• Published 7th Mar 2012
  • 1,963 Views, 64 Comments

Pirates of Equestria - Lastingimage24



A battle between holy evil and blind truths takes place in the once utopian society that is Equestria. Six elements, two captains, and four Immortals struggle to clear the now blurred line between right and wrong.

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Aged Color Flames


“Dwelling is a word that should only be in our physical vocabulary, not in our emotional one.”

Chapter 9

"What's a policeman doing here?" The mare asked, pointing out Gavin's blue hat. "Is there an investigation in my library?"

"Huh?" Gavin looked beside him a bit before smiling and holding his hat. "O-oh this. I-I'm not an officer, this was my dad's hat. My uh, my stepdad's hat." He couldn't shake this nervous feeling he had, like he wasn't worthy to be talking to this woman. "Oh! My name is, uh, Private Gavino. But you can call me Gavin."

"Private?" The mare questioned, baffled. She lit up as she deduced another possibility in her head. "So you must be military then?"

"W-well actually, Private is my first name, it's not a title. I was in the military though, but that was awhile ago."

"Hmm." The mare inspected the stallion in front of her skeptically, trying to take in any subtle details that would discredit his introduction. Satisfied with her findings, she cheerfully smiled and tilted her head. “Hello Private Gavin! My name is Twilight Sparkle, nice to meet you.”

“Twilight?" Just the mare I was looking for! "I knew it!” Gavin jumped for joy, which made Twilight take an apprehensive step back. “I-I was here to find you!”

“Really...” Twilight scowled and began to build up magic in her horn. She was a bit surprised to see he didn’t even notice the impending offensive maneuver .

“Yeah, you’re friends are looking for you.” Gavin smiled wider than he had all month. He was so happy this was actually going well. Something wasn’t blowing up in his face like it usually did.

At mention of her friends, Twilight eased off her attack. Her mouth agape and her pupils wide, she stammered. “My... Friends? They... they’re looking for me? They came back?!”

Tears started to swell up around the purple unicorn’s eyes. Gavin’s heart sunk. How is she going to react when she hears there's only two out of five? “Well... two of them. Fluttershy and... uh... Pinkie... Pie.” Woah, Gavin almost forgot the pink one’s name. Sad, considering she knew his name just by bumbling into him in the hall.

“That’s more than enough!” she reassured the indigo pony, giving him a tight hug. Gavin was a bit unprepared for the sudden contact and was a bit dumbfounded for a couple of moments. He warmed up, and returned the hug. Twilight realized how sudden the informality was and backed off, her cheeks ablaze. She noticed how... at peace the man before her stood, even though his face showed signs of terribly sad experiences. It was affectionately mystical in its own contradiction.

“Ahem,” he coughed, rubbing his head and looking away. “So uh, you gonna come... uh with me! That is, to err, see your friends! And stuff...”

Adorably awkward as well, Twilight noted. The humor of Gavin's antics wore off quickly, however, as she prepared her answer. Her smile faded, and she stared into the abyss. “I can’t,” she said solemnly.

Gavin’s hope died along with muscle support for his shoulders. His heart became so heavy he had to sit. “Why not...”

“This isn’t the real me. The real me is out there,” she explained, more tears falling down her cheeks.

“I’m sorry, I don’t understand.”

“That parchment you picked up... it contained a very small amount of my soul. A tiny, incredibly insignificant part, that only shaved about a minute off my lifespan. Since I am so small, I am a purely abstract form of the real Twilight. I am the basics of her personality and emotions. The real me knew what I would be like... it was a failsafe because... the real me isn’t in the right mind at the moment.” She looked at the man in front of him, who simply sat and listened with intrigue. “I was put here as a note. A note with sentience to discern who was allowed to read her message with impunity. The ultimate security measure.”

“You have to decide if I’m worthy?” Gavin was absolutely puzzled, but Twilight shook her head.

“That was decided as soon as you touched the paper. My soul encountered yours. If your soul was approved, you’d be able to contact me. If your soul was indifferent, if you picked up the note on accident, or for a different reason than finding me, nothing would’ve happened. If your soul was disapproved, the note would have been destroyed immediately. Apparently, you were approved by Twilight’s soul, and you were allowed to speak with her sentience.” She made a faint smile. “Or part of it, which is me.”

