Sky Pirates of Valentine

“Wake up, Ava. Time to fly.” Star opened the door to his friends room, which was fortunately left unlocked. Ava had nothing to fear in somewhere he had been well acquainted too, so he often left it unlocked.

“Nghhuh...” Ava mumbled, pillow on his head. “What’s the time...”

“Five in the morning. Come on. We’re taking off in five hours. You better get yourself ready.”
“Urgh...” was all that Ava could mutter before Star closed the door, leaving him to get up in peace. StarStorm knew just how painful it was to have a good nights sleep cut short by ... a disturbance.

“Ember. Get the clearance from the dock workers, i’ll meet you on Harbinger in ten minutes.” Star said to Ember, who was standing behind him. Ember nodded quickly, running down the stairs, whilst Star stood where he was, looking up the stairs leading to the floor above. ‘Maybe I shouldn’t...’ Star thought. Last night, he had been thinking back. Some ponies did not seem like they would survive more then a week out in the sky. But they had the courage to stay, even after the warnings. Even then, with or without their courage, some may die for no reason. ‘Maybe I shouldn’t bring them aboard. But... i’ve been surprised before. Maybe they’ll be worth it.’

A crew always had to be thought through. StarStorm needed a good balance of courageous ponies, as well as able ponies, who would actually survive. Blue... Blue didn’t seem very capable of much. A cloud painter. What use could he have for her on a ship heading to Africa? Navigation... he could handle the navigation on his own. ‘Why am I letting her on my ship... ah, whatever.’ There was another voice telling him to bring her. A voice, as if by fate. There was something special about Blue, drawing her towards him.

“Dammit. I was having the nicest dream...” Ava interrupted his thoughts, making him spin around to greet his friend.

“A dream’s a dream. Get back in reality. Come on, we have a ship to launch.”

“Yeah, yeah...” Ava quietly said under his breath. Star ran down the stairs, in the same fashion of Ember, followed by a sleepy Ava, flying his way down so he would not trip over his hooves. Descending to the bottom, Star flashed a quick smile at Lapiz, a notion of farewell, and flew out the glass doors of the hotel-like inn. The city was just as busy as it was in midday, even with the morning atmosphere. This city never slept. Not anymore.

Noticing Ava catching up, Star found a nearby cloud, grabbing hold of it in mid-flight and throwing it at him. Ava, still drowsy, yelped as the cloud splattered onto him, drenching him, cold and wet. “Why!?”

“Just so you don’t fall asleep while flying. Thank me later, now come on!” Star shot off, leaving Ava to catch up alone. Arriving at Harbinger, the dock had been cleared just for its take-off, no busy ships would be clattered around it while they were taking off. Ember was talking with a few ponies down on the pier and Star noticed his ship had been fully repaired, there weren’t any scratches on the hull, the sails had been mended and the floors cleaned to seem new. Landing next to Ember and the other ponies, Star admired his ship, looking up at it as the sun rose upon it once more.

“Cleaned her up, gave her a few upgrades here and there, and you’re ready to go, pal.” said the lead carpenter, who was also in charge of the whole repairing operation. “Also cleared up the docks, you’ve got a straight path to take off.”

Star whistled, smiling. A thought snapped him out of his admiration of his ship. The costs. “I can see that. How much do I owe you?”

“Just six hundred bits.”

“Ember, pay this fine stallion.” Star was not going to get into the financial stuff now, and not ever. Ember groaned as he walked off with the lead carpenter, discussing the costs and methods of transaction.

“Finally... back in the air.” Star whispered to himself. Ava finally landed next to him, yawning and rubbing his eyes.

“There’s still, like, four hours until anypony shows up. Why do we have to be here so early...” Ava whined.

“Don’t be such a whiny colt, you slept at least eight hours last night. That’s good enough.” Star was still looking up at his ship.

“I need more than that...”

“Well you’re going to have fun with the night shifts, my friend.”

