Guns of Pegasus

"...Hey! HEY! Wake up already!"

"Hnnn... Wh... Wha...?"

"Wake the buck up! Your crew and captain left you behind!" Shouted out the Bartender, an old Stallion, with a beard as long as his age. He shook a young Stallion, with a pair of navigator goggles on his head. His coat was rust-Orange, under a brown cow leather jacket. His mane was combed backwards, with a certain tone of brown, yet with a dominance of Red. His tail was exceptionally short, and he was drunk. Drunk like if there was no tomorrow.

"Oh.. Oh, OH, SH-" He halfways said, as he tried to get up, but he ended falling back from the stool, smashing the hardwood ground with his back.

Unable to move on his own, he just limited himself to look at the Bartender, that was looking at him from the other side of the bar, with an amused expression. "Oh, and they said that you would pay the drinks. One-Thousand bits , kiddo."

"WHAT?!" He exclaimed, temporally recovering control of himself at the shock of a debt he was never going to be able to pay. "How the hay you want me to pay a -friggin'- Thousand Bits!"

"I dunno, that's up to you, kiddo." Replied the Bartender, smiling evily. "But you have to pay me anwyays. Or else..." He patted under the bar, where a Shotgun was waiting.

The Stallion started to rub his mane in pure preocuppation. He didn't knew how to make that much money, and without being part of a crew, everything was going to be even more complicated. "Aw, sh-"

Before he could end the curse, a dark-gray hoof stepped next to his stool. "You do not need to scam the poor kid, Whiskey. They paid their drinks already when they left him behind." Said a cold voice, coming from the upper end of the hoof.

"Fine, fine..." Said the Bartender, taking his hoof away from under the bar. "If you excuse me, um... I'll better go..."

When the Bartender -Properly named Whiskey- left the bar, the same dark-gray hoof raised up to the level of his eyes. "Come on, kid, get up. You still have a sea of clouds to sail." Said the voice. The young one took the hoof, and with a quick movement, he was on two legs already. He looked up to his saviour.

Dark-Green Mane, dark-gray coat and one eye like a leaf, and the other one under a black Eyepatch, the Stallion had a real imposing prescence. With some traces of a long life, he was wearing a black trenchcoat, with a grey belt on its chest that led to a Holdster... Probably to the one of a Hoofgun. "T-Thanks... What's your name?" Asked the young Stallion. observing the Eyepatch.

"Captain Dragunovv, of the Northern Fjords." He simply replied, without taking his eye from the young one. "What is yours, may I ask?"

"Mine... Mine's Tin Compass... Sir?" He said, emulating an old Navy salute, still under the effects of alcohol in his body.

The Captain left out a slight smile, still observing Tin. "I see. Well then, Tin. Make sure to do not get scammed again in a Tavern." He eyed Whiskey, that was cleaning a mug in the other end. He shrugged a bit, before combing his beard once he was done with the mug.

"Ah-hee... Thanks for... Well... Saving my wallet." He said, rubbing his head, that was starting to earn the effects of a hangover already.

"Well then, I must go now. My ship calls me. Good luck finding a new Crew." Said the Captain, tapping his shoulder, turning and leaving the Tavern the very next second.

Tin stayed there, processing everything that just happened. He looked down to the Hardwood floor, where the wooden Stool was. He placed it back on its four legs, and left the Tavern through the classic Western-like door, made out of the same Hardwood.

Sylika, the floating Commercial Capital. Former Canterlot, after the mountain cracked by its half, almost destroying the city completely. Only Celestia, the Empress of the Sun made it, and the ponies that survived adapted, turning the former Castle-City into the hearth of the Sylikan Empire, following the Regime of the Alicorns. Love and Tolerance, under the promise of paying Taxes and giving food for the general public.

The streets of the main Boulevard were wide, and made out of a well-cared Cobblestone. Not even the pass of the centuries eroded it. The Docks were at the south, heading to the right of what's left of the mountain. Hardwood bridges connect a set of smaller floating islands, where the Farms and the Lighthouse were located at.

Tin went straight to the Recruitment center. A small wooden hut at the side of the Docks, marked with a sign with a paper printed on it. Even the few analphabet Ponies knew that they could go there to sign up for a Crew.

Tin trotted to the Stallion that was attending the Hut. He was a tall, grey Unicorn, with a blue mane. He was wearing glasses with a telemetric augment, to watch on small documents. He looked down to Tin. "Hm... I think that I remember you..." He said, as a few crystals moved in front of the glasses, making his purple eyes look even bigger.

"Y-Yeah... I signed in two months ago..." Replied Tin, looking at the gi-normous eye. "Tin Compass, if you don't remember the name..."

"Ah, yes... Tin, Tin..." He started to check on the papers, levitating them with his magic, untill he found one with Tin's picture on the upper-left side. "Yes... You signed for Captain Spyglass' Crew... Did they kicked you out?" He asked, looking back at Tin.

"Well... Kindoff... They dumped me here, and I have nowhere else to go..." Said Tin, looking down to the border between the Hardwood Docks, and the Cobblestone walkway.

"I see. I'll put you back to the Queue for a Captain, then..." He said, taking out a pencil, and rewriting some details in Tin's file.

"How long will it take for you to find a captain for me?" Asked Tin, observing him rewrite the file, distracted by the constant movement of the crystals of the glasses.

"Well... We don't have much Captains here, at Sylika... It might take around a week, because there's much more Ponies in front of you in the Queue..."

"Oh, come on! Is there a way for you to speed up the process?" Asked Tin, observing the Captains list, right behind the Stallion.

