Chapter 32
Thunder booms through the night sky lighting it up for only a moment. Drift looks out the window of her study at the raging storm. She pulls the silk blanket closer to her using one of her wings. After another crack of lightning she looks down at the dark purple cushion she is lying on. There is a knock on the study door before it opens with a creak.
“Are you alright?” she hears someone ask from the door. She doesn’t turn to face the door, instead she looks back out the window.
“I’m fine, Bitter. I’m just having a few bad memories.”
“Do you wish for me to make you some tea? It might help you sleep.”
“No thanks.”
“Very well, by the way there is a letter for you. It was sent by magic.”
Drift sighs and sits up on the cushion. “I assume the ponies are going to use the storm as an excuse to be late,” she says. Bitter puts the message down in front of her. Drift slips one of her forepaws out of the silk blanket and unrolls the piece of parchment. As her eyes travel down the parchment. She finishes with an annoyed sigh, picking up the parchment and throwing it aside. “Ponies, completely incapable of doing anything,” she growls.
“Should I assume that the shipment will be late?” Bitter asks.
“Surprisingly, they managed worst. The ship got caught in the storm and was run aground. They weren’t able to salvage the cargo in the storm and so they left it there, for the pirates to pick clean.”
“They’re not going to send anyone to salvage the cargo once the storm passes?”
“They’re too afraid of the pirates.” She takes a few deep breaths. “Well, if they’re not going to collect the cargo I might as well take charge of the task. It was meant to be mine in the first place. Fetch me some parchment, would you?” She hears Bitter run off down the hall.
Drift slips out of the blanket and walks over to the desk next to the window. Her ears flick back as her claws click against the floor. Opening one of the drawers she pulls out an inkwell and quill. Striking a match she lights a candle on the desk.
She hears Bitter walk back into the room a second later and places three scrolls next to her. “Are you arranging transport to Hayvana?” Bitter asks.
Drift unrolls a scroll and grabs a quill in her paw. “Of course not, I don’t wish to dirty my paws with the filth of that slum.” Placing the quill to the paper she begins to write, Mister Hunter, it appears as though I require your services once again…
*****
The Lucky Mare is nearly empty once Ebony and Captain reach the counter. The only ponies left are the the rest of the crew and a few other sailors. But, the lack of business doesn’t seem to affect Rose’s mood, she stands behind the counter happily humming a tune while she cleans cups. She looks up from her work with a smile as usual.
“Oh no, a changeling, please don’t eat all my love,” she says leaning in close to Ebony whom simply glares back. Rose looks her over for a moment before backing up with mock surprise. “What happened, sweetie? You don’t seem as gloomy anymore. If I had to guess, I’d say you had a nice sleep with Captain.”
Ebony goes to poke back at her but Captain cuts her off. “Yeah, it was a great night, though it did kinda end with some guy’s face punching a hole through the dock…” Ebony face hooves.
“Sounds like fun, maybe I should join next time.”
“Oh no, it wouldn’t be nearly as fun with you there. Imagine how left out you’d be,” Captain says with a smirk. Rose blinks a few times. “Yeah, I’m not stupid or blind. I’ve just had a different goal in mind, no offence and all.”
She looks between him and Ebony a few times. “None taken, I would have picked her over myself as well.”
“Could you both stop talking about me like you want me in your beds?” Ebony interrupted.
“Not that the idea of screwing Ebony is positively horrible,” Starry says rolling her eyes. “But, I have to agree. You did have a job for us, right, or did you simply invite us to see which of us would sleep with you.”
Rose sighs and walks to one of the shelves and passes a bottle of rum to Captain. “Sweetie, while the latter does sound fun, and I don’t have an actual job for you. However, I do have a bit of info for you. During the storm a ship was washed onto one of the small islands in the area. From what I’ve heard, it’s loaded with tradable goods.”
“How many others know about it?” Ebony asks.
“I would say, pretty well everyone, the navy hasn’t been good at keeping it a secret. It’ll be a frenzie to put it mildly.”
Captain smiles, “Hm… sounds like fun. Loot for the taking.”
“Assuming you can get it, there’s a good chance that’s what all the other pirates are thinking. All the big shots will be there, Blackmane, Tempest, Grey Feather. Beat them and they’ll see that you are a true pirate.” Even Gale, Captain thinks.
“What about the navy?” Ebony asks.
“They’ll be waiting nearby. Again, they’ve been very loose-lipped about this whole thing. Chances are that it’s a navy trap, something to try and catch as many pirates as possible.”
“Then why is anyone even going?”
“She said the ‘big shots’ would be there. The ones who are not afraid of the navy, the ones who want to prove they can destroy anything the navy throws at them,” Starry says.
“And so are we. Prepare the Misfortune, this is going to be a big fight.”
