Saving Equus

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AFTER HOURS

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“And… turn!”

She knew from the start that she was going to win. She had a whole round of luck. The cards fell to the table, and Sasha spent a moment to look across the cards of her colleagues. They were all doubles and triples, nothing to her hoof. “Think I won, girls. Full Celly Split.” She smirked at her own luck. ”How d’you like that?”

Mallflower huffed, looking at her own dismal display in her hooves. “Whadd’you think? Pah, another lost game.” She tilted her head up to look at Sasha. Mallflower looked like she was about to say something, but her mouth never opened. She chose instead to look around the room.

Sasha followed along with Malf when he said this room was the only one that hadn’t taken damage. It was the old dining room, the one that Captain Raydono only briefly used in her first ship meetings, before she rarely left the control room. Sasha herself had only been in it a few times, and it didn’t give a lasting impression. Long wooden table, no lights, and a multitude of chairs around the corners. Good thing too, because half the ones they tried to sit on broke from woodworm.

Mallflower wasn’t a thin cook, and Sasha thought her considerably ballsy as she leaned back on her chair, apron floating on top of her waist, as she gazed up at the chipped-paint ceiling. “My luck. I lost my damn lamp last night, the glass one. Smashed on the floor before I could stop it.”

“… that was a good lamp, too.” said Silver, one of the kitchen staff. Silver wore a blank-red blouse and a tie, striped, which she wore almost as tradition every time they played poker. “The worst in my room was when a mirror fell down, cracked, but that was about it.”

Sasha put her hooves around the bits in the middle of the table, and hoarded them on her side of the table. Thirteen coppers. Better than nothing, I guess.

Now that they were talking, the other two on the table, Dagra, and her friend she was talking to at the cider stall, Yirell, told their own story. “Don’ even get me started,” Dagra said, raising her hoof high in the air and crashing it down. “My wardrobe last night. Fuckin’ thin’ had crap supports, who woulda knew ‘til a fight broke out? Tartarus, we din’ even know the fight was happening ‘til that whole shit woke us up.”

Sasha remembered the time and time again where Dagra and Yirell didn’t need waking in the middle of the night. “I’m surprised you two didn’t keep each other up,” she muttered.

Dagra angrily turned to face her. “You tryin’? I’m not in the mood to fuck around, girl, that wardrobe cost me three-forty silvers.” You’re in the mood to fuck around every other time, though, Sasha thought.

Silver raised her voice, “Hey, we’re here to play poker, no’ targue. You all up for another bet?”

Dagra bit her coin pouch, and slammed it onto her side of the table. “‘Course I’m ready for another bet,”  she sneered. “You can only win so many times, Sash, I’ll be takin’ your money soon enough.” She gave Sasha a coy smirk. “We could always play strip, if you’re scared to lose.”

Mallflower cut in, eyeing Dagra. “Way I see it, you already put your pouch on the table. And I’m not playin’ strip.”

Dagra turned to Malf, her smirk fading, and she put her money on the table. Sasha did the same, and the group played a few focused games, with no one winning much but slim pickings, like Sasha herself had won with that incredible Celly Split. She spoke up again later, “Wha’ d’you,” and was cut off by a knock on the door of the dining room.

The door was already wide open, so the two figures entered before them; a businessmare dressed in suit, and a griffon who looked almost entirely different without her mask. Mahdlay looked considerably shorter without her gear on stage, with white-and-pale red feathers behind a green vest. Sasha had always thought griffons never looked right in clothes. Why are they here? She stayed silent with most of the table. Silver talked first. “Hi there.”

The griffon stood out in front. “Hello,” Mahdlay replied. She had a blunt voice. “I and my manager heard there was poker being played. May we join?”

“Well...of course, Miss Mahdlay!” Silver said. “Come, take a seat.” Silver paused. “Actually… take mine. I’ll get a new one.” Silver stood up, and scurried off to the corner full of half-broken chairs.

Sasha looked over towards Vala. I know her name, but I shouldn’t. She rarely interacts with anypony. “You can take mine,” Sasha said, standing up as well. “My name is Sasha. You are Mahdlay’s friend, miss…?”

“Call me Vala,” the mare said in her weird accent. She put a hoof to her chest, and bowed her head. “I’m her manager. Pleased to meet you.”

The griffon glanced back at her manager before she sat down. “Please, do not call me by more stage name... call me Leera. Are we placing bets?”

Malf nodded, and the griffon started reaching her claws for her belt pouch.

As soon as the mare Vala sat down, she chipped in with a couple of coins using the same kind of magnetic hoof-holder Stannislane had. Sasha noticed Vala giving a glance at the cards already on the table, and smirking quietly to herself. What, you don't like the Raptor-themed deck? Pff, critics.

