//------------------------------// // Chapter 1:27.2 - The Second Sister // Story: Camaraderie is Sorcery // by FireOfTheNorth //------------------------------// Chapter 1:27.2 – The Second Sister 28th Day of the 10th Month, Year 1000 of the 4th Age Around the same time that Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle were approaching the gates of Fillidelfiyaa, many leagues to the south Pinkamena and Rarity were nearing those of Balte-Maer. Like at Fillidelfiyaa, vast camps of ponies called to the capital from across the duchy were assembled around the city, though it was not so large an army as the one King Alhert had assembled. After all, they would only be fighting one enemy by land, unless they were truly fortunate and able to push all the way through the Kingdom of Fillidelfiyaa to Manehattan. If that were possible, then Fillidelfiyaa’s army would be nonexistent by that point. The streets of the port city were packed with wagons and soldiers, the former occasionally forced against buildings to let the latter pass, earning the ire of those buildings’ residents. Balte-Maer was preparing for war, and that meant moving supplies to three places: the city’s storehouses in case of a siege, the supply trains of the army preparing to head north, and the ships of the ducal navy docked in the harbor. It made navigation through the city a bit difficult. “Come on! This way!” Pinkamena called excitedly as she bounded between two wagons and darted into an alleyway. “Pinkamena, do you know where you’re going?” Rarity asked with alarm as she tried to do the same, begging the pardon of a team of ponies pulling the wagon she had to cut in front of in order to keep up with her companion. “Of course I do, silly, I’ve been here once before, back when I was still a filly!” Pinkamena said, which didn’t inspire much confidence in her navigational skills. Rarity hadn't chosen to be paired up with the hyperactive bard, but Twilight and Rainbow Dash were already headed to Fillidelfiyaa, and a unicorn like herself couldn’t show her head in Manehattan without the danger of it being lopped off. It’s not that the smith/clothier had anything against Pinkamena, but the two of them didn’t exactly have much in common. Then again, neither did she and Fluttershy and the two of them had become close over the past few months, so maybe this journey would lead to something similar between her and Pinkamena. Pinkamena had insisted on being one of the Brave Companions to go to Balte-Maer. She claimed she knew Duchess Seaspray personally, having saved her from an assassination attempt. Most of the Brave Companions doubted that tale, but Pinkamena wasn’t in the habit of lying, so maybe there was some truth in the surely exaggerated claim. In any case, her request was granted, and she’d been sent to the city of the duchess to plead with her to end this war before it started. “Pinkamena, wait up!” Rarity called as she tried to duck under some peasant’s laundry the same way her companion had, but caught it with her horn and had to replace it before moving on. “Come on, Rarity, it’s not much farther!” Pinkamena said as she bounced up and down. “That’s what you’ve been saying since we entered Balte-Maer!” Rarity said in exasperation, but continued to follow her. Exiting the alley, the bard ducked under a carriage and past a group of Balte-Maeri guards who shouted after her. Rarity tried to follow, but the carriage jerked forward, and she pulled up just short of getting crushed under the wheels. Having lost sight of Pinkamena, she hurried to catch up and pressed through the crowd of ponies closely following the carriage, mindful of the attempts to open her saddlebags and casting stern looks about. The Balte-Maeri guards had considered it too much of a hassle to chase the pink ball of energy down the alley and only glanced at Rarity as she waited for them to pass before ducking behind them to cross before the next wagon blocked the alley. Balte-Maer’s main thoroughfares were immensely backed up, so the only way to move with any urgency was how they were right now, cutting through the minor streets that nopony but those who lived there knew, even if it meant crossing the bustling major streets now and then. Pinkamena waved at Rarity from where the alley took a bend and waited for her to catch up before pressing on. She was going to have to demand a rest soon; the smith was by no means feeble, but she didn’t have the limitless energy of her companion. Dogs barked and cats hissed at their passage as they followed the twists and turns of the alleys. Rarity was baffled at how Pinkamena