It's been two weeks already at sea. They have been a very peaceful two weeks, but we did do our fair share of work. Whatever kind of sickness I had was not fading... But I was getting used to it. I found out ways to keep myself from throwing up... But i still did every now and then. Our small group as grown even smaller now. It's just me, thunder, and twilight ever since Nightflame left and took shadow tail and sprite with him. Captain dredd always mentioned that there was heavy pirate activity in the seas of late. Though he said that we were lucky not to have seen any yet... But he said to give it a while. His crew were always stationed around the cannons and took shifts in the crows nest.
I was leaning over the bow of the ship staring out into the endless ocean. The waves bashing against the side of the ship forced a cooling mist up towards the side and it sprayed against my smell of salty sea air had grown very common and was hard to notice by now. There was a hardy breeze blowing from behind which gave us a good boost of speed. It was a nice and bright day, not a cloud in the sky and the sun rested above the world. It must have been close to noon because the sun was shining rot in the middle of the sky.
The first few days were rather awkward for us, like being the new kids in school. None of the crew really talked to us, but after some time we all lightened up and we got to know the crew. They are pretty friendly when you get to know them, despite their hardy and thuggish looking exterior, they're pretty nice ponies. The ship rocked slightly and gently back and forth, from side to side. Luckily none of us got sea sick...except for me, but I'm just regular sick. Speaking of sick. Just as the ship hit a large wave and jerked upward a sharp pain rushed through my entire body and I grunted in pain and threw up a mixture of blood and black slime over the side of the ship. I moaned in misery as I drooped over the side of the ship with black slime and blood dripping from my mouth and the pain rushing through my body was slowly fading.
" hey sicky..." Said a voice behind me. It wasn't long until I pinned it out to be thunder rush. " you done puking now?... We have to hoist up the second sail... C'mon." He said. I briefly turned my head to see him standing there with a coil of rope loosely hanging around his neck.
" yeah... Give me a sec..." I said gathering my composure. I let out a low groan and then stepped back from the side of the ship feeling better now. I walked over to thunder and he tossed me the coil of rope. We walked over to the mast and he untied some of the rope around the knots. Once it was loose he started pulling it up and tied it down again. I did the same thing on the other side and the sail was ready to be hoisted up. We both grabbed the larger rope hanging from the mast and started pulling it. Soon the large bluish sail started rising up from the deck and popped open so the wind can hit it. Once the sail was halfway up the wind caught it and it jerked it forward pulled on the rope for a moment. We pulled it back and soon it was all the way up. It took hold of the rope with my teeth and thunder grabbed the end of it and started tightening it to the mast. He tied three knots and gave me the ok to let go. I let my grip loose on the rope and it eased into place. The sail was up and running, and already I could feel the ship picking up speed.
" there we go... That should hold." Said thunder.
" nice work boys..." Said another voice from our side. It was twilight walking out from the underside of the ship and smiling.
" thanks..." I said grinning and slightly sweating, mostly from the heat... Also the ocean spray did soak my face pretty well. " what exactly have you done all day?" I asked jokingly.
" well crimson." Said twilight walking over to me smiling and as she passed me she flicked her tail at me and thunder just chuckled. " if you must know I was down in the lower deck helping chef make lunch... Which will be ready soon, so if you want any I'd head down." She said urging us forward to the stairs leading to the lower deck. You probably guessed that chef is... Well, our chef. We cal him chef because he doesn't have a name, or at least that's what I've heard so far. He's a chubby pony with light brown fur and dark blonde hair. He has a short and scrubby beard and always wears a white apron stained with all kinds of stuff. He even wears one of those chef hats too. He's a really great pony and one of the friendliest and jolliest on the entire ship. I'm not sure why I asked twilight what she was doing, because she's always down there helping out chef.
We made our way down the deck and over to the kitchen area. It isn't much of a kitchen area really. There's a small portable wood burning stove that chef uses to cook his food, and of course since there's fire he needs to keep a bucket of water around the place for safe measures. There was a large counter cutting off the kitchen area where chef put his food. Today it looked like spinach and onion soup. There were already hot bowls out and they were steaming. Me and thunder always get out food first because twilight gives us a tip before lunch is called. We entered the kitchen and chef noticed us and shone us his big hearty smile like every other time.
" h-hey... Did my little birdie tip you off about lunch again?" He said raising an eyebrow and smiling.
" yes she did." Said thunder in a chipper voice. We both walked up to the counter and chef had already picked out two bowls for us.
" well, eat up boys..." He said handing us the bowls. We grabbed them and smiled. The smell of food was really thick in this room, all the time. It was a mixture of everything he ever made. Me and thunder took our bowls and sat down on some crates nearby as chef finished putting out all his stuff and placing down his huge pot of soup for the crew. We munched down on our food and chef took a large, thick triangle and rang it furiously. " SOUPS ON EVERYPONY!" He shouted as he rung the bell. That bell could be heard from every corner of the ship and probably a ways off the ship too. Me and thunder continued eating and it wasn't long until the room was flooded with ponies.
Chef poured soup into more bowls as ponies took them so there would always be a bowl to grab right off the bat. Some of the crew passed us by with their food and smiled at us as they walked by. Me and thunder waved and they soon went to sit down somewhere else and eat. We finished our food and returned the bowls to chef. His kitchen hand took the bowls and put them in a barrel full of other dishes and soapy water. I smiled and me and thunder walked off to some other part of the ship to find twilight. As we walked out of the kitchen and walked past all the ponies munching down their food happily a sharp roar of a horn tore through the air and everything went still... Dreadfully still.
"SHIP...HO!" Yelled the pony from on top of the crows nest. The entire cabin was silent. Me and thunder exchanged a strange look and we rushed up to the deck just as all the other crew members started rushing around. They ran towards their cannons and the others followed us up to the deck to get behind the cannons up there. As we got up into the deck I saw the captain on top of the bridge. Thunder went off to find twilight and I rushed to the bridge. Out in the distance I could see two ships. Both with black sails and red painted hulls. The two ships were gearing closer, but the one on the left was getting closer, faster. It was a smaller ship with medium sails and one set of cannons. The other ship was a huge iron wall, with three sets of cannon and huge iron masts and sails. I rushed up the stairs to the bridge and almost threw up going up the stairs, but I forced it back and carried on.
