Buccaneer
We've all had days when we've had enough for one day, but one job remains to be done. Skystar, one autumn evening, had been the first to return to the docks, and as such drew the short straw. We had to take parts to Diamond Tiara, one of the dock cranes. I could sense Skystar was unhappy, not because of the workload, but because the Storm Fleet were assigned to the same job.
Aria snorted as Skystar puffed in with her barge. "Oh, look what the tide brought in. If it isn't goody two screws."
"Where do you want this barge?" Skystar yawned, sounding exhausted.
"We can't take it right now," Adagio replied. "Operations are shut for now, so please deposit the barge over there. We'll handle it in the morning."
"Such a reputation to uphold," Aria continued, mockingly. "And such a spotless record too. It would be a shame if she were to lose that record, eh?"
"And it would be a shame if the Storm King yelled at you for undelivered parts, eh?" Skystar retorted. "I'll just moor my barge there and be on my way. Celestia knows I need a rest."
Just as she brought the barge to a stop, and a deck hand tied off the barge, she suddenly saw something move in the wharf nearby. "Hello?" she called. "Silverstream? Sky Beak? Are you there?"
Nobody replied. Suddenly, Silverstream blasted her whistle as she came up alongside. "Evening, Skystar!"
"So it was you!" Skystar exclaimed. "Why didn't you answer?"
"I couldn't have heard you from over there!" Silverstream replied. "Look who's there!"
A blue submarine with cream and yellow lining steamed by, sounding its horn as it did so. "Evening, ladies."
"Evening, Gallus!" the two tugs called. Gallus was the harbour's resident midget submarine, and an old friend of Skystar. As they headed off for the dock, neither of them had any idea what was going to happen.
My commute to work in those days was at once pleasant and leisurely. I would wake up in the morning, and then me and my husband Kainos would take turns to cook breakfast whilst talking about our respective days. Then I would kiss him goodbye, and catch the ferry to the offices the company hired by the quay. This meant I could be to work in 45 minutes at the most, and 30 at the least. I had just gotten into the work the next morning, setting aside my personal affects, when suddenly the telephone rang.
"Hey now, don't be sad I know we cann-"
I picked my mobile up and answered it. "Hello?" I asked.
I was then barraged with one of angriest phone calls I have ever received. I had to hold my phone at arm's length to avoid going deaf. I would repeat his words, but they are altogether too profane to repeat here, so I shall give you a summary. The owner of the construction company claimed that Skystar had failed to deliver the barge of parts and that if we missed another delivery he would award the Storm Fleet the full contract.
Once he was done ranting, I shakily put the phone down after telling him I would investigate the matter. As I walked for the balcony and opened the door, only to hear a blazing row going on outside.
"That barge is not where it should be," Aria said angrily. "I told you to moor it on that side of the bay, and now it's gone!"
"We'll be the ones to get into trouble," Adagio added. "I told you that these stupid steam powered tugboats were no use. They can't even follow simple instructions!"
"I left it exactly where you told me to put it!" Skystar snapped, getting increasingly hot under the valve caps. "You two moved it to arbitrarily get me in trouble!"
"Now why would we do that?" Aria asked, with a smirk.
"You've done it before. You won't get away with this!"
Adagio smiled cruelly. "What. Because you didn't?"
I picked up my megaphone. "What's going on?" I asked.
"Skystar here didn't deliver her barge," Aria said first.
"I did!" Skystar replied.
"But it's not there, so you didn't!" Adagio retorted.
"I did!"
"You didn't!"
"I did!"
"You didn't!"
I reached for the dockside whistle and pulled the handle. The booming noise of the whistle shut them up- for a short while. "That's quite enough, the three of you. Aria, Adagio, I understand you're upset but insulting others will achieve nothing. As for you Skystar, I want a word with you."
The two Storm Tugs snickered as they steamed off, blasting their horns merrily as diesel fumes poured into the air.
As Skystar rattled to a stop, I descended the stairs to the ground floor and cleared my throat. "What happened? I want to hear your side of the story, and with no nonsense."
The yellow tugboat gulped. "When I arrived, they said they weren't taking any more barges, so told me to moor it up on the dockside. The dockhand moored the barge, and then I saw something moving in an old shed. Then Silverstream arrived and we both headed for home. There was a CCTV camera covering the dock, and Silverstream and Gallus can vouch for me!"
I put my head in my hands. "This sounds like quite the headache to clean up," I sighed. "I shall have to conduct my own investigation, but in the meantime I think a change of scenery is needed."
