Gallant Topsail has always dreamed of becoming the captain of his own ship. However, his dreams seem to be far from reality as he is merely a cabin boy, but something unecxpected may change that all.
Gallant Topsail has dreamed of becoming the captain of a ship ever since he was a colt. When he became of age, he hastily enlisted in the Equestrian Royal Navy. He is currently stationed aboard one of the finest ships in the Equestrian fleet, the ERS(Equestrian Royal Ship) Resplendent. However, his dream of a captaincy is far from becoming reality, he is merely a cabin boy. Just as Gallant begins to loose hope in the possibility of attaining his ultimate goal, something happens that will change his life forever.
The clacking of small hooves hurried down the streets of the small port town of Caballito towards the harbor. The ringing of the harbor master's bell signaled one thing and one thing only, the arrival of the navy. The young colt Gallant Topsail knew that all too well. He hurried toward the harbor with curiosity flaring through his energetic young mind. His friend Flareluck, and his younger brother Royal Topsail were in tow. 'What kind of ship will it be this time," Gallant called out to his companions, "will it be a schooner, a trade galleon, maybe even a war frigate?" "You're dreaming if you think it's something as big as a frigate!" Flareluck taunted. Royal was confused, "What's a frigate?" Gallant ignored his brother's question, "Could you imagine Flare, a Royal Navy Warship in our harbor, in Caballito?"
Caballito was a small town that dotted one of the many islands throughout the Eternal Strait. As such, it was a busy port and trade post where many a tired and weary sailor would stop for rest on their voyages from Equestria to Ciervias, or perhaps even as far reaching as the Griffin Empire, or Zebrica. The thoughts of venturing out into the endless blue expanse, discover new worlds, and braving the rough ocean; this was what Gallant always dreamed of doing.
The three colts pushed their way through the busy streets, longing to catch site of the navy ship entering the harbor. A stack of boxes caught the Gallant's eye, leading him to climb to the rooftops, he'd give anything to see that harbor in full bloom. As he pulled his friends up, three towering masts caught his attention. "No, it couldn't be," He yelled out in excitement, "there's only one type of ship out there whose masts would reach this tall, it has to be a..." Gallant couldn't finish his sentence, sitting there in the harbor of their small town, was a gigantic ship-of-the-line. Flying atop the main mast was the flag of the Equestrian Empire. "I never thought I'd see one in person." Flareluck gawked. Royal pointed at the warship, "That's a big boat." "Ship, Royal," Gallant placed a hoof on his brother's shoulder, "that is a ship." Royal arched a brow in curiosity, "What's the difference?" "Well, a boat is something you sail on in the water, right?" Gallant questioned. His brother nodded in response to him. "Well a ship is like a boat, but on a much grander scale." Gallant threw his arms out to express his point. His brother only scratched his head, "But when does a boat become a ship?" Gallant smiled at his brother, "I'll let you decide that one," Gallant looked back at the warship, "I've decided something too." The two other colts looked at him with curiosity. "I'm going to enlist in the navy." "What," Flareluck yelled out, "you're gonna join the navy?" Gallant didn't respond, he kept staring at the ship-of-the-line moored in the harbor. "Well fine then, so am I." Gallant could only smile at his friend's brash thinking, "Then it's settled, we'll enlist together. It may still be some time from now until we come of age, but I'll keep my promise if you will." He held his hoof out to his friend. Flareluck didn't say a word in response, he bumped Gallant's hoof, and the deal was sealed.
Gallant Topsail leaned against the railing of the ERS Resplendent, a first rate ship-of-the-line of 100 guns. The Resplendent was the largest, most powerful ship in the Equestrian Navy, and he was stationed aboard it. Unfortunately he held the time-honored position of cabin boy. The dreams he'd had as a child were nothing like this, fighting the ocean, breathing the salty air, feeling the sea against your face as you sailed to your destination. Instead, it was swab the decks, tie off mooring lines, secure the cargo, bring the captain his supper. Put simply, it was tartarus. However, one thought always plagued his mind more than anything else, where was Flareluck. They had enlisted together, with utmost confidence that they'd be stationed aboard the same ship, but when Gallant arrived aboard, he was no where to be found.
That was nearly a year ago, and the memory hasn't faded in the slightest. Gallant constantly wondered where his best friend was. Was he aboard another ship? Was he a higher rank than Gallant? Was he even alive? He had no idea, and not knowing drove him crazy. Unfortunately it's not like he could go anywhere, he was essentially trapped within a wooden prison. This was not what he'd dreamed of, not what he'd promised to do with himself. What was he doing here? Gallant figured it best to put his thoughts away now, and he timed it perfectly as one of the ship's officers trotted up to him. "You, cabin boy," The officer pointed towards him, "Captain Mainsail would like to speak to you." Gallant eyed the officer with confusion, "The captain wanted to speak to me?" The officer grunted, "Yeah, he did, now move it. He's not a patient man." "Aye, sir." Gallant trotted off towards the rear cabin. What could the captain possibly want with him. His nervousness began to peak as he approached the door of the cabin. The stallion lifted his hoof, and rapped on the door twice. A gruff voice called back, "Enter!" The young stallion poked his head in, "You wanted to see me sir?" Staring out of the captain's quarter windows was a tall, dark grey stallion. He wore a long coat, with a captain's insignia sewn upon the back. His greying mane was moderately disheveled, indicating that he'd been awake for some time. He turned towards the cabin boy, eyeballing him from hoof to mane. "That I did boy," Mainsail stated in his rough, coarse voice, "I called you here for a very important reason." Gallant's ears perked at the statement, "And what reason would that be sir?" "Simple, I'm promoting you." Mainsail trotted over to a table with a bottle of whiskey atop it. He poured himself a drink. "Do you have a problem with my promoting you?" The stallion shook his head furiously, "No sir, of course not sir. I'm just curious, what did I do to warrant a promotion?" The captain chuckled to himself, "Simple, you work." Gallant's cocked a brow in confusion. The captain put down the glass he poured as he noticed the stallion's curiosity. "Perhaps I should explain more, you hate the work you're doing don't you." Gallant spoke before he could think, "Yes I do." When he realized his blunder, he covered his mouth with a hoof. Mainsail only burst out laughing. His laughs bellowed throughout the cabin. "It's alright kid, if I punished everyone for honesty then no one would want to sail under me," Mainsail smiled a big, wide smile at Gallant as he spoke. "so, as I was saying; you hate the work you do, but you still do it. Not only that, but you do it well. Most cabin boys slack off all the time, or ignore orders all to together. I should know, I was one once." Gallant couldn't help but interrupt, "You were a cabin boy sir?" Mainsail glared at him in irritation for interrupting him, "Yes, I was. I worked my way from cabin boy to captain, and don't think for a second that it was easy," The captain downed his drink after finishing that thought, it was obvious that he too hated cabin boy's work, "you remind me a lot of myself you know?" "I do?" Gallant looked up at the captain. "Yes, I was exactly the same as you at your age," The captain smirked at his reminiscence, "so I've decided to give you a chance." Gallant looked up in expectation. "I'm naming you my squire." Another look of confusion snapped onto Gallant's face, "Doesn't squire mean assistant sir?" "Yes it does," Mainsail nodded, "you'll do everything I ask of you, take care of cleaning the cabin, bring meals, the average sort of chores. However, I'll also personally train you in combat, as well as in leadership. If you're patient, and listen to everything I tell you, and do the other duties implied as a squire, then I'll recommend you for promotion." A look of joy swept across Gallant, "Really sir?" The old captain merely nodded in response. "Aye sir, I accept my new responsibilities, sir." The captain placed his hooves together, "Good, you start tomorrow, get some rest." The cabin boy turned squire saluted, "Aye, sir!" As he left the captain's quarters, he started thinking to himself, he was finally going to get somewhere aboard the ship.
Gallant's mind raced in his sleep. What would his training entail? He pondered the thought for what seemed like an eternity. His dreams were interrupted by the sound of whistling coming from the lower bunk. "Oy," whispered Gallant, "stow it, I'm trying to get some sleep up here." "Sorry," a hushed voice called back, "I can't sleep." Gallant rolled over the side of his bunk to get a look at who the voice belonged to. His lower bunk mate was a dark green unicorn. "I've never seen you before," Gallant eyed the unicorn as he spoke, "Name's Gallant Topsail, I'm a cabin boy. Who might you be?" "I'm Carronade. I'm a gunner." The unicorn placed a hoof on his chest to implicate himself. Gallant held out a hoof to the unicorn, "Nice to meet ya Carronade, here's hoping we can get along as bunk mates." Carronade looked at Gallant's hoof for a moment, then extended his own, "Yeah, let's." Gallant then rolled back over onto his bunk, and tried to resume sleeping, but he was soon disturbed again. "Hey Gallant." Carronade whispered. "Yeah, what is it?" Gallant whispered back, he no longer minded being kept from sleep, he was wide awake anyway. "You said you were a cabin boy right?" The unicorn pondered. Gallant wondered where the sudden curiosity came from, "Aye, that I did." The unicorn took a minute to formulate his next question, "Then why is it that when you first came in here, you were talking to yourself about some special training or something?" "Oh, right, I forgot," Gallant's memory suddenly snapped to, "I just got promoted to Captain Mainsail's squire." There was a sudden thud as the unicorn jumped up in surprise and banged his head on Gallant's bunk. He looked at the unicorn with worry, "Hey uh, are you okay?" Carronade rubbed his forehead vigorously, "Yeah, I'm fine. But do you really mean to tell me that you, a cabin boy, has been made Captain Mainsail's squire?" Gallant nodded in response.
Before either of them could continue their conversation, the sound of the ship's alarm bell echoed throughout the decks. The officer's could be heard shouting orders to the crewmen. Suddenly, their bunk was flooded in light as the quartermaster entered carrying a large lantern. "All of you worthless sea ponies get up," He yelled at the top of his lungs, "we're sailing into a storm, make ready to battle the swells!" The crew sprung into action as the quartermaster continues barking orders. He then turned to Gallant, "You, the captain wants you at the helm, now!" Gallant hurried past him, "Aye sir!" He left Carronade to his duties. In a storm, the gunners were to tie down the guns so the swells didn't move them about the deck. Being a unicorn helped him in his task, within minutes all one hundred guns were safely tied down. On the main deck, the rest of the crew was doing much of the same, the unicorns and earth ponies tied off cargo to keep it tossing about on the deck. Meanwhile, pegasi flew up the masts and ensure all the sails were secured properly. Gallant trundled up towards the helm, having to brace himself every few steps as the rough swells battered the Resplendent mercilessly. As he approached the helm, he noticed Captain Mainsail had taken control personally, steering the ship into the oncoming swells to reduce the assault on the ship as much as possible. It was obvious that he had some experience in sailing through storms like this. "Ah lad, good to see ya made it!" The Captain yelled. "Aye sir," Gallant called out in response, "but what is it I'm doing here?" "Watching," Mainsail stated, "pegasi, furl up the sails! Let the sea take us where it will!" At his order, the pegasi crew members furled up and tied off the sails as quickly as they could, letting the swells guide the Resplendent. Gallant watched every move the captain made, and every order the captain gave with great intensity. The captain seemed so sure in every order that he gave, and the crew obeyed without question, that is how much they trusted him. Gallant could only hope that he could have a crew that would place that much trust in him as well one day. His daydreaming came at the worst time, there was a sudden crashing sound as a massive rogue wave collided with the Resplendent's starboard side. It bucked the ship around, nearly tipping her over. Gallant was thrown from his position, and collided with the helm's railing. His vision blackened as he crashed into the railing, leaving him unconscious.
Light slowly started to enter back into Gallant's vision as his eyes drew open. Some of the crew, including Carronade were standing over him. "Oh thank Celestia." Carronade let out an exasperated sigh. Gallant slowly pulled himself up into a sitting position, "How long was I out for?" "Quite some time," the gruff voice of the captain called out from behind him, "thought for a while there you may be dead." The captain chuckled as he finished his thought. Gallant looked around, the sky was bright and blue, the sea was calm, and they were in moderately shallow waters. The Resplendent was anchored of the coast of a small deserted island, which some of the crew had taken leave to in order to relax their hooves. Gallant's head then dropped in disappointment. Mainsail looked at his expression, "What's the matter?" "I missed it." Gallant huffed, looking at the deck. Mainsail cocked a brow, "Missed what?" He raised his head and looked the captain in the eyes, "I missed the ship clearing the storm. I wanted to see that more than anything, but I messed up, and nearly got myself killed in the process." "Aye, ya did." The captain nodded. The crew who were standing around them looked at Mainsail in surprise. The captain only laughed in response. "Were you expecting pity, well you're not gonna get it from me. I've had far too many men fall prey to exactly what you almost did. Make no mistakes boy, the sea is cruel. If you take your eyes off her for one second, you're a dead man. If you want to captain your own tub someday, you best remember that. Got it?" A look of determination swept across Gallant's face, "Aye sir, I understand. I won't fail you again." "Good," Mainsail turned towards the small island, "now let's retire to that little sandlot. We could all use a bit of rest."