“Oh screw me...”

“Save that for the mares. Now lets go, we need to check off everything.” Star and Ava flew up onto his ship, walking around the deck, checking out the new equipment and styling. Around three hours had passed, and they were still walking around, discussing their flight route and their plans. “The sooner we get there, the sooner we stop ‘planning’ this stuff.”

Ava nodded, no longer sleepy. “Hey, get all our talking out of the way now, and we can just concentrate on the action later. To be honest, i’m getting tired of this too.”

“Look. On the docks.” Star nodded his head towards the docks, where ponies where gathering, the same ponies from yesterday, but in bigger numbers.

“We got a bigger crew?” Ava looked over the side, down at the ponies.

“No. That’s their families. Ava, I thought you would realize the whole process by now... they come here with their families, say their goodbyes, kiss, hug, you get the whole deal.” Star sat down, head resting on the rails.

“Yeah... yeah. I miss my family.”

“I bet Ember does too, Ava. But we are the family now. Brothers. Look on the bright side, no teary goodbyes.” Star could see from his view all the ponies who were getting ready to leave, some with bags strapped to their sides, some with little fillies and colts, kissing their children farewell. Crying mares, holding onto their stallions for what could be the last time. They all knew the risks associated with this line of work, piracy, and no doubt they had heard about the dangers of Africa.

“Not yet, at least.” Ava continued.

“Yeah. Not yet.” Star replied tersely. The board ramp was down, and a few ponies had begun getting onto the Harbinger, going down into the brig to place their belongings into their rooms, with their families still waiting on them at the dock. “Recognize any?”

Ava scoped the crowd, spotting familiar ponies who were previously part of the crew. “Yeah. I’d say almost half of them have been with us before. Say, we’re really ... well, I don’t know how to put it into words.”

“Might as well attempt. We’re really what?”

“Well... we’re... um... associated? Yeah, associated with halves.”

“What?”

“Well, you know, half our crew got drunk. Half our crew have been with us before. Half our crew are brave, like you told me, half our crew are able. It’s all halves.”

“Why the hell do you notice these things?”

“I... don’t know, Star. Hey, Ember is back!” Ava waved to his friend as Ember walked up the board ramp, along with other ponies. Many were beginning to board, as the launch was in one hour. It was better to get everything out of your bags onto the ship, then go back out to spend your final hour with your loved ones, and run back on just before the ship would take off.

“Hey. You two doing okay?” Ember joined them on their spot on the ship, looking over the railing at the show of tears and hugs.

“Yeah.” Star answered.

“We were talking about random stuff. I was just talking about how we keep getting halves.” Ava also said.

“Well, half of us was talking about halves.” Star said flatly, looking at Ava.

“What the heck are you two on about?” Ember laughed, confused.

“Nevermind. Say, Ember, spot anypony interesting?” Star got his head off the rail, looking over at the helm, where he would soon be flying the ship.

“I can... oh... it’s them.”

“Who?” Star turned his head back to the commotion on the docks, now spreading out onto the pier, as family members got closer to the ship.

“Those two we met yesterday. That were fighting that... thing.”

“Ah. Rifty and Kale. So they joined after all...”

“Probably hoping to hunt some giant monster in Africa and then over-exaggerate it with their monster hunting buddies.”

“With the kinda monsters in Africa, they’d more likely be under-exaggerating.” Star replied. Ava saw a pony he knew, smiling at him and walking over, Star and Ember watching him walk away.

“Who else can you spot?”

“Your favourite colour.”

“... uh, silver?”

“No, Blue.”

“Oh, her. Where?” Ember pointed a hoof over the side of the ship and towards Blue. She was alone, no bags, since she had already placed them on the ship. Weaving through the crowd of ponies, she made her way onto the boardwalk, trotting up the ramp and pass them. “No family either, eh?” Star asked Ember.

“The hell would I know? Maybe she just doesn’t like goodbyes.”