*****
Misfortune cuts it’s way through the waves, though they’re not nearly as big as they would be if they were out in the middle of the ocean. As it is the ship weaves it’s way between small clusters of islands and rocks that break the bigger waves from the ocean. The trip this far had been tense to say the least.
Arrel had managed to spot quite a few ship skulking between the islands. Most of them had been pirates, though they had caught glimpses of a Celestial flag as well. “They’re doing a pretty bad job of hiding,” Starry says. She looks up from her map to the islands then back to the map. “Portside, ten degrees.”
“Well, I’m surprised the best we can see is their flag. Honestly, it’s pretty hard to hide a frigate,” Twigs says.
“Guess you have a point. Right, the island should come into view on the portside any moment.” Captain looks over as they sail along. True to her word as they pass the island another comes into view on the other side.
It’s no bigger than any of the other islands in the area. A steep mountain pokes out of the east side of the island with a forest covering the middle. The entire north coast of the island seems to be made out of a massive slab of stone. Jagged rocks poke out of the water along the north coast, coming almost a third of the way to the nearest island.
Planks of wood and crates floatin the water getting stuck to the rocks or being pushed to the shore. A broken ship lies half in the water half on the land like an injured whale. It leans heavily on it’s starboard side. The bottom is ripped to shreds and a large section of the front is missing. Most of it’s masts have snapped off, with only one mostly intact one lumbering over the ground.
Another ship is anchored just off the west shore, a black flag blowing in the wind. Another flag can be seen to the south beach of the island. Gunshots ring out from the island only punctuated by the occasional thunder of a cannon.
“So, what’s the plan?” Craven asks.
“We sail up to the ship and take the cargo,” Captain says.
“We can’t, we don’t know how deep it is here and we don’t know where all the rocks are. I doubt we can navigate by sight only because there certainly are ones hidden under the water. Also, I think that Misfortune is a tad bit too large to fit,” Starry says. “Chances are that the east shore isn’t much better.”
“Rowboats?”
“They’d be smashed into the rocks. We’re best off setting anchor to the south-west.”
“Alright,” Captain says. They pass by the first ship without being shot, while there seems to be some crew aboard there’s not enough to win a naval battle. Guess that means we’re gonna be up against two other crews, Captain thinks. A few minutes later the anchor hits the water.
*****
Hunter sinks his claws into the railing on the ship. “You never struck me as the type to be nervous,” the captain says from his right.
A grin spreads across Hunter’s face showing his sharp canines. “I’m not.”
“Ah, you’re one of those types, can’t wait to fight and all that? Have to say, I don’t see why you types like the sight of blood.”
Hunter takes a breath of familiar sea air and lets out a long sigh. “Can’t wait to earn my pay.” The ship tilts slightly to the portside making him sink his claws a little further into the wood. He looks at the lush green island that surround him now. Ponies always think they deserve the best land.
He hears the flapping of wings followed someone landing nearby. “Island’s not too far now,” says the scout. “But, there’s already two pirate ships there with another joining soon. I keep seeing some navy ships as well, think it’s a trap set by the navy.”
“It would seem that way, maybe ponies aren’t quite as stupid as I thought. I guess we’ll see how smart they are when we arrive.”
“They won’t run,” says a female voice different from that of the scout. “You also can’t say they’re stupid for not running. We’ll be up against three different crews at once, and maybe even the navy if they decide to act, I doubt we look like any type of force to be afraid of… from a distance.”
He smiles, recognizing the voice of his friend, River. “I’ll just have to make a show of force when we arrive, give them a reason to run,” he says not doubting his abilities even when outnumbered.
“Sounds like you have a plan.”
“I’ll have Wisp give a quick show of force. If they decide to fight us we’ll simply put an end to them. Have Dusty and his friends perform air superiority. Have Pin take out anyone that tries to shoot them. Me and you will be on the front lines.”
“Let’s just hope they decide to run.”
“Don’t think we can win?”
“I’m not exactly thrilled with by possibility of killing someone.”
*****
Captain pulls the rowboat out of the water and onto the beach. He looks back at his crew that came ashore, Ebony and Howler stand close at hoof. Craven lands nearby with his spear tucked under one of his wings. Willow is already long gone into trees. Arrel circles in the sky above them with Smokey closely following. It had been decided that it would be better to have someone with some type of firearm training, and leave Starry and Twigs on the ship.
Captain gives a quick nod and they set out toward the north shore. The island isn’t quite as lush as some of the other. The tree cover isn’t quite as thick, bushes dot the space in between the trees. They spot someone weaving their way around the trees. Found Willow, Ebony thinks.
Bodies litter the ground around the path and between the trees. There is no clearly defined groups among them. They’re corpses wearing the same garb as any other sailor. Fighting already started.
