> Ponies of the Cursed Seas- Rise of the Fiends
>  by iowaforever
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Rising
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Ponies of the Cursed Seas
Rise of the Fiends

So, second fanfic (yay me). Hopefully I can get as good a turnout as my last fic, if not better. So no one gets confused, this story takes place after MMMMystery on the Friendship Express but before Canterlot Wedding, so no Changelings and Shining Armor and Cadence probably won't have a major effect on the storyline.
Anyway, I don't own My Little Pony and any characters associated with that show, and I don't own Pirates and any ships or crew from that game. The Ottomare Empire, Ponaeus, and any OCs from those nations are mine, however, so if you want to use them please ask permission first.
Comments are appreciated, as are likes. I want to know what you all think, and I would like to improve in any way possible




Rising

The ocean draws many different emotions. For some, the vast expanse of water is a mystery waiting to be unlocked, one that draws in the eager and curious with promises of adventure and the thrill of exploration. Others, however, see the ocean as a haven for monsters, pirates, and other terrors just waiting to rip them apart the instant they step off dry land. In some ways, both sides of the argument were right, although to an extent that most would rather not want to acknowledge.
The galley drifted in the night, a small speck against the darkened ocean. Normally the crew would be taking this time to tend to the sails, keep their course straight, or say a few late night prayers, but tonight the ship was silent, as if it had been abandoned. Its crew was down below, huddled together in the hold, trying desperately to be silent. Only grim looks were exchanged amongst the sailors, most of them knowing what exactly they were facing. some, however, had no such knowledge, but they trusted the more experienced sailors to guide them through what to do next.
One of the younger sailors peaked out of a small hole, giving him a view across the silent deck. He was unsure as to what exactly was going on, or why the older sailors were making such a fuss, and now seemed like the perfect time to find out. He would have continued looking had not an older stallion pulled him back down.
“You fool!” the older sailor said in a hushed tone “Do you wish to attract their wrath with your ignorance?”
“Don’t mind him,” another sailor said “He’s young; it’s not like he knows better.”
“If you want us all to die, then go ahead and encourage him.” The first pony grumbled and pushed the younger sailor away.
“I just want to know why we’re all huddled down here.” The younger pony said. “Why aren’t we out there battling this threat like real stallions?”
“Demons, that’s why. Spawn from the depths of Tartarus come to reap all that show devotion to Güneş kral. No mortal with a right mind would try to stand against them.” The younger pony shivered; he was not the most devout of ponies, but he still knew enough scripture to know what exactly the Sun King had locked away in Tartarus.
“I don’t think they’re from Tartarus,” another pony said “I think they’re Tirek’s spawn.” there was a slight murmur amongst the crew; normal demons were one thing amongst the sailors, but Tirek was something completely different. Even the most stoic of the crew had become nervous at the mention of his name, and this only added to the tension amongst the ponies.
“You know better than to mention that name.” the first pony said, still trying to keep his voice as hushed as possible.
“But it’s true. Ten years of nothing, and then not but a month ago ships begin vanishing, and all the survivors can talk about is a green glow. The Great Demon must have a hand in this.”
“Silence, before you summon more of his ilk.” the pony was silent. The youngest of them looked at the other sailors; never since he first joined this ship had he seen such fear in their eyes. It was a bit ridiculous to think about it; they were servants of the Ottomare Empire, blessed by the Sun King Himself, and here they were cowering like foals separated from their caretakers. So much nervousness, so much tension, and it had driven the most stalwart of ponies into cowering wrecks. He prayed to the Sun King that he would grant him some way to alleviate the tension, but Güneş kral did not respond that quickly.
“What must we do?”
“Pray; pray that the spawn of hell do not find us here.”
“Too late, they’re here.” the entire ship fell silent. For a few moments, there was no sound asides from waves lapping against the galley’s hull. Then there was a droning sound and a green glow swept across the deck of the ship, as if it was searching for something. The youngest managed to find a small enough crack to look through, and he saw the source of the light.
It was a ship. It was huge, much larger than the galley, and its bulky design and square rigged sails showed Equestrian or Ponaean influence. But everything else about it was wrong; the sails were in tatters and weeds hung off loose planks, and it flew a flag that he had never seen or heard of before: a crimson field behind the profile of an ape’s skull. He shivered again, staring at that flag: something about it screamed evil, as if he was looking into the face of Tirek himself. He decided that when they returned to port, he wanted to spend a few days in a mosque before setting out again in order to purge the evil from his mind and soul.
And then he saw him: a soot grey unicorn, wearing a tattered overcoat and old hat. A sword was strapped to his side, alongside two objects that looked like miniature cannons. His attire and position on deck made him out to be captain, and most likely some kind of pirate. The young stallion had heard of pirates before, but they sailed smaller skiffs to catch merchant ships, not huge open-ocean vessels like this one. In his mind, the idea of these ponies being the spawn of Tartarus became more and more likely.
But the worst bit was the stallion’s eyes; they were bright red, brighter than blood, and they glowed with magic. The idea that somepony could have eyes such as these was unheard of, at best used as a tale to keep children in bed. For the briefest instant, the pirate looked and fixed his eyes upon the watching pony, causing the observer’s blood to run cold. Images flashed before his eyes; of those he knew, those he loved, all in pain while this... creature stood over them, laughing with glee. The young pony looked away, trying to clear his mind.
Those eyes... that must be what the others said... he must be the spawn of Tirek.
He prefers a different name, boy, A deep voice echoed through his mind. The sailor went rigid with fright.
Had that pony just infiltrated his mind? No, that was not true. Nopony could force their way into another pony’s mind; the Elders had told him that when he was a little colt.
But this is no ordinary pony...
“Stay calm,” one of the older ponies said “It’ll pass soon.” The younger pony nodded, but he felt as he would never be fully calm again. His legs were trembling slightly, he had begun to sweat and his breathing had sped up. Closing his eyes only brought back visions of the other ship’s captain, his stare piercing the younger pony’s soul. Oh merciful Sun King, please drive away these demons so that your servant may live.
As if somepony had been listening to his prayers, the droning stopped. The light faded and all was quiet again. The ponies inside the galley looked at each other, some murmuring about what had happened. The oldest was still on edge, but some of the others began to relax.
“It’s gone... the hellspawn have left us.” one of the others said.
Just before a salvo of grapeshot tore through the galley.
Most of the ponies below had no time to react. As the attacker poured salvo after salvo into their craft, all they could do was watch as the grapeshot tore their fellows to pieces. Some made it to the deck, only to be confronted by boarding pirates. Although to call them pirates was not a full description; their flesh was rotting, their bones exposed, and some bore no resemblance to ponies anymore. The tide of cursed pirates surged across the survivors, cutting down all that stood in their way.
The Spectre had claimed another victim.

El Fantasma walked across the deck of his new prize. It was small and poorly armed, only twelve light cannons, but from her rigging and oars he could tell she was fast, perfect for his plan. El Fantasma’s crew had brought out as many of the corpses as they could feasibly carry (some had taken more of the grapeshot than others). He inspected them individually, like a shopper inspecting produce, before taking a step back.
“This will be perfect.” His horn lit up with magic, and the pile of corpses was encased in a red glow. Slowly, the corpses rose under their own power, rebuilt with the dark magic inside every member of the Cursed. Soon a new crew, built from the torn remains of the old, stood before El Fantasma, awaiting orders.
“You serve me now,” he said to the new crew “And my orders and the orders of my master are to be carried out to their fullest. You shall spread fear and disorder amongst the waves, so our enemy will be lured in.” he chuckled a little “You will most likely be destroyed, but that is needed for my plan to succeed. Go now and fulfil what I have commanded.” With that, he turned and dissipated into a cloud of black smoke, drifting back to the Spectre. When he reached his ship, he rematerialized and walked towards the helm.
“Set course for the last archipelago; It’s time we paid our first recruits a little visit.”
“Captain.” one of his servants said “Look what we found.” El Fantasma turned and saw two unicorns dragging a young Pegasus across the deck. The cursed pirate smiled.
“Well well, if it isn’t the curious pony himself.” using his own magic, El Fantasma pulled the sailor in closer.
“P-Please,” the Pegasus said “I’ve done nothing blameful-”
“Well of course you have, boy!” El Fantasma said cheerfully “Otherwise you’d have died in that first salvo.” he laughed before turning his attention back to the pony in his grasp “Tell me, do you have a fathom as to what exactly comes now?” the captive slowly shook his head. “You and I, we’ll be having a chat later once we reach dry land.” He tossed the pony across the deck, two of the other pirates catching him. “A few days in the brig should do wonders for him, don’t you think?” the pirates that caught the Pegasus nodded and dragged their captaive to whatever fate lay below deck.