" captain..." I blurted out rushing up to captain dredd.
" argh..." He said glaring at the two ships. " of all the pirates to run into..." He said.
" who are they?" I asked.
" the infamous twin captains... Thunder and lightning red hoof."
" thunder and lightning?" I said questionably.
" those are their names..." He said. " captain lightning red hoof captain the bolt, that little ship that's gaining on us fast." He said. " and that monstrous behemoth lagging behind it is the thunder wave, captained by thunder red hoof. It goes by the nickname of 'the iron wall' and the bolt has the nickname of ' the sea sword.'."
" do we fight?" I asked.
" we don't have much of a choice now..." He said. " the bolt has us in its sights and it'll easily catch up to us. It might not be threatening... But it's almost impossible to hit because of its speed and long range cannons, she'll keep us occupied until her brother bets here."
" her brother?" I asked. " are you talking about the ships or the captains?"
" the captains." He said glancing over to me. " lightning red hoof is a mare... A small mare, but she can use a pair of daggers like you wouldn't believe... Then there's her brother...thunder. " he muttered. " biggest stallion that has ever touched the sea..."
" so is this where I come in?" I asked.
" yes... " he said. " I'm not worried about taking much hell from the bolt... But when that other ship gets to us... There won't be any hope."
" the bolt is gaining on us captain." Yelled one of the members from down on the deck. The bolt was now close to the ship but it didn't get much closer it turned and started circling the ship from a distance. It was moving incredibly fast. Within seconds it ran past the range of the cannons.
" take out that ship... And try and take the captain alive... There's a price on her head that would be a mighty profit... Plus it might give her brother incentive not to shoot us down if she's on board." He said.
I was about to reply but before I knew it a thundering sound echoed gently through the air and then it was followed by a sinister whirling sound. The next thing I knew someone shouted to take cover and the ship shook and rock as cannon balls hit the side of our ship. They didn't even rare through, but they broke in the wood. Our own ship emitted a thundering roar as the starboard cannons fired at the bolt... But we missed horribly.
" quickly go... Take her out before she takes us out... And get her alive." He said. I nodded and knelt down into a crouching position as I spread my wings out. I shot up straight into the air in a blaze of light and fury. My armor started to appear on my body as well as my hood and mask. I flew through the air in a ball of light and set my sights on the small ship. I rocketed down towards the ship and burst right through it. I tore through it and hit water. I flew right back up and more gently this time, landed on the deck of the ship. There were pirates in caps and sea clothing all over with swords already drawn out. My first attack was at the cannons. Using my magic I forced up spikes of light under each cannon and threw them over the side of the ship. Next I lashed out blades of light and cut straight throu the masts. I also might have sliced through a few ponies too... But that's whatever.
The ropes coiled and snapped under the pressure and the mast started falling until it hit the deck and snapped in half. The top of it went into the water and the bottom of it just made a dent in the deck. I turned my attention to the pirate crew who were staring at me with incredible disbelief. I let out a shout and fired up multiple spikes under a group of pirates skewering them. Blood splattered across the ruined and broken deck, and the hole I made earlier was slowly letting water in the lower deck, sinking the ship slowly.
One of the pirates from behind me slashed at my back with a sword and my legs buckled a bit. A sharp pain raced through my body and I threw up a mixture of blood and black slime. That only proved to make me angrier. I immediately spun around and let out a shout as a blast of white light fired from my chest and disintegrated everything in its path. Next thing I knew I heard a blast from behind me. It startled me at first and when I turned around I saw a mare. She was wearing a leather skirt and cloth shirt with a lightning bolt on it. She had a red bandana covering one eye and the other eye was a crystal green. She had brown fur with white spots near her hooves and face. She had golden blonde hair that looked very silky and smooth for a pirate mare. In her hoof she held...an pistol. It was a very old fashioned flintlock repeater pistol with smoke seaming from the barrel.
" aye... What's this hogwash doing on me ship?" She said. She had a pirate sounding voice... But it was frightening but calm as well. " ye got five seconds to git of me ship... I'll shoot more holes in ya than ye put in my ship."
" you wouldn't happen to be captain lightning red hoof... Would yah?" I asked.
" aye... And your wrecking my ship with your fanciful magic and such." He said.
" all I needed to know." I said under my own voice. In a puff of smoke I teleported and appeared right in front of her. I tried to take her by surprise but she was remarkably quick... Dredd didn't lie. She jetted backwards and out of nowhere she pulled out a knife and sliced my face. I let out a grunt of pain and glared back at her. She had a knife in her teeth with my blood on it. Se sort of growled at me. I tried shooting up a few tentacles to grab her but she dodged every one of them. I was getting very tired of this and summoned all my strength and focused it on my speed. She was a good fifteen feet away from me... But in a split second I shot forward like a bullet at her and clashed my head into hers. She flew backwards off the bridge of the ship and landed on the deck. She hit the ground and was out cold. I thought for a second that I had killed her, but her energy was still giving off a strong signal, so she was fine. I jumped down and grabbed her. Interested, I took her belt with her pistol holster and decided to keep it, been a while since I used something like this.
I tossed the captain over my back right after I strapped her holster to my armor and it immediately changed to suit my own aura and armor, becoming part of my ensemble now. I spread my wings and took off in the air towards the oceans fury. I flew over in a matter of seconds and landed on the deck. I tossed the unconscious captain lightning onto the deck of the ship and closed my wings. The bolt was now almost halfway submerged in the water, along with its almost all dead crew. Some of the other pirates abandoned their ship and were swimming over to our ship now hoping for a merciful surrender. Others who though they might be able to make the swim started to make the journey over to the thunder wave, which was much closer than it was before. Hopefully they'll scare some sense into the other crew, drop morale.