The calm sea was nearly soundless around the small speck of an island. The crew of the Resplendent had decided to take a days rest, and put some solid land under their hooves for once. Captain Mainsail couldn't help but agree, after all, even the saltiest of sea ponies need to take a short hiatus every now and then. Gallant however, couldn't relax. His mind held onto the word that the captain spoke to him before they landed. He'd never thought of the sea as cruel, what pony in their right mind would want to sail the sea if it was constantly trying to kill them. "Gallant, hey Gallant," Carronade called out to him, "quit your daydreaming and come join us!" The unicorn was standing by a group of his fellow crewmen at the shore. Gallant pulled himself up, and trotted over to them. "What are you guys doing?" Gallant asked. Carronade pointed out into the shallows, "The captain's doing some spearfishing." The group stood and watched Mainsail as he waded into the shallow water, a spear in his mouth. They all watched in silence as he stood in the water, the light tide sweeping in and out of the shore. The tension seemed to be on the edge of a knife, and Gallant could barely contain himself. He wanted to say something to break it. Suddenly the spear flew from the captain's grasp and into the water, Mainsail triumphantly lifted the spear out of the water, with a large fish on the end of it. Mainsail turned towards the crew with a big smile plastered across his face, "We're eating good tonight boys!" All at once the crew broke into a flurry of cheers and hollers. The only thing Gallant seemed to notice was the captain's smile, it was bigger than . Well, he really shouldn't be surprised by it. The captain's still a normal pony underneath his rank, but for some reason Gallant was surprised.
That night, the crew lit a bonfire. Mainsail had caught a few more fish for the crew to eat, and broke out a barrel of beer from the ship's cargo hold for them to drink. Gallant was having a good time drinking with the rest of the crew, but every now and then he'd glance over at where the captain was sitting and notice something else out of the ordinary for him. He'd be telling a joke to his crewmen, dancing like a buffoon around the fire, he even convinced the crew to break out into song at one point. "So I take it the captain's behavior intrigues you?" Carronade pondered. "Actually yes, it does," Gallant answered, "you've been aboard the Resplendent far longer then I have. Is the captain always like this?" Carronade shook his head, "Put bluntly, no. The captain is as serious as they come while out at sea. However, the captain's motto is that when you're on land you need to relax and take a load off. Anyone who's been on the crew long enough has come to understand this and has gotten used to it." Gallant wasn't sure if he could, especially considering what the captain had told him earlier. "Oy, you two have heard some of the legends about the captain right?" A crew member piped in. "Ya," announced another, "like that he once sunk three pirate vessels crewing the ship all by his lonesome." "Or that Princess Celestia personally promoted him to captain, nopony gets promoted by the princess herself." Said the other. Carronade decided to chime in, "I heard that he once made a group wanted pirates surrender their vessel just by staring at them." "You know what else legends say," Another voice called out, "they say that there are monsters beneath the sea that are so large the they can swallow ships whole, or that islands exist where gold grows on trees, or that mystical artifacts exist that bring eternal life to their possessors." Gallant looked where the voice came from, it was the captain. "I was told some of those stories when I was a colt sir." Carronade told the captain. Mainsail's expression grew serious, "That's all legends are boy, stories. You'd do best not to think too much of them."
The next morning the Resplendent set sail once more. Gallant wondered what made the captain say that last night, it seemed like most of the crew were surprised by his reaction. Did the captain not like his past being brought up? He thought it would be best not to think too much into it, as he wanted to follow the captain's advice. Ever since yesterday, Gallant's new position was either at the helm of the ship, or in the captain's quarters. Mainsail surprisingly didn't ask him to do much, he mostly just wanted him to listen to how he commanded the ship. He often pulled Gallant aside to give him advice on how to treat the crew, or how to act in certain situations. "You never want to give your orders with anger." He told Gallant. "Sir?" Gallant asked. "You need to be loud, and forceful, but never angry," Mainsail nodded in assurance of his point, "if you're angry, the crew may falter because they feel you're loosing your cool. This is mostly evident in battle, which is expected to happen as a captain in the navy." Gallant found himself learning very quickly. He still had no idea how Mainsail could command such respect and admiration from the crew, he didn't even know why he admired him so much. As the Resplendent glided over the small swells of a calm sea, Gallant couldn't help but feel at ease. He was finally living the life of a sailor that he'd wanted to, at least he was starting to.
A seemingly uneventful week passed. The Resplendent stopped for supplies at Hispantlerla, and was now headed to Horseshoe Island. They didn't know why, the captain didn't tell them anything of their missions unless they needed to know. Out on deck, Gallant was daydreaming when he heard the captain call out to him. "Heads up!" His gruff voice came from his right. Gallant quickly turned in time to catch the wooden cutlass that Mainsail had thrown to him. "What's this for captain?" Gallant asked. "Simple," Mainsail started, "you're training to become a captain, so you need combat training." Gallant looked down at the sword, even though it was fake, he was still nervous about holding it. He looked up at the captain as he was lifted the sword into his mouth. Before Gallant could utter a word, Mainsail readied and charged him. Gallant swung at Mainsail, but he ducked the attack and used the back end of his sword to flip Gallant's legs out from under him. He collided hard with the deck, wincing in pain. Gallant could tell that this was going to be tough on him, and it was. Even though he couldn't use magic to manipulate his weapon, Mainsail moved so fast that it wasn't a problem. At first, Gallant could do nothing to stop the captain's onslaught, but after an hour or so, he managed to parry a few of his attacks. Gallant learned that by placing his weight on the edges of his hooves that he could move easier, and eventually found himself putting up a fight against the captain. He got cocky, and decided to go in for an attack. Mainsail quickly ducked out of the way, spun on his hooves, and kicked Gallant's legs out from under him again. "Right, were done for the day." Mainsail picked up Gallant's sword without a hint of lost breath. "Right...you know...a little advice...would have been good." Gallant panted, struggling to catch his breath. "Don't kid yourself boy," Mainsail said matter-of-factually, "advice does nothing for you in swordplay. The only way you learn is through physical practice. I'm not gonna give you any pointers in combat, you have to learn for yourself. That is the only way you will become a great swordsman." He turned to walk away, when suddenly a lookout yelled down, "Captain! Ships spotted off the starboard bow!"
Mainsail trotted to the starboard side of the ship. Three ships were on an intercept course with the Resplendent. He turned towards the lookout. "What kind of ships are they, and whose flag do they fly?" He called out. After a moment, the lookout responded, "Three brigantines sir, they're flying no flags." "Stand fast men, arm yourselves and make ready the guns!" The captain yelled to the crew. The alarm bell sounded, and the crew instinctively sprung into action. The unicorn crew members prepped the guns with lightning fast pace. Sponging, loading, ramming, and charging in a manner of seconds. Gallant had never seen a crew move so fast before, but he didn't have time to watch, he was apart of the crew as well, and had to help. "Gallant!" Mainsail called out to him. "Sir?" Gallant awaited his orders expectantly. "Go to the armory, bring me a real blade, and arm yourself while you're down there," The embattled old captain looked towards the three brigs on course with narrowed eyes, "we're outnumbered here, and we can expect to be boarded." "Aye sir." With that, Gallant ran off towards the armory. His heart raced, and his nervousness peaked. He'd never been in a battle before, and he didn't know if he could handle it. As he reached the main deck, he noticed the three brigantines were splitting off from their formation. The two on either side turned away from the Resplendent in a flanking maneuver, while the middle ship held its course straight towards them. "Hard to port," Mainsail yelled, "get the mid ship in range of our broadside!" The helmsman cranked the wheel hard, and the hulking Resplendent turned so the starboard guns lined up with the oncoming brig. "Fire!" As the captain yelled, a loud thundering crack echoed across the sea as the Resplendent's gun crew unleashed an iron storm of round shot upon the oncoming ship. Their accuracy was frightening, as the bow of the mid ship splintered and cracked from the abuse. It began to sink rather quickly. There was a second crack of cannon fire, this time however it was from one of the brigantines. The ship that was initially on their starboard side was now facing the stern of the Resplendent. Windows shattered and wood splintered as the enemy's broadside hit, but overall the ship was relatively undamaged from the shots. "Turn to starboard, get the brig in our range!" Mainsail pointed a hoof at the bring that was in front of them. The Resplendent wheeled to the right, getting its port side guns in range of the brig. As they did so, the opposing brig fired it port side guns towards them. This one had more of an effect, striking all across the main deck, cries echoed out across the deck as both crew and ship were struck by round shot. However, the Resplendent was now in range to fire. "Fire!" Mainsail yelled. The port side of the brigantine was punched open by round shot. Suddenly, the ship exploded, sending debris flying in all directions. A lucky shot appeared to have struck the powder storage. "Right," The captain called out to the helmsman, "get us in range of that third ship!" "Captain, to starboard!" The lookout yelled. Mainsail's eyes widened as he turned towards the starboard side on the Resplendent, "Brace for impact!" The third brigantine had entered a collision course with the Resplendent. As the ships collided, their hulls cracked and creaked in agony. Before the crew could get their wits about them, the crew of the brig began to leap from the bow of their ship, and onto the main deck of the Resplendent. "Swords!" Mainsail barked out the order as Gallant ran up to him. Mainsail grabbed the hilt of his cutlass, a look of blood lust in his eyes. "Sir?" Gallant asked worriedly. "Just stick with me boy!" Mainsail ran towards the oncoming foes.
Gallant was astounded at how many crew were aboard this small brigantine. There was no way that this attack was a coincidence, it had to have been planned. He didn't have much time to think as an enemy charged up to him, yelling in anger with every step. Gallant sidestepped his aggressor's enraged swing, and stuck him in the side with his blade. It was the first time he'd ever killed someone, and he barely had time to think about it was more came to attack him. He'd never experienced this type of adrenaline rush before. His body was moving instinctively, dodging and parrying attacks, then striking his enemies without a second thought of what he was doing. Gallant knew he couldn't think about what he was doing, if he did, he may hesitate, and his enemies would be the ones killing him. He heard a battle cry echo out from behind him, as he turned, he say a bulky stallion with his cutlass raised to strike him. Gallant froze, his body didn't know what to do. For a moment he knew he was about to die. Suddenly, the crack of gunfire shot past him and struck the stallion in the chest. Gallant turned towards the source of the gunfire. Carronade stood about ten feet away from him, a smoking pistol being levitated by his magic. "Keep your eyes out, ey Gallant?" The unicorn called out as he turned towards other attackers.
Gallant was still frozen, he couldn't believe he was about to die there. His mind told his legs to move, but they wouldn't respond. Four ponies ran toward him from all sides, swords raised to attack. Gallant's mind yelled at his legs to move, but they still stood there, frozen in shock. As the four attackers drew close, he snapped back into reality. Just as he was about to dive out of the way, something pushed him to the ground. Gallant looked up to see a dark grey mass standing there, with four blades piercing his body, the familiar coat with a captain's insignia was stained red. "Captain!" Gallant cried out. Mainsail looked down at Gallant, "What did I tell you would happen if you took your eyes off her?" The captain had a determined smile across his face. "We got him," one of the attackers yelled out, "we got the captain!" "Did ya now?" The captain's smile widened, his eyes took on a demonic look, "I think not." The attacker turned in time to see Mainsail grab Gallant's cutlass, and spin in a grey blur, cutting down all four attackers in one swing. "Captain?" Gallant looked at Mainsail's injuries, the blades were still in his body. Mainsail turned towards the rest of the opposing crew, "Anyone else who wants to try an' get me, have at it!" The captain then grabbed the cutlass and ran towards the remaining enemies at full gallop. The entire group charged Mainsail with swords raised. The old captain, sword still held firmly in his mouth, grabbed the hilt of one of the blades that had pierced him, and pulled it out. As they met, a flurry of cries of agony and the sounds of blades hitting their marks echoed across the deck. In moments it was over. Mainsail stood there, enemies strewn at his hooves, breathing heavily. The battle was over.
