//-------------------------------------------------------// The fashionista and the freelancer -by nightstalker1996- //-------------------------------------------------------// //-------------------------------------------------------// Prologue //-------------------------------------------------------// Prologue Rarity walked through the docks toward the ship that she was supposed to board for the trip she got. She still couldn't believe that Fancy Pants gave her the tickets for this cruise. She had gone to Canterlot to pay him a visit and it ended with him giving her a ticket to the Celestial cruise for a week long trip. At first Rarity refused the offer believing it was too much of a gift but Fancy insisted that she take it. In the end she agreed to and now she was heading to board the ship. Rarity looked behind her to make sure that the stallion she asked to carry all her bags was still behind her. He was still slowly moving behind her trying his best to hold up the large piles of suitcases and bags that held all of her necessary stuff for the trip, mainly being clothes. When Rarity reached the ship she stopped for a minute to look at it. The cruise large. It was white and windows laid along the sides. The deck was large enough to hold over a hundred ponies on it. There was a line that led to the ship where a ticket master was . he was busy punching the tickets that the ponies gave him before boarding the ship. She got in line and after a few minutes got her ticket punched and boarded the ship. The stallion with her bags continued to follow her as she walked to her room. When she got to her room he dropped them inside and waited for his tip. She smiled kindly at him and used her magic to give him several small gems and thanked him for the help. He bowed slightly and then walked out of the room. Rarity decided to spend the rest of the day getting accustomed to her room before going on the deck and socializing. At the center of Canterlot there stood a stallion on the rooftops of the homes. He had a gray coat with a black messy mane that almost covered his eyes and he had his wings resting on his side. He looked all over the city and admired it’s grand view. He turned around when he heard a noise and smirked as he saw the guards try to climb up to the rooftop while shouting at him to get down.. He looked at each guard and noticed that none of them were Pegasus. This made him smirked even wider and he patiently waited for the guards to get to the roof. After several minutes of grunting the guards reached to the rooftop and the stallion studied each of them carefully. All the guards wore the same type of armor. The traditional gold plating that the Royal guard always wears. Two of them where unicorns and one was a earth pony. The guards started to advance on him but the stallion remained calm. He jumped onto the edge of the rooftop once the guards got close enough to him. He smiled calmly at them and said goodbye then he leaned back carefully and fell off the roof. Halfway down he opened his wings and caught air. He soar through the air laughing as pure adrenaline shot through his body. After several minutes he started to glide down to the ground. He landed in the middle of the marketplace and almost immediately bumped into a white unicorn. She was clearly a unicorn born to show off her looks. Her coat gleamed pure white and she had a curly purple mane. Everything about her look screamed Canterlot but the stallion could tell that she did not come from the city. She stood in the middle of the marketplace with a mountain of bags behind her and she was trying to get ponies attention to get some help carrying her bags but none of them seemed to care to help her and continued to shove past her. She jumped a little when the stallion hit her but she started to smile when she saw him. “ darling can you help me carry these bags to a ship I have to board?” She asked while batting her eyelashes. Something told the stallion that she was used to getting boys to do things for her. He looked around the marketplace and saw the three guards from earlier down the street. He then turned to look at the unicorn and smiled back at her. “ I would love to help a beautiful mare like you with your bags.” He said kindly. The unicorn clapped her hooves together in happiness and without hesitation he put all the bags on his back and they both headed to the docks. They reached the docks without any trouble and after a few minutes they both were on the ship. He followed the unicorn to her room and set the bags down. He made sure that his saddlebags were still on his back and insured the contents where safe. He noticed that the unicorn was trying to hand him several small gems as payment.He accepted them gratefully and stored them safely inside his bag before leaving. He walked down the hallway until he reached the junction that separated the hallway. On the left were some stairs that led down deep into the ship and on the right where stairs that led to the exit. He looked around to see if there where any ponies before heading to the left. Rarity woke up several hours after the ship left the dock. After making sure she looked her best she headed to the to deck. There was some kind of party going on when she got there and after some sweet talking to the bouncer at the entrance she got in. she didn't really care about the party much. She just wanted to look at the view. It was close to sundown and the way the sunset hit the water was just breathtaking. It was moments like this that give her inspiration for her dress designs. A few minutes later the sun had gone over and the moon was risen. Rarity to in the view of the night sky and made a note of how peaceful it was to just stand there and watch the stars. She didn't stay for the party and instead headed back to her room. This week was to be spent relaxing and Rarity planned for it to be the best week off for her. Nothing would go wrong she was sure of it. The stallion stopped outside one of the doors in the hallway. He had made his way to the bottom of the ship and