Chapters Chapter I: First Things First
Ametrine looked out the window of her stone room. It was a dark afternoon. As usual, it was snowing outside and the sky was dark grey and cloudy. The warmth of the nearby fireplace radiated onto her, and she sighed before standing up from her chair and walking over to the door. She hesitated to open it, out of pure anxiety. She knew what was happening today. All she needed to do was raise her hoof and pull down on the handle, but it felt like her legs were made of lead. With a sigh, she turned around and sat down at her desk.
After a few minutes of silence, she heard a knock on her door. She hurried over and opened it. Outside was Burning Bridges, an old friend of hers. She could feel the warmth of his blazing mane even from a meter away.
"It's time." he said, in a monotone voice.
Ametrine simply nodded in response, and the pyromancer turned around and started walking down the stone corridor. The mare grabbed her jacket and followed suit, nervously and cautiously. As they walked, she took the opportunity to look around the halls one last time before she set off. Old paintings, trophies and medals were hung on the walls. She recognized the ponies on a few of the portraits, but she didn't have the time to remember their names. Not now.
After about fifteen minutes of walking through the seemingly endless corridors of the school, they had reached the grand gates leading to the frozen outside. She took a quick glance at her friend, who looked near completely emotionless. Not uncommon, when it comes to Burning Bridges. He shoved open the door, and immediately the two felt the fury of the unforgiving winds outside. Though, they did not fear; they had walked here countless times before. They knew they'd be safe. They were headed westward, towards the train station. From there, they were going to a small town named Farport - It was the only place this far north that was warm enough for the layer of ice atop the sea to thaw, making it the only nearby port.
The walk to the station was uneventful. Nothing in sight as far as the eye could see, which actually wasn't that far due to all the mist. No trees, or even any hills. Such are these frozen plains.
The trainride was just as mundane. Either everything was this boring, or the anxiety of her oncoming trip made everything pale in comparison. Her friend watched absentmindedly out the window while trying to arrange a deck of cards by colour without looking. She nervously tapped her hoof on the ground, thinking about something to talk about - But alas, nothing came to mind. She stayed quiet for the remainder of the ride.
After what felt like hours, the train finally came to a stop. Ametrine peered out the window, and spotted a sign that in bold letters said 'Farport' - This was the place. She stood up, her legs feeling weak from sitting still for hours. The pyromancer opposite of her had already started walking towards the door when she arose. She followed, trotting as to keep up with his pace.
Farport wasn't much different from the rest of the snowfields; The only difference being the houses sprinkled around the area. She squinted, looking for some kind of sign or anything to show them where they were supposed to go, when she saw someone waving to her from afar. It was Pumpkin Spice, one of the teachers at Frostvale. She beckoned the two closer, and started walking towards what Ametrine presumed were the docks.
As they walked, Pumpkin Spice was talking about the history of the town. Ametrine didn't pay much attention to it, but it was better than hearing only the winds whistling wails. She was mostly thinking about her family right now. What would they think of her if she returned? And what if she didn't? Would they miss her? They barely ever meet her anymore, anyways. She shook the thought just as they arrived at the dock, consisting of long bridges were ships were stood. Most of the boats were small fisher boats - aside from a large steam-powered Galleon of polished wood. It proudly cast it's shadow over the three ponies standing at the pier.
"...And that's the ship you two will be going on. I won't be able to go with you." said Pumpkin Spice, as she started to slowly walk back towards the train station. "Get yourselves accustomed with the crew. You're gonna be stuck with each other for a while."
Ametrine looked around at her friend, who for the first time looked a tad bit worried. As soon as he noticed that Ametrine had taken note of his anxiety, he regained his emotionless facade and started walking up the ramp to the ship.
Chapter II: To Equestria, Farewell We Bid
The crew really was not as remarkable as she had thought they would be. A bunch of average looking seafarers, a griffon, and a shifty-looking black dragon. The only notable member was an entirely clockwork pony with round headlight eyes looking out over the sea. A crewmember introduced himself as Tidal Surge, the captain, before giving them a tour of the ship. The Galleon was larger on the inside than it looked. Crew quarters and the engine at the bottom, a dining room, a kitchen, and other miscellaneous rooms covered the second floor, and on the third floor were cannons and a supply room. On upper deck there was a spacious pilothouse, where Ametrine and Bridges would be living. Perhaps, this wasn't going to be as bad as she first had thought.
And so, they were off. Ametrine heard as the engine sprung to life beneath, making the entire boat vibrate gently. She watched as the boat started drifting away from the pier. A few ponies had gathered to wave goodbye to their fellow sailors, but they were already at work, doing chores around the boat. Only her and Bridges remained on the upper deck. She figured, since they were going to be here for quite a while, she may as well go rest. It was quite late, after all. As she stepped around and started walking towards the pilothouse. It was dark inside the quarters, and she didn't have the energy to do much, so she just ambled over to a bed in the corner and promply went to sleep.
That night, she had a dream. A pleasant one, at that. She was back in her home, visiting her family. They were walking about the streets where she grew up, reminiscing about the past. But alas, she woke up to the light streaming through the windows and the dissapointment of the fact that she was still on the ship. Such is reality. She rubbed her eyes, and peered around the room. It was brighter now, and she could make out more of the things inside - A few candles, a couple of old paintings, a large map placed upon a table, and another bed in one of the corners. Burning Bridges was laying on that bed. Ametrine couldn't help but wonder, how did he sleep on duvet covers without burning them? She shrugged the thought off, and got out of bed.
As she stepped out onto the upper deck, she looked around on the waters around them. There was no land in sight, anywhere. She considered consulting the map, before remembering she had no idea even in which direction they were headed. Maybe she could ask a crew member, she thought. Only, there were none around. She looked around, and eventually found the dragon she'd seen before sitting in the ship's crow's nest.
"Hey!" She shouted up to the dragon. "Where are we?"
The absentminded dragon looked down from the nest, before looking at a map they were clutching in their claws.
"I 'unno, ask one of the boys inside." They responded, before looking away again.
She responded with a thank you, but the dragon didn't seem to notice, or maybe they just didn't care. Nevertheless, she did as she was told and went down the stairs to where some more crewmembers were sitting. None of them seemed to be particularly interested in chatting. She walked up to a stallion reading a book in the corner.
"Uh, hi! Do you know where-"
"Ask the robot." The stallion responded, cutting her off. He reached out a hoof, pointing to one of the corners, where a mechanical pony was sat. Awkwardly, she walked over to the brass equine on the other side of the room. They were looking out of a window, giving Ametrine a side eye as she approached.
"Do you know where we are?" She asked.
Gears audibly turned inside the metal pony. "North Equestrian Sea, heading south-west." It responded after a few seconds, before returning to staring out the window.
Ametrine Glow took another look around the room, feeling disappointed with the seemingly apathetic crew she was stuck with. Oh well, at least she had Burning Bridges, right? She decided to take the stairs another floor down, it's not like she had anything better to do. As she walked down the stairs, she took notice of how unfittingly well taken care of the ship was for such an uncaring crew. Were these really the right ponies? Had the ship been hijacked and stolen on the way to Farport? Her doubts were growing, but were still merely a suppressed thought in the back of her head. After all, they might just be unfriendly. She didn't really care as long as they got to where they needed to go.
As she was walking back up the stairs, the realization hit her. She'd be stuck here for days, maybe weeks, with nothing to do. There was no work to be done, and no one to talk to, save your the unwelcoming crew and her mostly quiet friend. Suddenly, she felt a tap on her cheek. Apparently, whilst in her deep contemplation she had zoned out completely and didn't hear her name being called out from behind. She shook her head and noticed it was the crewmate from yesterday standing before her.
"Hey, anyone there?" said Tidal Surge, waving his hoof in front of Ametrine.
"Uh, hi! Sorry, I was... What were you saying?" she responded, embarassed.
The light blue stallion chuckled a bit, before leaning over the edge of the deck. "So, since we're here... Is there anything you'd like to know? About the ship? About me? Anything."
"Why is the crew so... unfriendly? No offence, of course." She said whisperingly, as she leaned closer, making sure no one else heard.
Tidal's face changed to hesitancy, before letting out a deep sigh. "I'll tell you later. Now's not the time. They're an alright bunch once you get to know them." He said, before staring off into the ocean for a few seconds. He cleared his throat. "Anything else?"
"Who's that mechanical pony downstairs?" She responded, a bit disappointed at her lack of an answer to her previous question.
"She's our charter and professional stuck-up douche. Always parading around about how she's 'too pretty for this job' and whatnot. She always rambles about where she's from and how much better she is. My suggestion? Only talk to her when necessary. She's got her head too far up her own arse to hold a conversation."
Suddenly, a shouting voice was heard from downstairs.
"I can hear you, you rabid pest! I have a name, you know."
"Shut it, Eswyn!" responded Tidal Surge equally loudly, before turning his head back to Ametrine and rolling his eyes. "Robots."
