The Dragonslayer

Feral Silver stood by the edge of the ship, he simply took in the vastness of the sea. Stone Wall not far from him, watching him. Feral simply stood, gazing into the open waters. Nothing but the sea was around them. As far as the horizon stretched, no land could be seen. The sun was high in the sky and beamed down a heavy heat.

“So you really swear by it?” Stone asked, slowly walking closer to his friend, his tiny stone hooves making a unique knock on the wooden boat.

“I have never been more clear headed. Honest. It was like… there was this black storm or thick fog. Now, now I can see clearly. Its hard to describe.” Feral beamed, despite his bandages and many wounds, he still managed to seem in good spirits. He seemed to have conquered his fear of water.
“I have never seen him so… calm.”

“I might have to give it a go then.” Stone replied with the smallest smile in the group.
“If Fenrir swears by it, I see no reason why not.”

“Ask Abvol and let us know. Since you are not trapped in your own head, or a psychopath you and Behemoth should be fine on your own.” Feral gave his friend toothy smile only he could give with his mouth full of sharp teeth. The sea reflected the suns light, the world around them seemed brighter out here out on the open sea.
“If you take too long we can go in after you. We are still far from the Capital, we have time.”
“Oh hell yeah! I can’t wait! Now that the all you Mythos are together we have the Elements of Harmony or whatever! We get to them Capitol, get a real ride to the Dragonlands, then we fuck up Atlas on his ivory fucking throne! Let’s Go!” Feral gave a stomp of confidence and excitement, but flinched as soon as he did. “Everything hurts. But that's okay, I’m fine!” Feral shook off the pain.

“Elements of Harmony?” Stone inquired.
“I suppose it is time for us to tell them?” Behemoth half asked Fenrir.

“A better time than later.”

The party was together fully for the first time in ages. Each member sat in a circle. Stone Wall and Behemoth, an earth pony and a colossal ox made of stone, mysteriously their physical form was that of a colt made of stone. Captain Dusk Bones and Leviathan, a pirate leader and ocean serpent who on several occasions, has been mistaken for islands during naps. In his old faded navel uniform, you could barely make out the scales, giant fangs, and gills. Feral Silver and Fenrir, an escaped convict and a utterly massive she-wolf. They looked like a wolf with legs that were to long for it's body. Freya an Ex-Valkyrie griffin, and Zellion or Ziz, A thunderbird who claims to be able to black out the sky with his wingspan. The next pair, Life Blood and The Grim Reaper, Greep for short, were a special case. A unicorn raised by the very… peculiar living embodiment of death. And finally the Dragonslayer herself, War Bond, a war maiden with a massive blade on her back. Soulbound to the mightiest of titans, the gargantuan elder dragon Goliath Mountainclaw. The two were had scales and fangs, bit more noticeable were dragon eyes in the mare's head, as well as the fact she was starting puff smoke out in her sleep.

Also there was a Zebra.

“We have all gathered hereto stop Atlas. He is at the head of the Dragonlands army, and hold a high position in the Dragon government. He has convinced many of my brothers and sisters that we dragons are the ultimate beings. That all other forms of life must be exterminated. He considers all but dragons to be vermin. Through him the lives of both my blood kin have fallen. As we speak, he is building his army, building resources, preparing for a war. A war that the rest of the world will lose. However! We can stop him before it begins. We dragons have a system in place. The Elder Dragon Council, in which the five oldest dragons willing to take the positions are the voice of all of us. That is to say that the respect dragons have for them bounds most dragons to their will. They set ground rules. It is through respect for the Council that most Dragons leave others animals and live their lives separated from most other creatures. For countless eons, we have simply been observers. But for a shorter time we have been split. Divided. Many among us want more freedom to roam this world. So for eons, two of the five have pushed for expansion. That was until Atlas broke that tie, challenging his way in, he slew our brother and brought change into the Council. Atlas will not willing give up his place. I must challenge him, and when I take his life, I will take my place on the Council, stop this pointless war, and negotiate with the Princesses for a end to a pointless struggle.”

“But first we shall need to use the Elements of Harmony. We are the Origins of Harmony, and we carry the Elements in our souls. These Elements are… pure. They have both symbolic power and actual dangerous power. Together, we can try to convince Atlas of his foolish actions. If not then we must use the Elements, and bring Atlas down.”

