//------------------------------// // Two Hornpipes // Story: Over the Edge and Over Again // by Perpetual Motion //------------------------------// Over the Edge and Over Again: Chapter 15 Two Hornpipes Pintel and Ragetti continued to sit on the shores of Jones' Locker, hoping either one of the men they were waiting for would actually turn up. At the very least, they hoped Jack would show his face, then they could leave. But the two crewmen still held onto the hope that their old captain would return, if only just so they didn't have to leave the damned landscape one memorable man short. The other men present seemed less inclined to wait for both. Many just wanted to leave the place that they seemed destined to wait inside for an eternity, even though there was a set time limit. The time limit itself also seemed to be the reason why many of the Chinese were worried. Those who knew the witch instead chose to trust her judgement. If they wanted Jack back they had to. “What you suppose them two are talkin' about?” Pintel spoke to Ragetti with an air of curiosity, pointing towards Will and Elizabeth. The two lovers were sat to the pirates' far right, talking to each other near the water’s edge. Tia Dalma sat slightly closer, hoisted atop the rock and chanting whenever she threw smaller stones onto the sand. The rest of the men were scattered around the shore, some of whom were attempting to play games with an incomplete deck of cards. The Chinese all sat together, however, talking in their own language and drawings shapes in the sand for entertainment. “I reckon Mr Turner's gone and found out 'bout somethin' little Lizzie don't want 'im knowin',” Ragetti answered, folding his arms into his chest. Pintel pursed his lips and nodded. He continued to scratch Jack the monkey, who had been sat in his lap since the witch had finished her explanation on Barbossa's whereabouts. It had only been around twenty minutes, so he was none too bothered by the little monkey's presence. He found it somewhat soothing, even if he knew the creature couldn't feel anything when being touched. “Somethin' sordid, no doubt. She ain't been too good with 'erself these days.” “Yeah, not too good,” was all Ragetti said in response, giggling to himself as he remembered the free show he'd received at the bath house. Despite the laborious act of waiting, everybody present seemed to be coping. Then again, it had only been little over an hour since they'd arrived. Most people agreed it was more not knowing than the actual waiting that had them bothered. Even without asking, Pintel and Ragetti could tell that. And with Barbossa now missing, some men were a little on edge, worried that they too would be taken away by whatever it was that snatched up the captain. “Where you suppose Barbossa is then?” Pintel asked. It was about the only thing most of the men were talking about. Even the Chinese could be heard muttering his name every now and then. “Don't know. Can't really imagine other worlds.” Pintel had to agree. The only other worlds he could think of were Heaven and Hell, and if Barbossa was in either of them, it was unlikely to be the former. “Can't be too good if it's gone and taken Barbossa though. The world, I mean,” Ragetti added. Pintel once again nodded his head. He and his nephew weren't really the intelligent sort, but Ragetti was still prone to the odd philosophical thought every now and then. It was sometimes interesting to hear what he had to say about a given issue. “You think he's dead then?” Ragetti asked, raising his brow and allowing his wooden eye to roll around in its socket. “Could be. Takes a lot to kill the captain though.” Pintel then soon found himself struggling to hold the monkey in place. Jack was scratching around and prying himself away from the pirate's grasp. He was close to succeeding despite being a good deal smaller. “What's up with 'im?” Pintel threw his nephew a gruff frown in response, still trying to hold the monkey down. He wasn't quite sure why he wanted to keep Jack in place, but seeing as the monkey couldn't feel anything, he couldn't see why the petting should have been a problem. “Don't know. He just started getting' all shifty.” “Eager te get away, ain't he?” Struggling to hold the slippery creature within his grasp, Pintel finally let go when he received a long, swift scratch to his arm. Feeling the pain, the pirate didn’t hesitate to grasp his wound, losing Jack in the process. “Bugger it!” he yelled out. Squeezing onto his forearm, Pintel simply sat there with Ragetti as they watched Jack scamper away. Then the chubbier man' mind finally caught up to him and his eyes widened. “Catch him!” His yell didn’t go unheard by the rest of the crew, but few turned to face