Darkness...

Darkness...

Twilight could feel the darkness around her, like a tangible being. She waved her hoof, the blackness around her moving from her touch. The stagnant air sat unmoving, thick with particles that Twilight could not see. She rubbed her head, feeling the new bruises on her cheeks. Coughing brought up a few drops of salty water, dripped down her chin and onto the wooden floor. Twilight felt herself bob up and down, slowly, steadily, almost like she was on board a ship. She could still see nothing, the darkness enveloping her. She shuddered as bad memories of her time in the pod flowed back to her, the branches poking in her skin, the vines holding her down, the vicious .green liquid covering her head to toe, filling her lungs, her stomach, her mouth...

I’ve been spending too long in the black, she thought...

...She leapt into the Mirror. The solid surface of the artefact pulsed in front of her, rippling like water. She broke the surface of the Mirror, the portal behind her closing. She felt an invisible hook latch on to the back of her neck, then, suddenly she was thrown through space, the power of the Mirror pulling her through the bowels of the Reaper. The Mirror’s power was great, towing the purple unicorn past many worlds, each trapped in the Reaper’s mind and body. Chains defined the borders of each, wrapped tight around the multiverse. Bound by their chains, Twilight saw ponies in the worlds, farming, sailing, selling. Porcelain pagodas towered in one world, siege towers and catapults firing stones in another, and pure darkness in another, without even a spark of light. Chains bound them all, creating magical barriers that forever separated the multiverse into its hundreds of compartments.Twilight saw one world squeezed into nothingness, bursting into a flash of light as the chains tightened too far. She saw the ruins of the spine, the rocks still falling down the massive chasm. Chains bound this world too, wrapping around the pillar like strangler plant around a massive oak tree.

The power of the Mirror pulled her further, entering the spine, lifting her upwards. She dodged hundreds of falling boulders, the rocks getting bigger and bigger as she flew towards the light at the very top of the spine. The bright light grew larger and larger, enveloping her whole field of vision. She felt warm sunlight and a cool sea breeze ripple over her body, a great relief from the darkness ever present in the rest of the Reaper. Water started to drip around her, the liquid falling beneath her in an endless fall towards nothingness. Twilight turned her head upwards, her once light-sheathed vision suddenly disrupted by a huge torrent of water rushing towards her face. She curled up, her hooves clutching her shoulders, her legs folded up into her chest. She expected water to become her world at any moment, to cover her and cleanse her. Yet no water came. Her dirty mane refused to become wet. Twilight opened her eyes, uncurling as she saw the torrent of water cascade around her, avoiding the purple unicorn as if she held an invisible umbrella. She still felt herself moving, the power of the Mirror still pulling her along, but it was starting to slow.

The din of the water slowly began to recede, as the blue liquid was slowly becoming green. Twilight saw fish in the water, rapidly swimming around as they fell, the tyrannical wave pushing them down towards the abyss. Plants floated in the murky water, small tendrils of kelp and algae mixing with seaweed and coral. Some of them broke out of the water, leaping towards Twilight before the grip of gravity stole them away and they too plummeted to their doom. The pull of the Mirror grew weaker now, slowing them down significantly as the abyss shrunk below her, the rocks and corals of the seafloor sprouting around her. She rose out of the sea, her body encased in a brilliant white sheathe, created by the Mirror to protect her from the Reaper. A maelstrom surged around her, the mighty whirlpool sunkig in anything and everything that came near. Two huge sailing ships, each with many sails and carrying many cannons.. Twilight watched in horror as one ship, with a flag as black as night, a skull over two crossed swords embellishing the cloth was sucked into the whirlpool. To her surprise, the second ship followed suit, entering the maelstrom. Explosions rocked the waves as the cannons that covered the ships’ sides let loose massive blasts, followed by huge clouds of smoke. Wood splintered, sails burned as the ships let loose another volley, the crack of the guns echoing across the waves. Suddenly, the whirlpool stopped, the hole from which Twilight had spawned disappeared. The drainage effect suddenly ceased, sending the two ships beneath the waves. Their masts barely broke the surface of the water. Wood planks were scattered everywhere, crates and barrels bobbing on the surface of the sea. There were no screams.

