So many years ago –during the great conflict that waged between the zebra’s, the griffons and the anthrony’s– was the armada of Equestria sailing at full speed over the oceanic waters. They wanted to make certain that their home wouldn’t be invaded by those striped beings. Not to mention the war- and bloodthirsty griffon race. At the head of the fleet was no other ship then the pride of the navy. A ship so beautiful and so well armed that it often was considered a one-ship-armada.
But it was on one of the last vessel in the fleet that she could be found. She stood next to the helm with her arms behind her back. The green rimmed eyes looked over the deck as well as both the waters and the weather. The ocean was calm, too calm for her own liking as the skies didn’t have a cloud in them.
Yet it was the wind that was sailing them all at near full speed over the idle ocean. No waves seemed to be created, at least not that they could be seeing. Whatever laid over the horizon, whatever would happen, many of them knew that it was nothing else but a one way trip. As for the anthrony who stood next to the helm, she would be making it a two way one. Little did she knew just the price she had to pay in order to get back.
After a couple moments of staring there was the door of the captain’s cabin that opened and out of it came a stallion in formal attire. He was the true boss of the ship, the actual captain of their war frigate. The mare had turned herself around and gave him a respectful salute before she nodded.
Her body then turned back over to the deck and her voice with the southern accent could be heard yelling over it. “Captain on deck! Present yarself!” she spoke before the captain walked further and went up a couple of stairs. The eyes of the anthrony looked after him and saw how he placed himself before a railing and the third mast their ship had.
He was given a great view over the deck. Slowly but surely did all of the sailors came closer to the helm. They wanted to know what on earth was going on and what the captain had to say to them. The green rimmed, orange skinned anthrony left her position by the helm and joined the others. There was nothing for her anymore near the captain.
She then just stood there with her arms once again behind her back as she looked over to their captain. The mare had to admit that despite his roughness, he still was a little bit cute. Though she would have denied every single accusation of having a crush on him. Which was perhaps something for the better.
The captain’s brilliant blue eyes clashed against his green skin but he still managed to impose as a figure of authority. All of the sudden he placed both his hands against the railing and the words left his mouth in that deep, low but always concerned tone. “Gentleman, milady, today is the day that we set sail for the journey towards the battlegrounds. For many of you possibly a one way trip. You all know why you’re here, to defend your homeland and families!”
All of the sudden did the crowd go wild simply because of the sheer confidence that the captain spoke in. Though his words weren’t done yet, far from it actually. If they only knew what trouble still laid next to them. Yet they didn’t had to wait long to get a visual demonstration.
A ringing sound began to take their turn inside of their ears. Almost like something that was faster than the speed of sound suddenly had past them. The order between the sailors was broken just like that. The captain dropped his head a little bit at first before he released a deep sigh through his nostrils. He really didn’t wanted to fight the war that was going on, most of them didn’t want to.
Yet when he looked back up could the trails of the pegasi be seen in the air. Whatever caused it, they didn’t know. All they know was that most of them had some sort of unique trail behind them as they flew by. “Well, here comes the C.A.F.,” he muttered to himself before returning his attention to the crowd below.
“The zebras and the griffons have made an alliance with one another and made a deadly move against Equestrian law. They declared war upon us,” the captain said while his eyes went from left to right. “They want to destroy us once and for all. But we aren’t going to make that happen. This fleet is the first of many to blockade the witchdoctors and sorcerers from the zebras. Their home is in the Great Plains, that is where they shall stay! We hold the power to drive them back!”
With those powerful words did all of the sailors began to chat the song of their ship. They were pumped for the events to come, the battles to be waged. Yet there was one massive problem in the plan, most of them were inexperienced. Most of them didn’t even knew what it felt like to be at war to begin with.
A little something that the captain does know all too well. Only once the sailors were silenced again by a spell from his horn, a horn that was hidden under the tricone hat did he continue. “The pegasi give us support from the air as much as they can, meaning they will be dealing with the griffons as it is our job to focus on the zebra ships. Tricky bunch, so don’t let your guard down!”