" well... You sure made quick work of that..." Said twilight walking over. The next thing she noticed was the captain laying unconscious at my hooves. " who the hell is this?" Asked twilight.
" this is the captain of that half sunken ship over there..." I said.
" aye... You got her..." Exclaimed captain dredd from on top of the bridge. "Good get her tied up against the front mast. You two, send a signal to captain thunder that we have his sister." Said dredd signaling two other crew members who had signal flags with them. They got right to flagging down the other ship repeating the same message. I handed the captain off to two other ponies who quickly grabbed some spare rope and did a solid job of patting her down for hidden weapons and tying her up. I walked up to the bridge and twilight followed me. When we got up there I saw thunder standing next to dredd.
" that's one down... What's the plan now?" Thunder asked not aware of our presence. Captain dredd looked over to us and so did thunder.
" we've got the girl..." He said. " that will keep thunders cannons off of us."
" so what is the plan?" I asked.
" I need you two..." Dredd muttered pointing to thunder and twilight. "... I need you to put up a shield protecting us from the cannons with your magic." He said.
" I'm not sure if we could keep up a shield against three sets of cannons... We're just two ponies." Said thunder.
" I can help with the shield too..." I said. " I can keep a shield up and do whatever else you need me to do." I said.
" I need you to take down that ship." He said.
" you want me to sink it?" I asked.
" no don't sink it... Kill the crew, cut down the masts, destroy all the cannons, and jam the rotary. I need you to completely immobilize the ship so that we can loot it... That ship is a fortune... And if we can pull this off then everypony on this ship will be able to retire after this voyage... Even you three... You'll get a cut too, and you might need it in stallasia."
" sounds good." Said thunder.
" alright." I said. " I can help keep the shield up and as the first priority I'll get those cannons to stop firing. Then I'll cut down the masts."
" alright. Take a second to get ready. We'll bait them in until their close enough to board, then you strike." He said. We all looked out to the large iron ship growing closer to our small wooden vessel. One of the flag ponies ran up the stairs to the bridge and he had a message.
" captain..." He said at attention.
" what news have you?" Asked dredd.
" captain thunder red hoof has agreed to negotiate for his sister... He's coming over to board."
" alright... Good." He said. " everypony he to to position. Get on those cannons. You three get a shield up." He said pointing to us. " and you..." He said resting his hoof on my shoulder. " try and get onto the ship undetected."
" I can do that." I said smiling. " next time you see me the thunder wave will be a broken husk." I said before concentrating my energy and vanishing. Dredd blinked a bit in disbelief and then just smiled and carried on his own way. I lurked around the ship completely invisible. I was pretty much a ghost right now. I didn't make noise, I couldn't be seen, and I could pass right through walls. All the crew got to their stations while twilight and thunder discretely put up a shield around the ship. It remained invisible and I crept around and found a good position. I focused my energy too and added a great amount of energy into the shield, which will keep it up no matter how many cannons they fire at it.
The thunder wave was almost next to us now... And it was huge. The large vessel towered over our own and I could see the captain thunder red hoof standing on the edge. He wore a dark leather pirate hat which was hiding his dark and dirty hair. He had the same coat as his sister. Light brown with white patches around the face and hooves. He wore a belt with dual repeaters on either side as well as a very heavy looking broadsword which was scratched and banged up. His sword has obviously seen battle. His eyes were green like his sisters and he...was...HUGE. He was at least a foot and a half taller than most ponies. Even taller than Big Mac. He had the most disgusting layering of muscle I've ever seen on a living creature. He looked like he could pick up the ship he was sailing on.
He was snarling at us as the ship closed in. Once it pulled up to the side I saw a few of his own crew members grab a wooden plank and connect the two ships. The plank did prop up with a bit of a slop but it stayed and captain thunder soon walked down the plank grinning. I thought the wooden plank connecting the two ships was going to break under him. He walked down the plank and up onto our ship. He walked right up to captain dredd and they both stared each other in the eyes.
" argh... Captain dredd." He snarled with a very gritty and deep voice.
" captain thunder." Replied dredd.
" where's me sister?" Captain thunder snapped.
" now don't you worry about her... We got her tied up all safe like... Now, about these negotiations." Said dredd. I took that as a signal and crept my way over to the wooden plank, silently. I crossed over and boarded the thunder wave. I looked around and there were crew members everywhere. I crouched, ready to pounce and invisible tentacles, sharp as a sword, sprouted form my back. I was ready to go on the hunt. I quietly crept around and thought about now I would go about this. I thought about doing it secretly and quietly. Then I thought 'fuck that.' And I picked up a cannon right next to me with my tentacles and threw it. Seeing the cannon rise shocked all the crew member watching, then when I threw it and it tore through one of the masts and killed three members, the whole ship was in shock.
" argh... What was that?" Asked thunder red hoof. " ye traitorous dog... We had a deal... CREW, FIRE THE CANNONS!" Yelled the captain as he drew his sword and got ready to fight. On command there was a demonically thundering sound as all three sets of the ships cannons, minus one, fired at our ship. The shield held. The cannon balls tore through the short distance quickly only to shatter against the brightly glowing shield which had now become visible. Some of the crew members on this ship grabbed swords, a rope, and swung over. It was an all out battle now. They landed on the deck of the oceans fury and war broke out. The cannons on the thunder wave were getting ready to fire again, but I was well at work.
I picked up four more cannons and whipped them in all directions. I chucked one through the captains quarters and then used one to take out another mast. I decided to I cloak myself and I shone with a bright light that soon turned to darkness. The crew on this ship froze in place upon seeing me. Needless to say, they didn't put up much of a fight... It was a slaughter. I started grabbing ponies with my tentacles and tore them apart. I skewered others and ripped open a few others too. I smashed the ground underneath me and fell to the second level of the ship. I made quick work of this level too.
