Ultimate Equestria

by Leo Pachino

Chapter 009: Thieves' Hold

As the galleon slowly crept into the haunting dwelling, the sounds of snapping wood from both the breaking ship, the creaking boards of buildings high above, the gently splashing waves, the rustling sails, and the rolling of thunder above in the clouds started to conjoin in a tune on their own. The onboard crew looked throughout the forest of tens, if not hundreds, of giant columns of solid stone for any sign of Korsan.

To either their fortune or misfortune, he wasn’t there.

After a fair hour of nothing but the natural music of the seemingly abandoned area, the faint sounds of ponies roaring could be heard in the distance. Gently weaving the ship around the sharp rock formations around the bottom, Twilight steered the vessel towards the cheering. Soon, she and the others discovered where to noise is coming from.

The activity came from a larger wooden building near the top of a craggy stack. A large, spiraling ramp around the tower led up from water level to a balcony just outside of the entrance. Though most of the structure appeared to be elevated over the ocean, it’s held in place by several large beams underneath it, only subtly shifting side to side with the breeze. At the bottom of the ramp was a large wooden harbour, almost fully packed with ships of all shapes, sizes, and colours.

“Looks like we got here before Korsan did. This looks like a place he would go,” Twilight mumbled to herself as she drove the ship towards the large harbour.

“Wait,” Fluttershy fearfully squeaked on the main deck. “We’re not actually going to go there. I’m already on the edge of a heart attack being here.”

“Don’t be scared, we’ll be fine.” Twilight assured her.

“Really?” Rarity asked at Twilight’s side. “We’re entering a pirate hangout, a pirate hangout. It’s going to be filled with the biggest horde of criminals of the entire ocean, not to mention how filthy it’ll be inside.”

“But inside, there may be some information that we could use to stop Korsan. We can keep ourselves hidden when we go in, not draw attention to ourselves.” Twilight said.

“I brought some raincoats!” Spike called out from the main deck. “We could use those.”

“Thanks, Spike.” Twilight said before turning to the others. “Remember girls, we’re being covert about this, so no fighting. It might help if we try to blend in and socialize with the less dangerous looking pirates.”

“Oh! I’m great at socializing!” Pinkie pridefully cheered.

“What?!” Rainbow Dash cried, “We’re going into a pirate hangout and we’re not going to get into a massive fight with them? Talk about a wasted opportunity.”

“I’ll tell our stowaways to keep in their rooms.” Applejack said. “Hopefully no pony tries to steal our ship.”

“Who would? It looks like a wreck.” Rarity replied.

“It is a wreck.” Dash corrected her.

After putting on their black raincoats, hanging the hoods tightly over their heads, the seven heroes got off of the SS Raindrop and walked down the long wooden platform to the ramp.

“Look at all of these ships,” Twilight spoke as she glanced at the various vessels anchored at the harbour.

“Why do so many of them have skulls and crossbones for their flags?” Fluttershy asked as she examines the ships to her right. “They looks so mean.”

“I think that’s the concept.” Applejack replied as she focused on a pair of massive black cannons poking from the bow of a large brig. “Look at the size at some of these cannons.”

“Looking at these ships and thinking about how they were made just makes me all the more curious about how Korsan made his.” Spike said.

“I’m not sure exactly,” Twilight replied. “But I theorize that it has to do something with the anti-magic he uses in his harness and restraining straps. I saw that his ship has the same type of solid-like fluid embedded in its hull.”

Soon, the seven reached the ramp and proceed to walk up it, avoiding the railless edge hovering over the sharp rocks below. It was a surprisingly short walk for a climb up a stone column.

“What do you think is going up there right now?” Rarity asked, fiddling with her cloak and trying to make it look sleek.

“Sounds like they're singing shanties,” Pinkie said. “I want to join them. It sounds so fun!”

“What’ll we do when Korsan arrives?” Spike asked.

