• Published 12th Mar 2013
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Semper Pie - deathtap



Meet Pinkie's long lost (more like forgotten) brother: Semper Pie.

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Mission 2, Part 1: The Eleonora Nevus

"Move!" The unicorn shouted. A whip glowing with his magic cracked in the night sky. Somezebra - no, someone screamed.

There were so many other types of creatures here, not just pony or zebra, that it was difficult to fathom. All through her young life she had been warned about the world outside her country's borders, but she had yearned to see. Curiosity had got the best of her, and now she was starting to understand why there was so many stories of sadness of those that ventured forth. She had wanted to go and had run off, unbeknownst to those back home. Of course, hindsight was always twenty-twenty and she was paying for her arrogance now.

"I said move!" the unicorn shouted again.

They trudged on, the sound of their chains clanked in a steady, laborious, mournful rhythm. Each ankle clamp was attached to the pony in front, with the front-most baring a heavy weight. A second clamp was wrapped around their necks where another chain ran through to large hoops on each side. Making a run for it was impossible. Even without the neck bracers it would have been impossible. This entire situation was impossible.

Another whip struck somewhere off to her side followed by another scream of agony.

Suddenly her line stopped. She bumped into the pony in front of her and felt him shaking so much that he did not even realize that she had run into him. His fear was intoxicating and she felt her own slowly welling up within her. Inhaling a deep breath, she calmed herself and slowly counted to ten, trick she had learned dealing with the 'terrors' of the wilderness that surrounded her home. Now nothing in there was nearly as frightening as to what she was witnessing at this very moment.

Leaning to the side, she dared peek ahead to see what had made them stop. Up in front she could make out some pony with an iron eye-patch walking slowly along side her group. He had a sword on his side, a javelin or short spear in a holster over his shoulder, thick bracers along his forehooves, and horseshoes with spikes protruding from the rear. Even from where she stood she could make them out. If anyone was unlucky enough to get a kick from those it would be the end for them.

Behind him she saw another being. The beak and feathered form made it obvious that is was a griffin, and under the low light from the overhead lamps revealed her brown hue and a bright orange break. The griffin was female, and looked out of place here. She had a kind demeanor and compared to the others around her. Also it was the way she moved. Her body language made her seem a little shy and quiet, so much so that the weapon on her back looked completely out of place. It was as if a school teacher carried around a weapon, and hers was no joke. A short, wide war-axe that looked like it belonged to someone three times her size.

"Name!" The high-pitched voice came from another creature, this one a lot smaller. She had not noticed him because he was behind the pony. "Are you deaf? I said gimme your name!"

Silence.

"Hi, can you please give your name?" The griffin asked gently. Her voice was so beautiful and nice.

"Iron Horn," a deep, rumbling voice replied. "Of the Diceros Clan."

"Thank you," the griffin replied. "See, boss? All you need to do is be kind and they'll reply."

He merely grunted in response and shook his head. "Rhinos. Think they're better than everyone else. Typical. You. Name?" he barked at the next one.

"L-L-Lang Nek..."

The 'boss' lowered his clipboard to reveal a pair of pointy ears, a long snout, brownish fur and in a suit of chain-mail armor. It was obviously a fox. Zecora had never seen one before this moment and could not help but stare. "Interesting. A giraffe. Haven't had one of you come through here in a couple weeks. You'll fetch a nice price. Come on, show us how tall you really are?"

The giraffe pulled back his hood and stretched his neck out. They all looked up to him as he towered above them all.

"Your kind never cease to amaze me." The fox began to scribble something on a clipboard.

"How can you do this? It is evil," the giraffe stated in a heavy accent.

The fox sighed. "Evil? This is just the way things are. There are those better than you, like me for instance, and there are those better than me. Right now, everyone outside these walls," he gestured with his paws around them, "are better than you. You've lost everything. You're nothing more than property and property doesn't have an opinion."

"Is that a threat?" the giraffe asked narrowing his eyes.

"Think of it as healthy advice."

The giraffe stood up taller somehow. "It is wrong! We are not brainless sheep or cattle! We can think for ourselves! We are-"

"Shut you hole! You think you have a choice in this? You are only here because of your own fault!" the fox replied angrily.

The giraffe stuck out his lower lip stubbornly. "I am here because I was calfnapped by one of your 'suppliers'. I have a home, a family, and I demand that you release myself and the rest of us here!"

At those words everyone within earshot stopped in their tracks.

The fox looked around and gritted his teeth. "I said shut up! Do it, or you'll loose that tongue of yours."

"I refuse. I am free to-"

"Blood! No!" the fox shouted, but it happened all too fast.

In the span it took for the fox to say those two words, the pony in the heavy armor stopped in his tracks, turned around and tackled the giraffe knocking him to the ground with his weight. The sudden addition of weight was enough to make the large rhino fall backwards as the chain grew taught.