> Commission
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Don't have much to say on this chapter... there is a bit more rant below.
I still don't own My Little Pony or Pirates, comments and likes are welcome.




Commission

Summer had come to Ponyville, and all was well. A few ponies were milling around aimlessly while groups of foals went this way and that. Shopkeepers had started to close up for lunch and Pegasi shifted clouds around for maximum shade coverage.
And in the Ponyville Library, it was one of the most important days of the week.
“Okay Spike, do we have everything?” asked Twilight Sparkle, the unicorn in charge of the library.
“Uh, I think so.” Spike pulled out a fairly large checklist and began searching through it. Twilight’s obsessive nature meant that most of the items on the checklist were redundant, but nopony was brave enough to correct her or suggest she was being too meticulous. Spike did not mind most of the time, but he secretly hoped for something to get Twilight to loosen up.
“Read me the list once more just in case.”
“Okay... checklist, books, sandwiches, extra quills and ink, floor layout of the library... yep, I think we have everything.”
“Great. I can finally start reshelving.” Twilight began searching through the stacks of books, trying to find the right combinations to place them in before deciding on topic, publishing date and relevance to the topic presented. Separating all the books would take time, but as Twilight had no other engagements that day she was in no real rush. She pulled one stack to her using her magic and set to work.
“Spike, did those encyclopedias I ordered come in yet?”
“They’re not supposed to come in until tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow? But what if somepony needs them now? What if they use the old encyclopedias by accident and hurt themselves when they misread the information? Can a pony get sued for not providing the right encyclopedias?”
“Relax, Twi, they’ll be here before you reopen the library tomorrow morning.” Twilight squirmed a little, but relaxed after a few moments.
“I guess we’ll just skip that section for now.” She grabbed a sandwich and continued on. “Have you seen that book on Magic Theory around?”
“Cherilee asked to borrow it when you were in Canterlot; she said something about giving a lesson on magic someday.”
“Wonder why she didn’t just ask me to give a lecture?”
“You like using big words, Twilight.”
“Well... Yeah, but it’s for important concepts.”
“Do you expect a bunch of fillies and colts to understand all those 'important concepts'?”
“I did.”
“But your special talent is magic; of course you’d be able to understand.” Twilight tried to come up with a good retort, but nothing she came up with sounded right. She merely sighed, silently conceded defeat, and went back to sorting, stopping only to decide how much she was willing to blend subjects. They continued reshelving until there was a knock at the door.
“Huh, that’s odd; everypony should know we’re closed for reshelving.”
“Maybe it’s somepony from out of town.” Spike said before picking up another pile of books.
“I haven’t seen Pinkie running around looking for space for a party, so that might not be it.” Twilight finished stacking another shelf and opened the door using her magic. Standing outside was a white earth pony stallion with a blond mane and goatee wearing a heavy blue coat and hat. A complicated brace with a sword attached to it was strapped to his right foreleg and a braided lock of hair hung in front of his left ear. The stallion gave her a smile.
“Hello Twilight,” Captain Montana Mays said “I saw you had the blinds closed so I was afraid you were out of town.”
“Oh, Captain Mays. Good to see you again.” Twilight blushed a little “Sorry about the mess; it’s Reshelving Day and things tend to get a little cluttered.”
“That’s fine. I have to deal with a few messes from time to time.” Mays entered the library while Twilight went back to sorting books “Need any help?”
“No, I think I have this under control. You can help yourself to one of those sandwiches I put out if you’re hungry.”
“Thank you.” there was silence for awhile before Twilight spoke again.
“So, what have you been up to? I mean, you haven’t been in Ponyville since the beginning of Cider Season.”
“I’ve been around: Canterlot, Fillydelphia, Manehattan, Ponaeus, a few other small towns, that sort of thing. I would have brought back something from each place I visited, but space became an issue and I had to scrap that plan.”
“That’s understandable. Did you meet any new ponies?”
“A few. Most of them were nice enough, but some had a few... issues. And then there was the really eccentric ones.”
“Eccentric?”
“Princess Celestia set up a few demonstrations so she and Luna could see just how strong the Concordia really was. We were about half way through when these two unicorns showed up and said they had some kind of... steam-powered autocannon they wanted to show off.”
“These two unicorns, they wouldn't have happened to go by Flim and Flam, would they?”
“I take it you’ve met them?”
“They tried to drive Applejack’s family out of business during Cider Season... You didn’t accept their business, did you?”
“Actually I turned them down, even though their steam cannon had a pretty impressive rate of fire. I didn’t know about Cider Season; it was mostly disagreements in practicality.” Twilight’s inner analyst got the better of her and her mind began to construct several reasons why something like a steam-powered cannon would not be very practical.
“Was it because it was too big? Was it too noisy? Did the steam system create too much heat? Were you worried about hiring more unicorns to manage the cannons?” there was silence.
“I was going to say it was too expensive, but I guess those were valid reasons as well. Anyway, they didn’t take no for an answer, so Luna had to scare them off.”
“Oh.” Twilight assembled another stack and kept working.
“On a different note, apparently I'm very popular amongst the nobility; they think I’m some kind of hero for fighting off all the Diamond Dog raiders. I can’t say I’m too fond of most of them.”
“This would have to do with your last encounter with Prince Blueblood, right?”
“You know about that?”
“I’m pretty sure half of the ponies in Equestria know about that. I expected you to have a few issues, but nothing on the scale of what happened.”
“It was his fault, not mine.”
“That still doesn’t justify challenging him to a duel in front of half the ponies in Canterlot. You could have hurt somepony and made even more trouble.”
“... You’re probably right.” Twilight nodded and finished stacking another bookcase “So, anything interesting happen around here while I was gone?”
“Oh yes. I visited myself in the past to warn myself not to worry about the future but I didn't get it until after I'd tried warning myself, Spike got a baby phoenix when he joined the Dragon Migrations, I finally got Rainbow Dash to read something, Fluttershy’s been more assertive lately, and the Cakes won a big baking competition in Canterlot two weeks ago.”
“Ah, sorry I missed it.”
“Well, there was the issue of some of the bakers’ food getting eaten, but other than that it was a lot of fun.” Twilight finished the last shelf and turned to face Mays. “Was there anything else you wanted to talk about?”
“Actually... Yes. Twilight, I need your help.” Twilight frowned; while she was not the type of pony to turn down a friend, the way Mays spoke made her uneasy, and the last time they had cooperated on anything had nearly got him, her, her friends and his entire crew killed.
Twilight, you faced two gods, several dragons, a hydra, the monsters in Tartarus, and Pinkie Pie; you can handle anything, a voice said in the back of Twilight’s mind.
“For what?”
“Tomorrow I have to leave Manehattan to deliver a new ambassador to the Ottomare Empire. However, ships have been disappearing off the coast and I don’t think they’re behind it, so I plan to do a general sweep of the area to find out what’s going on.”
“What does that have to do with me?”
“You know more about magic than anypony else I’ve met. If whatever’s going on is magic based, then you can help me find out where she ships are and, if possible, get them back.”
“This won’t be like last time, where all of us almost got killed?”
“I can’t guarantee anything, but my crew and I have gotten used to sailing and fighting as ponies. Hopefully nothing bad will happen, but if something goes wrong we can protect you.”
Like I need protecting, the small bit of ego Twilight had picked up sometime during her time in Canterlot said. For whatever reason, it sounded a lot like Rainbow Dash. A few other thoughts crossed Twilight’s mind, but she labeled them as unimportant and made up her mind.
“I think I can go. I’d have to tell Princess Celestia and the mayor, but I think that won’t take too long.”
“I can take care of that for you, Twilight.” Spike said, walking out of one of the other rooms with a feather duster in one hand and Peewee perched on his head. “I’ll also look after the library, Owlowicious and Peewee for you.”
“You don’t want to come?”
“Nah, I think I’ve done enough traveling after the Dragon Migrations. Just be careful, okay?” Twilight giggled.
“Okay Spike.” she focused on Mays again “Just let me finish up here. Maybe some of my friends wouldn’t mind coming; after all, wouldn't more of us be able to handle whatever problem you do end up dealing with?”
“I’m sure I could accommodate them.”


....................


“No.” the sound of Twilight’s jaw hitting the floor could be heard all the way from Sweet Apple Acres. She stammered form a bit, but managed to regain control before her brain failed completely.
“But Pinkie, you loved our last trip.”
“I know, and this one would also be super amazing and be loads of fun. but look at Pumpkin,” Pinkie shoved the aforementioned foal into Mays’ face “She’s too cute to be left alone!” Pumpkin giggled and swatted Mays’ hat off his head. “Gotta go; Pound’s trying to get into the frosting again.” and with that the pink pony was off.
“Well, maybe somepony else will come.”


...................


