Ten days seem to turn into ten months as the heroes worked at the tavern. Every day, thousands of ponies and various species of pirates flocked the quint bar after hearing rumours of its legendary cider, buying at least ten mugs at per visit, each time increasing in price. Finally, on the day marked as Korsan’s return from his expedition, Twilight and her friends finally reach ten million bits and pay off their bounty and decide to spend the rest of the stormy night celebrating their liberation.

“Oh come on,” Maurice calls out amidst a crowd of onlookers of an event, “There’s no way she can do it.”

“Pinkie can do it!” Cecil retorts. “I put twenty bits on it.”

“She’s standing on a table with a missing support, five metres away from the dartboard, and has only one dart. Impossible!”

“If that oddball of a pirate can do it twice,” Jarvis replies, “she can do it.”

“He had a mechanical claw and crossbow helping him.”

“And only one eye and two legs to stand on.”

“Here she goes!” A random patron declares. The crowd immediately silences down as the pink mare standing on the wobbly table tosses the small brown dart with all of her might. It flies in the air for a long second. As it smacks dead-center on the bullseye, the bystanders immediately roar out with both cheers and jeers.

“Yes!”

“Huzzah!” Cecil exclaims.

“Bloody bloodsucking bloodsuckers!” Maurice angrily roars as he chucks his bet of twenty-five bits to the wooden floor.

“Congratulations Pinks, you get your five percent of the pot.”

“Thanks Cecil.” Pinkie replies as she jumps from the table and into the large pile of gold bits below and begins to swim in it. “How much is it anyways?”

“Let’s see,” Jarvis mumbles to himself, “Carry the seven, divide by twenty, remove the two and twenty, multiply by four, factor Maurice’s slap to the face, add eight… That’s a hundred and one bits right and a free blow to Maurice there for ya las.”

“Hooray!”

“Yeah,”

“Wait a moment Cecil,” Maurice barks, “you tricked me!”

“I what?”

“You did,” Jarvis confirms.

“How did I-”

“You were gloating about how you were going to win.”

“Yeah,” Maurice replies, “you used some mind tricks on me. You know I can’t stand competition.”

“Hold on just a second,” Cecil retorts, “If Jarvis knew it was mind games, why didn’t he warn you?”

“Wait…”

“He clearly wanted to get your share of the winning pot.”

“Jarvis!”

“Oh no you don’t!” Jarvis snaps, “You had your share in tricking Maurice.”

“You know what, I’m tired being the pirate who doesn’t do anything. My body is back and my body is ready! Come on, put ‘em up!”

“All right then, I’ve been itching for a good old hooffight.”

“Let’s do this!” Cecil hollers as he and his rivals with benefits leap onto their card table and fumble over each other trying to fight each other.

Meanwhile, watching as the massive event draws to a close from a large, round table, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity, Spike, Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo clap their hooves together.

“Nice work Pinkie!” Rainbow Dash hollers.

“My, that Earth pony’s got some talent,” November remarks from her serving bar next to Twilight’s and the gang’s table. “But not even close to amazing as all of you paying off that massive bounty and getting us back in business. My dad’s been getting a lot better and is even slipping out of his depression. Even those three stallions over there are back to their fighting ways, it sure beats their constant arguing. At this rate, we could even renovate this place to be a luxurious café. How can we ever repay you?”

“That won’t be needed.” Twilight replies, “You’ve already done a lot for us.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to go back to working for us? We all really enjoy your company.”

“As fun as it sounds, we have our own duties back home. We also still need to get the Diamond Eye back from Korsan. We could always come back here in the future to see how things are going and ship more crates of apples when those last two boxes run out.”

“I understand. Good luck.”

“To you as well November. Actually, can I have a paper and inked quill?”

“Okay.”

“Wow,” Applejack responds, “it’s already time?”

“I was getting pretty use to this place.” Spike adds.

“As delightful as it was,” Rarity replies, “we need to remember that we have ponies waiting for us back at Equestria.”

