Third Person
In a desolate expanse of ice and snow, a blizzard was currently raging. No sign of civilization was around for hundreds of miles in any direction. An aurora was lighting up the darkening sky over a backdrop of dark mountains in the distance. Icy chasms, death traps for any unsuspecting travelers, crisscrossed the landscape. The wind shrieked across the land, threatening to deafen anyone that dared try and listen. On a slightly raised plateau of ice, a slight increase in the blizzards activity was the only warning given before a feathered being exploded into being amid a pulse of blue and black magic. The snow and ice from the creature sudden appearance was quickly taken by the storm, as though it were never there to begin with. With a groan, the large celestial avian raised itself from the ground.
Night Wing
Ooow. One moment I was in a pirate ship, being consumed by a fiery explosion. The next, my face was pressed against a cold, hard surface, with wind tearing at my feathers. Even the world wants to pluck me bare is seems. I struggled to rise against the wind, trying and barely succeeding to lift myself from the ground. My eyes attempted to open, only be be forced shut by ice and snow being shoved into them. A shield flashed into existence around me, holding the elements at bay for me as I got my bearings. O trying to locate where I was was useless, as all I could see was the faint outline of mountains in the distance, lit by a barely perceptible aurora. Well, this is wonderful. Dropped in the middle of absolutely nowhere. Couldn’t have been a bar on a tropical island huh? Realizing I wasn’t going to get anywhere trying to locate where I was, I opened a portal to where I last remembered the ships being. As the window in reality opened before me, and I could see a deck full of ponies scrambling around in all directions, I ripped the shield and stepped through.
All eyes turned to me as wind and ice shot out across the deck before the portal silently snapped shut. ‘What’s our status?’ I focused my gaze on the nearest pony. A cream colored earth pony carrying wooden boards.
“R-repairing the ship C-captain!” The poor pony looked as though he had seen a ghost. Right, coming back from dying isn’t normal. Cats out of the bag now I guess. For the ones that didn’t know already anyways.
‘How bad are the damages?’ The deck appeared to be cracked in several places, a mast was leaning very dangerously, and I could see several ponies carrying buckets of water from below deck.
“Not as bad as they could be, sir.” The earth pony seemed to be looking everywhere but me. “Most of the debris missed us, and the I other ships had moved far enough away to not be much worse off.”
‘Excellent, continue your work’ The cream pony practically flew across the deck with his load of wood before disappearing blow, presumably to patch holes. A glance out over the water at the other ships confirmed what the earth pony had said. Some minor holes here and their, a torn sail or two, but nothing irreparable.
‘Has anyone seen Silver?’ I asked another pony, this one a Thestral, who seemed more happy to see me.
“Silver arrived back on our ship just after the explosion sir. She found a child Macaw child aboard one of the ships and brought it with her.” The Thestral saluted me and awaited further instructions while I thought over the situation.
‘I see. That can be dealt with later. How many were injured? Did we manage to evacuate most of the ponies?’
“Mostly minor injuries from debris launched in the explosion. A few deaths from the boarding parties. Some of the captured ponies were killed during rescue, but most were retrieved safely.”
‘Good to hear. Carry on with what you were doing, I’m going to speak with the helmspony.’ The Thestral saluted once more, to my annoyance, before running off to continue whatever he had been doing before. As I approached the helm I saw the familiar red and purple coloration of Strawberry Twist manning the helm.
“Captain!” Strawberry saluted me, while keeping one hoof on the wheel.
“Chirp.” My eyes roamed the deck for a moment before I turned back to Strawberry. ‘Strawberry, any word on what the other equestrian ships are going to be doing?’ I glanced out at the ships that were still flying the equestrian flag.
“Yes sir, they plan on heading back to the nearest port. I believe it’s some small north western settlement called Frost Tip.” Strawberry looked down in thought for a moment. “Yeah, that’s it. Do you wish to escort them back Captain?”
‘Do they need an escort back? I don’t believe many pirates are going after Equestria yet, and it isn’t too far of a trip.’ Their ships didn’t seem to be in too bad of a condition. Not great, but easily able to make it to the coast port.
“I don’t believe so, no sir. They are mostly uninjured, and their ships are in well enough working order. Ours could use a few repairs as well though.”
‘Are they necessary?’ I gave him an intense stare.
“Well….” Strawberry looked a bit nervous. “I would strongly recommend them, but, they aren’t Necessary…”
‘Is it repairable by our own ponies?’
“I believe so. I don’t think we have enough supplies for a full repair however.”
