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[Sombra War] Only Hope (Closed)


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By Endurance we conquer!

 

With the Dark King's seemingly endless forces pushing ever harder toward Canterlot, it is all the Northern lands can do to not be engulfed in tyranny and slavery. With cities like Stalliongrad and Seaddle cut off from the mainland due to Sombra's conquests, they must rely on more daring means to get their citizens and soldiers food, water and medicine. Luckily, Equestria has something that Sombra does not: Allies. While he may call vagabonds and scoundrels to his side, they do not command the loyalty of nations. Whitescar is one such nation that answers Equestria's call for aid, and the HMS Endurance has been charged with the delivery to Seaddle, carrying the city's only hope of holding out in its cargo...

 

-----

 

The HMS Endurance had a heavy burden, both literally and metaphorically, as it opened to full sail pulling out of Barn. The Caribou had filled the galleon with as much food and supplies as they could fit, making things quite cramped below deck. The cargo hold filled to capacity, they started to pile the crates in the crew quarters, the kitchen, the armory, the sick bay, everywhere they could find some space. But Captain Wildflower was happy to take it. The ponies of Seaddle, her home, were far more important than comfort. They had a good South-bound wind that should carry them the route they wanted to go, hoping to slip by contested waters. They had made it to Whitescar with no issue, and she hoped that luck could continue... Mostly because she didn't think they had the ammo to deal with a fleet engagement, having to replace some of the cannonball stock with- you guessed it- crates.

 

Captain Wildflower looked to the foggy seas ahead, the port of Barn getting smaller and smaller behind them. It was too late to turn back now.

 

*Meanwhile, back at Barn*

 

One of the caribou dockworkers looked on as The Endurance faded further and further away. He ran to a nearby alley and took the nearby seeing stone from its hiding place, shaking as the image of one of the Dark King's officers appeared. "The Endurance just left, heading south back toward Seaddle... They've been loaded with food, water, and potions..."

 

"Excellent" grinned the Crystal pony apparation "You take direction... But, your loyalty is fickle, and my master has little need for cowards. But with all things, this will be fixed when Whitescar is ours..."

 

"H-Hey, wait! You said-!" 

The caribou's protests were cut off with the orb shattering, the officer no longer interested in the words of a patsy that had served their purpose. 

 

-----

 

OOC: http://www.canterlot....-sign-ups-closed/

AU Rules + Lore: http://www.canterlot...-1st-rp-active/

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Out of all the missions that Ice Storm could have possibly been placed on, she considered herself lucky that this had been the one that nshe was selected for. It was a simple supply run between the Island of Whitescar and the city of Seaddle. Only, it wasn't as simple as it sounded on paper. Seaddle was completely surrounded from all sides by Sombra's forces from what she had heard so getting supplies into the city without notice was going to be difficult. Add to the fact that the waters that they were traveling through were heavily ice infested. Nwo that she thought about it, that was probably one of the main reasons that she was assigned to this mission. Her power with Ice magic, in an icy environment could prove to be an invaluable asset when it came to navigating the now, even more dangerous waters of the Crimsonrine Sea. She knew that there were probably other fleets in the area that were also navigating these waters, although for the purposes of finding ships like theirs, and making them no more. After all, it was impossible to get supplies if they were at the bottom of the sea.

 

Ice Storm found herself stationed on the main deck of the ship. She had been up in the crow's nest, but the dense fog that they were approaching made it pretty much unusable until it cleared up. That meant her best spot on the ship would be as close to the front of the ship as possible. That way if they were sailing towards any bergs that they couldn't see because of the fog until they were getting to close to turn, she could use what she could to divert the berg from the ship. Be it a push, or creating a stronger layer of ice where the ship was going to to hit, but thankfully the bergs weren't too close together from what she had seen before she came down from the nest. As she moved towards the front of the ship, she spotted her captain. She hadn't been under the mare all that long. In fact, the only experience she had was this mission so that could be both a boon and a blessing. She had no idea what to expect from her, but she moved of up her before giving a quick salute with her hoof. "Ma'am, everything in the Crow's nest is secured, and while I couldn't see anything past the fog, most of the bergs out here shouldn't be an issue as they are well off our starboard side. How far forward would you like me to be stationed?" she asked.