And that, that was only the beginning of one of the most deadly conflicts in the whole of anthrony Equestrian history. The war that would be fought out was something few would be able to shrug off. Traumas of the zebras and their witchcraft were common while the griffons tore through ships like they were nothing.
Yet somehow, despite all of the trouble and setbacks did the Equestrians manage to drive them further and further back to where they belonged. Negotiations were out of the question. They would destroy the alliance that was made and that alone became the raging fire in each of the anthrony’s heart.
~~~~
It was near the end of the war –or the conflict– that was raging between the three species when the final fleet was dispatched to solve it once and for all. At the helm of the pride of that very fleet stood nopony else then the green rimmed, orange skinned earth anthrony. She had allowed herself to sail in the middle with her massive stallion-o-war while the smaller frigates surrounded them.
The seas were rough and the clouds went dark. The wind was still in their favor and they managed to pick up speed. But they all knew that only the griffon race was brave enough to fly deep within thunderclouds. The orders were clear, they were to give the last blow to the biggest fleet they had seen from their enemies so far.
Though it all came at a price most of them didn’t wanted to pay at all. Their moral was low, if not completely depleted. Yet the mare who stood at the helm never got that determined look out of her eyes. Something inside of her made her continue to wanting to wage the war that was going on. A little something on which many declared her crazy for but they never spoke it aloud. Which was done with rather obvious reasons.
A lot of crewmembers had already left, or were gone. Because whether they knew it or not, the mare at the helm had seen her fair share of death and destruction. For she was there when the first fleet was nearly obliterated. Perhaps it was through luck that their ship got only away with minor damage. But one broken mast and one crashed captain later had them running for their lives.
That level of pain, that level of grief, that level of destruction, all added up in the mind of the orange skinned earth anthrony and made her as stern as she was that day. Determined to deliver the final blow as ordered.
“Commodore Applejack, permission to land?” a pegasus screamed out of the air towards the anthrony at the helm. The green rimmed eyes looked up to see the pegasus. Then it gave a nod. The distance between the two of them made it impossible to determine whether or not it was a stallion or a mare and the tones got carried away in the wind.
With a graceful landing got the pegasus at the back-deck of the ship. Applejack signaled another anthrony to take her place at the helm. Without a question did the switch happen and for the first time since they left did the commodore left the helm.
The leather coat was to be found around it while beneath it laid the standard commodore’s attire with some rewards attached to it. Medals and honors of things that were done in the time by the navy. With both of the legs still fully functioning she made her way up to the place where the pegasus landed.
Only to find a stallion hanging in the rigging of the third mast. His wings nicely tucked behind his back and he finally noticed that it was a her. His eyes looked at her with a set of respectful eyes. “Report?” Applejack simply spoke up as she walked closer to him.
The pegasus had to chuckle to himself a little bit before he dropped himself down to the deck itself. Though as he tried to stand, it became obvious that he never had developed any kind of sea legs. For his body was wobbling all over the place as he tried to get his balance. Applejack couldn’t blame him for that as the ship was rolling quite the bit.
It was after a couple of seconds that the stallion finally managed to find his place and whipped a couple of sweat stains from his face. “I have tons of things to report. As wonderful as those griffon airships are, they are easily spotted in these dark clouds. Though little packs of griffons are left and right as well. Don’t worry about those, Cloudsdale should have dispatched a ship of their own,” he said with some disbelief to his own voice.
Those words caught the commodore by surprise. She leaned against the railing and watched the raging waters. Only a small piece of wood was the thing that separated Applejack from standing on her ship and falling into the near endless ocean. Yet she couldn’t truly understand the words of the pegasus. “Cloudsdale has never dispatched a ship before, why change it now? What matter of pride y’all gotta defend now?” she questioned to him before her arms went across each other.
