Hijack
A “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic” Fanfiction
Written by Jade Dawn
The Constitution had been hailed by her builders as one of–if not the–largest and most luxurious cruise airship yet built. And seen in person, she definitely seemed to deliver on that promise. Over 1,000 feet from the bow to stern of the craft’s upper dirigible section, she was decked out with all of the pleasures that a ticket to board could buy; the finest furnished rooms, a restaurant and bar stocked with the best foods, a pool and hot tubs…if it could be named it was probably there. It was plain to see that this was no mere passenger ship.
No, the Constitution was a vessel clearly built for the well-to-do. And indeed, most of the guest list for her inaugural cruise around Manehattan Bay consisted of the crème de la crème of pony society. Some were wealthy businessponies or philanthropists, others artists or well-known personalities. Some where even local politicians. All very upper class, or at least well off enough to have been able to afford the ticket prices.
Which may have explained why Dawning Hope felt so uncomfortably out of place standing on her upper decks amidst the crowds of guests trotting about around him. He felt even more out of place than he usually did amidst this gathering of a social class higher than his own. Not that he held any particular ill will or distaste towards them–most of them, anyway–but it wasn’t any more his comfort zone than…well, pretty much anything had been these past two years.
Still, he knew Rarity had pulled in quite a few favors to get them tickets aboard, Daily Planet press passes notwithstanding. She’d even gone to the trouble of gifting formal wear to the reporters; tuxedoes for him and Quicksnap, and a yellow evening gown for Lucky. And he didn’t want to squander the opportunity for everypony else by looking like he wasn’t enjoying himself. So he did his best to look like he was, putting up his best perky-but-not-overdoing-it face as he hung around one of the food tables off to one side of the main deck.
At least his companions seemed to be fitting in well enough. Rarity, dressed in an extravagant purple dress, had spent most of the trip so far chatting with fellow socialites, some old acquaintances, others newly met. Rainbow Dash, who’d earlier been griping about the blue outfit that Rarity had selected for her, was leaning against the railing surrounded by a small group of ponies, eagerly listening to her talk with a grin. From what Dawning could pick up, the topic was herself. Even Fluttershy, clad in a green dress that vaguely suggested a forest-like look, was doing alright in this environment, having found someone with a keen interest in animal shelter support to talk with. Meanwhile, Quicksnap was going around taking as many pictures as he could, while Lucky seemed content to keep close to Dawning and Rarity. He knew that she probably felt more uncomfortable with this crowd than he did.
“Your suit fitting alright, darling?”
Oops. Rarity must’ve seen him tugging at the collar of his tuxedo. “Uh, no, no, suit’s fine…um, thank you again for getting it.”
“Oh, please, think nothing of it, Dawning,” Rarity replied with a wave of her hoof. “I’m more than happy to provide a few favors to friends. And, uh, if I might be so forward, you look rather dashing in it.”
“Erm…thanks,” Dawning nodded. In truth, he really was happy that she’d gotten it. For whatever reason, either gut instinct or paranoia he really couldn’t say, he’d decided to bring his Supermane outfit along out on the trip tonight. And as it so happened, with a little adjusting and tucking in here and there, he was able to reasonably hide it beneath his dress suit.
Just in case.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw Lucky shoot a brief glare at Rarity before quickly suppressing it. “Nothing quite like it, eh?” she said, in a way that sounded a little less than impressed. “Pomp and circumstances, all that…stuff.”
“You don’t sound particularly thrilled,” Rarity noted.
“Let’s just say the upper classes aren’t exactly my favorite group to hang around.” She shrugged. “But hey, don’t let my personal prejudices get in the way. At least some of us are having fun.” She nodded over to a little ways off, to where Rainbow Dash was still surrounded by her little personal crowd.
Rarity nodded. “Hmm, understandable…but then again, there are certain advantages to this kind of company, I’m sure we can both agree.”
“Such as?”
“Oh, you know…connections, opportunities…” Rarity flashed a knowing smile. “I seem to recall you were wishing for a way to get some choice statements from a few certain ponies?”
She nodded her head to one side, still smiling. Lucky followed, looking through the churning crowd of guests until she finally saw; Mayor Sound Policy, his gray head suddenly sticking out to her as she locked on.
Lucky slowly turned back to Rarity. “…you…you genius.”
Rarity’s shrug was modest, but her smile was a little self-congratulatory. “I have my moments, darling.”
