Traitors, Adventures, and Pirates

by Poppy green

Chapter Eighteen

The next evening brought with it the next part of their plan. Daring flapped her wings lifting into the sky Poppy clinging onto her back as they soared together over the treetops of the dark jungle below. Daring flew retracing their flight from the previous night. It was not long before the towering pirate fortress came into view, its dark walls absorbing the moon's light like obsidian rock.

The two ponies landed at the edge of the vegetation line that surrounded the fortress. The two took cover behind a bush. Poppy stayed on Darings back as they waited for just the right moment when the guards would not see them. Just like the night before, the guards walked back and forth along the walls, each one armed with a rifle. At the same moment as the night before two guards came together along the wall. They stopped to exchange some words. It was at this moment that Daring took off before silently landing on the wall right next to a guard house. At this point Poppy jumped off Darings back both exchanging a quick kiss. When their lips parted, they both turned their attention to the guardhouse door. The door was partially ajar and still some damage from the first rescue attempt. With the door not being locked all Poppy needed to do was charge at the door in the hopes of surprising any pony inside. Taking a step back Poppy galloped into the door, her shoulder pushing it open. The door swung rapidly open surprising Poppy and throwing her off balance. The room had one guard who was luckily caught by surprise by Poppys sudden appearance. Poppy's eyes went wide as he went for his revolver that was sitting on a wooden table next to some a small meal that he had been eating. Poppy did not have time to react fast enough to the guard raising his gun at her. Luckily at this moment Daring swept in using her speed and element of surprise she quickly took out the guard. The two ponies hid the guard’s body in a chest that was sitting on the floor in the corner of the tower. With the guard hidden the two trotted down the spiral stairs until they reached the bottom. The door at the bottom of the stairs that led between the outer wall of the fortress and the fortress proper was closed. Using her hoof Poppy cracked the door open peeking outside. They were in luck as there were no guards nearby. This is where the two mares were to part ways. Giving each other one final kiss for good luck Poppy opened the door and sprinted towards a large crate that sat near the fortress entrance. Poppy hid herself amongst the crates waiting. If their surveillance had been accurate the night before a pirate would walk by any moment now. Her hiding spot behind the crate would give her just enough time to strike the guard before a second guard along the wall would be able to see her. Just as she had predicted the guard came around the corner walking towards her. Poppy waited till the guard was just in front of her before leaping out from behind the crates. Soaring into the guard Poppy tackled him to the ground. The guard hit the ground with a thud. While the guard was stunned on the ground Poppy reared up above his head before coming down hard on his skull. The guard went limp without making a sound. Using her teeth Poppy pulled the body of the unconscious guard behind the crate.

With the guard gone, it left the entrance to the guard tower unprotected. Step ones done, she thought. Now Poppy looked towards her next objective. If she could take the second tower, then there would be no one watching the gate when Daring rescued the prisoners. This guard house was much larger than the one that they had come through when they entered the fortress. Poppy figured this tower had to house at least a small garrison of guards. During her surveillance the night before Poppy had spotted at least two pegasi, a griffon, and one unicorn. There was no way for Poppy to know if they were there now, but she had to assume they were. Poppy's main concern would be the unicorn. His magic could stop her with just a spark of his horn. Her only chance at taking the guard tower would be her continue with the element of surprise.

From where Poppy was hiding, she could see the door to the guard house just like the other tower, this one had a wooden door. Poppy figured that even at a full gallop there was just no way she could break the door down, so she had to find some way to get the door open. Before Poppy decided what to do, she drew the revolver that Daring had given her. Checking that it was loaded she opened the cartridge. Satisfied that the gun was load Poppy cantered closer to the door using anything she could to conceal her movement from the guards along the wall. Knowing her best chance of hitting something with her revolver was to be within 30 feet she would need to charge right for the unicorn to increase her chances of hitting him. The problem was that the unicorn's range was well over 30 feet. At her last place to find cover she took a few deep steading breaths Poppy knew that she only had one chance at this. Just as she found her courage and was about to make her next move the fortress's alarm began to ring. The alarm was followed by searchlights coming to life bathing the fortresses grounds in bright lights.

