Verve

On the count of three, and all at once - the party set into action. Celestia, Tempest, and Vee galloped through the unguarded gate - breaking into the town with little trouble. Arin’s wings flashed, pumping hard at the air - scrambling up a tall tree to look over the remnants of the town.

It was… large, but only half as much as he thought - the other half had been ripped down the edge of the world, which now loomed curiously close to him. The black sky engulfed him as he shot towards the vessel, making him feel like he was almost billowing into the very stars of space. He used the last of the branches to help gain height quickly, Luna’s blue vest tight to his chest.

Pumpkin broke off on her broom, steadily floating across the far side of the ship - before shooting into view beyond the port side of the vessel. When no bell immediately rang, she dug around in her hat for something to catch their eye.

“Aha!” she squeaked, withdrawing two vials. Popping the corks off both, she poured a yellow flask into a blue potion - before stuffing the cork back into the roiling mix. With a shake, she tossed it forward - and the now chaotic green bottle shattered in a plume of billowing smoke.

Instantly, her small cloud was spotted on the ship, all idle Seraphs stirring to life. Several darted from their hammocks below deck at a bell’s call, sprinting up the steps and to the ship’s port side. Flashes of wings soon followed, Pumpkin forced ever higher into the air - shaking like a twig on her broom.

Arin huffed, groaning as he clambered onto the starboard side of the ship. He was rightly ignored, as the Seraphs took to the skies to give chase after the trembling pony.

Boarded and on deck, he turned to the three doors lining the side of the cabin. One led below deck - that was given, and it was likely on Starboard to fit a broadside in a moment’s notice. The center was the Captain’s cabin - leaving nothing but the port door.

Sprinting across the deck, he went to break the lock in front, frowning when he found none such device. Instead, he turned the handle - stepping back as another Seraph nearly crashed into him.

“Move, Private, I don’t-” The blond haired man stopped, wiping blood off of his knuckles with a frown. Then a glare followed, as he instantly recognized the Seraph before him. His greased back hair nearly stood up on end at the sight.

“YOU!”

Arin swung his fist hard, catching the Captain off guard - knocking him to the floor in a daze. He pushed into the brig past the stunned Seraph, adjusting to the new dark. “UMBRA!” He called, stumbling when he saw her hanging form in the dim light.

Massive, blood stained bruises lined her eerily thin body, hooves dangling limply across the floor as more crimson life dripped down her heaving chest. Her face had swollen gashes lining it, where wounds had pooled then spilled. Her meek head looked up to the Seraph before her, stirred to life by the call.

“Arin?...” she whispered, voice hoarse and dry, but alive. Before he could even react, the Captain’s hand hooked the hem of his blue dragonhide vest - ripping him away with such strength that he fell backwards across the deck of the ship a dozen feet away.

Immediately, the winged man was upon him - but before he could so much as land a single solid punch in the Knight’s face, Arin kicked him back with a buck of his legs against his half plate. A neat trick he picked up from his friend Vapor Cloud.

With distance put between them, he jumped to his feet - ripping Sun Song from it’s sheath. The blade rang in the air, vibrating with light as the Captain drew his curved blade in defiance.

“Do you know who I am?!” he howled, plucking a small, meticulously crafted crossbow from his side. “Let me give you a hint!”

Before Arin could even react - the bolt shot through the air, lancing forward to strike hard at his vest. The solid, nearly point blank collision winded him, stumbling back as he heaved for air - his body shaking from the massive blow. His armor was lucky to withstand a direct hit so close, and a small mar on the blue hide showed the dent the point left.

“Remember me now?! You ruined me! I was this close-” He loaded his crossbow with masterful speed, firing another bolt that crashed against his armor. The second massive bruise forming beneath the mithril mail leaving him staggered. Unlike a full arrow, the bolt didn’t have the force to carry right through. “-This close to my promotion! You! You took that from me! If you had sat your ass in that cart instead of shaking like the weakling you are-”

Another bolt shot forward, Arin nearly tripping out of the way before it struck his head. Instead, it caught his wing - tearing through a flight feather, the damaged pinions spitting blood in gushes.

