“Good morning.” Commander Contrail greeted Poppy as she opened her eyes.
“And good morning to you Commander. Poppy said with a smile as she sat up Looking at the Commander Poppy was greeted to the beautiful sight of her preening her long colorful wings. Poppy felt cold without the commander's wings draped around her. Missing the feeling of the Commanders embrace Poppy scooched closer to the pegasus.
The Commander seemed to take the hint and stopped preening her wing and wrapped Poppy in it. Poppy smiled at the feeling of her warmth. Deciding to be a bit bolder Poppy snuggled into the smaller mares embrace nuzzling into the mares' neck. The moment was sadly interrupted when one of the pegasus crew members made a throat clearing sound. Both mares quickly looked up to see who it was. They found a bright red Pegasus standing there trying his best to look anywhere but at the two of them. The stallion had a bowl of oats and was reaching out to Poppy. Poppy reached out and grabbed the bowl from him. Thanking the soldier for the bowl, she set the meal in the sand next to her. The stallion nodded at the two of them before trotting off to fetch his own breakfast. The two mares looked at each other before snickering at the poor stallion.
“Would you like any oats Contrail?” Poppy asked.
Poppy did not say anything instead planting a kiss on the top of Poppys head. Taking that as a yes Poppy picked the bowl back up and holding it up to the Commander. Poppy felt the commander's other wing reach up and grasp the spoon siting in the bowl. Poppy waited for the commander to take a spoon full before having some herself. The oats were soggy and horribly salty. For military rations though they were not bad. After a time, the two ponies finished eating the oats. Not too long after the two had finished breakfast both ponies had to start getting ready for the journey deeper into the jungle. During the meeting the day before in the captain's tent the captain had told her that the Commander would be in command of the group that would stay behind on the beach. An hour after breakfast the captain called the crew together around the nearly dead campfire.
As the crew began to gather around the firepit Poppy looked around for the Commander. She found the pegasus near where they had slept that night. Poppy trotted over to the Commander. The two mares smiled at one another. Sideling up next to the commander Poppy let her tail intertwine with the Commanders. The commander felt so soft as their bodies pressed against each other. It took a moment for Poppy to notice the captain had already started speaking.
“First off, I know many of you had wanted to try out the hot springs, but most of you will need to return to the ship to continue with repairs. I have posted a roster on my tent flap with every ponies assignments. Those of you that have been selected to come on the expedition to the hot springs will be with me. Lieutenant you will remain here in command with your contingent of guards. Now that all of you have your orders you're all dismissed expect for all the officers.”
The crew and guards quickly shuffled away to begin packing up the camp. Once the crew had dispersed the captain had the officers move closer together.
“Commander Contrail please continue to provide aerial support.” The captain ordered.
“Yes sir.” The commander said saluting and turning and trotting away.
Poppy watched the Commander leave.
“Lieutenant Please remain on the beach in charge of the tear down of the camp.”
“Yes Captain.” The Lieutenant answered back before also trotting away.
This left a small group gathered around the firepit to continue talking. The doctor was first to speak.
“Captain unless you need me for anything else I would like to get my medical supplies ready for the expedition to the hot springs.” The captain nodded at the doctor who then took his leave. This just left Poppy and the captain.
“Mrs. Poppy.” The captain said as he turned to face her.
“Yes Captain.”
“Are you ready to depart?” Poppy nodded that she was ready.
“Good then we will leave in about an hour. He said.
As the captain had said, the crew was ready about an hour later. The party now included two crew ponies the ship's doctor, the captain and Poppy herself. The party started their trek through the jungle where the creek that Poppy had laid by the day before. The going was slow as the two crew ponies struggled to clear the thick jungle vines. The creek helped create a natural path through the jungle but even it had thick vegetation that hung down from the branches of tress above. The party's pace was not helped by the fact that Poppy kept stopping to jot down notes or take samples of the plants. After a few hours of slow progress, the captain ordered the crew to take a rest. The party stopped at a small clearing that they had found. The clearing appeared to be one of the sources of the stream.
Taking a seat on a log next along the steam, Poppy took out her canteen. The heat of the jungle had made her sweaty. Reaching down Poppy dipped her canteen into the glistening water. Once the canteen was filled Poppy resealed it and placed the canteen back in her saddle bag. She then took out her antibacterial paste setting it on the ground. Poppy then dipped her muzzle into the water and took several sips of the cool refreshing liquid. Once her thirst had been quenched, she dipped one of her hooves in and splashing the water onto her face and mane. The water helped to wash off some of the sweat that had matted her fur.
