The Tempest tales

It had been 13 moons since Fizzlepop had first written in her diary, by this time she had established a kind of routine: during the morning she helped to do the work on the airship such as cleaning it, making some repairs or just helping in the kitchen.
During the afternoon ahe had free time, sometimes ahe spent it reading while at other times ahe enjoyed talking to the other crew members or still working for lack of anything else.
In the evening she updated her diary.
One afternoon they stopped to catch some fresh fish and Fizzlepop took the opportunity to take a dip in the sea; she was amazed by Flynn's reaction when she tried to splash him with water, the cat made a strange noise and jumped in fright, suffice it to say that the captain sulked her for the rest of the day.

That morning Fizzlepop was checking all the knots and laces of the ropes, it was something that had to be done often for safety reasons.
"Land in sight!" Tread's voice stopped her as she tied a knot.
"Land in sight!" The hawk repeated as he was flying in circles around the Skyshark.
Flynn immediately exited his cabin and reached the deck, Tread landed beside him and pointed away and down.
Fizzlepop finished tying the rope and she walked over to the two, she was curious to know what had seen Tread.
"What did you see?" she asked the bird.
Flynn responded for the bird by holding a snot suspended in front of the pony's face.
"Look." said the cat only.
Fizzlepop rested her eye on the eyepiece and observed.

She could see an island from above, however it was quite particular.
There was a central area on which a small city had been built, it extended for a few kilometers in length and width but was also very tall, it seemed that the buildings had been built on a mountain or probably a volcano.
Surrounding the city there was water and then all around a small mountain range no higher than two hundred meters that completely surrounded the island as if it were a natural ring and barrier.
The waves crashed violently on the rocks and in some places you could see the wrecks of ships stranded among the rocks.

"That is Rocky Island, one of the very few ports in the middle of the ocean as well as a stop for airships only, normal ships cannot even approach because of the reef and the strong currents present all year round." Flynn explained.
"And are we going there?" Fizzlepop asked.
"Unfortunately we are obliged to refuel the coal, if I could I would avoid that island, it's just a den of scum and evil." the captain said scornfully.

"Let's get ready to go downhill!" Flynn yelled at the others and then turned to Fizzlepop.
"Fizzle, when we dock I want you to always be with one of us, that island is full of people with bad intentions ready to do everything to get rich and above all take advantage of those like you."
At these words Fizzlepop worried, the cat had never spoken to her like this since they had known each other.
"What do you mean by people like me?" she asked Flynn looking into his eyes.
The captain looked away slightly and then answered her.
"You must know that ponies are considered valuable commodities in these parts, especially unicorns."
"Why?" Fizzlepop was slightly frightened by Flynn's somber tone.
"I'm not sure why, but it's certainly not good." Flynn sighed and then resumed speaking in a slightly lower voice "but too many times I have seen ponies being sold and bought as if they were mere commodities ... I don't want the same thing happen to you." the cat finished speaking and put a hand on her shoulder, his tone almost paternal.

"Go get ready, we'll get off when we've docked." said the cat.
Fizzlepop went back to her cabin, took the cloak and backpack and put them on.
As she put on her backpack she remembered keeping the box with the gems inside.
"It is better to leave them on board."
As she locked them in the nightstand, it occurred to her that he couldn't pay with the dollars she had left.
"I'll ask Flynn to lend me some money."
She left the room and went to the deck.

"There you are, Fizzle, we're about to dock." Flynn told her from the helm.
The aircraft descended from altitude and stopped next to one of the docks, unlike the classic ones these were suspended because they were only used for airships, in this way it was also possible to put piers one on top of the other.
Boomer and Tread got out first and tied the ropes to the moorings.
"Me, Boomer and Tread will take care of replenishing the rations and the coal." the captain gave orders and then turned to Bash and Fizzlepop.
"Fizzle, you can get off the airship to get what you need, but Bash will accompany you."
Fizzlepop rolled her eyes. “Yes daddy. How will I pay? I have no credit. "
Flynn gave a small grin at Fizzlepop's mockery but he pretended not to hear.
"Do not worry." the captain took a silver ingot from his pockets and passed it to Fizzle.
"Since you can't pay with gems because they are worth too much I thought I'd give you this, just outside the docks there should be a money exchange willing to exchange it for shillings." each shilling was worth about twelve dollars.
Fizzlepop grabbed the ingot and put it in the bag.
"Are you sure about give me so much?" she asked.
"Don't worry, it's nothing compared to your gems, and then I was already thinking about taking shillings as they are valuable in almost all of the ocean and surrounding coasts. Buy what you want and then you can give me the rest. "
"Okay, thanks again." Fizzlepop stepped off the ship with Bash.
"And please, stay close to Bash and don't trade that bar for less than eighty shillings." the captain yelled at her as they walked away.