“I would have killed her! We would have won! I would have been promoted instead of that WEAKLING Unther! Now you, YOU of ALL Seraphs, have the fucking gall-”

Another bolt shot forward into Arin’s unprotected leg, forcing him to his knee. It ripped right through the White Tail’s tree cloth pants like butter, leaving him clutching the shaft in agony. He quickly ripped it out, tumbling to the right as another bolt just barely missed him.

“To come here, and FUCK with MY LEGACY! You’re PATHETIC!”

In the Captain’s rage, the next volley just barely missed Arin’s face - giving the wounded Seraph enough time to cast Resurgence.

Seeing this, the man approached with hate burning in his eyes. His shorter saber gleamed with swirling blue light to match his irises, his long gold hair shining in the black sky from the thick oil. “I would have been a hero to our people. And yet you, a filthy race traitor - you ruined EVERY PLAN, EVERY PLOT! You would have lived in the limelight! Then kneeled under your Father’s rule - the PROPER KING!”

Arin barely had the time to block the impressive, expert lunge of the assassin - stumbling out of the way to give his wounds time to heal.

Pumpkin, on the other hoof, wasn’t doing so well. Far in the sky, she climbed ever higher on her broom - hoof pinning her hat over her head as the air grew thin and the magic sparse. This close to the edge, the atmosphere gradually curved inwards over the world - reducing the Solar Plane’s sphere of influence, and making it hard to breathe.

But she had to keep them from the ship - and with a height advantage, she had time to think. A dozen sets of wings flashed and pumped beneath her, circling upwards to reach the mare. With their eyes up here - she could probably keep them occupied for a minute more. Arin should have Umbra in hoof - but peering down, it was clear he didn’t.

Another Seraph intercepted him, a fight breaking out on deck. Oh no. And he was losing, too - against a single Ascended, no less. He wasn’t supposed to lose! He was a hero to ponykind! He couldn’t! By the looks of it, he might actually need help. Wasn’t he an expert at the blade, or something?! He was a king! A knight! A big minotaur with wings! He can’t die now!

But there was another problem; how could she help? She wasn’t a fighter. In fact, fighting was the last thing she could do - for now, she could only hope. If she darted down to the deck, the Seraphs would follow - and it would be thirteen versus two.

“AHA! GOT YOU!” In the panic, she didn’t see a winged soldier dart beneath her - looping around to catch her from behind. She yelped, the big, bulky arms of the strong male warrior clutching tight around her chest - her broom falling uselessly to the forest floor far below.

“Celestia! On your right!” Tempest called, giving the Princess just enough time to duck as the Unicorn tossed - and kicked - a stone against the invading Seraph’s head. It shattered into gravel, the massive dent sinking into his skull - killing him instantly.

A winged Seraph flew up to impale Tempest from below - but the Princess flashed her horn - catching his legs in a tug. The Ascended’s wings missed their timing, and he fell several feet down - onto Vee’s lunging lance.

She flurried her purple wings, falling back to Celestia’s left - while Tempest landed on her right. Several more Seraphs circled around them, flashing nasty blades and angry glares.

“You’ve got a lot of nerve coming here, pony peasants.” One growled, cracking his neck and rolling his shoulders. Clutching his long axe in both hands, ready for a battle. Wait - why did they all have axes?...

“And you’ve got a lot of nerve being alive!” Vee spat right back, twirling her spear menacingly above her head, before spinning it down to clutch between her wing and hoof.

In the brief calm before the next round, Celestia shot her eyes to the sky - grimacing. Pumpkin had been caught - her broom falling from the air and leaving her stranded in the Seraph’s arms. If she struggled, he would surely drop her - and the little pony they’ve come to know and love would die upon impact.

But if she spoke, Tempest and Vee would break - running to save the little witch with nearly dozens of Seraphs on their tails. They would be killed in the streets, or in the air - it didn’t matter. Luckily, there were only a few more-

A sharp bell rang nearby, chiming loudly to alert all nearby Seraphs of imposing intruders.