Chapter III: Only Storms on Sunday
The silence between the shouting match was short-lived, for soon another shout was heard, this time from above.
"Storm approaching!" yelled the dragon in the crow's nest.
Ametrine looked out onto the ship's bow, and indeed there was. Suddenly, she heard the crew scrambling around below. Before she could comprehend what was going on, she was already practically being dragged back to the pilothouse by Burning Bridges who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Outside, they could hear Tidal Surge rushing up the stairs to the top of the pilothouse, where she guessed the steering wheel was.
A couple minutes went by, and the sky had darkened quite a bit with thick clouds. The calm noise of light pitter-patter outside soothed Ametrine's racing heart, though she knew the respite would be brief. In the cabin, it was nearly pitch black save for the faint glow of the stallions fiery mane as none of the candles were lit and neither of the two knew if there were any matches here. Bridges considered using his pyromantic skills to light them, but decided it was too volatile and might set the ship on fire. Ametrine got the best terrible idea of her life, and held a candle up to Bridge's flaming fringe. Surprisingly, it worked and the candle was lit.
"I'd rather not be reduced to a lighter, thank you. " He said, dismayed.
Ametrine shrugged in response, sitting down on a chair near the maptable where she now placed the lit candle. She peered down on the map, before remembering she had no idea how to actually read it. She did recognize some of the locations on the map, though. Canterlot, Cloudsdale, Frostvale, and a few other towns she'd caught wind of here and there. On the other hoof, the amount of places she had never even heard of was overwhelming. Albion, Wrex, and... Klugetown? What kinda name was Klugetown?
Suddenly, a dark green griffon burst through the door, causing both ponies to jump at the unexpected noise.
"Fillies and gentlecolts," He began, dripping and out of breath. "We should only graze the edge of the storm. It's safe to go back out now.
Ametrine and Bridges just stared back at him in response, still off-guard and not sure what to reply.
"I'm Foulplay. Call me Foul." The Griffon said, before winking at the mare and backing out the door.
Ametrine wasn't used to getting compliments. She was unsure if that even was a compliment, or just a mediocre attempt to poke fun at her for something she didn't know about. Bridges, however, seemed to already have returned to his blank slate of a personality and was on his way back out on deck. It was still raining and rather windy, so Ametrine decided to stay inside for the time being. She hated water.
The next hours were silent. Ametrine sat still, looking out a window, listening to the light tapping of the rain against the glass. At least, it was silent until she heard screaming for probably the third time that day.
"Get your asses down here if you want to eat!" Said an unfamiliar voice from below. She wasn't sure, but she guessed the comment wasn't directed at her specifically. Nevertheless, she did as told, and made her way to the dining room. On her way there, she noticed how hungry she actually was. She didn't know whether it was the ocean breeze or anxiety, but she hadn't even thought about the need to eat for the last two days.
To her surprise, the food was quite a lot more appetizing than the slop she had expected. Fettuccine Alfredo with sliced garlic and carrot. An odd combination, but not that she was complaining. It tasted good. She couldn't ask for more than that. Around the long table they were sat around, the chatter was loud - Conversations in rowdy tones, a robots audible gloating about not needing to eat, hearty laughter, all were spread around the room. At least, for the most part. Ametrine sat quiet near the edge of the table, now noticing she was considerably shorter than everyone else in the hall. She looked to Bridges for something to talk about, but he was already deep in conversation with some crew members about his gaudy mane. So, she sat in silence. Slowly eating her food, not making eye contact with anyone. Their words faded to distant, unintelligible noise. She was already sick of being on this ship, and they weren't even close to their destination yet. At least, she didn't think they were. She had no idea. She didn't know how to read a map. Her feelings and thoughts swirled into a mess of nothingness in her head. One she couldn't make sense of. It burned in her head. She wanted to go home. Signing up for this was the worst idea of her life.
Eventually, her feelings became too much for her. She grasped her head, trying to cease the ever-growing headache from the noise around and within. With an angered sigh, she smashed her hooves onto the table in incoherent frustration. No one seemed to notice her as she got off the chair and straddled back to the pilothouse.
She was now once again sitting in her room, staring out the window. Lack of anything better to do and the missing motivation to come up with anything had left her like this. Soulless and unreachable, yet frail. Like a crude statue. The rest of the crew were moving around outside, laughing and talking. Not that she cared.
That night, she went to bed near sleeplessly. Though they had swiftly parried the tempest outside, her mind was storming as ever.
Author's Note
The name of this chapter is a reference to the artwork 'Only Storms on Sunday' by BiniBean, an MLP parody of 'A Sunday on La Grande Jatte' by Georges Seurat and 'The Great Wave of Kanagawa' by Hokusai.
It had been two days since her outburst. Said days were empty, devoid of anything of remote interest happening. She had grown used to the lack of anything to do, and now spent her time mostly wandering around the ship aimlessly. Burning Bridges hadn't exactly been very talkative, either. But, such was common with him. Though he was tall, quite good looking, and generally seemed outgoing, his responses were often limited to a few words, and the selection of people he talks to even smaller. She had no idea how he still managed to find that damn deck of his entertaining.
However, this day would be different. She was on the upper deck, tinkering with a radio she'd found in one of the old storage rooms. It didn't seem to work. As she looked up from the device, she noticed something odd in the distance. Lime green waters, with an equally green atmosphere around them. Out of worry, she yelled up to the dragon in the crow's nest. He looked down on her, and then ahead onto the green waters ahead. He made a suspicious face before signaling the captain, who in turn signaled the charter.
The robot came ambling up the stairs, seemingly uninterested and nonchalant as ever. She squinted as gears inside her audibly turned, before stepping into the pilothouse and beckoning the others to follow. Once all four were in the previously dark room now lit up by Eswyn's headlight eyes, she strutted over to the maptable and setting her hoof next to an imposing name - The Nuclear Sea.
Ametrine looked around at the other two crewmembers beside her, who looked equally as worried and confused as her. Eswyn sighed and rolled her eyes.
"We're here. The Nuclear Sea. Why do you look so worried, captain? You told me to set course through here." She said as Tidal Surge cleared his throat, looking away at seemingly nothing. "Don't worry, we won't die or anything. At least I won't. I don't know about you lot."
Eswyn took her hoof off the table and left the room again, heading back down the stairs. The dragon followed soon after, returning to their usual position in the crow's nest. Tidal and Ametrine were left to look at each other awkwardly, unsure of what to say or make of the situation. The short silence was broken by the radio still in Ametrine's hooves suddenly sparking to life, emitting static and barely audible noises. She set it down on the table and immediately started turning the knobs and pressing buttons, waiting for something to happen. She was already so invested in the radio that she didn't notice the captain leaving the room.
A few minutes passed. Then fifteen. Then half an hour. The radio was still emitting static, growing louder as they approached the menacingly toxic waters ahead. She didn't take much note of it, at least until she noticed her radio slowly sliding back and forth. The ship was rocking gently in the waters below. She snapped out of her electronics-induced trance and made her way out to the deck. She was shocked to see what was happening.
Sickly verdant lightning ripped across the sky, and the rain pouring from above burned slightly on her skin. The entire crew were sprinting around in rubber raincoats, panickedly doing maintenance on the deteriorating exterior of the ship.
"STONE! FOUR O' CLOCK!" Someone yelled from somewhere. Despite how loud they were, it was hard to hear anything under the corrosive downpour. She looked towards the bow, and as she had heard, a spiky protrusion from the water was nearing the side of the ship. Suddenly, the leaning of the ship got even worse as she stumbled and almost slipped down into the rising tides below. It was a close call, but they had swerved just in time to miss the rock. At least, so she thought. She let out a sigh of relief, just as she felt the ship smashing into the side of the rock pillar. As it did, she heard an abundance of things falling out into the ocean. She sprinted over to the edge, seeing tens of barrels flowing into sea from a massive hole in the side of the boat. Thankfully, it was above the water, so they were not going to sink.
Suddenly, thunder roared again as they witnessed a bolt of toxic lightning hit the bird's nest, causing the dragon usually manning it to fall unconscious. She watched as the helpless, charred being slumped over the edge of the tower, eventually sliding down and plummeting into the ship head-first with a loud crack. They'd lost him.
"Nightmare Fuel! No!" She heard Foulplay shout, who had been standing at the wheel with the captain. She watched as the griffon dove towards the corpse of his presumed friends, but just as he approached the rocking of the boat caused his lifeless body to slide away and down into the depths below. As the griffon landed on deck with a loud slam, he watched in horror as the dragon sunk.
Ametrine watched as the griffon stood, twitchingly. Akin to as if he was losing his mind. Suddenly, he let out a shriek before diving straight after his friend. She could only watch in terror as the dark green griffon splashed into the similarly coloured water below. It seemed that no one else on deck had noticed, through their sheer panic. They were busy tearing apart pieces of the floor to haphazardly patch up the hole in the wall. Ametrine, however, was on the verge of throwing up. What she had witnessed today was worse than anything she'd ever seen before.