“So we have the plan, we have the power, and we have each other. All we need is to get to the Capitol, Princess Celestia and Luna shall provide us with faster way to reach the Dragonlands. We are close to the end of all this.” War grinned on War's face.

“Take the trip to rest. We still have days until we reach land, and even then it is a full two days walk to get into Canterlot. I highly recommend getting a look at your own mind, and clearing the air a bit if you will.”
“Look at me, I no longer wish to painted in the gore of my enemies! Do I still enjoy it? Yes! It is still very pleasant, but I no longer want to actively want it, and/or get excited for it before and/or during battle. Wow, that did not come out nice at all. That sounded way worse out loud. *Cough* Anyway I have way more self control then I did before, and I am feeling pretty good right now. Even with all these wounds!” Feral beamed with a toothy smile.

“This be quite a lot to take in.” Freya was the only one among the group who did not look confident.

“I am curious, What happens if we fail? Atlas knows he is in trouble now. He has to have some sort plan for this exact situation. He might get desperate. A cornered dragon may know of his defeat, but will not go down without breathing a fair share of fire.”

“We will not fail.”

“Bu-”

“We shall not fail, Leviathan.”

“Question!” Life Blood raised a hoof into the air. “What… what about after? After we win, and Atlas is defeated… what will we do? I mean, this is the first time that you Old Ones - Mythos - Origins - or whatever have been together in lifetimes. Plus I actually have friends, relatively speaking, close to my own age. Are all going to go our separate ways? Or will we get to spend time with each other without all this… doom and fighting?” She asked attempting to hide her small frown.

“We can worry about such things once we arrive to them. For now let us focus our attention on victory.” Goliath replied.

“It is unfortunate but these friendliness...atiys are not our priority. We can enjoy such things at a later time.”

Life gave a confirmatory nod but wore a disappointed look on her face.

“Now. If it not too inconvenient for us. I would like to undergo Abvol’s mental Mythos therapy process. I am not concerned with my sanity or anything but, I would like… a light dusting of my metal cobwebs if you will.” Stone announced, shocking mostly everyone by speaking more than a humble three word sentence.

“I am ready and willing whenever you are dear friend.” Abvol had a grin on his face. “I highly recommend my “therapy process” to all. Do not fear, as some of our many friends are more than willing to come to your aid if necessary.”

“I am ready.” Stone let out a small grin.
“Let us do this quickly.”

When I came to my senses I was alone. Good. Behemoth may be a close friend to me, but he did not need to see me go through this. Part of me knew what was coming. The other pretended that side was wrong. My chest was heavy with anticipation, like when you know something terrible is coming. I sat in the dirt for a while, my back to the soil , just relaxing there looking up at the sky.

I awoke on my old farm. The tall grass fields in front of a humble home, a barn, and chicken coop. Behind my childhood home, a never ending sea of corn and a field of lush green bulbs of potatoes. I remembered back when I was just a colt and I really thought that the corn never ended, that it just went on endlessly into infinity. I was just outside, on the porch of my dust covered and sun bleached home. It even smelled exactly the same. My heart wafted pain and sadness when I stepped on the porch stair that always squeaked. No matter what my Dad and I did to it, we could never get it to stop squeaking.

I stood and had to take a moment to adjust to being tall again. It’s very nice. I liked being a kid… but... with a stretch I enjoyed my height. Being a child has it’s perks, but the fact that no one ever takes you seriously can get frustrating… very frustrating Then again, I never have too much to say anyway. Honestly I am mostly indifferent about most things. I could care less about the whole dragon invasion thing, but it means quite a bit to my new friends and Behemoth, so I can deal. I guess as I currently stand. I don't have anything else but them. Before Behemoth started booming for us to go help his friends, we just wandered. I looked like a colt so I could just go to villages and get taken care of. Some of the bigger cites would toss me in orphanages, but those places had free food and beds. Not that sleeping outside was to bad. I just hate it when birds think I'm a statue.

I stomped, reminding myself to stop procrastinating. I was not looking forward to doing this, but I am a bad news first kind of guy. Get the band-aid off quickly, move on. I was under the belief that the things bothering me deep down were indeed going to show up eventually. If there was time to do this, its was before I get killed by dragons.

With a heavy sigh, I opened the front door of my home.

