Freedom

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3

Chapter 1

The cloudless blue sky was beautiful. The South Equestrian Sea had a way of producing these perfect days. Fluttershy swallowed hard, taking a last look at the sky while gathering her nerves to get up off her back.

She sat up from the hard metal deck of the ship. The dirty steel had stained her yellow coat and feathers. Two mares stood over Fluttershy. One was an orange earth pony with a cowboy hat covering her straight golden mane and a pistol belt slung around her hips. The other was a pegasus the color of the sky with an unkempt rainbow mane. Two holsters were strapped at her sides below her wings.

Both of them were pointing guns at Fluttershy. The earth pony had a simple, but enormous, revolver. The colorful pegasus was aiming a sleek semiautomatic, one of two that she carried. From Fluttershy’s perspective, the barrels of their guns looked like bottomless pits.

“This is the bird?” asked the orange mare with an accent sounded rather country. She gestured to a metal cage that held a phoenix with brilliant plumage.

Fluttershy nodded, doing her best to hide behind her mane. The pink curtain wasn’t enough to completely conceal her face, however.

“Reckon we’re done here,” said the orange pony. She walked away from Fluttershy towards where the rest of the ship’s crew was huddled. “All right y’all, we’re leavin’. Don’t try nothin’ funny and come after us. See that boat over yonder? We’ve got torpedoes and can sink your ship as easy as pie. I recommend you sit here for the next half hour, and then you can do what you want.”

Fluttershy sighed happily. She whispered, “We’re going to live…”

The multicolored pegasus put her gun to the side of Fluttershy’s head. “Why are you looking so relaxed? You’re going to tag along with us.”

“You-you’re joking, right?”

She was not. Minutes later, Fluttershy found herself aboard a much smaller vessel speeding away. The stationary ship that she had been taken from was shrinking in the distance. She felt rooted to the deck, too frightened to move. Fluttershy buried her head in her hooves, adding her wings for another layer of protection.

The two who had captured Fluttershy stared at her in disgust. A third, a purple unicorn mare, was tapping away at a computer and did not appear to care.

“Rainbow, just what the buck were you thinkin’?” demanded the orange mare.

“You don’t get it, AJ!” shouted the blue pegasus. “We aren’t getting paid very much for this. Why shouldn’t I take a hostage for a little ransom?”

“You’re thinking too simply,” put in the mare at the computer.

“Do you want to die, Twilight?” shouted Rainbow.

“So, who’s going to negotiate with her company?” asked AJ. “Do you have a bank account to receive the payment? How about a secure way to handle the transaction?” Despite her country accent, the earth pony seemed to have a mind for business.

“Maybe we should just kill her useless flank, then?” The pegasus jerked one of her guns from its holster and pointed it menacingly at Fluttershy. The orange earth pony tackled Rainbow.

The brief scuffle ended with the multicolored mare’s face pressed to the deck. She begrudgingly muttered, “Okay, I get it.”

Applejack eased off. “Just tryin’ to stop you from doin’ anything you might regret.” She looked at Fluttershy. “Come on. Let’s get some fresh air.”

“You’re not even going to let me tie her up?” asked Rainbow.

Applejack glanced around pointedly. “We’re on a boat and out of sight of land. Where’s she going to fly to?”

The orange mare gestured for Fluttershy to follow and left the boat’s cabin. The timid pegasus decided that she’d rather spend time with Applejack than the hostile Rainbow, and ducked out the door.

Applejack leaned against the outside of the boat’s superstructure. The wind blew her mane around. Fluttershy sat beside her, silently wondering how she could have ended up beside this rough earth pony, on a pirate vessel somewhere in the South Equestrian Sea.

“You’ve got an interesting response to danger,” said Applejack, opening a bottle. “You just curl up in a ball like you've put down roots and sit there as still as a tree.”

“I…I can’t help it.” Applejack seemed to hear, despite the wind trying to carry Fluttershy’s words away. The orange pony passed over the bottle. After sniffing to determine the contents, Fluttershy took a sip. It wasn’t the best apple cider she had ever had, but not bad.

“What’s going to happen to me?” asked Fluttershy quietly.

“We’ll make contact with your company somehow and try to set up a trade,” said Applejack. “Getting’ that bird to the client is the first priority, though.”

“So…you’re just taking her for somepony else?” Fluttershy had grown quite fond of the phoenix in the short time she had cared for the bird. Her feelings changed slightly as she realized that this crew of…whoever they were didn’t plan to keep the phoenix for themselves.

Applejack nodded and took another swig of cider. “We’re just the delivery ponies. It ain’t a real honest living, but in this part of the world it’s just business.”