In spite of everything else, Lucky chuckled. “You’re a lifesaver…Dawning, let’s go get us a comment. Kid, get your tail feathers over here!”
“Oh, right away, Miss Lead!” Quicksnap chirped as he fell in behind Lucky, who was all but prancing her way along.
Behind them, Dawning stopped to give Rarity a questioning look. “Did you have this planned from the start or was this just a lucky coincidence?” he asked.
Rarity smiled. “Oh, please, Mr. Hope…a lady must be allowed some secrets, hm?”
“Dawning, come on!” Lucky called.
Dawning gave Rarity a little nod of thanks before going to catch up with Lucky and Quicksnap. It didn’t take them too long for Lucky to lead them through the churning crowd to the opposite end of the deck, where Mayor Sound Policy stood near one of the beverage tables by the railing. A young blonde-maned filly in a little yellow frock dress stood close by, all but hugging his legs, while Running Candidate seemed to be just finishing a conversation with Policy, nodding and giving a champagne glass a brief raise before turning away. It was exactly the kind of opening that Lucky was looking for.
“Mayor Policy, sir?” Lucky called out as they approached.
Policy turned his head at her voice. He smiled, but it did little to mask the subtle displeasure in his eyes. “Ah, uh, good evening Miss Lead…forgive me, but I wasn’t quite expecting to see you and your partners here.”
“Friend of ours got us on board. Also, y’know…” Lucky held up her press pass with a little smirk.
Policy nodded. “Uh, yes, of course…and good evening to you Dawning, um, Quicksnap, was it?”
“Yes sir, Mr. Mayor sir,” Quicksnap said, stepping up beside Lucky and raising his camera. “Hey, mind if I get a picture for the Planet?”
“Uh–“
SNAP!
“Thanks!” Quicksnap beamed.
The little filly near Policy giggled as he blinked spots out of his eyes. “Daddy, come on, it’s just a picture.”
Policy stifled a grumble, putting on his best politician’s smile. “Oh, do forgive me. This is my daughter, Goldenrod,” he said as he pulled her into a shoulder hug. Goldenrod, for her own part, looked a little less than pleased. “Thought I’d take her out on a special little outing this evening.”
“Nice,” Dawning nodded. He looked down to Goldenrod. “Having fun?”
“Not really,” she answered. Dawning fought to keep the childish bluntness of the reply from making him giggle, and he could hear that Lucky was having less success than he was.
The Mayor held a purse-lipped smile as he looked between his daughter and the reporters. “Well, erm…say, uh, I’m going to be a bit occupied with more, um…grown-up talk…” He shot a quick glance Lucky’s way. “…so why not go and find some of the other children on board to play with for a while, hm? Maybe make some new friends?”
Goldenrod shook her head. “They don’t like me.”
“Oh, I can hardly believe that…why ever not?”
“They think I’m dumb.”
Policy let out a soft chuckle, the disbelieving kind. “Well that’s absurd…why would they think that?”
“Their folks say that you’re dumb and they think I’m dumb too.”
No amount of politician’s acting could hide the embarrassed blush that flared up across Sound Policy’s face. Lucky finally lost her grip and let out a snort.
Policy pulled himself into a gritted-toothed smile. “Well, just…give it a shot anyway, why don’t you? It can’t hurt to try, now can it?”
“But Dad–“
“And listen, while you’re going that way…” He shot a glare at Quicksnap. “Maybe this fine young hippogriff would like to accompany you? Maybe he’d like to get some photos of some of the other party-goers on board, and I’m sure he could use some help finding some of Daddy’s other friends, hm?”
“You sure, sir?” Quicksnap asked innocently. “I mean, if Ms. Lead needs–”
“Actually,” Lucky interjected, sensing the Mayor’s annoyance. “Actually that’s a great idea. Faust knows we’re going to need as many photos of this night as we can get, so maybe…” She put a foreleg around Quicksnap’s shoulder to turn him away. “…maybe you should go and do that while we get our interview, ‘kay, kid?”
“Well…if you say so, Miss Lead. But if you need me for anything–”
“I’ll holler, don’t worry,” Lucky said with a pat on his back to send him on his way. Goldenrod sighed before slowly trotting off, Quicksnap following along.
Policy sighed, rubbing his temples with a hoof. “Kids…”
“Oh, I’m sure she doesn’t believe really believe that…” Dawning said comfortingly.