seemed to know exactly where they were, even though the close buildings around them obscured most of the city’s major landmarks. It was as if the bard had some kind of internal compass guiding her toward her goal. That, or she was completely lost and had no idea. Pinkamena paused for a moment as they reached the end of the alley, a street packed with wagons and portable merchant stalls. There was no movement here, but neither were there any ponies apart from a few foals playing in the distance. The street wasn’t wide, and it looked like all the vehicles here had been crammed in to get them off the other streets and out of the way of the ponies who were actually moving (albeit at an incredibly slow pace). There were no buildings across the street, only a high stone wall. Pinkamena scaled one of the merchant stalls and peered over the wall from atop its roof. Tensing her hindlegs, she jumped and caught the edge of the wall with her forehooves before hoisting herself over. “Pinkamena?” Rarity called when nothing happened for a few seconds after she landed on the other side of the wall. “Come on over, Rarity!” Pinkamena called back, and Rarity reluctantly scaled the merchant stall and jumped over herself. Rarity had lost all sense of where they were in the city the moment they’d first left the main street, but when she landed on the other side of the wall, she knew immediately where they were. The land sloped gently upward from the wall, covered in well-tended trees, bushes, flowers, and lawns. At the top of the hill was a palace whose exterior was adorned with blue tiles: The Sapphire Palace. Rarity looked anxiously back at the wall she had no way to scale. They were trespassing in Duchess Seaspray’s private gardens during a time when Balte-Maer was preparing for war, and her guards would be on the lookout for assassins. “Pinkamena,” Rarity whispered frantically as she crept behind a hedge and looked around for the bard, “Where are you?” “Right here,” Pinkamena said from behind her, nearly causing the unicorn to jump out of her skin. “What were you thinking?” she demanded, “We won’t be able to convince Duchess Seaspray to stop the war if we’re killed before we get to her.” “I’m sure we’ll be fine,” Pinkamena said without a care in the world, “I know the duchess, and I’m sure she’ll be pleased to see me. We won’t have any trouble.” “Stop right there!” a guard wearing the ducal colors demanded as she trotted up, two more guards with crossbows flanking her, “Make a move and you’re dead!” “Of course, I’ve been wrong before,” Pinkamena said sheepishly, and Rarity groaned. *** “Your Grace, the trespassers,” the guard sergeant announced as she marched Rarity and Pinkamena into the throne room. It was just as Pinkamena remembered it, except that Duchess Seaspray was the only pony seated this time and far fewer ponies were in the room. The duchess was preparing to leave, and her court was now a place for last minute check-ins with her ship captains, the marshal who would lead her army, her bailiff, and her husband, who would rule in her stead while she was away. Seaspray was a busy mare at the moment, anxious to depart, and was not overly thrilled to hear from her guard captain that one of his sergeants had captured trespassers in the ducal gardens. This was a matter for them to deal with, not her, or so she had thought until she received the scroll the trespassers had been carrying. Rarity had managed to convince the sergeant to let her take the missive from Celestia from her saddlebags without filling her and Pinkamena with crossbow bolts. The sergeant knew how to read only a few words, but the seal on the scroll was unmistakable, featuring Celestia herself. The guards had relieved Pinkamena and Rarity of their possessions and didn’t let them out of their sight, but they didn’t treat them roughly or throw them in a dungeon, for fear of the ire of the Matron of Sorceresses, even if she was all the way in Cant’r Laht. “It really is you,” Duchess Seaspray said as she eyed Pinkamena, “I didn’t get a good chance to see you during the gala or the summit, so I didn’t know if you were really the same filly I met all those years ago.” “I remember it like it was yesterday,” Pinkamena said, bounding forward only to have her progress stopped by a lowered spear from a ducal guard, “I remember you, too, Your Grace. When they thought you were the one who ordered the assassination of Prince Blueblood, I told them you’d never do anything like that.” “Ahem, yes,” the duchess said with a cough, and the duke raised an eyebrow, “Please, these ponies are not here to harm