Early morning, the sun had not yet appeared over the horizon, but the orange haze of light had begun to spread across the sky, the clouds becoming visible as the golden rays stretched across the heavens. StarStorm, standing alone on the very top deck, remembered a song back in his early days of sky sailing, before he was a captain and was just the navigator. He remembered his captain... singing to him, Ember and Ava, a song about the sky, the sea, and how it changes after the rain. It was uplifting, he recalled, and was his favourite song to think about whenever he felt alone on a voyage.

“Like the ocean needs the moon to take the tides away... all we needs a little time to chase the blues awa-a-a-ay~ Sun is out and it feels, like it’s always, gonna stay. Let this last forever, turn tomorrow, into yesterday...” Star hummed quietly sang to himself, watching the sun make its first appearance over the ocean, shadows forming on his ship, making the metallic cover of the railings glint and shine. ‘Dammit... doesn’t sound as good as hers. Well, least I remember the lyrics.’ Star thought. No other ponies were on the top deck, many were down on the main deck, taking into account what needs to be fixed, or what needed to be changed. It was fairly quiet, on the Harbinger.

Hoof steps could be heard coming up the stairs on the sides of the ship, towards the top deck. The sea wind was the coldest around this time of the morning, and he felt a shiver run down his spine as the air brushed through his fur, chilling him. “Are you spending the night here, or at Olympus, Star?” asked Ava. He didn’t look tired. Probably didn’t do much last night, and just talked instead of really celebrating.

“I don’t know. Depends on how I feel. Maybe i’ll just stay on the ship for a bit...” Star answered, but still looked over the railings towards the rising sun.

“Everyone else is staying at the Olympus. Might as well come join us.” Ava tried to reason.

“We’ll see, won’t we?”

“Alright. Shall we go walk around the city? Maybe buy some food, chips or something.”

“Sounds nice. Wait. It’s morning. They wouldn’t be selling chips this early, would they?” Star stopped, looking over the buildings in the city from their position on the ship. The ship was quite large, and rose high over the smaller houses nearby, so they could see quite far.

“Don’t know. Might as well go see.” Ava walked ahead, and Star began to follow, but stopped again.

“I don’t know... I have to wait for somepony.”

“Who?”

“Some mare called Blue.”

Ava stopped in his tracks, looking back. “Who’s that?”

“You’ll meet her soon enough, don’t worry.” StarStorm thought about it. She could wait, he was hungry after all. Shrugging, Star kept walking. Once they reached the main deck, they passed some ponies who were strapping the cannons down onto the wooden boards, and tightening rope across the railings. “I’ll be back in a bit.” Star made sure to tell a crew mate as he walked by, so they’d at least know he’ll return to the ship.

Ava and Star flew off the sides of the ship, instead of walking down the board ramp, and landed on the pier next to the Harbinger. Although Harbinger was an airship, when it was not on, it would rest in the water, just like a normal ship. Walking down the pier, the activity began to pick up, the hum of conversations filling the air as they walked towards the city.

“Alright, now that we’re alone, lets discuss the flight route to our next destination. Where do you plan on going, Star?” the more professional side of Ava coming in, he wanted to plan things out before making any decisions. Three days, despite what others may believe, is quite a short amount of time to plan a voyage across the continents. Well, now there was only two days left...

Star looked around, trying to find something interesting to buy from merchants on the street, but there was nothing that met his interests. “I’m thinking of going to... Africa. Past the Mediterranean, and through the islands that dot along it coast. From what i’ve heard, merchants love that place, it’s got different minerals, resources, and an abundance of trade amongst other animals. A dragon horn might not matter that much in Equestrian, but a rhino in Africa could use it for some worshipping ritual for all I know. The point is, it’s perfect.”

Ava too, was looking around at merchants, eyeing their wares. Exotic swords, fancy armor, strange linen clothing. Africa was a great trading country, but Valentine was a great trading city in its own right. Its position on the Equestrian coast had made it the quickest city to reach from another country, and as the city grew, so did business, and as business grew, so did the city. Back when StarStorm had arrived, before the liberation of this once small town, Valentine was full of Equestrians, there was rarely any foreigners. But back then, Valentine was poor, bullied into submission by a bunch of pirates from unknown origins. Star was proud of this city... of what it had become. But he strangely missed the old days... his old crew... and his captain.

“Rich merchants trying to get richer by trading with Africa... can you just imagine the merchant ships, Ava? Full of gold, gems and the whole lot. We’re going to be richer then any pony in Canterlot!” StarStorm exclaimed.