Mainsail dropped the swords and toppled to the deck. "Captain!" Gallant cried out as he ran to his side. Mainsail looked around at the remnants of the battle, "How many casualties did we sustain?" Carronade slowly trotted up to them, "About twenty percent of the crew are dead sir, most of us are still injured in some way." "Damn it all," The captain huffed, "and the officers?" "All dead," Carronade shook his head, "it seems they were targeting all officers of any rank aboard the ship sir." "Well, there's one thing they didn't take into account." Mainsail looked at Gallant and smiled. "What, no sir, I can't." Gallant shook his head furiously. "You have to," Mainsail grabbed Gallant by the scruff of his neck and pulled him close, "these men need a leader. Right now, you're the only one of any position to get them back to port safely. I don't have long now, so do as I say." "Don't say so captain. We... we can get you help at the nearest port." Gallant knew he sounded foolish, but he didn't want to believe it. Mainsail tried to laugh, but it just came out as a flurry of coughs, "Now boy, you don't seriously believe that do you?" Gallant's head fell, tears beginning to well up in his eyes, "No sir, no sir I don't." "I figured as much," Mainsail's breathing became steady, it would happen anytime now, so he knew what had to be done, "look at me boy." "Yes sir?" Gallant looked his captain in the eyes. "In the name of the empire, and under Celestia's light. I hereby promote you to the rank of captain of the equestrian royal ship Resplendent, until you are relieved by a commanding officer, or the princess herself." Mainsail struggled to pull his coat off, and held it out to Gallant. Hoof shaking, Gallant took the captain's coat, and flung in onto his back. Mainsail's hoof slowly fell, and the crew stood in silence as the captain drew his final breath.
For nearly a minute no one moved. They frankly couldn't believe it, their captain had died in front of their eyes, and now some whelp had been asked to take his place. Suddenly, a crewman's voice called out from behind them, "Oy, I got a live one over here!" Gallant wheeled around to see a fairly young stallion from the enemy crew, laying against the opposite railing of the deck, clutching a gunshot wound to his shoulder. He trotted over to the stallion, a look of anger flooded his eyes. "What's your name sailor?" Gallant spoke flatly. "Bite me, that's my name." The sailor coughed. "You know, I don't even need to know your name. I do however need to know who hired you. So I suggest you get talkative quickly." A twinge of anger entered into Gallant's voice. "What makes you think I was working for someone you military dog?" This time the sailor spit at Gallant's hoof. "Because you're a privateer. You wouldn't attack a military vessel unless someone paid you to, now who was it?" Gallant was losing patience with him. "I won't tell you a thing." The sailor huffed. Without hesitation Gallant hauled off and kicked the sailor as hard as he could where he was clutching his wound. The sailor cried out in agony. "I highly doubt that you won't talk. I can think of much worse things to do to you than that, unless of course you tell me who hired you!" Gallant was past the breaking point. "Alright," The sailor held out his hooves in despair, "it was the Ciervans. They hired a bunch of privateers to attack Equestria's strongest vessels." "Why?" Gallant got up in the sailor's face. "I don't know. Some deer named Ardid told my captain the Ciervan Empire would pay lavishly for us to sink the Resplendent and kill her captain" The sailor cowered at Gallant's new found intimidation. Carronade walked up to the him, "Perhaps they want war? The Ciervans have always tailed Equestria in naval strength. This may be their way of evening the playing field." "Perhaps, but we can't just trust what he says without more solid proof." Gallant turned towards the sailor, then towards Carronade. "Gallant?" Carronade asked worriedly. "Your pistol Carronade." He extended his hoof. A panicked look hit the sailor's face, "What? But I told you everything I know." As Carronade handed him the pistol, Gallant turned to the sailor, "Aye you did, but I said nothing about letting you live." He pointed the pistol at the sailor and fired.
As the battered ERS Resplendent sailed away from the remnants of the battle, Carronade stared at Gallant. The look in his eyes as he shot that sailor, he couldn't quite put his hoof on it, but he knew it wasn't good. Gallant noticed the unicorn staring at him, "Is there a problem Carronade?" "No sir, it's just..." Carronade hesitated. "It's just what?" Gallant asked flatly. "Nothing, it's not my place to question your methods, captain." Carronade looked at his hooves. "Carronade, look at me," Gallant placed a hoof on his shoulder "not only are we sailors on the same ship, but you're my friend. If you have a problem with something I've done then by all means tell me. Carronade contemplated holding back, but he managed to eek it out, "Why did you kill him?" "Why," Gallant sounded surprised, "we have enough problems without having to care for a wounded enemy." "I know that, but did you have to shoot him?" Carronade knew his question sounded stupid, but he wanted to hear Gallant's explanation. "Put bluntly, no I didn't. I could've marooned him on some deserted island, or dumped him in the sea perhaps. In which case he would've still died, only much slower." Gallant's explanation was emotionless, and blunt. Carronade could only nod in response. He began to slowly trot away, but another question suddenly entered his mind. "Captain, what are you going to do about the information?" A hint of urgency entered the unicorn's voice. Gallant winced at being called captain, but turned to answer, "We must report the news to the princess immediately. If the Ciervans do indeed plan on going to war with Equestria, she must be alerted to the news so preparations can be made. We must make for the mainland as soon as we can."
That was easier said than done, the ship was damaged from the battle, the crew sustained heavy losses, and their captain was dead. What's worse, Gallant didn't think of himself as a captain, he knew he wasn't. Just because Mainsail said he was captain didn't mean the crew would listen to him. To them, he was some impudent cabin boy who suddenly became too big for his britches. Even so, the captain gave him a mission, to get the ship back to port safely, and that's what he was going to do.
The nearest port to them was the city of Casco, on the island of Hispantlerla. There, they could contract a local shipwright to conduct repairs on the Resplendent. The crew could also use the time to recover from the battle. As they moored themselves off the coast, Gallant decided now was the time to speak to them. "Everyone listen up," He called out from the helm, slowly the crew turned to face him, "I know right now that you think I'm not fit to be your captain. To be honest, neither do I. Even so, Captain Mainsail entrusted me with both yours and the ships safe return to Equestria. As such, swear upon my name, and my life, that I will see it through. When we return you are welcome to no longer see me as your captain. I very much understand your reasoning, but until then, I ask that you at least lend me your ear when I ask something of you." One of the crew decided to speak up," Why should we listen to what you have to say?" Gallant couldn't help but sympathize, but retaliated anyway, "Because if not me, then who?" The crew looked around at each other, expecting someone to step forward, but no one spoke up. Knowing he'd made his point Gallant turned away, and walked towards the stern of the ship. After a minute, Carronade trotted up next to him, he leaned on the railing next to him. "How do you think that went?" Gallant asked. "Pretty good considering," Carronade nodded, "they'll probably listen to you now. They don't respect you, but they'll listen." "That's a start, I suppose." Gallant shrugged.
Gallant personally didn't want to go ashore, but it was his responsibility to get the Resplendent repaired, and Casco's shipwright was reportedly one of the best. The crew pulled themselves from the longboats onto the busy docks. Gallant was astounded by the sheer number of people out there. His home town of Caballito paled in comparison to the size of it all. As Gallant looked around with great curiosity, he noticed a dark red earth pony eying the crew, mouthing numbers off as though he was counting. Gallant turned away from him towards Carronade. "Carronade, we have a problem." Gallant whispered to him. "What is it?" A look of worry spread across his face. "I think they're here." He continued. "Who?" The unicorn asked. "Whoever wants us dead," Gallant wanted to yell, but controlled himself, "look over my shoulder. The dark red earth pony standing in the crowd, you see him." Carronade glanced over, he noticed the pony, and was careful not to make eye contact, "Yes, I see him." "He's counting how many crew are left, someone must have noticed that the Eqeustrian man o' war hasn't been sunk." Gallant looked over his shoulder at the red pony, who had just turned away and began to walk off. "Quickly, let's follow him" Carronade nodded, and the two trotted off in pursuit.
The two pushed and shoved their way through the crowded streets, careful not to draw too much attention to themselves, but not to loose sight of their target. The red pony ducked into an alleyway, and they followed him down it, but were careful to check and see if he hadn't turned around or stopped. The alley turned a corner, and ended behind a general store. There, the red pony stopped and began to speak to two deer. "I counted about 90 men." The red pony conveyed. "What, why so few? How could they have still sailed with so few crew members?" One of the deer began, he had a thick Ciervan accent. "Keep in mind, this is the Equestrians were talking about here, the unicorn crew members can man the guns alone, and the pegasi have flight. They don't need as many crew as we do." The other deer finished, the same accent evident in his voice. "Right, either way, thank you for the information. Tell your captain that he is to storm the ship, and eliminate the remaining crew. We can't take any chances, even if there are so few crew left." The first deer ordered. "Right," The red pony began, "but what do I tell him about the captain?" "What, you mean Mainsail is still alive?" The second deer interrupted. "No. Mainsail wasn't with them, the captain is some stallion that didn't match his description." The pony answered. "Interesting." The second deer started to think. "What's on your mind Ardid?" The first deer questioned. Ardid pondered in thought for a moment, "I believe this means Mainsail is dead. Their morale must be destroyed, so now is the perfect time to strike. Don't you agree Gamberro?" Gamberro nodded in agreement, "Yes, I believe so. You," He pointed towards the red pony, "tell your captain we are storming the ship tonight at midnight." "Right, and their captain?" The red pony asked. Ardid waved his hoof dismissively, "He is no threat, clearly just some fool they promoted after Mainsail died." With that, the red pony nodded and began to walk away, by that time, Gallant and Carronade had heard everything they needed to, and began to hurry towards the dock. "Did you hear that?" Carronade asked panicked. "Yes Carronade I did. It was the Ciervans after all. Did you hear that one's name, Ardid, just like that sailor said." Gallant huffed as he pushed his way through the crowd. "What do we do?" The unicorn managed to push his was up next to Gallant. "We need to warn the crew, and the repairs will have to wait." Gallant kept pushing.
Back at the docks, the crew were still unpacking the longboats. Gallant leaned into Carronade's ear. "Get everyone back in the longboats quietly, we need to get back aboard the ship." He whispered. Carronade nodded, and began ushering the crew back into the longboats. The crew huffed and grumbled, but listened. A few of them cursed under their breaths, for they clearly didn't like taking orders from Gallant. Back aboard the Resplendent, Gallant began to explain. "Everyone, there's a problem." He yelled. The crew looked around at one another, then back to Gallant. Clearly wanting an explanation. "What's the problem?" One finally piped up. "The Ciervans who planned the attack on us are here in Casco," The crew looked surprised at this, " they plan on raiding the ship tonight." "How are we supposed to believe that?" Someone yelled out. "Because," Carronade interrupted, "we followed someone who appeared to be counting how many of you lot there were. When we followed him, he met up with that Ardid fellow, and they talked about attacking us. I heard it with my own ears." Gallant nodded to Carronade, "They're going to attack us tonight at midnight. They think we aren't prepared for it, but we will be. Tonight, we're going to send a message to those damned Ciervans. That the crew of the ERS Resplendent is not going to fold over and sink into the sea. When they storm this ship, let's send em' to Tartarus with a storm of lead and steel. Now who's with me?" All at once, the crew called out, "Aye!"