A sense of dead fell on Poppy at the realization that Daring must have been caught trying to rescue the prisoner. It was obvious that she still had not been seen as the spotlights continued to roam over the grounds of the fortress. Poppy sat waiting for something to happen. The loud alarm stopped after a moment being replaced by an all-to-familiar voice. The voice of Captain Compass came loud and clear.

“Come out come out wherever you are.” The voice said tauntingly.

“If you don’t surrender your friend Mrs. Do will die.” His voice bellowed all over the compound. Poppy's heart sank. She felt defeated. They had come so far only to be captured, but Poppy knew that failure was not an option if she surrendered death would most likely be the outcome.

Captain Compasses spoke again. The magically amplified sounds bounced off the concrete walls of the fortress giving his voice a haunting quality.

“Mrs. Poppy, I know you're out there just give up you can't possibly expect to rescue every pony on your own.”

Poppy decided to change her plan as taking the guard tower was no longer a priority instead, she turned back towards the fortress. Poppy needed to create a distraction, one that would give her the opportunity to enter the fortress without being seen by the spotlight. Peeking over the crate Poppy scanned her surroundings until she noticed a familiar mark on a small wooden crate sitting by a steel door. The mark on the box looked almost like a comet. The box also had another symbol that nearly every pony in Equestria would recognize. The mark was a blue star which was the symbol of the Celestial Guard. The crate had to have weapons in it. Hoping the box was not just an empty container, Poppy leveled her revolver lining up the gun's sights, taking a quick breath she pulled the trigger. The gun fired with a quick burst of escaping gasses and hot lead. Poppy watched as the bullet hit the crate which was quickly followed by a flash and a wave heat. The first explosion was followed by a much larger explosion. The explosion reverberated through the earth under her hooves. The force of its blast was enough to topple some of the crates she had been hiding behind. One of the crates landed on top of her head. The impact against her skull caused her to collapse. For a few short seconds Poppy thought, it was all over as the darkness crept in at the edges of her vision. It was only through force of will that Poppy regained her senses and pushed the crate off herself.

The second explosion that had been created was more of a distraction than Poppy had needed with alarms wailing and guards running over from all over the fortress. Looking through the haze of smoke and smoldering debris. Poppy was stunned to find that half of the fortress's inner wall was missing.

This time the captain's voice stayed silent, but the alarm was still deafening. The wailing sent a chill up Poppy spine as she clamped her ears against her head. The fortress's alarm system was an old style of warning siren that was in use along the borders of the great frozen north. Poppy had grown up to that sound. In her hometown the alarm had been used to warn of possible attacks by the polar bear tribes that stocked the northern parts of Equestria between the Crystal Empire and Fairflanks.

Shaking her head to clear the unpleasant filly hood memories Poppy knew she needed to act with the guards now distracted. Using her chance Poppy galloped for a door on the far side of the fortress. This entrance to the interior of the fortress was guarded by a large iron door. The door was large enough for a chariot to pass through with room on either side leading Poppy to believe that the other side must be a storage room of some kind. The door had a brass handle. Poppy reached out with her hoof and turned it. The handle turned, opening the door with a small squeak of its hinges. With the door open Poppy pressed her eye up to the crack and peered in. Through the crack Poppy found one guard standing on the other side. The guard stood close to the door blocking out the view of the rest of the room. What she could see was the guard had light military armor on a short sword that was resting against his hip.

This was the first guard Poppy had found with armor and it concerned her that the guards deeper in the fortress might be better equipped than those along the walls. Without any other choice but to proceed Poppy stood back before slamming into the door. The door swung open with the full wait of her charge. She caught the lone stallion guard by surprise. Using her strength and speed Poppy barreled into him sending his body flying back. The shock of her surprise attack quickly wore off as the stallion got to his hooves. The guard, an earth pony with black fur and a red mane was huge even by earth pony standards and Poppy knew if he caught her with his hooves she would not come out on top. The guard charged at her, his hooves kicking wildly at her as he got close. Poppy was able to dodge his strikes with difficulty. The guard tried charging at her again. This time Poppy dodged his attack and used the momentum to push him forward into a wall. He crashed headfirst into the hard concrete. The impact caused him to fall onto his back. Using her chance Poppy drew her revolver before jumping on his back. There was a quick tussle as the stallion flailed with his legs trying to get her off him. Trying to keep him down Poppy swung her revolver high over his head before swinging it down hard across the back of his head. The impact only seemed to faze him for just a second and so Poppy went for another swing but before she could bring down the butt of the gun on his head one of his forelegs smashed into the side of her rib. Poppy yelped out in pain, falling off the stallion and losing her grip on the revolver, sending it flying out of sight.

