The Sound of Thunder- Tempest

Festering Nightmare

Part V

-=-=-=-

0338 NCST

Twilight Sparkle

Twilight stuck her head around the corner slowly. Gazing left and then right, she sighed in relief. With the staircase from the gun deck behind her now, she turned her focus to yet another corridor before her. If what she remembered from her brief viewing of the ship’s design documents was correct, then the maintenance shaft that led up to the top deck would be at the end of one of the hallways that branched off from this one.

She stepped cautiously out into the open. The wood creaked as she put her weight onto it, and she froze in place.

Taking a moment, she let let loose a breath that she hadn’t even realized that she’d been holding.

The hallway seemed clear after a cursory inspection. But Twilight still made her way down it as silently as she could. It certainly wouldn’t do to be ambushed yet again…

Step. Step. Step. Step…

The hallway went by with terrifying slowness. Every moment seemed to promise an attack, and every creaking of the floor sounded like an army vowing her death and failure.

She shook her head, and her mane flew in all directions. “You’re being silly Twilight,” she whispered to herself almost inaudibly. “Nothing will happe—”

Just then, a loud hissing noise came from within the room directly in front and to the right of Twilight.

She gasped, throwing herself up against the wall that separated her from the source of the noise. A second later, it stopped, only to be replaced by a snakelike voice speaking a barely intelligible tongue.

“Thissss isss not what the massster promisssed. He sssaid FRESSSH meat. Thessse poniesss are NOT. They barely even put up an excussse for a fight…”

“Ssstop whining!” A second voice ordered. “You ssshall have your ssshare after the battle isss over!”

Twilight closed her eyes in concentration as she grasped for the ley-lines that existed all around her. Tapping into their energy, she formed a complex rune and smiled. When she opened her eyes, she could see right through the wall.

The whole world seemed… distorted. Everything was blue and shadowy. Twilight focused on her training and the spell and ignored her perceptions. Her targets were visible now.

Two naga. One of the two seemed mostly whole, but the other had barely any flesh on its bones. Both held powerful looking spears in their webbed hands.

Now, she had the element of surprise here. If she could jump around the corner and take them unawares—

“Twilight! Are you there?” A familiar voice spoke from within her saddlebag. Shining!

“What wasss that?”

“PONIESSS!”

Twilight cursed her luck as the two looked up from the corpses that had held their focus within the room and rushed toward the door.

She released her spell and readied her blade as they closed on her. With a mighty bound, she threw herself back away from the wall to give herself some more room to maneuver.

The naga bust from the room like the fires of Tartarus incarnate. They screamed their fury and hunger as the leapt at Twilight.

Twilight gave a feral yell of her own as she lowered her sword and teleported.

The naga stumbled through the air that had just been occupied by the unicorn. Twilight smiled grimly as she lowered her horn at the rotting ghoul. A flash of brilliant red light arched from her horn, connecting with its torso.

The beast screamed in agony as it evaporated into thin air. All that remained was his spear and a jeweled necklace that had been around his neck.

The remaining naga glared at Twilight. “Ssso… a magic user.” It reached a webbed finger up to an identical necklace around its own neck. “I have fought your kind before… long ago…”

He sprang at Twilight. She yelped, falling backward at the sheer force of his body as he landed atop her. She tried to reach out to grab a hold of the ley-lines, but they were cut off from her. The mighty monster pulled a knife from his belt. With the force of four hands, he pushed the tip of the blade closer and closer to Twilight’s neck.

Her eyes met the rotting yellow eyes of the snake. For an instant, she remembered the expression on the hobb’s face. His fear. The realization that he was about to die. The helplessness.

Is that how I look?

Twilight pushed against him with all the might that she could manage with her hooves. But it was too much. The tip edged forward, now mere millimeters from the mare’s throat.

Twilight shut her eyes, and prepared herself. And in that moment, the hobb reappeared, grinning at her.

She had earned this.

But then, something entirely unexpected happened. The naga dropped the knife. It fell onto Twilight’s body, and where she had expected the sting of death’s warm embrace, she felt only the sting of cold steel on her coat.

She opened her eyes to see the mortified expression of her enemy. His face was frozen in the gasp that had been his final breath. From his chest protruded a spearpoint.

Twilight gasped, her whole body shaking. Still alive…

She threw the body off of herself as quickly as she could. She turned her gaze to see who had saved her life. As she looked up, hey eyes locked with the purple eyes of—

A filly.

The grey coated filly looked at her with fear completely evident by the uncontrollable shaking of her body. “Are-are you okay, miss?”

Twilight stood to her hooves unsteadily. “Y-yes, I am. Thanks to you…”

The filly’s hooves were covered in blood. She looked down at them through her blue-rimmed glasses, tears in the corners of her eyes. “I’ve been alone since the attack. They killed my foalsitter…” She began to cry. “And now I killed them!”

Twilight pulled the little one close to her. “Hey. It’s okay… You aren’t alone any more…”

The filly clung to her as if she were the only refuge amidst a raging sea of death. And maybe Twilight was.

Twilight pulled her away slowly and looked right at her. “What’s your name?” she asked gently.

“Silver Spoon,” the other sniffled.

“Well Silver, you were very brave, and you saved my life. Where are your parents?” Twilight wiped the tears from Silver’s face.

“My mommy is in New Canterlot. My daddy works in the mess hall. I don’t know where he is…”

Twilight looked down at the nagas who had been killed.

Ten…

She looked back at the filly, then at the hallway before her. The captain needed her… But so did Silver…

She made up her mind. “Well, Silver,” she said, “we’re going to head down a few decks and take you to somepony who can protect you, okay? I have to head up to help the captain, but my friend Rosy will take good care of you.”

Silver nodded slowly. “Okay, miss… Um, what’s your name?”

Twilight smiled. “My name is Twilight.”

“Okay, Twilight. I’ll go with you to this Miss Rosy.”

Twilight nodded, but before turning to head back the way from which she had come, she moved over to the corpse of the naga and the ash pile of what remained of the other. She reached down and put both necklaces into her saddlebags.

As she touched the active one of the two necklaces, she felt the touch of the ley-lines once more. At that moment, the communication stone in her saddlebag sounded out again.

“—you hear me? Answer me, dammit!” Shining’s voice, thick with fear, filled the room.

Twilight levitated it from her saddlebag and gave it a quick tap with her hoof. “I’m here Shining!”

“Oh, thank the Creator. I thought I’d lost you…” Shining said, relief evident.