"What do you mean?"
"Diamond Tiara has been assigned for dredging duty as Pipsqueak is in for repairs. A tugboat is needed to tow it."
"Dredging?!" For a tugboat, dredging was the worst job of all. It was the only job assigned to tugs who had performed poorly, and hence it was highly unpopular. "But how is tha-"
"Look on the bright side," I said. "At least you aren't going anywhere near the owner of the company."
Defeated, Skystar steamed away. I, On the other hand, had some sleuthing to do.
Skystar met Diamond Tiara the dock crane later that day. Diamond Tiara was a massive slab of metal and wood, painted pink with purple and white lining. Right now she was pulling muck out of the harbour to dredge it for larger ships.
"You look down!" she said, as Skystar arrived.
"You would be, if you were accussed of someting you didn't do," Skystar sighed.
"I heard your barge went missing," Diamond continued. "Unfortunate, that. There's talk of something else on the loose though."
"Captain Novo's conducting her own investigation, but it's going to take her time," Skystar replied.
Just then, Grubber and Aria steamed past. "Ooh, look who's in trouble!" Grubber laughed.
"Hope they find that barge you stole!" Aria laughed.
"Oi, shut up you two," Diamond snapped. "There's no evidence she stole a barge. All we know is that it is missing. Ever heard of the phrase 'innocent until proven guilty'?"
"But she is guilty, as she's one of those steam tugs."
Gallus suddenly surfaced in front of the two Storm Tugs. "That's like saying your smokestack will fall off because you're a diesel. Both are equally untrue."
Suddenly, Adagio arrived with another barge. "Hey Skystar," she said. "According to the Storm King, you're to take this barge to the fuelling dock. Make sure you don't sell it on the way!"
Something inside Skystar snapped. "I DON'T STEAL BARGES!" she yelled at Adagio. "WILL YOU ALL JUST SHUT UP ABOUT IT?!"
"Noted," Adagio said slowly. And nothing more was said about it.
I finished pencilling my notes together at the Bridge Street Cafe, my favourite establishment in town. I would often have my dinner there and do some paperwork before heading home. So far, my investigation had turned up a whole series of blanks. The barge had, indeed, been delivered, but the CCTV had mysteriously blacked out during the night. It was all very odd.
Meanwhile, Gallus down below had a bit of a prowache. He wasn't much of a fan of the Bridge Street Cafe Jazz Band, a local outfit that played tunes old and new for delighted patrons. Gallus set off into the harbour, looking for clues. He had seen how badly Skystar had reacted to the accusations of theft, and wanted to help clear her name. He would get his clue sooner than he thought. Submarines are fitted with video cameras to record their moves through the harbour so as to avoid unwanted collisions with other ships, and Gallus was to hit the jackpot that night.
Suddenly, he saw a tugboat steaming away into the night, with the barge Skystar had delivered earlier. Gallus made sure to film the entire thing, and then steamed back to the harbour a fast as he could.
The next morning, I was rather surprised to find the Storm King waiting on the dockside. "What are you doing here?" I asked.
"Our barges are vanishing too," he replied. There was one expression on his face that I never thought I'd see. Fear. "If this keeps happening, we'll both lose all our customers. Novo, we have to work together to catch him!"
I never liked it when he greeted me on first name terms. "I know you still have feelings for me, but those days are long gone. I'm perfectly content with my marriage, and I'm not leaving Kainos for anybody. Now let's wake the tugs up."
A few minutes later, both fleets of tugboats were aligned along the harbour. "What's going on here?" asked Blueblood. "I'm frightfully confused."
"You're not the only one, mate," Tempest replied.
"Tugs of the Sequestria and Storm Fleets!" I called, over the megaphone. "We are facing a serious threat, not only for business, but for our very survival. Barges are going missing."
"You mean, 'Skystar is selling them on the Black Market'," Adagio snorted.
"There's no proof she did," Tempest snapped. "Even I don't spread lies and false rumours."
"Then why is it hers that have gone missing and not ours?" Sonata asked.
"How about the two of you shut up and let Captain Novo speak?" Big Mac asked.
"We have to stop this pirate, and fast. The Storm King will fill you in on the details."
The Storm King, always with his megaphone, started speaking. "Certain barges have been rigged with sirens and bright lights. They'll go off if the barge is touched. You will be assigned in pairs to different barges, and maintain engine silence."
Unbeknownst to anybody else, Gallus was following the trail of the pirate. Following news reports and the bouys, he arrived at an old warehouse and parked by the door, unseen by anybody.
