Sparkiverse: Fireflies

The sun was going down, and it was taking the colors of the skies with it. Blues, oranges, reds, purples and pinks were being pulled away into the horizon, leaving behind the twinkling night sky. The light of many stars would come to many a pony's eyes now, reminding them that they were always there, even if the sun covered them up. Down below, in a field of grass, fireflies were all aglow. They twinkled and sparkled, showing only for a few minutes before they too would disappear. It was moments like these that were to be cherished. The glowing field of gently waving blades of grass was quiet, save for the sound of chirping crickets, a babbling stream... and the hoofsteps of a pony.

The frayed ends of a large, blue, ponytail dragged alongside a maroon pegasus as she moved through the fields at a lively trot. She was certain that the crew of the Black Stache couldn't have kept up with her, she had a knack for escaping these kinds of situations... Her pace slowed as she calmed down. A rest before she flew back to the maneland would be nice. The pegasus let her wings loosen and relax. She smiled. At least she had marooned them on a pretty isle...

Maroon guiltily flew away from yet another island. It was becoming a big problem. She'd crash the ship, one way or another, fly away, recruit for another crew, swab decks for a little bit, and then crash that ship. It was a never-ending cycle for her, and worse, every single captain had said that, "Ye might even get a cutie mAAAARRRRRk in swabbin' decks! Get to it!" Always the cutie mark. Always the cutie mark.

She wept softly as she flew away from the lonely desert isle that she had left the crew of the Wandering Pearl on. She blamed the tears on the salty sea air, but there was an inevitable truth that had to be said. Maroon hated to admit it, and she had suspicions about her name being related to her talent ever since she discovered what it meant, but she convinced herself that it only had to do with the maroon coat.

She hated it. Maroon was the color of sadness and gloominess. It was a quiet color, and a dull one too. Her favorite color was light yellow, just like her eyes. Light yellow meant adventure! Light yellow meant bold and dynamic! Light yellow was the opposite of maroon, and that was the best part. She really hated that color. Every time it was said aloud, it reminded her of her "talent"...

Maroon shook her head, and found herself flying over land. The little pirate town let her know immediately. She was soaring over Blood Island (named so because the island is in the exact shape of a splotch of blood). She chuckled. She always  liked a pirate's humor (or stupidity, but they were one and the same). She swooped down to Earth and found her way into her favorite tavern, the World's End. She passed a large banner on her way in, with a picture of a red X over a pirate ship, and the words "Help Wanted!" She payed it no mind. She'd fallen for a thousand help wanted banners in her time.

Mind on the different shapes and sizes of the banners she'd seen, Maroon wandered into the tavern and got into line. It was an especially long line this time around, oh well. Maybe word had gotten out about the tavern's home-brewed Captain Goatbeard's Special. She moved forward in the quickly moving line, until she was at the front.

"Name?"

"Yeah, I'd like a double oat citrus burger, with extra citrus, please-" she started.

"DO YE THINK YER BEIN' FUNNY, LASS?!" shouted the grisly stallion in front of her. It was enough to shake Maroon back into the real world. She looked around and saw a small table in front of her, with two banners like the one she saw out front on either side. A quick glance to her left told her that the food line was far off, and that this guy definitely didn't want to take her order.

"N-no sir!" she stammered, trying to sound a little less scared then she actually was.

"Then what be yer name, lass?"

"Maroon... sir!" she added quickly. He looked and sounded like the kind of guy that required sir at the end of every sentence.

"Maroon... promising. And what be yer special talent, lass? What's yer cutie mAAAARRRRRk?" the stallion barked. Maroon winced, she was hoping that this question wouldn't come up. She may as well warn the captain (she was assuming) what he was up against before she abandoned his crew too...

"Sir, I don't really have a good ship-worthy talent. My name is true to my story. All I can do is maroon ships, and as for my cutie mark..." she said, turning to show him her flank. She gasped as she saw it, though. It was blank no longer. Where there once was an open canvas of maroon stood a simple ship, with a huge chunk taken out of it. She looked back at the stallion, who was smiling devilishly.

"Yer hired."

Maroon now had a  successful "Infiltry and Disposure" business going on. She would find out which ship was to be sunk (usually over some drunken fight that two captains had had), be welcomed aboard as a new crew member, (swab the decks a bit... this was her least favorite part) and then dispose of the ship. It raked in a lot of bits, and she finally felt... helpful.

As she walked through the fields, she couldn't help but feel a little guilty for the poor, innocent pirate ponies just trying to make a living that she had marooned. But hey, bits were bits, and this job paid a lot of bits.  She'd always found a nice island home for the pirates. Clean water, ample food and natural shelter, if needed. And fields, like this one. The islands with fields were the best.

It was a win win win situation. The targeted pirates were moved to paradise instead of brutally murdered, the angry pirates got satisfaction, and she got... well, payed.

Maroon shook her head. She couldn't daydream here for long. The sun was already setting, which meant that the crew of the Black Stache would think she was asleep. They would ambush her, and kill her. That was never good for her, or her client. It was time to leave. She waved with a sense of finality to the fireflies hanging in the air above her, spread her wings, and flew into the cool night sky.

And the fireflies followed after her.