“So,” Gavin asked. “Does the real you know of this conversation? Is she experiencing it?”

“If she was okay she would be, yes. She’d be fully aware. But she’s not okay. She knows this is happening, but she ignores it, she doesn’t know what to make of it.”

“But...” Gavin was unsure if his next question was stupid or not. “You’re still alive, right?”

“Mhmm,” she confirmed. “If she were killed I’d know. I wouldn’t disappear, but trust me, I’d know” Twilight shivered at the thought.

“So then what about me?” Gavin asked, starting to feel concern. “Am I just a part of the real me’s soul?”

“Nope,” she answered reassuringly. “You’re the whole shebang. In the real world you’re body is most likely completely motionless. You’re not dead, don’t worry, you’re just an empty shell. Like a computer without its processor.”

“What now then?” Gavin asked. “What will you have me do?”

Twilight nodded, now with determination. It showed on her whole body, in a similar fashion that Fluttershy had in the mission briefing earlier. “Right then. I was put here by the real Twilight to inform whoever was able to see this to tell them I’m in trouble. And I’m a very dangerous person, for the things I know, the things I might do, and the things that people will want to make me do. I was too out of it, apparently, when I left this note to help myself. It must have been my subconscious that made me do this. Anyway I need you to find me. If my friends reunited with me... I know it’d help.”

“Do you know where the real you is?”

“Not entirely. My connection with the real me is weak since I’m so crazy. All I know is that I’m in the Farwall Bog that is close to the east coast of Equestria. You can’t miss it on a map.” She now showed concern. “It is a very dense jungle filled with dangerous animals and an environment that’s just as deadly. Be careful.”

“Don’t worry, certainly won’t be the last dangerous thing I do,” Gavin joked, then more seriously added, “And besides, I have friends that’ll help.”

“Good. And by the way I honestly have no idea what the hell I’m doing there, the real me doesn’t think in coherent sentences any more. I could be the most dangerous thing there. Good luck, the fate of many lives hang in the balance.” Twilight sighed with the faint smile she had never faltering. She put both hooves on Gavin’s shoulders. “I’m going to send you back to your body. I just want to ask of one thing. Can you take this parchment back to the real me? If you do that, this part of my soul will be returned and this conversation will go to her memory as if she experienced it herself. I want to remember you Gavin, it got really lonely here.”

Gavin felt his cheeks getting hotter. “S-sure t-thing.” Just like that, something hit him. “Wait if I have this note, can’t I see you again? To uh, keep you company?”

Twilight hung her head with the largest frown on her face. “I don’t think so. If you are really in distress and need me, my soul may deem you worth it to see me again in this form. Remember, soul and sentience are two different things that act as one. If it were up to me I’d love you to come and visit, but...” She looked at Gavin one last time. “I don’t think that’s gonna happen.”

She sniffed, then he was gone.


“Is he okay?”

Gavin felt groggy, He could feel his eyes were open but he couldn’t really see. Everything was too blurred together to discern any type of viable object.

“I don’t know, he’s just standing here.”

Everything was blue, Gavin decided. Blue with accents of brown. His ears felt as though someone was taking corks out of them.

“You think he’s okay, because he looks dead.”

The lines in his vision slowly became sharper as his eyes focused on the mysterious entity directly in front of him. It was a pony. Somebody he knew. Who would be this close to him?

Waking up, Gavin realized it was Patch in front of him with their snouts nearly touching. Patch had both legs on Gavin’s shoulders and was looking straight into his eyes with intrigue. At first, Gavin didn’t know what to make of it, but as his thoughts returned he just wanted one thing; to get the hell away.

“GEH.” Gavin shoved Patch, at which the captain stumbled backwards into some nearby bookshelves, knocking over some books in the process. That kind of distance between him and another man made Gavin REALLY uncomfortable, and it felt like Patch was going to go snow white on him at any moment.

Vex understood why Gavin was so anxious instantly, and thought about it. It would be interesting to say the least. For Gavin to passionately fall in Patch’s arms, unsure and submissive. Or maybe Patch would be the submissive one. Patch is so strong and confident, but where it counted Gavin was emotionally stronger. Gavin was Patch’s shoulder to cry on. He’d go down and...