“You almost did. But I thought that you were out for an hour? Healing backlash and all that?”

“Twilight, you know me. Lots of stamina. Nothing as small as a minor case of backlash will keep me out of the action long.” In her mind, Twilight could just see her brother puffing out his chest as he said that.

She chuckled. “Well, that’s good to hear. But I don’t have much time, Shiny. What do you need?”

“Right, right. Well, I was just contacted by Helmspony Joker. The deck is swarming with ghouls, and they need my help. Sailing Master Cutlass is with me, and we’re heading for the deck.”

“Oh, Cutlass is okay?”

“Aye, those pathetic excuses for fighters dinae even get a scratch on me!” The cheerful voice came through the stone. “Well, just a scratch, but ‘tis nothin’ that I cannae handle! This is the Cutlass we’re talking about, after a—”

Shining cut him off. “Yeah, he’s fine. Whined about his cut like a foal, but he’s okay.” Cutlass’ indignant reply was cut off once more by Shining. “Anyways, we’re headed to help with the deck. We won’t be able to get to the Princess. They need us more on the deck. You’ll have to get to her yourself.”

Twilight swallowed. “Okay. I can do that. Just be careful, okay?”

“Will do! And after this is all done, I’m buying!” Shining spoke cheerfully, but Twilight could hear the hard edge beneath his words.

“I’ll hold you to that.”

“Okay. And Twilight?” Shining asked.

“Yes?”

“No matter what happens, I love you. Remember that, won’t you?”

Twilight smiled, tears threatening to form once more. “I always do and always will.”

“Good. I’ll see you on the other side.” And with that, the com stone cut out.

“So, we’re headed to Miss Rosy now?” Silver aked.

Twilight put the stone away and turned to the filly before replying. “Yeah, we are. Now, you just follow me and be as quiet as possible!”

The two ponies headed back to the staircase, moving nearly silently. The only sound came from the creaking of the floorboards and their breathing. Twilight scanned left and right, taking no chances at all. Not with a filly’s life at stake. Once more, the hallway appeared clear, but something still didn’t feel right.

They came upon the staircase without a hitch. This time.

“Alright Silver. Once we get down, we’re going arrive at an intersection. We’re going left. If we get attacked, you go that way, and just keep running!” Twilight pulled her blade out once more.

“O-okay, Miss Twilight. But please, I don’t want to be alone again…” Silver pressed up against Twilight before the two made their way down.

“Don’t worry. We’ll be fine. Just wait! You’ll see!” They descended quickly and quietly. Once they reached the bottom, Twilight glanced back over her shoulder and breathed a sigh of relief. “Okay, now we just have a little way to go. See, I told you that we’d be—”

WHAM! Something heavy thudded into the back of Twilight’s skull, knocking her to the floor. Silver Spoon screamed, and for a moment Twilight couldn’t see a thing.

Reaching out to the ley-lines again, Twilight recast her seeing spell. The darkness that had surrounded her dissipated slightly, replaced with a grey and blue fog.

Four minotaurs. Three naga. Two goblins. One gryphon. Four ponies.

Twilight released her hold of the ley-line and instantly reached for the much greater source of power. The node. As she tapped into the unlimited reservoir, she leapt to her hooves.

Her sword swung up in an arc, cutting an earth pony ghoul open, and a magical overglow surrounded her horn. Although she still had her eyes closed, relying instead on her magic, she knew that her enemies would be seeing a brilliant white light where her eyes were.

Well, not for long.

Stabbing her blade into the first minotaur, she formed her magic into yet another rune. Her enemies saw a sudden flash of light, and then saw nothing else.

Finishing her blinding spell, Twilight spun on her back hooves like an acrobat. Her blade slashed through the neck of one of the pegasi. On the backswing, she slit the stomach of another minotaur.

The three naga ran off toward the gun deck, but Twilight ignored them. The coldness took her once again, and the chaos of battle descended into a world of cool logic.

While her sword impaled a unicorn ghoul, she lifted the blade from the first fallen minotaur and used it to decapitate the another minotaur. The final pony ghoul, a unicorn, seemed to have managed to cast a counter spell. Twilight felt a drain on the ley-lines as her rune lifted up off the enemies and a ward was placed over them as well.

Twilight put the spellcaster down like the scum he was, and turned to face her final three adversaries.

The last two minotaurs charged Twilight simultaneously. The unicorn mare didn’t even look up as she teleported herself to directly behind them. Slashing downward, she slit the first right across the spine. Fluid splashed the mare in the face, but she didn’t even feel it.

The second had realized what was coming, and spun around backwards with a kick. Twilight flew through the air and landed in a corner. But that did nothing to her levitating blade.

The sword plunged directly into his face and just kept going, ripping a gaping hole in the back of his skull. Twilight stood up in the corner. Turning to the last ghoul, the gryphon, she drew the magic of the node into herself.

Eyes aglow with the blazing fires of pure unadulterated magic, Twilight lifted her final foe into the air. Using a basic telekinesis spell with the strength multiplied a thousandfold, she grasped him by the wings, the neck, and all four legs.

And then she simply pulled.

The hallway erupted in a shower of blood. Twilight’s sword returned to her side as she turned to face the corridor that led to the gun deck. The same corridor that the three naga had run down. The same corridor that she’d told Silver Spoon to run down if they were separated…

Emotion flooded back into the mare as she froze in horror. “SILVER!”

Her heart dropped into her stomach as she sprinted off after the beasts. “No, no, no, no, no, n—”

“AAAAAHHHH!”

The scream that pierced the air froze the blood in Twilight’s veins. She rounded a final corner only to see the naga all hunched over the body of…

Twilight looked away as she teleported to the other side of the monsters. With a blood curdling scream she lifted all three of them into the air. Blood fell from their fangs back down onto the filly on the floor…

Twilight once more grasped the node. Surrounding the airborne monsters with a glowing shield of protective energy, the enraged mare opened herself up as a conduit of pure magic.

Channeling raw nodic energy directly into the shield was no mean feat. A wave of nausea overcame Twilight as the shield bubble filled with a brilliant blue light. A second later, Twilight released her shield.

Nothing remained of the three ghouls save a cloud of dust that blew over the corridor. The dust covered the mauled body of the filly below it and permeated the air that Twilight inhaled. The evidence of her failure filled her lungs.

Twilight coughed as she ran over to Silver.

“No, no! You can’t die! You saved me…” Twilight sobbed as she lifted the small head into her lap after she fell to the ground next to Silver.

