“Doctor!” I called.
“Hmm? What is it Shadow?”
“The scan came up with something. There’s… something wrong with this pony.”
The doctor sent off the last pony he scanned, then cacme over to my side to look at my patient. One of the earth pony stallions that had often served the ship had developed a cough. It wasn’t unusual for ponies to cough like he does, especially with how cold it’s gotten in the last few weeks, but his was a little different than the norm.
There was a rough storm that came out of nowhere last week, and many of the crew and slaves were drenched for several hours while they fought to keep the sails down. A few came down with colds, but we didn’t think there was anything serious to be worried about. However, we didn’t check the slaves after the storm…
“This does not look good. Take him to the sick bay, we’ll have to get a closer look there. I’ll run the last of the scans. Go ahead and start by boiling some water. This shouldn’t take me long.”
“Sir.”
With haste, we made our way to the sick bay and as we passed the captain, I let him know what was going on. We’d only had instances of overwork and one instance of magic strain since we started the voyage, and the captain has said that was something of a miracle. Somepony always gets sick in the first week, and it’s always something deadly. Based on the doctor’s words… I don’t have high hopes.
“So… what do they call you?” I asked after I’d gotten the water boiled and the stallion was laid down.
He eyed me. “Is ‘at an order, sir?”
I had to pause for a moment. An order? Why would… oh. I’m so used to having Sunny and Moonlight around that I… “Ah, no. You don’t have to tell me anything if you don’t want to.”
The stallion rolled his head back on the pillow and stared at the ceiling. “They call me Blackwood. Count calls me #36.”
“I see… how long have you… been in service?” This stallion was no newly grown colt, that’s for certain. If I had to guess, he was probably older than the doctor.
He chuckled. “Is ‘at what they call it now? Ha!” His laughter fell into a coughing fit, and I quickly helped him to sit up. “What makes ya curious, sir? I’m just another one of ‘is slaves.”
Every day I grow more comfortable with that word is another day I feel like I’ve lost something. I gritted my teeth. “Nopony is ‘just a slave,’ Blackwood.”
The stallion backed away. “Is… is ‘at right?”
I shook my head. My eyes must’ve been doing that thing again. I need to be more conscious of that in the future. Even if he’s just as evil as the rest of them, there’s truth in the doctor’s words. “At least, that’s what the goddess says.”
He chuckled again. “The goddess, ey? ‘Aven’t ‘eard bout her in a while. My parents and I were caught in the south seas back when I was ‘alf your age. Pirates can live a good life, so long as they don’t get caught, ey?”
Another coughing fit, I took the towel out of the water bucket, wrung it out, and put it on his back. The cough receded and it looked like Blackwood had relaxed. “How long have you been coughing like that?”
He snorted. “Most of my life, sir. Born on a boat, traded on a boat, put to work on a boat. It’s my talent, so they use me where they can. Known the Cap’n longer than the Count. This ‘appens when it’s cold like ‘at out there. Just surprised it ‘asn’t ‘appened sooner, really.”
Talent, huh? Must be nice to have one of those. “Oh… so you’ve been sick like this before?”
He coughed, nodded, and coughed again. “Few times. Seen it kill a few of us before. Even unicorns. The sea bears no prejudice, she’ll kill ya when she feels like it.”
“I see…” We held silent for a while, and I wondered if I should ask. If he takes it the wrong way, Sunny or Moonlight could get caught up in it and killed. And I’m one of the unicorns. If I were him… I would make sure every horn was broken… But, what does it gain me if I don’t ask? If I make it to the new world, and it turns out to be just as corrupt as the old world, I’ll need ponies…
“Shadow, I found another. Get more water ready and prep the table. I still have a few ponies to check, so keep it hot.” The doctor called from further in the ship.
“Yes sir!” I made my way to the stand and poured more of our clean water into the kettle. Using my magic, I created a flame just under it and held it there. Though I’ve improved greatly over the last two months, I still have trouble maintaining spells. Curses seem to be more my forte as far as the doctor is concerned, but when I do use spells, I can use them in powerful bursts. I nearly melted the last kettle because of it.
“You don’t seem… like them. What are ya, if ya don’t mind me askin’ sir?”
The kettle sang, and I took a breath as my magic faded out. It isn’t complex or powerful, but it always takes it out of me. I prepared another bucket and asked, “What do you mean?”
Blackwood looked me up and down. “Ya ain’t got the build. I’ve seen pure unicorns before. There’s a bunch of ‘em in the crew. Where’d ya come from, sir?”
