Coves of Courage

by Amethyst_Dawn

Prologue: The Shroud

Beautiful. That was the only word fit to describe the sunset that evening. The dim glow of the clear sky shimmered through shades of orange, magenta, violet, before finally stretching out into a deep blue. The bounty of colors reflected off the endless expanse of the ocean, bouncing back up in a ripple-rent flattery of the horizon. And somewhere in the ocean, miles from the shores of Equestria, framed perfectly within the gentle glow of the sleeping sun, was a unicorn; resting her front hooves against the thin railing of the yacht she found herself on.

She inhaled deeply as the soft kiss of the eastward breeze broke across her face, lightly billowing her delicately combed violet mane in its wake. Her pearl-white coat was stained by the warm yellow light of the sun, casting a blue shadow from her back across the wooden deck. Her cutie mark, a trio of sharp diamonds, rested comfortably in the shadows on her flanks. It was a picturesque moment in time that she, for once, felt content to merely enjoy rather than even spare a thought to capture.

The whirring click of a camera stirred her from her meditation, and gave away that her host had also changed her philosophy for capturing the moment. The unicorn smiled, letting her sapphire blue eyes flick open as she turned her head to regard the boat's captain.

"Was that why you spent so long rummaging around below deck, Applejack, darling?" The unicorn huffed, pooching out her lips in a mock pout. "Abandoning me up here, just to grab a camera?"

Applejack, an earth-pony mare of similar age to her guest, smiled sheepishly. Her already-orange coat shone in the dying sunlight, and her buttercup-yellow mane even moreso. Even the emerald of her eyes glistened like polished gemstones. In place of where she normally wore a tan stetson, instead was perched a comfortable maroon breton cap; adorned with a golden trifecta of apples to match the mark on her rump, nestled neatly in the middle of a shield emblem.

"Not rightly, no." Came her plain reply, laden with a thick southern accent. "Ah was fetchin' somethin' else, but when Ah came back and saw you standin' there in the sunset?" She laughed merrily, clicking her forehoof against the deck and giving a low whistle. "Y'looked prettier'n a picture, Rarity, so Ah figured Ah'd take one o' my own, if ya catch me."

"Aww!" Rarity held a hoof to her chest for a moment, tearing up slightly before stepping down to wrap her friend in a near-suffocating hug. "Apology accepted, darling! Though I would appreciate more company from here on, it gets lonely without somepony to talk to!"

Applejack chuckled, returning the hug readily. The embrace lasted for only a few seconds before she pulled away, Rarity's grip loosing in near synchronous time as she raised a curious eyebrow. "Though, what in Equestria were you shuffling around for? It was an awful racket just for you to come back empty-hooved!"

"About that," Applejack smiled at the question, nodding her head over her shoulder as a beckon for Rarity to follow. She trotted back to the small metal hatch that lead to the vessel's cabin and quarters, which amounted to a single chamber in such a small vessel. She opened the latch and ducked her front end through the door for a moment, placing down the camera and its rigging with a minor clatter before emerging with a pair of fishing rods. "Ah figured that if you were interested, we could do a little deep-sea fishin'? Ah'm hopin' to land a sturgeon, or maybe even a sailfin."

Rarity's eyes lit up as she enveloped one of the rods in a glow to match her eyes, levitating it in front of her as she clapped her forehooves together excitedly.

"Oooh, wonderful!" She cooed, closely examining the rod. "You will be teaching me how to cast, won't you? I'm sure I won't know the first thing about getting a proper distance, I haven't even really fished in a river before, but I'm willing to give it my all!" She finished with a declarative stamp of her hoof, a look of giddy determination in her eyes. Applejack quirked a brow at her, never dropping her friendly smile.

"Y'sure it ain't gonna be too slimy for ya?" Applejack teased, leaning in and nudging Rarity with her shoulder. "It ain't exactly the hoity-toity sterile work yer used to, y'know."