The filly’s back left leg had been nearly ripped off. Several bones were broken, and strips of flesh had been torn off her flank. Her cutie mark had been rendered unintelligible. The filly’s face bore the proof of several taloned webbed hands. Her left eye was gone.

Her glasses lay smashed on the floor.

“No…” Twilight said weakly. She moved to action.

“Okay Twilight, think. Heartbeat?” The mare checked. “Oh, thank the Goddess. Alright, need to bandage…”

Twilight pulled her first aid kits out. Quickly setting and splinting the back leg, Twilight bandaged up what little she could.

“Must do more…” Twilight fumbled with her saddlebag for a moment before she pulled out a small vial of glowing red liquid.

“Yes!”

Twilight poured the potion down her patient’s throat. Instantly, the bleeding slowed, and some of the smaller cuts closed right before her eyes.

But it wasn’t enough. Even as her physical wounds faded, the magic took a toll on what was inside the filly. The strain of the fast healing was too much. The poor filly’s breathing faded… and then disappeared.

“NO!” Twilight screamed out. In desperation, she grasped hold of the node for a final time. The air around her began to glow with a vibrant purple light. She felt her own energy leave her as she drew the rune for healing over the filly.

WHAM! Twilight flew backward through the air as her spell’s backlash hit her with a force that no minotaur’s club could ever match.

Twilight lay immobile for a moment. The whole world spun…

Blinking quickly, the mare climbed to her hooves and walked to the filly.

She was breathing again.

Twilight fell to the ground once more, too weak physically to pick herself up, and too weak emotionally to stop her uncontrollable sobbing.

She’ll survive…

Twilight forced herself upright. The world spun, even though the mare made no movement.

Placing one hoof in front of the other, she inched over to Silver. Casting a telekinesis spell, she lifted the filly onto her own back.

She gritted her teeth and forced herself to walk down the corridor back to the gun deck.

Twenty-four…

The sound of cannons firing off filled Twilight’s ears as she stumbled through the last door to the gunners. Her legs gave out at the last moment, and she nearly dropped Silver to the floor.

“Hey! Catch her!” a masculine voice shouted.

She felt, rather than saw, one of the gunners move to catch her before she fell.

Then, she lay on the ground, eyes closed, mind blissfully silent.

“Hey! Wake up! You can’t fall asleep! You may have a concussion,” the same voice said to her.

Twilight forced her eyes open to look directly at the face of a half-zebra in the uniform of the medics corp.

“Silver… Help her…” Twilight coughed, the dust, the remains of the naga, still in her throat and lungs.

“The filly?” The zebra moved over to her. “She’s going to be fine. She’s stable. Whatever happened to her, it won’t kill her. You must have saved her life. What did you do?”

Twilight tried to sit up but failed. Coughing once more, she replied. “Set the leg. Bandaged. Gave her a health potion. But then she stopped breathing, so I cast a healing spell…”

The zebra let out a low whistle. “Lady, you’re lucky that you BOTH didn’t die. A spell that powerful could have killed her if you hadn’t done it perfectly, and YOU if you HAD been perfect. You’re either damn lucky, or blessed by the Goddess herself!”

“Guess I am…” She grinned crookedly.

“Well, she’ll be fine. You need stimulants.” He pulled a vial from his own bag. The liquid housed within glowed blue. “Here. Drink.”

He lowered it down to Twilight and turned it over. As the liquid ran down her throat, the whole world seemed to brighten. Her energy returned like a new breath of life, and she sprang to her hooves.

“Woah! You can’t go anywhere! That stimulant will only last an hour! After that, you’ll collapse, and the backlash will hit again! You need to stay here where I can—”

Twilight cut him off. “Doc, I can’t. I have to go now. The Princess needs me.”

The zebra shook his head. “You are in no condition to go anywhere. You could die, don’t you see?”

Twilight nodded. “I do. But some things are more important. Besides, you said it yourself. I’m either ‘damn lucky, or blessed by the Tree herself.’” She turned and began walking away.

The zebra sputtered. “Fine! Kill yourself! I have other patients to tend to!”

Twilight turned back for a moment. “Watch over Silver, won’t you?” Her gaze softened as she saw the medic move over to the filly and cover her with a blanket.

The zebra met her eyes and nodded.

“Good.”

And with that, Twilight sprinted down the hallway, all pretenses of stealth gone.

She ran to the foot of the stairs, ignoring the patch of floor covered in gryphon blood and stepping over all the corpses. She bounded up the stairs and dashed past the room that had slowed her down for so long.

Her focus narrowed. The captain. All that matters.

She ignored the images that threatened to overtake her again. The eyeless hobb was joined by the grinning naga and the gryphon she had so brutally quartered. But one image would not be ignored.

Silver Spoon’s lifeless body lying in a hallway. All because of her. Because of her stupidity. She’d lost it, forgotten all about the helpless filly who had been counting on her.

The rooms zoomed past Twilight as her mane blew in the breeze, but the wind did nothing to dry her tears.

Finally, she reached the end of the corridor, facing her goal. The maintenance shaft.

Climbing in, Twilight looked up. It was so far to the top...

Twilight sighed disgustedly. Wrapping herself in magical energy, she levitated herself upward at an incredible velocity. Shooting up floor after floor, she reached the final access point that led to the main deck of the ship.

She tossed the grating open magically as she pulled herself out of the accessway and placed her hooves onto the deck.

The scene that greeted her made everything that she had seen earlier look pathetically tame by comparison. Bodies littered the deck. Ponies fought for their lives on all sides. And the screams of death were louder than the sound of thunder.

But as her hooves hit the deck, none of that mattered. All that mattered was the Princess…

A winged beast leapt at her, wingblades bared. Twilight raised her own sword, but stopped once the being spoke.

“Twilight?”

As she walked into the light, Twilight could recognize her ‘foe.’

“Rainbow Dash,” Twilight intoned. The shock of all this combat, and the death, and even being ready to kill her own friend, and none of it even affected her tone of voice. What AM I?

Rainbow Dash looked away for a moment before screaming to Twilight, “What’re you doing up here, Twi? We’re under attack!”

All hail the Princess of the Obvious… “I noticed,” Twilight said, looking down at the deck.

“It’s pirates. Zombie pirates with a pet dragon.” The rainbow maned mare shifted her wight to her other hoof before continuing. “Oh! It’s Scorn! That undead changeling!”