“Yeah, I’m gonna have to pass on this one.” Rainbow Dash jumped down from her cloud and landed in front of the two ponies.
“Still having issues from last time?” Mays asked.
“No way. That was cool, fighting off all those cursed ponies. It’s just that I got a VIP pass to the next Wonderbolts show, and there’s no way I’m going to be missing that.”
“VIP?” Mays still had issues with acronyms from time to time.
“‘Very Important Pony’. Now, I’m gonna go finish my nap. Bring me back something cool from your trip.” the cyan Pegasus took off again and returned to her cloud, leaving behind only a small cloud of dust for Twilight and Mays to choke on.


..................


“Nuh-uh. No way.”
“But Applejack-”
“No Twi; I ain’t goin’ anywhere near that ship.” the orange farm pony kicked another tree “I almost died when them cursed ponies attacked and I ain’t gonna leave my family like that. ‘Sides, me ‘n Big Macintosh were gonna spend the next few weeks clearin’ out some of the dead trees ‘round here here and I won’t let him do it by himself.”
“... Okay.”


.................


“Apologies, but I cannot go.” Rarity finished setting up several mannequins and started rummaging through a pile of fabric “On any other occasion I would go. I’ve always wanted to go to the Ottomare Empire and pick up a few new designs, possibly meet a rich young prince if I was lucky, and normally I would never turn down a friend’s request. But I promised to take care of Sweetie Belle for the week, and I must put my family engagements before anything else. You understand, don’t you?”
“Yes, yes we do.”
“Thank you. Oh, if anything, take this.” Rarity crossed the room and pulled out a box from a nearby closet and passed it to Twilight. Twilight opened the box and found a collection of silk scarves, sun hats and even a pair of sunglasses.
“What is all this?”
“This is my ‘Going-To-The-Ottomare-Empire’ collection. Since I won’t be needing it right now, I want you to take it.”
“Thank you Rarity.”
“You’re welcome. Just be sure to bring it back in one piece; I don’t want to have to make all those scarves again.”


.................


“Oh yes, I would love to go.”
“Well, thanks for your time Fluttershy. We’ll see you in a few... Wait, you want to go?”
“Yes, of course I would.” the butter yellow Pegasus smiled again. Twilight’s brain was running on overload: Applejack and Rarity saying no was understandable, Pinkie and Rainbow Dash slightly less acceptable but Fluttershy, the pony who fainted when somepony sneezed too loud, saying yes? Forget Pinkie Pie, this made no sense.
“You. Fluttershy. Want to go with us?”
“Um, yes?”
“Fluttershy. You want to come with us?”
“I said yes.” Fluttershy started to look confused “Should we have that conversation again?”
“Twilight, if I may.” Mays stepped in front of the frazzled purple unicorn “Fluttershy, you do know that this trip may be dangerous.”
“Yes, I know. But I couldn’t let some poor pony be hurt while I stayed here. I just wouldn’t feel right with myself. A-And I read some more on treating injured ponies, so I can be more useful... that is, if you want me to do that sort of thing... Oh, and I heard that there’s this beautiful garden in the Ottomare Empire that’s almost as big as the Canterlot gardens, and I would love to see all the plants and animals they have there.”
“But who would take care of your animals here?”
“Oh, Applejack said she would be willing to look after my animal friends if I went away. She... owes me a few favors... I mean, not that anything bad happened, but she just agreed to help me if needed. My animal friends like her and I don’t think they’d mind... they've never complained about it before...” Mays looked back to see if Twilight had any more objections. The unicorn was still looking frazzled, but at least her mane had straightened out.
“Great.” Mays said “I’ll give you two some time to pack and we’ll head for Manehattan tomorrow.”



The idea of Mays challenging Blueblood to a duel was not mine; All credit for said idea goes to Highwayhoss. I will probably show what exactly happened at somepoint, but not right now...
> Launching
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm not very fond of this chapter... it just seems bland. I guess I'm just impatient, which is bad because it makes me write worse.
Anyway, I don't own Pirates or Ponies (wish I did thought, that'd be cool), but the Ottomare Empire and Ponaeus are mine (I guess). Likes and comments are welcome.