“Not sure,” Twilight replied. “I’m thinking that if we act smart, we’ll be able to apprehend him without drawing to much attention to ourselves, get onboard his ship, get the Diamond Eye, and return to Equestria.”

“Hey, maybe we can take Korsan’s ship and fly it home? Think about it, I could use a new pad and his ship would be awesome.” Rainbow Dash noted.

“Get ready, we’re here.” Twilight declared.

They all reached the balcony and clustered around the small door leading in. Rarity glanced into one of the windows at both sides of the doors and saw a lot of indistinguishable activity inside, having most of it blurred by the old and stained windows.

“Are you sure we should go in there?” She nervously asked.

Twilight proudly replied, “Of course, as long as we’re together, we’ll be perfectly fine.”

As Twilight opened the creaking door, a small, green pegasus stallion in a blue sailor’s cap suddenly burst out from inside. His body flailed over the balcony before falling down into the ocean below.

“And stay out!” A mare’s voice screamed out from inside, leaving the heroes outside speechless for a moment.

“We’ll be perfectly fine.” Twilight said with a notable drop in confidence.

Upon walking into the building, the mares and Spike were immediately greeted by a sudden change in atmosphere of the room. The building turned out to be a large tavern, with tens of tables scattered around the massive, singular chamber and a serving bar on the other side of the room. A dark blue unicorn mare was attending it, cleaning mugs and filling them with a variety of beverages.

Surrounding her were a whole mass of ponies of practically every variety sitting at tables. Tall unicorns, short pegasi, fat Earth Ponies, skinny and lanky ponies with either half of a horn or only one wing, bearded, mustached, scarred, peg legged, eye patched, garbed in red and black, or completely bare save for any accessories that may have been on them, the mares and Spike are shocked from the sight of so many in one place.

Lit lanterns on every table and several on the ceiling created warm light that embodied the entire chamber. Along the left wall of the room were an assortment of tables, with groups of pirates sleeping, drinking their mugs, or counting their treasure out in the open. To the right were a vast collection billiard tables, dartboards with darks poking out of them and a couple in the wooden wall, and round and square tables made for card games and gambling loot. Pirates were gathered there with cups of cider in their hooves or magic as they played their games and tossed their money around in bets and gambles.

However, the main focus of activity that caught the group’s attention lied near the center of the room, as a tall, blue pegasus was singing on top of a table with an accordionist and a violinist playing an upbeat tune behind him and the patrons surrounding him stamping their hooves on the table in tune with the music.

As the music picked up, the finely dressed stallion began a verse,

“Now I’ve been busy at sea past now,

And with my crew of eight,

We sank a ship and took the loot,

Before they knew what hit ‘em,

Now I’m wanted in Dragmire,

But yet I’m still unknown,

Here to loot for the next mornin’,

Oh, a pirate’s life for me!”

Immediately, the surrounding patrons and the musicians enthusiastically joined in for the chorus,

“A pirate’s life for me,

Survival of the Sea:

We live to loot,

We loot to kill,

And we kill to live ‘nother day.

It is not the nicest job,

But it’s the life for me,

Cross our paths and you’ll get slashed,

Oh, a pirate’s life for me!”

After the chorus finishes, the two unicorn players continued their tune for a brief instrumental break. Soon though, the stallion sung the next verse,

“Now here’s a tale that we all know,

The Pirate of Bad Wolf Bay,

Said he’s a devil dressed like us,

And killed an entire fleet,

But if you ask me of my fears,

I’d laugh and tell you this,

That pirate’s half as good as me,

Oh, a pirate’s life for me!”

The chorus quickly followed once more,

“A pirate’s life for me,

Survival of the Sea:

We live to loot,

We loot to kill,

And we kill to live ‘nother day.

It is not the nicest job,

But it’s the life for me,

Cross our paths and you’ll get slashed,

Oh, a pirate’s life for me!”

