Crates

by TwizzleDragon

Prologue: Baltimare

“Come back, ya darn thief!” yelled the merchant, running down this roughly paved street, chasing after his product.

There were gulls in the air, the port was near, and so were the ships to accompany it. The gulls chirped and squalled all over, barely noticeable anymore to the local populace. Droppings every here and there, perhaps a dead fish carcass in the street every now and then, and sometimes acting as wild pets, wandering into market stores or near carts, getting fed what they could from these earth pony merchants of a higher racial class.

“Somepony stop him!” he screamed again, but I still did not stop. He was after his oranges I had just stolen, horribly stolen, despite it being my only ways of obtaining food in the dry labor months, I was still bad at it. My hooves were rough, not gentle and soft like the majority around here. Mine were scuffed up over the years of hard earned labor and unwanted greed that never left me with enough to last long.

Times were tough here in the city for anything other than an earth pony, and myself stricken with these lifeless wings, well… I had no strength compared to the rest, and I couldn’t just fly away to a different place, Cloudsdale was too far and there weren’t many out frontiering right now that were hospitable to just anypony. My chances here of making it didn’t look too bright, even though I’ve been sticking through this since I was just a mere colt all alone in the slums, I never knew which week would be my last. I was always hungry, my bones always sticking out from the lack of fat. I was just a disgusting bum, but somehow I learned and made it through month by month, but only able to just barely support myself.

And so here I was once again, the same as every other few weeks, stealing petty foods from merchants too dumb to keep their bits at close watch. It wasn’t like I stole a whole lot from the guy, just three, just enough to make it through the week. Wasn’t like I wanted to steal them, even if I had the money the bastard wouldn’t give them to me fairly. One bit from an earth pony is worth ten from a pegasus, to a unicorn I know not. Never seen one of them, don’t even know if they exist or not.

I kept track down the street that brought in the most crates, better hiding, more theft opportunities, better living. The street was filled with straw today, not sure why exactly, city isn’t exactly one for livestock, nor the people I suppose. Stallions were loading off more crates, large ones, big enough to hide in kind of large, and a few barrels, probably filled with alcoholic cider. A good shot would feel great right about now, oh well.

“Stop that damn filth!”

A stallion who had just dropped off his part took notice, joining in the chase. He was a big one too, not some pushover body type like the merchant, too big to slow down any bit at all. I had to hide. He was slow, I was faster, but not quick in comparison to a runner. He got close enough and grabbed for my makeshift shackle rag, the thing with all my personal belongings: just a quill, ink, parchment, and the oranges I had stolen. It snapped right off me, the satchel wasn’t meant to be tugged on anyways, so it came with no surprise, but hunger above all else. The merchant must’ve been tired out a while back because he was no where near us now, nopony to even care about my fallen satchel’s stolen delights.

I was starting to get some distance from him, but he didn’t slow down at all, made me wonder if he was only doing this because somepony told him to, or because he hated my kind so much. This was about an everyday thing. I looked back again, watching as he finally gave in and began to turn around. What a mistake on my part…

There was a lone plank in my way that I would’ve seen had I not cared about the stalker. I tripped and fell flat on my face, scratching it no doubt. Getting up was a little hard with my lanky body structure. At least the chase seemed to be over, well, just this one for now.

There was a rumble in my stomach, hungry after a good sprint, which those oranges would’ve been great for right now, had that pegasus hater not broken my pack off. I watched as he picked it back up, as if it were his own, and it was now for the part taking, and he tossed it over the ramparts, into the bay where it sunk down with all my belongings, except for two oranges that floated back up with their natural buoyancy. The third slipped out when he picked up the bag, well enough to get me through this night without stomach pain. I waited a bit, watching the back of him disappear towards his ship, smiling when he was but a dot in the distance. So I walked over to the vacant area, picked up my orange, and turned back the way I was chased to.

Night was approaching, darkness setting in, most of the sailors, who had docked merely for a drink at a pub or to drop off their cargo, were either getting done with their duties, sleeping, or off to the pub. I guess some of the shipmates were more tolerant of my kind, since they got to be extra nice when they trading or exploring, but that was just with the ones who worked outside the boat. Every now and then a noble bearing transport would toss me a bit or two out of pity at my disgusting, rib-showing body. I felt horrible taking unearned money, even if it was from such a loath. Better than nothing, not like anypony round here would employ me anyways.

I crossed an inn for sailors who prefered to sleep on land if they could afford it, The Shallow Mare, and it felt a better place to eat than outside in the cold. I’ve been in there before, they weren’t horrible ponies, the owners that is, but at the same time they were, it was more about business to them, I could stay and buy whatever as long as I paid for my food or brought my own, only catch was I had to stay back in the corner to not disgust any wealthy patrons. It was a better deal than anywhere else so I came here whenever around the port of the city. It was nice out here, the beauty of the bay in front of you outlasted the horrible ponies that occupied it.