Chapter V: From Bad to Worse
The burning of the rain worsened as they approached the eye of the storm. The crew was down from twenty to eighteen people. It didn't take long for someone to notice the lack of crewmembers. A crowd of four ponies gathered at the edge of the ship, watching the place where the two had gone down. But alas, they dispersed quickly again. There was no time to mourn; it would lead to their watery graves, the ship serving as their tomb. They were not going down without a fight. Though, chances slimmed quickly. Someone fell overboard, another had ran straight into the burning tower of the crow's nest and cracked their skull open. Ponies were dying like flies, and it was hard to keep track of exactly who they'd lost.
In the midst of the chaos, yet another loud thud was heard on the upper deck. A partially melted griffon had landed with a fallen dragon on the ship. Nearly half the griffon's face was gone entirely, showing their partially corroded skull underneath. One of their wings weren't much more than bone and chunks of flesh. Aside from the vast burns of the strike they'd been hit by, the dragon looked relatively alright, though one of their horns had snapped. Ametrine was too shocked to register if she was relieved or traumatized. On one hoof, it wasn't the dragon's skull that had shattered when they fell down. On the other, she was looking at something straight out of a horror film. The griffon, still somehow alive and conscious, stumbled towards the pilothouse, dragging their unconscious friend along. They weren't seen more that day.
Now Ametrine began to wonder, where was Burning Bridges? She hadn't seen him the entire day. Maybe he was on the lower deck. She sprinted down the stairs and onto the floor beneath. She walked around the rooms, but he was nowhere to be seen. Another staircase down, and he wasn't there either. The bottom floor was empty as well. It's like he had just vanished. Had he fallen off the ship as well? Once again, her thoughts clustered together into a mess of emotions she couldn't understand. The noise from above and her missing friend were too much for her. She slumped over in a corner, softly crying until she herself passed out.
When she woke up, it was surprisingly quiet. She stumbled to her hooves, and started making her way back up the stairs. No one was seen, anywhere. She kept climbing the stairs, until she had reached the upper deck. The sun was shining and the sky was blue, white clouds softly brushing the warm air. Looking around, it seemed they had reached the end of the storm.
Five of the crew members had gathered on the deck, including Burning Bridges. They were standing in quietude, solemnly looking out upon the endlessly blue waters around them. As to not interrupt, she silently sat down next to Eswyn. After around fifteen minutes, Tidal Surge stood up and beckoned the others into the pilothouse. In somber silence, they followed their captain.
"Yesterday, there were twenty of us. Now, there are only seven." Tidal Surge said, with despair in his tired eyes while he looked onto the pathetic excuse for a crew they had left. "Upon the beds of this room lie two of our best. They are still alive, but neither wake up. We pray to Celestia for their safety, and for their recovery."
Ametrine looked out upon the beds. In one was a black dragon with a cracked horn and severe burns. His name was Nightmare Fuel, she thought. On the other bed laid a griffon. Their dark green feathers were rough and damaged. His entire head and left wing were covered nearly completely in bandages.
"We have nearly no coal left. Due to a loss of cargo, we don't have enough fuel to make it to the trench." The captain continued. "Eswyn?"
"Yes?" She replied, in an uncharacteristically low tone.
"What's the nearest island to here? I fear were gonna have to get more resources before continuing.
Gears spun around in Eswyn once more, before she replied. "The only island we can reach with our current supply is King's Realm." She ended her sentence on a cautious note. "It's our only choice."
"Set course there." The captain sighed, before turning around and walking back out the door.
Eswyn somehow bit her metallic lip and turned back to Ametrine and Bridges. "I suppose you two have never been to King's Realm?"
Both the ponies shook their heads as Eswyn sighed and continued to speak.
"King's Realm is an island of... Misfits. Please, be a doll and try not to stare at anyone. Even if you see someone you think you recognize, it's not them. They aren't alright in the head." Eswyn said, looking around. "I will come with you once we're there. You two couldn't make it alone."
Running on fumes, their ship just barely avoided crashing into the pier of King's Reach. The port looked abandoned. Eswyn led Bridges and Ametrine off the ship, and onto the beach, devoid of nearly anyone. The town looked simple enough, aside from the overgrown castle of light stone in the distance.
Despite the empty streets, it felt like they were being watched. Eswyn started moving towards what looked like some kind of an informational booth. Once they reached the booth, Ametrine's heart sank.
The stallion inside had been decapitated, his body still standing up. His head was on the table. Ametrine had to clench her teeth to stop herself screaming when the head opened it's eyes. Eswyn, however, seemed calm.
"Can I help you guys?" The head said.
"Our ship has run out fuel. Do you know where we can get some coal?" Eswyn responded.
"Are you a citizen?" It said, squinting at the mechanical mare.
"No, but-"
"You're gonna have to speak to the queen in Oceanview Castle." It responded while the headless body in the booth grabbed some kind of paper from a cabinet and gave it to Eswyn. "If that's all, I shall return to my nap."
Eswyn turned around to the terrified mare and their friend who hadn't noticed. "Congrats. You two are about to meet royalty."
Ametrine, not knowing what to say, simply nodded.
"According to this map," Eswyn began. "It should be- What?"
The map made little to no sense. Eswyn thought about asking the booth operator, but they were already sound asleep.
"Guess we're on our own." Eswyn sighed.
"Can't we just ask a local?" Asked Burning Bridges. "Look, there's someone over there. I'll ask them."
"No, I said you shou-" Eswyn tried to stop him, but it was too late. He had already trotted away to someone walking down the street.
The mare he had approached was barely even organic. They were missing every limb except one of their front legs, having been replaced by oversized mechanical ones. They were standing on only their hind legs, dragging their massive hooves behind them as they walked. Their organic arm was hanging limply, and so was their head.
"Hi, do you know how to get to the castle?" He asked the partially plated pony.
They stopped, and slowly turned around and looked at Burning Bridges, with deep-sunken eyes beneath heavy eyelids.
"I- I am... Si- sss..."
That was all they managed to reply before biting their lip with a worried expression and walking off, slightly faster than before.
"What is wrong with you!?" The confused Bridges heard, accompanied by the approaching stomping of metal hooves. It was clearly Eswyn, extremely upset. "The citizens here have suffered enough. They don't need you tormenting them further. Now, you aren't going to talk to anyone. Understood?"
Burning Bridges nodded in response with an annoyed sigh. Eswyn beckoned them to follow, and they did as told. She seemed to know best, anyways. As they walked through the twisting streets, it became apparent Eswyn also had no idea where they were headed. Their only sense of direction was the looming castle over in the distance. They seemed to be getting closer, but the roads were like a maze.
As they walked through the town, Ametrine noticed how few people were on the streets. They were all nearly empty, aside from an occasional odd-looking passerby. Whether it was an unreformed changeling or a pony with eight legs, this place seemed to have it all. Most signs were also in a language she didn't understand. Bridges seemed to somehow understand a bit, occasionally mentioning something about seeing similar runic letters in his studies.
The castle wasn't far away now. It looked like a massive, overgrown ruin. Vines were tangled and stretching all over the ramparts. Large parts of the castle were missing, too. Collasped towers, missing walls, and various other damages were present all over the fort.
One entirely uneventful walk later, they arrived at the front gates. The doors were decorated with regalia symboling a pony with six eyes. Eswyn grabbed ahold of the door knocker, and hit it against the old wood multiple times. The gates into the castle opened, but no one was there. It's like they had opened on their own.
It was dark inside. Very dark. At least, it was until Burning Bridges created light with his magic. The interior of the castle looked just as mundane and abandoned as the outside. Old, torn banners were hung on the walls, decorated by sigils with meanings she didn't know. Most of the doors inside were locked or barred by chains, save for one. Atop a staircase were large double doors marked with a large crown emblem. Ametrine presumed that was the throne room.
"Is that where we're supposed to go?" She whispered to Eswyn, as if they knew.
"Only one way to find out." Eswyn replied, walking up the stairs to the door and shoving it open. The two others followed her into the room. Unlike the rest of the castle, this room was bright from daylight outside. Many windows were missing, causing the stone floor inside to have been bleached by the sun. Only one stained glass window was intact, it's colourful reflection casting a blur of vibrancy upon a large, uncomfortable-looking throne of pure stone. Upon the throne, was an impressively tall mare. They were sitting slumped over in the chair, their hind legs touching the floor. They were staring into the ceiling, mindlessly.
"Hey! Are you the queen?" Shouted Burning Bridges.
"..."
No response.
The tall mare upon the throne looked dead. They weren't moving, weren't breathing. Ametrine walked a few steps closer, just as she heard the door slam shut behind her. The trio whipped around just in time to see the door being sealed by light blue chains of magic. Ametrine glanced over on the mare again, noticing their horn glowing in the same shade.