them. Ragetti and Pintel were known for being troublesome, and there had to come a time where they said “no” to whatever it was they were planning or causing. Shakily nodding, Ragetti gave chase, passing his uncle and leaving him to catch up “If we lose the captain's pet in the Locker, he'll have us drawn and quartered!” “What if he's dead? He can't do nothin' to us then,” Ragetti replied. “Aye, well, I ain't takin' that chance. He'd meet us in Hell if it meant gettin' us paid for somethin' we did.” Rather than waste energy talking back, Ragetti continued to chase after the small monkey, who'd ran quite far ahead despite his size. Jack was running further into the Locker. While the men and women were waiting on one end of the beach, the small monkey was hopping and sprinting down towards the other. There was nothing in that direction. Only more sand, and the same lifeless sea. If anything else was present in the Locker, it was concealed by huge dunes of sand stretching higher and higher the further inland you went. And sadly, that's was the direction Jack was taking. The little monkey had reached a small dune, and despite how far they'd come already, Jack seemed happy enough running up at a rapid pace. Pintel and Ragetti stopped for breath, sighing when they looked up to see where they had to climb next. “Bloody... immortal... monkey...” Pintel wheezed, hauling himself up the sandy bank, a good deal further back than his friend and even more so behind the monkey. He would have nothing to do with the curse again, but he had to admit the abilities it gave you were more than helpful. Durability, invincibility, and a slight increase in strength; that was something a man could hope for. But the lack of feeling made those values completely undesirable. He was a man who loved his food, and a decade without it was more than he could take. But there was no point complaining. He was mortal and tired, sure, but the lifeless state he had lived through was a torture more despised. As he reached the top of the dune, having long since seen Ragetti disappear over the edge, Pintel hauled himself over with just a little bit of difficulty. He then proceeded to fall over, tumbling down the other side as he failed to grab hold of anything. He landed at the bottom, spitting out a mouthful of sand as he wearily looked around. Ragetti was a few dozen feet ahead, wrestling with Jack on the ground. Heaving a sigh of relief, Pintel pushed himself to his feet, wandering over to his friend and the undead monkey. “Hey....” was all he could manage before putting a hand on Ragetti's shoulder. Ragetti didn't answer. “At least ye caught th' bugger—” Pintel cut himself off as he looked into the lankier pirate's face, and then to the direction it was facing. “Bloody hell...” There was... something in front of them. There was no way to fully describe it. It was as if there was a shapeless layer of water in front of their eyes, sparkling and shimmering away as it floated in mid air. Looking through it was also like water. The scenery on the other side was disrupted. The two pirates blinked and strained their eyes. Although it was a good few feet in front of them, it was definitely there. They couldn't deny that. They slowly walked towards it, with Ragetti still holding Jack in his arms. The monkey was still struggling against his captors, seemingly attempting to get towards whatever it was they were looking at. “What you suppose... that is then?” Pintel asked, slowly reaching out his hand. Ragetti didn't answer. He just shrugged his shoulders, still not entirely sure how to approach the situation. As the two men walked towards the glittering form ahead of them, Ragetti lurched back in pain as Jack slashed at his arm. Clutching at his forearm as it began to bleed, Ragetti watched as the monkey scampered away from them, and through the glittering anomaly. Standing there, unsure of what to say, the two pirates merely looked at each other with unsure and unintelligent looks on their faces. “You see...” Ragetti sighed. “Aye...” “And Jack... he's...” “Aye...” Pintel once again answered. Still feeling a bit dumbfounded, they hesitantly walked further towards what they assumed was a portal. Slower than they had previously, they reached out their hands. At least until Pintel suddenly pulled back his arm before contact was made. “What are we doin'?!” he said, flailing his arms in the air and pointing towards the obvious. “How do we know that thing ain't dangerous?” “More dangerous than Barbossa?” Pintel retracted his statement, remembering that they had, in fact, likely just lost their captain's pet. One of the only things he appeared to actually care about too. “Point taken.” Slowly inching their hands towards what could possibly