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Storm Ride

By hotkinkajou
Created: 2020-12-31 14:37:54
Expiry: Never

  1. 1.
  2. 2.
    Originally published APR 4TH, 2019
  3. 3.
     
  4. 4.
    >It was the second day of our journey to Zebrica. It was also my second day as one of the Stormchasers.
  5. 5.
    >I still can't believe I've done that. I was in a bad spot, sure, with my herd breaking up and all.
  6. 6.
    >Going back to my old love was probably a good idea.
  7. 7.
     
  8. 8.
    >"Ahoy, new blood!"
  9. 9.
    >Not with them. Sure, they were legendary, and their ship - the Misery - was the fastest one on the Southern Sea, hell - in the world.
  10. 10.
    >But they only took me on as a deckhand at first, promising a promotion if I "survive" the first trip.
  11. 11.
    >As an officer, I felt insulted, but they truly were legendary.
  12. 12.
     
  13. 13.
    >And insane. Punching you in the face as a greeting insane.
  14. 14.
    >"Hey, I'm talking to you, new blood!"
  15. 15.
    >That was Lunge, one of the shipmares.
  16. 16.
    >The blow was strong, but I kept my composure. I was a ex-navy guard, not some greenhorn they could push around.
  17. 17.
    "I'll let you know that I wrecked mares meaner than you for less. You will address me by rank or name."
  18. 18.
    >She nearly doubled over laughing.
  19. 19.
    >"Your rank in the playground means nothing here, new blood! Before he accepts you, you are the lowest trash."
  20. 20.
    >She got so close to me that I could fell the stench of her breath. "Get that through your thick skull and be ready for the morning prayer."
  21. 21.
    >So I rammed her nose.
  22. 22.
    >Sprayed red like a smashed strawberry pie. Nearly knocked her down to the deck.
  23. 23.
    "That will teach you some respect."
  24. 24.
    >And then, with a laugh, she spit her blood in my eyes.
  25. 25.
    >Before I could see again, I felt three other mares knock me over and me and pin me down.
  26. 26.
    >"Look at the cutie, she thinks we're hard, so if she plays hard he'll accept her!"
  27. 27.
    >"Ah what a shame!"
  28. 28.
    >"What a shame!"
  29. 29.
    >I struggled against their hooves to no avail.
  30. 30.
    >"But she doesn't know we're very soft and fragile! That's why he accepts us!"
  31. 31.
    >"So fragile!"
  32. 32.
    >"So precious!"
  33. 33.
    >I tried to break free.
  34. 34.
    >"When we make her remember how soft she is, she will see!"
  35. 35.
    >"She will see!"
  36. 36.
    >"Oh, she will see!"
  37. 37.
     
  38. 38.
     
  39. 39.
     
  40. 40.
    >"What's going on here?"
  41. 41.
    >That was the captain. I was either saved, or screwed.
  42. 42.
    >"The new blood thinks she's tough, Skipper!"
  43. 43.
    "Lunge attacked me, Ma'am!"
  44. 44.
     
  45. 45.
    >The Captain sighed.
  46. 46.
    >"Lunge. I expect better from you. I expect more from my mares."
  47. 47.
    "You heard the Captain, --"
  48. 48.
    >"Why didn't you make her a mare, Lunge?"
  49. 49.
    >The mares holding me laughed.
  50. 50.
    >"It ain't the same unless you tell it, Skip!"
  51. 51.
    >"Yeah, tell her!"
  52. 52.
    >"Tell her, tell her!"
  53. 53.
     
  54. 54.
    >The Captain cleared her throat.
  55. 55.
    >"New blood? We're going to make a mare out of you. BARBER! We've got a new one here!"
  56. 56.
    >I heard more and more voices join in the cheering.
  57. 57.
    >And hooffalls of someone approaching. "So, new blood, you're going to take it like a mare or do you need rum to wash it down?"
  58. 58.
    >I still couldn't break free. "Like a mare it is then."
  59. 59.
    >Then I felt the knife slice into the skin of my flank.
  60. 60.
    >Tried to grab someone in my field, but then they kicked my horn.
  61. 61.
    >That, thankfully, numbed the pain.
  62. 62.
     
  63. 63.
    >The cuts stopped. I was released.
  64. 64.
    >"Well now you almost look like a mare!"
  65. 65.
    >"Real salty mare!"
  66. 66.
    >"Splash it with seawater to be sure!"
  67. 67.
     