Twilight sighed. “He’s not undead, Rainbow, he’s cursed. Zombies are incapable of rational thought, while a cursed being is—”

Rainbow interrupted her. “Eugh, whatever!” She then turned and shot a few flying ghouls out of the sky. “You still haven’t told me what you’re doing up here.”

Twilight opened her mouth to reply, but the sudden arrival of three ghouls cut her short. Rainbow moved to intercept two of them and Twilight handled the third. Rainbow’s rifles tore twin holes in her target’s heads, and Twilight tossed her target overboard. She also magically moved his own sword to cut his throat on the way down. No reason to leave anything to chance.

Twenty-five… her thoughts whispered.

“I’m headed for the bridge,” Twilight spoke quietly. She stared forward at the other side of the deck where the entrance to the bridge was located. “The princess needs me...”

Are you okay, Twi? It’s a bit dangerous up here, and I’ve got my hooves full as it is without foalsitting you!” Rainbow exclaimed.

Twilight turned her head to her friend. She almost exploded then and there, screaming at this, this… fool who seemed to think that she needed protection from the whole world. But she kept her cool, and her expression didn’t even change. “Oh, don’t worry about ‘foalsitting’ me. I’m going alone. I can’t lose anyone else…” The vision of Silver laying as if dead appeared to her once more…

Then, Twilight took off into the fray, giving no mind to the risk she was taking. She wrapped herself in protective energy and ran.

The fighting was terrible. All around her, ponies fell. The screams of the undead and the dying saturated the air. Her aura held out though, at least for a while.

About halfway through the crowd, a unicorn ghoul sent a wave of magical energy at her, disabling her shields. He attempted to follow with a bullet to her head, but somepony else was faster. As the ghoul fell without a head, Twilight turned around to see Rainbow Dash nod to her as the barrel of her gun still smoked.

And so Twilight ran without shields. She jumped past naga, leapt over minotaurs, and crashed through goblins.

But she focused so hard on her objective that she didn’t even notice the four kirin, half pony and half dragon, who were pointing their rifles at her until they were too late.

She came to a dead stop in front of them. She didn’t even have a chance to try to form a spell before the leader snarled and moved to pull his trigger.

WHAM! A hurtling projectile of some kind smashed into her foes, covering them in an acidic goop that ate through their flesh like so much butter on a summer’s day.

Twilight froze for a moment before turning to see who had saved her. She looked further up the deck, toward one of the main masts, and saw one of her greatest friends. She waved her thanks to the pink earth pony before sprinting off further along the deck.

Finally, she came to the entrance to the bridge. She felt a smile split her face as she moved to the door. From here, it would only be a few moments until—

The side of Twilight’s head exploded in pain. As she fell toward the deck, she identified the object that had hit her.

Huh. Killed by debris from my own ship. What would Shining think?

And then the darkness took her.

-=-=-

0342 NCST

Captain Pinkamina ‘Pie’Pan’ Rutabaga Nostalgia Flamedance Diane Pie

Cap’n Piepan cursed her luck, slinging her sword round to slice another rotting pegasus’s head off. “Ah course that lowtide patch o’ fungus would attack when Aye be off me ship...” With a single glance around, she took stock of the situation: Regals and the undead deadlocked while the bones of a black dragon slowly circled its wounded prey, waiting for the infection to weaken the claws and jaws so it could descend once more. She spotted Twilight Sparkle being menaced by a quartet of rotting kirin gunslingers; a tin disc was sent flying at them with a flick of her hoof, nodding as the contents--far more corrosive than any cream filling--smashed into their leader’s face and splattered onto the other undead dragonborn. Her friend took a moment to process what had happened before waving at her thankfully and rushing off.

Belatedly, the pink pony realized that she had run out of pie pans.

“Buck this,” she grumbled, puffing a strand of straight fuchsia mane out of her eyes. “Oy!  Hotflank! Aye’m going to the crow’s nest, keep yer flitters out o’ me way!”

“What?!” Shining Armor turned to her as he offhandedly cut a zombie to ribbons with his sword. “Why would you need to spot at a time like this!?”

“Better fer jumping. Five o’clock,” Piepan added casually, waving a hoof in his direction.

The unicorn whirled, blocking the axe of a snarling diamond dog. “Whatever! Just stay out of trouble!”

Swinging up onto the rope ladder, the earth pony gave him a raised eyebrow. “Laddie, ye don’t know me very well, do ye?” She giggled, clambering up as quickly as she could. One could wonder why the Laughing Menace was on this ship at all...

***

“LISTEN UP YA SCURVY BILGE RATS!”

The crowded metal galley went almost silent, a collection of strange and motley individuals. True, half the crew were ponies, though they varied in the level of scarring and personal hygiene they had. Yet here and there there were changelings, diamond dogs, goats, cows, seaponies, griffons, kirin, the odd moving skeleton...

There was one thing they all had in common, though. They were all, at the moment, giving their attention to the pink longcoat-wearing maniac swaggering through the crowd with a toothless crocodile perched on her tricorn.

“Now Aye’ve been hearen’ some grumbles ‘bout our current course. Why we be servin’ with regals, aye?” The pony twirled around suddenly, the motion briefly revealing the cheshire cat on her flank. “Maybe ya think ol’ cap’n Piepan’s lost her last marbles. Maybe ya think Aye’ve gone softar than a squiddie! Well Aye’m here ta tell ya the only soft thing this captain has is her love padding, ya got that?! And none of ya arrrrr going ta see that lest Aye want ya ta see it!”

She pressed a hoof against the cat-shaped necklace she wore. “This thing here, now. This is valuable and powerful. Lots of ya be thinking maybe, it’s this new fancy jewelry that’s getting to me mind with some cockymamy magic. Yer thinking Aye’m mad ta keep it on me person. Well, laddies, Aye AM mad! Madder than a halfdrunk threelegged rabbit inna carrot factory! This thing ain’t taking me mind anymore then it’s been taken already, so lest ye had some complaints with how Aye be running this crate afor, ye better keep yer yaps shut!”

“Selling out to regals puts a damper on profits,” mumbled one of the watching griffons.

In a blink of an eye, the pink pony had leapt across the room and slammed him up against a wall. “LISTEN HERE, LADDIE! We naught be serrrrving under no regals. We be shipping with them, and they know better then ta try chaining us with legalities! The princess has promised us a large share of’n the royal coffers, a share that be impossible to take any ‘ther way. Naught be needed from us fer it, save me presence and that we what help find her bonnie lass.”