“Maybe. Crap- wait, what’s the time?” Star looked around, hoping to see a clock of some kind. None in sight. ‘Reminder... put a clock on deck, somewhere.’

“Um, I don’t know... maybe four?”

“We’ve gotta fly this thing. Get as many ponies as you can to get on, and sound the horns. We’re taking off.” Star quickly flew over to the helm of Harbinger, a wide smile on his face as his hooves touched the wheel once more. ‘Good to be back.’ The levers on the side of the ship were shining, his wheel smooth and ready to go. ‘Workers did a damn good job.’

“We’re taking off! Get on!” random voices called out, making Star look up down at the board ramp. “Move it, move it!” Star could just pick up the Embers voice, on the riggings, his legs swaying on the rope he was holding onto, waving his free hoof in the air. Ponies rushed on board, giving one final look to their lovers and family, before rushing onto the deck along with the rest of them. A loud horn sounded, and as Star looked around, he could see that Ava was the one who blew it. Another blast of the horn, and ponies were flying onto the ship, teleporting around before running to the starboard side of Harbinger, leaning over the rails as they waved their hooves at the crowd back on the dock.

To the left side of the wheel, StarStorm glanced at a little indicator, on a panel besides the lever. This lever was the one used to adjust the altitude, leaving it down will move the ship down until it reaches ground, moving it up will make the ship go up as far as it can and leaving it in the middle will keep it hovering at the current height it’s at. The indicator is used to see the status of the levitation crystals which gave the ship the ability to fly, and from what he saw, the crystals were charged and ready to power. A loud humming sound was heard, taking over the sound of crowded ponies, as the crystals came to life once more after their break. “Pull in the ramps!” a voice called out. The board ramp was pulled in, and stored into the top deck itself, underneath the wooden floors. Another nifty feature they recently picked up. The humming died down as the crystals got warmed up again, and was reduced to a gentle hum. As the ship slowly ascended, every pony was now on the starboard side, waving frantically, smiling, crying, cheering, jumping, everything you would normally expect on the departure of a ship. The enormous rear engines emerged from their place under the water, dripping, partly splashing some unfortunate ponies nearby. They had been left under the water to cool, and were designed to be waterproof.

Pulling on his right lever, Star started up the engine turbines. To the right side of the wheel there was a similar panel to the left but with a few more indicators and lights. This was used for the status of the engine turbines on the rear and the status of fuel lines, as well as the masts and sails, different decks within the ship and other things. The engines coughed to life, igniting with a small spark, starting with a small flame about the size of a room. With so many ponies nearby, and the stern of the Harbinger facing the city, StarStorm could not put them into full power... yet. The Harbinger began to move forwards, and Star pulled the altitude lever to the middle, keeping it at a steady height above the crowd, about level with the top of Olympus inn.

‘Still cheering... not for long.’ Star grinned happily as he pushed up the power lever, increasing the turbine output, drowning out the cheers with a powerful roar of blue and purple flame, the ship moving forwards faster by the second. ‘Thirty percent... come on, come on!’ the distance between the dock and the ship got further, and most ponies were now holding onto something or going below deck to cry in the privacy of their own room as they ready for a voyage which could last for months.

StarStorm reveled in the power of being captain, enjoying every moment of the take-off procedure, knowing thousands of eyes were on his ship at this very moment, watching the red plated airship taking off, leaving a trail of blue sparks and awed ponies. Ava had made his way to the helm, as well as Ember, and the both stood by his side as he went through with the procedure. Blue, strangely, also appeared behind him, watching him. StarStorm rolled his shoulders, his wing blades cool on the edge of his wing bones, ready for action. Of course, he wouldn’t need it this early, but it was all part of the show.

“So this is what it’s like!” Blue squeaked happily. Star did not look back, but from what he could hear of her voice, she must be extremely ecstatic.

“Hold onto something for a second, Blue.” Star ordered. Warm hooves wrapped around his neck and a head snuggled into the side of his face.

