Kickass: A Quest for Treats

Hours had passed since the ship left the Ponyville skylines, and was steadily soaring through the night skies under cover of the clouds. The crew had gone to sleep, most of the mercenaries were asleep in their own quarters and resting their wounds after the fight, Dustchu was still in the captain’s cabin, however, still tending to his wounds.

Firefly on the other hand had stayed outside, while everyone else went inside to sleep. She had taken to pacing around the ship, and she had walked by the captain’s cabin, and overheard Dustchu and Pearl talking to one another. Her curious nature got the better ofher, and she listened in.

“Lad, yer a mess ye know that?” Pearl told the stallion, who was currently wiping his face of the blood still on it.

“I know I am.” He replied, wincing in pain.

Some time passed before Pearl spoke again. “Why weren’t ye throwin’ any punches back at her?” She questioned.

Silence… Firefly rose an eyebrow at that. He wasn't?

“Well?” Pearl continued.

“I was,” Dustchu told her, his tone suggesting otherwise.

A scoff, followed by, “Boy, I may be without an eye, but I’m not daft.” Pearl told him in an even tone. “Ye were only blocking, an’ even that was shite.” She poked him, hitting one of his wounds and making him hiss.

Firefly knew she shouldn’t be listening in, but her interest was now peaked, and she laid down by the door to listen in further.

“I...” The pegasus started, but didn’t finish.

He knew exactly why he didn't...

“Ye can’t keep doin’ this to yerself lad,” Pearl told him in a soft tone, almost like that a mother would use to a hurt child. “Yer goin’ ta have ta defend yerself if she fights ye again.”

A shuddering breath, then Dustchu slumped down. “I can’t...” His voice was subdued, quiet… defeated…

The longing to go and console Dustchu overwhelmed Firefly as she laid by the door. She somehow was able to keep that side of her subdued though.

But then Pearl said something that was quite shocking.

“You still love her… don’t you?”

More silence, that seemed to stretch into hours, but in reality was a few minutes. Eventually he spoke, “I don’t know anymore… things have changed, ever since...” he didn’t finish, instead going back to fixing his injuries.

Pearl sighed softly, turning towards her desk before saying, “Yer going ta have ta come to terms with what yer heart tells ye, boy… don’t make the mistake I made.” With a puff of black smoke, she disappeared from the cabin.

Firefly then stood up, and waited a while to make it seem like she wasn’t listening in before she knocked on the door, “Dustchu, you feeling better?” She asked him.

Looking up from where he was staring into a bowl of water, he replied, “little bit...”

“Do you mind if I come in?” She asked once again, biting her lip.

“Sure,” A shrug as he rubbed his head.

Firefly opened the door and entered the room, spotting Dustchu, she walked over to where the white pegasus was sitting, and sat beside him. Upon seeing the true extent of his injuries, she held in a gasp. His body was covered in bruises, cuts, welts, and his left eye was bloodshot, with a hoof shaped mark around it.

“... how much did you hear?” He asked after wiping some of the blood off of his nose, tired blue eyes looking into her own fiery ones.

Firefly went silent, wanting to lie to save him from embarrassment, but the slight hesitation that turned into silence told the whole story for her.

Dustchu turned back to the bowl of water, dipping his rag into it before saying, “I see...” He sighed softly.

“I-I know I shouldn’t have… but…” she sighed a little, looking down at the bowl of water as well.

“Can’t fault you for listening in,” He assured the younger pegasus beside him, watching as the blood seeped out of the rag and into the water, becoming cloudy. “I would have to...”

“Would have what?” Firefly looked at him now, wondering what he meant.

“I’m a nosy pegasus, Firefly.” He commented wryly, grinning despite the pain he was in. “It’s more or less how I ended up here in this place to begin with.”

Firefly nodded, halfway understanding what he was saying. “I’m not usually, unless if it has something to do with my friends…”

“My being nosy is more dangerous,” He admitted, smiling wryly once again. “Almost got me killed more than a few times in the past… actually...” he trailed off, shaking his head.

She looked at him curiously, not quite sure how being nosy could get you almost killed. She let out a small breath, looking back at the water in the bowl, “Do you want help bandaging up?”

Looking at his cuts, he winced. “Probably… I have no idea how bad they all are… they’ll heal though so...” He looked at his fetlock, which had a deeper cut on it. “Shite.” He cursed, hoof shaking.

Firefly got up and grabbed a roll of the bandages, and Dustchu noticed that for once, she wasn’t wearing her saddlebags.

“You’re not wearing your saddlebags for once.” He commented, stifling a wince.

“Yeah, they gave me a room to leave them and Emerald in it. Don’t worry, Emerald has food and water in the room~” The mare responded, as she returned with the bandages.