The stallion rolled towards her trying to get back on all four of his hooves. Luckly for Poppy she was faster than he was. Jumping backup, she landed onto his back with both of her forehooves. The impact sent shockwaves through her rib. With Poppy on his back, he tried to buck her off, but Poppy held firmly to his neck. She squeezed hard around his windpipe cutting off his flow of air. His bucking started to slow the longer Poppy held onto him eventually he fell onto his stomach. Not trusting that the stallion would stay down, Poppy used her forehooves to slam the stallion's head against the ground as hard as she could. The sounds of his skull hitting concrete reverberated through the cramped room.

Poppy's breathing was haggard by the time she finally got off the stallions back. Poppy turned her attention away from the guard and towards the next door. This door was made of unreinforced wood. She figured it would be easy to break down but first she pressed her ear against the wood to see if her scuffle with the guard had alerted anyone on the other side. To Poppys luck she heard nothing but the sound of silence coming from the other side. Just as she had done with the external door, she turned the knob opening it just enough that she could see through the crack. Looking around she noticed the lack of guards on the other side.

This door led to a narrow hallway. The hall itself had several sets of stairs. One of these stairs led downwards and one led up. The stairs, like the rest of the fortress, were made of dark concrete and steel.

Before leaving her hiding place Poppy took one more look around for any guards. With still no one present, Poppy fully opened the door and crept out. Keeping her ears alert for any sounds, Poppy peeked down the stairs swiveling her ears downwards into the dimly lit spiraling stairs, Poppy strained to hear anything. When she heard nothing, Poppy slowly crept downwards. The stairs were lit by small torches that illuminated only a few feet. The torches created shadows that danced along the wall as Poppy continued to trot downwards. In her mind the stairs seemed to go on forever like those that lead to the pits of Tarturas. After what seemed like an eternity Poppy started to hear voices from up ahead. The further down she went the louder the voices became. She was now able to make out individual voices. One of the voices she recognized as the voice of the Crystal Palaces first officer Commander True North.

Reaching the bottom of the winding stairwell Poppy poked her head around the corner towards the voices what she found was a dungeon full of creatures. The cells were made of large iron bars and rough stone blocks. Looking around Poppy counted at least a dozen large cells. The room itself was large and caverns with several guards wondering the path that led between the cells. The cells were equally spaced with six on each side of the path. The cells were crowded with ponies and other creatures all waiting to be ransomed off. Some of those being held wore uniforms while others appeared to be just sailors or passengers. Most of the half dozen guards were the big burly former Storm King soldiers although there were also a few griffons mixed in for good measure.

Just like before Poppys only advantage was her element of surprise. However, with so many pirates there was little Poppy could do without finding help or a way to reduce their numbers. Poppy thought for a moment, her brain sifting through ideas that could help her free those imprisoned. Reducing the pirate's numbers seemed impractical since it increased her chances of getting killed and she quite liked being alive. That left the only other option she could think of, which was getting help, but the only other pony that was not in a cell was Daring and she could be anywhere and almost certainly well guarded. Poppy took one last look around the corner before deciding that her best option would be to find where they were holding Daring.

The trot back up the winding stairs was tiring as the steep angel wound its way to where she had come from. Reaching the top of the stairs Poppy stopped checking down the hallway in both directions there was still no sign of any pirates. Climbing the last few steps Poppy turned towards the door on the right.