The crew took their time resting but before long the captain ordered them to resume their push towards the hot springs. The trot towards the hot springs continued to be challenging but with the captain and doctor now helping the two crew ponies the group's progress moved faster. After a few more hours in the thick jungle, it gave way to a large clearing. The clearing was blanketed in layer of steam that rose over the hot springs. The steam created a sauna like effect. It was hard to tell how large the clearing was with the steam obscuring the far side of the clearing. The ground around the pools was made of a mixture of sand and basalt rock. If her geology classes in college had taught her anything it was that this was most likely due to volcanic activity below the island.
Poppy was the first pony to approach one of the hot springs. As she approached the steaming pool Poppy could feel the heat through her fur. Being careful to not slip on the rocks, Poppy approached the water's edge. Reaching out to test the water she moved her hoof towards the pool, until suddenly she felt a sudden hard tug of magic. A blue aroura enveloped her as it pulled her back several feet. Turning to look for the culprit with a very angry expression on her face. What she found was Captain Compass with his horn crackling with magic. Once he had pulled her back, he carefully climbed over the jagged rocks. When he arrived at her side, he gave her a very stern expression.
Poppy thought his expression looked just like one her father would give her when he was trying to tell her she had done wrong.
“Mrs. Poppy.” The captain said. “Please be careful those pools may not be just water. They could be dangerous if there is any acid or other chemicals in them and I wouldn't want that cute flank of yours getting any hotter than it already is.” That comment diffused her anger she had been feeling at him for pulling her back so ruffly. Instead, her anger was now replaced with the feeling she always felt when near the captain.
The captain took a few cautious steps closer to the pool before tilting his horn towards the bubbling churning water. Gathering magic to the tip of his horn he began to summon his spell. The light appeared at the tip of his horn before shooting out towards the water. The light continued for several seconds as he tested the water. As the magic faded, he looked back towards the crew and nodded that it was safe.
It didn’t take any convincing for every pony to shed their gear and jump in. Poppy took her time slowly submerging herself in the warm water. The warmth felt like heaven to her aching muscles. The tension just seemed to melt away with the bubbling water. While Poppy would have liked to soak and relax for a bit longer, she needed to do her job, so while the rest of the party continued to lounge Poppy pulled herself out. Once out of the pool she felt the cold of the air through her damp fur. As her teeth began to chatter Poppy quickly climbed over the basalt rocks to one of the bags. Reaching into the large bag that the crewponies had carried with them she fetched out a blue towel. Drying herself off with the towel Poppy began to feel much warmer. Her mane and fur were still damp but there was little she could do about that with the steam filling the air. With her fur dried Poppy replaced the towel back into one of the bags. Trotting back over the rocks Poppy found her own saddle bags. Reaching in she took out her journal and a pen. Placing the pen between a few of pages in the journal, Poppy then took the journal in her mouth and began to exam the area around the hot springs. Bending down at a spot near one of the pools, Poppy took out one of her sample vials. Dipping the vial into the soil she scooped some of the soil up. Next Poppy took out one of her larger canisters. Using her hoof to break off some of the rocks she then scooped up the basalt to be tested later. Sealing both vials she placed them on the ground. She would have to remember to collect them before they headed back to the ship. She would have liked to be able to test them on the Crystal Palace but the society could not afford the costs of a portable lab so they would need to test the contents back in the lab. The vials that had been prepared by Well Kept would keep the samples in perfect condition.
With the soil and rock samples collected Poppy began to exam the foliage surrounding the pools. One of the first things she noticed about the plants around the pools was that none of them had ever been discovered in Equestria. Poppy figured this was due to the special circumstances of the soil, humidity, and heat.
While Poppy continued to examine the fauna, the captain climbed out of the pool he had been soaking in. His fur was soaked and sticking to his well defined body. He trotted over to where Poppy had started sketching out the pattern of a flower that she was examining. The captain did not seem to mind that he was soaked but, Poppy cared when he started dripping onto her journal. When the water dripped onto her papers, she instinctively swung her hoof at him, nearly knocking the captain back into the pool. He stumbled back but managed not to fall back in the pool. Realizing that she had hit the captain Poppy quickly apologized.
The captain just smiled at her. “I knew you couldn’t keep your hooves off of me.” He said with a smirk.
Turning away from the captain and back to her journal, Poppy quickly tore out the pages that he had gotten wet to keep the water from soaking through and damaging any of her other sketches.
Realizing what he had done, the captain apologized, using his magic to dry himself off. He then reapproached the now annoyed earth pony. Taking a seat next to her. He wore a sheepish grin on his face as he apologized once again. Shaking her head at him Poppy started to resketch the plant she had been working on. The two sat together for a while. Eventually the rest of the crew climbed out of the pools and dried themselves off.