"For a thousand years I have ruled over this domain." A voice echoed through the room. "And you dare set hoof within the throne room of King's Realm?"
Now, the three ponies were fully staring upon the carcass in the throne. It's mouth was not moving. However, a scraping noise could be heard from behind the throne. It was an anchor, sliding into view, dragged by the same light blue magic.
"You have made a grave mistake." The voice said, as the corpse blinked to life and started to stand up on it's hind legs menacingly. A magical chain bonded around their right hoof, connected to the anchor as they continued to speak. Know my name - Trespassers - For I am Gehenna, eternal ruler of the King's Realm!"
The three ponies at the door where completely stunned by fear. They watched in horror as the mare on the other side began to frantically swing the anchor around above her head, eventually lobbing it straight towards Ametrine Glow. The two other ponies sprinted away from the descending hunk of metal. Ametrine fell to the ground, sobbing as she waited for her demise.
And she waited. And waited. Several seconds passed, but she was still alive. She slowly opened her eyes, looking above her. The anchor was suspended in the air, right above her. She looked to her friends, but Bridges wasn't using his magic and Eswyn wasn't doing anything either. She glanced over at her to-be killer on the other side of the room, who appeared to be laughing their ass off in amusement. Suddenly, the anchor was thrown back behind the throne, and the chains on both the doors and agressor's armament disappeared.
Chapter VII: Madmares Mind no Manners
Laughing hysterically and uncontrollably, the mare on the other side had trouble speaking through her maniacle cackles.
"Y-you should have seen your face! HAH!" She said, slapping her knee with her hoof. "I'm just messin' with ya!"
The trio stood still in confusion and horror as the crazed mare approached them, giggling. Now that she was closer, Ametrine managed to get a better understanding of just how disfigured they were. Saying they were standing upright was a bit of a stretch - They were standing on their hind legs, sure, but her back was terribly arched. The closer the hunched mare got, the more malformed they seemed. Their elongated body was attached to their four excessively long limbs, nearly twice the length of Bridges' legs, and he wasn't exactly short. After an eternity of her slow, echoing steps, she was now just a couple meters in front of Ametrine.
"So, what are you guys doin' here?" The tall mare asked, stretching out one of her "arms" for a hoofshake. "We don't get a lot of outsiders."
Hesitantly, Ametrine reached her hoof out, accepting the gesture, only to recieve possibly the most violent and vigorous hoofshake of all time.
"Are you the queen, by chance?" Asked Burning Bridges, as dully as usual.
"Nope!" The mare replied, turning her head towards the flaming stallion. "I'm Princess Dewdrop. Nice to meet ya!" She said, as she gave Bridges a just as forceful hoofshake.
"Do you know where we might find the queen?" Asked Ametrine.
"The queen? " Dewdrop responded with excitement. "Well, why didn'tcha just ask earlier? That's me!"
The three shared looks of confusion over the mare's sudden change in persona. As Dewdrop turned around, walking towards the throne as she beckoned them to follow, Ametrine noticed something. Dewdrop was an alicorn. At least, kind of. They had one large, skeletal wing protruding from their back. The left one seemed to be missing. How come there was a sixth alicorn she had never heard of before?
"Excuse me, Dewdrop?" She asked as she followed. "Are you an alicorn?"
"What's an ally cone?" They asked in return, without turning their head. "And Dewdrop isn't my name. You can call me Gehenna."
"But you just said-"
Halfway through her sentence, she noticed that the walking contradiction wasn't paying attention. Instead, she turned around and did a backflip, landing in her throne upside-down.
"So like, who are you guys?" They asked, with a fanged ear-to-ear grin.
"Well, I'm Es-" Began the mecanical pony, before immediately being interrupted.
"No, no. Don't tell me." Gehenna said, rubbing her chin before pointing at Burning Bridges. "Hothead."
She then proceeeded to point to the visibly annoyed Eswyn. "Chrome-Dome."
Lastly, she pointed to Ametrine, before shrugging and continuing with whatever she was talking about.
"So, why are you guys here?"
"We're from Frostvale Academy, Equestria." Burning Bridges stepped forward and said. "We are on an expedition to an ocean trench not far from here."
"Our ship hit heavy weather." Eswyn continued. "Most of our crew have passed and nearly all our fuel is gone. We need help getting back on our hooves."
"You're already on your hooves, silly!" Gehenna replied, not understanding the metaphor.
"I- Ugh, can you help us or not?" Replied Eswyn, gradually growing more irritated by the second. "We're stranded here until we can get more coal."
Gehenna rolled her eyes and sat up straight in her throne, looking at Eswyn with a bored expression.
"You guys are no fun." She said, disappointedly. "But fine, I'll do it. But y'all are gonna have to do something for me in return."
"Like what?" Asked Burning Bridges.
"I dunno." The queen replied, once more rubbing her chin. "You have a horn, you probably know some magic. Show me something cool and I'll give you whatever you need to get back into the ocean or whatever."
He simply nodded in response, backing up a bit before signaling for his two companions to take distance.
As they did, the stallion suddenly combusted into a mess of chromatic fire, shrouded within a tornado of pure flames. About ten seconds went by before the fire settled, leaving a severly burned Bridges in it's wake.
"Is that cool enough?" He said, through harrowing, deep breaths.
Gehenna was resting her head on her hoof, seemingly unimpressed.
"Fine." She said, rolling her eyes before once more standing up from her throne. "I guess it'll do. Follow me."
As she started walking towards the door, Eswyn looked like she was about to explode from pure frustration. Despite her burning rage, she and the two others followed. As they approached the throne room doors, Gehenna practically kicked the door open and fell down the stairs. Seeing the mare she despised helplessly tumbling down a stairwell seemed to calm Eswyn a bit.
Once they had all climbed down the stairs, Gehenna once again started to walk, impatiently. Despite her obviously awful balance, she seemed insistent on walking on only her hind legs. This time, they got back to the pier much quicker, as they now had someone who knew where they were going.
As they approached the docks, they once again saw the information booth. Gehenna slammed her hoof down onto the table as she leaned on the counter, looking disappointedly at the sleeping worker inside. It was the same headless stallion from before. He woke up with a jolt and nervously looked at the mare towering in front of him. Eswyn, Bridges, and Ametrine almost felt bad for the worker as they heard Gehenna berate him in a language they didn't understand.
Eventually, she did a gesture signaling the stallion to follow. As she did, the stallions body grabbed ahold of it's head and held it against his chest as he walked on the other three legs. His sickly white coat along with his frail build made him look almost dead as he stepped out of the booth.
"And then there were five." Muttered Bridges under his breath.
"And back we go!" Gehenna shouted with glee, in a complete change of personality from the short-fused overmare she had been moments ago.
"Why?" Eswyn asked, whilst facehoofing.
"Because I said so." Gehenna replied, staring the mechanical mare down. They were clearly not intimidated, yet complied anyways.
And so, they began to walk back to the castle for the second time that day. All the way, Gehenna was rambling about old stories that sounded like complete bullshit. Celestia forbid this mare had actually built her castle by herself.
Once back at the castle supposedly build by one pony, they returned to the throne room. Though four of the five in the room were exhausted from all the walking, Gehenna seemed just as energetic and spasmatic as before.
"Alright!" Gehenna said, wrapping her arm around the headless stallion beside her. "This is Mausoleum. He's in charge of trade goods and all that economic jargon."
The stallion nervously waved to the three impatient ponies in front of him, as Gehenna's horn lit up. She summoned some kind of a contract and a quill.
"Alrighty! Now you guys just need to sign riiiiight here!" The mare said, pointing at three dotted lines on the paper. The trio were barely listening and too tired to actually read the contract, so they just signed to get it over with. "Great! Now scurry off, Mausoleum! You have a ship to fuel."
Without a second thought, the stallion trotted out, not saying a word.
"Well, I think we're pretty much done here then." Said Eswyn impatiently, and started walking towards the door. The two others followed her. When they were nearly at the door, happy to finally be able to get of this damned island, the mare behind them spoke again. This time, she sounded a lot more strict and formal.
"Wait."
The three ponies sighed as they once again turned around, surprised to see that Gehenna was standing straight with her hooves behind her back, gazing out that one intact window of stained glass. In a serious tone, she continued.
"Why not stay here?"
"Well, we have-" Ametrine began, but was interruped.
"Not you. " Gehenna replied, tilting her head slightly in her direction as she pointed her large and bony wing straight at Ametrine. "You don't belong here."
"..."
"Now, I was told you two were from Frostvale?" She continued, now turning around fully, facing the three. "Not the mechanical one, I know who you are."
"Yes. We are volunteers." Ametrine replied astutely, feeling accused by the regal mare.
"You are. I've seen every scenario imaginable. Something tells me this is no different." Gehenna replied eerily, slowly moving towards the three. "Something tells me... He didn't volunteer."
