Brigand and Corsair
Chapter 1
Thieves and Bandits
The daylight broke. Rays penetrated through trees, and formed shadows where it couldn't reach. The forest was quiet, with the exception of a few birds singing a song or two. A stream trickled by, and a lone deer was lapping up water from it. Up ahead, a small clearing bore only one being, asleep at the moment. The creature was a Pegasus, and a mare. She had a brown coat with long black mane and tail. Her eyes were a beautiful shade of sapphire blue. The mare's cutie mark was a bow and arrow crossed. The mare began to regain consciousness.
"Ugh, they need to stop spiking my drinks. One day I might get hospitalized." She said to herself. The pony sat up, and rubbed her eyes. "Where am I?" A few feet away a longbow and quiver rested. She walked up to them. "How'd these get here?" She put the quiver on, and the bow. The mare began to walk when someone called out.
"Sky Arrow! Where are you?" Some pony yelled. Sky heard some stumbling, and the rustle of undergrowth. Another pony then fell out of some bushes nearby and landed spread-eagle. They were also a mare, but black with blue hair and green eyes. The mare was a unicorn, and had red crosshairs as her cutie mark. She had a long rifle with a scope slung around her back.
"Flintlock?" Sky asked. Flint shook her head to get some leaves out of her mane.
"There you are! I've been looking for you for about an hour now!" Flint sat up on her hind legs. "My head hurts, after what happened last night. Where are we?" She asked Sky. She frowned.
"I was hoping you could answer that. I don't remember what happened, the only thing I do is that we went out for drinks." Sky said, disgruntled. Flint blushed.
"Yea, we sure do that a lot." Flint stood up.
"Do you remember last night?"
"No! I mean, I don't." Flint looked away from Sky. Flint's blush grew to a dark crimson color.
"We'll, let’s be on our way." Sky turned around and walked forward, leaving the clearing. Flint frowned.
"Of course I remember last night. You were so drunk that we ended up together at the end of the night. I
just wish that you felt like that towards me when you aren't wasted on spiked cider." She confessed to herself. Sky called from up ahead.
"Are you coming Flint?" Her friend said. Flint shook her head.
"I need to focus on what happening now. Coming!" She yelled to the pegasus. Flint sighed, and walked forward and out of the clearing to catch up with her friend.
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"HOLD THE BRACE FOLD! ANCHOR DOWN THOSE CANNONS! THIS STORM IS A FEIRCE ONE!" Someone yelled out. A ship sailed through a massive sea storm at night. The ship was fashioned like a pirate one. The sails were black, and two masts, including the forward sail. The ship was barraged by the salty water. The deck was soaked thoroughly, and not one spot was left dry. "I've sailed through worse." The captain thought. They were a female earth pony. Her right leg was prosthetic, made completely of steal. She had a hat, similar to Jack Sparrow's, and her clothing was also similar. Her pelt was blue, her hair and tail were black with dark orange stripes through it. Her cutie mark was the Jolly Roger. Two swords crossed, with a skull above them.
"Captain! We can't see the shore!" The first mate yelled to her.
"Shouldn't there be a lighthouse nearby?" She yelled back.
"Aye, but it seems that the storm has blinded us!" Then the whole ship shook violently. It rose up, and wood splintered into the air.
"No! My beautiful Renegade!!" The Captain yelled in dismay. A canon was flung up, and crashed into the helm. It hit the Captain in the head, and everything went black.
XXXX
The storm subsided. Morning came swiftly. The Renegade was left in ruins. Items of all sorts lay scattered across the shore. The 1st mate nudged her captain.
"Sting? Are you ok?" She gingerly asked. Stinging Cutlass came to.
"What happened Rapier? Is the crew ok?" She asked the 1st mate. Rapier nodded.
"Aye, the crew and I are fine. But it's the ship that I'm concerned about." Then the reality of the situation hit Sting. She stared at her mighty ship, scattered along the beach.
"The Renegade: a ship that could never once be outrun, beaten, or captured. Yet, now, reduced to pieces by simple rock. We need to find a town and rest up there." The two looked around.
"There's a city just south of us!" She said confidently. Sting shook her head.
"No port cities. They're on alert for pirates and other thieves. We need to travel more inland." She told Rapier. The two went around and gathered up the rest of the Renegade's crew. As they got into one group, the Captain spoke up.
"My fellow crew mates, we need to travel inland where our presence is barely heard. We’ll be safe there, for now." Stinging Cutlass led her band of misfit cretins into a forest nearby, hopeful for safety..
"Why inland Captain?" Rapier asked. Sting sighed.
"It's the only way we can hide. Port cities are on alert for pirate activities. So it's the only logical action available."
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"Tree. Tree. Another tree. Oh, guess what? More trees!!" Flintlock yelled out. "Does this forest never end?" Ahead of her, someone snickered. "Oh, sure, you think it's funny!" She spat at the friend.
"It's not that, it's just that you are supposed to be a Brigand, a thief of the forest. Yet this one is getting on your nerves." Sky Arrow said with a smile.
"I know that! But this forest, there's something odd about it." And as if on cue, something jumped out of a nearby bush. A timber wolf. It lunged for Sky's throat. Flint acted fast. She shouldered her rifle, aimed, and fired. The shot hit it in the head and knocked the wolf out of the air. The gunshot echoed throughout the wood.
"Thanks, Flint. That thing almost turned me into a Thanksgiving dinner!" She said with admiration. Flint returned the rifle to her back.
"I told you something was up. We need to be careful; the sound could've attracted more of them." She said to Sky. The pair continued walking, more alert than before.
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The sea-sodden Captain and her crew trudged through a swamp. They hadn't stopped walking all day. Many were hungry, complaining of tiredness. But they didn't mind the dirt and muck that collected on their legs and flanks. That was what they're use to. Most of them had the same story. Poor family, bad neighborhood. Stinging Cutlass took them in, and treated them all like family. Rapier is her best friend, being friends since foal hood.
"Keep pushing, mates. We'll make it very soon." Sting reassured her crew. But she doubted her words.