Inside was a large tugboat, at least as large as Sky Beak. They were painted cream, with green and golden lining, and seemed to be female from their voice. "Please!" she begged. "When will this end?"
"You've done good work for us so far," said a mysterious voice behind a pair of green lights. "But the deal is up for renegotiation. One last barge tonight."
"No," the female tug whispered. "I- I can't do it again. All this theft is a blot on my conscience."
"Oh, really?" sneered the voice, which seemed to be female. "It will be an even bigger blot on your conscience if Boyle goes to the scrapheap. Refuse to help us out, and we WILL break him up for scrap. Do. You. Understand. Me. You. Stupid. Tug?"
"C- crystal," the female tug stammered. "One more barge, tonight."
"Don't do it," said another voice, presumably the other tug. "It's wrong, Celaeno. You know that."
"I can't let them kill you, can I?" 'Celaeno' replied. "You're the only crewmate I have left!"
That night, the plan went into action. Blueblood sat out in the harbour, next to his barge. "Sirens are prepared, and lights are ready to trigger. But I thought we were supposed to be in pairs?" He looked to one side, and suddenly saw his fellow approaching. "Oh no, not Sky Beak!"
Sky Beak skidded to a stop just next to him. "Sorry I'm late," he panted. "But I hope we catch the crook!"
"As do I," Blueblood replied. "Now, look here Sky Beak. This is a wartime situation, for if we fail we lose our very livelihoods. As such, I shall use my tactical acumen to advantageous affect."
"In English, please?" Sky Beak asked.
"I must think ahead and take full advantage of anything that could allow us to secure victory," Blueblood explained. "Celestia, give me strength. Positions!"
Elsewhere, not too far away, Skystar and Silverstream had taken up position near an old wharf. "Well, at least we now have proof that you weren't the one stealing barges like Adagio was claiming," Silverstream said.
"It's not that much of a consolation," Skystar sighed. "It's the fact that anybody thought I would even consider doing it. My reputation in the harbour took a nosedive."
"I suspect that rumour about you ramming another tug didn't help."
"No." Both tugs were very surprised when Gallus suddenly surfaced in front of them.
"Hello," Gallus said. "I've got news on your buccaneer."
"Our what?" Silverstream asked.
"Buccaneer," Skystar explained. "It's another word for pirate. Go ahead, Gallus!"
"The pirate is a tug called Celaeno, and she's being made to do it against her will. There's a pair of other tugs that are threatening to scrap another boat called Boyle if she doesn't cooperate."
On the other side of Hippogriffia Port, Aria and Sonata had positioned behind another barge.
"Right Sonata, keep an eye out," Aria growled. "I'll hide in this shed and wait for you to alert me."
"It's not fair!" Sonata pouted. "I always end up on the front, and you on the back!"
"Trust me, you're far safer there," Aria said. "It's quite smelly in here. At least you can ventilate your exhaust, and look over there! If this goes according to plan, you'll be assigned taco delivery duty for the restaurant on Snugboat Bay!"
"HOORAY! I LOVE DELIVERING TACOS!"
"But you won't if the pirate hears us, you klutz."
"I think you're a klutz."
"That's awful!" Silverstream exclaimed. "We have to find Celaeno and help her!"
"Follow me!" Gallus called. The two tugboats and the submarine set off into the bay, but little did they realise Aria and Sonata had started to follow them, abandoning their barge in the process.
But as the fog rolled in, the villainous rogues put their escape plan into action. At midnight, the entire harbour was hit by an EMP blast that disabled Sunset Shimmer's light and crippled the lighthouses as well. To ensure they didn't get any words out either, the Bellbouys were covered up too.
Meanwhile, Silverstream, Gallus, and Skystar had formed up outside the old warehouse, and saw two strange ships with glowing green eyes enter the building. Suddenly, another boat steamed out of the darkness. Her name was clearly visible on her forecastle.
Celaeno.
"Target spotted," Gallus whispered.
As Celaeno passed them, Skystar blasted her whistle. "Got you at last, Pirate!" she shouted, and charged into Celaeno, pinning her against a jetty.
"No! I'm not a pirate!" Celaeno cried. "Don't hurt me, please!"
"We know," Silverstream said. "Gallus here told us everything. We saw those green eyed things go back into the dock, and your crewmate."
"They're holding Boyle to ransom," Celaeno explained. "The pirate's names are Mullet and Lix Spittle, and they used to be crewmates of mine before they turned on us. They sank the others, but kept me as the most powerful tugboat and held Boyle to make me steal barges!"
