Daring Do and the Fate of Old Equis

The Mirred Hobbs deck was uneven and offcolor from years of repair and modification to a point where Daring wasn't sure where the original planks stopped and the replacements began. All around the deck there were reminders of the ships long service to the kingdom. After a chat with Captain Cutter, she had formed atleast a professional respect for the old girl, not every ship can stay afloat, let alone in service for 180 years.

The warm south winds were picking up now, they had just passed a doldrum that was infamous for corsairs from the storm islands just a few dozen miles north-west of their current position. From here there was only a few lone sea stacks and one more inhabited island before they truly began sailing blind.

Daring leaned on the railing of the forecastle. The gleaming azure waters lapped against the side of the forward bow, sending up a refreshing mist of cool vapors into her snout. In her youth as a assistant archaeologist to Dr. Rusker and the then head of accounting Steady Pace at the university, she gained an early appreciation for the profession of sailors and seaponies.

Rusker, the old mule was said to be the toughest ass in the entire field of study on the ancient deer tribes of the western reaches, under her Daring acquired a gruff persona and no nonsense opinion on exploration, along with a tempered cooling of her infamous hothead. Along with the then younger Paces more 'optimistic' view on school funds, they had explored almost the entirety of the western seaboard finding site after site. They engaged with locals and colonists to which she never should've dreamed of as a filly growing in the great woods. Some of the old college members in the current board wouldn't have cared as much as she did with the wooden spear shafts and crazed pottery of that simple time of her formation as a scientist, but to her the days were priceless, a concept she was afraid the school, let alone the country had forgotten.

(What good are my books if my readers just get inspired to grave rob, seeing easy fortunes instead of the history I write them? What would Ruskie say now?)

Often Daring had faced this dilemma. It recurred over and over in her dreams as if a skipping record that never silenced, and with every report she read about the youth in Equestria destroying artifacts of the Bison and Dogmen and causing harm to other beings, she wondered if it was even a good thing she wrote and explored at all.

Then a sound cut through the sky... strange and high went out of the west only for a second, like a boiler reaching heat and instantly depressurizing a snap, low and quick, like a bulls whip.

(What was that? A song whale perhaps? )

The sea gave no indication of what made the sound, only the green-grey coloms and the shadows of creatures soaring far above. The creaking of the deck behind her alerted her of an approach.

“Hey missy, finally out of the rat hold ehh?”

Daring Turned to see that sun bleached reaper that seemed to have had shadowed her the whole voyage. And no kind elderly zebra was here to save her now.

“Something you need Doctor Watts?” Daring said in response, still looking out to the west.

“Doctor? Hehe, not in civilized waters, my few charges better suit me as a saw bones misssssy.” Watts drew out his voice to a hiss as he hoisted himself against the rails with her. Daring caught a glimpse of his face a foot away from hers.

Watts yellow grin and his oily knotted mane suited his form, they fit perfectly with his perpetual bagged eyes along with his ratted purple sircoat. Daring surmised he could scare a cockatrice to stone.

“Anyway, the capt' says he be needen you now in the main cabin. Don't take too long, he's got a temper...hehe...” He said turning his face sideways to her, grabbing a snuff box and pipe from his coat.

Daring stood up fully and stretched. The change of positioning made it clearer to her now, he smelled like fermented cider and parry grass. With one last attempt at finding the noise she relented. No more whistling on the water, what ever it could've been most likely passed, maybe it was just her lack of good sleep. She turned back to Watts, mid way through stuffing his pipe.

“Did he say what for?” Daring snapped back.

“Sommin' about the charts. Usually that's mine job mind you, but sense we crew can't be trusted around the maps on this voyage, it seems the job falls to you, got it tramp? Now get a fuckin' gettin' on, you're ruining in my smoking spot.” Watts brow grew dark and to her the first springs of what seemed to be gray beard hairs were forming under his jaw in the mid days light under the approaching overcast.