“Yeah. Hey Twilight, are you writing a letter to the princess? It’s been a while.”

“I guess it has been,” Twilight answers as she begins to write with her newly given quill and paper,

Dear Princess Celestia,

I know it has been a week or two since I’ve even talked to you, let alone seen you. But don’t worry. Things have been going well out here. The SS Raindrop is still in tip-top condition. Everypony here is healthy and happy, even the fillies. Yes, I know about them stowing away. Although we’ve had a few hiccups on our adventure, we’re getting close to getting the Diamond Eye back from Korsan. I hope things are going well back in Equestria.

Your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle

“Here Spike,” Twilight speaks as she rolls up the letter into a scroll and hovers it to him, “send this to her.”

“Got it,” Spike replies before clutching the scroll in his claws. Breathing green fire from his mouth, Spike causes the letter to disappear in green flames.  “So, got any information of Korsan last week?”

“No, I searched all over this place. The only thing I could call possibly related to Korsan or the Diamond Eye was some random map of an island without any coordinates.” As Twilight goes into detail about her findings, the front door creaks open and a greyish white pegasus garbed in a black cloak walks into the bar.

Slowly, he walks up to the serving counter, where November greets him while washing a mug, “What can I do for you sir?”

He responds in a deadpan voice, “First, a drink.”

“Sure, it’s on the house tonight.” The mare then sets down the mug on the counter and turns to the pair of dual doors behind her leading to the kitchen. She pokes her head inside and yells, “Dad, we have another one.” The voice of her father mumbles from the other side of the wall separating the unknown pony from inside. As November begins to have a conversation with her father at the kitchen, the stranger starts to look around and even examines his grey coat of fur dripping water onto the floorboards. Soon though, the dark blue mare returns with a wooden mug brimming with cider. “Sorry for the inconvenience,”

“Not a problem.” The pegasus then puckers his lips as he grabs the cup with his hooves and holds it up to them. He takes a small sip at first, but immediately snaps into chugging the entire thing down in a single go before slamming the mug onto the polished table. “By thunder, that’s a decent drink.”

“I know, until recently, the cider here was terrible, then a bunch of strangers showed up with crate loads of apples and now no pony is losing their stomachs or getting into as many brawls.” Before the bar maiden can continue, the cloaked pony clears his throat and interrupts her.

“Second, I need some information on a pony and his bounty.”

“Ah, one of those sea travelers. Who are you looking for?”

“I’m looking for…” The stallion hesitates, looking left and right as if making sure that no pony was intentionally listening in before continuing in a whisper, “Korsan.” Immediately upon hearing the name, the bartender backs up to the dual doors. Everypony in the bar grows deafly silent as they turn towards me, staring at the stallion. Twilight and the others as well stop their personal activities and turn their attention to the serving bar. Even Cecil, Jarvis, and Maurice stop mid-punch and give a frightened look. “What?” The dark blue unicorn uncovers her ice blue mane from out of the front of her face and reveals her shuttering cyan eyes, trying to get a better look at the stranger as well.

“K-K-Korsan, doesn’t have a bounty, he makes them. A-An avid visitor of this place actually…”

“Well, what would be his value if I were to capture him and turn him into the authorities?”

“He’s priceless,” Maurice replies, “You’d never be able to catch him alive nor dead. If he were to have heard you, let alone seen you, you’d be dead.”

“What do you mean?” The stallion then gives a quick look at his back sections of his body, only seeing his wings fumbling inside the cloak. “What would he see that would make him do such a thing?”

“Your wings,”

“My wings?” The stranger gives a brief chuckle, with both he and Twilight and her friends unaware of the true magnitude of that detail.

“Tis no laughing matter,” Grivs in the far back corner announces, “the madpony is Tartarus-bent on killing pegasi and Earth Ponies.”

“But, if I were to capture him, dead or alive, how much would I most likely get then, if this Korsan is so deadly?” A moment of silence washes over the entire chamber, even the wooden structure of the building itself stops rumbling, as if stunned of from the pony’s audacity of challenging the pirate.

