Down But Not Out
Ch. 9 Down But Not Out
“Red, make sure Third is safe!” Red gave Diamant a nod as he began weaving in between the crew to find Third Gear.
He found her standing against the center mast of the ship, trying to stay out of the way of the pirates as they scrambled around the deck of the ship to prepare for a fight. Red raced up to her and before she could open her mouth, she was hefted on to his back by his magic.
“Hang on!” he shouted as he began bobbing and weaving through the crew again with Third hanging onto his mane.
He was just about to the steps that led below deck when a huge blast of wind slammed them against the wall of the stairwell; they both tumbled down the remaining steps with Third still hanging on to Red’s mane. Red was the first to get back to his hooves and he looked back and saw that Third was still hanging on to his mane with her eyes rolling around in her head as she shook her head to regain her vision. That was when they both saw two talons tear through the ceiling, leaving two huge gashes in the deck of the ship, and moments later heard a defiant screech from the Roc and then the ship heaved again and Red was thrown into one of the supports of the upper deck, where he definitely heard the sound of a rib cracking. Red struggled back to his hooves even with the burning pain of a cracked rib in his chest and quickly made sure Third was still safe, and aside from being thrown around, was no worse for wear, he then thought about his other friend that was risking his life to keep them safe as he could just make out what was going on through the massive cuts in the deck.
Diamant was fighting with the Roc, the bird was attempting to peck at the magic eater and he in turn was trying to take its head off but neither was connecting with the other. That the bird lunged forward and scored a direct hit on Diamant and sent him crashing through the center mast of the ship and flying into the railing. He was stunned as he staggered to his feet and was clearly shell shocked as he didn’t react quick enough to avoid getting grabbed by the Roc and carried off into the air.
“NO!” Red looked down and saw Third racing towards the stairs to the top deck.
Red reacted in an instant as he enveloped the filly in his magic aura and lifted her into the air.
“No! Let me go! I gotta help Dia!” Third shouted as she flailed her legs and flapped her tiny wings as she struggled against his grip.
“Calm down, ya can’t help em!” Red shouted back at her as she stopped struggling and slumped her body in defeat with tears flowing from her eyes as she gave Red the most pleading expression ever as he floated her over till she was eye level with him, “look, you have to trust him alright? He’s made of stone, no way some pigeon gonna beat him.”
Tears were still flowing from Third’s eyes and she was sniffling as she used her hoof to wipe her nose. A deafening screech from the Roc tore through the air and not even a minute later, the sound of something very big hitting the water and the boat heaved to the side. Red didn’t say anything but the wide-eyed expression on his face said more than enough as he raced up the stairs with such speed that shouldn't be possible with a broken rib, Third still floating next to him in his aura. He reached the top of the stairs in seconds and quickly surveyed the deck, he saw the two huge gashes that led from port to starboard of the ship as well as the splashes of blood that came from the ponies that were too slow to get out of the way in time. He also saw the two dozen holes that were scattered around one general area of the ship where it and Diamant were fighting.
He looked out over the railing to the ocean and saw what remained of the Roc as it slowly sank into the blood-red water, but he didn’t see any blue crystal or stone hanging on to the remains of the bird or swimming back to the ship.
‘Where are ya mate? Ya can’t just go and die on me after ya just made yer promise!’
His thoughts were pulled away from the water when he felt the atmosphere suddenly grow cold and the air tasted stale and he quickly spun around and saw that the remaining crew members were all gathered around a blood-drenched dark-blue coat that had been torn to pieces. Each were giving the others wary glances and sizing up their options, for without a declared captain, the job was up for grabs to whoever can climb to the top. Red may not have known this but he knew the body language and he didn’t want any part of this soon to be bloodbath. He silently levitated Third back onto his back and slowly shuffled his way to one of the lifeboats, all the while, the crew were trying to stare each other down. The air was silent, not even the caw of a seagull or the crash of waves as they hit against the hull of the ship could be heard as the ponies were locked in a staring match with each other.
