//------------------------------// // Yes, Rainbow Dash! // Story: Rainbow Dash Around the World // by MagicS //------------------------------// The Bosche fleet was in a different formation leaving the island than the one it had been in on their way towards it. Admiral Bin’Tavy’s Junk #1 was at the head of the fleet. That was the same as always. But just a few ships behind him most of the rest of the fleet was in a large group with the Junks that had the enslaved lizards imprisoned on them in the middle of the formation and the ones that didn’t forming a circle around them while a couple more trailed behind. They were close to being a large circle made to protect their precious bounty in the core. After all, the Admiral was taking extra special care to make sure this wasn’t a wasted trip. It had taken some time for them to finish up and leave the actual island behind. There were many, many, new slaves after all. They had only just recently all left that ancient city and the Lost Isle of the Lizard People was still visible and no more than a five minute trip away. They were still largely in the area of water where the fog and whirlpools used to be. Bin’Tavy himself was enjoying the pleasant weather on the command deck of his Junk, a treat of relaxation after a successful mission. Admiral Tuon was with him, though he was staring out at the main deck—and the large griffon lounging on it as if he owned the ship. Godfrey had “commandeered” one of the many servants aboard the ship and was now having tea brought straight to him whenever he asked for some. It was a sight that made quite a few of the soldiers and other officers uncomfortable, but no one was going to do anything without Bin’Tavy’s word first. So Admiral Tuon cleared his throat and leaned over to his superior. “Sir? Are we really just letting that griffon do this?” Bin’Tavy sighed, annoyed to have been dragged out of his relaxing, and glanced over at Tuon with a small, self-assured, smirk. “The pirate has proven himself to be quite the crafty one, as much as I’d like to string him up he’d make quite the commotion for us now. It’s unfortunate he caught onto what I planned to do but so be it. He may look utterly defenseless right now but a rouge like that always has his guard up. And if he’s willing to be useful for us next time we raid that island then there’s no reason to throw away a good tool.” “If you say so, sir,” Tuon nodded. “I say so,” Bin’Tavy shrugged. “Besides, that gift of a Princess he gave us certainly sweetens the deal too.” And speaking of Princess Fairscale... Down several decks, she resided in her own personal holding cell. Because this was Admiral Bin’Tavy’s personal ship it wasn’t outfitted to carry as many slaves as most of the others in the fleet. But it was still a Bosche Junk and thus naturally had space for holding cells and slaves quarters. There was only a dim light for Princess Fairscale to see with and she huddled up in the corner with her knees pressed to her chest. And tears trailing down her face. The steady rocking back and forth of the ship was an unfamiliar sensation and it almost made her sick, but she was already too wound up with her thoughts of slavery, the Necklace, and what was happening to the others. “How could this happen?” She sobbed. The one responsible for her predicament stared up at the sky in boredom as he waited for that servant to get back with more tea. He didn’t like tea but they didn’t have wine, rum, or anything tastier. It at least felt good to deprive one of the annoying officers on this ship of the tea they loved so much though. Especially since he was certain the multiple teapots he was downing were full of the richest and most expensive teas one could find in Bosche. Godfrey grinned as he tapped a talon on the Junk’s deck. “I wonder... is she actually going to try? In a way I’d be disappointed if she didn’t but... oh I’d be angry too if she didn’t fear me enough to try. I really threatened her not to come, she oughta know how serious I am. I’m tired of you always bouncing back and surviving, Rainbow Dash.” And yet he still expected that pegasus to suddenly come in trying to save the day, as foolish as that would be. Meanwhile, at the back of the Bosche fleet, the few Junks that had been left as the rearguard were busy watching over the ships in front of them and checking to make sure they weren’t being tailed. That was why a soldier on the very last Junk, stationed at the stern of the vessel, shouted to get the attention of his captain. “Captain Bennifer! I see something strange!” The soldier yelled. The captain and his first officer turned around, walking to the soldier with unconcerned faces. The raid had gone so swimmingly they couldn’t find it in them to worry. “And what is it, soldier?” Captain Bennifer asked. The soldier pointed at a bank of fog that had seemingly come from nowhere. It was rolling across the waters to the port side of the Bosche fleet. "It just started up recently, I thought I should inform you,” the soldier said. “Hm, most curious,” Bennifer rubbed his chin. “But it’s just fog, the entire island was shrouded in it earlier, perhaps it’s just coming back? As long as the whirlpools aren’t with it there’s nothing to worry about.” He checked the wind and briefly glanced ahead to see how far the fleet had gone. “We’ll be to open water soon, thank you for notifying me about the fog but don’t worry about it unless you see something else.” “Yes sir,” the soldier nodded. And with that, the crew of the last Junk in line went back to their normal procedure. Within that