Children of the Sun

by Vanner

Out to Sea

Chapter Three: Out to Sea

It was the rhythmic pounding of waves on the side of the boat that finally awoke Heart Chase. She opened her eyes to discover the interior of a ship. How she had gotten here was a mystery, though the hole in the ceiling was a decent clue. The last thing she remembered was running for the ship, Iron Pick turned to defend and…

Oh goddess, she thought, where are Red and Apple?

Heart Chase pushed herself to her feet and stumbled out of the door. The beauty of open water was spread before her in a blanket of shimmering night. Rain showered the vessel and the surrounding ocean with its blessings and filled the sea air with the spray of salt. There was only a gentle breeze that bobbed the ship in the open water.

The boat was empty and the rear of it had been scorched by fire. Heart Chase stared out at the open water with a sickening realization. Everything had gone wrong. She hadn’t seen what happened to her sister and niece or her new step sons. She didn’t even know what had happened to her husband. She was simply here, wherever here might be. In the middle of open water. Churning. Rocking. Bobbing.

Heart Chase dashed to the side of the ship and immediately threw up everything she had eaten at the wedding. She had never been on a ship before and the churning beneath her feet combined with a head injury was making her completely nauseated. Heart Chase tried to steady herself and think of a course of action. She needed to take stock. She had herself. Sure, she was a bit dizzy, a bit sea sick, and a bit banged up, but she was otherwise unharmed and ready for action. She had the vessel, though that too was banged up. She looked up to the sky and thanked Celestia for the rain. It had probably saved her ship. Did she have food? Maps? A way to steer this boat? Could she figure out how to use any of it? She looked back to the room she had landed in. That was as good a place to start as any.

The cabin she had crashed through was the quarters that she and Iron Pick were supposed to share. Her bags had been brought aboard earlier that day, so she at least had a few bits and a few changes of clothes. Clothes.

Heart Chase looked at her tattered wedding dress. The lace edges had been scorched by the blast and blood stained the white fabric where splinters had pierced her coat. The dress was ruined. Such a pity too; it had been so beautiful. Her mane had been scorched as well, and her flowers were long gone. At least she still had her shoes. Heart Chase had to give the situation a defeated laugh. Here she was, adrift in the ocean, and she was worried about how her mane looked. She tore off the dress and tossed it aside.

She found other things: ledgers, letters of introduction, some bits and gems. It was all mostly paperwork, scrolls, and materials for making more scrolls. There was nothing here that would help her in her current predicament. She set the bits and gems aside on a table.

Heart Chase walked back across the deck to the… front of the boat? Starboard? Was that what it was called? She cursed herself for never having learned anything about the operations of a boat until she remembered that she had never expected to set sail in her life. Never mind that she was alone on a ship that she had no idea how to operate; who could have seen that coming? She opened the door to the front cabin and found what she was looking for.

Maps. Charts. A globe. A spy glass. A really fancy thing made of metal and glass that she knew had a name, but had no idea what it was. A foggy stone that started glowing as soon as she picked it up. The only thing that was missing was a book on sailing and, quite frankly, that was the only thing she actually needed at the moment. She glared at the captains quarter’s for a second before spotting an oil cloth cloak. She tossed it over her head and shoulders before heading back out into the rain. There was no time like the present to start learning a new skill.

…

It had been a week since the ship carrying Ridgeline home had been hit by pirates. For a week, he had fought with, bit, kicked, and on one occasion, killed any creature who had come close to his cell. He wasn’t a clever pony, but if he was anything, he was a warrior. And he would not be held much longer. He again bucked and kicked at his cell door. The buck rocked the boat.

“Will you knock it off?” asked the pony in the cell beside him. The sky blue unicorn looked up at his fellow prisoner.

“I am a Knight of Celestia,” said the copper coated stallion. “It is my life to serve her, and to defeat the enemies of our goddess.”

“Your goddess,” corrected the unicorn. Ridgeline put his face through the bars and tried to bite at the unicorn.

“Luna is a traitor to Equestria!” boomed Ridgeline. “You Lunar Rebels should be burned at the stake for your crimes!”

“I left that life when they started enslaving other equines!” shot back the other pony. “I freed those who were enslaved. I sought to defeat Nightmare Moon the same as you, you pompous jack hole!” He brought a hoof down on the muzzle of Ridgeline with a loud thump. It didn’t even phase the massive equine, and it hurt his hoof. Bard shook his forelock. “My goddess that stings; is your head made of rocks?”