Launching

The Manehattan docks were some of the busiest in the world; day and night schooners and trade ships would come and go, delivering their cargoes as they went. On good days the harbor was filled with ships from across the globe, their captains and crews jockeying with others for docking space and unloading various goods brought from far off places.
Dominating the usual array of ships was the Concordia, the sole ship in the Equestrian Navy. She was a third-rate, a massive three-masted vessel mounting sixty four heavy cannons and a crew consisting of hundreds of ponies, and her sheer size made most captains give the Concordia plenty of space due to a combination of fear and respect for what the ship represented. Her olive sails were stowed and two flags flapped in the breeze; the first was the standard flag of Equestria, depicting two alicorns, one white and one black, circling the sun and moon, while the one beneath consisted of thirteen alternating red and white stripes accompanied by a blue field set behind a circle of thirteen stars.
Twilight’s teleportation spell had deposited her, Fluttershy, Mays and all their luggage right next to the Concordia. The past few months had given Twilight time to perfect her mass teleportation spell, making it both less dangerous to everypony involved and much easier to cast. Still, being teleported was a jarring experience for anypony not used to it; while Twilight was walking it off fairly easily, Fluttershy was quivering like a leaf and Mays had a dazed expression on his face, as if somepony had accidentally hit him in the face with something.
“I-If you don’t mind me asking, Twilight,” Fluttershy said once she calmed down “Could you please warn us next time you teleport?”
“Yes Fluttershy. Sorry for scaring you again.”
“T-That’s okay.” Twilight used her magic to pick up their luggage and crossed over to the Concordia. Mays had snapped out of his daze and was dusting himself off.
“So, Captain, do we still have the same rooms as last time?”
“Yes, but we had to convert some of the space into storage, so it may be a little cramped and might explode if you use too much magic.” Mays walked up the gangplank, followed by Twilight and Fluttershy “Richard, are you here?”
“Captain?” the stocky unicorn that was Master Chief Charles Richard said from the bow.
“Start clearing out any unnecessary equipment from the guest rooms and get Twilight and Fluttershy settled.”
“Aye Captain.” Richard trotted over to the group “Hello again. It’s been awhile since we last met.”
“Yes it has. You seem to be doing well.”
“I’m not dead yet, so I consider that a plus.” The Master Chief chuckled to himself and twilight, unsure of what to make of it, joined in after a pause. When they were finished, Richard took the bags in his own magic and lead Twilight and Fluttershy below deck.
“So, Captain Mays mentioned an ambassador coming with us. Do you know who it is?”
“No. The Captain’s never been the kind to talk much about dignitaries traveling with us, and if he did he mostly told us to ignore them, but from what I do know it’s some unicorn he met on one of his trips to Canterlot. I swear, it seems every time we sail in, there’s always some business pony waiting at the dock to compliment us on what a good job we’re doing. He doesn’t like most of them, though.”
“Prince Blueblood is one of them, right?”
“Never met the guy myself, but he sounds a lot like Nolan.” there was silence as the ponies collected their thoughts “Anyway, hopefully this ambassador won’t mind what goes on around here, or even better keeps to himself.
“If Captain Mays knows him then I’m sure they’ll have something in common.”
“Just because the captain knows him doesn’t mean he likes him.” Twilight mused over the fact that Mays and his crew did not seem to be good at making friends. Setting another train of thought aside, she noticed that the three of them had stopped outside two of the smaller rooms near the stern of the ship. “Shouldn’t be anything in here, but give me a few minutes to clean out everything.” the Master Chief disappeared into one of the rooms, leaving Twilight and Fluttershy alone.
“Um, Twilight?”
“Yes Fluttershy?”
“We’re going to have to meet those other ponies... right?”
“Eventually. I mean, this boat isn’t that big; we’re bound to run into each other at some point.”
“Oh, okay... Uh, Twilight?”
“Yes Fluttershy?”
“I know I’m trying to be more assertive, but I don’t really want to meet the ambassador.”
“Why not?”
“Well, you know I’ve never been good with new ponies, especially not ambassadors. I-I wouldn’t want to make a bad impression. What if they get mad at me?”
“Don’t worry, Fluttershy. I’m going to be there too, and I would never allow anypony to be mad at my friends. Besides, how could anypony stay mad at you?”
“Um, there was Gilda...”
“Gilda was a bully, and bullies never really like anyone.”
“I... I guess that’s true.” Fluttershy shuffled a little before Richard exited the room, various bits of equipment gripped in his magic.
“That should be good for now. If there’s anything else just find me or somepony else.” Richard left, leaving Twilight and Fluttershy alone again.
“I... I think I’ll go unpack.”
“We can do that later. Let’s go back and catch up with the others.”
“Um, I’d rather not right now.” the Pegasus shuffled around again “I-I’m trying to be more assertive here, and I really wouldn’t mind unpacking.” Twilight would have tried to maneuver Fluttershy into a position where the Pegasus would have been more open to meeting ponies, but an image of Fluttershy tackling and stomping on Rainbow Dash made her change her mind.
“Oh, I’ll leave you to it, I guess.” Twilight left and headed back out on deck. Mays was speaking with Richard while a yellow Pegasus with a coiled rattlesnake for a cutie mark hovered behind them. Twilight trotted over to them, but the sailors did not make note of her.
“Did you remember to purchase the extra powder?”
“Had to stop by a fireworks maker to fill the quota, but yes I got your powder.”
“Good. Go make sure those cannons are stored.” Richard left and Mays turned his attention to the Pegasus “Smith, I need you to control your sailors.”
“Why? They haven’t burned anything down yet.” Carl Smith said, landing.
“No, they’ve settled for trying to get themselves killed by flying through the rigging. I’ve told you before not to do stunts in the rigging, and you seem to be ignoring me every time.”
“I figure that if we can navigate the rigging, then we could get around the ship easier. Besides, flying around is fun.”
“This is a military vessel; ‘fun’ is not in the job description. Look, I’m not trying to be Nolan’s replacement, but I don’t want to deal with a bunch of ponies breaking limbs, so no more stunts of any kind or I’ll be forced to take action and dole out punishments.”
“Fine, I’ll spread the word around. Anything else?”
“Have you seen Hacksaw around?”
“He’s down below. One of the marines tripped over a cannon during drills and got banged up pretty good.”
“Tell him when he’s finished to check the crew for anything I might have forgotten; I don’t want another feather flu outbreak like last month.”
“Aye Sir.” Smith flew off, pulling over a few other Pegasi as he went. Seeing her opportunity, Twilight stepped forward.
“So, when’s the ambassador going to show up?”
“Soon. He never specified when, though, so we could be waiting for a few minutes.” Mays looked up to the sky “I’d rather not though; the Pegasi screwed with the crosswinds and that could slow us down a bit.” he looked back at Twilight “Where’s Fluttershy?”
“She’s unpacking... she insisted on it.”
“Oh.” there was a pause “This may seem like an awkward question, but have you practiced your combat skills?”
“A little. I read up more on certain spells and I had Rainbow Dash tackle me once a week to improve my reflexes and strength.”
“How does that work?”
“I don’t know but it does. Are you asking me this because you’ve changed your mind about this trip being dangerous?”
“... Possibly. I forgot to mention what route we’re going to be taking to the Ottomare Empire... Twilight, have you ever heard of The Gauntlet?”
“I think you told me about it once. That’s where all the Diamond Dogs are, right?”
“Exactly. Now, we both know Diamond Dogs are not exactly the best sailors, but I’m anticipating at least one or two sightings, if we’re unlucky.”
“And you see nothing wrong with taking a very important ambassador straight through one of the most dangerous spots on the planet?”
“We’re not going straight through. If I had a map I’d show you our exact route, but it’s right along the edge of The Gauntlet, so we should be fine.”
“This is when you start bragging about how powerful this ship is, right?”
“If this was your first time aboard I would, but you’ve seen what we’re capable of so it would be wasted on you.” Mays looked around the deck.
“You seem to be getting impatient.”
“Habit I picked up. Too many delays might mean more mistakes once the crew starts getting bored. As soon as the ambassador shows up we should be on our- oh, how convenient, he’s here.” Twilight turned to the sound of hooves coming up the gangplank. It was a white unicorn, dressed in a fairly nice overcoat, bowtie and monocle. He was followed closely by a second unicorn, a tall and thin mare who gave Twilight a small smile before turning her gaze back to the leading pony’s flanks. Twilight attempted a logical greeting, but fumbled.
“Fancypants? You’re the ambassador?”
“Of course... Twilight, was it?” Fancypants said, giving Twilight a cheerful smile “You didn’t think I spent my entire life living off of Canterlot garden parties, did you?”
“Uh, well... no. But I’ve met most of the ambassadors when I lived in Canterlot, and Princess Celestia never mentioned you.”
“Well, I’ve been ‘off the list’ more or less for quite some time; there was this nasty engagement over in the Baletic regions I’d rather not discuss right now.” He turned to Mays and nodded “Captain Mays. Good to see you again.”
“Good to see you too. Our last meeting was... less than satisfactory.”
“Demanding that Blueblood accept your offer of a duel would lead to that.”
“Nopony’s going to let me forget that, are they?”
“You made headlines.” Twilight said, with slightly less emotion than normal.
“That’s not important now. Anyway, we should be ready to leave soon, so you may want to make yourselves comfortable for the trip.” Mays turned to Twilight “Do you mind showing them down to the guest quarters?”
“Uh, sure.” Why do I feel like he’s just trying to get rid of me? Mays nodded and walked back to the helm, leaving Twilight alone with Fancypants and his wife.
Fortunately, Fluttershy took that moment to come out on deck.
“Twilight, I was just wondering what you wanted to do with...” the Pegasus froze before starting to shuffle around again. “I’m sorry, am I interrupting something?”
“Of course not, Fluttershy.” Twilight turned to the others “You remember Fancypants, right?”
“Um, yes...” Fluttershy shuffled some more “I-It’s nice to see you again...”
“Likewise. We didn’t get the chance to talk much last time we met, and you seem like a fairly nice pony. Perhaps we’ll get to know each other a little better on this trip.”
“Oh... that sounds nice.” again, the Pegasus was shuffling her hooves. “S-sorry, I’m not very good around ponies...”
“Don’t worry. I had similar issues when I was younger, what with my parents always trying to introduce me to new ponies. I found that sometimes it’s okay to just wait for everypony to say their piece and move on, so then you don’t feel so nervous around them later.”
“I... I suppose that works.” Fluttershy had stopped shuffling and brushed some of her mane out of her face. Twilight smiled again.
“Well, I’m glad to see that everypony’s getting along. I’m going to finish unpacking.”


.................


That night, the Concordia drifted silently out of Equestrian waters and into The Gauntlet. Most of the ponies aboard had finished their duties and gone to sleep, but a few remained on deck to make sure the ship continued to sail properly. And then there were those that, for one reason or the other, were prevented from sleeping.
“Rabbits,” Richard muttered, taking a drink from a small flask “All a bunch of rabbits.”
“Well, it’s not like there are laws preventing that sort of behavior.” the ship’s medic, “Hacksaw” Riley, said from his position.
“Still, least they could do was be more private about it.” Richard took another drink “This is why I hate carting politicians around.”
“I’m sure the captain hates it for the same reasons.” Hacksaw looked across the ocean and sighed.
“What’s your problem?” Richard asked.
“Nothing really. It’s just that ever since we got here there’s been little chance for me to exercise... what did they call them? ‘Special Talents’?”
“So you actually want to saw somepony’s limbs off?”
“I wouldn’t go that far.”
“I don’t see why you’re upset. The boys not getting injured tends to make things more pleasant around here.”
“I don’t know. I shouldn’t feel upset, but I am.”
“Don’t worry. Something will come up.” another drink, and Richard noticed a third pony walking towards them. The lighting was bad, so Richard pulled over a nearby lantern to see better.
“Um, Mister Richard?” Fluttershy said.
“Yes ma’am.”
“I don’t mean to interrupt, but I think there’s something wrong with your boat.”
“Oh?” Richard took another drink.
“Yes. I was trying to sleep, and I kept hearing these... noises.”
“What kind of noises?”
“Um, I can’t really describe them, but they don’t sound normal for boats...”
“Eh, lots of things don’t sound normal for boats.” Richard leaned back a little and looked away.
“But, um, do you know what’s wrong?”
“He was complaining about it two minutes ago.” Hacksaw said, walking over to the other two ponies.
“Complaining?”
“Yeah,” The Master Chief said “It’s all down to decency.”
“What about decency?”
“Nothing. Fancypants is just practicing his diplomatic skills with that mare he brought with him.” Richard took another drink and set the flask aside.
“Oh, well I guess that isn’t so bad. I mean, he needs to be ready when all those important leaders start asking questions.” this drew an odd stare from Richard which caused Fluttershy to back up “Did I say something wrong?”
“No, you’re fine. Go back to sleep and everything will be fine.” Fluttershy smiled and trotted off into the night. Richard set the lantern down and retrieved his flask.
“Think she know what you meant?”
“I certainly hope not; poor girl’s like a child, and I don’t think she’d take that very well.” Hacksaw nodded and walked off, leaving Richard alone to enjoy his drink.



Next chapter: an explanation as to why there are Diamond Dog pirates
> Assault on Diamond Reef Harbor
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

School is starting back up for me this week, so have a nice long chapter to enjoy.
Warning: contains descriptions of 18th-century surgery (read: amputation) I still don't own Pirates or My Little Pony; all I own are any OCs you might see.