I started grabbing cannons and tossed them everywhere. Most of them blew out of the sides of the ship and others I just tossed elsewhere. Any of the crew members in the area where viscously slaughtered. I tore through them like scissors through paper. They tried to fight back... But none of them could get close. Then I did the same for the last level of the ship. There were crew members down here too, and also tons of loot. There were piles and chests of gold and trade goods. I made quick work of the cannons and I was careful not to break through the walls so I don't sink the ship. Once that was done I went after the rest of the crew... But there wasn't much left of it. Any crew members I did find were scared shitless and hid in a corner... I spared them. When dredd lots this ship, he'll take care of them.
I dashed all the way up to the deck of the ship and looked down at the oceans fury. There was an all out battle. Dredd and captain thunder were at it like dogs, but I could feel that dredd was no match for captain thunder. Twilight and thunder rush were busy blasting other pirates away with magic, but our ship was swarming with captain thunders crew now. I looked over at twilight who was blasting away at one pirate when a different one grabbed her from behind and threw her to the ground. The pirate had his back turned to me... Unlucky for him. Twilight glanced at him in fear and when her eyes grazed over me... She didn't feel afraid anymore. She didn't have to... I leapt from the thunder wave and crossed the gap between the two ships. And I landed on the oceans fury. More specifically I landed right on top of the pony looming over twilight. He was crushed between me and the ship and the air filled with a sickening crunch as his spine snapped underneath my hooves.
I lashed out my tentacles at the other members of thunders crew and grabbed them by the waist or neck. I geared up a bit and threw them off into the ocean. I went through the deck passing by ponies trying to get to dread who I could feel wasn't fairing well in his fight. I came up to the bridge, and instead of taking the stairs I just jumped right up onto the deck. As I leapt into the air I could see dredd and thunder with their swords pressed up against each other. Thunder was almost crushing dredd to death. I soared over to thunder and planted my back hooves on his side and kicked him off of captain dredd. He tumbled over to the other side of the bridge. I pulled out my shining sword of light and held it tight in my jaw. My dark armor and glow soon turned light and I glowed brightly.
" arghh... What kind of demonic magic is this?" Asked thunder getting up and clutching his sword in his teeth. He dashed at me and swung his sword at me. I blocked with my own sword. His strike pushed me back a foot or so but I lashed out to and swiped my sword at him. He dodged and struck at me. We exchanged blows for a good few minutes. He went to strike at me again and I blocked the blow. Just as a show of bad luck an rift of pain washed over me and I dropped my sword and threw up a pool of blood and slime again. Thunder took this as a sign and charged me. He's wound his sword at me and it stuck me on the side of the chest. My armor kept the sword from cutting through but the force sent me flying over the side of the bridge and I fell down to the deck below which was now cleared of thunders crew. They had either been captured, killed, or thrown overboard. It figures that the others had been watching me for a while now.
I landed and hit the deck and let out a grunt of pain from the impact. The impact caused another wave of pain to wash over me and as I staggered to my hooves the pain hit me and I threw up a pile of blood and then buckled back down into my own blood. Thunder jumped from the bridge and landed behind me with a thundering crash, he almost broke through the deck. I tried crawling forward to help get on my hooves again but thunder looked over me with his sword held up high ready to strike. He swung his sword down... And there was a clash. Next to thunder was captain dredd with his sword in his mouth and he pulled his sword away from thunder and slashed at his side. Captain thunder let out a cry of pain and growled. He slashed his sword with enough strength to knock the sword out of dredds mouth. Captain thunder got ready to strike down dredd... But suddenly our own thunder rush dashed in and tackled captain thunder. He grabbed dredds sword from the ground and held it in his jaw ready to fight captain thunder.
Thunder rushes tackle wasn't enough to throw captain thunder to the ground, but it did send him staggering back. Thunder rush swiftly dashed over and started swinging his sword at captain thunder. Captain thunder blocked every swing, and when the opportunity arose he took his chance. Thunder rush attacked with an uppercut and captain thunder dodged it. While Derek was wide open thunder tilted his head down and charged in on Derek. He bashed Derek with a tackle of his own and Derek went flying. Thunder walked over to Derek with his sword up high but he was interrupted again by twilight. Twilight shot a blast of magic at captain thunder and it hit him on the side of his face and he yelled out in pain. The blast had burned him and the left side of his face was now blackened. Derek stared at twilight as he laid on the ground in pain. Dredd wasn't doing much better, he was still tired from fighting thunder before.
Twilight now had thunders full attention and he started to slowly walk over to her. Worried for her I tried getting up but pain was constantly rushing through my body and I threw up another pile of blood and slime. Each time I kept falling back down on the floor. Twilight fired another blast of magic at thunder but he blocked it with the blade of his sword. The hatred in his eyes was immense. Twilight fired blast after blast but it was doing her no good. The rest of the crew watched horror knowing that they would easily be slain by captain thunder. Twilight tripped over a coil of rope and her eyes shrunk as she fell backwards. Thunder waved up to her and held his sword up high ready to strike her down. This time there was nopony to stop him from making the strike.
"NO!" I shouted focusing a mass of energy to fight through the pain. I vanished in a puff of smoke and immediately reappeared right I front of twilight just as thunder trusted his sword forwards. I stood over twilight on my back hooves with my front hooves opened up. Captain thunders sword did make a strike... But it struck me. His sword stabbed right through me. The tip of the blade entered my chest and sunk forward until it prodded out of my back, just below my wings. The sword had sunk into my chest and the handle of the blade was only a half a foot away from my chest. I grunted in pain and my eyes widened slightly. I sputtered and coughed as blood had already begun to flood into my mouth and start spilling out. I felt myself growing weak now.
Twilight stared at me in horror and kept eyeing the sword sticking out of my back. Some of my blood had sprayed onto her and the deck around. The crew and even captain dredd stared in horror. But in one last ditch effort I summoned whatever strength I had left. I out of the deck shot a spike of bright light that tore right through captain thunder. He grunted in pain and his he stared at me with fear in his eyes now. I just glared at him as blood started running down the spike and out of his mouth. The spike receded and a pool of blood spilled out from under his stomach. The grip on his sword loosened and he let go of it and fell slowly to the side and hit the deck stone cold. His eyes pointed forward endlessly staring into the vast ocean and a puddle of blood started pooling around him, dripping through the cracks of the wooden deck.