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"Alright... Sword. Check. Shield and armor...  check... extra winter clothing... check..." Darkness said as he walked into the ship. Finally, his first mission as an actual member of the REA. He had dreamt for this moment since the moment he enlisted to become a royal guard after what happened to his family. He started his training several months ago, but seeing that he had quite some skills, he managed to skip most of it, and finally had a mission! He was somewhat exited for it, but terrified for what would come next.

 

To what he remember from the briefing before heading towards Barn, the mission was a supply delivery trough sea to a city that only have access by it, since king Somba's forces have the city surrounded. He was glad that he wasn't between those ponies, and at the same time wished to help them. The downside of the mission was that the ship wouldn't be that armed. Most of the usual ammunition cargo was replaced by military supplies for the frontline, and since they were going to an area that risk, it would be a though challenge.

 

Once the ship had departed, he walked over to the main deck, after leaving his belongings in the crew deck. He was sent from Canterlot to make sure the supplies arrived, and then report back to the city to update that the supplies had arrived, like a messenger, as well as assist if needed. The foggy day made visibility limited, so it would be hard to know what is going on, but at least he could move around without trouble.

​He managed to spot the captain of the ship at the front part of it, and walked over there, but seeing there was another pony talking with her, he decided to wait for the pony to finish before talking to her himself.
 

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Slim Chance stood at the prow of the ship, for the moment just watching the waves and keeping an eye out for anything interesting or troubling.  The simple truth of the matter was that there was not a whole lot for her to do at the moment.  She was perfectly comfortable on a ship at sea, and she did help out when the crew needed an extra set of hooves, but she didn't know a whole many details about the running of a ship itself.  She was just not a sailor.  For the most part, it seemed she would just be getting in the way of the normal course of things, and she was content to have a sort of miniature vacation.

Her part in this adventure was mostly completed.  The bulk of her purpose here had been to help arrange this supply run.  Now all that was left was to follow the delivery to it's destination, to ensure it made it, and to help make up for the Endurance's current lack of ammunition.  And what Slim Chance might have comparatively lacked in range against a cannon, she was sure she could make up with ingenuity.  The unfortunate side effect however, was that as long as everything was going according to plan, all she could do was wait for something interesting to happen.

 

Of course, all of the sayings that mention plans have the same moral: rarely did the plan you started with stay intact.

In the meantime she would try her best to be patient, as much as she was unhappy with that as a solution.

 

Tiring of staring at the uniform blue of the ocean, Slim Chance abruptly went below decks, returning shortly with a book.  She'd brought a few reading materials along for this journey, most of which had a certain practical bent to them given the context of the war.  This particular book pertained to magical theory, and while that normally wasn't a subject she cared much about it was useful in this day and age.  Just because there was nothing she needed to do didn't mean there was nothing she could do.  She found herself an out-of-the-way perch on the main deck, and began to read.
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Wildflower's attention was pulled to the Guardsmare Ice Storm, smiling. The small team of specialists she was given are at least puling their weight where they could. It made her worry a bit less about their lack of defensive capability. "The fog is a hidden blessing, it seems. It should hide us for some time while we plot our course, so long as we don't lose our way. The navigator will see to that, however. For now, if you could remain down here and just keep an eye out, it would be greatly appreciated. If we're lucky, we'll pull into Seaddle unopposed by Sombra and nature..."

 

With that, she was about to check in with the navigator before seeing one of the other specialists waiting patiently! "Oh! Recruit... Knight, was it? I hope you're adjusting to your sea-legs well. Is there anything you need?"

 

Probably an odd thing to hear in his position, but Wildflower always felt it was the contrary: an Officer serves their Enlisted, perhaps even more so than vice versa. Their well being was important to her. Besides, they were the ones helping her out by being here in the first place. Least she could do was make sure they were comfortable... Even if that word didn't come cheap out at sea.

 

-----

 

In the screen of fog, the Endurance wasn't alone.

 

Still convinced the destruction of this ship would be Whitescar's salvation, a small group of 3 longboats tailed the Equestrians as best they could, the crews rowing hard to pick up speed. Viking Caribou, caring not for Equestria's alliance so long as they were crumbling to Sombra's relentless Legion. Not these ones, anyway. "We must get closer... We will set fire to the boatand take what prisoners we can..." noted the warlord to his second, watching through a spyglass. The fog wasn't making it easy, but as long as he could see the silhouette of that large ship, he'd try to keep up with it. 