“It’s a long story,” November replies, “let me get somepony to explain.” The mare then goes back into the kitchen area. Everypony stays silent as they stare at him, undoubtedly making the situation much more awkward for him. After a minute or so of silence, the mare emerges from the kitchen and to the counter. Following her is an old, indigo, unicorn stallion, with a pink scar along the side of his neck, giving a stern, dreary look at the pegasus as he walks to the edge of the serving bar. The entire crowd of onlookers’ jaws drop, as if they’re seeing a ghost before them.

Nitin Gale… Twilight mouths to herself. He must have really changed after we came for him to reveal himself.

He speaks, “So, you want to know about Korsan, huh?”

“His value and location is what I came for,” the shrouded stranger replies “but if you have a story to tell me, I’m all ears.”

The old stallion gives a heavy grunt before responding, “You are not worthy to know of such a tragedy.”

“Try me, I’ve faced some of the most mentally insane and abused prisoners across every sea you know.” November’s father stands silent for a minute, staring into the pony’s orange eyes, examining him.

“Believe me, you haven’t even seen half the oceans I have seen, not that I blame. You are confident stallion though, fine, if you think you are ready to know, then I shall begin.”

“Go.” The old stallion fumbles with the two long white whiskers dropping from below his nose before starting. The patrons surrounding him lean their ears towards the serving counter and dedicate all of their attention to him, with Twilight and her friends focusing even harder.

“It all started a decade or two ago, Korsan, a filly, just like you and me, was born. However, what was abnormal about him was that he was a pegasus, and for five generations straight, his family was nothing but unicorns. So over the course of over a hundred years, his family believed that unicorns were the dominant pony race, and that all others were inferior. Korsan was born of wings, so at first, everypony that was there for the birth was shocked and disgusted to see him. However, his parents decided to take him in anyways, to be raised alongside his older brother and sister.”

“So wait, some nutcase wants to kill me for being a pegasus despite him being a pegasus? Sounds a bit hypocritical,”

“If you were to keep quiet, I would explain.”

“Sorry…”

“Over his early years of childhood, he was bullied and teased by his brother and sister, constantly picking up his toys with their magic and even at sometimes him, as if it was a cruel joke. They, and even sometimes including his father and mother, would constantly berate him for being a pegasus and not a unicorn, and to stay out of their business or any close affiliation with them in public. The family soon saw Korsan as a weak link in their family legacy as the best metal workers in town, considering that unicorns were practically the only race that could do the job properly.”

“Famous unicorn metal workers for five generations… Wait, where did he live?”

“Baltimare, some city in Equestria if I remember right,”

”Equestria… Are they the Madens?”

“Yes, they kept Korsan very well hidden from public association. But this did not stop Korsan from trying to fit in and try to impress his family at their metal foundry. He had an amazing intellect and knack for building, inventing, and exploration. With the tools he could find in the workshop while his family was away in the different part of the foundry, the young colt would built an assortment of various mechanical devices, from toys, to tools that could be efficiently operated by non-unicorns, to even puzzles and devices for his own amusement. But when he tried showing them off to his family, they quickly criticized him for merely the fact that he was a pegasus. When he wasn’t at school, tinkering in his private time, or being oppressed by his family, he would play at the harbour with his friends. However, his friends didn’t last for long, as time progressed; his friends got their cutie marks, everypony except for him. He was the only pony in his generation at his school to not receive his cutie mark, and one of the few ponies that to this day, doesn’t have one. As of result, he was teased by his once friends, further scarring his already destroyed childhood.”

“Wait, did I hear that right? This highly dangerous pony that can scare a bar silent, doesn’t have his cutie mark to this day?” The stallion immediately bursts out into a small chuckle, only to be startled by the old stallion slamming his hooves onto the counter viciously.