  68. 68.
    >My head still rang. I didn't care to fight at this point.
  69. 69.
    >Instead, I bent to the side and studied the wound.
  70. 70.
    >It didn't bleed much, but looked horrible. Like a foal's drawing on my hide.
  71. 71.
    "What the hell have you done to me? "
  72. 72.
    >"You're a mare now, new blood!"
  73. 73.
    "Let me dress it at least! It will not heal in this climate!"
  74. 74.
    >"Good. That means it will surely scar. What kinda of mare are you without the scars to show it?"
  75. 75.
    >...scar...
  76. 76.
    >That was the first time that I actually noticed that their scars didn't look random at all.
  77. 77.
    >A pony's thick coat usually hangs over bare patches, masking them.
  78. 78.
    >But if you really take the time to decipher it, the patches look like crude symbols.
  79. 79.
    >These were carvings.
  80. 80.
     
  81. 81.
    >Sweet Goddess, they didn't even allow me to say goodbye to anyone on shore.
  82. 82.
     
  83. 83.
    >I nearly lost my mind then and there.
  84. 84.
     
  85. 85.
     
  86. 86.
     
  87. 87.
     
  88. 88.
    >I didn't try to escape.
  89. 89.
    >We were at sea, and I would not have survived a swim to shore.
  90. 90.
    >I knew some battle magic. I could overpower the captain, take her hostage.
  91. 91.
    >But there were two dozen of them against me.
  92. 92.
    >And they were insane.
  93. 93.
    >I did what I was told and bid my time, praying to the gods that I live until port.
  94. 94.
     
  95. 95.
     
  96. 96.
    >Fifth day greeted us with a red sky.
  97. 97.
    >Naturally, the crew was ecstatic. At this point I didn't expect them to act normal.
  98. 98.
    >But, since they clearly had more experience in the Southern Sea than me, I kept quiet.
  99. 99.
     
  100. 100.
    >As the wind began picking up, the boatswain rolled out the booze on deck.
  101. 101.
    >That got me nervous. I came over to her and asked:
  102. 102.
    "Ma'am, why are we not furling the sails now?"
  103. 103.
    >"What's it to ya, new blood?"
  104. 104.
    "I don't want us all to end in a watery grave, and there is a storm coming! Isn't that what is usually done?"
  105. 105.
    >"Stop painting Discord, or he will take us all. Back to your orders, new blood."
  106. 106.
    "Yes, I will, but what the hell is going on here? And why are you--"
  107. 107.
    >With a swift kick, she smashed the keg, spraying us both and the deck with rum.
  108. 108.
    >"It's his favorite. Now get going before he sees you slacking."
  109. 109.
     
  110. 110.
     
  111. 111.
    >I finished securing the cargo. Then I double-checked everything.
  112. 112.
    >Picked a good empty crate to hold onto when the ship breaks.
  113. 113.
    >Did all I could to ease my mind.
  114. 114.
    >Others weren't so preoccupied.
  115. 115.
    >"..do you think he will like it?"
  116. 116.
    >Two of my fellow deckhands.
  117. 117.
    >"I'm sure he will."
  118. 118.
    >Doing each other's manes into braids.
  119. 119.
    "Is that your actual order to pretty up, or are you just slacking off?"
  120. 120.
    >They looked to each other.
  121. 121.
    >"She doesn't believe!"
  122. 122.
    >"But she will soon! He will make her!"
  123. 123.
    >Gods damn this crew.
  124. 124.
    > I peeked out of the hatch to check on the preparations above deck.
  125. 125.
    >We were still going full-sail.
  126. 126.
     
  127. 127.
    >"Hey, new blood, come here, I'll make you one too. He will like it!"
  128. 128.
     
  129. 129.
    >That was the point when I lost it.
  130. 130.
    >I wasn't about to die because of a bunch of insane idol-worshipers.
  131. 131.
     
  132. 132.
    >Back on deck, I fed from the nearing storm.
  133. 133.
     
  134. 134.
     
  135. 135.
     
  136. 136.
    >I couldn't take on two dozen mares at a time, but the wild magic gave me an edge.
  137. 137.
    "Attention ladies!"
  138. 138.
    >My fur stood on end as I held up the most powerful lightning charge I could.
  139. 139.
    "I am taking command of this vessel! You can do as I say or I will fry you all alive!"
  140. 140.
    >Stray discharges charred the wood under my hooves.
  141. 141.
    >Waste mana was thick in the air, making it hard to breathe.
  142. 142.
    >None dared approach.
  143. 143.
    >"What do we do, Skipper?"
  144. 144.
    >Their eyes were glued to my crackling horn. Good.
  145. 145.
    >"Just let het do whatever she wants, mares, or gods help us she will kill us all."
  146. 146.
    "Come on! Let's work! All hands, strike the sails!"
  147. 147.
    >Nobody moved.
  148. 148.
    "Do it!"
  149. 149.
    >"She doesn't believe."
  150. 150.
    >"He will show her."
  151. 151.
    >The deck swayed like a toy in a foal's hooves.
  152. 152.
    >The others were standing firm as if they nailed to the wood. I could barely keep balance.
  153. 153.
    "Gods damn you all, I didn't go through a war just to get killed because of your stupid superstition!"
  154. 154.
    >Assessed the situation.
  155. 155.
    >Storm. All sails unfurled, even the topsails and three more that I didn't know the fucking names for.
  156. 156.
    >Needed to strike the sails.
  157. 157.
    >Wind was getting stronger.
  158. 158.
    >Too late for that, cut the mast.
  159. 159.
    >Charged up my flameblade.
  160. 160.
    >Didn't get a single shop before a wave of seawater crashed over and broke my spell.
  161. 161.
    >Doesn't matter. Thirty sails. I could do that or die.
  162. 162.
     