 

"Whitescar will belong to the strong... Just as it always has..."

 

They didn't have anything that could stand to the ship's weaponry on their longboats... But thankfully, they were lacking in fighting power, and the Warlord was very confident that his vikings could easily overpower a bunch of sailors. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Ice Storm patiently awaited the captain to respond to her inquiry about where she would be at for once the ship had entered the fog. She had figured that she would have wanted her closer to the front of the ship to try to assist where she could with the bergs, although she couldn't agree more that the fog could easily be as much of a blessing as it was a curse. Ice Storm nodded. IF they could get into the fog, then the likelihood of them being spotted by another ship would be very low. For the time being, the captain wanted Ice Storm on deck level around here to keep an eye on things and make sure nothing went astray. The navigators would make sure that they remained on course for their assigned destination. Ice Storm had no reason to believe otherwise, as the navigators had been able to get them this far through the treacherous waters that they were currently in. The fog was honestly the least of their concern and any good navigator should be able to get through it effortlessly. "Yes ma'am," she replied thinking a bit more of her location on the ship and the ice around them.

It was about this time that one of the other crew members started to approach them, and seemed to patiently await his turn to speak with the captain. IT was a trait that Ice Storm respected. Patience was something that wasn't seen to often anymore, and also showed a deep amount of respect for the individuals that were presented in conversation. The captain addressed him after she had finished speaking with Ice storm, although how the response came caught her a bit off guard. She'd never heard an officer asking the enlisted if they were okay. In fact, most of the officers she had seen so far in the force had been the type that will push you to your limits, and then push you even more. She could on the flip side though understand the laxness right now however. At the moment there appeared to be no immediate danger so being uptight in a situation that requires little more than standard ship protocol would. That being said, she was more than ready to get to know some of her fellow shipmates on this mission, and likewise, witht he same respect that he had shown them, she waited for him and the captain to finish before interrupting with and proverbial greetings.

 

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"Ma'am." Darkness said as he stood up tall to her and saluted her. "Yes, my name is Darkness Knight" he said. "And thank you, I am getting used to. It is not the first time I sail in a ship." He added, calming down a bit and moving his hoof down, but still addressing her formally. He had to, he was on the lowest ranks on the ship, and this was his first mission outside of Canterlot. He wanted the mission to go the best he could. He looked the other pony that was talking to her before as she walked away, but didn't said anything to her for now. He would have time to speak with the others in due time to get to know the ponies he would work with during this mission.

"If there is anything you need from me, just let me know." he said calmly to her. "I just wanted to meet you in person. I want to meet all the crew members I will be working with, and you are the first one I wanted to." he explained what he wanted to her. He didn't knew how much time he was going to be in the ship, so he could at least make it the best time he could.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Slim Chance looked up briefly at the captain and soldier, on catching a snippet of their conversation.  She smiled.  This captain was a mare after her own heart, not letting a little thing like rank or 'proper order of things' get in the way of building camaraderie.  Now she was looking forward to the trip that much more, as even if it was completely uneventful, there were at least a few ponies 'Chance would like to get to know.

The unicorn's thoughts were interrupted as she heard a noise coming from somewhere away from the ship, like something faintly falling into the water.  Or at least, she thought she did.  Ships could be noisy things at times, and as long as she didn't know this one that well it would be tricky to differentiate the normal noises from something out of place.  Even knowing this however, she still couldn't shake a sense of unease.  She tried to focus on her reading, but it didn't take long for her to get fidgety.

Slim Chance sighed, before putting the book down and getting up.  She made a slow circuit around the ship, looking out over the water even though the fog was sure to keep anypony from seeing anything.  Realistically, given the weather there shouldn't be much chance of anything finding the ship, and even if it did Slim herself likely wouldn't see it before it was obvious.
Her circuit eventually brought her next to the ice mage who had also been a later addition to the crew.  “So,” Slim Chance began, as she stood next to the other mare.  Ice Storm was the name, if she remembered right.  “You been with the navy long?”  Now seemed as good a time as any to start getting to know her compatriots for the journey, delayed though the effort was, if for no other reason to take her mind of the lack of things to see or act on.

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"Of course" Wildflower assured the recruit. Though if things according to plan, she might not even need these specialists she was given. Though for the time being, she decided to back to her quarters to check on the navigator. Her quarters were the most well-lit and spacious at the moment on the ship, even with some of the supplies packed in there, so it seemed only logical to use it as a map room in this weather. Wildflower was given a salute as she entered by the navigator and executive officer before they returned to their work.