“Anyway,” Policy said, clearing his throat. “Miss Lead, Mr. Hope, is there, ah…” He forced a politician’s pleasant smile onto his face. “Anything you’re looking to ask of me this particular evening?”
“Well, um, we were hoping–”
“Oh yes,” Lucky jumped in, pulling out a notepad. “Yes there is, quite a bit, actually.”
Policy grumbled softly. “Well listen, if it’s about this whole business with LexCorp I can assure you–”
“Oh no no, I’m actually not interested in Lex tonight…although if you want, we can come back around to him later. Actually, um…” She paused, savoring the tiny bit of suspense. “…tonight I’m more interested in Supermane.”
Policy blinked. “…Supermane?”
“Well, Mr. Mayor,” Lucky said, dropping the snark and slipping into business mode. “You can hardly deny that Supermane’s been taking up quite a bit of news lately, between his rescues of the LexCorp tram and the Bronclyn Bridge and, well…ponies want some answers.”
“You want to know what I think of him.”
Lucky shrugged. “Would be a nice place to start.”
Policy pursed his lips. Dawning watched him as he held his pen ready, feeling a bit anxious. He knew the police had been trying to hard to hunt him, but that was when he was still an urban myth to the world. But now that he was more public, and if the city officials wanted him brought in, then they could easily call in the Royal Guard to come help find him, and if the government–even under Twilight Sparkle’s reign–got serious about trying to find him, never mind the Element Bearers already being on the case…
Finally Policy coughed, straightening himself up, going into speech mode. “Miss Lead, I’d like to think that myself and the rest of this city’s council are proponents of law and order…”
“Mm-hmm,” Lucky murmured, nodding to Dawning to start taking notes. He started writing, his reporter’s experience allowing him to do so while only occasionally glancing down at the pad as he watched and listened to the Mayor talk.
“…and well…Supermane is saving lives, I’ll give him that. I don’t think even his harshest critics will deny that he’s prevented the deaths of hundreds between the tram accident and the bridge bombing.”
Okay, so far so good… Dawning thought. …so why do I feel a “but” coming up?
“However…”
Dawning stopped writing. And here it comes…
“However,” Policy continued. “I think we must all keep in mind that Supermane is still very much a vigilante, operating without supervision or accountability to the police or the Royal Guard or any recognized governing authority.”
“Uh-huuh…” Lucky murmured sourly.
“And yes, of course he has helped…but why? How is the common pony to know what his real intentions are? As an elected official, I’m afraid I simply cannot put my wholehearted trust into somepony who acts outside the confines of the law.”
Dawning sighed internally. Oh boy…
“You getting this so far, Dawning?” Lucky asked.
“What? O-oh, um, yes, Lucky,” Dawning hurriedly said as he jotted down Policy’s comment, holding back a wince as he put the words down on paper.
Lucky turned back to the Mayor. “So you disapprove of him, then?”
Policy raised a hoof. “Miss Lead, I never said I disapprove of the pony, please do not misquote me on that. What I said was that I, as a city official, I simply cannot condone him running about taking the law into his own hooves. The tram and the bridge rescues are one thing, but going after criminals is another.”
“I…see,” Lucky nodded slowly. “So, with that in mind, what exactly do you plan to do about him?”
“I plan to petition Princess Twilight for a formal Guard investigation into his whereabouts and identity, and bring him in for questioning,” Policy answered. “I can see that she’s made a start, what with sending her, ah, friends here…” He nodded into the crowd of churning party goers where Rarity, Fluttershy, and Rainbow were still chatting around.
“And what makes you think that they’re here for Supermane?” Lucky asked.
“Well, Miss Lead,” Policy replied. “You can hardly expect me to believe that no less than three of the Elements of Harmony would come out all this way to Manehattan on a mere social call…especially out to you and your paper.”
“Okay, fair enough. And, uh, you don’t think their involvement is enough?”
“Not necessarily, but I think it’s time we launched something more proactive in light of the current circumstances. I’ve already authorized the police precincts to begin searching around the city and track his known areas of operation–”
“Have they found anything yet?” Dawning suddenly blurted out. The Mayor raised an eyebrow at him, and Dawning struggled to not visibly flinch. Darn it, too jumpy sounding…
“…no, we have not. And, uh, with all due respect,” He turned back to Lucky. “If we were to come up with any relevant information like that, well…I personally wouldn’t be too keen on making it public knowledge until we’ve found him.”