“Vex? Earth to Vex.” Patch was waving his leg in front of the griffin. “Why is your face so red?”

“NOTHING, OKAY?! JUST CHILL THE FUCK OUT!” She recoiled and covered her face with her talons.

“Steady! Calm down, jeez.” The pirate captain spread a nervous smile. “I just hadn’t heard a vulgar and sarcastic quip in a little while and I got scared." Patch decided to turn and face the newly awoken unicorn before Vex could retort. "So, what happened to you there Gavin? You were out for like seven minutes, I was about to call for some help."

"Yeah... uh... you're not gonna believe this, but... I just spoke to Twilight.”

"WUT."

"Seriously?" The captain asked incredulously, raising one eyebrow and skeptically tilting his head to the side.

“Yeah, that note had some sort of charm on it.” Gavin tried to abridge the crazy event he had just experienced, piecing together the details. “She... somehow gave a piece of her existence to that lone note to tell anyone interested in finding her where she was.”

“Really, now?” Patch asked, this time with more legitimacy in his voice. “You sure?”

“Yes.” The definiteness in voice rang clear. “I’m positive.”

“Well that makes my job easy!” The captain yelled in joy, jarring his two friends with the ease of his acceptance. “Vex, you tell the others we completed the mission and are heading back to the boat.”

“Aye-aye, la capitán,” Vex confirmed, half serious. “You want me to go with?”

“Not unless you want to.” Captain Patch wrapped his foreleg around the Private, acting exhausted. “C’mon Gavin, let’s go, I’m tired of this fucking library.”

Oh, so that’s why he’s so eager to agree with my story.


Two small dots waving at Vex is what greeted her while flying to the trashed boutique. A pink and yellow one standing at the front entrance, both sickeningly happy. “Ugh,” Vex spat, facing her once stoic commander in chief. “What happened to you?”

“I think we know where Rarity and Spike are,” she relayed, visibly trying to hide her elation (which was a strange sight for the pegasus). “We’re going to... that... mountain... over there.”

“Wow,” said Vex incredulously, “You don’t even know the name of the fucking mountain, no wonder we had to go Canterlot then here just to find a stupid pompous bitch.”

“Well I don’t think the mountain has a name, alright?” Fluttershy’s cheeks turned red through her yellow fur as she looked away with a scowl. “Me and Pinkie have been there before, it won’t be any trouble getting there.”

“Whatever. Look, I’m here to tell you Gav and Patch found out where your unicorn friend is hiding. They’re going back to the ship.”

“They found Twilight?!” Pinkie chirped out loud, signaling everypony around them turn and give them strange looks. Out of the corner of her eye, Fluttershy believed to see a flash of a familiar red coat, but she shrugged it off.

“Sorta yeah, just shut up already, Pinks, sheesh.”

“This is good,” Fluttershy interjected, happy to hear the news. “If we can find rare, we’d be making some good time.”

“It’d be a good idea to not get too optimistic,” Vex warned. “C'mon, I’ll come with ya guys.”


The trail up to the familiar cave had been surprisingly uneventful. Nothing really stood in their way. Fluttershy remembered the last time she went up this trail. A rock-a-lanch, huge drops, dragons, oh my. It just felt weird that things were going good for once. By now a sword would have been swung at her face or something would have blown up, but no, they knew where Rare and Spike was and they had avoided any attention from the Legion so far.

And now the three companions found themselves at the mouth of a very large cave, one that shook Pinkie and Fluttershy to the core with nostalgia. Vex kinda just stood there bored, though.

Through sudden inspiration, Vex smiled. “You two going to go cave exploring or what?”

Pinkie Pie opened her mouth to say something, but Fluttershy trotted past her and said, “Shut up, Vex.”

Pinkie Pie kept her mouth open and her face frozen for few seconds before deflating and following her yellow pegasus friend. Vex followed suit.

Fluttershy would have investigated the surroundings, but unfortunately the cave was extremely dark. She didn’t remember the cave being dark, but it wasn’t really something she called attention to. Still, it was unnerving.

