Spike gained word that the Monquistans who destroyed his ship had been captured. Of course, he was angry, but he was calm enough to simply watch the interrogations from behind a one-way mirror.

The HMS Pinafore, Celestia, and Luna joined him behind the one-way mirror and watched alongside him. The guard in the interrogation room asked, "Were you aware that the ship you destroyed belonged to the Prince of Equestria?"

The monkey told him, "No, I was not. I was told by my employer that the ship belonged to a pirate who told bold lies."

"Well, your employer is an idiot. Think about it, why would a pirate ship be docked at the private dock at the castle of the Royal Family of Equestria?"

The monkey yawned, "I get by on not judging my clients. If the job pays well enough, I'd assassinate the Queen of Marleybone."

Spike's eye twitched in anger as he heard this. He might as well have threatened his daughter when the monkey said he'd assassinate the Queen of Marleybone. He looked to his mother and asked, "Please tell me he's committed a capital crime."

Celestia sighed, "I wish, war crimes are close enough though. They attacked a docked, unarmed ship. Such things have been illegal since the Polarian War."

Spike grumbled as he continued to watch the interrogation. The guard said, "I assume you won't identify your employers, so what if we make an agreement?"

The monkey thought about it for a while and said, "What kind of agreement?"

Spike was a bit upset that the guards were willing to offer him a deal, but kept himself calm as the guard said, "For starters, we don't execute you. You serve three years in the royal dungeons, parole in 18 months, and you become a Mariner for the Royal Navy."

The monkey yawned, "You realize that if I accept, the Crown will have my head? I need more than just avoiding the death penalty. Get me an audience with a royal."

Spike didn't wait for the guard to reply before entering the room, "You want a royal, you have him. Guards, leave us be." before the guards left the room and Spike adjusted his tie and told him, "You got the angriest royal you could possibly get. The ship you destroyed was mine."

The Monquistan gulped and asked, "What are you going to do, break my arms?"

Spike rolled his eyes but kept his calmness, "Don't give me ideas. Tell me more about your employers. Proper information will result in a payday."

"Pardon my French, but I call bullshit. If I destroyed the Prince's ship, and he offers me money for information, you have to understand why I'm suspicious."

Spike nodded, "Fair enough, but think of the alternative, I could send your head in a box to the Crown of Monquista."

"Ok, ok, you win. I may be a criminal, but I have a survival instinct. I was hired by Baron Ferdinand von Doom. He's a low ranking royal, Govenor of Puerto Mico, but his cousin was the captain of the guard on the Isle of Doom, so it became personal. The King and Queen had no knowledge of my attack on your ship, it was purely the Baron's doing."

Spike thought for a moment, he could easily have Puerto Mico burned to the ground in an instant with only two royal ships. And while the war had been made official, he preferred not to take innocent lives. He asked, "Did the Baron know the ship he paid you to attack was owned by royalty?"

The monkey shook his head, "No, he believed that was a bold-faced lie. I was told the ship belonged to a disrespectful pirate who told blasphemous lies, disrespected the Crown of Monquista, and assaulted a guard captain."

"Two out of three's not bad. Still, it won't be forgiven. We'll talk about a deal once we are able to tell how the Crown will react to our Declaration of War and what they will do when they learn of the Baron's actions." before leaving the interrogation room.

Applejack asked him, "You think he's telling the truth?"

Spike nodded, "I have a good sense of smell, I can smell a lie off a drunk man's breath. The worst smell from him I could find was the stench of Polarian vodka."

Celestia thought, before saying, "If the information he provided is true, we might be able to avoid a full-scale war, if the Crown offers to hand over the Baron, they'd much rather hang him out to dry over us supporting the rebels in the Monquistan Civil War. It will take time, but we'll see what happens. For now however, he'll be sent to the dungeons until we receive word from Monquista."

The Guards saluted saying, "As you say milady." before taking the Monquistan to the dungeons.

And while the Monquistans who attacked Spike's ship have been arrested, they admit they were hired by a low-ranking Baron who was simply angry that Spike left 2nd degree burns on his cousin. Will this stop a war with Monquista?

Not likely, but who knows...?

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