The Stormgate Diaries

The group of ponies looked out at the pirate ship in stunned silence. Finally, Mirror spoke.

“What happened to the Adamant?” She asked, referring to the R.E.N. Adamant, the Hurricane class frigate that was assigned to protect the bustling little port-city.

“Ah dunno. Since that there ship is in th' harbor, then th' Adamant is either busy or sunk.” Ebony replied, never taking his eyes off of the ship that was still firing cannons randomly into the town. Shimmercoat looked down and saw groups of townsponies running away from the harbor towards the forest. Several structures were on fire while others had simply collapsed like the town hall. As he watched, another house collapsed under the impact of the cannonfire.

“In any case, we've got to stop that ship before it destroys the whole town.” Shimmercoat said, looking around at his small group of friends. The pony that had rung the alarm bell had disappeared, and Shimmer idly wondered if he had shown more sense than them in doing so. Ebony finally looked away from the harbor, meeting the blue colt's eyes and nodding.

“What do y'all propose, then?” He asked. At this point, the rest of the group turned to look at Shimmer. He blinked a couple of times, mind working furiously. He hadn't really thought of how to stop the pirate ship, he just knew that somepony had to. He'd never had to be in charge of anypony before, except his sister, and he was surprised that the group around him was actually listening to him.

“Well, they're not here for treasure, I don't think, or else they wouldn't be destroying the town, and I can't really think of anything particularly valuable that would draw them here.” He said after a few moments. “I guess we've got to find out what they're after.”

“An' how do you suppose we do that, sugarcube?” Asked Ivory, glancing back out to the sea as the ships cannons roared again.

Shimmercoat opened his mouth to answer her, but was interrupted as the building beneath them shook from an impact. The group ran over to the edge of the roof and looked over.

“Uhh... That's not good...” Mirror said, looking at the large hole in the side of the Town Hall. Moments later, the structure started to lean slightly towards the hole, threatening to collapse.

“C'mon everypony, we need to get off of this thing!” Shimmercoat yelled, bolting back across the roof to the exit. The rest of the gathered ponies followed him, with the exception of Fizzle, who just hovered a few feet off of the roof.

“I'll meet you in front!” She called to him, meeting his gaze as he stood at the top of the stairs. He nodded, and she flew over the edge of the roof, presumably to the ground below. Shimmer looked around at the roof as the last of his friends disappeared down the staircase to make sure that nopony was still on the building, then followed them down.

As they exited the building, the blue unicorn summoned another shield to protect them, and Fizzle flew down to enter the protection of the blue tinted bubble.

“Where do we go now?” The fire-themed pegasus asked, landing next to Shimmercoat.

“We have to figure out what the pirates want.” Shimmer replied, looking around. “I don't know how to accomplish that, though.”

“We could always go up n' ask 'em.” Ebony replied.

“Or,” Ivory said wryly, “We can find some other way t' ask 'em that won't get us blasted by them cannons.”

As if summoned by the light mare's words, another cannonball slammed into the town hall. The building collapsed, sagging into itself with a deafening roar. Shimmer's mind worked furiously as bits of rubble bounced off of his shield. A plan flashed together in his head, and he sent a quiet prayer to Luna that he wouldn't get anyone killed. He spun to the group and started giving orders.

“Okay, we need more information. Fizzle, I need you to fly around to the back of the ship and spy on them a bit. Mirror, you and I are going to try to distract them for a few while the Keys make sure that the townspeople are safe.” He said, pointing to each pony in turn. “Sound good?” They all nodded, then Fizzle took flight and sped off to go flank the pirate ship. “Alright. Ebony, Ivory, get to some cover and wait 'til Mirror and I get their attention. You guys should probably try to get the townsfolk into the forest, the cannons don't seem to have the range to hit them there.” He said, looking towards the forest's edge and noticing that there were blackened spots of impact near the trees, but none seemed to be inside the forest. The twins nodded in unison and took off towards the edge of town, where the forge rested near most of the other houses in the town. Mirror turned to her brother, raising an eyebrow.

“So, how are we gonna distract them?” She asked.

“Well, first, you're gonna turn into me, then we're gonna make ourselves a couple of really big targets, and once the Keys get done, we're gonna run like hell.” He replied, grinning at her.