Suddenly, without any outside influence, every pony suddenly exploded with shouts and yells as they readied their weapons and leapt against each other in a fight to the death with ponies that were their friends only minutes ago. This was no noble fight, this was a brawl to the death as alliances were made in seconds and broken seconds later as soon as one dropped their guard, ponies would stab another in the back while they were busy with another only to be stabbed themselves. Pegasi would swop down and slice an earth pony across the neck only to be tackled to the ground by another and hacked to pieces by five others. The sound of gunfire from pistols filled the air as they fired their deadly cargo that tore through flesh and shattered bone, the area was filling with the acrid smell of gunpowder and the smell of freshly spilled blood. This battle to the death would only end when there was nopony left to kill and Red was gonna make sure he wasn’t among the body count.
As soon as the fight broke out, he used his magic and abandoned all semblance of stealth as he tore the rope that held the lifeboat aloft and watched as it dropped and slammed into the ocean. He heard Third let out a scream and Red dove to the side, just in time to avoid a sword that would have split his skull sink into the soft wood of the railing. Red jumped back to his hooves in a second as the pony removed his sword from the railing and readied another swing with an almost crazed look in his eye, he took one more look back at the deadly brawl before he yelled to Third, “hang on!” to which she clamped her hooves around his neck and her teeth around his mane and pinched her eyes shut as he leapt over the railing of the ship, avoiding yet another swing from the pony.
Self-levitation is one of the most difficult adaptations of the rather simple spell of telekinesis, some of the most successful unicorns in history can only manage it for a few minutes, and that is usually after months of training. Red didn’t have months; he didn’t have minutes; he had seconds. He had originally aimed for the water but he realized mid-fall that his jump was off and was on a direct course for the lifeboat and even the relatively small drop from the deck of the ship to the boat he would definitely break a leg or worse. With every ounce of focus he had, Red poured his magic into his hooves and exerted all his energy on pushing against the force of gravity.
Red hit the wood of the lifeboat with a loud thud and heard the squeak of Third as she was bounced off of him and landed in one of the planks of wood that served as a seat. Red’s entire body was aching, his horn felt like it was on fire and his brain felt much the same way, but aside from the broken rib from earlier, he was unhurt.
“Mr. Shot, wake up!” Third asked as she pushed against his side and made him rock back and forth.
“Hey… I’m… not sleeping… just… tired” Red wheezed out through exhausted breaths.
Red heaved himself up and threw his hooves over the side of the boat nearly threw up at the excruciating headache that assaulted him but kept the meager lunch down as he looked around. By some grace of Celestia the ocean current was dragging the little dingy towards the shore much faster than the much larger galleon where the pirates were probably still killing each other, sure the Volcanic Wastes was not the best place in the world to end up but Red would take a chance of death over a guarantee of it any day of the week. He looked down into the dark water.
‘ya better be alright mate or I’m gonna beat the ever-living buck outta ya.’
Red tried to let out a sigh but his cracked rib made sure it was not forgotten as he let out a grunt as he clutched his side with a hoof, Third quickly scampered over to him.
“Mr. Shot, are you ok?” the little filly looked up with tears welling up in her eyes.
Red gave the filly a pained smile as he looked down at the filly, “yea, I’m fine, just a little sore.”
“Where’s Dia?” she was on the verge of sobbing as tears ran down her face and she began to take gasping breaths in between her sniffles.
Red was a pony of many talents but taking care of a crying filly was not one of them, he reached over with a hoof and gave her horn a little tweak, while it wouldn’t hurt her, it would stop her crying as she held her horn with both her hooves.
“Now we won’t have any of that ya hear me. There’s a time and place tears and this ain’t one of em. He’ll be fine alright?” Third gave a quiet nod as she wiped the tears from her eyes and gave a big sniffle to clear her nose, “Good, now let’s get out o here.” He said as he picked up the two oars with his magic and began rowing to the nearby shore, a small headache gnawing in the base of his horn.
There was an uneasy silence between the two ponies as Red rowed towards the shore, neither of the two wanted to talk, especially when they were short one from their little group, the pain steadily increasing in his horn wasn’t helping Red’s mood either. Maybe an hour or so of rowing later, Red took a look over his shoulder and saw that they were in the shallows of the coast and with a few more rows, the hull of the dingy scrapped up onto the sand. Red gingerly stepped out of the boat, taking care not aggravate his injury and grabbed the mooring line of the boat and gave it a few strong tugs to make sure it would not get washed away in the surf. He took a quick look around and made sure there were no immediate threats in the area. They were indeed in the Volcanic Wastes as they were on a charcoal black beach and the air tasted heavy and irritated his nose and made his eyes water. Looking past the beach he saw that they were surrounded by black spires of stone that jutted straight up and were spewing smoke and soot into the air.