A third ship appeared over the horizon as the magical barrier around Twilight suddenly dissipated. The tug of the Mirror let her go, a hundred feet above the ocean’s surface. The water suddenly had a desire to hug Twilight, the forces of gravity pulling the destined acquaintances closer and closer. Falling had never been Twilight’s fear, but this, this was beyond fear. Her heart screamed, as did her mouth, her eyes, her face, her whole body let loose a convulging scream as water enveloped her fully,  the salty taste of seawater filling her mouth.

She closed her eyes, the darkness enveloping her whole as her back broke the surface, turning her around. Her nose barely stuck out of the water. The waves held the unconscious unicorn up, floating motionlessly in the water as the sun rose in the distance. Storm clouds drifted away, the howling winds receding to a simple breeze. In the distance, a ship sailed towards the wreck, its masts tall, its sails fully unfurled. A black flag fluttered on top of the tallest mast, a skeletal pegasus adorning the cloth. The faint noise of rowdy singing could be heard, the sound of cups clattering against other cups, the clang clang clang of swords crossing over each other.

Twilight fell...

...

...

...

“Oi! You there! Wake the ‘ell up, lassie. You’va ben’ sleepn’ fer som’ time, though’t maybe I’ll hafta throw some rum on ya!”

Twilight rubbed her eyes as the darkness was broken. A door was thrown open in front of her, letting in the harsh sunlight. She crawled back into the room, her back bumping against the many empty barrels that littered the room.

“Ya know lassie, I ain’t gonna ‘urt ya. Now jus’ com’ whit me and we can awl go an’ see the cap’n. The cap’n wonts ta see ya. Don’ wont no scallywag jus’ jumpn’ no this here ship now.”

The other pony walked into the room. He wore a bandanna over his head, covering the top of his mane. Leather armor covered a dirty collared white shirt. Brown wings poked out of his back, through thin slits in his clothes. A huge belt held his trousers in place, and hanging from the leather band was a curved sword and several small wooden things, each holding a metal tube in place. The pegasus wore an eyepatch over his left eye, and red beads adorned his dreadlocked hair. He held a cup in his right hoof. He took a long swig from the cup before without so much as a smirk lifted Twilight up and threw her across his back.

“Com’on den, lassie. We’re gonna see de Cap’n. Oi. Lassie. Ya look beat. Ya wont some rum to clear up yur blow-hole there?”

The pegasus held up his cup. Twilight stared at the contents. A heavy smell of nutmeg drifted out of the container. Bubbles frothed on the dark brown beverage, carrying the smell into Twilight’s nostrils and into her lungs.

Smells like heaven.

Twilight fell off the pegasus’s shoulders. She still felt bruised, but with the pegasus’s help, was able to manage a wobbly stand. The pegasus handed her his cup, and Twilight took a nervous sip, unsure of the contents of the liquid.

She then grasped her throat as liquid fire ran down her esophagus, burning her stomach and her intestines. She hacked away, desperately trying to regurgitate the fluid, her insides burning, her mouth breaking, the pegasus slamming her back with his hoof. Other ponies ran across the ship’s deck, one carrying a large bowl of water. They held the writing Twilight down as the pony with the bowl poured cold, clean water down her throat, cleansing the fires that burned her.

Twilight gasped as the rum was flushed away by the water. She sat on the deck, gasping, her cheeks red with exhaustion. She rubbed her tummy, the once burning sensation now replaced by ice-cold liquid. The pegasus helped her up, signaling the bowl-holder to fetch more water. He put his hoof over her shoulder, carefully picking her up as she drank more water from the bowl.

“I’va neva seen somepony be so reactiv’ ta rum befo’. ‘Irst time drinkn’?” said the pegasus.

Twilight slowly nodded her head. She still hadn’t said a world since coming aboard, and now, her mouth hurt too much to even stick out her tongue. She let the pegasus lead her to the stern of the ship, where a burly unicorn wearing a huge, draping cloak held the wheel. The pegasus let her go as the unicorn turned around, a pipe sticking out of his mouth. A long, grizzled beard drooped down from his chin, and black hair struggled to break out of his tri-corne hat. A longbow and a quiver of arrows lay sling over his back, the brown wood blending into his dirty, pocket-covered cloak. The unicorn held out his huge hoof, motioning for Twilight to take it.  She gingerly shook the unicorn’s hoof, her small hoof lost in the unicorn’s paw.