In other words, you’re not going to be any help, Lucky thought. What she actually said, however, was a simple, “I see.”
Dawning, meanwhile, was beginning to feel a knot forming in his stomach. This was everything that he had been afraid was going to happen once he stepped out into the open. Now it wasn’t just Lex clandestinely gunning for him, now the authorities were prepping to hunt for him too. At least when the Elements and Lucky had been looking for him he’d felt safe, because, of course, he’d been with them every step of the way. He could keep an eye on them, work out their movements, and compensate when he could. But if the Manehattan police or the Royal Guard decided to really throw their resources into hunting him down…he honestly wasn’t sure if he could really evade them if they seriously tried.
Tartarus, they might even get Lex to study me when they find me… He thought to himself. Oh Faust, if I’d just stayed off to the side and let the tram–
His train of thought came to a screeching thought and his blood ran cold. Oh, no, no no no no…where had that thought come from? It had just been for a second, but now as he realized what he’d been thinking, he felt utterly repulsed by that little burst of selfishness.
For Faust’s sake, ponies had almost died. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash had almost died. And the only reason they all were still alive was because he had stepped in and done something when nopony else could have. He couldn’t bear to think of what might’ve happened if he hadn’t.
And yet, just for a moment, he’d wished he didn’t have to…
Dawning was just about to shove his inner turmoils off to the side and focus back on work when…something…reached his ears. A noise, a voice, he wasn’t sure which, but a sound of some kind for sure. And there was something about its tone that he didn’t like. Something that triggered that instinct deep inside him. He began to focus his hearing to take in everything going on around him, beginning to filter through the hundreds of voices from all over the ship to pin it down.
And as he did so, he slowly, almost as though in a trance, stepped away from Lucky and the Mayor and headed into the crowd of partygoers.
Lucky watched him in confusion. “Dawning? Hey, Dawning? Where are you going? Come back, I need you–” She reached a hoof out to him, but too late; he’d already disappeared into the crowd. She could only turn back to the Mayor and shrug in bewilderment at his own confused look.
Dawning slowly trotted straight ahead, barely looking where he was going, devoting his full attention to his hearing as he tried to pin down the sound that had troubled him. It wasn’t easy; with all the voices and sounds coming from the ship, and with so many clustered together like this, filtering through them took time. The talk he picked up from the upper class guests did little to ease his nerves.
“…certainly wouldn’t have believed it, coming from that Lucky Lead mare. Between her harassing honest businessponies like Mr. Lexicon…”
“…made a confounded symbol out of him, the ponies love him…”
“…just going to let him run about doing whatever he feels like. Absolutely disgraceful…”
“…really want him around, then Policy should at least deputize him or something, make it nice and legal…”
“Dawning?”
That one had been right next to him, and the sudden proximity made Dawning jump. He quickly saw that it was Fluttershy, looking at him with concern.
“O-oh, uh, Miss Fluttershy, I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there…”
“It’s okay…are you alright?”
“No, I–I mean yes, I’m doing fine, just…moving around, looking for potential quotes…”
Fluttershy tilted her head. “I thought you and Lucky were talking to the Mayor.”
Dawning felt himself beginning to sweat, from both Fluttershy’s prying and from whatever bad feeling was setting him on edge. “Oh, uh, yeah, we were, but we got that wrapped up…”
“Lucky’s still over there talking with him,” Fluttershy answered. Dawning quickly flicked his eyes back to where the Mayor stood. And indeed, Lucky had resumed her questioning.
“…oh…”
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Fluttershy pressed, leaning forward to check him over. “You look…distant. Is something bothering you?”
Yes, please leave me alone so I can find out what.
The thought had scarcely crossed across his mind when he heard it again. Instantly he focused all of his attention into getting a good lock on it, and at last–and to his horror–he realized what it was.
The sound of a gun cocking. Dawning knew well enough what those sounded like. He hadn’t been shot with by too many, as few ponies, even criminals, used them in mainland Equestria, but he was very familiar with them by now.
Someone on the ship had one. Maybe multiple someones.
And now that he had a lock on the sound, he looked down and began to x-ray through the floors of the ship–he faintly could make Fluttershy trying to ask him what he was doing, but he ignored her–until he finally found himself seeing into the engine room far at the bottom-most levels of the ship towards the aft.
