Revolutionary

With my hooves pressed against the iron bars of our cell, I can feel the floor rocking back and forth as we sail across the sea. To be honest, our cell is more like a cage. These iron bars completely surround us, and there’s so little space that the guards took Scrap and imprisoned him on a different ship. It’s just the creature and I locked in here, and it’s been deathly silent with its head buried beneath its arms as it sits in the corner of the cell. I’ve never been under the deck of one of these ships before, as we rarely go out at sea in the Royal Guard. Nonetheless, they taught us all about the ins and outs of the ships along with how to use the helm. It’s been so long that most of that knowledge has dissipated, but being back in one of these brings back those memories: the early days of my training, the days where it seemed like none of this could ever happen. Sitting in a wooden stool in the corner of the room is a royal guard with his eyes glued to our cell. I can see our weapons sitting atop a wooden table next to the guard, along with a metal ring holding the key to our cage, but there’s no way we’d be able to get to them. Despite the fact that I feel like there isn’t any hope left to go off of, I feel the need to offer some words of comfort. Pressing my back against the door of the cage, doing my best to ignore the guard that’s watching us, I turn to the creature with a sigh. “Hey,” I begin, but it refuses to lift its head up to look at me. “How are you feeling?”

“Not well, Officer,” it says.

“Don’t worry. I’m sure we’ll find some way out of this . . . somehow.”

“I wouldn’t count on it. You were part of the Royal Guard, right? Don’t you know what’ll happen to us when we arrive?”

“I’m not too sure.”

“We’re going to be executed, aren’t we?”

“What? N-No.” Realizing I clearly don’t sound too convincing, I decide to reinforce my stance regardless. “The worst that’ll happen is we’ll be imprisoned for . . . I don’t know how long, but that’s all that’s going to happen.”

“I never thought this would all end so soon. Just when it seemed like it could only get better, this happens. Perhaps we weren’t cut out for bringing about change in Equestria.”

“. . . Not to sound blunt, but why do ‘you’ care about bringing change to Equestria?” The creature lifts its head up from its arms to look at me with a tired look on its face. “You’re no pony, or deer or . . . anything like us. You’re not a part of our species, not even close. So . . . what makes you feel the need to fight for us?”

“There’s many reasons why I do, Officer. One, Harra has it set in her heart that she can do some good for Equestria, and I want to help her see it through. Since we were children, she had dreams of becoming something of an adventurer, a hero. . .” The creature’s eyes start to water as it chuckles. “I remember when we would play pretend. She and I would run through the woods fighting all sorts of imaginary evildoers. I would be her bodyguard or sidekick, and I would always sacrifice myself to the invisible villains when they would get the upper hoof. Then she would hop into action and save me, along with the rest of the kingdom.” The creature wipes the tears from its eyes and clears its throat. “And now that we’ve gotten older, and her dreams have gotten bigger, I promised her that no matter what I would always be there for her. She’s a sister to me, and I made a vow to myself to protect her with my life.” Hearing the creature speak about its memories with Harra warms my heart. It reminds me of the days when I was younger. Sure, I was an only child, but I would play similar games with friends of my own. I suppose it must truly see Harra as a family. Unlike other creatures that run off of basic instinct and nothing more, this one doesn’t seem to be the same. From the tears I saw in its eyes, and the inflections in its voice when it reminisced about its memories, speak volumes to me about what must be going through its head. “I guess the second thing would be that I don’t really have a species of my own anymore. When Harra’s parents were raising me I grew to love them all as if they truly were my family. They clothed me, fed me, taught me. . . However, I guess they didn’t feel the same way after all. Even after all these years, when I thought they cared for me as if I were their own, he blames me. He sees me as a nuisance that’s corrupted his daughter. I can tell you feel something similar.”

“What do you mean?”

“The way you look at me. You think I’m some kind of freak, don’t you?”

I look at him, and ponder to myself for a moment. With the upmost sincerity I can muster, I tell him the truth straight from my heart. “No, I don’t think that at all.”

“Well, I do. I know what I am, and I know what I’m not. I don’t expect you to accept me as a friend, acquaintance or partner; because I understand.”