My father sat calmly by my sister. He was mid huff of his pipe. From the sweat of his brow, he had just finished a hard days work. I sometimes forget that I get my dirt brown coat of fur from him. My sister was doing what she always doing, reading. Day or night, by sun or by candle, she was always nose deep in a book. She was the pony to put your money on. One day she would have been a big shot scholar, bringing in more bits in a day than three years harvest. Her soft tan fur… and her braided chestnut mane she got from my dad really brought me back.

I could see my Mother cooking in the kitchen, I got my rusty mane from her and I am always told that I have her ruby eyes, but that is a hard thing to compare. My brother had her mahogany fur. The smell of her cheese and potato soup filled my nose and heart. I really miss those days, hard work and home cooking is something… special. I tried not to cry, but that was a one-sided battle.

I felt the tears fall from my face, hard like a steady rain. Seeing them after all this time hurt. When I managed to clear my eyes and head, I finally realized it. None of them were moving, it was like I was inside a picture. A single moment held forever in time. I laughed. Of course this is how it had to be right? Set in stone? What a fucking joke. My own mind was fucking with me. Its always a fucking joke. Once you realize what a joke everything is, seeing the world any other way just doesn't make any sense. I fucking hate my name.

With anger in my step I cantered toward my father, who at my touch began to turn to dust. His body became ash and fell upon the floor. Like a statue I couldn’t move, I could only cringe and feel my heart sink into my chest. In awe of how my actions once again led to my fathers turning to ashes. I stomped in anguish and hate. A pitiful self hating stomp of anger. Looking to the frozen image of my sister, I dare not touch her from sheer fear. I cried as I desperately battled to keep myself looking back.

I walked past her and my mother, never looking back. The temptation to so much as feel their soft mane again after all these years was too much. I’d rather try to keep them in my mind than have them fade to ashes due to my foolishness again. With a single step into the grass of my old yard. I see it. It all comes together like an artists rendition. A great unveiling. The curtains pulled apart on a great stage.

My brother, armed with nothing more than a shovel, and the blazing terror of a dragon. The last time I ever saw my brother was long before the fire ever engulfed him. The dragon itself was coated in flame, and a stream of fire burst from it’s mouth. Like earlier, this was a motionless but nonetheless vivid picture. But unlike last time, this was not my memory. It was always how I pictured the scene.

My memories shamed me. My brother fought, staying his ground. Against impossible odd. And I just ran away. Like a coward, I had already fled.

This was before, when I had something to live for. I mean, now I have War Bond and her party, we're all friends. But before them I had nothing.

I never wanted to be a farmer, I ran away from that life. I did not care about my responsibilities or my family. When I had others to care about, I shut them out for writing my path for me, and I left. While I was away, a fire-heart dragon burned my home to the ground. I survived because I rejected the gifts my parents gave me. Because I left my sister for dead. Because I ran away, I got to live. I had never felt real shame until then. I should be dead. Instead I have been wallowing in the shame and guilt for years. For some reason unknown to even me, I blamed myself for their deaths as well, like as if I would have been able to help stall it long enough for my mother and sister to escape. I don’t know. I just found it impossible to not blame myself on some level. I needed to get past this. Abvol claimed I could.

Now I gazed at the bravery and honor of the family I deserved no part in. Unable to watch, I turn around, but the house I grew up in... my mother... my sister... It was all ashes. Burnt to the ground, the ember's still red and glowing. I scream the loudest scream I have ever uttered. I yell with more anger then my body can take. Then I cry, for once again I am powerless. Once again turning my back on my family has left them in ruins. Averting my eyes, I turn, nothing but ashes are at my back as well. What a cruel joke. This is a joke. This is all a joke.

My world is raining ashes. The sky had become dark, rain pouring down, swelling and flooding in the black ashes of my life. I yelled... I yelled for the family I had abandoned. Stomping my hooves into the black puddles, splashing and painting myself black as well. I have nothing. I have only ever had nothing. My fate was to be rendered into ashes by dragon fire, and despite all my running, fate had pushed dragons back at me once again.

“That’s not true.” my sister's voice cut through rain.

I turn to her in an instant. My mind races. I assume she is merely a figment of my mind come to further my torture. To mock me and joke at what a pitiful failure I am.

“Please go away.” It amazed me how fast everything had gone to hell. Perhaps that was what it was like for my family? Everything is fine and happy one second, and ashes the next. Or perhaps that what I thought it was like. I was dueling my guilty subconscious. Panning the ash filled waters of my mind for a rational explanation for the personal hell I had willingly delved into.

