September Eighth, 308 PNMM. (Post Nightmare Moon.)
It was a calm evening, Compass Rose was fairly happy. Their course was set, and they were on time. She stood out on deck, the warmth of the rising sun washing over her back, the cold ocean breeze gently brushing her mane to the right. In the distance, she could see the strait that separated the Celestial Sea and the unknown territory. Smiling, she turned back, heading back into the helm, glancing to her resting co-captain. She was up early, of course, she always was.
She took a deep breath, taking the microphone, "All hands on deck, we're almost at our destination- Good Morning, everyone, from you favorite captain, Compass Rose." As she spoke, she could hear the sounds of her awakening crew below deck. She heard a groan behind her, and, of course, she knew it's origins. Ship's Wheel, nicknamed Wheelie by herself and the rest of the crew, gave a small yawn as he stood. She grinned, going to sit down next to him. "Morning, Wheelie."
"Morning, Rosie." He responded with a yawn, though grumpy. She chuckled to herself, nuzzling him merrily, waiting for him to stand.
"Keep us on course, while I go retrieve breakfast, yes?" She spoke, glancing back to him, smiling as she received a curt nod. "I'll be back in a moment, then!" She chuckled as she hurried of.
Breakfast that day would be the usual, she knew that. Fried potatoes, eggs, and, if they thought the situation fitted, hay bacon. She was very happy that day to learn that haybacon was on the menu. The river out had, of course, been very narrow, and difficult to navigate. It was rough, but also far more shallow than expected... Alongside that, bugbears had plagued the trip, leaving her and the crew with more than one souvenir. She glanced at her flank, at the gash marks that, luckily, barely touched her cutiemark- A seashell compass, with little petals around the edge to decorate- Or pearls, it was always one of the two that was guessed. Compass gave a sigh to herself, continuing her trot, heading below deck to collect breakfast.
She was fairly happy to find that majority of the morning crew was almost done, silently making her way over to retrieve breakfast from the lead chef. He was a nice, though mute, stallion, cooking on his own, however, for the whole crew. She wished dearly that she could've gotten another cook to work alongside him, but that just wouldn't be. She glanced at him, smiling, happy to receive a smile in response. After a moment, she turned, speaking to the majority of the crew, "Get ready to start charting, everyone! Gotta adjust to new places fast, unless we want another whirlpool incident." Despite the reminder, they seemed happy, nodding, saying their 'Good Morning's' to her, or even a joking 'aye aye captain!'. She loved it, she loved her crew, and she knew that she picked the right people to spend months with.
Breakfast was better than usual, and usual was already great, so she knew that their wonderful chef was in a good mood. She finished up, taking Wheelie's breakfast up to the helm. Glancing inside, her happy hum was interrupted by an infernal 'BEEP BEEP BEEP'. The alarm, implemented by unicorns, had gone off, leading her to facehoof, setting the food on a table as she spoke. "What's up with the ship, Wheelie?"
"Nothing, really- It's a nearby ship, I think." He mumbled, "Distress signal."
"Peachy." She responded, sighing, "Grab something to eat, I'll steer us towards them, I guess. The trip can wait..." She watched him nod, taking her place at the wheel, and, following the magic based compass, heading off in search of the signal.
It was a fair while later into the day when they stumbled upon the ship. It wasn't too big, but it was old, and the holes in the sails were evident. Something... Irked her, however, as they began to approach. Two things, actually. The first was the emptiness of the ship, the next was the sudden appearance of figures above the ship, which, to her surprise, were getting closer. Too close for comfort, to say the least.
It happened all too fast, at least for her. One moment, they're steadily cruising along, having broken into new, uncharted ocean, about to help a passerby, and the next... Griffons. A lot of griffons. Bearing down on the crew. They didn't stand a chance. A dozen to three dozen, with only 4 unicorns on board. They were quickly captured, hooves held down by some kind of metal weights, lock and chain, scarves gagging them, and rough claws stashing them in the canteen. She didn't recognize the weights, likely because she was never invested in cases that required any kind of guard action.
She glanced to her right, Wheelie giving her a sad look, and she sighed. She, despite everything, struggled in her bindings, until she was exhausted. But even then, she attempted- She had to, for her crew. They didn't deserve this to happen to them. She shouldn't have chosen to help. . . Even then, she knew she was lying to herself, thinking like that. She glanced back to Wheelie, who had a dismissive look. He had given up, it wasn't hard for her to tell. Glancing at the floor, she stopped, listening to the sound of the ocean splashing up against the ship. She listened long and hard, to the sounds of claws scraping against the floor of the upper deck. The wind. Her own breathing. Her own heartbeat. She just wanted a distraction from all of it, she just wanted to go home.
Her listening, in a sense, paid off. It wasn't long before she heard the sound of claws against wood, approaching the room. She stiffened- for a bare moment, at the least, before relaxing, glancing to Wheelie with a look of reassurance. She received a gentle look from him, this time, before the door, finally, opened.
The griffon was larger than her, all of them were, and, of course, he seemed far meaner than Wheelie, in her eyes. It was gray in coloration, a he, she thought, from the way they seemed so... Stoic, unmoved. She stared at them, watching them approach the ships chef, watching him be lifted. Watching him be untied, unlocked... She looked to Wheelie, dumbfounded, glancing back to the griffon, and watching him go. Then another came in, the same being done with the rest of the crew. Then, they returned for her. She didn't hear what they said, not really, she was busy thinking of what they may want, or if they were simply raiding the ship. So many possibilities, she didn't even notice that they were carrying her up on deck. She didn't notice that her crew was missing. She didn't notice the heavy weights on deck, not until they were there. She hadn't meant to close her eyes- She hadn't realized she did so.
Her eyes were wide open in the next few moments, however. Another chain was attached to her left hindleg. Then, she could hear the ocean, and she panicked. She flailed her forelegs, wincing as her hoof was squeezed by one of their claws, and she stopped, whimpering. She still couldn't speak, she noticed that, though from fear or what, she didn't know.
It was quick, to say the least- In the next few moments, she felt herself plunging into the peaceful waters below. Her first response was to kick her hindlegs, pushing her forelegs downwards in hopes of propelling herself up. It was all for not. She was sinking. The weight held her down. She couldn't see the bottom. She was running out of air. She couldn't breathe.
She stopped, waiting a moment to question how cruel the world could be, tears forming in her eyes. Fish scurried past her, watching the odd figure sink. 'New kinds of fish' she'd thought to herself, before she attempted to breathe. Water was quick to attempt to fill her lungs- Her horn sparking and her eyes snapping to attention in surprise, attempting to cough it up. A sensation filled her body, and she went still, drifting into unconsciousness. Faintly, she felt it herself hit the bottom, and she said nothing. She did nothing. She simply attempted to rest.
As she fell into what she presumed was eternal rest, her horn sparked, a glow enveloping the area around her. It was bright- Blinding, even, especially to those observing the ocean. She breathed. The water rippled in a shockwave, pushing the boat back a few feet, even, and startling away the fish. She relaxed, and breathed, though she took note of nothing. She was home, she could feel it. The warmth around her, the familiar feeling. This was home. This was where she was supposed to be. The dust settled as she rested on the ocean floor, giving her fins a little swish.
She was home now.