The Adventures of Shadow Chaser: The Cutie Mark Crusaders in Marelantis

by RangerBeef

Chapter 9

We swam for a while in silence. We each scanned the surface for signs of a boat. I noticed the differences our swimming. Rather than gliding like she was used to, Rainbow now had to use her wings to propel her forward. She moved like a jellyfish propelling itself along in the water, as did Solar. I, however, swam smoothly but at what seemed like a slower pace.

I was looking at Rainbow’s fin-like wings when she spoke from in front of me. “Hey, look!” She pointed excitedly ahead of her.

I squinted hard and scanned the direction she had pointed. It took me a long moment but I finally spotted the hull of a ship in the water. I couldn’t contain my smile as we hurriedly moved toward the boat.

As we neared, I slowed down and noticed the boat was facing south. The direction we had been heading before Rainbow and I had been cast overboard. I began to wonder if the Captain really would just continue without us.

“Come on, Shadow!” Rainbow called from in front of me.

I hurriedly caught up.

“So how are we going to get aboard?” Rainbow asked.

“Well, I imagine you can just take a full breath and then fly up there. Just tell them I’m in the water and to drop a rope for me.”

Rainbow nodded and surfaced. I watched the webbing between her wings slowly fade away until her wings were back to their normal feathery selves.

I looked at Solar to thank him for all his help, but his face had turned grim.

“What’s wrong, Solar?”

“Your ship isn’t alone.” He pointed, and, in the distance, I could see another ship approaching quickly. “That’s number one.”

His words hung in the air a moment before my mind put the pieces together. Changelings. “We have to warn my crew.”

“Listen, I won’t be able to help you from down here, so I’m going to tell you our contingency plan. On the port side of their ship, just under the water, we placed a latent magical detonation charge. Our government said we could never use it but if a stray cannonball from a ship in combat with them should hit it then it would probably blow. Heck, if you get a good enough swimming start, the kinetic energy from that would be enough to set it off.”

I nodded my understanding. “Thanks for the heads up.” I heard the rope hit the water behind me. “Get out of here. We’ll take care of them. We’re a tough bunch.”

“I hope so. Good luck.” He shook my hoof before darting back off in the direction we had come.

I turned quickly and grabbed the rope, hauling myself up the side of the ship. By the time I had reached the main deck my two hind legs had returned and I felt normal again.

“Shadow! Where have you two been!?” The Captain was on me instantly.

“No time, Captain. We’ve got bigger problems.” I pointed behind me at the fast approaching ship. “That ship is full of changelings. We need to get around on their port side and aim low.”

“What? Why?”

“There’s no time, Skip! Let’s get a move on!”

For once, he let my reason be mine and he moved to the helm shouting orders as he went. I looked at Rainbow.

“You’re on flight patrol. Any of those blood suckers tries to swing or fly to this ship, take ‘em down.”

She gave me a salute. “Aye aye, boss.”

“Don’t call me boss.” I turned from her and found Bruno headed to the Captain’s Quarters once again.

“I know the drill. Keep the girls safe.” He gave me a smirk.

“You got it, big colt.”

I rushed below deck and found the cannon crews already locked and loaded. “Gunny, this is going to sound weird but, aim low on the port side.”

He gave me a confused look.

“Just trust me, sailor. They’ve got a surprise waiting for them.” He gave me an understanding nod. Looking out the cannon hatch I noticed the changeling ship already upon us and beginning to come around with their starboard side to us.

“Dammit, we’ll never get a shot at this rate. Gunny, if we don’t get around to their port side, just keep firing until they’re dead in the water.”

“Aye, sir.”

From the hatch, I saw several changelings rise up from the enemy ship and begin to fly to ours. “This will not end well.”

I hurried up to the main deck once again and could see Rainbow fighting for all she was worth in the air while multiple crew members fought their own battles against the changelings.

Anchor Light stood in front of Aqua Illusion, defending his wife from a changeling. I fired a shot at the changeling and watched him tumble into the water. They both gave me a startled look.

“Anchor, remind me to teach you how to fight.” Before he could respond, another changeling was upon him. We were quickly getting overrun.

I headed for the Captain’s Quarters, but stopped just short before barging into the room.