Her eyebrow rose slightly more, then she shrugged and closed her eyes, drawing upon her magic. Shimmer looked out at the ship to see if he could spot Fizzle and when he looked back, he was beside himself.

“Flawless as always, sis.” He said, nodding towards the harbor. “Let's go.”

The two blue colts ran towards the harbor, sliding to a stop next to an undamaged warehouse. Shimmercoat looked around the building, then turned to his sister.

“Okay. I'll go this way, you go around the other side. We need to get them to stop firing randomly into the rest of the town, so get their attention.” He said.

“And don't die.” His sister added, mimicking his voice perfectly.

“And definitely don't die.” He replied, nodding.

Mirror turned and started running towards the far side of the warehouse, and Shimmer allowed himself one moment of worry. That moment of worry, for his friends, his family, his neighbors, turned into a collection of moments, and he stood there, stock-still, mind reeling with all sorts of dark events that could happen, until his sister yelled at him from the far corner of the building. He shook his head and forced his worry into a small corner of his mind. He then took a breath, mustered his courage, and walked into plain view of the ship that was hell-bent on destroying the whole town. The blue unicorn called to his magic, bringing up a shield around himself, then modifying the way that light reflected off of it, causing the sporadic flashes of the cannon fire to light up his bubble like a beacon. He squinted at the ship to see if they had noticed him or not, and was answered a moment later when a cannon dispensed its payload straight at him.

This time, however, he was ready for it.

In the split-second before the cannonball hit him, he dug his hooves into the ground beneath him and focused the lion's share of his magic in front of him, his bubble flashing into a curving disc in between him and the high explosive. Even prepared as he was, though, the impact still left him feeling like he had been kicked in the head by a rather brawny earth pony, and his ears were ringing from the deafening thunder. The shield's outer layer and the ground in a large circle around him were blackened by the blast. Off to his left, he dimly heard the impact of another cannonball, and hoped that his sister was alright. Shimmercoat re-cast the outermost layer of his shield so that he could see, and looked back towards the pirates. The few he could make out in the dark were pointing at him in an exaggerated fashion, and he figured that they were probably surprised that the bubble on the shoreline hadn't popped from a direct hit. After his hearing cleared a bit, he could hear shouting from the ship, but it was too distant for him to tell what they were shouting about. He spared a glance off to where Mirror was supposed to be and saw a bubble almost identical to his own. As he looked, another cannonball hit her shield, and it flickered dangerously. Not good, that one's about to fail. He thought quickly. The pirates seemed to notice this, and a few moments later, a third cannon blast rocked the earth, and the shield held by his sister flickered, then died. In the clearing haze he saw her laying on the ground, presumably unconscious. In an instant, one emotion burned throughout him, consuming everything else.

That emotion was anger.

“HOW DARE YOU!” Shimmercoat yelled at the ship. His shield started to go from his normal blueish tint to a dark crimson. “TORMENTING THOSE WHO CANNOT DEFEND THEMSELVES? WHAT MANNER OF COWARDS ARE YOU? COME, THEN! TEST YOUR STEEL AGAINST ONE WHO CAN FIGHT BACK! COME ASHORE, YOU COWARDS, AND WE WILL SEE HOW STRONG YOU ARE!” A small part of his mind that was still rational realized that the pirates had no real reason to come ashore, and that he couldn't take more than one or two more cannon barrages before he wound up like his sister, but that part of his mind was currently being ignored.

Silence reigned after the echo of his words had died out, which surprised him. The cannons were no longer firing, even though there was still a great deal of activity on the ship. After a few moments of him standing on the shoreline looking at the pirates, he noticed a smaller boat get dropped into the water. A moment later he realized that the pirates were indeed coming ashore, and he spun back towards the town. Letting his shield drop, and desperately hoping one of them was close enough to hear him, he called out into the darkness.

“Ebony! Ivory! I need one of you guys over here right now!” After a moment, Ebony came trotting out of the darkness, looking warily at the pirate ship.

“What d' y'all need?” He drawled, watching the small boat slowly make it's way towards them.

“I need you to get my sister away from here. She's over there,” Shimmer pointed a hoof towards his sister's prone form, “Take her into the forest with the rest of the town.”

“Why can't you take 'er?” Ebony asked, looking the blue colt in the eyes.

“Because I just called out the pirate captain, and I need to get my armor.” Shimmercoat replied, “If I don't stand and fight, they'll just keep blasting away at the town.”