"Any word?"

The navigator shook her head. "No, Captain. We should stay on a steady southwest course for Seaddle. Depending on how far this fog goes, we may just need to make sure we don't run aground somewhere, but either way we'll be in the general area... Though it's not the fog that concerns me..." Looking to the XO, he blue-jacketed stallion cleared his throat. "Our situation below decks is... Troubling... If we run into a blockade-"

"Unlikely" she interrupted, "Seaddle has held out this long, I doubt the port would crumble in the couple of days we've been gone."

"A couple of days is a long time in war, Captain"

"Aye... Well, if the worst case scenario presents itself, we still have ammo and we still have a crew willing to fight. In my eyes, nothing changes until the cannons go cold."
 

-----

At that point the approaching three longboats had gotten into their desired positions. Archers had positioned themselves at the stern of the ship, while the warlord and his two boats of raiders waited for the signal at the port side of the ship. 

A few moments later, the archers dipped their cloth-wrapped arrows into the oil urn on board and waited for them to be lit. Aiming for the back-end of the ship, they released their flaming arrows, striking true to the Endurance's hull.

One such arrow tore through the glass of the Captain's quarters, startling the officers inside. The fire was quickly smothered with a blanket close by, but the arrow left behind was troubling. Wildflower quickly went to the hole in the window to investigate. She couldn't see anything the arrows could have come from through the fog, at the moment, though the hull below her was in fire, slowly spreading! They were under attack, but by who?

She emerged from her quarters with her XO, both of them quickly getting the ship into action as they had done many times before. Wildflower grabbed one of the topside gunners, instructing him to clear the powder room. The last thing they needed is for this ship to explode. Meanwhile, the XO rung the bell by the Captain's door, it's tolling echoing through the ship, as he called below deck "General Quarters, General Quarters, all hands man your battlestations!" His call was echoed by anyone below deck who could hear it, carrying it to where the officer's voice couldn't go. Others sailors started calling 'red parties to stern!' to take care of the fire.

Very quickly the Endurance went from calm to chaos, but everypony knew their job. They had done it dozens of times before. The Captain called up to the crows nest, still not sure exactly what or who was attacking them. "Lookouts! Talk to me!"

They tried frantically to search for the answer their Captain demanded, but the fog was making it difficult.


Meanwhile, while the caribou assumed the lookouts were distracted searching to the rear, they approached quietly to the port of the ship, looking to climb aboard and take advantage of the chaos. Reaching the hull, they started to climb up, digging bladed gauntlets on their hooves deep into the wood to slowly climb towards the deck. The 'thunk-thunk-thunk' of their climbing was muffled by the action on deck, but not impossible to hear. They had to move quickly and strike hard to make sure this ship never completes its mission.

 

 

 

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It wasn't too long after she had finished her conversation with the captain that Ice Storm found herself engaged with one of the other members of the crew. She didn't know her directly, but she knew her from in passing, and she knew from what little bit she had seen of the mare, was that she liked to read, and a lot whenever things weren't chaotic. Thankfully for most of this mission so far, chaotic has been relatively hearsay. Activity had been pretty normal thus far and when she asked if she had been with the navy long, Ice Storm shook her head and spoke as the ship started to enter the fog. "No. I joined the Royal Equestrian Military right after I heard about the fall of the Crystal Empire, and I told the recruiter to put me in the best force that I would likely fit into. Because of my affinity to water and Ice, I think he made the right choice in...."

Her statement was cut off as she looked back behind the mare she was engaging her conversation with to see flaming arrows coming towards the ship. One of them was coming right for where the two of them where standing, and she immediately took point and with her magic made a quick wall of ice to shield the two of them from the incoming arrow. She heard the thunk, and the heat of the arrow was smothered as she encased the rest of the head in ice to cut off the fires Oxygen supply. She examined the arrow and noted that it was covered in oil and looked back the direction that it had come from. Unfortunately with the thickness of the fog, it was impossible to get a full view of what was approaching them, but she could definitely make out the shapes of three ships on the fog. They were just out of range to be identifiable, but considering that they were trying to torch the ship, it was safe to assume that they weren't friendly.

