//------------------------------// // Chapter 6 // Story: The Adventures of Shadow Chaser: The Cutie Mark Crusaders in Marelantis // by RangerBeef //------------------------------// Rainbow Dash never rose from my side the whole night. The next morning the Captain appeared on deck bringing two plates of food with him; he gave me one and set the other in front of Rainbow as he went to retrieve a third for himself. I roused Rainbow but as soon as she smelled the food she was wide awake. She sat up and stretched as she reached for the plate of food and began to eat quietly. The Captain reappeared this time with his own breakfast and we discussed our position and distance to Marelantis. We were no more than another day away; the wind had carried us much faster than we ever intended. “I figure by tomorrow morning we’ll be able to drop anchor and make contact with the Marelantians,” the Captain said, through a full mouth. “How are we going to do that? Make contact, I mean. Do they just see the ship floating and come up to say hi? That doesn’t quite seem like their style.” My skepticism was hard to hide. The Captain simply laughed. “It’s not as easy as all that. Let’s just say I’ve got a few tricks to show you once we stop.” I shook my head. “Look, I’d really like an explanation on this one. We don’t exactly still have proof. Applejack’s word is one thing but…” I was interrupted by a splash on the port side of the ship. The Captain and I rushed to the edge of the ship. “Aqua! Did someone just go overboard!?” the Captain yelled. “No, Captain! That wasn’t a pony. That was a cannon.” “We lost a cannon!?” “Not us, Captain. Them.” She pointed off into the distance and we saw the broad side of a ship. “Son of a…” We all ducked as we heard the whiz of another cannonball fly overheard. “Skip, take the ship. I’ve got the crew. Bring us about!” I moved for the stairs but stopped short. “Rainbow, no heroics. Stay up here with the Captain.” I headed down the stairs knowing she’d never listen to me. As I reached the main deck I saw Applejack open the door to the Captain’s Quarters. “What in tarnation’s goin’ on out here!?” “We’ve got company, AJ. Keep the girls safe in there. We’ll handle this.” She nodded and closed the door. I knew she’d be alright. The Captain was too good to let us get his but I prayed they didn’t get lucky. I headed down below shouting the whole way. “All hands on deck! Ready the cannons! Wake up ponies! We’ve got work to do!” I turned at the bottom of the stairs and rushed for the firing bays. “Shadow! The guns are up, we’re just waiting for a clear shot. But these guns don’t have the range theirs do. We’re going to need to get close.” Gunny called from the back of the bay. I stopped short and gave him a nod. I really had to hand it to him. These ponies knew what to do when it all hit the fan. I turned back toward the sleeping quarters to make sure everyone was up and ran into the one pony I was hoping I would. “Bruno! Get up on deck and into the Captain’s Quarters. Your only job right now is to keep those girls safe.” “You got it, boss.” We turned for the stairs back to the main deck and ducked together as we heard the cannons let loose with their first salvo. The smell of sulfur filled my nostrils and I breathed out hard to avoid sneezing. “Guess we’re in for a real fight.” “You said it. Just focus on keeping the Crusaders safe. This will get ugly.” We both rushed out onto the main deck and Bruno went for the Captain’s Quarters and I saw Applejack nearly slug him. “AJ, get out here, we’re gonna need you! Bruno can protect the girls!” Once again, Applejack didn’t protest and rushed to me. “What’s the plan, Shadow?” I glanced at the ship off our port side and looked back at Applejack. “Blow them out of the water, however we can. Head up to the Captain and he’ll fill you in. Send Rainbow down to me. I’ve got a plan.” Applejack nodded and took off as I helped everyone on deck get ready. “What do you need, boss?” “Don’t call me boss. Meet me in the crow’s nest.” I teleported and immediately Rainbow joined me. “We won’t beat them in a fair fight. They’ve got a little weight on us. So we’re going to play dirty. I want you to fly as close to the ocean as you can and circle their ship; if we can get the caught in a whirlpool that would solve all our problems. If they see you, I want you to come back here. And we’ll think of something else.” Rainbow gave me a salute and did a backflip as I watched her fly overboard and skim the ocean. I heard the cannons fire below me and watched Rainbow move farther out to avoid the cannons as several splashes hit the water in front of her. I watched the enemy ship begin to turn again to take another shot at us and began