Daring simply sighed and began her walk to the captains room, tightening her coat and leaving the stallion with little more then a wing waft. Better to brush off the asshole and keep a status quo for now. If he is the only doctor on ship he will be needed if they were to save the stranded ponies. Plus she really didn't want to pick a fight with basically strangers in the middle of nowhere.

knock-knock
Daring beat into the doors paneling.

From somewhere beyond, muffled by the timbers,
“It's open.”

Daring slid the door to the side and turned around to close it. While doing so she saw Watts on the opposite side of the empty poop deck, smoking now, but still giving her that 1000 yard stare with his evil eyes where he sat.

She locked the door.

“Captain Cutter, the bozen said you needed my help with something?”

“Sit please, we have somethings to discuss.” Cutter said from the other side of a impressively scaled, if not outdated cartography table.

Cutter, from what Daring had learned at the Palace and Freight shipping company, was a warmhearted and honest trader, but not much for straying from his assumed lot in life. The companies magistrate said that his ship and crew were the most reliable but not as bold as she would imagine a far flung ancient whaling vessel would be. According to what she had heard, Cutters family where among the finest sailors from Equestria, but that fame was at least a century old and Cutter for all his kind words, was not the same kind of pony as his fore bearers that built that legend.

Daring sat down in the warmly lit room as the gentle tilt of the ship swung. Lanterns waved to her and the glint of old mounted harpoons from the ships monster hunting days made a sort of bow to the captains chair. Cutter tacked down the sea chart and drew on it with a carpenters pencil, highlighting their heading.

“Were' aboot a half days out from Gulls Rest. We will stop there to top off, and rest for a spell. May give some needed chances to stretch our legs on terra firmata... After, we'll continue under your bequestment miss Do.”

The Captain had drawn a circle on the map around what seemed to be only a speck on the chart, a arrant black dot amoungst faded blue wash. No filigree or title, just a jagged pebble in a otherwise vast paper nothingness.

Daring didn't doubt the heading, but something just looked off to her, “Seems a bit odd, a port would be on such a small island, are you sure this 'Gulls Rest' is really there? I don't have any mention from the college, or the company for that mater that this place exists.”

“Oh its not gonna be on any map, the Gull is an ancient place. And before yee start in, no its not a myth, it's just not interested in politics of the mainland miss. No census or chart in the last 80 on years I think would be havin' it. Well except thisin” Cutter said smoothing out its creases with a hoof.

“Ah, that's the reason for the... mature, chart then?” Daring tried to be respectful to the captain.

Cutter continued drawing without lifting his gaze. “Aye, my grand mother and her father and his great uncle before him, all used to sail these waves, had talents fo' mappin. That was back before the satyrs and the hippies started carvin' up the islands. I've never been this far south myself, but I know Ma Cutter would'nt've told no mares tails.”

Daring studied the map as she would any artifact, the line work was exquisite and besides the gull island there were about half a dozen other small islands she had never seen depicted before.
“Well I have used a fair amount in my day and I must say your families attention to detail is staggering, not even my Canterlot astrologers map is so well made. And its basically a photo of the world from the sky.”

For a moment Cutter looked up at her appriciating the maps form, “Why thank you, I'mn just glad I got to use it once before retirin'. The sea-lanes aren't easy, don't get me wrong miss, but after 40 years on um going back an' forth, nothing surprises me.”

“Sometimes I think the same.” Daring said to humor the stallion.

(Except the complete opposite.)

“Well now that we are on the same page involving the map... perhaps its time to bring the crew up to speed?” Nearly every time Cutter and her had talked in the last couple of weeks he had asked a similar question at minimum once.

“Not yet captain. You and I are the only ones allowed until we arrive, I am sure you would know lose lips sink ships. Theres still monsters and robbers that would abuse even our limited info. We owe as much to the country.” Daring winced a little at that, she was no nationalist but it had to be said about the situation.

“Yes I understand,” Cutter took off his spectacles and looked her in the eyes. “You're going to have to tell them eventually. They all know the legends and if you let them work it out on their own it may turn ugly. I'm 'sure' as well a educated mare like yourself knows sailors are a superstitious lot.”

Daring must have hit a nerve, relegating the conversation back to the most pressing points,
“Anything else you know about Gulls Rest that might help?” Daring said.