Should I tell him? I suppose I could curse him to keep him quiet if I really wanted to. But… I shouldn’t. Would he tell anypony else? “Well… that depends. How loose are your lips?”
Slowly, he nodded. “Only speak when spoken to, sir. Though, ya got me talkin’ more than anypony else ever ‘as.”
Setting the kettle back on the heat stand, I went to peek out the curtain. It didn’t look like anypony else was near the sickbay, and there were only slaves in the galley at all right now. I pulled it back and met the old stallion’s eyes. A dark green coat, a dusky gold mane, a few highlights here and there. Blue eyes.
“My mother was an earth pony. I have… or had, anyways, many siblings. I was the only unicorn among them. My father needed an heir, and his wife couldn’t bear foals. He did have a number of slaves though, and there were rumors of unicorns using them to produce more suitable inheritors than pure breeds could.
“Even so, I… I couldn’t use magic. They tried and tried to teach it to me when I was a colt, but it just never stuck. I was useless. And after another few siblings were born, he finally found a mare that gave him a son who could use magic. I was given back to my mother and put to work with her. ‘A magicless unicorn is no more useful than a slave,’ I remember him saying to me.”
Blackwood grimaced. “… ‘at’s rough, sir,” he said solemnly.
I nodded. “It was, but… even so, life was better with mother than it was with him. She was one of the few of us that could read, so she would often read the goddess tome to me at night. A day came when there was an opportunity for me to escape, and my mother had me take it. She told me to run to the new world. A place of freedom and green land. Somewhere where… even a slave could be free. It took two years of working odd jobs and sleeping in streets and begging for coins, but eventually, I made enough to join this voyage. It seems as if mother wasn’t quite right though…”
Blackwood sighed. “Aye, that’s the truth of it, ain’t it? But, she wasn’t quite lyin’ bout the green part, ey?”
I blinked. “She wasn’t?”
He nodded. “Aye. It doesn’t ’appen fer long, but there are a few weeks in the summer where the ice melts, the snow stops, and even the sky clears. Grass grows wide and tall. Flowers and trees grow leaves and petals. Ponies can grow food above ground, even if its just fer a little. I’ve only seen it once, but I ‘ave seen it.”
So it’s real? The green? The blue skies? It… wasn’t a lie?
“Shadow! Is everything ready?” the doctor called.
“Yes sir!” He was on his way back with two more ponies behind him. He would snap at me if he caught me talking to Blackwood, so quickly and quietly, I said, “Thank you.”
January 13th, The Year of Our Goddess, 608.
Blackwood didn’t last through the week. I couldn’t save him. My magic isn’t geared toward healing. Even what little I could manage was a surprise to the doctor. The other two sick ponies managed to pull through it, but Blackwood was old. The viscount said, ‘36 was a product bought used with little shelf life left anyways. It wasn’t much of a loss.’
I almost want to let him live, just so I can put him through it. See how he likes it, being a slave. Just like my father, I’ll snap his horn off and call him an earth pony. Give him nice and tight shackles, make him wear a chain like the rest of them. How delightful… Of course, even in my quiet ramblings one night, Sunny was more awake than I thought she was and told me how wrong that was. Nopony should be enslaved. Even the slavers.
The goddess says we should treat others as we want to be treated. That we should love one another. How is it that the world has become so twisted? Does the goddess not predate all this? No, that’s a bad line of thought. The doctor says that the tome was written in a time long before the one we know. It predates civilization, far before our calendar was ever started. A book that survived through every age without so much as losing a page. It has no magic of its own, but that’s something of magic itself, isn’t it?
But even if that’s true, how is that fair? Isn’t the goddess also justice? Is it not just to punish evil doers? Is there any evil greater than slavery? I suppose what the viscount did to Sunny is more evil than keeping her in chains. I was ready to kill him before, I just about did it then. I think… it is going to feel very, very good when we finally see land.
I’ve nearly mastered teleportation. I can warp between any deck I so desire without so much as losing a breath. The doctor was astounded. There isn’t a single other unicorn here that knows how to do it, and that is a good thing. All the doctor knew was the theory behind it. He, like me, isn’t very good at what he calls ‘classical magic,’ but I am more powerful than he is. We both excel at curses, and I have a number of those in play already. All, of course, in combination with the Shadow spell so nopony can find them.
Yes… when we make land, it will be a very good day.