"No. This process takes a long while, unless somepony passes in front and hires you like th-" He got cutted mid-sentence, as a blood-Red Pegasus Mare showed up, basically crashing on Tin's back, in the perfect bombardment angle.

"Ah- AH! S-Sorry!" She said, stepping off from Tin's back, that was pretty much in pain now, mixed with the hangover. The Mare combed her snow-White mane away from her ruby-like eyes, and moved a hoof to help Tin up. "Are you 'aight?"

Tin catched the Mare's red hoof, and got up, feeling the pain on his back. Again. "N-No... I think I broke a spine or somethin'..."

"Aw, come on! tis' nothing!" Said the Mare, as she slammed her hoof on his back. The pain returned to Tin's back, for the thirth time in a row. "By the way, I kinda noticed that you're in need of a Crew. And my Capn's in the need of new crewmembers..." She said, observing Tin.

"I-I... I guess that I'll jump in..." Said Tin, rubbing his back.

"Ooh, nice!" Said the Mare, cracking a big smile. "My name's Bloodwing! What's yours?" Asked Bloodwing, tapping her chest, where a grey jacket leaving space for her wings to maneouver was on, and extending her hoof for a hoofshake.

"Tin Compass..." He said, taking her hoof, and completing the hoofshake.

"Nice to meet ya'! What's your speciality, so I can tell it to my capn'?" Asked Bloodwing, tilting her head.

"Ah... Engineering, and cartography... I also do some Astronomy meanwhile." Said Tin, remembering the details like a robot.

"Ooh... We need more engineers in our ship, that's for sure. I do the Gunnery in our crew, so I guess that you'll make sure that I can shoot nice and steady, hmm?" Said Bloodwing, with a certain tone of mockery (And flirt) in her voice and acts.

"I-I guess..." Said Tin, rubbing his mane, understanding a bit of the double-sence.

"Tssk! Can you sign him in our crew, since we're at this?" Said Bloodwing, turning towards the Stallion in the Hut, that limited himself to observe the strange situation.

"E-Eh... Sure..." He said, erasing what he just wrote."What's the Captain's name?" He asked, moving to the files behind him.

"Baron Von-Owl, of the Southern Fjorlands!" She said, with an extra tone of proudness, since she was working for him.

"Uh-huh... Let me check... Baron... Baron..." He mumbled, checking among the files. At last, he took out a file, with the image of a Stallion wearing a cocked hat, and aviator goggles. "Ah, yes... Baron Von-Owl... Of the... Southerns... Fjorlanders... Here he is..." Mumbled the Stallion, taking the paper, and filling in the details, as any other bureaucrat would do.

"...Are we done here?" Asked Bloodwing, in a hurry to bring Tin to her crew.

"Yes, yes... You both can go now... I'll fill in everything else..." Replied the Stallion, as another set of crystals moved to his glasses, this time reducing the zoom he had.

"Allrighty then! Come on, Tin!" Said Bloodwing, grabbing Tin's hoof, and pulling him along the Docks. Everypony outside that conversation thought that they were a couple in love, running among the docks like if nothing. And Tin noticed this.

"I-I can walk, you know..." He said, among the blabbery from the Alcohol-poisoning.

"I doubt that you can even stand..." She released his hoof. "But, can you fly?" Said Bloodwing, stopping a few steps away.

"F-Fly?" Asked Tin, looking at Bloodwing's eyes.

She unfolded her wings, and with one single movement, she was in the air, and in another quick movement, she swooped down to Tin, picking him up. With Tin on her hooves, she launched a giggle, and a smile. "Well well, seems that you can fly!"

"Hey! Put me down!" Shouted Tin, suddently realizing that he only liked to fly on Airships.

Bloodwing took Tin to a nearby Airship. A Galleon, to be more prescise.

The Galleon was also known as The sideways Tank, due to the heavy cannons at both sides of the airship. It had to be lifted by three balloons, due to the heavy weight of both, the metallic hull and the guns themselves. It was slow, but strong. A direct hit from the heavy Flak cannnons this Galleon in particular had installed would pierce a ten centimeter hull, and cause horrible damages due to the splinters of the hole, and the shrapnel of the bullet itself.

Bloodwing flew close to the embarcation platform. "For Blizzard's sake, Tin! You're heavy!" She said, mocking at Tin.

"I'm not the one that decided to lift somepony else from safe ground!" Replied Tin, getting into a tighter hug with Bloodwing's hooves, mostly to prevent a freefall from the Docks.

"Hey, wait untill the thirth date for physical contact!" She mocked even more, untill she landed in front of the Galleon. She looked down and under her belly, where Tin was still holding himself, a few milimeters from the hardwood floor. "...You can get off me anytime, Tin..."

Tin opened his eyes, noticing that he was on safe lands again, and released his grip from Bloodwing, landing in the wooden floor with his back, for the thirth time today.

Then, a voice raised from the direction of the Galleon. "Bloodwing! Who is this kid?!" Said an old Stallion's voice. Bloodwing looked up.

"Ah, Baron! I mean, Cap'n! I got a new Crewmember for you, sir!" Said Bloodwing, making the same Navy salute Tin made back in the Tavern.

"I see..." Replied the Voice. Tin looked to that direction, and managed to observe an old Stallion, with a black coat and grey mane, under a blue cocked hat, a white trenchcoat, and aviator goggles under the hat. "Well well well, what is the name of the Rookie?"

Tin tried to regain control of his mouth, and speaking while laying in the ground, while having a hangover isn't easy. "...Tin Compass... Sir..."

"...Welcome aboard the Changeling Charger, kiddo!" He said, gesturing to the blue-painted Galleon behind him.

...This is going to be interesting.