was looking the outfit he needed to blend in. this was the third door he had gone through. The first two were storage and he was starting to wonder if he would be able to find what he was looking for. He opened the door and walked inside. He looked around and started to smile. The room had several serving pony outfits. He found one that fit him and headed to the kitchens. If you want to learn something then you head to the kitchens they hold all the rumors. As he walked he thought about how well his plan was going. Nothing would go wrong he was sure of it. Two ponies on one ship. One was there to relax and the other was there to escape both thought that nothing was going to go wrong. The universe had other plans and these two ponies will learn just how wrong they were. Author's Note So this is the start of a new story I thought of. Please leave comments and hit that up thumb bottom as much as you like to. //-------------------------------------------------------// Abandon ship //-------------------------------------------------------// Abandon ship The cruise went very smoothly throughout the week. Rarity spend her time relaxing like she planned to. In the mornings she would draw a warm bath and think of what she would do for the day. After the bath she would have breakfast with some of the other passengers and talk about their lives. Many of the ponies on the cruise were high class ponies from all over Equestria so the gossip was endless. After breakfast she would usually go to the deck and sun bath or go swimming in the giant pool in the center. The first time she saw the pool she wondered how she missed it last time she was on the deck. At noon she would have an exotic lunch most of the time the dishes had names even she couldn't pronounce. After lunch she would join others for a game or two before heading back to her cabin. Every night she would have dinner alone…in the tub. So far the cruise was splendid and she told herself to thank Fancy Pants when she got back. It was Friday morning and Rarity decided while in her bath to spend the whole day at the ship’s spa. She spent all week hearing the other ponies say how good it was and now she wanted to see if it was better then the one at Ponyville. After having onto her splendid breakfast with the upper class she headed to the spa. As soon as she walked inside she realized what all the hype was about. The spa was run by stallions. Big, handsome, polite stallions. Rarity knew she was going to love this and ordered the whole package. The stallion that helped Rarity had spent the whole week dressed as different workers of the cruise. At first he was the server that brought food and essentials to ponies rooms. He used this to get a look into the ponies rooms and kept record of the rooms that held valuables, which in this case was all of first class. After getting the information he needed he took the job as a cleaning stallion. This gave him access to the rooms he marked and everyday he would go around and “ clean “ the room. By Friday ponies were starting to notice that stuff was going missing and he decided to make his escape. Early that morning he loaded one of the life boats and headed back to his hiding spot in one the lower deck rooms to get his “trophies”. When he reached the room he noticed that the door was opened. He cautiously walked into the dark room. He reach where he hid his saddlebags without running into any trouble but he still felt like something was wrong. Once he reached his bags he waited then grabbed them. After putting on the bags and securing them he turned around to leave only to be hit in the face with something hard. He woke up with a splitting headache. He was certain that head a nasty bump on his head. The dry blood coating the right side of his face didn't make him feel any better about his situation. After a few seconds the world stopped being blurry and he could tell where he was. It looked like the main cabin where they steer the ship. The wheel was standing at the center but there wasn't anypony in the room with him, so he waited. A quick assessment told him that they took his bags but he could see them thrown in the corner across the room. He was also tied to a chair. In most cases this would excite him but in this case he was just filled with uneasiness. He couldn't see that clock that was in the room but he was certain that he hasn't been there long. Time seemed to pass slowly as he sat in the chair waiting for somepony to come make themselves be known. Soon his uneasiness was turned into calmness then boredom. Finally after what felt like forever he could hear somepony opening the door to the room. Eventually he could hear hoof steps and he estimated around four ponies where walking inside the room. Two sets of hooves walked away from him, which meant there was another room in the section, the other two sets were slowly walking towards him from behind. He bet that they belong to the captain and his second mate. They would talking and he could hear their voices a bit. One was deep and it reminded the stallion of his grandfather. The other voice sounded younger and female. Soon he could hear the voices were right behind him and after a few seconds his chair turned around and he was able to see who it was that was talking. Like he thought, it was two ponies one of them was a old stallion. He was a orange earth pony with a military buzz cut mane and a wild white beard. He looked old but his eyes sparkled with life and fire. He was a war veteran. Not the crippled kind but the kind that had taken lives and still could. He wore a captains hat and next to him was the second pony he heard talking. It was a younger mare with a lighter color coat her main was blonde and she sported a first mate hat. It took him a minute to realize that they were related. The mare must be the captain’s granddaughter. “What should we do with him gramps?” The mare asked the older stallion next to her. He took a long look at the stallion in the chair and walked behind him to he wheel. “ nothing right now. We’ll leave him there until