I opened the door and walked inside. It was dark inside, held alight by very few lanterns that needed to be refilled soon, glowing faintly on the ceiling and posts, flickering. There was drunken banter going around, something about a courtesan mare cheating one of them out of his bits, a common problem. I sat myself away from the main crowd, as directed by the owner and bartender. She didn’t bother me at all with any offers of food or drink, knowing I rarely could pay for it. She had no problem with me bringing in my own food or staying for a few hours as long as I didn’t disturb nopony, which was hard sometimes, but I know when a scene is getting bad.

I sat down at the weakest table, the one with a slant and holes, water damaged and wobbly. It was better than nothing. I pulled my orange onto the table and began to peel it with my teeth. I would spit out the peelings and such once the orange was completely ready. I dug into it, savoring its citrus flavor and squishy texture. It was good, much better than anything I could earn fairly.

A crowd of five entered the building, dressed in seawaring fashion. Clearly they weren’t any different from anypony else around here, except for me, the naked bum. One of them, who I suspected as the captain, wandered over to a lone table as the rest spread across the room, joining the chatter of others and eventually sending a stallion or two at the “captain” where he would speak to them with his book and mug of cider. He sent a few away, big strong stallions, which didn’t seem right to me, strength was needed on the sea. I kept watching, slowly finishing my orange and enjoying the warmth of the nearby lantern. They seemed to not notice me, or maybe they were ignoring me? Whatever the case, they weren’t getting much luck. I didn’t know what kind of pony they needed, but chances are that I ain’t it.

I finished my orange and grabbed the peelings leftover, walked over to the owner, Scarlet, who I knew had a garden out back. She could use these as fertilizer, and I planned to give her them as payment for her kindness. She was speaking with another mare, a young adolescent, like me. She had an odd hat on, expensive yet with a poor vibe, along with sailor clothing. She came in with the same crew and appeared to have given up, knowing the search was futile or foolish or whatever that the others had not seen. They had been talking like old friends, laughing and gossiping it seemed to me. I approached and laid down the orange peelings, thanked her for her services, and was about ready to head on my way.

“Hey, wait!” Scarlet lifted up a mug of cider. “On the house, you look thirsty every time ya come in here. Take it.”

I came back and sat on a stool. The two continued with their conversation after I thanked her again for her kindness. I tried to stay out of it, my social skills are lacking a lot and most ponies get irritable when I try to converse with them. I just kept looking towards the shelves of alcoholic drinks and drank what I could handle.

I tried not to eavesdrop, but the two were right next to me, I couldn’t control it. Scarlet had a rough female voice, she had a background that I never wanted to ask about. The other mare, her voice was sweet, light and high enough to sound like a spirit but deep enough to not sound annoying. The two spoke of some sort of hunting game, I could barely understand the concept. Eventually I noticed some of her crewmen leaving, not even buying a drinks, just returning to the boats after a hard hour or so of attempts. The one next to me didn’t care at all, she drank down a mug or two by now and seemed to be either completely sober, or be ordering water. The captain didn’t seem to be going anywhere but off to sleep, his head stuck between his hooves on the table with his cap fallen down and mug still grasped.

The mare beside me gave me a little nudge, I turned to see what it was about. “You alright there, sir?”

It had been a while since anyone asked me this. I replied how I always would, even if the answer wasn’t true. “Yea, just a little tired from the day, that’s all.” I tried to turn back and finish off my cider but the mare had other ideas.

“Ya sure ain’t the talkative type, what’s it take to get a nice conversation outta you?” she laughed a little, I didn’t see what was so funny.

“Don’t try with that one, Two Bits here ain’t the one to befriend just anyone, dear,” Scarlet explained, cleaning dishes behind the counter.

“Ohh!” she began, “sounds like a challenge.”

“It ain’t a challenge, you don’t know who you’re talking to.” I said, downing the last bit of cider.

“C’mon, can’t be much fun just lowing about here all alone, where’s your thirst for adventure?” she nudged me again.

“Listen, I don’t need no adventure, I just need what I can use to make a living, and that’s it. Now if you’ll excuse me, miss, I oughta get out of here before somepony gets too drunk to hold in his nerve.” I got off the stool and turned towards the door.

“So it’s a job you’re looking for?” she said, smirking.

I really needed money, or anything, just a meal a day and something to keep me occupied and off the streets sounded like a good deal, but I was never one for the sea, hell, I wasn’t even one for the wind with my screwed up wings, but I knew I could learn.

“What kind of job?” I asked, just to get some specification on what I might be dedicating my life towards in a split second.

“Right now we got a ship that needs a few hooves round the hull. You do some mopping here and there, help out the cook, unload some crates, and maybe you might work yourself up to the deck in a bit. Some of it’s hard work, but it’ll pay off if you don’t got anything else to go to.”

“And your crew won’t have a problem with my wings?”

“Oh, no, they will at first. They’ll hate ya, but we can change that.”

“How?”

She grabbed her shirt and pulled it out a little bit. “Clothes, they’ll never know ‘less you flutter your wings. I suggest you don’t, that is if you want the job.”

“Oh, I’ll take it either way,” she smiled at my answer.

