Chapter VI
Chapter VI
Time seemed to stop as Shadow Heart just stared in disbelief at the face of the captain. He didn't seem to notice, though, as he just continued to stare at her with that winning smile on his smug face. Finally, after what had seemed like hours, Shadow found her voice. “No.”
Knight Breeze blinked at that, a little surprised at first. “...I'm sorry?”
“I said no. Is this how things go for you? You trash somepony's life, tell them 'Oh, nothing personal, just something else going on.' Then clap your hooves together and expect them to follow you?” Shadow shouted at him as the smile slowly disappeared from his face. “I almost died out there today because you didn't think you could trust me with the details, and now you expect me to just fall in line? How dense do you think I am?”
“I don't, that's why I know you'll come with me,” Knight said as he reached up and removed his wide-brimmed hat. “You are an intelligent, capable warrior, able to hold your own in a fight and trained by the Solar Guard. You are driven, never allowing anything to hold you back from your goals once you set your mind to something. I had no right to take away your career, and for that I am truly sorry. However, it is that drive to accomplish anything that will make you fall in line under my command.”
“I don't follow,” Shadow Heart said as her eyes bored into the captain.
“Private, because of what happened between you and Snot-Nose, you have effectively been taken out of the picture. You cannot continue in the guard because of what you did to him, at least, not until we expose him for the worthless pile of garbage he is. However, you also cannot 'go solo', either,” Knight said as he flipped his hat back on top of his head. “The attack you faced afterwards made you a witness to a crime, which, aside from already being a target because of your connection to Steel Wing, has effectively painted a target where your cutie mark is. What I offer is a way out of witness protection and back into the game. A way to serve your country and your fellow pony, while at the same time allowing you to take a shot at those who are ultimately responsible for your fall from grace.”
“You mean, those other than you?” Shadow snarked at him.
Knight sighed at this and rubbed a forehoof against his forehead. “If it really means that much to you, you can take a shot at me after this is all over. But until then, I ask you to set aside such petty feelings and instead focus on the larger picture,” he said as he turned his back on her and started moving towards the bedroom door. “You don't have to decided now, my ship won't be at the designated pickup point for a few days, which will also give your limb enough time to heal. If you really want to spite me, then fine, go ahead and sulk in witness protection. However, if you decided to actually do something, then simply inform the Princess. She knows how to find me.”
And with that, Knight Breeze left, closing the door behind him with an audible click.
Shadow Heart sat back, her face a mask of concentration as she mulled over everything she had been told. Slavery? Ponynapping? All terrible, and Captain Breeze does make a compelling argument for my assistance. But then I'd have to work with him... She thought as she settled further into the pillows behind her.
“A bit for your thoughts?” Princess Luna asked gently.
Shadow Heart jumped a little, having completely forgotten that the Princess was still there. “I-I'm not sure what to think. This seems to be the perfect opportunity to fulfill my dream, but I'm not sure I could work with Captain Breeze, not after everything that has happened Your Highness,” Shadow said.
“Ah. A little advice, then, and perhaps some perspective,” Princess Luna said as she rose from her seat. “Do not be so quick to judge Captain Breeze. He is a strong, capable officer, but rarely shows anypony the real pony underneath. Even now, after all that has happened, you have only seen one of the many persona that he has constructed for himself. They have been instrumental in dealing with the deception that he is fighting, but detrimental in building trust and making true friends. He has been playing this game for quite some time, so it is not very easy for him to be truthful with anypony.”
Princess Luna slowly made her way to the door, putting out the lights with her magic as she went. “He may not show it very well, but he is deeply sorry for what he did to you, and is sincerely trying to right that wrong. While I would not presume to instruct you on what you should do in this situation, I would tell you this: The pony that just left, while dishonest, is one of the most loyal ponies that I have ever had the pleasure to meet. If you choose to follow him, then I have no doubt that you will find what you are looking for,” Princess Luna said cryptically as she closed the door behind her.
* * *
“...And you did as they instructed?” she asked as she raised a single eyebrow.
“Yes, Your Majesty, though their ill-conceived slander campaign is doomed to fail, I still followed their stupid plan to the letter,” he answered as he bowed.
“Excellent, those fools leave more crumbs than a larva stealing from the stores. Swift Wind and The Corsair will follow the bait, and the pirate hunter will lead us to him,” she said with a grin. “Just be ready when the time comes; Swift Wind is not to be underestimated. He is extremely fast on the uptake and is a master at coming up with plans on the fly. He may very well sniff out our trap before we are able to spring it.”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” he said, turning to leave.
“Oh, and Thaddius?” she said, drawing his attention once again.
“Yes my Queen?” Thaddius asked.
“If this succeeds, and you find him again, make sure not to kill him. I need him alive,” she snarked at him.
“Yes, my Queen.”
* * *
It took her a while, but Bon Bon finally managed to get her emotions under control. “Who were they? Those ponies that took me?” She asked the Duke in a quiet voice.