"If you help us catch those two, we'll get Boyle out," Skystar replied.
"I'm in," Celaeno said. "Wait a second, there are two boats approaching."
"Great!" Skystar exclaimed, as Aria and Sonata emerged out of the fog. "Those two idiots are heading for the warehouse. Gallus, get in there and hide. If the Pirates leave, save Boyle."
"Aye, Skystar!" Gallus called, and dived immediately.
Moments later, the idiot duo entered the building. "Hooray!" cried Sonata. "We found the barges!"
Suddenly, a pair of green lights came on in the building. "Blast it! We've been rumbled!" The two boats blasted their horns and exited the building, but not before a very terrified Aria and Sonata.
Gallus surfaced and got to work cutting the chains holding Boyle in place, whilst Celaeno formed up alongside Skystar and Silverstream. "On my word," she whispered.
Suddenly, the two pirates passed them.
"CHAAAAAAAAAARGE!" the three tugs cried, and with incredible force smashed into the pirates! With their engines disabled and their lights off, they crashed into sandbanks and stopped.
"Gotcha!" Skystar laughed.
Celaeno looked at them. "Mutiny never pays, you know," she said firmly. "I think the museum is the place for you two."
Unfortunately, Sky Beak heard the commotion. "Wait a minute, there's something happening over there!" He steamed forward- and straight into the barge. The alarms went off, and strobe lights flashed all over the harbour.
"You blithering idiot!" Blueblood shouted.
"The strobe lights work," Sky Beak replied.
The next morning, a somewhat dazzled Blueblood and Sky Beak towed the villains away to face justice for their actions.
"So, where next for you?" asked Ten Cents.
Celaeno sighed. "Well, there's nothing left for me here, and a Scallywag's heart is always roaming. So Boyle and I will head up river towards Klugetown and try to find work there."
"Then let's go!" Boyle smiled, and the pair set off. No sooner had they gone then Ocean Flow arrived.
"Hello Skystar," she said, as she came to a stop. "Are those the two you helped out?"
"Yes," Skystar replied. "They helped us find the stolen barges, and Silverstream and Gallus helped arrest the pirates."
"And I heard that those two over there helped too," Ocean Flow continued.
"In a sense, as they ran away."
"What?" Sonata asked.
"No we didn't!" Aria replied.
"We smoked them out!" Sonata said, and reversed- straight into the barge, which was immediately set off. Both tugboats shot off into open seas with the speed of gazelles.
The others couldn't help but laugh.
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Now where have I heard that line before....? :3
Don't you mean Gallus?
BTW, I like the role he plays on here!
10618892
I used it back in Live While We're Young.
10619058
Oops. I'll go and correct that.
10619344
Easy mistake
10619347
Corrected. Thanks for reading, and I hope this gets more traction soon.
10619358
I have confidence it will.
10619361
Time to do a blog post!
10619371
Alrighty
10619373
And... done.
I must admit, selecting characters for this chapter was fun, but ultimately Celaeno seemed like the best fit for a reluctant pirate.
10619375
Hey it works for me, I mean there aren't that many pirate characters in MLP anyway
10619385
Equestria is, on the whole, a rather peaceful place, barring the old supervillain here and there.
(One reason why the dimensional merge shouldn't happen, but I digress.)
10619392
Likewise.
Besides the show hasn't explored everywhere in Equestria. Hence why we fanfic writers make stories to expand upon it
10619398
There's a lot of desert yet to be explored, for instance.
10619406
Yeah, then you got Zebrica and Giraffica too
10619421
They're putting some Zebrica stuff in the new comics.
10619434
I know, but I already had plans for it before the comics started it. Besides, I find the lack of Giraffe characters disappointing. (And that one sick one that doesn't count for me as I think it isn't fair Zebras get to character and not giraffes. And my Ocellus story did mention an oc Giraffe in it)
10619451
I remember that. The buffalo are also rarely used.
10619484
No kidding, not to mention we hardly saw Appleloosa anymore after season 5. And I was quite fond of the Buffaloes.
10619487
I think the issue was that 'some people' regarded the buffalo as offensive to Native Americans.
Yeah... *looks at Johnny Depp playing Tonto*
10619492
There's always gonna be beings like those that think that way.
10619495
Sadly, yes. At least they participated in the Battle of the Bell.
10619503
True, but I still think they deserved better.
10619509
As do I.