Fluttershy felt conflicted. On one side of the coin, she’d been kidnapped by what might be modern-day pirates. On the other, the orange mare sitting next to her had been frank and up front, and Fluttershy somehow felt that she was trustworthy.

“What’s your name?” asked Applejack.

“Fluttershy.”

The other mare seemed to consider that, saying nothing. The steady thrum of the boat’s engines continued. Fluttershy relaxed slightly, taking in the azure seas and cyan skies. It was so peaceful just sitting with the breeze in her face, even if there was nothing to see out here on the ocean.

After a while, Applejack got up and went somewhere else, leaving Fluttershy alone. The pegasus was surprised that the other mare didn’t seem to care that she was by herself. It was an unusual kind of freedom, because she still felt like a captive.

Fluttershy had never been a strong flier, and with no land to see in any direction, she wasn’t about to try an escape attempt. Even if the shoreline was visible, there was no way of knowing what she might find there.

As a few hours passed, the sun began its downward arc. Fluttershy got up and made her way inside. She felt hungry, but had no idea where a meal might come from.

The purple unicorn named Twilight reclined in her chair, a few glowing computer screens in front of her. She was working a can opener on a tin of peaches. She looked up as Fluttershy passed by. “I was wondering when you were going to come in. It looked like you were just sitting out there as still as a tree.”

Fluttershy wondered if Applejack had mentioned that phrase to Twilight. The purple pony got the can open and slurped a few sliced peaches with a spoon. Seeing Fluttershy’s intent look, she offered the rest of them to the yellow mare.

With a murmur of thanks, Fluttershy ate directly from the can. Considering her current company, she didn’t feel too bad about her own manners. How rude to kidnap somepony.

After thanking Twilight again, she went back sitting on deck, and watched the sun set. The last few rays disappeared over the horizon, lighting up what appeared to be a distant coastline. Fluttershy peered forward, wondering if the land would be her salvation. All things considered, though, the last few hours on the boat hadn’t been too bad.

Is this what Stockhoof Syndrome feels like? The pegasus wondered. She hadn’t exactly grown to like her captors, but they were better than at least a few of her coworkers at the Ponyville Animal Shelter. The other employees sometimes pushed her around. It was an easy thing to do to Fluttershy. That was why she was the one sent on this long trip just to care for one bird. Nopony else wanted the task.

The water grew darker as the sunset faded. Sea-washed rocks that formed a natural harbor came into view. A tall pillar of stone marked the entrance to the small bay. A statue of a pony had been carved upon it. The figure looked shabby and forlorn, its face eroded away after years of weather.

The boat slowed down, approaching a warehouse facility and moorings along the water. Rainbow and Applejack tied off to a rickety wooden pier. They were well practiced, having no trouble completing the job even in the growing darkness.

Applejack stepped down onto the pier, following Rainbow towards shore. “Are you goin’ to join us, Fluttertree?”

“Huh?” Fluttershy looked up in surpise.

“I think she means you,” said Twilight, appearing from her cave of electronics inside the boat. “We’re all going to get a drink. Don’t you want to come?”

“But…aren’t I a hostage?” asked Fluttershy. Twilight stepped off the boat and followed the other two ponies without reply. Fluttershy glanced around, seeing nothing but dark foreboding buildings along the wharf. The prospect of staying there alone was not appealing and she quickly followed Twilight.

The four of them got into the company vehicle, an old red muscle car. Twilight seemed to have the greatest affinity for it, and sat behind the wheel. Fluttershy huddled nervously in the back seat next to Rainbow.

Through conversation, the yellow pegasus learned that the city was named Roanapur. She looked around, not seeing very many roan-colored ponies, not even the prostitutes who seemed to occupy every street corner.

The boat had appeared taken care of, despite its outward appearance of shabby grey paint. The city seemed to be the opposite. There were bright decorations, but everything had undertones of decay.

Ponies drank and smoked strange things. Fluttershy kept her head low, behind her mane. There seemed to be so much vice around her, highlighted with garish neon lights and loud music. She was slightly more glad that she’d stayed with the crew.

The pirates—although they disliked the term—called themselves the Apple Company. Applejack and her boat, Sweet Apple, were the backbone of the enterprise. Fluttershy hadn’t managed to figure out why ponies would turn to a life of crime, although, as Applejack had said earlier, there didn’t seem to be much else to do in Roanapur.

The four of them pulled up to a bar called the Yellow Nag and went inside. Rainbow glanced at Fluttershy and grinned. “I wonder if Pinkie will give us a free drink since we’ve got a yellow nag with us.”

“That’s not very nice,” observed Twilight, as if commenting on the weather.

