Flash’s sword clashed against Roaring’s blades. The griffon lunged forward, his sharp beak aimed for Flash’s vulnerable neck, but Flash ducked, allowing the beak to bounce off his helmet instead. Roaring grimaced and kicked Flash in the stomach, knocking him back, then whirled around to strike at him with the sword in his tail whilst fending off Twilight’s attempts to attack.

Roaring dived at Twilight, but Flash seized his tail and pulled him back towards him, aiming to cut off his limb. Roaring swept backwards with his wing, striking Flash and knocking him off-balance. The two fighters tumbled in midair, a tangle of wings and blades. A thestral armed with a battleaxe flew up to help Roaring, but was immediately taken out of the fight by a kick to the face from Twilight.

Below them, the other friends engaged the rest of the pirate crew. With a grunt, Applejack lassoed two pirates and pulled them together, then turned and bucked all of them, sending them flying backwards into a gravestone. The force of the kick caused the old stone to crumble, and the two pirates lay still amidst the rubble. Rarity snatched up several of the rock fragments in her magic and started hurling them at other pirates, striking whatever she could reach. Two burly earth ponies charged at her, swinging at her head with cudgels. Rarity ducked beneath their attacks, then jumped up and simultaneously kicked them both in the face with her hind legs, sending them sprawling.

“Hooves off the mane, you ruffians!” she growled, punching a pirate twice as tall as her in the face and knocking several teeth loose.

One of the pirates replied by opening fire with a revolver, forcing both Rarity and Applejack to dive for cover. Popping out from behind another headstone, Pinkie Pie counter attacked with a whipped cream pie to the face, blinding the gunpony long enough for her to race up and dropkick him for the knockout. Spinning back up to her hooves, she whipped her party cannon out from behind her back and fired it. A powerful spray of confetti and cake burst from the cannon, sending a dozen pirates flying backwards in a pile of limbs.

“I knew it was a good idea to pack the extra-strength cartridges,” Pinkie smirked, patting the barrel of her trusty weapon.

“Pinkie, down!” Applejack shouted, noticing another pirate aiming a carbine at Pinkie’s head. Pinkie ducked, but not before a gunshot cracked the air like thunder.

The pirate crumbled, blood trickling from the tunnel carved through his head. Rainbow Dash turned, smoke rising from the barrel of the revolver she had snatched up, and fired again, her eyes narrow and hard as steel. Beside her, Trim Mainsail opened fire with another revolver, a blood-stained knife clutched in his teeth.

Separated from the group, Phillip and Whitestone engaged in hoof-to-claw combat, trading blows with the ferocity of two bull dragons competing over territory. Phillip slipped a punch at his head and countered with a body shot, only to cry out in pain as Whitestone’s claws dug into the back of his head and his cheek. He ducked beneath a follow-up slash aimed at his neck, then threw himself out of the way with a dive roll.

Whitestone paused momentarily to catch her breath. Phillip noted the dirt on her forelegs.

“You think you can hurt my friends?! You think you can dig my people up and just toss them around like garbage?!” he screeched, launching himself at her again. She dodged his rage-fueled swing and blitzed him with a series of kicks, forcing him to retreat from her attacks.

“Your friends were foolish to come. As for your people, they’re just bodies, Finder,” she snarled, hovering over him.

“One of those bodies was my father!” Phillip shouted, lunging at her.

“Which one?” Whitestone asked mockingly, flapping aside and countering with a claw swipe at his back, forcing him to roll out of range. “Could you pick out his corpse from the hundreds that we dug out?”

He flung himself at her again, closing in and seizing her tail, pulling her in close for a kick. She grunted in pain as his hoof impacted against her stomach, but she grabbed his leg and swung him around, sending him facefirst into the sand. “Well?” she asked.

“Shut. Up!” Phillip snarled as he rolled back to his hooves and flung a cloud of sand into Whitestone’s eyes. She flinched and Phillip charged, knocking her out of the air and onto the ground.

Above them, another streak of white energy crossed the sky as Satsuma fired another beam of energy from her spear at Rainbow Dash, who just barely dodged in time, dropping her revolver. Laughing, Satsuma charged at Rainbow. The spear in her hooves hummed with energy as she thrusted at Rainbow, the razor-sharp blade missing her by inches.

“Hey!” Daring shouted, dropping the pirate that she had just stabbed through the chest and rushing at Satsuma. The pegasus pirate ducked and thrusted the blunt end at Daring. She moved to parry it, but received a shock from the energy surrounding it. Satsuma thrusted the spearhead at Daring, but received a roundhouse kick to the side from Rainbow Dash. Satsuma blocked Rainbow’s second kick and took to the air, quickly soaring out of range. Rainbow and Daring both flew up after her.

