Chapter Twenty Nine: I'm A Pirate!
~BlackRoseRaven
Freya chewed slowly on an apple, looking moodily out over the sea as she stood calmly at the end of the dock. Her single eye roved over the distant horizon, the Valkyrie not bothering to look around even as Cadence hesitantly approached her. “I thought you and your misfits were resting.”
“Irregulars.” Cadence said, and Freya frowned as she finally looked over her shoulder at the mare. “We call ourselves the Irregulars.”
“I'll call you what I please.” Freya replied dryly, and then she shook her head before looking back over the water, studying the rippling waves beneath the ill light of the moon, although Cadence couldn't help but notice how Freya almost seemed to eerily glow in the darkness, like the shadows couldn't touch her... or maybe the night just didn't want to get too close to her.
There was silence for a few minutes, and Cadence was about to give up, turning to leave before Freya asked abruptly: “Why do you fight the Swan for control? You're foul-tempered and childish. You may be a leader to these ponies, but have you ever considered that you're doing yourself a disservice to your misfits by not embracing who you are?”
“I am Cadence. Danzsöngr is trapped inside of me, is not a part of me, is like... an infection that gets worse every time I die.” Cadence kept her voice surprisingly level, in spite of how deep Freya's words bit her. “I am not the Swan. I'm... more than the Swan.”
“More, or better?” asked Freya, and the two looked at each other for a few long moments before the goddess gave a thin smile, nodding slowly as she said softly: “Very well. But whether you're half of one or the other, you're not much use to me incomplete, Cadence. I need both sides of you working together. And I need to know which side will serve me better.”
“The Swan is fickle.” Cadence said quietly, thinking of how quickly the Swan had turned on Thokk, and how even if Freya was adored and all-but-worshiped at the moment by the strange creature inside of her, she knew that it was very possible that with one wrong command, one foul word about those whom the Swan held in higher esteem than Mother Freya...
“Is that a threat, or a warning, Cadence? Because I don't take very kindly to either.” Freya replied in just as serious a voice, her single eye glaring into Cadence, but the smaller mare held her resolve firm as she looked back at the goddess.
“Both.” she said finally, and there was silence for a moment before Freya gave a thin smile.
“There you go. Half of one and half of the other again.” Freya chuckled quietly, and then she slowly shook her head before saying softly: “I know better than most what you're going through, Cadence. Which is why I am going to be harder on you than most would be. I need to strain the Cadence out of the Swan, and the Swan out of Cadence, and I need to know who you both are... and whether or not you two can properly coexist.”
Cadence frowned at this, but before she could ask Freya what she meant, the Valkyrie rose her head and said: “Now, get out of here and get your misfits together. It's time for us to make our move.”
“Uh... what?”Cadence asked uncertainly, hating both that Freya had apparently decided to just end the conversation as well as the fact she had apparently been planning away without them again. “Wait, we're-”
“Here to work for me.” Freya finished pointedly, dropping her head towards Cadence, who grimaced a bit but then sighed and nodded. “Exactly. Meet me in a few minutes at the beach over there. And I just hope for your sakes that your friends haven't stirred up any more trouble.”
Cadence sighed and shook her head, not bothering to point out that staying in town – as well as the chaos that had ensued when they had 'cleaned it up' by either scaring off or wiping out the rest of the mercenaries that had taken hold over the port – had all been Freya's idea. She didn't bother arguing, though, only scowling as she turned around and strode off, and Freya smiled wryly at Cadence's back as she left, the Valkyrie shaking her head slowly before she said softly: “She has a bigger pout than you, sister. But she's got a lot of your grit and steel as well.”
Freya chuckled, then spread her wings and leapt into the air to fly towards the beach: Cadence, meanwhile, returned to the harborside hotel, letting herself in and automatically scowling towards the bar when all conversation stopped dead at her arrival. She ignored the few patrons who were apparently either brave enough or needy enough to get a drink at the tavern, and instead began to make her way towards the back stairs, before she frowned at a familiar voice cursing out of a side room.
She headed through an archway and into a small, private games room. There were two ponies here along with La Croix, who was scowling at his hand of poker. Both ponies looked up in shock at Cadence, but La Croix only waved a hoof, saying grumpily: “I be done in just a few minutes, Cygne.”
“Well, glad someone made friends, at least.” Cadence said ironically, recognizing that La Croix was actually probably about to fleece the two dull-looking ponies out of their money. Seeing as they were about to leave anyway, though... “Okay. Freya's waiting on the beach, so make it quick.”
“We leavin'?” La Croix frowned uncertainly up at Cadence, even as he discarded two cards and drew two more, and the ivory mare couldn't help but smile briefly at this. “Okay. Looks like this be my last round, gentlecolts.”
Neither pony said anything, looking uncomfortably the ivory mare until she left, Cadence rolling her eyes, but then again, La Croix was often literally a ghost among the combat, while the Swan compelled her to be much more obvious and forward in how she dealt with things.
Cadence headed back to the stairs and up to the room they had... well, taken over, essentially. Freya hadn't exactly been subtle demanding a room, and the tavern owner had likely known better than to try and make her pay for anything.
Sombra was sitting out on the balcony, gazing up at the night sky, and Moonflower was grumbling on the bed, his equipment scattered around him. Cadence winced at this, then said awkwardly: “Hey, we uh... Freya wants us down at the beach. I think we're going to steal a boat or something.”
“Wonderful. Why can't Celestias ever be nice ponies? They're always petty tyrants.” Moonflower muttered, and while the Swan wanted to hit him, Cadence privately agreed. “I'm... I'll be ready in a few minutes, I suppose. Do we have that long?”