“Not t' put too fine a point on it, but d' you even know how t' fight?” The black stallion asked, cocking an eyebrow.

“Uhh...” Shimmercoat looked at the ground for a moment, “Kinda?” He said, looking back up to the large stallion.

“Uh-huh. Well, good luck t' y'all. Yer prob'ly gonna need it.” Ebony said before trotting over to where Mirror was laying. He hoisted her onto his back as if she weighed no more than a feather, then turned and trotted back into the town.

As Ebony disappeared into the darkness, Shimmer turned to look at the rowboat getting ever closer to the shoreline. He closed his eyes and concentrated for a moment, reaching for his magic. Teleportation never was his strong suit. He could do it, but it always left him upside-down. A flash, a strange tugging sensation, and a not-so-gentle impact with the earth later, he opened his eyes to find himself in front of the forge. He righted himself and ran inside the deserted house, hoping that his parents had gotten into the forest with the others. He took the stairs two at a time, burst into his room, and pulled a trunk from under the bed with a careful pull of his magic. Setting it on the sheets, he popped it open and looked at its contents.

To the unknowing observer, it was a coat of leather on top of carefully stacked metal plates that had gemstones embedded in the polished surfaces. To him, it was his greatest project, the culmination of years spent working next to his father. He quickly donned the leather, then the bulky metal suit, the normally time-consuming task being expedited by his adrenalin, his magic and long hours of practice. The now-armored colt turned to look at himself in the mirror behind the door.

A product of his own design and hard work, the armor fit him perfectly. Unlike the armor of the Royal Guards in the palace, Shimmercoat's armor was meant to provide maximum protection. It covered him from his neck all the way down to his hooves, a solid wall of purple and black steel that had his cutie mark emblazoned on the flanks. It was big and bulky, but its plates were designed to slide over and under each other so as to not hamper the wearer's movement too much. Gemstones were strategically placed at different points on the armor, the most prominent of which was the large chunk of diamond on the breastplate, cut into the shape of a crescent moon. The stones that covered his armor, and the ones that were embedded on the inside of the metal, glowed with an inner light. The blue unicorn had filled them with defensive enchantments every week since he had forged it, making sure that if he needed it, it would be ready.

Shimmercoat took a moment to tie his long hair back into a ponytail, idly wondering why he'd never made a helmet for the suit. Hair secured, he walked over to his bed and laid down on his back before triggering his magic again. He reappeared back near the shoreline, right-side up this time, just as the rowboat arrived. A surprisingly large group of ponies jumped out of the little boat and stood, each of them armed with wickedly curved blades or heavy clubs. Then the last pony in the boat jumped out and lit a lamp. He counted twelve, and the captain.

“So, yer th' loudmouth that thought callin' me a coward was the right thing to be doin', huh?” Said the pirate captain, holding the lamp aloft with one hoof. While the rest of the mob looked like what you'd expect pirates to look like, bandannas, eye patches and the like, the captain was unmistakeable. He was an earth pony, red with a brown mane, with, predictable, a skull-and-crossbones cutie mark. No eye patch, but he did have the massive tri-corner hat that seemed to always have some manner of sailor attached to it. He had a cutlass sheathed at his side, and was wearing a fancy jacket with gold trim.

Shimmercoat forced his rising fear into as little box in his mind, took a deep breath, and stood as tall as he could. “Yes, yes I am. Was I wrong?” He said.

“Seeing as I be standin' here in front of ye', you tell me, lad.” The captain said, setting the lamp on the sandy shore next to him.

“You're standing here in front of me, and so is half your crew. How about you tell me?” The blue colt replied, gesturing at the crowd around them with a hoof. Much to his surprise, the captain broke into a deep belly laugh.

“I like you, kid. Hows about ye join us? We could use a brave lad like yerself. Just think o' what ye could do. Come with us fer a spell and come back richer then th' princesses.” The captain said, holding out a hoof. “What do ye say, lad?”

Shimmercoat shook his head. “After you attack the town? Not happening. Hell, even if you didn't attack the town, I've got too much here to just up and leave.” He replied. As he spoke, he kept a wary eye on the mob of pirates. He didn't think that they would attack unless the captain told them to, but pirates weren't the most trustworthy of ponies.

“Aw, 'tis a shame, lad, 'tis a shame. Got a filly here, do ye? Big plans fer a family?” Said the captain, who started to grin.