As Flynn said just beyond the docks there was a currency exchange, it was a building with a counter facing the outside.
"Welcome, how can I help you?" said an anthropomorphic mouse on the other side of the counter, his build was small and his voice slightly hoarse.
"Hi, I'd like to exchange this bar for shillings." Fizzlepop said as she pulled out the piece of silver.
"Of course, just put it on the scales and we'll see what it's worth." the money changer pointed to a large scale with equally large plates.
Fizzlepop placed the ingot on the plate closest to her and then the mouse began to add weights until it reached equilibrium.
"That's 32 grams, so I can give you 67 shillings." the mouse was about to grab the ingot but Fizzlepop quickly removed it from the plate it was leaning on and brought it to her chest.
"Okay, I think I'll go and trade somewhere else." Fizzlepop was already about to put it back in her backpack before being abruptly stopped by the mouse.
“Wait wait wait! I can give you 70 shillings. " the money changer spoke hastily as he leaned over the counter.
"I want 100." Fizzlepop said flatly.
"100 is too much, 75" the mouse tried to bargain.
"So let's do this: you give me 100 shillings and I don't scream that your scales are rigged."
The money changer drew back and looked at the pony with disdain.
“How dare you imply that I'm cheating ?! I am an honest mouse. "

Fizzlepop looked around and saw that there was a well a few meters away, approached it and grabbed a handful of water with magic. When she returned to the counter she dropped the water next to the scale.
"What are you going to do?!" said the mouse.
"Shut up and look!" Fizzlepop cut him off.
The water on the counter slowly slid towards the mouse and fell to the ground.
"From what I know international trade law says that currency exchange counters must be perfectly flat, it would be a real disgrace if an inspector found out that a gentlerat like you is transgressing." said Fizzlepop flirtatiously.
The rat began to sweat, if he hadn't accepted this pony would have been the bane of his business.
"Okay, I'll give you 100 shillings but you have to keep your mouth shut." he said hastily in a low voice.
"It is a pleasure to do business with you." Fizzlepop didn't bother to whisper and gave him the silver bar.

After slicing through the exchange the two walked away.
"Bash, can you keep some shillings?" Fizzlepop asked as she handed him a bag full of coins. It was better not to keep all the money in one place.
The big shark grabbed the bag and put it in the shoulder bag. He had carefully observed the exchange that had taken place before and was amazed by the pony's audacity.
“How did you know that rat was trying to trick you? It could not see with the naked eye that the counter was not completely flat. "
Fizzlepop continued to walk forward but turned her left ear.
"Honestly I was not sure that the counter was wrong, but what made me discover the cheat is that under the ingot it was engraved that it weighed exactly 40 grams, when the mouse said a lower value I sensed that he was trying to scam me. " Fizzlepop explained.
“I admit you were smart. Where are we going anyway? " Bash asked
"I'm looking to see if there is a map of the city."

The two walked for about fifty meters through the streets until they reached a small square, luckily there was a notice board with various hanging sheets and a large map.
Fizzlepop walked over and examined it.
"Rocky Island is developed in height, it is divided into five levels and we are on the fourth and to reach the library we have to go down to the second."
Bash nodded and they began to walk.
On the way they moved between streets and alleys, most of the buildings were shops, some were selling handicrafts or even exotic products that she had never seen before. There were also many taverns where people could be heard talking, some screaming while others seemed drunk.
At one point they come across a typical street fight between two anthropomorphs, one seemed to be a feline while the other was clearly a fish; Fizzlepop and Bash ignored them and went on their way.
As they walked they also saw a brothel, so it seemed.
Fizzlepop didn't react in any way, she didn't feel embarrassed at the mention of sex even though she never did, yet she occasionally masturbated when she was in her privacy.

