The year 8 NCC saw the launch of the very first four Airships. Known by many as the Omega Four, these grand flying machines were a window into the future - the first step into a new world, and the harbingers of a new level of civilisation. These four ships were as powerful as their namesakes: The Celestial, the Luna, the Cadence and the Twilight. Each designed to accommodate up to 1,000 ponies within its hull, these massive feats of engineering towered over the ponies in attendance that day like four magnificent wooden statues. The Omega Four set off on their first voyage from High Point in Northern Equestria to Hokkouma in Neighpon at noon on the 24th of the Fifth - one at a time, they rose up from the dry stone ground, ascending slowly until finally, they penetrated the clouds above, ushering in not only the future of transportation, but a new future for science and industry.
Many years passed, and as the airship craze became more mainstream, the Omega Four remained in active service, as transports for the Princesses and as luxurious cruise liners - and sometimes for high-profile cargo transportation. Despite their heavy use, the ships survived for many years, through the rise of the airship market, the building of Newhaven and the subsequent City craze, the scramble for weaponry in the wake of the Goldfish incident, and they evaded various pirate and mercenary attacks. That is, until the 19th of the Fourth in the year 42 NCC. That was the day that the Celestial, in spite of heavy resistance, was all but destroyed in what is considered to this day to be the greatest pirate attack in the history of the Sky...
"Captain on the deck!"
The sky was clear, the airwaves calm and HHA Celestial was making good progress towards its final destination, the city of Newhaven. As the ship floated on the clouds, the ship's captain, Stormwing, left the bowels of the ship, returning to the deck to ensure that all was well.
"Pilot, what's our ETA?"
The pilot, who'd very much been focusing on the airwaves in front of him, jumped three feet in the air as the Captain barked at him.
"Oh... Uh... ETA to N-Newhaven is t-two hours, captain..." he stammered, nervously. Gale Force had only been the Celestial's pilot for around two weeks - he had graduated from military college with flying colours, but this sort of high-profile mission was very daunting for him... Stormwing gave the pilot a reassuring slap on the shoulder.
"Great - we're ahead of schedule by half an hour. You're doin' good, squirt!"
"Thank you, c-captain..." Gale replied, the nerves evident in his voice - this was met by a chuckle and another slap on the shoulder from Stormwing, who'd whipped more newbies into shape than he'd had hot dinners.
"Don't be nervous, boy! Nerves are the first sign of weakness! You should be excited, yes, excited!" The Captain's voice slowly began rising in volume as he spoke. "Excited that you are the official Pilot of the HHA Celestial, that in but two hours you will be famous! You will be renowned as the pilot that delivered the very first Life Extension Potion to Newhaven - there'll be museums built for us, you'll be hailed as a hero!" The Captain was referring to the Celestial's precious cargo: a potion designed to prolong an individual's life. It had completed preliminary checks and was now being taken to Newhaven where it could be extensively tested.
Meanwhile, Gale wasn't sure if what the Captain was describing was necessarily a good thing. He winced a little as his eardrum received yet another bark. "Now let me hear your war-cry! You're the pilot of the Celestial, let it out! Shout it, 'I Am the Pilot of the HHA Celestial, and I am awesome!'"
Gale was unsure of what this would accomplish, but still did as the Captain said, very hesitantly. "I am the pilot... Of the HHA Celestial... And I am awesome!"
The Captain, however, wasn't having any of this."Come on, are you a pony or are you a mouse! Shout it with me! I AM!"
Gale reluctantly rose his voice. "I am!"
"THE PILOT!"
"The pilot!"
"OF THE HHA CELESTIAL!"
"Of the HHA Celestial!"
"AND I!"
"And I"
"AM AWESOME!"
"Am awesome!"
"Good! Now on your own!"
Now somewhat energised by the Captain's motivation, Gale took a deep breath in, ready to shout... "I am the Pilot of the HHA Celestial, and I am awesome!"
...However, Captain Stormwing still wasn't satisfied. "Come on, what are you! Louder!"
"I AM THE PILOT OF THE HHA CELESTIAL, AND I AM AWESOME!!"
"LOUDER!!"
"I AM! THE PILOT! OF THE HHA CELESTIAL! AND! I! AM! AWESOME!!!!!"
"Yeah, that's it! Now you're pumped and ready!"