“No, you’re being a big dummy big brother!” My sister yelled at me. Memories of her scolding me for sleeping in too late only made me cry harder. I could remember each crease in her pouting face as she slammed her tiny hooves into my side. “Dad made me do your chores! Why are you the favorite all you ever do is fart around!” She did that a lot, too shy to actually swear she would just say fart.

A crash came from behind me, and I see that a mountain far far away picks itself up, it is shaped like an ox. Behemoth… my mind thought. Been a long while since I saw that Ox in his real form. Fucking mountain with horns.

“Not now! Focus on my words you lazy Poop!” She shouted.

“Go away!” I countered, not wanting anymore mental torture.

“No! Look at me!” Her voice made my sorrow deepen. As if each syllable was an icy dagger stabbing directly into my heart.

“Leave me alone!” At this point I just wanted to wallow for a little while.

“Look at me!” Whatever she said echoed in my ears. Pounded into my ears like the bellowing of a giant

“Please… just go!” I pleaded with my sister. Desperate to find an easy way to silence the guilt she represented.

I felt tiny hooves grab my face. Pulling my head to look into the ruby eyes of my sister. Not unlike the young colt I am when Behemoth is bound to me, she was covered in dirt and filth.

“Stop it.” She said plainly. “Stop hating yourself. That’s stupid.”

I couldn't believe what she was telling me.

“You are just a figment of my imagination.” I replied angrily! As if getting mad at her would scare her off.

“Maybe.” she replied. “But you need to know what I am about to tell you… You fart!”

I laughed loudly and audibly. What could she possibly say? I was in my own head! She couldn’t say anything I didn't already know. It was a joke, it had to be a fucking joke.

“We never blamed you for leaving.” Her words echoed in my head and I became dead silent.

“Shut up.” I ordered her. "SHUT UP"

“We were happy to know that you would get to live.”

“I said SHUT. UP.” I ordered her again.

“I missed you... but knowing you would survive filled my final moments with happiness.” Her voice sounded like the singing of angels, gracing my ears with the voice of heaven.

I couldn’t respond.

I was so deep in my own thoughts that I didn't even notice my colossal companion sit down next to me. I mountain snuck up on me. Now who is the joke?

“Are you all right? Would you like to talk about it?”

I sat there, still trying desperately to process my sisters words. I could not reply.

“I’ll let you think about it.”

It felt weird to be here, but Behemoth had front row seats to my ordeal and was very insistent I should be here. At the very least, he wanted me watching as a sideline observer. Behemoth and I watched the other mythos. We sat watching a memory of Behemoth's play out. Being considerably smaller then my soul bound companion, I took a seat on his snout. I was missing a bit of context, but it appeared that the group had gotten into some kind of heated argument, and things looked to be at the verge of violence. I focused on peeling the drying ash out of my fur.

“I don’t have time for this Behemoth.” Goliath stood on his back legs, the magnificent golden bronze dragon was standing on his hind legs, his anger showed straight through in his body language. That and his snarling teeth were also a good sign.

“Make time! Coward!” A second apparently younger memory of Behemoth boomed louder and with more frustration then I ever heard from him. He lammed his hoof into the ground and held his head low, horns pointed at Goliath, who stood nearly twice as tall.

“Behemoth! Don’t! Goliath, stop antagonizing him!” The Great Wolf Fenrir scolded. She was a lot more intimidating now that I saw her in the day light. She seemed bigger, and more… noble? Proud? I couldn't find the exact word for it.

“I am not antagonizing anything! This fool wishes to start a fight. Need I show him why that is a fool’s task!?” Goliath spread those massive wings, moving into a wide fighting pose. I felt the tuft of wind push me hard enough to nearly knock me onto to my back.

“You think me as weak?! Bastard!” Behemoth looked about ready to explode, which as a giant rock monster made me think he actually could, and the result would be volcanic.

“Bash the dumb bull Goliath. He needs to learn baby doesn't always get what he wants.” The Long serpent that she was, I didn't realize who Leviathan was for a moment. She was coiled up like a snake, and had a long face much like Goliath, only she had this set weird fin/wings on her head in front of where her ears would have been. The spikes ran down her spine, and these fins/wings seemed to extend from side every now and then. She was a giant, blu-ish black snake with creepy fin-wings. She just laid there coiled up as if she was bored with the whole situation.