Ametrine, dumbstruck by the mare's words, looked over at her friend in disbelief. He did not return the gesture, quietly looking out of one of the missing windows. He sighed deeply, before finally speaking.
"It's true. I didn't volunteer."
The words stung within Ametrine. Bridges had always been her very best friend, and they did everything together. Through wet and dry, they would always be together.
...Right?
Chapter VIII: Regal Folly
"Have you ever thought about it?" Gehenna continued, to no one in particular. "Why you've never seen anyone like us in Equestria? Anyone at all?"
Come to think of it, why were all these misfits here anyways? Was there some curse upon the island that caused it's children to grow this disproportionately? Before she could finish the thought, Gehenna spoke again.
"We are outcasts, all of us. No one here was born on this island. We are all refugees, exiled from Equestria so they could maintain their perfect image with Celestia's protégé and her friends and whatnot. What they would call a disability in Equestria is that you've lost your hind legs or your eyes aren't quite facing forwards. Without ever thinking of us."
The mare returned to the intact window, shimmering in the evening light. She kicked it lightly, causing all the blue and green shards to fall out onto the floor. She stomped her hoof, and suddenly the shards rearranged themselves to a crystaline copy of Gehenna, mirroring her every move.
"And to think, so many of us had potential." She said, in some kind of a ballet dance with herself, while her copy continued the sentence in a tone reverberating like glass. "Only to end up here, unallowed to show what we are worth."
As the clone spoke it's closing words, it fell back into a pile of shards on the floor. Lifeless.
"Have you never felt the same?" Gehenna continued, pointing at Burning Bridges. "How respected do you feel for your work? In the eyes of everypony else, are you anything more behind that burning mane, or a one-stallion freakshow?"
"Well, I-" Bridges started, but as usual, was interrupted.
"The only other being in the entire world with a mane like that is Daybreaker herself. You should know damn well you're worth more. Perhaps, you weren't picked to be sent here at random, hm? Maybe, they wanted... To get rid of you?" Gehenna said, walking closer and evening her head with Bridges level. She clapped her hoofs twice, as a mare bolted through the window. While normal at first glance, they seemed normal enough, until Ametrine noticed her eight legs and two pairs of wings.
"This is Speed Demon." Gehenna said, pointing at the overly energetic mare in the window. "Fastest in Equestria. At least, she used to be, before she was thrown out by her parents and left to wander the streets. Shunned everywhere she went, she took the last ferry here before they closed all public access to this island. She lives here now, among her own kind. Protected from the foul outside. Who's to say that you two won't end up the same?"
It was clear to Ametrine that she wasn't talking about her. In fact, she seemed to have been forgotten entirely within this conversation, if you could even call it that. She looked over to Eswyn, who looked like she was about to burst from anger. Bridges did not share the rage. He was nervously biting the inside of his mouth, as if he was in deep thought.
"As for you, automaton? I know who you are. Have you told her friends here what you've really done?" The extremely talkative mare followed with, staring at Eswyn. Speed Demon, now realizing she wasn't apart of this ordeal anymore, jumped back out the window.
...
"Didn't think so. Allow me a moment to explain." Gehenna whipped back to the two others in the room with a massive, almost creepy grin. "Little ol' Eswyn here isn't just annoying, she's also a criminal. So are the rest of her petty little crew. At least they were, most of 'em are deservedly dead by now." She finished her sentence with a loud cackle.
"N-" Eswyn didn't get the opportunity to say a single word before being interrupted.
"Thaaaaaat's right! You were sent out on a penal ship! A crew consisting of grifters, vagabonds and everything in between on a suicide mission with no purpose in mind at all. Eswyn, is a murderer. Don't think for a second that I didn't know~." Gehenna said, winking towards Eswyn.
"That will be enough." Eswyn started, finally getting the opportunity to talk. "You have already sullied the name of house Eswyn, and I've quite frankly had enough of your games."
"And what are you going to do about it?" Gehenna returned, once more displaying a cocky, sharp smile.
On the other hoof, the only emotion on Eswyn's face was anger. She had had enough. Either incapable of thinking straight or completely disregardful of her own health, she started charging straight towards Gehenna who quickly lost her grin and returned to a serious expression. Just as Eswyn approached, Gehenna suddenly slammed her front legs down, her hooves landing straight onto Eswyn's head and sending dust flying everywhere. Once the dust settled, it was clear that Gehenna had easily overpowered their aggressor, standing with her front hooves atop her head. Eventually, she stepped off as the shaken Eswyn stumbled back.
"I suppose you don't want to join us." The mare that was for the first time that day standing on all fours said. "What about you?" She asked Bridges, who was currently incapable of processing his emotions. After nearly a minute of complete silence, he answered.
"I will."
Gehenna didn't say a word, instead just walking over to the stallion and putting one of her front legs around his neck, walking away with him towards a door behind the throne. Ametrine was devastated and shocked as she watched her only friend follow this lunatic across the room. She reached her hoof out as some kind of unidentifiable gesture, but it was in vain. She observed in silence as the two disappeared into the door in the back, not batting an eye towards the two that they'd left behind. They waited for nearly five minutes, alone in the throne room.
But no one came.
"It's time to go." A saddened Eswyn said to the still stunned Ametrine Glow after what felt like an hour. Just as the two before them, Eswyn supported Ametrine as they walked, guiding her. Down the stairs, out the courtyard, past the twisting streets, back to the pier. As they approached the ship, they spotted Mausoleum one last time, still holding his head under his leg.
"I see." He said frowningly, clearly having taken note of the missing stallion. "I'm sorry." He closed with, as he started ambling back into the town. The two mares were just outside the ship when Tidal Surge popped his head over the railing on the upper deck.
"What took you guys so lo... Where's the other one?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
Eswyn shook her head in response as she helped Ametrine up the boarding ramp, and back onto the ship. The two walked straight to the pilothouse, where the two prior patients had woken up and were conversing silently on Burning Bridges' bed. As the two ponies walked in, they stopped talking and just watched as Ametrine sad down on her bedside with Eswyn. Eventually, the burnt dragon and bandaged griffon walked over to them.
"Where's the burning guy?" Foulplay asked. "He wasn't lost in the storm, was he?"
"He's staying." Eswyn replied, after a brief moment of silence.
"But we were escorting him to wherever, why get cold hooves now?" Asked Nightmare Fuel.
Eswyn simply just shook her head again, signaling that the conversation was over. She leaned in and hugged Ametrine tightly, but the mare on the receiving end was completely out of it. Her thousand yard stare showed no emotion, no pain, only emptiness. Eswyn sighed as she stood up, and laid Ametrine flat on her back on the bed. She then looked at the Nightmare and Foul, who understood what she meant immediately as they extinguished the lit candles and left the room.
Chapter IX: Event Horizon
When Ametrine woke up the next morning, she felt a bit groggy but was excited to meet the new day nonetheless, until she sat up and looked at the empty bed on the other side of the room, and memories hit her like a freight train. He really wasn't coming back, was he? This was it. Her only friend, gone. Living where she isn't welcome.
She didn't even get to say goodbye.
She rolled herself out of bed and stood up on weak legs. Not only were her legs tired from yesterday, but the pain of loss was manifesting within her as her will to carry on swiftly faded. She could feel that the ship was once again moving, as it was gently rocking back and forth. She stumbled over to a desk next to the window, where she had sat many times before. Just as she placed herself on the old chair, she heard particularly heavy hoofsteps approaching her door. Clearly, it was Eswyn. No one else on the ship weighed enough to make the floor vibrate with each movement. Ametrine heard the door slide open as the brass mare approached, pulling over a chair from the maptable and sitting down next to her. It was apparent that Ametrine had to some degree come to her senses since yesterday, and Eswyn began to make small talk.
The conversation was far from interesting. Where they were from, if they had any siblings, whatever. It was clear that Eswyn just wanted to be there for Ametrine and to support her, but Eswyn was too small to fill the Bridges-sized hole in her heart. Without either of the ponies noticing, Nightmare Fuel, Foulplay, and a mare Ametrine didn't recognize had entered the pilothouse, and were sitting on the two beds. Nightmare began to speak.
"We're still here. Despite everything, we're still here. Six of us. We can't give up now, right? For our friends. Our crew. Our family." Despite his best attempt at a motivational speech, no one seemed even slightly moved, perhaps out of grief. "We're almost at the trench. We've only got..."
The dragon paused before looking down on the maptable, moving his claw around over the aged paper.
"We've only got the Sea of Shadows left."
Eswyn sprung up when she heard that name, bolting over to the maptable. As she looked down on the table, her expression changed from pure panic to an unemotionless stare, just like Bridges'. At first, this calmed everyone, as it seemed that this obstacle was no problem, but that changed when she spoke.
"Gehenna was right. This is a suicide mission."
"Who's Gehenna?" Asked Foulplay, as he too walked towards the table.