“...Buck,” Celestia whispered, sighing. Vee perked up, searching the crowd.

“Where, Sun-fry?”

“No, as in… Vee, just shut up and fight.”

Arin struggled to keep balance with the barrage of strikes - before he could even react, another lash would slam and sing against the solar blade in his hands, or clatter against the steel and gash into his fey glass protected hands and arms; cutting through with the aid of the Captain’s magic. His wings would flash in reaction, beating backwards to buy distance - and he would be punished with another silent bolt, that would slam into his feathers, or an arm - but would just hardly miss his face, each time.

“Just… FUCKING… DIE!” The enraged Captain bellowed, “YOU TOOK EVERYTHING FROM ME! EVERYTHING! AND YOU COME HERE, ALONE, TO DIE BY MY SWORD!”

With a flash, the blue gleaming steel slashed at the pommel of Sun Song - the Captain twisting his blade back to catch the tang. With a mighty spin, the daylight blade shot through the air - bouncing against the deck before clattering and jumping across the far guard rail. Arin was disarmed.

Falling back to make room, he shot his hand forward in an attempt to entwine his golden magic around the falling blade - but his palm was quickly impaled by another bolt. He yelped, losing his powerful sword to the fall, far below.

Arin… was alive. Hope. There was hope. Even as he was flung from the room - her friend came back for her, her broken and beaten form. He traveled Stars know how far, just to save her.

Her meek hooves dangled above her, heaving in fresh air in the stunned silence. She had to fight. She had to. She had to save him. Save him? She needed saving.

No. No she didn’t. She could save herself. All she needed, was hope, the light inside - just as Luna told her, three years ago. Looking at the beam she sawed through above, she summoned what little strength she could. Days ago, this would have been an easy task - but the blood had long pooled in her swollen hind hooves.

Still, she stood. On the tips of her jelly-like legs, she struggled at the ring on her horn. Mere hairs away from finding leverage, but she couldn’t do it. No. She could. She just wasn’t trying hard enough.

With a kick to the floor, she gasped - hooves hooking the silvered band around her horn, her full weight clattering back down to rip it off. Blood spilled where the metal cusps locked into her skin, but it hardly mattered.

Magic. She had her magic again. Her horn zapped roughly at both shackles, popping the locks off with a loud clunk.

Her body fell limp against her prison’s floor, a burning rage pooling inside of her. They had done this. The Captain. His crew. They ripped her away from Arin, left her to rot - beat her for sport, as if breaking her spirit would give them some sense of twisted, victorious pleasure.

She spat up blood, standing to her wobbly legs. She willed them to move, and they listened, regardless of the pain. Oh the torture she suffered - there would be retribution. She would inflict something far greater on her captors.

Her horn clicked the cell door, steps slow and unwieldy. She would not die here. And neither would Arin.

Eyes failing at the light, she struggled through the searing pain. Luckily, the daylight hadn’t faded - and she could breathe fresh, unmarred air once again.

Before her, the two Seraphs were engaged in a battle - one Arin was quickly losing. He wasn’t a blade master, no - not by miles. He was an Archer at heart. And no matter how much distance he tried to make, a punishing bolt would crash into his body - taking blood, flesh, or breath from him as it smashed into bone and armor both.

Her world was spinning. Words were spoken, voices were heard - yet nothing came to ear. But she saw it. Her target. Between the two white and brown wings of the screeching Seraph - the straps of the half plate armor. A key weak point in Seraph design - if you can flank them, they’re as good as dead, simply because their wings needed a slot to poke free. Years of assassinations taught her this - then again, stabbing anything in the back was a good way to make plenty of widows and bodies both.

Her legs carried her steadily despite the pain - Arin flashing another healing spell to knit his wounds before blood loss could claim him. Suddenly, with an expert twist of the Captain’s blade - Arin’s sword… wait. That wasn’t Arin’s sword. Vapor Cloud’s sword flung across the starboard side of the ship - he took another bolt to the hand, leaving him entirely disarmed.

