Arrel makes another quick turn, finding himself at the beginning of the maze. He sees a group of thugs talking a few yards away at the back door. “So Captain, how well we know what the…” He turns to look at the pirate only to find himself speaking with the hedge. “He’s lost, ain’t he?” he mumbles to himself. He quickly heads back the way he came, making one quick turn after another. Soon he arrives back where they began. He hears mumbling followed by some cursing from the other side of the hedge next to him. “Captain?”
“Arrel! Where are you, did you get lost too?”
“You’re lost?! You’re literally ten hooves away from the where we came in.”
“Huh?” Captain pokes his head around a corner, finding Arrel and the exit/entrance. “Uhh… perhaps you should lead.”
“I think I have to or you’ll just get lost again.” Arrel leads the way to the opposite end of the maze. They stop at the entrance and poke their heads out to see the group of thugs that guard the back door. “Right, so how’re we going to know what the signal is?”
“I don’t know, but if Smokey does his job right we won’t have to know what it is.”
“Good point.” So they sit in silence, Arrel reluctantly waits for something to happen. They sit for what seems like hours then they hear an explosion. Sticking their heads out of the maze again they see the guards running toward a large column of smoke rising from the northward side of the building. They approach the door and quickly make their way through.
The inside is decorated with paintings of all sorts, statues standing on small podiums line the wall. The floor is made of marble slabs, the walls painted white. Hearing hoofsteps, Arrel and Captain stick close to the wall as several ponies run through the next hallway, heading toward the explosion. “We should split up,” Arrel whispers.
“Good idea.”
A silver earth stallion runs by, away from the explosion. Arrel’s eyes narrow at the flashy pony. “Never mind, I know who to ask.” They follow him down the hall, only stopping to hide from him or any other pony that comes down the hall. He runs up a large staircase, once up he makes a left. He goes through a door that is flanked on either side by a guard. Arrel and Captain, who are a little way back, glance at each other.
“Who is that?” Captain asks in a low whisper.
“His name is Gold Mine, he’s one of the debt collectors.”
“Good someone I can punch.” Captain charges the thugs. They turn to look at him as he punches the closest thug in the jaw, causing a loud crack. The other draws his sword and strikes. Captain punches the sword, sparks fly as the blade strikes his horseshoe. The sword is sent flying down the hall leaving the thug unarmed. He is quickly knocked out with a strong uppercut. Arrel comes trotting up from behind.
“Maybe you should hide the bodies,” Arrel says.
Captain shrugs. “A part of the building has been blown up, they probably know someone is here.”
The door opens and Gold sticks his head out. “What is going on out…” He shuts up when he sees the two stallions standing in front of the doorway. He shuts the door and hides behind the reading chair. Captain breaks the door down, Arrel come trotting in.
“Captain picks up the stallion and shoves him into the chair. “Tell me where my sister is!” Arrel shouts.
“You’re Arrel. Didn’t think you’d be stupid enough to charge in here and blow up half the house. You know if you don’t leave now your sister well be killed.”
“Doubtful,” Captain says before he draws his sword and shoves it through one of the stallion’s forelegs and through the arm of the chair. Gold lets out an agonising scream, jerking his arm and effectively making the wound worse. “Tell us where she is, or you’ll be killed.”
“M-my brother will not l-let you get away w--”
“Your brother will find your corpse nailed to the wall if you don’t speak.”
“S-she’s in the basement cell, but my brother is the one with the key.”
“Don’t need it.” Captain viciously pulls the blade out, making a massive gash clear up Gold’s foreleg. Arrel sinks his sword into Gold’s throat before he could begin screaming. “Didn’t like him?”
“Didn’t deserve to live.”
“He wouldn’t leave me, he wouldn’t give up, would he?” Sky mumbles to herself. She looks around at the dark cell she has called home for the past four years. A few tears stream down her cheek as she remembers her family, friends,and brother. “He won’t leave me here,” she mumbles.
A shockwave shoots through the small cell. “What was that?” She hears distant shouting and hooves stampeding above. A few thugs gallop past her. “What’s going on out there?” she asks, but they just ignore her. She waits in the darkness, listening to the commotion above until even that dies down. Silence is all that’s left, she always hates the silence more than anything. It’s never quiet for long, but when it is, it makes it impossible to focus on anything but the dark. She always wants anything but the dark.
She picks the faint sound of something flapping down the hall. She tries to see who it is, but she can’t see too far into the darkness. She as the sound of beating wings grow louder she also makes out the sound of someone galloping. Suddenly out of the darkness, shot a light blue pegasus his white mane easily visible. His hooves hit the ground bringing him to a screeching halt as his horseshoes spark against the stone floor.
“Sky!” shouts Arrel as he reaches through the bars to hug her.
“Arrel! You came for me!”
“I’m sorry I left you here so long. I just… I… I missed you.” Sky hears hoof steps slightly to their right. She opens her eyes to find a blue stallion with a curly pink mane.
“Arrel!”
“Don’t worry, he’s a… friend. His name is Captain.”
Captain flashes her a grin, “We’re here to get you out.”
“Captain, I need a thin piece of metal. I don’t have anything to pick locks with me.”
“Move.” Arrel and Sky move away from the bars. Captain faces away from the cell and plants his forehooves firmly on the ground. Then he unleashes a mighty buck on the locking mechanism, shattering it and sending parts flying into the wall.