The door opened just as Poppy approached. A surprised griffon looked at her and she looked back just as surprised. Both creatures went for their swords. The griffon was much faster than Poppy. He lunged at her with the hilt of his sword grasped in his talons. Poppy ducked away from the thrust drawing her own sword as she came back up to make her own swipe at him. The griffon snarled blocking her clumsy thrust at his chest. The griffon using his height swung his sword down towards her head. Ducking to the right and out of the way of his downward swipe Poppy was too late to escape his left claws from cutting along her side. His talons were sharp and sliced through her flesh like a knife to butter. Poppy screamed as the flesh was torn from her side. Poppy staggered back dropping her sword.

She knew that in these conditions the griffon would win but she had one advantage he did not and as he came in for a killing blow, she used it. The griffon lunged in his sword aiming right for her heart. Rolling down and under him Poppy knocked the griffon's paws from under him. The griffon fell hard on the ground his sword flying out of his grasp. The griffin tried to clamber back up, but Poppy was on her hooves first. Pressing her new advantage Poppy pounced onto his back before rearing up on him and coming down hard on his back. The griffin let out a strangled screeching cry before she slammed into his head with another powerful stomp. The griffon screeches became whimpers, but Poppy did not stop until he went completely quiet.

Getting off the griffin Poppy checked herself over. The deep tears in her flesh were weeping dark red streams of blood. With little she could do to treat the wounds Poppy decided to just press on. Stepping back to the still open door from where the griffin had come Poppy looked through.

The door led to another set of stairs, this one spiraling upwards. When her hoof touched the first stair it activated small magically powered lanterns that provided a much-needed light source. The lanterns she figured must be enchanted to only provide light on demand rather than torches that would need to be replaced after every use.

Slowly trudging up the steep incline Poppy finally reached the top of the stairs with the path ending in landing and a door. The door was made of hard steel, and it glowed with a reddish tent. Poppy recognized the magical arura as belonging to Captain Compasses. Poppy had no idea what the enchantment would do if she touched it but without another choice Poppy had to try opening it. Squeezing her eyes shut Poppy reached out with her right forehoof expecting the worst. Poppy was surprised when nothing happened so Poppy decided to place her ear against the door listening for any sounds on the other side. The thickness of the steel kept any sound from escaping. Without being able to hear if anything was on the other side Poppy had no way of knowing what she would encounter. Knowing she had no choice but to push on she drew her revolver and opened the door. Moving fast as she pushed the door open, diving and rolling into the room.

Several shots rang out as she landed somewhere towards the center of the room. One of the shots just missed her left ear as it whizzed by. Poppy could swear that she felt the heat coming off the round as it smashed into the wall behind her sending small shards of concrete into the surrounding air. Without time to aim her own weapon Poppy jumped up looking for cover. The next shot just missing her as she dove again, this time firing off rounds of her own. A few of her shots went wide but one of them managed to hit one of the creatures firing at her. Her shot had been fatal hitting the creature square in the chest. Coming back up from her dive Poppy to a quick second to glance around.

The room was large with maps and charts plastered all over the walls. The guard she had killed was lying to her right. The other occupants of the room were standing opposite her. One of them was strapped to a chair while the other was looming over her with a knife in his hand. The knife bearing pony Poppy recognized as Captain Compass. Leveling her gun at him Poppy tried to find an angle that she could hit him without hitting Daring. There was just no way to miss her. Poppy needed to get him to drop the knife, but she knew he held the cards in this situation. He seemed to know this too as he gave her a smile that sent chills down her spine.

“Give up you stupid mare.” He said. His smile turning into a sneer as his knife dug deeper into Daring flesh. Daring struggled against his grip as the knife pressed hard enough to draw a small droplet of blood that dripped down the knife. Her adventures shirt started to become stained with her blood. Poppy could tell that Daring wanted to cry out, but she had a gag in her mouth. The time had come, and Poppy needed to act quickly, or Daring would soon have her throat cut. With that in mind Poppy realized her only chance to save the pegasus life would be for her to surrender. Releasing her grip on her pistol she slowly lowered it to the ground. Just as she set the gun down on the ground a large griffon rushed in yelling something about a ship had appeared and was moving towards the fortress at full sail.