***

Cap’n Piepan shook her head, pulling herself into the crow’s nest. “Best not be having flashbacks during battle. Could be a mite dangerous.” She looked down from her perch, aware of how exposed she was up here; the masts of the Nocturnal Thunder were a remnant of the days when the vessel sailed atop the sea, not over it. Still, none of the undead crew members were looking up, busy as they were trying to sabotage every cannon and engine below deck.

The Laughing Menace smiled to herself.

Reaching into a pocket, she pulled out a faintly glowing blue stone. “Kicker! Trix! Get ye lounging flanks up, load the dorsal harpoons, get tha boarders ready, an have Vinvin prepare fer flight!”

“Aye captain!” Ah, so it was Cloudkicker’s turn. “When should we ascend?”

“Wait fer me mark, lassie, an keep track o’ the stone! Scorn not be seeing us yet, he be too focused on the regals.”

“Wait. Scorn? The undead changeling?”

“Technically, he just be cursed.”

“Captain, what’s going on up there--?”

Piepan chuckled. “Not but a li’l reunion party, me lass. Aye just intend ta be making it a bit o’ a surprise party.” Stuffing the stone back into her coat, she took a moment to adjust her hat before rifling through her pockets again. “No, no, yes, no, no, yes, yes, no, no...”

After forty five seconds, she smiled, taking a step back. “Hello again, old friend. Ready fer another adventure?”

The candy gyrocopter she had just assembled said nothing.

“Aye... thought ye might say something like that.” The Laughing Menace swung into the seat, pedalling hard as she peered into the dark. Her eyes focused on the dim fiery glows of red that led a massive shadow over the waves, and she took took to the skies with a chopping of air impossible to hear over the sounds of battle.

After all, though she considered Regals to be the most dourfaced souls west of Midway, she would have considered it a damnable tragedy if the princess’s quest was cut short by Scorn and his undead slaves.

***

Piepan dropped the griffon, swinging round. “That’s right, me buckos! The regal high-ups think that this should be secret fer now, but Aye know what tha princess be searchin’ fer. None otha then her dear sister, and why not? Aye know Aye’d have ye scour the seas if’n me own grey lassie were lost, and not only cause she’s the only pone that keeps our engie in check!”

A white unicorn slung a foreleg round the neck of a blushing grey mare. “And I’d be right behind ya! Anypone that messes with my Octy’s going to find a mean beat on their heels!” She pulled her purple goggles up to her crazy blue mane, grabbing a giant wrenchscrew from the back of her jumpsuit. “THE BEATING OF THEIR SKULLS!”

“Vinyl, darling...” The grey pony glanced around at the chuckles and saucy grins of the crowd, suddenly feeling her dress might be a bit too tight. “I do love you, really, but must you be so bloodthirsty?”

“...We’re pirates, hon.”

“...ah, yes. That. Carry on then.”

“Yar harharhar!” The pink pony’s laughter echoed throughout the chamber. “Aye, family be one o’ the most driving motives in this world, ye know. And, let’s face it laddies. That pony up top the regals has enough power ta change tha skies! Not somebody ta be tangling with, even fer madponies like me.” She winked conspiratorially. “But, if’n say somepone were ta help her find that which be closest to her heart, well, that somepone might find tha regals turning a blind eye ta certain... incongruities, shall we say.”

The smile faded from her face. “Thar arrrrrrrre going ta be some diffrences, o’ course. We’ll be surfacing the ship more often than norm, and ye best get ready ta have some regals slounching through tha halls.  If they wanna look where we keep tha things tha law says we can’t have, or if they get too pushy, tell’m that Cap’n Piepan’s worked things over with tha big white quartermaster o’ theirs. They’ve got some rank on them, so they ain’t going ta do anything without his permission. Keep yer arms open and yer knifes sheathed, got it? Flipside, ya best be ready ta spend some time on that big flying bundle o’ guns they call a ship!” She snorted. “Aye don’t think any of ye be wanting to tangle with that beastie. We could take her, aye, but laddies... it ain’t worth it. Best ta keep the shark killers on arrrr side.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Any more questions?”

There was a general murmur to a negative effect.

“Aye then. GET BACK TO YER STATIONS YA FILTHY SEADOGS!” She pointed at two diamond dogs. “That goes double fer ye, Sparkles, and triple fer ye, Star! Vinvin, ye can twist tongues with me sis later but right now Aye need ye and yer machine crew ta look over tha hull and propellers. This tub might need ta fly at a moment’s notice, and Aye ain’t going ta let some rusty bolt drown me ship.”

The engineer pouted. “Just five more minutes?”

“Vinyl, dear--”

“Aye’ll give ye ten, and lock thar door.”

“PINKIE!”

“You heard the captain!” Vinyl quipped, dragging her away.

***

Piepan’s brief giggle at the memory cost her dearly; the undead dragon whipped its eyes up, and she only just managed to jump off her gyrocopter before it was immolated in the dark fire of the monster’s breath. The Laughing Menace cackled as she landed on the dragon’s surprised face, gripping tightly with her hooves while it swung its head wildly to shake her off. “Not afor, and not now beastie!” She grabbed her sword, jamming it briefly into the fetid scales below her--

--the dragon threw back its head in a roar of pain--

--her hooves let go--

--she was sliding down a long black road, slipping between the massive spines with split second twists of her hips--

--and then the captain of the ship whirled about, his blade meeting hers as she skidded to a stop right on deck.

The hollow pits of the ashen changeling’s eyes burned with disgust. “Pinkimena Diane Pie.”

The Laughing Menace nodded politely. “Good ta see ye again, Scorn. Aye see ye’ve been recruiting some more sailors.”

“I didn’t really have a choice, did I? After you stole a good quarter of my crew!”

Piepan snorted. “It not be stealing if’n tha treasure walk after ye, and Aye’m certain ye had fun, even if yer head were addled by the rum.”

Scorn broke from their locked blades. “No matter. However much I despise you, the fact remains the princess is near. I have far bigger fish to fry.”

“Ye don’t wannae be doing that, mate. Me, Aye’m a codfish. But that mare be a sturgeon. If ye be going after her, ye be needing much more frying oil.”

The changeling blinked. Then he snarled. “No! I am NOT being drawn into another one of your overextensive metaphors! My crew can handle you, but I must face her now!” With a buzz of his wings, he was off. “If she is not ripped to shreds when I return, I WILL ENSURE EACH OF YOU SUFFERS FAR WORSE!”

