Chapter One

It was that strange time of night, ten minutes until midnight, that moment when time tends to stand still, just before it was tomorrow. Enter a lone sentry, sitting at the air-ship harbor’s military ward; eyes squinted against a wind that promised an early morning rain. The sentry himself is not special, a youthful earth stallion that had drawn the short straw; No what was special was slowly gliding towards the docks, the running lights alive and vibrant, the course corrections smooth, as if the wind did not touch it…but as the Stallion was about to find out, there was no living pony aboard.

“My Lady Rarity.” Twilight stood still as a stone, watching Rarity get dressed for the day. The military pony used the training she had to mask her emotions, watching the white and purple pony she loved get dressed, looking off to the side for the moment. “We need to discuss this…”

Rarity interrupted her with a tut-tut. “Twilight Sparkle, You know I don’t get time to indulge in my hobby of dressing you up all that often. And I will not be interrupted.” The clothing today was a somber affair, a black harness with silver bells, very military couture without the frills and laces…but, Rarity thought, one must make concessions.

Twilight snorted. “Rarity, we can indulge this later, you know I came as soon as I heard. An airship that needs to be crewed by at least ten glides into the military ward completely unchallenged except for a single sentry? Doesn’t that make you the least bit curious?” Twilight asked shifting from hoof to hoof as the harness was fitted to her body.

Rarity looked nonplussed. “No, not particularly, I mean, that’s what I have you for right? Take some guards. Tartarus, even take Applejack and Rainbow Dash if you’d like, I can take care of fluttershy in the short time you will be away.”

It was a little after, Twilight having escaped the harness. It hadn’t been a terrible choice of clothing, truth is told but it had chafed, just a little. Looming ahead by the docks was the huge, though docile form of Applejack. Twilight, taller than most, still had to crane her head a bit to look at the massive earth pony. “Applejack how’s the weather up there?”

Applejack snorted at the old joke. “Cold, Twi, now what’s all this fuss about a single little airship?” Twilight blinked. Was no one else but her curious about this? “Alright Twi, not like I can walk away from it. RD said she’d be a little late…something about fulfilling a quick contract with someone the Wonder bolts signed up with. She said it shouldn’t take long, anyway.” Twilight nodded to Applejack and they entered the low stone walled walls that marked the military ward.

Considering Rarity’s sense of fashion, Twilight was glad that the military matters were more or less left up to her, the military docks featured a pair of ingenious repeating arbalests that would take care of any invading airships, peppering them with huge arrows. Twilight glanced at the small squad of Reapers milling around that snapped into attention. Reapers. Useful, if flighty. Hah. Twilight laughed mentally at the joke, before nodding them into at-ease.

The ship, apparently named “The Lady’s Own Luck.” Was a medium sized airship, meant for a crew of ten, plus ten more passengers, fifteen if the party was willing to get cramped and really, really intimate. And it was dead. The running lights which had guided it in had fallen silent, Twi boarded slowly, Glancing up at the two reapers that kept sky watch, and turned her head back towards Applejack as the earth pony’s massive hooves clopped on the boards of the ship. Two more Reapers followed her, the bat-pony’s able to see more easily, and the cold did not affect them like it would the regular pegasi, plus they’d been handy, waiting for the evening watch to begin their fly over of the city. Twilight looked back at the earth pony, head tilted to the side. “Could you even be louder?” She asked with a snort, her tail flicking from side to side.

Twilight looked around on the airship slowly, as her more delicate hooves barely made a noise compared to Applejack. “Not like there’s anyone home to wake up, Twi.” She said with a chuckle. “’Sides from us, and your reapers, this place is deader’n a farm in deep winter…” Twi shook her head, tossing her short mane from side to side, before she walked towards the door leading to the passenger cabin, nodding to a pair of Reapers. “You two check this out, Applejack, go with them.” Applejack tossed her short mane. Twilight began to move towards the crew deck, intent on exploring the bridge and crew quarters.

The door to the crew deck was jammed closed, as if against something on the outside…but with enough magic she managed to pry the metal apart, twisting it apart with a ribbon of purple tinged power. “Odd…” Twilight mused to herself. “You’d think they’d…what the hell?” She asked rhetorically, her nose twitching as she caught wind of a thick smell, old and heavy with mildew. This ship was damned near brand new… Slowly, using a magic spell to light up the dark passage, the lights inside completely dead. Somewhere off to her left she could hear the booms of applejack’s hooves on the deck, a wry smile breaking her serious mood…only to have it be shattered as she came onto the bridge. There, a pony with the cap of the ship’s captain lay slumped over the ship’s wheel, but there was a strange tint to his coat, an eyebrow raised, she leaned forward, nudging with a hoof. The captain of the ship was a young stallion, supposedly…She looked at him, noticing the grayed fur, and the rickety bones...this was no young stallion at all.

A sudden groan from the form stirred her into action. “H…how…di…” Twilight shakes her head. “Don’t speak old-timer.” “N…no. not old.” He protested weakly. “Please you must…must burn the ship, get off and burn it….there here, we locked…we locked them in the hold but they got out, it hur..” the old-stallion grunted. “Hurts so much..” The stallion slumped to the floor before Twilight’s ears perked…hearing a low hissing behind her, the rattling of bug like wings….and a shiver of cold, dead fear along her back before she turned, slowly…