“Well in the southern tales, in the voice of the Satyr lords would say that the invasion of our kind started here.” he pointed again at the tiny isle.

Daring had never met a Satyr herself but had heard of them in a few texts relating to the southern coasts around the lush temperate woods that once grew in that part of Equestria, where the Hipogriffs settled. Those stories, hundreds of years old said the Satyr were xenophobic sorcerers that enthralled animals to do their bidding but were mostly harmless if respected by outsiders. After centuries of development in the farthest southern shores no one had seen them for years, thought to have left this mortal world, wiped out by changing times.

The most recent anyone had written involving them began around 2 decades prior. Tabloids wrote tall tales of a mad self proclaimed Satyr king who had amassed a great host army from the southern archipelago to reclaim the ancient woods on the continent for his own. According to unreliable witnesses, it was made up of a horde of giant hedgelings amoung a handful of other ghastly races that all hated Equestria. A race of normally small savages, Hedgelings were creatures that walked like apes and could talk a broken old ponish tongue that where native to the largest of the storm islands. For centuries none but them lived there due to a ghastly record of the natives ripping apart explorers and eating them alive with their bare paws in early attempts to settle. No pony thought much of the phantom king on account of it being so far away. So desolate. No one could tame them and no pony ever would. Just more fake news they said,

But still scattered sightings in news clippings of warlike Hedgelings in black armor raiding grove hamlets and the odd ship going missing were the only bits of evidence anypony had on it.

Even Daring herself didn't pay heed, she and her teacher only ever cared about the glory of the hunt, her and everypony else would pay dearly for it. A little over a 100 moons back that boogeyman king became too real. Near genocide on the Hipogriffs and a attack on the capital made it so. In the passing of one week hundreds of ponies were gone, the nobles and the monarchy who were petrified and taken as trophies, they where the lucky ones. Many disappeared into slaving ships, others where... used as sustenance for the army of that king. His stormfront destroyed the land and its people.

Ultimately he was shattered into nothingness by a sole surviving princess barely overlooked, and her friends who had redeemed a commander to turn on him. Some of them which Yearling knew well, again the thought of that princesses guidance echoed to her, “This time maybe different for you. The world will be brighter tomorrow if you only take a chance.”

Daring gulped and looked at Cutter. He was still drawing, appearing unaware of her silence.

“I guess to them it would have been an invasion huh?”

“Indeed. The songs of a few sailors from the islands said it be where the ponies first landed on our quest for a new home, apparently the earth pony tribe had claimed it and it was fought over by refugees.”

Again, a faint hiss reached her ears like it had out side.

Daring never had a problem with being proven wrong. This time the knowledge the captain claimed made her head throb. She had read as many as 100 treatises, papers and legends about the exodus to Equestria from Equis. This one was new, what else would she not know? Before she could respond, a pig iron lance smashed through the bay windows rocking the ship to its side and smashing amwares and shelves down to the floor, sea air meet Darings face again, but she couldn't see. A giant break in the wall left splintered wood embedded across the room. There was blood on Darings face, she furiously touched her body all over to find where it came from. She looked everywhere, nothing. Then when she finnaly rubbed her vision free, looked up to where the captain had been. Cutters head was gone, it was like an freshly pressed red orchid lying on the table.

.-=O=-.

“Swing it round yee blusterous beast, we'll lose them at this rate!” Salted Cloak shouted at the hedgeling pivoting the air skippers harpoon as he took the helm and shouted down the phonographic pipe at the ships wheel.

“All hands to the forward battery! We got us alive one yet!”

The two had just been called out against a ship sighted nearby by a an informant. Normally they wouldn't have been this far east, but it had been a hard last season with the storm kings demise, less work was about to raid shipping lanes and pillaging had become an impossibility with the increase in the Pony guard ships to the north. The Griffin sentries message must have been a sweet call for them to feast as the sharks did on seal, the signal was clear, that it was a trade cog that must have lost its way, easy money for Salts men.