Drawing her glowing spear back, Satsuma cut through the air, sending another arc of energy at Daring. She dodged beneath it, and the white, crackling arc struck two griffon pirates that had been flying up to help. There was no sound, no indication of pain; the beam stuck them both and they tumbled to the ground, smoke rising from their unmoving bodies. Satsuma snarled at her former comrades’ incompetence before attacking Daring.

Cowering on the ground, Starlight let out a startled squeal as the two bodies thumped down right next to her. She looked around in a panic, clutching the sands as if some invisible force was trying to tug her away. Nearby, Rarity bucked one of the pirates in the face, sending them skidding backwards across the ground. Groaning, the dark green earth pony picked himself up, shaking his head. His dark blue eyes focused on Starlight, automatically drawn to the carved crystal around her neck, and a wicked grin spread across his face at the sight of an easy victim. Drawing a serrated blade from his belt, he advanced on Starlight. She futilely attempted to summon a stunning spell, but with her magic drained, all she could manage was a feeble flickering. She desperately scrambled away from the advancing pirate, her eyes widening as they focused on the knife.

Suddenly, a yellow pegasus dropped out of the sky and landed in between Starlight and the pirate, glaring up at the threat. The pirate paused for a moment, then sneered and thrusted at Fluttershy’s chest. Fluttershy darted beneath his attack, seizing his arm and rotating with his momentum, then twisting in the opposite direction to bring him to the ground. A stomp to the head knocked the pirate out.

“Sorry about that,” Fluttershy winced before turning to Starlight. “You’d best find a safe place to hide.”

“R-right,” Starlight nodded, getting to her hooves. Fluttershy helped Starlight hurry over behind a rise.

“Stay here. I’ll be right back!” Fluttershy told her, then quickly flew back into the battle. Starlight crouched down, making herself as small as possible as yells, clashing blades, and cracking gunshots roared around her.

In midair, Flash pushed away from Roaring, panting as he held up his sword. Roaring sneered and scraped his two cutlasses against each other, sending a shower of sparks towards him.

“Getting tired, little pony?” he taunted, launching himself at Flash once more. Flash swept to the side to avoid the attack, but was forced to sloppily parry an attack from the sword in his tail. As Roaring tried to cut at him with his other cutlasses, Flash ducked and made for a slice across the griffon’s exposed belly, but received a punch to the side of the head that knocked his helmet askew. Momentarily dazed, Flash barely parried what would have been a finishing cut to his neck and replied with a headbutt to the face that staggered Roaring.

Screeching in fury at being hurt, Roaring blitzed Flash with all three blades; the pegasus retreated, but the whirlwind of attacks overwhelmed him. A wild swing knocked his sword aside and left him open to attack. Flash’s eyes widened as he watched a blade streaking towards him, the sharp edge shining in the light of the rising sun.

Suddenly, Roaring grunted in pain and flinched, his cut missing by inches. Turning, he saw Twilight hovering a few feet behind him, her cracked and bandaged horn sparkling faintly and a look of pain marring her face.

“Having trouble with your magic, Princess?” he taunted, lashing at her with his tail. Twilight dodged, but just barely.

“Twilight, get away from him!” Flash ordered, attacking Roaring. His Royal Guard sword clashed against the griffon’s cutlasses in a chorus of metal. He slipped past to avoid a counterstrike, and cut again at Roaring’s head, simultaneously aiming a roundhouse kick at his gut. The kick hit its mark and Roaring flinched. Seizing the opportunity, Flash pressed forward with a downward slice to the back of the neck.

Too late, he realized he’d been tricked. Roaring weaved out of the way of his blade and rammed his elbow into Flash’s chin, dazing him. Flash dodged to the side of a thrust, but Roaring immediately struck him across the jaw with the handguard. Stunned, Flash began to tumble out of the sky. Grinning, Roaring drew his cutlasses back for the finishing blow.

“No!” Twilight screamed, dashing forward. She had no plan, no strategy: all she knew was that she must save Flash. She rammed into Roaring at full speed, sending him spiralling out of control and causing his attack to miss, then dived for Flash. Grabbing him in midair, she pulled him up and gently shook his shoulders. “Flash? Flash, wake up!”

Flash grunted and shook his head, recovering. Spreading his wings, he began to fly again under his own strength, gripping his sword in both hooves. Both he and Twilight turned to face Roaring, glaring at the griffon who now hovered a few yards away, ready and waiting for them. Twilight snorted and raised her forelegs, pressing herself forward ahead of Flash.

“You’re kidding,” Roaring said, bewilderment spread across his face as he stared at her.