The engineering crews were now huddled whimpering in a corner. Surrounding them, closing in and pushing them further back, was another group who decidedly were not any members of the crew, from both their lack of uniform and the weapons they were aiming at their captives; guns, many of them larger and more powerful-looking than any of the models Dawning had seen before.
“Oh Faust…”
“Dawning?” Fluttershy asked again, now starting to sound nervous. “What’s–”
Without warning, the night air was suddenly filled with a loud cacophony of bursting gunfire from all around. Panic broke out in seconds as the partygoers on deck erupted into a swarming, screaming stampede. Dawning’s concentration was shattered as the sounds flooded his ears and he felt bodies jostling him around. In spite of everything, he reached out and wrapped a foreleg around Fluttershy, now whimpering in full terror, and pulling her close.
Meanwhile, Quicksnap had been taken completely off-guard by the sudden chaos, and was now frantically trying to get a good picture between being knocked around in the chaos. Under the circumstances he could barely get a good look at the screen to see what he was getting, but if he lived through this and had to go back to the Chief with a bunch of blurs–
Suddenly he heard a voice from amidst the stampede, young and wailing. “Daddy! Daddy!”
Oh feathers, the Mayor’s kid, he realized. She gets caught up in all this… He began forcing his way through, trying to find her. Soon enough, he found himself stumbling up alongside one of the beverage tables. The little filly was huddled up beneath it, crying miserably.
Quicksnap ducked his head down. “Hey! Hey…” Darn it, what was her name again?…Goldenrod, that’s it. “Goldenrod, right?”
The little yellow filly stopped crying for a moment, turning to look up at him with tear-filled eyes as he extended a foreleg to her.
“Hey, it-it’s okay…I’m gonna get you outta here, okay? Just take my talon here…”
Silently, Goldenrod reached out and grasped Quicksnap’s talon in her hoof. He pulled her out from under the table and held her close, unfurling his wings around the two of them to offer her further protection. “It’s gonna be okay,” He told her. “It’s gonna be okay…” I hope…
Lucky Lead, meanwhile, was doing her best to keep her nerve as she was looking around, trying to see what was going on and where her companions were. The same couldn’t be said for Mayor Policy, who’d collapsed onto his haunches with his hooves clapped over his ears.
Finally, coming up from the sides and from hatches and staircases on the deck, she saw them. More than two dozen in number from who she could see alone. Most of them were ponies of the varying tribes, but there were other creatures mixed in among them as well; griffons, donkeys, hippogriffs, a couple zebras and minotaurs, even a few bizarre creatures that Lucky couldn’t name off the top of her head. The walking bipedal shark…thing stomping up on deck drew particular immediate attention. Their clothing, for those who had any, was rather ragged and sparse; simple shirts or vests, some bandanas here and there. They all had various bladed weapons–knives, swords, even some axes for some–hanging at their sides, but the vast majority of them were carrying an assortment of firearms.
Everything about them screamed “mercenary” in Lucky’s mind. Or perhaps “pirate” was a more relevant term here.
Lucky suddenly flinched as she felt something metal poke roughly at her back. She turned to see a tough-looking gray pegasus mare, forehead wrapped in a red bandana, pointing her weapon at Lucky and the Mayor. “Move,” she snarled.
Lucky’s eyes flitted down to the gun the mare held. She wasn’t exactly an expert on firearms, but she’d learned enough about them to recognize this one as some kind of submachine gun. And that alone felt off to Lucky, because while she couldn’t guess exactly where these pirates had come from, the fact that they were wielding such modern weaponry made her–
The mare jabbed Lucky in the chest with the barrel again. “I said move.”
“Alright, alright…” Lucky murmured, starting to step backward.
Policy straightened up, putting on as brave a face as he could muster. “N-now see here,” He said, his attempted stern tone broken by a stutter.
The other mare didn’t even reply verbally this time. She just raised the gun to point between Policy’s eyes and shot a glare at him, and that was enough to get him cowering back with ears folded as he turned away, sticking close beside Lucky as they were herded forward.
“Oh Celestia, Celestia…” He whispered. His eyes widened. “Goldenrod…oh Faust above, I sent her away and now…”
“We don’t know if they’ve done anything to her,” Lucky whispered back. “She’s probably alright, at least for the moment…but for goodness’ sake, keep it together.”
Policy just pursed his lips, nodding silently. In spite of herself and whatever she may have felt for the pony in any other situation, Lucky couldn’t help but pity him now. At least a little.