"Hell if I know." Eswyn replied. "Pun not intended."
"Anyways, when will we be arriving at this sea of darkness or whatever it was called?" The unidentified mare asked.
Machinery audibly moved within Eswyn once more, as her eyes shot wide open and she sprinted outside. The rest of the room followed her onto the ship's bow.
There it was. An endless ocean of pitch black, arguably more imposing than the last miscoloured sea. It was accompanied by an ashen grey sky, further dulling the already colourless water beneath.
"WHAT IN CELESTIA'S NAME IS THAT!?" A voice screamed from behind. It was Tidal Surge, the only crewmate not on the ship's frontal part. The five turned around in unison to see him pointing off at something in the distance. As they looked in the direction he was pointing to, they saw something that truly shook them to their cores.
A pure white whale, with reddish eyes and thousands of long, sharp teeth had jumped out of the water, only to plunge back down, leaving it shrouded within the sea of night they were moving across. The worst part wasn't it's needle-like teeth, or it's empty stare - No, it's that it was dead. The entire middle part of the whale was gone, stripped to the bone with it's ribs proudly on to display for everyone to see. Living dead was something she was used to - There were plenty of necromancers at Frostvale. But, there were no necromancers out here. At the academy, the dead were kept under control by their masters. But here, it seems fetid souls run amok.
As they stared at the ripples where the whale had disappeared, the unknown mare leaned over the ship's edge and vomited a miserable, green liquid in the abyss below. The rest of the crew, still horrified at the sight of that thing, were frantically scrambling around the ship and looking out over the sea for any more signs of it as some rushed down to the cannons below. But alas, it was gone.
Nearly ten minutes later, the feeble crew let down their guard and gathered in the pilothouse. Though they were all shaken, that white mare Ametrine didn't know had taken it the worst. She was sitting on one of the beds, shivering and gasping for air. Nightmare Fuel was next to her, trying to comfort her.
"We're safe now, Sanguis..." He said, sighing. "We're safe..."
Noticably, the mare didn't seem any calmer. Ametrine though that if she could get her mind on something else, perhaps they'd collect themselves. She stood up from her chair at the maptable, and walked over to the mare.
"So... Sanguis? Is that your name?" She asked the mare.
...
No response. Maybe it was still too soon to calm her down, she thought. As she turned around and was about to walk back, the mare behind her spoke.
"A-Abhor..." She stuttered. "My name i-is Abhor Sanguis."
Ametrine turned back around and offered a faint smile to the mare who'd now buried her face in her hooves.
"That's a nice name. What does it mean?" She asked, before noticing that the mare was unconversational and uncontrollably crying. Instead, the dragon next to her replied.
"It means 'Hates Blood.'" He said in a somber tone. "I guess it's true."
Chapter X: To Where, but not Back Again
Ametrine had had to take up some duty as a member of the crew due to how understaffed they were, and because of the outside threat. The crew's first idea was to put her in the crow's nest, but figured the two injured crewmates should get the easiest jobs. And so, she was set off to man the cannons. They were heavy and old, steam-powered. She knew how to work with that. Now, there wasn't much to do but wait. She had been instructed on how to use them, and when to fire. But as of right now, the black sea below offered no targets.
It didn't take long for her to realize that it would get lonely down here, but alas. It's do or die in a situation like this. She'd daydream away to memories of old, remembering how bright and peppy Burning Bridges used to be before his mane became as fiery as his name. That changed him, somehow. He rarely ever smiled, nor dropped the monotone voice. She missed what he used to be like, and she always wished she could be like him. To just be able to live life with a shrug and just take things as they are. She always was an admirer.
Her memories didn't bring her much comfort. Instead, she remembered other things from school - Like being laughed at for being the only earth pony in school, among the pegasi and unicorns. Not even Bridges' pyromancer friends would treat her with respect. The only ones who'd ever talk to her were the necromancers. Just like her, they were outcasts. I mean, really, who'd want to socialize with next-level grave robbers? At least, they provided some amount of company.
Then, she reflected upon this journey she was on. Was it really worth it? She'd lost a friend, and indirectly killed nearly three quarters of a crew. What was the point of this trip, anyways? This trench is so far away from Equestria that it's barely worth investigating... Right? Even if there were to be something dangerous out here, it would be so far away from civilization that it doesn't matter. Maybe they should just turn back? Or had they gone too far already? Did they even have enough fuel to?
Out of curiosity, Ametrine waltzed over to the room where the engine was. It was clear that one of the walls had been sloppily repaired with boards and nails. That was presumably made after their coal fell into the ocean. Looking around the room, she noticed a few barrels of pitch-black coal. If they'd turn around now, the ship would be running on hopes and dreams halfway there. The engine itself had obviously also taken quite a beating. Large parts of it had partially melted from the acidic waters of the nuclear sea, as well as burnt, probably from a stray lightning bolt. Though unreliably and mediocrely, it was working.
She'd been in here for hours at this point. The only one she'd seen that day was Foulplay, who had brought down a plate of cold food, as the crew no longer had time to eat together, or even to cook for that matter. It was bland, but it was better than nothing.
"I'd be perfectly fine with never setting hoof on a ship again." She sighed to herself, sick of these battered walls.
Just as she finished the sentence, she heard screaming from above as Sanguis ran down the stairs.
"It's back!" Sanguis screamed at the top of her lungs, like a military instructor. "We need you on full alert! You can hardly see shit out these windows, so move to whichever cannon we tell you to! One is front, four is back. Move it!" As she finished her sentence, she sprinted back up the stairs as Ametrine waited for her first command.
"RIGHT THREE!" The pony upstairs yelled. Ametrine was quick to take her place at the respective cannon, peering out the cramped window. They were right, there it was. Swimming straight towards them. She was their only line of defence. She tilted the cannon towards the water in front of her, and shot. She missed. She had narrowly miscalculated the abomination's speed, causing her to fire slightly in front of it. She scrambled to the ammunition depot in the corner of the room, grabbing ahold of a large shell. As she was moving back to the cannon, the ship shook as if they had bumped into something. Was that thing... Ramming them? She stumbled and fell, dropping the shell as it started rolling back and forth as the ship rocked.
"LEFT ONE!" Ametrine shook her head as she stood up again. Her vision was blurry and the world spun around her, but she made her way over to the already-loaded cannon. She squinted as she looked out, noticing the whale coming straight towards them again. This time, she aimed slightly higher, and pulled the lever. The abomination cried out in a hellishly distorted whale song, as it made its way back below the tides. She got a look at it before it disappeared. The massive bullet had barely dented the thick skin.
She once again scrambled over to the boxes of ammunition. There were two boxes stacked on top of each other. As she was grabbing another shell, she noticed the label on the lower crate - "Warning: Highly Explosive." If she was gonna have a chance to kill that thing, this would be it. Only, the upper box was too heavy for her to move. She could tilt it, but not enough to make it fall over.
Then, she had the worst good idea of her life. If she let the boat get hit again, it might rock enough that she could use the changed angle of the ship to more easily push the box off. "RIGHT FOUR!" Was heard from above, but she ignored the command, instead waiting for the hit. When it did happen, it was way worse than she had expected. The being had figured out where she was shooting from. It lept towards the cannon it was aiming for with it's jaws open wide, tearing a large chunk of the wall down. She would've been dead if she had listened to the commands of those above. The ship was once again launched into a rocking motion. Now was her only chance. As the upper box tilted, she stuck her hoofs underneath and pushed it.
And. It. Worked. The crate hit the floor with a thud as the mare pried at the lower box's lid, and eventually, it gave in. The ammunition inside was longer and smoother, and considerably heavier as she noticed when picking one up.
"SHE CAN'T TAKE MUCH MORE! MAKE THIS ONE COUNT! LEFT TWO!"
She hurried over to the specified cannon, shoving the explosive inside. As she took aim, she remembered something from her studies - If the sharper round couldn't penetrate the skin, neither was this. She was going to have to wait for the whale to open it's mouth to do any real damage. She saw the whale once more, heading straight for her.
"FIRE! FIRE FIRE FIRE!"
She didn't listen. It wasn't going to work. Instead, she waited. Watched as it got closer and closer. Until, it jumped into the air, hurdling straight toward the cannon with it's grotesque mouth open wide. Just as it was about to hit the hull, she fired...!
The force of the explosion was insane. Ametrine was launched back into the wall opposite of the cannon, as smoke filled the room. She coughed and crawled to the floor, doing her best to avoid as much of the dark grey cloud as possible. Eventually, the smoke cleared, seeping out of the massive holes in the walls.
The whale was decimated. It's head had been splattered into a red mist. The only things remaining where chunks of flesh strewn about here and there. Nearly the entire wall around the cannon was straight up gone. Fortunately, it wasn't big enough to the point where the ship would be taking in water. The cannon itself was in bits and pieces. The large barrel had been shot back like a ballista bolt, narrowly missing Ametrine and impaling the wall next to her. Soon, the adrenaline left her body and she felt nothing but pain. The fiery blast had burned large chunks of her skin, and the impact against the wall had left her barely conscious. Eventually, her injuries became too much, and she passed out.