She felt herself pull forward towards the stallion who was screaming as his neck was pulled to the ground. Somehow she retained her balance and managed to stay standing up. Her eyes peered up and over the weeping stallion on the ground in front of her. The giraffe's head was now on top of another group of slaves, who all look worriedly at the pony on top of his torso. Her eyes darted back to the pony, then to the rhino who looked like he was about to do something.

The griffin instantly placed her rear leg on his neck.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," she said in a sing-song voice as she placed a hand on the handle of her huge axe.

Iron saw this and relaxed before closing his eyes in defeat. There was nothing he could do.

"Blood. Stop. Stop this right now!" the fox shouted in the pony's ear.

The pony in question did not.

"I'm going to make an example of this... piece of merchandise. Remind him what exactly he is."

The fox yipped. "Not in my line! You're not harming another!"

"Please! I did not mean anything by it!" the giraffe pleaded as the pony drew a knife from from his left forehoof.

Calmly, the fox behind him laughed. "Fine. Blood, this is on your head, not mine. Not mine, you hear?"

At that the pony stopped. He turned around and looked at the fox. "You're too soft on them."

"At least with me they live long enough to get on the ship. At least with me they actually leave this dockyard alive. Look, he's learned his lesson! He'll be worthless if you maim him and somebody with his height can fetch a hefty price, especially on a farm."

Blood got off the giraffe and pushed the dagger back with into his scabbard with a clink. "Fine. You live. For now. Do something like this again and you won't, understand?"

The giraffe nodded slowly as he raised himself up and brought his head down as far as he could bring it before slipping the hood over it.

"Why is it I always get the defiant ones?" the fox muttered quietly to himself and picked up the clipboard from the ground. "Next. You. Name?"

The pony in front of her was shaking so badly that it seemed impossible for him to reply.

"He asked you a question. Answer him!" Blood roared.

"P-p-p-p-p-p-please d-d-d-don't h-h-hurt m-me."

Blood gritted his teeth. "Name! Now!"

"L-L-L-Lucky..."

"Lucky? Lucky what?" the fox insisted.

"C-C-Clover! Lucky Clover!" he shouted, still shaking.

At that the fox began to laugh dryly. "Kind of sad that you won't be living up to your name, right?"

The pony just broke down.

"Word of advice? Don't cry. You'll be eaten alive out there." The fox then walked past the weeping stallion, who either did not hear him or was beyond caring.

The fox looked at her and made a surprised face.

"Fancy that. A zebra. Another rarity. Name?" he suddenly said looking at her.

"Z-Zecora..."

"What? No clever rhyme? A Zebra that doesn't rhyme? Now that is a very rare item indeed."

Zecora bit her lip. She did not want to say anything else.

"Well, no matter. You're all going to the same place anyway. And do you know where that is? A place so far away that you'll never see your home ever again. None of you will. From now on, your lives are over."

Blood sneered. "That's what you get for being weak! You see, the strong rule the weak, and you're all weak!"

"Then we would be worthless as slaves, would we not?" Iron stated in a low rumble from ahead of them.

That made the fox squeak.

"What did you just say?" Blood asked turning around slowly.

"Nothing! He said nothing!"

Zecora's blood froze in her veins when she saw the look on Blood's face. She gulped in fear.

The fox stood on front of the pony facing the rhino. "Y-y-you think you're funny, don't you? Well, you're not! You're not funny at all! You-" He was shoved aside.

"You're funny. Real funny. Let's see how funny you are with a spear skewered through your gut!"

Blood drew his spear in a glow of green magic.

The rhino turned to face the pony, pulling the entire line forwards as he did so. Blood pulled his spear back and-

"What is going on here?" a voice boomed.

That silenced everyone. More than when the giraffe spoke up. Heavy footsteps echoed on the pier's wooden boards as a large creature walked along an elevated portion. The first thing she noted was the eyes. This was the first time she had ever seen a dragon. They usually lived to the far north, beyond the kingdom of Equestria and were rarely seen south of her borders. Not many would dare cross the desert, not even one of the most feared beings in existence.

"My lord! N-nothing is going on. W-w-w-we were just-" Voltic was literally grovelling on the ground.

The dragon looked over to Blood.

He had his head bowed, but seemed to know that the dragon was looking directly at him.

"The rhino was making a comment. He had insulted His Eminence and I was about to make an example of him."

"Is this true?" the dragon asked looking at the fox.

"Y-yes," the fox squeaked. "I-I-I m-mean I-"

The dragon sighed. "We are on a tight schedule here. Time is money, and I am running a business. If you harm the merchandise then I must deduct that amount from your salary, must I not? And you've already run a pretty deep debt towards me, Voltic, and Blood is working under you, right?"

