Prologue to a New Reality (Exposition Without Plot)
Over a thousand ago, the land of Equestria was ruled by the malevolent spirit of chaos, Discord. Eventually, his reign was toppled by the celestial sisters, who used the Elements of Harmony against him. Victory came at a price, however. The combination of the most powerful source of chaos and its polar opposite, harmony, radically altered the rules of magic and the structure of the world itself.
The land began to tear itself apart, hurling huge chunks the size of mountains up into the sky. These became the sky islands. The sea spread until it covered the entire world. Normal fish grew into leviathans that could swallow ships whole. The whole planet is divided into three zones by two nearly impenetrable walls of perpetual storms.
Ponies, zebras, donkey and griffins had their bodies’ reconfigured. The equines now walk on two legs and possess hands like those of a primate. The griffins similarly began to walk upright. Clothing became very popular in order to avoid indecent exposure.
Every sentient creature from then on was born with a unique magical ability, called a magic craft. Magic crafts are known instinctively to their users and are nearly impossible for unicorns to replicate. Each ability only appears in one creature, but after the user’s death, another may wield it.
Author's Note
There are four categories of craft:
1) Passive crafts: an ability that cannot be turned off. May have any number or combination of controllable effects. This category tends to have very inconspicuous users.
2) Conjuration crafts: the ability to create and dispel one unique item that possesses a pre-defined magical property. Users are granted total mastery over the object, but mastery does not extend to the item’s mundane counterparts.
3) Spell-like craft: this ability class tends to mirror existing spells or can be equated to an existing spell. Can be performed without unicorn horn.
4) Contract craft: Extremely diverse range of abilities and easily the most powerful of the four classes of craft. Each ability comes with a set of restrictions must be met, with stronger abilities having more restrictions. Pre-requisites are rituals/sacrifices that must be performed each time to use the ability. Conditions limit the situations in which the ability can be used, and they cannot be violated. Payments are ritualistic compulsions inflicted on the user after using the ability. Failing to meet a payment kills the user.
Sorry this chapter has no plot. There were just some things I had to tell you about this alternate version of Equestria where in-story exposition wold be very weird.
And yes, anthro ponies (Biped + hands, otherwise unchanged). THIS HAS PLOT RELEVANCE! DON'T JUDGE ME!
Anyway, *Ding* Have a new story!
Arc 1, Chapter 1: The Wedding
The pink aura holding the brush flickered and went out. The brush plopped down onto the carpet floor of the cabin.
"Oops, hehehe. I'm so excited! I'm going to be married in only three hours," Dinky exclaimed. She bent over to grab the brush in her shaking hand.
Next to Dinky, Gisele chucked. "Relax, Dinky. Pipsqueak isn't going anywhere. You'll be married in no time. Although, I'm more interested in where your honeymoon is. That stallion... He could take you somewhere really out of this world. You know he will" The young hippogriff let out another round of her squawking laughter.
"We'll have to be married first, and then finish this job. Then comes the honeymoon!" Dinky let off a little squee of excitement.
Gisele chuckled, then said, "you know, it's funny. We live on Pip's ship, and yet here we are, on another ship, for this captain to marry you two. Do you ever set foot on solid land?"
"Yes, how else am I going to be able to have a full adventure if I’m stuck on a boat?"
The sky ship Moonlight Dream sailed into the crimson sunset. Some of the pegasus crew had cleared the stray clouds in order to maximize the effect. The luxury sailing vessel was decorated with lavish details, Intricate carvings, golden highlights, and luxurious materials. Having only the most impeccably dressed crew in the sky served to accentuate the ship’s atmosphere. Close to two hundred wealthy ponies gathered upon deck to witness the wedding.
In the back of the crowd, three well dressed figures stood out. Gisele leaned against the young minotaur bull, Steel Resolve, who was obviously quite drunk. Behind them, a nameless white pegasus was picking up glass from a broken beer bottle. His smile contained a pair of fangs, signifying his changeling nature. The hippogriff and minotaur were oblivious to their changeling companions task.
Up at the altar, Pipsqueak waited impatiently for his soon-to-be wife, Dinky. He bounced in place, while his signature smile was even wider than ever. Pip adjusted his tie, making sure every last detail was in place, and then ran his fingers through his mane. The captain of the Moonlight Dream, Compass Needle, stood ready to give the sermon. Considering that this was the first wedding he had ever done, he also had reason to be nervous.
The band struck up a chord, and began to play the wedding march. Dinky walked in escorted by her father, the Doctor. The duo was preceded by Dinky’s niece, Glass Slipper, who was acting as the flower girl. Derpy sat in the front, cheering for her daughter.
Upon reaching the altar, she grasped the hands of her beloved.
"We are gathered here today to witness the union of Dinky Doo and Pipsqueak." The captain turned to face Dinky, and spoke to her, "Do you, Dinky Doo, take this stallion to be your husband, in sickness and in health, 'til death do you part?"
"I do!" She almost screamed, barely limiting the volume of her voice.
The captain turned to face Pipsqueak. "Do you, Pipsqueak, take this mare to be your wife-"
"I do!" Pipsqueak interrupted, then blushed in embarrassment.
"Eager, are we?" The captain laughed. "Well then, I now pronounce you stallion and wife! You may kiss the bride!"
Said kiss was passionate enough to make a changeling blush.
The reception was rather dull. It was quite nice, but the same congratulations over and over from stuffy rich ponies tends to get old real quick. Eventually, Dinky's Family had to leave. As the Tardis faded out, Dinky turned to Pipsqueak.
"Shall we?" She asked.
"We shall" he replied. Dinky's horn lit up and her mouth moved to speak, but no sound came out. Steel, Gisele, and the changeling heard her voice in their heads. They nodded, stood, and moved to the center of the room. The newlyweds moved to join the group.