“Sure thing, captain.” Blue replied. Ava facehoofed and Ember laughed, facehoofing soon after.

“Well how much did she cost, Star?” Ember joked.

“A drink and a room, now hold on!” Star pushed the power lever to seventy percent, making the blue fire explode into a fiery display of force, as the ship lurched forward in speed, creating a powerful sound that made their ears quiver, shaking as they held on. The wind swiftly coursed through his fur, making his teeth chatter, the coolness of the air countered by the warmth of their mare hugging onto him, her legs tightening as she squealed in fear and excitement. Crew on deck were shaken, but none seemed to loose their footing, most had gone into their rooms already, meeting their neighbors and exploring the interior of the ship. The rest, mainly those who were already members of StarStorms crew, were moving around, grabbing ropes, enjoying the feeling of speed as they zoomed away from the city of Valentine.

‘That should be enough...’ pushing down on the lever, the engines were calmed, and they returned to their normal speed of forty-five percent. This would provide a leisure flight, which would get them where they wanted on time, but also wasn’t too fast to work with. “There. You can let go now, Blue.”

“Nah, i’m fine where I am.” Blue rubbed her face against his, her wings wrapped around him. “That was quick... really quick. And cold.”

StarStorm gasped, coughing, practically being choked by her. “Blue! N-neck!”

“OH! Sorry!” Blue quickly released him, stepping back. Ember and Ava left them alone on deck, and had gone at some point without Star noticing. “Wow! We’re already all the way out here! Valentine looks like a bunch of squares from all the way out here... in fact, I can’t even see it that much.”

“B-” Star took a break to get some air back into his lungs. “Blue, go get used to the ship. Go meet some ponies or something. I’ve got to take her up above the clouds, and find the right airways to get us to where we want. I’m gonna need some concentration for a bit, okay?”

“Her?”

“The ship.”

“Oki dokes, captain!” Blue saluted, something Star rarely ever saw, and walked to the brig, disappearing from his sight. ‘Why did she salute me...?’ Star pulled up on the altitude, taking the harbinger higher. Using his sight, as well as his fur, he saw the clouds moving to the west, from what he could tell by a compass held up on the railing besides the wheel.

Minutes passed as StarStorm adjusted the ship to match the height he had previously planned on with Ava, reaching the perfect altitude, the sails picking up and doing part of his job for him. ‘That should do... for now.’

“Hey, captain!” a voice called. Two stallions approached him on the top deck.

“Rifty, Kale. Glad to see you’re with us.”

Rifty looked over the side of the top deck, Kale keeping his distance. “Didn’t think we’d be going this fast!” Rifty chuckled.

“So, what do you think we’ll be hunting in Africa, captain?” Kale seemed a bit airsick, which was unnatural since Star knew about how he and Rifty would fly together. Must have been the speed and the swaying of the ship.

“Don’t know, Kale, but whatever it is, you’ll probably be the only ones in your guild to ever hunt it.”

“Sounds good to me. When are we getting there?” Kale replied. Rifty was still looking over the sides.

“A month or two to get there, a month staying there, and a the same amount of time to get back.” noticing Kales look of disappointment, StarStorm quickly added “We’ll also be stealing from some fat merchant ships, so keep your guard up. I’m going to need you when we board their ships. You and Rifty over there.”

“Sure thing. Well, that’s all we needed to know. Come on, Rifty.” at the sound of his name, Rifty got off the side of the ship, returning to his friends side, and leaving with him. Now, it was StarStorm, alone with a few others running around. Just yesterday he had been dodging through crowds of ponies. Now, he was out in the sky, his natural habitat, his home, but alone. Clicking a locking mechanism on the side of the wheel, Star left the helm momentarily, finding Ember on the other side of the ship.