“Well, th’n, methinks its time ta introduce maself. I’m Cap’n McGregor, an’ its a pleasure meetn’ the lassie ah saved from the shipwreck. Welcome aboard de Tornado, finest ship of ‘er class in the Endless Sea! Tell me, lassie, whut’s yur name? I can’t jus call ya lassie all the time, ya know.”

The captain spread his mouth open in a wide grin, showing his teeth, yellow and chipped. But despite his broken countenance, the captain’s eyes glowed with happiness, something that Twilight had almost forgotten shine she was incorporated into the Reaper. She returned the captain’s friendly smile. Her mouth was burnt, her tongue deadened. And yet she opened her mouth wide, her brilliantly white teeth in contrast to everything surrounding her.

“M-my name, is Twilight Sparkle, Captain McGregor.”

“Oh, please, missus Sparkle, call me Flint. Its been a long time since I rescued anyone, migh’ as wel’ take yah along for the tour! We are ‘eading to Eternity now, we’ll set ya down there. I see you don’t like rum much, so I get ya hooked up wit some water fer now. Now, where are ‘dem smokes. Kerry, ya wont sum? I got a few Jacksons in ‘ere somewhere.”

The captain waved his hoof, silver chains and bracelets jangling on his ankles as a pirate ran off, holding a water bowl. He watched the pirate fetch water, his other hoof searching the many pockets on his coat. Waves shook the ship, rocking it back and forth as the captain finally seemed to find what he was looking for. A look of pure delight came over the captain’s face as he produced a few green cigars. He offered one to the pegasus, and to Twilight, who politely declined. The captain shrugged his head, as if indifferent to Twilight’s refusal, before igniting his horn and causing the end of the cigar to burst into flame. He lit the pegasus’ cigar, then they both proceeded to take a long, deep breath of smoke, blowing rings of the gray fog as the pirate came back with water as a few dried apple slices. He set the food next to Twilight before running back to the deck.

The captain blew a few more smoke rings as he watched Twilight eat. True to that, Twilight felt absolutely famished. Adrenaline and energy can only keep one’s belly full for such a long time, and Twilight was finally off the massive energy rush from her near-death experiences. Pieces of apple suck to her face, water splashed everywhere as she ate, and ate. Flint and the pegasus watched the purple unicorn eat and laughed, their hearty chuckles caressing the whole ship. The captain raised his cigar, and the entire ship raised their mugs and their pipes. A pony produced an accordion from under a table, and another pulled out a battered lute. Captain Flint himself pulled a fiddle out from his coat, and unslung his longbow from his back. He placed the bow over the strings, pucking a loud note from the center one. The accordion followed suit, as did the lute. In just a few seconds, Twilight found herself surrounded by music as the entire ship matched the musical note.

OHHHH,

Pull in the sails, rig up the bales.

Haul in the anchor.

Push off from the dock and we’re off

To a world of adventure.

No marines gonna stop us

No soldiers to shoot us down

No privateers to break our gears

No king to rule us all.

Ain’t got no rules ain’t got no vision

Just so I could go,

And sail the world in its entirety

No one gon’ stop me now

Cause I’m a pirate, part of the crew

On the Tornado, sailing proud!

On the Tornado sailing proud!

OHHHHHH,

One day I am gonna go

Back to Eternity,

To spend the gold and jewels ho!

That I stole from Her Majesty.

One day a galleon

Big and terrible goat.

So we swept aside and raised the tide

And blasted them all away,

With broadside and a blade!

With broadside and a blade!

Tally ho and block away!

Twilight clapped, the clop clop clop of her hooves echoing over the expanse of sea. The captain gave a small bow as the rest of the ship cheered. They lifted their mugs into the air before returning to the song, singing about broadsides and galleons as they pulled in rope and hoisted barrels of rum across the deck. The wind blew directly behind them, the ship sailing along the waves, the bow breaking the water, releasing clouds of white surf hat washed over the ship’s wooden hull. Twilight stood by the captain, watching the pirate crew work and play, drinking vile drinks and chewing hay and apples. The captain puffed a few on his cigar, sending smoke rings into the air.

