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[Cainiam]

Up ahead the shadow ponies had formed a thick line that ran straight between them and their vessel. "Wind Runner! Mind's Eye! Death from above formation!" Sergeant Hauberk barked as a guard pony tackled him to the ground. The bulky silver earth pony punched the infected guard around the face sending him clattering to the ground before galloping back along with his compatriots.

"Get the reflector ready, Winds," a midnight blue unicorn by Hauberk's side ordered as he channelled his power into his horn. An odd metallic device sat atop his horn pulsed with pure white energy. "These shadows hate light. Let's see how they handle a flash spell." He fired his magic straight upwards.

Flying above was a red pegasus wearing a large metal plate strapped to her chest. "In position, Minds!" she shouted down.

Mind's Eye fired the bolt straight upwards and it collided with the gleaming metal plate that caught the energy and dispersed it over the entire area. For a few brief seconds, it was like the sun finally pierced the thick fog and lit up the sky. The impassable line of shadow ponies dissolved in the intense light.

"Buck yeah!" Wind Runner cheered as she pumped her hoof into the air triumphantly.

"We're not out of the woods yet! Keep on your hooves, just like in Solstice Heights!" Hauberk said with a wide grin.

Solstice Heights had been their last assignment. Celestia herself had paid them to assist her guardsponies in stopping some evil unicorn. They had been too late. The unicorn had summoned some ancient evil that had decimated the guardsponies. Everypony a shadow pony knocked down came back up different and twisted. Eventually the afflicted outnumbered the healthy. Hauberk and his team had barely held their ground, but fallen back with the remainder of the guard under the onslaught of shadow ponies. On the way back to Canterlot a pegasus messenger had ordered all the survivors to head straight to Fillydelphia harbour to find some kind of lost artefact.

Up ahead Royal Guards who had previously been engaged now found themselves available and were now reforming. Hauberk stopped in front of the only guard still wearing a fancy helmet. "Lieutenant! I want you to hold off the next wave with all the pegasi you've got. We'll make sure that the boat leaves. When that happens try and catch us up. We'll need everypony we can get if this island is as dangerous as it sounds."

The guard saluted in response. "Hauberk! We'll keep them back. Good luck," the pegasus guard lieutenant replied.

The few remaining unicorns and earth ponies pulled back along with Hauberk and his team to the ship. More shadow ponies were advancing slowly in the distance.

Up on the prow of the ship, Hauberk made out what must have been the captain along with their charge. Apparently that young mare that Celestia had called Raven was the last hope for whatever reason. The three ponies stopped in front of them.

"Captain, the enemy continues its advance. We need to leave now!" Mind's Eye shouted conernedly.

Hauberk turned to Raven, "Raven, stick by us. We'll get you through this no matter the cost," Hauberk said in what he hoped was a reassuring manner to the mare.

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Mind's Eye stepped forwards beside Aliva. "Keep those guards fighting. I'll keep them at bay," he said. His horn device lit up again with the same powerful white energy. He created a beam of light that fired once then twice. Each impact shook the ground and exploded outwards with light that dissolved more shadow ponies. Even with his enhancements though he couldn't keep up a barrage of this magnitude for long.

Hauberk knew his friends limits more than he knew his own, but he needed to make sure that the ship left on time. Hauberk galloped over to the mast and saw that Raven was leaving the knots untied. "Raven, I'll tie these knots. You just get them looped."

Down below, despite Alliva and Mind's help, the guards were slowly falling. The lieutenant and his two remaining companions were outmatched and outclassed. The shadow ghost ponies were pushing forwards. The three survivors were giving it their all just to hold the line a little longer.

Mind's Eye kept focused in front, but shouted behind him. "Wind! Get into position for another aerial strike. This'll probably be the last of my battery."

Wind Runner nodded and took to the air again to fly over the small party below. "In position."

​Mind's Eye drew on the remaining power and fired another white flare that reflected off of her chest piece. Another blinding ray of sunlight immolated the shadows below. It was slightly too late for the lieutenant and his men however. Mind's horn device dulled as the lights inside turned off. "It looks like it's just my natural magic from here on out," he mumbled mostly to himself.

All the shadow ponies may have been driven back for now, but the infected guardsponies rose unsteadily to their hooves and began to advance towards the ship. "Hauberk! We're going to need you over here!"

Hauberk finished tying the next knot and galloped over to Minds. "Wind, take over the knots for me! We need to get this ship going!"