me. There is no need for such a stringent guard around them, and return their possessions.” The guards backed off, and the sergeant motioned for those who had Pinkamena’s and Rarity’s saddlebags slung across their backs to return them. “Your Grace, we have come to-” Rarity said once her belongings were on her back again. “I know why you’ve come,” Duchess Seaspray interrupted her, gesturing to the unrolled scroll at her side, “Celestia wishes for you to convince me to cease this war, to make peace with Alhert and Hadish before it begins. Well, the gratitude I owe your companion for saving my life compels me to hear you out, but no more.” “Yes, Your Grace,” Rarity said, knowing she had to go on even if the duchess thought she already had her mind made up, “As Celestia tried to convince you and your neighbors to the north at the summit, this war is unnecessary. Surely you can negotiate a peace with Alhert and Hadish, in which their goods are not so strictly taxed and you receive a sizable tribute from them. Why will you not sit down at the negotiating table to talk this through instead of speaking with your army or your fleet? You must know that hundreds or more will die if you do this, so why do it?” “You make it seem as if King Alhert and King Hadish were reasonable ponies,” Seaspray scoffed, “Alhert has become feeble-minded in his old age, obsessed with establishing his legacy before he dies and his crown passes from his house to another. He lashes out in all directions with his fleet, desperate to defend himself from a threat he is only creating by his actions. Need I tell you of Hadish’s madness? He worships fire and burns alive all he deems unworthy of life. I would think a unicorn like yourself would appreciate the danger of making any sort of deal with such a tyrannical and unhinged pony.” Seaspray wasn’t exactly wrong, but neither had she given the other monarchs a chance to work out a peace that wasn’t incredibly biased in her favor. Balte-Maer was the last stop for Equestrian ships before Los Pegasus, and no ship had yet been built that could carry enough supplies to go all the way from Manehattan or Fillidelfiyaa to Los Pegasus without limiting the cargo to the point where the trip was no longer profitable. Gradually, Duchess Seaspray had been increasing the pressure on non-Balte-Maeri ships for years until they no longer were able to turn a profit in any case and would be better off dumping their goods here on the cheap, only for Balte-Maeri ships to scoop them up, transport them to Los Pegasus, and pocket a sizable profit. She had control of the situation, and the rulers of the other Sisters weren’t going to stand by and let it go on. Either she’d need to treat trade on the Shimmering Sea more fairly, or she would have to go to war to protect her right to gouge her competition. She’d chosen the latter option. “You have to try to deal with them!” Pinkamena said, and despite her appreciation of the bard’s actions in her youth, Seaspray took offense to anypony telling her, the duchess, what she had to do, “So many ponies will die if you don’t! There has to be something that will change your mind!” “No, there isn’t,” the duchess said firmly, “Even if I was inclined to do such a thing, it is too late to turn back now. The army and fleet are ready and prepared to fight for Balte-Maer. I will not order them to stand down. This war is in Balte-Maer’s best interest, so why should I do something so mad?” It just so happened that the war was in the duchess’s best interest as well, who had a full or partial share in all of the city’s shipping companies. They were more profitable than ever since she’d begun her policies of favoring Balte-Maeri shipping over that from Fillidelfiyaa and Manehattan, and she wouldn’t give that up. The ducal treasury took in more money from the crown’s shares than any other source of revenue, which was why ducal taxes in the Duchy of Balte-Maer were so low. So, really, it was in Balte-Maer’s interest, in a roundabout way. “Okay then, you leave me no choice,” Pinkamena said with a dramatic sigh, and drew the naval telescope she carried around sometimes from her saddlebags, “You told me that if I had need of anything, to present this to you and you would help me. I need you to stop this war.” “You take my indulgence of you too far,” Duchess Seaspray said as she paled, “Keep the telescope, and I will help you some other time in whatever you ask, but not in this. These are matters for crowned heads, and you will not interfere in them by using a promise I made to you years ago for your service.” “But, I-” Pinkamena