“Yeah. Of course.” Cadence replied with a small smile, nodding briefly to the stallion before she shook her head and said finally: “Take your time. Daddy?”
Sombra smiled over his shoulder at her, nodding as he turned to stride towards his daughter, and she bowed her head gratefully to him as he joined her. The two walked out of the room in silence, heading through the inn and out into the empty streets, and Cadence bit her lip before she blurted out: “I really hate her.”
She looked with embarrassment at her father as the Swan roiled inside of her, and her father gave a sigh, but then he smiled wryly as he shook his head and replied quietly: “I can't entirely fault you for that, mi amore. But I sense she is being difficult on purpose. Her intent is clearly to test us, and while I might not agree with her methods...”
Cadence grumbled a little, but Sombra simply shrugged before he looked up at the cloudy night sky, murmuring: “It is indeed very difficult. I am not certain how I feel about her myself, but... I know that we are here to represent Queen Hecate. I know that none of us wish to disappoint her. And I know we must be professional and respectable with Signora Freya... or at least, to a point. In spite of how she acts, I think she would be much more disappointed with us if we simply bowed to her every whim and desire.”
“I don't know if you're right about that or not, Daddy... but I hope you are.” Cadence murmured back, shaking her head slowly as they walked through the streets, and the mare glanced up at a window just in time to watch it snap closed. “They're really afraid of us.”
“I do not think they fear us. I think they fear Salazar's retribution.” Sombra replied gently, and Cadence nodded slowly, frowning a little before she looked at him questioningly.
He simply smiled at her, then gestured with his horn, saying quietly: “There was no real police force or military here. The soldiers we saw had no training, only the armor... I think they were likely militia, hastily banded together by the townsfolk to serve as some form of law and order. Or perhaps jut to give themselves a sense of peace.”
“And we killed a lot of them.” mumbled Cadence, shifting uneasily, and her father gave her a faint smile. The ivory mare sighed a little as she lowered her head, then she said finally: “This really sucks. All of it. We're in a bad situation, and the bad guys got away, and I feel like... all we're actually doing is making things worse. Why didn't Freya just tell us her concerns? Why won't she tell us her plans, or talk to us?”
“I'm not entirely sure Freya plans much of what she does, mi amore. She is a creature of passion, even if she is also very intelligent and very crafty. But she is also extremely decisive and... wild as the nature I am guessing she represents.” Sombra replied, and Cadence tilted her head curiously. “It shows in how we've moved from point-to-point, not following so much a grand scheme as... Freya adapting for each and every situation that occurs. She tests us as she pleases, she speaks as she feels she should. Her mood changes, but it is not... entirely without warning. It is all part of her... I do not want to call it a 'game...'”
“And I would prefer it if you didn't, because I've never been very good at playing games. I always end up being a bit too rough and a bit too serious.” Freya called from the beach ahead, and Cadence winced as Sombra only gave a quiet laugh.
To Cadence's surprise, Freya was only waiting patiently: if anything, it looked as if she had pushed several boats away from the shore, where they were slowly floating out towards the sea, or at least towards the narrow wall and synthetic sandbar that encircled the harbor. Cadence noted that the only way actually out to sea was through an enormous but flimsy-looking gate that was swaying gently opened and closed: Cadence guessed that they probably didn't bother with repairs, since this seemed like a pirate-ruled town anyway.
Freya clicked her tongue, drawing Cadence's attention quickly back in before the Valkyrie asked mildly: “Where are the boys? I see a father and his daughter but none of the other children I've come to know and love.”
Cadence scowled slightly, but she did her best to remain professional as she answered: “La Croix should be joining us any minute now, and Moonflower will be with us after he finishes getting his equipment together.”
“Boys and their toys.” Freya said mildly, and Cadence twitched ever so slightly even as her father reached up and gently rested a soothing hoof on her shoulder, looking at her pointedly.
Freya only grinned, then she turned back towards the ocean, but she continued to speak to Cadence even as her eyes drew along the docks and blackly-reflecting water: “You know, that's a weakness your enemies will take as much advantage of as I do, if not more, Danzsöngr. The fact that you're so easily provoked by a few simple words aimed at your comrades is cute, but... well, your horn-polishing father probably knows just what I'm talking about, proud as he is of being splintered.”
One of Cadence's eyes twitched, but Sombra only smiled and bowed his head politely, and Freya scowled a little before she added dryly: “And you, on the other hand, are the opposite. A little anger would be good for you.”
“In moderation, all things are prosperous.” Sombra replied pleasantly, and Freya groaned and rolled her eyes, gesturing irritably at the stallion.
“And in the name of Helheim, what is that even supposed to mean?” Freya asked crankily, but Sombra only continued to smile at her kindly, which only made the Valkyrie look more irritated. “You'd best watch yourself, dark one, or I'll wipe that smirk off your face with one of these hooves.”
The stallion was unperturbed, which only seemed to annoy Freya more, and which made Cadence feel a little better, admittedly. She smiled over at her father, and Freya grumbled before her eye flicked to the side as La Croix appeared with an awkward smile, striding towards them and saying: “Moony should be here in just a few minutes. The rein de la nuit just got caught up makin' himself look pretty and all that.”
Freya grunted, then she studied La Croix for a few moments before she asked mildly: “So, Loa. How does it feel to have traded your honor away from a purse full of gold and silver?”
“Ain't really gold, y'know, and the ponies don't use no silver, either. They just funny-lookin' coins.” La Croix shrugged awkwardly, but he did his best to meet Freya's eyes as he added quietly: “'Sides. Ain't never too late to earn a little bit of honor back.”
