//------------------------------// // Chapter 24 // Story: Odysseed // by AuroraDawn //------------------------------// Applejack stumbled in place, panting and heaving where she stood. She stomped a hoof hard, grateful to see the bright grass and off-coloured soil beneath her once again. Her mind spun, assaulted by emotions that were not hers; betrayal, heartbreak, terror, agony, all of these coalesced and dripped through her being, running down to her withers like rain down a spout. Above all of them a crippling weight of disappointment pressed on her, a forlorn judgement that made her feel like such a failure that her mind artificially thought of suicide for the slightest of moments. She reared and then kicked, jumping in place and whipping off the feelings, and when she settled again they were gone, leaving her only with a coat damp with sweat and a heart that would not seem to settle. “I could not escape this agonizing pressure within me, to move closer to the Origin, to utilize it for the goals I felt were indisputable. As punishment, my body was ripped from existence. Unfortunately, Akakios did not imagine the spell correctly… or perhaps he did. Regardless, my soul has been fixed on this point, submerged for ten thousand years.  “This temple was sucked into the earth, hidden from access or view. Long after Akakios and my friends passed on, the endless ice began to melt, flooding and destroying almost all of any history that might yet remain of our endeavor, and I suspect our wise one may have been pleased to know that leagues upon leagues of water yet separated the surface from this accursed place.” “But now it’s back and this don’t look much likes a dead planet to me,” Keelhaul said, recovering faster than the rest of the crew from the experience. “Seems like a faulty omnipotent all-rock to me, it does. Have you tried returning it fer warranty?” Plesippus locked empty eyes upon the changeling, who stared him back down with equal intensity. “I know not why the spell failed early. Perhaps Akakios felt ten eons would be long enough for all the world to forget. I do not think he accounted for the Origin’s will of its own, though he was blinded by pain when the motion was made. Regardless, this temple still remains sealed by nine locks, the keys scattered and unknown. The Origin’s own power is used against it, and the locks are as strong as they have always been.” “So we just need to find the keys then, and we can walk in?” “Are you insane, or just absent of brain matter entirely? Did you not see anything I have just shown you? Listened to an ounce of my warning? Of all that I have shown you, that is what you’ve taken away? That this is some sort of joyful little quest, a mid-summer outing for fun? Stars above, creature, you shall not access this temple!” “Well that’s mighty fine and all, and I can appreciate where you’re comin’ from,” Applejack said, stepping between Keelhaul and the ghost. She wasn’t sure either could harm the other, but an idea had popped into her mind and she wanted to make sure the sage didn’t vanish or turn physically antagonizing. “But like I told ya when we got here, I’ve been directed by a higher power to go and obtain the Source. So where’s these islands at then?” Plesippus spat at her, the ethereal glob sailing through her body with a chill and sinking into the ground behind her. “You’ll learn nothing of their locations. For my crime of trespassing into another member’s temple, I was etched from reality! Fools, the lot of you. You’ll be spent sailing around this sea for your entire lives and you’ll never open this door, no matter how badly the Origin wants you to.” Keelhaul opened his mouth to speak, but Half Pint spoke up first. “Hey, Captain, you mentioned something about Temple Steppes the other day, bouts how we was supposed to go past it on the way here?” “Aye, Pint, that be true. But that temple is sealed by—” “An ancient unknown spell, like the one that just failed a few weeks ago.” The light in Plesippus’s eyes widened, and then somehow he managed to squint. “Don’t you dare. I forbid it.” “Come now, Plesi, it’s been ten thousand years. Surely there’s been dozens of cathedrals and dungeons built and sealed within that time. It’s probably nothing to do with you. I mean, of the two you knew, none of them were built on a mountain cleaved into hundreds of massive slabs, right?” The ghost gasped once, and then realized its mistake. A tirade of curses and swears Applejack was fairly certain no longer meant anything issued from him, and he started screaming at Keelhaul as the changeling turned around and started walking away, laughing. “Bless you, Plesi, that’s the best confirmation ye could have given me. Onwards, crew! We have ourselves a new heading.” Applejack glanced at the flustered ghost before cantering to catch up with Keelhaul. “You’re going to go after the keys, then?” “Plan hasn’t changed, lass, just the method