“I like the sound of it... but wouldn’t it be dangerous? Giant merchant ships don’t travel alone. They travel in fleets, and i’m sure the rich bastards are aware of pirates like us. They’d probably use that richness to buy guards, heavy Man-O-Wars, and plenty of protection.” There goes Ava, thinking about the flaws in Stars plan.

“I think you underestimate us, Ava. We can handle them. I’ve still got a few tricks under my wings.” Star stopped walking as he found a merchant he knew. The very first pony he had talked to in Valentine. “Ah. Doing well for yourself, eh Flicker?”

Flicker, a dark orange-brown pony with with a blonde mane and a beard looked up at him from his seat behind the counter of his store. “StarStorm. Leaving soon?”

“Two days.”

“... still wearing those bangles, I see? I told you they’d last throughout the ages.”

“Grown fond of these things, strangely.” Star lifted his front right leg to show the three silver bangles wrapped around it. There were another three on his left front leg, and three more on his back right leg. Though he bought them years ago, they still were as shiny and durable as ever. “They’re like a part of me now. Like my stars.”

“Never thought back then that when I sold that to you... things would change so dramatically.” Flicker said. A waiting customer returned with some money, paying him as he handed the customer a gold necklace.

“One action goes a long way...” Star told Flicker. Ava noticed something strange. It didn’t seem like Star was directly talking to Flicker... it seemed like he was reciting something. Maybe that was one of those quotes StarStorm had memorized over his lifetime. “See you round, Flick.”

“Be well.” Flicker waved them goodbye as they walked off. Star could still remember they day he had met him... sitting on a carpet on the street, selling those bangles for only five bits. Once a beggar, along with three quarters of the merchants in the street they walked through. They were all once just... beggars. And now, they were living a better life.

“He’s changed, hasn’t he?” Ava asked Star.

“They all have. Anyway. Lets go find some food. That’s what we came here for, right?”

“Right.” Ava wondered what Star must be like to some pony who never met him. Their conversations were quite casual, but that was because of their long friendship. Star probably acted like an idiot around new ponies. But to his true friends... he was always more tactical.

“There’s a shop.” Star pointed his wing towards a shop selling breakfast foods. Entering the shop together, StarStorm noticed a pair of stallions eating some pancakes. “You know what, screw chips, lets have something sweet. Pancakes.”

“Whatever.” Ava and Star walked up to the employee behind the counter.

“Two pancakes for us. Honey and stuff.” Star told him.

“Six bits.”

“I’ll pay.” Ava told Star, pulling out a pouch from under his wings, taking out six golden bits.

“Please wait three minutes.” Said the employee, going behind the kitchen to get their food. Star and Ava took a seat on a table, yawning.

“We’ll see how the merchant fleet works, first of all. Then we’ll deal with them based on that. Don’t worry Ava. I’ve got this.”

“If you say so, Star...” as he spoke, a blue mare walked in, the same mare StarStorm met before. Ava saw Star suddenly look up, and out of instinct, looked as well. “Is that the... blue mare you told me about?”

“Yup. That’s her.”

“What’s her name?”

“Blue. Blue Horizon, I think, is her full name.”

“Blue. A blue mare is called Blue. Well that’s creative.” Ava said sarcastically. Blue had made her order, and still had not noticed them.

“Blue!” Star exclaimed. She turned her head, and her face brightened as she spotted the two.

“Oh hey!” Blue said, approaching them and taking a seat by their table. “You eat here too?”

“No, it was the closest place that sells food, so yeah.” Ava answered.

“Oh, I was thinking the same thing. I saw your ship, and I was gonna go, but I got kinda hungry so I decided to wait a bit. Hah, but now that we’re all here.... what’s up?” she said cheerfully.

“Just deciding where we’re going. Africa. Plus, we’ll be making a few stops at some islands from here.” Star told her.

“Africa? What’s so interesting about that old place?” as she asked, a unicorn arrived with their food hovering with his magic. The unicorn placed it on the table, apologizing for the wait, and returned back to the kitchen. Star began to eat immediately, enjoying the sweet taste of honey, after so long.

Ava had not eaten yet, but felt like he should explain to her what was going on. “Yep. It’s rich, full of different animals, and an easy way to get rich. Good enough reason for us.” Ava told her, and began to eat as well.

“Really? You’re not going to, like, burn a village down, or destroy ships?” Blue asked. The same unicorn returned with some coffee, placing it in front of Blue. Blue gave a word of thanks, and began to drink.