“Hungght,” the hedgehog grunted, slowly turning the rusted in gun towards the vessel. The Salten Wound had indeed hit dead on the bridge of the ship, but it had not yet broken its rutter. The Cog bobbed from the blow but kept on its heading.

As Salt turned the skipper back facing their quarry for approach. 3 more hands took the deck from a couple of hatches to the sides of the cannon. 2 more hedgelings, slightly smaller then the one on the gun and a diamond dog, all dressed in swords and axes and spears with a hungry blood lust in their souls.

“Ahhy we sees em', we sees em! Shoot now hoggy!” the dogman wheezed hopping next to the gun.“Take the shoot ems, capt!”

“You heard him Brootta! Fire again!” Salt yelled. To the monstrous hedgeling.

With a noisy pressurized hiss, and a flash of a black harpoon, the gun fired sending another missile down towards the target.

.-=O=-.

(What? No... this isnt possible...)

Darings sight beheld the mangled corpse that until a few moments ago was Captain Gale Cutter. Without thinking she shrinked away from the spattered table aginst the corner of the room.

(No no, no no no no... What did I-)

Somewhere behind her towards the center of the ship she heard shouting,

“What happened!?” Daring heard the young shaky voice of Bosen, he sounded like he was on the verge of a panic attack.

“We just got shafted that's what! All yous take cover, expect another-”

“Wheres cap't?!”

“How in Celestias name-, How'd they find us?”

More yelling, further away. The growing hashing of the waves through the cabins hole muffled them out, the room was becoming water logged and a shelf along with the tables chairs, or what was left of them slid out the breach as the ship once again shifted its weight. One hoof down Daring attempted to get a footing to walk her way to the door. Her leg was numb.

(He's...Did I get hit somewhere I cant see? Maybe it's just shell shock)

A second time a high pitched hiss boomed from outside as Daring found her sea legs again. She lunged to the door holding on with her forelimbs and with her right wing she tried to shield herself from another impact.

Clank! Crrrek...

Now the roof of the room was sagging towards the hole, splintering downward like a over exzerted popsicle stick, another rough iron spear just sticking out of the bend. Daring couldn't get the door open. She pounded against it with all her weight.

Thunk! It didn't move

(Come on open, why does this always happen... why?!)

Daring breathing rapidly called for help.
“Somepony! I'm stuck, help me please! The captains...”

She looked back to where the table had been, it was slowly giving into the force of gravity and near toppling into the breach with Cutters lifeless form mangled on it.

She received no response, the shouting had died down outside.

“Help! I'm gonna die!” Again she bucked at the door, her hooves noticeably harder to stand on against the ever shifting angle of the room. The cracking of boards growing frequent, no one was out there. Quieter now, she whispered into the door, “I don't want to die...”

As she hung on, steeled to the next blow. Expecting another harpoon to end her, or be pinned by a falling beam and drown under the waves, she heard a set of steps come towards the door.

“Captain! You alive? I got the hands below.” It was Watts.

“Watts the captains dead, I'm traped in here!” Daring exclaimed as her blood pressure rose, seeing the corpse of Cutter finally make its dive into the water. After a moment Watts responded “Can you still fly?”

Daring flexed her wing instinctively, “Yes, but if I make for the breach the next harpoon could kill me!”

“Ok, does the till' still look right?”

Daring looked back at the cabin, the till mast was still there, a little scruffled from the first impact but mostly intact.
“Yes, yes I think so!”

“I'll fly up to the helm and adjust thee ships headin', that shood be enough for you to fly out ehh?

Daring didn't like such a reckless maneuver, at least not when her life was in another hooves. The impact of another harpoon in the water just besides the ship helped make her decide.

“Yes, I can!” Daring said through the door.

Preparing herself in the room to make her get away a thought crossed her mind.

(Wheres the map?)

Daring again stared at the table, the map, covered in blood was still tacked down, but it wouldn't be the case for long. Without it she wouldn't be able to find Gulls Rest, even if they survived they'd be lost at sea. As soon as she felt the ship lurch starboard she raised her wings and beat down towards the table about to drop into the sea.