fog, dozens of small boats floated along the water. Full of dozens of lizards in turn. They had cannons, cannonballs, powder kegs, spare potions, totems, tools and weapons for boarding and breaking the captives free, and determination in their hearts. It was the biggest and most important thing they had ever done in their lives. Sure it was dangerous, sure a lot of them were shaking in fear, but that wasn’t going to mean they would stop and turn around. Due to the special magic that created the fog in the first place, it was much easier to see out of than see into. The Junks were plainly visible as if just looking through a tinted screen. So far so good, the sneak attack was proceeding as planned. At the front of the fog bank, a boat drifted with Rainbow Dash, Senax, Daylight Gleam, Breakwater, Gilbert and Smooth Tongue in it along with their own supplies. “It’s actually working,” Breakwater said as he watched the Junks. “I’m honestly just as surprised as you are,” Daylight said. “No one is more surprised than me,” Smooth Tongue said. “Well the important thing is that we’re here and we’re ready,” Rainbow Dash punched her hooves together. She stood up and looked over all the boats trailing behind theirs before whistling loudly to grab everyone’s attention. “Yo! I didn’t have the time to really get to know any of you personally—but my name is Rainbow Dash and I’m here to tell you that we’re about to get your Princess back and kick these losers out of here! Don’t be afraid, trust us, trust Senax, just as much as your Princess and matriarch did!” Daylight whispered up to her: “Shouldn’t they be a little afraid.” Rainbow shook her head. “Better they be confident, being afraid right now is just going to make things worse. They gotta trust us all the way.” “I think they love their Princess and Senax enough where they’ll be willing to do anything right now, no matter how afraid they might be,” Gilbert said. “I don’t want them to throw their lives away for me,” Senax said, calmly sitting with her eyes closed in the middle of the boat. “We should be doing this together as friends just to save all the lizards who need to be saved.” She opened her eyes. “I’m trying to stay calm right now but I also think I’m about to collapse into a ball.” “Easy there,” Rainbow Dash rubbed her back. “You’re doing great.” Daylight took a deep breath and looked out at the Bosche fleet, frowning. “Is it about time for us to get out there?” “Everyone else knows what to do. We’re just waiting for your signal,” Smooth Tongue said. “Then as hesitant as I am to be doing this I think we should probably go,” Daylight said to Rainbow Dash. “It’s your plan,” Rainbow raised an eyebrow at her. “Yes. I know,” Daylight sighed. “We’ll take care of everything else. The four of you... good luck,” Breakwater said, placing a hoof on Senax’s shoulder for solidarity. “Are you sure your camouflage spell is going to work perfectly? I want you all to be safe,” Senax said. “Don’t worry, this sort of thing is far easier than placing a bubble around the Heart of Azure while it goes across the waves. In fair weather like this, with an empty sky, I’ll be able to keep us completely invisible. There’s nothing that will screw up my camouflage spell, I’ve been perfecting it for ages now,” Daylight said. “And I have my utmost faith in your skills,” Gilbert grinned and clapped her on the back. Rainbow Dash glanced at Smooth Tongue. “You ready too? You’ve got just as big a part to play as any of us.” “Y-Yes,” Smooth Tongue nodded. “I promise I will come through for you.” Rainbow smiled at him before turning her head to Daylight. “Then fire up that horn and let’s get out there.” Only the briefest of goodbyes and good lucks were given between the friends before Daylight climbed onto Rainbow Dash’s back and Smooth Tongue onto Gilbert’s. The lizard grabbed one of his people’s totems while Rainbow Dash and Gilbert both grabbed a powder keg to carry. After a brief moment for Daylight Gleam to focus, her horn lit up and a bubble of powder blue magic expanded out from it, surrounding the space around the four of them before seemingly vanishing. Daylight nodded. “It’s ready, all I need to do is keep concentrating, but you can fly us out of the fog now and we can begin our search.” “Okay,” Rainbow said. She looked to Gilbert and he nodded back at her, the two of them then rising in unison—keeping close and level with each other—and slowly came out of the fog. To them it looked completely normal, there was no blue glow or anything that hampered their vision. They were just there, off the port side of the fleet. But the invisibility had to be working or otherwise they’d be hearing a bunch of shouts and probably be on the receiving end of some ballistas already. They were practically in their own little world up here, getting to spy on the fleet without fear. “Alright,” Rainbow Dash grinned. “Looks like it’s working.” “Of course, this is the one area I always have confidence in my magic,” Daylight smiled. “I’ll activate my totem as we fly close to the ships...” Smooth Tongue said. Sitting atop Gilbert’s back, he grasped the totem in his hands and put just a tiny amount of magic in it. A faint green glow came from the crystal to signify it was ready.” Daylight wrapped her hooves securely around Rainbow Dash. “Take us in, Rainbow. And remember to not shout, they can still hear us perfectly fine outside the bubble of camouflage.” They first flew to the edge of the middle ships since they were certain Princess Fairscale wouldn’t be held on one of the ships at the end. Smooth Tongue