The commotion caused Captain Compass to be distracted just long enough for the Daring to flap her wings hard which the captain had failed to restrain. The action caused the captain to lose his grip on the knife. As the knife fell to the floor with a small tingling sound Poppy rose back up firing her revolver at the captain. The shots missed back the captain was forced to take cover. The griffon charged at Poppy tackling her to the ground. With Poppy down and Daring trying to untie herself with a knife that she had hidden under her right wing, the captain decided to run for the stairs barking out orders as he fled.

“Finish off those mares.” The griffon did not need to be told twice, only looking at Poppy with a blood thirsty grin. Poppy was still lying on her back after the griffon's attack had sent her flying against a wall. The impact had felt bone jarring and had forced the air from her lungs. Poppy coughed and wheezed as she tried to regain her breathing. The griffon, however, did not give her time to recover as he came at her screeching. Poppy tried to get out of his way but there was just no time to move. She closed her eyes as the griffon's talons ripped a gash across her barrel. The pain was unbearable, she could feel his talion's tearing deep into her. Poppy screamed as blood started to soak the fur around the fresh gashes. In her mind Poppy thought she was going to die and be eaten by this predator. The griffon did not pull away, instead pressing his attack he opened his beak to take a bite out of her neck. Poppy closed her eyes knowing her end was coming.

Expecting some pain from the bite, she opened her eyes to find the griffon scrambling upright as Daring stood above him. Using her wings to hold him down the adventurer reared up on her hind legs coming down hard against his ribs. Poppy could hear the griffon's ribs crunch under the Darings weight as she pounded him again and again. The bird screeched every time she hit him. Daring would not stop pounding the griffon even after it was no longer breathing. Daring only stopped when Poppy yelled as she tried to get back on her hooves. Daring turned to find Poppy holding her side, blood dripping onto the ground. The wounds across her chest were deep and bleeding heavily and Poppy felt faint.

Using her experience as an adventured Daring rushed over to apply pressure to Poppys wounds. The magic inherent in all pegasus meant that her wings repel water or in this case blood. The water repellant acted like a bandage over the wounds and soon Daring was able to staunch the flow of blood. With the bleeding stopped Daring took off her adventure vest. Using her teeth, she ripped it into long strips before rapping them around Poppy's barrel. Poppy felt weak from the loss of blood, but she still felt well enough to continue. With the wounds bound Daring helped Poppy to stand Daring allowing her to lean against her as she wobbled. Leaning heavily on her friend Poppy slowly walked towards the door. Both knew that staying here would be a mistake and would result in their capture. Daring led Poppy back down the twisting stairs back towards the hallway that Poppy had come through. The alarms were blaring overhead as they continued back into the first storage room Poppy had encountered. Using the crates for cover they finally stopped to rest. Checking to make sure they were safe here Daring Once helped Poppy down lean against a crate. With her weight no longer on Darings side Poppy watched the other mare turn her attention to back towards the door. Using the scattered crates and other equipment Daring barricaded the doors. Once the piles were sufficiently tall enough Daring stepped back to admire her work. Just as Daring was about to pat herself on the back, she heard a thud from behind her. Turing around she found Poppy had stumbled to the ground. Galloping back over to her friend Daring laid down beside her.

Poppy could feel the warmth of Darings body as she draped a wing over her back. Poppy rested her head on Darings side as she breathed in and out. The two could afford only to rest a few minutes but they both needed it. They still needed to rescue the prisoners and escape themselves. The gashes across Poppy's chest had stopped bleeding but her fur was matted with dark red splotches where the blood had dried and caked.

After a few minutes the two slowly got back up. They had a job to do, and the captain knew they were there. The pair headed for the barricaded door when they heard the muffled sounds of canon fire. The two ponies looked at each other before realization dawned on Poppy. Turning to Daring Poppys face lit up with hope. Daring did not share the look. Realizing her friend did not understand what was happening, Poppy filled her in.

“Don't you see it’s the Crystal Palace. My ship. She must have come with help, and they are here to see what happen to us.” Daring still did not return her smile but did give a nod of affirmation.