“No need to trouble yourself with those thoughts now, my dear. You only need know that my compatriots and I are working tirelessly in our efforts to put them and their entire operation down,” Fancy Pants said as he stood up. “Guard, see that the young miss is taken care of. I'm sure she is quite famished, and those whip marks need medical attention as soon as possible.”
“Yes sir,” the guard said as he saluted sharply.
“Wait! They still have Lyra! We have to save her! She's a mint green unicorn, with mint green hair and a white stripe running through it! She has a lyre cutie mark and-” Bon Bon cut in hysterically, but was interrupted when Fancy Pants raised a hoof, attempting to calm her down.
“There, there, hold up. We will find her. She is a friend, I take it?” Fancy asked as he raised an eyebrow.
“My best friend, actually...” she said, sniffing a little. “What are they going to do to her?”
Fancy Pants just looked at her sadly, almost as if he were unsure that he should break the bad news. “I'm sorry, miss...?”
“Bon Bon, my name is Bon Bon...” Bon Bon said, dreading what Fancy Pants might say next.
“Well, Miss Bon, I couldn't rightly tell you. It really depends on the buyer, but I can tell you this. Whatever is happening to her, whatever tortures that she is suffering right now, we will stop them. Of this, you have my solemn oath,” Fancy Pants said as he bowed to her.
Bon Bon didn't say anything. She just hung her head as various images of whatever horrific crimes were being perpetuated on her friend danced in her head. It shouldn't have been me. Fancy Pants should have rescued her, instead of me... She thought guiltily, not even realizing that she was gently being shepherded out of the room by one of the Solar Guards.
* * *
Poor girl... Fancy Pants thought as he watched her leave. He had lied to her, though not explicitly. He already knew who had bought Bon Bon's friend, but he was loath to tell her what those two arrogant pigs had in store for the poor mare. Luckily for this Lyra, though, Fancy Pants had had his eye on the pair for quite some time.
This was just added incentive to take those two down.
As soon as Bon Bon had left, Fancy Pants ducked out of the room through the same exit that his partner and wife Fleur-De-Lis had left through, making sure to give the remaining guard instruction that the two of them were not to be interrupted as he passed. It didn't take him long to find the stunning mare, she having retired to their bedroom to make contact with Princess Luna and Captain Breeze as Fancy Pants had requested. In fact, she was was just finishing up the letter when he entered the room.
“How is she?” Fleur asked as she rolled up the scroll, her slight accent bleeding through as she spoke.
“As well as can be expected. It seems she was traveling with a friend when that train came under attack. She was quite distraught about the whole ordeal, so I promised that we would find and save her,” he answered, his voice surprisingly chipper.
She just looked at him at this, a single eyebrow raised in disbelief. “You're really intending on going after her, too. You do know that once we flush out the whole rotten syndicate that we'll save her in the process?”
“Yes, I am well aware of this. However, that hasn't stopped me before,” he said as he wiggled his eyebrows. “Be a dear and add a little something to the letter. Inform the captain to be on the lookout for a certain mint-green unicorn with a lyre for a cutie mark. Make sure to tell him to check on the Count and Countess Jet Set and Upper Crust next as well, it's about time that those two had a little visit...”
* * *
It had been two days, and while Shadow Heart may have healed from her wounds, she still wasn't sure about Captain Breeze's offer. Princess Luna had done much to cast the enigmatic stallion in a more favorable light, but Shadow couldn't help but have her reservations about him. After all, while he hadn't planned for it to happen this way, he was still somewhat responsible for what had happened.
As am I. She thought ruefully to herself. After having time to cool down and think about everything that had happened, she just couldn't bring herself to blame the captain for what had happened. Try as she might, no matter the circumstances, no matter what he had done, she was still the one who had blown up at him, who had stomped a prince of the realm's face into the dirt. Her actions were her own. She hadn't been under any sort of mind control, and while she had been goaded and tormented to the breaking point, the mistakes that she had made were ultimately hers to bear. She couldn't continue to blame the captain for that mistake, especially not when she considered what he was fighting against.
She sighed in aggravation as she slammed closed the book she had been reading, furious at herself and the captain. As much as she'd like to deny it, to tell that smug stallion otherwise, he was still right. She was determined in her goals, and nothing had ever been up to the task of stopping her from reaching those goals.
Not even her own pride.
With this in mind, she stood up and made her way to Princess Luna's private chambers, well aware of the lump that had appeared in her throat. She swallowed nervously as she raised her hoof, well aware that this was a complete turnaround to how she had been acting for the past two days. However, she wasn't about to back out now, and with that knowledge, she gently rapped her hoof against the oak door.
“Come in, Shadow Heart,” she heard Princess Luna say.
How does she do that? Shadow wondered as she entered the Lunar Diarch's private suite. She found the Princess sitting at her coffee table, putting down a book that she had presumably been reading just before Shadow Heart had entered.
“How can I help you, my little pony?” Luna asked as Shadow approached the alicorn.
“I was hoping you could summon Captain Breeze,” Shadow said with a lot more confidence than she felt. “I've made my decision.”
Luna smiled at this, a look of understanding on her face as she studied the mare in front of her. “I hope you are not doing this on my behalf,” she said.