“Listen, you are no different than me. Perhaps my initial reaction to you may have seemed like an unfavorable one; but it was purely from the shock of never seeing anything like you in my entire life. Surely you would’ve reacted the same way if you saw something so out of the ordinary, wouldn’t you agree? I can see now that you’re not what I thought you were. All I needed was some time to understand you.”

“Well, Officer, I appreciate that. Truly, I do.”

“Please, don’t keep calling me Officer. ‘Maple’ will do just fine, Orin.”

Orin grins. “As you wish, Maple.” The sound of an explosion erupts from beyond the ship, alerting the guard sitting across from us. “What was that?”

“I don’t know.” I listen to the sounds of hollering and commotion on the upper level of the ship as another explosion goes off beyond these walls. In a panic, the guard hops out from his seat and climbs a set of steps to get above deck, leaving the two of us alone. “Now would be the time for us to find a way to escape.”

“Escape? How can we possibly manage that? We’re locked in here, and the key is way over there.”

“Surely there’s some way we can manage. . .”

“I don’t see how we could.”

“Come on, Orin,” my eyes dart all around the cage searching for anything I could possibly exploit for a way out. “Try and stay positive.”

“Stay positive. . . Right. It’s not like we can bring the table over to us.” Then, I’m struck with a sudden realization.

“I think I’ve got it.”

“Yeah? And what’s on your mind?”

“These ships weren’t designed to carry prisoners. They were built as vessels to simply carry soldiers overseas and into battle. I remember these ships never had cages like this below deck.”

“Why does that matter? Maybe they just put these cages in recently.”

“Right, but how recently? Check the bottom of the cage, tell me if you see anything keeping it secured to the floor.” Both Orin and I check our sides for any signs of bolting or chains that might be keeping our cage in place, but it appears that there is absolutely nothing to keep us stationary.

“No, there’s nothing. Then . . . perhaps we could. . ?”

“That’s right. If we can’t bring the table to us, then we’ll go to the table. All we need are a few good pushes. Come on, help me.” I prep myself with my hooves against the cage, and Orin quickly joins me by my side with his shoulder pressed up against the cage. “On three, we push. Ready?” He nods, and we ready ourselves for a push. “One. . . Two. . . Three!” We push ourselves into the wall of the cage, and it rocks forward, but not enough to force it onto its side. “Almost. Just a bit harder. One. . . Two. . . Three!” This time we ram ourselves against the cage, and it tips over causing us to fall onto our stomachs. “Alright! Let’s keep it up!” Orin and I ready ourselves for another push, and we continue to roll the cage towards the table with the key.

“I . . . I can’t believe this worked!” says Orin as he catches his breath.

“I guess The Royal Guard isn’t as bright as I thought they’d be,” I mock. “Now, my hooves are a bit too big to fit through the openings in this cage; but I think you can squeeze your arm through to reach the key.”

“Right!” Orin pokes his hand through the tight opening through the cage and extends his arm to reach out and grab the key. He brings his arm back inside, and I move aside to allow him enough room to mess about with the padlock as he sticks both his arms through the door of our cage. I can hear the sound of the latch to the hatch the guard used to leave our room unlock. Assuming the worst, Orin and I hold our breath and remain motionless. The hatch opens up, allowing a beam of sunlight to pierce through the shadowy room for a short moment before closing again. I listen to the dreadful sounds of the guards’ armored hooves step down the wooden stairs. He walks through the doorway and notices that our cage is completely empty with the door left wide open, and the padlock is dangling from the metal loop on the door. With Orin and I hiding with our backs pressed up against the wall adjacent to the doorway the guard is standing between, he gasps and glances around the room in a desperate search for us. With his wooden baton, Orin smacks the guard’s throat with its shaft. As he grabs his throat choking in pain, Orin swings his baton upward into the guard’s chin sending him backward onto the stairs unconscious. Grabbing hold of the guard’s legs, I drag his body down from the steps and into the middle of the room. “Okay,” Orin catches his breath from the tension that’s built up inside him. “What’s next?”

“Well. . . We go up there, and commandeer the ship.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“We’ll catch them off-guard while their distracted with whatever’s going on up there. Then, we take them on.”

“So, you ‘are’ serious.” I pick up the guard’s golden spear with my mouth, and hold it out to Orin who looks at the pointed blade of the spear with fear. Confused, I try to convince him to go ahead and take it.