The fortress shook as the cannonballs hit hard against its cement walls. The two mares worked with renewed hope that rescue was within reach. The barricade that Daring had quicky erected was taken down as the mares worked together.
When they had finished tearing down the makeshift barricade, they ran at full gallop down the spiraling stairs that led to the cells. The fortress shook all around them as they ran. The two could hear the fortress's own defenders returning fire as the noise around them became deafening. Poppy led the way towards the prison cells. The air began to fill with smoke and dust. Poppy coughed as her lungs tried to breathe in the rancid air. The coughing began to enrage her wounds and she stumbled for a second as the pain overtook her. Daring noticed and was at her side in an instant helping keep her upright. Daring looked at her with concern in her eyes. Poppy returned her concern with a weak smile. Before they continued further Daring checked Poppys bandages. The wounds had begun to bleed again. Daring's concerns grew but there was little she could do except tighten the bandages. Using her teeth Daring grabbed the end of the make shit bandage and pulled it tight. Poppy winced as the pressure on her wounds increased. Once Daring was done the two continued climbing down the stairs.

As they reached the last step, they both peered around the corner. Most of the guards had gone to help man the fortresses cannons leaving just one large burly pirate left. The Pirate was a unicorn, and he was large, probably twice the size of both mares and was armed with a pistol. Both knew that a head on attack would not work, but instead they opted for a little trickery.

Poppy rounded the corner pistol in hoof. The stallion was startled by her sudden appearance but regained his wits quickly, drawing his own pistol. Poppy yelled for him to surrender. Instead, he quickly lit his horn and his magical aroura surrounding her. Just as he was about to lift her off the ground Daring came flying out from behind her leaping right into the surprised unicorn. The impact caused him to drop his magic leaving Poppy free to take aim with her revolver.

The ferocity of Darings attack was enough that it had sent him hard into the ground. The stallion was much stronger than Daring and began to push her off. Using her wing Daring lifted herself just above him before coming back down with her full weight. The stallion groaned in pain but continued to struggle against her. Poppy tried to get a clean shot, but Daring was on top of him, so Poppy decided to holster her weapon and instead charged up beside Daring using her own momentum to hit him with her right forehoof. The impact created a bone crushing sound and the poor stallion stopped moving.

Getting up next to Poppy they began to search for the keys to open the prison cells. Poppy found the keys on the unconscious guard picking them up in her teeth she tossed them Daring. Daring began to unlock the cells as Poppy pulled the first on open. She winced under the strain of moving the large iron bars. Ignoring the pain, she continued to open each of the cells. Once all the cells had been opened and all the passengers and crew had been lined up the group began to head up the spiraling stairs. Daring was by her side the whole time as the two mares led the way to safety. When they reached the top of the stairs, they found fire everywhere. Poppy thought that the Crystal Navy had sure done its job as the fortress was beginning to crumble around them. Now above ground they could hear the cannon fire again. It was Daring that realized that the canon fire was only incoming now. That had to mean that the fortresses' defenses had been destroyed. The problem with that was that the Crystal Navy ships had moved in closer, and their cannon fire had become more concentrated. This meant that it had increased their risk of getting hit by friendly fire. Leaving their only chance of not getting ground into pulp by their rescuers would be to retreat into the jungle through the back of the fortress. The group of ponies that had been rescued had a few pegasi and Daring barked at them to fly back towards the warship to tell them to stop shooting. Two of pegasi nodded before flying towards the ships to relay the message while the rest of the group fled on hoof. Once outside the bodies of some of the pirates lay around many hit by shrapnel from the artillery fire. The air was thick with smoke. Poppy held the group back at the door as Daring took flight looking for a way out. Luckily for the group a hole had been punched in the wall by some of the cannon fire. Daring flew back to where the group was. Yelling over the roar of incoming shells that she had found a way out. Before Poppy moved the group out into the open Daring returned to the sky helping to keep watch for any remaining pirates.