Getting on all fours on top of the desk she used her teeth to pull the pins free. She worked diligently prying the tacks up, the table loosened again as if to free fall and she used her free wings to grasp the wall to hold the table from lurching, red fluid covering her teeth and hooves as she did so.

Another hiss came to her ears, this one louder than the others.

(Shit.)

For a second her eye, curious and dreadful wandered toward the sound, she could see a winged vessel heading right towards them, and another flash of black metal spitting from its tip for her.

She tugged the chart free in her teeth, it crippled and ripped from its rest. Smelling of iron.

With a graceless roll she bobbed out of the missiles way into the outside air, spreading her wings to fly. Barely missing her the spear blasted through what was left of the bridges starboard side, obliterating it. The ship was now seriously taking water.

Daring flew out beside the ship a healthy distance away to orient herself with the Hobb. The glaring light from the tarnished brass hulled skyship nearly blinded her as it did a splash down landing besides the Hobb, flying up she landed next to Watts trying in vain to shift the wheel.

“The last shot must have shattered the till! What do we have to fight off these goons?!” Daring said slipping the crumpled map into her coat.

Watts swore under his breath and kicked in the wheel lock, “There's some axes in the emergency supply cash on thee third deck, the others should be getting them now!”

The spayed winged attackers vessel splashed down besides the Hobb with in the distance of a buckball pitch. The metal ship was smaller then theirs but that was no issue for experienced boarders...

Daring surveyed the damage to the deck, a few plate sized holes littered the main deck but it was still walk able. It had no compound fractures visible, the same could not be said for the sail, it was ripped down in half a dozen places, they wouldn't be getting anywhere fast if they survived this. Daring had dealt with pirates before, these attacks where text book. Disabling the rutter and main sail made any vessel but the heartiest metal ships vulnerable to boarding.

4 grappling hooks snared themselves on the starboard rail, tugging snugly into the wood.

“Where would be the best place to fight on ship?” Daring asked as she backed up to the helm, crouching to avoid the pirates attention.

Watts was unlatching a hatchet he had tucked under in his vest, swiveling his face from the uninvited hooks back to Daring,“We can try the game hatch, its jus' after the ramp down to the first deck, we can barricade that, it's got a wooden grate you can use to lock the boarders out ill' we get a propa plan, aight?”

“It would be beter to split up, they'll be expecting us to hide in the hull.” Daring said looking towards the sound of feet scaling the ships side.

“No too risky, you need to come with the rest of the crew, you'll die up here if you go it alone you idget.”

“Do you know who your talking to?” Daring said in a snarky voice to the ghoulish pegasus.

“No! You havent told us anything about who you are! The cap-, my crew won't die today because of your asinine death wish.”

Shaking her head, “Do you have a weapon I can use? I could take them from behind if I hide up here.”

The pirates were just about up to the railing, the two could see Grey and brown claws around the sides, fighting to get a grip on the battlements.

“Ughh, yeh, theres a box by the winch that we keep the mooring pins in. Might have to get a little physical witt em' missy.”

“Fine by me, you know the ship better then me, get below before they see you.”

Watts spat on the deck and turned towards the gangway. He glided down the stairs and silently crept into the main hatch, he stared at her a moment more, there was still agression in it but also something else, he shut the door slowly behind him. Daring hid next to the winch crates and made herself invisible.

Thuds rang from the ships side. The sound of feet on the deck was nerve racking, Daring used her wing to ease open the top of the box feeling for a weapon to use. She touched nothing inside the crate but a few cobwebs and the boxes own paneling.

(Mother fucker. I'm dead.)

“Kay' you simpletons, I'll tell yall o'knee once what we to do... Rex you an' Boxer stay on the ship. Kelter, Quake you's and I can take the sublevels, see if anyuns still here hehe. Broota, make sure the helm is goodin smashed eh?” with that the sound of feet diverted, and Daring could feel the weight of a very large being coming up the steps towards her.

