Hello everyone! first of all, I have to apologize as I have been very busy this month with a multitude of things. I had to plan my eagle scout ceremony, my ADHD made it hard for me to focus on My Little Pony stories, I created at least ten new story ideas this month and have yet to write them giving me over 40 story ideas flowing through my head counting all of the My Little Pony stories I plan on rewriting so I am sorry to say I only have a sixth of what I uploaded the previous month... I have failed you all as I have failed a friend I treat as a brother of mine by not being able to write up any chapters for Equestrian Ranch...
I hope you all will forgive me for barely having anything to post...
hope you all forgive me and see you all next month if you stay around...
I slowly opened my eyes as I woke up... another morning on this ship as it had been for the past month of traveling... I turned to my right and found that Soft Heart had once again joined me on the bed that Golden Will had made for me. I grimaced a little as I moved my leg a little. It was healing nicely at least and we had a month of no bad time occurring at the moment.
The wound had finally sealed itself yesterday as Golden Will finally found a needle and thread to help keep it closed. I was in a lot of pain when I walked but I pushed through the pain when I knew I could walk again. Being careful to avoid waking of Heart I slowly slid my arm out from under her as she whimpered and gripped my arm tighter. I sighed quietly as I stared at her sleeping face... a frown on it which ruined her cute image.
I used my right arm and pushed some of her mane out of her face as rubbed her cheek. Her frown turned into a small smile as I smiled myself. Soon I heard yelling and large movements outside as Golden Will burst into the room. Causing Heart to wake up and hug me around my waist. "a Griffon ship approaches!" I narrowed my eyes. "young one over here!" he yelled at Heart as I pushed her towards him as she quickly hid inside of a little cubby underneath the desk underneath the work desk.
I swung my feet off of the bed and grimaced a little from the pain in my left side considering my arm wasn't that badly injured anymore but it was doable just like my leg. "the ponies are now below deck!"
I placed my guns in different places to hide the guns in case I needed them.
Debora quickly helped me as I asked until soon the griffon ship pulled up next to us. The gangplank was put onto the deck as Debora sat down next to me and Golden Will stood near the bottom. "hello Minotaur!" yelled a griffon as he walked down the gangplank along with two behind him. About 10 more had flown onto the deck. "you heading to join the front?" he asked with a small smile as both Debora and I stayed out of sight near the door to the cabin.
"certainly. Although it is only I that is doing so." he responded as the griffon captain raised an eyebrow. "my two passengers though just wished to see Equestria before it was destroyed."
"and where are these two passengers?" the griffon asked.
"over here!" I said as he looked towards us. My right arm was gripping my P9 in a pile of rope as Debora stood in front of my arm.
"ah! There you are! You wouldn't mind if we searched the ship would you?" I noticed Bell up at the steering wheel above us as I answered.
"just stay out of our belongings as we will get along just fine," I said with a fake smile as he smiled as well before his face got serious.
"search the ship," he said in a monotone voice as all but the two griffons behind him. They began to tear the ship up. As they opened crates, spilled barrels, flew up to the crows nest. "we have reason to believe there are ponies on this ship."
"may I ask why you may think that?" Golden Will asked with narrowed eyes.
"a Minotaur thought he spotted ponies on your ship when you were leaving the pirate town." the griffon stated smugly. I narrowed my eyes. " I figured why not look and see if that accusation was... true." I could see both of the griffons behind the griffon talking was eyeing the two of us. I gripped my P9 tighter as the Griffons started to slowly make their way downstairs. "you know I feel like I've seen you before." the griffon said as he turned from Golden Will towards me. " I just can't remember where."
I could hear he was genuinely curious.
"no idea. Maybe you saw me around from time to time. I tend to travel." I answered him easily. Lying was something that all agents were required to be good in. every time we show a sign that we were lying involved being beaten to the ground. Worse thing was we all consented to it.
"I can see that," he asked amused as I saw his eyes turn to Debora. "Zebrica I'm guessing?" Debora only nodded. "heard its nice this time of year." he turned back towards me before he froze and looked down at me. "what happened to you anyway?"
"met this old mug and accidentally challenged him," I responded as the griffon chuckled. I heard screaming from downstairs as the ponies were pulled onto the deck. I looked at them impassively as the griffon chuckled and more of them flew off the ship to contain the ponies.
"well looky here! Guess they were right." the griffon gave a sinister smile as they were all forced to their knees in a line across the deck. "you know what this could mean Minotaur." he simply stared at them impassively. " I could kill you now and no one would know." Golden Will remained unmoving. "but I won't. I got some new toys to deal with..." he then gained a thoughtful look on his face. "now I remember where I saw you." he looked towards me as I narrowed my eyes. "do you happen to be called... human?"
"yes..." I answered him.
"then you are among friends!" he said with excitement. "your kind are known as warmongers much like our own!"
"how would you know?" I then asked him.
"we found some of your temples." temples? "we found you race were warmongers and we respect it!"
"then what do you see me as?" I asked them.
"just like them... although calmer then what we have read." he then said in confusion.
"that's because I am not like my kind."
