//------------------------------// // Chapter 25 // Story: Captain's Journey // by Sphinx_Herald //------------------------------// Ebony looks over at Captain slowly remembering the message she got from her queen. He stands next to Twigs and Smokey as they have yet another little drink off. With a sigh she looks down at the untouched bottle in front of her. I have grown quite attached to them, haven’t I? What am I going to do? I don’t want to leave, but I don’t want them being killed over me. She lays her head on the counter with a small sigh. “Something the matter, sweetie?” Rose asks. Ebony looks up at Rose. I don’t want them to get hurt because of me. “No, I’m fine, just a dream.” “Was I there?” Ebony chuckles. “I think it would have been a nightmare if you were there.” “Oh, that hurts, sweetie. You should be nicer since I was the one that got you in bed with Captain.” “Yeah, that’s wasn’t very fun either.” "It seemed like you were having fun when you started singing. You were off-key, but it still looked like fun. Besides, I bet he had you singing all night long, sweetie." Ebony lunges at her over the counter. Rose takes a step back, standing just outside of Ebony's range. Heavy hoofsteps draw their attention as Captain walks up to the two. He grabs the bottle in front of Ebony and chugs it down. “So, got any jobs for us today?” he asks as he places the empty bottle on the counter. Ebony tries to give him a glare but he simply ignores it “That depends, sweetie. What kind of job?” Captain shrugs. "Something that pays well." “Well, I suppose I have something. There's an other pirate, he owes me a little money.” She hold up her hoof before Captain gets up. "He was delivering something for me when he was caught. I want you to go save him, I don't want him telling on me and he still owes me since he didn't complete the delivery. “When you say caught, do you mean he’s in the fort?” Ebony asks. “Yeah.” “Captain, we barely made it out of there last time.” “But last time we were trying to get out, this time we’re breaking in,” he says with a smile. He walks to the door followed by several members of the crew. Ebony rams her head into the counter. “Don’t believe in him?” Rose asks. “It’s not that… I just have a bit of history with that place.” “Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll be fine.” Ebony stares out over the waves as the city of Hayvana slowly pokes over the horizon. She flicks her ears back; the hive-mind buzzing in the back of her head. She glances over at Captain. He’s willing to break into the fort for some stranger. He’d never let me leave if he knew why. But, he won’t be able to beat an army of changelings; he’d try, but he can’t. “Something wrong?” Captain asks. Ebony blinks as she comes out of her thoughts. “Why do you say that?” “Your ears are folded back and you’re staring at me.” “No, nothing’s wrong,” she says looking back over the waves. She looks around in minor surprise as Kingfisher pulls into the harbour. She had been so caught up in her thought that she didn't notice them pulling in. Captain shrugs and goes back to the helm. Soon the ship pulls up to the dock which is as crowded as ever. "Tie up the ship, Twigs." Captain says, he jumps down onto the dock without waiting for the gangplank. “Where are you going?” Ebony asks. “Fort.” “No you aren’t, we need a plan first. We’re not about to go charging in there head-long.” Captain lets out an exaggerated sigh. "What do we need a plan for?" "It's useful with we want to live," Ebony says pushing the end of the plank onto the dock. Captain looks over at the fort anxiously then back at the ship. “We’re going to need stealth, we can’t take on the whole army," Ebony continues. "Sadly, stealth means Howler and Craven can't go." Captain raises an eyebrow at her. "Not ponies, they'd be spotted too easily. Willow might be able to, but she also stands the risk of being noticed." “I know the place, I’ve been there a couple of times. I could go,” Arrel says. “No, someone might recognize you,” Ebony says. “That leaves Twigs and Smokey,” Starry says. “We’re only useful on the ship,” Twigs says. “Well, we’re kinda stuck then.” “I can go,” Captain says. “At this point I think they’re looking for a pirate with pink hair,” Starry says. “Ebony can still go,” Captain says. “What? No, I can’t go. I don’t even fight.” “You don’t have to, you go in there and pretend to be a soldier or something. You go to the prison cells, get the guy and walk out.” “It’s true you really are the only one who can. Let’s face it, if Twigs or Smokey go they’ll be found out in seconds. They might know what Arrel or I look like. The griffon and diamond dog can’t go. Captain would start a war. You seem to be the only one smart enough to go and won’t stand out.” “But… uh… I can’t, I don’t, uh… I don’t know the