Having finally won, Mallflower scooped up the cards of the last round as Vala started talking. “We were lookin’ for something to do after the firefight last night. D’you just get used to that crap, or what?”

“Comes with the crew,” Mallflower spoke. “They say that Stannislane guy was the one that started it. Naturally, our Capitan doesn’t care in th’ slightest who we take in.”

Vala chuckled. “I’m sensing some kinda resentment, there. What’s your name?” Sasha didn’t like the sound of that. Don’t follow this route down, Malf, the damn mare’s a friend of Ray.

“Mallflower. I cook here.”

Vala raised her eyebrows, nodding. “You’re not half bad at your job, Mallflower. My compliments to the chef.” By that time, Silver had found her chair, as did Sasha, and Silver was dealing. Vala looked at her cards on the table. “It’s funny, actually. I know the guy. Didn’t take me half a second to tell something like this was gonna happen, too.”

That peaked Sasha’s interest. She peered at the businessmare. “I took the stallion around on the first day. Not once did I thin’ ka frigate-class airship would come huntin’ for such a timid buck. You know Stannislane?”

Vala shrugged. She always seemed to keep consistent friendly eye contact with whoever she talked to, Sasha found. “Not enough t’ get him over on the poker table, unfortunately. He’s a recluse, the old buck, bit of an eccentric too. Magi’s hooves, they all are where he comes from. That’s why they sent the fleet, I bet.”

“Where did he come from?” Leera asked, her red gaze piercing Sasha’s sight. Chances were that Vala learnt the constantly-staring-into-your-eyes method from Leera, Sasha thought.

“Manehatten,” Sasha said, remembering the documents she was sent by the stallion. “But I don’ understand, how does that make them send a frigate?”

They had another round before Vala spoke again. “They’re all a little crazy up there, from my experience. Always wanted to commit, no matter the madness. Proof enough of that, I’d say.”

“We were just talking about that before you came,” Silver said, dealing cards across the table. “Talking about the stuff we lost during the night, from all blasts shaking the ship. I didn’t lose much, now that’s my luck talking. We heard someone lost a wardrobe.”

Silver cut off longer than normal after every sentence, apparently waiting for Dagra or Yirell to jump in. It was an awkwardly long pause each time, as they apparently weren’t listening, nor did they say a peep; in fact, they hadn’t said a word since Leera and Vala had arrived. They sat there, taking their turns, occasionally whispering something under their breath to one another. Sasha always thought they were all bark and no bite. Scurry away to your bedroom and hide, you can always act tough there.

Sasha wasn’t sure if Vala noticed, but she didn’t appear fazed as she continued talking. “That’s the con of being on an outlaw ship like the Cirque, I guess. Surprised it’s lasted so long.” The round ended, and Yirell won with triple fives. “Well, I wasn’t really surprised we survived last night. To be honest, it looked like they gave everything they had… but it weren’t half enough to beat us. Y’know, we took some prisoners, too.”

With Silver now sitting down, attention, as well as everyone else’s, darted from across the sides of the table to gaze at Vala. The information was new to everyone, it seemed, including Sasha, who looked also. “They boarded us?” Silver asked.

Vala nodded. “The lasers and cannon were a distraction. I’ve read about it on the news a couple times… bombard ‘em silly, drawing their attention, so you can capture the target on board. Didn’t work though, huh? Ha! I don’t blame them for not succeeding. I’ve only been here a few times, and the Cirque’s a maze through an’ through.” She turned to Leera, who was frowning. “You okay?”

Leera winced. “Equestria is becoming too violent. I do not care for these fools who shot at us, what did you call them?”

Vala responded. “Doomers, Leera. Some rebel group off in the northwest.” Having said that, the two looked at each other, with Vala giving a queer concern. “You want to quit talking about it?” She asked.

Leera squinted back. “I would like to walk out,” she said, standing up. “Where is my cullamar, Vala?”

Sasha heard the name, and knew what she meant from years ago. Cullamar’s qualities were a slowed heart, a slowed mind, and total bliss when she took it. Expensive bliss, though, and she was fond of remembering that her mother always hated the stuff.

Vala looked for a second like she was tired of hearing the word, but quickly resumed a smile. “Purple bag on the left shelf. I’ll say you later.”

The griffon left the group by the table, departing sternly without a glimpse back. After she did, Vala leaned back into the group, as if nothing had occurred. “I was going to say that if you wanted to know more, well, by the Magi’s mane, you could ask the mares on the balcony in the theatre, or even talk to the prisoners themselves. They’re in the hold. Shame too, since that was literally the last thing I was gonna say on the subject. Despite her Mahdray persona, Leera’s squeamish. She has a spiky mask, but she wouldn’t poke a fly with it.”