“Right, out o the boat.”
Third was just about to jump over the side of the boat and onto the sand when she was suddenly pushed back into the boat by Red’s magic where she hit the bottom of the boat with a thump and ‘Oof’.
“Hey! What was that for!?” she squeaked out but was quickly silenced by a deadly glare from Red as he drew his bow, nocked an arrow and drew it to half draw as he turned and scanned the area, looking for the killer intent that just sent a chill up his spine and put his hair on end. Third didn’t make another sound as she slowly slid back into the boat, her eyes barely peaking over the edge of the boat. Red did not like it, they were in a kill zone and somewhere out there was something looking down on them with bloodlust and given by where they were, his little bow was looking a lot smaller than normal. Red’s eyes kept darting around the area as he slowly backed up until he was lined up with Third who was still hiding in the boat
“When ah say run, ya run, ya hear me?” He whispered to the little filly.
He quietly walked back to the front of the boat and tried to quiet the pounding of his heartbeat in his head as he waited… and waited.
He waited for what felt like hours and if it was not for the blood thirst in the air, he was not even sure there was anything there. His nerves were shot, his horn ached and his cracked rib was burning in his chest.
“I ain’t got all day… COME OUT ALREADY!” he shouted out in frustration but no one responded. He then felt a slight shift in the sand under his hooves.
‘No. Mother of Celestia please no!’
Red leapt from where he was standing and not a moment later, the sand exploded into the air as a very large, brown blur flew out of the hole and landed with a heavy thud in the sand.
‘Diamond Dogs’
Red watched as the dog turned around and matched the pony’s glare with one of his own as well as rows of pointed teeth seated in the short flat muzzle and ears and jowls that drooped down. Red did not waste as second as he pulled his arrow to full draw and loosed it.
The arrow flew straight and true and struck the dog right between the eyes as it punched through the extremely thick skull, the dog’s body shuttered for a moment before collapsing on the ground with a dull thump. If only it would be that easy, Red knew dogs never traveled alone and where there is one, there is no doubt at least another six.
“RUN!” he shouted to Third as he nocked another arrow and kept his head looking down towards the ground, looking for any shifting of the sand as the filly ran with all her might to the red pony.
'Not to me ya blasted filly!' he wanted to shout but he didn't get the chance.
She did not get very far as the sand shifted a few lengths in front of the fillys hooves and a thick and muscular claw erupted from the sand on a direct course for the fillys throat. It never reached its target as an arrow pierced the forearm of the dog and diverted its course and only scratching the filly along the right cheek, Third tripped over the exposed appendage but quickly scrambled back to her hooves and dove underneath Red where she curled up and covered her eyes with her hooves and shook like a leaf in a hurricane. The rest of the wounded dog exploded from his hole and gave a deadly glare to the pony that just shot him with an arrow; he brought his other arm to the arrow sticking out of his arm and with a sharp tug and a pained howl, he tore the arrow from his arm.
Red had just nocked another arrow and was readying it to release at the dog when a dozen clouds of sand were spewed into the air around the two ponies and out of each cloud came a diamond dog. Red quickly looked around and saw only a few of the dogs had weapons of any kind, most were wearing tattered rags and armed with nothing but their claws and teeth but the one that had been shot in the arm with an arrow had a long muzzle with a pronounced under bite and sharp pointed ears that stuck straight up was wearing crudely made patchwork metal armor and strapped around his chest were vials carrying some type of greenish-yellow liquid in them, most likely knock-out gas if the stories that he had heard about diamond dog slaver parties were even half-true.
All of the dogs were barking and yipping at the two ponies they had surrounded, all except for the one leader dog that was just glaring and barring his teeth as he clutched his wounded arm. Red was in a very vulnerable position with the filly hiding underneath him, while the dogs were barking and yipping, they were not advancing, they were holding a loose circle around the two. Guessing that he would have a moment before they attacked, Red used a back leg to make sure Third was still underneath him. The lead dog suddenly let out a loud series of barks and yips and a few of the dogs lunged forward.