The fox mumbled something.

"I would suggest that instead of wasting time and accruing more debt to your current account that you get with the program and fulfill your obligation, lest it will be you chained up and being shipped across the sea."

The fox was visibly shaking now. "Y-y-yes, my lord. I will hurry, my lord."

"See that you do. I'm not in the business of waiting, and my hoard isn't getting any bigger by itself." The dragon turned and walked off followed by several other beings, most of which were ponies in similar kind of armor as Blood, and all equally as intimidating.

Zecora noted that this dragon was not huge. As tall as the giraffe when he stood at his full height, but much bulkier than the rhino. The dragon wore a black tuxedo with long two long tails hanging over his thighs at the back, his own tail protruding between the two. His wings were neatly folded at an angle along his back on the outside of the jacket so that they somehow looked immaculate with what he wore.

He seemed like a true gentledragon. Looks, however, were very deceiving.

"Don't always eat a beautiful flower, for its juices may be more than just sour," Zecora heard her mother's voice say in her head. How she missed her already. How she missed her home.

The fox was visibly shaken. He took out a handkerchief from beneath his armor and wiped his brow. "Okay. Last. Your name?"

"Providence Dasher."

"Interesting name," the fox replied. "Okay, move along."

Onwards they drudged towards a ramp that lead towards a set of gaping doors. Walls of wood and steel that rose out of the water and into the night sky. These were the doors that led deep into a ship's hold. A massive ship; a floating city on the water. Thousands upon thousands of all kinds of creatures were being forced inside, armed guards posted everywhere.

"Well, hello there Voltic. So the boss give you another earful?" The voice came from an even smaller canine, this one had huge ears that were almost as big as his head.

"Shut it," Voltic muttered in response. "Line of five. Rhino, giraffe, earth pony, zebra and a pegasus pony. The front three are males, the last two are female."

"Noted. They are to be kept on deck five, bay nineteen, cage three."

"Deck five?" Voltic asked. "Why? They're not that dangerous, are they? Is it the rhino? Bet it is."

At that the big-eared canine leaned in. "You didn't hear this from me, but last night eight guards were killed defending one of the caravans. Seems like someone was after one of yours and means business."

"Caravan guards aren't the best. They're not-"

"No. These were ours. Why do you think Blood was assigned to you?"

"Wait. You're telling me that someone took down eight Watu Wakalis?" Voltic asked. "You don't mean a group, right?"

"According to the reports, it was done by a lone... stranger."

Voltic scratched his chin. "Was it a dragon?"

"No idea."

Zecora furrowed her brow. She had never heard of the term Watu Wakali, but seeing as they were referring to the rough stallion from moments before, she understood that these were probably elite guards dedicated to protecting the ship and its cargo.

"Whatever the case, one of those five is precious enough for someone to attempt a rescue this deep into the shipyard. I think it's the rhino too. Apparently he's some big deal back from where he's from, but no one really knows for sure. That giraffe is also a pretty big deal where he comes from."

"Wow. I had no idea. Okay. I'll take them to their deck." Voltic looked at Blood. "Are you coming?"

"No."

"Okay... well, thanks for the escort."

The unicorn just growled in response and turned away. The griffin moved aside for him, then followed after waving bye to Voltic.

"That guy gives me the creeps. Wasn't he a Border Guard?"

"Yeah. Was. Apparently he was banished after doing some really dastardly things. Lotta ponies like him out here. Ex-guards that were exiled. Either that, or they were born outside Equestria's borders. Wait, why am I telling you this? You already know it! That's what the Watu Wakali are. Exiles from their kingdoms."

Voltic blushed. He truthfully forgot. "I know, I just like hearing your voice."

The big-eared canine laughed out loud. "Go. You better get out of here before you get into more trouble."

"Poker later?" Voltic asked as he headed towards one of the numerous ramps that lead into the giant ship.

"Of course! Deck two, far end, near the anchor. Some of the others will be there. Don't be late."

"Okay. I know where. See you, Fennec." Voltic led the way. A large signpost painted with a poorly drawn 'S', which Zecora assumed was supposed to be a five in Common, the written and spoken language for most of the known world. Most of the ponies called it Equestrian, but it was the same tongue.

As they walked towards the hull a deafening roared bellowed from the left. She turned her head and spotted a young ursa minor being pulled in a cage into the rear of the ship. Pulling its enormous cage was a legion of slaves of all kinds chained together with leather and metallic harnesses pulling to the beat of heavy drums played by a minotaur with a large chain attached to a ring on his nose. She could hear them chanting as they pulled as one. In between the lines they saw ponies with whips cracking in the air, shouts demanding that they pull harder echoed bellowed from their lungs.

They all continued to stare until they were well inside the ship itself.