Star stopped eating, giving her a look of confusion. “Well, I don’t know about the ‘burning villages’ part, but we’ll be destroying ships, so don’t worry. We’ll give you a little taste of your pirate fantasies.”
“.... and they were gone by then. Hah, did you see the way she ran? We should have stabbed her legs, that would have been more interesting to watch.” a boasting earth pony said, walking in. He was accompanied by a pegasus, who was laughing along to his story. Blue turned around at their conversation, seeming disturbed and angry. Star and Ava, on the other hoof, were digging into their meals. The employee looked as if he could care less. No pony in the room really minded at all, except for Blue. The earth pony was dark green, long dark brown mane, and his friend was a red furred, light purple mane pegasi. They began ordering their breakfast.

“Hey!” Blue exclaimed. “What did you just say?” getting up from her seat, Blue walked over to the two, stomping her hooves.

“...Um, two drinks and some bread?” answered the pegasus.

“W--- not just then! About stabbing somepony!” she yelled, trying to get her point across. The employee had gone off to get their food, and some ponies in the shop were watching her. Ava and Star were still eating away.

“Listen, lady, mind your own business. We did what we did, and you don’t have anything to do with it.” the earth pony said. They didn’t seem angry, or one of the shady ponies around town, but they seemed quite tough.

“Well that was good. Lets go.” Star told Ava, getting up and licking his lips. ‘Ah, sweet honey. Better get back to the ship...’ Star though. Perhaps he should bring some in case he wants to have some sweets during the flight. Perhaps.

“What about her?” Ava asked, looking at Blue, who seemed to be in a argument with the two.

“She’ll come, just watch.” Star walked pass the commotion, out the door they came in from, followed by a hesitating Ava. About a few seconds after they left, Blue came rushing up to the two, red in the face.

“Hey! Why didn’t you two do anything?! Those jerks could have just gotten away with a robbery!” Blue growled, constantly looking back at the shop, and then back to the two.

“Because we’re no better then them.” StarStorm answered.

“They’re dirty thieves!” Blue kept saying.

“So. You fantasize about the pirate lifestyle, but you hate thieves? Ava, do you sense any flaws in her logic?” Star turned to Ava, who kept his mouth shut. He knew well enough not to anger mares... “Blue, let it go.”

“They could have killed some pony!”

“Were you even listening to the story last night? Didn’t you hear Skrif talking about us killing every pony on the Valmy?” Blue began to go quiet, looking down at the ground. “If you’re joining our crew, you’ll have to get use to it. We’re pirates. Not heroes. If they did something wrong, let the police deal with them. Not us.”

“...okay.” Blue said quietly. They group were now walking back towards the ship, an hour had passed already, it seems, from the position of the sun.

“You can’t accuse some pony of being a murderer just because he said ‘stab in the leg’. We don’t know what he’s talking about, or when it happened. Think, next time.” Star could already tell having her on board would be a bit difficult... with her attitude, and the things they would be doing, he could sense the upcoming problems. He just hoped she wouldn’t get in his way. In their way.

“We have to tell the harbor master about our stay.” Ava said, trying to change the topic.

“We’ll do it when we get there. Blue, go get your stuff and put it on the ship, we’ll meet you there.” Star told Blue, and she nodded, flying into the sky.

Eventually, the two reached the docks, more crew were out on the ship by now. StarStorm passed the harbor master, which looked strangely... different. Dark brown fur, black and red mane and blue eyes. "Uh, Harbinger captain. We're docked for three days." Star told him. The harbor master looked up from his papers, glasses glistening, cold, dark eyes looking up into StarStorms eyes. Looking at his desk, Star noticed the schematics of a certain airship... the Beluga. A ship that was reported to have been blown up. Why would he have the Beluga schematics now, anyway...

"That'll be forty bits a day, so a hundred and twenty bits."

Nodding to a nearby crew member, the crew member trotted towards Ava and Star. "Pay him a hundred and twenty bits, Jay." Jay nodded, Star and Ava leaving the two to discuss the financial problems amongst themselves. ‘I hate finance...’ Star thought.

"A hundred and twenty bits? Seems a bit much. Who is he, anyway?"

Looking back, Star spotted a few various scars, and a knife strapped to his back leg. "Don't know, don't want to..." Star and Ava boarded their ship again, flying onto the second deck, which had the captains quarters on it. Opening the two doors, they walked in, leaving the door open.

“Alright. I’ve got the maps, which have the sky routes to Africa.”

“Good. Find me the most busiest shipping line, and we’ll take that route. I’ll need details on the altitude of the shipping line, as well as any cities nearby.” Ava nodded, trotting out StarStorms quarters and onto the main deck, disappearing below as he entered the hatch.

Blue had returned with her luggage in her mouth, packed with some accessories, a bit of clothing, and other various things that mares would bring along. “Some pony know where to put my stuff?” Blue asked, dropping her luggage as she spoke.