“Bruno, it’s Shadow, don’t hit me.” I opened the door slowly and he stood there, looking quite imposing. “Doing a good job, buddy.”

I moved past him and spotted the girls jumping on the bed. “What are you girls doing?”

“Nothing. We’re bored,” Sweetie Belle said, as she stopped bouncing.

“Bored? Girls, there’s a battle going on outside.”

“Yea, but we’re not allowed to leave. Rain Drop said we had to stay in here,” Scootaloo said.

I turned back to Bruno, “Rain Drop?”

His face was suddenly more serious than when I had entered, “Tell no one.”

I held back my laughter and turned back to the girls, “Listen, when all this is over, you three can get out of here and we’ll go see Marelantis, okay?”

“Okay!” they said in unison.

“Now girls, have you seen my old saddle bags around here anywhere?” Sweetie Belle pointed to the corner and I retrieved my saddle bag, removing two of the vials Zecora had given me.

“What’re those, Mr. Chaser?” Applebloom asked, as I eyed the light blue liquid inside and read the label carefully.

“They’re exactly what I need. You girls stay here and I’ll be back before you know it.” I faked a smile at them as I walked toward the door. I gave Bruno a look and he already seemed to know what I was thinking.

“Been a pleasure, boss.”

“Likewise.” I exited the room and hurried across the deck and up to the helm.

“Skip, any chance we can get around on their other side?” I asked as I watched Applejack buck a changeling off the ship.

“None. They outmatch us in speed, there’s no maneuvering I could do to get around them.”

I swore inwardly. “Alright, here’s the plan…”

“Shadow, we’ve got a problem!” Rainbow appeared beside us in a flash. “There’s a pony on that ship!”

“What? Who? Is it one of the crew?” I asked.

“No one I recognize. He’s got a dark yellow coat with a bright yellow mane.”

Broomtail.

“Don’t worry about him, Dash. He’s not with us.” She gave me a look like she couldn’t believe I would turn my back on another pony. “He’s working with the changelings, Dash. Trust me.”

“How could you possibly…”

“Because he’s my brother.” Her silence said all it needed to. “Just keep the changelings off this boat. We’ve got a plan for dealing with this.” Rainbow gave a silent nod and in a flash she had tackled another changeling to the deck.

“Well, this doesn’t change my plan but I hadn’t planned on wiping out my entire family name in one day.”

“What are you talking about, Shadow?” The Captain asked.

I held up the two vials. “I had a friend hook me up with a few potions. These two, when taken together, turn you into a mermare. On the port side of their ship, just below the water, is a bomb the Marelantians set up to deal with this ship. Their government won’t set it off so we’re going to.”

“But how’re we going to set it off if we can’t get around to their port side?”

“We don’t need a cannon to set it off, just something with a good amount of force to swim at it and hit it.”

I could see his mind making the conclusion I had already come to. “Shadow, no. I can’t let you sacrifice yourself for this. We can win this fight.” As he spoke, several more changelings began to descend on the ship.

“No, we can’t, Skip. They have numbers, and that will overtake us. And if I don’t do this soon it will be in vain.”

For a long moment, he and I just stared at each other. When finally he broke the silence, “Alright, Shadow. We both have to do what we have to do.” With that, he punched me. Hard.

This next part I was told about after I had come to from the punch. As I fell to the ground, Skip jumped and caught the vials, speaking to Applejack as he read the labels quickly.

“AJ, set the sails and get on the move. Head south. Marelantis isn’t far from here. Make contact with them. Put them back on Equestria’s maps.”

Applejack, having heard our altercation and knowing Skip’s resolve, nodded and stepped toward him, kissing him full on the mouth. “Thank you.”

Applejack told me that she thought Skip was going to faint when she kissed him but his constitution held up and he gave her a smile as he downed both vials before jumping off the ship.

Applejack took to the helm and maneuvered us away from the changeling ship trying to put as much distance as possible between us, but given that the changeling ship was faster, AJ’s best maneuvers wouldn’t be enough.

I was told all at once our ship was enveloped in a pink bubble and the changeling ship exploded. After the ship had been destroyed, the bubble disappeared as quickly as it had appeared and, the remaining changelings aboard our ship quickly turned tail and fled.

