Broken Caliber

The stench of beer and blood stained the local tavern by the dock ward of Waterdeep. There, several people, be they merchants, mercenaries, adventurers, or even dockhands, spend their daily earnings and consume the beer that was made from it. There, the people sang tales of the sea, recited anecdotes of their greatest adventures, and even a few jokes as well.

Among the partying was Fiore, a pink Pegasus foal with short brown hair, green eyes, and a smiling white rose for a Cutie Mark, who skittered about, looking around.

“Mom? Moooom?” She shouted. Nobody answered. Eventually, she bumped into the leg of one person. She looked up and saw that it was a man with a clean-shaven face. He had short brown hair and black eyes. She had seen sort of fashion he had on. The black hide jacket with a dark red cloth shirt and dark brown pants definitely told the image of a pirate. On his back was a scabbard holding what appeared to be a sword. He looked down upon the pony and chuckled.

“What’s a pony like you doing in Waterdeep of all places?” The pirate asked Fiore.

“M-my mom, s-sir…” She cowered before the man, who shook his head.

“Nonononono. You don’t need to fear me. You need to fear him.” He pointed to a large, gray half-orc that stood behind her. She let out a short eep before she backed away. Though she was only afraid for a moment before the orc knelt down.

“Ooooh, what a nice little pony!” The orc spoke in an uncharacteristically high-pitched voice. He patted her chocolate hair. The pirate roared out in laughter.

“Ah, don’t worry. That’s just Henk. He wouldn’t hurt a fly… Unless it’s a zombie fly. Then you’d have a problem.” He said. Just then, a much larger, magenta, Pegasus pony with lighter and longer brown hair tied to a side ponytail galloped towards the three.

“Fiore! There you are!” She nuzzled her for a bit before she turned around to the pirate. “I am so sorry if she caused you trouble.” She said.

“Don’t be. If anything, I should apologize for teasing the poor foal. So, you must be the service pony those dwarves hired. Can’t believe they’re outsourcing work to Equestria of all places.” He said.

“Well, we ponies tend to be more empathic than our Faerun brethren. And also, our services are…” She sighed and whispered out: “complex.”

“Ah, one of those service ponies.” He said before he downed his last cup of ale. “Well, if it’s anything for your troubles…” He slid a golden coin across the table, right onto her back. “What are they worth in Equestria? Five bits? Ten?” He asked.

“T-thank you.” She said. That’s when she heard a whistle.

“Come on, Sweet Snow! We’re payin’ ya by the hour!” One of the dwarves called out to her.

“I gotta go. C-could you watch over little Fiore for me? We’ll be having an overnight stay.” She asked.

“Sure.” The pirate said. She flew off to the dwarves. Fiore looked to the pirate, who just stared blankly into space and stayed silent. Only for a brief moment before he spoke up. “Giggles, I’ll come up with something later.” He said.

“Giggles?” Fiore asked.

“Oh, that’s just his imaginary friend!” Henk said. He looked to the pirate. “Actually, could I watch over her tonight? You’re going to be busy being the guard tonight.” He asked.

“Sure. Just don’t hurt her.” He said.

“I won’t!” He smiled and turned to Fiore. “Come along, my little pony!” He giggled as he went over. Fiore shuddered a bit before following him.

“See, like that.” Fiore could still hear the pirate have his conversation with ‘Giggles’.

Henk took Fiore to his room where he allowed her to sleep. While there were two beds, Fiore’s pony instinct of needing personal contact took over and she went over to Henk’s bed. Henk was a pretty bulky half-orc, with his chest making a perfect bed for Fiore to nuzzle and crawl on.

Fiore went onto Henk’s chest, and while he chortled, he didn’t wake up. While Henk’s chest was warm and firm, Fiore still couldn’t sleep. The tavern usually gets quiet at night. Usually. Occasionally, there’d be the one group who would have a wild night.

Fiore tried to cover her ears as the noises of the dwarves in the other room kept her up. Eventually, she couldn’t take it and got out of Henk’s room. She went downstairs to the main tavern. It was empty, save for one person sitting in the same chair he was at before: the pirate.

“Y-you can’t sleep either?” Fiore asked him.