"Got ya." Wind replied as she landed beside Raven and set about helping her out.

Hauberk took a position on the main gangplank. "Any more of those shadows show up, then keep them off me. I'll make sure none of these guys get onboard." Hauberk said gruffly. The first infected charged and Hauberk grabbed his entire body with his frot two hooves and tossed him down the plank into more of the infected. "Bring it on!" he shouted at them.

(OOC: Nothing wrong with a Scottish accent. Struggling to extend these posts. This is probably the best I've got.)

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(OOC: I know nothing at all about sailing... I'm literally just following your captain's lead now. Not much I can do with combat as they need to hold the place as long until the boat's ready.)

Wind galloped after the sailor, and did what she was instructed. "A stopper knot? Good job I was in the Guides. Leave it to me, Raven," Wind said with a smile. She flew over to the ropes and started tying.

Hauberk had underestimated how many guardsponies had fallen. The twisted ponies lunged at him and kicked out with whatever they had. Hauberk was beginning to reach his limit. He was tough, but the scratches, bites and bruises were starting to take their toll on him. The once lieutenant charged helmet first into his chest and sent Hauberk staggering back. A large group charged behind the lieutenant and suddenly vanished in a flash of energy. Hauberk didn't recognise the magical tint so assumed it must have been that Alliva pony. His strength suddenly began to renew itself and Hauberk grabbed the helmeted pony and hoisted him above his head before tossing him into the water too. He turned to the now thinned number of guards and charged through them, scattering them over the edges.

Mind's Eye spotted a group of the flyers lifting up into the air. "Flyers. Nine o' clock!" he shouted loudly as he rounded on them. A small glass eyepiece pulled out of his face and covered his eye. The screen locked onto each target with a handy reticule. He fired pinpoint beams of energy at them that hit their target every time, sending them sprawling.

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(OOC: Wow! You are certainly dedicated. I love the ship description, although it seems extremely detailed considering the ship is just a plot device. Just an FYI I think your misspelling rope as roap. Also does Sailstorm have a crew? Or is it literally just us now? Going to develop the characters a little more.)

Hauberk span around at the call of all aboard and galloped back up the gangplank. He then grabbed it with his forelegs and pulled it aboard. "Gangplank stowed, Cap'n!" He shouted from his position before turning to Allivia. "Thanks. I have no illusions that I wouldn't have survived that without your assistance," he said humbly as he bowed his head in thanks.

Mind's Eye rolled his eyes at the display, before turning to the captain. "Hey, Captain! How long will this journey take?" he shouted. Mind's Eye knew he had to charge up his amplifier again. Without it, this quest was going to be a lot harder. He had designed the amplifier himself. It was a simple device that basically stored magical energy. It would hold a full unicorn's worth of magic, then start sapping from the actual unicorn itself. In theory anyway, unfortunately he had only managed to attune one to him. It may be something genetic, but he hadn't quite figured that one out yet.

Wind grinned as the captain inspected her hoofwork and nodded. "Heck yeah! I got a badge for my mad knot-tying skills," Wind said as she nudged Raven with a smile. Wind Runner was the youngest of the mercenaries, but was still a few years older than Raven. She was also the newest member of the group. She had originally been a petty thief, buy Hauberk recognised her talents after a failed pickpocket attempt. She was brought into the crew after Bejewelled Sabre was killed on a mission. The group always operated as a three.

Hauberk believed that three was the optimum number for any group. It allowed for tight relationships while still having all bases covered. Hauberk himself had served in the Celestial Guard and worked his way up to Sergeant before he was kicked out for attacking the Governor of Trottingham after the governor's own stupidity had cost pony lives. He had earned quite a reputation over his years there, and that is what carried him into private contracts. He never did anything against his own code of morality though.

Mind's Eye and Bejewelled Sabre had joined together. The pink pegasus had always bossed Mind's Eye around, but he was her sister. Her loss hit him hard, but he'd never show it. The unicorn was extremely proud, one might call him arrogant, but his genius was inspired. His inventions were not very popular with the public after one too many accidents, so he technically isn't allowed to tinker any more. That didn't stop him though. He'd augmented himself with cybernetics to go beyond his own abilities. A lot of ponies hated him for that. The amplifier actually plugged directly into his brain. He'd implanted a view screen in his face which folds out for easy viewing. He even went so far as to insert a computer into his brain to speed up reaction times. Unfortunately the ridiculous power needs all run off of his magic, which means he can only have them on for a short amount of time. He's still working on a solution to that.