“Oh yeah. Down below, find an open room that isn’t taken.” a nearby sailor told her. He was surrounded by four of his friends. She smiled at him, picking up her luggage and entering the deck through the hatch opposite of Ava, trying to find a room. “So, anyway, I told him that he had no chance...” the sailor continued speaking to his friends.

Blue, below decks, was getting looking, and found one after a minute of searching. A door was half opened, and Blue poked her head in. It seemed like a nice room, but Blue wasn’t sure if it was taken or not. Backing out, she looked into the room next to her, which had a stallion looking through his clothes. “Uh, hi, is the room n-”

“Argh!” the stallion screamed, jumping back and rushing to the door, slamming it in front of Blues face.

“Um... okay...” Blue shrugged, entering the room next to him and settling down on the bed, closing the door as she placed her belongings around the room. There was a sign with the numbers 028 on it. Not sure what it was for, she stepped outside, looking down the hallway at the other doors. The ones she had passed had numbers on their doors, and the empty rooms had no numbers at all. Figuring it out, Blue looked at her door, noticing a small wooden hook coming out of it. “Oh.” Blue picked up the sign with her mouth, placing it on the front of the door. ‘That must be how they know which room is taken.’ Blue thought.

Leaving her room, once it was finished being decorated, Blue left it to go back up on deck. She noticed the doors open to the captain quarters, and from what she knew, she guessed that was where StarStorm would be sleeping. Flying towards it, she carefully flew into his room. “Star!” Blue said happily, as she noticed the starry stallion. Blue felt better, not as angry as she was before, and thought about how rash she was. “I got my stuff prepared and all.”

“Good. Now you have to wait for another day until I give the briefing to the crew.” Star was looking over some maps Ava had given him in the time that she was settling into the ship.

“Wow...” Blue said to herself. Star turned from his map and raised an eyebrow.

“What?”

“This is your room? Every other pony sleeps in a little cabin and you get this entire room to yourself?”

Rolling his eyes, StarStorm looked back at his maps. “Yeah. Part of the benefits of being captain. Especially on this ship.”

“I wish I had a room like this. It’s so fancy.”

“Hold on, where are you going to stay if your stuff is here?” Star did not look up from his story, still calculating the distance and time it would take to get from one point to another.

“Olympus. With everypony else, of course!”

“Righto. I... AHA!” Star slammed a hoof down on the table. Blue jumped, walking over beside him.

“What?”

“I found the perfect route.” StarStorm pointed a hoof down on the map. “We’re here. We’ll take the Vistain airway through to an island, where we’ll stock up with the town there. From there, we’ll go straight into the merchant line, steal as much as we can and fly straight to Africa, and go into hiding.”

“Sounds fun!”

“Yeah... fun. Come on! Lets go to Olympus and stay there for a bit, Ava and every other pony is probably hanging around there.” Star turned to leave, but looked back at the map. “Actually, you go ahead, i’ll meet you there.”

Blue tilted her head, wondering why the sudden change of heart, but shrugged, running outside, leaping into the air, and flying towards the giant inn, towering above the city. As she left, Ember walked in, patting Star on the back.

“Hey. Got it all planned out?” Ember asked.

“Yeah. You get us some more ponies on this ship, we’ll need some monster hunters, bounty hunters, and plain ponies that know their way around a ship. Find us some tough ones, eh? We’re going to Africa after all.”

“Africa, eh? ... sounds pretty dangerous. We haven’t been there since...” Ember stopped, looking down at the ground.

“We don’t need her to go to Africa. We can handle ourselves.”

“Yeah... but still. Aurora knew her way around.” Ember sighed.

“Hey, she didn’t leave us with nothing to work on. We learnt from her personally, so we’ll be fine. Trust me. There’s a reason we were trusted with this ship. You, me, Ava. As long as we’re together, we can make it through.” Star seemed sincere, strange, given how they were acting towards each other last night.

“Yeah. So, what are we doing in Africa?” Ember looked at the map.

“We’ll be stealing, destroying, killing, running, the whole drill. Same as last month, but with bigger ships, and a helluva lot of them.”

“Stepping up, aye? Got ya. Come on, lets go to Olympus. We’ll let the engineers and carpenters fix up the ship overnight, and give the briefing tomorrow.”

“That’s the plan.” grinning at each other, they left the room, flying out towards the inn. A new adventure. But this time... on new land. Star felt excitement, the same excitement the last time he went to Africa, with the old crew. Africa was poorer back then, just like Valentine, but as business picked up, it changed. Star head stories around the tavern about giant gems found in African mines, and how the land had changed. Africa wasn’t the same way it was back then. It was now bustling with activity. And this time... StarStorm was returning with a crew of his own. With his own riches. And his own plans.

Author's Note

This chapter is probably the most boring. But it pretty much explains the story and what they'll be doing.