Freya smiled slightly at the zebra, studying him for a few moments before she nodded briefly, then returned her eyes to the water, saying mildly: “If the dandy doesn't show up soon, we'll be leaving without him, and he can figure out how to fly after us with just his one wing.”
Cadence scowled a little, but Sombra smiled and replied calmly: “It's a good sign, I think. In the past, Moonflower would never deign to wear armor. Now, he is actually caring for it, and more for himself as well.”
Freya grunted, tapping a hoof against the sand before she said grumpily: “Aye, well, be proud of him on your own time. He's wasting mine.”
“Then perhaps we could better use this time to discuss what your plans are. How will we follow our target?” Sombra tilted his head, and Freya looked indecisive for a moment before she nodded quickly, smiling slightly over at the stallion.
“Well... maybe a hint or two wouldn't hurt. And believe me, the problem won't be finding or following our quarry.” She winked, then whistled shortly, and within only a few seconds, two massive ravens swooped down and landed on her back, both of them cawing loudly as they seemed to glare balefully at the ponies.
Cadence winced a bit, but Sombra only nodded slowly as Freya explained:
“Huginn and Muninn will easily be able to track Salazar's ships. I already have a course for the island where they're headed, as well.”
Sombra nodded as Cadence looked uneasily at the enormous ravens, hating the way the birds seemed to study them with such uncomfortable intentness. La Croix only grimaced a bit, and then he asked uncertainly: “And what 'bout a boat? I don't think none of us here be much accomplished when it comes to sailin' around in a cramped little ship...”
Freya only grinned at that, saying easily: “Oh, don't you worry, I have a solution for that, too. And as much as you boys need the exercise, I won't even make any of you row.”
She smiled slightly, looking back ahead as her eye gleamed and she said softly: “Once, after all, the vikingr ruled the sea. Even she leaned to bow her head to their prowess. Prowess that we taught them.”
Cadence shifted a little, biting her lip before Freya added easily: “But I suppose you wouldn't know any of that, Danzsöngr. After all, you were stuck in stuffy old Valhalla most of the time, patrolling the halls endlessly. I and my brother... we went on many trips together, all throughout Asgard. We conquered the Seas of the Skies together and a thousand other wild lands that few gods ever dared to set foot in...”
Freya smiled faintly, her eye shifting up towards the sky as she said softly: “Those were good times. The times before the Vanir and the Aesir merged. When my twin and I only had each other, and we only needed each other... although that never really changed.”
She chuckled quietly, shaking her head slowly before she turned her eyes towards Cadence, studying her intently.” Maybe that's your problem, Danzsöngr. You don't have a sibling. We need to get you a sibling.”
Cadence stared at Freya for a moment, and then the mare said thoughtfully: “That, of course, might also just be me trying to pass off Brynhild and Sleipnir onto someone else, though.”
“With all due respect, Freya, I don't think that I want to have much to do with your family.” Cadence said awkwardly, grimacing a bit as she thought about Brynhild, before she shook her head quickly and muttered: “I'm sure she feels the same about me, anyway.”
“Well, if you hate her so much, why do you care what she feels?” Freya asked in a surprisingly reasonable voice, and Cadence looked at her dumbly before the one-eyed mare simply shrugged and winked. Probably. It's hard to tell. “Don't hurt yourself thinking about it, Swan.”
Cadence scowled for what felt like the thousandth time in the last hour, but she resisted saying anything back to Freya. Fortunately, Freya's attention was taken off her by the loud clunking of gear and armor that announced Moonflower's arrival, the one-winged unicorn huffing along as he trotted towards them.
“Took you long enough, little miss! Did you have to fix your hair?” Freya called mockingly, in a voice that told Cadence clearly she had sung these lines many times before, although likely to actual females. “Would you like me to help you tighten your girdle? And furthermore, loose straps will get you killed, boy. Get your gear together or I'll leave you behind.”
Moonflower scowled horribly, but Freya only narrowed her eye in return, making the stallion wince a bit and drop his head hurriedly, mumbling a little under his breath as he nodded awkwardly. Sombra approached the stallion, and Freya huffed before she said grumpily: “Let the boy do it himself. Otherwise he'll never learn. He doesn't need you fussing over him, no matter how much he might like it and no matter how much you might enjoy it yourself.”
Sombra only smiled over his shoulder at Freya as he continued unhurriedly towards Moonflower, replying softly: “There's no point in pushing any harder than necessary. And Moonflower still isn't used to his armor. Even the best knights sometimes have need of their squires.”
“You're a little old to wear the mantle of squire very well.” Freya said wryly, and then she shook her head as Sombra only calmly continued to tighten Moonflower's armor for him, the one-winged unicorn somehow both hanging his head and looking defiant at the same time. “And you're too young for the title of knight.”
“I'm more than five hundred years old!” Moonflower exclaimed, and Freya only laughed loudly, which just made Moonflower sulk further as Sombra gently patted him on the back and La Croix shook his head in amusement. “Oh, fine, all of you laugh at me. But I am no child.”
“Childishness isn't in many children.” Freya replied mildly, and then the ivory mare shook her head before she continued calmly: “But, now that you're all gathered here, we might as well get ourselves moving. I have no illusions we can catch Salazar's ship, but we know his heading and there are some ponies on the way I'd like to talk to.”
“Sounds promising.” Cadence said moodily, and then she frowned a little and asked: “How are we going to follow him, though?”
“The same way we taught our disciples to master the seas. By dragon.” Freya said easily as her horn lit up with energy, and then she turned and flicked it sharply outward, and a tremendous rumbling passed through the beach before sand exploded outward as massive roots and large wooden branches twisted their way out of the earth, both ravens taking flight from her back with loud, incensed caws at the eruption of magic.