Those words caught the fully geared, orange rimmed pegasus a little but by surprise. He hadn’t expected them to come out of her. “Well, I don’t know! It just happened alright. A ship made out of clouds and armed with thunder cannons, is surely going too hard to detect and deal massive damage. I think, if I may speak freely ma’am, even Cloudsdale is getting enough of this. We just want to have it over and be done with. That’s my best excuse for it.”
The commodore released a deep huff through her nostrils before she shook her head calmly from side to side. “Ain’t judging Cloudsdale wrong when it comes to it, this event has been going on too long for mah own liking. But what can we do ‘bout it eh? Orders are orders,” replied Applejack to hum. She removed herself from the railing again and just walked over the back-deck, letting her mind be filled with the troubles of the events to come.
“Ah tell ya, soon as this is over, Ah’m gonna retire. Never gonna forget how the crushing defeat went during the first few days of the conflict.”
It was something that the pegasus could actually agree upon with a whole lot. “You’ll never get the screams of fallen comrades out of your head. Always thinking you could have saved them even though you couldn’t. Nightmares as powerful to keep you asleep for what seemed to be an eternity, feeding off of you like a parasite. Land of friendship and harmony, it was once called… I see little back of that.”
The eyes of the commodore calmly turned back towards the pegasus before the entire head followed. “Ya been reading that book, haven’t ya? The one saying that we evolved from ponies?”
The pegasus could only reply to that by giving a nod towards her and the earth anthrony who on her own turn rolled her eyes backwards in a sigh of disgust. “Read it mahself, loads of pointless rambling if ya ask me. And no, Ah ain’t in the mood to discuss a dumb book, clear?”
"Tks, as crystal, commodore,” the pegasus replied almost in a chuckle before shaking his head. “But back to business, griffon airship is ours, just make sure that your formation is broken up when you enter the fight. If the airship comes crashing down, chances that one of your ships will be damaged shall remain minimal.”
“Ah heard ya on that one. The fleet shall separate once we see the zebra ships. But answer me, just where on earth is that griffon ship?” the commodore asked. She began to become just that little bit curious to the matter. She wanted to know just where the dangers were lurking from as well as expected to be attacked literally at any given time.
The pegasus spread out his wings in order to stretch them before one of them pointed to a particular piece in the skies. “Sailing right next to you, in those dark clouds. They are waiting to attack you as we speak. Somehow they didn’t notice me, or they do their trick again as a couple months back with the seventh fleet.”
“Our worst defeat yet,” commented Applejack on it. Her little hat was taken off and she held it against her chest. “The seventh fleet was caught by surprise even though they knew the griffon ship was there. But they played dumb before just appearing right out of the skies, piercing through the command ship and firing all cannons at once.”
“It was a massacre, nothing could have prepared them,” the pegasus replied before he took off into the air. “As lovely as the vessel is, I prefer the skies where I don’t get tossed around that much.” For the first time since their conversation –or possibly since they had left their home– had Applejack gained a small smile on her face as she chuckled to the words.
She could completely understand the direction he came from before he left her again. “We’ll meet again sometime. Stay safe up there!”
Though any form of immediate reply she didn’t got. It almost seemed like as if the pegasus had spotted something that wasn’t supposed to be there. Almost like he had seen a ghost. Something wasn’t right and he pointed towards the bow of the vessel. All that time, they both had only been looking back and towards the direction they came from. “You might want to watch this,” he spoke up towards her as his wings made powerful flaps to stay at the same speed as the vessel.
Applejack turned herself back around before she noticed a little scene playing out. A scene she hadn’t seen before and she wanted to know the finer details of it. With hurry in her hooves had she made her way over to the rigging of the mast and with one jump did she stood on the railing, holding herself by the stays while leaning far out. The waters below her were a terrifying sight to behold but she didn’t have time.