Upon arriving with the others, Pip motioned with his hands. Two things happened at once, one visible only to those in the room, and the other to only those out on deck.
Inside, the quintet's clothing changed. Gone were the suits and dresses, replaced with black and red armor that covered every part of their bodies. Every one of their heads was covered with a helmet, mask, and a hose leading from the mask to a tank on their back.
Outside, the large, invisible ship that had been following the Moonlight Dream for two days revealed itself. The fearsome ship maneuvered above the Moonlight Dream, a skull and crossbones painted on its red hull. The pirate ship opened up a dozen hatches along the bottom, a massive chain erupting from each. The chains–each link nearly a foot in thickness–quickly entangled the helpless ship below. Magic coursed through each chain, firmly securing it to the vessel.
The sky filled with fire as rocket thrusters on the underside of the pirate vessel ignited. Both ships raced upwards until they began to near a shimmering layer in the atmosphere. Their ascent stopped, the pirate vessel resting just above the layer and the Moonlight Dream suspended below.
Inside the ship, pandemonium reigned. Wealthy ponies scrambled to hide their valuables from the pirates, despite the fact that the pirates were already on board.
Dinky's horn lit up a second time causing a pink aura envelope Pip's thought. "Listen up!" he boomed, his amplified voice echoing around the room. Obediently, a hush fell as every pony turned to look at him. "My name is Pipsqueak, and I am the captain of the Sky Kraken." Gasps of shock were heard throughout the room. A couple of mares fainted. Captain Pipsqueak continued, "I thank you for attending my wedding. It was fantastic. Unfortunately, I now have to rob you of your valuables." His smile, though hidden behind his mask, was evident in his voice.
"Now, as I'm sure you've noticed, the magic limit is just above us. For those of you 'educated' nobles who are ignorant of what that is, the magic limit is the level above which magic suddenly drops to almost nonexistent levels. Should this ship cross it, the spell holding in the air will fail, and every one in here will suffocate."
"How do you plan on getting across the barrier? No ship can cross it," a stallion smirked, thinking he had found a flaw in the pirate's plan.
"Look up," Pip said. "My ship is already above. Now," he paused, "I will let you live if you give me all your valuables, else we sink this ship. And if you don't hurry then we'll start killing you off, one per minute."
To demonstrate his captain's point, Steel Resolve unstrapped his sledge hammer from off his back. Gripping the handle, he swung at the nearest pony. She never stood a chance. The minotaur's hammer struck so hard that it ripped completely through her abdomen, liquefying it. Blood splattered on the surrounding ponies in a visceral explosion. Several ponies vomited at the sight. Violence was unheard of in Equestria, a paper cut being the most blood most of these ponies had ever seen. So to see somepony murdered so violently, many of the onlooker’s minds shattered.
"Hurry up. The. Clock. Is. Ticking."
Dinky smiled at her husband, while Gisele licked her beak.
The ponies ran. Every soul moved to gather up as many valuables as they could to surrender to the pirates. The changeling began loading the goods onto a platform that had descended from the Sky Kraken. Gisele made her way to the Moonlight's kitchens. As the Kraken's chef, she desired many of the luxury ingredients and tools contained within.
"That's everything, boss," the bloody minotaur bellowed.
"Got everything here, too, boss," called the pegasus-changeling.
"Good work, Steel, Exile," Pipsqueak affirmed.
"DON'T CALL ME EXILE!" the peeved changeling yelled at his captain. "You know I hate having a name!"
Pipsqueak replied, "get used to it. Besides, it's your title, not a name."
The changeling only growled at his boss.
Meanwhile, the captain of the Moonlight approached the captain of the Kraken. "We gave you everything we have. Will you let us go?"
Instead of replying, Pipsqueak turned to his crew and said, "let's go. No survivors."
"YOU SAID YOU'D LET US LIVE!" the captain of the doomed ship screamed.
A moment passed, then another.
"I never said how long."
Then Pipsqueak jumped off the side of the boat. Ethereal wings unfurled from the back of the earth pony's armor. He flew. Pipsqueak quickly ascended up to his own boat and landed on the Kraken's deck. He was soon followed by his four other crew members. Those without wings similarly sprouting the ethereal wings from their armor.
As soon as they were all on board, the two ships began to rise. Upon crossing the magic limit, the Moonlight Dram's windows exploded. Up and up they continued to rise until the chains securing the Moonlight released. The doomed ship, now free of its support and without magic to keep it afloat, plummeted to the sea below. The spell that supported the Moonlight, damaged by the barrier crossing, did not return when the ship fell back across. Down and down it fell, until it impacted the sea below. The monster in the sea swarmed, devouring the contents of the ship in a massive feeding frenzy. Pipsqueak stared out over the railing of the Sky Kraken, watching the massacre occurring ten kilometers below.
Dinky meanwhile, was obsessing over the haul. "Diamonds, gold, silver, rubies, jewelry, bits, bits, AND MORE BITS! It's all mine!!" the greedy unicorn laughed while imitating a dragon rolling around in its new hoard.
"Hey, Dinky, my sweet, I was wondering about our honey moon..."
"Yes?" Dinky asked, sitting up from her pile of treasure.
"I know it might not be much for the time traveler's daughter, but what if we had our honeymoon on the actual moon?"
The whole crew smiled, knowing that Captain Pipsqueak could deliver.
Author's Note
*Ding* Have a chapter
Pirate Pipsqueak x Greedy Dinky Doo = best ship (on a ship)
The Sky Kraken can pierce the magic limit because of Pipsqueak's Craft.
Steel Resolve's power involves inertia and changing (in)elastic collisions. You should see him play baseball.
Yes, they have a changeling on their crew.
Hippogriff is the result of a pony x griffin clopfic (NOT WRITING)