“Better my head is filled with rocks than filled with lies,” said Ridgeline.

“So that’s a yes,” said Bard. Ridgeline ignored the pony, and kicked the bars again. A crimson coated boar walked down the stairs. He was holding a spear between his tusks.

“I swear, if you kick those bars again, I will run you through,” he said. “Why can’t you just settle down and wait to be ransomed back like your friend over there?”

“That swine is not my friend,” said Ridgeline. “He is an enemy and a traitor, just as all of you are. When I get free…”

“Ah, shut up,” said the boar. He walked back up the stairs. Ridgeline sat defeated in his cell; Bard walked back to the bars separating the two ponies.

“Another game of Tic-Tac-Toe?” he asked. With a weary sigh, Ridgeline scratched an X into the floor next to Ridgeline’s bars. Bard looked down at the grid. “Good opener.”

Above deck, creatures of all stripes worked the rigging. They sang sea shanties about mer-ponies, and told the same bawdy jokes they had all heard a hundred times before. Given the light breeze and the light rain, the sails were still at full rigging as they headed north for the mouth of the Dame River and the infamous pirate haven of Hackney Cove. There they would ransom off their prisoners, or sell them into slavery. Really, whoever offered the better price would get the two; they were too much trouble to try to sell apart.

Captain Einhorn stood above the band of pirates who worked the decks. Like most pirate crews, it was quite the assortment: a griffon staffed the crow’s nests, earth ponies crewed the ballista, and Hamites hauled line. The Hamites, fearsome pig warriors from the jungles near Stalliongrad, were treated as equals aboard Flotsam, as were all non-pony crew. Einhorn himself was a massive white stag who had lost an antler in the years past. Aboard his ship, every crew member was considered equally worthless scum. He stood glaring at his crew as his consort, a rose colored pegasus, covered them both with a parasol.

“Oh, Captain,” she cooed. “I do love this weather.”

“Shut it, Constance” barked Einhorn. “I’m not paying you for your wit.” Constance frowned at the captain. Two weeks without a decent haul had left him in a funk that not even her salacious ways could break. Since her continued employment, and in fact, her well being, were directly tied to the happiness of the captain, she opted for a different approach.

“Why not bring the prisoners on deck?” she asked. “Make them fight it out a bit for the amusement of the crew? If one kills the other, that’s one less mouth to feed.” The stag turned to his consort.

“Are you insane?” asked Einhorn. “That Knight of Celestia is worth a fortune to the right buyer, and he’ll easily slaughter that idiot Kin of Luna.”

“So?” said Constance. “He’s a mouthy pain in the flank who has not only insulted everyone who has been down there, but has also managed to start vicious rumors about your mother. I was most impressed by how he rhymed ‘glistening shore’ with ‘massive whore.’”

“Did I not forbid the mention that song?” snarled Einhorn. “And may I remind you of your chosen profession, Constance?” Constance put on her pouty face.

“It’ll do the crew some good to see him get his comeuppance,” said the pegasus. “Imagine the look on his face when that Knight puts a hoof through it.” Einhorn had to laugh at the thought, and he hadn’t had a good laugh in weeks.

The prisoners were brought to the deck amid the jeers and taunts from the crew. A brave boar had managed to clamp manacles on the two ponies and several other crew armed with spears ushered them up to the main deck. Einhorn stood on the forecastle above the two manacled ponies and the hooting crew of pirates. He raised his hooves for silence, and the crew fell quiet.

“My little ponies,” Einhorn announced. “You are warriors by heart, not prisoners.”

“I’m not technically a soldier,” Bard said. One of the Hamites kicked him in the ribs for speaking while the captain was addressing the crew.

“I grow weary of your constant bickering, Bard,” continued the stag, “and I grow tired of your violence against my crew, Ridgeline. This ends today. You two are to fight to the death, here and now. The winner may join my crew, or they may choose to return to their cage.” Bard and Ridgeline looked at each other with an unsure glance. “Your manacles will be released when one of you is dead. May our dear lord Cervidae have mercy on your pathetic souls.” With that, the crew cheered and surrounded the two ponies in a circle around deck.