Poppy directed everyone towards the hole in the wall. Commander True North taking the lead. Poppy stayed back to cover the rear of the group trying her best to keep up her speed as the pain in her side grew. As the last pony leapt through the ruble that had once been the wall Poppy heard a shout from behind her. The yell was loud, and the voice dripped with rage. Turning Poppy found Captain Compass traitor to the Crystal Princess standing only a few yards behind her. His expression was dark, and menacing, lit by the fires that burned around him. His uniform had been torn and had a few scorch marks from where the fires that burned freely had singed it. He stalked closer to her, his horn lighting up as his magic aura surrounded her. Before she had a chance to yell for help, he had lifted her high into the air, her hooves flailing uselessly below her as they tried to find something solid. She heard him laughing as he flung her against a slab of concrete that had broken off from the fortress wall. She yelped at the impact, feeling her spine crack and her ribs break. She slid down the slab landing on her flank with an audible thud. The impact forced the air from her lungs leaving her gasping. Trying to take a breath she realized that the impact had broken at least one of her ribs as the pain from each agonizing breath brought a tear to her eyes. Looking up at her attacker she tried to rise to flee but the pain with each breath she took kept her down. Captain Compass stocked towards her a smile now on his face and a small dagger floating in his magical grasp. Fearing for a second time in less than an hour that death was near she closed her eyes. Just as before death had other plans as a yellow streak with a plinth hat came creening out of the sky. Poppy watched as Daring Do flung herself at the stallion. The tackle sent him spiraling to the ground. He, however, never lost control of his dagger. With his range at full broil, he flung the dagger into Daring's wing. The dagger penetrated right through where the wing connected to her barrel. Her scream sent chills into Poppy breaking through the fog of her own pain. Her heartbeat felt like it was going to tear out of her chest as she watched her friend wither in pain on the ground. The stallion now back on his hooves stood over the crippled Pegasus. He watched her for a moment before pulling the dagger from her wing. The dagger tore the flesh right off the bone leaving a bloody hole in the wing. The blood stained the feathers as it dripped out of her body. From where Poppy sat, she could hear Daring scream as the dagger was pulled out of her wing.

Poppy watched as the great adventure lay in her own blood clutching her now crippled wing. Poppy could see tears forming in her eyes. Poppy couldn't watch. The anger that she felt at seeing her friend crippled ignited a fury deep inside of her. Using every ounce of remaining strength Poppy had in her. Jumping up Poppy lunged at the captain. The attack proved to be very painful, but it had also caught him off guard. Before he could react, Poppy tackled him to the ground. Even in his surprise the captains magic never faltered and he never dropped his dagger. Using his only weapon, the captain flung his blade at high speeds directly at Poppys side. With her injuries Poppy could not get out of the way quick enough. Poppy felt the dagger hit her side right between two of her ribs. With a gasp Poppy staggered back off the captain. Using the chance the captain tried to pull the dagger from Poppys body but the blade was planted firmly inside of her. Through the fog of pain Poppy realized her had lost his weapon and so with all the energy she could muster Poppy galloped into him. Her shoulder sent him flying back into a wall where he landed in a crumpled heap. Poppy waited for him to get up, but he did not rise from where he now laid. With the captain now unconscious Poppy turned her attention back to Daring, the yellow pegasus was rocking herself on the ground holding her crippled wing. The sight sent tears to Poppys eyes. Poppy knew there was little hope of communicating with Daring at this point as she rocked herself. With grate effort and being as careful as possible. Poppy lifted the crying pegasus onto her back. Poppy felt the pain in her gut and for a moment she staggered nearly falling over. Gritting her teeth against the pain Poppy took a moment to steel herself before trotting out of the compound to find the others. With every step she took the blade in her side moved and more blood spilt onto the dirt and into her coat.

Commander True North had led the other towards the cave that the two mares had used as their campsite. By now the pegasi that had been sent to the Crystal Fleet to tell them that they could hit the escaping prisoner had returned with some of the crew of the approaching fleet. One of the new arrivals wore a distinctive symbol of the Celestial Medical core. Poppy recognized the symbol as she galloped into camp. Her vision had started to turn black as she staggered over to the doctor.
The wounds along her side were bleeding heavily leaving a dark red trail as she staggered over. The medic, a bright red pegasus noticed the injured mares and rushed over just as Poppy collapsed on the ground. Poppy felt her head hit a rock and then everything went black.