You would not claim him. Not today… Not today.

Pumpkin’s breathing was cut off as the tight grasp of the daunting Seraph behind her crushed her chest. If he was speaking, she couldn’t hear him- the edges of her vision were growing dark, and her legs were growing weak. She could feel her mind slipping against her whim - faint memories of her past coming to haunt her.

The bridge. She was young again - standing on the bridge of Vanhoover. The bullies surrounding her had caught her in their hooves, forced to watch as the colts played keep away with her gift. Her little coltfriend yelped helplessly as they passed it back and forth - seized by the neck by a bigger stallion.

Suddenly, it went over the edge and into the water. His hoof pushed forward, before desperately slamming his elbow back - right into the gut of the big, ugly, yellow colt binding him.

He dived for the water, and she screamed - his struggling body ripped away in the tide.

Out of sheer desperation in the real world, her hoof shot forward - the elbow slamming back into the steel plate of the massive Seraph’s chest. He laughed it off, his grip tightening regardless of the thin air.

What would Tempest do?... What would…

Tempest wouldn’t use a foreleg. She’d use her hindleg, in a devastating kick - preferably at their weak point, or into a stone, or ball-

…

Pumpkin pulled her hindlegs forward towards her chest - before ramming them as hard as she could into a devastating, earth pony buck - right into the Seraph’s groin.

She heard two solid pops, as the grip went slack - and she could breathe again. Even as the world passed her by, she snapped back to the moment with a scream.

The other slower Seraphs nearly crashed into her from below, her hoof darting into her hat. A bubbling root from within, and a couple shakes of a flask, forced the bottle to shatter in her hooves with a rolling black poof. A massive tide of dark smoke engulfed the air, showering over the world in choking black vapors.

She was now, effectively, out of tricks. Hooves flailing in the air, she darted past the ship - nearly colliding with something bouncing off. Something gold, and heavy - the pommel of Sun Song narrowly avoided her face, as it tumbled helplessly through the air, much like her. Heaving fresh breath, her mind whirled.

Sword. Arin’s sword. Falling down. As Vee would say - definitely not good for the feathers.

She reached her Solar Magic out - finding it hard to target the thin object, but by sheer luck alone - snagged it in her orange aura.

Now she had Sun Song floating next to her. Yet that didn’t solve the problem of plummeting to her death.

With a gasping heave and a cry - she threw it up as high as she could in her magic, hoping beyond hope that - in some way - it helped.

“YOU CAME TO EQUESTRIA ALONE, ‘KING’ ARIN - AND YOU WILL DIE JUST AS YOU ARRIVED - ALONE!” the enraged Seraph bellowed, kicking Arin so hard in his gut that the punctured blue dragonhide tore through the multiple, small bolt holes - the Knight rolling back several hooves across the deck. His bleeding wings flapped in defiance, but another bolt pinned his left pinions to the floor through several flight feathers - leaving him struggling to break free.

Then, Arin saw it. Umbra. On unsteady legs, she quietly approached. Her horn glimmering with faint green light, her swollen, bloody face locked in a scowl - she stepped with intent, with rage. An anger he knew all too well had overtaken her.

“But I didn’t come here alone,” he said, as the Captain raised his blade to cleave through him.

Umbra sprang in a meek, but practiced leap - her horn sparking as it dove through the leather straps of the Seraph’s gear. He gasped - the air driven out of him. Just barely missing his heart and spine, the blow forced him to stumble.

Arin seized his chance to rip the bolt from his hand, grunting as his wing eventually popped free - minus a giant feather or two. With time to think, he channeled Antithesis - light flashing over his form in a chiming wave.

Immediately, he was on his feet - just as the Seraph spun and dislodged the glowing horn from his back, raising his blade to cleave his prisoner through her skull. He didn’t care for money anymore. He didn’t care for gold, or safety. No. He. Wanted. Revenge.