Two of the ships that she had spotted were of the aft, she could still see the trail of flame through the fog. The third ship that was approaching however, was impossible to gauge true intent. Considering that the ships from behind were not also firing at the ship to their port side, or at least no visible trails of fire had been spotted through the fog made it likely that they were allies. When the captain came above deck and asked for a status report in her own way, Ice pointed to the ships. "Ships to the stern are firing oil-soaked burning arrows. They must be smothered, my ice will do nothing to put them out. There seems to be another one approaching from port, but I can't identify it, what do you want me to do?" she asked ready to take initiative and using her magic to form the layers of ice around her that became her plated armor. She was ready to fight.

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Soon after the captain of the ship walked away, he looked back to thebrrst of the rest of the crew members sonhe could have a conversation with them and get to know them better as he said to the captain before. He wondered who was right now on the deck in order to talk with them and meet the other 'specialists' of this mission 

He turned around to look at the deck and saw a few ponies walking here and there, doing their jobs and a pair that seemed charting, so he decided to go and talk to them first he could know her better. 

He smiled to himself, but as soon as he gave a step forward, he heard somepony shouting something. Fire? Battlestations? They were under attack! 

She inmediately turned around, taking his sword and shield out, ready for battle. 

He looked around, looking for the ones that attacked them, then saw an arrow and blocked it with his shield, then put out the fire it could make before trotting to the sides of the ships. 

 

"Captain! I think I see somepony in a small ship! I can fly and investigate!" he said to the captain. He was not certain if it was the enemy or just a boat, but it was worth investigating. Still, it was varely visible thanks to the fog.

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

It turned out Ice Storm wasn't a navy pony at all.  It seem the mare was it much the same position as Slim Chance, brought along not for her sea legs but for mission-specific skills.  Though unlike the latter mare, Ice Storm was an actual soldier.

They didn't have a chance to continue the discussion though, as they were suddenly interrupted.  Slim Chance just started to hear the arrows whistling through the air when her colleague jumped into action, turning and conjuring an ice barrier between the two of them and the incoming arrows, the projectiles impacting the sudden wall with dull thuds.

Slim Chance didn't see what the other mare did next, as she was already in motion as Ice Storm moved to smother the arrow.  Someone was trying to set the Endurance on fire, and that was excuse enough for Slim to act quickly.  Fire could do nasty things to a boat, and while Slim could stay back and control the flames, that wouldn't help much if their adversaries just lit them on fire again.  She had to stop them at the source.  She started galloping toward the rear of the ship, where the fire seemed to be coming from, when she heard a 'thunk' noise as she passed a railing.  It was enough to make her slow, and look over the side in curiosity.  Though in she couldn't fully identify them in such a short glance, the armoured figures scaling the side of the ship were hard not to notice when one was looking, and their intent was obvious.

“Hey!  Let's see how YOU like it!”  Slim Chance shouted, both drawing some attention to the side of the boat, and if she was lucky it would cause a few of the invaders to pause and poke their heads up.  Any that fell for the bait would get scorched moments later, as she shot a jet of flame from her horn and swept it across in an arc.  She couldn't aim too close to the Endurance for fear of catching her own ship on fire, and as such attackers who hunkered down would likely be relatively unharmed, but then they weren't her primary target yet.  That was below them, the two longboats they arrived in, which Slim .  If they could be set ablaze or otherwise disabled, the boarders would have no way home but the Endurance herself, and that in turn would either cause the archers to stop firing or at least force the armoured attackers to be just as motivated to stop the fires as the sailors who were supposed to be on board.

What Slim Chance did next would depend on how things played out: if the archers stopped shooting, she'd wait here and prepare a welcome here.  If they kept firing arrows despite their (presumably) allies being stuck on board, the unicorn would continue making her way to the stern of the ship, intent on sending something in return.

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Two of Wildflower's specialists had spotted enemy ships, and her third seemed to be engaging something or somepony with great enthusiasm. It was a start. Ice Storm had reported first, spotting three ships. At the moment, she was most concerned with the archers. Recruit Knight also had eyes on the ships, offering to investigate. "I want those archers gone. Do what you can. We don't have the time or the ammo to face the ship and fire back." If they weren't peppering the Endurance with cannons, she hoped that might give her some excuse to save what precious few cannonballs they had. If things started to look more grim for them all, she might have a change of heart. But until then, she kept her composure. The archers had to come first. She had to assume Slim Chance was engaging a boarding party of some sort if she was using her magic that close to the ship.