Shimmercoat quickly decided that he didn't like that grin.

“Something like that, yeah.” He replied. The armored stallion decided that it was time to get to the heart of things. “What do you want here, captain? We've nothing of value, so why are you here?”

The captain laughed again, but this time the sound was a bit more sinister. “Ye've got plenty of value. Ye have strong young lads who could use some adventure, pretty young ladies who need some excitement, and ye have the facilities to repair our ships,” The captain grinned that evil grin again before continuing, “And I think I've got something that ye be wantin', my young friend. Would yer lady happen to be a pegasus? Yellow, with a bit o' orange? Little puff o' flame as 'er cutie mark?”

Shimmercoat felt his stomach tie itself in knots. He glared at the pirate captain. “What. Have. You. Done. With. Fizzle?” He said, growling each word through clenched teeth.

“Nothin', yet. We've got the pretty little birdie tied up on deck. We caught her snoopin' about, and decided to give her the grand tour.” The pirate said, laughing at his own joke. The rest of the mob followed suit.

“You had better return her to me unharmed, captain. If you don't, I'll sink your boat and send the whole of your crew straight to hell.” Shimmer said menacingly, taking a step forward.

“Oh, and how are ye gonna do that all on yer lonesome?”

“Simple. I set your damn ship on fire. Next, I simply hold the stragglers under the water.” The blue colt replied, his voice barely above a whisper. “Simple, efficient.” He had never really wanted to kill anypony before, but he realized that talking his way out of this was out of the question, and they had Fizzle. That set his blood to boiling. What right did they have? Showing up and destroying the town, whatever. Buildings could and would be rebuilt. Heck, more than a few of the town's structures were only a stiff breeze from falling over anyway, and so far as he knew, there were no deaths amongst the populous. But they took Fizzle. He finally managed to tell her how he felt about her, spent an amazing night with her, and then this happened. He was going to get her back, though. Even if it killed him, he would see her safe.

“What makes ye think ye could do all that? Me and me crew are all armed, and have no qualms about guttin' some little fool who thinks he's gonna be a hero. It's happened before, and it'll happen again, mark me w-”

Shimmercoat had enough of the captain, and decided to even the odds a little. He grabbed the two nearest pirate's heads in his magic and slammed them face-down into the rocky beach, where they slumped, unconscious. He glanced at them, then looked back at the captain. “That is how I'll do it. There's two. Want me to make it more?” He said, his voice cold.

The entire group of pirates, the captain included, looked down at their comrades. After a moment, the captain looked back up at Shimmercoat. “Lad, I'll be giving ye only one warning. Don't think ye can beat all o' us. At least, not before I send word back to th' ship for th' boys to push yer little lady friend over the side.” The captain said, his voice icy as well. The rest of the pirates finally pulled their gazes off away from the unconscious pair and glared at the armored colt.

“If you do, I'll just have to make sure that when I get around to you, captain, that I make your death slow and painful. I will not be so easily cowed.” He chuckled, the sound cold and completely devoid of mirth. “If you want to live to see the sunrise, you will return her to me.”

“What manner o' creature do ye think ye are, lad? A hero? Standing betwixt yer love and all comers? Yer just one pony, lad. Ye can't beat all o' us, not on yer own.” The captain asked, exasperated.

Again, that little rational bit of Shimmercoat's mind realized that he probably couldn't take out all of the pirates, especially if they were ready for him. And again, that little part of his mind was ignored, and he opened his mouth again, “Maybe not, but are you willing to bet your crew's lives on it?”

The captain laughed again. “O' course I am! We be pirates, lad, that's what we do. We gamble our lives against th' ocean an' th' fates. Sometimes we come out on top with riches and wenches galore, other times we lose everything.” The captain chuckled. “One thing ye can bet on when yer a pirate, lad; ye'll never be missin' excitement.”

“Enough of this,” Shimmercoat said, growing more impatient by the second, “Return Fizzle to me or else.”

“Cool yer jets, kid. How about this, if ye can beat all me mateys here,” The captain gestured to the crowd around them, “I'll give yer little birdie back. Deal?”