Assault on Diamond Reef Harbor

While not exactly stormy, the weather had taken a turn for the worse; a strong wind had come in from the north, and dark clouds had collected and obscured the sun. Under normal circumstances Mays would not have worried too much, but asides from Diamond Dog pirates The Gauntlet was lined by several reefs that could easily tear a hole in and sink the Concordia, and the overcast made it hard for the sailors on watch to spot them. Mays had sent Smith and several Pegasi ahead to scout out the reefs, but so far they had not found anything.
“Remind me next time we sail down here to hire a cartographer for better maps.” Mays said as he brushed through several sheets of paper.
“They don’t seem very eager to join on with a military vessel.” Richard said.
“If it was necessary, I’d steal a schooner if I could get better maps.” Mays finished his rummaging and walked back to the helm. “Stow some of the canvas to slow us down. When we do hit those reefs at least we won’t crash into them.”
“Aye captain.” Richard trotted off, passing a sleepy looking Twilight as he went.
“Rough night?”
“Actually I slept very well. Why do you ask?”
“No real reason. Was there something you wanted to ask me?”
“Well, do you want me or Fluttershy to help out with something? I heard somepony say something about reefs.”
“I sent Smith out to find the reefs before we hit one. If you are interested , once we find the reefs you could record their locations.”
“You complain so much about maps; have you ever considered hiring a cartographer?” Mays looked at Twilight, the mare staring back in confusion “Is something wrong?”
“... The universe must enjoy tormenting me.” he muttered before turning away “Anyway, there should be some spare paper lying around here if you’d like to get organized.”
“Okay.” Twilight looked across the deck. “It seems... quiet.”
“Well, Nolan’s not around anymore, so that makes it a little easier-”
“Sail ho!” one of the remaining Pegasi called.
“And that moment is gone. Go find Fluttershy.” Twilight nodded and ran below while Mays crossed to the bow, soon joined by Richard. “Any sign of Smith?”
“No captain,” Richard said “Maybe sending him out wasn’t the best idea.”
“It was his idea, not mine.” Mays took a nearby spyglass and balanced it on his hooves, allowing him to get a better view of the approaching ship. Compared to most of the Diamond Dog ships he had encountered during his sweeps, this one seemed to be in pristine condition; the sails, while still weathered, were not in shreds, and from what he could see the hull was in decent shape.
And it was not alone...
“There’s three more besides that one... this should be pleasant.” Mays put the spyglass away “Get all crew to their stations and load the guns. If we’re lucky we can get into a position where they won’t be able to flank us.”
“Aye sir.” Richard trotted off, shouting orders as he went. Mays returned to gazing at the approaching ships, noting that a fourth had joined the small squadron. Mays had fought against superior odds before, but that was when he commanded smaller frigates with greater maneuverability than the Concordia. Watching the Diamond Dogs approach, his plan amounted to charging straight into the squadron and attacking with everything he had, which given the
Diamond Dog’s lack of projectile weaponry was a fairly sound plan.
Still, if we ever run into a serious threat I’ll need a new plan.
“Captain,” Mays turned and saw Twilight and Fluttershy standing behind him “I still have that communication spell we used last time.”
“Still trying to control my violent tendencies?”
“Starting a war because you won’t talk things over is not on my list of things to do before I die. Now focus on the ship.” Mays turned again and looked at the closest ship. There was a brief spike in magic and Mays found himself standing near the main mast of the lead ship, surrounded by dozens of startled Dogs.
“Pony is very prompt, yes?” one of the Dogs said, lowering a spear to Mays’ avatar’s chest.
“Keeps you guys on your toes.” Mays said “Now, you are approaching a vessel of the Equestrian Navy, and if you do not state your business or change course you will be fired upon.” unlike previous times he had made this threat, these Diamond Dogs cowered.
“... Boss Dog wouldn’t like that.”
“I don’t care what he thinks. Alter your course now or you will be fired upon.”
“B-But Boss Dog wanted to speak with pony, yes? You speak with him, and he decides what happens, yes?”
“Since I’m the one with the cannons, I decide what happens. Change your course now.”
“Okay, we’ll move, yes. But only if pony speaks with Boss Dog, yes?”
“You’re not the one to make threats.”
“No, no, Boss Dog is good, yes? He has plan and wants to speak with pony... please don’t hurt us.” Mays was skeptical; the Dogs showing fear was one thing, but having an actual organized chain of command was something Mays was completely unprepared for. He considered making his threat again, or even following through and firing, but something held him back.
“Where is he?” all the dogs present pointed to the next ship over. “Twilight, end the spell.” Mays found himself back on the Concordia “Can you cast the spell again?”
“Yes. Is there something I should know?”
“I’ll explain later. Cast the spell.” Twilight nodded and her horn once again lit up with magic. Mays looked to the next ship over and once again found himself standing beneath the main mast surrounded by startled Diamond Dogs.
“All right, who’s in charge here?” most of the Dogs around Mays began to back up, save one. Unlike the others, he seemed fairly conscious about appearances, and instead of the typical vest or thrown together suit of armor he was dressed in an overcoat not that different from Mays’. “I presume it’s you.”
“Captain Mays, I presume.” The Diamond Dog said, stepping forward. “Your exploits in this region are very well known.”
“Good for me. Where did you learn-”
“I spent ten years in Trottingham as a political refugee; I had to find some way to spend my time.” the Diamond Dog chuckled a little “Oh, where are my manners? I am Stonebreaker, True Alpha of the Diamond Dogs.”
“Why True Alpha?”
“Have you ever wondered why you have had to deal with pirates in this region, specifically Diamond Dog pirates?”
“No. Pirates are pirates, and I don’t really care for their motives. Why do you ask?”
“I just wanted to see if you knew the full extent of the situation. You see, twelve years ago the Alpha Male, my father, died without naming his successor. Problems arose, and after I was named his successor several subpacks broke off and formed their own group, starting a civil war.”
“Pleasant. What does this have to do with me?”
“I will get there. After five years of war, both the splinter group and my own loyalists broke up into even smaller groups, each one claiming to be the rightful successor to the position of Alpha. At least one of these groups has resorted to piracy and is currently holed up in Diamond Reef Harbor. I have launched an assault on the Harbor, but it has... stalled, for lack of a better term.”
“So this harbor is a hub for pirates. What am I supposed to do about it?”
“My guess is that you do not wish to deal with pirates.”
“Well, I’d rather not, but I still don’t see-”
“Then you might consider helping me retake Diamond Reef Harbor so as to stop the pirate threat.” Mays looked at the Diamond Dog.
“... What?”
“A simple, short term alliance is all I’m asking for. I have heard rumors about your ship’s strength, and I bet you could clear that harbor in a few minutes if you really wanted to.”
“Not that sacking a port known for major piracy is a bad thing, I still don’t have much incentive to help you out. Given that your political situation is a shambles, I can’t get open ports for resupply, Equestria is not at war with any other nation so I can’t ask for favors if one breaks out, and with your messed up country I doubt I can get paid very much for helping.”
“I do have holds in several profitable mining facilities within Equestrian and Ottomare borders. If you help me, a simple visit could put all of them in your name.”
“That’s tempting, very tempting. If you’d like to talk terms, there’s an ambassador aboard my ships; we could set up some kind of meeting-”
“My dealings are with you, captain.”
“I know, but I serve Equestria and the princesses first. I’m not some mercenary who jumps at every single offer that might have some kind of gain. So either you come here and talk it out with the ambassador, or I keep sailing and forget I ever met you.” Mays watched the Diamond Dogs, especially Stonebreaker, for any signs of faltering. The lesser Dogs seemed just as skittish as ever, while Stonebreaker gave off no emotion whatsoever. After about a minute, the Diamond Dog nodded.
“Very well. I will agree to your terms.”
“Thank you. I would also like all the maps you have concerning Diamond Reef Harbor. Twilight, we’re finished.” The spell cut out and Mays turned to face his crew. “Hold off on the cannons, but I still want them ready in case things get complicated.”
“What kind of things?” Twilight asked.
“There’s this Dog who says he’s supposed to be in charge of the Diamond Dogs and he wants us to help him clear out this port of pirates.”
“You weren’t too rude, I hope?”
“No more than usual. Would you do me a favor and go find Fancypants; I might need his diplomatic skills for a bit.” Twilight nodded and walked off. Mays turned back and watched as the Diamond Dogs’ ships approached.
Why do I have a feeling that I will regret this?


.................