Cadence stared in amazement as some kind of tree-beast slowly emerged from the ground before it twisted forward, wood cracking and splitting, branches twisting, roots groaning as they twined around its own body and fused together. Leaves and sand whirled around the living tree as it lowered itself into the water... no, onto the water, as Cadence realized, as the long-necked woodbeast rose its draconic head... that's a ship.
The wood-creature thrummed, and then growled loudly, raising its hollow eyes high as its wooden body shivered, then smoothed out and settled. In front of their eyes, Freya had created a living longboat, even Sombra looking impressed as he drew his eyes along the raftless, ruddlerless boat-beast before Freya flapped her wings firmly as she leapt forward, dropping herself into the front of the ship as she called easily: “Let's show these pirates who rules the sea!”
The response to her was less-than-enthusiastic, as Cadence winced a bit, but then hesitantly leapt forward, flapping her wings to launch herself into the ship. La Croix approached the water, then scowled at the ocean, drawing his hooves hurriedly back from the mucky sand along the water's edge before he vanished from the spot and reappeared a moment later inside the ship, and Moonflower uselessly attempted to hop a few times on the beach, staring at the boat as if he could will himself to somehow bound into it before he suddenly brightened, his horn glowing before he vanished with a pop and reappeared a moment later inside the boat, looking proud of himself.
Sombra approached the back of the ship as Freya scowled at her 'crew;' it would be a little crowded once her father got on board, Cadence thought, but otherwise the longboat was large enough to accommodate them all, and it barely seemed affected by their weight. Which was proven doubly true when Sombra easily began to push them out to sea, the stallion smiling as he waded into the water before he leapt up to catch the edge of the rear wall of the ship, Moonflower quickly turning and catching Sombra's other front hoof when he brought it up before helping him over the edge and into the boat.
Sombra nodded his thanks as Freya whistled loudly, the dragon-boat rumbling as the ravens circled slowly above before they both set off towards the sea-gate, and the Valkyrie shouted: “There! East, east, sail east, sail in the wake of the raven!”
The wood-dragon rumbled as it turned forward, and even without a sail, without any visible means of propulsion, it shot suddenly forward through the water, carelessly smashing another ship aside as Moonflower squealed in terror and La Croix clung to the side of the ship with one hoof and his hat with the other.
Cadence winced, swaying back and forth with the rumbling of the ship before she yelled as the boat only sped up the moment it passed the docks and began to head for the half-open gates. But Freya only grinned at the prow, one foreleg wrapped around the dragon's neck, and the other raised towards the sky, laughing loudly as they crashed through the gates and burst out into the open sea, the mare roaring: “Go! Go! Let us rule these seas again!”
Cadence wheezed as she dropped back against the side of the boat, staring in disbelief as Moonflower ducked and covered his head, and La Croix gave a weak, reedy laugh, already looking ill as he stared with something like terror at Freya. And at the back of the ship, Sombra only smiled wryly, shaking his head slowly... but at least they had found one of the few things Freya apparently took actual pleasure in.
He just wished that the rest of the Irregulars would relax, and trust that the Valkyrie wasn't going to lead them into more problems than she could fix.
They sailed for three hours, over which the experience gradually went from harrowing to repetitive and almost boring. Moonflower was half-hanging over one side of the boat, looking ill, and La Croix was grumbling away, carefully mixing one potion at a time, while Sombra simply seemed to be meditating at the back of the boat. Cadence was watching the seas like a hawk as Freya only gazed ahead, smiling and seeming to enjoy herself as the wind played through her long white braids.
And then the ivory mare cocked her head curiously before she grinned at the sound of a caw, Cadence raising her head in surprise to see the ravens winging back towards them. “Well, well. Everyone, look lively! We have our first challengers approaching!”
Moonflower whimpered a little at this, and La Croix winced as Cadence frowned, opening her mouth, before her eyes widened as she saw the ship on the horizon. It was far, far larger than theirs, propelled by immense sails and flying black flags proudly from its mast, cutting through the sea like a knife through butter as it headed straight towards them.
“They're going to try and keelhaul us.” Freya said mildly, and Cadence blinked before the Valkyrie grinned slightly. “Run us down and crush us under the ship, in other words. Didn't you ever want to sail a ship, growing up?”
“No.” Cadence said finally, and then she grimaced at how fast the ship was approaching, asking: “What do we-”
“We'll cripple them, then board them.” Freya replied casually, as if it was the simplest thing in the world, and Cadence stared at her with disbelief for a few moments before the Valkyrie shrugged, her eye gleaming as she said softly: “You get the next one, Swan, but sure, I'll show you how it's done this time around.”
Cadence frowned uneasily as they sped towards the ship, Moonflower staring with something like horror and La Croix's own eyes growing slowly wider before he blurted: “Enough with this game of poulet! You gonna get us killed!”
“Oh shut up, the both of you. I know precisely what I'm doing.” Freya retorted, her eye locked on the ship ahead, and Cadence winced before she braced herself as the distance between their ship and the pirate vessel halved, then quartered, then-
Freya grinned as the dragon boat suddenly cut to the side, narrowly dodging the massive pirate ship, and Tyrfing gleamed as it lashed suddenly out and to the side, ripping through the hull of the ship in a burst of golden fire before tearing violently down the side of the enormous pirate boat. As they shot past, she yanked the sword loose, spinning it once around her head before reattaching it to her back as the dragon bounced over the waves left in the wake of the pirate ship before twisting around and shooting after the huge vessel, even as yells and shouts came from above.