protested. “Guards, escort them out of the palace,” Seaspray ordered, “And if they try to break in again, you have my permission to shoot them this time.” *** “Well, that could have gone better,” Rarity said with a sigh as they trotted in failure through the streets of Balte-Maer. “I really thought the telescope would work if nothing else did,” Pinkamena bemoaned, kicking a rock dejectedly and watching it skip under a wagon. “I must admit, I’m still surprised that you actually did save the duchess from an assassination attempt,” Rarity said. “I’ll have to tell you the story sometime, it’s a …” Pinkamena trailed off as she heard singing in the distance, and her ears pricked up, “This way!” “Pinkamena, where are you going?” Rarity called after her as she darted off through the slow-moving traffic, then groaned, “Not again.” The streets were beginning to unclog, but they were still backed up, and would be until the abandoned warehouse near the docks somepony had decided to torch burned to ashes and opened another thoroughfare. As Pinkamena darted between ponies, local traffic came to a standstill. Rarity was forced to clamber over a wagon, getting yelled at by the driver, in order to cross. Pushing through a group of fisherponies, she followed the bard into a narrow alley. She managed to keep the pink pony in sight as she galloped along, nearly knocking over a basket as she did. The alley ended in a dead end, but Pinkamena jumped onto some crates piled up at the end and onto the roofs. Rarity followed and didn’t have to go far before dropping down into a courtyard with an amphitheater at one end. An assortment of ponies had assembled here, many with their belongings, taking some time away from the busyness of the main roads. Colorful wagons were assembled around the amphitheater, and ponies in equally colorful garb were arrayed on its stage. Most of them weren’t doing anything at the moment apart from listening to the central figure, who strummed a lute and sang along with its music, her melodious tones carrying out across the courtyard. “… so, fly now my dearest, where ne’er I’ll go,” “Alight ‘pon th’ clouds and the peaks capped wi’ snow.” “For while you were with me, my heart soared wi’ your wings,” “But you remained bound …” “Here with me on th’ ground …” “Ne’er to climb to the heights you adore.” “Be not saddened love …” “I’ll hold you here … no more.’” “And th’ poor maiden wept as his life slipped away,” “She bent down beside him, and he could still hear her say,” “‘Not a moment together, have I spent in regret.” “Ne’er have I counted my freedom lost yet.” “For while with you …” “My heart has soared too …” “And I had no need for the sky …’” As the mare brought her song to an end and bowed her head, the crowd applauded the performance, some of them moved to tears, for the start of the song must surely have been as beautifully sung as the end, but Rarity and Pinkamena hadn’t witnessed it. As other performers trotted through the crowd with buckets in their mouths, some of the ponies threw coins in. Pinkamena, constantly on the move, pushed her way through the crowd and up to the stage. “Melodia!” she exclaimed, catching the singer’s attention. “We’ll be right back after a short break,” Melodia announced before trotting off the stage. Pinkamena followed her to the side, and Rarity looped around the crowd to meet them next to the amphitheater. “Imagine that. I never expected to see you here again,” Melodia was saying to Pinkamena when Rarity reached them, “Are you here to rejoin the Renegades’ Troupe and sing ballads, or are you too busy being part of ballads?” “I can assure you, I’m not the one spreading them around,” Pinkamena replied, “I guess ponies just want to hear the exploits of the Brave Companions.” “Speaking of which, it looks like you didn’t come alone,” Melodia said as she spied Rarity, “You must be … Rarity.” “You recognize me?” Rarity asked. By now, most ponies in Equestria had heard tales of the Brave Companions, but few actually recognized them when they met them. “Yes, if minstrels are to write songs about the six of you, we must know what you look like,” Melodia said, “You’ll find that fame may spread across all of Equestria, but the only ponies who will ever recognize you will be monarchs and minstrels, the former because they can pay to find out your appearance, the latter because it’s valuable for their craft.” “I never thought about that before,” Rarity said thoughtfully, “So, what brings a troupe of performers to Balte-Maer on the eve of war?” “Where else would we be but in the midst of things, capturing the moment? Also, with so many