"Oh, please!" Rarity rolled her eyes, waving a hoof dismissively. "I didn't accept your invitation to come out here expecting to stay completely clean, darling! A little fish slime here and there won't kill me." She paused, glancing upwards and tapping her chin thoughtfully. "Though I will absolutely insist on a thorough bath once we get back, maybe I could treat you to a full spa treatment? Pampering and all?"

"Heh," Applejack chortled, patting her friend on the back, "sounds more'n fair to me. If Ah can get you slathered in fish guts, you can drag me to the works at a spa." She leaned her pole against the railing, stepping away to pull a box out from the cabin. "First thing's first, you're gonna have to rely on your hooves for the fightin' and tuggin'. Y'can use your magic to cast, and as a buffer if the fish is too strong for ya, but don't rely on it more than yer hooves."

She flicked open the latches on the orange box, and pulled out a length of thick fishing wire, setting to work affixing it to her reel. "If ya snag anything bigger 'n a trout and it puts up a fight while yer holdin' it with just yer magic?" She made a popping sound with her mouth, reaching up absent-mindedly with a hoof and making a flying motion. "Say goodbye to your grip, and the whole darn rod while yer at it."

Rarity listened to the speech intently, watching with an eye trained for detail as Applejack prepared her line. What clips when, what fastens where, and how to tie appropriately. She followed the steps as closely as possible, relying on her horn to manage the wire and reel while her eyes stayed on Applejack's hooves. Years of multitasking sewing with other matters was paying off in dividends, it seemed. Soon they were done with that step, and it was on to choosing their bait and tackle. Rarity had to force herself to not immediately go for the prettiest lure, and instead ask what the lures and hooks were intended for. There was a wide range of colors and shapes, from false fish to mimic squid. Rarity blanched as Applejack pulled out what looked like a cob of corn, with every kernel replaced with a hook, and enthusiastically explained how it was designed with the sole intent to catch a particularly hostile species of squid. Rarity would have felt worse if it weren't for the way Applejack described the aggressive creatures, in fact it almost sounded like they deserved such a cruel hook.

Eventually, Rarity settled on a simple hook with a colorful teaser lure; ideal for catching herself a marlin. Applejack did her job as a mentor and provided ample warning that marlin wasn't exactly a beginner-friendly fish, but Rarity had insisted on a hard fight. Soon enough they found themselves staring into the night as their floats bobbed calmly on the ocean waves, basking in companionable silence.

"How long does the waiting usually take?" Rarity wondered aloud, more a muttered rhetorical than an actual question. It wasn't that she was bored, far from it. The clear starlight out here was beyond anything she'd seen even in the rural town of Ponyville, and the faint glow of nebulae enraptured her. Regardless, Applejack shrugged indifferently.

"Worst Ah've had is six hours, afore Ah gave up." She said flatly, not bothering to hide a slight bitterness in her tone. Rarity wanted to pry, as there was clearly a story there, but suddenly she felt… wrong.

A dull chill brushed through her body, giving her goosebumps from horn to fetlock. It was a sensation not unlike when a winter wind suddenly picks up, only to vanish immediately afterwards. She shuddered, and a quick glance towards Applejack proved she felt the same thing. Though she didn't express her discomfort as outwardly, the intense look in Applejack's eyes confirmed that identical gut instincts resonated through both of them: they were in danger.

The lines were haphazardly reeled in, and the rods almost carelessly dismantled so the hooks wouldn't cause any injuries in their panic. As soon as they clasped the tackle box and looked back to the east, both ponies froze. A thick wall of fog had risen between them and Equestria, and was rolling in fast. That in and of itself would have been sufficiently startling, but it was made all the worse by the intangible sense of dread that preceded the bank. As if fear itself was galloping ahead of the haze, acting as a procession for the royalty of horror that used the veil as a carriage.

The ponies made a mad dash for the cabin. Applejack threw the door open, ushering Rarity in first. Her eyes were firm and focused as she ducked in afterwards, slamming and sealing the hatch behind her.

"What is that?!" Rarity shrieked, staring out through the door's porthole. Applejack roughly shoved past her, an action Rarity would have otherwise been offended by. But for this, she'd excuse a lot more.