At midnight, as planned, two small gunboats approached the massive Equestrian man o' war loaded with bloodthirsty mercenaries who were eager to get paid. Each ship's lamps were doused to help mask them in the night's cover. One gunboat approached from the starboard side, the other from the port side. There appeared to be dead silence aboard the Resplendent as the gunboats drew ever closer. Both of their crews were itching with excitement, drooling at the amount of gold that the Ciervans had promised to pay for this job. As they prepped the boarding hooks, and drew into the light of the Resplendent's lamps, a single voice called out from the main deck of the man o' war. "Fire!" As the voice echoed across the moonlit harbor, the thundering crack of the Resplendent's starboard broadside followed. The targeted gunboat erupted in a cloud of debris and crew members who had been thrown about by the force of the blast. The voice then came again, "Muskets at the ready," The remaining crew who hadn't manned the starboard guns leaned over the port side of the ship, taking aim at the remaining gunboat. "fire!" A hail of gunfire pelted the crew of the gunboat. In a panic, the ship attempted to turn away before they could be fired upon again, but they were too close to the man o' war. A single figured leapt from the deck of the warship onto the gunboat. The remaining mercenaries drew their swords, and turned them to the assailant. One of them stepped forward, "You're a brave one, but stupid. There's ten of us left, and only one of you." The figure's smile pierced the moonlight, "Sounds like good odds to me." As soon as he spoke, the mercs charged him at full force. In a blinding blur, the figure spun on his hooves, cutting down the remaining mercs in seconds. A familiar dark green unicorn looked over the port side of the Resplendent is surprise, "Where in the hay did you learn that one Gallant?" " I dunno Carronade, I just did it." Gallant looked down at his hooves in surprise, he had no idea how he just pulled that off. He'd simply jumped onto the ship in anger and determination not to let them escape. "Either way, that was a good plan, Captain." Carronade helped Gallant up over the railing as he spoke. "Aye, it was Captain." One of the crew acknowledged. A sea of nods and humbled ayes followed. "Thanks gents," Gallant looked around at the weary crew, "but we're not out of the fire yet. The ship is in no way sea worthy. We have to get her repaired. Tomorrow, I will go into town to contract the shipwright, while the rest of you will keep an eye out and guard the ship. I know that we all want some rest, but as of now, we are at war with Cierva." "Wait, if you're gone, who's going to command the ship?" Carronade asked. "You are." Gallant placed a hoof on Carronade's chest. "Sir, with all do respect..." Carronade began. Gallant cocked a brow in curiosity. "you've got it backwards. After the sun rises, and the Ciervans notice the Resplendent isn't sunken, they're going to get worried. Thus, they'll be on the lookout for anyone of the crew in town, namely you. So I'll go, and you stay on board." Gallant was about to protest, but some of the crew cut in, "He's right Captain. They probably know who you are." After a moment, Gallant gave in and nodded. "Right, but you can't go alone," He looked around at the crew, and eventually pointed to a pegasus standing amongst them, "what's your name sailor?" "Stark Tackline, sir." The pegasus responded. "You good with a blade?" Gallant asked. One of the crew piped up, "As good as any we've ever seen Captain." "Aye, he saved my life during the privateer attack." Said another. "Then that's all I need to hear, will you accompany my friend here ashore?" Gallant placed a hoof on Carronade shoulder in indication. "Aye sir." Stark nodded.
As the sun rose over the horizon the crew moved about the deck busily, prepping the guns in case of another attack. Carronade, Stark, and Gallant discussed their objectives at the helm. "All you need to do is get in contact with the shipwright, and contract them to repair the Resplendent. We need to get back to the mainland as quickly as possible in order to report this to the princess. If you can pick up any information on where Ardid is hiding while in town, then relay it to me." Gallant moved with a sense of urgency that he'd never felt before as he spoke. It felt quite unsettling to him. "Aye, I'll do that," Carronade looked toward Stark, "make ready our longboat." Stark nodded and trotted towards a group of crew members, ushering them to help. Gallant looked at the unicorn, "You looked puzzled, what's on your mind?" "It doesn't really matter, I was just curious..." Carronade began, but paused midway through to think. "Curious about what?" Gallant asked. "Why exactly did you choose him out of all the crew?" Carronade finished. "Because he looked the plainest." Gallant shrugged. Carronade was surprise by this, "That's it? That was your criteria for selecting my partner on this mission?" "Honestly," Gallant looked at Carronade, who expected him to continue, "yes it was. This operation must be carried out with discrepancy, if the Ciervans catch wind of our plans before they happen, then they gain an advantage over us. I chose Stark because he looks like he can blend into a crowd. Let's be honest here, most of us lot don't blend in at all." Carronade chuckled a bit, "You got that right, we'd be easy to pick out from a crowd, so I see your point." Carronade turned to Gallant, who was staring at him. Suddenly, it hit him, "No. You can't possibly think that I..." "Um, yeah, you kinda do." Gallant held back a laugh. "I do not look plain!" Carronade sounded hurt. "I'm not trying to insult you," Gallant fumbled for an explanation, "and no, you don't look plain. It's just that on first glance, you don't look like a sailor." Carronade looked at him expecting further explanation. "For instance, look at your mane, it's clean cut, your face is also shaven with no sign of facial hair growth at all. Your coat is clean, with no signs of wear. Then there's your hooves, clean and polished. It's obvious that you take care of your hygiene." "Well yes, everything I do is stated in the Equestrian Navy Code." Carronade looked around at the crew as he spoke, then towards Gallant. He noticed all the details Gallant brought up were exactly the opposite on himself as well as the crew, his black mane was messy, and overgrown, and he had the makings of a beard beginning on his face. His light brown coat was visibly dirty, and its color had worn slightly. His hooves were also dirty, and not polished at all. Understanding his point, Carronade looked toward Stark, who had just finished prepping the longboat. "We're ready to go sir." Stark called out. "Right," Gallant placed a hoof on Carronade's shoulder, "good luck friend." "Same to you Captain." Carronade trotted off towards the longboat. Gallant felt uneasy as Carronade and Stark climbed into the longboat, but they had no other choice. The fate of the ERS Resplendent and her crew, rest in the hooves of those two.
As they paddled towards the docks of Casco's harbor, Carronade couldn't help but wonder if this was a bad idea. It wasn't like an Equestrian ship-of-the-line was inconspicuous while anchored in a busy port. The Ciervans probably had informants everywhere in the city, and every merc on a payroll. If he asked someone about anything to do with Ardid or the Ciervan Empire, they'd probably report it back to them, and he'd be found out. "Hey, Carronade," His thoughts were interrupted as the orange pegasus prompted him, "you alright? You look like you're gonna be sick." "I'm fine Stark. I'm just a little nervous is all." Carronade examined the busy harbor as he answered. "That's a good thing you know." Stark huffed as he paddled the longboat towards the docks. "How so?" The unicorn cocked a brow in confusion. "Cause it means you're not stupid," Stark stated matter-of-factually, "we're in a perilous spot here Carronade. The Ciervan Empire wants war with Equestria, our government, and our armed forces know nothing of this, and we're deep within uncontrolled territory, hundreds of miles away from the mainland. If you aren't nervous right now, you'd have to be pretty damn deluded." "Yeah, I suppose you're right." Carronade wondered to himself as the longboat drew closer to the docks. "And one more thing..." The pegasus started. "What?" Carronade asked. "Why am I paddling when you're got magic?" Stark let go of the oars as he spoke. Carronade sighed and grasped them with his magic, and finished the journey to the docks. As the two ponies pulled themselves from the longboat, they looked around at the buildings, looking for any signs indicating the location of the shipwright. He spotted a small shop sporting a sign that said shipwright in Ciervan across the front. "I'll go talk to the shipwright," Carronade leaned in towards Stark to drown out the noise of the city, "you head to the tavern and see if you can find any information on Ardid." "Aye, we'll meet back at the longboat in an hour." Stark nodded as they made their plan. With that, Carronade trotted into the shipwright's small shop. Inside, a blue unicorn stood behind the counter. She was dusting off what appeared to be antiques from an old ship. "Hello my good sir, what can I help you with today?" She called out in a cheerful voice. "Um, well yes," Carronade hesitated for a second, his doubts came to the surface of his mind, "this is where the local shipwright works, isn't it?" The unicorn eyed him curiously, her cheerfulness vanished, "Aye, it is? Are you here to extort from me too?" "Extort from you," Carronade blurted out, "of course not. I'm here to hire you." Her eyes narrowed, "So you aren't navy then?" "Why does that matter?" Carronade was thrown off by the question. "Because," She hesitated to answer for a moment, but irritation forced her to continue, "it's those damned Ciervans. They come here and threaten me about taking contracts. I've lost nearly all of my business due to them scaring off local the local privateers and merchants." "Why would they do that?" The unicorn was genuinely surprised by this. "Because, I refused to swear fealty to them. I'm not going to bind myself to one client. They also wanted a majority of the revenue I received from jobs in return for what they called 'protection.' The Ciervans want all the local sailors to go to shipwrights who are in their pockets. Because I refused, they threatened myself, and all of my clientele." "I'm sorry to hear that ma'am." Carronade consoled. Her dwelling on the past was suddenly interrupted be her mind snapping back to the present, "You still haven't answered my question. Are you navy?" "Aye, I am." Carronade was about to explain, but a look of shock suddenly spread across the mare's face. Before he could say a word, she leapt over the counter, galloped toward him, grabbed him by the hoof and threw him over her shoulder. Her strength was frankly incredible. Carronade tumbled across the floor, and slammed the back of his head into the counter, blurring his vision. As it began to return, he heard the familiar click of a pistol loading. When his vision cleared, he could see the mare standing over him, with a pistol pointed directly at his forehead. She was shaking vigorously. "I can't believe I said all that stuff to you. The Ciervans have killed ponies for less." Her voice quivered as she spoke. "Wait, you don't understand," Carronade tried his best to stay calm, "I am navy, yes. But I am not Ciervan." "Who are you then?" Her shaking slowed, clearly his explanation was working. "I am with the Equestrian Royal Navy," Carronade continued, "look out the window there, you see that man o' war docked in the harbor? That is the ship I'm stationed on. The Ciervans tried twice to sink her, they killed many of my friends, and our captain. We desperately need to get back to the mainland and warn our leader of the Ciervan's treachery. You are the only one who can repair her and help us get home. I can't promise you gold, or safety, but I'm desperate. Please, can you help us?" The unicorn pondered not trusting him for a moment, but slowly, she lowered the pistol and sighed, "I'll help you on one condition." "Name it." Carronade's hesitation was gone. "Take me with you to Equestria," She could see the surprised look on Carronade's face as she named her condition, "I have nothing left here. I have no family, no friends, and my livelihood has been shattered by the Ciervans. My only condition is that you take me with you. In turn, I'll repair the ship to a state finer than she's ever been in. Do we have a deal?" As she finished, she held a hoof out to Carronade, who she still had pinned to the ground. He didn't see any other way to answer, "Aye, we do," he extended his own hoof to hers, "I still can't promise your safety, or pay for the job in fact." "That's fine, I just want out of here," She sighed in relief as she pulled him up, "I never got your name sailor?" "Carronade, yours?" He answered. "Keel," She placed a hoof on her chest in self identification, "Keel D'Elegance." As the two trotted out of the shop and towards the longboat, Stark galloped up towards them. "Carronade, we have a problem!" He yelled. "What, Stark what happened." Carronade noticed his coat was roughed up, and as he stopped, he clutched his right shoulder in pain. The pegasus looked at the ground in shame, then began to explain.
Stark pushed open the door of the tavern. Inside was packed with deer and ponies alike, all loud, all rowdy, and all drunk off their flanks. None of them would be useful for information, except maybe one pony, the bartender. As the orange pegasus sat at the bar, he motioned to the barkeep, "One cider, hard." "One hard cider comin' up." The barkeep began to pour a mug. As the mug filled, he turned toward Stark, "Here you go, you look like you got something on your mind bud. What's going on?" Stark knew now was his chance to get some information, "I'm looking for someone. Maybe you know him?" "I might, depends on who you're looking for." The barkeep leaned in close. "A fellow by the name of Ardid, you know him?" The pegasus asked quietly. "Aye, I know him. You'd best be careful not to say his name to loudly though." The barkeep warned. "Why, what's his name mean to these folk?" His curiosity had peaked. "Fear, that's what," The barkeep started cleaning out emptied glasses, "these folk fear him more than anything. So someone coming in looking for him can't be a good sign. At least that's what they think. Stark couldn't help but nod in agreement, "So, do you know where I can find him?" "Nope, not a clue," As the barkeep answered Stark's head fell, "but, I do know someone who does." "Really, who?" Stark's popped up. "A deer by the name of Canalla. He'll know where Ardid slithers off to." The barkeep finished cleaning glasses, and placed his hooves on the counter. "I can't thank you enough my good man," Stark hesitated for a moment, "but I must say, your attempt to keep me busy was a poor one." Stark looked over his shoulder to find that most of the tavern's patrons had left. Only about a dozen remained in their seats. At the same time, they all stood up, and began walking towards the bar. "I'm sorry lad, but if they found out that I told you all that and let you go they'd kill me." The barkeep walked out from behind the bar and towards the door. "It's no problem my good man. We gotta do what we gotta do to survive, isn't that right?" Stark pushed himself off of his seat, drawing his sword in the process. The attackers drew their swords, and charged at him. Stark quickly trotted backwards, and flung himself over the bar. The attackers stumbled at his unexpected move, and were not prepared when he flew out from behind the bar kicking a few of them down as he did so. He then flew out the door and into the street. The crowd outside gasped at the pegasus with his sword drawn, and were even more surprised as the now 8 remaining attackers chased him outside. "Really, four of you down with one kick. What do the Ciervans pay you for?" Stark taunted. In anger, one of them lunged at him, the pegasus sidestepped him, and smacked him with the hilt of his sword. He then turned and galloped off down the street, with his pursuers close behind. He looked at an upcoming building, which had wooden overhang out in front being supported by two beams, as he galloped past each beam, he bucked it and knocked it away. Before his chasers could react, the overhang collapsed on top of them. Stark took their grunts and moans as signs of defeat. As he was about to fly off, he noticed one of his attackers was still conscious, but pinned by the rubble. He slowly trotted up to him, placed his sword against his neck, and pressed lightly. Not enough to kill him, but enough to draw blood. "Tell me where Canalla is or I'll press harder." A serious look spread across Stark's face. "Okay, okay I'll tell you, just don't kill me." He pleaded. "Well get on with it!" Stark yelled. "Canalla lives on the plantation on the other side of the island. That's all I know I swear." His voice cracked as he desperately spilled out an answer. "Good, now if you or your friends tell anyone about this little encounter. I'm going to hunt you down and kill you all, got it?" The pinned pony nodded, and Stark quickly galloped off towards the harbor. Leaving the large crowd that had formed to watch the fight staring in stunned silence. As he galloped off towards the harbor, his mind raced. Even though he threatened them, he knew someone would tell the Ciervans, but most importantly, they now had a way of finding where Ardid was hiding. He didn't know if he could trust the bartender, or the pony who told him out of desperation, but it was all he had to go on. As he galloped at full speed towards the harbor, he noticed Carronade, and a dark blue unicorn trotting out of the shipwright shop. He called out to them, "Carronade, we have a problem!"