ponies passing through, we can turn a tidy profit, and plenty of visiting nobles long for entertainment and have hired us for the evenings at no small cost to them,” Melodia said, and turned to Pinkamena, “We were hoping Duchess Seaspray would summon us to the palace again, as she did when you were here with us, but it seems the duchess has her mind on other matters than entertainment at the moment. Her guards even turned us away when we went to inquire whether she would want a private show.” “We didn’t have much luck with the duchess either,” Pinkamena admitted, “I think we can still get through to her, though.” “You spoke to Duchess Seaspray?” one of the other performers in the Renegades’ Troupe asked, “What about?” “Oh, we’re on a quest from Celestia to convince her to call off her war and settle her issues with Hadish and Alhert peacefully,” Pinkamena exposited rapidly. “That’s fascinating,” Melodia said, “And you think she may actually do so?” “Not likely,” Rarity snorted, “She’s expelled us from the palace on pain of death if we return.” “Come on, Rarity, we can’t let something like that get in the way of fulfilling our quest,” Pinkamena said, and Rarity looked back at her in alarm. “You could always accompany her on her way to war, I suppose,” Melodia suggested. Rarity took this into consideration. It really would be a shame to return to Ponieville without fulfilling their quest, but she really didn’t know if she wanted to follow the army into battle. She had already done that once, though she’d spent most of that episode fixing up the army’s barding. This was also something they hadn’t planned for; they were supposed to convince Duchess Seaspray to call off her war before the army ever left Balte-Maer, but there wasn’t much time for that. “You mean we ought to follow the army north?” Rarity asked, “It seems a bit dangerous, and what’s to stop Seaspray from turning us away then?” The duchess won’t be leaving with the army,” Melodia said with a shake of her head, “The pride of Balte-Maer is the ducal navy, and that’s where she’ll be.” “Perfect!” Pinkamena exclaimed. “Yes, perfect,” Rarity said sarcastically, “Even if we can somehow make it onto her ship, as soon as we’re discovered, she’ll throw us overboard or maroon us somewhere.” “Two of the Brave Companions?” Melodia said, “She wouldn’t dare. Not only would that earn her the ire of many ponies who see you as heroes, but she’d also have to deal with Celestia. Equestria’s monarchs may talk big, but they would never risk something that would guarantee her wrath.” “But how are we even supposed to get on her ship? I can’t imagine her guards will let us just trot aboard,” Rarity protested. “Just leave that to us,” Melodia said, concocting a plan, “We have some connections at the docks that may be of use.” *** Late in the afternoon, the ducal navy set sail, the last ships joining those already in the harbor. They departed with much fanfare, especially as the duchess’s flagship left the docks. Seaspray was upon the waves, ready to affirm her position as Rightful Maritime Ruler of the Shimmering Sea. The traffic in Balte-Maer returned almost to normal once the fleet had left, the remaining business due to final transports of supplies to the army encamped outside the city’s walls. They would depart first thing the following morning to meet King Alhert’s southern army, but this force was barely considered when ponies thought of the war. Balte-Maer’s life was the sea, and the ducal fleet was their pride. Aboard one of the ships in that proud navy were some extra “supplies” that had been added at the last minute. The Renegades’ Troupe’s connections at the docks hadn’t been all-powerful, so Rarity and Pinkamena hadn’t been able to just trot aboard Duchess Seaspray’s flagship, but they were in the fleet nonetheless. Two barrels had been added to the hold of a sizable caravel, each of which held a pony within. It was terribly cramped inside the barrels, but Pinkamena and Rarity couldn’t risk opening them until they were sure they were far enough away from Balte-Maer that the duchess couldn’t simply send a fast ship back to the city to drop them off before rejoining the fleet. Darkness had fallen by the time Rarity pried open her barrel and extricated herself. After finding a hiding place among the supplies, she returned to Pinkamena and helped her to escape. They crept silently to their hiding place, careful not to disturb sleeping soldiers, and waited. Rarity still couldn’t believe that the plan had worked. Of course, there was no guarantee that it would work fully. Sure, they were in the ducal navy