“No, Your Highness, I'm doing this because it is the right thing to do,” Shadow said as she watched Luna pull out a small, dark blue whistle from a nearby cupboard. “The captain and I may have our differences, but this is bigger than the two of us. If I have to bury the hatchet in order to get back out onto the field, then so be it.”
The Princess merely nodded at this as she played a single short note on her whistle. She knew what it was like to swallow your pride.
She was just glad that Shadow Heart had learned that lesson faster than she had.
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Ah. "The nobles" again. Of course. Aside from Fancy Pants, they don't ever get a break in stories.
Ah well, that's just something that's happening. Build up evil nobles, juxtapose them to the glorious OC (Knight Breeze in this case)... It'll be a good thing to have Shadow Heart at his side, mainly for one reason: To be a constant reminder that his actions also have consequences. For all of Luna's shilling, he should be held accountable. Just being sorry isn't enough if that doesn't lead to any sort of change; it's worthless.
Am I bitter? Maybe. But then, I've seen this movie play out so often...
5227060 It isn't the whole noble class. For example, as stated before, Knight Breeze is a noble himself (he's a count). There will be others as the story continues, so don't be such a downer!
Besides, the story is just getting started. Relax and enjoy the ride!
5227084
Hmm. Maybe somepony should point that out to the protagonists, too. I mean, that's the way they're talking about the matter. Things look pretty cut-and-dried from where I am, but hey, I could be mistaken.
5227105
The players were not supposed to be abused. Instead, I wanted there to be a reason why the bad guy needs to be defeated. Sombra mind raped and enslaved the ponies, the Diamond Dogs tried the same, Discord as well, etc. The difference was that in my setting you can see the fallout. No matter how you look at it, the ponies have to deal with destroyed lives and infrastructure.
To be honest though, the idea of ponies in prostitution is rather...sick and I hope it doesn't come over like that. Instead, it's where I place my changelings as I figured they could get good meals there, until I realized that eating love means that the victim feels miserable.
5230518 Thanks for the grammar catches! as for 'Rather Dashing', the character is the OC of a friend of mine, he picked the name, not me.
That being said, I nearly laughed my butt off when he told me his character's name.
5228191
And players did not like having to see the fallout of such actions? It seems like a great motivator. Have you found that most people on the site just do not like dark stories?
5230654
No problem, I will likely continue to do so in the future depending on how awake I am.
5231425
There are plenty of people here who enjoy dark stories, and I have found some of the darkest and most twisted on this site dedicated to MLP instead of Lovecraft or something. The problem I encountered with my players is that they were playing "heroes". They didn't want to see the police taking offense to their actions, or see that they themselves are the villains here.
For instance, he was using his magical charms on a shopkeeper to get her items for free, and unintentionally damaged her marriage when her husband in the shop saw his wife falling for a stranger and completely forgetting about him. Furthermore, mind control is illegal in my Crystal Empire, but when the guards tried to arrest him, he attacked a cop for being in her way, as that is what you do in Skyrim--kill endless droves of guard without repercussion. These ponies however, had lives and family.
5232106
Players play like that? Jeeze, they need to know that actions have repercussions. I have never really led an RP, especially in a forum type deal nor have I played in one of that type. In Skype, when I notice things stagnating (one example was because of a total Gary Stu) I'll generally flip to the antagonist and do my best to break other characters and cause havoc. I am usually disappointed that there seems to be no police or guard presence.
I would love to see more of this story. I like the characters and the setting. and now I wanna know what happened to Lyra and how deep this slavery ring is going. I hate that it aint been updated sense November but I can wait till the next update I suppose. This is a pretty well written story. atleast in my opinion
6204807 Thank you! I'm glad you like it that much!
Also, don't worry, I haven't abandoned this, or any of my other fics. I don't abandon fics without telling everybody. It's true that I haven't written this one in forever, but that has mainly been because of public disinterest in this one, and public interest in my "What I've Become" line of fics.
However, I have been working on the next chapter for this fic, albeit at a much slower pace. You'll see something for this soon.
6205166 WOOO! I cant wait for it. and no worries I understand what your saying about the delay.
Dangit. I knew going into this that there were only 6 chapters, but it still sucks to have caught up. Right when it was about to really get started too.
Why do I fall in love with everything of yours I read?
6842800 It's probably the crack I lace every typed word with.
6842870
Drug-infused literature... Genius!
Seriously, though. I feel like your stories aren't nearly as popular as they deserve to be.
6843063 I know. The only story that seems to get the attention it deserves is What I've Become/What I've Done, and personally I feel like that's one of my... less fantastic stories, in terms of the actual story and its potential. In terms of how much effort that's gone into it, it's definitely my top story.
6843075
I mean, I can certainly see why people like What I've Done/Become. I really like the series as well. The thing that confounds me is why your other stories get so little attention. And you aren't the only one, either. Seems like many people won't bother looking for stories they might enjoy, or putting in any effort beyond clicking on the Featured box. It's really quite unfortunate for lesser-known authors like yourself.
6843116 I know, right?