“Good. First Mate Sweep is over…” she looked back and noticed him passed out. “Well, I’ll tell him when he wakes. Come, let’s go get you some clothes.” She dropped from her stool and headed with me out of the building.

We walked down the street in what would be a one-way conversation between her trying to talk to me and I being unused to this, stuck in silence with the only responses of “yes” or “no”. Oddly enough, she didn’t seem bored by me, maybe she was just pretending or really was just this happy. She had a lot of coin on her, it dangled in her small bag just out in the open, foolish of her. I could’ve, should’ve taken it, I could’ve made it a month without any theft with what she had out, but I liked the opportunity she offered me.

We made it across town and into the market, the shops stayed open late with the city always busy, so there were a few places with good wares. There was one shop, The Threaded Needle, that possessed a large amount of clothes. I couldn’t go in, they had a sign outside prohibiting anything but earth ponies, so I let her go in ahead of me. It never occurred to me I didn’t ask her name before. Seemed a little awkward, less awkward than a noble who pities the poor but on the inside wants them gone from the streets but still has the false dignity to look them in the eye and pretend to be kind. She went in, picked out something to match the rest of the crew, I hope, and brought it back out for me in just a few minutes.

“Put it on before we go to the ship,” she instructed.

I went down an alleyway, despite already being naked myself, I just thought it was better if the merchants didn’t see me posing as their own kind. The outfit wasn’t bad, it had stripes and was soft and flexible, not some cheap itchy blanket given to foals. It was very generous of her, and all she wanted from me was a decent conversation.

I came back out of the alley, she was there, waiting patiently for me. “It look good?”

She chuckled, “good enough.”

We went down towards the port again, the moon as high as it would ever be tonight. It was nice out, and here I was, spending a beautiful end with a mare I knew nothing about.

“So… uhh…” I began, trying my best to just to talk more than my recent genericness. “What’s your name by the way?”

“My name? Oh, I didn’t realize it never came up before, I’m Stargazer. You’ll be wanting to know some of the others before you get aboard, the captain’s name is Serenade, he’s a musician when he gets into his quarters, not bad at it either. The cook’s name is Kuil, she’s a griffin, but don’t worry, she doesn’t eat any meat. Let’s see… who else? Ah, you’ll meet the most in due time, except for Blind Eyes, he’s up in the crows nest usually.” We were right down the street from the presumed ship.

“They gonna be fine with me just showing up in the bunks?” I asked, nervously.

“Yea, happens about every time we dock at a city. Ain’t much use getting close to a few unless they in debt to the captain, most of the new ones leave first opportunity they get. It’s a little sad, the living isn’t bad at all.” We reached the plank of a ship, Stargazer turned and stopped me before we got on. There were a few ponies working on the deck, some mopping and some just standing about.

“This it?” I asked, unsure if I should be impressed or not.

“Yea, welcome aboard the Crucible!”

“The Crucible?” I understood it was the name, but it seemed a little weird.

“Or some sorts, it gets changed every now and then I can’t keep up. Damn Captain can’t keep his mind on anything. Anyways, I’m sure you’re tired, let me show you to the bunks.”

“Finally, I could use a good rest.” I followed her as she went towards a checkered palette. I helped her lift it up, even though she didn’t need help, I’m just odd like that I guess.

The palette lead down into a staircase, it was darker than The Shallow Mare, and Stargazer lead me to another staircase. It looked like a storage area, barrels all around and a few walls to separate into a few rooms, there was also a cell block at the end. It wasn’t half bad down here, she lead me around the stairs once more and showed me to a room with four bunks, all empty.

“Here you go, we’re setting sail early tomorrow so you better wake with the rest before you get thrown. Didn’t think you’d want company either so this should do until next dock. I shall see you later, Two Bits!” she went off, leaving me alone in a leaky room. I took one of the bottom bunks so the water wouldn’t drip onto me and tried to fall asleep as fast as I could. I was ready for tomorrow, I had to be.

Author's Note:

I took months to actually start this, months that I used to think and do other stories that I didn't promise. I know this isn't the best work ever, I feel I rushed the conversations, but I kept my promise in the end.

If you don't understand how it's Alt Universe, well, in truth it isn't. It's more what I think Equestria would've been like after it was founded by the tribes, but before Discord and the Princesses.

This was supposed to be a 1.5k prologue.

This was written while pandora was playing Secondhand Serenade.
DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD IT WAS TO MAKE THIS THE LEAST ROMANTIC WITH SECONDHAND SERENADE PLAYING!?
VERY
VERY
HARD

Comments

[TwizzleDragon]

Welp, let it begin.

[Chaos Eclipsed]

Doesn't seem rushed to me, plus the concept is good.

Though I have to wonder; is this going to be a classic 'something bad happens that forces character to save everyone and immediately get accepted despite differences' or shall you take a road less traveled? Either way, I'm looking forward to it.

[TwizzleDragon]

3310404
you mean like the kracken comes forth and he uses his wings to fly into it and kill it, making the crew love him kind of thing?
Nope.
I'm excited to get into this more too :D