Chapter Four: High Seas

“Madness…cannot be understood unless one walks in its shoes.”

Well…wasn’t the best rest I’ve had but, it was better than what I’ve been having for the last couple weeks. I awoke in a makeshift room made out of scrap metal and wood. (Had to make it out of something.) I was alone in the bare room, all that accompanied me was the single bed with a footlocker at the end of it, and a nightstand with a note on it. Cocking an eyebrow, I flared my horn grabbing the note with my magic. I laid my head back down on the thin pillow as I began to read.

“Jack, if you’re reading this. Then your ass is finally awake. It’s been two days since you blacked out in Chief Deep Water’s office. She told me everything you told her. The time after I escaped and…what happened to Bright. When we brought you to the doc, he was surprised that you haven’t died from infection or loss of blood. Nearly lost you during surgery, speaking of which. The cost took a third of the bounty you got from killing fancy pants. When you’re ready to come out of that room, meet me in the market place. Your gear is in the footlocker next to the door.

• Tracer."

When I read about the doc, I looked at my back to see that I was wrapped in fresh bandages and that it didn’t feel like constant grinding of glass and bone. I tossed the note in the corner then I rolled off my back, tensing up as a sore pain responded.

“Ow.” I muttered as I got onto my hooves, stretching them out and got a few satisfying pops as a result.

I popped my neck a bit then I rubbed my eyes. I walked over to the footlocker and opened it with my magic. A small smile crept across my face as I saw all my gear as well as my weapons. I draped the duster over me, placing Shattered Harmony into its holster. I placed my saddle bags over my back with my Varmint rifle laying on top. I checked my Pip-Buck to see that everything was in its place. Though the low amount of ammo that I had for Shattered Harmony and my Varmint rifle made me sigh.

I turned my head towards the door stopping for a moment. A thought running through my head as I opened the wooden door. ‘Well, lets see if I can try to make it one day without getting nearly killed.’

When I walked through the door, I closed my eyes before the flood of light could hit me. A slight chuckle escaped my lips as I opened my eyes, letting them get adjusted. “Didn’t get me this time.” I blinked a few times looking around at the bustling crowds that filled the large statue.

The noise of hooves against metal and constant chatter made my ears fold down a bit as I began to push through. I followed the signs that were hanging everywhere until I came upon the market place filled with stall that sold a number of different things. I walked down the aisles, the smell of oil, gun powder, and ozone made me think that there was a repair shop or a weapons dealer near by.

Then, I was stopped dead in my tracks as the smell of cooking food reached my nose. When it did, my stomach didn’t growl. It roared. It was loud enough for a few ponies nearby to give me a look. I chuckled internally as I kept walking down until I came to an area with a few tables, all of them filled except for the lone tan buck with a blood red mane.

As I got closer, I could see that he had a dinged up double barrel shotgun leaning against the table. He was dressed in a hole ridden leather jacket, but I could see some reinforced sections on the joints and the shoulders along with two on the sides. Though as I got closer I could see that the ones on the sides were recent as the stitching material made out of large straps of leather.

I walked over and stood beside the table, getting his attention away from the comic book that was laying next to the plate of food that he had. He swallowed what he had in his mouth before speaking. “You just going to stand there and stare at me or you going to sit down and grab a bite?”

I rolled my eyes as I sat down, putting down my rifle and bags on the end of the table. I looked at Tracer as he turned the page of the comic. “I think you have some caps of mine.”

He nodded in response. “Ah, yeah. Well…” He said with a slight pause.

I cocked an eyebrow. “You said in your letter that the medical costs took a third of the bounty I got for Fancy Pants. How much was the bounty anyways?”

He took a drink of Sarsaparilla. “Fifteen hundred caps. Doc took five hundred, spent three hundred on supplies like food and ammo, then to top it off I got your rifle repaired along with your duster for another hundred. We got six hundred left in the bag. If you’re hungry, there is some food in your bag, too.”

I was a bit taken back at the amount that was earned, then spent. “How much ammo did we-” my sentence was stop dead when I opened my bag to see where the ‘food’ was. What I saw a good seven boxes of Sugar Apple Bombs. I levitated one of the boxes out and stared at it for a moment. “Why do I have a shit ton of cereal in my bags?”

Tracer chuckled as he took another bite of his kebab. “It’s food isn’t it? Enjoy it.”

My face deadpanned them I gave him a steady shake of my head. “You just love being an asshole, huh?”

He bit into the last piece of his food, his speech mumbled by the chewing. “No, I just like messing with you.” With a somewhat loud swallow, he got up grabbing his gear. “Come on. We got a boat to catch.”

My face deadpanned once again, before I sighed and began to get my gear ready. “Really, right when I sat down?” I muttered as I got my gear on. I looked over at Tracer, who was loading his double barrel shotgun with two red shells into the chamber.

“I know you just got up and all but, hurry your ass up.” Tracer commented as he placed the shotgun into a holster that was right behind his shoulder; where he could get a quick grasp on it with his teeth.

When I got my varmint rifle on my back, we began to move. I galloped a bit just to catch up, to which Tracer snorted a suppressed chuckle. I rolled my eyes as we traversed the crowds and made our way down the statue. Getting a few stares and whispers of the crowd as we walked by, Shattered Harmony burning in its holster every time I hear the name PON3 gave me. The Caravan Guard. The Guard. Etc.

The two guards at the door opened it for us, nodding as we passed them. The filtered sunlight making me squint my eyes a bit as I followed Tracer. The outside wasn’t as busy as the inside, but it was still pretty active. Ponies tending to gardens, wells, and I think a few were fishing with makeshift poles on the edge of some docks.

As we got closer to the docks, a large brown vessel with a giant faded red wheel behind it caught my attention. The words ‘Vidi, Vici, Veni’ were in big bold letters in white paint. The words got me curious as I read them. I continued to look at the words when Tracer stopped in front of me, nearly causing me to collide with his ass; which he wouldn’t let me live down.

I cocked an eyebrow as looked around Tracer to see two ponies loading supplies onto the ship. One clad in heavy duty leather armor (which I kinda envy) with a clipboard in his hooves, marking things off as they are loaded. “Is this the boat we are getting on?” I asked with a bit of surprise.