be a portal, both men suddenly stopped, allowing each other the pleasure of going first. Neither man took the offer. “I dare ye te go first...” Ragetti didn't reply. He just looked between the chubbier pirate and the shimmering light. He had been duped into idiotic acts more than once, and for once he didn't feel like falling for it. “I'll give ye a silvery penny if it hurts.” Happier with the offer, and the prospect of having a silver penny to spend, Ragetti smiled, dramatically waving his hand in the hair and slowly moving it towards the anomaly. As let his hand touch the shimmering form, Ragetti watched as his fingers vanished from view, and then after he pushed further, his wrist. Pintel stood there, tensing his fingers as Ragetti flexed his own, attempting to prove to himself that they were indeed still there. Nervously smiling, Ragetti pushed more of his arm through, still flexing his hand around. Pintel licked his lips and lowered his eyes before pushing his own hand through and wiggling them around in mid air. “Don't seem... too bad,” was all he said. He looked up to the taller man as he swirled his arm within the void, waving it around as if his arm was elbow deep in a pool of water. The shimmering light even reacted the same way too. At least, it looked like it did. Ragetti nodded, still none too sure what to expect. But hoping to get the ordeal over and done with, he pushed himself through, yanking on Pintel's collar. As he pushed forward, Ragetti misplaced his feet, falling down a three sets of steps as Pintel did the exact same. They landed on a hard, marbled floor, gazing up to see where they'd arrived moments later. It was a room. A big room, for that matter. The walls were a light shade of beige, and the ceiling wasn't that different. A chandelier was hanging from the ceiling, with a good few candles still burning away inside. Like anything a noble would be proud to have in their home. But while the room appeared to be somewhat elegantly designed, everything that sat inside it seemed more like implements of science rather than that of art. Large tables were against the walls, scuffing them in places, and papers littered the space on top. Strange devices sat proud on the tables as well, and metal boxes of varying sizes were on the floor, each making noises and doing things neither man could fully comprehend. Dozens of books lay forgotten across the floor, a select few of which were sat open around the stairs leading up to light they'd just came through. It was a small, circle set of stairs with the portal floating eerily at the top. “Least we know it's a portal now...” Pintel sighed. Looking passed all the mess and metal debris, Pintel got up, helping Ragetti to his feet. While the room was a mess, there was also something of greater interest there. A small monkey at the door, scratching and carving his way into the wood while he hung from the door knob by his tail. “Found 'im!” Pintel cheered, slapping Ragetti in the chest and pointing with his other hand. Reaching the door, Ragetti picked Jack up by the collar of his shirt, holding him in the air as he moved his fingers over the gashes now present in the mahogany woodwork. Pintel looked at the floor, kicking the loose shaving and splinters with his shoe. “He's done a right number on the door.” “Aye, and he were only here a minute,” Ragetti replied. “What you suppose we should do now then?” Pintel thought it was an appropriate question given the situation. Barbossa had apparently been taken to another world, and now his pet monkey had led them to one. He wasn't the smartest man, but he knew those two events weren't likely to be coincidental. “I reckon' we should keep goin',” Ragetti answered, seemingly staring past the large door. “Lookin' for the captain?” Ragetti nodded. “Aye, we have Jack,” he said, grabbing firmly at the monkey's waistcoat. “We can use 'is lead te find Barbossa.” Looking back over is shoulder towards the portal they'd came through, Pintel spent a few moments considering his options “Ye think he'll reward us?” he asked. “If I were saved from another world I'd be rewardin' the ones doin' the rescuin'.” Confidently smiling, the rounder man nodded his head, pushing down on the door handle with both arms. The thing was stiff, and was likely the reason the little monkey hadn't gotten away from them yet. Waiting for his nephew to leave the room, Pintel smiled again as he watched Ragetti shake Jack around, paying the thing back for taking them to the ends of an earth and into a completely new one. One he'd stopped, the monkey continued to try and clamber out of his holder's grasp. He always tried to move in the same direction. “See? We can follow whatever ways he's wantin' te go. Shan't be to hard