(OOC:Couldn't think of what else to write, so I put in some character information. Hope you don't mind.)

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"Alright, team. Everypony get over here!" Hauberk shouted. Mind's Eye and Wind Runner came galloping and stopped beside him. "This situation is less than ideal. We lost our entire royal guard support, we've lost track of our equipment, and everypony we've ever known is now a diseased wretch blindly following orders from a being of ancient darkness older than even Discord. But we still have a mission. And you know that the Crimson Hooves never surrender. We will escort this Raven pony to the ancient artefact, or we'll die trying. This may be the most dangerous assignment we've ever had. Now I want you two to rest up and prepare. In two day's time, we're going to be fighting for our lives once again. Now, move out!"

"Yes, sir!" Wind Runner saluted before flying off.

Mind's Eye hung back. "Hauberk. We both know that there's no chance any of us are going to make it back."

"Don't say that Minds. We both know that we're Equestria's last shot. Heroes never fall."

"Heroes always fall." Mind's Eye snorted. "I just wanted to let you know that it's been an honour."

"We're not there yet, Minds. Save your goodbyes for when we're dead."

Minds laughed briefly. "I guess. I'm going to go and recharge my amplifier. I'll see you around."

"Of course you will. And Minds. What happened to Bejewelled, it's not your fault."

Mind's snorted again and trotted off without replying. He trotted off down a set of stairs and into the crew quarters.

Hauberk watched him walk away and sighed. He then turned to see the captain. "Cap'n! If you have any need of me or my men, just give the orders and we'll do it!" he shouted then saluted.

The last time Hauberk had been on a ship, he'd been assigned to keep away pirates. What he hadn't realised was that he was protecting a slaver ship from pirates. When the pirates actually attacked, Hauberk had incapacitated a few of them before he was told of the true purpose of the ship. Naturally he changed sides then and ended up serving with the pirates for a few months. It had been a wild time, and he had learnt a thing or two about how to run a ship.

Wind Runner whistled an old sea shanty that she had frequently heard in the Rusty Anchor, a seaman's tavern in Fillydelphia. Poor Old Horse she believed it was called. The ship was surprisingly large as she wandered around. There had to be something to do here. What do sailors do for fun? All they seemed to do at shore was get drunk and fight. Although those were two pretty fun past times, she didn't fancy fighting anypony onboard the ship, and getting drunk would be pretty unprofessional of her. She sighed loudly and wandered over to the prow of the ship. She watched as the bow cut through the water, staring into the briny deep.

She looked a lot like her mother. The same powerful wings, the same lithe build, the same amber eyes. Her mother had a lime green coat though. She inherited the red coat from her father. The sea had always played a big part in her life. Her dad had been a sailor. Nothing special, just a regular sailor on a trading vessel, the Lucky Old Goat. He'd shown her what it was like once. He had been a good pony, although she hardly ever saw him. His death hadn't impacted her quite as much as it had her mother. When her mother died six months later, that's when Wind had truly been affected. Her death was expected, but the blow was not soft. Wind teared up at the memory. "I'll never forget you ma," she whispered on the wind.

(OOC: I think all my characters are now melodramatic wrecks. Maybe I should have played the sympathy cards a little less openly. Still it's an important aspect of their characters.)

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Hauberk smiled and laughed too beofre replying. "Of course, Cap'n!" Hauberk shouted up and trotted over to the assigned crate. All kinds of miscellaneous useful items filled the crate, but Hauberk had a job to do, however minor. He picked up the only pipe and lighter he could find and returned to the captain. "Here you go," he said as he offered the items up in his hooves.

Wind meanwhile pulled back the sniffles after the captain's shout and instantly put back on a smile. "Hah! I've had enough of the water, anyway," Wind replied snarkily and spread her wings to fly off when she noticed the young mare from earlier with a bird. She lifted up into the air and swooped down besides them. "Heya, kid. So I heard you're Raven, and you just happen to have a pet raven? Are you named after your pet? Is that not your real name? What's your real name?" Wind questioned too quickly for Raven to answer. "Hang on, is that a crate of fruit? Radical!" She grabbed the crate and attempted to pop the lid. She pushed as hard as she could, but she still couldn't open it. She panted a little as she changed tact. She positioned her wings underneath the crate and then spread them as hard as she could. The lid began to budge, at first a little then it swung wide open. "Yeah! Chow time!" She shouted excitedly as she grabbed an orange and began to work on peeling it.