Chapter XI: The Great Nothing
She opened her eyes slowly. It took a few moments for her blurry vision to recover. She sat up, looking around the room. There was no one else there. Where was she...? It took her a while to realize that she had made it to her bed, in the pilothouse. She had no idea how she'd gotten here. The room looked... Off. The walls were grey and pale, and so was the pure white light coming in through the window. Even she looked dull.
After some time of confusedly looking around, she started to remember what'd happened. The cannon had exploded and knocked her unconscious. Had someone carried her here? As she sat up to get out of the bed, she noticed something. She was fine. She didn't feel any pain, and neither was she particularly wounded. She stood up, looking down at the dusty floor below. She figured if someone would know what had happened, it'd be a crew member, right? But, the ship was deathly silent. Eventually, she made her way to the door, in search of someone to ask.
She pushed the door open. Around the greyed ship was no water. At least, she couldn't see it. It was covered in a thick layer of cloudy mist. The sky was pitch white, like she was floating around on an empty canvas. As she started to make her way around the ship, she noticed how deathly silent it was. No hoofsteps, no one talking, no nothing. Just emptyness. As she paced about on the boat, her heart beat faster and faster for every empty room she passed. The crew couldn't just have disappeared... They hadn't died, right?
That's when the thought struck her. Maybe... Just maybe, she did not make it. Was this what death felt like? Desolate, in a white void of nothingness? Unsure of what to do, she moved over to the place where she lost her life. The cannon room. However, there were no cannons - Just small, empty windows peering out over the clouds below. Was this it? Was this where she'd spend the rest of eternity? There's so much she'd wanted to do. To celebrate her graduation with her family. With Bridges. To move out, find love, have a family... Was it all gone because of this stupid trip? It was all too much to take in. She thought about just going back to bed.
As she was making her way back up the stairs, she noticed something. There was someone else, near the bow. They were standing on their hind legs, leaning on the handrail. Thoughts raced through Ametrine's head. Was it someone else's who'd died? Could it be that it was Luna, and this was all just a bad dream? It didn't look like her. Their mane was short and swirly, and their coat was just as pale and grey as the rest of the world, unlike Luna's starry and dark look. As she approached the pony at the bow, the unknown pony suddenly looked straight at Ametrine. First then did Ametrine notice that the pony had three adjacent faces with four, pure white and empty eyes.
"It's not your time yet."
Soon after their words, Ametrine started to see her vision fading to white, before everything eventually went dark.
Chapter XII: To The Bitter End
As she opened her eyes, she saw the very same pilothouse she'd recently been in. Only this time, there were colours, and the room was occupied by a very worried and anxious-looking crew. She herself was still very groggy, and could barely hear what anyone was saying. Their words just sounded like distant echoes.
"She's awake! She's awake!"
Suddenly, the entire crew had gathered around the bed. All except one. Eswyn wasn't there. But, Ametrine didn't currently have the energy to think about why. The pain was overwhelming. Her limbs didn't quite respond when she attempted to move them, but she tried to sit up anyways.
"No no no, don't move! You need to rest." Said Sanguis, lightly pushing Ametrine's near helpless body back to bed.
"Where's... Eswyn?" She said. Well, said was a stretch, it was more a slur of words.
"She, umm..." Tidal Surge began, rubbing the back of his head. "She broke. We don't know what's wrong with her."
"Broken? she was fine yesterday..." She said, while the others looked back around at each other.
"Well, actually, you've been out for four days." Foulplay responded.
In a surprised hurry, she tried to sit up again, only to be pushed back down by Sanguis once more.
"I-I'm an engineer! I can... I can fix her!" She half-shouted, flailing and protesting against the mare holding her down.
"Tomorrow. Tomorrow." Said mare responded, with as calm of a voice as possible. "You need to sleep."
Ametrine's flailing went on for a few more minutes, though it didn't take much of an effort to keep her down. Soon, however, she felt the pain and drowse overtake. The others watched as Ametrine's eyes slowed to a stop and centered, before they eventually shut and her limbs softly fell back down.
While she was sleeping, she had another dream, significantly less pleasing than her previous one, before the storm. All she saw was herself, admist an empty void, standing on pure blackness. A few meters in front of her, was Burning Bridges. She tried to say his name, but it felt as if her lungs filled up with water. She tried to run to her friend, but the gap between them grew larger and larger. Burning Bridges didn't return the gesture. He looked at her, his unmoved and cold gaze piercing a hole in her heart. Eventually, the mare who had been the one to take him away faded in from seemingly nowhere. Without a word, she conjured chains around Ametrine, causing her to stumble over and fall, only to watch in helplessness as the two walked by, not even looking at her. As she laid there, she could feel the darkness creeping ever closer. She could barely see her hooves, and soon it all was shrouded by black.
"I will."
It was relatively dark in the moonlit cabin when she awoke. The cold light streaming in was the only thing allowing her to see. She stumbled to her hooves. There was no time to waste. Someone needed her help. She limped to the door as her mind swayed, ready to falter at any moment. But alas, even though she was able to walk, she still had no idea where Eswyn could be, and if another crew member spotted her she'd be dragged back to bed. But, as she walked out, she noticed how still the wind was. So was the ship. Had they anchored?
With moonlight as her sole guide, she peered out over the upper deck, but it was completely empty. She walked down the stairs to the floor underneath, where the cannons were. It was dark down there, but small cracks in the hastily boarded up hole in the wall allowed her to see just enough to notice a metal pile in the corner. She moved closer for a better look, and sure enough, it was Eswyn. Her limbs and movable parts were no longer entirely connected, hanging together with pistons and winches. It was clear that the machine couldn't stand up, and was too heavy to move. Immediately, Ametrine got to work as best she could. She looked around ever nook and cranny, searching for some kind of damage, but she didn't notice any. It wasn't clear how to start the thing, either. If only there was more light...
That's when she noticed it. The haphazard repairs on the wall weren't perfectly affixed. The boards could be torn down, and by the looks of it, with little effort. She stood up, stood up on her hind legs, and pulled at a loose board. It didn't take much for it to fall off. Gently, she put the board down. More of the faint light from outside was flowing into the room, it's calm rays now displaying a detachable piece of Eswyn's stomach. She dropped down to take a closer look. There was a tiny button that seemed to be the release mechanism. She pushed it, and the plate popped open, displaying a mess of gears and other mechanical machinery inside. From this point, troubleshooting shouldn't be much of an issue. You just had to follow the gears back to their origin point, and so she did. The still cogs trailed back, becoming gradually smaller and smaller until the last gear, at the rear of the clockwork spiderweb, around where the tail should be.
Ametrine stood back up and walked around Eswyn, to her tail. She couldn't lift it, but it didn't look like she had to. There was a similar release button next to it. She pushed it, but this time the part fell off entirely, hitting the floor with a loud crash. Ametrine panicked at the noise, assuming she had woken the crew up. She quickly scurried away to a shadowy corner of the room, sitting in pitch silence.
But no one came.
With a sigh of relief, she walked back over to the mechanical steed. The tail itself was follow, but on the machine itself was a kind of wind-up key. Could it be so simple as that she just needed to be wound up? She grabbed ahold of the key, and started twisting it, over and over again. At first, nothing happened. Eswyn was just as lifeless as before. But then, the segments of her legs and neck started sliding closer together, reattaching themselves with each other. Before long, the machine was reassembled, and her spotlight-like eyes lit up once more. Much to Ametrine's relief, Eswyn stood up and looked around, seemingly not noticing the mare who'd helped her. Obliviously, the mechanical pony wandered away, as if nothing had happened.
Ametrine, on the other hoof, was in too much pain to do much of anything. She dragged herself back to bed, and promptly fell back asleep.
Chapter XIII: The Day Before
Ametrine had slept peacefully the rest of the night, awoken by the ashen morning light shining on her face. As she sat up in her bed, she noticed the rest of the crew had gathered in the pilothouse again, this time with Eswyn.
"Hey, she's awake again." Nightmare Fuel said in a bored, monotonous tone. "Go say hi. You haven't seen her in a few days."
At first, she didn't know what he was talking about, but seconds later, she was embraced by a hard, tight, and surprisingly cold hug. It was Eswyn, seemingly overjoyed that Ametrine was awake again. Neither of them said anything, Ametrine solemnly resting in Eswyn's metallic grasp.
"You're back! You're awake!" Eswyn said, in a glad tone. "I've missed you."
Ametrine, still confused from just having woken up, didn't really respond with more than a tired grunt. Eventually, Eswyn let go of Ametrine, who sank straight back into bed. With some pep in her step, Eswyn and most of the crew walked back out to the deck, to do whatever it is they do. The only people left in the room were Ametrine and Nightmare Fuel. The dragon stood up, and walked closer to the mare on the bed.