Shimmercoat didn't reply, instead he grabbed another pirate with his magic and threw him into the pony next to him in line, causing half of the mob to collapse in a heap. The other half jumped forward, blades and clubs swinging. The armored colt stepped back and triggered his armor's magic, causing several different shields to spring into existence around the plates of polished steel. As the mob's weapons slid and bounced off of his defenses he reared back onto his back hooves, then came down on a luckless pirate who had somehow managed to get his sword stuck in the sandy beach. The blow connected with the pirate's body, breaking ribs with a sickening crack. Normally, the strike would have not been enough to break bones, but the shield spells over his forelegs were designed to reflect whatever force was applied to them, so his average strength was amplified into a force to be reckoned with. The blue unicorn ducked a club, and barely managed to get an armored foreleg into the path of a sword that was heading for his unarmored head. I really should have made a damn helmet! He thought as he continued to dodge and block. He fought defensively, only occasionally dealing blows with his armored limbs that staggered or dropped the ponies that they struck, but the second half of the mob had managed to sort themselves out, and started to press in around him. He knew that there were far too many for him to beat in melee, but he still had one trick up his sleeve. Shimmercoat planted his hooves, bracing himself, and he triggered the large crescent moon crystal on his breastplate It started to glow brightly, and before any of the pirates could react, a large shield expanded from Shimmer's armored form. The shield slammed into the mob of pirates and flung them backwards, knocking most of them prone. The few that managed to stay on their hooves shook the impact off quickly, and pressed back in to continue attacking him. Unfortunately for him, the crystal only had the power to flash that spell once, but the pirates didn't know that. He brought a foreleg up in a vicious uppercut that smashed into the chin of a rather burly looking stallion. The stallion staggered, but kept himself upright. The pirate then turned and bucked Shimmercoat in the chest. The blue unicorn was slammed back, and the personal shield covering that section of the armor flickered, but held. The stallion's leg bones, on the other hoof, didn't. The pirate howled in pain as his legs shattered, and fell to the ground. The mob of pirates, now reduced down from a dozen to about half that, backed off as soon as the large one dropped, and they huddled a couple yards away from the armored pony. Unsure of their plan, but thankful for the breather, Shimmer wearily glanced down at his armor. The white crystal of the crescent moon had cracked from the kick, and it's color had darkened to be almost black. A quick probe with his magic revealed that the crystal that powered the shield over his chest, embedded safely on the inside of the armor, was severely damaged. It wouldn't hold up to another kick like that, and he'd be lucky if it held up under the slight strain of maintaining the shield. The magical check also told him his shields were all banged up, leaving his armor's enchantments around half power. He was breathing heavily, exhausted, and his throat burned with thirst, but he was still standing, which came as a bit of a surprise to that little rational part of his mind that kept telling him over and over again that he shouldn't be. That voice in his head told him to run before they attacked again, but it was quickly overshadowed by the fact that he couldn't give up, not with Fizzle on the line.

“What'r ye bilge rats doin'? Ye've been itchin' to gut this little runt fer the whole time we've been ashore!” The pirate captain bellowed, interrupting Shimmer's thoughts, “Get yer sorry hides over thar and KILL HIM!”

The pirate mob flinched at the captain's volume, and one pony came forward to speak, “But cap'n, we can't hurt 'im! Ol' Buckshot there just bucked 'im, right in th' chest, sir, an' he didn't even flinch!” The pony exclaimed, repeatedly glancing between the captain and Shimmercoat.

“Alright, lads, alright. I see what ye be sayin'. Let me have a go at 'im.” The captain said. He turned and walked towards Shimmercoat, who faced him squarely. Much to the armored pony's surprise, the captain bowed towards him. “It looks like yer next opponent is me, lad. I figure that a fighter like ye should be shown a little respect afore ye die. My name is Captain Full Sails.”

Shimmercoat raised an eyebrow at the captain, then bowed back. “Surprisingly honorable, coming from a pirate. My name is Shimmercoat.”

“Lad, when ye've done this job fer as long as I have, ye start t' find that ye've gotta break up all the backstabbin' with a little honor, else th' crew gets mutinous. That, an' th' boys have a point. Buckshot could buck any one o' them into dreamland, and ye hardly budged. I don't think they could actually finish you off, and its been awhile since I've gotten into a scrap.” Full Sails replied. “Now, shall we dance, lad?”

“Indeed, captain, let us dance.”