“Yeah, it was the quickest and safest way we can get back to Baltimare.” He replied, a bit of his confidence fading from his voice when his eyes saw pony on the deck of the ship shouting orders at the ones on the dock telling them to hurry their asses up. The only thing I could make of the pony was that he was an earth pony and male. That’s it. The rest of him was covered in armor or clothing. I looked at Tracer a bit and nudged him. “Come on.” I said walking past him.

I went up to the buck with the clipboard and touched his shoulder with my hoof. “Sir?” I asked, trying to get his attention.

He turned to me with a raised eyebrow. “Yes, lad?” he responded in a weird accent, one I certainly haven’t heard before. He had an bright red beard that matched his mane, which had numerous strands of white that intermingled with the red, that stood out against his pale brown coat. The wrinkles that adorned on his face told me he has been around for quite a while. “What can I do ya for? And make it quick, I’m mighty busy.”

I looked at Tracer, then I looked back at the pony and cleared my throat. “I was told that you guys take ponies up and down the coast?”

He nodded. “Yes we do, lad. But, you are going to have to talk to the Captain. He makes all final decisions. Name is Old Arn, but you can just call me Arn. I‘m the cook and part time quartermaster if you were wonderin’.”

I nodded back. “Nice to meet you Arn. Where is the Captain?”

Arn pointed with a hoof to the buck in full gear. From here I could tell that every inch of his body was covered. Some heavy duty combat armor and a face mask with a round metal helmet on the top, his hooves were covered by some heavy rubber boots that laced up underneath the sleeves of the combat armor. “That’s Captain Prod. I think he is expecting you.” Arn said going back to his clipboard checking off items here and there.

I looked back at Tracer who was staring at Prod. I nudged him, taking him out of his little trance and turned his attention to me. “Huh?”

I raised an eyebrow. “You ok?” I asked out of mild concern.

He looked at the Prod for a moment again before, coming back to me. “Yeah, yeah…I’m fine.” He reached around his side and took out a large sized pack that seemed about a third of the way full. “Here are the caps that we are going to use. Go talk to the Captain while I help the others load the supplies.” He said. He set them down on the dock and I quickly grabbed it with my magic.

I sighed as he walked past me and began to talk to Arn about helping out. “Why do I gotta do this shit?” I muttered as I got up and climbed up the ramp onto the ship.

“Because, you’re the guinea pig?” Cheddar once again making a smart ass remark.

“Shush, you.” I muttered under my breath in response.

I heard his icy chuckle. “oh, come on don’t be a spoil sport. I’m just answering your question is all.”

I sighed and shook my head as I got onto the deck. The captain turning his head towards me, an emotionless stare faced me as I walked to him. He stood a good few inches above me, but that wasn’t much.

“Captain Prod?” I asked in hope that this wasn’t a mistake.

He nodded, before replying with a gritty and crackling voice as it passed through the helmet that covered his face. “Yes, I’m Captain Prod. I assume you are here for a passage on my ship?”

“Yes, sir. My friend Tracer and I would like to take passage on your ship.”

He just stared at me for a moment thinking, I assumed.. “Alright, the fare will be six hundred caps.”

My eyes widened slightly in shock. If I was drinking something I would’ve spat it in his face mask. “Four hundred.”

“Five hundred fifty.”

“Four hundred seventy five.”

I heard him sigh underneath his mask. “Fine, five hundred and we got a deal.”

I smirked. “Five hundred sounds good.” Sticking out my hoof expecting a hoofshake.

He looked at it for a moment before, hesitantly shaking it with his own. He had to turn to do it revealing a large box with a long metal pole protruding out of it with a sharp edge, which caught my eye as I shook his hoof. He noticed it with a gritty chuckle. “Ah, noticed my heat spear huh? Well, I can tell you about it during the evening meal.” He turned to the crew that were on the deck, especially a short one who seems to be running the show on the dock.

“Buzzy! Arn! Do we have everything we need?” Prod exclaimed, getting both of their attention.

‘Buzzy? Who the hell is Buzzy?’ I thought as looked down as one of them replied.

The accent of Arn reached my ears in his response. “Yes, Captain. Everything is accounted and paid for. Buzzsaw! Where is Flipside?”

A short stumpy unicorn buck replied with some irritation. “Hell, if I know. The bastard probably got split again and is having a hissy fit with himself in the barracks.” I could hear Arn sigh a bit and I saw him shake his head. “Captain, Flipside disappeared again.”

Prod looked at me and sighed. “I know you are just a guest here but, can you check the barracks? They are just below deck. If you see two unicorn bucks that look like twins bickering at each other, don’t bother them, just come back and tell me.”

I nodded and went to the middle of the deck, looking around. A stairwell nearby caught my attention and I went to it. When I got to it, a unicorn buck who’s black mane nearly blends in with his dark purple coat came up and coughed a bit. When he reached the top and looked at me with a deadpan expression. A small bandana with the equestrian flag on it was wrapped around his head, it was old and faded unlike his black flak jacket. A large pistol sat snugly in its holster on his shoulder.

I walked up to him at the top of the stairwell. “Hey, is Flipside in there?” The buck just nodded his head and pointed down to the barracks where the sounds of bickering could be heard. I cocked an eyebrow. “What’s your name?” I asked with a slight curiosity. He just grunted in response before going back up to the top with what I think is the steering wheel.

“He seems like the talkative type.” Cheddar again commented with the sarcastic tone that I have come to know and love.

I rolled my eyes as I made my way downstairs to see two bucks yelling at each other for something I couldn’t quite understand. They looked exactly the same, the same white coat, the same shocking blue mane and tail. Kind of reminds me of the old royal guard posters I see in buildings sometimes. But, what struck me odd was the their horns were in half. One had a left side of the horn and the other had a right side.

I slowly backed up the stairs from the barracks just in time to see that everyone was boarding. I counted four of the crew members gathered with Tracer, who seemed like he wasn’t comfortable being around Prod. Or maybe it was the giant ass ‘Heat Spear’ that looked like it was going to poke something that should not be poked (unless he is into that kind of thing.).