“You think Spike and Rarity are really here?” Pinkie whispered in Fluttershy’s ear. Although this was the thousandth time Pinkie had asked her that question, Fluttershy let it slide, them being in the cave that they supposedly resided in.

“I don’t know... maybe.” Fluttershy turned to warn her pink friend. “Just try not to make any no-”

“HHHHEEEEEEYYYYYYY!” Pinkie screamed at the top of her lungs. Her voice was raspy and almost sounded like an old woman had yelled. The sudden outburst warranted a small startled jump from the crew, and a subsequent slap to the back of the head from Vex. Fluttershy fumed.

“You idiot,” she whispered as loud as she could. “Are you trying to get us all--”

Bomph! A soft sound and the yellow pony was gone with a flash of purple.

“Oh, shit, Fluttershy?!” Vex yelled, stepping forward. She instinctively reached for a gun that wasn’t there, and cursed the fact she left them at the ship because ‘normal people don’t lug around six flintlocks’. Fucking Patch.

Fluttershy felt an intense weight crush her shoulders and thighs, and deducted that something was pinning her down, most likely with hostility. The weight lifted off of her left shoulder, and Fluttershy could only guess whatever had her down was about to claw her face off. As a reflex (this had actually happened before) she shifted her body to balance on her back and kicked forward with her hind legs. It successfully flung the creature off of her and into the nearest wall.

Or, so she thought. In an incredible display of dexterity, the creature flipped midair and dragged its claws along the floor to lose the momentum. As soon as it was stable it flung itself forwards again to Fluttershy. This time, the pegasus saw it coming and slid below the lunging monster and unsheathed her sword simultaneously. She tried to lunge at the monster, but it instinctively dashed backwards and dodged the attack, the blade nearly nicking its stomach. Fluttershy was surprised to see that the creature have bipedal capabilities, similar to the way Vex fired and carried her pistols.

The creature took another swing at the fully prepared Fluttershy, who flung herself to the side in order to dodge. She tried to take another swing in the opening, but missed as the creature kneeled down and practically limboed beneath the sword.

The fuck is this thing, a ninja?!

Now beneath the fighting pony, the creature wrapped its claws around Fluttershy’s chest and tossed her to the side. Showing less dexterity than her opponent, Fluttershy rolled a couple times on the sharp ground before being able to stand back up. Sensing another attack, Fluttershy threw her forelegs forward, attempting catch her opponents palms. She was successful, and was rather shocked by the fact. Nearly instantaneously, she went forward and pushed with her entire body on the creature’s claws, trying to overpower it. The creature, not expecting such strong contest from a pony, nearly buckled at first, but then pushed back at the pony. They were evenly strong.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!” The male creature yelled, generating a spark of green flame from his mouth. “WHAT DO YOU WANT?!

Wait! Is that?

“Spike?” Fluttershy asked in disbelief, almost getting knocked over from her sudden release of effort. The creatures eyes widened as he came over a similar realization. “F... Fluttershy?” The two long lost friends backed up in order to view the full character, unsure of what they were seeing.

This Spike certainly wasn’t the one she had remembered; an innocent, slightly naive baby dragon who was as cute as he was a klutz. He had little to zero coordination, and was extremely dense. He was only about a third of the size of an average pony, small enough to actually ride on their backs. But this one... was big. Really big. Not as big as full grown adult dragons, mind you, but certainly bigger than a pony. He looked to be one and a half times larger than Fluttershy and wore a scrutinous, stoic stare with a scowl unlike any she’d ever seen, probably surpassing her’s. His body had taken more angles around his thighs and arms, and the rounded spines that had occupied his head now were sharp and jagged, and trailed all the way to his incredibly wide tail, even on the pointed tip. The spine that protruded out on his forehead had been bent back, as be less intrusive. But the one thing that stood out among all the others? Wings. Glorious wings with the span triple of pegasi, stretched in and out accommodating his expressions. They were absolutely gorgeous.