now, but who could say if they’d be able to get to Duchess Seaspray now or not, and what she’d say when they were inevitably found out. “Jus’ like ah said, barrel’s empty an’ completely dry,” a voice came from elsewhere in the hold, the source around where Pinkamena’s and Rarity’s barrels had been. I expected we’d be found out, but not so soon. We may not even be far enough away. What do we do if they drop us off in a coastal village instead of letting us stay aboard? “And just what were you doing rooting though the supplies instead of sleeping?” another voice demanded, one speaking with authority. “I jus’ wanted t’ see what kind o’ armament we’d have for th’ fight,” the first voice said unconvincingly. “So, naturally, you decided to check the food supplies first,” the second said sarcastically, “Well, if you’re so concerned about the state of our weapons, you can be in charge of equipment duty tomorrow, and since you’re up already, may as well take a guard shift tonight as well.” The other voice grumbled but began to move away, and Rarity breathed a sigh of relief. She nearly shouted in surprise when a flash of green light and flame suddenly appeared in front of her face. In an instant, all was dark again, but her night vision was ruined. It barely returned enough for her to spot the scroll that had fallen from the burst of flame to the deck, a message from Twilight. “What was that?” the senior guard exclaimed, and Rarity groaned. They would surely be caught now, done in by Twilight’s letter. *** “What is the meaning of this?” Duchess Seaspray demanded, irate at being awakened at such a late hour. After Rarity and Pinkamena had been discovered, there was some debate as to what to do with the stowaways. Like in the Sapphire Palace’s gardens, Celestia’s scroll had been enough to convince the ponies who’d discovered them not to throw them overboard or otherwise harm them, but the guards had no idea what to do with them instead. They brought the two mares up onto the top deck of the ship, surprising the others on watch, who also had no idea what to do about them. After much debate, they decided to wake the captain of the ship’s soldiers up, who also didn’t know what to do. After more deliberation and stalling, they woke the ship’s captain, who could at least read passably and inspected the letter from Celestia stating their mission to meet with Duchess Seaspray and provide her counsel. The captain, however, also delayed in making a decision. He signaled the nearby ships, running a message to the duchess’s flagship and communicating back and forth until he was able to move up and come alongside. Once the ships were tied together, Rarity and Pinkamena were sent over, delayed again as the captain of the flagship debated waking up the duchess. Several hours had passed between their discovery and when they were finally marched into Duchess Seaspray’s quarters. “You again! I thought I said I didn’t want to see you!” the duchess said angrily, and the ship’s captain looked incredibly nervous. “Actually, you said we weren’t allowed back in the palace. You didn’t say anything about the fleet,” Pinkamena pointed out as Rarity tried in vain to wave her off. “Your Grace, you know who we are,” Rarity added, trying to defuse the situation before the duchess became even more livid, “We aren’t accustomed to giving up so easily. You didn’t give us much of a chance to convince you that this war is a mistake. Don’t you think we deserve to speak with you again, though perhaps in other circumstances?” “I think you’ve interrupted me enough and wasted too much of my time,” Duchess Seaspray said as the table in front of her creaked from the force of her forehooves pressing upon in, “We have a schedule to keep, so I can’t spare the time to drop you off somewhere, at least not anywhere on this continent. It appears I’m stuck with you for the time being, but if you think I will allow you on my flagship for a second longer than necessary, wasting even more of my time, then you’re sadly mistaken. We’ll find some place for you in the fleet where you’ll be out of the way and I won’t have to hear about making peace with Alhert and Hadish before I’ve achieved my victory. Do I make myself clear?” A battle horn sounded distantly as Duchess Seaspray waited for a response. The ship’s captain rushed out as another horn sounded, closer this time. The duchess waited with a concerned look, trying to see what was going on outside of her cabin, seeming to have forgotten her anger at Rarity and Pinkamena momentarily. Horns sounded all around, including from the deck of the flagship itself, and