Mind's Eye worked silently. He detached the device and revealed what was once his horn. Instead of being made of thick keratin, the horn had been replaced with an electronic coil in titanium casing. When the casing was detached like now, the only trace of his horn was a thin wire that plugged directly into his brain. If an observer looked close enough, they'd actually be able to see the brain on the other side of the round hole. Minds brain began to flicker with blue energy that travelled around the coil and shot into the detached device. Not all the magic was focused however, some was sent sprawling in all directions and cast glowing lights around the room. The light sensors on the side began to refill slowly.

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Wind was having real trouble with the orange. She tried to dig the tips of her hooves into it, but the fruit squirted whenever she tried. In the end she shrugged and threw it back into the crate. Then she was aware that the other pony was talking. [colour=#ff0000]"Raven Break? So you break ravens? As in like housebreaking? That's pretty cool. My name's Wind Runner. I run fast. And fly fast. And talk fast. And eat fast if I can ever get into these darn fruit!"[/colour] Wind turned back to the crate and grabbed up a load of pears. [colour=#ff0000]"Freakin sweet! Pears!"[/colour] She bit into one and chewed noisily. [colour=#ff0000]"So you talk to animals? Or is it just bonding? Do you do like spirit animals or anything?"[/colour] Wind took another bite out of the pear.[colour=#ff0000] "Darn, this is juicy."[/colour] She went to take another bite when she stopped. [colour=#ff0000]"Hang on, you're our last hope? What makes you special?"[/colour]

Mind's Eye continued to cast until he couldn't any longer. He took the amplifier and turned it around. Only around half of the thing was full. He'd have to do it again at some point. He picked up the casing and reattached it to his horn, making sure to trap the coil in the middle. It locked into place easily enough and he lay back into the bunk. Magic is directly linked to stamina, so when Minds used up his magic, he'd used up almost all of his energy, so he lay back in the hammock and fell asleep."

Hauberk smiled as the captain took his pipe. [colour=#696969]"So, you're Sailstorm, right? You've been briefed on where we're going, right?"[/colour]

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(OOC: Sorry about taking so long. New Vegas RP is now officially off the ground. It's surprisingly hard to set up an RP and coordinate so many people. I don't know how you do it. Oh and on that vein, could Sigma post soon? Not to rush you, but we're planning on leaving the vault tonight. Oh and your captain has an awesome accent. It's really detailed. Also sorry about he shortness of the post. Mind's Eye is actually asleep, and Hauberk isn't sure on whether there's a story coming or not.)

Wind laughed at Raven's frankness. "Not many ponies can. I'll try to slow down for you. I don't really know what a spirit animal is either." Wind took another bite out of the pear, it's juice dribbling down her chin messily. "I just heard that Zebrican's go crazy on 'em." She shrugged and took a final bite before throwing the core overboard. She grabbed a second pear and listened to Raven continue on.

"Really? You can, like, make animals do whatever you say? Ooh! Ooh! Make Duri fly up to the crows nest! Wait, that's probably easy. Make him do a flip! And the other thing I said! And then get a grape out of the box and put it on your head! Can you do complex actions like that, because that'd be cool!

Mind's Eye snored loudly. It'd take a freight train or something to wake him up after charging his device.

Hauberk nodded along. He knew not to push a sailor. If Sailstorm wanted to tell the story, then it was his choice.

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Hauberk couldn't hold back a quick laugh. *It's always a dark and stormy night.* he thought to himself. The captain then reared up and gestured somewhat melodramatically. Hauberk cocked an eyebrow. *I guess all seaponies are storytellers at heart.* Nevertheless, Hauberk was now thoroughly invested in his story. *They really must work.*

Despite all his augmentations, Mind's Eye still excelled at one area of magic. Illusion. He could craft entire worlds and enrapture ponies in his thoughts. Unfortunately for him this manifested as a lack of dreams. While he could craft dreams at will, he never experienced them himself. Sure he could create a perfect world for himself, but unlike for his target, the vision for himself was just that, a vision. He created the visual and the rest filled itself in in their heads. His sleep now was dreamless as always.

Wind Runner's jaw hung open. "Freaking unbelievable!" she shouted happily before taking a bite out of the second pear. "That raven was totally zoop, zap and zebedee all over the place! Can you do that on ponies? Can you? Ooh! Ooh! Make me do a flip! I love doing flips!"