The cheers of victory were what roused me from my spot on the deck. I quickly rose to my hooves and wobbled slightly. AJ quickly locked the wheel and grabbed onto me.

“Easy, partner. He gave you a doozy of a punch.”

I sat down on the deck as I looked around. The changelings were gone and there was no sign of their ship anywhere. “Why did he do that, AJ?”

“The same reason you were going to do it. Love.”

I looked at her through my swelling eye and I could feel the tears coming; the lump in my throat grew and my heart wrenched. I held back the tears and sat back against the railing of the deck staring at my hooves. I had lost my brother. Not Broomtail, he had long ago ceased to be family. I had lost, Skip. The Captain. The colt I had spent all my life with. The colt that had always been there for me. Gone. I glanced back up at Applejack. “Where are we headed?”

“South. Ah’ll get us headed back home if ya want, sugar..”

“No. We’re not far off from Marelantis. I won’t let us fail after we’ve come this far. Keep going.” She gave me a nod and returned to the wheel as Rainbow landed beside me.

“Shadow?” She spoke softly.

I smiled up at her. “Hi, Rainbow.” I patted the deck next to me, “Have a seat.”

She sat beside me slowly. “Shadow, are you okay?”

I shook my head slowly. “No. No, I’m not, Rainbow Dash. No, I’m not.” I finally lost control and the tears flooded my eyes. Rainbow just sat beside me in silence and let me cry.

We stayed like that for about an hour, when there was a large splash coming from our port side. Rainbow got up to investigate while I stayed slumped on the deck. I heard a familiar voice coming from the water.

“Hey, Rainbow! Tell them to drop the anchor; you guys are right on top of Marelantis!” It was Solar Flare.

“Alright!” Rainbow turned around to Applejack. “Hey, drop the anchor.”

“Ah don’t know how.”

“AJ, lock the wheel.” I looked up from my seated position against the railing and watched her lock it. I took a deep breath and shouted, “Drop the anchor!” There was a loud splash and I smiled at the two of them as they stared at me. “Okay, we should stop now.”

It took us a few minutes but we did finally stop. In that time, I rose and made my way over to the edge of the deck. Looking down I stopped Solar doing figure 8’s in the water. I waved to him, and he surfaced. “Thanks for the heads up. Any chance we could get a couple of your ponies to cast some spells on us? We didn’t exactly bring diving gear.”

“No problem. Wait here, I’ll be back in a flash.” He disappeared under the water and I turned back to Rainbow and Applejack. “He’ll be back in a little while. I think I need a nap.”

I awoke a few hours later lying in the bed in the Captain’s Quarters. I groaned softly as I felt my eye begin to sting and a headache throbbing. I rolled over in the bed and noticed three pairs of eyes sitting at the edge. I couldn’t help but smile at them.

“Hi girls. Let me guess, Cutie Mark Crusader nurses?”

They all nodded quickly with wide smiles. “Aqua Illusion did most of the nursing but we grabbed whatever she needed,” Applebloom said, proudly.

“I’m sure you girls did a wonderful job. What time is it?”

“After dark. My sister said she’d come wake you up when that pony came back.”

I sat up slowly. Something wasn’t right. Solar should’ve been back by now. I climbed down off the bed and invited the girls to follow me. “Come on, let’s get you out of this stuffy room. But stay close to me okay?” They nodded in the affirmative and I opened the door to the main deck.

I walked slowly so as not to aggravate my head any more than was necessary and made my way up to the helm. Applejack sat with Rainbow, talking about what was taking so long.

“It just doesn’t make sense. He said he’d be back soon. I don’t think he’d keep us waiting this long without an update,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Ah’d like to agree with you, RD. But we’ve got no choice but to wait it out.”

“How long has it been?” I asked as I sat down next to them. The girls took up positions between the three of us.

“Four hours. We’ve all just been sitting here. Most of the crew is getting kinda anxious about it. It’s starting to feel like a trap.”

“I don’t think the Marelantians are the types to lay traps. They seem pretty sincere about their intentions.”

“And they did save us when the changeling ship exploded.” Applejack said.

