In which a war against piracy erupts across the oceans of Equus after one or more seafaring powers are sufficiently pissed at the unending pirate attacks on their commercial shipping as well as their lack of respect and mockery towards their sovereignty and authority,

The breaking point being that a pirate crew had the audacity to do what is mentioned in these pages from the comics:

If i were the ruler of a maritime superpower and learned they kidnapped the princess, my daughter and were expecting me to pay the ransom, i would not stoop down and give these scum a single doubloon from me and would send the finest warships in my navy to destroy them.

"Oh I'll pay you that ransom motherfucker, pay it with your own blood!"

They would expect ransom money, but instead they get a full broadside from warships many times their size and with many more guns than them.

This conflict would be based on countless examples of Wars and Crackdowns against piracy throughout real world maritime history. There's a reason pirates were once referred to as Hostis humani generis or an enemy of Mankind. For the pirates, it's less about finding treasure and attacking defenseless merchant ships and now about fighting to save an entire way of life. More naval battles than treasure hunts.

One possible story in this setting could be one where Rainbow Dash joins a pirate crew as she sees pirates as cool and awesome, only to face the harsh reality of the life of a pirate and then be captured by a seafaring nation (getting her wings broken to prevent escape) and learning of and almost experiencing how a life of a pirate truly ends:

"A short stop and a sudden drop"

Just when she is about to meet her doom, Equestria steps in to negotiate with the naval power that captured her toreconcile for the misunderstanding and to grant her, her freedom. But not without the ruler of this nation reprimanding Dash about romanticizing criminals. This experience making her having to rethink the idea of pursuing a life of crime, especially if that life choice ends in death or imprisonment.

Of course, this conflict would eventually result in Equestria stepping in once the pirates and the naval powers hunting them to extinction start attacking Equestria's coastal cities. the biggest of these attacks being what would be known as the Sacking of Manehattan where pirates raided and plundered Manehattan and then the fleets of these maritime powers further destroying the city in an attempt to flush out the pirates within the city

7839427
Now this is something I can get behind.

If i were the ruler of a maritime superpower and learned they kidnapped the princess, my daughter and were expecting me to pay the ransom, i would not stoop down and give these scum a single doubloon from me and would send the finest warships in my navy to destroy them.

yeah, fuck the princess and your daughter, Blast all of them!

and what about the privateer?

7839506
golden ages of piracy tend to inevitably end in wars against piracy. Those scallywags either accepting a pardon or getting hunted down and eradicated by the navy.

This is also an excuse for writing down or drawing epic naval battles.

7839559
alternatively, you can pay the ransom, blow them out of the water and then get that gold back afterwards.