of execution. I suspect ye’ll be joining us then?” “I meant what I said. I ain’t going home till that darned thing is in my hooves.” “Our hooves.” “Whatever.” Keelhaul laughed and then slapped Applejack on the back, earning an “oof!” from her. “Yer strong and stubborn. Ye’ll make a great pirate.” She stopped suddenly, and yanked Keelhaul back by the tailfin when he continued on. At his curse, she jabbed a hoof into his pointed nose. “Now listen here, Keelhaul. So far you’ve treated me fine and I can’t deny it. But I’m not here to become just some nother employee on your ship, ordered around doing your dirty work. You’re about as trustworthy to me as about as far as I could throw you, and you’re pretty hefty set so that ain’t that far. We work together on this, you understand? Cause regardless of what happens, end of the day, that Source comes home to Equestria with me. Understood?” The purple eyes squinted further and further as Applejack spoke, and a forked tongue issued out with a light hiss when she finished.  “Ye be making firm demands for a pony what’s got no transportation save for me ship and no protection save for what I grant ye. What possible ground do ye have to be making such statements to me?” “Cause I can’t throw you far, but I could buck you hard enough you’d have to change into a creature that’s got a spare head, and if you give me any reason to think I’ve been used and you’re a’sconding with the Source, unlimited power or not, I will squish you in an instant.” “Ah! Bug jokes. Brilliant, lass,” Keelhaul said, continuing towards the dinghies. “You negotiate like a pirate too. Allow me a counter offer, wouldje?” “Hmmph.” “Ye put a ‘Captain’ in front of me name when addressing me, and I let ye snark off and insult me as much as ye want without fear of retribution. The other option is I have Loose Cannon strip yer cutie mark from yer rump with the lash once we get back aboard the ship.” She considered this. “Y’know, Captain Keelhaul, back in Ponyville it’s considered obscene to spank a mare you hardly know.” “There’s a good lass,” he said, grunting as he hopped up into the air and hovered into his seat. “So, Captain,” Bilge Rat rumbled after they had pushed off from the beach and were making way towards the Infiltrator, “no magical artifact to earn us our retirement yet then?” “Neigh, Bilge. Not yet. We’ve got plenty a’food and supplies from our last job, though, so I hope ye don’t mind it taking a touch longer than before.” “How long do you think this’ll take?” “Well, with nine temples, and only one of them known, I can’t be saying.” He grimaced. “I mean, it wants to be found, though.” The heads in the two boats locked onto Applejack. “Whatcha mean?” “It wants to be found. Maybe that Akakios feller made a mistake with his spell and didn’t set the timer or whatever long enough. From what little I saw of him it don’t strike me like the kind of mistake he’d make, anger or not. Tell me, have any of you felt some weird pressure, some urge to go find this thing?” “Aye, lass, that’s why I replaced your original captain and made off with the ‘map’. I knew this would be the big one, felt it in me thorax I did.” “And the rest of you?” They nodded, muttering.  “Captain Keelhaul sometimes has ridiculous ideas and we shoot him down on them,” Loose Cannon said. “But with this one we all agreed instantly.” “And do you feel that push right now? Any of you?” “I do,” Half Pint offered. A second later, a rude squeak issued from his boat, and Bilge Rat smacked him upside the head. “Nevermind,” he said, laughing while rubbing his temple. Applejack rolled her eyes and continued. “Point is I think we’re all on some right track that it wants for us. It knows it's locked in prison and wants out. Maybe it’s bored, I dunno. It’s got some influence on the world, clearly. My guess is it wore away the sealing spell and now it’s trying to convince anypony it can to work towards freeing it. So, sure, we’ll have to sail to nine places, but we’ll probably learn where those are. If anything we can use that urge like a compass.” “Explain yerself.” “Well, if we all feel kinda sicklike on the inside when we’re going the wrong way, then we just need to travel in whatever direction we… don’t.” “It’s a good a plan as any,” Keelhaul said. “Till the rest of us combine some brain cells and think of anything smarter. In the meantime, we know we need to head to Temple Island. It’s almost a straight sailing east, and it seems to me the wind has changed from due west to South-southwest. It’ll take some beating but if the change keeps up we’ll be sailing on a reach. Say… Four days to the island, conditions favourable?” “Three, Captain,” Half Pint said. “We’ll need t’ turn northward once we’re out of the ice. We’ll be at a reach as soon as we’re out, and downwind if it changes more.” “Ah, there we go. And then we’ll test yer theory, lass. Let’s hope it’s right.” “Let’s hope, Captain.”