//------------------------------// // Chapter 12: Captain Unique // Story: The Alicorn King's Glare // by LightOfTriumph //------------------------------// Rarity woke up surrounded by barrels and cobwebs. "Oh my...," she said aloud. "Oh this is most unseemly. Where-" She was cut off when the room she was in lurched violently to the side, throwing her into a few of the dusty barrels. "Well I never!" Rarity scoffed. "When was the last time this horrible place was dusted?! Grooming myself after this is going to be a nightmare. And what kind of room lurches from side to side anyway? Actually, that's a good question... Where in Equestria am I?" Rarity stood still for a moment and took in her surroundings. A large room. Dusty. Full of barrels and crates. Softly swaying from side to side. "I'm on a sailing vessel!" Rarity said shocked. "What in Celestia's name am I doing here? How did I even get here? The Crystal Empire is completely landlocked? And..." Befuddlement turned to a quiet white hot fury as she realized something else. "Am I... Am I in the cargo hold?" Rarity turned quickly on her heels. "Well, I simply won't stand for this! I'm going to find the nearest crewman and have him take me to the captain! If he thinks he is going to get away with throwing me in the cargo hold, he's got another thing coming. Even if he's kidnapped me he can tie me to the mainsail like a proper lady in distress! I-" Rarity trailed off as she came to meet three familiar faces. The three creatures were bipedal, furred, each with glowing yellow eyes. Rarity recognized them immediately, these three Gnolls called themselves... "The Diamond Dogs?" Rarity said aghast. "What in Equestria are you...?" "How does she know our old gang name, brother?" said Spot. "It's not our name anymore, Spot," said Fido. "It doesn't matter," said Rover. "Come with us, Pony." Rarity smiled. She knew how to handle these idiots. "Absolutely not!" she said, pulling every inch of the overly picky noblewoman in her out. "As a matter of fact I take several issues with my treatment here! I have been stuffed in the cargo hold of this dreadful ship without even the slightest commendations and I-" She was cut off when Rover pointed a long sharp Cutlass at her throat. "Let's try this again," Rover said calmly. "Come with us, Pony. You're going to meet the Captain." The Captain sat at the helm of her ship. At first glance, she didn't look like the Captain of a vessel with this crew. She was dressed immaculately. Her clothes made it look like she was attending some sort of royal event. A long purple gown, and jewelry that would stun any passerby. The design was a bit derivative, Rarity thought, but she carried it off well. All in all, she didn't resemble a ruffian. She was calm, beautiful, and composed. Rarity thought for a moment that she must be another captive... But then they locked eyes. The eyes are the windows to the soul. Her soul seemed to be filled with spiders and bad news. They were cold and unfeeling. They were the eyes of a mare who thought she never got what she deserved out of life, and what she deserved was everything. They seemed not to stare at Rarity, but into her. She was a predator sizing up her prey. "Oh, for goodness sake...," she said. Her voice was as lovely as her appearance. "Did you boys have to bring her here now? I'm not even close to ready... Will you look how I'm dressed? Oh for heavens sake, forgive me darling, I have to go change." The Captain went into her quarters and came out a moment later in a new outfit. A black jacket with blue trim and lining. Black leggings. A purple undershirt. Brown boots, and three gold bracelets around her right forehoof. She wore a tri-corner black hat. When she stepped out from her quarters she brought with her a bottle of wine and two glasses. "There we are!" she smiled. "I suppose now is the time we would toast a successful landfall, but..." She looked out over the endless sea around her. "I don't think there is anything for us to make landfall on, here. I wish His Majesty would tell me where he is sending me when he puts me on these odd assignments. I don't think you could 'chart' these waters if you tried. I'm not even sure if this place is real..." "Who are you?" Rarity asked. "Oh come now darling," the Captain smiled. Then there began to be flashes in Rarity's mind. Her horn drags her off miles away. Leading to... nothing. Just a large boulder and the wasteland. "Oh," the Captain sighed. "I learned a hard lesson that day. Honestly it was the best thing that ever happened to me..." Too ashamed to return home. A port town. Stowing away. The wrong kind of ship. "Nothing in this life is ever given to you," the Captain smirked. "Those who 'give' betray the natural order. Life favors those who take. So..." Murder. Anger. Greed. Respect. "I took." A ship of her own. A crew that fell in line. Guiding by the stars through the endless night. "But it wasn't until I met him that I realized. I was the only one good enough. The only one with the strength to stand up to the darkness." Bathed in his light, she now understood her purpose. She would purge the sea of darkness. Any gold she happened to pick up along the way would simply be a bonus. "You may be a Rarity, darling. But me," the