Play to your strengths, Twilight thought. She glanced sideways at Flash, who nodded.

“You’re kidding, right?” Roaring asked in a disbelieving tone, half-raising a blade.

Twilight let out a low, slow exhalation and charged, Flash by her side. Roaring’s face twisted into a mixture of amusement and confusion, and he raised his cutlasses to strike at them both.

As Twilight got closer, she gritted her teeth and began to channel her magic. Her head burst with pain, her horn feeling as though it had lit on fire, but she pushed through the agony. All she needed was a simple flare spell...just a little bit of magic...

Her vision blurred with pain, and then the energy she had summoned exploded from her in a sudden flash of light, blinding Roaring. He bellowed in confusion and cut wildly, but his blades found nothing but air. When his vision recovered, he saw that the two ponies had vanished.

His confusion about where they had gone was answered a moment later when a sudden stab of icy cold pierced his chest. Looking down, he saw to his disbelief a sword impaling him through the heart, stained red all the way to the tip with his own blood.

Flash hovered behind Roaring, his eyes cold as he withdrew the blade. Roaring seemed to float for a second, blood dribbling from his mouth and the piercing hole in his chest, and then he fell, his swords spinning to the ground along with his lifeless body. The great weight crashed facedown into the sand and did not move again.

“You okay?” Flash asked Twilight. She grimaced and clutched her head, wobbling in midair, but nodded. Flash tucked her foreleg over his shoulders and began to lower her towards the ground.

Not far away, Satsuma thrusted her crackling spear at Daring. The adventuress bobbed under the attack and punched Satsuma in the gut as Rainbow Dash simultaneously kicked Satsuma in the head. Dazed, Satsuma wildly thrusted backwards towards Rainbow, then swung her weapon over her head, forcing them away as she retreated to a safe distance.

Both Rainbow and Daring lunged forward with a flying punch, but Satsuma blocked them both and then shoved them back. The energy that surrounded the weapon shocked them both and they tumbled from the sky, dazed. Satsuma brought the spear back to send another magical arc at them, but then spotted Twilight and Flash, their backs turned. With a grin, she cut the weapon through the air, sending a wide arc of destructive energy towards the Princess and the Guard. Neither of them saw the deadly threat coming in time.

But Starlight did. “No!” she screamed, rushing forward without thought. She forgot that she had no magic, she forgot that she had no combat training, she forgot that she was afraid; all she knew was that she must do something.

The arc streaked towards its targets, who turned too late to dodge. Sprinting faster than she had ever run before in her life, Starlight crossed the distance between her friends and the danger and leapt, diving in front of the energy. Right before it struck her, there was a flash of blinding light, causing everypony to flinch.

When the light dimmed, Satsuma, Flash, and Twilight beheld an astounding sight. Starlight was laying on the sand. The carved crystal around her neck was glowing brightly, like an actual star, and it was projecting a shield of shimmering gold around her entire body, which included a pair of what appeared to be wings extending from her back. She stared at herself in startled bewilderment as the shield started to fade away.

Satsuma blinked in confusion, then drew her spear back for another attack. But she forgot about Rainbow and Daring. Two sledgehammer-like impacts simultaneously struck her in the gut and in the back, causing her to drop her spear and wheeze in surprise.

Rainbow and Daring followed up with several more strikes before both of them flew up above her and kicked downwards, slamming their hind hooves onto the pirate’s back, causing her to rocket into the ground with a hard impact, sending up a small shower of sand. She lay still, groaning.

Not far away, Phillip threw Whitestone over his shoulder, causing her to slam into the ground. She quickly rolled aside to avoid his finishing blow and backed a safe distance away, panting. She stepped over a rotten corpse that had been tossed aside by one of her pirates.

“You think that these bodies are worth fighting for?” she asked Phillip.

“They were good ponies!” Phillip shouted in reply. “They don’t deserve this!”

“I’m sure they were good ponies,” Whitestone sneered. “But those ponies you knew? Your father, your other family, and neighbors? They’re not here, Phillip. They’re gone.”

“I know that!” Phillip shrieked, diving at her. She dodged to the side, but was caught off guard by his sweeping kick. She swatted at him with her wing, but he seized the appendage and dropped it onto his knee, snapping the hollow bone with little effort. Whitestone screamed and tried to crawl away, punching at Phillip. He caught her arm and hugged it to his chest as he dropped down to lay on his back, then thrusted his hips upward sharply, forcing Whitestone’s arm to bend in a direction it wasn’t supposed to. Whitestone screeched in agony as her arm broke and immediately stopped fighting.

Phillip mounted Whitestone, pinning her down beneath his body, and punched her across the jaw twice, growling with each blow.