“There’s going to be quite a few of them out there. I feel a weapon like this would benefit you unlike your baton.”

“I-I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Harra and I made a vow to the spirit that we should never resort to such weaponry to defend ourselves.”

“What even is this ‘spirit’ you two keep talking about?”

“I’ll explain everything to you later, but for now, I can’t accept that weapon.”

“You’ll be at a major disadvantage.”

“I can’t go back on my vows. I would be betraying, not only The Spirit of The Wood, but also Harra; and ‘that’ I would never forgive myself for.”

With a sigh, I set down the spear. “Okay, well, how many of those stunning-seed-things do you have?” Orin reaches into a pocket in his trousers and pulls out a bunch of those seeds I saw him launch at the guards back in Canterlot Castle.

“Six.”

“Alright, use them sparingly, and make every shot count.” Orin nods his head as he puts the seeds back into his pocket and readies his slingshot. I draw my sword from its sheathe, and we ready ourselves to charge out through the hatch. “You watch my back, and I’ll watch yours.”

“You can count on me, Maple.” I take in a deep breath to try and help calm my nerves.

“Ready. . . Go!” I charge headfirst into the hatch, bursting it open with brute force. I stand gripping tightly onto the handle of my sword while in my offensive stance, and Orin quickly comes to my side with his slingshot primed and ready. Off in the distance, I see the other ship holding Scrap prisoner is clearly under siege. The sails are ablaze, and the sky is filling with clouds of smoke. Our ship’s course is parallel with it as guards arm the large, wooden crossbows mounted at the edge of the deck firing off arrows the size of harpoons toward the ship. Through the smoke and flames, I find the guards aboard the other ship appear to be fighting back against something. It’s Scrap, and he’s galloping like mad across the deck while avoiding the guards’ attempts to capture him as well as the harpoon-sized arrows.

“I’ll never know how he does it,” says Orin mesmerized by the sight.

“The prisoners have escaped!” The guard at the helm of the ship calls out, alarming the other guards onboard. Instantaneously, a group of guards armed with spears swarm and surround us waiting for their moment to strike.

“We order you to stand down!” One of the guards warns.

“I don’t take orders from ponies like you anymore,” I say locking eyes with the guard. Infuriated by my response, he charges forward with the tip of his spear. I swipe away the blade of his spear with my sword, and whip around to send him to the ground with a quick buck to his chest. Another guard approaches Orin as he thrusts his spear wildly. To my surprise, Orin is able to avoid every thrust, and fires off one of his stun-seeds as it explodes onto the guard’s armor. Disoriented, Orin grabs his baton from his belt and immediately clobbers the guard in the head. After a few good smacks to his helmet, the guard falls to the floor. Another guard tries his hoof at charging towards me trying to swing the blade of his spear at me. As I deflect his relentless attacks with my sword, I can feel my grip on the handle weakening. With his next incoming attack, I duck down allowing the shaft of his spear to fly right over my head. I swing upward, chopping off part of his spear’s shaft. The blade of his spear falls to the floor, and he looks to me with a look of helplessness. Still, he tries to attack with his bladeless spear as I continue to slice apart his useless weapon. Orin is in a quarrel with a guard armed with a sword. His sleek, crimson armor signifies that he is of a higher rank than these guards in golden armor. Their weapons clash as they seem to be pretty evenly matched. With barely a weapon to speak of, the guard I’m facing off gives up as he looks at what’s left of his spear unsure of what to do. I shrug, and with an uncomfortable smile he retreats to his comrades.

“Maple!” Orin cries. I turn to him, and I see that he’s quickly tiring from trying to keep up with the crimson guard. He pulls out his slingshot in an attempt to defend himself, but with one swift slice the guard cuts through his slingshot. The wooden arch of the slingshot falls to the floor, forcing Orin to discard what’s left of it to draw his baton. With both his hands on both ends of his weapon, he is able to block the guard’s next incoming attack. However, the guard continues to press down with his sword onto Orin’s baton, and Orin doesn’t look like he’ll be able to hold him back for much longer. Just as I am about to charge towards the guard ready to plunge my sword into his side, a voice calls out.

“That’s enough!” The guards, Orin and I stop and turn to the source of the voice. Commander Liaison walks towards us as the guards back away from us. “I must say, that was a fine display from the both of you. However, you and your friends are becoming quite the annoyance, Miss Bough. So, I’ll have to put an end to this once and for all.”