Daring peeked around the crates edge at the invader. The thing that climbed up the stairs was big, very big. Daring guessed she was as tall as three fully grown draft horses and as wide as a queen sized bed, although it was hard to tell from her apelike posture. The beast was covered in mangled auburn fur, damp with sweat and what appeared to be machine oil splotched across its body as if a makeshift war paint. It wore a decrepit old trench coat that had long before lost any color leaving it stained with dirty smears and the most striking of all was its head. Encased in a ivory white mask, impressively tusked, lined by a mane of burgandy, the beast embodied a horror etched in Darings deepest animal subconcience.

(Ok, only one of them, I can take it, just need to think...)

Daring wasted no time surveying the platform for anything of use. A few old bottles in a carting case? She could burn the monster, she knew many of the simpler races were terrified of it... Daring looked back to see the hedgeling, grasping the wheel of the ship and with a one, two motion of her arms, breaking it off the till.

(Unless its 100 proof that wont help, where would I get a spark from? No, what else?)

A coil of industrial cable laid across near the ships esbard. Impossible to get to with the creature mashing the captains lurch.

(Im not strong enough to garrote the creature, maybe the boom hook?)

The boom was still there right next to her, with a slow push she tested if it would swing. Indeed it could, the iron pulley and lead counter weights sluggishliy drifted from the force with a heafty inpact aginst her wing.

(Bingo, morning star it is...)

“Hey ugly! I want to break something too!” Daring yelled flying up and swinging the pulley into the creatures temple, the beast mid turn.

CLLURRRACK!

Broota recoiled into the shards that where left of the helm, covering her heads left side in a massive paw, and howling in a skreiching sarrow that alerted two others down on deck to come to her aid.

Daring hovering a few feet away nearily avoided the monsters other hand as it swiped for her. Crying and with blood seeping from her skull she looked deadon at Daring, her broken mask reveling a sloped hooked jaw, filled with mishapen teeth that were stained by her perfurse blood loss.

The creature did a galloping head first jump at the adventurer, the yellow sockets of her mask boiling in hate.

“DIUGHH STOOPID PO NEE! DIUGH! DIUGH!”

Like a wrecking ball the hedgehog rolled into Daring knocking her aginst the battlement, Daring felt her left forelimb and wing snapping under the monsters weight.

“Aiagh!” Daring cried beating the animal with her free limbs, against the attackers thick hide. The soreness of the first impact in the captains room evolving into full on disphoria, Daring felt as if she would pass out if the confrontation kept up, she thought the one blow should've passified with the creature, but now it seemed even stronger then before.

“Broota, wutts orong?! Oh gett teh pony, squishen her!” a tinny chihuahuain dogman armed with a crossbow screamed as he and another, comparatively smaller brown hedgeling scrambled up the steps carrying a spear to gouge Daring with.

(Oh this just keeps getting better and better...)

Daring socked Brootas snout as she attempted to bite the mares leg off. The shock of it was just enough for Daring to whessel her way out of Brootas grasp.

Adrenaline was kicking in, Daring saw the spear point coming at her and ducked, the point instead pericing Brootas good hand.

“AWWGH AWOOO!” Wailed from the creature. Now completely soaked with blood she cried, slumping down grasping her hand.

In surprise the other hedgeling tried pulling the barbed weapon out of her but it only tore the hand more. Coughing that horrible wail like a choking cat, Broota slumped onto the rails, barely consient, her mangled hand made a final swipe at Daring and the other hedgeling.

“Oh me knows now yors gonna be dead!” the dog creature cranked back his crossbow and aimed at Darings center. “Bye-bye badden pony!” the lock dissengaged and a wooden bolt further broke Darings left wing, “Aghh!”

Pushing through the pain, with a well positioned buck of her back legs Daring knocked the smaller hegeling off deck and into the ocean, the spear still tearing Brootas hand, first dislocating her shoulder, then in a moment pulling her off as well with the weight of the lesser hedgehog, still screaming as she went. Sucked under by sheer weight and the pirates inability to swim the two simply submerged like stones in the blue. Daring turned towards the last pirate, she couldnt stand. Broken bones and the loss of blood only allowed her one last look at the diamond dog before collapsing on deck...