What she caught in her green eyes was a scene that never had played out in her career before. Baffled and angered were the two things that she became literally at once. She knew the name of the ship, but not its captain. Though soon after the events had taken place, she would be knowing the name all too well.
“What in tarnation are we having here?!” the mare replied in horror. With her eyes she watched as just two, then three ships just took off from the convoy. They were following one leader ship as it seemed to be turning back around, turning back home. “What do we call things like this?” Applejack then yelled to the pegasus.
The sheer amount of anger that was to be found within her voice was something that ever terrified the pegasus down to his sheer bones. Yet there was only one word that he could be speaking against her to call the creature by the name. “Mutiny.”
“Aye, mutiny… Go back to your station, Ah handle this situation mahself. Great talking to ya and all, but matters arise Ah never expected.” Applejack replied as she dropped herself back on the deck and rushed over to the stairs.
The pegasus shrugged a little bit as the chance to say goodbye to her wasn’t there. So the only thing he could be doing was to go back up into the skies and keep on spying on the griffon ship.
“What do they think they are doing?! Everypony, raise the alarm! Mutineers on three of our ships! Ah want full communications set up now!” With the command that was given did each of the sailors knew that it wasn’t any kind of drill that they would be in. Of course had they seen how the ships had made a turn but they thought it was part of some kind of plan to surprise the zebras.
Never could have expected that mutiny would be playing a part in the in their final act of the conflict. Though some began to whisper that it had to happen eventually, and it just did. The bells were rung and everypony upon the vessel immediately knew that something terrible was happening. All of the sailors got on deck in record time as the orders were shouted to them by Applejack.
“Where is that darned unicorn?!” she bellowed over the deck. Applejack was in the need to find somepony who could allow her to communicate with the other ships. Enraged but also desperation managed to hit the commodore, she didn’t had a full idea of what she could be doing in and to the matter.
“I’m here, commodore,” an unicorn anthrony spoke when she reached the helm. Applejack herself just gestured her towards the captain’s cabin and they both entered the place. Once the door was closed could they both be found in a place few deckhands had been and the unicorn was looking her eyes out.
Everything just looked so wonderfully placed. From the sables that hung on the walls for display purposes, to the massive desk on which Applejack sat down. Though she only sat there for twenty seconds before she got up again. Her body turned itself around towards the windows of the stern and there she saw it sailing. Sailing in the wind and just like that, away from them.
The unicorn then remembered her own duty and charged up her horn. The white magical aura coated the black horn and an arcane screen appeared next to Applejack. An arcane screen where for the first few seconds nothing could be seen upon. Only to reveal the images it carried some time later.
The commodore turned herself towards the screen and looked into the eyes of the anthrony she was facing. “Give me your captain, now!” she demanded while she spoke in a deeply angered tone. Without hesitation did the other unicorn ran to the top deck before ceasing at the helm. And at the helm she stood, the one mare who had begun it all and would become the bane of Applejack’s very own existence.
She just stood there with her purple boots, black trouser and white blouse. That cursed white skinned, purple haired demon of a unicorn. The four flintlocks on her belt and the one at her thigh made it unmistakable. “Ah should have known. Trouble follows you everywhere!” Applejack growled towards the unicorn.
“Hmpf, listen to yourself here for once darling!” the ivory white unicorn returned to her. Her hands never let go of the helm for a one bit. “You really don’t see that what you are trying to do is just hunt us all into death, do you?!” Those words, those words alone were the first ones to be spoken against the commodore Applejack. And those very same words came out of the mouth of the anthrony who would be going down into the books as nopony else than White Widow.
“Ah ain’t gonna be hunting anypony into death! Ah am going to end this war once and for all and ya know it, partner,” replied Applejack to her. The urges to draw her sword were there without a doubt. Though the realization just came to her that she couldn’t step through the screen. So the sword was left alone and an index finger was pointed towards the other mare.