‘Then take the supplies you need from the pirate ships. They have no need of them anymore. In fact, restock all the supplies you possibly can from their ships. We will sink them after everything of value is removed.’ With that I turned to make my way down to the main deck. ‘And if you call me sir again, I’ll throw you overboard.’ With that parting message, I made my way down from the helm, and below deck. Walking into the crew area I knocked on Silver’s door, ready to hear about the issue of the pirate child.
“Who is it!?” Silver yelled through the door.
“Caw!”
“Oh, come in Night. You might be able to help me calm down our little guest.” I pushed the door open slowly, not sure what to expect. Silver cuddling with a small green macaw definitely wasn’t it. “She has been crying since… Well, we can talk about that later. I asked Greenhorn to make her something to help her sleep, so he should have that soon.” She rubbed the back of the macaw with her wing as I shut the door behind myself.
‘And how do you want me to help?’ Other than Luna and Sapphire, kids were usually intimidated by me. Silver seemed to see the skepticism in my gaze.
“Well, It was either you or one of the other random ponies on the ship. Most of which are ex-guards. You probably have more experience with kids than half the ponies on this boat.” Silver shrugged a bit. “It might help both of you. You need to do something less stressful sometimes Night. I worry about you.” As she gazed at me sadly I was reminded of our earlier conversation.
‘I’ll try. No promises though.’ A sigh escaped my beak as I got closer to the bed and reached out a wing to touch the quietly crying green macaw chick. She didn’t turn around, but she did flinch when my wingtip first made contact. As a few seconds of rubbing her back, she relaxed into my feathers a bit. Her breathing seemed to slow a bit at the familiar touch of feather, and after a minute or two she slumped over fully into Silvers wings.
“I have the pot-mmmm!” I quickly clamped Greenhorn’s mouth shut before he woke up the sleeping chick.
‘Terrible timing.’ A small bottle of lime green medicine floated by my head in Greenhorn’s golden magic. ‘Good attempt though. Thanks for trying to help Silver.’ Greenhorn nodded silently as I released his muzzle. Silver carefully lay the chick on the bed then made her way to the door with us. We filed out of the room and quietly shut the door before making our way to the galley eating area.
“I used the few herbs I had on that potion…” Greenhorn grumbled as we sat down at a table. “No telling when I’ll be able to get more.”
‘Maybe the pirates will have some stowed away. We’ll be taking their supplies before we leave.’
“Hopefully, though I won’t hold out much hope.” He let out a large breath. “Thank you, Night, for helping my people. Even after how they and I treated you. I will try to be less… Difficult with you in the future. And, if I have the supplies, I will help the crew with medical issues.” It seemed as though it pained him to say that.
‘Despite the issues your people caused me, I wasn’t going to let them be slaughtered.’ A huff left me, dragging Greenhorn’s eyes from the table. ‘And who knows, you may even be useful.’ One of my wings reached out to tap the small bottle sitting beside Greenhorn, making it rock slightly. ‘You make us whatever potions we need, and I won’t charge you rent.’ Greenhorn grumbled at my small smirk and left the table, mumbling all the way out of the galley.
“I hope things calm down a bit after this.” Silver seemed to sink down in her chair a bit, though when she saw me looking she straightened back up. “As nice as it is to not be bored, I would rather not be fighting pirates every day.”
‘We shouldn’t have many issues with pirates. I imagine they will leave everyone alone after we go back and destroy their sea outpost.’
“What?” Silver leaned forward, seeming surprised. “What are you talking about?”
‘Wiping out the pirates.’ A small smile grew on my face as I imagined sinking the pirates iceberg port. ‘They do nothing but pillage and kill, they need to be dealt with as much as possible.’
“Night, we don’t have enough ponies to deal with them all!” She stood up now, leaning over the table. “Even if we managed to destroy their base of operations, we would suffer too many casualties. And they would just run and build a new port somewhere else!”
‘We won’t let them run. They wish to live like pirates, so they can die like them.’ The thoughts of casualties went through my head and I frowned. ‘As for casualties… I can do most of the work. You all can prevent the stragglers from running.’ My wing came up in front of my face, wisps of black magic peeling of it to drift into the air. ‘I’ve never really had a chance to push my magic to my limits before. This little adventure has made it clear that it’s much more powerful than I previously thought.’ I dropped my wing back down. ‘This will be a perfect opportunity to test myself.’
“Night, you’re talking about wiping out a whole town!” She put her front hooves on the table, leaning forward to stare into my eyes. “Not everyone there deserves to die! Yes, pirates do terrible things, but what about the families, or the ones who are just trying to get away from somewhere? Not everyone there is a murderer!”
I looked away as I thought about that for a moment. She was right, not everyone there rode the waves and attacked others. ‘We can spare the families then.’ My eyes met hers again. ‘Only kill the ones that deserve it.’