Out of the group I noticed two of them I haven’t met yet. The short stumpy unicorn with swamp colors of dark green and black and the cutie mark that was basically an ammo belt curled up. I think was the one that went by the name Buzzsaw or Buzzy.

Though I noticed that out of the entire crew there was only one ghoul. He wasn’t wearing anything but a nearly toothless smile. His coat was nearly gone all I could tell as I walked over to the group was whatever remained of it had lost its original color. He was just dirty brown along with the few remaining strands of his grey mane.

When I got over to the group Prod looked at me. “So is Flipside in the barracks?”

“Yeah, I think so. But, I couldn’t tell which one was Flipside. He was arguing with his brother over something, I dunno.” I replied slightly confused at the snicker I got from Buzzsaw and the ghoul.

Prod, deadpan spoke with that gritty crackling voice as it went through whatever it did in that helmet of his. “Well, they are both Flipside. He will be excited to explain it once again but, it will be at the evening meal.” When Prod finished speaking he looked at the cloud covered sky. After a moment he turned to the pony that was at the steering wheel thing. “Helmsman! Lets set sail!” Prod proclaimed reminding me of the pony; who was now beginning to use a series of levers and a pulley.

“Prod, who is that?” I said pointing at the Helmsman with my hoof.

“That’s the Helmsman. He steers the ship.” Prod said with a practiced voice, similar to that of Files from Resort.

“Yeah, I get that. But, what’s his name?” I asked, curiosity getting the best of me.

Prod shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine.”

I cocked an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

I felt the push of a short buck next to me turning my attention to the short unicorn who had been shouting orders at everyone on the dock. He had to be a staggering five inches shorter than me. “What the captain means idiot is that we don’t know.”

“Hey, nopony calls jack an idiot besides me!” Cheddar said with slight irritation.

“Hey, nopony calls Jack an idiot besides me!” Tracer proclaimed with a slight irritation, nearly getting in the short buck’s face, but quickly being stopped by the outstretched leg of Prod.

The short buck just snorted in response and mumbled something before turning back to me as I spoke up. “What do you mean you don’t know? He is part of y’alls crew isn’t he?”

I heard the ghoul coughed a bit. “Well, he just showed up one day after our old helmsmen kicked the bucket. The same bucket that Buzzsaw here uses when he feels seasick.” The ghoul said with a wheezy chuckle as he looked at the irritated Buzzsaw who in fact was the small little shit that was standing next to me.

“Watch it, Plank! At least I don’t try to make ponies try to walk the plank when we don’t even have one!” Buzzsaw retorted.

I turned to Prod who was just shaking his head as if a headache was coming on. “We don’t know where he came from. He just showed up and began to steer us where we needed to go. We just call him Helms since he hasn’t said anything, including his name.” Prod said as the ghoul and Buzzsaw bickered a bit.

I looked at Tracer and, from the looks of his fidgeting, he looked like he wanted to get away from Prod. Which reminds me. “Prod, the fare was five hundred caps am I correct?” I asked flaring my horn as I grabbed the bag of caps out of my pack and laying them on the ground before, steadily counting until I got to one hundred before sliding the bag to Prod.

Prod nodded, before scooping them up and placing them in a pouch of his own returning my small little pack; which I placed the remaining caps in. “Alright! We will get to Baltimare in three days! In the mean time, get yourself comfortable and acquainted with the crew.” With a whistle from Prod, the ship lurched backwards, making its way out of the docks. The sounds of the large paddle wheel groaning against the water and weight of the ship could be heard all around.

Once we were far enough, we turned south. We lurched forward once more,, getting a steady course. With that the group dispersed to their stations or duties. Arn and the ghoul, who’s name I think is Plank according to Buzzsaw, disappeared somewhere. Buzzsaw just began to mumble to himself as he went down to the barracks below deck.

I turned my attention back to Tracer and right as I was about to say something. I began to feel something in my stomach drop as the boat was rocking back and forth with a soft sway. I felt something begin to climb up my throat the moment I tried to open my mouth. “Sweet celestia…” I muttered as I pushed Tracer to the side before I began to let loose what ever was in my stomach over the railing.

I felt a hoof on my shoulder to see that it was Tracer with, for a lack of the better term, a concerned look. “Feel a little seasick, huh?” I could tell that he was suppressing a chuckle.

I looked back at him with some bile on the edges of my mouth. “No, I’m just peachy.” I said with a sarcastic tone causing him to let out that chuckle.

He patted my back. “Alright, just wanted to make sure you are alright.” He said before picking up his stuff and heading towards the stairs that go down to the barracks.

I sighed then I felt another wave of vomit make its up to say hello. After a few moments of spewing what ever contents of my stomach remained over the railing, I just began to dry heave. The taste of bile covered the entire inside of my mouth. “Ugh…this is gonna be a long three days.” I muttered as I felt another hoof on my shoulder.

I turned to see that it was Prod looking at me with his emotionless mask. “This your first time on a boat?” I nodded a bit, keeping my head mainly over the railing just incase I got another surprise visit from my ‘Breakfast’. “Well, lying down helps. I’ll show you to your hammock.” he said, making his way to the stairs.

I groaned as I got onto all of my legs and began to follow. I dreaded the walk as the rocking nearly made me begin to dry heave once more, but I swallowed a bit to keep the sensation down. When I reached the stairs I heard Prod speaking again. “Flipside! Get yourself together and clean up the vomit on the side of the ship!”

As I got down the steps I saw a bright purple flash. I only saw one of the twins when my vision cleared, but this time he had a whole horn. Well, one if you would call it that since it’s split right down the middle.

“Yes, sir!” he exclaimed before running past me and up to the deck. I looked at Flipside as he did and once he was out of sight I turned back to Prod who was next to two hammocks; one was currently occupied by the lord of douche Tracer himself. He had taken the top one which was perfectly fine with me.