Fluttershy looked around. The bar was packed with ponies, many of them playing cards. All of them looked rough-and-tumble, and every last one of them was not somepony Fluttershy would relish meeting, dark alley or not.

“Why are there guns on every table?” she asked, her voice barely audible over the sounds of the bar.

“This place was founded by deserting soldiers from the Griffon Wars,” explained Applejack. “They started taking in fugitives and criminals, and before you knew it everything had gone straight to Tartarus.”

Fluttershy gasped as a stallion broke a bottle of liquor over the head of another pony as they scuffled over the results of their card game. Nopony but her seemed to show much reaction.

Applejack went on. “Hookers, junkies, mercenaries; irredeemable criminals, every one of ‘em.”

Fluttershy stared glumly at the drink that was placed in front of her. She hadn’t asked for it, and didn’t think getting intoxicated was a good idea given the situation.

The pink mare with a frizzy magenta mane leaned forward across the bar. “Are you going to drink that? You wouldn’t want sompony to think you don’t like the alcohol around here and start some kind of fight with you. That wouldn’t be fun at all.”

Fluttershy had been introduced to Pinkie, the bartender. She seemed more cheerful than anypony the yellow mare had yet met, but seemed to have highly developed survival instincts. Fluttershy had seen those same shifty eyes on many animals who knew they could be killed by random violence at any moment.

“I try to avoid confrontation,” explained Fluttershy.

“Good luck,” said Applejack, draining her drink and getting up.

“Where are you going, Applepie?” asked Pinkie. Her eyes and grin widened. “Ooh, some dutch apple pie sounds great right now, doesn't it?”

Applejack rolled her eyes and headed for a nearby hallway. “Just going to make a phone call.”

“Pinkie’s a little strange, isn’t she?” asked Fluttershy quietly as the bartender went to serve somepony across the room.

“Aren’t we all?” said Twilight, examining her own drink. "That's the great thing about Roanapur, you can be whoever you want to be."

“You don’t seem like the others,” said Fluttershy. The purple unicorn was remarkably civil and pleasant compared to the rest of the inhabitants of the city.

Twilight smiled. “I came from a university in Canterlot. I got mixed up with some Diamond Dogs and the Royal Guard at the same time.”

“And then yours truly saved her worthless flank before it was stuffed in a bag and thrown overboard,” interjected Rainbow Dash. “Stop the storytelling. You’re too young to be reminiscing.”

Grabbing a bottle of dark amber liquid, Rainbow began to pour. “But you’re still old enough to drink.”

Fluttershy recognized the label on the bottle of rum. It was quite alcoholic, and Rainbow had just poured a large glass. The multicolored pegasus set the drink down in front of Fluttershy, knocking away her previous glass.

With a grin, Rainbow chugged a similar amount of booze. She finished with a gasp of air, the liquor obviously burning her throat. Her smile didn’t waver, however. “If you ask me, ladylike drinks are no different than chocolate rain. That stuff will never get you drunk. A real pony swigs rum.”

Fluttershy looked again at the glass in front of her as Rainbow continued. “But, if you don’t even have the wings to keep up with me, I guess you aren’t much of a mare. Maybe I’ll tie ribbons in your mane and put a little dress on you like a pretty filly.”

“As much as I would enjoy dressing up like that, you’re being rather insulting,” said Fluttershy. “I don’t know why you insist on acting so mean, and I don’t like drinking, but this time I’ll make an exception.” She picked up the glass and downed it in one long pull.

Fluttershy set down the empty glass, clearing her throat. “I could never say no when ponies asked me to drink in college. I drank to fit in with everypony at social events. I used alcohol to hide my problems. Don’t underestimate my tolerance, Rainbow.”

She almost smiled at the look of consternation on the face of the other pegasus. Rainbow growled under her breath and the shouted across the bar at Pinkie. “Bring us all the rum you’ve got!”

“I thought you didn’t like confrontation,” muttered Twilight.

Several minutes later, both Fluttershy and Rainbow were working on downing more alcohol. They had each been swigging the hard liquor in unison. Fluttershy knew she couldn’t keep this up much longer, but for the moment didn’t care. Rainbow was no longer the untouchable aggressor, and for this brief instant they were equals. It was a very strange thing to make a stand over.

There was a sharp clink as something came flying in through the open door. It rolled to a stop near the bar. Fluttershy’s eyes widened. She had never seen a real grenade before, but there could be no doubt what it was.

Despite the drinks she’d consumed, Rainbow reacted with remarkable agility. She grabbed Fluttershy and Twilight, hauling them over the bar and to the floor. The grenade shook the whole building as it exploded.