They passed a shop that attracted the attention of Fizzlepop, in the window were exposed a myriad of blades of different lengths, some were inlaid and decorated while others were more practical and without frills.
"You should get one, it can be very useful." Bash told her.
"Actually it's not a bad idea."
The duo entered the shop, the room was not very large, on the walls were exposed various blades including swords at one or two hands, knives, axes, spears and many other tools of death.
At the bottom there was the counter.
"Hi, how can I help you?" an old griffin appeared from a door behind the counter.
"I saw that you sell knives, I would like to buy one." Fizzlepop said.
"Of course, please come and tell me what you want." the griffin signaled her to approach a showcase in which there were many knives.
"How long would you like the blade?" he asked her.
"I wish it was short enough to be hidden and long enough to be practical."
"Excellent choice, then I recommend one of these." the griffin pointed to the shelf in the middle.
"The blades are all in Damascus steel, highly resistant but at the same time flexible, designed to always be razor sharp."

Fizzlepop looked at them one by one.
"What about this?" she said, pointing to a knife she liked very much.
"Ah, an excellent knife." the griffin opened the case and grabbed the knife to show it.
"The blade is fifteen centimeters long while the handle eleven," the griffin swung it a couple of times and then balanced it on a claw.
"The knife is perfectly balanced, it is light but strong, it has a reinforced tip to pierce anything without bending, the blade is sharp enough to cut meat like air but it can also cut fibrous materials such as wood thanks to the serrated part next to it. 'handle."
Fizzlepop was delighted by the presentation.
"However this is not only an instrument of death, but also of elegance." the griffin handed her the knife and she grabbed it with magic.
"As you can see the handle is made of oak, the details are pure silver and a small gem is set on the tip which, I must admit, perfectly matches her beautiful eyes." the compliment he paid her was not to woo her but was the sincere opinion of an old gunsmith.
"Since you are a pony it is possible to cover the handle with leather, in this way you can grab the knife with your mouth without breaking your teeth."
Fizzlepop had listened carefully and was already tempted to buy it.
"It is truly a beautiful piece of craftsmanship. However, no offense, I would like proof that you are not trying to cheat me. "

Instead of indignation, the griffin smiled.
"you're absolutely right, it's always better to be wary, I couldn't wait for you to ask me. Now I'll show you a live demonstration, pass me the knife please. "
Fizzlepop gave him the knife, the griffin went behind the counter and fastened the handle to a vise, then took a large hammer.
"Come on miss and observe, as I said the blade is resistant and flexible, to prove it will help me your friend who seems to be quite strong."
Bash stepped forward and stood next to the griffin.
"What should I do?" asked the shark.
"It's simple, you have to hammer the blade of the knife with all your strength, if it breaks the lady can get another knife for free and I will be a liar."
Bash glared at Fizzlepop, who merely motioned him to proceed.
The shark grabbed the hammer and began to bang it fiercely on the blade from different angles; the blows were violent and so strong that all the window panes shook.
Bash gave the knife about twenty strokes and then stopped, the griffin took the knife back and showed it to Fizzlepop.
"As you can see the blade is perfectly intact, there are no bends, cracks or chips."
The griffin exuded pride in creating him.

"Okay, I'll take it, how much does it cost?" Fizzlepop asked excitedly.
"Excellent choice miss, this magnificent knife is worth 60 shillings, but for you I am willing to give it to you for 50."
The proposal was tempting.
"It seems like a great price, you should accept." Bash encourage her.
"Deal." Fizzlepop said.
"Perfect, I'll go get the sheath, do you also want me to cover the handle with leather?" he asked her.
"Of course."
The griffin disappeared into the room from which he had appeared before and after about ten minutes he returned with the knife and a holster.
“Does the knife want to keep it attached to the legs or torso? I recommend one of the hind legs. " said the shopkeeper.
"Then go for the right hind leg."
The griffin approached her and lifted the cloak to reveal the paw, didn't even comment on the scars and quickly tied the sheath straps to the thigh.
Fizzlepop shivered slightly at the touch but when he finished adjusting the holster she felt only a light weight on her thigh, the straps were tight enough not to come undone but loose enough to be comfortable and leave no marks on the fur.
When he put the cloak back down the knife was almost completely covered, only part of the sheath protruding.
"Thanks so much." Fizzlepop thanked him and gave him the bag with the 50 shillings.
"Thanks to you." the griffin returned the gesture.
Fizzlepop left the room satisfied with Bash.