layout.” “Coral taught me telepathy, Arrel and I can lead you through it.” “But, uh…" She starts raking her brain for an excuse not to go, but also avoids telling them of her being a changeling. Captain gives her a smirk. "Fine, I’ll do it, just make sure I don’t get caught.” Captain flashes her a smile. Starry walks up to Ebony. She uses her magic to force Ebony to sit on the deck, she sits in front of her with only an inch or two between their foreheads. “I’m still not good at this spell so sit still while I cast this,” Starry says. “I might blast our heads off if you if I do this wrong anyways,” she mutters under her breath. “Wait, what was that ab--"Before she has time to finish a spark travel from Starry's horn to Ebony's forehead. They screams as a sharp pain shoots through their heads. Ebony opens her eyes as the headache dies down. “Well, I think I still have my head.” “I think you cast it wrong,” Arrel says. “Dear, unless you know magic, could you shut up?” “Not very refined language.” “I was planning on showing you something less refined tonight, but you can forget about it now.” Captain clears his throat loudly. "I think we should go get you a uniform now." A lavender colored pegasus looks at the massive gate to the fort. Two archers stand guard at the top with two more guards standing in front of the gate itself. She tugs at the neck of the uniform. Been a while since I wore one of these. “Sorry, what was that? I seem to be getting a bit of interference; must be a problem in the casting.” “Nothing, just a little worried,” Ebony thinks adding a few random thoughts trying to drown out the buzz of the hive-mind. “There’s nothing to worry about. Just walking in there and try not to linger in one spot for too long. With your disguise you should be able to get in there without any problems; we’ll work on getting out when we get to that.” “My disguise won’t last long if Captain keeps sending me to do things like this.” “What?” “Nothing, just tell me where to go.” She walks up to the gate casting a quick glance at the guards. Just as Starry had said, thought, she walks in with no problems only one guard gives her a second glance, though it was at her flank rather than at her. Once inside she looks up at the imposing structure. She gulps when she sees a small group of soldiers training in the courtyard. “So, where to?” “Give me a second,” Starry replies. “Are you saying you didn’t plan out the route?” “Technically I’m not saying anything, I’m thinking words to you. Also, it seems Arrel hasn’t been to the prisons so he doesn’t know the way.” “This plan keeps getting better and better.” “He says he sees them take the prisoners to the first door on the right.” Ebony sighs and heads over to the door. She opens it with a quick push, she quickly steps inside before anypony can see her. “Okay, so now where?” “That’s as far as he knows… bloody idiot. Oops, you weren’t suppose to hear that… There still seems to be some interference; seems familiar somehow.” With a sigh she takes a left. She opens the first door she finds. Inside the room three stallions stand around a table with a map of the area sprawled across it. Different maps and flags hang on the walls around the room. They turn to look at her. She yelps as she locks eyes with a orange-coated stallion. “Great idea, open the first random door you find,” Starry thinks sarcastically. “Who are you?” asks an aged stallion to her right. He has a dull blue coat, with a white mane and a big fluffy mustache stuck to his lip. “I’m, uh…” “New recruit?” “Yes, I’m a new recruit, I’m supposed to guard the prisoners, but I don’t know where the cells are.” The old stallion turns on the orange one. “You trust a new recruit to guard prisoners! Much less, one that doesn’t even know where the prisons are!” “Sir, that is not what we’re here to discuss.” “Actually, we are here to be sure of your competence and that of your men, I do believe this falls under 'your and your men's competence',” says the other. A grey coated unicorn stallion. “As of yet you continue to fail us, you let a changeling escape with a pirate. You let that pirate come back and steal a brig. He has since freed several slaves, sunk six merchants, burnt a mansion. At this rate it looks like Gallows will be taking your rank.” “This static is really starting to annoy me. Reminds me too much of the markets back at Canterlot. Wait…” Starry thinks. The orange stallion shakes his head. “You can’t be serious, he’ll kill anyone he even thinks might have talked to a pirate! Just give me one moment.” He looks back at Ebony. “What is your name, soldier?” “Sunny Rays,” she blurts out. "Oh buck, wrong name, wrong name! Gotta get out of here!" “Ebony, what’s going on? What do you mean by wrong name? And why does this ‘static’ sound like a lot of voices talking to