Nodding, he held out his hoof, blood dripping off of it steadily and onto the floor below. She then deftly started to wrap the bandage around the upper part of his hoof, being as gentle as possible, while also making sure it was tight. She was concentrating so hard she didn’t make a noise, and her face was that of one with such concentration that it would take something serious to get her out of it.

Dustchu waited patiently as she bandaged his hoof up, barely making any noise himself except for his steady breathing, and the occassional wing ruffle.

It didn’t take her long to finish the bandaging, soon enough Dustchu's hoof was wrapped tightly and the blood stopped. “There, that should hold for a while~” She smiled at him sweetly.

Examining the bandage, he nodded with a grateful smile. “Thank you.”

“It’s no problem, anywhere else that seems to feel bad?” She asked, inspecting the pegasus before her.

He shook his head, sighing as he looked towards one of the windows, a forlorn look overtaking his features. “I’m… fine...” Dustchu told her.

“W-well, if you ever need anything, or wanna talk, I’m here, okay?” Firefly offered, just wanting to see him happy again, as she walked over to put the roll of bandages back.

After some time, DUstchu had begun to think. Mostly about his past, soon enough a question made itself known in his mind. And he had to ask it.

“... Firefly...”

She looked back at him, “Hmm?”

The pegasus took a moment before speaking, as if composing himself for what he was about to say. “Have… you ever, loved someone so much, it hurt knowing there wasn’t anything you could do about it?”

The younger mare looked down at the ground, thinking, after a time she then shook her head, “No, I haven’t.”

Dustchu turned back to look at her, his eyes glancing at the corner of hers. “I have… I still do...” He looked away again, focusing on something on the far end of the room in deep thought, his mind wandering back to a different life. “I hate myself for it.”

“Well, you can’t really help the way you feel, Dustchu, our emotions are something that are just that. I have yet to find a way to control the constant… let’s call it itch, to help, even if it may cost my life… Today was the second time in my whole life I feel that I did something selfish, and it physically hurts to think back on it…” Firefly then went quiet looking at Dustchu.

The pegasus next to her nodded his head, understanding perfectly what she meant. “I understand that… I’ve had plenty of selfish moments over the past five… six years I’ve been here.” He rubbed his foreleg, rolling his shoulders before adding, “Some of those moments… almost cost me a friendship too many times.”

Firefly nodded, she then rested her head on Dustchu’s shoulder, “I’m just glad to have met you all.” Her tone was softer and more serious than her usual tone.

The stallion didn't flinch from the contact, only nodding his head. “I’m sure the others feel the same,” Dustchu told her, sniffing as he looked towards the window and out into the sky.

She nuzzled her head a little closer to his, whispering, “I hope they do~” She smiled happily, enjoying the closeness of the moment they were sharing.

Some time passed by as the two sat in a comfortable silence, both friends enjoying one another’s company in the dimly lit cabin of the Howling Pearl. The ship calmly rocked back and forth, gently swaying in the breeze amidst the skies. And almost an hour passed before the mare whispered again, “I’m scared…”

“About what?” Dustchu asked, wrapping a wing around her barrel and hugging her close.

“Going to the lab…” She admitted, looking up at him now with the tiniest hint of fear in her eyes.

“... cause of your parents…?” The pegasus turned his gaze towards her now, curiosity in his eyes.

She nodded, not saying anything as she looked at the ground, the fear growing in her eyes.

Dustchu tightened his hold on her, whispering, “You got us on your side kid, so don’t worry ‘bout it none.” He told her in a soft friendly tone.

She smiled, but it was obvious she was still scared to be headed towards her parents. “I’m glad for that. And you now have someone who knows the layout of that place like the back of my hoof, along with secret passages~”

A grin came on his face. “Well, I can easily say, you’d be welcome with Kickass.” He chuckled, the two sharing a nice moment together…

But was soon interrupted by a voice outside.

“Are you two banging yet!?” Filly C yelled, banging on the door impatiently.

Firefly’s eyes went wide, and it was obvious she was embarrassed by the filly’s interruption. “Uh…”

Dustchu sighed heavily, throwing a hoof over his face. “Filly!” He groaned as the filly outside cackled.

Filly continued laughing. “Well, are ya?” She asked innocently, no doubt smirking.

“Of course not!” Dustchu yelled back.

A new voice made itself known, “I knew it!” BP cried. “You owe me twenty bits Filly.”

“DAMN IT!”

Firefly glanced at Dustchu, “I-is this a normal occurrence?”

The voice only Firefly knew, shouted out, “They were about to~” The small colt shouted from next to the cabin.