"Don't think for a second I didn't see you last night." He said, pointing his claw straight at Ametrine. "You're lucky I didn't tell."
With that, he promptly spun back around and moved closer to the door. Just as he was about to leave, he spoke again.
"Oh, one more thing." He said, turning his head back to the mare, his face adorned with a cocky grin. "Tomorrow's go time. Get ready." He chuckled, before leaving Ametrine alone in the pilothouse.
...Tomorrow? She had barely healed, and her companion was missing... She'd be all alone at the bottom of the sea, in the dark, where nopony has ever been before. It was a strange feeling, the constant lingering thought of being the very first. It was thrilling, but mortifying; She'd be known all across Equestria for her bravery and her findings - That is, if she made it out alive. I mean, it's the bottom of the unexplored ocean. That's kind of a death sentence to even attempt to get through, especially alone. Nonetheless, it was too late now. She estimated that they probably didn't have enough fuel to go back now. What would happen to the rest of the crew? Would somepony come for them? Were they just as trapped as she was...?
Almost an hour passed before she got out of bed. If this is her last day, she better make the most of it. She stood up, silently walking around the room. She looked at the pictures and paintings that adorned the walls, though most had fallen to the floor from all the storming. Several were ripped, too. She looked at the maptable as well. Even though it was an inanimate object, she couldn't help but be thankful for all the help it'd provided. Finally, she looked out over the black ocean outside through the window over her desk. She'd spent her first couple days here, just staring out at the great nothingness beyond. It was just a table, she still felt she was leaving something behind. With a somber sigh, she left the pilothouse, and stepped out onto the deck.
She had no idea what time it was. Her pocketwatch was still showing the time in Central Equestria, which wouldn't be an issue if she had a damn clue where they were. She thought about asking someone, but honestly, did it even matter anymore? It's not like she'll be seeing the sun again for a while. Especially not when it's behind the thick atmosphere of the shadowy sea's grey skies. Double especially not when she's going to be at the bottom of the sea by tomorrow. When the sky turns dark, it's night. That's all she needed to know.
She waltzed around the ships different floors and rooms, with no clear purpose in mind. Through the cannon room, the supply depot, the dining room, and everything in between, knowing she'd probably never see them again. Pessimistic as it sounds, there's no shot she'd make it out of this alive. She had limited time left here, so she'd better make the most of it. And by "making the most of it" she mostly meant lazily looking out over the tides crashing over the vast expanse, waiting for the inevitable. As she made her way up to the upper deck, she noticed something small laying on the floor. It was a single card from a card deck. The card had clearly been singed by fire in one of the corners. Clearly, the was one of Burning Bridges' cards. He must've dropped it at some point. It'd clearly been through a lot, as it was both burnt by flame and acid, but still showed seven faded diamonds. She picked up the card. If she was going to die, she might as well comfort herself with the presence of her only memory of her only friend.
With the playing card in hoof, she walked up the final set of stairs to the upper deck. She sat down quietly, watching out over the sea. For the most part, she was alone, aside from Nightmare Fuel who was sitting with his feet kicked up in crow's nest. The waves below were mostly still. Occasional wind caused the boat to rock a bit, but that was about it. She sat there for what must've been at least an hour, before Sanguis announced it was dinner time from below. Once again, she stood up, and made her way down the stairs where the rest of the crew had gathered. Considering that their cook was probably dead somewhere in the Nuclear Sea, the pasta Sanguis had made wasn't exactly the best, but that won't matter soon enough. They ate in silence, know what's to come.
After that, there wasn't much more to do that day. Filling the day with mundane activities was only delaying the inevitable. And so, she made it back to the pilothouse. She sat down at the desk with quill and paper in hoof, to write a final goodbye to the world, in case she'd never see it again. With a single tear running down her cheek, she wrote.
Chapter XIV: Last Goodbyes
"To whomever might read this letter, This is what my life has come to. No accomplishment I've ever made, Will ever even come close to this. With honor I accepted this task, Even if it certainly spells my end. I lived in fear, but times have changed. For Frostvale, for Equestria, For my friend.
I'm sorry."
She didn't bother to write down her name. If she wouldn't live to tell the tale, she wouldn't live to know it either. Others' praise means nothing if you aren't around to hear it. After she finished writing, she laid down in her bed. Tomorrow was go time. She had to be well rested for it. Surprisingly, she fell asleep rather quickly, despite the stress of the situation. She had no dreams that night, nor nightmares. Only void.
She was woken up the next morning by Tidal Surge. He shook her lightly until she came to her senses, before just looking at her until she sat up and rubbed her eyes.
"Whenever you're ready." He said, as he stepped outside.
There wasn't really any way to prepare or anything to get ready for, so she took her playing card and followed after only a couple minutes. The crew had gathered around something near the center of the upper deck. As she stepped closer, she realized what it was. Three heavy-duty diving suits, covered in so much steel they stood up on their own. Some equipment was also lay on the floor beside them, but she couldn't tell the objects apart from each other as they were all the same steel-grey and in a pile.
"You're here." Eswyn said. "I saw your note. You seem pretty confident about this, so let's just cut to the chase. You're going down in one of these. We are currently anchored directly over the trench. The suits are simple to use. Please, step inside and I'll teach you. I think you'll fit in the smallest one."
With that, Eswyn pressed a switch on the smallest of the three suits, causing the left half to fall straight off. Ametrine walked closer to the still-standing half. Getting inside the suit was finnicky, as the legs were solid steel, but she eventually managed to get inside. With one half in the suit, she watched as Tidal Surge and Nightmare Fuel picked up the other half, and helped her get inside.
Locking mechanisms could be heard throughout the suit as the two halves connected. She was now encased within a glorified metal sarcophagus, with the card now laying on the inside, near her rightmost front hoof. In front of her face was a large glass visor with different scales and meters on it.
"Alright, let me give you the short version." Eswyn continued. "The meter on the left is depth. Pretty self explanatory. The right meter is the air pressure. Look up and you'll see the oxygen meter. Right in front of your mouth is the microphone. We won't be able to hear you due to the depth, but the suits are interlinked. You won't have any use for it as you're going alone. Ne-"
"I'll go with her." Abhor Sanguis interrupted, to everyone's surprise. "Whatever's down there is better than staying here. My life's a mess, anyways."
"Are you sure? It's a one-way ticket straight to Tartarus, by the looks of it." Foulplay added.
"Yes."
"Your funeral." Eswyn said. "You look like you'll fit in the mid-sizer. It controls exactly the same, so listen up."
Eswyn and Ametrine waited while they watched as Sanguis got into her suit, with some help from the other crew members. Once she was inside, Eswyn continued.
"On your right shoulder is a valve. Adjusting it will control whether you're sinking, stagnant, or floating. Don't ask me how it works, because I don't know. If you need to return to the surface, press the switch on your left shoulder. It will act like a single-use escape rope. Only use it if you are in a dire emergency. On the back of the helmet is the release. Pressing it underwater is a death sentence. Last but not least, your headlights will activate automatically when you're underwater. As for your roles, Ametrine's suit is equipped with gear that will record different conditions underwater. I have no idea what that means, it's just what the engineers told me. As for you, Sanguis, you are responsible for keeping her safe. You will be given a prototype harpoon gun to do this with." Eswyn said, while giving Sanguis a cannon-like device. "No need to reload. It does that automatically. Did you two get all that?"
Both the armoured mares nodded in response. Eswyn gestured for them to move over to the side of the ship, and both followed command. Ametrine was surprised at how agile she remained while within the suit. Agile might've been a stretch, but this thing looked like a glorified statue.
"We were supposed to get you down with winches, but they broke during the storm so you're gonna have to jump in." Eswyn said. "Sanguis, it has been an honour serving with you. And Ametrine? Don't go dying on me now."
Neither of the two responded, instead just giving each other a confirmation nod, and leaping into the abyss below.
Up in the far northern reaches of Equestria, lies a school. Frostvale Academy. It's no place where commonfolk can enter. Only the brightest of the brightest get an invitation to join Equestria's elite. From Necromancers and fabled weaponsmiths, to living statues and robots. Within it's massive towers sit hundreds of students, on the constant quest of obtaining more information about everything ever to exist.
One of these students is a light pink mare named Ametrine Glow, a famous clocksmith, jewelcrafter, and engineer who now bides her time creating clockwork creatures. Her only friend at the academy, a pyromancer by the name of Burning Bridges, had known her since foalhood. Due to a magical mishap that nearly ended his scholarship, the outer halves of his mane and tail are permanently on fire.
Recently, a massive trench had been discovered in a faraway part of the sea. Ever since it's discovery, Frostvale had been planning an expedition to the trench. It's a long ride by boat, and the ride is bumpy at best. Both Ametrine and Burning had signed up as volunteers - An idea not well thought out.