te find Barbossa, me thinks.” Pintel looked down at the monkey, not sure if he was convinced that their tactic would actually work. Deciding it was at least worth a try, he waved Ragetti forward, allowing him to lead the way. “Famous last words, Ragetti. Famous last words.” - - - - “I knew we shouldn't have trusted him...” Twilight lowered her head, still mulling over what had transpired over the last few hours. She sat with her friends in the palace gardens, tired after their trek through the castle. It was easy enough to get off the ceiling, given there was no longer a pirate threatening to gun them down, but searching through the castle for any trace of Fluttershy proved to be more difficult. She wasn't anywhere to be found. Nopony was. Even after an hour or so of searching, they were no closer to finding their friend and her captors. Celestia and Luna weren't in their usual places either, and not a single guard was roaming the halls. Even Luna's guards had disappeared. It didn't help that the castle seemed determined to misbehave. The hallways had twisted and turned around at irregular angles, and the doors thought it would be funny to shift out of the way whenever somepony went to open them. “Did you see the smile on his face? I never thought anyone could find such fun in being so horrid...” Rarity hissed. Given the state of the castle, the mares had expected the outside world to be in an even worse state. Chocolate falling from the sky, brooms dancing in the courtyard and maybe even a flying grizzly bear wearing a fez. When they finally found themselves wandering into the garden, they saw none of that. The birds still sat in the trees, the clouds floated through the sky just as they had done since the day they were made, and far as the mares could tell, everypony in the city below was going about with their daily lives. “Speaking of his face, he seemed pretty happy considering how rotten it was! I mean, you could see his skull and everything!” Pinkie and Applejack were being quiet, listening to Rarity and Rainbow lower the reputation of the being they couldn't find the heart to stand up for. “I didn't notice it...” Twilight regretted her words the moment they had left her lips. The others turned to stare at her, two of whom furrowed their brows. The unicorn composed herself, taking a deep breath before she spoke again. “It happened to me, and I didn't even see it. I didn't even feel it,” Twilight elaborated. “I didn't really feel anything.” “And we have no idea what he's going to do with Fluttershy...” Rarity added. “But... has... he really done anything?” “You saw what he was doing!” Rainbow reminded her, waving her hoof in the air. “Yes, but was it really him? Discord made all of you do strange things when he was here last time. What's to say he hasn't done the same to Hector?” Rarity prepared to talk back, to emphasise her own view on the matter, before pausing and lowering her ears in realisation. “I mean, if he wanted to hurt us, really hurt us, why didn't he do it when he was with Fluttershy? Or alone with me or Spike?” Rarity kept her ears lowered, thinking it over. As much as she disliked the human for hurting Fluttershy, she couldn't deny it all seemed rather sudden. And far too coincidental. “And... he did help get Sweetie her cutie mark...” she mumbled to herself. “And he told me and Twilight,” Pinkie complained, “he wanted to stay here now. He's been moaning about leaving the whole time he was here!” Everypony nodded at Pinkie's statement, Rarity and Rainbow included. For all he was doing and had done to them, it did seem out of place. While he was certainly violent, he wasn't dense enough to act even more so just before he was about to get exactly what he wanted; the chance to leave. “What should we do then? Just keep looking for them?” Rainbow asked, honestly. “Yes, but I have no idea where to start. Discord didn't even leave us any clues to go on...” Twilight tapped her hoof against the grass, rather more eager to get back to their search. The events weren't convenient, nor were they pleasant, but they still had to try. Even more so, given the purple unicorn felt somewhat responsible for what was happening. But she didn't have time to dwell on that. A scream pierced the air, coming suddenly from the city below. Moving their heads towards the noise, the five ponies wordlessly looked to each other and nodded, making their way towards the shrill noise. They didn't know what was going on, or whether it was even Discord or Hector, but they couldn't leave it be. If somepony was in danger, they had to see if they could help. Following the source of the sound, Twilight took lead of her friends as they charged down the path, away from the castle. The path was wide, and