The other pirates had begun surrounding the deck crowd, barking threats and poking with the barrels of their weapons as they herded the panicking ponies into circular groups. Lucky and Policy soon found themselves clumped into one as well, surrounded on all sides by their armed captors as the former partygoers stood packed together.
“D-do you see…?” Policy nervously asked.
“I’m looking,” Lucky replied, turning her head as she tried to find the others.
“Let me at ‘em!” She suddenly heard through the din. She turned to see Rainbow Dash and Rarity in another group nearby, the latter desperately holding the former back by her dress as she angrily swiped at the pirates with her hooves.
“Rainbow, for Celestia’s sake…” Rarity hissed as she held on, for her own dear life and Rainbow’s. “Look at them, they have guns, you can’t possibly take them on–”
“Watch me.”
Another cracking gunshot pierced the air, causing the crowd to collectively wince and go quiet. As it echoed, all eyes slowly turned up to the source.
Two stallions were standing at the top of the staircase leading up to the bridge and officer levels. One was a gray furred, black-maned pegasus holding a rather heavy looking shotgun pointed upwards in one hoof, its barrel smoking. The other had a kind of yellow-gold mane color, with a light brown mane tied into small ponytail in the back, garbed in an ornate green captain’s coat with a sword hanging at his left side. He smirked down at the gathered hostages with a cocky look in his green eyes.
“Good evening, fillies and gentlecolts,” Bronze Corsair purred, his Aushalyian accent tinged with a faux-cordiality. “Allow me to introduce ourselves; we’re tonight’s entertainment.” He descended down the steps as leisurely as one of the guests might have done just minutes before, White Wind following just behind him as they walked through the assembled pirates and the hostages they surrounded. “Now, I’m very sorry for this rather, ah…abrupt interruption, but as you can probably tell, there’s been a little change of plans for this evening’s cruise.”
Suddenly, Mayor Policy pushed his way through the crowd, mustering up as much anger into his voice and face as he pressed through to the edge of the circle. “Who are you?! What do you intend to do with us?!” He shouted. “I demand that you–”
Two pirates, a unicorn and a griffon, both raised their assault rifles simultaneously to aim one barrel at each of his eyes. Policy’s bout of righteous fury dissolved as quickly as it had come, and he slunk back into the crowd.
“Anyway, as I was saying,” Bronze continued. “We’re just going to be taking a bit of an impromptu detour, you could call it. Now I know this must be something of an inconvenience to you lot, but don’t worry…if you’d all be so kind as to stay calm, cool and collected, then we can get this whole deal all wrapped up without much fuss at all.” He flashed a little smile. “And nopony has to get hurt too badly.”
The crowd murmured in fright. Off in their own group, Goldenrod buried her head into Quicksnap’s shoulder with a frightened whimper.
Dawning Hope kept his head lowered, his gaze flicking between all directions as he counted off the pirates on the ship. About two dozen up here above, a little less than twice that number scattered throughout the ship on her various decks, all similarly armed. All vital areas of the ship were covered. He was totally surrounded and in full view.
Need to slip away so I can take care of this, he thought desperately. But how…? Can’t just zoom off at super-speed, I’d just kick up wind doing it and there’s no way they wouldn’t notice…
He suddenly felt hooves roughly shove him and Fluttershy forward, and he turned to see a unicorn stallion pointing his weapon at them. “Come on, git in line!” He barked. He jabbed the barrel of his gun into Fluttershy’s chest, knocking her back hard enough to send her stumbling onto her haunches with a yelp.
Before even Dawning himself realized it, he’d suddenly leapt between Fluttershy and the pirate, grabbing his hooves and forcing the gun downward. “Leave her alone,” he growled.
For a second the pirate actually looked surprised, but he quickly regained his composure and forced his hooves loose with a snarl, ramming the stock of his gun upward into Dawning’s chin with a resounding crack.
For a moment Dawning stood staggering as though stunned…
…and then limply fell to the deck with a thud.
Fluttershy gasped in horror as she watched him fall. As the ponies nearby went into a new round of panic, she scrambled back up to her hooves and tried to rush to him, only to be held back by the surrounding pirates.
“Dawning!” she cried, struggling fruitlessly. “Dawning, oh no!…”
Meanwhile, Bronze Corsair shook his head and clicked his tongue in mock disappointment as he watched. “There’s always that one, isn’t there?”