  163. 163.
    >I was thrown overboard before I could finish two.
  164. 164.
    >Hanging by the skin of my teeth, literally, on a halyard.
  165. 165.
    >Saltwater still shorting my horn.
  166. 166.
    >The only way up was by climbing, and I had only my hooves for that.
  167. 167.
    >I drove them into the wooden hull with all my strength.
  168. 168.
    >Surprisingly, they held my weight. I didn't question it at the time.
  169. 169.
     
  170. 170.
    >Another wave came and threw the ship again, sacking me against the hull.
  171. 171.
    >I didn't break anything.
  172. 172.
    >But the pain made me let go of the rope.
  173. 173.
    >The water below me was dark and boiling.
  174. 174.
    >I wouldn't float for long.
  175. 175.
    >My love was finally taking me in its embrace.
  176. 176.
     
  177. 177.
     
  178. 178.
     
  179. 179.
    >But it didn't come. Something grabbed the scruff of my neck.
  180. 180.
    >Like hooks digging into my skin. It was immensely painful.
  181. 181.
    >I have no idea how it didn't snap my spine, but it stopped me mid-fall.
  182. 182.
    >And threw me over the board, onto the deck.
  183. 183.
    >Then whatever did it, climbed aboard too.
  184. 184.
    >It was a demon.
  185. 185.
     
  186. 186.
    >And the insane crew cried : "HE IS HERE!"
  187. 187.
     
  188. 188.
    >Merciful Goddess, it was a fucking demon.
  189. 189.
    >It walked over to me and hunched down.
  190. 190.
    >I was already dead, so I just gave up and waited for it to wring my neck.
  191. 191.
    >When nothing happened, I mustered the courage to speak.
  192. 192.
     
  193. 193.
    "Who are you?"
  194. 194.
    >The demon studied me with its beady, insane eyes.
  195. 195.
    >"Me? I guess I could say that I look after the ship. Call me Caulker."
  196. 196.
     
  197. 197.
    >"SHE SEES HIM!"
  198. 198.
     
  199. 199.
    "Please don't hurt me."
  200. 200.
    >"I'm not going to hurt a cute mare like you. You're new on the crew? I haven't seen you before."
  201. 201.
    "What the hell is happening to me?"
  202. 202.
    >"Now that you are almost dead you can begin truly living."
  203. 203.
    "I am a guard. It's way, way too late for me."
  204. 204.
    >"That was when you became a warrior. Now you've become a seamare, Fulcrum!"
  205. 205.
     
  206. 206.
    >"HE ACCEPTS HER!"
  207. 207.
     
  208. 208.
    "I served on a ship before, and my name is --"
  209. 209.
    >"Not anymore. You're a dependable gal, so you'll be Fulcrum now!"
  210. 210.
     
  211. 211.
    >"ONE OF US!"
  212. 212.
     
  213. 213.
    "If you are looking after the ship, please help us, we are going into the storm!"
  214. 214.
    >"That's the plan, yes."
  215. 215.
    "But we're all going to die!"
  216. 216.
    >Another wave crashed the deck.
  217. 217.
    >But this time I didn't budge.
  218. 218.
    >"Young lady, the ship can handle it, I made sure of that. But can you?"
  219. 219.
    >The anchor scar below my mark still hurt from the salt water.
  220. 220.
    >"You want this, don't you? That's why you came back to the Sea?"
  221. 221.
    >Good, that means it will stay as a scar.
  222. 222.
    >"You couldn't resist its call. "
  223. 223.
    >And as long as it stays, nothing can knock me down off my hooves.
  224. 224.
    >"You are already dead. So what's holding you back?"
  225. 225.
    "Nothing."
  226. 226.
     
  227. 227.
     
  228. 228.
     
  229. 229.
    >He smiled.
  230. 230.
    >"Steel your heart, sweetie. We're going on a storm ride!"
  231. 231.
    >The demon turned to the crew and yelled: "Full sail ahead! To our deaths!"
  232. 232.
    >"AYE AYE SIR! TO OUR DEATHS!"
  233. 233.
    >And this time I cried with the madmares:
  234. 234.
    "To our deaths!"

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