"This way," Voltic muttered leading them down the hall.

As they walked they looked to see that the majority of creatures being held on this level were diamond dogs. Zecora could barely keep her face straight as the overwhelming pungent odor overwhelmed her. They turned to look at them but most ignored their presence. They looked gaunt, defeated, their tails stuck between their legs. She had never really met with these creatures, and she heard dreadful stories about them.

"Isn't there something you can do about this smell?" a voice asked from behind.

Zecora turned to see the cerise eyes of the pegasus behind her. She glimpsed at Zecora, then back at Voltic.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to it. In you go. All of you," the fox replied, took a whiff and practically coughed out a lung. "Okay, probably not. I'll see if I can get you moved to a cell with a port window once we're underway."

One they were all in, Voltic locked and bars and unlocked their chains letting them fall to the ground in a heap. He pulled them out between the bars and Zecora stretched her neck savoring the lack of weight on them. She had forgotten how long it had been since they slapped those on her.

"This is your pen. If you need anything... tough! This isn't a cruise. Sorry." With that the fox skipped away.

"Pleasant fellow, isn't he?" the giraffe pointed out.

"Now what?" the pegasus asked looking up. They were in a cage, for the most part. Above them was a ceiling high enough for the giraffe to stand up almost to his full length. They could hear groaning and creaking of the wood as whatever was above them moved about. More slaves, no doubt.

Iron walked to one side of the cage and sat down in a heap. "We come to terms with the inevitable."

"How can you say that? We don't have a choice! I'd rather die than live as a slave! I have a daughter back home and I have to get to her!" the pegasus shouted.

Some of the diamond dogs looked over their way, but returned to whatever it was they were doing. Most just stood stupidly gazing at each other.

Iron looked up from where he sat. "I too have children. Three young ones that I would very much like to see again. But I know that is a dream. I sacrificed my freedom so that they could escape to safety."

"What about you?" the giraffe asked.

The stallion next to where Zecora sat shrugged. "I just trying to deliver a package when I was just... foalnapped. I don't know what happened, but I found myself being locked away in a box and when it was opened, I was on my way here."

"Ah. You were taken. Most ponies are. Which town?" the pegasus asked.

"Almaty."

At that, Zecora perked her ears up. "That town I know very well, for near it is where I dwell."

"You mean 'was'. The chances of any of us getting out of this place is nothing more than a fantastical dream. Once this ship leaves that dock, it's the end for us all."

"W-where are they taking us?" Lucky asked.

"To the other side of the ocean."

"A-and w-what's on the other side?" Lucky asked.

The rhino looked up. "A land much like Equestria in many ways, but ruled by an old bigoted empire. The griffins have always used strength to claim they have the right to rule over others. They have a misguided notion that they are our betters. After several very brutal wars against the Royal Princess they have wisely come to conclusion of avoiding any direct assault against the equestrian nation."

"The Guard are the princess' shield. They defend their beloved kingdom jealously. At least most do. There is always a few rotten eggs in the bunch," Lang said just as two Watu warriors marched by.

The pegasus walked over to the edge of their prison and peered through the bars trying to see where the two Watu warriors were going. "Look, I need to get back to my daughter! She doesn't have anypony else to look after her and-"

"Didn't you hear what we just said? There's nothing we can do!" Iron turned his head away from Providence unable to meet her gaze. "Just hope your daughter is safe and sound wherever she is."

"S-she's in Cloudsdale..."

"Then at least she's protected. She will be safe in the cloud city," Lang replied, trying to comfort her with his words.

"You don't understand! I'm the only family she has now. There's nopony else-"

Iron looked at the mare. "If she has half the spirit you possess, then she will be fine. At least she will live a full and happy life. At least she will remain free."

"I will never stop being free," Providence replied.

"You say that now, but they haven't started yet."

"Started what?" she asked slowly.

"Breaking your spirit." The way those words were uttered sounded like the final nail in a coffin.

And at those words, Lucky put his head between his hooves and began to weep again.

Author's Note:

The ship's name came from a combination of four things. The first being the largest ship known to man, the Knock Nevis. Nevis is pronounced the same as nevus, which means a birthmark (usually in a reddish tint). Cutie marks, in my opinion, are sort of like birthmarks, thus it stuck. Eleonora is also named after another very large ship (the Eleonora) and I liked the sound of it, and I also like Poe. So, the four things are 2 big ships, birthmarks and Poe. Eleonora also means 'light' in some convoluted way (was curious as to what the name meant).

Watu Wakali means 'the violent' in Swahili, which I believe is the same thing as 'hoodlum' or 'thug'. Sounded cool.

Lucky Clover

Common - I have decided to call this the primary language of this universe. It can be Equestrian, or even English, but I figured that in a big world there's going to be more than just one language

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