“You’re wrong if you think you can defeat us,” I taunt.

“Perhaps you’re right. So, why don’t we even out the playing field, shall we? Pike! Lance!”

“Yes, sir!” the two guards salute.

“Seize that bizarre creature.” Pike and Lance instantly rush Orin, grabbing him by his arms and yanking him away from my side.

“Hey! Let me go!” Orin demands as he helplessly struggles to break himself free.

“I don’t think so you. . ! You ‘thing’!” Pike mocks.

“Wow, you sure told it,” says Lance. “I’m sure you might’ve hurt its feelings with that comment.”

“Oh, like you could’ve done any better!”

“Bet you I could.”

“Go on then!”

“Nope. I’m not as insensitive as you.”

“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding!”

“You leave him alone!” I warn.

“Not to worry, it won’t be harmed . . . yet,” Commander Liaison teases. “You and I are going to settle this proper, with a one on one duel. If you win, then you ‘might’ get your friend back. If I win, then I’ll have its throat slit. Sound fair to you?”

“You’ve made a mistake, Commander.”

“Have I? And what would that be?”

“I won’t lose.”

Commander Liaison chuckles. “If this is going to go anything like our previous confrontation, then I have a feeling I know exactly how this is going to end.”

“How about you stop talking, and we get this over with?” Commander Liaison’s smile disappears as he glares at me.

“Patience, was never your strong suit, Miss Bough.” The more I listen to him speak, the more eager I become to bring the attack. I charge his position winding up my sword for a swing, as he stands and waits for me to get closer. Before my initial blow can make contact, Commander Liaison pulls out his sword to block my attack. Assuming he’ll try the same tactic he used last time, I follow up my failed attack with an onslaught of swings and swipes. I feel like I have more control in this fight, but none of my swings can connect. Effortlessly, he blocks every last one of my attacks, and I can already feel my energy starting to drain. By the look on his face, I can tell this is what he wants. He wants me to tire myself out; that way he can take advantage of the fight while I’m exhausted. I can’t let that happen. There must be some way I can get through his defense.

“Commander!” A guard calls out, but is ignored as Commander Liaison is too focused on staring me down. I twirl and try to swipe at his legs, but he jumps right over my blade.

“Clever,” says Commander Liaison. “But not clever enough.” Infuriated, I continue to swing my sword at him, as he simply steps out of the way of every swing. “You must be curious as to where your parents are.” I need to not put my focus on what he says, and instead focus on landing a blow. “Her Majesty gave me the order to move them to a new location. I’m sure their happier where they are now, compared to that cramped, cold cell.”

“Commander!” The guard calls out once again.

“And it’s just a matter of time. . .”

“Commander!” Commander Liaison and I lock swords, and he leans in a little too close to my face with a crazed look in his eye.

“Before the life is completely drained out from them.” Stunned by his words, my mind instantly runs wild with thoughts as to what he could possibly mean; and what torture my parents must be going through right at this moment. Out of shock, my grip on my sword weakens, and Commander Liaison notices easily. He shoves my sword away, and whips around to kick me in my chest with one of his hind legs. I tumble along the floor with an immense pain in my chest. I lift up my head to see Commander Liaison looming over me with the tip of his sword pointed at my face. “It’s too bad the princess wants you as well. I would lavish the opportunity to finish you off right now. Well, since you lost, time to uphold your end of the bargain. Lance! Pike! Kill that disgusting creature.” He looks away from me to turn to Pike and Lance, and his smile quickly vanishes. I shift my eyes to see that the two guards are standing with nervous grins on their faces as they both shrug it off. “Where is it?!” He shouts.

“Commander!”