“Yeah. You?” He said. She shook her head. She flapped her little wings over to sit on the chair parallel to him.

“My mom gives really noisy massages. I can’t sleep at night because of it, but she says it helps bring in the money.” She said.

“What drove your mom to give these… massages?” He asked.

“She… She couldn’t say. One day, we were in Cloudsdale, and the next, my mom packed my things and took me to the Sword Coast. She didn’t explain why. We just… took off.” She said. She began to frown. “I… I miss my friends.” She said. The pirate patted Fiore on the head.

“I feel ya, love. I miss my friends too.” He said.

“Y-you do?” She asked.

“Yeah. It’s… a long story. I can’t explain it myself, and Giggles can’t either. One day I was just living my life, then I just… dropped. I thought I died. Then… Well, then I woke up in a weird cave with this strange crystal tree. It was there that I met Giggles.” He said.

“Giggles… is he a friend?” She asked.

“Well, yes… He is. He gives me advice. He guides and teaches me. Without him, I’d be lost in Equestria.” He said.

“You were in Equestria!?” She fluttered over to him, to the point where her nose booped the pirate’s and his eyes stared directly into her sky blue eyes.

“Y-yes. I was.” He stammered and had a blush. “But I’m not now. I came here first chance I got.” He said.

“Why?” She asked.

“… Why? Well… How do I put this… You notice how ponies are rarely seen here?” He asked.

“Yes?” She asked.

“Well, it’s sort of the reverse in Equestria. Humans are scarce… Erm… Rare. I’d like to be with my own kind.” He said. FIore

“I know what scarce means. I’m not a kid.” She said.

“Says the foal who doesn’t know her mom’s a w-” SMASH! Both Fiore and the pirate looked above the stairway as they heard the sound coming from the room where the dwarves and Sweet Snow were. They both ran upstairs.

As they bust into the room, they could see Sweet Snow bleeding from her hind legs as she tried to get up. She screamed in pain as she dropped to the ground.

“Did you expect us to pay a slut like you?” One of the dwarves, a fiery red hair with a braided beard, said.

“We nearly lost our lives to a red dragon just to get our gold and no way are we giving it to you!” Another said.

“Mom!” Fiore shouted out. Sweet Snow weakly turned her head to Fiore.

“F… fiore…” She muttered. The pirate sighed and stormed in.

“H-hey! Back off or-” With one flick of the pirate’s wrist, one of the dwarves flew off. Another tried to attack him, only for him to recoil as the pirate kick him. The last one, the red-headed dwarf, got out his dagger. However, the pirate was already by his feet. Fiore could see the pirate grab the dwarf by the shirt.

“Leave… now…” He growled out. He let go of the dwarf as he and the other two ran off. As they did, Henk ran into the room.

“Ah!” He gasped and ran over to Sweet Snow. He laid his hands on the pony as his hands glowed a soft white aura. Sweet Snow soon glowed as well. The wounds on her legs closed up and she was able to stand. “Are you alright?” He asked.

“I… I am now. Thank you.” She turned around to him. “And thank you as well. I… I had my doubts about you, but you. You seem to be alright.” She said.

“Momma!” Fiore ran over to Sweet Snow and cried. Sweet Snow unfurled her wings and wrapped Fiore in them.

“Ooooh, my little Fiore… I…” She shook her head. “I’m done. We’re going back to Cloudsdale, and that’s final.” She said. Fiore pulled her head away and smiled. Sweet Snow looked to the pirate. “Please, I beg of you… Could you help sneak us out of here?” She asked.

“… You didn’t come to Faerun on your own free will, did you?” The pirate asked.

“… Yes. I was… I was forced to.” She said. The pirate sighed and patted out his fingers.

“We’ve gotta help them!” Henk said.

“Yes, I know, but Giggles wants to know what we get out of it and expects me to work it out!” He said.

“Oooh! We can-”

“No Henk, we’re not going to make them our pillows for the trip home.” He said.

“Aaaaaw…” He said. That’s when Fiore stepped in.

“Wait! I know! That tree! The tree’s in Equestria, right? We can help you find it and find out what it is!” She said.