"You did what?" Gallant yelled out in surprise. "I'm sorry Captain, I let you and the crew down." Stark looked at the floor in depression. "It's not that," Gallant took a moment to steady his breathing, "it's that you decided to fight them. You could've been captured, or worse, you could've been killed." "I know it was a big risk sir, but I couldn't just run and let them report our whereabouts to the Ciervans." Stark reasoned. "Report our whereabouts," A look of shock hit Gallant's face, "there's an Equestrian man o' war docked in a Ciervan occupied town. They know exactly where we are. The reason I said to stay hidden was so you could contract the shipwright without your identity being given away. Now, the Ciervans know that we want to find Ardid, so he's probably going to flee the area." Stark nodded in sudden realization at his actual blunder, "I understand sir, I won't let it happen again." As Stark turned and trotted towards the cabin door, Gallant called out to him, "Thank you for bringing me the information on Canalla. We'd have no place to start without it." "Thank you, sir." Stark slowly trotted out of the cabin.
Stark nodded to Carronade and Keel that they could enter. The green unicorn nodded back, and trotted in. "I see you're settling in to your new position." Carronade looked around the cabin. "It may look that way, but it isn't close to reality," Gallant sighed, "I didn't want to make use of this cabin, but some of the crew insisted that I did so." "I suppose that means they're starting to respect you." Carronade sat at the large table in the middle of the room. "I suppose so, though I still personally have doubts," Gallant glanced at Keel, "I take it you're our shipwright?" "Aye, I am Keel D'Elegance. Casco's only shipwright who isn't in the Ciervan's pockets." She bowed as she introduced herself. "Well that's good to hear, because we just so happen to need one who isn't going to sell us out," Gallant walked over, took her hoof in his and kissed it, "I'm Gallant Topsail, cabin boy in the Equestrian Navy." "Cabin boy," Keel asked, sounding surprised, "then why did the pegasus call you captain?" "Because he is our captain, though he personally doesn't see himself that way." Carronade explained. "So you are the captain?" Keel sounded confused. "The captain of the ERS Resplendent is dead. With his last breath he tasked me with bringing the ship and her crew back to the mainland safely. When we get back, I'm going to resign captaincy of the ship over to someone more capable." Gallant's voice trailed off with the last few words. "What," Carronade gasped, "but Captain Mainsail said that..." "Captain Mainsail is dead," Gallant choked out, "he may have thought me capable enough to lead, but I don't. I have never commanded a ship in combat. I don't even know why he chose me, because I sure wouldn't." "What are you talking about? You came up with the plan to stop the raiders when we entered port." Gallant attempted to cheer him up, but it didn't work. "Oh, my plan to stop two gunboats full of undisciplined cutthroats? You mean that brilliant plan?" Anger began to build up in Gallant's voice, "Well let me ask you something Carronade, what happens when the Ciervans stop sending privateers to do their dirty work huh? What happens when they start sending heavily armed military vessels after us? What am I supposed to do then?" "I don't have an answer for that sir." Carronade spoke bluntly. "Well neither do I," The anger faded from Gallant's voice, and was replaced with worry, "and that's what frightens me the most. I don't know what to do in a real battle. Even when I wasn't the captain I had no idea. I nearly died twice in the first privateer attack. Both you and Mainsail had to save me, and t was my fault that he died..." The realization suddenly hit Gallant, he'd nearly forgotten. Carronade picked up on Gallant's sudden loss for words, "You stop right there Gallant!" He was surprised by his friend's sudden fervor. "You know damn well that it was no fault of your own that the captain died." His words were sure in his statement. "He gave his life to save mine, explain to me how it is not my fault." Gallant sounded equally sure. "He chose to jump in those blade's paths," Carronade pointed out, "no one but the captain himself made that decision." "Even so, I still feel responsible," Gallant placed his head in his hooves, "If I'd just jumped out of the way, he'd still be alive." "There's no point dwelling on that, it's in the past. You know what, maybe you're right. Maybe if you had jumped away, he'd have lived through that one instance, but who's to say he'd have still survived the battle. What happened, happened, and if you want to honor the captain's last wishes you'll take your head out of your flank and start acting like a captain!" The last sentence hit Gallant the hardest, he slowly picked his head up. "You're right," He looked Carronade in the eyes, "sorry about how I acted. I may have gotten a little venomous there with you." "Take no mind to it Captain, you're under a lot of pressure from everyone to succeed. Celestia knows how much pressure you've got on yourself." Carronade stood up as he finished, "Now if you'll excuse me, I'll go check on the crew." He trotted out of the cabin, leaving Gallant and Keel alone. "That's a good friend you got there." Keel motioned towards Carronade as she spoke. "Yes, that I do," Gallant smiled as he admitted so, "now, onto business. Let's discuss the ship's repairs." Yes, let's." Keel motioned for Gallant to join her on deck. The two looked over the damage to the Resplendent's hull thoroughly. The job would obviously be difficult given the lack of a dry dock, but Keel insisted that she could manage. "So keep in mind that we need this done with great haste." Gallant pointed out. "I'm aware of your predicament Captain Topsail." Keel teased, "The repairs should only take a day, give or take a few hours." "A day, it would take a whole work crew weeks to fix this type of damage." Gallant exclaimed. "Well, I'm no work crew. I'm Keel D'Elegance, and I can fix this in one day." She sounded extremely sure of herself. "Alright, I suppose it's better that way anyway." He shrugged. As he turned to check on the crew, Keel coughed to get his attention, "Now about my cabin arrangements..." She started. Gallant slowly turned back towards her in surprise, "Come again?" "My cabin, where will I be staying on the journey back to Equestria?" She asked. A fake smile plastered Gallant's face, "Why, one of the officer's quarters of course. Take your pick, they're all vacant." As he turned away, his smile turned to a scowl. The one question on him mind, where was Carronade?
"What is wrong with you?" Gallant and Carronade stood at the bow of the ship, he was clearly displeased with his friend's action. "She said she'd only help us if I agreed to take her with us," Carronade did his best to explain his position, "what choice did I have?" "What choice? You could have said no." Gallant put emphasis on the 'no.' "Then what? She's the only shipwright who the Ciervans haven't paid off." The unicorn countered. "Oh really," Gallant began, "how many places did you check?" Carronade rubbed the back of his neck in reservation, "Um, just hers." "M hm, and who told you that she was the only one?" He continued. "She did," Carronade answered, "but I don't see the problem with that. She seems like an honest mare." "She's a businessmare," Gallant yelled, "she'll say whatever she needs to in order to get a sale!" "Normally you'd be right, except that she is doing this for no pay." Carronade corrected. Bested, Gallant backed down slightly, "Either way, she's one more pony that I have been charged with taking back safely with no say in the matter." "She said we didn't have to look after her." Carronade attempted to make a point, but it was quelled by Gallant. "You can say I don't have to look after her all you want, but her being on this ship means she's under my care," Gallant turned away to return to his cabin, "don't go over my head like that again Carronade. You may be my friend, but you're still part of the crew."
Keel had already began work on the damaged starboard hull of the Resplendent. She'd never worked on a ship as grand as this before, much less with a few of materials as she had currently. The crew gave her the captured gunboat to dismantle and use as materials to patch the hull. She wanted to go into town and get new, high quality materials, but Gallant told her that returning to town after Stark's blunder was an impossibility. The Ciervans would be out in force searching for them, and he was surprised that warships hadn't already been sent out to sink them. Keel hammered and sawed away at the gunboat's remaining hull. With the use of her magic, she could bend the lumber to her will. It was something she's practiced on ever since she was a filly. She also managed to fuse the new pieces together with the old pieces on the Resplendent's hull. To finish it off, she cast strengthening spells on all the patched areas, to refresh the hull's integrity. She then painted over the patched sections so the colors matched up perfectly. By day's end, the Resplendent was back to her former glory.
As Celestia's sun set, Gallant mustered the crew on the main deck. "Gents, I know that you're all tired, hungry, and worried. Both you, and I want to head home. However, before we do, there is something that must be done." Gallant pointed towards Casco's night scape, "Hiding somewhere in that city, is the man responsible for all this. I can't tell you for a fact if the entirety of Cierva wants us dead, but I know of one Ciervan in particular who does, Ardid. On the other side of this island, there is a plantation where a deer named Canalla lives. He knows where Ardid is hiding, and I want to know where Ardid is hiding. What I'm about to propose to you, is a dangerous operation. It will require all of you to pick up the slack left behind by our fallen comrades. In return, we take revenge on the man who sought our destruction. Now, who's with me?" At once the crew called out, "Aye, Captain!" "Get that anchor up gents, the Resplendent's going to war!" Carronade yelled out. In the dark of Luna's night, the Resplendent slipped out of the port of Casco, and out to sea, but held to the coastline, waiting for the indication of the plantation. As they rounded the island in search, a lit property came into view. The crew doused the lamps, and cloaked the ship in complete darkness. They dropped the anchor into the moderately shallow water, with the starboard guns pointed directly at the property. "Is it the plantation Captain?" Carronade asked. "Bring me a spyglass." One of the crew handed Gallant a spyglass, and he scoped out the property. "I see four small fields, and a large house in the back of the property. It's the plantation."
As the crew prepared themselves to go ashore, Gallant called a strategy meeting with Carronade and Stark. "Here's the plan," Gallant lay out a basic map he drew of the property, "Carronade, you're going to take a group of riflemen directly towards the south gate, and cause a distraction. As you're doing this, Stark is going to take the crew's remaining pegasus, and lead a flanking maneuver down this road to the east, and through the east gate. While you two and your squads keep the guards busy, I'll take a small regiment of the crew's best swordsman and storm the house from the west. Hopefully the guards will be too distracted by your attacks to notice us. It's a pretty basic plan, but it may work." "May work is better than nothing." Stark reasoned. "Aye, if it works for you it works for me." Carronade agreed.
The crew split into their three groups for the attack, as they took the longboats ashore, Gallant couldn't help but feel as nervous as he did when the privateers first attacked. Only this time, they were the ones attacking. As they ventured through the thick jungle surrounding the plantation, Gallant could suddenly hear the cracks of musket fire. Carronade's group had started the attack. As the looked closely at the plantation, he could see the Ciervan guards rushing towards the commotion with weapons readied. The plan was working. As they drew closer to the west gate, Gallant could hear the clanging of swords. He looked again to see Stark's group had successfully broken through the east gate, and had gotten the guards caught in a pincer. Carronade's group had also charged the south gate, completely trapping the unprepared Ciervan guards. By the time they reached the west gate, there was no one in their way to stop them. Gallant's group stormed the house in full force, it seemed only a few armed guards were stationed inside. Gallant bolted up the stairs to the second floor, finding the bedroom, and kicking the door open furiously. Inside was a deer, he'd obviously heard the noise, and had taken refuge under his bed. Gallant trotted over, and pulled him out from underneath it. Pointing his cutlass at the deer's throat, he calmly asked, "Canalla, I presume?" "No entiendo." The deer squeaked out in Spanish. "I know you speak English!" In an instant, his calm demeanor turned to a look of rage, "Now I'm not going to ask you again, are you Canalla?" The deer cowered, he obviously wasn't strong willed, "Yes, yes I'm Canalla! What do you want?" "I want Ardid, now where is he?" Gallant growled. "What?" Canalla looked surprise by the question. Gallant firmly pressed his hoof against Canalla's throat, he began to gasp for air, "Where is Ardid?" "Alright, alright I'll tell you, just don't kill me," He gasped as Gallant released his throat and motioned for him to talk, "Ardid is hiding in Casco, he takes refuge in an inn called La Caja Fuerte. He stays on the top floor in room 20. Now are you going to let me go?" "No, not exactly." A grin hit Gallant's face. "But you said you'd let me live." Canalla's eyes widened. "I am going to let you live, but I can't just let you go and warn Ardid before I get the chance to kill him now can I?" Gallant took the hilt of his sword, and smacked Canalla straight in the forehead. The deer slumped over, unconscious. He motioned for one of his crew to grab the deer, and they trotted out the front of the house. By this time the battle had long since ended. All of the guards lay strewn across the plantation, with not a single of his crew along with them. The operation was a complete success. The crew packed up into longboats, with one more than they'd set out with.