When I reached Prod, he was gesturing to the bottom hammock. “This is where you’ll be sleeping until we reach Baltimare. Before you settle in, here are the rules. No discharging or use of your weapons unless we are being attacked. No fights unless it’s sparring. No going into the engine room unless you want to be cooked from the inside out by the steam. Last, but not least, don’t complain about Arn’s food. Even if you don’t like it. And definitely don’t try to improve it unless you want to be chased around the ship by an old cook with a sharp knife.” He said with a bit humor, but I didn’t find it as humorous. The thought made me want to run.

“Alright, I think I got everything. When is dinner?” I asked as I placed down my things, feeling the three memory orbs bulge out against the sides of my bag.

“In about three hours. So, might as well get comfortable.” He said, turning around and walking down the barracks towards the stairs.

I sat down on the thick clothed hammock, sighing quietly. I wiped my mouth clean of any remaining vomit with my hoof. I looked up to see that Tracer was deep within his comics again. Though he did look a little shaken, I couldn't care less at the moment. I felt weak and tired from the vomiting and the lack of breakfast. Another thing I have Tracer to thank for. I looked at my bag to see that the memory orbs were still protruding out.

I slumped over my bags and opened it up with my magic. Reading a bit about them before, I grabbed them with my hooves unless I want to fall on the floor unconscious while I’m in the memory. I laid down with the orange orb in between my hooves as I stared at it. I was about connect with it when I saw Tracer shifting in his hammock. A moment later his head popped down with a cocked eyebrow. “You aren’t seriously going to go into that nut job’s memory, are you?” He said with a lot of skepticism.

“Well, what other way can I do to pass the time, huh?”

He shrugged bit. “You could masturbate. That always helps pass the time.” He said sounding like this was a daily topic for him.

My face deadpanned as I looked at him. “No, I’m not going to masturbate here.” I responded with a bit irritation.

He shifted back on the hammock and chuckled. “Alright, don’t say I didn’t give an idea or anything.”

I sighed as I shook my head, the orb still in my hooves. “Here goes nothing.” I pressed my horn against the orb and everything faded to black.

***o0O0o0O0o0O0o***

It felt weird to say the least, I could tell that I was a unicorn. Sighing in mental relief as I could feel the parts that made my host male. At least I was familiar with the type of body structure, though I don’t feel as clean as my host did. The smell of musty air filled my senses. My host blinked a few times as he sat up in an actually quite comfortable bed.

As my host got onto his hooves, a mare in makeshift combat armor; which was just a few spare plates of Kevlar or similar material duct taped on her jacket that looked like that it came from the lost and found, came into view. “Finally, you’re awake! I’m surprised that the blast didn’t wake you up!” She exclaimed nearly throwing a 10mm pistol at my host’s chest. “I know you’re a special snowflake and all for being Fancy Pants’ body double, but we got some real shit on our hooves!” Body double? So that means…

My host sighed as he took the pistol and racked the slide. “Now, no need to yell. What happened?” My host was relatively calm and level headed as he looked at the dark green mare.

“The shit hit the fan is what happened! The zebra’s finally did what we thought they were too chicken to do!” She said, opening the blinds to a shattered window to reveal fires raging in a town of an unknown name.

My host spat a bit and sighed. “Shit…Where’s Fancy Pants and the others?” My host isn’t fancy…

The mare nodded to a door that was embedded with shards of glass. “They are all going down to the basement. Vanity is telling everyone who are willing to stay to protect those who are leaving.”

My host cocked an eyebrow. “To protect them from what?”

She shrugged. “The eventual mob that is out for blood and desperation in the hopes there is some kind of safety here.” The way she said it ran a chill up my mental spine. Just the calmness compared to the others made me wonder if she knew that they were ponies who were going to attack.

My host turned around and looked at a black vest that was on a coat rack next to the door, the vest was covered with pouches big and small. What got me was the bold white letters. PVPD SWAT.

“While the thought of nearly dying for those autocrats a second time is appealing, I’m going to have to decline that offer.” He took the vest and placed it over his upper body; it was a tight fitting vest, but the feeling of protection was massive.

The mare sighed. “Pond Water, you are some kinda stupid aren’t you?”

Pond shrugged as he placed the pistol in a holster in the vest itself. “Maybe, why do you say that?”

“Isn’t it fucking obvious? You look exactly like Fancy Pants! You’re going to be a fucking target!” She yelled, concern riddling her voice.

Pond looked at her and nodded. “I know. But remember, Fancy Pants has a good reputation with the lower classes a bit more than others and certainly more so than Blueblood.” Without another word, my host walked to the door and opened it.

What was behind it was a long hallway, every so often was some kind of makeshift fortification or barrier. Ponies with rifles and machineguns at each one, waiting on the mob that was to come. A few were running while the sounds of shouting could be heard at the end of hall.

Pond nodded at the ponies at the fortifications as he turned to the opposite direction and began to gallop at full speed following the ponies who were running. His chest beating hard and fast as he kept going, towards the unknown direction. It didn’t take long before the sounds of gunfire and screaming to sound as my host got to the back of the large building he was in.

Bullets began to strike the walls all around as my host turned the corner, out of reflex my host pulled his pistol with his magic and began to fire at will. A bullet striking my host in the side, a rush of hot pain coursed through me. Pond grunted in pain as he backed up and pressed his back against the corner looking at the 10mm pistol. He took out the magazine to see that he only had half of the bullets left. Reinserting it, Pond peaked around the corner to see a large number of ponies fighting; mostly hoof to hoof but some had firearms.

Pond breathed heavily looking down at where he was struck. There wasn’t any blood pouring but, that would be one nasty bruise later on. Pond looked through a still intact window, I couldn’t tell if it was an earthquake or not but, the ground began to rumble. The fighting seized for a silent moment as a large balloon rose out of the ground, cords of reinforced steel holding a large boat type vessel to the balloon.

Pond’s eyes widen as he muttered. “No…they can’t leave yet…” Without another word and I think without a single thought, Pond began charge a window. ‘This is gonna hurt.’ I thought as my host, braced himself as jumped at the window. His body colliding against the window, his body weight effectively shattered the glass. I could feel the familiar pain of glass embedding itself into my hosts muscles as he went into freefall.