SIlence sounded… until it was broken by Filly C, Fuse, BP, Prism and Pearl who were all gathered outside, no doubt listening in on the two talking. The group outside all laughed loudly, cackles and giggles filling the air around the ship. Dustchu just groaned under his breath, wondering what he did to deserve this.

Another sigh from the pegasus. “Yep… welcome to the family.” He said, answering her question.

Firefly smiled a slightly embarrassed smiled, “At least they all mean well~”

“True.” Dustchu nodded.

More silence passed by, before Pearl spoke up. “Wait, who said they were about ta bang!” Pearl yelled, winking into the cabin in a puff of black smoke.

The colt’s voice sounded again, “Uh, no one!” And the sound of light hooves running away quickly sounded.

“Oh alright.” Pearl started, trotting away, only to stop. “OI YA WANKER!” She cried, galloping out of the cabin. ”I’ll find ye, ya varmint!”

Firefly was giggling, as she watched Pearl gallop out of the cabin.

“I take it, that’s a friend of yours?” Dustchu asked as Pearl galloped around the ship.

“I actually have met him once, for about a minute~” Was Firefly’s response, as her giggling died down.

“Who is he?” Dustchu questioned as Pearl continued rooting around the ship, winking to and fro as the others watched on, still laughing.

Firefly shrugged, “He’s a colt named Peaky, but I’m thinking that’s more of a nickname. He also outright admitted that he was a stowaway.”

Blinking, Dustchu turned towards the door and said, “Stowaway eh? Well, not much we can do about that now, can’t exactly drop him off anywhere. We’re pretty high up.”

“You’re right about that, Chewy~” A beige colt dropped in through the back window, smiling brightly as he pranced over to the two pegasi.

The white pegasus chuckled loudly, holding his stomach as he looked over at the colt. “Tha brings back memories.” He murmured softly to himself. “Say kid, where’d you come from?”

“I’LL FIND YA SOON YE STOWAWAY!” Pearl bellowed from outside, somewhere near the bow of the ship away from the cabin.

“I’m from Ponyville~ I got kicked out of my job cause they were tired of all my nicknames for everyone, and my pranks~” Peaky smiled, looking between the two.

A hum. “Odd, but… eh,” Dustchu shrugged as he looked towards Firefly. “I doubt he’ll be able to stay hidden for long, so I suggest that, when the time comes you take care of the kid.”

“Okay~” Firefly said, not minding at all.

“Yay! The Fly is gonna take care of me~” The colt began to bounce around happily. He looked towards the door, ready to dart again.

The door soon opened, and in walked, not Pearl, but Filly C. “I bet you two were banging!” She cackled, turning to face the two pegasi who were still sitting rather close together. However, her eyes drifted towards Peaky, and she rose an eyebrow. “The fuck’s that?”

“I’m Peaky! It’s nice to finally talk to you, Seven Seas~” The colt said, bounding over to Filly.

The young filly’s eyelid twitched, “Seven Seas?”

“Yup! Since you’re Filly C, you’re nickname is Seven Seas~” Peaky explained, his light brown mane bouncing around with him.

Another eyelid twitch. “Fffffffffffff-!” She started, only to be stopped by Dustchu.

“Filly, calm thy nips, and accept this.” He told her, not even realizing he was still pressed up against Firefly.

Firefly didn’t notice either, when Peaky looked over at the two, “Awww~ You guys are so cute~” The colt bounced over to the two pegasi.

“I am not cute!” Filly fumed, stomping her hoof onto the floor as she blushed.

“Well, I wasn’t talking to you, Seven Seas~ I was talking about them!” Peaky pointed at the two adults pressed up against each other.

“Well… good!” Filly C snapped, turning away with a huff, flicking her tail and trotting away from the three.

Firefly giggled, then noticed that her and Dustchu were still pressed against each other rather tightly. She blushed and moved away slightly, as Peaky was laughing. The stallion beside her seemed to notice it as well, and coughed awkwardly before retracting his wing and looking over at the window again.

“Ahem! Anyway...” Dustchu started as Filly proceeded to jump onto Dustchu’s back, biting onto his ear. He didn’t seem to care that much, only wincing slightly before asking, “Why are you on board the ship?”

“As I said, I was fired from my job, and had nowhere else to go, so I thought this ship looked cool~” Peaky said happily.

“Ahhh, odd that you managed to get into the castle and not get caught.” Dustchu commented with a suspicious tone, but at the same time, curious. “And that you weren’t found by Pearl, she’s… good at finding things that don’t belong on her ship… trust me.”