Chapter 2

Author note: For purposes of story, the plot diverges a little from standard Black Lagoon

Immediately after the explosion, automatic gunfire started. Fluttershy heard glass breaking and screams of wounded ponies. Beside her, Rainbow calmly sipped a drink.

“Wow, who are these crazy ponies?” said Pinkie, holding a shotgun she had produced from somewhere. “If they’re your friends, Rainbow, you’d better deal with them.”

“I don’t know ‘em.” Rainbow’s ears perked up as several loud thumps echoed just behind them. “Wow, you’ve bulletproofed the bar.”

“Yep!” exclaimed Pinkie. “It can handle up to fifty caliber! I figured it was necessary since the last time the Apple Company wrecked my place.”

“That ain’t quite the truth,” shouted Applejack from the hallway. “Are y’all alive?”

“Somehow,” answered Twilight.

“Sure,” said Rainbow. She took another sip of rum.

“How about you, ‘Tree?”

Fluttershy merely shrieked, burying her head beneath her hooves and adopting the motionless posture she had been named for.

There were a few loud blasts as Applejack fired blindly towards the muzzle flashes outside the bar. “Rainbow! I think this is a good time to show ‘em why you’re called Rainboom.”

Fluttershy saw the colorful pegasus beside her grin with wry humor. She drained the last of the rum and pulled both her guns from their holsters. With a quick beat of wings, she soared over the bar.

Ponies with assault rifles had begun to enter the building, showing that this was no random shooting. The patrons of the bar had all fled or were dying on the floor. The attackers were coming in to finish off the survivors.

Rainbow’s first shot caught a stallion straight in the face. With both her pistols blazing, half a dozen of his fellows went down in seconds.

As inadvisable as it was to expose her head, Fluttershy couldn’t seem tear her eyes from the scene in front of her. Rainbow pivoted, dodging enemy fire and shooting back. Pegasi were naturally agile, but she seemed to have complete mastery of her body’s movements, maneuvers brought about by hard practice on top of prodigious natural talent.

Fluttershy’s eyes widened. Rainbow was…smiling. The colorful mare was enjoying what she did. How could anypony get delight from this?

“Come on!” Applejack shouted. Twilight tugged at Fluttershy’s foreleg and the two of them sprinted from behind the bar.

Pinkie called, “You’d better pay for this, or I’ll force you to make cupcakes with me!”

Rainbow dispatched a few more attackers while backing up towards the hallway. As soon as she was clear, Applejack herded Twilight and Fluttershy out the back door.

The car was waiting. The four of them piled in and Twilight stomped on the accelerator. Rainbow tossed a grenade out the window to dissuade the armed ponies who had followed them out of the bar. The explosion was even louder than the roaring engine.

Several blocks later, on much quieter streets, Twilight began to slow down. Rainbow slumped in the backseat, reloading her pistols. “Hey AJ, Pinkie said she’d force us to make cupcakes if we don’t pay for that.”

Applejack chuckled. From her position next to Rainbow, Fluttershy swallowed hard. “Who-who were those ponies?”

“Mercenaries,” said Applejack. “I just got off the phone with Celestia, an’ she warned me they were comin’.”

“What the buck do they want with us?” demanded Rainbow.

“Not us,” said Applejack, tossing her head in Fluttershy’s direction. “Her.”

Rainbow turned to glare at the yellow mare. Twilight glanced up at her through the reflection of the rearview mirror.

Fluttershy crumpled into a quivering pile of mane and feathers. “I’m s-so sorry.”

“What did you do?” asked Rainbow.

“I don’t really know!” wailed Fluttershy. “Everything was okay until you took me and the phoenix from the ship…” she began to cry.

Applejack looked uncomfortable. Rainbow’s eye twitched. Twilight broke the moment by pausing at a stop sign. “Where are we going?”

There was a moment of silence. Applejack said, “Head for the assistance station. We need to re-arm.”

Fluttershy raised her head, her tears temporarily drying. “Aren’t they the ponies who help with things like disaster relief? What are they doing with weapons?”

“They ain’t your typical organization,” answered Applejack cryptically.

Fluttershy sat up, watching the center of the city fade away. The buildings got smaller and shabbier. The ponies looked poorer and more put-upon.

“So, who sent the mercenaries?” asked Rainbow, breaking the silence.

“I was told that it was the Ponyville Animal Shelter,” answered Applejack.

Fluttershy’s hooves covered her mouth, although she didn’t manage to suppress a surprised, “Eep!”

“Isn’t that your company?” questioned Rainbow. Fluttershy nodded.

“By the sound of it, the phoenix tradin’ wasn’t exactly legal,” commented Applejack. “Since there was such a mess with takin’ the bird, I guess the company just decided you knew too much and decided to off you.”