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(OOC: That was the idea! Also Mind's Eye probably isn't going to wake up for anything but somepony screaming in his ear... although I did forget it was morning, so he'll probably just be napping not sleeping. If Wind Runner's too much, tell me and I'll tone her down a bit.)

Hauberk jolted forward along with the boat. He turned to the captain concernedly, but the captain didn't seem at all perturbed. "So we've hit open water? Any dangers out here we should be aware of?" Hauberk asked, momentarily distracted from the Captain's story.

Wind Runner tapped her chin thoughtfully with the pear, and then took another massive bite out of it. "Ooh! Ooh! So can you make me feel super happy! As in happier than now! Actually, that'd be hard... but I don't want to feel sad. Ooh! Ooh! Make me feel scared, but fun scared. Y'know the funny kind of scared! The one that makes you laugh, not cry. Can you!" Wind Runner garbled through her mouthful of pear.

She then noticed another pony approaching the crate. "Ooh! A new pony! Are you Olivia? I think I heard Hauberk call you Olivia? What's your special talent? Is it magic? Mind's Eye is good at magic too, and his magic is really cool. He can make like living dreams and such." Wind noticed Allivia casting hungry looks at the crate of fruit. "Oh where are my manners? Come have some fruit. It's all really juicy and fresh! I don't know how long it'll stay that way though. Unless it's magic fruit. Is it magic fruit? Can you tell if its magic fruit?"

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"Aw come on, Raven. I'm sure you can't scare me. Mind's has scared me so many times that now I'm unscareable. (OOC: I know that's not a word, but Wind likes to make things up on the fly.) Like when the zombie ponies started attacking I kicked one in the face really hard, but I wasn't scared at all! I was like "Hyah!" and the zombie was all "Blargh" but then I kicked his flank! Anyway, what was I saying?"

Wind paused to take another bite out of her pear, only to find she'd already eaten it. She shrugged and tossed the core overboard. She then dived past Allivia (OOC: I was having her mispronounce it for humour... I guess it didn't work) and bury her face in the box. "I wonder if they have... freaking sweet! They have!" She came back out with a large grapefruit. "I love the kick in these!" She took a big bite out of the grapefruit without even peeling and her face instantly grimaced. "Freaking sour!" she screamed. She stuck out her tongue and tried to rub it off with her hooves. "Bwad Idee," she mumbled past her tongue. "Dass me somefing sweet!" She shouted.

Hauberk heard the sound of a scuffle coming from back on the ship, but the captain was talking. Not wanting to seem rude, Hauberk stayed by the captain listening and nodding along. "Hey, Cap'n. If we were to come under attack, what defences does this ship have. I mean I can't see any cannons..."

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(OOC: Or I just fail at comedy. Don't worry, I know I do. So those blackouts, eh? I'm worried about typing this post up in case I lose it. )

Hauberk couldn't see past the thick fog that filled the air, but when he turned to the captain, he could see the captain's eyes focusing on something in the distance. He eventually just shrugged it off as experience. "If you say so, Cap'n. If you need me, don't hesitate to call."

Hauberk trotted away from the captain and towards the others. No doubt that Wind Runner had found food by now, she never seemed to be full. He rounded the deck to see Wind Runner sat with the two ponies who he didn't quite know. Beside them he could see a crate of fruit. Well that's one thing off my list. Hauberk walked over to the crate and into the group of ponies. "Miss Allivia, Miss Raven, Wind," he said courteously as he reached into the crate and pulled out a honeydew melon. He then reached round to his back with his mouth and pulled out a large knife. He brought it around and cut the melon in half with a single swipe. "Any pony else want any melon?" he asked as he held up the second half.

Wind Runner dived back into the crate again and came up a mango which she hurriedly devoured, getting juice and pulp everywhere in the progress. As soon as she had finished she sighed with relief, "That's better." She then noticed Hauberk trotting over and leapt back out of the crate and stood in a nonchalant pose whistling as she looked around everywhere but at him. She then turned to Raven and whispered in her ear, "That's Hauberk. He's a pretty cool guy, but he cares a ton about manners. One time he kicked this stallion in the face and broke his nose because he wouldn't stop cussing." She then suddenly shouted in Raven's ear and jumped in the air, "Ooh! Ooh!" After her outburst she returned to the ground and whispered in Raven's ear, "Make him scared! Nothing ever scares him! It'd be so cool if you could scare him!"

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