“Give these scum no mercy and no quarter! Let's remind these pirates why they cower behind their cannons!” Freya roared as she leapt to the air, flapping her wings hard, and Cadence felt the Swan shove her into the air, the mare lurching back and forth as her wings flapped wildly before she shot after the Valkyrie, not knowing what else to do.
Freya smashed down on the deck, unleashing a shockwave that sent raggedly-dressed ponies flying in all directions, her three swords unsheathing themselves in a gleam of steel. Cadence dropped to a ready position beside her a moment later, the mare wincing as she sized up the crew quickly: there were at least two dozen visible, and since they had landed in the center deck of the ship, much of the view was obscured by ropes, crates, and the fact that the decks were on multiple levels.
Sombra landed beside her a moment later, and then Moonflower and La Croix both appeared only a few seconds after that, all of them at the ready. Freya grinned, before a voice shouted disbelievingly: “What in the name of l'enfer is this?”
A mare stormed forward, with a long, flowing blonde mane and a gorgeous, soft white-pink coat. Unlike the other pirates, her clothes, from her massive, feather-plumed hat to her gorgeous red and white-bordered admiral's jacket, were all completely free of even a speck of dirt.
She rose her gorgeous white horn high as her wings spread wide, her surprise turning to fury as she snapped, her voice edged by her accent: “You dare board my ship! I am Jeanne de Brittany, and my Lioness lives for the blood of traitors and curs like yourselves!”
She flicked her horn, a large scimitar unsheathing itself at her side and slicing back and forth through the air before she continued in a sharp, cold voice: “But now that you are here, allow me to show you our hospitality and what we do with those who rove my seas without permission! The toll is high for scum, mon ami, but you will be begging to pay it when I ransom your life... assuming that I allow you to live, that is! For I-”
“Talk a lot.” Cadence interrupted dryly, scowling at the winged unicorn, and Jeanne twitched before the battlemaiden muttered: “I don't think this was a good idea.”
Freya only grinned widely, her eye roving over the crew as she said easily: “You said that about my last plan, too, and it turned out perfectly fine.”
Cadence sighed a little, and then she twitched a bit when Jeanne slashed her scimitar back and forth through the air before stepping forward and shouting: “Enough talk! Very well, if you will not surrender peacefully and apologize, preferably from your knees, for the impetuousness, the rudeness, the unprovoked attack upon my ship, then I, Mistress of the Black Fleet, Jeanne de Brittany, shall-”
“You're doing it wrong!” Moonflower shouted suddenly, and he stormed forward, Jeanne's eyes widening before the stallion cleared his throat loudly, then glared at her and declared: “I am Morpheus, Lord of Darkness, Prince of Evil! I demand your surrender, or I shall rain fire and death upon you and yours with but a wave of my hoof!”
Moonflower gestured sharply upwards with both front hooves, creating a thunderous crescendo that made several of the pirates yelp and quail as Jeanne's eyes widened, and then the one-winged stallion posed sharply in his armor as he grinned suddenly, raising his head cockily as he continued: “But I am generous, and I am kind enough to allow you a moment to surrender to me and my esteemed colleagues. A chance you do not deserve, but you've caught me in a good mood and I would rather not spoil my day by having to clean up the mess that will be left behind if you insolent insects attempt to challenge me.”
There was silence for a moment, and then Moonflower dropped back to his hooves, saying flatly: “Name, title, threat, demand surrender, then betray or follow through. It goes in that order, dear. You never specifically told us to surrender and you skipped right to betrayal and you started talking about yourself again. We already know your name. Oh, sure, if you're as great and glorious as me, maybe you can afford a few more words here and there referring to your other titles, but repeating your name over and over again is just silly.”
La Croix glowered at Moonflower as Cadence wondered mildly if the stallion sensed the irony in his own statements, or if he was just opening his mouth and letting words fall out again. But her thoughts were cut short with a wince when Jeanne de Brittany howled: “Get those slaggards!”
Pirates charged on all sides, ponies of every shape and size – along with a few griffins and other creatures – all leaping in to attack them. But Freya leapt readily to meet them with a wide grin, the Valkyrie shouting: “Break their limbs and break their spirits!”
It was a subtle command that the Swan immediately obeyed, although Cadence was surprised by it, even as she ducked low and swiftly knocked a large earth pony off his hooves before grabbing him by the front and half-spinning to slam him face-first with a crunch into the deck.
As he landed in a stunned sprawl, Cadence leapt towards the next pirate, catching the rusty sword that he tried to slice into her with between her hooves and making him stare in disbelief before she twisted the blade hard, ripping it free from the earth pony's mouth. It sailed into the air as he howled, but his cry was cut off a moment later when Cadence caught the sword with telekinesis and slammed the pommel down into his forehead, knocking him unconscious.
Sombra was calmly taking down pirate after pirate, his hooves neatly and smoothly deflecting attack after attack or redirecting pirates harmlessly into the ground. Several had fallen in stunned heaps already, while another griffin and stallion were helplessly bound in strings of golden energy, struggling uselessly against their bonds as the black unicorn smiled slightly as he waded his way through the crew: as much as he disliked fighting, he was very glad for the fact that Freya had decided to take these pirates alive, although he thought he already had some inkling as to why, from how ragged this band looked, and the way their captain acted.
Another pirate charged, screaming, at La Croix with a spear, and the Loa simply huffed before he flicked a hoof out, green lightning bursting from his limb and slamming into the pirate, transforming him in mid-charge into a large rat holding a stick. The pirate stumbled to a stop, staring disbelievingly up at the zebra, and the Loa leaned down with a scowl at the rat before he reached a hoof out and lightly slapped it over.
Pirates yelled in terror, scrambling away from the Loa, who looked up with surprise before he snorted in amusement, waving his hooves above his head and shouting: “That's right! Y'all best fear me and my evil hoodoo! Y'come near me and I work the mojo on y'all, make you into cockroaches and fishes!”