“Very stealthy,” Arrel says with more than a hint of sarcasm.
“Can we get out of here?” Sky asks. Arrel helps her out of the basement as the trio make their way for the backdoor. Arrel stops at the door, “Okay, once we’re outside we head for the maze, it’ll cover…” He looks around, noticing a sudden lack of Captain. “Did he get lost?” A moment later Captain comes trotting around the corner, a saddlebag now sits on his back. “What’s that?”
“These guys are rich, I figured since we saved your sister I might as well take back some of your money.”
Arrel rolls his eyes. “As I was saying, once outside we head for the maze, it should give us enough cover to get out of here,” he says as he opens the door. On the other side stands a small army of thugs, with a gold stallion standing in the middle.
“Arrel… I never guessed you’d be stupid enough to get your sister killed,” says Silver. Captain draws his cutlass, “Oh please, do you really think you can get away?” Captains looks back at Arrel and Sky. A loud crash resonates throughout the building. Captain faces back at the large group in front of them, a large grin forms as he see something moving in the maze.
“I pretty sure we’ll get out of here.” The crashing behind him grows louder as they begin to feel the vibrations of something ripping its way through the mansion. The group aims their rifles at the doorway. A diamond dog emerges from the maze followed closely by a green mare, completely unnoticed by the group. With a quick slash, Howler’s blade cuts through the lower back of a thug. He falls to the ground screaming in pain, the rest of the group turn to see what happened. The mare delivers a devastating punch to the throat of another.
“Kill them!” Silver shouts, but his order is drowned out by the sound of the wall on the far-end of the hall being smashed down. A minotaur sprints out of the cloud of dust wielding a large axe. Arrel, Sky and Captain duck out of his way. Several ponies in the group begins to scream at the sight of the massive warrior. Minos crashes into the group swinging his axe at everything within reach of his weapon. The group scatters as they attempt to flee from the monstrous beast.
“Make a run for the ship!” Minos shouts. The trio looks down the way the minotaur came, seeing a line of holes leading through the main door. A slightly beat up ship sits at the small dock. After a quick glance at each other they bolt for the ‘Avenger’. The sound of hooves thundering against the marble floor follow them closely. Arrel spreads his wings and grabs his sister by the shoulders, carrying her onto the deck of the ship. Captain is the next to make it, skidding to a halt on the splintered wood. He turns around, finding Minos running toward the ship followed by a good section of the group he had attacked. Captain shoves a nearby cannon into position, he then draws his pistol. Hearing the something heavy landing on the deck, he lights the fuse with the flint and steel on the pistol. The blast rips apart the dock and send the group running for cover.
The sails catch the wind and the ship lurches forward. “Good to see you didn’t get yourself killed, Arrel,” Terra says walking down from the helm.
“W-why did you come save me? Wait, how did you know where?” Arrel asks.
“And where’s my crew?” Captain adds.
“The diamond dog and Honey went back to your ship. And I came to save you because we’re friends.”
Arrel smiles at him, “Of course we are. Sky, I would like you to meet Terra, my old capti--”
Before he could finish he is tackle hugged by Dawn. “You’re alive! Why didn’t you tell us about your sister? We could’ve helped, we did help. Was it because you didn’t trust us?”
“Yes, yes, I’m alive, but I won’t be if you crush the life out of me.” She lets go of him allowing him to take in the precious gift of air. “Right, Sky meet Dawn… Wait, how did you know about this?”
Terra pulls a letter out of his belt. “Someone sent this.”
“Thanks, Starry,” he says with a tired sigh. “I needed the money to try and get her out, that’s why I sold information. They said they had ponies inside the military, if I had told you they would’ve found out and killed her. It’s not that I didn’t trust you, I just didn’t trust anyone else. I’m sorry for what I did.”
“What are you all talking about? Did Arrel do something bad?” Sky asks.
Terra looks at her for a moment. “No, not at all--”
“Terra can we talk, in private?” Arrel interrupts.
Terra gives him a confused look then nod toward his quarters. He leads the way and closes the door quickly behind them. “What is it?”
“Can you guys take her back with you to Hayvana?”
“Why, you just got her back and now you’re tryin’ to get rid of her?”
“No, I just don’t want to drag her into this life. I’m a pirate and I don’t want her with that type of life.”
“Alright, I can do that.”
“Please look after her. If she isn’t looked after, I’ll kill you. You’ve seen what I can do.”
Terra laughs at the fake threat. “Oh please, you’ve never been one to blow a hole in the side of a building.” They share a laugh, when the laughing died down he fixed his eyes on his old friend. “I promise, I will look after her.”
A knocking at the door draws their attention. “The others are here, Ter,” calls one of the men on the ship. They open the door as Captain jumps on board ‘Misfortune’, they walk over to Sky.
“This is my ride,” Arrel says.
“You’re a pirate? I thought you were--”
“In the army? I was, but I’m not anymore.”
“Alright, if they’re your friends I can handle them.”
“That’s the thing, you’re not going with me.”
“What?!” she shrieks.
“I’m a pirate, I’m not about to let you get yourself into that kind of life.”
“I won’t, I won’t, just let me come with you. Please don’t leave me.”
“You’re going to Hayvana, you’re going to get a better life.”
“B-but wha… what will I do?”
“You’ll live a better life.” He gives her a kiss on the forehead. “I promise, I’ll always be there watching over you.” He flies over to Misfortune as it begins to leave.