“I don’t know about the laws,” murmured Fluttershy. “I just like taking care of the animals.”

Rainbow shrugged. “Maybe that’s why they picked you to transport the bird. Either way, they thought you made a perfect patsy.”

The car kept going in the darkness, winding its way into the hills that overlooked Roanapur. A small complex lit with a few lights appeared. It looked like some kind of run-down fortification. The ponies that were around wore the uniforms of social workers.

A white unicorn came out of the building to meet the car. Her indigo mane was styled far more than was really necessary to care for the sick and needy. She also wore a large semiautomatic outside her uniform in a shoulder holster, seemingly unconcerned about anypony seeing it.

Rainbow squared off with this mare. “Rarity,” she said, as if swearing.

The white mare smiled, but not because she was pleased. “What is it today, Rainbow? Come to spread your filthy feathers all over my fine wares?”

Rainbow growled, and her hooves twitched towards her guns, but Applejack stepped in front of her. “We’re just here for the basics, Rarity. There was a little dust-up down at the Yellow Nag.”

Rarity nodded. “I heard it from here. Well then, I take it you need some ammunition?”

“No telling what we’re up against,” muttered Rainbow, looking away. “Better throw in some forty millimeter grenades.”

Rarity’s eyebrows went up, and she smiled. “Darling, you can’t afford it.”

The blue pegasus grabbed for a gun at the same time as Rarity’s pistol was clearing her holster. The two of them brought their weapons level at the same time, each aiming at the other’s face.

“Stop!” cried Fluttershy. Despite the tense situation, both mares looked at her. Courage spent on the initial outburst, Fluttershy drew back, letting her mane fall over one eye. “Don’t hurt each other. There’s been enough shooting already.”

“I was meaning to ask,” said Rarity, “Just where did you find her?”

“They kidnapped me,” whispered Fluttershy, having retreated even further behind her mane.

Rarity wavered for a moment and then turned to the yellow mare, stuffing her gun back in its holster and leaving Rainbow aiming at air.

“You poor thing,” said Rarity. She looked at Applejack. “Is this true?”

The orange pony shifted uncomfortably. “Yeah. What happened at the bar earlier was somepony tryin’ to clean up a liability - her.”

“This simply will not do,” said Rarity. “Come with me.”

She led Fluttershy and the three members of the Apple Company into the building, which turned out to be an armory. The timid pegasus gasped at the sight of so many tools of destruction piled everywhere. There were large guns, somewhat smaller ones, ammunition, blades, and all sorts of things for which she had no name.

Rarity thrust a pistol into Fluttershy’s hooves. “Here, try this.”

“But I don’t…”

The white unicorn studied the weapons on display and picked out a belt of shiny brass machine gun cartridges. She hung it around Fluttershy’s neck like some sort of weaponized scarf. The yellow pony started to protest again.

“Do you know anything about guns?” asked Applejack.

Fluttershy shook her head vigorously. "No, I just know about veterinary things. I take care of animals on the land and in the air, and I was learning how to scuba dive so I could care for sea creatures, too. That's it. No guns."

“Oh.” Rarity looked deflated.

“You could still give us some of that stuff,” said Rainbow.

Before the healer/arms dealer could protest, Twilight stepped forward. “Look Rarity, we’ll do you some favors, okay? If we’re going to protect our guest, we need those things now.”

“All right,” Rarity conceded. She began collecting equipment to put in the trunk of the company car.

Applejack promised to pay the bill when it came and the four of them got in the vehicle. Rainbow smirked at Fluttershy. “I guess you aren’t totally useless. You’re good at getting ponies to be nice to you.”

It was intended as an insult, but Fluttershy deflected it. “All you have to do is be nice to them, too.” You should try it sometime, she didn’t add.

The ride back to the boat was quiet. While boarding, Applejack explained that they had to go meet the ponies who had given the Apple Company the job to acquire a phoenix.

“But why do they want to kill me?” whimpered Fluttershy.

“Don’t rightly know,” replied the orange mare. “But Celestia’ll get us an answer.”

“Who is she?”

Applejack pushed back her hat. “She sorta runs things around Roanapur. Nopony really know much about where she came from.”

“Hey, are we ready to leave?” called Rainbow.

“Everything’s good to go,” reported Twilight.

“Alrightly then,” said Applejack. She sat down at the controls and did a few checks before powering up everything. The boat’s three engines rumbled to life.

Fluttershy went below deck to check on the bird. The supply of food pellets was getting low, and she refilled the feeding tray. A few crimson feathers had fallen to the bottom of the cage, and the phoenix seemed a little unhappy. Fluttershy could relate.