It was a fucking two story drop. Pond fell on the flat earth with a sharp crack but, his shoulder took most of the impact. From the amount of pain that followed, it was utterly shattered. Pond groaned looking up half blind by the blood and tears that covered his eyes. The blurry image of the ship becoming smaller and smaller as it left. Pond screaming out as he drug himself, leaving a small trail of blood behind. “Wait! Don’t leave me! I don’t want to die!” Pond exclaimed as he got just barely got onto his hooves, his breath heavy as he watched it disappear into the haze.

Pond limped to the edge of the hole where the ship was stored just find that the gunfire behind him was getting closer before, somepony tackled Pond onto the ground. My host looked to see that it was the mare from earlier, covered in fresh blood that may not be hers. “There you are!” She looked back at the large house before, she turned her battle saddle and fired away until her magazine was spent. “Come on! We need to ge-” She couldn’t even finish her sentence as buckshot ripped across her face; shredding it to pieces.

The blood and gore spraying my host in the face nearly blinding him with the bone shrapnel. The sounds of yelling, one of which I could hear. “One of them is over here!” I didn’t know who it belonged to but, my host did. He looked at the pony with a pump action shotgun, a crazed smile that reeked of desperation and vengeance. The pony slowly making his way while he loaded the shells one by one. The large unicorn buck smiled wide as he pressed the shotgun against my host’s head. “This is for my brother!” As the buck tried to press the trigger, a confused and panicked look came upon his face. “Why won’t it fire!?”

My senses being overloaded with the pain that Pond was enduring, that I didn’t notice his horn holding the trigger in place. “Because, I’m not going to die today!” He exclaimed as he took his pistol from the ground next to him and fired the remainder of the magazine into the shotgunner. The shotgunner stumbled a bit as his own magic failed, dropping the shotgun.

Pond’s magic caught it and quickly turned it around pressing it against the shot gunner’s temple, a scowl was worn on my host’s face. “First Sergeant Pond Water doesn’t die without a fucking fight!” My host screamed as he pressed the trigger, unloading the buckshot into the shot gunner’s skull; making it nothing, but red paste on the ground.

Pond breathed heavily as he used the shotgun as a makeshift crutch to shakily got up. He looked back at the large house to see the flashing of gunfire along with the screams of agony. Pond paused for a moment before, turning his back on the large house and limping into the dying foliage. “Goodbye, Pepper…I‘ll see you again one day…” Pond muttered before, the world went to black again.

***0ooo0ooo0***

I opened my eyes to see that I was holding my shoulder as if I was still in pain, I turned my head to see Tracer giving me a raised eyebrow. “You ok? You look like shit, even more than usual.” For the first time he actually seemed concerned about what happened.

I sighed as I rolled off the hammock and looked up at him. “Yeah…It was something.” I realized that as I stood, my heart was pounding. I took in a deep slow breath, feeling it begin to slow down.

Tracer continued to give me the raised eyebrow. “What the hell are you doing?”

I just shrugged as I looked at my Pip-Buck to see that it was nearly 9PM. I cocked an eyebrow at it before, looking at Tracer. “When’s dinner?”

He gave me a shrug as he replied. “In about ten minutes. You were out cold for a good three hours and I was starting to wonder if you were going to come out of that thing.” He pointed with his hoof at the memory orb that sat in my hammock. “Also, what the hell happened while you were in there?”

I sighed, remembering everything that I saw in that orb. “Well, it turns out that Fancy Pants wasn’t really Fancy Pants.”

That made Tracer have a confused and shocked look on his face. “What you talking bout?” he said in a rapid voice full of curiosity.

“I’ll explain during dinner. Where do we eat again?” I asked having no clue what so ever.

Tracer gave me a deadpan look and sighed. “Follow me.” He said as he turned around and began to make his way down the lower deck. Lanterns were lit giving the lower deck a soft easy glow that let me see what I hadn’t before. There were covers on the hull where I think cannons used to be positioned but, the cannons themselves were long gone. Most likely used as scrap somewhere.

We got onto the deck and went straight forward towards a door where light and sound seeped from underneath. The boat lurched to the side from a wave which nearly sent me tumbling across the deck. I didn’t fall due to the fact that Tracer on my left side which was the direction I was falling towards. He gave me another deadpan look and shook his head before, opening the door with his hoof. He pushed it in to reveal that everyone including the weird ghoul named Plank who happened to be giving me the weirdest look ever. I didn’t like it.

The room was cozy and warm, filled with the soft light of candle lit lanterns and the sounds of merry laughter. The smell of cooked food reached my nostrils which sounded my stomach. I guess it was loud enough to make everyone stop and look at me. My eyes widened in embarrassment as I looked around the room. Then, I heard a scratchy whistle come from the end of the table where everyone sat. I

It was Prod. “Arn, get Jack and Tracer something to eat. I know Jack is starving.” He said waving for us to come sit at the table. “Come on sit you two.” He said with a soft chuckle even though it sounded hardly like it was soft.

Tracer and me trotted over to the table where there were two unoccupied spots; which both of us gladly took. Arn nodded before, going behind a swinging door and coming back out with two plates of steaming hot food. The moment I saw that my mouth dropped and I could feel the drool flowing off. The moment the food hit the table, I placed a cloth around my neck then, I chowed down on the food before me. I felt the looks the others gave me when I ate over half of the food in less then a second. I looked up all of them including Tracer were giving me looks.

“Somepony is hungry.” Arn chuckled as he went back to his spot on the table.

“Ayy! He be eating all the food! He needs to slow down or he walks the plank!” The ghoul shouted pointing a spoon at me. I’d be afraid if it was a knife or a fork but, a spoon?

I saw Buzzsaw face hoof and sigh. “Plank, why don’t you just shut the hell up!? We don’t even have a plank!”

Plank whipped his head at Buzzsaw. “We don’t!? How can we be a pirate ship without a bloody plank! We need to get one! At most haste!”