Ridgeline looked with apprehension at Bard. It wasn’t a half an hour ago that he was threatening to kill him, but now with the prospect of actually murdering the unicorn in cold blood, he balked. It was enough of a distraction for Bard to start casting a spell.

This is Bard. I am speaking to you in your mind now, said a voice inside Ridgeline’s head. If we work together, we can get off this ship. Now take a swing at me. Ridgeline paused a moment before throwing a massive left hoof at the unicorn. Good, now keep at it. Can you swim? Don’t speak, I can read your thoughts. The copper coated earth pony shook his head as if he were brushing off a fly. He bit at Bard; the unicorn easily dodged the swinging teeth.

The crew behind them cheered as the two ponies feinted then attacked. Because they were manacled together, the much larger and far stronger Ridgeline controlled the fight. The earth pony dragged the unicorn across the deck by the forelock as Bard kept ahead of the raining blows by mere inches. His own ineffective attacks were simply shrugged off by the powerful Knight, just as expected. Bard was doing his best to keep the crowd entertained as he thought of a plan to whisper into Ridgeline’s head.

Constance looked down on the spectacle with regret. She hadn’t wanted them to kill each other; just wanted to see Bard get slapped around a bit. Constance looked to the captain. When she saw the bloodlust in his eyes as the ponies circled each other, she thought perhaps, when they got to port, she wouldn’t continue her contract with him. She looked away from the blood sport for a moment when she thought she spotted another vessel in the fog. Constance stepped back from the captain. He was far to engrossed in the fight to notice his consort had just flown off the forecastle.

The fog seemed to thicken more as Constance approached the other ship. It was almost as if something was obscuring it on purpose. She landed on the deck of the single masted ship with a gentle thump. The oil cloaked pony on deck turned from her tangle of rigging with a start.

“Who are yah?” asked Heart Chase. The yellow earth pony looked at the pegasus for a moment. She wore gold bangles in her ears and her auburn mane was tied in braids beneath a bandana. Her cutie mark was that of a broken heart. Heart Chase dropped into a defensive stance. “Oh damn it, yer a pirate scout aren’t yah?”

“Well, not really,” said Constance. “Let’s just say I’ve decided to terminate my contract early.” Constance looked around the ship a moment. “Where’s your crew?”

“I don’t have one,” said Heart Chase. “I ain’t even sure how I wound up on this ship, and I don’t know to steer it. Yah know anything about sailing?” Constance shrugged her shoulders.

“I know enough that you need more than two ponies to pilot a vessel of this size,” said Constance. There was a loud splash off to port followed by yelling. The fog had thickened so much in the past five minutes that Heart Chase couldn’t see what it was. “That would probably be the Flotsam throwing poor Bard’s body overboard. Pity; he was such a lithe young stallion.” Heart Chase regarded the pegasus with a wary eye.

“So, yer telling me there’s another ship close enough that they can hear us?” whispered Heart Chase.

“Oh yes,” said Constance. “Pirates; I’d steer away from them if I were you.” Heart Chase stared with a dumbfounded expression at the pegasus for a moment. “You have no idea how to do that, do you?”

“If yah wanna stay on this ship and away from them,” said Heart Chase. “I’d suggest yah start by givin’ me a helpin’ hoof.”

Constance, while not a sailor by trade, had spent enough time aboard ships to direct Heart Chase in how to draw up the sail, and steer away from the Flotsam. As Constance worked the wheel, Heart Chase struggled with the rigging. A loud thud, followed by cursing broke their concentration.

“There’s another ship out here?” said a voice. “Hold onto it!”

“I can’t!” bellowed another.

“Damn it so much.” There was a burst of dark light from the water line, then a splash. The thunk of something piercing the side of the boat was what really worried the ponies onboard. Constance dashed to look over the side of the vessel.

Embedded in the side of the boat was Bard. Somehow, he had managed to rear up out of the water and jam his horn into the side of the boat. He hung just above the water line as Ridgeline dangled from his legs. Bard looked up at the pegasus with friendly yellow eyes.

“Permission to come aboard?” he asked. “Because this hurts a lot more than you might expect.” Heart Chase joined Constance in staring over the side of the boat. The mares looked at each other.