Cap’n Piepan scoffed. “Look, Aye may only have been with ye fer a night but that dinnae mean ye need ta take it out on ye crew!” Somebody was being overly touchy about the whole thing, and a horrible captain to boot. That wasn’t at all like how she ran her own ship...

***

“Navigator Deadeye! Them Regals gave me this.” She tossed a rock at a unicorn, who fumbled with his magic awkwardly. “Tis a variant communication stone, keeps track o’ the Nocturnal Thunder. Ye best be incorpating that thing in yer charts from now on, lest Aye say otherwise. GET TO IT!”

“Um, yes ma’am! Right, um, right away!” The poor stallion stumbled out the door, nearly tripping over a palomino colt on his way.

“Oy! Look where you’re going!” The young pony shook his head, before saluting and giving Pinkie a wide grin. “Cabin Boy Pippington Britishhooves reporting for duty, marm!”

“It be good ta see yer ready ta serve, Newt! Aye want ye ta see ta the locks on arrrrr special storage rooms. Gummy here knows how they all work,” she explained, placing her gator on his vest, “so be sure ye pay good attention to his hints.”

“Yesmarm! You can count on me!” The colt dashed into the metal hallways.

“Cloudkicker! Trixie! Get ye lazy rumps over to me cabin!” Cap’n Piepan gave her commanders a stern look as she left the room. “We’ve got serious matters that need attending.”

The blue unicorn short the lavender pegasus a look.

Cloudkicker smirked, flicked her blonde mane, and saluted. “Aye aye mon capiton!” She rolled her eyes at Trixie. “After you.”

“Thank you.” With a quiet adjustment of her big, feathery hat, the Great and Powerful Trixie trotted quickly down the hall and did her best to ignore Cloudkicker’s eyes on her flank.

It wasn’t long before the three of them were lounging in a bright pink room, maps taped to the wall alongside weather patterns, calendars, profit charts, and sketches of widely varying quality. The captain took a moment to regard one of these with a small smile, a portrait of two stick figures dressed up as pirates standing on a grey block with five odd shapes on each side. The signature read simply “4 best captan” in black crayon.

“Newt really captured your good side,” Cloudkicker commented, her voice devoid of its usual salaciousness.

“Aye. He’s a good lad... deserves better than a swabbie’s life, that’s fer certain.” Piepan sighed. “Mayhap after this lil’ sojourn we can set him up. Now then.”

Taking up a lounging position on her big, comfy couch, the pony gestured toward the various beanbags lined up against the wall. Cloudkicker and Tixie pulled a couple of them up, sinking into the bright fabric.

“Ye probly be wondering how Aye knew of her majesty’s little quest.”

Trixie nodded. “That thought had crossed my mind; it doesn’t seem like something that the government would just let out.”

“Aye. Thing of it is, that piece of hot flank Twilight has fer a brother happens ta be serving as the organizer fer this quest. Aye told him flat out Aye weren’t stepping on a Regal ship without good reason, and... let’s just say Aye loosened his lips a mite.”

“Isn’t he married?” Cloudkicker asked sternly. “Rule nine, you know--”

“Thar be more then one way ta get stallions ta talk!” Pinkie snapped. “That only be tha quickest. Have ye so little faith in me that ye think Aye would take somethang so precious from an innocent?”

The pegasus, mollified, backed down. “Sorry. I keep forgetting you’re... you.”

“Mmm, mayhap ye need a remedial look in yer head then.” The captain rolled her eyes. “Aye wonder if’n Aye’m in me right mind, entrusting this ship to ye two.”

That got Trixie’s attention. “Wait. You’re... what?”

“Part o’ the deal me and Shining worked out be this: Aye’m to stay aboard the Thunder fer four days o’ the week.” She snorted. “Parentally, if ye be a naughty nautical nightmare it be best to watch ye close. So, while Aye’m schmoozing with the regals ye two will be in charge o’ running this beastie. One of ye must be aboard at all times, got that? The other of ye,” she rummaged through the couch cushions, “need ta keep this on ya!”

“....A rubber chicken?”

Pinkie blinked, giving Trixie a confused glance before she looked at the object in her hoof. “Neigh, hold on, this be wrong...” She tossed it over her shoulder and rummaged through the couch again, producing a towel, a pair of big brown shoes, a red and grey amulet with wings and a unicorn head, a very confused Parasprite which she immediately tossed at Trixie who teleported it out to sea, and a coffee mug with the label #1 Lunatic before she finally found what she was looking for. “Ah, me communication stones. Aye will be having one on at all times, and neither of ye shall leave this ship lest the other be in the hooves of ye partner. Don’t lose it!”

Cloudkicker took one of the faintly glowing stones with a solemn nod. “You have my word.”

“Good lass. Now, Aye want ye to keep tha crew in line, quell any rumors of me being seduced by the regals. Aye’m going ta be the one seducing them, savvy? And both of ye listen ta Vinvin, she knows what this tub be needing more than any o’ us.” The captain patted the walls affectionately. “She what be designing the old girl, after all.”

Cloudkicker saluted. “You can count on us, captain! We wouldn’t let her sink if it cost us our lives!”

“Ah... well, we’ll certainly keep her shipshape,” Trixie offered.

“Ye best be doing so, lest Aye be taking ye booty!”

Cloudkicker smiled.

“Neigh, lass, not that booty. Aye speak only of the wealth.”

Cloudkicker’s smile faded away.

“Though if ye be agreeable to it, Aye may have some of that afor Aye must be off.” Piepan gave the pegasus a smirk. “Ye be joining us, Trixie?”

“The Great and Powerful Trixie refuses to partake in any such activity without a minimum of four involved,” the unicorn stated haughtily.

Cloudkicker shrugged. “Your loss.”

“Come on, Kicker, let’s not be wasting what time Aye have left here!” The captain grabbed the pegasus and pulled her on the couch.

“At least wait till I’m out of the room,” Trixie grumbled, rolling her eyes. She left and shut the door, flicking her ears at the sounds from within. “Honestly, does the captain take nothing seriously?”

***

Cap’n Piepan shook her head, taking stock of her situation. Had she been flashbacking in the middle of a fight again? She glanced at her necklace accusingly, wondering if it had any hoof in what had just happened, before deflecting another sword swing and sliding between the legs of a very surprised unicorn zombie. She reached into her pocket as she ran below deck, her hoof finding the communication stone and pulling it out. “Kicker, NOW!” Without bothering to wait for a reply--she trusted her crew--the pink pony began smashing at the cannons all around her, keeping out of range of the undead crew and dodging behind rotted pillars when they pulled out guns.