“What?! What do you want?!” Commander Liaison looks to the guard that’s been calling him, as he fearfully points his hoof. Turning to look at what he could be pointing at, we find that the burning ship is about to collide with ours. “. . . Splendid.” He sighs. The side of the burning ship slams and grinds against our ship while also raining embers and flaming splinters of wood. The collision is so violent that is causes our ship to tilt, forcing all of us onboard to slide down the slanted floor to the other side of the ship. Commander Liaison and I ram into the railing at the edge of the ship; and once the deck is level again, I get to my hooves to find he has his sword pointed at me once again. However, this time, he looks intent to kill. “I’ve had enough of this! I think I need a break from all this excitement, don’t you? Perhaps the satisfaction of driving my sword through your heart will grant me some relief.” Without my sword and no place to run, I stand frozen in fear as he winds up his sword for a thrust. “Farewell, Maple. It’s been a—” Suddenly, something flies by and kicks Commander Liaison over the railing. I watch him fall hopelessly until he breaks through the surface of the sea with a splash. Looking up, I see Orin swinging on a rope hanging from the top of the main mast. His momentum carries him back toward the ship, and he drops from the rope to land in the same spot Commander Liaison stood.

“Are you alright?” Orin asks.

“I. . . I’m. . . Yeah, I’m fine,” I stammer.

“Woo! That was incredible!” Scrap shouts as he gallops across the deck to meet up with us. He’s covered in soot and ashes, as well as a few scraps and gashes.

“S-Scrap! You’re alright!”

“Of course I am. What did you expect?”

“Are you sure? You look injured,” says Orin.

“Eh, it’s nothing; but never mind me! You two were really kicking some serious flank until Commander Moustache showed up!”

“How did you even take control of that ship?” I ask.

“Oh, it was nothing. It’s their fault for leaving enough stuff around for me to make some good ol’ explosives with.”

“Stay right where you are!” A guard orders as a mob of them gather around us with the blades of their weapons pointed at us.

“Come on, guys,” Scrap says in a sympathetic voice. “Don’t you think you’ve had enough for one day?” All the guards’ eyes widen at once, and their jaws drop. “How’s about you lower your weapons, and let us go back home before this gets any messier?” The guards then lower their weapons, confusing all three of us. “Huh, I didn’t think that would actually work.” Slowly, the guards take a few steps backward as their eyes gradually follow something rising up from behind us. Scrap, Orin and I turn to see a gigantic tidal wave headed straight for us as its roar erupts from the sea.

“Quick! Grab on to something!” I advise. The three of us grab hold of the railing as the guards behind us scramble about unsure of what to do as the wave approaches. We take in one deep breath as the tidal wave engulfs the ship, nearly causing us to lose our grip on the railing. The unfortunate guards are swept away by the wave, and I can hear the wood of the ship creak and shudder from the sheer pressure of the water. The wave passes us by, and the ocean settles as we all gasp for breath while soaking wet. The deck is clear of guards, and the three of us prop our exhausted bodies against the railing. “Where . . . did that come from?”

“I don’t know. . .” says Scrap. “But wasn’t that amazing?!”

“It doesn’t make sense,” says Orin. “A lone wave like that just showing up out of nowhere, and now, there’s nothing.”

“Who cares? It saved our hides, and we’re all alive! Our luck is starting to turn!”

“So, what do we do now?” I ask.

“I’ll tell you what we’re gonna do!” Scrap trots across the deck, and pulls my sword out from between a couple boards of wood. He hurries back over to us handing over my sword with elation. “You’re gonna take your sword, and Orin, you’re going to go and make sure we don’t have a breach in the hull.”

“And what about you?”

“As for me. . !” Scrap turns and trots over to the stern of the ship, climbing up the wooden steps and grabbing hold of the helm. “I’m going to turn this ship around, and bring us back home! I’ve always wanted to captain a ship, and let me tell you, this moment feels just right. Officer Pancakes, keep an eye out for any incoming dangers at sea! Orin, let’s move!”

“Aye-aye, Captain!” Orin salutes as he opens the hatch we were locked in, and heads below deck.

“Heads up, Officer!” Glancing back to Scrap, I see something flying straight to me. I catch it between my teeth, and find that Scrap has tossed me a golden spyglass. “You’re a sailor now! So, you’re gonna need the right tools!” Scrap turns the wheel, shifting our course as he gazes out at the sea. I can’t help but smirk as he is so in tune with being a sea captain. I slide my sword back into its sheathe, and extend the spyglass. With one eye peering into one end of the spyglass, and the other shut tight, I scan the horizon for anything suspicious. I’m not too sure, but I have a feeling I might now where that gigantic wave came from. I can’t explain it rationally, but perhaps it has something to do with that mare I saw in my dream. For all I now, it might have been a dream at all. Although, it seems a bit ludicrous to think it was real.

