Twilight saw the pirate fort long before many of the pirates did. White limestone walls jutted out of a green island, the specks and brown smudges that were buildings surrounding the stone fortification. Black dots sat on the white walls, and brown shapes walked on top of them. Many ships sat in harbor, their sails jutting into the sky. Tiny galleys sped around, helping huge battleships maneuver into small docks. Smoke rose over the island, smokestacks releasing black clouds into the sky. The strong scent of nutmeg entered Twilight’s nostrils, drifting over the sea. Kerry had told her that Eternity was a huge rum producer, and the smell could be caught for miles around. Kerry was the only person she talked to on board, ignoring the Captain and the rest of the crew. She had barely spoke during the rest of their journey, still appalled by the Captain’s show of cruelty. The tongue-less pony still stank up the hold, heavy chains binding the steamship captain.

She peered through the spyglass she had found. Eternity’s white walls towered over the town, its cannons and its soldiers casting a watchful eye on the island’s inhabitants.

The wind blew strong behind them. Galleys row up alongside them, throwing ropes on board. Twilight watched as the galleys pulled them into the harbor, passing pirate ships of all shapes and sizes. Small frigates and brigs lay moored next to war junks and battleships. She saw cargo being loaded, pirates sharing a smoke and a bottle of rum, ponies wearing very short dresses waving fans at muscular pirates. She folded up her spyglass as she disembarked, ignoring Captain Flint’s protest that she at least take Kerry with her. She wanted nothing to do with the Tornado or it’s crew anymore, and she ran off into the bustling city, overshadowed by the fortress with its whitewashed walls of stone.

Twilight trotted along the docks, watching the workers load heavy boxes on huge ships. Pirates stood about, drinking and smoking, hitting on mares or pulling them into buildings. Several bumped mugs of rum, the nutmeg smell coursing through the town. Several of them whistled at Twilight, their mugs held high. Many beckoned at her or tried to grab her shoulders. She shrugged all of them off. One particularly nasty-looking one jumped in front of her, flexing his muscles as his friends cheered him on, bottles of alcohol bumping and clinking against each other. Twilight rolled her eyes at the brawny pony, and turned away, the pirate shaking his head as his friends laughed and called him dirty names.

She walked away from the pirate-infested docks, working her way to the center of the town. The streets were still filled with pirates, but these were immaculately dressed, their fancy clothes in direct contrast to the dirty and sleazy docks. Many of them wore swords in plain view, and their belts were adored with pistols of every size and shape. They eyed Twilight disapprovingly, their eyes flicking between her and the docks, every move motioning her back towards the seaside. She looked past the pirates and mixed in with the huge crowd of townsfolk. She passed ponies carrying heavy boxes, ponies in stands selling everything imaginable, ponies sweating in forges, pounding red-hot metal with hammers. Spokesponies raised bounty letters and read the names, pirates cheering or jeering as they compared the price on their heads.

Her throat aching, Twilight stepped into an inn, a small wood building with a thatched straw roof. A sign in front promised warm beds and cold rum for everyone. Inside, a fire burned in a huge fireplace, casting a bright glow over the hall. The unicorn bartender tossed ponies their rum, serving-girls running around with hay, roasted apples, and fried fish. Twilight savored the smell of the fish, a nice change from the endless aroma of nutmeg that hung over the entire town. She surveyed the tables, the browns and the black blending in as pirates upon pirates stood at each table, drinking and eating with gusto. Then, in the corner, she saw a shock of pink hair, attached to a yellow pegasus with three butterflies decorating her flank.

Fluttershy nearly jumped out of her skin as Twilight hugged her from behind. Applejack laughed over her drink, the apple cider fizzing away in her wooden cup. She called over the waitress and ordered two more, tossing several gold coins at her. She tipped her cowpony hat back before she too hugged Twilight.

“It’s so good ta see ya again, sugarcube. We sure missed ya. Fluttershy ‘ere kept wantin’ to go an’ look for ya, but she keeps on git’n scared. Ah’m so glad y’all finally ‘ere.”