The sun was setting while Poppy continued taking samples. Most of the crew were now lounging around some of the less rocky parts of the clearing. They were discussing what most sailors discussed. All their conversation were however cut short when the sounds of thunder were heard in the distance. Turing to look skyward Poppy searched for thunderclouds. It would have been odd to find any with a crew of pegasi that were all trained in weather control. Searching she found nothing. The thunder seemed to stop and for a moment it seemed to be nothing. The crew's conversations started back up again and all seemed to be fine. Poppy however noticed that while the crew seemed to relax the captain's ears stood erect swiving around listened for something. Looking at the sky again Poppy tried to find what the captain was listening for. That’s when another boom could be heard echoing across the island. This boom was followed quickly after by more and more until it became a near never ending sounds of thunder. With the frequency the direction of the sounds became more apparent. The sounds direction was now clearly coming from the direction of the cove where the Crystal Palace was anchored.
Poppy turned to look at the captain and the concern was evident on his muzzle. The crew continued to look at each other in confusion. It was the doctor that was the first to speak just as a plume of smoke began to rise into the air.
“What going on.” He said.
The captain did not answer the doctor's question instead getting up and yelling.
“Everyone back to the beach now!!” The captain ordered.
Every pony gathered their gear before they all started the long gallop back to the beach. The group made much better time now that the path had been mostly cleared. As the party reached the beach the smoke in the air become thick. It burned at Poppy nostrils as she continued to gallop. The group emerged from the vegetation and onto the smoky beach where they found something unexpected. The Crystal Palace was engaged in a firefight with another large sailing vessel.
Poppy watched as the Crystal Palace tried to maneuver away from the breakers. The ship had been anchored close to shore on the captain's orders to help speed up repairs but it was clear that this may have been a mistake.
Turning her gaze to the large warship that was attacking the Crystal Palace. Poppy could tell that the other ship was more than a match for the Crystal Palace. It was at least three levels with what she assumed had to be more than twice as many cannons as the Crystal Palace had. Poppy looked for some sort of identifying flag. The ship flew the Storm Kings flag.
As the battle continued to unfolded it became apparent that the damage from the fire from two nights before was hampering the ship's ability to fight effectively. Poppy watched as the pirate ship fired another volley of cannon balls into the broadside of the Crystal Palace. Some of the pirate's shells bounced off the well armored hull of the Crystal Palace, but she was still taking a heavy beating.
Poppy's eyes suddenly caught sight of motion in the sky. Squinting to try and see if she could tell what it is. Poppy's eyes suddenly shot wide with recognition. Realizing that it was the pegasus air wing with Commander Contrail leading from the front. The group of pegasi dove in a steep dive towards the deck of the pirate ship. By the time the fliers had climbed back into the air the main sail of the enemy ship fell limp to the deck. The fliers seemed to be keeping the fight from being one sided. However, the advantage did not last long as several of the fliers were shot down as they had been flying in for another dive.
The dread in Poppy's heart was instant as she watched her friend fall into the water. Looking desperately at the water she could see several of the downed fliers struggling in the surf.
It did not take long for the Lieutenant to order his crystal guards into the water to try and reach the wounded pegasi. The guards swam out to the pegasi reaching each of them and dragging them back to the shore. The guards pulled the wounded out of the water and dragged them back towards the trench they had dug the day before.
The doctor was about to charge from where he was standing next to the captain, but the captain stopped him with an outstretched hoof. The doctor looked at the hoof and then up to the captain but a look on his face seemed to stop him.
Poppy wondered why the captain would not want the doctor to help his wounded crew but before she had a chance to question him, she saw Commander Contrail climbing out of the surf. One of the guards rushed to her side but she brushed him off. The Commander's wing was dragging in the sand as she walked towards the trench. From where Poppy was standing, she could tell the wing was broken. Poppy eyes followed the Commander as she climbed over the embankment in the sand. Looking at the trench Poppy could see that the fliers were in bad shape. One of the Crystal Guards came over to the Commander with a first aid kit. Again, Poppy watched as the Commander brushed him off. The Commander seemed less concerned about herself and more concerned with those under her. It made Poppy smile for a moment. Poppy knew that there was little the medic could do so she once again looked back to the doctor who was still standing there with the captain's leg still out stretched. Seeing the doctor still being held back infuriated Poppy and so she spoke up.
“For Celestia sake captain why are you stopping him.” Poppy yelled gesturing at the doctor and then at the wounded.