The sun set.

The stars shone bright over Twilight, millions of tiny white points sparkling in the sky. Twilight stared up at the shining sky in awe, her mouth agape. Back home, the light pollution from Canterlot blocked out the sky, leaving only a few stars, like Polaris, visible in the sky. Captain Flint watched Twilight gape at the sky, then reached into his coat. He tapped Twilight’s shoulder, breaking her stalwart gaze. He handed her a strange instrument, a telescope-like object fastened onto a metal triangle. Twilight turned the object in her hooves a few times, her quizzical look revealing her lack of knowledge about the tool.

“Well, ya don’t seem ta know much about using a sextant, do ya, Twi? ‘Ere, I’ll show ya. You jus’ put this side of da telescope to yer eye here, and yal find Polaris wit’ yer other eye. Go on, give it a try.”

Twilight peered through the telescope. Her vision narrowed, but the stars she could see suddenly were magnificently detailed. She could see the massive flash of a solar flare on a star far in the sky. She saw binary patterns, observed two stars orbiting each other. Her tongue lolled out as she gazed through the sextant to the heavens above. The Captain looked up himself, his old eyes finding Polaris, the North Star. He bowed his head, crossed his right hoof over his chest.

“What it that?!”

The captain looked up. Twilight was looking horizontally now, no longer looking towards the sky. The sextant pointed towards a thin, gray pillar on the horizon, no bigger than a pin. The captain narrowed his own eyes, trying to see the tiny speck in the black sky.

“Spyglass, sir?”

“Yes, thank ye, Kerry.”

The captain extended his spyglass. Sure enough, he saw the steamship, clear as day. A single stack, side-paddler. It still had sails. He could just discern the flag on the ship’s stern: Three blue lozenge diamonds rippled with the night air, on a brilliant white flag. He saw the other ship begin to turn, the paddles pounding the water.

The captain folded his spyglass.

“Twi, it’s time fer bed now. Why don’t you go below deck wit’ Kerry ‘ere and git settled in now?”

“Why now? The sun just set! I still want to look at the star-”

“Enough of that now, You go and git yerself a good night’s sleep now, We’ll see Eternity in the morn’. Cap’n Flint’s gotta work now.”

Twilight, still screaming in protest, was dragging below deck by Kerry the pegasus.

The captain yelled to his men.

“BATTLESTATIONS!”

--------------------------------------

Twilight awoke to the sound of cannon fire and splintering wood.

The next thing she knew, a black ball whizzed past her head and ripped her door of its hinges.

She instantly flung off her covers, before her canvas hammock flipped over and she was roughly deposited onto the ground. She rubbed her head, feeling the red bulge that just formed. She peered out the hole that had formed in the wall, and found herself face-to-face with the barrel of a cannon.

BOOM!

Twilight jumped away from the hole as a hail of grapeshot rang against the wood. Small holes appeared in the hull, and a few bullets scraped against her skin. Red lines appeared where metal whizzed by, the burning pain fully raised Twilight from her tired stupor. She dashed out of the splintered door, to be faced with an empty bottom deck.

Sweat dripping down her brow, she climbed the rickety stairs to the top deck.

What she saw widened her eyes and brought a mighty gasp from her mouth.

Kerry stood on the deck, a sword in his mouth. Next to him, several unicorns wearing red uniforms held long rifles at the pegasus. Nearby, a pirate swung an axe at more uniformed ponies, breaking a sword and cutting open a neck. Smoke billowed over the deck, and Kerry spun quickly, grabbing a nearby redcoat before the ponies opened fire, their muskets releasing a viscous cloud of smoke. Metal balls entered the redcoat Kerry held in front of him, causing the uniformed pony to convulse before he lay still, blood leaking out of his mouth. Kerry then charged forward, his sword raised. He managed to slay two of his attackers, both with precision cuts to the neck, before one caught him in the side with a bayonet and the other nearly behead the pegasus.

