@lockingbane @Questor
Memories of the Seas
A wave!
And another-- how many are there going to be???
That one was taller than our scouts could fly!
The rain kept on pouring and pouring, winds nearly blowing Steel Wing off balance.
"What do you see up there?!" I called out to him. No response.
"I SAID WHAT DO YOU SEE?!!?"
"nothing!" Was his response, barely heard over the howls of what we felt was impending doom. He started flying back, deciding this storm was not worth losing his wings over.
"We'd better find this Thing fast! The winds are getting stronger by the minute!" Even down on deck he had to yell to get his words out.
"Alright, I'll keep a watch!" I pulled up two harpoons, passing one to Wing. "Keep an eye on the stern."
Now, the rest of the crew had been positioned around the top of The Gray Rose, my late father's personal boat...
I... I'll save that story for another time.
Anyways! The crew was on watch, and everything was just noisy. For three days, we had been fighting this monster. The King's signature storm grew increasingly powerful until today, when the air felt it could cut skin, and the rain felt like buckets pouring from the sky. Tired, hungry, we pressed on.
We managed to get some good hits on the King, but he escaped each time we came close to finishing him off. Then we needed to track him down. Rinse and repeat.
Well not more! There would be no retreat this day!
He knew it, so did we.
And just as I began trotting towards the captain's cabin, Salt Tea cried out:
"HE'S HERE!!!"
And we felt it: the ship all of a sudden turned as if it were a foal's spinning top toy, but thankfully stopped when--
Barnacle Skipper, the young green earth pony holding his harpoon tight in hoof, screamed as he was thrown overboard by the shaking ship! Steel had flown down just in time to catch the terrified lad, while the older fisherpony pegasus lifted him back on deck, pressing against the winds.
The others held onto whatever they could, Salt Tea stabbing his harpoon into the deck to stabilize herself.
Then I saw it: the back of the beast.
Discord's nautical nightmare, the King of the Undertow.
It was the length of twenty ponies and had a maw that could fit ten ponies side by side, you wouldn't be blamed if you ran as far as you could. But we had no such luxury.
The winds blocked flight, and the waves were too strong.
This was it.
Hefting my harpoon, the touch its metal warm compared to the freezing rain, I slowly moved towards the bow, to get a better look at the monster.
There it was, just... staring at us.
It had four cat-like eyes, staring with hunger at its new meal. The spines on its back were sharp and made of the spines of who knows how many fish and other damnable creatures. Its maw hidden just below the waves as a hint of the chocolate teeth in its mouth oozed out, making the seawater a brown color.
Yes, this was the work of that mad spirit.
I had no time to waste. "Wing! Get your ass to pull him port side! Salt! Get your hooves on the wheel! Skip, come with me!"
The crew rushed around to their tasks, hoping that the speed would delay our demise. It did, actually. Steel Wing had picked up a few harpoons to lob at the King, just barely piercing the thick skin, which bled a colorful, bubbly...juice. It looked green, so I assumed it was cucumber juice, with how Discord operates.
Skip lobbed a few harpoons at the King, but despite his steadfastness, he didn't get any good hits, the rain muddying his aim.
I threw some spears from the deck towards the King, but they were mostly ineffective. I then switched to channeling electricity, but I needed to charge up.
Stupid me.
Suddenly, the King had disappeared beneath the surface.
We held our breaths, as the rain raged on around us.
Then, catastrophe.
The boat had split asunder, with the bow cracking off the rest of the ship, separating me from Barnacle Skipper. I was barely able to get out of the way, and looking at the scene unfolding before me, time seemed to slow down.
This was it.
I don't know what had happened, but the waves just spoke to me. Like, between the rising of the crest of a wave and its crashing into the Grayflower, I heard it: "Defeat comes from within".
It sounded like a familiar voice, but I couldn't dwell on that.
I knew exactly what I had to do. Or, my body did, at least. As if my legs had a mind of their own, I leapt towards the beast!
"What in the name o..."
"Holy moly! Cap!"
"what's she doing??"
Their voices became silenced as the world stood silent. For the brief second I flew through the air, rain pelting my back, I could see the exact path I had to go to end this. I closed my eyes, clutched my harpoon, and...
*CHOMP!*
Darkness.
A sickening smell of chocolate and cucumber juice combined with saliva made me nearly puke. Thankfully, the teeth of the King hadn't gotten at me. There was a rumbling and a movement of the beast's throat, and within seconds, I was in its stomach.
It was a huge creature, so there was no problem getting through the gullet. The acid however, had corroded my left hind leg and some had gotten into my eye. The pain was like driving needles into those parts, but I held on, channeling the pain and rage towards my spell, into my harpoon. Finally, as I reached the middle of the King's stomach, I felt a rising motion. He was breaching again. This was it, and I jammed the harpoon into the acid-lined stomach as hard as I could!
I screamed! Oh, did I scream!
For confining us to our little island!
For all the homes this thing had destroyed!
For all the lives it took to take it down!
No more! Discord's reign shall NOT spread this way!
...so with a fury I had never thought I had, lightning flowed out of my horn, through the harpoon, and exploded around me!
Honestly, it was really nauseating to be higher than the mast, hanging in the air by sheer momentum, being spilled out the belly of a giant chimera shark. The stickiness clung to my body, getting on what was left of my stump leg. The feeling stung, it hurt, it just...
gnawed at my nerves...
But I did it.
By golly I did it.
Dad was smiling at me that day.
And I smiled back.
...
"So, that was the story of how I lost my leg, kids.
Oh, and I smacked grandpa Salt Tea for stabbing my ship. He deserved it." I shrugged. "Any other questions?" My voice lingered in the air for a second. The foals were eagerly listening the entire time.
"Oh, tell us about your ship, Gran-ma! What happened to it?" Little blue Salty Sea asks. Her left hoof waving to get my attention.
"Well, if you're so interested, maybe let grandma first tell you about how it came to be. There's not much time left in this break time, you all will have to get on with your lessons soon!" Noisy groans were heard, though I grinned at these future sailors and fishers. Telling these stories makes me reminisce about the old days and look forward to the next...
...
Perhaps, one day, we can make this island even better than it had ever been; we could make a larger harbor--the budget was the only limitation. I had taken a lot in my days as Pirate Queen, but nowadays, there was much to consider. The piracy of this time would come to an end one day, and I only hope that we can shed our roots as a pirate bay and become a great sea faring people, with proper trade.
I fear that when I die, the outsiders will use their fear of my legacy to harm us. To destroy us. I only hope that I can reach these youngsters to make them know how important bravery and family are, not just stealing and raiding.
I slowly trot out of Sunny Seas Primary School, leaving the children to their classes. Looking at the town that had developed in my time, the lively streets, the busy harbor, I felt a great sense of pride welling up inside my chest.
...Or that was just my old age catching up.
"Ah, hahaha..." I laughed at no one in particular. Turns out I was just a sappy old mare like the rest of them.
Wandering around the docks, I looked into the waters below, and saw my reflection: Patched eye, pale cobalt blue mare with half a mane sticking out in a ponytail on the side. My stump had healed over time, but the wooden peg that replaced my left leg still brought back those same memories.
Those same, painful, sweet memories.
-------
So yeah, hopefully I did justice to the Pirate Queen idea! Took some liberties with naming her companions, however. Don't be Salt Tea if you don't like it! (
sorry) Thanks to
@lockingbane for contributing the prompt!
Just so this wasn't clear, the story takes place way before the Fall of Discord, and I'm assuming the pirate island is quite far away enough so that he wouldn't bother with messing with them directly.
Shanty inspiration from lockingsbane!