“What do you want us to do with him, Cap’n?” White asked.
“Oh…” Bronze waved a hoof dismissively. “Toss him over. It’ll stick the point home.”
White nodded. “Toss him over, boys!” He called out.
It was Lucky Lead’s desperate shout of “NO!” that rang loudest among the new round of screaming as two of the pirates took Dawning’s unconscious form between their arms and dragged him towards the railing. “LET HIM GO!” she screamed as she struggled against her captors. “DON’T DO IT, DON’T YOU BUCKING DARE DO IT!”
For all her screaming, though, the pirates just ignored her. They lifted Dawning up, both grunting as they did–he was heavier than they expected–and pushed him over the side.
“DAWNING!” Fluttershy cried. Lucky screamed something incoherent. Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Quicksnap all gasped in horror as the crowd’s cries reached a roaring crescendo.
Another upwards-aiming gunshot from White Wind’s shotgun sent everypony into silence again. Bronze cleared his throat. “See? This was all completely avoidable, really. It really isn’t that hard to listen, now is it?” he chuckled. Then he narrowed his eyes and dropped his voice into a more authoritative, menacing tone. “Now…stay in line, stay quiet, and nopony else has to die tonight. And you lot,” he called out to his crew. “Make sure they actually listen this time. If someone acts up again, feel free to provide another example.”
The two pirate leaders turned away from the now cowed crowd and started making their way back up to the bridge. “You made sure to cut off their distress call?” Bronze asked White.
“Got to ‘em before they had a chance,” White replied. “As far as harbor control on the mainland knows, it’s all smooth sailing.”
“Good,” Bronze smiled. “Very good. Now…tell the boys at the helm to take us out to the coordinates our, eh…benefactors provided. I want to get this boat pawned off and us out of here sooner rather than later.” He cast a glance at the distant, gleaming skyline of Manehattan glowing against the dark night sky. “We’re doing a lot better than I thought we would, but I don’t want to push our luck.”
As they ascended the steps, the other pirates on deck returned to their guard duties. All except the one who’d clobbered Dawning, who was now looking over his rifle in confusion. He could’ve sworn the stock hadn’t been bent like that before…
Dawning kept his eyes closed and his body limp as he felt himself tumble down through the air towards the ocean below, fighting every instinct to simply fly up. He hit the cold water with a splash. Even with his resilience, it still shocked him to a degree on impact. He let himself sink for a bit; he couldn’t breathe underwater and still needed to breathe like anypony else, but he could hold his breath for a long time, and could survive for a much greater length of time without air besides.
As Dawning went down, he looked up through the water to make sure the pirates were convinced that he was gone. He hated scaring the others by playing possum like this, and he knew that when this was over he’d have to explain that Supermane had rescued him just in the nick of time. But under the circumstances, it had been the only way he could think of to get away and change.
At last he saw the pirates move away from the railings, and he felt confident enough to move. He kicked himself up to the surface, took a breath of air, and willed himself upwards, keeping low over the water to further avoid being seen. The wind against him blowed against his damp fur and clothing as he flew.
In under a minute he’d sped his way to one of the many docks on Manehattan’s coast. Ducking beneath a pier, he pulled off his soaked tuxedo, bundled it up and laid it against one of the support columns, making a note to retrieve it later. Next he unfurled his red cloak, gave it and his shirt a drying off with his heat vision, and pulled the hood up over his head.
At least bringing the costume turned out to be a good idea after all, he thought.
Dawning looked across the bay at the ship in the distance. This…wasn’t going to be easy. It could easily be the toughest challenge he’d yet faced. He’d dealt with plenty of crooks before, some with guns. He’d fought the soldiers of the Storm King at Dodge Junction. But a veritable army of pirates armed with weapons like he’d seen them packing?
And keeping his identity secret in the fray…
Stop worrying about yourself, he mentally chided. Ponies are in danger. Your friends are in danger. And if you don’t get back out there, they may very well die.
Dawning took a deep breath as he steeled himself for the coming fight. Little particles of sand and gravel rose up around his hooves as he lifted up into the air…
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Welcome back!
It’s good to have you back Superman
How will Dawning be able to keep his secret identity if said identity is considered to be dead?