Captain let out an evil grin. "I'm Unique." Despite the horror of what she just saw, Rarity kept her composure. She merely took another sip of wine and began to think about her situation. "Speechless?" Unique smiled. "As I understand it that's a first!" "Oh, not at all," Rarity smiled. "Merely thinking... Actually, I think I finally know what this is..." Unique paused. "What... is this, then?" "A cracked mirror and a distorted reflection," Rarity thought aloud. "Glare is trying to show me the worst of myself... And to be fair he hit the nail squarely on the head." "I was under the impression that he was showing you yourself perfected," Unique sneered. "Oh, of course that's what he wants me to think...," Rarity smiled. "I heard what he did to Sombra and Luna... Made them forget who they really are and give in to their worst. Become somepony that they truly despise because they were under the impression that that was the only way that they could overcome an obstacle. To defeat evil, one must become evil." Unique pointed a long cutlass at Rarity's throat. "Did you just call me evil?" she screamed. "You bathe in darkness every twelve hours and you think I'm the evil one?! How dare you-" Rarity didn't even flinch. She merely put her hoof daintily on the blade of the sword and pushed it away. "Oh, please Darling. Don't overreact. It's unbecoming. Besides, I'm betting you are coming closer than your compatriots and turning me into someone I don't want to become. Mostly because you had a head start." Unique looked puzzled. "I can be shallow, overbearing, certainly overdramatic, and, despite my element," Rarity took another sip of her wine and took a look deep into Unique's eyes. "I can be greedy. And I think that's where you came from. You came from that sick little part of me that despises my element, and only wants me to take for myself. But here's the thing..." Rarity put her glass down. "That little part of me is always wrong," Rarity smiled. "I don't hate my element. In fact it's the perfect Element for me. I have too many good ideas to hoard them all for myself. Every time I give one away I gain something. It's ineffable, but it's there. It's what keeps me going. As a result, I give freely. I need to. I don't think I could survive without it. I give dresses, outfits, advice, money where I can spare it, my own tail at one point, and more important than anything else, I give my trust. I trust my friends to not fall or this charade. I trust Twilight to help me here if I need it. I trust the Princesses to not fall victim to their father again. I even, Celestia help me, trust Discord to have known what in Equestria he was doing when he petrified himself. Because of all the trust I've given people are more willing to trust me. That makes me feel fairly safe." Light began to show through cracks on Unique's hoof. "Look around you, Captain," Rarity said. "Who do you trust? How safe do you feel?" The Captain began to look at her crew with terror. "Keep away," she said breathlessly. "All of you Keep away!" She held out the Cutlass, frantically pointing it at each crew member. "I mean it! I won't hesitate to-" Unique fell backwards and then quickly rose. Rarity noticed her foreleg was bleeding. She also noticed that the glowing cracks were now running all through her body. Rarity grabbed a Cutlass from one of the Diamond Dogs. The others drew theirs in concern. "Oh, for goodness sake!" Rarity scoffed. "Do you honestly think it's worth it for me to fight now? Honestly!" Rarity pulled at the back of her mane and used the sword to cut a large lock of it off. She approached Unique with the lock, but the Captain stopped her with the sword. "Keep away!" "You're bleeding, Darling," Rarity said softly, holding out the lock. "Someone needs to patch you up." Unique lowered the sword slowly, not taking her eyes off Rarity. "W... Why?" Rarity began to bandage the wound. "You were hurt," Rarity smiled. "Fixing you up is worth a little piece of my mane. As gorgeous as it was..." "But..." The cracks began to move onto Unique's face. "I'm your enemy..." "And?" Rarity smiled as she finished the makeshift bandage. "There we are." The last look on Unique's face was one of utter confusion as she burst into blinding light. When the light dimmed the ship had changed. From the normal beige of the wood to a deep purple. And the sails (once black) were now a clean white with the image of three blue diamonds upon them. More importantly, Unique and her crew were gone "Ah ha ha ha!" Rarity squealed. "Oh this is just perfect!... Oh, but how in Equestria am I going to get it home?" A hole in the air seemed to open up in front of her. Through it she could see Twilight facing off with Glare. "You want a reason?!" Twilight screamed. "I can give you six!" "I do like it when she's fierce!" Rarity smiled. "I suppose that means I'd better be going. Farewell HMS Rarity! So much potential left untapped! "One," said Rainbow Dash crashing through the roof. "Two!" said Pinkie Pie cheerfully, leaping from seemingly nowhere. "Three," said Fluttershy, with a harder expression than usual. Rarity smiled as she leaped through the portal "Four!" she said proudly! The pulse began to grow stronger. And somewhere in the realm beyond, someone began to smile.