“Umm . . . Captain!” I hear Orin call from behind me. I turn and am in shock to see Orin with two royal guards standing right beside him. Instinctively, I drop the spyglass and trot over to them. I draw my sword and point it towards them as a warning, yet they tremble with fear and hide behind Orin.

“You stay away from him!” Scrap shouts as he hops down from the helm.

“No, no, no—wait!” Orin pleas. “They’re not dangerous.” Scrap and I pause to examine the guards, and I find that they are unarmed. Not only that, but they’re the same two guards that held Orin during my fight with Commander Liaison.

“Oh yeah? Then what do they want?” Orin looks over to them and whispers something as they both nod their heads.

“Look umm. . .” Lance begins. “We don’t want to cause trouble.”

“And why should I believe that?”

“Because . . . we . . . umm. . .”

“These two helped Maple and I,” Orin says as Lance appears to be having trouble speaking in front of Scrap. “The commander told them to keep my hostage, that’s when we made a plan. They let me sneak away, and I was able to catch the commander off-guard. If it weren’t for them, I don’t know if either Maple or I would be alive right now.” Scrap, with an uninterested look on his face, walks over to the two guards getting right up in their faces.

“Give me one good reason why we should trust a couple of guards like you?” Scrap asks.

“L-Look,” Lance stammers. “W-We don’t like what the princess is doing as much as you do. She’s completely lost her head!”

“Definitely out of her mind,” Pike adds.

“Exactly! Not only that, but our commander is a borderline madpony!”

“A little coo-coo if you ask me.”

“Yes, thank you, Pike. A-And your friend here told us that you all want to fight back! You have to believe us; we’re sick of being treated like fodder!”

“It’s not fair I tell ya.”

“And we’re sick of what’s happening to our home!”

“It’s all going downhill.”

“Pike! Please!” Lance shouts in Pike’s ear as he reels back in terror. “This little . . . ‘rebellion’ you guys have going on, we want to join. We’ll do whatever you say. Just . . . please, don’t throw us overboard!”

“Whatever I say, eh?” Scrap asks.

“Yes, of course!”

“How’s about . . . you throw yourselves overboard?” Lance and Pike’s eyes widen with fear, and the glance to each other in horror. I myself and stunned by Scrap’s demand, and Orin also appears to be shocked with his jaw left hanging wide open. Suddenly, Scrap bursts out in a fit of laughter. “I’m only kidding! Come now, surely you two have a sense of humor!” Awkwardly, Lance and Pike start to chuckle as it grows into full-on laughter. Settling down, Scrap hooks his forelegs around Lance and Pike and brings them in close. “So, what are your names?”

“Uh . . . Lance.”

“Pike!” Pike says ecstatically.

“Well, welcome aboard! I apologize if I frightened you two earlier.”

“Oh, no. We weren’t scared,” says Lance.

“As if!” Pike jumps in. “You were quaking in your armor like a little filly!”

“Would you like to see what a little filly in armor can do to your face?”

“. . . Not particularly.”

“Oh, I like you two!” Scrap cheers. “I can tell we’re gonna get along just fine!” With the situation settled, I smile and put away my sword as Lance and Pike appear both relieved and excited. “I’m sure Harra’s gonna be delighted to know that we’ve got two new recruits to the—”

“Harra!” Orin exclaims. “We have to get back to her as quickly as possible!”

“Right,” says Scrap as he gallops back up to the helm. “We get back home, save Harra, then we might be able to get some food in our stomachs—because I am starved! Let’s shove off!” I’m not too sure if I should be worried about Lance and Pike or not. They seem to be genuinely interested in joining our cause, but I won’t be letting my guard down for a second just in case. While Scrap takes control of the wheel, Orin and I utilize this time to get to know a bit more about these two guards. If these two do in fact feel the same way as us, then surely there must be more. I feel like my hope for any decent ponies within The Royal Guard is starting to grow, but we’ve got a long way ahead of us until all of this is over. I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt, because the greater our numbers, the greater our chances will be in restoring Equestria back to its former glory. Although, I can’t shake this ill-feeling in my stomach. Once Princess Twilight discovers that the two ships she sent aren’t returning to Equestria, Harra’s home might also be put in grave danger.