Negotiations dragged on for an hour and a half (mainly because Mays could not stop himself from commenting on everything, and he was stalling so Smith could return), but eventually a deal was worked out: the Concordia would assist in retaking Diamond Reef Harbor in exchange for the mines, a very large pile of gems (more if any of Mays’ sailors died), a political alliance once the war was over, copies of every map they had on hand, security for the border with Equestria, and any other bits of information Mays asked for. The small collection of ships were sailing west, slowed only by crosswinds and the Concordia’s lack of maneuverability.
Mays had decided to take this time to plan.
“So, from what I’ve been able to gather,” Mays spread out the best map of Diamond Reef Harbor he could find, Twilight and Richard joining him “The town itself wraps around the bay, and if Stonebreaker’s sources are reliable this half,” Mays circled the eastern half with his hoof “Is what he controls... more or less.”
“I’m not much for military strategy,” Twilight said “But you’re focusing on the western half of the harbor, yes?”
“Correct, Twilight. Now, from my own experiences I’ve noted that the standard Diamond Dog tactic is to rush towards the problem and beat it to death. If we make it seem like we’re attacking the western half from the sea, they’ll rush to the docks and beaches to get ready.”
“And the thirty twos rip them apart.” Richard said.
“Exactly.”
“But, if you just start shooting at them won’t they retreat back into the city where the cannons won’t reach them?” Twilight asked. There was silence as Mays and Richard looked up at her.
“... That is a valid point. Theoretically, the cannons will have the range to do some damage up to a certain point, but I didn’t bring any mortars with me when we got sent here, so large scale bombardment is out of the question.”
“We still have some firepots left over from our last fight with the Spanish.” Richard said.
“Burning the city down is also out of the question. However, some smokepots might be helpful in creating confusion.”
“I know a couple of illusion spells that could help.” Twilight said.
“We may need those. Anyway, once the bombardment is finished Stonebreaker’s forces should be able to mop up the rest of the opposing troops.”
“Then why don’t you sound confident about it?” Twilight had been around Mays enough times to know that when he really was confident about a situation, he was more boisterous than usual. Now, though, he was speaking like he always did, and Twilight could tell he had other ideas.
“There is one problem... Stonebreaker’s forces are outnumbered four-to-one. Worse, it seems that whoever’s trying to beat him out of the city made arrangements with a local tribe of minotaurs. Even with bombardment Stonebreaker’s forces are going to be shredded before he can win.”
“I could try something to even the odds.” Twilight said “Magic has to count for something, doesn’t it?”
“I suppose, but I’m not sending you in there. Princess Celestia would banish me to the surface of the sun if you got killed.”
“Send the marines then.” Richard said. Mays thought for a moment before his face lit up.
“Diamond Dogs don’t use projectile weaponry. Why didn’t I think of that sooner. A few marines ashore would be perfect and may even lessen the casualties.” Mays’ face dropped again “Still, I’d rather not risk the marines.”
“If you don’t, I doubt this attack will do any good.” Richard said “Besides, the boys would probably jump at the chance. Not for combat, but just a chance to get something done around here.”
“What, is serving on a ship not good enough for them?”
“I didn’t mean it like that.’ Think bigger; wouldn’t doing this be beneficial to everypony, since they wouldn’t have to worry about pirates?”
“I... never saw you for the philosophical type.” Twilight said.
“I’ve got to find some way to entertain myself on patrols.” The Master Chief said.
“Can we set that discussion aside for a moment while I try to work out a plan that doesn’t get half my marines killed?”
“It doesn’t have to be that many.” Richard said “Let me pick ten marines, and I’ll think of something when we get there.”
“I’m going too.” the three turned to see Hacksaw walking up behind them, a bag and a piece of white cloth resting on his back “Before your protest, captain, some of the marines may get injured, and I’m sure Stonebreaker has plenty of wounded that need tending to.”
“Normally I’d say ‘no, you’re the only medic we have and I can’t risk you’, but you do have a point. Just make sure to bring an axe or something in case things get worse.”
“Aye captain.”
“So, do we have a plan?” Richard asked.
“We’ll start bombardment, and then you land on the eastern side with whatever forces Stonebreaker has. Twilight, I want you to use your illusions to make it seem like there are no boats landing in the eastern half... unless you don’t have a spell that can do that.”
“I’ll have to check... Wait, quick question. Are you going to keep the flags flying?”
“The old one, anyway; as far as I know, the Diamond Dogs still think I’m some kind of mercenary, so they won’t go and attack Equestria if they think we’re working for Stonebreaker.”
“Isn’t it a little risky to base everything on that one assumption?”
“Yes, but at this point I think it’s a necessary risk. Okay, you all have your assignments, see to it that they’re finished. Twilight, come with me.” Richard and Hacksaw departed, and Twilight fell in step behind Mays as he walked towards the stern. “So, Twilight, have you ever turned something invisible?”
“Well, kind of on accident. To be fair, I was only five and Cadence was just trying to be helpful.”
“Do you think you could replicate that spell?”
“I was five, it was an accident, and it was only small scale.” Twilight had to prevent herself from scowling at Mays.
“Okay, how about cloaking spells?”
“I know a few, but they tend to degrade rather fast.”
“How fast?”
“Twenty minutes, more or less.”
“Hopefully the boats won’t take that long to land.” They stopped by one of the smaller boats “Can you cast the spell on this one, just as a test?”
“Sure.” Twilight pointed her horn at the boat and allowed her magic to flow, a pink glow encasing the boat and the spell increased power. As the spell increased power, the boat began to fade. After a minute, all that remained was a thin outline that seemed to shimmer with the slightest provocation.
“Nice.” Mays trotted around the boat before leaping inside. As soon as he reached the bottom of the boat, the spell wrapped around him and left him as only an outline. “The boat doesn’t look altered from this angle.”
“Well, you don’t want your marines freaking out by not being able to see anything, now would you?”
“I suppose not.” Mays leapt out of the boat, his normal appearance returning soon afterward. “Do you have something that won’t freak out the Diamond Dogs on our side.”
“I can retool the spell so only ponies, or dogs as the case may be, that we want to be able to see the boat can see the boat.”
“How long will the retool take?”
“I would have to summon the spell matrix, analyse all the different components, rearrange several of them, add in several other visual inputs, and then reassemble the matrix and perform several small scale tests... about an hour, give or take ten minutes.”
“I think we have time. Get whatever supplies and ponies you need and get started.” Twilight nodded, trotting off to an empty spot on deck so she could have room to work.


.................


Diamond Reef Harbor was a mess; what ships were still in the harbor looked misused and rotten, and none of the original buildings and docks were intact. Smoke from a recent fire still hung over the western half of the town, and sounds of fighting could be heard if one listened long enough.
“I’ve been to many war-torn ports, but I’ve never seen one this bad.” Mays said.
“New Orleans got sacked by Blackheart once,” Richard said “Didn’t look that different than this.”
“I guess the Diamond Dogs don’t care much for preservation. Did you finish choosing which marines you wanted to take?”
“Aye captain.”
“And Twilight finished enchanting the boats you’ll take in?”
“More or less.”
“Good, get into your positions and wait for my signal.”
“Which one is that?”
“Third salvo, wait until we’re done firing and start rowing.”
“Aye captain.” Richard trotted over to the designated boats and began to prepare them for launch. Mays turned his attention back to the ruined harbor. The Concordia had not drawn as much attention as he had hoped, and there was little activity on shore. Fortunately, Twilight had come up with a plan to attract the Diamond Dogs.
“Launch the decoys, then fire the smokepots.” several crewmembers nodded and ran to the bow, where a line of boats filled with used crates and sacks was tethered. The crew severed the rope connecting the boats to the ship, and the decoys slowly drifted towards the shore. After the boats had drifted about thirty yards, the ten-pound deck cannons on the Concordia fired, large clouds of smoke rising from points on the ocean where the smokepots hit.
This got the desired reaction; the smoke and decoys caught the attention of at least one sentry, and soon Mays could see the faint outlines of Diamond Dogs running towards the beach. Wind had begun to sweep in from the east, blowing the smoke over the beach and killing any visibility they had originally.
“Hey, captain,” Mays turned to see Smith landing on the deck behind him “Sorry we took so long; some of the sailors got lost on the way here.”
“That’s okay. Rest for a bit, then go help the others with the cannons.”
“Yes sir.” Mays turned his attention back to the beach. The wind had died down, but the smoke had mostly dissipated and Mays could see the decoys were about half way to the beach. a large horde of Diamond Dogs had assembled on the beach, and even from this distance Mays could hear various barks and war cries from the defenders.
Time to change the mood.
“Commence firing.” there was a shout of confirmation from below followed by a roar as the Concordia’s broadside fired, the ship rocking back slightly as the heavy cannons discharged their ammunition. Noting the smoke, Mays made his way to a higher point so he could see just how effective the bombardment was.
The 32-pounders may have been overkill; when the Diamond Dog horde was hit, the heavy iron balls ripped through flesh, bone and armor as if there was nothing there. Most shots had enough momentum to splatter one Dog before tearing three or four more in half, with some plowing through eight ranks before burying themselves in the ground. Those that were killed instantly were the lucky ones, while others were left thrashing in agony from split limbs, ripped torsos and ravaged eyes and noses. The confusion caused by the carnage caused the Diamond Dogs to panic and rush in any direction to escape the cannons, often running through their compatriots in their mad rush to escape. When the second salvo was fired, the casualties escalated to a point that would have made even Princess Celestia queasy, and the sand had turned a dark brown from bloodstains.
“Fire three more salvos, then let the guns cool a bit before continuing.”