after a few hundred metres began to move down a hill and into the city below. A small portion of Canterlot actually rested on the steep incline, until it flattened out and lead into the rest of the city. More screams came on top of the first, urging the group on. Though once they were close enough, they didn't need to go any further to know why ponies were screaming. They were honestly surprised they hadn't seen it from the gardens. “Is that...” Applejack started. “A pirate ship?” Rainbow and Rarity finished in unison. A large, black ship was piloting its way over Canterlot. It was like something from a story book. A vast, black, wooden ship, with a tall mast and ebony tattered sails, flying a black and white flag from its very peak. Cannons jutted out of the ships side while more sat ready and waiting on-deck. The five ponies ceased their run taking in the bizarre sight before them until they carried on. Arriving in the nearest streets of the city, still moving down the incline, it soon became clear that not everypony was screaming. Some just stood there in awe, staring up at the ship floating in the sky, whilst others began galloping towards it. Following the steadily growing crowd, and growing tired, Twilight yelled, “Rainbow! Fly up on deck! See if Hector and Fluttershy are there!” Nodding, and showing off a sly grin, Rainbow ran faster. Flapping her wings, the pegasus lost no speed as she elegantly lifted from the ground. Approaching from where she had set off, she made a straight for the ship's port side. Or what she thought may have been the port side. She called it left. With her forehooves out in front of her, Rainbow gained speed until she was finally high and near enough to the ship to see those sailing it. “What the...?” she uttered, confused. The men on deck glared back at her, wicked smiles plastered on each of their identical faces. Every one of them stood there, stopping their designated duties for a moment to simply look and watch. Each one of them with the same face. Barbossa's face. And as Rainbow drew closer, she regretted flying so near the ship. Each of the identical pirate's began to laugh, but another simply stood there with his arm raised in the air. The pegasus wasn't the most intelligent pony, but she guessed he wasn't waving at her. “Fire!” Widening her eyes, Rainbow deftly pulled herself up, straying from her intended course. It wasn't until after she realised the cannon fire wouldn’t have hit her. They weren't being aimed at her. Breathing heavily, more out of surprise than anything else, she watched as the small number of cannon balls ploughed their way to the city. Contrary to her belief, there was no explosion or fire. They just smashed their way through buildings, horribly splintering the wooden ones and cracking the ones made from stone. Surprised to see a pirate ship firing shots at Canterlot, Rainbow continued to hover in mid-air, still trying to work what she was going to do. The men took a moment to stop and stare at her, forgetting their duties, but soon going back to them. The same man that had done so before lifted a single arm into the arm. She could swear he was smirking at her. “Once more!” All of the cannons fired this time. Both sides of the ship destroyed what little silence there was left in the city as smoke wafted from the weapons. Too high to be hit, Rainbow just watched in horror as even more buildings crumbled to the ground. Those that still stood after the barrage were mere husks of their former, pristine selves. Dust plumes coated the air where they once stood. The Barbossa commanding the crew looked up again, smiling directly at Rainbow with his head lowered and his large hat hiding most of his forehead. She had hovered closer, almost subconsciously, wanting to see the alien responsible for all this before she left. It only then occurred to her that out of all the men there, he was the only Hector wearing his trademark hat. “Ye seem lost Rainbow!” he finally yelled, the sounds of the cannon and what they had caused dying down. “Not used te yer sky bein' shared?!” Rainbow didn't answer, still working out what she wanted to say. She didn't really know what she wanted to do. Was it even worth talking to him, given what Twilight had said? Did she want to in the first place? “Because it pulls at the strings o' me heart te inform ye that the world above is under new management.” The Barbossa clicked his fingers, and as he did, those gathered behind him moved into action. Each of them pulled a pistol from beneath their long coats, waving it in the air and pointing it straight towards the lone pegasus. Each weapon was as identical as the men holding them. Diving back towards the ground, she glided through the city as she heard