"I almost forgot I got off the airship to get some books." she told Bash, the two had resumed walking towards the second level.
"Yeah, is there something else you need to take?" Bash asked her.
"I think I also need more shampoo and ink."
When they got to the library she turned to the shark.
"Listen, it could take some time, so you'd better go and do something else in the meantime."
"Are you sure? I can just wait. " the shark said apprehensively.
"No need, I don't want to bore you and certainly nothing bad can happen in a library." Fizzlepop reassured him.
"Okay, but if something happens, scream and I'll come right away."

When she entered she saw that the library was quite large, there were two floors each more than 60 square meters, certainly it would have had a lot to look at.
As she walked among the shelves she noticed that many books were written in other languages although basic was the official global language, this had been decided over 800 years earlier to simplify international relations.
"They should do the same thing with the currency."
As she scrolled through the books she thought about what she could get, she liked novels very much, she had read a myriad of them and she had even written a few, and the beauty was that there could be endlessly because the imagination had no limits, unlike texts specialized in subjects such as biology or history.
After over forty minutes she had managed to choose some books, had taken a couple more adventure novels and a detective story about a murderer on a cruise, then had taken a book on marine flora and fauna and the part two of myths and legends. She had already read the first in the previous days.
She went to the cashier and put the books on the counter, the clerk was an anthropomorphic with the likeness of a parrot.
"Do you also have ink?" Fizzlepop asked.
The parrot reached under the counter and took out a bottle full of black ink, the blue one was rare expensive.
"That's 4 shillings please."
Fizzlepop pulled the bag of coins out of his backpack and handed four to the parrot.
"Thank you very much and have a nice day." the clerk greeted her.
"Good day to you." Fizzle said goodbye and put all the books in the pockets of his backpack.

When she came out of the library she noticed that Bash had not returned yet, the only thing to do was to wait there because going around looking for him blindly would not have helped.
While she waited she began to leaf through Myths and Legends, she enjoyed reading bizarre stories about ancient relics and mysterious creatures.
"Who knows if some of these are true."
In fact, most of the myths were born from misunderstanding, sometimes the stories were explained with science and logic, but sometimes they remained covered by a veil of mystery.
"Every legend has a grain of truth."

"Hey little pony, what are you doing here alone?" a large anthropomorphic fish walked in front of her followed by three other smaller ones.
Fizzlepop put the book away and looked up.
"I'm waiting for a friend, go away."
"You have to be careful, there are shady people around, maybe you better come with us." the fish's voice oozed evil intentions, and their presumptuous smiles only confirmed her theory.
"So these are the guys Flynn warned me about."
The big fish was as tall as Bash but this one had no muscle but was fat and ugly.
The three henchmen were a bird, a lizard and a fox.

The three henchmen had taken months to her right and left to corner her.
Fizzlepop carefully analyzed the situation and possible escape routes.
She could have tried to deal with all four of them, it would have been a great way to try the new knife but it certainly would have been too reckless and dangerous.
The second option was to scream out loud in the hope that Bash would arrive, however he could not easily defeat the four bastards; in addition to it there was the possibility they grabbed her to kidnap her before the shark arrived .
the only option was to escape and search for Bash in the meantime.

Fizzlepop charged her horn.
"I'm sorry, but your presence is somewhat ... unwelcome." the moment she said the last word she threw a powerful magical discharge at the guy who stood to her right.
The reptile fell to the ground screaming in agony holding its face, the blow being powerful enough to cause serious damage to the henchman.
Fizzlepop did not wait for him to get up but ran away in the freed direction.
"GET HER!" she heard screams from behind her as she moved as fast as she could.
“BASH WHERE ARE YOU ?! BASH! " Fizzlepop yelled the name of his friend.