“Stay out of it Leviathan.” Ziz stated. He sat perched on the shoulder bones of the equally massive pile of bones I knew to be Greep. Ziz himself seemed to be ready stop things if they got out of hand. Greep didn't have his robe, and was significantly larger than I had seen him before, or in the future... we was much larger back then. I seemed like every bone of everything that had died thus far just kind of clung to him. He must have the ability to change his shape and size. Despite being made up of bones… he still managed to look sad. As if seeing his friends fight broke his… heart?

“Enough! I've had enough! You think she isn't using you! We're your friends not her!” Behemoth stomped down hard. Then made a headlong charge toward Goliath. The shouts of his comrades were nothing more then a breeze in the wind.

Goliath made a long side step, sweeping the ox's legs with a tail swipe. Behemoth fell hard, smashing into the earth with a massive pounding thud that boomed in my head.

“Goliath!” Fenrir barked. He didn't even notice her, he just turned to Behemoth.

“Get back up. We aren't done.”

Behemoth forced himself up, nothing hurt but his pride. Ziz started getting antsy, obviously unsure to stop them yet. Another ramming dash, not the brightest move. Goliath laughed, he braced his hind legs and stuck out one claw, catching Behemoth by the horn. The sound of the impact was like rock bashing into rock, only on a much louder and larger scale. Goliath had on a face of sheer joy, with a shift of his legs he began to move Behemoth. In turn Behemoth began to shake and stomp, but it wasn't enough to stop the dragon, who began to spin, dragging the colossus that was Behemoth with him, after three full circle spins those wing shot out and Goliath jumped, high and still spinning. Three or four times higher than they had stood. His friends shouted for the end of the fight, but Goliath seem intent on putting Behemoth into the ground.

Still spinning and still using a single arm, Goliath began to lift Behemoth’s body until all of the beast was over his head, then boom. Like thunder Goliath shot down, slamming Behemoth into the world so hard that it cause the earth beneath us to shake, and the impact of wind and earth boomed in my ears, the force threw me back a few feet and made my ears squeal a high pitched whine. Goliath wasn't even down, he crouched low going for another grab, but Ziz tackled him the thundering pound of the lightning bird’s electricity pulsed in my whining ears.

Goliath just tossed Ziz away, but then Fenrir dashed in, taking his throat in her maw and pounding him to the earth. Goliath was pinned, Ziz came down with his talons and secured Goliath to the ground.

“Yup, the Ox is out cold.” Leviathan slithered over to Goliath. “You won, like every knew you would. I said shut Behemoth up, not shatter the ox. Are you done showing off?”

Goliath gave a puff of smoke from his nose, his eyes darting away from his friends. Ziz flapped up and away, standing not so far away. Fenrir released her grip on his throat and stepped back.

“You've gone too far Mountainclaw.” She growled.

Goliath didn't say anything. He just got up. Then picked himself up in to the air, then flew off into the sky.

“Should we just let him leave like that?”

“He'll talk to Moth once he gets back. Goliath can be a real… He can be mean. But he means well.” Ziz stretched his wings.

“Means well? He slammed out friend into the ground so hard it caused an earthquake! He would have kept going if we didn't stop him! Goliath knows how to really make me angry!” Fenrir seemed to be snarling unintentionally.

“Moth’s fault. Dumbass fought Goliath thinking he can win. Goliath does what he likes, he doesn't need a watcher.” Leviathan pointed out with a serious tone. She was on Goliath's side, but not a fan of his methods.

“Behemoth had a point. He is leaving to help that equine. Again. He always helps her. It’s annoying. He is our friend not her servant.”

“They care about each other Fenrir. He’d part the heavens for any of us, she just has her hooves full with the whole… pony thing she’s got going on and needs more help than we do. Not to mention the dragon council has been requesting Goliath’s presence more and more. He has a lot going on too. He likes the time alone he can spend flying to help her with whatever. There is a lot more going on then there was a few thousand years ago. There are more in our lives then each other.” Ziz spoke with an unusual level of maturity. I was starting to think that he was the voice of reason in this motley crew.

“He shouldn't spend so much time on his own. Goliath… needs to be with his friends. Those who care about him the most.”

“Am I the only one afraid he joins the Council permanently? With all the time he has to think he could just decide that would be best for him.”

“He hates the council.”

There was an off putting silence for a while.