Hector laughing behind her. She didn't try to think about how many of him were actually adding to the noise as she looked for her friends. There was a distinct lack of ponies wandering around now compared to how many there were when she had left the ground. Searching for the only ponies who were still running towards the ship instead of away from it, Rainbow landed with a thud in front of her friends, spreading her wings wide. “I really don't think you want to go up there.” “What? Why? What's wrong?!” Twilight asked. Confused as to why the ominous floating pirate ship and the destruction it had just caused wasn't bad enough, Rainbow continued. “Hector's on board, but there's way more than just one of him! And they all have pistols! And cannons!” “We saw the cannons, dear. They weren't hard to miss,” Rarity added, sadly motioning her head towards a shattered set of buildings just within view. “What was that about Hector?” Applejack asked. “There are a lot of humans on that ship. And they're all Hector. Like...” She was trying to think of a good comparison. “Like human shaped changelings.” The cannons fired again, destroying whatever buildings happened to be in their way. If the ship had stayed dormant, the damage could have been reduced. But with every inch it moved through the sky, a new set of targets came into range. And the cannons had just destroyed them. The ponies winced at the carnage, and Rainbow ran with the her friends as they charged towards the ship. A few stray ponies ran past them, looking over their heads as dark laughter began emanating from the ship, carried by the sheer amount of human beings cackling on the deck. The ponies in pursuit of the pirates finally reached the ground below the ship. It was a wide street, much like everything else in the city. The vessel was slowly lowering towards the ground. It was still above the buildings, though lower than it had been previously. One Hector peered over the edge of the ship, casually leaning on the railing as he stared at the only ponies in the nearby vicinity. It was the one wearing the hat, and he spoke to them, yelling from on high. “Ye've impressed me. I were beginin' te assume the tales told about ye were nothin' more than a tale told te children at bedtime! But bravery won't be savin' ye now.” “What are you doing Hector?!” Twilight shouted back. “What I want, Miss Sparkle. Makes a stark contrast te what I've been bound te do for the last week o' me long life.” “And you want to destroy Canterlot?!” she replied. The Barbossa didn't answer back, choosing to stand at full height instead. Twilight couldn't tell, given how far he was from herself, but she was sure he was smiling at what he saw. “Denizens of the ponylands, heed the words o' a humble captain!” he said, his voice reaching whoever was left to hear it. “I am here today te make ye a most gracious and fair offer!” Twilight could see a small number of ponies out of the corner of her eye, either hidden inside buildings or scurrying down a connecting street. If she had to guess why they were still nearby to hear what Hector was saying, she assumed it would be because most of them were attempting to escape the cannon fire. You couldn't get hit by it directly under the ship, after all. “I merely ask fer the wealth o' yer land! The precious jewels, gems, metals and artefacts that ye hold dear te yer grubby little hearts!” Those few ponies kept moving. They listened, some out of curiosity and some out of fear, but they listened. “How in tarnation is that fair?!” Applejack objected. “Because in return ye'll live te see the days ye've yet te have. Where I come from that most definitely comes under the definition o' 'fair'.” “Your world doesn't seem to have very much inside it that sounds fair!” Rainbow shouted. “And what makes you think you're going to get away with this?” “Yeah!” Pinkie added, for no other apparent reason other than to join in. “Ye wish te stop me then?!” he said, laughing. “Ye'd best start prayin' for a miracle.” “And why's that?!” Rainbow asked As if on cue, the sky darkened, and the moon rose high into the sky, stopping at a great height behind the pirate ship. The moonlight shone through the tattered and worn sails, creating beams of light that rested on the deck and over its crew. The sickening sound of flesh rotting away was all that could be heard for those split seconds as the captain stood there, resolute and deprived of what made him alive. He was a living corpse, and the rest of the crew stood behind him, cheering, though apparently untainted by the moonlight or the effect it had on their captain. “Because not even Death himsel' has sway over me now. And if I'm beyond his reach, I can't say I see yer own attempts fairin' any better.”