//------------------------------// // Chapter 8: From the Dark and Into the Light // Story: It Starts With a Single Step // by BronyBrozly //------------------------------// The deep grumbles of thunders far in the horizon and the growl of the colossal behemoth next to us created a haunting orchestra that echoed under the dark sky. The waves became more violent as they crashed against the wooden walls of the ship, rocking the ship side to side. Leviathan loomed over the ship as it looked down on us with death beamed his eyes, waiting. It let out a deep throaty hiss, striking fear in our very soul. “Take Rose to the captain’s quarters,” I mumbled as I slowly pushed the unicorn mare towards Ivy behind me, keeping my eyes onto the beast. “What?” both of them asked at the same time, whispering. I looked over my shoulder, glaring at the both of them. “Do it,” I hissed through gritted teeth. Ivy had an annoyed expression on her face whereas Rose was more leaning towards worry. The young griffon snorted as she pulled Rose towards the captain’s quarter which was a room under the wheel of the ship, clearly angry at my aggressive insistence. But, I don’t care. All I care was: their safety. I felt the heavy droplets of rain hit my coat as the howling wind brushed against my mane and fur. My tattered robe fluttered in the wind, revealing my wound to the world. “Aye, scars of battle?” I heard Captain Blackart asked. I looked at him and saw he had an amused grin on his face. I shook my head in respond. “More like scars of an ambush,” I answered with a frown tugged on face, feeling ashamed of my injury. “Scars are marks of a warrior, lad. Regardless from where and how they got them,” he chuckled as he pulled off his jacket. I saw a scar ran down from the back his neck, down his back and across his left flank, through the fur of his cutie mark; a chest full of gold. “Battle of Black Sea,” he said with an amused grin on his face. I saw he rummaged through his fallen jacket and saw a steel cylinder in his mouth. With a bite, it revealed a long silver harpoon with a click. I looked back towards the beast as I heard it let out a deep growl. The beast silently loomed over us, tentatively waiting for our respond. “What do we do, captain?” I asked as I reached towards my stone spear that was strapped onto my back. Even though I can’t see him, I felt Captain Blackart had a smile on his face as he bit down his silver harpoon. “Fire!” He shouted and on the dot; I heard a cacophony of explosion thundered under the ship as it lit the dark sea with a flash of fire and smoke. I saw multiple iron balls headed towards the beast in high speed. As mighty the explosions were, the attack did little damage as the iron balls ricocheted off its scales, leaving barely a scratch behind. The beast let out a deep hiss, diving to the other side of the ship. Captain Blackart quickly took the wheel with the harpoon still in his mouth. He frantically turned the wheel to the other side as he tried to keep the ship from stumbling over. Now, the battle has begun. “Fire at will!” I heard he shouted as he regained control of the ship. Then, another series of explosion and fire filled the sea as the beast emerged to our right. Again, the attack did little damage. The colossal beast dived back towards our left side as it managed to break one of the smaller mass of the ship with a loud crack during its strike. “Bring out the explosive cannon balls!” Captain Blackart barked, clearly angered by the damage had been done to his ship. “Aye, Captain!” Vie’s voice shouted in respond. Another thunderous series of explosions echoed under the stormy sky as Leviathan emerged from the water. As the metal balls contacted its scales, fire and shrapnel filled the air. This time, the attack worked. The searing fire and small shards of metals managed to went through the small cracks between its scales, injuring the flesh below them. The beast let out a deep growl, diving back into the ocean. The crew and Captain Blackart cheered triumphantly but... the battle has yet to end. “It’s not over yet,” I yelled, my head darted around the ship as I tried to find where the beast would come up next. Suddenly, water and pieces of wood were tossed into the air as it the behemoth emerged from behind the ship, tossing Captain Blackart ten feet into the air. He dropped onto the wooden deck floor with a thud, his silver harpoon clattered next to him. My eyes widened and my heart skipped a beat. I swiftly headed towards the captain quarters as I kicked down the door. I saw Rose and Ivy were trapped under the wooden debris. “Help us,” I heard Rose whimpered, reaching a hoof towards me. I quickly moved the debris away from their body as I saw a trickle of blood went down their backs. Some of the splinters had pierced their skin. “It’ll be alright,” I whispered as I carefully poured a healing potion into their mouth. “Dad!” I heard Vie’s voice called out. I