Gale wasn't sure that destroying his vocal cords and attracting the attention of pretty much everypony on deck would help his nervousness, but had to admit that the Captain was right about that last sentence... He turned back to the wheel, smiling a little as a new confidence began to catch alight within him...
"They're early..."
Unbeknownst to the crew of the Celestial, a watchful eye surveyed them from behind a false cloud. Said eye belonged to a certain dragon who went by the name of Archimedes - a name feared by many, pirate and airpony alike. Slowly, his telescope observed the crew on the deck of the Celestial, ready to move in when the time was right...
"C'mon, when're we gonna move in...?"
Pulling his eye away from his telescope, Archimedes turned around. "Patience, Moxie... We need to wait 'till they're close, until they least expect it..." Archimedes' second in command and adoptive daughter Moxie Foxfeather had just approached him. Archimedes had found the chocolate brown-maned beige Pegasus as a baby during an attack on a noble's ship, and decided to adopt the child - He may have been ruthless, but not even he had the guts to leave a baby to its death. Besides, in 23 years said baby had grown into a great ally to him - And a fierce warrior to boot.
"Come on! I wanna get in there and get fightin'!"
"Like I said, patience. It's coming close now..."
Moxie's remark wasn't exactly true. While she did enjoy a bit of action, there was only one reason she'd tagged along with this mission - The Life Extension Potion. Inside sources had told her of its existence... And eternal life had seemed like a tempting prospect. But of course, Archimedes didn't know about Moxie's true intentions - his goal was wealth and bragging rights, and as far as he was concerned that was the goal of his entire crew. Turning his head back around, he put his eye back to his telescope, watching the Celestial draw closer and closer.
"Captain! You might want to see this."
Back on the Celestial, Gale's eyes surveyed the ship's aerograph. There were ripples in the airwaves - ripples usually caused only by other ships.
Upon hearing the pilot's call, Stormwing quickly ran over. "What now, boy?"
"Ripples, captain - There's a ship nearby. Actually, make that LOTS of ships."
Looking around, Stormwing saw only clouds and sky... He couldn't see any enemy ships anywhere. But before he could berate Gale for playing some sort of practical joke on him, something odd caught his eye. There was a large buildup of clouds towards the bow - too large. For a sky as clear as this, a buildup of this size was nigh on impossible.
Gesturing towards the clouds, he issued a command. "Sonar those clouds." Gale was quick to respond, pulling another lever near the wheel.
The whole deck went silent as a short, sharp 'ping' could be heard, repeating itself four or five times. For just a few seconds, the sound of the sonar was the only thing that broke the silence aside from the hum of engines and the sound of the propellers cutting through the air. Gale scrutinised the radar - And sure enough, the sonar had detected something. In fact, it had detected a LOT of things.
"Just as I thought..." Stormwing muttered through gritted teeth. Those clouds must have been somehow artificial... But who was hiding behind it, and why? Stormwing thought little of it, however, reaching for the radio dials and looking for the enemy's frequency.
Archimedes had seen all of this as he eyed the ship. Seeing the Captain twiddling the radio's dials merely reminded him of how pathetic they were...
"Unidentified aircraft, this is official royalty vessel HHA Celestial. Please state your designation, over." Archimedes' radio crackled as the Celestial locked onto their signal.
Archimedes smirked. They'd been discovered, but far too late... He replied into the shortwave radio after a short pause.
"Our designation, 'Captain'... Is you."
Moxie, meanwhile, smirked as she moved to disengage the cloud generator... "Oooh... NOW things get interesting..."
Archimedes turned to face the beige pony behind him. "Moxie! Deactivate--"
"Way ahead of you, Archie~"
"Thought you would be..." Switching to another frequency, he spoke into the radio again, his voice becoming loud and commanding... Excited, even. "All ships, advance!" Archimedes' smirk became a maniacal smile. The moment he'd been waiting for was finally at hoof! Slowly but surely, the false cloud dissipated - and from within, a horde of pirate vessels slowly emerged, their engines roaring back into life like manticores. Adorned in black and red paint, their approach resembled a swarm of giant wooden insects, ready to band together and attack their prey.
The crew of the Celestial shivered in their official outfits as the great swarm slowly began their advance. Stormwing, very much on the contrary, remained resolute. He was the Captain of possibly one of the most important ships in the world, if he faltered then the whole ship would. So he stood his ground, his face calm and collected as he spoke into the radio again.