“I pretended to be unconscious so Goliath wouldn't embarrass me anymore then I embarrassed myself. Looking back at it, I was very foolish to battle him in the first place. That was the day I learned just how much stronger Goliath was then I, that he could easily kill us. I mean, he has such power… and I resented him for it. This fight was about more then him going out on his own again. For the longest time I felt… upset that he was so much more than me. That at my very best I was not nowhere near Goliath, if he intended on actually fighting me seriously... I'd be dead. Now it seems so foolish. Why would I feel that way? Goliath has the worst life out of all of us. He keeps so much hidden under his scales and carries so much on his soul. I wanted for so long to be strong like Goliath. Now I understand. I thought of him as a beast who had so much. Now I understand he keeps us together because he wants so desperately to keep what little he has.”

“Seems a bit.. odd. I mean, you resented him?”

“Maybe resent isn't the best word. I simply mean that He seemed so perfect. I have known that the truth about my dear friend, that he was different, not a bad different but a... a leader, for a long time, but I have never forgiven myself for being such a... child. Nor have I forgiven Goliath beating me as hard as he did. That moment has really always been a great shame upon me. I must move on from such petty things.” The giant Behemoth, had never really spoke to me this much in a single sitting. It nice to have a chat with him.

“You are a surprisingly complex and deep fucker you know that right?” I joked, giving the monstrous beast the tiniest smile he can see.

“Somewhat. But I imagine that as complex as we are, I have simple problems compared to our friends.”

“That’s probably true. Have you met Feral? That guy might have just gotten a whole lot less crazy, but he is still by far the craziest guy on our team!”

"That reminds me. I should thank Levi again for telling them I was unconscious."

The salty air hung in the air. The sun was out and blazing, the party was no longer a great distance from the Capital. Stone awoke with a stiff shake, readjusting to his tiny foal body. Feral, Freya, Life, and War sat near the bow of Dusk's ship. Feral sat grinning out to sea as Life gave him a much needed hair cut. Mostly she was trimming out his various knots and tangles, as well as trimming him down to look more like a shaggy pony then weirdly tall wolf thing. Freya was training her legs, doing full body push ups now that she did have her ability to fly. Or would they be squats? Lucky for her she was already pretty tone, not like other griffins that rely on flight more heavily. War and Goliath were training with her over sized claymore. She had tied eight anchors to the thing for added weight. Four on both flats of the blade.

"Now that it doesn't fill me with a intense fear, the sea is pretty cool." Feral observed. He was more then a little bit twitchy.It was obvious he had more energy then he knew what to do with.
"Beautiful is only one word that describes it." Fenrir added in with a not so positive tone in her voice.

"Cute. Umm, dull. Lifeless." Ziz mocked with his laugh.
"Terrifying! The ocean is far from lifeless. Haven't you met Leviathan! She is not the only sea serpent in that freaky place!" Freya popped.

"I wonder how much is dead there are in the sea."
"That's really gross Greep." Life Blood cringed.

"Gah. Do I need this trim? I'm getting all... edgy just sitting here!" Feral began tapping his claws into the boat.
"Yes Feral, you haven't finished healing yet. You'll end up getting us both hurt and sitting here even longer." Fenrir scolded.
"Bah! You worry to much!" Feral snorted.

"Worry to much!? You nearly died a few days ago!" Life Blood gave a hard pull on his ear.
"How did you even last without Fenrir!" Greep popped in too.

"It's not my fault! The sea air might has revitalized my fighting spirit!" Feral shot a claw into the air.
"If you move to much, you'll make us start bleeding again." Fenrir gave forth a deep sigh. "Feral, you know I love you, but you've been ten times worse since you woke up."
"I feel great Fenrir! It was like I was covered in all this...stuff! And I had been in the the stuff for so long I was just used to feeling bad. Now that stuff is gone and I feel beyond amazing! Beyond glorious! And fuck do I want to fight someone!"

"You can't fight yet Feral!" Ziz squawked.
"Hey, he has a point. How are we going to get stronger if we aren't pushing ourselves to the limit! Feral is as close to the limit as he can be." Freya spoke confidently. Possibly due to her loss of light.

"Thank you Freya."
"The answer is still no Feral."
"Gah!"

As the little argument went on. War and Goliath were focused on their training. Swinging and trading blows with an imaginary opponent. Despite her massive weapon, and it's added weight, she danced around swinging the thing with almost no effort. Graceful as ever she waltzed, her partner was the blade she carried.