held his totem out and scanned every ship he could, seeing if they held any lizards on them. All the while, none of the soldiers or officers below reacted in any way. “I can feel the signatures of hundreds of lizards here. I believe the savages are being kept on all these ships in the middle of their fleet,” Smooth Tongue said. “Well that answers one question but we need to find a ship with only one signature,” Rainbow said. “I’m going to take us to the front of the fleet.” They slowly and carefully moved from the middle, much larger, part of the slaving fleet to its front. There the ships were in single file, just a few leading out from the middle to its very point. “I don’t feel anything from these ships... yet,” Smooth Tongue said. “We’ll keep going, I’m keeping an eye out for Godfrey too,” Rainbow said. It didn’t take much longer at all for them to find what they were looking for. The very first Junk, leading the entire slaving fleet, had a very conspicuous griffon lying on its deck as if he didn’t have a care in the world. In fact, from what Rainbow Dash could see, he seemed to be drinking something. In addition to Godfrey, one of the Bosche ponies on the higher deck with the wheel and helmspony was dressed in an incredibly gaudy outfit. He had to be the leader, Rainbow had never seen any Boschese as well and overly-dressed as him. The final assurance came in when Smooth Tongue used his glowing totem on the lead Junk and told them he sensed one—just one—lizard onboard it. “It’s her, it has to be her,” Smooth Tongue said. “Yeah, definitely,” Rainbow Dash nodded. "So what now? We can’t drop the powder kegs on that ship then,” Gilbert said. “No—I’m going to drop one on the ship right behind it,” Rainbow said and raised an eyebrow at Smooth Tongue. “You’re sure there aren’t any lizards on that one?” “I’m positive,” Smooth Tongue replied. “You said just one?” Gilbert asked. “What about the powder keg I’m holding onto?” “I want you to save that for later—after we rescue the Princess. I have a feeling it’ll come in handy,” Rainbow said. “You know we could potentially drop one right on Godfrey’s head...” Daylight suggested. Rainbow Dash shook her head. “We couldn’t get close enough to make that work. He’d hear it, or sense it, as long as he wasn’t distracted by something else. Just let me deal with him once we’ve torched the other ship. That’ll send the Bosche soldiers onboard the front one into a panic too, they’ll be busy trying to help their friends and deal with the attack that the rest of the lizards are about to carry out. You three are gonna search the Junk for Princess Fairscale while I hold off Godfrey and get that Necklace back.” “We’ll find her,” Gilbert nodded. “Alright,” Rainbow said as they now flew over the second Junk in line. Her hooves tensed against the powder keg she was holding. “Get ready to light this thing, Daylight. I’m gonna drop it right on the middle of the ship, right at the base of the mast.” “Just tell me when,” Daylight said. Rainbow Dash coolly looked down at the ship, her eyes gazing hard. She made no other movements or signal to her friend. Daylight frowned. “Rainbow Dash? Are you ready?” “I’m just… waiting for there to not be any ponies standing right there,” Rainbow replied. She gulped and thought to herself: I’m really not going to be able to lecture anybody on what’s good or bad after today, am I? After another moment where she took a deep breath and made sure her aim would be true—she had Daylight light the powder keg’s fuse. To anybody looking up, they would’ve seen what looked like a powder keg come out of literally nowhere. However none of the Boschese were really focused on looking up like that. It was only a few at the very last moments that heard the fizzling sound of the lit fuse before something heavy struck against the wooden deck, right where the central mast was, and a second later a much louder explosion erupted across the ship. The mast was blown apart completely as fire and burning embers of wood spread up and destroyed the sails while a gaping hole tore through the deck—reaching from port to starboard right across its midsection. Several soldiers were launched overboard or into other parts of the ship and the entire vessel shook. The captain and other officers looked on in shock while the helmspony tried to maintain control of the badly damaged Junk. Directly in front of them, Bin’Tavy and Tuon both jumped in fright, hooves momentarily clasped over their ears to block out the deafening sound of the explosion before they looked back in confusion to see what was going on. Before either of them could deliver any orders, more explosive sounds—cannonfire—erupted from further back in the fleets formation. Columns of smoke began to rise up everywhere along with a constant chorus of shouting and panic. Down below, Princess Fairscale stood up startled, wondering what was going on. The main deck of Junk #1 soon became a madhouse as soldiers and officers rushed to attend to their comrades on the ship behind them. Admiral Bin’Tavy also found his voice and demanded to be told what was going on. The only one who didn’t show any sort of panic was Godfrey. Who hadn’t so much as flinched or turned his head when the explosion went off. Instead he calmly finished his tea before tossing the cup to the side—where the incredibly expensive porcelain shattered on the deck. Finally he glanced over his shoulder and looked at the large column of fire and smoke rising directly behind the ship he was on. He frowned slightly and clicked his beak in annoyance. “Tch, Rainbow Dash.”