“Yah did say it took more than two ponies to run a ship this size, didn’t yah?” asked Heart Chase. Constance nodded, and Heart Chase threw a rope overboard to the two ponies. The copper coated earth pony caught the rope in his teeth, and began dragging himself up. Ridgeline grabbed hold of Bard’s head with his back feet, and pried it from the side of the boat. The two ponies were dragged onto the deck moments later. Ridgeline was the first to his feet, and he bowed to Heart Chase.

“As a Knight of Celestia, I thank you, my fair lady,” he said with a bow. “Without you, this… Kin’s half baked plan surely would have failed.” He gestured to Bard with the manacled forelock. Bard’s forelock puppeted his movement for a moment.

“Uh, ya’ll aren’t pirates are yah?” said Heart Chase. “‘Cause if yah are, I’m gonna have to throw yah back overboard.” The two ponies looked to each other, then shook their heads. “Then ya’ll wouldn’t know how to sail would yah?”

“I do,” volunteered Bard. “But I’m not going to be able to do much with this lummox on my fetlock.” He pointed his horn at the manacles, and they fell open.

“Why didn’t you do that sooner?” asked Ridgeline.

“Because I couldn’t concentrate with my head stuck in a plank!” shot back Bard. Ridgeline took another swing at the unicorn. He easily dodged and weaved out of the crashing hoof of the Knight. “Knock it off.” The earth pony only growled at Bard. The unicorn turned back to the mares. “I assume that you are the captain of this vessel, Miss…”

“Missus,” she corrected. It stung a bit to think that she may actually be a widow rather than a missus. “Missus Heart Chase. And I don’t claim to be Captain; I don’t even know how I got here on open water. I just want to get home to my family.”

“Fair enough,” said Bard. “Ridgeline! On those lines. Miss Constance, if you would please, let out some of that sail, and then give us a scouting report. Captain, I’ll need you on the wheel.” The ponies broke and made for their stations. Heart Chase stood behind the wheel of the vessel, and took the handles in her teeth. “So where’s home?”

“Bridleburg,” said Heart Chase. “But I have no idea where we are, so I don’t know how we’re gonna get back.” Bard looked out to the fog for a moment. “Sorry, I didn’t catch yer name?”

“The name is Bard,” he replied. “With this all this fog, we’ve got to be close to shore.” He looked to the boat, and noticed the scorch marks that took up much of the rear of the vessel. “Have those always been there?” Heart Chase shrugged.

“They were there when I woke up,” she said. Constance fluttered back down to the deck.

“It’s foggy,” she reported. “I can’t see anything at all, and it’s like that for miles. The air started getting thin before I broke through the fog bank, that’s how bad it is.” Constance looked over her shoulder. “I’ve never seen anything like it, that’s for sure.”

“Well then,” said Bard. “I guess we’ll have to go by compass.”

“I didn’t see one in the captain’s quarters,” said Heart Chase. “Yah can steer this tub while I go look.” Heart Chase walked from the sterncastle, and down to the captain’s quarters. She again searched through the room, and sure enough, there was no compass to be found. There was the glowing stone; it seemed to be pulsing now. She paused a moment to consider the new ponies on board. Could she trust them?

The copper coated earth pony had said that he was a Knight of Celestia, and he seemed the type: quick to anger, but polite to those at his station or above. He certainly had the build for it; he was as large as Iron Pick. She could probably trust him. The sky blue unicorn named Bard seemed to know what he was doing too and between him and Constance, it looked like they could get them at least back to land.

The ship swayed again as the winds began to pick up. Heart Chase was finally getting used to the rocking; she steadied herself by spreading her hooves wide and moving with the vessel. She walked from the Captain’s quarters toward the other door she hadn’t yet been able to explore. It opened to a set of stairs that led to a hull filled with a month’s worth of food. Heart Chase breathed a sigh of relief. Even if they were lost, they wouldn’t starve to death. She came back on deck.

The fog had abated only slightly; they could now see for dozens of yards instead of just a few. The sail was full of wind, and it dragged them through the churning waters of… whatever bay they were supposed be in. Heart Chase wasn’t really up on her geography, and she worried for a moment that her supposed crew might not take her where she wanted to go. It wasn’t like they could sail up river. Or could they? How had Iron Pick expected to get home?