concentrating, my horn glowing a dull gray. I waited until I heard the booms from their cannons and focused harder trying to grab one of the cannonballs as it flew. I got lucky as one flew past the crow’s nest. I grabbed it and reversed the momentum on it, launching it back at the enemy ship. I looked below me as I heard Aqua shouting orders to others and watched everyone scramble to the edge of the deck. As one, they all untied a bit of cloth that had been rolled up all along the sides of the ship. I knew it had to have rolled down but couldn’t understand why they’d done it. Teleporting to the main deck I stopped Aqua and asked her what they were doing. “My name’s not Aqua Illusion for nothing. That’s camouflage. They’re going to have a hard time seeing us, let alone hitting us.” “What about our cannons?” “Oh there’re holes in it. Might not look perfect but we can still shoot just fine.” I nodded appreciatively. “Genius.” “Thank you. I think you have a visitor.” She pointed above and behind me and I turned to see Rainbow with some slightly singed hair. “Yea, they spotted me,” she said, looking miffed that her hair was burnt. “So now what?” “Well, with this camo up we can get in closer than I ever expected.” I paused to think for a moment before it finally clicked. “Captain! Get us next to them! AJ and I are going to board that ship!” “What!? Why!?” He shouted down without looking as he did his best to navigate. “We’re going to ruin their day!” I smirked at him as he finally looked at me and nodded. Applejack came down to the main deck. “Did y’all just say we’re gonna board that ship?” “Yes I did, Applejack.” “Well, what the heck to ya expect me to do over there?” “What you do best. I want you to pretend their mast is one really big apple tree.” I smiled broadly at her as I watched the wave of realization hit her. “Let’s do it, sugarcube.” “How come she gets to do the dangerous stuff?” Rainbow shouted, fake pouting. “Well, she can kick down a tree. You and I can’t do that.” I gave her a wink as the Captain brought us about lining us up along their side. “Ready, AJ?” “Ah guess.” I stood next to Applejack and felt the all too familiar weightlessness wash over me. When I opened my eyes we were staring back at our own ship with our backs to a giant mast. They hadn’t seemed to notice us arrive, they were scrambling to get ropes to swing to our ship. “They haven’t noticed us, Applejack. Do your thing.” She looked at the mast and back at me. “This is gonna take a few kicks. They’ll notice us before it starts comin’ down.” “That’s why I’m here. Do your thing.” Applejack turned and gave the mast a mighty kick. As soon as she did a few crew members finally took notice of us and looked none too happy. They began to circle us and Applejack kicked again. A few splinters fell from the mast as my horn began glowing again. Applejack kicked again and a black sphere formed over Applejack and I as one of the crew members jumped at us. He hit the wall of the sphere and slid to the deck. Applejack kicked again as another stallion kicked at my shield. “This is it, last one!” “Do it.” Applejack gave one final kick and we heard a loud crack as I closed the bubble around Applejack and I, teleporting us back to our ship. I looked up as we landed and noticed we’d been kicking the wrong side. The mast was going to fall off of their ship but onto ours. “Captain! Get us out of here!” “Already on it.” Applejack, Rainbow Dash and I watched as the mast began to fall almost as if in slow motion. “No time,” Rainbow said from behind me and I watched her zip up to the top of the mast, pushing for all she was worth to keep it from falling on us. As we cleared the other ship another unicorn from the other ship began firing magical shots at Rainbow Dash. I watched with horror as one of them hit home and I watched Rainbow go limp and tumble into the water, the mast crashing in behind her. “No!” I ran to the stern of the ship and my hooves carried me over the railing and into the water. I swam hard as I saw the mast sinking quickly looking for any sign of Rainbow Dash. The sea water burned my eyes and my lungs began to burn but I spotted her at last, sinking slower than the mast but still faster than I could swim. I didn’t care. I pushed myself on. Farther and farther down, chasing her pale blue form as she sank. Finally my mind clicked and I charged my horn once again and teleported to her side, grabbing her tightly and pushing for the surface. I’d pushed my limits too far though, I didn’t have enough air left to make it to the surface, I charged my horn again as my lungs screamed for oxygen. My spell fizzled and darkness clouded my vision. I held Rainbow close as I fell into unconsciousness.