Her company had been conducting illegal deals, and using her as fall pony. When things went bad, killers had been dispatched to stop her from telling what she knew.

Fluttershy was terrified of what could happen to her. Any group of ponies who were willing to kill a bar full of probably-not-innocent-but-still-bystanders would do nearly anything.

The pegasus thought about letting the phoenix fly free. Perhaps by erasing the evidence, it would help her cause. Releasing a domesticated creature in a strange environment, however, could end badly. Better to wait until there was no better option. She wondered what Rainbow would think about Fluttershy putting a bird over her own safety.

Heading up to the railing, Fluttershy watched Roanapur shrink in the distance. It had been an unpleasant place, but at least she’d developed some idea of what to expect. With nothing but the horizon ahead of the cruising boat, she felt a disconcerting lack of order. Her future was open, and anything could happen.

Fluttershy stayed there, watching as the sun began to heat the edge of the world. The soft glow grew stronger, creeping above the black waves and turning them shades of aquamarine. Golden light fell on Sweet Apple’s bow as it sliced through the sea.

The yellow mare closed her eyes, enjoying the brightness ahead and leaving the darkness behind.

Chapter 3

It was so peaceful lying in the sun with a gentle breeze. Fluttershy didn’t realize she’d been asleep until Rainbow began shaking her and screaming obscenities.

“Get your lazy flank up! We’ve got five armed speedboats closing in on us!”

Fluttershy squeaked and jumped straight up. Rainbow collared the other pegasus around the neck and dragged her inside.

Twilight was leaning over her computers and staring intently at the radar picture. Applejack reclined in her usual place in the command chair, although her body showed nervous tension. The radio beside the orange mare came to life. “Sweet Apple, come in.”

Applejack regarded the radio for a moment before warily picking up the microphone. “That’s us. Sounds like you, Blueblood.”

The reply was a haughty laugh. “It appears that my reputation precedes me.”

“Naw,” said Applejack. “Celestia told us you were comin’. As for your reputation, I was talkin’ to Rarity the other day—”

There was a burst of static that interrupted her. Blueblood’s voice came back. “Well, if you knew we were coming, then you certainly know why.”

“Eeyup.” Applejack sighed with resignation. “And don’t worry, we'll give you exactly as much mercy as you would give us." She tossed the microphone aside.

“Who was that?” whimpered Fluttershy.

“A stallion that’s a mite full of himself. He’s got a little fleet and thinks that makes him royalty or somethin’.” Applejack shrugged.

“Those-those speedboats have guns! You’re acting so…casually.”

“Well sugarcube, I’d rather die relaxed than in terror. ‘Course I’d like to go on livin’ if that’s an option. Don’t worry none about those boats or their weapons. We’ve got plenty of our own.”

Rainbow chose that moment to walk through the door carrying a machine gun and a grenade launcher in addition to her usual brace of pistols. Fluttershy gulped. They’re actually going to have a shootout on the high seas! “I…I want to leave!”

“Nothing stopping you,” commented Rainbow. “If you get up in the air, you can probably see land from here.”

Fluttershy flung open the door and started to step out on deck. She saw one of the speedboats pulling alongside. A pony operating a mounted machine gun turned, pointing the weapon at her.

There was an explosion right beside Fluttershy’s ear. A well placed shot from Rainbow took down the hostile pony, and also set Fluttershy’s ears ringing. She squealed and hopped backwards, ending up on the deck behind Applejack’s chair. The earth pony calmly adjusted the throttles, slowing the boat slightly.

“Why aren’t we speeding up?” pleaded Fluttershy. “Can we outrun them?”

“Maybe.” Applejack stared out the windshield. “But if you don’t take care of your problems as soon as you can, they’ll wear on you ‘till you do. Trust me, that ain’t the kind of burden you want.”

Amid scattered gunfire from outside, Twilight called for Fluttershy. The yellow pegasus dashed towards the computer room, thinking perhaps the electronics could provide some extra protection from incoming bullets.

“I need you to check something for me,” Twilight said. “We’re getting another radar contact. It’s moving fast, and I think it’s probably some kind of air unit. There’s no way to tell what it is from here, so I need you to go and see.”

“Are you crazy?” asked Fluttershy, her voice barely audible over the sound of gunfire.

“Rainbow will protect you.”

“How can you be sure?” Fluttershy squeaked. “She doesn’t like me!”

“Just give her a chance,” suggested Twilight. “This is really important that we know what we’re up against, and I’m sure she’ll understand that.”