The word stuck in her mind like a thorn. What would be there waiting for her once she got back there? What happened to her niece and sister? She had seen so many Picks and Chases lying upon the ground as the Lunar Rebels destroyed her reception. Who would work the fields? There was so much fire; would there even be a farm to return to? Heart Chase paced the deck unconsciously. There were so many things to worry about: her family, her home, her new husband. She had no idea what was left of her life. She didn’t even know what day it was. She could have been out for a week. Heart Chase turned to the copper coated earth pony.

“What day is it?” she asked.

“I don’t know, m’lady,” said Ridgeline. “I’ve been stuck in a cage for a week, I think. You might try asking the Lady Constance. She had booked passage with the pirates for some reason.” Heart Chase left the pony to his work and walked to the forecastle where the pegasus was standing.

“Lady Constance, was it?” asked Heart Chase. Constance looked at her with an expression of pure confusion. “Yah happen to know what day it is?”

“Lady?” asked Constance. “I’m about as far removed from nobility as one gets.”

“Sorry,” said Heart Chase.

“Did that dear Knight tell you that?” she asked. “That poor colt. If we hadn’t had all this silly nonsense with Nightmare Moon, he probably would have never left whatever bumpkin town he came from. He would have found himself a nice filly, settled down, and had a score of foals. Now he’s a soldier who thinks only of destroying the enemies of the Goddess.” Constance sighed, and looked out into the fog. “That war made monsters of us all.” She looked back to Heart Chase. “But that’s not what you asked, is it? It’s Sunday afternoon. Or at least I think it is; it’s too foggy to tell.”

Sunday afternoon. That meant it had only been a day and a half since her wedding. That was a good sign. It gave her hope that she might be able to sail back up the river, and be back in Bridleburg within the next day or so. Now if the damn fog would just let up they’d…

“HARD TO PORT!” yelled Constance. “HARD TO PORT! WE’RE GOING TO CRASH!”

The crush of timber along the rocks was the most horrible sound any of the ponies had heard in a long time. The ship listed hard to starboard as the rocks punched through the hull. Ridgeline and Heart Chase we tossed across the deck by the violent lurching of their vessel. Ridgeline managed to grab Heart Chase in his arm, then catch a line in his teeth as they skidded across the deck. The copper coated stallion pushed Heart Chase back onto the deck before pulling himself up. Below deck, the two ponies heard the rush of water as it poured into the hull. Constance hovered above the two earth ponies.

“Where’s Bard?” asked Heart Chase. “I don’t see him!”

“I’ll check the water,” said Constance. “You two swim for shore. It’s only about a quarter of a mile, I think. Follow the waves and watch out for rocks.” Heart Chase and Ridgeline gave each other worried looks.

“But I can’t swim!” protested Heart Chase. Ridgeline looked out at the rocky coast line. The boat was sinking and there really wasn’t another option at the moment.

“Don’t worry, m’lady,” said Ridgeline. “I dragged that Kin through the water, I can certainly carry a dainty thing like you. Get on my back, and hold on.” Heart Chase looked at the earth pony for a moment. The ship listed to the side with the snapping of timbers. Heart Chase grabbed his heck, and held on for dear life. They dove into the water and started swimming for shore.

Constance swooped low over the water, but saw no signs of Bard. Where was the mouthy git? The fog wasn’t helping anything. Had he gone under? Was he still aboard the boat? She heard cursing from the ship, and flew back toward it. Bard had busied himself with tossing maps and equipment into a satchel. Constance set down as the ship began to splinter.

“What are you doing?” demanded Constance. “Get off the boat and swim!”

“You never let a ship go down with its rudder!” shouted Bard. He tossed the astrolabe and the glowing stone in the bag, and then dashed across the tilted deck. Constance chased after him into the forecastle. Bard grabbed up the sacks of bits and gems that Heart Chase had taken out earlier. He shoved the satchel at Constance, and locked eyes with her.

“Take this to shore,” he ordered Constance. “I can’t concentrate on swimming while floating that bag, so I’m counting on you. Make sure she gets it; this might be all she has left in the world. Don’t fly off with it.” Constance took the satchel in her teeth with an insulted look. “Don’t give me that. Make sure that Heart Chase makes it to shore. I’ll meet you on all on land.”

Bard galloped out of forecastle. The deck began to splinter beneath him, and threatened to take him to the depths with it. With a running leap, he dove into the water as the ship shuddered to pieces behind him.



Comments

This is simply beautiful.

You, my good sir, have one your self a free sarsaparilla!