They didn't have time to celebrate however, Gallant could only assume that Ardid kept a close eye on Canalla and the plantation, and he'd soon know of the attack. They had to act fast. Before the sun had risen over the horizon, the Resplendent was anchored back in Casco, almost exactly where it was before. Upon threatening Canalla for further information, he revealed that La Caja Fuerte was on the eastern edge of the city, close to the shoreline. Gallant and a few crewmen took a longboat out into the harbor to survey, from the boat, they managed to spot the inn. It was a fairly run down looking building, with the words 'Caja Fuerte' plastered on the front. When the longboat returned with the information, they began to devise a plan.
Ardid sat behind the desk in his room, writing a report back to the king of the Ciervan Empire, King Regio. The king had asked him how the operation was progressing, and currently, as he looked out into the harbor at the still floating ERS Resplendent it was not going smoothly. He had no idea what had been happening ever since the night of the raid. All he knew was the ship was still out there. Did the mercenaries forget to sink it, did the crew repel them, it was all he could think about. So in a hurry, he ordered Gamberro to sail for the island of Costa Reinca to the south, and return with his warships. The Resplendent had to be sunk, and only a military vessel could do it. He took a sip of a glass of wine he had on his desk, calmly thinking over his plan of action. He'd never been bested before, and he didn't intend to let it start now.
The deer's thoughts were cut short as a Ciervan Guard burst into his room, a look of panic on his face. "Sir, we have a problem!" The guard yelled. "What is it?" Ardid asked calmly. "It's the plantation sir," The guard fumbled with his words, "it's been attacked. All the men are dead, and Canalla was nowhere to be found." Ardid's eyes widened as the guard went on with his explanation. A flurry of thoughts rushed into his head. How did they find out about the plantation? When did the attack it? Is Canalla still alive, and if he is did he tell them anything? Ardid knew Canalla, and his calm demeanor suddenly changed to a panicked one, Canalla would have told them everything. "Pack everything up, we have to get out of here now." Ardid ordered. "Understood sir." The guard left to get the other deer to help. "If I ever get my hands on that ratting cabron, I'll kill him myself!" Ardid yelled out to himself as he packed his things in a frenzy. He couldn't let the Equestrians get their hands on anything in the room, it had letters and maps showing battle plans and ships movements. If they got any of it, the war's balance would shift. Except it wasn't a war yet, the Equestrians had no idea of their treachery. The only ones who knew were the crew stationed aboard the man o' war in their harbor. All they had to do was wait for Gamberro to return, and the threat would be vanquished. Ardid began to calm down, and packed his things more slowly. As he walked down the stairs into the lobby, a small regiment of his personal guard were waiting to escort him to a carriage outside. Ardid suddenly became more confident as he looked at his guard. This wasn't some militia force these upstart Equestrians were battling, this was the might Ciervan Empire, and they wouldn't lose so easily. "Ready sir?" His head guard asked. "Yes Teniente, I am." Ardid sighed. As they prepared to walk out the door, a small group of fully dressed ponies walked into the inn. At the head of the group was a light brown earth pony with a rough black mane. He leaned against the lobby's counter and rang the service bell. The innkeeper looked at him, "Sorry boy, we're closed." "Aw come on now," The earth pony sarcastically pleaded, "I'm just looking to rent out a room here, preferably a nice one. A friend of mine directed me a room 20, is it vacant?" As the realization hit Ardid, it was too late. The earth pony rang the bell again, and all those who followed him threw their coats off to reveal their swords. In seconds Ardid's guards were cut down, and he was the only one left standing. "Ardid," The earth pony began, "it's nice to finally meet you." "Who in tartarus are you?" Ardid demanded. "Me," He continued, "I'm no one importance, or no threat as you put it. The name's Gallant Topsail. Acting captain aboard the ERS Resplendent." "Ah, that's right," The deer mocked, "acting captain. You're real captain died a week ago didn't he?" "That's right, he died by your orders." Gallant scowled at the deer. "Sorry about that, but you know how war works," Ardid chuckled. "No, I don't know how war works," Gallant corrected, "but I think I'm starting to." He turned toward Ardid, blade drawn. "So what now? You gonna kill me? Are you gonna take revenge for your precious captain's life?" The deer taunted him. "Believe me, I want to," He had an unsettling look in his eye, Ardid knew it must be taking all of his willpower to resist driving his blade into him, "but there is something much more important that must be done. I must warn my country of your acts. You're going to answer for them personally." He turned the back of his sword to Ardid and hit him across the face, rendering him unconscious.
When Ardid awoke, he was on the deck of a ship, with his hooves hogtied together. He saw Gallant and a few other crew standing near him. Every now and then, one of them would glance over at him, then continue the conversation. Ardid looked around at the ragtag group of what remained of the ship's crew. How did they even manage to get this far. He then looked at Gallant, it had to have been him. Perhaps he'd underestimated him, perhaps he was of a greater military mind than he thought, and where in tartarus was Gamberro?
Gallant looked around at his crew, they were prepping the ship for the journey to the mainland. With the bulk of the threat of the Ciervans removed from Casco, they could purchase all the supplies they needed without interference. Gallant also turned to Keel, who he'd asked to join them. He handed her a blueprint for a design. "Can you do it in an hour?" He asked. "An hour, you're crazy! Even though I'm me, it's still to fast of time for me to make it work." Keel yelled. "It only needs to work once, and we've gotten all of the best materials you could ask for this time. If you want to get out of here alive, I suggest you at least try to do it." Gallant warned sternly. Keel opened her mouth to retaliate, but gave up, and set off to work on the plans. Her magic bending iron and wood to her will as quickly as possible. Gallant then turned to Carronade, "Do you think you can do it?" "Aye, I do, but I can only do it once." Carronade lamented. "That's all we need. Remember, fifty feet out, two hundred and twenty seven feet long, and fifty one feet tall." Gallant explained, he then trotted over to Ardid. "Well Captain Topsail," Ardid mocked, "you seem to have taken rather nicely to your new post." "The men need me to get them home safely. That's what I intend to do." Gallant grabbed Ardid and tied him up to the main mast. The deer struggled as the rope was wrapped around him. As the Resplendent sailed out of the harbor, Ardid couldn't contain himself. "You know," He taunted, "you're never going to get away with this. The empire will come for me. I am a valuable asset to them." "Are you now? Well we'll find out after we get back to Equestria now won't we? It was obvious that you didn't want to let us know that you planned on war, so when our government questions your king about your actions what do you really think he's going to do? Send out his ships in droves to recover his one field operative, or deny everything?" Gallant knew he'd hit a nerve with Ardid, as a scowl hit the deer's face. "You upstart little idiota," Ardid growled, "who do you think you are? You are challenging the might of the Ciervan Empire. You don't stand a chance against us, and when our warships send you and your pathetic crew to tartarus, I'll be the one laughing." Gallant turned, a small smile across his face, "I'd like to see them try."
"Captain, ships sighted of the port bow! They're flying Ciervan flags!" The lookout called down. Gallant galloped over towards the port side of the ship, and looked towards the horizon. There were three Ciervan warships on course to intercept. "What kind of ships are they?" Gallant yelled to the lookout. "Two frigates, one man o' war!" He yelled back. "You see Captain?" Ardid laughed as he spoke, "I told you I'd be the one laughing." Unphased by Ardid's noise, Gallant turned to the crew, "Make ready for battle! Remember, stick to the plan!" Ardid's laughing was interrupted be Gallant's orders. Did he really have a plan for this? He was outnumbered, and heavily outgunned. Ardid could only shake his head in dismay at the captain's foolishness. Did he know who he was about to go into battle against. The deer captaining that small group of ships was Almirante Gamberro. The Ciervan navy nicknamed him the 'Raging Torrent' as a sign of his deadliness in battle. His flagship was the man o' war, the Arca Del Imperio, and one hundred twenty gun ship-of-the-line. Even one on one, the Resplendent would be outmatched, but he'd brought to frigates with him. Ardid smirked, the battle was already over, and it hadn't even begun yet. The Resplendent's alarm bell rang ferociously as the crew rushed to prepare the ship for battle. Keel galloped towards the helm, ready to report. "It's ready Captain. It'll probably only work once, but it'll work well enough that one time." She reported. "Right. Carronade, be ready on my command!" He yelled "Aye, sir!" The unicorn yelled back. The crew moved like a machine, prepping the guns, and arming themselves for battle. Ardid was certainly surprised by the fervor with which the crew moved, even though they were outclassed in every way possible by the approaching forces, they still moved with eagerness for battle. However, the one thing that surprised him more than that, was Gallant. He had a look of sheer determination in his eyes that would make even the most distinguished and battle hardened captains think twice about engaging him. Ardid shook the though from his mind, if anything, Gallant should be the one afraid of Gamberro. It's not every day that you find an admiral who makes your own ships afraid to encounter him out at sea.
Aboard the Arca Del Imperio, Gamberro looked closely at the ERS Resplendent through his spyglass. The damage she'd received appeared to have been repaired. "Well," He spoke to himself, "in that case, we'll just have to open up some new holes in her. Begin the attack!" Two flagmen signaled the frigates to break into an attack pattern. Both frigates turned off into a pincer formation. "Come on now Captain," Gamberro chuckled to himself, "let's see what you're made of."
Gallant watched the frigates split off from the group. "Hard to port, straight on towards the port side frigate!" He ordered. The helmsman steered the Resplendent so the bow was pointed straight towards the Ciervan warship. Ardid looked at Gallant in surprise. What was he planning on doing, he couldn't fire at the frigate this way, did he have some sort of death wish for his crew? The frigate fired it's port side guns at the Resplendent, sending water crashing up around her, and one or two shots grazing the bow, leaving no damage. As the Equestrian man o' war drew closer to the frigate, a swell lifted the bow out of the water, revealing a massive battering ram. This was what Keel had been diligently working on as the ship prepared to leave the harbor. The crew of the target frigate could only stare in disbelief as the man o' war collided with them at full speed. The frigate's hull cracked, groaned, and buckled under the weight of the massive ship that impacted them. With one final crack, the hull split, halving the frigate down the middle. As the Resplendent pushed it's way through the wreckage, a loud crack could be heard from the bow of the ship. The battering ram had snapped off under the stress of the attack. Keel hadn't had time to reinforce it or use strengthening magic on it. Luckily, she'd planned for a one time use, and the battering ram came off cleanly, leaving no damage to the rest of the hull.