A small uproar of laughs and chuckles swept throughout the bar. Before the stallion could start the next verse, Pinkie Pie jumped onto a nearby table, having a verse of her own. As her friends’ jaws dropped, Pinkie sung,

“I’m the mare who’s traveled abroad,

And delivers all that I got,

Should’ve heard the blast that I threw last,

Before arriving here,

With cannons blasting left and right,

All throughout the town,

No pony lasted by morning.

Oh, a pirate’s life for me!”

The entire bar immediately turned silent after Pinkie’s verse had finished, with even the musicians stopping to look at her in shock.

“Pinkie,” Twilight muttered from the doorway. “What are you doing?!”

After a second of silence, the entire crowd instantaneously roared in cheers before singing the chorus once more with Pinkie joining as well,

“A pirate’s life for me,

Survival of the Sea:

We live to loot,

We loot to kill,

And we kill to live ‘nother day.

It is not the nicest job,

But it’s the life for me,

Cross our paths and you’ll get slashed,

Oh, a pirate’s life for me!”

With the shanty finished, the patrons cheered loudly as the stallion leapt off of the table and landed onto the cold wood floor. He approached Pinkie Pie.

“I must say newcomer,” he spoke in a debonair tone. “You have some backbone. Taking on an entire town? If it’s true, either you’re mad, or you’re bluffing. Shanties are the wombs of tall tales.”

“Trust me,” Pinkie replies. “It lasted all day and night.”

The stallion pointed a hoof to Pinkie’s friends, approaching behind Pinkie, “And who are those swabs? I don’t recall seeing any of these chins before. Perhaps if yous all remove the hoods, I’d be able to recognize yous.”

“They’re my friends, and we prefer to keep our appearance secret.” Pinkie replied.

“Mind if I ask for a name? A pony of such capabilities, singing wise anyways, deserves to be credited.”

“Oh, of course, I’m Pinkie Pie.”

Pinkie outreached a hoof to the stallion. The stallion remained still, as if his mind was preoccupied to shake back. Then, out of seemingly nowhere, the blue stallion fell onto the floor, laughing manically.

“Q-qu-quite a name I say.” He sputtered.

“Thanks. What’s your name?” Pinkie asked.

Slowly, the pegasus recovered from his laughing fit and stood back up.

He replied, “It’s-”

“Cecil!” The mare at the other side of the serving table called out to the stallion in a deadpan voice.

“Thank you for your morale around here these past days. The boredom has nearly driven me mad.” She told him.

“Thank you ma’am.” The stallion named Cecil replied.

He turned back to Pinkie and said, “So, Pinkie, there it is, Cecil. Feel free to join the game with my mates.”

“Okay Cecil,” Pinkie replied. “See you later.”

As the blue stallion then turned away and walked towards the card playing tables, Twilight and the others joined their pink friend’s sides, all with their mouths in a gape.

“Pinkie,” Twilight asked. “What did you even do?”

“Well, I got about twenty party cannons, fifty cakes, and a prosthetic leg and-” Pinkie replied before being cut off by Twilight

“Not that. I mean, how did you know that would work?” Twilight asked.

“What would work? I just wanted to sing with them.”

“…Oh… Well, since you’re now friends with that guy, maybe you can get some information about Korsan.” Twilight suggested.

“Okay-dokey-lokey!”

Pinkie eagerly trotted over to where Cecil walked off to while Twilight and the others approached the serving bar. With the bar maiden quietly drying off a mug with a ragged cloth ahead of her, Twilight cleared her throat. It caught the mare’s attention, or at least an offside glance.

A bit nervous, Twilight spoke, “Excuse me, miss, but can we-”

“No pets allowed.” The server stoically interrupted her. “Sorry. No pets, no service. For good reasons,”

“I’m not a pet,” Spike clarified.

“Hm?” Quickly breaking her glance from her work, she looked over the counter to examine purple dragon with his arms crossed.