It wasn't long until I myself fell to my knees and then slowly leaned towards my right before falling and hitting the ground opposite from captain thunder. It didn't take long for my own pool of blood to start pooling around my chest and a smaller puddle of formed form the blood dripping out of my mouth. Everything was silent for a while, and it felt like everything had been silent forever. Then there was noise. The rowdy crew scrambling over to me and twilight. Some of the crew members went to go help up captain dredd and thunder who then rushed over here. Twilights face was the first on I recognized as she leaned over me with her hooves resting on my side and her face was worried. She knew well enough that this wouldn't keep me down forever... But I know she doesn't like to see me suffer.
That's another downside to immortality. You have to get used to the unbearable pain of death. You may be able to die a thousand times and keep living. But that means your loved ones have to watch you die a thousand times, and that's a horrible thing to see. I was slowly fading away now but twilight shook me and yelled at me to stay with her. I tried my best but her voice was muffled and I couldn't make out the words. Everything became blurry and bright. Dredd and thunder rush joined soon after and they huddled around me. Thunder and twilight knew more than well enough that I would be fine. But dredd was already in mourning.
Thunder placed his hoof on my shoulder and said something close to my face, but I couldn't make sense of it. It just sounded like a bunch of murmurs and moans. Next thing I knew twilight and dredd held me down and Derek started pulling the sword out of my chest. It started to slowly ease out of me causing me to wince In pain. After a second of it slowly easing out it came loose and just slid right out forcing Derek to fall backwards and letting more blood to spill from my wound. The jolt of pain actually did cause me to become more aware for a second. But then that second became five seconds. Strangely I was fully aware now and the pain was subsiding. It didn't take me long to realize that this wound, infant wasn't going to kill me. The blade needed to be removed so that my body can start repairing the hole.
" crimson... C'mon crimson answer me." Said twilight looking at me worryingly. " can you hear me?" She asked.
" ughh... T-twilight..." I said.
" yeah... What crimson... What do your ant to say?" She asked frantically. Dredd looked at me with some kind of mixture of remorse and mourning, but there was a strange park of hope inside of him. " crimson what is it?" Asked twilight again.
" that... That really hurt." I said smiling. She smiled too and giggled a bit before leaning her head against my side and hugging me.
" oh I thought we were going to loose you." She said. She and thunder smiled. Dredd and some of his crew had astonished faces with wide eyes. They were probably wondering how in the world I had just survived that. The crew members that weren't staring at me were already celebrating my good...ish... Health.
" I thought I was a goner too." I said.
" c'mon..." Said thunder rush sitting next to me. " we should get you to a bed so you can rest." He said. I smiled at him and he and twilight lit up their horns. They picked me up with their magic and started to carry me off like I was on a magical gurney. They brought me to the lower deck and over to the crews quarters. They rested me on one of the beds that dredd had given us and the crew had followed. Dredd walked over to the side of the bed and smiled at me.
" that was some very impressive work... And a true act of bravery and selflessness if I've ever seen one." He said. " I see that I was wrong about you... You three are more than I expected."
" thank you..." I said. " so what are you going to do now?" I asked.
" well... Me and the crew are going to loot that ship dry... Then were going to celebrate." He said speaking out loud so the crew could hear. All the sea ponies started cheering and smiling. They all huddled out of the cabin and rushed to go and loot the other ship. Captain dredd was the last to leave the room. As he passed through the doors he glanced back at me and smiled before going. Now it was just me, twilight and Derek. They were both smiling at me while I laid on the bed. The bleeding had stopped but there was still a gaping hole in my chest. I felt faint and dizzy, and it was difficult to take deep breaths.
" once again..." Said thunder. " you've saved the day... Good job..." He said in a upbeat tone as he nudged me on the shoulder.
" hey... You did pretty good too." I said. " captain thunder was one tough pony... You stood up to him pretty time though... Don't over extend that uppercut." I muttered smiling at Derek.
" I'll try not to." He said.
" and speaking of which... How are you doing... You took quite the hit." I said checking on my friend.
" well... I can't say I'm worse off than you right now..." He said smiling. " I'll be fine. He just knocked the wind out of me... Sprained my back hoof a bit... But it still works. Nothing to complain about."
" good..." I said.
" yeah..." Muttered thunder. " you rest up and get better... I'll go and help the others Cary stuff over from that other ship." He said gesturing out the door and turning around. I just smiled and said by as he left to door. As he walked by he closed the door behind him and walked off. I could already hear the sound of ponies above us carrying things all around the ship.
" thanks crimson." Said twilight with her hoof on my upper chest above the wound. " you saved me ... Again." I smiled and chuckled a bit. My voice was a bit coarse and raspy.
" hey... You know I wouldn't let you get hurt." I said placing my hoof on her shoulder. " I'll always be watching over you..." I said.
" I know..." She said. " I knew you stop captain thunder before he killed me... But next time, try not to get yourself killed." She said placing her other hoof on my hoof which was resting on her shoulder. " I know that you will always be fine, but I don't like watching you get hurt... Sometimes I forget that your immortal."
" heh... I forget too." I said smiling. She held my hoof and picket it up. She placed by hoof back on my chest replacing her other hoof. She rested both of her hooves on my one hoof and smiled.
" I'm going to go help." Said twilight. "You stay here and rest... I'll come get you when they start the party. I'm sure everypony will want you to be there." She said smiling.
" alright... You go along, I'll be fine here." I said. She patted my hoof and stood back up. She flashed me one more smile before walking out of the room and closing the door behind her. I smiled still and rested my head down and closed my eyes. Soon the world around me began to fade and I slipped away into a deep, and peaceful slumber. My peaceful sleep wouldn't last more than a few minutes at least, It only felt like a few minutes to me before the door to the room cracked open. Footsteps filled the room and grew closer to me. I could feel a presence near the bed, but I was still mostly asleep. Next thing I knew I felt something or somepony crawl on top of me. There was a large weight on my stomach now like somepony was sitting on it. I was starting to come back and the next thing I heard was a faint click.
