//------------------------------// // Decisions // Story: The Open Sea // by NahB //------------------------------// Cheerilee entered the clearing at a run, stopping only when she saw the fallen beast. That such a thing existed… it seemed to defy what she knew of the world. Though, admittedly, having one’s world destroyed by a flood that couldn’t possibly happen shook what one knew. She looked around the clearing, and found a small group of ponies. In the middle sat Twilight Sparkle, tears streaming out of her eyes, looking dejected. Beside her stood Fluttershy with a hoof around her. Applejack stood in front of the unicorn, speaking in low tones. The Cult unicorn, Horn, stood off to the side, staring into the forest. Cheerilee and her small group approached the other. Twilight looked up at them, causing her companions to look up and at them as well. Cheerilee waved, and trotted to them, worried. “What happened?” She asked as soon as she was close enough. Twilight opened her mouth to speak – and only another sob came out. Applejack spoke for her friend. “We were explorin’ the area and we came upon this here rock.” At this, she pointed at the huge boulder with the entrance. “We decided that we’d move on instead of explorin’ it too, since it looked a mite dangerous.” Applejack glanced at Twilight. “Then that… thing appeared. Looks like a Pony, but it ain’t. Some sort o’ guardian, Twilight thinks. Anyway, it had that huge hammer there, and it was lookin’ like it was there to fight us. We started to fight, but it was too much. Almost killed Twilight at one point, if it weren’t for Horn there. At that point, Twi did her thing and managed to trap the thing under its own hammer.” Applejack looked at Cheerilee again, a sad look on her face. “It just kept fightin’. It wouldn’t stop. So Twi decided… decided that she had to kill it. Ah think she wanted it to fall only on her own shoulders, the way she’s breakin’ up. So she did it, so it wouldn’t harm anypony. It’s hurtin’ her on the inside, havin’ to kill that thing.” Cheerilee used a moment to take it all in. She trotted to her captain, who watched her approach. “Captain. I know how it must feel for you. I had to kill a Timber Wolf almost twenty years ago in order to protect a filly who should have never been in Everfree. I know how it is, and I’m glad you’re having this reaction. It’s this reason that I accept you as my Captain. Thank you, Twilight Sparkle, for doing this to protect us.” Without giving Twilight time to respond, she trotted back to the beast’s corpse and began to examine it. Twilight watched the pink pony go to the corpse to study it. She didn’t know that Cheerilee had also had to kill something in her lifetime. She realized that yes, though killing was horrible, sometimes it had to be done. Not often, but sometimes. She gave a grim, ironic smile, and wiped her tears. She turned around and hugged Fluttershy. “Thanks, Fluttershy.” “Don’t mention it, Twilight. I hate to see anypony cry.” Twilight smiled, her tears drying up. She stood and walked to the beast. As she arrived next to Cheerilee, the earth pony turned to her. “Thanks, Cheers,” she said, putting a hoof on her shoulder. “You’re welcome, Captain. Sometimes a pony just needs perspective.” At this point, Rainbow Dash flew out of the foliage, a fighting look on her face. “Who’s here? Where’s – what the hay is that thing?” Her entourage popped out of the woods behind her, similarly surprised. “That thing,” Twilight said, “Is the beast that tore my map and nearly killed all of us. All in defense of I don’t know what.” Rainbow was going to comment, but noticed Twilight’s mussed-up face. “You okay, Twi?” she asked in a subdued voice, and landed next to the unicorn. Twilight took a large breath, and stared at the beast. “No. But I will be. Just gotta keep on, right now.” She trotted forward, leaving Rainbow to watch her, silent. “Cheers, you find anything out?” The mare looked back at Twilight, and down again. “It’s a pony. Carnivorous, but a Pony nonetheless. I don’t know whether it was fouled by some spell or born this way, but either way it is dead now. Thank goodness. Something like this could only do others harm, Captain. But now you have a decision to make.” Twilight realized that the earth pony was right. Her own rule – during exploration, if they came across something exceedingly dangerous, they would abandon the mission immediately and hope for the best with the client. Or simply keep pushing on in the face of danger. Explore. Get the job done. It was a choice between safety and reputation… and often, on the high seas, a good reputation WAS safety. But, Twilight thought, this was here and now. Exploring Torres Island might be the worst possible thing for them to do right now. She decided. “Okay everypony.” All the ponies looked at her, paying close attention. “We’re leaving. This Island obviously holds something incredibly dangerous, and it’s not our place to deal with that. We can leave that to my brother’s forces.” Though nopony noticed, Horn’s eyes widened at that statement. She turned to face Horn, who had hidden her expression by then. “I apologize if it seems like we’re backing out of an agreement. You can leave us if you like. But I’m not exposing my crew to whatever this Island wants to keep hidden.” Horn shook her head. “No. I saw that thing. I agree with you wholeheartedly – this is no place for freelancers. We will accompany you to Crest, and begin your employ after.” Twilight nodded without expression, though was inwardly cheering that they still had a job lined up. “Let’s go, everypony.” The trek through the forest was uneventful, thankfully. They left the beast to rot in front of the boulder, never to rise again, its hammer buried in the thing’s skull. Their arrival on Crest was uneventful, but it made Twilight nervous. She had to go confront Zecora with the fact that they had left the job mostly undone, and give the zebra what they had with what could possibly be no pay. She decided to just take Rarity this time, and leave everypony else on the ship, since they’d be leaving soon anyway. The two of them wove through the crowds. Since they were there later in the day, the workers were off now, and travelling around the bustling town. Twilight found the tavern she had initially met the zebra in, the Sea Tap. Upon entering, they found it filled to the brim. A quick check revealed that Zecora was not present. Twilight trotted over to the barkeep, Rarity behind her. “Excuse me sir, but would you happen to know where I could find Zecora?” He looked at her with mild interest. “Zecora?” he asked. “A zebra. She was in here last week.” “Ah, her. I think she’s staying in the Luxury Bale. Fancy hotel at the far side of town. Dunno if you’ll find ‘er there, though. I hear she does a lot of wanderin’ around. “Thank you, sir,” Twilight said, putting a bit on the counter. The barkeep swept it up with practiced ease, and gave the mare a wink. The two unicorns left the building. “The Luxury Bale, he said? Sounds magnificent. I haven’t slept in a proper bed in… when did we last stop at Windfall, dear?” Rarity asked. Twilight smiled as they began walking. “Nearly seven months ago.” Rarity’s eyes widened, and she gave a mock gasp. “No wonder my back hurts! My poor, cultured self must be in bed-withdrawal! Those cots we have on the Mare cannot be considered proper beds!” Twilight laughed, and after a moment of fake pouting, Rarity laughed too. “You know Rarity, couple years ago, you wouldn’t have been joking.” “I know, Twilight. It’s just… it took me such a long time to get used to the roving life. I so wanted to, but just couldn’t!” The two mares wound through the marketplace and entered a residential area. “But then I just realized that I was being silly. I could never settle in Canterlot, knowing you lot were running out here. My place is with all of you. I think maybe I learned to laugh at myself, then.” Twilight laughed at that, too. “Glad to hear it. I don’t want a snob as my First Mate.” Rarity smiled and tossed her mane. “Yes, well, that doesn’t mean I can’t still keep up appearances. And I’m glad to hear you laughing too, Twilight. That beast really bothered you, didn’t it? It sounded dreadful, but I truly admire you for what you did.” Twilight smiled, a genuine smile, and glanced at the white unicorn. “Thank you, Rarity. Oh, we’re here.” Twilight looked up and stopped. A fancy-looking building stared back at them, “The Luxury Bale” painted near the top and by the door. Twilight tossed her mane and entered the building. Followed by Rarity, she was greeted by a large lobby filled with high-society types. Rarity tapped her shoulder and pointed to the reception desk. There stood Zecora, chatting with the receptionist. They approached the zebra, who turned at their approach. “I see my friends from Ponyville, whom I have employed for their skill. What news do you bring, and what is of import to the King?” Zecora motioned for them to follow. “We have some bad news, Zecora,” Twilight said to the zebra. Zecora waited to reply until they entered her room, a bare-looking place. “What is this bad news? I hope it will not give me the blues.” “I don’t know, but here it is.” Twilight relayed all that had happened on Torres, excluding the Cult, and handed her the map of the little bit they had seen. Zecora mulled it over. “I do understand your plight. Unfortunately, some others may not have my sight.” Zecora grabbed a bag of bits from a drawer and poured it out. She separated half of them out, and scooped the other half into the bag. She handed this to Twilight. “Here is your share. I am glad you decided to have a care. Of the job and your safety, the latter is of more import. At any other thought, I give a loud snort.” “I understand, Zecora. I’d stay longer, but I have another job we need to start.” “Good luck, dear mare – please, keep your travels to waters fair.” Twilight smiled and nodded. “I’ll do my best. Tell my brother I said hi.” “This I will relay, though there may be a slight delay.” Twilight and Rarity left the room. Rarity smiled and giggled a bit as they left the hotel. “I simply adore her rhymes. They can be hard to keep up with, but they’re so fun!” Twilight smiled. “I’m just glad she’s doing okay. I like to see everypony doing okay. If it were just one pony, that Flood would have destroyed everything we held dear. But because we have each other, we’re more than that.” Rarity nodded. “We persevere. We made our own lives. And now we carve our own path.” Twilight jingled the bag of bits. “Yes we do, Rarity. This we will continue to do.” The mares continued back to the docks, spirits high, ready to investigate the Cult’s mystery when they returned home. Home to the Free Mare.