Freya grinned despite herself, noting how fearful most of the pirates were of the show of magic, although not a few were running away from her, too, as she used her swords to disarm pirates, smashing their weapons and taking more pleasure than she should in knocking holes in the deck and breaking apart crates. She glanced up with a laugh as a panicked pirate suddenly wheeled one of the free-standing cannons around to aim at her, and the mare grinned, letting the pirates sloppily load the cannon as she spun her swords at her sides before sheathing them all, her horn glowing as she charged her magic as she walked calmly towards the cannon.
The cannon fired, vomiting out a cloud of smoke along with the steel ball, for a moment obscuring the pirates' vision, before they all stared in horror at the sight of Freya standing with one hoof raised, simply holding the cannonball and studying it before she said thoughtfully: “You could do quite a lot with this much iron. It's almost a waste to use it like this.”
She shrugged, then simply dropped the cannonball, and the cannon team stared at her for a moment before they all screamed and broke rank, fleeing from the mare. The Valkyrie laughed, then grinned widely as she heard another roar, a minotaur charging up from below deck and running straight towards her with a massive maul in hand-
Freya reacted immediately, the few pirates who were torn between fleeing from her or joining the assault watching with shock as the mare immediately ran towards the minotaur, then leapt towards him before she could react, twisting her body in the air so that her rear legs landed over his shoulders and his face slammed into her armored stomach. He staggered backwards in shock, his arms pinwheeling as Freya rocked her hips hard with a wide grin, knocking him off his hooves-
The minotaur toppled, and Freya slammed down, rump-first, on top of his head, crunching his skull back into the deck and knocking the giant unconscious as she bounced back to all four hooves with a snort of amusement. She looked over her shoulder at the fallen, twitching minotaur, before her gleaming eye looked up at the horrified pirates, stating easily: “And here I thought you were all supposed to be famous for showing a lady a good time... but I suppose I'm no lady.”
Freya began to turn, before she looked in surprise to see that Moonflower had engaged Jeanne, and they were both putting out quite an impressive amount of magic, even by her standards. Sure, most of it was going to pure flash and sizzle, but all the same...
Moonflower and Jeanne clashed, the mare's scimitar slashing back and forth in broad, showy cuts, giving Moonflower more than ample time to dodge clunkily out from under her attacks. At the same time, they were both unleashing bursts of magic at each other and countering one-another's spells, although Jeanne was visibly starting to weaken under the strain of resisting Moonflower's attacks while trying to land her own blows, sweat rolling down her gorgeous features, her full lips drawn back from her perfect teeth in a snarl.
Lightning suddenly hammered down towards Moonflower, striking into him and making him yelp and flinch, and Jeanne laughed loudly at the opening it created as she leapt high into the air. Her wings spread, her scimitar rose above her head, her whole body posed elegantly for a moment, and then Moonflower simply blasted her in the stomach with a psychic hammer, knocking her sprawling back on the deck, the mare rolling back and forth as she gasped loudly and clutched at her stomach.
Moonflower shook himself out roughly, huffing loudly as he straightened and declared: “Your cheap little tricks won't work against me! Oh, certainly, you might have proven yourself to be a more capable adversary than those I have faced in the past, but you tamper now with a God of Darkness who once felled the mighty Princess Celestia in mortal combat, and who destroyed all of Equestria before bringing it back purely out of boredom, as without good, evil has no one to torment and ridicule and... marvel over their feats of grandeur and prowess!”
The mare scowled on the ground, then she quickly kicked herself back up to her hooves, glaring challengingly at Moonflower before she rose her head high and declared: “You might consider yourself some master of evil and darkness, but know that you are absolutely nothing compared to my majesty! Equestria? Ha! I laugh at the face of your triumphs! Ha ha ha!”
Moonflower and Jeanne glared at each other, and then Jeanne continued arrogantly, raising her head haughtily: “Conquering a princess? Where is the glory, the reward in that? Nay, I am far from impressed by your deeds, Morpheus, and a King of Evil you may be on the land, but this is the sea, and on the sea we are the rulers and I am its Queen, and I shall give you one last chance to surrender, or you will find yourself walking the plank along with all your friends, tout suite!”
“Oh please. You are nothing compared to my own power! Look at me! Handsome, debonair, I have much to be proud of with my incredibly intellect and my enormous reserves of strength, and I could easily crush this entire ship if I so pleased, but I haven't simply because I already offered you the chance of surrender-”
“Well, I reject your surrender and instead order that you surrender to me, as for all your strength, you clearly suffered the wrath of my magic when you weren't able to so much as touch me with your own inferior-”
“Excuse me? I knocked you over with my vastly-superior magical prowess! And of course the only difficulty I'm having right now is holding back so I don't humiliate you more than necessary in front of this crew of dirty buffoons, who-”
“The only dirty buffoon here is you! Oh, sure, they might not take the time I do in the morning to freshen themselves up properly, but beneath their sweat and grime their handsomeness and talents are at least a hundredth of my own, and that's quite a compliment, considering I am a thousand, nay, ten thousand times-”
“If the two of you don't shut the hell up I am going to come over there and bash your heads together until the little brain you have between each other comes out!” Cadence shouted furiously as she slung a pirate angrily into the ground, sending him bouncing away with a squeal, and both Moonflower and Jeanne stared at her as Freya cleared her throat and hid a smile behind a hoof.