Both stallions rushed forward at the same time, kicking up sand and rocks in their wake.
X--------------------------------X------------------------------------X-----------------------------------------------X

Mirror slowly came back into the conscious world, and immediately wanted to go back. Her head pounded hideously, and her body ached. She opened her eyes and looked around. By the large amount of foliage, she gathered that she was in the forest. How did I get here? She wondered as she looked over to the campfire she was laying next to. Across the flames was the dark form of Ebony, and the lighter form of Ivory. Ebony seemed to be asleep in a sitting position, and Ivory was staring into the flames, apparently lost in thought.

“Hey.” Mirror said weakly, her voice raspy and dry.

Ivory jumped at the sound and looked at the silver mare. “Oh, hey darlin'. How're ya feelin'?” She asked, moving around the fire to offer a water bottle to Mirror, who took it and drank deeply.

“Thanks. I've been better. Everything hurts, but I'll live.” She said.

“Good, hate t' lose ya after Ebony hauled you here.” Replied Ivory, smiling.

Mirror chuckled, which led to her body reminding her that any sudden movements would be met with extreme force. Her smile gave way to a grimace, and Ivory suddenly looked very worried.

“Are you sure you're alright, sugarcube?” She asked.

“Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. Just don't ask me to do very much. So, Ebony dragged me here, did he? Where's Shimmercoat?” Mirror replied, looking around.

“He's decided t' be a hero, an' seemed t' be set on fightin' the pirates captain. Least,” She added after a short pause, “That's what m' brother said. Said Shimmer told 'im t' take you an' go while he went an' got his armor, whatever that means.”

“Shimmercoat has his armor?” Mirror asked. When Ivory nodded, she continued, “Good. That means he's at least got some protection from whatever it is he's dealing with. I'm still not sure why he's being so stupid, though. With the whole town in the forest, why is he still fighting them? Surely Fizzle could talk him into running away.”

“Darlin', we don't know where Fizzle is. She never rejoined us like yer brother told her to.” Ivory said.

Mirror quickly put two and two together. Her brother was a bit reckless at times, but he wasn't stupid. There was only one reason he'd stay to fight after the whole town was safe, and that was if the whole town wasn't safe. The pirates, she concluded, must have captured Fizzle, and her fool brother couldn't let anything happen to the pegasus. So, he was fighting to save her. Him, alone, versus who knows how many pirates. The light gray mare was suddenly very worried about her older brother. His armor was fantastic, even their father had praised him, and Shimmercoat kept it full of defensive enchantments powered by gemstones. However, Shimmer had never had to stand up to a determined fighter. He occasionally sparred with their father, but never had he fought an opponent intending to kill him. Her father...

“Ivory, where are my parents?” She asked quickly.

“Around here somewhere. Yer dad's been helpin' ponies set up tents an' th' like, and yer mom's been helpin' with th' cookin'.” Ivory replied, looking about the rest of the camp. Mirror looked around as well, and suddenly realized how big the camp was. She saw at least another dozen campfires, most of them ringed by ponies and then tents.

“Wait here fer a sec, sugarcube. Ah'll go get yer folks.” Ivory said before turning and trotting off. Mirror was left alone with her worry for several endless minutes, sending a quiet prayer to the Princesses that he'd come back safe. She had just finished her water when Ivory returned, trailing her father. Iron Coat wasn't a particularly large pony, but he had a presence. He exuded a patient, unyielding strength that most ponies found comforting. His brown mane was tied back out of his face, and his blue coat was covered in dirt, mud and sweat, indicating that he'd been working hard. He walked over to his daughter and leaned down to nuzzle her gently, concern in his blue eyes.

“How are you feeling?” He asked her.

“I hurt, daddy, but I'll be fine,” She replied, smiling at him, “I'm more worried about Shimmey. Do you know how he's doing?”

“Last I heard he was standing on the beach talking to the pirates. Everypony else is out of the village,” Iron Coat sighed, “I wish I knew what got into that fool's head. He should have just come with the rest of us.”

“I think they got Fizzle. It's the only thing that would keep him there. We need to go help him, he can't fight all of them.” Mirror said, trying to stand. Her legs refused to cooperate, and she ended up just flailing about on the ground. She groaned in frustration and looked at the traitorous appendages. She brought her gaze back up to her father and nodded her head back towards the town. “We have to help him! He'll be killed.” She said desperately.