“Look, I don’t care what you have been planning in that coconut of yours, dear, but I’m not going to partake into it. My crew isn’t going to partake into it. You find other dogs to do your bidding. You might be the commodore over us, but your orders are from insanity at its finest. Seven trips Jackie, seven trips I have already done with this crew and each time they said it was the last one. But it never stops. I am done. You hear me, I am done with it all.”
It was a smack in the face for the commodore. Despite the fact that White Widow was a tough mare to be working with, she was a brilliant strategist. At least that was how the stories about her went. That was why she didn’t gave her any orders as to what to do. She was such a skilled captain and then something like that happened. It was more than enough to place a couple knots in the stomach of the commodore.
“So this is how y’all gonna play the game? Yar entire crew agreed on leaving? What ‘bout that second ship?” Applejack questioned to her. Her eyes peeked out of the window to see the final traces of the two deserting vessels. The third one seemed to have joined the fleet again for whatever reason. Possibly they had gotten a scent of their conversation.
“They came out of free will, Jackie,” replied Widow to her. She then turned the helm a couple dozen times to the port side. She really just wanted to get the hell away from the fleet as quickly as she possible could.
“Free will, ya say? Ya sure ‘bout that one?” It became truly difficult for the earth anthrony to not just erupt out in anger and yell the words that were on her mind. Though there was not much more needed to make her do just that. White Widow always had been the kind of mare who would be pushing other anthronies far over their limits in the first place.
“Oh trust me, Jackie, I am sure of that one. Now if you will excuse me, I have a life to live.” It were those words that were, spoken in that calm and lady-like tone that caused the earth anthrony to just blow all of the fuses that she had inside of her head. The loss of perhaps the best strategist in the Equestrian navy could only be followed up by a couple words of anger. Words of anger, that would seal their fates until they died.
“Ah declare ya and yar crew as mutineers! Ya lot shall never be safe in any in any Equestrian port. And Ah shan’t rest, until Ah have yar head in a plate. Have Ah made mahself clear?!” Applejack bellowed in a truly enraged tone. The wheezes of her emotions were sent through her cabin. Perhaps it was for the better that nopony else could be hearing her rampaging.
Though a response of Widow never came. Instead was the connection just broken between the two vessels. Applejack finally allowed herself to drop her body back in the chair. Everything suddenly rushed back to her about what had just happened. And she wasn’t happy about it.
There was only one more series of words that she could speak up on the matter before she would pursue her never-ending destiny. Simply words which were a lot easier said than done. “End this war, open the hunt.”
~~~~
With the cannons that fired their deadly cargo to one another, the two ships of fate were entangled in a deadly battle with one another. At one end there was the vessel of the recently promoted admiral Applejack, while on the other side there was the vessel of the by then still growing, infamous captain, White Widow.
Somehow had one managed to track the other down and on that stormy night of fate, they were engaged into the greatest of battles with one another. The time to board the ships wasn’t quite there yet, but with the way they were circling around, they got closer and closer. Both of the ships were still sailing despite having taken multiple broadsides of cannon salvo’s already.
The hulls were damaged and with every big wave was there water that came in. But the captains of the ships were too stupid not to blow everything off. The determination of seeing the other pretty much dead was at the top of their priority list.
“Prepare to board, ladies! Show them the mercy we always show!” White Widow yelled over the decks. Then her signature chuckle could be heard all over the deck. The cannons of both vessels were retracted. Firing at such close range would do more harm than good to their own ship. Yet the crews of both ships prepared themselves to enter the other vessel.
Chaos was the thing that followed when both crews entered the other vessel. Applejack had to fight with countless pirates with both her sword and her flintlock. She even managed to shot an anthrony holding a couple of grenades with went off a few seconds later. The earth anthrony shielded herself from the blast as the smoke filled the area.
“Come out!” snarled Applejack in an angered tone. Moments later had she heard a sword being drawn in all of the commotion. Out of the fog and dust she came, like the devil herself did she walk up to the admiral in a calm pace. “So, finally courageous enough to fight me, eh?”