"War. If you don't mind my asking. Who taught you how to fight like this? You are very skilled for someone at your youth." Goliath asked as the others argued. They both ignored Life "accidentally" snipping Feral's ear a bit when a wave tipped the boat, and the incurring laughter and jokes.

"Huh? I've told you guys before my mom taught me."

"Who was your mother to be so skilled with such a blade."

"I'm not to sure. I've always intended on talking to her about it but... there's been a lot on my plate recently."

"What of your father Hatchling?"

"I only met him once. He was a mercenary so he was almost constantly away. One day news arrived that he was dead. I was still a little kid but, I remember what he told me. Mom said to remember it so I did."

"What did he say?"

"Does that really matter right now?"

"Perhaps."

War gave an annoyed sigh.

"Honey. I know you are young. But you need to remember what I am about to say. This world is full of deceit... Never turn your back on a friend... There will be those that deceive you, those that'll let you down. Live your life with a passion, Everything you do, do well. You only get out of life what you put in... so I'm told. They will never say what what they mean, don't bother with the straight answer. You make your own luck. You create your own destiny. I believe you have the power. You can do whatever you want to, as long as you are willing to fight for it. I know you must have so many questions for me. I'm sorry I missed so much. That I have to go away again so soon. Don't worry. I know all the answers. I'll come back... to fill you in. Live your own way my precious War Bond. Pffft, never took to much from it. The ass was there for maybe five minutes of my life, what the fuck can he know about anything! Then he goes and dies. Leaving me and mom again. Good for nothing shit!" War slammed her claymore in a massive overhead swing, smashing straight through the ship.

"Oy! What the Fuckin' Shit! Muh boat!" The pirate captain Dusk Bones shouted from the rear of the bridge.

The group was silent as the War bond slowly realized that she had gone from thinking, to talking, to shouting, to smashing all with in a small time frame. The sudden realization that she may have issues about the her father only made her more angry. She looked about at the eye's watching her.

"My bad." She leaked out embarrassed. "I haven't thought about my father in a long time. I guess it's something I just kinda... push away."

"I can smell you blushing War. Chill girl. We're all friends. No need to be embarrassed. You have dad issues you haven't dealt with. Comparatively that's pretty mild to my shit. Which everyone knows by know I'm sure. I killed people and, was permanently changed to be... well. Feral. I was and am pretty fucking crazy. Don't get hung up on the things we think. We are your friends War." Feral gave War his new toothy smile.

"We can help you with that kind of... poop!" Life Blood somehow beamed shyly.

Dusk Bones came galloping in. "Muy boat!"
"This is what happens when we leave you unsupervised. A hole in the boat."

"We weren't gone for long were we. I ask trying to ignore War's episode in an attempt to pretend I never saw it." Stone trotted up on his tiny legs staring up at War Bond with a joking grin.
"It's fine. I'm sure Canterlot has Shipwright."

"IN CASE YAH TAINT NOTICED ET. WE BE FUCKIN' PIRATES. AYE CAIN' JUS SAIL UP RIVER, DOCK AND ASK DAH NEXT SHIPWRIGHT AYE SEE TO FIX MAH FUCKIN' BOAT. CITIZENS DON FUCKIN WORK FER FUCKIN' PIRATES! AN' DAY SURE AS FUCK WON'T HELP US BEIN' WE LOOK LIKE A BUNCH AH FUCKIN FREAKS. WE GOT OUTLAWS ON BOARD, NOT JUST WAR 'N' FERAL, BUT AYE GOT ME WHOLE FUCKIN CREW TO WORRY ABOUT YOU FUCKIN' FUCKS! FER FU-"
"DUSK, CALM THE DOWN. TAKE IT DOWN A NOTCH. Cool it." The pair looked far more serpentine then earlier. The more he seemed to yell, the more his scales seem to pop, and the little wing/fins that normally belonged to Levi snuck themselves out onto his body.

"Wait he's right. A lose criminal, a AWOL solider, a pirate, and a little kid might attract some unwanted attention. I'm also like the only Griffin in the country so there's also that. We wont be able to just walk up to Celestia or Luna." Freya cut in much to the groups dismay.

Feral gave forth an exaggerated laugh. "Yes. I've thought about this for a while. Secretly. Because I'm insane. And no one here want's to do the crazy guy's plan. Well. I'm getting ahead of myself."

Feral stood, shook off the cut fur to reveal a surprisingly dapper version of himself, even with his bleeding ear, before sitting down calmly.
"I have plan."