I opened my eyes and I was now staring down the barrel of a six shooting revolver. This sight immediately jolted me to life and my eyes shrunk a bit. Past the barrel of the gun I saw a pony with blonde hair, green eyes, and an eye patch. It was lightning red hoof staring at me with hatred in her eyes. She looked like she was ready to bark at me, like a dog. She pulled the revolver back a smidgen so she could look into my eyes but she still kept it aimed at my head. She was sitting down on my lap with the door to the room blocked off and barricaded. She reached her other hoof over and pulled the hammer back on the gun, ready to fire. I waited and thought she was just going to shoot me on the spot... But she didn't.
" you..." She said. " you killed my brother... I watched the whole thing. Lets see your fancy witchcraft get you out of this one."
"H-how did you escape?" I asked.
" I always keep a trick up me sleeve." She said sliding a knife out of her front hoof sleeve and sliding it back in. " but a better question, is how did you not die, when my brother did?" Se asked pushing the gun into my still open wound. I grunted in pain as she twisted the barrel of the gun in my open wound. She pulled it out and pointed it back at my head. " I watched that sword cut right through you... Why aren't you dead?"
" because..." I said. " I didn't feel like dying... So I didn't." She growled at me and smacked the side of my head with her gun. I let out a grunt of pain and looked back at her.
" tell me..." She said pointing the gun back at me. I just glared at her for a short time before she grew impatient. She slid a small throwing dagger out from her sleeve and jabbed it into the side of my leg. I let out a fierce grunt of pain and she pointed the gun back at me. " you sunk my ship, massacred my crew, and killed my brother... While those buffoons are busy pissing on me brothers ship, I'll be sure you suffer." She said grabbing the small knife in my flank and ripping it out. She held it up and trusted it deep into the side of my stomach now. I let out a long winded grunt of pain and grit my teeth.
After my grunt of pain I started to laugh actually. I thought it was funny how she thought she had control over me now. Having a gun pointed to my head isn't as scary as most ponies would see it. She raised her eyebrow and grit her teeth at me as I let out a few more chuckles. I'm not sure why, whether it was the pain, my current anger towards her, or the fact that it was so pathetic. It might have been all three. After I was done laughing I stared her right in the eyes with what I had dubbed, my death stare. It's a stare with a combination of hatred, rage, confidence, and determination. All tied together with a solid plan and the power and ability to survive. It was probably more threatening to look at than the barrel of her gun.
" what the hell are ye laughing about..." She said. " don't you make that face at me." She said pointing the gun right up to my head now pressing it up against my forehead. " I'll paint the walls with yer brains."
" do it..." I said.
" wait... What?" She said taken back slightly as I still gave her my death stare. She pulled the gun back an inch or two and was leaning back slightly now.
"do it..." I repeated. " shoot me... Right in the skull... Go ahead... Paint my brains over the walls... I dare you."
" fine then... You asked for it." She said. Without any remorse she squeezed the trigger and the whole ship rung with a loud bang as a spark lit from the hammer of the gun and the gun fired. The bullet rocketed out of the gun and passed through my skull then my brain, then back out of my skull. Pain rocketed through my body and I fell limp. She sat there for a second with her smoking gun before reholstering it and climbing off of me. She knew the others would have heard that, and they'll be on her any second now. She walked over to the door which she had barricaded with some of the beds. She went to go to move the beds but couldn't get them to budge. " what the... What is this..." She said pushing up against the beds.
" this... My dear red hoof... Is what I like to call, the perfect trap." I said. The sound of my voice made her freeze in place like a statue. I slowly rose up from the place where I should have died and stretched out my limbs. Just like that time our group was ambushed by bandits and I took an arrow to the head... A bullet is none less the same. I crawled out of the bed and stood up on all fours. The hole in my head was already closing up now, but my mind was a bit boggled. " surprised to hear my voice... I bet you are." I said.
"H-h-how... How did that not kill you." She said in a very scared voice now. " I shot you in the head." She added not even turning to look at me. I remained silent and she slowly turned around and looked at me. Her scared feelings were matched by her angry looking face. Her eyes were filled with hatred, like she was mad at me for not dying... I can't blame her given her current point of view. " your some kind of demon... Aren't you." She said. " your here to torment the wicked and send our souls to hell... You the devils advocate."
" not quite... On fact far from it." I said mp rested with her response. " I'm a keeper of peace... Your brother deserved what was coming to him, and while you might too, I'm not going to kill you."
" you lie..." She said backing up against the beds. She didn't even give her repeater a chance.
" no I don't... I'm not going to kill you." I said.
" I don't believe you." She said.
" believe what you want..." I said as large tentacles of dark magic shot from my back. " but your coming with me." I lashed out the tentacles and they wrapped themselves around lightning red hoof. I tied her up with the tentacles and put one over her mouth to keep her form talking. I used my magic to levitate the beds back into place and I then opened the door. I walked out into the lower deck to see that there weren't any ponies out here... That explains how she got out. I let out a deep sigh and started walking forward with lightning thrashing around in her cocoon of darkness and trying to let out cries that only managed to get muffled by the tentacle around her mouth.
I started making my way up to the top of the ship and climbed up step by step. As I approached the deck of the ship, there were piles of gold and treasure and other trade goods just piled up along the entire deck of the ship. Lightning struggled a bit more after seeing the others looting her ship. There were other crew members carrying boxes and barrels onto the ship and going back to get more. Once I was fully on deck the others started to notice me and they just stared as I carried lightning around with me. I carried her off to the other ship where I could see captain dredd giving out orders to his crew. I walked up to the ship and as he looked over his face was washed over with shock and confusion as he saw me.
" aye... Lad... What do you think your doing with her?" He said as I walked over.
" did you know that your prisoner here escaped?" I asked.
" she... She what." He said be founded by my claim. Out of the side of my eye I noticed twilight levitating some boxes as she was just walking up out of the deck. She placed them down and rushed over.