Spike was equally puzzled with his old friend’s appearance, what with her black streaked hair and dirty blue denim coat coupled with a stained white shirt. But that wasn’t the thing that had Spike speechless. It was the fact that she handled a young adult dragon in a physical fight by herself. Her face was twisted with the experience of a dozen fights ranging from hooves to blades, and various scars decorated her face and legs. Truly a strange sight for anyone that had once well known Fluttershy.

“Alright, I can barely fucking see anything and no one’s talking or fighting. Fluttershy did you die?” Vex was getting frustrated near the cave’s entrance as she relayed her complaints.

“Who’s that?” Spike’s puzzled expression disappeared as he snarled toward the direction of the voice. The question was directed at Fluttershy. She put a hoof on Spike.

“A friend,” she said, flatly. Content with the small detail, he hesitantly turned and aimed at something in the dark. He shot a single strand of green flame at this invisible target which lighted the walls with a thin line of fire, trailing beyond the cave’s field of vision. The light the flame gave off glimmered off of the various gems peppering the walls, which were artificially embedded into walls in repeating patterns. The most light was coming off a large pile of gold doubloons coupled with more gems and some jewelry, all looking incredibly expensive. It was about the size of two ponies, by area and perimeter.

“Wooooaaaahhhh,” The three mammals awed simultaneously. Spike felt a small glint of pride for his work. He turned to see the yellow mare again, and the sight made him come to senses on who was actually standing in front of him. The thought dawning over him, his arms lashed out and took fluttershy in a warm embrace. Although his face showed no sign of real emotion, his half masted eyes and somber voice was more than enough.

“Fluttershy... I thought you were... I thought you were dead.”

Fluttershy, although caught off guard, was not surprised by the hug. Instead, she simply closed her eyes and squeezed him back. “Likewise. You know Pinkie’s here too?”

Spike held her at arms length, astonished. “She is?” he asked. Fluttershy nodded in response. Spike turned back to his other visitors, a small griffin and...

“Pinkie!” Spike ran to her and hugged her too, to which Pinkie happily obliged. Spike looked at the griffin while holding Pinkie, with one eyebrow raised. “I have no idea who you are.”

“Tch, I’m new, bitch,” Vex deadpanned, crossing her arms and mimicking Spike’s face.

“I love what you’ve done with the place, Spikey-wikey! It’s actually looks hospitable!” Pinkie pointed out enthusiastically.

“Don’t call me that.” Spike spoke flatly with no emotion, making it clear he was serious. But the severity of his statement couldn’t be deciphered because of his stoic outlook. Nonetheless, Pinkie nodded. After a second, he raised his eyebrow again, this time at Pinkie. “Wait, ‘actually’?”

“Well, my first choice for a vacation house usually isn’t a cave, Spike,” Pinkie retorted. Spike tried to reply, but was interrupted by a voice deeper inside the cave.

“Spikey!” A snob-like voice whined. “What’s all the ruckus about? Are you alright, I thought I heard some fighting?”

A figure, as white as snow emerged from one of the cave’s forks. A white pony, with a purple, messy mane. It was so disheveled, it looked to be uncared for months, with the exception of an occasional wash. It was long, passing her knees, and was spread out all over her back. Dark blue eyes pierced the unkempt mane, and stared into the room. At the sight of the cave’s entrance, she gasped and froze, unable to speak.

Dispite the entrance of a new pony, Fluttershy was the first to speak, absolutely flabbergasted. Through a squint, she asked, “Is that... Rarity?!”


Author's Note:

I was surprised at the length of this chapter. It was supposed to end the Rarity hunt arc, but turned out to be too long, so I had to cut it in half. I promise Rarity and Spike will get more screen time next chapter. In other news, I'm working on another story, and will be alternating between PoE and my new fic "DARK AS ONYX" (Yes the all caps are necessary). DARK AS ONYX will be a short, nine chapter, 2,000 w/ a chapter fic that I'll prolly get done by March, but since it's not gonna stop me from writing PoE it may take a bit longer. PoE is still my most important fic, so this will not impede my abilities to finish this. However, expect me to take short breaks every now and then when I'm burnt out on this.

LINK TO BLOG POST: http://www.fimfiction.net/blog/112327/new-story-sorta

LINK TO "DARK AS ONYX": http://www.fimfiction.net/story/77008/dark-as-onyx