The serving-mare came back with their cider, the warm beverage smelling strongly of apples. The sweet smell drifted into Twilight’s nose, blocking out the nutmeg cloud. She inhaled deeply, the freshly-brewed cider reminding her of home. She took a long gulp, warm liquid flowing down her throat.

Mmmm... Just like Applejack’s home-brewed cider...

The three ponies polished off their drinks, the serving-mares bringing more warm mugs of hot cider to their table. A pirate pulled out a small lute from his pack, and played a quiet song, serenading the tavern with the soft music. His hooves slid over the instrument, the strings vibrating in perfect unison. Twilight and her friends watched the pirate play, mesmerized by the music as more cider was brought and food was served.

The next moment, huge ice crystals burst through the wall. Cannon fire was heard from far away, and the tavern collapsed as cannonballs smashed into the frozen wall. Crystals shattered in huge swathes, a particularly large shard impaling the musician through the chest. Twilight dove under the table, ice crystals bouncing over her head. Applejack held Fluttershy close, the yellow pegasus vibrating in her shoes, nearly shaking Applejack’s hat off. Twilight heard more cannon fire, this time from much closer. Eternity’s cannons boomed, the shells sailing over the tavern and towards the ocean. Explosions rang off far away, Eternity’s shells having found their mark, and the attacker returning fire. Cannonballs rained down on the taven, breaking massive holes in the ceiling and blasting apart the floor. Twilight looked at her two friends, her face set. She refused to show her fear.

“We have to get out of here!”

-------------------------------------------

In her cabin on board the Carousel, Rarity stood in a mud bath, her attendants running warm, clean water through the faucet. Cucumber covered her eyes, and a towel held her hair in place. She breathed a heavy sigh, relaxation coursing over her and bringing her to sleep. She reached for a candy on the golden dish next to her, wanting a small snack, but it wasn’t there. Suddenly, the once calm Rarity suddenly burst into a rage, jumping out of the golden bath and onto the jewel-encrusted deck that surrounded the mud-filled pool. Golden specks fell off her as she climbed out, the gold powder that adorned the mud shining in the crystal-refracted light. She toweled off quickly, throwing the dirty towel into the pool before ripping off the seaweed and jewel-covered wrappings that she wore and shouted to the attendants to find her candy bowl. Rarity paced around the pool deck, her hooves treading on the rubies and sapphires that covered the golden floor. She felt a gentle shake as the Carousel fired its main guns, the 17-inch monstrosities on the alpha turret firing in sync with the massive 20-inchers on the beta turret. She imagined the high-explosive shells arcing across the air, carrying their destructive payload all the way to the pirate’s pitiful lair.

Her attendants came back into the room. One of them was carrying her candy bowl, her head bowed. Chocolate stains covered the bowl, and a heap of empty wrappers lay in the center. Rarity carefully eyed the serving-mare, her sharp blue eyes scanning the black-clad pegasus holding the bowl.

“And wwwwwhere exactly did you find this?” she asked.

“I-I-in m-my room, Your Majesty.”

“And wwwwhy was it in your room?”

“B-b-because, I-I-I t-oo-ok it...”

“And wwwwhy did you take it?”

“I-I-I needed to f-f-feed m-my so-”

“ENOUGH! You stole something from me! You know how much that bowl costs! Your entire salary for a lifetime won’t be able to purchase something as precious as that bowl! And not only did you steal the bowl, you also chose to empty its contents! Those chocolates were finely crafted by Sergio Tallmare, the best chocolatier in the Ocean! And you fed those chocolates to a mere colt! How dare you! You’ve ruined my bowl, removed my chocolates, what are you going to do next?”

“U-u-um, r-remove the stains f-from the bowl?”

“You FOOL! That bowl is made of PURE GOLD! How can you scrub PURE GOLD with some dish soap? You have to be kidding me! You buy me a new bowl, right now! I need a golden bowl to eat chocolate from, and your stupidity and your brutishness have ended it! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?”