" your prisoner here escaped." I said shaking the tied up lightning for emphasis.
" how did she do that?" Asked twilight joining the conversation and seeming quite discontent.
" she had a few tricks up her sleeve." I said. " while everypony was out here looting the ship, she crept down to the cabin and shot me in the head." I added with more feeling than before.
"She shot you... In the head?" Questioned the captain. " don't lie to me boy." He said. I rolled my eyes and brought my hoof up to my head to show him. It wasn't fully healed yet, it was still a bit of a hole, I had to brush away my long hair to show him the hole in my skull. And if to add to the effect I was bleeding from my head too, so I had blood traveling down my face in little streams as well as blood leaking out from my stomach and my flank from when she stabbed me. There was actually a little trail of blood spots that lead up to me.
" I'm not a liar..." I said. " and I'm no boy... I understand why you might not believe me... But I'm a bit angry right now... As you can see. This broad just shot me in the head..." I uttered leaning in closer to captain dredd. I let go of lightning who fell to the ground still wrapped up in black magic.
" crimson... Are you alright?" Asked twilight shocked to hear this. Captain dredd was a bit confused and very startled to see proof positive that I was actually shot through the head.
" yeah twilight... I'm fine... Just a bit angry right now." I said.
" maybe you should go cool down." Twilight suggested. It was a pretty good idea, I could use a break right now.
" I think your right twilight... I need to go cool down." I said looking out to the vast ocean. " and I know just how to do that." I said walking down to the other ship. Twilight followed me as well did captain dredd. Twilight was levitating the boxes she had before with her and she placed them down o. The deck of the ship. I walked over to the bow of the ship and sat down on the edge with my back to the ocean.
" is this what you need...?" Asked twilight. " you just need to sit down for a minute."
" no..." I said. " I'm going to go for a relaxing swim."
" a-a swim...?" Muttered dredd. " this ship ain't stopping just for you... No matter who you are..." He said.
" that's fine... I'll be back later." I said leaning back. I fell backwards off the side of the ship and twilight and dredd looked over the side and watched me fall. I just let myself fall and soon I hit the water and my whole body was washed over with the cold ocean water as everything dimmed and the world around me turned blue. I took a deep breath and it was like breathing in air, except underwater. I kept my eyes open, despite this being a salt water ocean. It didn't seem like it, it felt like just swimming in fresh water.
I let myself start to sink deeper and deeper in the water and closed my eyes thinking it would never end. I was already starting to relax and I took slow, deep breaths. This was a trick that aquianas had shown me. To let
The water pass through you and let yourself become as calm as the ocean. I kept drifting down to the bottom of the sea and felt the water waving through my hair and my tail, felt it pushing and brushing past my fur coat. When I opened my eyes I was in some sort of reef. It was bright and full of color.
The reef was glowing with energy and hundreds of fish and sea creatures of all kinds swam around in schools or alone. My eyes were bombarded with colors that I don't even have names for. The bright coral along the rocky bottom with twisting hills and caves. Schools of brightly colored fish swam by as well as other large sea creatures. Octopi, sharks, eels, manta rays, there was even a large blue whale slowly but majestically passing by. I finally touched the bottom of the sea and sunk into a deep bed of sea grass. It moves and swayed with the soft ocean current and it brushed against my back and sides. As I looked up I could see that even from this deep down the sun could still shine on this wonderful place.
I stood up and started to walk along the ocean bed and looked around. I took in all the beautiful sights and saw things I've never seen before. Everything down here was so peaceful. The water was cool and refreshing, the scenery was amazing, and everything was soothing and calm. Not even the sharks ruined the peace. Fish swam past them despite them being sharks. Various mollusk s and crustaceans scurried and stuck to the ocean floor. Starfish stuck to different rocks and scattered about, shrimp and small fish traveling around in large schools. They even swam around me and passed by me despite me being completely new to them.
I continued to walk along the ocean floor while the ship sailed far, far ahead of me. I didn't care, it was good to get away from my troubles for a while. I crawled over one of the rocky hills and maneuvered my way around a coral forest. I reached what seemed like the highest point of the whole reef. I looked out over the entire reef and smiled. I spread my wings slowly and started using them to swim about. I had been down here for more than an hour now, well over an hour actually. I flapped my wings once and torpedoed through the ocean. I knew where the ship was... It was just about a mile away from me. I tore through the clear ocean water after the ship at incredible speeds. It wasn't much longer than two minutes that I noticed the underside of the ship sailing forward. I shot forward and swam up to the side of the ship.
I swam up closer an closer and breached the surface of the water. It was now dusk and the sun was setting behind the large ocean setting it ablaze with orange light. I took a deep breath of fresh sea air and smiled. I flapped my wings again and rose up from the water making the transits from swimming to flying. I floated through the air following close to the ship as water dripped from my body. My coat was matted down and my main and tail were soaked completely. I flapped my wings to dry them a little and started my way up the side of the ship. I soared up and over the port side and landed on the deck f the ship. There was nopony around on the deck... Except for a lone twilight who was sitting at the very bow of the ship. I started making my way over to her and she must have heard my hoofsteps.
" have a good swim?" She asked turning around to see me with a smile spread across her face. Her smile made me smile as well and I soon sat down next to her looking towards the setting sun.
" it was very relaxing..." I said. " the bottom of the ocean is a very beautiful place."
" so are you all calmed down now?" She asked.
" yeah... I'm all better now." I said.
" the swim even healed your wound..." She said pointing out the wound on my chest. Instead of the gaping hole it was it was now just a deep cut in my chest.
" yeah... I guess I was more relaxed than I thought." I said. I quickly looked back around the deck of the ship and confirmed there was absolutely nopony else on the deck. " so... Where is everypony else?" I asked.
" down in the lower deck celebrating." Said twilight.
" why aren't you down there with them?" I asked.
" I've been waiting for you..." She said. " I wanted us to watch the sunset together." She said smiling.