There was an awkward silence for a few moments, and then Sombra strode calmly forward and said reasonably: “Perhaps we can work something out between us. A truce. Neither of us seem to want to fight any further and we have no desire to kill any of your pirates. Your ship is badly damaged, but if you agree to a ceasefire, we can help repair it before the damage becomes too great. I do not think you want to risk sinking, after all.”
Jeanne shifted uneasily, and then she glared at Moonflower and declared: “We will accept your surrender and allow you to help us on the condition that you apologize and tell us precisely who you are and what your business is in these waters. Furthermore, this one shall also admit that he is much weaker than I am and-”
“No, you will accept our... victory, not surrender! You will acknowledge us as better and that I am vastly superior-”
Jeanne and Moonflower argued for roughly thirty seconds before Cadence stormed over to Moonflower and simply slugged him across the face, knocking him flat in a heap. Jeanne stared for a moment at this, and then Cadence turned towards the mare and seized her by the mane, making her squeal as the ivory mare dragged the whining, whimpering pony quickly over to the edge of the ship, and then Jeanne yelled in terror as she was flung overboard, flipping head over hooves all the way down to splash loudly into the briny sea.
Cadence turned around, then shouted furiously: “Okay! Here's what happens! We fix the ship, quietly! Then we all come back up here and negotiate, quietly! Anyone who disagrees can go for a swim! Understood?”
“Ma'am!” About half the pirates hurriedly saluted: the rest who were conscious and able to move simply bolted for the stairs leading into the ship, and Cadence rolled her eyes as Freya burst into laughter, almost falling over as Sombra shook his head with a sigh and a small smile.
“Oh, she has a worse temper than Brynhild!” chortled the Valkyrie... who was still grinning thirty minutes later, after they had patched the leaking hull. Moonflower and Jeanne were both sulking, the stallion rubbing grumpily at his face and the mare shivering in the soaked clothes she refused to take off, sagging hat included.
Cadence still felt grumbly, but recognized she might have slightly overreacted, so she was letting Sombra handle all the negotiations at this point. Freya seemed content to just sit back and learn for now as well.
Apparently, they had a mutual enemy in Salazar and his allies. Jeanne had been waging a small war against them, not that she could claim Salazar had really noticed. It was impossible to get close enough to the island Salazar operated out of to shell it, even with biggest cannons she'd been able to outfit her ship with, and the enemy vessels were all far too powerful for her little unarmored wooden ship to take on. Worse, sky scouts and aerial platforms existed here and there over the sea, ranging in size from floating cloud bases to small islands that hovered in the air through malign magic: they had sunk Jeanne's ships more than once.
Currently, her 'Black Fleet' was made up of only two ships, both of which had been mangled and repaired several times over. She had lost many able crew over the last few months of her personal war, which had only hardened her personal vendetta into a mission of revenge.
They had mistaken their tiny ship for a spy vessel, especially since it had been propelled by magic, like most of Salazar's ships were. The other thing that had drawn their attention, of course, was the fact that there had been a group of armed ponies in said ship.
“No, we're not pirates.” Freya said disdainfully, and none of the crew dared to so much as look at her, a few even lowering their heads in embarrassment. “Still, we have a mutual enemy, it seems, and perhaps we can help one-another. Strange times do make for strange allies, after all.”
Jeanne grumbled under her breath, then she glowered at Moonflower, who looked back at her moodily before the mare said grumpily: “Well, if the handsome Lord Morpheus can deign to work alongside us in spite of how amazing he claims himself to be...”
“Oh, please. The pony here who needs to learn to work with others is clearly...” Moonflower halted at the look Cadence gave him, and then he cleared his throat and tapped his hooves together nervously as Jeanne winced and shrank her own head hurriedly into her collar: “I mean. I am... sure we can work something out. Yes. It won't be a problem.”
“Good.” Cadence muttered, and then she sighed when Sombra reached up to touch her shoulder, but she smiled briefly after a moment at her father and nodded slowly before her eyes turned back towards Jeanne, saying in a more collected voice: “How does your ship move? You were propelling yourself against the wind before.”
“Magic, of course. I can call up a wind spell to move us along.” Jeanne replied, pointing up at the sails and looking proud of herself. “No normal unicorn could do it but I, of course, am no normal unicorn.”
She chuckled as she spread her wings, smiling contritely over at Moonflower, who scowled horribly back at her. But surprisingly, he managed to keep himself from retaliating, although the bruise on his face probably helped in that regard.
La Croix glanced around at the crew, and then he asked curiously: “So this Salazar guy... y'all were so scared of my magic because y'thought I was using his dark arts or something?”
“We weren't scared, were we, boys?” Jeanne immediately said, looking back and forth at her crew pointedly, and the thirty or so pirates shifted awkwardly before the mare said firmly: “We weren't afraid! We don't need to be afraid of Salazar, and we certainly aren't afraid of a few ponies who... uh...”
Freya leaned in with a calm smile, winking at Jeanne as Cadence scowled, and the pirate captain cleared her throat and nervously rubbed her hooves together before she said hurriedly: “Well, there's no need to get into any of that. Just know that we weren't afraid in the slightest and uh... well...”
She softened a little, then nodded slowly, saying quietly: “Yes. Salazar has terrible black magic at his disposal, the likes of which we've never seen. He has a personal guard he keeps close who seem to have some of his vile powers as well, and they never hesitate to use their abilities to do... awful things to all who cross them. My crew has... they are braver than you may know to dare the adventures they have.”
There was silence for a few moments, and then Freya asked quietly: “Do you know anything at all about the island? We heard they use slaves to run the machinery... and likely their souls to power whatever infernal furnace keeps it all running.”