That was perhaps the craziest thing anypony had ever asked her to do. Going outside where bullets were flying was the last thing Fluttershy wanted. She stepped out of the computer center intent on taking shelter in a more secure location, but Applejack swung the wheel over hard. As the boat skewed sideways, Fluttershy stumbled and plowed into the door. It burst open, and the yellow pegasus found herself sprawled on the deck and exposed to gunfire.

A pair of the speedboats were on fire. Sweet Apple’s sudden maneuver had forced them into a collision. Rainbow had finished off both.

“What are you doing here?” demanded the multicolored pegasus. She aimed a burst of machine gun fire at one of the remaining three boats.

“Th-there’s a new contact on radar!” Fluttershy managed to shout above the chaos. “Twilight says it’s the flying kind.”

A couple of bullets slammed into the bulkhead beside the two of them and Fluttershy dropped to the deck again.

“This is no time to go tree on me!” shouted Rainbow. “If we’ve got more bad guys incoming, then we’ll need more firepower. Load this mag.”

Fluttershy stared at the steel magazine and the box of shells that were dropped in front of her. “I don’t know how!”

The other mare shook her head in disgust and took to the air. Like a blur, she zoomed at one of the remaining boats. There was a pop from the grenade launcher she carried, and the vessel went up in a fiery explosion.

Fluttershy watched Rainbow work, noticing some of the rhythm the multicolored pegasus had possessed at the bar fight. She’d obviously done things like this before, and often. Fluttershy noticed her smile. It was okay to be proud of your skills, but how could anypony enjoy this?

Rainbow turned towards the remaining two boats. Diving at the first, she fired at the crew. They had all been hit by the time she landed on it. After kicking at the steering wheel to send the speedboat off course, the mare set her sights on the last target.

A white unicorn stallion who appeared more striking than the rest of his crew was aboard. With a panicked expression on his face, he spun his vessel around in an attempt to flee. A missile came screaming out of the sky and annihilated the boat in an explosion.

Rainbow jerked her head up, staring with astonishment at two small aircraft that were rapidly closing on the boat. She rushed back to Sweet Apple and dropped to the deck beside Fluttershy. “That’s a pair of gun-armor equipped pegasi closing on us! I need a better weapon!”

The two incoming ponies were equipped with metal suits that resembled miniature fighter jets. They were armed with missiles and guns. While pegasus ponies were naturally good at flying, the extra weight was handled by compact jet engines.

“But they helped us…” said Fluttershy, getting up.

Rainbow stared at her incredulously. “Whoever these mercenaries are, they had no trouble killing a bar full of ponies. They probably bumped off Blueblood on purpose just to have us all to themselves.”

As if to prove her right, a line of bullets stitched the deck with holes. Rainbow pushed Fluttershy away from her, and the bullets passed between the two of them.

“You can’t stay still,” shouted Rainbow. “If you do, you die.”

Fluttershy was pretty much continuously whimpering by this point, but somehow managed to heed Rainbow’s advice. She scrambled to the side of the boat, finding shelter beside a large steel tube.

“You know that’s a torpedo launcher, right? There’s about five hundred pounds of TNT in there.” Having warned Fluttershy about the dangers of what she was taking cover behind, Rainbow slapped a new magazine in her weapon and sprang into the air. The two armored pegasi had been anticipating her move and were quick to pounce. Rainbow wasn’t hit, but was forced to tumble across the deck to escape the hail of bullets. She growled savagely and blindly fired in the air, out of anger more than anything.

The pair of attackers swept low over the boat, seemingly taunting everypony aboard. “They’re teasing us!” screamed Rainbow. “We’re sitting ducks, and they know it!”

“Can we surrender?” asked Fluttershy.

The other mare looked at her with surprise and more than a little disgust. “They’re not trying to capture us, they’re trying to kill us. Playing around first just shows what kind of sick ponies they are.”

“I…I can’t take it anymore!” Fluttershy sprinted across the deck, heading towards the stern of the boat. Her wings flared as she gathered speed for takeoff.

“Stop!” shouted Rainbow. In the instant before her hooves left the deck, Fluttershy suddenly changed her mind. She dropped flat, crying out as the attacking pegasi opened fire.

Their bullets missed by a wide margin. The two ponies were so surprised that she hadn’t taken to the air that they overshot their target and collided. A thunderous explosion reverberated off the steel deck as jet fuel and weapons went up in flames. The wreckage dropped into the ocean behind the boat, quickly disappearing beneath the waves.

Fluttershy raised her head. While her ears were still ringing, it was apparent that things were much quieter now. The only sounds were of wind and the throb of the engines below deck.

A hoof nudged her shoulder. Fluttershy looked up to see Rainbow standing over her. The blue pegasus glanced down at her, looking like she couldn’t quite believe what had just happened.