I heard a hoof slam on the table making it rattle. “Why don’t you two shut up!?” I jumped a bit and turned my head to see that it was Prod. “You two have this argument every damn day! We have guests, once of which did us a favor by killing that lunatic Fancy Pants! I’m sure he has some questions for us since he was stuck in that memory orb for the last three hours. So kindly shut your fucking yaps!” Prod, boldly exclaimed making everyone go quiet and looking attentively. Prod cleared his throat as he looked at me. “Now, Jack. Tracer has gotten to know some of the crew while you were out.”

I looked at Tracer as he just kept eating his food, looking like he couldn’t find a fuck to give. Hearing the name made my mind jump away from the food to the memory orb. “Oh, turns out Fancy Pants wasn’t Fancy Pants.” I commented as I took another bite, tasting the tangy taste of mutfruit.

Everyone looked at me with a cocked eyebrow. “What do you mean he isn’t Fancy Pants?” Plank spoke up with a voice filled with confusion. “I’ve seen the ghoulified bastard myself!”

I raised up a hoof. “Hold on. I’ll tell what I know.” I said as I began to tell them what happened in the memory orb. The giant house, the airship, turning out that our Fancy Pants was a body double. Even Tracer seemed surprised by this as he paid attention. “So, yeah. His real name was Pond Water. Being a body double, I guess he thought he was Fancy Pants or something. I got two more memory orbs to go.” I said taking bit of food into my mouth and chewing.

Prod chuckled. “Well, ain’t that something. I guessed it was something of the sort.”

I raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

Prod looked at me, I could feel the smirk that was underneath. “Oh, just table talk at a blackjack table is all. But, anyways. I’ll introduce you to the crew or at least some of them. Prod pointed at Buzzsaw. “That’s Buzzy right there.”

Buzzsaw glared at Prod. “It’s Buzzsaw, Captain.”

Prod waved him off with his hoof. “What ever Buzzy.”

I looked at Buzzsaw and raised an eyebrow. “I saw your cutie mark earlier and I didn’t think you had anything to do with lumber.”

Buzzsaw chuckled. “Well, Buzzsaw is more of an adopted name. When the need comes, you’ll find out why they call me Buzzsaw. Its a real rip.” He said just before he took a gulp of his drink.

Arn rolled his eyes before, turning to me. “He calls himself Buzzsaw because he has a giant machinegun that’s longer then he his tall and has a high cyclic rate of fire just to compensate for something we all know.”

Buzzsaw gave Arn a big glare. “I’ll fucking kill you, you old washed up bastard!” I could see that Buzzsaw was about to jump over the table, but he stopped dead all by a look of the helmsman. Buzzsaw took a deep and sat back down. “This isn’t over gramps.”

I looked at Prod. “Um, does this happen every night?”

Prod sighed. “Unfortunately, but its our entertainment for the evening so we enjoy when we can. So, are there anymore questions from you?” he asked, his face still blank from the mask. I wondered how he even ate with that thing on.

“Please don’t tell me you’re gonna ask him that.”

I rolled my eyes, before I looked down whispering. “Of course not.” I looked back at Prod with a bit of a smile, my stomach feeling nice and full for the first time in days. “Why do you have that mask on Prod?” I asked.

Any conversation that was going on seized when the question reached everyponies ears. Prod stayed silent as I felt Tracer tugging at my leg. He leaned down and whispered into my ear. “Let’s go.”

I raised an eyebrow. “What why?” I didn’t get an answer as I felt tracer biting into the collar of my duster.

“Sorry about him. He is still loopy from the memory orb.” He said as he drug me out of the dining hall and threw me out onto the deck. “You’re a fucking idiot you know that!?” He exclaimed as shook his head. “Of course you don’t. Otherwise we wouldn’t be in this situation.” he sighed as he placed his face into his hoof.

I got up and dusted myself off looking at Tracer. “Well, you seemed like you were gonna shit yourself this morning when we first got onto this floating deathtrap. So, please. Explain to me what the fuck is going on?”

Tracer tensed up for a moment not saying anything. “Fine. Want to know? I’ll tell you a little story you fucking idiot. Lets go back into the barracks and I’ll tell.” he said with a monotone voice that had the edge of irritation on it. He went down to the barracks and I followed up until we got to our hammocks.

He climbed up on his and sighed. “Get comfortable. You’re gonna have a history lesson.”

I rolled my eyes as I laid in my hammock and looked up. “Fire away nerd.”

He began to spiel about the history of Captain Prod. I learned (unfortunately) that nopony has ever seen his face, as it has always been behind that metal mask. He seems to never grow old or die as it has been rumored that he has been shot, stabbed, burnt and apparently is over hundred twenty years old. Never has the same crew twice, always shares the loot with the crew the time is up and abandons the crew before getting a new shortly there after. I zoned out about halfway through it as I felt myself falling asleep.

I sighed as I rubbed my eyes and yawned a bit. I guess that he wasn’t noticing as he kept going on about him using that heat spear of his to take down ten enemies that surrounded him or something. I dunno. I flared my horn grabbing my bag and opening it up to reveal the two other orbs I have yet to watch. ‘Might as I well’ I thought as I took out the second one and placed into my hooves; staring at the blue orb. I closed my eyes as I lowered my head, contacting the cold smooth surface with my horn. I felt the magic work as everything fell away and went to black.

***0oo0oo0***

I felt the bitter cold biting at my skin the moment I fell into Pond’s body once again. Pond’s lungs were burning from the icy cold as he trudged through…Green snow? What the hell? The lower half of Pond’s legs were numb enough that I could barely feel them as he walked. His eyes were darting from side to side, scanning the area around him. Looking for danger.

He stopped for a moment and surveyed the area in the patch of woods that he was walking in. He turned his head and whistled. “Hey, guys the coast is clear for now.” When he said that, a few ponies walked out from the dying brush. I could see four in total.

The sound of a young shivering filly came to Pond’s ear. “M-Mister Water. A-Are you s-sure that it’s safe?”