“Oh, sorry,” The bar maid apologized. “What can I do for you all?”

“I’m thirsty,” Rainbow Dash replied before Twilight could. “What do you have?”

The mare answered immediately, “Water, coffee, cider, ru-”

“Did you say cider? I’d love some!” Dash exclaimed.

“One second.”

Spontaneously snapping out of her sluggish demeanor, the young unicorn rapidly hovered a fresh wooden cup to a large barrel with a faucet attached to it. She poured out the brownish orange liquid from the barrel and into the mug.

Within a second, the cup was filled to the top and placed in front of Dash on the table. After that brief moment, the unicorn mare snapped back into her slow motion as she continued to clean the mug she had earlier.

“Wow, you work fast.” Rainbow Dash noted.

“Just to not build up your expectations. Drink at your own risk.” The mare warned.

“What are you talking about? Cider’s delicious.”

Swiping the mug with her hoof, Rainbow Dash lifted the bubbling cup to her lips and drunk the cider with a smile, only for it to rapidly turn into a scowl as Dash then whipped her head downwards and spat out the liquid.

“What the?! This isn’t cider!” She protested.

“It is around here.” The bar maid corrected Dash. “We don’t really have the best imports around here, so that’s the best we got. Unfortunately, this is the only good drinks these folks here have, so it’s only a matter of time until they practically become what they drink, stale and sluggish. You girls are lucky you got any legitimate entertainment, most of the time it’s just pirates wobbling around and getting into fights, even I’ve succumbed to the boredom. Look, those ponies that were into Cecil’s shanty are already trying to hold back their vomit. Speaking of which, pardon…”

The maid’s voice immediately turned into a shout, rife with command and anger.

“Hey! Do it outside!” She demanded at the sick patron.

“Sorry for your boredom,” Twilight replied, slightly offset by how much the mare talked. “By the way, what’s your name?”

“November Gale, and how about all of yours, unless this is going to be the only time you’ll be visiting us.” November said to her.

“I’m Twilight Sparkle, that pony who’s throwing up is Rainbow Dash, behind me is Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, and the dragon’s Spike. By the way, you said ‘us’, is there somepony else that works here?”

“Just my boss in the kitchen behind me. Shucks, I’m glad that there’s somepony new I can actually talk and isn’t wiped out. Where are you all even from?” November then asked.

“We’re from Equestria.” Twilight told her.

“Equestria?!”

November Gale looked around her before leaning over the counter. Twilight and the others leaned forward as the mare whispered to them.

“Were you there when he attacked?” She silently asked.

“Who?” Twilight asked in response.

“The terror of earth, sea, and air-”

“You know him?!”

“Shhh, if my boss hears us talking about him. He’ll get real upset. He hates when I bring up our old- …Darn it, I said too much again,”

Slowly, November leaned back and returned to her work.

“Wait, maybe you can help us with something.” Twilight said.

“Sorry, I can’t help. I have this position to hold until midnight and my boss’s probably listening in on us at this moment. Go chat with whoever else is willing to talk about him.”

“Bu-… Okay,” Twilight said, a bit defeated.

“And keep it discreet. Don’t ask why.” The bar maid warned.

“Okay, thanks for your help, November.”

“Glad to.”

The team walked over to a large round table in the middle of the room and seated themselves.

“What did she mean by all of that,” Twilight whispered amongst the others. “What’s with keeping Korsan such a secret around here? What did she mean by ‘I said too much’? How did she know about Korsan’s attack on Equestria?”

“Any theories?” Spike asked.

“Well… I think that Korsan does visit this place, often for a matter of fact. And that there’s something going on, something bigger than just stealing the Diamond Eye and everypony here knows about it. We just need to find out what it is. Although November appears to be an active chatter, she seems to have caught herself from revealing what we want to know. Let’s just hope that Pinkie doesn’t get in too much trouble when she talks to that Cecil stallion about it.” Twilight said.