At this point, her small detachment of red-coated marines had arrived on deck from below, swords drawn and ready for a fight, like the rest of the crew working to keep the ship battle-ready and not on fire. "Recruit Knight, investigate as you see fit! Take some marines with you, bring the fight to them!"

 

-----

The vikings climbing the ship certainly weren't expecting a response so soon, but it still didn't seem to stop them for the most part. The first few who did look up at Slim Chance were quickly engulfed, dropping into the cold water below to save themselves. The rest hugged the side of the ship as the fire passed them by, continuing to climb. Though now, the few caribou that weren't part of the boarding party had their own ship fire to deal with! They scrambled to find buckets to fill and try to put the flames out with while their comrades continued up. 

Fortunately, Slim's efforts and the sounds of splashing to the port had drawn a few sailors and marines to assist her. Those that could started to use what magic they could to fire at the boarding party, also trying their best not to hit the ship.

The determined vikings continued to climb, even though once in awhile one would catch a bolt of magic to the face and sent back down to the depths. In short time, they were over the railing, bellowing their savage warcries and clashing steel with the Endurance's crew. "Caribou?!" Wildflower stood stock still a moment, as confused as she was surprised. Though she resisted the urge to join her sword in just yet. She hoped to command her crew as long as she could, though she was ready to defend herself. Her horn glowed as her own sword was kept at the ready. 

The few caribou that had made it aboard that were close enough to her immediately charged for Slim Chance, at least two or three, trying to stop her from attacking their ship and the rest of the vikings.

At the stern, the archers seemed undeterred by the fact their fellow caribou were on board. They readied another volley, their arrows already soaked and set aflame as they drew back. "Aim for the sails, boys! Cripple her!". The downside of this was that they were giving away their exact location in the fog, the glow of their arrows showing where each of the cretins were.

 

[Players now have permission to take command of NPC sailors and marines as needed! Keep it reasonable and have fun!]

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The speed at which the three of them that were on deck had sprung into action wasn't much of a surprise to Ice Storm. In fact, this was one of the very scenarios that from the mission details that she had read and been briefed on before that could happen, and it seemed that everypony on deck was just as prepared for the assault. Granted, the positioning caught them a tad bit off guard, but it seemed everypony had reacted sufficiently for the most part. That being said, when she briefed the captain for the answers that she seeked, the captain said that the ships to the rear and the archers on them should be the priority. Ice Storm gave the captain a nod and turned her focus towards the aft of the ship. While the ship next to them likely contained a boarding crew, the archers and the flaming arrows were going to be a majority of the problem, especially since she couldn't do much about the fires themselves from the arrows.

However, as she turned back towards the stern of the ship, she managed to catch Slim Chance using magic to ward off some of the... Caribou? They were supposed to be allies weren't they? No matter, Now wasn't the time for those sort of questions. Now was the time for action. That said, the biggest thing that caught her attention was Slim Chance's magic. Her fire magic was actually exactly what they needed at the moment. Quickly she used her magic to generate some ice shards that had the hardness, sharpness and consistency of obsidian and used her telekinesis to launch them towards the two ships behind them, trying to force the archers to take cover and delay the next wave of arrows.

"Slim! Your fire magic, use it on the surface of the water. This sea has Icebergs in it which means that the water is super chilled, and that in combination with your fire can generate a steam cloud behind us that would serve as a dual purpose threat. It would increase the density of the fog tenfold, and the archers would lose sight of us completely. They can't fire at what they can't see, and if we can get the steam hot enough, we can incinerate any arrows they attempt to shoot through before they reach the ship. Theoretically, that would take the two ships to the stern out of the equation completely, and leave the port-side ship at our mercy without reinforcements. Once we're one-v-one with the ship next to us, you and I with our combined magic should have no problems putting it at the bottom of the ocean without having to use any of what preciously little ammunition we have. Marines," Ice Storm turned to see that some of the bou had already started charging Slim, and Ice reacted by creating a large patch of slick ice in front of slim in their path as well as a wall in front of her. It would take a good bit of acrobatics from the caribou in order to halt themselves before careening into the wall.