“Yes! Yes! Yes! Good! Deal’s struck! Let’s go!” He gave Fiore a brohoof and ran off. The others ran off with him.

It was midnight when the impromptu group of adventurers exited the tavern. Needless to say, they didn’t get far without someone spotting them.

“Aaaaaah, and where do you think you’re going?” A growly voice echoed through the alleyways.

“N-no!” Sweet Snow covered herself and Fiore with her wings as she heard the voice. The pirate simply stared at the group of thugs that came to them. Leading them was a fat catfish looking creature. He had a smile comprised of sharp, jagged teeth and golden eyes that stared deeply into the cowering Sweet Snow.

The pirate chuckled, only because of how the catfish was dressed. He had a dapper hat on his head, too small to cover it though, and he wore a waistcoat under a leather jacket. The fishman seemed to have a pretty fine accent that invoked the feeling of an old, wealthy man in the south. The pirate pretty much put two and two together.

“So, you must be the guy this pony owes money to.” He said.

“Why yes I am! I just came around to see how my little Sweet Snow was doing.” He walked over to her as he shoved the pirate away with his sheer weight. “Got the money, honey?” He asked.

“N-no! They didn’t pay me!” She said.

“Why… that’s quite unfortunate. However, I do like getting repaid in another way.” He smiled. Fiore poked her head out of Sweet Snow’s wing.

“Don’t lay a finger on my mom!” She yelled. The fishman chuckled.

“Oooh, oooh, that’s rich. You’re implying I’m gonna use these fine looking arms of mine to get what I want.” He smiled and bared his teeth. “You don’t know me well enough, do you?” Sweet Snow looked at the smiling fishman and realized what was about to happen. In one swift motion, Sweet Snow shoved Fiore out of the way.

“Look away, Fiore!” She shouted.

“Mom!” Fiore grabbed onto Sweet Snow with one of her wings. Both the pirate and Henk grabbed their weapons, but before they could unsheathe them, it was too late. The fishman’s mouth opened wide and as he was over Sweet Snow, clamped them hard. The group heard a loud sickening crunch as a splash of blood came out from his mouth. All that remained of Sweet Snow was a few magenta feathers fluttering downward. Fiore screamed, not just for her mother, but in pain from the bleeding stub that was her right wing. The fishman licked his chops and cleaned the blood from his mouth.

“Mmmmmmm, that was a taaaasty meal.” He brushed himself off. “But this blood’s gonna take forever to get off.” Fiore could barely speak once she had adjusted to the pain. Henk, however, showed off his race’s signature rage as he screamed and took out his mace. However, several of the thugs got in his way and attacked him. The fishman looked over to Fiore and licked the open wound she had. “And I like the way you taste too.” He opened his mouth and snapped them tight…

Only for him to realize he was just eating air.

“What the!?” He looked and he noticed that he was now sixty feet away from the crying foal. He looked straight forward to what he perceived to be the cause of this sudden teleportation: the pirate, who had his hand extended out in a way a wizard would cast a spell.

“You there! Do you have any idea who you’re messing with!?” He shouted. The twelve thugs stopped attacking the half-orc and turned around to confront the pirate.

“No. But I shouldn’t be the one to be worried. After all, you have no idea what I’m capable of.” He glared at the catfish man. He then took out his sword and twirled it around before he held it in front of the monstrous fish. Fiore momentarily forgot the death of her mother and marveled at the shiny silver sword. Its hilt was golden and on the pommel was a red ruby encrusted into it. There was black tribal markings on the blade of the sword, though what intrigued her and the others was its tip, or rather, the lack thereof. It seemed to have been broken off.

“Boy, are you joking me? You expect to fight with a broken sword?” The fishman asked.

“I dunno. Send your men and we’ll find out.” The pirate said. With that, the fishman snapped his fingers and the thugs ran at the pirate.

He swung his sword horizontally and cut one thug down, then again, vertically on another. Both of them fell down. The other thugs didn’t hesitate to attack. He blocked many of their shoddy knives with his sword and with one slash, killed half of them. The five staggered a bit as the pirate twirled his sword around. One thug ran to him, only for the pirate to sidestep and cut him on the arm.

“Gaah!” The thug winced in pain. He took out a red potion and drank from it. However, the cut still bled. The pirate tittered as he wagged his finger.