“I-I promise t-to ge-”

“AND WHERE WILL YOU GET ONE?” Rarity’s screams were fever pitch now. The other serving-mares covered their ears, the screams piercing the walls and breaking the windows.

“WHERE?”

“I-I-I-I d-d-d-don’t kn-n-n-n-now...”

“ENOUGH! FIRE HER THROUGH THE CANNON. SHE’LL FIND ONE IN DEATH!”

“No! Wait! Please! You can’t!”

“Of course I can, dearie. I’M THE QUEEN OF THE OCEAN, AND I CAN DO WHAT I WANT!”

Rarity turned away from the mare as the other attendants grabbed her, he feeble struggle useless against the mighty strength of Rarity’s bodyguards. They dragged the serving-mare out of the room, her hooves scraping against the floor, taking quite a few gems with her. Rarity turned her head, her chin held high, her eyes closed. She released a gust of air as more attendants entered the room, carrying her royal dress over their backs. They helped her into it, the gem-encrusted fabric sliding gracefully over her smooth white shoulders. She replaced her crown on her head, the golden headdress gleaming in the magical light. Gems on her clothes reflected light in all directions as she let her attendants lead her out of her room on onto the Carousel’s main deck.

Huge paddles pounded the waves. Three tall smokestacks belched white steam into the air, the steam engines working at maximum capacity to maintain the Carousel’s top cruising speed of 18 knots. Rarity carefully tread across the wooden deck, her attendants using brooms to clean the dust and oil-covered wood that made up the upper deck. Gunners at gatling gun saluted the Queen, Marines stood at attention, and the Deck Commander lifted his hoof to his forehead, sweating as he did so. Rarity approached the overweight Commander, her hoof extended. The Commander bent down to kiss it. He then gestured with his hoof towards the beta turret. They both motionlessly watched as the serving-mare was propelled from the leftmost gun, not making a single sound as she flew towards the pirate fortress that stood in the distance.

“I have carried out your orders, Your Majesty.”

“Yes, yes, I can see that, Commander. At ease.”

“Yes ma’am.”

“How long until we can set hoof on that dirty little island the pirates call safe?” said Rarity, brushing her hair with her hoof. The dirt and steam that covered the Carousel’s upper deck was doing wonders to her hair, making it frizzled and stand on end. Another hour in the mud bath later, she thought.

“About twenty minutes at our current speed, ma’am.”

“Good. If you will, please get the Aurora Cannon ready. I would like to have some fun today.”

The Commander saluted again, then turned around as Rarity resumed her march to the front of the ship. He shouted orders to the sailors, the white-clothed marines hastily dragging heavy boxes towards the bow of the Carousel. Rarity walked past the second engine, the noisy contraption thundering in her ears. She watched the pirate fortress in the distance. The navy fleet’s cannons pounded the stone walls, explosive shells blasting away huge chunks of limestone. She heard the cracking of enemy cannon fire as the quad guns on shore fired at her fleet. She turned around and watched as a group of uniformed unicorns gathered in between the first and second engines, shooting a beam of magical energy towards a gold and silver pillar that rose as high as the smokestacks. Magic flowed out of the top of the pillar, creating a blue bubble of pure energy that encased the entirety of the Carousel. The cannon balls from the shore harmlessly bounced off the shield, making huge splashes as they fell into the water below.  Rarity continued her march as the unicorns powered down their shield, the alpha turret firing as soon as they stopped, with the beta turret following two seconds later.