She managed to avoid being caught for about half a minute before a decrepit talon shot out, grabbing her neck and slamming her against a yellowing rib. The disintegrating griffon holding her grinned as she started to choke, pulling a flintlock from his hip and taking careful aim. “The Laughing Menace, they called you. Who’s laughing now?”

Cap’n Piepan’s ear twitched and she smiled. “Heh.... hahaha. Is it yer birthday?”

“...no.”

“Anniversary?”

“No.”

“Payday?”

The griffon snorted. “Shut up.”

Cap’n Piepan wheezed. “Sorry... guess this is jus’... gonna be an ordinary.... boarding party.”

The floor behind the griffon burst apart, and he snapped his neck around just in time to see something large and metal burst through the upper deck. His prisoner took advantage of the distraction, bucking out with her hind legs and tearing him in two; they both fell to the ground, but Piepan moved quicker, smashing his gun-wielding talon before taking the weapon herself and firing three shots into his head. By the time the other crew members recovered from the shock of seeing a pony somehow actually shoot a handgun, she had already jumped out the hole in the belly of the beast.

Seconds later her hooves hit metal. With a quiet wince, she stood up and glowered at the lavender pegasus next to her. “What took ye so long?”

Cloudkicker shrugged. “Deadeye got nervous. Think he’s got a bit of a crush on you.”

“Who doesn’t?”

“Sane people.”

“Aye’m wounded, lassie.” Cap’n Piepan snorted, adjusting her tricorn and stashing the flintlock she stole as she took stock of the situation.

The undead dragon was roaring in pain, desperately clawing at the massive chains that hung from the harpoons which had pierced its rotting body. Some of the zombies were already clambering down the chains, but a contingent of thestrals, pegasi, longwings, changelings, and ming kirin rose up to meet them, tearing them apart easily before continuing into the bowels of the cursed ship itself. To Piepan’s right stood Trixie, magicking hoverscooners up for bands of diamond dogs, minotaurs, jin kirin, qing kirin, earth ponies, unicorns, and other hooved races. To her left, Vinyl was yelling orders at a scrambling crew of engineers, keeping the stresses on the thick chains from tearing apart the vessel.

And beneath her hooves, levitating by the power of ten massive adjustable orientation propellers, rumbled the impossible machine herself. She didn't have edges, but she had planes. Three to be precise, arranged like a triangle. This almost sharpness, this pyramid on the front and pyramid on the back feel meant it never looked like she parted the water and air; she just separated them entirely because they were in the way. She was a majestic, air capable iron submarine whose name was whispered in confusion, happiness, and terror in every sailor’s bar from New Canterlot to the Goblin Confederacy.

This was her home, her magnum opus, her very being. This... was the Logical Defiance.

A flick of aquamarine feathers caught her eye. “Oy Dusty! Ye been wanting ta prove yer battle wit fer a while, ain’t ye?”

A pegasus that could barely be called a mare snorted, flicking her golden eyes at Piepan as she pulled her ears back. “Apparently Kicker here thinks I’m too young to go with the others.”

“It ain’t that ye be too young. It be that ye cannae work with a group.” The pink pony patted the pegasus’s shoulder. “That be somethin’ o’ import out here on tha vast waters. But ye do have some skill in the air. So... Aye be asking ye to take these.” She pulled a belt of yellow spikes from one of her pockets and tossed it over. “Aye want ye te stick these in the neck an’ tail o’ that big o’ beasty, eh? Then run back and light em up. Show me ye can do this an Aye might be letting ye join me warrior wenches again.”

The pegasus grinned. “Just watch me captain!” She took to flight, leaving a lightning contrail in her wake.

Cloudkicker shook her head. “I think that was a stupid move, Pinks, she’s a loose cannon.”

“Aye, lass, but she be the zippiest flyer we got.” The Laughing Menace giggled to herself. “Aye wonder what will happen if’n she ever be in the same room as Dashie. Now then! Ye best be keeping the boarders on their toesies. The Defiance has the Shadow hooked, an’ Aye intend ta drag her through the briny deep fer as long as we can. Should be leavin’ might scars on the ol’ monster, right ken. Dinnae flee till we break, and fly fer the Thunder when ye do. Oh, and take Rattler with ye, he be knowing the vessel better then we.”

The battle commander glanced at a pegasus skeleton standing next to her, who saluted with pride. “If you say so, captain...” The two of them flew off, ready to order devastation on the undead ship.

Cap’n Piepan nodded before trotting over to the white unicorn using her wrenchscrew on the grappling cannons. “Vinvin, Aye appreciate what ye be doing here, but we need ta be below deck running the rockets.”

With a final twist, the unicorn stood, sheathing the tool and glowering at her through thick purple goggles. “ARE YOU--no, of course you’re crazy. Look, I don’t know what that’s going to do to the ship, but there’s a very real possibility that we’ll tear apart before they do!”

The Laughing Menace merely smiled. “Lassie... We be on a flying submarine.”

Vinyl blinked. Then she grinned like a maniac. “You’ve got a point. Let’s get this girl crazy fast, captain! I’ll just warn Octy on the way down.”

“No need,” sighed Pinkie’s other second in command as she walked up, “The Great and Powerful Trixie heard you two talking and activated the warning system. Again. Seventh time this week, and it’s not even Tuesday yet!” She glared at her captain, although a twinkle of amusement remained in her eyes. “What’s next, going to ram a minotaur ship?”

“Neigh, lass, Aye be waiting ta tangle with tha GEC afor Aye try that one out.”

“Of course you are... Come on, let’s head below deck.”

“Ya hear that peeps?!” Vinyl roared to her engineers. “We’re running the rockets, check your lines!” The jumpsuited individuals scrambled to the ropes tied to various posts in the dorsal cannon chambers, checking them and the harnesses around their waists. “Keep your efforts on the guns, don’t worry about the chains, and if we hit the water cut loose and head inside!”

The three of them opened a hatch next to the cannon chamber, clambering down metal rungs quickly into the small chamber below. Trixie pulled the hatch shut with her magic, cycling it shut quickly before turning to the inner door and pulling it open. “Trixie still does not see why you designed the doors to mutually lock...”

“It’s a safety measure!” Vinyl explained as she rushed down the long metal hall. “Keeps the water out!” She turned sharply down a set of stairs.