.................


The fourteen ponies landed their boat near one of the remaining docks, with Richard and Hacksaw leading the way. The Diamond Dogs that were there looked at them with a mix of confusion and disgust, as if ponies being present around them was perverse.
“Remember when we had to deal with Nolan’s father the first time we sailed out together?” Hacksaw asked, trotting behind Richard.
“Yeah, what’s that got to do with anything?” The Master Chief said.
“I think I liked that experience better.” Richard would have responded had not a couple of Diamond Dogs barred their path.
“What is pony doing here?” the leader asked.
“Your boss hired us to clear out the western part of the city.” As soon as Richard finished saying this, the Diamond Dog started laughing.
“Pony thinks he is fighter?” The Dogs laughed again. “Silly pony knows not how to fight.”
“And you would know this how?” After laughing again, the Diamond Dog thrusted forward with a spear, with the intention of intimidating the Master Chief. Rather than flinch, Richard drew his cutlass, smacked the spearpoint aside and tackled the Diamond Dog, catching his tormentor completely off guard. Richard stomped on the Dog’s arm, knocking the spear from it’s hand, and placed the blade of his cutlass against the Diamond Dog’s throat.
“Pony wasn’t supposed to do that...” the Dog whined.
“Unless you are my superior officer, I don’t feel very inclined to listen to your commands. Do you yield?” there was a pause, and Richard put a little more pressure on the Diamond Dog’s neck.
“Y-yes, yield. Pony is fighter, yes?”
“That’s better.” Richard withdrew his cutlass and stepped off the Diamond Dog. “Now, where is the heaviest of the fighting?” The other Dogs pointed towards a second group of Diamond Dogs standing near one of the many burned out buildings “Thank you for the directions. Oh, the blue one’s a medic; show him to wherever you’re keeping your wounded.” the Diamond Dogs nodded and began making their way towards yet another burned-out building, with Hacksaw and two marines following behind them. Richard turned to the rest of the marines.
“Alright, listen up boys. Remember what I said about fighting Diamond Dogs; they’re gonna make a lot of noise, but don’t let that scare you. Their armor’s weak at the shoulder and head, so make sure you aim instead of just shooting wild. If you do get caught in melee, you’re smaller than them so try to trip them up. Understand?”
“Yes sir!”
“Good. Let’s get moving.”


................


When working with muzzle-loading cannons, one had to compensate for reload times, especially on heavier cannons. As they were not in any particular rush, Mays was content to allow the cannoneers to take their time when it came to bombarding the city, especially when dealing with the thirty twos. There had been experiments with breech-loaders during one of his visits to Canterlot, but the project was cancelled since Equestria lacked anypony with cannon design as their special talent.
Mays had not moved much since the battle began; he stood on deck, seemingly detached from the situation around him, allowing only the breeze to affect him in any way. Even nearby ten-pounders firing had no effect on him. Sometimes, Mays liked it like this, as it allowed himself a bit of time to disconnect from the world and relax, in some morbid sense of the word.
“I don’t mean to sound intrusive,” Mays turned and saw Fancypants standing behind him “But I saw you standing here and I couldn’t help but noticed you seemed... distant.”
“That usually happens whenever things run smoothly.”
“Ah, I know how that is.” the ambassador looked out at the battlefield “It’s actually kind of interesting.”
“What? You mean you’re actually interested in combat and death?”
“Heavens no. Asides from a brief period where I wanted to join the royal guards, I’m not a great supporter of violence. Still, you have to admit it does have some kind of affect on a pony.”
“I suppose... You know, back where I came from there were poets and writers who used to romanticize this sort of thing.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I wasn’t interested in that sort of writing, but once they got going they could spend a good five paragraphs describing a single artillery barrage.”
“Interesting.” the two ponies looked back at the city “I can see how they got inspired, but I couldn’t imagine driveling on for that long.”
“Isn’t that what a lot of writers do?”
“I suppose, but then I’m a politician, not an artist. I suppose it takes a different mind than ours to look at something like this and make something of it.”
“You’re probably right.”
“Still, it is a rather nasty business, taking other ponies lives.”
“Believe me, I’d rather not, but that’s just part of being in the navy.”
“That is true, we all have our duties; yours is protecting Equestria, mine is dealing with a bunch of rulers with superiority complexes.”
“I think I’ll stick with defense for now. I’m not very good with politicians.”
“The princesses like you, quite a few nobles are very fond of you, and the only pony that really seems to be causing problems is Blueblood, but then he always was a pompous idiot even before you showed up.”
“You know, you’re the first noble I’ve ever met that has actually said something like that about him.”
“I have that right. He is my brother-in-law, after all.” that comment shook Mays out of his detachment. He suddenly became aware of the cannons around him, and it took quite a bit of fortitude to prevent himself from jumping when the ten-pounder next to him fired again.
“I... I didn’t know that.”
“Well, it’s not something I’d like to discuss, for obvious reasons.”
“Yeah, I guess... So I suppose challenging him to a duel probably wasn’t the best way to get on your good side.”
“Oh no, I’ve been wanting somepony to do that for quite some time. He may be family, but that doesn’t mean I have to like him.”
“I still don’t feel too good about it now...”
“I’ll handle the politics, you fight the battles. In a few weeks this will all be a thing of the past.”
“Yeah, I suppose.” Mays took another look at the city, allowing himself to drift off again. He began going through his thoughts, trying to draw his mind away from the previous conversation.


................


Nothing. That was what got Richard nervous. Ten minutes of trekking through the ruined city, searching for hostile activity, and nothing. Sure, bodies and ruins littered the streets, but there was little movement, and the only sound was the Concordia’s broadside. Even a breeze blowing through the ruins would have been welcome, but there was nothing.
Richard peered around a corner. Again, nothing, although one of the nearby buildings was on fire, possibly due to sabotage or the naval attack. Richard looked down the street, checking for potential cover and looking for enemies.
“You boys see anything else?” he asked.
“No sir.”
“Keep moving, but remember to stay quiet.” the others nodded and moved forward. Richard could tell that they were just as nervous as he was, the younger ones even more so. Earlier, he gave them a short talk to try to encourage their spirits, but now was too risky to try again.
“I think I see something.” One of the marines had stopped by the burning building. Richard trotted over while the other marines arranged themselves in a semicircle around them. Richard stopped next to the other pony and looked.
“Just looks like some casualties. Best we make sure there’s no one watching... start a sweep of the street and kill anything that-” Richard was interrupted by a long, drawn out howl. He looked down the street and saw, rounding the next corner, several dozen Diamond Dogs assembling for an attack.
“Form up! Make sure you have a clear shot!” Richard trotted to the center of the street, pulling out a piece of lead shot and aiming it at the Diamond Dogs. The other marines took positions around him, each one preparing to fire on the oncoming threat. The Diamond Dogs hesitated for the briefest of moments before bellowing and rushing forward, spears lowered to skewer the defending ponies.
Most never made it that far.
As the Dogs neared, Richard and the other marines increased their magical output to such an extent that the lead shot flew forward, a loud crack echoing through the shattered town as the bullets shot forward. Two of the shots went wide, but the rest hit the Diamond Dogs full force, some penetrating, others merely knocking the attackers off their feet. The rest stalled, unsure of what to do, only to be cut down by the next volley. Those that still remained panicked and ran, most dropping any weapons they carried in order to save weight.
“Should we go after them?” one of the marines asked.
“No; we don’t have those kinds of numbers. We need to move before more Dogs come and find us.” Richard broke into a gallop down the street, away from where the Diamond Dogs came from. The marines followed after him, looking back only to make sure they were not being pursued. “We’ll circle around this block and try to find somewhere we can bottleneck them. keep an eye out for anything that might-” Again, Richard was interrupted, this time by something big slamming into the street ahead of him.
Richard had only seen one or two minotaurs during his time in Equestria, but he had to admit that this one was the biggest he had ever seen. Unlike the others, this one was dark grey in color, and was wearing a thrown together suit of armor. The only thing Richard was really focused on was the giant mace the minotaur wielded and was now swinging in a downward arc towards his head.
Richard leapt to the side, the mace slamming into the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust and rubble. The minotaur roared and lunged at the ponies, swinging his weapon in large arcs while the smaller ponies leapt out of the way.
“Surround him; try to aim for any weak points in his armor.” Richard shot again, the bullet bouncing harmlessly off the minotaur’s armored shoulders. The minotaur turned and swung again, with Richard just barely dodging. However, while he might have escaped physically, the pouch he used to store lead shot was torn, spilling its contents into the street. He managed to save a few, but the rest rolled off to unknown locations.
Grumbling, Richard fired the rest of the lead shot at the minotaur before drawing his cutlass. The minotaur swung at him again, smashing a nearby wall and causing broken masonry to rain down on the marines. Richard shook himself off and started circling the minotaur, trying to find an opening to attack.
“I don’t think this is working.” one of the other marines said.
“I’ve noticed.” Richard dodged another swing. “We need more room. Fall back until we find some space.” Richard dodged yet another swing and started running, the marines ahead of him and the angry minotaur behind him.