The Knight wouldn’t have that. His fingers shot forward, slamming into the fresh hole in the Captain’s back. The enraged Seraph howled in agony, kicking a powerful leg back into Arin’s chest when he inevitably spun around, forcing him back on his bleeding wings. The crossbow aimed forward, directly for the gaping hole in Arin’s armor - right for his heart.

“NO!” Umbra yelled - but it was too late for her broken body to act. Her horn fizzled uselessly, the magic within too distant to call when her body could hardly move. It was a miracle at all she could break out of her cell in this state.

The bolt flew free of the string, coursing through the air with deadly precision. Arin couldn’t even raise his hand up in an attempt to block it - it was simply too-

Ching!

The volley rattled off the fuller of Sun Song, the solar sword standing proud against the assault. Wedged in the wood of the deck, it gleamed brilliantly in the light of the sun.

“HAHAHA!” The crazed man laughed breathlessly, the hole sealing shut between his leather barding as his natural regeneration took over. Seraphs were fast healers, after all. “REALLY?! FINE! I NEEDED A NEW SWORD!” He dropped his saber - Arin darting a thin bolt of golden magic against the curved blade as it spun towards Umbra’s hooves. She picked it up in her muzzle, and in the same motion of the flick - he clenched his fist, Resurgence engulfing her.

The looming captain shot his hand down toward the blade in victory - Arin stumbling and crawling his way forward to meet him.

“IT’S MINE!” the Captain shouted, hand seizing around the red leather straps. Before he could realize what was happening, Arin locked his hands tight around his iron grasp.

Then, the pain started. The Captain tried to jerk his hand away from the searing, blazing hot grip - but the Knight wouldn’t relent. A howl of pain shortly followed, dropping his crossbow to pry at Arin’s digits.

One, two, three…

“I’LL… FUCKING… GAH!” He launched his face forward at Arin’s exposed hands - looking to gnaw his way to freedom. But the blade resisted - a spark of solar energy catching his oil-slick hair alight. The Knight lunged forward, seizing his enemy’s free hand to drag and pin against the pommel.

It’s funny. If the Captain had no intent of sowing harm, or stealing it - the blade would allow him to touch it. This meant that the boiling hot gold would absolutely melt him to shreds, since he had the exact opposite intentions.

Six, seven, eight…

The Captain tried to tilt the violently hot blade toward Arin’s chest. Not only did he allow this - he stepped back, as if offering the Captain to run him through. The pink ruby in the hilt shined brightly, refusing to let the point penetrate the Knight’s exposed torso - regardless of how much he struggled to push, or screamed, or stomped the floor in burning agony.

Nine-

Umbra’s new blade sunk deep into the Captain’s leather bands, his billowing brown and white wings coming to a sickening halt. Arin released his grip on Sun Song - the enraged Seraph falling to the floor in a pile - blade sticking all the way through his chest.

Panting, the reunited duo locked eyes between his twitching body, after Arin retrieved the morning blade in his grasp.

“You… came back for me,” she eventually spoke, emerald
green eyes alight with a flurry of emotions.

“Hope I’m not too late for our second date?” he laughed, spreading his arms for the inevitable.

The exhausted, bloodied dark Unicorn dashed into his winged embrace - the Seraph quickly binding her in a tight hug. Despite the blood, the sweat, the tears - beneath her ruffled fur, stood a pony he came to cherish and appreciate. Who stood by his side, through thick and thin.

“CAPTAIN!” A shout came from above - a few coughing black sooted Seraphs stumbling to the ship.

Pumpkin had done her job well. The duo gave each other a nod - Arin flashing a quick Antithesis to encompass her battered form, before they stood back to back. Surrounded by several smoke-smothered warriors bearing axes galore, the duo had their work cut out for them.

Another Seraph soon joined the mix - clutching his massive dented codpiece in agony, and fighting the urge to vomit. He collapsed against the rail, clutching a white handkerchief and waving it in submission.

“Arin,” Umbra breathed, eying her quarries in a fierce scowl, “you did bring assistance. Correct?”

“Yep!”

“Then where are they?” she asked, chancing a look back to the primed Knight.

“Fighting, dying, or dead. Let’s hope for the first one.”