Twilight jumped at the marine as they were about to end Kerry’s life with a pistol. Her magic threw the gun out of the marine’s hoof, and she crashed into the uniformed pony, knocking him over. Kerry spun quickly, releasing himself from the second marine’s grasp and sticking him with his saber. More cannons rang out as pirates fired shot at point-blank range, blasting massive holes in the steamship’s side. Pirates jumped from one ship to another, swinging from ropes, or simply using pegasi wings. Kerry grabbed Twilight around the middle, handing her a long steel rapier before flying over to the disabled steamship.

Captain Flint fired both pistols at once, releasing a cloud of smoke with each shot. The second barrel of his gun released its deadly cargo, a lead bullet leaving each double-barreled pistol and entering marine flesh. Holstering his guns, he pulled out a huge scimitar, the curved blade sharp on both sides and gleaming with fresh polish. It hungered to dirtify itself once more, to cover the newly sharpened and polished steel with newly spilled blood. Captain Flint held his sword high, grasping it with tendrils of magic, encasing his blade in a blood-red glow.

The scimitar sang as Flint charged, the blade cleaving through heads, necks, legs, spilling blood and staining the deck of the steamship red. Blood spurted over the captain, coloring his cloak and his beard.

He saw the rest of the pirates jump onto the steamship, Kerry carrying their purple passenger. The captain took the moment to light a cigar, the smoke entering his ancient lungs, the smell soaking his beard. Marines poured out of the steamship, their muskets held high, swords and pistols drawn. The captain blew a single smoke ring at the marines, watching it as the sailors watched him. Then, without warning, the captain unleashed his magic, making the smoke ring explode like a bomb, splintering the ship’s deck and blowing away the marines. Many were thrown overboard, just as many were thrown against the hardwood planks that made up the ship. The captain puffed on his cigar as the rest of the pirates galloped towards him. He grasped his shoulder, fresh blood pouring from a new wound. He felt around inside the wound, ignoring the shooting pain that surfaced, and pulled out a lead bullet. He flicked the bullet away before heading for the stern.

The captain of the steamship pranced about, frantically looking for a way out. He drew his sword, but it was quickly slapped away by Flint’s scimitar. The sharp tip of the sword hovered inches in front of the steamship captain’s well-groomed goatee, the smoke from Flint’s cigar blowing in his face.

“So, ya found us. Don’ suppose you’d mind us tak’n sum of yer loot now? The Tornado’s a hungry ship, ya know. Won’ want her goin’ hungry now, don’t we.”

“Yes, Yes, sure, take everything, I don’t need it anymore.” squeaked out the captain.

“We both know dat’s not wut I really wont. Tell me. You know wut the Queen’s doin’ this time?”

“I c-c-can’t tell you! I-I-I don’t know!”

“So ye wont ta play a game then? Does be’in run on a sword soun’ fun to ya?”

Flint pointed the curved blade closer to the steamship captain’s neck. Twilight tried to run forward, to stop the brutal attack, but Kerry held her back, his powerful hooves gripping Twilight’s tired limbs.

“F-f-fine, I’ll tell you, Ok? P-please don’t kill me. The Queen wants to attack your fort. E-e-eternity, right? She wants to blast it apart. I-I-I-I’m just a scout, you know. A nobody!”

“Well, that wasn’t so hard, wosn’t it now” said Flint. “But look. If de Queen find out you’ve been babbling her secrets to pirates, she won’t be too ‘appy, won’t she?”

“N-no, sir.”

“So I’ll give ya a lift. But jus’ ta make sure, you ain’t gonna be talk’n fer a while now.”

“What? No! Y-y-you can-”

The captain was cut short as Flint sliced his scimitar into the captain’s mouth. A wide gash appeared on the pony’s face, his tongue flicking out of his mouth and bouncing into the waters below.

“Doc, git di guy patched up. Com’on boys, lets go an’ tear the ship apart.”

Twilight watched the captain as he walked away from the tongue-less pony, his mouth still bleeding. A fat pirate in white galloped up to him, wrapping white bandages around the fresh wound. Blood poured onto the tape, staining them a dark red. The fluid seeped onto the doctor’s legs, but he didn’t seem to care. He worked briskly, wrapping the bandages around the massive wound until it finally stopped its relentless torrent. He then picked up the pony and threw him into the Tornado, hitting the deck with a massive thund.

Twilight stepped back over to the pirate ship as the other pirates dragged huge chests out of the steamship’s hold.

The stars twinkled overhead.