“And how do we do that Night? Go door to door, asking who is a murderer and who is innocent?” Her front hooves fell off the table. “You know that won’t work.”
‘Then we can-‘ The words stopped forming as I bought for a solution. ‘Maybe-‘ I shook my head, trying to think of a solution. ‘We can-‘ No, that won’t work either. They need to be wiped out, but I just can’t-! “Caw!” I slammed my wing down onto the table, breaking it in half and spreading ice across it. Silver jumped back in surprise, a worried expression on her face.
“Night, what’s wrong!?”
‘I can’t think of a solution to this stupid problem!’ My claws clicked and clattered as I paced back and forth, scattering frozen shards of broken table across the floor.
“Maybe it doesn’t need a solution!” I froze at Silver’s outburst. “Let someone else handle it Night! Their are guards still working for Equestria, they can protect the ships. Let someone else do the killing, please.” She ran forward and wrapped her hooves around my chest. “You don’t have to make the hard decisions, not this time.”
My claws dug into the wood below me, chillin the wood. I knew she was right, but I wanted, needed, to handle this problem. Why do I need to? I longed for combat, despite having just killed a ship of pirates. As I thought back to life back in Equestria I knew I didn’t have this desire back then. Then I thought of Luna and my claws dug deeper into the deck below. Maybe Silver’s right. I don’t think I’m thinking straight.
‘I think you’re right Silver. Once again. Thank you, for helping me keep my head’ I wrapped my wings around Silver, pulling her close. ‘You’re a good friend.’ I felt her stiffen a bit as she read the words on my chest. After a few more moments she pulled away with a sad smile.
“I’ll always be there for you Night. Please, let’s leave this pirate nonsense behind us. We have the whole ocean to explore.” She turned and started walking to the bedrooms. “I’m feeling a bit tired Night. I think I’m going to go lay down.”
I watched as she walked into the hall leading out of the galley, a small frown on my face. ‘Sleep well Silver’ I wrote out to the empty room.
The sun dropped below the waves as our ship rocked in the gentle waves. Standing on the bow of the ship, I watched the water part on the front on the ship. The equestrian ships had departed a while ago, waving and thanking the crew of our ship as we went our own way. They even showed appreciation to the Thestrals, their fear falling away after being freed from pirate cages. Oh Luna, if only you were here to see it. Maybe it would have helped… My eyes slowly lifted up to the rising moon ahead of us. I had been avoiding being out at night, fearful of gazing upon its tainted surface. A tear fell into the ocean, joining with the water below.
“Sir, our course steady. The wind is with us and we should make good time.” Strawberry Twist spoke up behind me, probably saluting.
‘Stop saluting me Strawberry.’ A soft wooden thump sounded out, confirming he had indeed been saluting.
“Are you ok, Cap- uh, Night?” Soft hoofsteps followed him until he was beside me on the deck. I could see him in the corner of my eye, also staring up at the moon. When I didn’t respond, he continued talking. “I can’t pretend we all understand your pain Night. We didn’t lose a sister.” He looked down at the deck. “But we did lose someone we looked up to. Someone we had hoped could bridge the gap between us and the other ponies. We miss her as well.” Yet again, I didn’t respond. A soft sigh left him and he turned to leave. “You should speak with Princess Celestia, Night. We may not be able to understand what you’re going through, but I’m sure she can.”
A wince went through me at that. I had been neglecting Celestia, wallowing in my own misery. I wonder if she is still up… I turned to make my way below deck.
As I shut the door to my room, I reached out and brushed up on the mirror on the wall. Glancing at the empty shelves, I opened a portal beside them and the items I had on them before fell neatly into place. The center of the mirror swirled for a few minutes, and I frowned. Guess she is sleeping. I made to move my wing away, only for a giant white muzzle to suddenly replace the space background of the mirror.
“Night! I’m so glad you called! Sorry it took me so long to answer, I wasn’t sure why the mirror I had made was swirling like that.” Suddenly, she disappeared from view, only to reappear with an eyepatch over one eye. “I got your gift! Though, try to send it to my room next time.” A smirk formed on her face. “The poor noble in the court at the time was very confused when an eyepatch appeared over his horn.” My beak twitched into a smile at Celestia wearing the eyepatch, and the thought of a very confused noble. It was quickly wiped away as the thoughts from earlier came back.
‘I’m glad your doing well Celestia.’ She stopped smiling as she noticed my expression. ‘I apologize for not speaking with you more.’
“Is everything ok Night?” Her eyes furrowed with worry as she took off the eyepatch and settled down in front of her mirror.
‘No, I’ve been thinking about Luna and you. About before.’ I sat down on the wooden boards. It was going to be a long tear filled night…