each other?” Starry asks. The orange stallion narrows his eyes on her. He walks up to her. “Sunny, huh? That’s funny, the changeling we caught was using that name. But, it was freed by a pirate.” He leans in close to her. “So, why did you come back, changeling?” ***** “Ebony! The buck is going on, Ebony?” Starry shouts knowing full well that it won’t make a difference. “What the buck is happening?” “What’s going on?” Arrels asks. “I don’t know, I think she might be in trouble-- Ah!” She falls to the deck screaming as she clenches her head. She pants heavily as the pain slowly subsides. “Are you okay, what happened?” Arrel asks as he helps her up. “The link was broken.” “Huh?” “The mind link, it was broken.” “How?” “I don’t know, it sounded like she was in trouble. She could have been knocked out, or killed. Someone could have dispelled it with their own magic. It could have even wore off on it’s own. Hay, it could have blown her head off as a side effect by now, I just don't bloody know!" “She’s in trouble?” They both looks up to see Captain standing above them. He has a concerned looked. “Sounded that way,” Starry replies. Captain turns around and walks over to the gangplank. “I’m going with you if you’re going to save her.” “No you’re not, you’re going to stay here. I don't want to be stuck saving more ponies than I need to today.” ***** There is a bright green flash blinding the three stallions. They stumble backwards, the orange one stumbles into the table knocking it over. He opens his eyes and sees the blurry image of a black pony-shaped creature running out of the room. He tries to get up and chase her but he trips over one of the other stallions. There is a loud slam as the changeling closes the door. Ebony runs down the hall, a little happy to be in her normal form. She runs at a full sprint down the hall, htrying to put s much distance between her and them. After a few seconds she slows to a walk, quietly opening a door with her magic. She slips in as quietly as she can, as soon as she's through she slowly closes the door and press up against it. She hears shouting coming from further down the hall slightly muffled by the door, but she can still make it out. “Lockdown the fort! There is a changeling in the fort. No one gets in or out, if you find anyone who is not at their post or doesn’t know where their post is, arrest them. Stay in pairs, do not split up,” says the orange stallion. “Yes sir!” shouts a soldier. “Good job, you let it escape again,” says the old stallion. “You were there too, old fool! Why did you let it go?” “I was blinded!” “Funny, so was I. Watch your mouth before you talk next time!” “Why you little…” “Stop this! A changeling is roaming through these halls and here you two are, arguing like two foals. If this changeling escapes it will be because of both your faults,” says the grey unicorn. There is a long pause before anyone speaks next. “You’re right. Start searching rooms, if you find someone ask them basic questions, even if it’s any of us.” Ebony sighs as she hears them running down a different hall. She slowly opens the door and peers out. Green flames surround her as she steps out into the hall. I have to get out of here. ***** Captain pulls the body of the guard into a bush before he continues through the side door. He looks down the grey hall, he can hear guards running around, but can't see any of them. He starts trotting with little care for stealth seeing as to how all the soldiers are running around. He trots past a stairwell, the one he had used in his first escape. With a smile he trots down the stairs. Once at the bottom he spots the familiar iron bar that had held him only a few eeks ago. He hears a set of hoofsteps coming from his right. Three soldier come out of the darkness, armed and alert. One has a spear while the other two have swords. “Halt, who goes there?” one of them shouts. “Captain.” They look at him curiously. “Are you a soldier?” “Pirate,” he says with a grin. He unsheathes his sword and charges the group. They stop and the one with the spear levels his weapon. Captain falls to his back and slides under the shaft of the spear. He kicks the legs out from under the stallion. The other two try to strike at Captain while he’s on the ground, but he grabs the prone soldier and uses him as a shield. There is a quick gasp as one of the swords sinks into the soldier’s flesh, the other sword strikes the ground. Bringing his hindlegs under his ‘shield’ he shoves the soldier into the other that had struck him. Captain rolls to his hoofs and draws his sword in one motion. Sparks fly as he sends the soldier’s sword flying down the hall. He lunges forward and crushes the soldier’s head into the wall. He grabs the remaining soldier by the neck and slams him to the wall with a crack. ***** Ebony stalks the