“This is no laughing matter! That teasing and laughing is the very reason he’s so dangerous!” In fear, the stranger recollects himself as the stallion also does himself from his fit of rage. He then continues on in a solemn voice, “As he was persistently bullied at home and at school, the rage built up boiled to the tipping point. He often engaged in brutal fights at school, with even on some occasions, using his mechanical gadgets as weapons. This resulted in him being removed, school after school, district after district, wherever he went, his rage and lacking physical attributes always dove him deeper and deeper in trouble. At the mere age of ten, Korsan was sent to jail, the earliest known arrest in Batimare’s history.”

“Yikes…”

“He was bailed out by his family the next day, only to take him home and give him a sharp piece of their minds. However, what was intended to be a mere aggressive lecture from each member of his family combined, quickly escalated into an ugly sight, resulting in him receiving an eye patch the next day. He was all alone, with only his gadgets and his own thoughts to keep him company. He no longer was accepted into any school and was banned from joining any family gathering, except if that gathering was his siblings to pick on him. In retaliation to the sibling’s constant bullying and the ideology that unicorns are better implanted into the core of his twelve-year-old corrupt mind, Korsan directed his intellect to become as close to a unicorn as mechanically possible. He started by inventing an anti-magic substance that would protect him from any magical attacks.”

“Wait, he invented an anti-magic substance at the age of twelve? How smart was this foal?”

“Very smart, very creative, very resourceful, but had very low self-esteem and a body filled with rage and hatred; he was a waste of so much potential.”

“So did it work?”

“No, although it functioned right, the substance would wash off of Korsan’s body quickly. He needed a way of keeping it on him for ages to come, a suit of sorts. However, since he didn’t have the precision of his large hooves to build a proper suit to contain the substance, he built muscle-controlled claws that would give him great precision in his work. These claws will be one of the key features we all recognize the madpony with. He then went on to build a harness that would have his material flow all around his body, creating a shield of sorts. After many weeks of sweat and tire, Korsan completed his claws and anti-magic harness. He then displayed to his family the powers and capabilities his inventions could do, only to be discredited once more by teaching him that unicorns can perform magical feats no mechanical device could possibly match.”

“He invented anti-magic and claws that would allow a non-unicorn to have the same precision of handling objects as one, how was he not given credibility?”

“He claims that they were right, that unicorns are the best and no work of mind nor machinery can match them. But if you were to ask me, I would say it’s just stubborn pride.”

“I see,”

“Back to the story… After being rejected by his family once more, the young colt had just about enough of this abuse. He flew away from his home one day and over the busy streets of Baltimare. However, something abnormal happened during his flight. It was some sort of unknown light phenomenon in the sky that just came all of a sudden, like lightning or something. It that blinded Korsan that sent him tumbling down into the streets, to be hit head on by an armoured bank chariot. He was immediately taken to the hospital, only to find out that his back was broken and would require years to heal. He also found out that his wings were broken, but unlike his back, the damage was permanent, he could not fly for the rest of his life. His family didn’t show up at the hospital to help him after the accident, he was truly abandoned. With a broken back and wings and the only thing he had were his inventions, he started a life of crime. Korsan began with petty theft, simple purse snatches and pick pocketing just to get some resources.”

“How was he able to do it without being caught, wasn’t his back broken?”

“It was, instead of hasty snatch and runs, Korsan used his intellect and silver tongue to get ponies to not notice when he robbed them until after an hour of him leaving them. He used the money to buy food to get by the day and metal to build a support system that would help him to be able to walk properly again. This secondary suit would act as a mechanical toy that Korsan could control with fluid motion. The new ensemble worked better than he expected, as he found out he could run faster, lift more weight, and react quicker to immediate situations than other normal foals of his age, but these upgrades came at a cost. Over the years, his support suit has been slowly forming his spine to go upright, never letting the broken bones inside to properly heal. In the past couple of years, his front hooves have never touched the ground, for he could now simply walk and run with his hind hooves.”

“This pony just seems to get stranger and stranger.”