Red let out a yell as he loosed another arrow at the closest dog, the arrow sailing through the dogs open maw, tearing through the back of its mouth, probably severing the spine from the skull resulting in instant death. The others were too close to draw another arrow so he did the next best thing and swung the bow around his head and cracked one of the dogs right on the side of its head, the density of the dog’s head was evident through the magical feedback through the bow but Red didn’t have time to think on it as he swung the bow again and stabbed the other dog through the eye with the limb of the bow. He was so focused on the dogs attacking him he didn’t notice the vial of green liquid flying through the air until it was too late and it exploded on his face, covering him with shards of glass and a putrid smelling liquid dousing his fur. It smelled horrible, like a city’s worth of sewage had just been shoved in his nose, it made Red’s eyes burn and set his throat of fire as he took a huge whiff of the foul smell.
The effects were almost instantaneous as his mind became fogged and sluggish, his legs grew heavy and refused to listen to his orders and his bow felt like it had just gained a thousand pounds. His back legs were the first to go as his flank flopped into the sand and Third had to wiggle her way out from underneath the pony and through half lidded eyes, he saw that Third was saying something but the words never reached his brain. He turned his head back to the lead dog and noticed he was standing right in front of him yet his body felt even heavier than before and when the dog brought his good arm up and pushed the unicorn over with little effort onto his cracked rib side. Red tried to stay conscious, but the tendrils of sleep slowly dragging him down and he was so very tired, a little nap wouldn’t hurt… would it?
Unbeknownst to the drugged stallion or the tiny filly that was kicking and screaming in the vice like grip of a diamond dog or the rest of their captors or the rapidly dwindling crew of the Lovely Mare, a lone figure slowly trekked its way along the ocean floor, the stone boots making a dull thump along with kicking up a puff of ocean silt and sand with each step as it moved close to the shore. An abandoned arm lay off to the side of the tracks in the ocean floor but it looked far different than normal. All the color had drained from it, giving it the look of fresh obsidian and a network of cracks began to form starting at the fingers and working its way up until the entire appendage was covered in cracks. Without warning, the arm suddenly split open like an egg and the entire thing collapsed into a pile of shiny rocks, completely worthless to its original owner who silently walked along the sea floor.
Its form was dark, the crystals along its body were black as night aside from the small glow and constant release of bubbles that came from the right shoulder where the cracking and scrapping could be heard resonating through the water as crystals sprouted where the missing appendage used to be. Even though the strange being moved with purpose as the skeletal framework of its missing arm took shape, it showed no intelligence as it walked with a shambling gait, as if sleepwalking, stepping over rocks, breaking coral beneath its feet, and fish scattering as their homes were destroyed, yet the strange calm that the creature showed hid the storm that raged within.
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Well, I'm glad you're back, I missed this story.
MORE!!
But anyways great chapter
all i read was :Unbeknownst to the drugged stallion or the tiny filly that was kicking and screaming in the vice like grip of a diamond dog or the rest of their captors or the rapidly dwindling crew of the Lovely Mare, a lone figure slowly trekked its way along the ocean floor, the stone boots making a dull thump along
before i knew dia was back =3
MMMMMMMMMMMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!
continue
2143644
When I first started writing, I did think about giving him the ability to shoot spikes and stuff like that but the more I wrote, the more overpowered he got. So I toned him down so he was kind of like the evil terminator from Terminator 2, just stabbing as slashing weapons so he wouldn't be able to run around and shoot stuff outta the sky.
NEED MOAR NAOW
When will you update
MMMMOOOOAAAARRRR Did your computer explode again or are you dead
Is this story dead?
Nice!
first in a year
3868622
this stories dead hasn't been updated since 2013
Ded
As
Fuck
Will the white freak ever return find out next week!!! Spoiler alert
66.media.tumblr.com/13196037b0b559b04371280f89bc15d1/tumblr_n9co4loP5u1tr5l2fo1_250.gif
7733945 Dead, is he. Years it has been, write he does not. Good stories living long, they do not.