"well that is... unfortunate.. get these ponies onto the ship!" the ponies began pleading for us to help them as I looked in sadness. "why did you ship them anyway Minotaur."
"a promise before the purge." Golden answered. "I promised safe voyage to those who came and needed it... once they were brought to where they needed would be when that promise was finished and my clan laws would take over."
"please! Ill tell you anything!" yelled the final stallion going up the plank.
"is there anyone else on board?" the griffon taking him asked sarcastically.
"y-yes! In the cabin under the desk!" two griffons immediately burst into the cabin as I narrowed my eyes at the stallion as the one pushing him chuckled.
"Congratulations! You get to die quickly!" he was pushed once more as he began to yell in fear. Soon I heard a scream as Soft Heart was pulled and thrown onto the deck... and that was when I acted...
standing up I kept the P9 hidden behind Debora as the two griffons walked in front of us... before I walked in behind them and pointed my gun at them. The griffons watching me froze when they saw my gun.
"I'm pissed off... with how you handle one as young as her..." the two griffons spun around with eyebrows raised before they froze and paled seeing the gun. "and now I am half tempted to shoot you..."
"easy there... buddy..." the one who had been talking to Golden Will asked with clawed hands raised. "no need to get violent..."
"Debora... grab Soft Heart." she quickly rushed over and grabbed Soft Heart and Bell quickly joined us down in front of the cabin. "now... thanks to that stallion I don't give a damn about them anymore," I answered truthfully as Bell gave a small gasp and covered her mouth with her hands. rule number 12 for missions... never trust someone who wronged you once, never help those... who have wronged you twice. "because they have pissed me off to no end. They have been helpful, yes but they have pissed me off for the last time because of him."
"OK.. what do you want?" the griffon asked.
"so now you want to negotiate?" I then asked. "regardless of the fact I have enough ammunition on me to kill you all with the training I have?"
"Um... yes?"
"then talk," I said in a stern tone.
"we leave with the ponies." I narrowed my eyes as I walked over a little and pushed the gun into the back of the left griffons head. "b-but we leave the foal with you!"
"and how can I believe that you won't come back around?" I said pushing the griffons head forward with the barrel as I pulled out my hidden magnum and pointed it at the other griffon who stopped moving to get ready to grab my gun.
"y-you don't." he answered. "you can only trust us." I stared him in the eyes. "how about a trade?"
"trade?" I asked him.
"y-yes a trade. One of our own." the griffons surrounding us widened their eyes as I raised an eyebrow. He wanted to trade one of his own who could possibly kill everyone on this ship and give him a reason to come back. So basically it was a win-win for him. "a prisoner of your own while we leave."
"why would you give up one of your own crew?" I asked him.
"because she doesn't deserve to be on the crew. That and I believe in the curse of females on ships... but seeing that you have females on your ship I guess you don't believe that. Ever since she came onto the ship, faking being a male, we kept her in the brig and have been hit by bad luck constantly. Basically, you taking her would be a big favor!" he finished in a joking tone and gave a sheepish laugh. Nobody else followed up his laughter as you could cut the tension in the air with a knife.
"very well..." he gave a sigh of relief as he made a hand gesture and several griffons flew up to the ship before soon returning with another griffon with a bag over her head. She was thrown onto the deck as I noticed both her hands and feet were tied up. I watched as the griffon leader walked over and removed the sack over her head. "she is still breathing." I looked towards her chest, not in that way! And saw she was still breathing. Her breathing was slow so she wasn't in any pain or need of medical attention from what I could see. "she has been sedated and put to sleep ever since we found her out... so... let my two boys go..."
"move... slowly..." I told the two as they started to slowly make their way over to the captain. I still had a bad feeling about this. As Golden Will brought over the sleeping griffon.
"you must be thinking of why we would give up someone you don't know. Griffon females are very valuable at the moment and are to not be killed."
"why?" I asked.
"because they are low in number." Golden Will answered as I was confused. "while the ponies have too many females and are a peaceful race. The griffons are the opposite in all ways. Being a warlike species with only 97 percent of them being female. They are like trophies to those who own them but are respected. The only reason why they haven't died out is because there is at least one female in every clutch of eggs. Said clutch of eggs number in the tens."
"that... sounds painful..." I answered as he nodded as the griffon captain looked over the two griffons that were just at gunpoint.
"it is... it is also why females prefer to not have chicks but they are forced to regardless and they go into hiding. Regardless of this fact! Griffon numbers are always rising."
"Alright, boys! Let us sail off!" all the griffons quickly flew onto their ship as the griffon captain gave me one more look from the middle of the gangplank. "this is the only time we will leave you alone... the king will demand us to come after you once he hears about you."
"then don't tell him," I stated in a narrow tone as he gave me a saddened smile.
"can't... if I don't someone on my crew will and I would rather not be under probation. The seas are my life, my boy! I wish you luck!" I watched as he finished walking onto his ship as the plank was pulled on board before it quickly moved away from the boat. Bell buried her head into my chest as she held Soft Heart close as we could hear the yells for help of the ponies that were taken.
I knew Bell would question me later about my decision.