Sasha looked at the doorframe. “She’s more… open then I would’ave thought from the performance? I thought she might be tryin’ to act more the celebrity in fron’ tof us.”

Vala shrugged. “She was the one who said her real name. Much as I like you girls, I wouldn’tve said it myself. Keep her a bit secret, y’know? I’ll never change her mind about it. One thing’s for certain, she’s a stubborn bird.”

She chippered up.“Her voice is damn near similar to yours, don’t you think?”

“Mine?” Sasha repeated like a reflex. Having a second to think about it, she didn’t think so herself. “I would disagree. Then again, I don’t think I have heard many voices like yours, Vala.”

The mare smiled back at her. “That’s what I mean. I always thought that the Cirque was a special place from the rest. Different laws, different culture, and you all sound like birds. Another round?”

Mallflower sniffed. “If we sound like birds, then what do you sound like? A zebra? Ha! I call another round. Let’s see if this mare can win back her stripes.”

“Another round,” The others replied, and Sasha too. She thought back to what Vala had said about prisoners on the ship, content on knowing where she was going after. What was a Doomer?

* * *

Two hours later, Sasha walked up to the balcony. It gave a clear view of the shadowed theatre below. There was a large bulk of something under a strapped veil up on the balcony, something Sasha had never seen used in all her years, but present all the same in the middle of the balcony. She expected it was a disused lighting system. The Cirque was an old thing and had been upgraded many times over the years, leaving some of the rotting equipment behind where it stood, like in the meeting room.

Sasha found the mares in the balcony, dressed in casualwear. She asked, and they told her where the prisoners were in the hold. “There’s a locked door to get in, and I have the key. I’ll have to come with you,” the mare with grey fur said, “but you’re allowed to visit. The capitan says all are free to enter, as long as you don’t cause harm to them.”

That was easy. Raydono was always liberal with security. Perhaps the banning of arms onboard helped her care less about it. Out of the group, Sasha specifically faced the grey mare. She recognised the mare from a few months back, as she first came onboard with Mahdray, but couldn’t recall the name. “Fine,” Sasha complied to her pleasantly. “Lead the way.”

When the reached the door, the grey mare turned her head. “Do you know any of the ponies in here?”

Sasha gave her a look. “I don’t think so. I didn’t even know there were prisoners until a few hours ago.”

The grey mare shrugged. “A hunch, my apologies. The capitan told us to ask.” She looked back at the metal door, and went searching for her key. “One moment.” She grabbed the key in her mouth, a small thing, and stuck it in the door. Opening it revealed a descending metal staircase. She spoke up again. “If you see anyone you know, tell me.”

“Okay,” Sasha said, and they stepped down the staircase. At the bottom, the hallway around them was bare and neglected. As the hallway continued, Sasha began to see metal cells on either sides of the hallway. They used to hold the stock of supplies, but the stuff must have been moved away, and rough looking mares and a couple stallions looked back at her. The prisoners were all ponies with plain clothes. If they had any weapons before, they were gone now.

There wasn’t much to look at as she walked down. A stallion at the end had a bandaged leg, but that was about it. He stared at Sasha as she passed. It made her feel uncomfortable, and she turned back to the grey mare, and walked close enough to where she felt the ponies in the cells couldn’t hear. “Why are they called Doomers?” she asked. “With a name like that, I was expectin’ crazy mares, with bloodshot eyes and mohawks, you know?”

The grey mare was sitting on a chair. Sasha glanced back for a second, and saw the mare was concentrating her line of sight down the cells. “I don’t know,” she stated. “They had a big ship though, lotta guns.” Sasha could see she showed a vivid dislike of the prisoners. “Strong, too. I had to pull one down to the ground to stop her stabbing me.” She nodded at one of the mares in the cells. “Bitch couldn’t put her knife down…” her concentration seemed to be divided. “Say, there’s one of them looking at you.”

Sasha looked back at the cells. “Which one?.. .They all are.”

The grey mare nodded again in the direction of the cells, but didn’t look at them. She muttered, “Don’t look over there. It’s the one at the far end, though. He’s been staring at you, different-like. Are you sure you don’t know him?”

“Positive,” Sasha whispered.I’ve never seen that stallion in my life, I’m sure of it.

“Could you… could you go over there, and see if he’ll talk to you? If I leave, maybe he’ll say something.”

Sasha’s first thoughts were vehemently against it, but she felt like she did owe this mare something. After all, she was the one getting almost stabbed. “My name is Sasha. Sorry, I don’t know yours.”

“Jackary.”

“Okay Jackary,” Sasha repeated. “I’ll do this for you. Thanks for saving us.”