halls searching for an unguarded way out. The easiest way out would be the roof, but the pegasi would stop her, most likely. She sighs and looks around the all too familiar walls. She's at one of the corners in the fort. Two cannons reside in the room aiming out of two different walls. Several kegs of black powder lie in a pile near the corner. Cannonballs lie in a similar pile in one of the other corners. She looks out the small hole the cannon is aimed through. She jumps back when the shadow of a pegasus passes by. She lets out a sigh when it doesn't come back. She goes to continue down one hallway when she finds it blocked. A white unicorn with black mane stands in the door frame. In a second he draws his sword and magically holds it to her throat. “Name and rank?” he asks. “M-Merry Meadows, recruit,” she says inching her way toward the other door. “And what are you doing here?” “L-looking for the changeling, sir.” He raises an eyebrow at her. “I was making sure it wasn’t going for the munitions.” He stares at her for several long moments. “How do I know you’re not the changeling?” she asks. She feels the sword press against her neck. “You dare to accuse me of being a changeling?” “N-no sir, I’m just making sure.” The stallion continues to keep his sword to her neck as he thinks. “What is the most recent project the military has been investing in?” “The fleet closing of access to the waters near the Dragon Spires.” He pulls the sword away from her neck. “That is correct.” He brings his sword in front of him and aims it at Ebony. “However, I doubt a new recruit would have known about that.” Ebony drops the disguise with a bright green flash. The stallion takes a step back from the blinding light but not much more. Ebony opens the door and bolts out into the hall. She can hear the soldier cursing behind her. She takes a quick right turn, she has just enough time to dodge out of the way as a soldier comes flying down the hall and crashes into the wall. Looking down the hall she spots the pink-maned captain as he slams an other soldier soldier into a wall. “Captain?” He stops fighting and looks over at her. “Ebony! I found you!” “What are you doing here?” “Getting us out, I know an exit that’s not guarded,” he says with a smile “Do you know where it is?” His smile drops as he tries to remember the route he took through the fort. “You’re a hopeless captain.” “It’s not my fault every hall looks the same.” “Good point, anyways I think we should just get out of here,” Ebony says. She hears hoofsteps from behind again, presumably the soldier she had found earlier. She starts running down the hall without waiting for an answer from Captain. “Sure,” Captain says. As he is turning to run after her he spots the white unicorn come running around the corner Ebony had come from. “Come on, Captain,” Ebony calls to him from further down the hall. “Gallows,” Captain snarls. He draws his sword and turns to face the soldier. He stomps his forehoof into the ground causing a spiderweb of cracks to run across the floor. He charges at the soldier. Gallows stops and brings his sword out in front of him to block Captain’s strike. Sparks fly and Gallows is sent skidding down the hall. He feels his flank bump against the wall. He looks up as Captain charges again. He rolls out of the way just as Captain throws a punch. Captain hoof slams into the wall sending cracks crawling along the hall. Gallows takes the opportunity, striking from below at Captain side. Captain pulls his hoof out of the wall in time to dodge the sword. Captain swings his own sword at the unicorn. Gallows jumps back from the blade and brings his sword back to block a second strike. Captain tries to punch him again, but it's block. Gallows skids further down the hall as his sword take the brunt of the impact. Once he comes to a stop Captain tackles him and they go rolling through a doorway. Ebony nervously follows the fight as it heads back the way she came from. Great, the fort is on lockdown, I’m being hunted and he’s trying to settle a vendetta. Oh and he can’t remember how he got here. Gallows kicks Captain off of him, sending him crashing into the pile of black powder kegs. Powder spills across the floor as the kegs shatter on the floor. Even before getting up Gallows sends his sword sailing toward Captain. Captain quickly gets to his hooves and jumps over the cannon next to him. The sword bounces off the cannon and sparks rain down onto the powder. Captain jumps over the cannon, runs out the door and presses against the wall. Gallows charges a spell as the rest of powder kegs catche fire. The explosion rocks the corridor. Smoke pours out of the door. Captain looks through the doorway hoping to see a corpse through the smoke. Thin rays of light shine through a hole in the wall that the kegs had been