"Knight, I think your wings would be more beneficial to us by identifying how many enemies are on the boarding party. If you try to go to one of the ships behind us to investigate, it's possible that because of the fog I could accidentally hit you in any of the cover fire that I will be launching. I'd rather not have a casualty on my hooves. Plus if we make the steam cloud, you won't be able to find your way back to our ship. You're the only one here that can fly, and we need that visual advantage at a point were we have almost no vision to begin with." Ice shout and bolted towards the stern of the ship once more.

Once she closed as much of the gap as possible Ice Storm launched another volley of her ice shards towards the ship behind them. The difference between her shards and the arrows, was that since her's were Ice, and not fire, they didn't hardly leave any sort of vapor trail, and she could see exactly where each archer was thanks to the flaming arrow heads. Along with the Volley, she fired High-speed shards just as sharp and hard right at the glowing points of the ship. One thing was for sure, even though there were surrounded by ice and water, she would not be able to cast large volleys like that to much longer. In her training she could launch up to three shards almost indefinitely as long as she had an easy supply of water, and eight if she had already frozen ice that she could re-shape at her disposal. She was using way more than what she was used to, but things needed to be done. Even if the others didn't want to go along with her thoughts she still had direct orders from her captain to take care of the rear of the ship

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Darkness nodded to the captain when she gave him some ponies to command. There were a few unicorn between them and earth ponies, well, at least the ones that were closer to him and he could use. "Yes ma'am!" He said as he flew up and looked towards the boats that were at the sides of the ship, ready to engage.
He was about to go an charge into one of the ships until he heard a mare, one of the other specialists, call him. She had suggested that he, instead of simply going head on to attack the boats, he should stay and scout their numbers. He wanted to object, but she made a really valid point. If he flew towards the boats, and they made what they had palnned, he would be lost, but if he stayed... he could still help and would stay safe!

"Alright!" He yelled at her as he turned to the ponies that were near him.
"Alright men! You, the unicorns, make a barrier around me and keep me protected from the arrows!" He started saying to the ponies. "The other ones, make sure the unicorns are safe!" He then added as the unicorns started to cast the shield around him.
Once the ponies were ready, he flew up, not so far from the ship, and looked around. The fog made it somewhat hard to see, but it was enough for him. He could clearly see how many... Caribous? "They are freaking Caribous!" he yelled to the ship, he then focused back and looked around, seeing where the arrows came from, and the barrier blocking some of them, thankfully. The fire the arrows had clearly gave out their positions and he started counting how many groups of boats with archers were out there, while in the ship, the earth ponies were protecting the unicorns that were casting the barrier around Darkness. There were two unicorns and 3 earth ponies in the group helping hi

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  • 1 month later...

Slim Chance stuck her tongue out at the caribou warriors who set their sights on her, and then turned to flee.  If she could bait a few of them into following her, she could lead them in circles around the boat, keeping them from doing anything which might actually help their cause.  The more she could get to chase her, the fewer attackers the crew would have to bring down to get control of things.  That was the idea anyways

Slim Chance was about to start leading her pursuers on a merry chase when an ice wall sprung up between them.  So much for that plan, but as she looked over to the source of the ice she quickly found another.  Ice Storm called out a plan to deal with the archers suggesting using steam to conceal the ship from them.  It was a bit less permanent that Slim's own approach, but they did need an immediate solution.  Besides, maybe she could combine the two ideas.  “On it!” she called back, already starting to gallop toward the stern of the ship and not wasting any more time on words.

Slim Chance built up magic as she ran.  She wasn't normally used to casting such large spells, so this would take a bit of preparation.  Fortunately there were two things working in her favour: she had a natural talent for fire magic, especially when she didn't need to worry about things like precision or collateral damage, and then this was just an up-scaled version of a very basic spell.  She'd still need a little time to prep and aim, but she was confident that Ice Storm could keep the attackers off her back for the minute she needed.

It was easy enough to spot the archers' longboat once Slim Chance reached the back of the ship.  It took only a moment longer to prepare the magic and draw a bead, before she bent her head down and launched a massive fireball in the direction of archers' longboat, deliberately aiming slightly low.  Ideally she'd be able to both boil the water and light the boat, but even if she missed slightly one plan or the other was sure to work.

Slim chance sat there for a moment, breathing air in gulps as she watched the fireball continue to fly forward.  She doubted she could do that again, not if she didn't want to knock herself out at least, but otherwise she was still in the fight.  She allowed herself just one more moment to recover, before turning back to the battle on deck.