I felt pond smile as he looked at a filly with small amounts of grime covering her yellow coat and light pink mane. She was shaking and shivering under a torn up sheet as she tried to keep warm in the snow. “It’s fine darling.” Pond’s magic came to life as he took something from his back and placed it in between him and the filly. It was the same shotgun from the last orb. “Nopony is going to mess with us as long as we have my friend here. Just stay close to me and you’ll be fine.” he nodded his head towards a field in the distance. “Come on, everyone. We need to keep moving south, we will set up camp when we find good shelter.”

He looked at the filly and frowned a bit seeing her shiver. “Hey, buttercup. Get on my back and rest a bit.” Pond said as he lowered himself making his stomach crunch the snow below him. It wasn’t until I felt the filly climb on top of him, on how weak he was compared to earlier. The pain on his shoulder spiked when he lifted the filly up.

Buttercup laid on Pond’s back with two legs on each side of his back, helping her stay on. “T-Thank you mister Water.”

I felt Pond smiling. “You’re welcome Buttercup. If you need anything just tell me alright?”

She nodded. “Yes, sir.”

“Alright.” He began to trudge through the snow once again leaving a trench in his wake for the others to follow in. I could hardly feel his legs as he went, all I felt in them were the icy bites of the snow. He felt weak and sick, keeping his composer for the rest to follow. He needed to be strong for what he is doing.

He kept trudging through the snow until he came to the crest of the hill. A burning city in the distance giving off a tall column of smoke as it rose into the grey clouds. Pond stood for a moment watching the city burn, shocked that it was spewing green flames. The filly poked his ear. “Mister Water, why is Manehattan still burning?” Buttercup ask with a faint sliver of dread in her voice.

Pond shrugged as he walked. “I don’t know. Everything is burning or dying. The bombs do a lot in that regard. But, we need to be qui-” Pond couldn’t finish his response, we both felt something hard hit us in the side. It took a moment for the sound for the shot to reach his ears.

Pond collapsed into the green snow with a crunch, making Buttercup tumble off as well. I could feel the burning in Pond’s side where the bullet had penetrated his ragged body armor. Screams could be heard from behind where the others were followed by a salvo of fire. Pond moving through the pain turned back to see numerous ponies firing on the unarmed refugees who were following him. The ponies were giving the refugees no mercy as they were cut down like animals; the hot red blood and guts mixing with the ice cold green snow and turning it into a yellowish slush.

Pond looked to Buttercup who was curled up in a shivering ball, tears streaming down her face as the slaughter goes on. Pond’s eyes found hers. “Buttercup!” She looked at him with fear riddling her face. “I need you to run. Run to the sound until you find someplace safe. Keep running no matter what you hear. Ok?”

She looked at him with wide eyes before, slowly nodding. “Yes, sir.”

He smiled softly as he grabbed the shotgun that had fallen next to him with his magic. “Now go!”

Without another word Buttercup wobbled up onto her hooves and began to move but, she didn’t make it far as another bullet snapped by Pond’s ear, grazing it which caused him to flinch. I could feel the time slow as the bullet found Buttercup’s frail body, the impact of it sprayed her blood across the surface of the snow. Time sped up as her body began tumbling down the hill leaving behind blood and what ever guts were being freed by the motion.

Pond snapped his head toward the shot to see that there was somepony sitting in a cluster of dying trees with a scoped rifle. The expression felt on his face was one of unadulterated rage. He didn’t even look at the others as they tried to fight how ever they could. Pond let out a humongous scream of rage as he charged, pumping shell after shell of 12 gauge into any near by raiders; blood spraying every which way as they fell. A raider nearly brought down an axe on Pond’s head, Pond flared his horn slowing the axe long enough for Pond to bring the shotgun’s muzzle to chest. With a shout, Pond unloaded two rounds of buckshot.

The rounds made the raider fall back into the green snow, blood flowing freely out of the gaping hole in his chest. The raider’s axe fell into the magical grasp of Pond as he charged the sniper with all his might. He fired once more with the shotgun before, hearing the click. “Shit!” he exclaimed as he threw the shotgun at a raider’s face, causing the raider to flinch in pain. Another bullet snapped by Pond’s ear, the shot coming from the sniper that killed Buttercup. I couldn’t imagine what rage dwelled within in his mind when he saw the sniper.

He let out another scream, but couldn’t move any further as something from behind struck the back of Pond’s head. Everything went black, but the memory didn’t end. It felt like hours sitting in the darkness the cold itching its way in. I couldn’t really tell how long he was out but, soon his eyes began to flutter open. A pounding pain echoing through his entire skull. He rubbed the back of his head feeling the frozen blood that matted the back of his head.

Pond looked around a bit seeing the snow has began to pick up, I could feel his lung burning as they breathed in the icy cold air. He looked over at the scene to see that everyone that was still there were frozen corpses. The shock and horror of the slaughter was apparent on Pond’s face as he rose onto his hoofs. I wandered about the area to see if he could find anything of use; careful not to look into the eyes of the ponies he tried to protect. He saw that the place was picked clean, all for an assault rifle that was buried underneath a body of a raider.

Pond sighed as he struggled to take the magazine from the frozen firearm. After a moment of struggling and massive swearing; the magazine came loose. He looked at the rounds and began to take them out, counting to himself seeing there was eighteen rounds of 5.56.

He inserted the rounds into the magazine and slammed the magazine home; racking a round into the chamber. He looked in the direction where the massacre took place. He let out a grim sigh, before turning away. Pond in somber silence trudged through the green snow, blood splatter scattered around until he got to the hill where Buttercup was slain. He stared at the frozen body of the small filly for a moment longer as I could guess he was replaying the memory over and over in his mind.

I felt a small drop begin to flow down his cheek as he made his way down the steep decline. He didn’t say anything for the most part as he went through the snow, getting ever colder as the cloaked sun went down. It wasn’t until it was almost dark when he saw the light of the aid station that was headed by the Ministry of Peace. This one as Pond got closer didn’t seem to be raided like many others that dotted the landscape.