the ship’s captain rushed back into the cabin. “Your Grace, we’re under attack!” she said breathlessly. “Under attack? By whom?” the duchess demanded, “Is it Alhert’s raiders?” “No, Your Grace, it’s pirates! Gryphon marauders!” the captain reported, “They’ve begun attacking some of our outlying cogs!” “My, but they’ve grown bold,” Seaspray said as she hurried toward the cabin door, her guard struggling to keep up with the events unfolding and keep her under their protection, “We haven’t even left Horseshoe Bay yet!” “They likely entered the bay to raid and stumbled upon our outer ships, thinking them defenseless transports, unaware of the fleet’s presence,” the captain explained as she accompanied her out onto the deck. Not knowing what else to do, Rarity and Pinkamena left the abandoned cabin as well. Not that the deck of a ship during a battle was a safe place to be, but they'd been instructed to stay near Duchess Seaspray, and this was where she was. An attendant tried to fit barding on her as she surveyed the situation. Braziers on most of the fleet’s ships were now lit, providing illumination to the pre-dawn darkness. Soon the sun would rise over the sea to the east, but for now the only way they’d be able to see their attackers was to light fires on the incredibly flammable ships. Shapes flitted about in the distance, gryphons visible only by their silhouettes. Two unfamiliar ships were in sight, one of them weaving among the fleet’s ships, realizing now what kind of trouble it was in. “Where is Admiral Shining Gleam?” Duchess Seaspray asked as she looked around. “He is aboard The Pride of Cinnarón still, Your Grace, and is likely in charge of the encirclement of one of the enemy vessels,” the captain said as she pointed out over the waves at the pirate ship being corralled by ducal ships. “Captain, I need you navigating this ship,” the duchess ordered, taking charge of the situation, “Detach Dread Hoof immediately so we can maneuver. Muster all available archers and prepare the ballista.” “Yes, Your Grace!” the captain replied and hurried off to comply with her lady’s orders. The ship that Rarity and Pinkamena had stowed away on was cast off, allowing it and the duchess’s flagship to maneuver freely. Rarity and Pinkamena themselves stayed on the duchess’s vessel and tried to stay out of the way as archers climbed up from the ship’s hold, still drowsy from sleep. In the distance, Admiral Shining Gleam continued to orchestrate the encirclement of the pirate ship that had foolishly wandered into the Balte-Maeri fleet. Gryphons flew from its deck to attack the exposed ponies on the vessels closing in on them. The admiral had also called up his archers, and arrows took out many of the attacking gryphons before they made it to the decks and began striking about with their blades. As the second pirate vessel drew nearer, gryphons launched themselves from its deck to attack the fleet. Arrows whistled past them as they ascended beyond the light coming from the Balte-Maeri ships and into the gloom above, before swooping down on unsuspecting ships. Several of the gryphons managed to make it to the deck of the duchess’s flagship without becoming pincushions and drew their swords. The duchess’s guards rushed to her defense, striking out at the gryphons with fauchards. Blades rang against each other as pirates and soldiers clashed, Duchess Seaspray yelling out orders and encouragement all the while. Rarity and Pinkamena weren’t fighters and tried to stay out of the battle, but it wasn’t entirely possible to avoid it when the deck was covered with gryphons and ponies trying to kill each other. A gryphon was thrown by a ducal guard’s fauchard but used her wings to right herself in the air and landed next to the two Brave Companions. She raised her sword for a strike, but Rarity kicked the blade from her claw with her forelegs, strong from her work at her forge. The gryphon still had her claws, but before she could strike, an archer shoved a pike into her back between her wings. The pirate ship in the midst of the fleet was surrounded now, ships alongside it attaching themselves so that the ponies could charge onboard. While still fending off attacks from the air, the ponies under Admiral Shining Gleam’s command boarded the pirate ship and put its crew to the sword. Soon it was under their control, and the ships could focus their full attention on the gryphons overhead that now had no ship to return to. The gryphons hadn’t yet realized that the Duchess of Balte-Maer herself was present and weren’t paying any special attention to her flagship other than