looked over my shoulder and saw the beast was sniffing Captain’s Blackart unconscious body and Vie was running towards it. “No!” I yelled, frantically rummaging through my saddlebag. I quickly pulled out my herb bottle and opened the lid. I shook out a dried leaf and quickly put it into my mouth, chewing it. It let out a minty and cool sensation on my tongue and into my throat as a burst of adrenaline pumped into my body. The world turned into blue tint and time stopped as everything went silent. In my vision, I saw the beast will engorge Vie if I did not react fast. I let out a knowing smirk, reaching for my spear. As time slowly went back into motion, I charged towards the beast with the spear in my mouth. Then, time went back into its motion, filling my ears once more with the sound of the angry growls of thunder in the horizon and the pitter-patter of the heavy raindrops on the wooden deck floor. I noticed the beast’s eyes widened as it saw Vie was heading its way, growling in anticipation for an attack. Before it could perform its strike, I leaped, aiming my spear at its right eye. My spear embedded itself into the beast’s eye with a sickening thwack, squirting black goo as it let out a pained growl that echoed throughout the stormy sky. I smiled, feeling satisfied as it went as I expected. But, the smile did not last. I felt the strap of the spear was tied around my neck as the beast tossed its head in pain. I quickly put a hoof between my neck and the strap just before the beast thrashed in agony. It flung its head into the air, tightening the strap. I let out a chocking sound as my air passage was constricted. I saw the edge of my vision started to darken. The colossal snake whipped his head to the side, ejecting me and my spear from its eye. I felt the wind violently brush my mane and coat and the sting of the heavy rain drops as I was tossed into the sea, seeing the ship became smaller in the distance. I felt the pain exploded into my injured back as I hit the surface of the water with a loud thwack. The edge of my vision darkened as I slowly sunk into the dark water. I felt the cold sea water engulfed my body and saw the last of bubbles of my air escaped my mouth. The light on the surface of the water dimmed as I heard the growl of the beast headed towards me. I closed my eyes, hoping what had happened was only a dream and wished that I would wake up in my mother’s embrace. I let out my last smile, hearing the beast’s growl beneath me. “Goodbye,” I whispered into the darkness. “Is he okay?” I heard Captain Blackart’s voice asked. “I hope so,” Rose sniffed as I felt a wet cloth touched my forehead. “He has been out for a week,” Vie’s voice stated. “Fuck!” Ivy spat as I heard a thud resonated in the walls. “Please, keep quiet, Ivy. He needs his rest,” Rose’s voice said softly. “Could you all give him some peace?” she asked. I heard a door opened and footsteps stepped out the room. The door let out a soft squeak as it slowly closed. Then I heard a soft click and felt somebody’s head rested on my chest. I could feel a tear rolled to the side my chest as I heard a sniff. “Please wake up,” I heard Rose whispered, sniffing. “Please...” I tried to open my eyes but it was impossible. I felt like something glued my eyelids together. I tried to move my hooves, they too did not respond. I tried to scream yet my mouth was silent. I suddenly felt uneasy. I was scared to the fact that I might be stuck in this darkness forever. I tried to thrash my body around but it was for naught. I forced myself to open my eyes, to move my body... anything to give them a sign that I was alive. As I was struggling to move my body, I heard a whisper in the back of my mind. It was faint yet familiar. Mother? I asked mentally. Suddenly, I was slowly able to open my eyes. I noticed that I was in a small wooden room somewhere in the lower deck of the ship. The lantern above me flickered cheerily. “R... Rose?” I breathed, looking at the mare next to me. I saw her long golden mane was disheveled and her light pink coat had become duller. She quickly looked up with a surprised expression. I saw her eyes were red as if she had not stopped crying for a long time and dark lines under them as a sign of fatigue. “N... Nadir?” she asked, reaching a hoof to my face. I slowly touched her hoof in respond. She let out a relieved smile as tears rolled down her cheeks, wetting the sheet of the bed. Then she quickly grabbed me into an embrace, I felt her hot tears rolled down the back of my neck. “I... I thought you were gone. I thought you were gone...” she cried, sniffing as she held me tighter. “I’m here...” I breathed, patting her softly in the back. Then I heard the door swung opened as Ivy and Vie stepped into the room. Their eyes were beamed with surprise and relief as they saw I was awake. “It’s good to see ya, lad!” Captain Blackart chuckled as he trotted to the left of my bed, softly patting on my