Fluttershy got up. “Thank you,” she said quietly. “If it weren’t for you, I would have been dead.”

Rainbow’s lip twitched and she turned away suddenly. “If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have had to save your flank. I don’t care if you got lucky and took out those armored units.” She stomped back towards the wheelhouse.

Fluttershy allowed a small smile to come to her lips. You’re welcome. She followed Rainbow.

Applejack peered out from the door as the two of them approached. “Amen, hallelujah, apple butter, what in the world just happened?”

“Let’s talk about it later,” muttered Rainbow, pushing past her. Applejack swung her gaze to Fluttershy. The orange mare gave her a nod and opened the door wider to let her in.

Twilight sat at the controls in Applejack’s absence. “We’re on course for Celestia’s compound. We should be there soon.”

Rainbow brought out a bottle of rum. She screwed off the cap and was about to chug straight from the bottle when she stopped, noticing Fluttershy staring at her. After a somewhat awkward pause, Rainbow asked, “Would you like some?”

“A friendly drink would be nice,” agreed Fluttershy.

The port was somewhat more exclusive than Roanapur. Above the docks, there was an old stone structure built on the hill. It was vaguely castle-like, and looked as if it had stood the test of time rather well. Fluttershy looked up at it while Applejack and Rainbow secured the boat. She also noticed the group of armed ponies patrolling the area.

The meeting with Celestia was supposed to facilitate negotiations with Fluttershy’s company. Applejack had speculated that it was working to Celestia’s advantage, but seemed to be okay with that. Twilight had added that it was much better to be friends with Celestia than enemies.

Rainbow had merely stated, “She’s a freaking chessmaster. Of course she’s got a plan.”

“Chessmistress,” corrected Twilight.

Celestia herself certainly seemed mysterious enough. She was tall and had a pearly white coat, offset by a pastel mane. The horrific burn scars on her face and chest did nothing to detract from the aura of majesty that seemed to hover around her.

Fluttershy very much wanted to ask what had happened to Celestia, but considering how much power she must wield to have so many guards under her command, thought it better to say as little as possible.

That proved impossible when Celestia addressed her directly. “Fluttershy, I’ve been in contact with your company. They’ve decided to cut their losses and forget the situation as long as you agree to never return to Ponyville.”

“Well, with the way they treated her, I can’t imagine that she would want to,” said Applejack.

“What about the phoenix?” asked Twilight.

“The buyer backed off as well, due to so much pressure from law enforcement.” Celestia smiled. “I would be willing to take her off your hooves, however. I’ve always wanted a phoenix. I’m sure we can reach a fair price.”

“Yeah!” Rainbow cheered. Celestia swung her gaze to the multicolored pony.

“If you’d like, I have another paying job for you. There’s an artifact called the Alicorn Amulet that I’m interested in.” Celestia nodded out the window towards the ocean. “It’s on a sunken submarine out there somewhere. I’d like to have it retrieved before an annoying unicorn supremacist group gets a hold of it.”

“Sounds good,” said Applejack.

Twilight nodded in agreement. “I’ll get everything set up.”

“Good thing we’ve got a pony who knows how to scuba dive,” said Rainbow, touching Fluttershy on the shoulder.

The yellow pegasus gasped in surprise. “Me? But…”

The three members of the Apple Company stared at her. Applejack coughed. “See, we were meaning to talk to you about this…”

“Now that you can’t go home, you certainly don’t want to hang around Roanapur alone,” said Twilight. “And besides, how could we turn away the nicest pony any of us has ever met? Right Rainbow?”

“Um.” Rainbow cut her eyes back and forth before crossing her forehooves defiantly. “I just want somepony who might be able to keep up with me drink for drink.”

Fluttershy was taken aback. How could she become a pirate? This was not a place for her! “I don’t know. I’m not anything like you.”

“Sugarcube, none of us are like the others,” Applejack pointed out. That was true enough. None of the three had much in common. Fluttershy wouldn’t be the odd one out for her personality.

“But I don’t think I could do anything that you do. I don’t like shooting.”

“Neither do I,” said Twilight.

“But…but…”

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Look, we aren’t going to force you to do anything you don’t want to do. We’ve all got our freedom.”

That was something Fluttershy had noticed. The lawlessness gave everypony free choice to do what they wanted. Many turned to crime, but there was nothing that said they had to. There was nothing that said Fluttershy had to, either. Maybe she could even make an honest corporation out of the Apple Company—starting with Rainbow.

She smiled timidly. “I'd like that."

Author's Note

Credit due to V-pony, lolitsjack, Truth_Seeker, American_Brony, and thepinkparty for their work on this story.
Thanks for reading.