Fizzlepop had been running for a while, being a pony she could have run long distances without getting tired but apparently her pursuers too were determined to catch up.
She had arrived on a platform with piers, beyond the ledge there was 60 meters of free fall, it was a dead end.
"Bash! Where ... "Fizzlepop did not have time to finish the sentence that from above her landed the big fish.
"And where the fuck does this come from ?!"
"Give up little pony, there's no point in running away." the thug said as he approached menacingly with a sword in his hand.
Fizzlepop tried to unleash a burst of energy but as soon as she charged the horn she felt grabbed by her neck, the fish with a quick movement lifted her off the ground with a firm grip around the pony's throat.
Fizzlepop tried to kick and hit him with her hind legs while with her front legs she held herself up to keep from suffocating.
"You will make me rich by selling yourself." the thug said and laughed.
"Put her down Vynce!" Bash had finally arrived.
"Bash you lousy traitor, how dare you introduce yourself here ?!" The fish turned but held his grip on Fizzlepop's throat.
"Let her go Vynce!" he screamed at the shark as he grabbed the handle of his machete.
"So that's what the bastard is called, these two know each other."
"Or? What are you planning to do? You are alone and we are four. " at that moment the other three henchmen also appeared.
Fizzlepop saw that the grip on her throat had loosened slightly and the fish was no longer paying attention to her.
"This is the moment." she silently took her knife from the holster and with a sharp blow thrust it into the fish's arm.
When Vynce felt the dagger stuck in his forearm he grunted and threw the pony away in pain.
Fizzlepop flew in the direction of the ledge but she was grabbed by Bash, she felt slightly humiliated at being handled by other people with such ease.

"Are you OK?" Bash asked as he set her down.
"Yes, all right." Fizzlepop answered after getting back on all fours.
"Thats enough! Give up or we'll make you have a nice flight. " the four thugs had regrouped to get around the pony and the shark.
"We are trapped." Bash said softly.
Fizzlepop looked around for a way out, there were no airships docked at the piers, the only road was blocked by the four bastards who were also armed, behind them they had a precipice that would have led them to certain death.
Fizzlepop continued to search until she saw behind them there was a barrel, on it there was written oil for lamps.
"Bash, when they are in range, take the barrel behind us and throw the oil on them." she explained in a low voice as she continued to look forward.
Bash listened carefully and looked behind him with the corner of his eye and then nodded.
The two backed away slowly as the delinquents moved closer to each other.
"NOW," Fizzlepop yelled.
Bash grabbed the barrel and removed the lid, then with all the force he had he flooded the enemies who were soaked in the black liquid.
As soon as he realized what the viscous substance was, Vynce's eyes widened.
"No, please don't!" he tried to beg.
Fizzlepop didn't listen to him and took a deep breath ... the thugs were engulfed in flames.

Bash was shocked by the scene in front of him, Fizzle had just breathed fire like a dragon, Vynce and his henchmen were screaming in agony and pain as they burned alive.
Never would he have expected Fizzle to kill so brutally and in cold blood.
What scared him was the pony remained motionless watching with a slight grin on her face even though the enemies were begging for mercy, one was even asking to be killed, however Fizzle didn't move to finish them.
Bash couldn't stand by and with quick movements he stabbed all four thugs with his machete.
Fizzlepop did not comment the act of mercy, but thought about what she had done: she had just killed four people by setting them on fire, it was certainly one of the worst ways to die.
"They deserved it." in her heart she felt no regret, but she was happy to have rid the world of such scum, she felt like when she had electrocuted that bully at school.
"Fizzle, are you okay?" she was awakened by Bash's words.
"Yes, it's best to get out of here as soon as possible." she said coldly.
Fizzlepop leapt and passed the flames, stepped forward and picked up the knife.
The blade was stained with blood, the pony grimaced in disgust but not at the sight of the red fluid but because her beautiful knife had been soiled with that bastard's blood.
She ran the blade over her cloak and when it was clean dhe put the knife back in the holster.
She was about to return to the fourth level but saw that Bash was not following her, he was still motionless looking at the corpses.
"Here we go?" she screamed at the shark.
Bash came out of his trance, passed the flames, and took a step alongside Fizzlepop.
"There we are, let's go back to the airship."

As he walked behind the pony he kept remembering what had happened, he would never forget the coolness with which Fizzle had acted.