“Hmhmhm, no, the opportunity finally allows it,” the ivory unicorn spoke up as she removed her coat from her shoulders and looked Applejack dead in the eyes. “Let us dance through the storm,” she added in a bit of a seductive tone before their fight erupted.
Sword clash after sword clash happened just like that. Applejack and White Widow were locked in the battle of their lives and both crews knew they didn’t had to attack them. As much as they wanted, they understood it was their fight and not theirs. So the two crews continued their own madness.
Blocks and stabs were done by the both of them as it seemed they were at an impasse. The two of them were blocking the attack of the other as their faces were brought close enough to each other. “Looks like we might be equal dear. How are you going to kill me, hm?” Widow chuckled. With her eyes had she hinted to the flintlock.
Applejack immediately knew what she meant, but the honor that she had herself was something that she wanted to keep up high. Even if it would be costing it her life, a fact that Widow knew too well about the admiral. The urge to get out her pistol was high and it was even visible within the rims she carried. “Come on Jackie, I know you want to.”
The events that happened next all went in a lightning flash. All of the sudden there were two shots fired. One massive explosion that seemed to have gotten from below decks and the splinters of wood were sent flying through the air. The second was the white smoke that came from the barrel of a flintlock pistol.
White Widow felt the pain suddenly rushing through her body. She quickly puzzled the pieces together though. Her free hand went over her abdomen and felt something warm gushing out of it. There was no doubt about it, she was shot down by Applejack. Not to mention the fact that when she looked off to the side, there was a horrible sight. The mare noticed how her own ship was sinking to the bottom of the ocean.
Somepony beneath decks had managed to load the cannons and fired the shots at literal lethal range. It was all game over from the looks of it but the forces of heaven and earth had picked White Widow as their favorite that moment. Because there was a secondary shot fired from the cannons not even ten seconds afterwards. A shot that knocked Applejack off of her footing and fell down to the deck.
Widow saw her chance clean. With one massive slash of her own sword had the debt been paid back and in full. She took her sword towards her again that was covered in blood of the admiral before she looked for an escape. The admiral yelled it out in pain before the pirate captain managed to get a getaway.
They had done it, they had sunk the ship of White Widow and managed to harm her. But at a truly terrible price to be paid. Half of her own crew was gone as well as something truly precious to the admiral, her very own leg.
~~~~
White Widow held a massive grin upon her face while she still held Twilight captive. The other unicorn had stopped struggling all together after she heard the story. A tale that was filled with revenge and sadness, but it also showed her a different look on Applejack. All of the puzzle pieces slowly were placed upon their rightful spots in the mind of the unicorn.
Which all added up to a horrible picture in the end. “I knew why you didn’t told you, you didn’t wanted to let her into our ancient feud of blood. Understandable. Shame though, because who do I have right here?” Widow chuckled before the eyes were narrowed again. She had Applejack right where she wanted, and hoped to be able to keep her for a little while longer.
“Was it worth it, tell our history to a soothsayer who doesn’t needed to know it?” the admiral then asked the pirate in a dead serious tone. But reason was something the captain had forgotten a long time ago. Insanity had taken its place because of the mare she had become. “Ah remember yar name. Yar actual name, Widow. Supposed to be faded from history, but it’s saved right here in mah mind,” added Applejack while she tapped the side of her head with a dead serious look. Widow simply rose an eyebrow to the words as her curiosity had been awoken again.
“Don’t do it, Applejack, I don’t want to die yet!” Twilight pleaded as she felt the barrel placed even more firm against the side of her head.
“No, do it, dear. Tell her, my real name. She has that right to know, right?” White Widow grinned just before she shook her head calmly.
Applejack released a huff through her nostrils. Then she spoke the two words in a tone that didn’t carry hatred or anger, no happiness or glee. But just that eerie, monotone voice. The name that she spoke was none other than, “Rarity, Brittenburg.”