Applejack turned the ignition, kicking the engine to life with an impatient roar. She nodded, gripping the helm as the boat lurched forward.

"We got two options," she barked, eyeing the fog through the windscreen. Rarity snapped her attention from the looming cloud at the tone, and waited. "We can try and outrun it, but Ah don't like our chances of keeping that up for much longer."

"What other choice do we have?"

Applejack's eyes darkened. "If there's even a chance of a rogue wave in that thing, we'll be safer going in head-first."

Rarity swallowed a lump in her throat, switching her eyes between Applejack and the fog they were racing towards. A piece of her wanted to plead for a better option, but even from behind she could see the look on Applejack's face. She inhaled deeply, forcing her fear to the side as she stepped in, and placed a fetlock over Applejack's shoulder.

"Alright," she exhaled, allowing the shakiness to resonate in her voice. "I trust you, Applejack."

Applejack's expression softened for a moment; a brief glimpse of vulnerability, before it set back into a determined grimace. She gripped the throttle, and set it ahead full. Her hooves danced from spoke to spoke as she wheeled the helm around, and faced her bow to the encroaching fog. The water waved and billowed with white foam as they raced ahead. The shroud rolled in to meet them, stretching up and up like a wall of wool until it swallowed them completely. There was no roar of magic, no heavy thud of collision as if the clouds were made of cotton. All was silent but for the roar of the engine and the waves spreading behind the vessel. The seconds dragged on in the weighted stillness, both pairs of eyes fixed over the bow into the murk beyond. They could barely see the darkness of the water through the white haze, and the bow of the boat was disappearing by the second. Hesitantly, after a tense half of a minute, Applejack slowed the engine to a crawl. Rarity stared in fear, but said nothing. As the boat coasted along, the farm pony gestured towards one of the portholes.

"Open that up," she said quietly, "somethin' ain't right…"

Rarity nodded quickly before unlatching the small window with her magic, and flinging it open with a clatter. They both listened, straining their ears for any sounds outside of the full hum of the propellers. Nothing. No rushing water, no splashes, not even a dip to indicate an incoming swell.

"Wait!" Rarity hissed, flicking her ear. "What's that?"

There was a quiet yet persistent sound coming from outside; a high-pitched scraping hiss, somewhere between a bath bomb dissolving and the whine of metal against metal. Applejack opened her mouth to reply, when in the blink of an eye the fog around them went from white to red. It was as if someone had flipped a switch, and colored the lights of the boat. But it wasn't just their lights, the fog itself seemed to glow a bright crimson, making the ocean look like blood. The scraping got even louder, and Rarity- being closer to the open porthole -began to cough, choking as if the air itself had turned caustic. In a flash, Applejack has sprung up to seal the cabin again with a slam, and resumed her position at the helm. The engine roared yet again, and launched them forward.

"What's going on?!" Rarity gasped through hacking breaths, the burn in her throat lingering. Applejack didn't answer immediately, keeping an eye on the fog for even the hint of a shadow.

"Ah… Ah don't know!" Applejack finally let dread stain her voice. "But Ah know that sound… somethin' about this fog is eatin' through the ship!" She turned her head for a moment to cast a worried glance back at Rarity, but that was long enough. "Ah'm… Ah'm sor--"

The last thing Rarity remembered was the imposing silhouette of a rocky spire appearing through the windscreen. A massive spear of stone that absolutely was not there when they sailed out that afternoon. All Applejack remembered was the sound of the crash.

Author's Note:

You all know the drill by now. Any comments, critiques, criticisms or quips are welcome below! Especially on this chapter, because if any of you happen to know anything about sailing a yacht or fishing, I will gladly accept corrections on terminology and whatnot.

Until next time, God Bless You!

Comments

[Starlight Nova]

What is this a crossover of?

[Amethyst_Dawn]

11534064
There's going to be a name drop in the next chapter. I figured since there's no tag for it, I'd hint around until the reveal.

[Regis Stella]

It's nice to see another I'm no telling fanfic on this site.

[Amethyst_Dawn]

11534129
You. You get it.
Also, love the pfp, good use of Hero Forge.