“If that’s what you wanted, why not just hire unicorns to teleport in and out of this thing?”

Cap’n Piepan rolled her eyes. “Lass, not every pony be as powerful as ye. Now come on! We need ta run the rockets in contingent with the propellers lest we be having them fight o’r me ship.”

She whipped around, marching quickly down the hall after her chief engineer with Trixie hot on their heels. Together they descended past the living deck, mostly empty now, and into the control deck. Two enormous ballasts hung above them, sandwiching the upper decks as thick rings around their barrels hummed with electricity and magic. A few engineers rushed from the dark catwalks leading off through the massive gears embedded in the sloping hull. Below them, looking identical to the ballasts above, the rocket fuel tank groaned from its contents.

Vinyl saluted, galloping back to the stern where she could watch the complicated rocket assembly with her own eyes. Piepan and Trixie rushed between the massive turbines toward the bow of the ship, the captain giving Deadeye a salacious grin as she entered the bridge. “What be on our sensors, me bucko?”

The unicorn stallion fidgeted as he glanced up from the sonar system. “Um... apparently we’re flying, um, under a dragon... Captain? What’s going on?”

An utterly malicious smirk graced the face of Cap’n Piepan as she turned on the shipwide communications system. “Vinvin! Ye be ready ta blast this leaky tub through the sky?”

A snort came over the speakers. “Just a moment...” The familiar sound of a record being slid into the amplifier Vinyl had wired through the sound system came through the speakers and shortly thereafter was followed by a rapid energetic beat. “ROCKETS PREPPED CAPTAIN!”

Trixie rolled her eyes. “That mare and her battle music...”

“This be tha cap’n ta all decks!” Piepan roared into the microphone. “Brace yer hides fer a jolt! Cut tha rotors down ta seventy five percent and open tha rockets up ta fourrrrrrtay!”

There was a sudden sensation of motion.

The Laughing Menace stood at her station, considering the front wall amicably. “Ye know Deadeye, this probably is amongst one o’ me crazier stunts.”

“Um... well, yes captain. I’d, uh, have to agree...”

“Yep. Them regals o’r on tha Thunder are getting a real show right now.” She shrugged. “What with we be draggen’ a dragon o’r arrrrrr flying submarine.”

The navigator nodded, unsure what his captain was getting at exactly.

“T’would probpost be fairly interesting ta hear, too. Explosions and wotnot.”

“Ah... well, interesting isn’t, um, the word that I would--”

“And here we be,” Pipan continued casually, “inna room surrounded by gigantic turbines an’ further encapsulated with thick metal walls, arrrrr only link to tha outside being that thar sonar of yers. Tis a fine sonar, dinnae be misunderstanding me, but Aye kinnae help o’r wonder what truly be occurring around me ship at the mo.”

“AAARGH! FINE!” Trixie stomped her hoof. “I forgot, okay?! I’ll charge up the runes now, just give me a moment.” She grumbled under her breath, walking up to the front wall and placing her horn against it. With a ripple of magic, an image projected itself forward, just far enough so the captain could examine it easily, and resolved into the image of an undead dragon with a huge metal object hanging out of it from multiple chains.

By this point the neck and tail of the Hatred’s Shadow were hanging limply, devastated by the explosives Lightning Dust had set off. The wings were still flapping, but some ming kirin were already shooting bolts of lightning and breathing fire on the joints. Cap’n Piepan could see the tiny figures of her crew aboard the ship itself, caught up in battle with guns and swords and whatever else they could use against the horde of the undead. And despite the beasty’s feeble attempts to free itself, the harpoons pulled open gaping holes in its chest as the Logical Defiance pulled her foe down toward the still night sea.

“We be smashdiving soon!” Cap’n Piepan shouted into her microphone. “ALL CREW BRACE FER IMPACT!”

The vessel reverberated as it slammed into the water, the crew latching tight to nearby bars and handles as a mighty groan rumbled throughout the inner chambers. It was a powerful testament to the sturdy workmanship put into the Defiance that her complaints quickly faded to nothing.

As soon as it ended, the captain turned to the microphone again, almost unable to hold back her eager grin.. “Rotate all propellers ta dive orientation! Prepare them fer full powarrrr on me command! Vinvin, ye’ll need ta match rocket power with tha propellers!”

“Aye captain! Preparing operation Sailfish Snag!”

Piepan glanced behind her, her eyes drifting from pony-sized cogs hydraulic spinning to the much larger gears they pushed. She recalled when they ran during her own times in the rotor tunnels; entire corridors had shifted from being floors to being walls, and what was shortly before a leisurely stroll to the port cannon chambers became either a protracted ascent or a long slide, depending on the way she was headed. It had been incredibly fun, until Vinyl asked her to stop using the corridors as a personal playground since it was wasting power. She’d tried to negotiate a ‘group play’ schedule with her but the darn engineer had put her hoof down and threatened to dump all the chocolate into the ocean--

The pink pony shook her head, stopping the flashback. She’d really have to see the ship doctor about these things.

The propellers angled slightly down and the crew signaled the airfoils were retracted. She took a breath, giving the engineers up top a few moments to head into the airlocks. Then she turned to the microphone again. “Full powarr ta all rotors! Open tha rockets up! Dive us fast and hard!”

Immediately the thrum of the ship became a growling counterpoint to the rage-filled roars of its undead foe. Captain Piepan could see the harpoons in the dragon begin to inch through the rotted flesh as the Logical Defiance pulled the Hatred’s Shadow down to the ocean. She couldn’t help but wince in sympathy as one of them tore out from the shoulder joint of the beasty; even as a zombie, that had to hurt.

Hitting the sea only made things worse for her foe. The cruel harpoons, unable to drag the dragon under, resorted to tearing large chunks of flesh out of its stomach. A mixture of fetid rot and weapon supplies poured out into the water, easily avoided by the free submarine. As the image of the dragon began to roll off the scrying spell, the Laughing Menace noticed one of the wings being torn right off.

Her ears twitched as the dragon roared again. Unlike before, this was not a roar of rage; this was a roar of utmost agony. Without a second thought she whipped out her communication stone. “Kicker, ye’ve done what ye need ta do. Get tha crew outta there NOW. Tha battle’s over!”

The Logical Defiance turned, swimming back towards the Thunder. Cap’n Piepan had claimed a victorious reprieve... for now.

Next Chapter: Festering Nightmare: Part VI Estimated time remaining: 48 Minutes