The blue stallion put a hoof on his daughter's head. “Stay here, Mirror. I'll go collect your brother, and see what I can do about his fillyfriend.” He said, looking around the camp. He trotted off into the darkness, and several minutes later Mirror watched a small group of stallions, headed by her father, leave the camp in the direction of the town. They had just disappeared from sight when her mother walked up.

“Are you alright?” Starshine asked, sitting down next to her daughter. Mirror pressed herself up against her mother and closed her eyes.

“I'm alright, mom.” She said as the gray pegasus laid a wing over her. After a few moments, she looked up to meet her mother's gaze. “I'm scared, mom.”

“Of what, little one?” Starshine asked, even though she already knew the answer.

“I'm scared that Shimmer's gonna get hurt. I'm scared that daddy's gonna get hurt. And Fizzle. And everypony else.” Mirror said, her voice wavering a bit.

Starshine looked down at her daughter and smiled, “Don't worry about them. Shimmercoat's a big colt now, he can take care of himself, and even if he can't, daddy will bring him back in one piece. And,” She added after a moment, “If Shimmer's in one piece, he'll go through hell and back for Fizzle.” She nuzzled Mirror, “So, don't worry. Everything's going to be all right.”

“I hope so, mom. I really do.” Mirror said, looking into the fire. She felt something warm against her other side, and she looked over to find the Ebony, who had woken up as the stallions were leaving, had stepped around the fire and had laid down next to her. He nuzzled her as well as Ivory stepped over to join them.

“Don't worry about yer brother, darlin'. He stopped cannonballs with 'is shield, those pirates don't have anythin' that can hurt 'im.” The light mare said, looking between Mirror and Ebony, trying to figure out where she could sit. Starshine smiled and stood, motioning with a wing for Ivory to take her place.

“I need to get back to work, Mirror. I'll send somepony over here with some food in a bit. Just rest, everything will be fine.” The gray pegasus said. She turned and trotted off into the darkness. Mirror, still exhausted, settled down between the twins and drifted off into an uneasy sleep.
X--------------------------------X------------------------------------X-----------------------------------------------X

Shimmercoat reeled as Full Sails kicked him in the side. While the pirate captain wasn't terribly large, he was rather skilled, and his blows were powerful. Shimmer's shield spells over his chest and forehooves had already failed. The gemstones, overloaded by the captain's precise strikes, had shattered, and Shimmercoat was leaving a trail of glittering shards as he moved. The only thing stopping the shards from piercing him was the leather coat he had on underneath the steel, and he could feel some sharp pieces embedded into the thick leather. He recovered his balance and ducked another blow aimed for his head, mentally slapping himself again for not forging a helmet. The blue colt whipped an armored foreleg into the captain, who saw the strike too late to avoid it. Shimmercoat's hoof slammed into the captain's head, causing him to stagger. The blow normally would have done more, but without the shields to amplify the force, the blow was simply Shimmercoat's strength and the steel surrounding his leg. Full Sails shook his head to clear it, and looked back at the armored colt.

Shimmercoat was barely standing. He breath was coming in labored gasps and his legs were on the verge of collapsing. Still, he glared at the captain.

“While this has been fun, I beat your 'mateys', captain,” He said in between breaths, “Give Fizzle back to me.”

“And what makes ye think I'll do it? Yer in no position to be bargainin' wit' me anymore.” Full sails replied, sneering at Shimmer, “In fact, I think I'll be keepin' yer little birdie as a pet. She'll be a nice little distraction fer th' crew. Least, til she dies an' I throw 'er over-” Full Sails was interrupted by Shimmercoat grabbing him in his telekinesis and dragging him forward until they were face to face.

“If you ever say anything about her like that again, I'll see you dead. Not quickly, not painlessly, but very, very, dead,” He growled, locking his gaze with the captain's, “Give. Her. Back. To. Me.”

The captain struggled against Shimmer's magic, and, to his surprise, broke free. The spell fizzled and Shimmercoat fell to his knees with a gasp. Full Sails blinked down at him, then laughed.

“Ha! Yer done, lad. Ye put up a good fight, but now ye can't even stand. Tis a shame ye'll not be joinin' us, ye coulda made mountains o' bits,” He turned and drew the sword at his side, “Farewell, lad.” He said around it's hilt, then brought it down in a swing aimed to take Shimmercoat's head off. As the blue colt watched the blade descend in slow motion, one thought kept circling around his head.

I'm sorry, my love.