“Sorry, that won’t work.” He turned around. The three thugs ran to him as his back was turned, only for him to turn around and lob a fireball point-blank at the three, practically destroying the three. Henk simply knocked out the last one with the blunt end of his mace.

“You’re quite extraordinary. Much more than a simple pirate. Who are you?” The fishman asked. The sword-wielding pirate turned around.

“I go by many names, it seems. Zoso, Gorgon, Nimue… But for now, my name’s written on the sword.” He tossed the sword into the air. It spun around several times before it fell. The pirate caught it as he pointed his finger to a part of the sword where the tribal markings stop, leaving a blank silver space and a name written in black.

“… Killian Jones, eh? Well, boy, I too go by many names.” He said.

“Well, you’re gonna have a new name: Fish Fillet!” He ran towards the fishman. However, before he could strike, a blue werewolf in golden armor leaped down and clawed at him. He backed away and blocked the claw with his sword.

“No. Not today, at least. For now, you may call me Tahm Kench. I hate to bid you adieu, but I really gotta get going now. Oh, and if you wanna get on my good side…” Tahm looked to Fiore, whose glittering eyes now became shrunken. “You give me her. She’s… new and tasty.” He laughed as the werewolf came to him. Tahm swallowed the werewolf whole and dove into the pavement, seemingly swimming in it. Killian ran after him, but stopped when he realized that they’re probably long gone.

He turned around and saw Fiore crying by the few remaining feathers that was once her mother. Killian looked to her and sighed.

“Don’t worry, Giggles. I know what to do.” He said. He approached the crying Pegasus. “Fiore… What is going through your mind right now?” He asked her.

“…” She stopped crying, closing her eyes to shed the last few tears she had. She stood up and glared at him. “Hate.” Killian smiled.

“Do you want to kill this Tahm Kench?” He asked.

“No… I don’t.” She said. She then growled. “I want to gut that bucking fish and make his teeth into necklaces!”

“You’d be surprised how much revenge can motivate someone.” Killian said. “However, you can’t fight as you are. You need power. You need strength. You need skill.” Killian waved his hand over to her stub. The wound glowed for a bit before it closed up and cleared any traces of blood. “You need magic.” He said. She looked to him.

“Give me this magic!” She said.

“Atatatat… All magic comes with a price.” He said. He then smiled. “And fortunately for you, I have a deal.” He said.

“Name it.” She said.

“Take me to the tree in Equestria. I’ll teach you how to use magic in the meantime. Deal?” He asked.

“Deal.” She said. He brohoofed her and turned to Henk.

“Henk, I’ll be taking a trip down to Equestria. Tell the party to find a new wizard.” He said.

“Can I come too?” Henk asked. Killian shook his head and picked up a feather.

“No. I need you here to gather enough diamonds to merit a true resurrection. You know where to find some, right?” He asked.

“Oh, right!” He said.

“Do that, and you could use Sweet Snow as your teddy bear while me and Fiore go on our little trip.” He said.

“Thank you!” Henk danced away. Killian looked to Fiore.

“If you go down this path, there’s no going back. Your quest for revenge will not quench your thirst… You sure you still want to do this?” He asked.

“Yes. I want to make that guy suffer…” She said.

“Well, I can’t stop you, then. Off we go.” He said. Fiore and Killian walked off, though Killian stopped. “What’s so funny, Giggles?” He turned around. In his mind, he saw a man in a leather waistcoat with a shirt made from crocodile scales. His skin was pale with flecks of gold seemingly embedded into his flesh. His hair was also a pale brown, though it was messy.

“Oh nothing, Dearie. I’m just laughing at the coincidence.” He said.

“Coincidence?” He asked.

“The name you have belonged to a pirate who also had a grudge with a person who took both his love and his hand. Well, in this case, it’d be her mom and her wing.” He said.

“Hmph. So I guess history repeats itself.” He walked off to follow Fiore.

“What was that about?” She asked.

“Nothing. Just Giggles making a note.” Killian said.

“Indeed… History’s repeating itself… hehehehehehehe…” ‘Giggles’ simply laughed as he saw the two depart to the docks.