Jackary the grey mare stood up, turning to the staircase. “Tell me what he says,” she whispered, and walked away.

Once Sasha heard the door close, echoing briefly through the prison hallway. She turned back to the cells, and began to walk. There was only one pony in each cell, and the prisoners were looking at her, or to each other from across the hallway. She noticed a couple were sitting, legs crossed, eyes closed in a sort of meditative stance. She hadn’t seen anything quite like it.

Sasha got to the cell with the injured stallion. He was standing, his cloth-covered foreleg raised above the ground. “Where has the guard gone, Sasha?”

She double-taked a glance at the stallion as soon as he spoke. “Who are you, to know my name? Why were you lookin’ at me?”

The beige stallion’s bruised face showed a smirk. “You are Sasha Corntail, daughter to Pall, brother to Dornel. I am a friend to your uncle, if you’d believe it. Dornel told me you were a nuisance, and I believed him, even if I only saw you in person twice. The first time was your third birthday, so you wouldn’t remember me. The second is now, but I remember seeing some pictures Dornel showed me that looked exactly like you do. The name’s Seer Watt, and I need to tell you something.”

She’d heard of him. Uncle Dornel mentioned a Watt before, but never in great detail. The idea of finding an actual family member was sort of terrifying, and she was thankful it wasn’t. Now she could get an answer to her question, too. “You must have come a long way, from chatting with Uncle in Manehatten to trying to kill somepony.”

Seer Watt chuckled. He was aging, and his smile-marks showed it. “If you want me to tell you why, then you’d best say how long I have until that mare comes back.”

Jackary never gave her a time, but Sasha didn’t want to spend much longer with this Seer Watt. He boarded this ship for a reason, to kidnap somepony. After a pause Sasha responded, “a bathroom break. Maybe five minutes.”

Watt’s face became grim, and he backed further off into the cell. “I’ll make my point quick, then. The reason we’re here is not as important as what we’re missing. The ship that attacked this one was going on one long route, and that bastard Stannislane just happened to be going the same way. Someone up top must have thought he was another box to tick. Stannislane was a mistake.”

So Stannislane the diplomat is the reason they came here, Sasha thought.

Watt continued.“There’s not enough time to recount that trouble, so I’ll tell you what you need to know. Were you told about an Alicorn, Sasha?”

So the invaders last night heard about the Alicorn too. I thought only Raydono and Vala knew that… She breathed in deeply. “Uh.. yes, I was. She’s comin’ onboard.”

Watt straightened up. “Coming onboard, you say? Well… huh. That’s something. Keep her safe, Sash.”

He sounded about as surprised as she was. Sasha looked curiously at him. “Was that what you had to say?”

Watt nodded. “Yes. What I said has to be done. Keep her safe, Sash, I’ll tell you how. Whenever you can, however you can, travel to Manehatten, and make sure she gets there too. Go to door number thirty-nine in an area there called Palm Rose. Tell the doormare that Seer Watt sent you, and you want find the HQ. The password is Harmony. Got that?”

Will I really ever use this? She had her doubts. “I, uh… yeah. Yeah, I goddit,” Sasha said, hesitant. “Sure.”

“Keep her safe. Thirty-nine Palm Rose,” Watt repeated. “Tell the doormare that Seer Watt sent you. Tell her that you’ll want to find the HQ. If she asks, the password is Harmony.”

Sasha tried to question him about it, but he said the same thing. He kept saying the same thing, and all the other ponies looked at her. Clueless, and scared by the raving stallion, she left the hall.

Sasha came back up, and eventually found Jackary back at the balcony outside of the hold. She was alone, so her friends must have left as they were both in the cells. Sasha relayed what he had said to her, trying to do so in depth, but leaving out parts. She made sure to take out the part about her already knowing the alicorn.

“That is more than I thought we’d get,” Jackary exclaimed, listening to every detail. “It seems that this Watt trusts you.”

“I... suppose,” Sasha said, not sure what to think. “But I don’t know him.”

“But he seems to know you. Perhaps he thinks you’re his only chance,” Jackery said thoughtfully, leaning on the bannister. “Be as that may, we can find out much more information about these attackers. Raydono has never been into killing those who attack the ship… as wrong as she may be, this Watt is useful.” Jackery inclined her head. “Thank you Sasha.”

She smiled back. “And you, for lettin' me see them. See you.” She turned to the staircase off the balcony, and walked down to the theatre.

Thoughts quickly accumulated in her mind. Her encounter with Watt was bizarre. I’ve been told to keep this alicorn safe. This Alicorn, Fluttershy, is being sought after by both mares on the ship and outside. But why?

Maybe I could ask her.