“And grew even more dangerous at that, for in a matter of days, his crimes escalated to grand theft and even caused several hostage situations. He then used his spoils to buy from the black market and created weapons, from blades, to cannons, to even explosives. This created a vicious cycle that grew too big for Korsan to keep within Baltimare. Using his experiences of his old days playing at the harbour and the use of his latest technologies, Korsan spent a couple of years building a ship, one that could fly and was large enough to be considered a self-sustaining fortress. He worked on it for three years, never allowing himself to sleep for more than three hours nor let any injury delay his work. Upon completing his revolutionary creation, he then gathered up a crew of unicorns to serve as his pirate minions and they took off, beginning Korsan’s global campaign of pillaging and plundering any city, whether it be surrounded by land, sea, or sky.”

“He built a ship… that could not only fly, but also be self-sustaining?”

“Yes, it doesn’t even run on magic, as the entire thing is built with his anti-magic substance lining every floorboard, causing some, odd, science thing to happen that allowed it to fly.” Twilight can’t believe what the old stallion is saying, having never heard of such a ship, or any large structure of that matter, that was able to fly without magic, despite seeing it firsthoof with her friends several times.

“Impossible…”

“It’s real, I’ve been on that ship long enough to know it top from bottom.”

“You were a prisoner?”

“No…” The old unicorn stays silent for a while before the stranger figures it out.

“You were a crew member.”

“I was Korsan’s first mate and my daughter was a mechanic. It was odd having to be told around by a pony that was only fifteen at the time, but as the years progressed, I came to terms with it.”

“So that’s why you know so much about him.”

“He told me everything, as if I was the true father figure he never had. He’d show me nearly everything he had saw, created, or stolen with a face full of pride and glee.”

“How long did you serve under Korsan? Why did you leave? Was it the guilt of just doing nothing but crimes getting to you?”

“Easy there lad, ask one question at a time. I worked for Korsan for about five years until I resigned a couple of years ago. And I didn’t just do nothing but piracy, that was only my job. While me and my crewmembers were with Korsan, his adventurous spirit would take us to new locations and see unimaginable things. I remember when he would sit out on the bow, writing down his discoveries and research throughout all the night. There was some sort of an innocent side of him that became exposed whenever he encountered something new. He wrote many books, collected so many artifacts, and built so many machines. When I was with him on those adventures, sometimes, I would forget about our crimes and think that we were a family of sorts.”

“So what made you and your daughter leave?”

“…” The unicorn becomes quiet and avoids making eye contact with the stranger or anypony of that matter. “You don’t need to know.”

“But I want to,”

“No you don’t, it would be too much for a young stallion like yourself.”

“I’m a bounty hunter; I’ve hunted down murderers and absolute maniacs, how bad could it be.”

“Are you sure?” He then gives the stallion a strong glare. His eyes shrink and his mouth soon turns to a snarl, as if he’s holding back an inner demon. The bounty hunter slowly nods his head, unaware of the true grim that Nitin is about to tell.

“Several years ago, we were coming up to a small kingdom in the clouds, preparing to attack the main castle and get as much booty as possible. Within moments of hovering right next to the front gates, we attacked. The pegasi were no match as we merely held them in place with our magic. We stormed the castle and came back in moments, holding as much gold, jewels, and other valuables with our magic. At first glance, this was just another successful plunder. That was, until we started to leave with the mountain of loot on our ship. I noticed that Korsan was looking back at the kingdom, observing its buildings, its size, but most importantly, its citizens. He stopped the vessel and turned its port towards the kingdom. The crew was reasonably confused of his actions at first. However, that all changed when he turned to us and gave the command. He ordered us to fire off the cannons into the kingdom and destroy it. I couldn’t believe what he was ordering, we usually only used the cannons in defense or if a target was being too stubborn. This was an act of terrorism. Me, my daughter, and a few crewmembers could not bring ourselves to do it. Most of the other pirates, the ones that were once in prison for federal crimes, didn’t mind however and followed orders. They fired into the city, and the screams of stallions, mares, and children soon echoes back to our boat. I was scarred from the horrific scene that I saw unfold before me. Korsan approached me when he saw I was struggling and asked why I wasn’t attacking. I told him that I couldn’t bring myself to hurt masses of innocent ponies for no reason, in which he gave me a most terrifying response.”