The captain nodded his head at the pirate ship and Poppy realized why the captain had not let them leave the vegetation line. Poppy turned her attention back towards the fighting. With the pegasi no longer harassing the pirates they had started to launch their boarding ships. The longboats launched off its starboard beam. This gave them cover from the cannon fire of the Crystal Palace which was still trying to move to deep water. The first of the long boats started to row towards the Crystal Palace. A few of them also started to row towards the beach. Seeing the pirates rowing towards the beach, Poppy now knew why the captain had stopped the doctor but is raised a new question on how the captain knew the pirates would come to the shore.
The two ships continued fighting as they exchanged shots of magically enchanted shells. Poppy could see that the Crystal Palaces crew had already noticed the long boats and had begun to drape anti boarding nets along its hull.
By now the pirates had made it to the shore. The Crystal Guards formed a firing line in the trench. The hulking pirates began moving towards the Crystal Guards. The pirates began to use their long boats tipped on their sides to provide cover as they pushed closer to the ponies. The guards continued firing at the pirates with some of their shots hitting their marks. A few of the pirates went down as they neared the trench. Poppy watched as the guards struggled to keep up their rate of fire as their ammunition began to run low. By now only two of the guards were firing.
Poppy knew what would come next it had been talked about when she had gone through basic. It was what made the Crystal Guards so well known as fighters. It was a strategy of no step back and was the tactic that had been used by Captain Compass. It was this strategy that had been used in his defense of Vanhoover. The captain had employed the tactic so well that Vanhoover never fell to the Storm King, something that not even the capital could claim. So, Poppy knew what would happen when the last guard ran out of ammunition. And so, as the last shot was fired Poppy saw the guards fix their bayonets to their muskets. Each guard with speed and precision steeled themselves for a charge into the line of pirates.
By now the pirates had begun firing into the trench. Their shots mostly missed as their weapons were poorly designed. The guards waited till the pirates had advanced to where they were nearly on top of them. The Lieutenant was the first to charge out of the trench his guards right behind him leaving only the wounded pegasi behind in the trench.
The guards crossed the thirty or forty yards with their bayonets leveled. The pirates were slow but their strength was much greater than the guards so as crashed into the line of pirates many were simply tossed aside by the lumbering beasts.
The Lieutenant was the first to reach the line of pirates swing his sword in a wide arc. When his swing missed a pirate used the opportunity to knock him to the ground. The Lieutenant fell back onto his side. He tried to get up but the pirate that had knocked him down was faster. Poppy closed her eyes when she sensed what was to come next. Even from where she was hidden and over the sounds of the battle she could hear when the pirates foot came down on the Lieutenant head. The bone crushing sound nearly made Poppy vomit with revulsion.
With the Lieutenant dead the rest of his guards began to panic and were quickly killed or captured. With the guards taken care of the pirates once again turned their attention back to the trench where Poppy could see Commander Contrail. Poppy wished that the Commander would take the chance and flee into the woods. Poppy willed it she silently begged that the Commander would run but she did not, instead drew her revolver. Poppy knew the Commander well enough that she would not leave her wounded. So, the Commander stood alone knowing full well she would not live if she stayed to fight. Poppy wanted to scream for her to run that there was nothing she could do and that it was better for her to live. Now the pirates were on top of the trench looking down at Contrail. She was sprawled on the ground looking up towards the pirates, her good wing draped protectively over one of her wounded ponies. Poppy could see a snarl on her face. Her revolver was level at the pirate that had stood there facing her down. There was no noise, no sound as they stared at each other. Then the silence was broken as gunfire erupted between the beast and pony. The pirate staggered back and for a moment obscured Poppys view of Contrail. The pirate fell back several feet Poppy could see he had gunshot wounds in his right arm and shoulder. The pirate finally moved out of the way and Poppy could finally see the scene in the trench. It was something Poppy would always remember. Lying still with her wing draped over her wounded was Commander Contrail. Poppy could see she was dead. A bullet had penetrated her chest.
Poppy could not bear to look at the Commander, so she turned her sights back on the remaining guards that had been taken prisoners. Poppy watched as the pirates dragged the remaining defenders into the surf. A few of them had been wounded and were bleeding. The Pirates lined them all up along the water's edge. One of the pirates took aim with his rifle aimed at the back of one of the guards' heads. Closing her eyes Poppy listened to what happened next. The sounds of gun fire and bodies falling in the surf. Opening her eyes, she could see the sand below the fallen ponies had become a bright silver from the blood.
With the guards dead the pirates seamed uninterested in staying on the beach. Even after the pirates had gone Poppy and the remaining crew remained hidden in the jungle. As the moon rose over the island Poppy settled into her hiding spot. She closed her eyes, but she could see was the pirate shooting those defenseless ponies seeing them fall it haunted her as she tried her best to sleep.