Ardid stared in shock as the Ciervan frigate quickly sank below the surface. He'd never heard of a man o' war use a battering ram, much less be outfitted with one. The same could only go for Gamberro, he looked in shock as the Equestrian warship tore the frigate in half. "Ready the guns! Send those cockroaches to tartarus!" The admiral yelled to his crew in rage. The crew faltered for a moment, and he drew his pistol. "Anyone who does not obey my order will be labelled a traitor and shot on sight, is that clear?" He yelled. "Aye, sir!" They called back in fear. The crew loaded the Arca Del Imperio's guns in record time, and brought them to bear on the Resplendent. "Fire!" He yelled. All of the Imperio's starboard guns echoed across the sea. Meanwhile, Gallant stood aboard the Resplendent, waiting for the cannon fire to come, when it did, he quickly turned to Carronade. "Now!" As he yelled the order, Carronade's magic flared. Just as the round shot from the Ciervan man o' war hit the fifty foot mark, they shattered into harmless particles of dust. Carronade had erected a magic barrier around the Resplendent, rendering their attack ineffective. As soon as the last projectile was stopped, the unicorn collapsed, and the barrier with him. It took all of his energy to make that barrier, and couldn't be used again. As they sailed past the Arca Del Imperio, the second frigate drew into view, which had brought itself around in order to assist the Imperio. Their guns starboard guns were aimed directly towards the frigate. "Fire!" Gallant yelled. The Resplendent rocked back as all of her starboard guns let loose upon the second frigate. It's hull was punched wide open by the broadside. Gamberro's rage flared, he turned to the crew. "Reload the guns, I want them sunk, now!" He yelled, and fired his pistol into the air. The crew hastily reloaded the guns, and the helmsman began to realign the ship for another broadside. As they did this, Gallant turned to the Resplendent's helmsman, "Bring us around, we need to line up our port side guns!" The helmsman cranked the wheel, swinging the man o' war around. "Captain," Stark yelled, "we won't turn in time, they're going to fire at us!" "Brace for impact!" As he yelled out, the Arca Del Imperio had brought its guns to bear on the Resplendent. The thundering crack of cannon fire echoed across the sea, but it didn't come from the Imperio. Suddenly, the Ciervan man o' war was struck repeatedly by round shot. The crews of both ships looked to see where the shots had come from. Three frigates were closing in on their positions, all flying familiar flags. "Those frigates are flying Equestrian flags sir, it's our allies!" The lookout called down. By this time, the Resplendent had brought it's guns to bear on the Imperio, while the bewildered Admiral aboard the Ciervan warship stood in shock. "Sir, what are your orders?" Some of the crew asked, to which the admiral said nothing. "Order, sir?" They asked more urgently. The quartermaster spoke up, "We should surrender, raise the white flag!" The admiral suddenly snapped back to reality, "No! We are not surrendering, bring the guns to bear on the Resplendent!" The crew didn't move. A vein bulged in the admiral's forehead, "Do as I say or Ill..." Before he could finish, the quartermaster hit him on the back of the head with the butt of his sword, knocking him out. The crew of the Arca Del Imperio surrendered.
Gallant stood in shock as the three allied frigates surrounded the Ciervan warship. Suddenly, the crew broke out into a frenzied cheer. Gallant couldn't help but join them, they danced about the deck like a bunch of hooligans. One of the frigates pulled up alongside the Resplendent. "Where's Captain Mainsail, we need to speak with him." An officer called out. Gallant stepped forward, "Captain Mainsail is dead. He promoted me to acting captain until further notice." "Right, we need you to follow us back to Pony Royale. The Admiral wants to speak with you." The officer continued. Gallant nodded, and turned to the crew. "Let's head home boys!" He beamed "Aye, sir!" They replied readily.
The four warships sailed into the harbor of Pony Royale. It was about a four days journey from Hispantlerla to the island. As they entered the harbor, they noticed the amount of warships was staggering. "I've never seem so many 1st rates in one place." Gallant gasped in awe. "It looks like most of the first fleet is here." Carronade pointed out, he was unconscious for two days after his use of the barricade. "The strongest fleet in the Equestrian Navy." Stark continued. "Yup," Carronade pointed to the ship in the center of the group, "and that is the largest ship in our fleet. The ERS Royal Sunfire, a one hundred and twenty gun first rate." "That's the admiral's flagship, and that's where you're gonna have to go to explain yourself." Stark patted Gallant on the shoulder. He was nervous again, not only was he not really a captain, he was going to have to personally speak to the admiral of Equestria's strongest fleet.
As he climbed aboard a longboat, he gulped in anticipation. He couldn't help but stare at the Sunfire in awe of the sheer size of it. He was ushered into the captain's cabin, where two ponies waited for him. Both of them he instantly recognized. One of them was none other than Princess Celestia herself, but the other pony was the one who truly surprised him. "What are you doing here?" Gallant asked in disbelief. The pony chuckled, "It's been a long time Gallant." "Flareluck, I can't believe it's you," Gallant started, "but more than that, I can't believe you're an admiral." "I know, it's hard to believe, but I was asked to join in the officer's academy after enlisting. I still have a hard time believing it sometimes." Flareluck let a big grin hit his face. "Now, don't be so modest Flareluck," The princess spoke up, "you've done a fine job as fleet admiral." She then turned towards Gallant. "Now, down to business," She motioned for Gallant to sit at the officer's table, "what happened out there? We received no communication for a week from the Resplendent, then when one of our search parties finds you, you're engaged in battle with a Ciervan man o' war." "Well," He started, "just over a week ago, we were ambushed by a group of privateers. They stormed the ship, and killed Captain Mainsail." The memory of the attack flooded back into his mind, and how the captain sacrificed himself for him. He also noticed a look of shock hit Celestia's face. "I'm sorry to hear that," She spoke with sorrow, "he was a good man." "Did you know the captain your highness?" Gallant spoke before he could think, but caught himself, "I'm sorry, it's not my place to ask." "No, it's not that," Celestia reassured, "perhaps someday I will tell you of how I knew Mainsail, but we have a much more pressing issue at hand." "Right," added Flareluck, "what happened after the battle?" "We sailed towards the closest port, Casco. Little did we know that it was where our hunter was hiding out." Gallant continued. "Your hunter, who would that be?" Flareluck asked. "A deer named Ardid." Gallant answered. "I know of him," Celestia spoke up, "he's top level Ciervan intelligence. It's not a good sign if he's helping them." "Begging your pardon, your highness, but I believe you mean it would be a problem if we didn't capture him." Gallant corrected. Celestia looked genuinely surprised, "You captured him?" "Aye, we did. He's locked in the Resplendent's brig as we speak, along with the 'Raging Torrent' Gamberro, and their informant Canalla." The captain added. "Your crew captured two Ciervan operatives, and a high ranking admiral of their navy, all while in hiding. I've never heard of anything like it," Flareluck spoke to himself in disbelief, he then looked at his old friend with a smile, "but I believe it if it was you Gallant." "Thanks, uh...sir." Gallant felt odd calling him sir. Flareluck broke into a fit of laughter, "What's with the sir?" "Well, you are my ranking officer aren't you?" Gallant asked. "Yeah, but I've never been one for formalities, and I still haven't been in the job long enough to earn my title yet." His friend sounded a lot like him from a week ago. "That's true," Celestia put bluntly, "but I think Gallant has more than earned his stripes." Celestia pulled out something from a drawer in the officer's desk, and slid it across the table to Gallant. Upon inspecting it, he realized it was a folded captain's jacket. "Your highness," He could barely get the words out he was so shocked, "does this mean that I..." "That means that the Resplendent is yours." Celestia finished for him.
Back aboard the Resplendent, the crew waited anxiously for their captain's return. Even though they were in a friendly port, the air on deck was incredibly tense. "I wonder how it's going?" Keel asked to no one in particular. Stark decided to answer, "He's probably getting chewed out." "What," Carronade blurted out, "why would you think that?" "Because that always happens. The brass find some reason as to why their soldiers are stepping out of line. Gallant wasn't even a genuine captain when he made all of those judgement calls. I can only say that whatever is going on in there, it isn't good for Gallant." Stark lamented. "Captain on deck!" One of the crew called out. The three of them turned to see Gallant pull himself onto the main deck of his new ship. His captain's jacket flowing in the sea breeze. "Ha, I knew it!" Carronade turned to Stark to taunt him. "Hey," Stark defended himself, "I never said I wanted to be right." The crew surrounded Gallant, asking him what went on, who promoted him, all manner of questions. Gallant couldn't contain himself, "Lads, calm yourselves!" He yelled out, but still couldn't hide the huge grin on his face. "How can you ask us to do that?" One of the crew piped up. "Aye, this is big news." Stark continued. "They're right you know." Princess Celestia called out from behind Gallant. Upon noticing that she was standing there, the crew instantly dropped. She smiled at Gallant, who nodded in return. "I know you'll do well in your new position Gallant. Take a week's rest, then report back to me." She spoke clearly so the whole crew could hear. "To you, your highness?" Gallant asked. "Yes, to me. I'll explain when we meet." With that, Celestia flew off towards the Royal Sunfire. Carronade grabbed Gallant by the shoulders, "That was the princess!" "Aye, that was." Gallant assured him that he wasn't hallucinating. "The princess, told you to report to her." Carronade still couldn't quite believe it. "Aye, she did." Gallant continued. After a moment, Carronade balanced himself on the deck railing, "Oh, I need to take a minute to take this all in." "Well, we've got more than a minute, we've got a week. Make for port lads! It's time we got some solid ground under us for a change!" The crew made sail, and pulled into the port of Pony Royale.
The same day they landed, they held a proper funeral for Captain Mainsail. Surprisingly few people attended, namely the crew of the Resplendent, and Princess Celestia. Even though she only stayed for a few minutes, Gallant could tell she was more hurt than most. Before he could get a chance to speak to her, she left. Leaving the crew alone to mourn their captain. Even though most of them had already mourned their captain from a week ago, they attended to pay their respects all the same.
That night, the crew retired to a tavern close to the docks. They drank cider, and acted like idiots, while the more seasoned crew told stories about Mainsail's great adventures as a captain. Even though Mainsail personally didn't like the stories, Gallant loved them. The grand tales of fighting pirates off with a stare, battling giant rogue waves in hurricanes, and of course the mystery behind himself and Celestia. These stories were all so grandiose that anyone who didn't know the captain probably wouldn't believe them. Gallant took it all in a laughed to himself. He planned on living by the captain's motto from now on. The time you spend on land is the time you take a load off.
The next day, Gallant asked Keel to rebuild the battering ram for him. Only this time, it would be a permanent addition. He'd seen what she could do in an hour, so he only could imagine what she could do with a week. He also promoted Carronade to quartermaster, now that he officially was a captain he had the authority to do so. They also re-outfitted the ship with new guns, and new sails. The crew also was reinforced with more men, who at first were skeptical of their captain, but upon hearing the story from the other crew quickly changed their attitude. By the end of the week, the ERS Resplendent was back at full fighting strength.
The day Gallant met with Celestia was a fairly quiet one. The crew were all relaxed up and ready to head back out to sea, they just needed their orders. Celestia sent a carriage for him, and upon arriving at the small colonial house she was using, couldn't imagine the princess living there. Gallant was ushered into the house's office, where Celestia was waiting for him. "Your highness." He bowed his head. "Captain Topsail." She acknowledged. After a moment's awkward silence, Gallant broke it, "So, you asked me to report to you." "Yes, I did," She started, motioning for him to take a seat at the table in the middle of the room, "you see, the Ciervans have not taken the course of action we thought they would." "Meaning what exactly, your highness?" He asked. "Meaning that after uncovering their operation, we thought they'd quickly back down. However, upon revealing our awareness of said operation to them, the Ciervans declared war." Celestia sighed as she spoke. Gallant could tell she wanted to resolve this peacefully. "Pardon me your highness, but that still doesn't quite explain why I'm here now." Gallant pointed out. "Of course, the reason I called you here is a fairly simple one. I'm reassigning the Resplendent." Celestia got to the point. "To which fleet?" He asked. "To her own fleet." She said bluntly, "The Resplendent is going to be the figurehead of our counterattack. As it was the ship that the Ciervans specifically targeted, it'll be nice to see that same ship leading the attack that crushes them." "Understood your highness, but who's going to command the fleet?" Gallant asked, having already formulated an answer. Celestia gave him a serious look, "I am." That was not the answer Gallant was expecting, he expected her to say Flareluck, or someone like that, anyone but herself. He wanted to say something, but held his tongue, although his face couldn't quite hold in his curiosity. "You look like you have something to say captain, do you?" She asked. "Um, well, aye I do." Gallant fumbled, "No offense meant but, why you?" Celestia only smiled at him, "Captain, I've led more armies to war than you could possibly imagine. I haven't always wanted to do so, but I've done it. The reason Equestria is where it is today is because of all those wars we've fought. I can tell you this much as well, this time, I want to lead my people to victory. If there's one thing I can't stand, it's cowardice towards your enemies, and what the Ciervans have done is cowardice. The Resplendent will become the flagship of our message to the Ciervan Empire. No one harms my people and gets away with it. The Resplendent will become, the Hunter."