After a couple of minutes of walking they reach the shore. If he hadn’t had seen it from the sea Captain would have assumed that it’s a beach. A layer of sand covers the the cold stone looking oddly pleasant compared to rocky waters beyond. The sand is littered with more debris, planks of wood, crates, barrels, and a mast from the wrecked ship. Two groups stand facing each other, the two captains stand in front of their respective crews shouting at each other. A few members in either crew are injured.
As soon as Misfortune’s crew walks out of the trees the two groups focus on them. The sound of swords being unsheathed ring through the air. Ebony jumps when she hear the same sound to her right only to realize Captain had drawn his own sword. She sees some of the ponies in either crew whispering amongst themselves.
“It’s the changeling lover,” says one of the captains after a few seconds . He has a black mane with thin grey streaks. The years can be seen in his features, but he still looks strong.
“Let me guess you’re here to steal all our love,” mocks the other, a unicorn. He is younger than the first and his crew is quite a bit larger than the one across from them.
“Not quite,” Captain says. He points to the wrecked ship with his sword. “I came here to collect some cargo though.”
“I think you should get lost, personally I don’t like changelings,” says the first.
“I see why, with a face like yours I’d be jealous of changelings too,” Craven stouts from the air.
“You want to mock me? We’ll see who’s laughing when I blast you out of the air with my ship.”
“Are you talking about the dinky little thing on the other end of the island?” Captain asks.
“That’s my ship!” shouts the younger one.
“Well, you’re probably best off using that thing there,” says the first pirate pointing at the wreck.
“Oh, I couldn’t, this ship is only suitable for the one and only Blackmane. But, everything in it is mine.”
Captain steps forward as does the rest of his crew. “Now, I think you should both move away from the ship. I would like to be able to start loading it’s cargo onto my ship.”
“Oh, and are you going to make me? Gonna have your pet changeling try and scare me off?” says Blackmane.
“No, I’ll just beat you both into the ground.”
Blackmane steps up to Captain. “You think you--” Captain slams his hoof into Blackmane’s chest sending him sliding across the sand.
“And if you ever dare to insult Ebony again, I will personally put you six hooves under.”
“I think you’re both forgetting who here has the largest crew,” say the other pirate. The rest of his crew move to surround the two crews.
Captain looks at him for a moment. “And you made the mistake of thinking that she’d even bother wasting her time draining your pitiful life.”
Ebony takes a step back, she quickly wraps her magic around several weapons amongst the surrounding crew. Blackmane picks himself back onto his hooves. He glares at the other two captains. “You dare challenge me?!” he shouts charging at them with his sword drawn. The younger one quickly deflects the strike.
A gunshot is fired and one of Blackmane’s crew falls to the ground, then all Tartarus breaks loose as the crews charge at each other. Metal clashes with metal, gunshots ring out, and screams fill the air as ponies hit the ground.
The unicorn levitates a pistol out of a holster under his coat and levels it at Captain. Captain smacks the barrel away with the flat of his blade, then pushes his weight forward as he leans into a lunge. The unicorn steps out of the way letting Captain come in between him and Blackmane.
Blackmane, in turn, slashes at Captain. Captain quickly bats it away and grabs Blackmane’s collar and throws the stallion over his shoulder straight at the unicorn. The two tumble to the ground making the unicorn drop his pistol. Captain takes a step toward them before one of the unicorn’s crewmates tackles him in the side. He stumbles to the side, but remains on all four. With a quick turn he delivers a powerful left hook, then lunges forward running the pirate through.
He turns back to the two other pirate captains to find the unicorn pinning Blackmane down with two swords. A magical aura surrounds the pistol and lift it off the ground, once again aiming it at Captain. Captain lifts his sword and swings it around dragging the corpse with it. The pistol goes off and blood splatters from the corpse on his sword. Captain pulls his sword out, letting the corpse slump to the ground, and charges them.
The unicorn backs up, bringing both swords in front of him. Blackmane jumps to his hooves, it takes Captain a moment to realize that the other sword the unicorn has is Blackmane’s. The unicorn sends the swords flying at Captain. He quickly winds up a punch and sends one of the swords flying straight back. The unicron yelps and ducks under the sword, releasing his magic at the same time making the other sword clatter to the ground a few hooves to Captain’s right.
Blackmane quickly picks up his sword in his teeth. The unicorn wastes no time in grabbing his sword as well and charges at Captain swinging his sword in a wide arch. There is the sound of metal striking metal as Captain ducks under the sword letting it go straight at Blackmane who had blocked it. Captain rolls backward managing to avoid having Blackmane’s sword cut through his neck. Captain’s ear flick upward when he hears the buzz of changeling wings. He looks up to find Ebony flying just above, she points out to sea.