“Ember, go take over for a bit. I’m gonna go below deck, check out how everything is going.” Star told his friend. As Ember went to the helm to do as he was asked, Star went down the hatch, into the brig, which was now full of ponies. ‘Funny. I was just thinking about how quiet it was... and now...’ chatters echoed down the wooden hallways, doors opening and closing constantly, the sound of bags and clothes, making Star have to shut his ears. Making his way through, he found the kitchen, finding a familiar face. “Oddends!”

“Oh, hey!” Oddend replied, looking up from her work in the kitchen. She had an apron on, and was already preparing a meal with about twenty other ponies inside the kitchen, which was surprisingly large.

“We just took off, you’re already cooking, huh?” Star said in a friendly tone. ‘Glad to see you’re still with us...‘ he thought, watching her cook.

“First day needs to have a big feast to make everypony feel welcome, right?” Oddend replied with the same friendly voice, her Hazel eyes darting around the kitchen, looking for spoons and other utensils Star had no clue about. He expected a unicorn to be more useful in the kitchen, using magic to cook, but Oddend used her wings in ways he couldn’t even try, moving around plates and objects while cooking with her hooves and mouth. When her mouth didn’t have a spoon in it, she was blowing the light brown mane out of her eyes, and dusting out the powder from her fur.

“Right. Good luck feeding four hundred ponies. I’m gonna check up the medical bay.”

“Cya round, Starry.” Oddend spoke as she kept working away. Star left the kitchen to find the medical bay, another important part of the ship.

‘Hopefully no pony has injured themselves yet. Please be empty...’ opening the door to the medical bay, Star found a new medic, a stallion and one he had not met before... looking over a pony on a bed. “Okay, why is there already a pony in the medical bay?”

“This guy tripped down the stairs.” the stallion replied. He wore a doctors coat, with glasses and had an orange mane, with freckles. From what Star could see, he had grey eyes, which were fixed on the leg of the pony on bed.

“Hey, the ship was fast, okay!?” the pony stated.

“Are you a medic, my friend?” Star asked the stallion.

“Yes sir, call me Nursery-Rhyme.” the stallion answered, looking over to him and smiling, before back to the patient and frowning.

Star laughed softly, as the stallion tapped the patients leg, making the patient whimper. “You’re our medic, eh? Well...” Star shook his head. An earth pony for a medic. An earth pony fighting in the sky. Earth ponies were getting quite extraordinary these days.

“What?” Nursery-Rhyme asked.

“Can I just call you Rhyme for short? Or maybe Doc?”

“Doc will do just fine, captain.”

“Doc it is... Doc. Well, keep up the good work. Give him a lollipop or something, that’ll shut him up.”

“It hurts more then you think, you know!” the patient cried.

“I’m sure it does. I’ll be going now, cya.”

“Cya.” Doc replied. Leaving those two to their troubles, Star walked around, greeting new ponies, chatting with old friends and checking the rooms. Everything seemed in order. Star eventually got to Blues room, where she was writing down on a journal.

Star leaned into her doorway, thinking what he should do. She still had not noticed him. “What are you writing there?”

“Wh-!!” slamming her journal closed, she spun around and gave Star and angry glare. “Don’t sneak up on a mare like that!”

“You’re one to talk about sneaking up, aren’t you?” Star entered her room.

“Sh- shush your face, Starry-butt.” Blue pushed her journal away, standing between StarStorm and her desk.

“Well that’s a first. Starry-butt. Nice name.” Star grinned cheekily.

“It’s just my journal, okay? I ... I want to write about what happens, so I can remember this when I get back home.”

“Yeah, yeah. Blue. Why did I let you on board?”

“Wh-what?”

“...hm. Well, you’re our navigator, better get used to the maps and the wind direction. Come on, i’ll show you around.” Star left her room, waiting outside for her to follow. ‘Maybe because she’s a navigator like I was...’

Blue glanced back at her journal, and back to Star, giving him a smile, trying to forget her little outburst a second ago. “Okay, Star.” she left with him, closing her door tightly.