“What was it?”

“’Pegasi and Earth Ponies are inferior, we must shape the world to what it should be, all unicorns, no more suffering…’”

“You mean to say,”

“Yes, the beliefs of his family had been released from the darkest pits of his mind and out into his true desires. He then told me that after this, we would be searching for a way for him to become a unicorn, destroying every non-unicorn that stood in his way. In a matter of moments, the entire kingdom began to fall down into the abyss below, bringing countless ponies down, trapped within their houses. I was terrified, for I saw a small smile on the captain’s face as he watched the kingdom fall before his eyes…” A slow stream of tears begins to run down the stallion’s cheeks, still staring at the grey pegasus with his watery, yet stern eyes. Twilight and the others become absolutely shocked as their minds visualize the old pony’s words, trying to understand pure madness.

“So then you quit?”

“Korsan let me and my daughter leave with no resistance; he was surprisingly lenient on the idea of letting his crew members quit. After that, I sailed out here and built this very bar you are standing in. Korsan comes by to visit and gloat about his newest discoveries and raids every once in a while. I always kept myself in the kitchen to avoid talking to the monster.”

“He grows more and more insane each visit,” Novembers adds with a taste of disgust in her voice, “Despite his appearance of being a suave, controlled pirate captain, underneath, he’s a monster that won’t hesitate to kill to get what he wants. He usually tries to get me to join his crew and be his ‘special somepony’, but I manage to keep him from advancing too much towards me.”

“Never again shall we work for Korsan. He is the deadliest, nastiest, most insane creature you will ever encounter. I suggest staying away from him at all costs, and never, ever, try to pick a fight with him.” The old pony then gives a large sigh of relief before turning back into the kitchen. Small murmurs and chats soon fill the ambience of the chamber, obviously talking about Korsan.

“That’s,” Twilight stampers, “That’s…”

“Horrible!” Dash quietly exclaims, “Korsan’s pure villain.”

“The plot thickens.” Spike mutters.

“That monster!” Rarity adds, furiously slamming her hoof onto the table.

“I feel so sorry for him,” Fluttershy replies, “but I also hate him now more than ever.”

“He’s scary.” Sweetie Belle cries.

“We want to go home,” the other two fillies moan in terror.

“That escalated quickly.” Pinkie adds, having joined the table while Nitin was telling the story.

“We gotta stop Korsan,” Applejack proclaims, “He is now a threat to all of Equestria.”

Back at the serving counter, the bounty hunter asks November, “So, how often does he visit this place?”

“Once every week or so,” she responds, returning to her deadpan tone, “why?”

“I just want to know how long I could stick around this place.”

“He’s expected to return this day actually, he’s set up a massive bounty ten days ago and said he would return from an expedition with the bounty ready for him.”

“Has the bounty already been captured?”

“Actually, no, the ten ponies that the bounty was pinned on paid it off. All ten million bits,” The cloaked stallion slams his hoof onto the polished wood counter as he nearly slipped from his standing

“Korsan set up a ten million bit bounty on ten ponies?! He’s actually willing to give up that much money? Where does he get this fortune?”

“I told you, he’s insane.” Within moments, the grey pegasus leans over the counter, almost touching November’s nose with his.

“Where can I find Korsan now? I want what he has; I can take him down if it means becoming the richest pony in the world!”

Behind him, in the doorframe with the door wide open, an all too familiar, sinister voice replies, “Right behind you.” Everypony inside winces in shock as the bounty hunter looks over his shoulder to see a tall abnormal shadow, looking at him. A bolt of lightning strikes down from the storm outside the bar, revealing the silhouettes of his vast crew of unicorns through the foggy windows.

“Korsan…”