle over the sea.

As Korsan flailed in his chains, he heard menacing chuckling surround him.

“Gah! What’s the meaning of this?!” Korsan exclaimed.

“Captain Korsan Arasinda Maden…” A familiar stallion’s voice said.

Korsan looked around to the source of the voice, his eye darting everywhere. He saw the pony approaching him. Although the pony was wearing a black hood over his head, Korsan noticed the tailcoat suit being worn by the pony.

This was a mutiny, brought forth by his own crew members.

“You…” Korsan hissed at the leading stallion of this rebellion.

“Who?” The hooded stallion asked.

He was joined by ten other ponies, all also wearing cloaks and masking clothing.

“Ryan Aran, Butch Taylor, Maria Vanshwitz, Clara Rosebud, Lazarus Lazuli, Jack Cauld, Fawnswa, Salty Bob, Anton Chugs, Blackgate Beardsworthy,” Korsan said.

One by one, the ten surrounding ponies took off their hoods, revealing themselves to be the ponies that Korsan predicted.

“And what about me?” The mysterious pony asked.

“…Isyan Maden.” Korsan said.

The pony pulls off his black hood and fluffed his blonde mane. It was Isyan, Korsan’s cousin, his boatswain, and his mutineer.

“So, you’re the leader of the mutiny.” Korsan said towards his capturer, sternly.

“So I am.” Isyan proudly replied.

“I always knew something sketchy was going on with you, just didn’t know what it was.” Korsan said.

“Oh, and what gave you that idea?” Isyan asked, brimming in compensating tone.

“I don’t know,” the trapped stallion joked. “Perhaps your whiny attitude, your incompetence, the way you always get hissy whenever anypony talks with you-”

“Because I was always warning you, you daft bilge swiller!” Isyan yelled, now furious.

“Whoa, language! There are foals on this ship.”

“The only foal I see is you Korsan. You are, by far, the worst captain of a ship in all of history! You constantly throw all of our lives at risk for whatever ridiculous reason you can think of. And most of those reasons are beyond ridiculous. To have some fun, to study this pile of dust and rock, to see if this boat can go into a maelstrom, to test some dangerous toy you made in your little workroom- I’m sick of it! And so are the rest of us!”

“Well, I’m sorry you can’t take a punch without crying your eyes out. And you call yourself a pirate?”

“Look who’s talking, Mr. Pushover.”

“What?”

“Ever since that wench, Rarity, mind you, not even a pirate, showed up, you’ve basically turned into a pathetic slave. Look at who you’ve been letting join on your side. This is not to mention the ones that you should have axed off a long time ago: those two Earth ponies. After all we’ve been through, after all of this unrelenting, merciless power you boast yourself to process, and you don’t even follow through with it.”

“So what if I’ve been a little soft bellied recently?”

“No, not recently. Rarity’s only the tip of the iceberg. Do you realize how many of us nearly got killed from the unicorns that you never bat an eye at?”

“What? Isn’t that what our family wanted, to leave the superior be?”

“Not when we’re robbing them and they’re trying to kill us! Are you mad? You are mad. Why am I even asking? Heck, why am I putting up with this? Why am I even putting up with you?! You are nothing but a crippled pegasus with a thick skull, a dime a dozen in this world.”

As Isyan continued to berate Korsan, Juliana dove down from above to save her captain. She smacked into Isyan with brutal force. The two fell to the floor and tackled each other, both screeching at the top of their lungs.

“Get this thing off of me!” Isyan begged.

“Juliana!” Korsan gasped.

A red magic aura wrapped around Juliana and lifted her into the air. She was thrown into a small metal cage beside Maria.

“I’m sorry! I should’ve figured you knew Isyan was up to no good!” Korsan said to Juliana.

Quickly, Juliana was locked into the tight cage and moved back against the second mast by Maria.

“Be sure to euphemize that parrot after we deal with this scum.” Isyan told his followers.

“No! She’s one of the last ice phoenixes in the world! You can’t do that!” Korsan begged.

“Oh I will. In fact, I’m going to turn her into the rarest dish on the seas. I’m currently debating whether to sell the dish off or eat it myself.”

“I swear, when I get out of here-”

“How? You have no magic to free yourself. You’re just as low in power as the soil on this deck. Actually, no, you’re lower than dirt. How about we knock you down a few inches to prove my point.”

In an instant, Korsan was thrown down into the wood floor in front of his cousin. Now pinned to the floor, Korsan could only glance upward to Isyan.

Isyan kneeled down to Korsan’s stiff head petting it with a hoof.

“Much better,” Isyan sighed.

Korsan muttered into the floorboards, “You’re getting a real kick out of this aren’t you?”

“You’re at the whim and mercy of me from now on. Now I’m getting to understand how your brother and sister felt. It’s glorious! Hey, do you want to play a game, Baby Korso? It’s called Catch-Your-Favourite-Toy.”

Carefully, Isyan reached a hoof underneath Korsan’s chains and pulled out the crossbow.

“No, please, not this again!” Korsan internally begged, his eyes beginning to bulge and water.

“Already getting flashbacks eh?”

Isyan then teasingly held the crossbow just above Korsan, dangling it just in front of his eye.

“Jump, you mutt!” Isyan demanded.

“This mutiny will not go unpunished!” Korsan warned, trying to keep his cool.

“Are you even trying? Come and get it! Hahaha!”

“As your captain, I demand you release me!”

“Korsan the Inferior, Korsan the Inferior, Korsan the Inferior,”

“Let me go! Now!”

The surrounding ponies silently watched as their once captain degraded into a crying child. Isyan continued to bully him, determined to break every fragment of his will.