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The marines and what few unicorn sailors that were nearby did their best to keep shield up and protect Knight. For that part of their plan, it seemed to be working. For the most part, however, the sailors just couldn't seem to compete with the vikings at first. Their furiosity Was more than a match for one sailor, but as the ponies started banding together they seemed to at least be stemming the tide. There was great power in numbers, and thankfully they had more.

The ice wall and floor combo worked almost too well, however, as the charging caribou were immediately caught off balance and slammed into the ice, cracking the surface of the magically-created wall as there lay a small pile of dazed vikings on the other side. This thankfully gave Slim the breathing room she needed to cast her fireball. With the archers to the rear of the ship taking cover from the ice shards, they were caught unprepared as their ship was suddenly aflame, and their line of sight from the ship was cut off! Firing seemed to cease immediately as their concern shifted from attacking to firefighting. That was one problem taken care of.

Captain Wildflower herself seemed to be doing fine. The few who decided to go after the commanding officer seemed to have quite the task ahead of them. The first came charging in, horns ready to skewer. A parry from her saber, and she had the caribou off-guard. A perfect opportunity for the well-delivered mule kick. As he staggered back, a second prepared to do the same, keeping her eyes fixed on that sword. Instead, she Captain sidestepped, and assisted the charging viking over the ship with her magic, tossing the cow overboard. Things seemed to be going well,though a new problem happened to present itself out of necessity.

Just as the battle seemed to be shifting in the REN's favor topside, a whole new commotion seemed to be starting below deck. It seemed the boarding part climbing up the side found a new plan. Rather than try to go topside and deal with the crew, they forced their way into the gun ports and started to crawl into the ship itself, attacking the gun crews and trying to force their way deeper toward the supplies.

"CAPTAIN!" The Lieutenant cried out, returning from trying to muster the gun crews below, "They've breached the hull below! They have lanterns!"

Wildflower's sternness in the heat of battle gave way to pure horror, immediately calling out to her specialists. "Get below deck! Sweet Celestia, don't let them get to the powder reserves!"

All it would take is a spark, and the whole ship goes ka-boom. While the archers and first boarding party was taken care of, this was hopefully their last-ditch effort. "Navigator, full sail, get us out of here!" she instructed her other officer before jumping to the lower decks herself. Those sailors who were free did their best to start loosing and securing the sails. Hopefully if the vikings had anything left after this, they could at least out run them.

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The movements of everypony around here were something that most would see out of a story or hear from a tale themselves. They weren't something that most ponies experienced first hoof. But here she was around trained professionals also as one of said trained professionals in her field. She watched as Slim Change made her way towards the stern of the ship before letting loose a fireball that not only erupted a column of steam from the ocean's surface, it also ignited the ships that were behind them, taking them completely out of the equation. That was good, with two of the threats neutralized, they could turn their attentions to the ship that was next to them housing the boarding parties. Or at least that's what she thought.

When she heard the Lieutenant call out that they had started breaching the lower decks through the cannon ports. Ice Storm knew that they were now on a time limit. Without wasting any time, or even waiting for her captian to give the order to get below decks, Ice Storm made her way to the side of the ship. With all of the soldiers and crew trying to get below decks from the entries at the top, getting to the powder room before the caribou would be impossible. They would have to take an alternate route if they were to get down to the decks that they needed before the bou. "Slim, Knight with me! IF we follow everypony else down, we'll never make it to the powder room in time trying to fight through everypony else and the Caribou. We need to cut them before they have a chance to get down there," she said using her magic to create a platform along the side of the ship out of ice that they could use to get to the cannon ports. This would serve as dual purpose. It would allow them to get down to the cannon ports and get below decks a lot quicker than everypony else, it would also prevent more bou from boarding on the port side of the vessel.

She also made a guarded slide so that they could get into the ports quickly without having to waste more time. "This way! We'll beat them down there!" she proclaimed. If the bou came in from the bow of the ship like the last ones had, then them going into a cannon port on the stern of the ship would put them in a position to cut them off and allow her to get to the powder room before the bou and line it with a thick layer of ice to protect it. They only had one chance to stop them. If they miscalculated or hesitated at all, then the ship was done for, and so was everypony on board. Ice Storm wasn't about to let that happen as long as breath still flowed through her.

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