..................


Hacksaw pulled another bandage tight. The Diamond Dog seated in front of him winced, but otherwise did not react. Hacksaw was actually pleased they did nothing much, since some patients would never cooperate, even for something as easy as tying off a bandage.
That being said, dealing with this number of patients was no easy task; Hacksaw did not have exact numbers, but at least eighty Diamond Dogs had passed through the makeshift hospital in the past ten minutes, and more were being deposited outside. His supplies, while vast, did not cover all of the necessary treatments, and a pile of pulverized and diseased limbs was growing steadily as time wore on.
“Remember, if anyone of you gets injured, try to wash the wound out with something other than this sludge you call water.” Hacksaw knocked over a bucket of the offending sludge, the gray liquid spilling out over the ground.
“But pony is asking impossible.” one of the Diamond Dogs said “Where we get clean water?”
“Dredge the bay and boil some water if you must, just as long as it’s cleaner than this.” Hacksaw shook his head and turned back to his workstation “Next patient.” The Diamond Dogs nodded and carted in another Dog, this one severely bruised with his right arm twisted into an unnatural angle “What happened?”
“Bull-pony came and knocked down building.” the others said. Hacksaw guessed that “bull-pony” meant “minotaur” and did not press the matter. Hacksaw inspected the wounded Diamond Dog before looking back to his supplies.
“I can’t set the bones, and it looks like it’s getting infected. Hold him down.”
“What is pony doing?” Hacksaw did not respond at first, instead wiping the blood off his namesake saw.
“I have to take this arm off.”
“Pony can’t do that.”
“Why not, you didn’t protest when I amputated the other Dogs.”
“But... this is Boss Dog’s Beta. He tells all what Boss Dog wants.”
“He doesn’t need both arms to do that job.”
“But he fights; he fights only second to Boss Dog.”
“Unless you have better tactics than charging blindly at something, you shouldn’t have your supreme leaders right in the thick of it. Now hold him down.”
“Pony won’t hurt Boss Dog’s Beta.”
“If I don’t take off his arm, he’ll die! Now hold him down!” The Diamond Dogs, shocked by this display of force, did as they were told. Satisfied, Hacksaw approached his patient, the saw gripped in his magical aura.
“This will hurt a lot, but try not to scream.” He lowered the saw to the Dog’s shoulder and got to work, the blade slowly slicing through bone, tendons, muscle and skin. The Dog realized what was happening and begun thrashing to get away from the pain. This only made matters worse, as it splattered blood over Hacksaw and the others present and caused the saw to become lodge in a joint.
“I said hold him down!”
“We’re trying, but Beta is too strong.” the other Dog whined.
“Then knock him out or something, just stop him from moving!” The other Dog complied and began looking for something heavy for which to hit the struggling Dog. While he was doing that, Hacksaw seized the damaged limb in his magic, freed his saw for the Dog’s shoulder, and resumed the operation. With each slide the Dog’s struggles got worse and worse, with Hacksaw having to apply more magic to keep both the saw and the limb stable.
Finally, after what seemed like hours, the saw jerked back and the amputated limb landed on the ground with a thud, more blood spilling on the dirt. Hacksaw wiped off his saw once more and used his magic to toss the arm onto the nearby pile. He then grabbed a couple of bandages and some cleaning supplies and started dressing the wound.
“Pony... pony is insane.”
“I have to be, otherwise I’d give up on this and go back to farming.” Hacksaw finished dressing the wound and stepped back “Get him somewhere where he can rest, then somewhere where there’s no fighting.”
“Y-yes pony.”


.................


Richard leapt off a broken pillar before the minotaur pursuing him smashed it to dust. Although slowed, the beast continued to pursue them, bellowing in rage as the ponies continued to flee. Occasionally one of the marines that still had ammo left would fire, but this only made the minotaur angry.
“I think I see some kind of plaza up ahead.” The lead marine shouted.
“When we reach the plaza, try to encircle the minotaur.” the marines nodded and began running faster. The minotaur sensed his prey escaping and bellowed in rage, rushing forward and gaining ground on the ponies. Richard’s legs were burning, and he was sweating profusely, but the only other option was to be killed by the minotaur. He put as much energy as he could into the last sprint, leaping over a fallen wall and skidding to a halt once inside the plaza.
“Circle him! Circle him now!” the other marines spread out as the minotaur charged into the plaza. The beast swung wildly, but the ponies merely danced out of its reach. All of them pulled several bits of lead and lowered their heads. “Shoot now!”
There was a chorus of cracks as the bullets flew forward. Although not a simple creature, the minotaur was startled enough to stagger back and drop the mace. Most of the bullets bounced harmlessly off the minotaur’s armor, but one struck the minotaur in the leg and toppled it. Seeing his opportunity, Richard rushed forward and tackled the minotaur, ramming his cutlass into his opponent’s eye and twisting with as much strength as he could put behind his magic. When the minotaur kept thrashing, he withdrew the sword and stabbed again, blood splashing over his face and torso with every strike. The minotaur’s thrashing and bellowing became weaker and weaker until Richard was repeatedly stabbing a lifeless hulk.
“Sir, I think it’s dead.” another marine said.
“I just wanted to make sure.” Richard leapt off the corpse and rejoined the group. “Let’s head back to the camp and get resupplied. If anything, our little fight here attracted more attention.”


...............


It was getting dark by the time Hacksaw, Richard and the marines returned to the Concordia. The ship had stopped firing several hours ago to preserve ammunition, and once again an unnatural calm lay over the port.
“Good to see you all are still alive.” Mays said as Richard, Hacksaw and the rest boarded the ship.
“Consider us lucky,” Richard said “There was plenty of running involved.”
“I bet. Get yourselves cleaned up and ready to sail.” the two officers nodded and headed below deck. “Has anypony seen Twilight?”
“I think she’s below,” Smith said “Something about Fluttershy fainting sometime during the fighting. Why?”
“I want to get back in contact with Stonebreaker and tell him this is his problem now.”
“I’ll go find her.” Mays nodded as Smith left the deck. There was silence for about a minute before Twilight teleported next to Mays, causing him to jump.
“You wanted to speak with Stonebreaker?” she asked.
“... Yes. don’t teleport next to me like that again.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. Just focus on his ship and we’ll get everything settled.” Mays nodded and looked towards Stonebreaker’s flagship. Soon, he found himself back on that ship, standing before the Diamond Dog Alpha.
“Your soldiers shouldn’t have any more trouble mopping up the rest of the enemy now.” Mays said “So we’ll be on our way.”
“Thank you again, Captain. If there is any way I can help you, be sure to come and send for me.” Mays nodded and was about to ask Twilight to end the spell before Stonebreaker spoke again “Wait, I know something that might be of use to you.”
“Oh?”
“It’s merely fragments, so I don’t know how much use you’ll get of-”
“I am very capable of getting use out of anything. What is it?” there was a pause.
“I know you chase pirates, so you may enjoy this. One of my spies in Port-au-Prance sent me a message about a ship that appeared outside the harbor several weeks ago; didn’t sail in or signal, it just showed up right outside the city. a transport ship got too close and... well, there were only a handful of survivors that came back.”
“This ship, what did it look like?”
“How should I know? I wasn’t there, and my informants only heard rumors. If you want anything more concrete, I am of no real use.”
“Believe me, this is good enough. Twilight, we’re done here.” Mays’ vision returned to the Concordia “Set a course for Port-au-Prance; I need to stop there and pick up on some leads.”
“What kind of leads?”
“I think I know who is attacking the ships off the Ottomare Empire.”



The conversation between Mays and Fancypants? I like to make fun of myself sometimes.
Next chapter will be focused on El Fantasma and his prisoner, but with school starting up again it might take some time.