" uhh... Okay... Sure twilight." I said. " I'll watch the sunset with you." I said turning to look at the sunset. The sun was already halfway gone and the sky was a bright vibrant red with glowing clouds. The darkness of night followed behind us with purple skies and faint stars twinkling off in space. The sea was a vivid orange and the waves made the orange sparkle and flicker like fire. I sat there watching the sunset with undecided attention. Twilight sat and watched too with a smile across her face still. My concentration on the sunset was broken when twilight leaned up agains me and rested her head on my shoulder. For a split second my mind snapped back to a different time. A time when me and rainbow dash would sit on the clouds or in a nice tall tree in the park and watch the sunset. She would hold my hoof and lean against me. Her wings would flutter slightly and we would place our wings over each others.
Twilight kept up against me and she slowly slid her hoof over until it was resting up against my own now. The strong sea breeze blew my hair away from the both of us. The wind pushed twilight bangs against me and the wind made our coats ripple and sway in the wind. The sun was now winding down to the last few inches and the purple and red skies were slowly being washed over by the dark of night. I took in of the moist sea air and let out a deep relaxing sigh. The sun inched closer and closer until it was now fully engulfed in the sea and the dark of night had completely covered the world around us. The fire like ocean was now extinguished and as dark as coal and the night sky was black and bare. But almost like magic a wave of cosmic beauty swept over the sky and stars burst out from the dark cover of night. The moon sat in the air and I seemed to be three times larger than it normally is. Star clouds floated in the dark sky and clusters of white twinkling stars scattered across the sky. Waves of green and blue washed across the sky lighting up the world they watched over.
"Wow..." Said twilight softly still leaning against me and looking up at the sky. She slowly leaned off me to get a better view of the sky. " it's beautiful..." She said.
" hey... There you two are." Said a familiar voice behind us. We botch shot our heads back to see thunder standing near the stairs to the main deck. " come down below... Your missing the party." He said. I smiled and rolled my eyes. Thunder went back down below the deck which was glowing with light.
" c'mon..." Said twilight standing up. " let's go join the others." I smiled and stood up next to her and started walking with her to the stairs. We talked over to the stairs and made our way down into the lower deck. It was flooded with crew members drinking and having fun. Amongst the crowd of ponies stood captain dredd. He looked over to us and smiled.
" argh..." He said out loud catching everyponies attention. " there be the salty sea dog that saved our lives, saved the ship, and made us rich." Now everypony was looking over and smiling. " let's hear it for crimson blast, hero of the east."
"AYE!" Shouted every pony on the ship as they raised their bottles in the air and smiled. They soon got back to mingling and they all made small groups and told jokes and stories. Dredd walked over and so did thunder.
" hope you cleared you head out..." Said dredd.
" I did..." I replied. " I feel much better now... But what's with the whole hero of the east thing?" I asked raising and eyebrow with my smile.
" aye... That's what you are..." He said. " you're friends here told me your stories. I always knew about the hero of the east... Not his actual name... But I had my suspicions when I first saw you in action... But to have the real hero on my ship... Now that's a story to tell."
" I'm always surprised to see how famous I am..." I said. " I never really thought my name would carry much weight so far out of Equestria."
" well if ye don't want to be so famous then you should try not to save the day everywhere you go." He said.
" that's true I guess..." I replied.
" here crimson... Have a drink." Said thunder handing me an open bottle of beer. It was a rather larger bottle for most beers. I grabbed it regardless and took a large swig. I drank the beer despite the fact that I'm never going to get drunk from it.
" are you sure you should be drinking that with how sick you've been lately?" Asked twilight worryingly.
" I think I'll be fine." I said.
" yeah... I haven't seen you throw up a pool of blood and strange black slime in a while..." Said thunder.
" I don't think it's out of my system quite just yet... But I think I'm getting better."
" then lets toast..." Said captain dredd out loud again catching everyponies attention. He held his bottle up hi and smiled. "To health and happiness... Until the end... We carry on." The whole ship roared with a cheer and even I put my bottle up in the air and we all drank. Theatre went on for the longest time. It wasn't till much later at night that everypony had finished their drinks and had grown tired. They all went to bed, even twilight, thunder and captain dredd. I, however, stayed below the deck. I rested in one of the hammocks set up around the lower deck. There wasn't anypony else down here but me now. I sat there gently swaying back and forth in the little hammock. I held an almost empty bottle of rum in my hoof and stared out the port side window sitting right next to my little hammock.
The sky was still the same as it was after the sunset. Stars everywhere and vivid blue and green streaks ran across the sky. I put the rim of the bottle to my lips and took a large chug of the bittersweet rum. The only thing on my mind right now was rainbow dash. I wasn't concerned on saving her... I know that I will save her, no matter the consequences... But I'm worried about how our lives will carry on after this whole ordeal. It's been so long now... And we're not even at the portal to one of the other dimensions we have to cross through. I'm not even sure how long it will take to find the other portals in the different dimensions... I don't even know how many dimensions I have to cross.
I placed the rim of the bottle to my lip again and finished off the rest of the bottle. I looked at the bottle surprised that it was empty then I shrugged and set it down on the ground. I laid in the hammock on my back with my hooves covering my stomach. I closed my eyes and slowly started to drift away. Even when I was dreaming I was thinking about how my life would change... Or... I should say, how it has already changed. The only question I have now... The only one I've ever had that can never be answered is...why? How does something like this happen to a normal pony like me? I wasn't even a pony for the most time. I used to be human... And then I lost everything.
Even when I was human I knew I was more special than most people. I was an elite soldier with years of advanced training. Then when I became a pony I was just a regular pony. My face wouldn't stick out in a single picture, but now my face would be the only thing others see in a picture. How does somepony like me just become a god? One other thing troubling me was what death had told me in one of our lessons. He told me that one of my friends was going to die... And there was nothing I could do to stop it... Unless I concentrate. Ughh... My head is starting to hurt now. No matter how worried I am I can never bring myself to tell my friends. Even being who I am I still have questions... Ones that can't be answered.
Why can't things ever be easy?...