Say, hey jiggy jiggy jiggy ya ya Equestria's off to war
In the name of ol' Celestia Equestria's off to war
Say, hey jiggy jiggy jiggy ya ya Equestria's off to war
We fought the lord King Sombra and felled his crystal fort
Say, hey jiggy jiggy jiggy ya ya Equestria's off to war
We fought the mean Queen Chriss' Liss' and all her Changeling horde
Say, hey jiggy jiggy jiggy ya ya Equestria's off to war
Say, hey jiggy jiggy jiggy ya ya and now we're off to war
The crew chanted that and many other shanties as the newly renamed ERS Hunter left Pony Royale harbor. Accompanying them were two other first rate man o' wars. The ERS Royal Moonbeam, and the ERS Radiance. When questioned by Flareluck if that many ships would be enough, the princess only smiled and said, "That's all I need to end this war." She stood on the deck beside Gallant staring at the horizon. He had no idea what she was thinking, however he couldn't help but admire her determination. After all, it wasn't every day that a country's leader put themselves literally in the line of fire. "So what's the plan your highness?" Gallant asked, breaking the silence. "I'm having Ardid and Gamberro executed." She stated bluntly. "You're what?" He spoke before thinking. "We are at war Gallant," Celestia cut him off before he could continue, "and we have two course to take to get the Ciervans to surrender. We either destroy them in open combat, or we bombard their port villages. I know neither you or I want to do that." He understood upon hearing her explanation, "Aye, you're right. I apologize for loosing my cool." It wasn't that Gallant was opposed to the idea of executing Ardid, it took all of his willpower to not do it himself. He just didn't expect Princess Celestia to order something like that, but he supposed war changes everyone's thought process, even gods. What also caught Gallant's attention was how different the ship looked, not only the redesign, but the crew. They moved with a determination he'd never seen before, clearly they were itching for some revenge. The Hunter also looked like an entirely different ship from the Resplendent. They'd repainted her from the standard white and black striped design, and elected for a red and black striped design. She'd also been given a new figurehead. Where as the old one barely stood out, and went mostly unnoticed, the new one was a large golden alicorn with its wings spread. Beneath the figurehead, donning the bow of the ship, was a massive battering ram. Keel's work was extraordinary, with the ram looking like it had always been there, the tip of the ram ended in a point, with sharpened steel covering the end. Two large, newly developed prototype cannons that the princess called 'howitzers,' were mounted to the bow. Keel had also clearly done some extra work on the hull, because the ship barely felt any heavier, in fact, Gallant could've sworn he was feeling things, but the ship felt as though it was moving faster than normal. Gallant though he was in fact feeling things until he looked back and noticed the Hunter was pulling some distance out between itself and the Moonbeam, and Radiance. Gallant had to order the crew to ease off sail in order for them to catch up.
Surely enough, in a few days, the princess received word that Ardid and Gamberro had both been executed, and that a majority of the Ciervan navy was spotted off the coast of Cuernba, which was a week's venture south of Pony Royale. Any day they'd spot them on the horizon, and when they did, the war would be decided then and there. Carronade pulled Gallant aside to speak with him, "What do you think the princess' idea is bringing three warships to fight multiple fleets of Ciervan warships." "I don't know, but I trust her judgement." Gallant told his friend, "Celestia's never lead her people astray, and I don't think she's going to start today." "Are you sure she's not just doing something crazy? You said yourself that she looked devastated by Mainsail's death, maybe she..." Carronade couldn't finish before Gallant interrupted him. "The last thing Mainsail would want would be for her to do something stupid. If she claims to have known him well, then she would know that. As such, I trust that she isn't doing something stupid, is that clear Quartermaster?" He looked Carronade in the eyes. Carronade picked up on the fact that addressing him by his rank meant irritation, "Aye, sir. It is." As they both looked at each other for a moment, the alarm bells began to ring. Both of them hurried onto the main deck. The horizon off the bow of the Hunter was dotted with ships, Ciervan ships. Gallant hurried back to the helm, and up to Celestia. "What's your plan of action, your highness?" He asked. "Tell the other two ships to fall back." She motioned to the flagger, who gave the fall back order to the Radiance and Moonbeam. "Your highness, you aren't seriously suggesting that we go in alone are you?" Gallant questioned. "We aren't going in alone Captain," Celestia smiled at him, "you have me." He magic flared, and a massive storm cloud formed over and behind the Hunter. Lightning began to strike all around them, but never once hitting them, the sea underneath them was calm as well. Her manipulation of the weather was incredible, and he could only wonder what the oncoming Ciervans must be thinking.
"What in tartarus is that?" Some of the crew of the Ciervan ships began asking. "It's Arca De Tormenta, a ship of the storm!" Some yelled in panic. "That's no warship, that's a ghost ship!" Others piped in. "Aye, it's the ghost of that Equestrian captain those privateers killed, he's come back to take revenge!" Some answered. "Stow it you maggots!" An officer yelled, "It's one of them versus all of us, there's no way we can loose!" The crews loaded their ship's guns in preparation.
Aboard the Hunter, Gallant calmly turned to Carronade. "Let's test out these new howitzers." He told him. "Aye," The unicorn turned to the crew, "make ready the howitzers!" The crew loaded the shells, it was a much simpler, quicker process than loading a cannon. In seconds they were ready to fire. "Fire!" Gallant called. The two massive guns thundered out as the shells headed towards their targets. Two ships in the Ciervan formation suddenly bucked as the shells impacted their decks. The effect of the shells hitting the hulls had a much stronger effect than the crew thought they would. Punching clean through all of their targets decks, and sinking them quickly. "I feel as though we're too far away." Celestia spoke up, "Let's get a little more personal." As she spoke, a swell began to form under the Hunter. She moved to storm cloud forward and enveloped the ship in it's thick fog. The swell pushed the ship forward at very high speed, directly towards the enemy line. The Ciervan crews began to panic as the cloud drew closer. Eventually the cloud enveloped the entire line of ships.
Aboard one of the ships, the captain called out to the lookout, "Can you see anything?" "No sir," They responded, "I can't see a... oh no, look out!" The captain turned just in time to the the Hunter spring forth from the fog off the bow, battering ram aimed straight for them. The ships collided with a crack, although unlike the last time the ship rammed another, this ship split like a knife running through butter. The design of the ram really was incredible. It was one thing to half a ship from the side, but straight on, it had never been even remotely thought of. The fog suddenly cleared around the ships, revealing the Hunter floating over the wreckage of it's target. The two closest ships fired their guns at the hunter, but as the round shot drew close, it slowed, and stopped in mid-flight. Every shot had been stopped by Celestia, levitated carefully by her magic. The shot then suddenly reversed course, and flew back towards the ships that fired them, only at a much higher velocity than any cannon could hope to fire. The shot punched through one, two, three, four ships on each side in the line. Gallant could then feel the swells build up underneath the ship again, dragging it down the line of warships, spinning it around on a dime faster then anyone thought possible for the man o' war. She brought the ship's guns to bear on the next ship down the line. The Hunter's guns roared and cracked as the broadside collided with their target. So far, with no effort whatsoever, Celestia had managed to sink ten enemy warships. Gallant counted, about thirty remained. She wheeled the ship on a dime, spinning it's guns to bear on each target, and sinking them with precision accuracy. It was a frankly frightening sight to watch, a massacre even. Gallant could hardly believe his eyes as each ship was punched open by the Hunter's cannon fire. Eventually, she the number down to three. All of which decided to retreat. Instead of allowing them to escape, Celestia fired the howitzers at them, sinking all but one. She then spread her wings, and flew onto the deck on the last remaining ship. The sailors raised their muskets in fear of their attacker. Her magic flared again, grasping each musket, forcing it away from them, and turning it upon them. In Ciervan, she spoke, "If any of you want to live, tell me who you're captain is?" One deer stepped forward, "I am the captain." He shook as he spoke. "Good, then you can relay a message for me," She smirked at him, "tell your king that he is to surrender complete control of the Eternal Strait over to the Equestrian Empire, otherwise we'll be forced to destroy him." The captain nodded ferociously. Celestia then tossed all of the muskets into the sea, and flew back to the Hunter. Gallant could only stare in awe at how easily she'd managed to sink nearly an entire navy, with no help from anyone else. Not only did she summon a storm to mask the Hunter's initial attack, she manipulated the sea to give the Hunter unbelievable maneuverability, she loaded, aimed, and fired all of the cannons, and took over an enemy ship by herself. He suddenly understood all too well why she was called a god.
Before they could even return to Pony Royale, they'd received word from King Regio himself that they accepted the terms of surrender. They had to, their navy had been completely decimated by one ship. The Hunter's reputation began to spread rather quickly too, even though the rumors forgot to mention the presence of Celestia. Once back in the harbor Celestia decided to speak to him. "Do you think less of me for doing that?" She asked. "You needed to make a point. Sometimes in order to make said point, you have to take steps." Gallant reasoned. "Do you think you could do it?" There was hesitation in her voice. "No your highness," There was none in his, "I don't think I could." "I see, you think the same as he did then." She chuckled a bit as she spoke. "You mean Mainsail, don't you?" Gallant asked. "Yes. Despite what it seems, Mainsail was never the military type. He actually preferred to solve things peacefully. He hated his captaincy. It meant that he had to order people to kill others, and he despised the notion." Celestia lamented. "I didn't know that about him." He admitted. Celestia looked Gallant straight in the eyes, "Do you want a piece of honest advice Gallant?" Gallant nodded in response. "Resign from the navy," Her tone was serious, "it'll destroy you before too long. Maybe even literally." She took one last moment to look at him, then turned to disembark the Hunter. Gallant stood there, letting Celestia's words sink in.
Over the next few days at port, Gallant couldn't get Celestia's words out of his mind. The thought of doing what he loved destroying him, it couldn't possibly happen. Only, this wasn't what he loved. He'd wanted to be a captain, and as a captain in the navy, he'd done things he never though he'd have to. As the Hunter prepared to set out to sea once again, Gallant called a meeting with the entire crew out on the main deck. "Gents, this last battle has caused me to do some thinking. I've come to a realization, that I don't want to be a captain in the navy." As he went on, the crew looked around at each other, clearly surprised by his decision. "I have decided that when my tour is up, I'm going to resign from service." The crew continued to exchange surprised looks with one another. "Where are you going to go Captain?" One of them asked. "I going to take out a privateering contract. I've decided that I want to captain by my own means. I apologize for deciding to leave you all on such short notice, but I just don't feel right as your captain anymore." Gallant faltered with his last few words. After a few moments of stunned silence, Carronade spoke up, "As your quartermaster, I feel it's my job to say, that that was the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard you say!" "Carronade listen, I need to..." He couldn't finish. "No, you listen," His quartermaster interrupted, "don't you dare say that you can't be our captain. These boys would follow you to tartarus and back. Now I don't know about you lot, but where Captain Topsail goes, I go." The crew stared at Carronade in shock, until Stark joined in. "As will I." The orange pegasus added. "I will too." Keel spoke next. One by one, the crew began to add themselves to the list of those who would join him, until nearly the entire crew had elected to join Gallant. "Well, you've got your crew Captain. What are you going to do now?" Carronade asked. Gallant couldn't help but smile at his quartermaster, "We're going to need a new ship, and when we get one, we make for Caballito!" The crew cheered as they celebrated their new found creed.
In the small town of Caballito, a young colt sat on the dock, singing an all too familiar tune, "In the name of ol' Celestia, Equestria's off to war, say..." "Hey jiggy jiggy jiggy ya ya, Equestria's off to war." A middle aged stallion finished. "You know the song, father?" The colt asked. "Aye, that I do Mizzen." He sat down next to the colt. "You know, some of the boys at school say you were a captain in the navy once." Mizzen asked, eyes wide with expectation. "I was, once." He admitted. "Wait, so you were THE Captain Topsail. We're THE Topsail family?" The colt hopped around his father, bursting with excitement. "Yes we are." Gallant laughed at the boy's energy. "I can't believe it. Here I thought you were always a privateer father, but to think, you're the legendary Captain Topsail. The one who single handedly sunk the entire Ciervan Navy!" Mizzen yelled out to no one in particular. Gallant burst out laughing, "Now where did you hear that ridiculous story?" "I heard it from uncle Flareluck." The colt answered. "Now Mizzen, you know your uncle has always been one to blow things way out of proportion." The seasoned sailor chortled. After a moment's pause, he remembered, "But auntie Celestia told me so too, and she doesn't lie." "Oh, so she's auntie Celestia now is she?" He questioned. "Well, she spends as much time around me as uncle Flareluck, so why not?" Mizzen asked innocently. "Well when you put it that way," Gallant chuckled to himself, "I suppose you're right." "Hey father..." Mizzen started. "Yes Mizzen?" He asked. "How come you never told me?" The colt asked. A genuine look of curiosity on his face. "I wanted to wait until you were ready. There are some things you must do as a captain in the navy that you have to be older to understand." The stallion explained. "Like what?" Mizzen asked. "Like I said," Gallant placed a hoof on his son's shoulder, "I tell you when you're older." "Well, it's just that," Mizzen started, "I wanted you to tell me some stories. You must have some stories that you can tell me, right?" After a moment, Gallant answered, "Aye, I suppose I can..." He pondered for a moment, then an idea flickered into his head. "I'll tell you the story about the time I fought the great sea serpent of the Eternal Strait!" Mizzen's face lit up with excitement as his father began to tell a story that he completely made up, because after all. That's all legends are, stories.