we get back to port and let the guards have him.” Said the older stallion. The mare didn't move from her spot and continued to stare at the trapped stallion. After a second or so she started asking him questions. He never answered any of them. He just sat very still and watched the mare. Eventually she stopped asking questions and went back to watching him. She noticed that his cutie mark was a spy glass and she wondered what his special talent was but she didn't ask him. The stallion sat as still as he could in the chair. We watched the mare carefully. The first thing he noticed was that her cutie mark was a eyeglass. Her old man’s cutie mark was a ship wheel guess they both followed their talents. He completely ignored the mare’s questions it wasn't like he was planing to stay for tea time. As soon as the captain mentioned the guards the stallion started thinking of a way to get free and to the row boat that had his stuff. The answer came in the form of a large explosion that shook the whole ship. The mare and her gramps started running around room shouting orders over the coms and at each other meanwhile the ship started to tip side to side. This sent the tied stallion back and forth the room and the whole time he was struggling to get free. Suddenly the whole cabin started to explode in different sections. The screams of two ponies told the stallion that the other ponies in the cabin had met their sudden end. The captain called out for everypony to abandon ship. He turned to leave the room with his granddaughter when the ship tipped forward and he was thrown through the window and unto the deck of the ship. His death was certain. The mare cried out for her grandfather when he flew out the window but was too slow to catch him. She ran her hooves through her mane in distress and tried to stop herself from crying. After a few minutes the ship tipped back to it’s regular position but it was sinking into the ocean. The mare turned to the stallion tied to the chair and he stared back at her. She realized she couldn't move or look away from his stare. “untie me.” He said calmly. The mare struggled against the stare but the stallion enforced it and after a few seconds she stopped fighting. She drew out the dagger she had on her and cut the stallion free and took a step back. He got off the chair and retrieved his saddlebags and secured them to his back. He headed for the door and turned to the mare. “ thank you Lilly pad.” He said kindly. Her eyes widened and she struggled to talk. “ h-how…” She choked out. The stallion smiled and opened his mouth to answer her but the whole room exploded before he could say anything. The blast consumed Lilly pad and throw the stallion down the hallway. Rarity had spent the day a the ship’s spa and she regretted nothing. There wasn't a moment where she was without some hot stallion tending to her and what more they were polite the whole time. The only time she was treated this nice was when that cute Pegasus had helped her with her stuff. She had been thinking about that stallion all week and a part of her hoped that she would see him again when she returned from her trip but she doubted she would. The whole walk with him and she didn't even say a word. She felt shy and couldn't say anything the whole way to the trip. Of course he didn't say anything ether but maybe he was just as shy. Knowing her luck he probably had a marefriend. She always wondered why all the good stallions were ether taken or gay. She just got out of the mud bath when the whole ship shook violently. A few seconds later the captain could be heard over the coms telling everypony to head to the life boats and abandon the ship. Rarity rushed out of the spa and down the corridors. She could she that some of the rooms had caved in or been blocked. She could hear screaming in some of the rooms but she blocked it all out and headed for the deck. There was chaos on the deck. Ponies were shoving each other in panic to get on the life boats. Suddenly the ship tipped forward. A large group of ponies fell over into the ocean screaming for their lives. The window to the captains station exploded and a bloody body flew into the deck cussing more ponies to go over the edge. The ship straightened after a few seconds and those who were still on the ship started to shove their way into the life boats. Rarity was at the railing when a large earth pony shove her aside and caused her to fall over the railing. She fell over into a hidden row boat and landed on her head causing her to get knocked unconscious. The stallion landed roughly on his left wing and a loud snap echoed followed by a blood-curling scream of pain. He struggled to his feet and look in horror as his left wing dragged on the ground. It was certainly broken and every little movement caused a shot of pain to rock through his body. Most of his body was covered in burns but he really couldn't feel the pain yet. He limped through the hallway and headed for the nearest exit. Every step was agony and the agony lasted forever. By the time he reached the deck he had difficulty seeing things straight. Everywhere he looked there were bodies. Smears of blood covered part of the deck and he could have sworn the bodies were screaming but he had trouble hearing. It took him a minute to realize he was the one screaming. Every step caused him to howl in pain but he couldn't even remember feeling the pain. After several agonizing minutes later he made it to his life boat and without thinking fell inside it. Without hesitation he cut the ropes and held on to the sides as it fell into the ocean. Once the boat hit the water he took the oars and started rowing. He ignored the stabs of pain that rocked his body with every movement and he continued to push forward then back. He repeated this process for an endless time it only ended when he faded into unconsciousness. Just before he blacked out he could have sworn that there was a white unicorn in the boat with him lying unconscious too. Author's Note You know what I really need? Proofreaders! Maybe one day...