stacked against. Soon the smoke clears out enough for him to see a sphere of blue magic surrounding Gallows. Captain growls and charges into the room again with his sword drawn. His sword strikes against the magic forcefield Gallows had created. Gallows smirks at him from the other side of the shield. His smirks dies as he hears a cracking. Cracks spread across the shield as Captain’s blade sinks into the magic shield. He’s beating magic with brute strength, Gallows thinks. He steps to the side slightly and release the shield. Captain’s sword continues downward into the floor. Shifting his weight Captain rips his sword out of the floor and strikes Gallows’ out of the air. Gallows takes a step back and charges a spell on his horn. He fires a volley of magic bolts that fills half small room. One of the bolts hits Captain sending him falling out the hole. He hears buzzing followed by a quick image of the changeling flying through the smoke. Ebony catches Captain halfway through the air. He struggles as she flies away from the building. “Let me go, I have to kill him!” he shouts. Ebony sighs and looks behind, several pegasi are behind her and closing. “Let me go!” Captain shouts. Ebony looks down at him with a glare. “Fine.” She lets him go and watches him fall. Captain manages to turn around in time to crash face first into the waves. She hears the pegasi shout at her and goes into a dive. She splashes into the water a few hooves away from where Captain did. The pegasi stop and hover a few hooves above the water. Captain and Ebony resurface behind a rock not far from where they went in. They pull themselves onto the rock gasping for breath. “Wha… what was that for?” Captain asks with a glare. “You… you wanted me to let you go.” Captain slumps down onto the rock and drapes his foreleg over his eyes. “I’m sorry about that.” He feels something collide with his jaw, painfully. He moves his foreleg and looks at Ebony, she gives him another punch across the jaw. “What was that for?” he asks rubbing his jaw. “That’s for signing me up for this stupid plan!” “Fair enou--” He is cut off as Ebony punches him again. “That’s for going after that guy.” She punches him again. “And that’s for blowing a hole in a bucking military base!” Captain rubs his jaw and looks up at the fort, a plume of smoke coming from within. “Okay, I deserve the first and last one. I really messed up there, guess we can’t come back for a long time.” “Ya think?” She peers over the rock at the pegasi as they start splitting off to search. “I think we should get out of here before they find us.” “Agreed, let’s get started we have a big swim ahead of us.” “Oh, and one more thing.” She gives him a quick peck on the cheek. “Thanks for coming for me.” Ebony lays her head on the counter placing the empty bottle a few inches away from her muzzle. “Bad day?” “You have no clue.” “It’s not like there was an explosion that took out part of a wall at the fort, because if that happened then it would be a good day.” Ebony looks at her with surprise. “How did you…” “I have my contacts.” “Yeah, it was a complete mess.” “Don’t worry, that wall was ugly anyways. I always find a bit of mayhem fun. Oh, you wanna come with me next time I go for some revenge?” “No… wait, revenge?” “Oh, well that’s too bad.” "What do you mean by revenge?" "Well, I could use some help burning someone's house down." "Why?" "He dumped me." Ebony shakes her head muttering something about insanity. Ebony lets out a yawn and her eyelids droop slightly. She gets up from the stool and heads to the door. “Well, it's been fun, but I’m heading to bed, I need to sleep.” “Why don’t you stay with me for the night, I’ll make sure you sleep real well.” They hear a squeak from further down the counter where Willow sits. “Don’t worry, you can join in too if you want, sweetie.” A round of laughter and cheers raise from the tavern as the deer tries to bury herself under the counter. “No thanks.” “If you want Starry can join too, sweetie. The more the merrier, I say.” Ebony feels her cheeks heat up. “G-goodnight.” She walks out into the crisp cool night air. She spreads her wings and flies over to Misfortune. She spots Starry sitting on the dock next to the ship. She is looking out to sea. Curious she lands next to the unicorn. “Hey Starry, what’s up?” There is a dull thud and Ebony feels something pulling on her tail. She turns to find Starry’s sword stuck through her tail and into the dock. “Let’s cut to the chase, pardon the poor choice of words. Anyways,who are you, Ebony, assuming that’s your real name?” “T-that is my real name. What’s going on?” “So it’s just a coincidence that a changeling appears in the fort the moment everything goes to shit? I’m also guessing that though voices in your head weren’t yours. So, let’s try this again, what are you?”