The waves churn the boat ever so slightly as you gaze out upon the open water. Your crew scurries across the deck of the ship as they prepare. Something is coming. A lone pony in the crow’s nest yells out to you.

“Cap’n! There’s a ship on the horizon!”

Your crew stops dead in their tracks and look to you, waiting for the next order. You nod once and a series of yells and commands goes through the ranks. They drop down, hiding. The lookout pony at the top of the mast yells out again.

“Cap’n! Looks like a schooner!”

You smirk as the ship comes within viewing distance, flying a flag native to Equestria, a sign of peace and good will. You continue to wave until the ship is so close, you can make out the face of the other captain, who is waving as well and wearing a big grin. The broadside hatches open, revealing at least a dozen ten-pounder cannons. You continue to smile back at the captain as you say the word.

“Fire.”

Thunderous explosions ring across the open ocean as the cannons fire harpoons, each carrying a sizable length of rope. The captain of the other ship looks at you, his jaw hanging slack.

“GET ‘EM ON A LEASH AND REEL ‘EM IN! RAISE THE BLACK FLAG AND PREPARE TO BOARD!” you scream.

All at once, your crew stands up, brandishing swords and axes. The pony in the crow’s nest tears down the flag you hung in false pretenses and replaces it with a torn, black flag with a skull and crossed bones under it. Grabbing a hanging length of rope with your teeth, you take a few steps back and run forward, letting go of the rope as you’re at the height of your swing, landing on the deck of the schooner, your boarding party not too far behind. The confused crew of the schooner looks at you in disbelief before going for their own weapons. Reaching to your side with your teeth, you grab a hold of your own cutlass and enter a fighting stance. All at once, the three charge you as they let out a rally cry. Their swings are sluggish and untrained, allowing you to block and parry each blow with skill and ease. While you have the skill, they have the numbers and begin pushing you back. Looking to your crew, you smile as you see your crew tie up the last of the rag tag fighting force who took up arms against you. All that’s left are the three in front of you. In a show of bravado, you jump into the air and grab a hold of a low hanging boom, planning on circling around and attacking them from the back. However, you begin to question the wisdom of this idea as another boom comes into view, just inches from your face. The second boom connects with your skull, knocking you to the ground as you begin to see stars.

“Wake up.”

You wonder who that just was. It sounded like a mare. But mares can’t be pirates; it couldn’t possibly be one of your crew.

“Wake up!”

Whoever it was, they were shaking you now. You try to force your eyes open, but they feel like they’re glued shut.

“Come on! You’re going to be late for school!”

Your eyes finally snap open and you look around. This wasn’t the ocean or a captured schooner. This was a room. Your room. Rubbing your eyes, you look around and realize that this is reality and you weren’t a feared pirate captain. You were just a regular colt.

“Have a good dream?” Looking up, you see your mother smiling as she runs a hoof through your mane.

“Yeah, I did. Why did you have to ruin it?” You ask, annoyed.

“Because, it’s your first day of school and you’re going to be late.”

The words click inside your head.

School

FIRST DAY

LATE

“OH GOSH OH GOSH OH GOSH!” you yell as you spring from bed. You hear your mother laugh as you barrel down the stairs.

“Breakfast is on the table and your pack is by the door. Have a wonderful first day!” She yells.

You grab the blueberry muffin and stuff it in your mouth as you awkwardly get your saddle-pack on. Moving before you think, you actually run into the closed door before opening it, only to sit there for a moment in a daze while your mom laughs again. You get to your hooves and make sure to open the door this time and sprint towards the schoolhouse as fast as you can.

“Oh hay, I hope this Ms. Cheerilee isn’t too mad that I’m late!” You say to yourself as you dodge other ponies walking through the streets of Ponyville. You and your mom moved here from Clydesdale, a small valley town nestled near the ocean. You were reluctant to leave your friends and family behind, but you knew you had to leave. Your father had been a captain of a fishing boat and made sure you and your mom always had food on the table. But then one day, he disappeared. Your mom explained that there was a freak storm out on the ocean and that your father wasn’t coming home. You had been up late last night, like every night, looking at your father’s sea charts and playing with the compass he gave you before his last voyage. Your mother had made it into a necklace so that you can ‘Always keep a piece of your father close to your heart', as she put it. You smile as you feel the cold piece of metal bump your chest as you run. The schoolhouse came into view and you start to slow down when you realize that class hadn’t even started yet. This allowed you to catch your breath and regain your composure. After all, first impressions are everything and you didn’t want to come off that you were always panting and out of breath. You made it to the threshold of the schoolhouse and let out a sigh of relief. Looking around, you find a place where everyone else had set their own saddle-packs and put it in the corner, off to the side. It wasn’t hard to find Ms.Cheerilee. Or, it wasn’t hard for Ms. Cheerilee to find you.

“Ah! You must be the new student I heard was coming today! Before you sit down, why don’t you tell the class your name?” Ms. Cheerilee said with a smile.

Looking around, you noticed that everyone else was sitting in their seats and was now staring directly at you. At that moment, it felt like you had a butterfly colony in your stomach.

“Uh…I… Umm…”

This was going to be a LONG day.