“Stop...stop!” Whitestone cried, holding up her good arm. “I surrender!”

But Phillip did not seem to hear her. She was filth, just like all the rest, just like the one who had killed his father; dirt that cared only for themselves and not for those they hurt, and even as they mocked his pain, they tried to take away more of those he loved.

He would not let them! He would no longer be the self-centered little colt who had abandoned his duties, who had allowed the scum to thrive and take!

Drawing his hoof back, he struck Whitestone again and again. Blood flew from her wounds, staining his forelegs and the ground around her. She writhed beneath him, desperately trying to defend herself, but he refused to allow her to escape, continuing to rain blows down upon her head. Her struggles slowed, her cries becoming more feeble with every blow until she was still and silent, save for her raspy, injured breaths.

Tilting her head back to expose her throat, Phil drew his hoof back like a spear, aiming for her fragile neck. With one strike, he could sever her windpipe and end her existence. She looked up at him, her eyes trying to focus on him, whimpering out a plea. He took a final breath, and thrusted his hoof forward.

Stop.

His hoof paused just an inch from her convulsing throat and he felt his whole body freeze up at once. Suddenly, he was thirteen years old again, and he was looking down at a tall, painfully skinny stallion with matted red hair and the cutie mark of four yellow hoofprints. The stallion’s hooded green eyes shone desperately out of his pockmarked face, pleading for his life.

The same shield that had protected the life of his father’s murderer from wrath now seemed to have descended upon Whitestone, preventing him from landing the killing blow no matter how much his rage screamed at him, demanding retribution. An instinct held him back, preventing him from acting on pure vengeance; he could not kill a pony or a griffon who was not a threat. A maxim that he had believed in since foalhood stayed his blow, a lesson that his father had inscribed into his soul: revenge is not justice.

He slowly lowered his hoof, panting. Sweat ran down his trembling body, and he realized after a moment that it was mixing with his tears.

The other pirates’ numbers were dropping quickly, but the remaining fighters were putting up a strong resistance, and his friends were getting exhausted, the pirates’ larger numbers slowly giving them an advantage. Daring gathered the others in a circle around herself, panting as she simultaneously engaged two unicorns. She managed to knock down one of them, but the other struck her with a concussion spell in the stomach, knocking her over. Rarity engaged the same unicorn, giving Daring time to get back to her hooves, coughing.

“Where’s Fluttershy?” Rainbow Dash shouted, punting a female griffon away from her, only to receive a punch from another pegasus. A quick glance around confirmed that Fluttershy was not within the group, nor anywhere within sight.

“What happened to her?” Starlight asked, hiding behind Flash and Twilight.

A sudden whistle pierced the air. Everypony paused where they were and looked up to see Fluttershy hovering over a rise, her forelegs folded across her chest as she glared imperiously down at the pirates.

“Nopony hurts my friends!” she declared.

And at her cry, a band of dozens of kangaroos came bounding over the rise, charging into the battle. Their powerful legs pummeled into the skulls and ribs of the pirates, easily scoring knockouts with every hit. Within a minute, the tides of the battle had turned completely, and the pirates were quickly pounded into submission.

The friends cheered the reinforcements, claiming victory. “Thank you!” Fluttershy cried, hugging one of the larger kangaroos. The roo hugged her back as the others gathered around the exhausted friends.

Twilight gathered up Satsuma’s dropped spear, still faintly buzzing with energy, and carried it over to Starlight. “Let’s get you your magic back,” she said.

“Thanks, Twilight,” Starlight nodded. It took some effort, but she managed to light up her horn, levitating the crystal between herself and the weapon. She channeled her magic through the crystal and into the tip of the spear. The weapon glowed, then started channeling its energy back into Starlight’s horn. She sighed in relief as her magic was restored. “Much better.”

Phillip climbed off of Whitestone and looked around. His friends were all alive, but many of them were bruised, battered or bleeding, and all of them were sagging from exhaustion. All the pirates were either dead, unconscious, or disabled. The sands at his hooves were stained red with blood, cast cold crimson by the rising sun, and the winds were heavy with the scent of decay and death. The Silver Talon bobbed in the water in the distance, next to the empty shells that used to be his home.

There was nothing here. Nothing but death and ashes.

He staggered over to Daring and Flash and collapsed against them. They held him up as he breathed slowly and heavily.

“Forget the treasure,” he mumbled, his voice scratchy and hoarse. “Let’s just go home.”

“Yeah,” Daring agreed reluctantly. “Let’s go home.”

Author's Notes:

The climactic battle, where more bodies are added to the mounds of corpses. All must return to the sand eventually. Even James Bushwacker and his treasure.