“Well, Pearl knows me actually~ I was a chef in training! That’s why I was able to get into the castle without getting caught.” Peaky turned to the side, showing off his cutie mark, which was a chef’s hat with silly glasses beneath it. “See, I’m a professional chef! Well, almost~ Pearl actually has tasted my food before~” Peaky giggled.

Speaking of the mare, the door busted open with the heavily clothed mare standing there. Her one eye locked on the colt, and it narrowed. “Aye… I found ye at last my little stowaway~”

“Gotta go!” Peaky said, and began to dart out of the back window.

“Ya little wanker!” Pearl cried as she gave chase, Filly C letting go of Dustchu’s ear and hopping on Pearl’s back.

“CHARGE!” She yelled.

“GET OFF MY BACK YE TWAT!”

Peaky poked his head back up and into the window, “Don’t worry Patches, you’ll never catch me anyways.” He giggled.

Firefly looked at the colt, “Oh dear, it seems that Peaky really wants to provoke Pearl…”

“So it seems.” Dustchu agreed, watching the exchange with an amused eyebrow raise.

“My name ain’t Patches!” Pearl cried as Filly C cackled, gripping onto Pearl’s red/black mane as she ran towards the window. “GET OVER ‘ER!”

“Nah, I’m good Patches~” Peaky then disappeared again, the sound of his hooves quickly disappearing.

“Gaaah!” Pearl then suddenly winked over to the other side, however Filly C lacked that spell and ended up flying into something that sent her bouncing off the wall and towards the ceiling where she screamed curses, and then hit the ceiling with her horn. A loud thunk sounded as her horn became buried in the wood, effectively keeping her stuck as she hung from above.

“Uh…” Firefly flew up by the small filly, wrapping her hooves around Filly’s barrel, and began to pull.

Filly just growled, tail between her legs as she felt somewhat exposed. “I… am… going to kill… everyone...” she promised, conviction in her tiny voice.

“She says, for the hundredth time.” Dustchu chuckled as he flew up to help.

Eventually Firefly just stopped flapping and tried to pull Filly out with her weight and gravity combined.

Slowly, Filly’s horn started to slide out of the wood until gravity and the pegasus’ weight finally freed her. “NOW LEMME KILL SOMEONE!” She yelled.

To keep them from slamming into the ground, Firefly flapped a little as she floated to the ground. Once they hit the ground however, she didn’t release the filly.

“You need a psychiatrist.” Dustchu told her.

“I need a knife!” She retorted, struggling to get out of Firefly’s hold once more.

Not releasing her grip, the mare quietly said, “Don’t you dare use your magic again! It freaks me out!”

The filly glanced up at Firefly, and then she grinned evilly as her horn suddenly lit up. And suddenly the filly’s golden magic reached out, and ended up touching her flank… among other intimate areas.

The pegasus yelped, releasing the small filly and backing away quickly, in which she ran into Dustchu. The stallion barely caught her, but the surprise of her sudden movement ended up knocking them both down, whilst a certain filly just galloped away, cackling evilly all the while.

Firefly was breathing deeply, and somehow Peaky poked his head up at the window, “Hey! You two are cuddling~” He chimed in.

The orange pegasus began to freak out again, and tried to get off of Dustchu, obvious embarrassment set upon her face.

“Oi oi oi oi.” Dustchu groaned as he pushed FIrefly off of him, not roughly, but gently so she could stand back up on her own. The pegasus himself couldn’t hide the blush that was currently turning the snowy white fur on his cheeks blood red.

Suddenly, Filly C popped her head back in, saying, “Hey Firefly!”

“N-no! I’m not answering you!” She shook her head quickly, grateful for her red fur.

“You got a nice flank!” Filly C cackled, turning towards Dustchu. “I’m sure Dusty will enjoy them~” She laughed evilly before running away.

Even through her red fur, the blush became so deep that it was now visible on Firefly, her wings shifted uncomfortably.

“Where’d that colt run off ta!” Pearl yelled from the stern of the ship, “GIT’OVER ER YA LILY LIVERED SHITE!”

“Nah! I’m good~” Peaky shouted from the cabin window, before he darted away again.

Dustchu turned towards FIrefly, biting his cheek. “I have the urge to start drinking now… is that normal?” He asked as his eyelid twitched.

“U-um, well drinking isn’t really good for you… but I don’t know if it’s normal or not…” Firefly said, her cheeks still burning.

The male sighed before turning towards the door, limping somewhat. “I need some air before I go insane,” he muttered as the door opened and Fuse was standing there with a smile. “Fuse… just… no.”

She couldn’t help but giggle as he walked by, the pegasus retreating down below the ship.

Firefly sat there, feeling awkward as she looked around at the others in the room. The walls started to close in, even in the bigger cabin, and she slowly began to walk out of the cabin.