The sailors had finished setting up a curious contraption at the bow of the ship by the time Rarity made it there. A bronze cannon rested on top of a tripod, a huge blue crystal attached to the rear of the gun. A telescope lay wielded on the side of the weapon, and cables ran from the crystal into the deck of the ship, where massive steam turbines pumped, generating the power required to run six paddlewheels and four huge rotating turrets. Rarity walked up to the cannon, her right eye peeking into the telescope. Her hoof rested on a trigger assembly below the telescope, a steel ring attached to a cord that ran into the bronze gun. She sighted a building using the telescope, the lines crossing over the shack’s straw roof. With a pull of the cord, the cannon fired, projecting a stream of rainbow-colored light at the hut. Ice crystals formed over the building, freezing at over as Rarity held the trigger down, the rainbow laser turning the shack into a building-sized popsicle. She moved the cannon around, the laser freezing everything it touched, collapsing buildings as their supports suddenly became as fragile as ice. The Aurora Cannon ran over the mighty stone walls, the beam freezing the limestone barricade with absolute impunity. Seconds later, the alpha turret behind her fired, the explosive shells flying through the air...

------------------------

...And Twilight saw the shells slam into the ice-covered wall. The once-formidable fortress fell to the tiny barrage as the ice-weakened limestone shattered into a million pieces. Twilight grabbed Fluttershy’s hair, ignoring her protests as limestone chunks fell on them, explosive shells blasted inns and taverns and the non-stop beam of the Aurora Cannon turning the once-bustling town of Eternity into an ice-covered, crater-marked wasteland. Applejack led Twilight through a maze of alleyways, narrowly dodging falling debris. Burning logs fell on them, Applejack barely having enough time to lift them out of the way for Twilight and Fluttershy to get through. They jumped out of the way as the freeze beam swept in front of them, turning the alleyway into a frozen canyon. Applejack ran forward, slipping on the ice, cutting herself on the sharp crystals. She burst into a inn, surprisingly intact despite the carnage that exploded around them. Twilight followed suit, dashing with Fluttershy into the building as an explosive shell blew away a patch of ground near her, throwing dirt over her purple coat. Twilight slammed the door behind her, panting as she turned around to face Applejack.

Wait. Where’s -

“Hold it right there.”

Twilight saw herself face-to-face with twelve gun barrels. The ponies that held them where grim-faced, their eyes showing no emotion. They rested their hooves on the triggers. Twilight saw more soldiers pummeling Applejack with the butts of their guns, the orange earth pony screaming in pain as they stuffed a dirty cloth in her mouth and tied her up. Through the open door, Twilight saw a huge line of uniformed soldiers, their rifles on their shoulders. The cannon fire had stopped, and she now heard the pop-pop-pop of gunfire as the marines took personal warfare on the island’s inhabitants.

“You’re coming with us.”

Twilight could only look as the marines stuffed her mouth with a rag. They clamped a metal clasp onto her horn, and tied coarse, heavy ropes around her ankles. With a heavy hoist, they managed to lift her onto a soldier’s back, and the troops threw the hogtied ponies outside, where more soldiers promptly threw them into a wooden wagon. The gunfire around them did not cease, the endless pop-pop-pop of the rifles echoing through the wagon. Twilight looked at Applejack, her hat missing. The earth pony was out cold, a huge bruise welling up on the side of her head. Fluttershy also looked hurt, the bruising that covered her head and body was intense. The soldiers had grabbed and beaten Fluttershy behind her back as he was surrounding by barrels.

The thundering of the cart finally stopped as Twilight and her friends were brutally pulled out. Uniformed marines stood at attention as an overweight pegasus stepped off a huge triple-masted sailing ship. Twilight found herself surrounded by pirates, hogtied just like her. The marines fastened heavy chains around their ankles as they cut the ropes off, taking Twilight from one form of bondage to another. At least she was able to walk, dragging the limp form of Applejack behind her as they were rushed on board the ship. The overweight pegasus lit his pipe, watching with wide eyes as Twilight stepped below deck, the light blotted out. She noticed that few pirates had followed her, and then suddenly heard the pop-pop-pop of the rifles, louder this time. She covered her face in horror as the marines massacred the pirate prisoners in their chains, bullets riddling their bodies.

The marines threw Twilight into a small, damp cell, the straw tuft on the floor the only furniture. She rubbed her head in a daze as one of the marines came in and blasted her out of the world with his rifle, the wooden butt of the gun hitting her square in the face.

....

...