what it warranted as being one of the largest vessels in the fleet. The crew was able to maneuver themselves into the position Seaspray had demanded fairly quickly, the bow pointed toward the second pirate ship. In addition to its size, the duchess’s flagship was unique for another reason: it had a weapon on its deck – a ballista that was now pointed at the enemy ship. “Fire!” Duchess Seaspray commanded, and the weapon’s crew did not mistake her intentions. The ballista fired, the ship rocking as it did, and its projectile shot out over the waves. The giant spear sailed over other ships of the ducal fleet before striking its target. It smashed through the pirate ship’s hull at the waterline, and the sea began to pour in. The pirate ship rapidly began to sink as it took on water, listing to one side, and the gryphons abandoned it. A horn sounded from across the waves, and not a Balte-Maeri horn. A third pirate ship made itself known, and many of the gryphons broke away from the fighting across the fleet. For them, the battle had been lost before it’d begun, outnumbered so heavily, but with the loss of two of their ships, the only hope of survival was in escape. Arrows chased after them as they flew toward the last member of their tiny fleet. On a nearby ship, Pinkamena spotted a mare in flowing aquamarine robes step out onto the deck and face toward the last pirate ship. She dropped a book to the deck in front of her and began to chant in the Language of the Horns, her voice ringing out with supernatural power across the waves. The stars above the pirate ship disappeared as storm clouds congealed out of thin air, lightning crackling among them. The sea grew choppy, radiating out from the pirate ship, which barely managed to stay afloat as it was buffeted by waves and wind. As it tried desperately to put distance between itself and the ducal fleet, lighting reached down from the clouds and struck a mast, crippling it. The storm abated as the ship limped away. Her work done, the sorceress picked up her book and teleported over to the duchess’s flagship. “Sétine,” the duchess addressed her as she appeared directly in front of her, “What took you so long, and why is that pirate ship still floating?” “I had to prepare myself, and as for your second question, it was the most logical course of action,” the sorceress replied coolly, “They now know that the bulk of our fleet is not in Balte-Maer, and if left with a capable ship, would surely raid up and down the coast while it was unprotected. If their vessel were sunk, then they would either launch a desperate suicide attack on us or fly to the nearest land—Balte-Maeri land—and disappear into the forests as bandits. Now, with a crippled vessel, they will stay out of our way, and once we’ve passed, will return back the way they came to repair their ship. It is not damaged so much that they will abandon it and become bandits, nor is it capable enough that they would risk raiding. I exerted the exact amount of force required for the situation.” “Yes, I see what you mean,” Seaspray admitted. “What are these two doing here?” Sétine asked dispassionately as she turned to look at Rarity and Pinkamena, “I had been told they were barred from your presence.” “So they had been, but they insisted on coming along anyway,” Seaspray said as she too turned her gaze on the Brave Companions, “Maybe this will convince you to stop trying to talk me into peace. You saw for yourself how bold the pirates of the south are becoming. Have you any idea how difficult it is to police the route from Balte-Maer to Los Pegasus? That work is done by Balte-Maeri ships, so why should Fillidelfiyaa and Manehattan profit off our work? The fees you find so unreasonable are compensation for keeping the southern course free of pirates, to which neither of my enemies contribute a thaler.” “I see now where you’re coming from,” Rarity said. “Do you now?” Seaspray said spitefully, before she realized that Rarity had been sincere, “Hmm, perhaps you do indeed. Maybe it was unwise of me to dismiss your efforts at peace as necessarily opposed to my interests. We may have something to discuss after all.” “We’re still here to convince you to negotiate with Hadish and Alhert,” Pinkamena pointed out. “That is your quest from Celestia, isn’t it?” Seaspray sighed resignedly, “Very well, we can talk about peace, but I assure you that my answer will be just the same as it was back in Balte-Maer. We’ve set sail, the army will soon depart, there’s no turning back now. We are at war already, and I intend to see myself as the victor of this Seventeenth Trade War.”