shoulders. “Finally, now you can stop slacking off,” I heard Ivy spoke up. I looked at her and saw she was grinning at me, leaning against the wall in front of me. “Thank you for helping my father,” Vie said with a smile on her face. I smiled in return, nodding. Rose was still crying in the embrace as I heard her muffled sniffles. “It’s nice to see you too,” I breathed, brushing the unicorn’s mane. She looked up with a smile on her face. Then, she nuzzled my cheek. I felt a rush of blood went into my cheeks as my heart skipped a beat. “Celebration dinner tonight!” Captain Blackart announced happily. “We'll open the barrels of rum and drink like there is no tomorrow,” he chuckled, exiting the room. “How long was my slumber?” I asked, looking at Ivy. “Ten days to be exact,” she answered as she walked out the door, looking over her shoulder. “What happened to the beast?” I asked to Vie, looking at her with a worried expression. “Your attack managed to send the beast on its way,” she answered, smiling. “How did I end up here?” I asked again, my mind was still riddled with questions. Ten days? That was a long slumber. Something bad could have happen during that time. “Ivy saved you,” she answered, surprising me out of me reverie. “She jetted into the sea when she knew you were thrown into the ocean,” she continued with a grin. “I guess Ivy does like you.” My eyes darted as my mind was still trying to process the information. “You better thank her. After all, she risked her own life to save yours,” she said, exiting the room. I was left alone with Rose in the room. Her soft sniffles filled the silence as she was still in a tight embrace. “Let’s go eat dinner,” I whispered, looking at the affectionate mare with a smile. She looked at me with a smile on her face, nodding. With that, I slowly slipped off the bed as Rose moved out of the way, releasing me from her embrace. My hooves wobbled under me as they finally touched the floor after ten days of rest, jingling the bell on my neck. I noticed that my robe and my saddlebag were sitting on top of a wardrobe behind Rose but I did not think I will need them for now. “Let’s go,” I whispered. She gave me a smile in return, nodding. With that, we went towards the mess hall on the deck above us. Dinner was livelier than usual. The crew and the captain were intoxicated with rum as they sang along with Rose; who stood in the middle of the mess hall. Her voice rang beautifully in the mess hall, bringing life into the situation. I looked around the room as they danced on top of the dining table, noticing Ivy was not in the mess hall. I decided to look on the main deck. As I reached the main deck, the first thing I noticed was one of the smaller sail was gone. Maybe it was because of the Leviathan attack ten days ago, I thought to myself. Then, I saw Ivy leaned on the railings of the ship on my left. She was looking into the array of stars above, taking a sip of rum from a mug that she had on her claw. “Hey,” I called out, hobbling towards her. She looked over her shoulder in respond. “Hey,” she replied, changing her gaze into the dark sea below. “Aren’t you enjoying the party?” I asked as I leaned on the railings next to her, following her gaze. “I’m not in the mood,” she answered as she took another sip. “What’s wrong?” I asked again with a questioning eyebrow. She let out an exasperated sigh and shook her head in respond. “It’s complicated,” she answered glumly. I kept my silence, looking into the glittering stars above. The moon that loomed above us generously graced us with its silver glow. “Thanks,” I spoke up. “For what?” she asked, taking another sip. “For saving me.” “Heh,” she let out a soft chuckle. “It was nothing.” “But...” I started, turning my head towards her. “Why?” “Like I said: If you die out there, I might not have the chance to kill you,” she answered as she peeked into the empty cup. She sighed, throwing the cup over her shoulder. “What’s wrong?” I asked again as I quickly mustered my courage and strength for her reply. She might attack me or something, and for that, I had to prepare myself. “Just!” she shouted as she looked at me, her eyes glistening under the moon light. “Nothing, okay?” she sighed, walking away as she shook her head in exasperation. I tried to speak up to stop her but... I held my tongue. I saw her glistening eyes disappeared into the stairs, heading towards the lower decks. I sighed in respond as I looked into the starry sky above. I heard the joyful laughter and singing echoed through the walls of the ship. “Dear gods, protect us,” I whispered into the wind, looking into the moon. I let out another sigh as I trotted towards the stairs. Just before I descend, I looked at the cup that Ivy threw rolled next to me. I picked it up with a hoof, sighing. I looked over my shoulder once more, looking at the moon that loomed over the horizon. “Protect our hearts,” I whispered as I trotted towards the mess hall.