11288734 He won't be dead, he'll just have been mircaulously saved at the last possible second.
Again, great job on this latest chapter. It took a while, but was definitely well worth the wait. Certainly appreciated the work that went into the exchanges, characterizations, action and future chapter set-up. Definitely felt for Dawning as he overheard all the stuff that was said about his alter ego. Of course, the one I agreed with the most was that last one that thought the mayor should just deputize Supermane (which is probably going to happen shortly after this mess is over with). And, yeah, Rainbow, Rarity and Fluttershy HAVE faced MUCH worse than a bunch of punks with guns and won (comes with the territory of saving the world at least three times a year), but that was with the entire group at their backs, which they don't have here. And definitely liked Quicksnap saving the Mayor's kid. At least Dawning has the opportunity to change unnoticed. We already know Supermane IS going to get there in time to save at least MOST of the crew and passengers (maybe/hopefully even ALL of them), but the cliffhanger is going to be whether it WILL be all or "just" most.
VERY MUCH looking forward to more of this, though I can respect the need for quality over speed, real life schedules not always being cooperative and inspiration also being fickle. Just do the best you can (which I know is VERY good).
Why does an absolute monarchy tolerate the seditious naming of a vessel "constitution?"
It looks like we got good classic action sequence that feels very much right out of the old animated series. Scaling pony durability has always been very tricky. After all sometimes you see them smash through rocks and trees without issue which would make one think bullets aren't really gonna do much, but other times they get seriously hurt from getting smacked in the face of the branch.
Am gonna get very curious on who's going to discover the secret identity eventually, as multiple potential candidates are being brought up. Do like of the characterization of the mayor is showing him as a politician who is going to be involved in the typical political machinations and PR, though is still a decent person all things considered.
"We are tonight's entertainment!"
Hi entertainment, can you get me a sandwich before the hero beats your asses?
11289039
I don't think it's a true absolute monarchy as Celestia seemed to imply at least a few times that there ARE checks and balances (she DID mention at least once that even SHE can't do EVERYTHING she wants to do). Plus, in this case, the monarchy is pretty benevolent most of the time, so they can take a joke as long as it's harmless and within the limits of good tastes. In addition, well, "Constitution" can ALSO refer to things like health and durability.
11289039
Why do you think Equestria is an absolute monarchy?
Welp, these pirates are about to be absolutely wrecked!
Welcome back, Jade, and rest assured, the wait was worth it.
I very much enjoyed the buildup to the pirates' hijacking, particularly for a lot of the character interactions in the lead-up to the attack. The mayor and his daughter were nice original characters (Goldenrod's brutal honesty about her classmates' parents and their opinions was hilarious
), which I think does a good job setting up for the shock that the cast gets when Bronze and his minions stage their assault. And the cliffhanger was effectively done too - perfect hook to get us excited for Supermane's rescue next chapter... 
11288787
He was shot point blank. The ponies would believe he had dead right there and worst falling to the water when they heard the splash.
11290090
He wasn't shot; he was hit in the head with the rear of the gun and "knocked out".
11290092
Oh I thought he was shot?
11290095
Nope.
11290096
Oh ok
Well, that was convenient!
11290511
Sometimes life tosses you golden opportunities. Other times it smacks you in the face with them.
11291592
And sometimes it does both: smacked him in the face with one, then tossed him overboard for the other.
I hope Supermane takes it easy on the guy who socked him, but whispers to him while tying him up, "I like you. You're much easier to provoke."
I honestly had not noticed it was six months.
That probably says more about the dreary endless grey of the world now than anything else, but whatever.
While I never watched the DCAU animated Superman series itself, like one other previous commentator, this chapter did give me a strong Justice League/JLU vibe as well.
👍
Okay, not the event I thought Rarity was going to get them into, but I guess it's similar enough. Oh, gee, I just hope Dash realizes how much danger she and everyone else is in before she does something stupid like she tends to do in these kinds of situations.
Well then... dis ain't gonna end well.
I sure hope Dawning has a good excuse for not being dead when all this is over, cause ooh boy, that's gonna be a big one to shrug off. Also; the pirates are sooo dead. Yeah, little guns, sure that will work against ponies of steel
Also, politicians. Honey. I know you think just cause he's foreign it may be scary but... the fact that saving people and fighting crime is all he's done, and has done so without causing serious harm to anyone is a good thing isn't it? Wait, no, politicians, forgot what I'm talking about. 
Well, at least they have some sense of good he does... some.
All in all, solid chapter Jade.