“I wouldn't be surprised.” Jeanne muttered, and then she shook her head slowly before sighing and answering: “Non. I'm afraid I do not know the first thing about the island... we simply cannot draw close enough. All I know is of the exterior, that it is surrounded by high walls and rocky cliffs, guarded by fearsome steel ships and islands in the air. And there is a terrible black magic that emanates from it at times... powerful enough to stain the sky. Have you ever seen such an aura?”
“Aye, I have. More times than I'd like.” Freya replied with a slow nod, and then the Valkyrie looked thoughtfully into the distance before she asked slowly: “How close to the island can you safely get?”
Jeanne shrugged a bit, thinking for a few moments before she answered: “A few miles, perhaps. But the moment the enemy sees us, they make haste to greet us. They won't stray far from the island, but they have cannons that could punch a hole in a mountain from a hundred miles away.”
Cadence smiled briefly at this as Freya nodded, before Sombra asked: “Have you ever attempted to go in beneath the waves?”
“Uh... how?” Jeanne asked, looking at the stallion with surprise. “Oh, I could certainly supply myself and a few others with air, but even my incredible magical prowess isn't enough to let me hide an entire ship beneath the ocean waves.”
“We don't need to hide a ship. Just a few ponies.” Freya said thoughtfully, looking over at Sombra with interest. “Not a bad idea. But we might run into more than just Salazar's flunkies beneath the waves. The ocean is home to many a monster.”
Cadence grunted, and La Croix cocked an eyebrow, saying wryly: “Y'know, 'sfunny to hear you sayin' that, mademoiselle Freya. You certainly ain't hesitated to kill anything afore now.”
“Oh, believe me, it's not me I'm worried about.” Freya replied moodily, and then she shook her head and added in a more serious voice: “But if we disturb anything that lurks beneath the waves, then the foul creatures could do more than just attack us. They might draw attention to us. And if this island is powered by Decretum technology...”
“You're worried about mutated beasts beneath the waves, and dangerous weaponry above.” Sombra said, and Freya nodded. “But I see no way we can avoid risking a crossfire. Whether we move in above the waves or below, or even through the sky...”
“And what about us? I won't just sit back here, doing nothing!” Jeanne declared, sounding incensed as she rose her head grumpily. “I am the greatest pirate to ever sail these seas! I have magic unrivaled by any other pony, no one has ever... I mean...”
She looked lame when Cadence glared at her, and then the pirate captain cleared her throat before saying much more succinctly: “This is my fight too. Salazar has hurt all of us here, not just you.”
“Salazar hasn't actually hurt us at all. I just want to kill him because he sounds like someone who would annoy me.” Freya explained with her usual flippantness, and Jeanne stared at her for a few moments before the Valkyrie shrugged and grinned. “But very well, Jeanne. Pirate or not, you have a certain... enjoyable energy about you. I would make you one of my daughters if you were a little older and a little more smart... but at least you're more than pretty enough to be one of my playthings, if you'd like.”
Jeanne whimpered a little at this and reared back in horror, her eyes going wide, and Moonflower almost perfectly mimicked the expression that she was staring at Freya with. Cadence sighed at this, and then she patiently interjected: “Maybe we could stick to the matter at hoof, though. What do we do from here?”
“We attack beneath the waves. But we start by sabotaging their ships.” Freya replied, suddenly professional as she nodded calmly. “We infiltrate if possible, get an idea of what precisely is on board these metal ships and what we're dealing with. We know the enemy has access to Clockwork technology. I want to know if they know how to use it properly or not.”
Cadence nodded back as Sombra's own head moved in slow agreement, and Jeanne shifted uncertainly before the Valkyrie continued thoughtfully: “La Croix and Moonflower, perhaps you two can better outfit this ship as well. I'll lend my own hoof: there's still enough life in this wood for my magic to take firm hold. It shouldn't take us more than an hour, and we can spend most of that moving towards the enemy.”
The pirates nervously looked at each other, then to Jeanne, who looked uncertainly up before she cleared her throat and forced herself to straighten. Whatever else, she seemed to be able to put on quite a confident face, as she said firmly: “I know that not all of you are comfortable with this, but it must be done. These ponies are to be our allies in the fight against Salazar, and none of them have killed any of our number... is this not reason enough to trust them? Are we not already enjoined by our mutual hatred, our hatred of the stallion who commanded the forces that took our wives, our husbands, our daughters, our children, our parents...”
Jeanne's voice stuttered slightly on the last word, and Cadence looked curiously up as Sombra softened, before the pirate captain picked up again, in a stronger voice: “This is the chance we've been waiting for! To strike down the enemy, to drive our foes out, to... to show them that we rule the sea! Brothers, sisters, won't you all stand with me? Have I ever led you wrong? Have I not always protected you? Now is not the time for mutiny or worry, now is the time to strike at the root of all this wickedness and evil, the evil that would poison our seas with mercenaries and tyranny!”
The pirates were all nodding to Jeanne, and Moonflower leaned back thoughtfully as the pirate captain looked back and forth, slightly flushed, her eyes glowing with determination before she turned to Freya and said firmly: “We will fight with you and yours... but we demand to fight beside you, not following in your hooves to clean up the scraps! And Salazar... Salazar is mine, mine to break and mine to bring back to the crew and the ship so that we can make that bastard walk the plank, and send him down to the depths below, where he belongs!”
There were a few cheers from the gathered pirates, and Freya smiled slightly before she simply shrugged and replied easily: “If my blades don't have reason to find him first, then aye. He is yours. I only hope you're as prepared for this fight ahead as you think you are.”
“I'm ready to give everything I have for it.” Jeanne said quietly, but for once, Cadence thought that the pirate mare wasn't exaggerating from the fire that burned in her eyes, and the pain she felt searing Jeanne de Brittany's soul.