First came the light than, came the sound. I could hear the sounds of urgency and concern as they worked late into the night. When Pond stumbled into the tent, a wave of relaxing warmth swept over him like the blanket that he needed. At the same moment though, all of the sound in the station stopped for a brief moment as they occupants looked at the worn Pond Water. Some had fear in that he would attack while others didn’t seem to care, but one of the nurses. A blue unicorn with a light tan mane approached Pond. She looked sleep deprived and on the verge of passing out before, taking a few Zs

She took a moment to patted down her matted mane to make herself somewhat presentable. She coughed and looked up at Pond who had to be a good six inches taller than her. “Mr. Fancy Pants! You‘re alive…and covered in blood.” She said before stepping in slight horror.

Pond sighed before, shaking his head. “I‘m not Fancy Pants…I was his double.” He said with a grim tone.

The Nurse looked at the blood stains that covered his shredded armor. “T-Then who are you and why are you covered in blood…” She said, the fear growing even more than before.

“I‘m First Sergeant Pond Water, Ma‘am. As for the blood…I-I rather not say…” Pond said, grief riddling his voice as the memory of the fight would still be fresh.

The nurse nodded in empathy as she looked at his legs making a confused expression across her face. “How don’t you have any radiation burns on your exposed legs?”

Pond’s eyebrow shot up like a small rocket as he replied. “Radiation burns? Where would I get those?”

“The snow.” She said as she hovered her hoof over her mouth to keep the yawn contained.

Pond kept up the eyebrow. “How do you get Radiation burns from the snow?”

The nurse coughed a bit before, starting what seemed like a lecture. “The dust brought up from the bombs was large enough to block out the sun causing a large drop in temperature. The fallout mixing in with the atmosphere also got mixed in with the clouds thus making the snow that’s coming down radioactive.” She paused to look out into the snow once more, seeming like she couldn’t believe this was happening. She turned her head back to Pond. “I’m sorry, I just. If anypony is caught out in that for more than an hour than they would be dead or unable to move.”

The nurse looked back at the patients that laid in the beds that took up a majority of the space in the tents, her eyes were beginning to swell and water up as she was on verge of crying. But, before she could Pond jumped forward a tad bit and wrapped her in a tight hug. “It’s alright. Ok? It will be ok. Everything will get better and everything is going to get easier as the days go on.”

The nurse said nothing for a moment as she hugged back, but something on her face said something of fear. A moment later she muttered out. “Y-you’re cold…”

Pond let go of the nurse before, replying. “Well, I was just out in the snow…” He paused for a moment trying to figure out what to say next. “I also was unconscious for a few hours I think…” Pond rubbed his head in slight confusion. He looked down at the nurse, she seemed flabbergasted at what pond had just said. She was about to say something before, Pond spoke. “Where is the closest bathroom? I need to take care of some ‘business’.”

She looked at him before, pointing with her hoof towards an open door. “Over there. Umm, I need to get one of the doctors real quick. I’ll meet you when you’re done.” She turned around and dashed off around a corner of beds and out of sight.

Pond raised an eyebrow, I bet out of confusion mostly, before he made his way to the bathroom. Just before he got inside, he looked down to see an overturned ammo box that had spilled what was inside. All that was in there was a single magazine for his assault rifle. Pond looking around just before, slipping it into his pocket and going inside the bathroom.

He closed the door with a soft kick of his hind leg, him facing the mirror that laid before him. Something must of caught his eye as he got closer to the mirror. “The hell?” he muttered as he looked at something on his face. He pulled on his face as if he was getting a piece of food off. When he did, something fell into the sink.

Pond didn’t look down to see what it was as he already knew what it was. His eyes filled with overwhelming fright that he jumped back with a sudden scream. “Holy fuck!” He stumbled back and fell against the door holding his chest, noticing something different. He stopped his breath as he pressed down on his chest some more. His eyes widened even more, not from what he felt. From what he didn’t. He didn’t have a heart beat…

He scrambled up to his hoofs and looked himself in the mirror, the chuck of his cheek missing that allowed the sight of his jaw to come into view. His eyes shrunk as I thought began with crying but, went into laughter, sickening laughter.

He flared his horn, taking out the magazine of his assault rifle and placing in the fresh magazine. Fully loaded and ready to go. He did a quick 180 kicking open the door, startling the awaiting nurse and doctor. Both horrified as Pond smiled and pulled the trigger of his assault rifle with an horrible laugh.

The memory was beginning to fade but, just before the image of the nurse losing the life out of her eyes.

He truly was a monster.

***oooOOOooo***

I shot up violently as I hyperventilating before, looking around to see that I was on the deck with my stuff and a grinning Buzzsaw firing his large ass machinegun into scaly freak of nature; his grin says he looks like he is gonna do something slightly bat shit crazy. “Well, hello there sunshine, welcome back to the world of the living. I’m sorry to say but, your trip has to be cut short to unexpected technical difficulties. You have received a 20% refund for 50% of your trip.”

I raised an eyebrow. “What!? Where did the rest of it go!?” I exclaimed with utter confusion.

Buzzsaw gave me a shrug. “Because pirates. Yarr.” With a roar the beast behind me struck the boat with it’s tentacle. “Now…” With that one word, I felt Buzzsaw grab me in my armpit and a not so happy place before, being chucked into air. “Try not to get eaten! We like repeat customers!”

At which point chedder decided to chime in. “Like hell i’m gonna be on a boat again.”

Well, I can’t exactly say I took the flight well but, what I do remember is a lot of screaming and flailing around before, skipping off the water like a pebble. Each hit felt something in between hard gel and concrete. On the final skip I landed in the water, my body overflowing with pain; but, just able to tread water. I didn’t know what to think but, all I could feel is my muscling burning from the pain and the constant swimming. Not knowing which way is the shore, I just followed the way I was tossed.

___________
Chapter End.
Jack Rabbit: Level Up!
Tracer: MIA

New Perk!
Pond’s Riptide: After observing Sgt. Pond Water’s memories you learned a technique that allows you to fight for your life. When your health drops below 20% your agility is raised to 10 and your action points are doubled.

Skill note: Barter 25

Author's Note

Sorry about the horrible grammar, i decided to make the ending of the chapter when i was bored at 2am so you can tell i was being eh. Again, sorry about it and i hope yall like the chapter. i'll also try to put more chapters out more