“We’ll give them a day before we decide what we’re going to do. This was Skip’s dream so I’d like to see it through.” They both nodded in agreement when we heard another splash from the port side. All six of us rushed to the railing to see Solar and Coral staring up at us.

“Well, it’s about time!” Rainbow said.

Solar spoke nervously, “Yea. I’m afraid we have some bad news. The report of the changeling ship being destroyed via that bomb reached our leaders and they’re not happy. With myself or with you. They’ve asked me to relay a message to you,” he cleared his throat as he looked at a note he had with him. “Please, leave Marelantis in peace. It is clear to us that Equestria has become violent in their absence from Marelantis and we would not wish to invite any conflict into our peaceful city.”

As a group all of our hearts sunk. We’d come so far to fall short on the doorstep of our destination. Applejack and the Cutie Mark Crusaders turned away and headed back to the main deck while Rainbow and I lingered.

“But why would you bring Coral up if you’re not going to help us come down there?” Rainbow asked.

“I just wanted to wish you all luck on your journey home. That protective shield I cast around your ship will probably have me thrown out of the shamanistic order but I know that you are truly kind hearted ponies who only lashed out in self-defense.”

“Well, I guess we owe you one then,” Rainbow said. “I guess we’ll see you guys later.”

“We can hope,” Solar said. They made a motion like they were about to dive but I stopped them.

“Coral, you said you were a shaman. Do you people have funeral ceremonies?” I asked.

“Of course.”

“Would you be willing to perform a short one up here for my friend who destroyed that changeling ship?”

She smiled sweetly at the idea. “Absolutely.”

“Okay, hold on one minute.” I turned to Applejack and the girls. “Would you ladies like to meet some real Marelantians up close?” The wide eyed stare I got was all the yes I would ever need.

We lowered down in a life boat and paddled gently away from the ship, before I stopped and Solar and Coral reappeared once again. For a few minutes, the Crusaders and Applejack asked all the questions they could think of and Solar and Coral took turns answering them.

When finally their questions stopped I asked Coral what the funeral ceremony was like. She said that Marelantians did not mourn death but instead celebrated it. Celebrated the full life that all creatures lead. Celebrated the achievements of their friends and told stories of both good times and bad.

So, I shared a few stories of Skip and I, bar fights we’d been in, friendly bets that had gone too far, even how Skip had earned his cutie mark. I recounted the many commendations he’d received at boating school and how the instructors had said upon his graduation that they’d never seen a finer sailor come through their halls.

Rainbow, Applejack, the girls, and Solar and Coral, listened to all my stories. They never asked for further details they just enjoyed the slice of Skip’s life that I was able to give them. I told them when I was finally done that I wished they all could’ve known him a bit more. He was a fine colt, after all.

“Before I end this, I want to share with you all a small prayer that Skip taught me once.” I took a deep breath, trying my best to remember the whole thing. “Ponies have always been drawn to the sea. But it's an unnatural setting for us, a place of great danger. Tides, currents, waves, wind. Each presenting their own hazards, none of which can be ignored. The slightest lapse of judgment can be a mistake you might never recover from. But a good sailor doesn't fight against these elements. A good sailor works with them, using them to his advantage. While others, less fortunate, might be forever cast adrift, he always comes home safely.”

We all sat in silence for a moment before Solar and Coral said their good-byes and we headed back to the ship.

As I stepped onto the deck, I turned to help the Crusaders from the boat. Sweetie Belle was the last in line and as I picked her up she asked me simply, “Can we go home now? I kinda miss my sister.”

I couldn’t help but laugh a little. “Sure, Sweetie. We’ll all be home in no time.”

Comments

[DaMagiks]

That was intense.
I loved the mental image of AJ bucking a changeling off the ship
I was worried that Shadow was going to sacrifice himself to take down Broomtail and the changelings and then it became even more gut wrenching when Skip suddenly knocked him out and I realized it wasn't to come up with a different plan.
Poor AJ as well she only really could tell him how she felt just before he took off.
But it was worse for Shadow as he didn't have any sort of 'family' left at all and I understand completely why he broke down after Skip's death.
The funeral service and then Shadow reciting Skip's favorite prayer was very touching

And Marelantis will still stay only a legend in the minds of most Equestrians.
At least the others got to meet Solar and Coral