Following her gaze Captain sees nothing but the hull of the wrecked ship. It takes him a few moments to see the flag that flutters just above it, it’s too far to make out the details. It doesn’t seem to be moving asides from the bobbing of the maves. He spots a few dark spots flying into the sky and disappearing into the clouds. He goes to asks what it is, but he catches the flash of a blade out of the corner of his eye.
With a quick turn he blocks Blackmane’s sword. Taking a few steps Captain shoves him back. He see the unicorn standing a good distance back from the fray. He takes a step back as the unicorn tries to strike him with the sword, he knocks the sword out of the air as it passes him. The unicorn levitates his pistol in front of him and aims it at him only for it to fall out of his magical grasp with his mouth slightly agape.
For a moment Captain thinks that Willow had shot him with one of her poison darts, but then he hears something heavy landing behind him. Then he realizes the rest of the fighting has stopped as well. He turns around preparing to fight the newcomers. The first thing he think when he sees them is griffons. Like griffons they each have a pair of powerful looking wings. Then he starts to see the differences, while they have the body of a lion unlike griffons, even their forelegs are those of a lion. Then there’s the head, clearly setting them apart from a griffon, they have the head of a pony.
It takes a minute because he rarely sees them, but eventually he recognizes them, sphinxes. A large number of them had landed on and around the wrecked ship. Though they still don’t even come close to outnumbering the pirates.
“You all seem to be after sphinx property,” says a dark grey one. He had landed at the top of the remaining mast on the wrecked ship so he was looking down at all of them, and even still he has his head tilted back a bit. He has two curved swords sheathed around his waist. Captain catches a flash coming from the sphinx’s chest, a silver amulet bounces against his chest.
“And who are you?” shouts the unicorn.
“They’re not going to run,” sighs a female sphinx at the base of the ship. She is clad in armor that covers her chest and the tops of her wings, chain armor come down over her legs ending at the knees. A large shield covers her back.
“My name is Hunter, and I give you all two options. Either you can all leave, or we kill you, all.”
“I think you’re miscounting there, buddy!” shouts the unicorn once again.
Hunter glares down at the pirate. “And you underestimate me, peasant!” he shouts with a snarl. He spreads his wings, revealing his light grey feathers, and lowers himself into a crouch.
Captain sees the unicorn pick up his sword and starts looking for his pistol. “Scary, big winged-cats. Tell you what, I’ll give you any balls of wool I find in there,” Blackmane says.
Hunter snarls down at them, but instead of shouting he simply sits back. “I’ll give you a reason to be scared.” He hold out a paw and a sphinx near him passes a pistol to him. He fires the gun into the air.
There is a long pause as they wait to see what will happen. The unicorn smiles up at him, “That’s real impress--” The rest of what he says is lost in a massive explosion. The ground shakes and a shadow covers the sandy shore. Turning around they find a pillar of smoke and fire blasting out of the forest. Debris starts raining down around them, flaming branches, and splinters of wood. Captain looks back at the sphinx trying to ignore the sudden heat.
“I give you all the same warning once again, leave or die.”
They look over at the sphinx, some of them clearly shaken. “That ain’t too impressive,” says Blackmane. “I’ve killed some unicorns who could do worse.” A few of his crew members take a step back.
“I doubt you’ll be doing anything like that this close to the ship,” says the unicorn. He magically launches a sword at him.
Hunter knocks it out of the air with one of his own. A few ponies nervously shift their weight as they wonder when he drew his sword. He looks down at the three pirate captains. A smirk crosses Hunter’s lips. “Very well then.” He goes down on all four and lowers his body to the wooden frame of the mast. “Looks like I’ll get to sharpen my claws, on your bones.” He pounces off the mast and spreads his wings aiming himself toward the unicorn. The other sphinxes spread their wings and charge the pirates.
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*Resists making a self-insert joke knowing that it will bit him in the ass*
5864118 Someone makes a story of a wandering physicist who loves geeky things and nobody bats an eye. But, I add a character of the same race as me and everybody loses their mind!
Kidding, honestly I had vaguely the same though as I was writing the author's notes. "Wait, I just added sphinxes to my story, and I sign my name as Sphinx... I feel so arrogant now..." Pretty well my train of though. But, no it's not a self-insert, just a character of a race that's rarely used. Until next time,
-Sphinx
There's that feeling again...
5866242 It is surprising how few people said I was self-inserting. Then again, I put a bit of myself into all of the characters I write, so it is a whole (growing) family of inserts. Where's your God now?
Everyone has their own thing and if they have an OC of similar description to one appearing in their works, then accusations fly. If the readers are smart, they look beyond that. If not... Well screw them for not being that good of a reader in the first place.
5866290 Fair enough. I remember you saying that you put a bit of yourself into each of your characters. Also, I really can't argue with your story, I liked it too much. Also, my god is Khonus, true goddess of the moon.
And thank you for being a good reader.
-Sphinx