"We assure you, Unidentified craft, that we have nothing of value on board. We are on a diplomatic mission to--"
Stormwing was interrupted by a sinister chuckle from the radio. "If you're trying to bluff, you aren't doing it very well... 'Nothing of value' indeed... Your ship itself is an item of value!" Archimedes broke into another chuckle. The Captain had let down his guard - now he just needed to strike.
Stormwing had to admit, this pirate was right... The value of the Celestial itself, let alone the items inside, was higher than most could ever imagine. "Look. I don't know what it is you want, but we will give you anything we have in return for safe passage..."
"You think I just want riches? Gold only lasts for so long... No, what I want, Celestial... Is your destruction."
Suddenly, a Burstcannon shot flew from one of the pirates' ships, whistling through the air and slamming into the side of the ship, splintering the wood of the hull on impact. Not a major breach... Almost a warning shot. But it was enough to spark Stormwing's temper...
"Very well... You leave us no choice then..." With that, he deactivated the short-wave radio and turned back to the crew... "Battle stations!"
The call was a signal to the whole crew. Every pony on the entire ship was suddenly on their hooves, preparing the Celestial for battle, and as they did, the ship transformed from a mere royalty vessel into a powerful, imposing war machine. Massive arrays of Burstcannons appeared from the hull. Ratchetguns and Viper Turrets rose up onto the deck from below... And from the ship's bow, the crown jewel of the entire system emerged: Five gigantic cannons, fanning out like a dark brass spike-strip. Stormwing smirked as he sat in the captain's chair, a metal targeting reticle swinging out in front of him. He'd always wanted to use the Cerberus Array, and now he was finally going to get the chance.
"Hey Cap'n... Should I use the normal shells or can I use the explosive ones...?" Archimedes' main gunner, Midnight, smirked as his Burstcannon smoked from his warning shot. Archie turned to look him in the eye, a confident smile creeping across his face.
"Yes. Load everything!" He replied, switching on his short wave radio once again. "And that goes for all of you too! Load the heaviest stuff you've got!"
Moxie, meanwhile, had directed her ship, followed closely by her personal squad, towards the ship's massive underbelly, taking careful aim as she activated her headset, issuing her orders to the the fleet of ships around her. “Alright squad, listen up... I wanna get this over with quick, so Team 1, you submerge and take the Celestial's underside. Team 2, you take the right flank with your heavy ammo, smash through their defences. Team 3... surprise me! This oughtta be interesting...” Switching off her shortwave, she directed her ship away from her unit - In this battle she wouldn't be joining her squad. In fact, she wasn't going to participate in this battle at all. The priceless treasure that this ship held was all that she wanted right now, and she was going to get it.
"Let's go already, launch all bombs!" Archimedes shouted into his shortwave, spinning up his Ratchetgun as several hundred black and silver dots began hurtling towards the giant ship before them, detonating on impact and rocking the ship with explosions - in response, Stormwing acted immediately.
"Weapons free!" He screamed into his own shortwave, taking aim with the Cerberus array as a hail of fire and lead shot towards the pirate crew - but not before Archimedes had done very much the same thing.
"Break formation and fire at will!" He called to his crew, and in response, the cloud of pirate ships swarmed around the Celestial, the ordinances of the many cannons like a steady wave of flame washing over the ship.
Meanwhile, Moxie was trying her best to avoid any conflict, slowly approaching the Celestial's outer door, the fight directing attention away from her as she approached. In all honesty, she had no interest at all in joining in the fight - all that interested her was the Celestial's precious cargo. Spinning up her cannon, she fired at the ship's loading door, blasting the lock off the small hatch and forcing it open. It was the perfect concealed entrance - with the pirate attack raging around them, nopony was going to be paying attention to the loading door, so she could simply enter the ship and maintaining her balance as the ship lurched to the sides from the relentless Pirate onslaught.
On deck, Stormwing was ripping through the swarm of pirate ships one by one, the Cerberus array's booming cannons flashing as they fired and ratcheting and clicking as they reloaded. The Captain began smiling as he drank in the thrill of the battle, adrenaline pumping through his body. At first it was only slight, but slowly his smile spread until it was wide and maniacal. "Ha-ha-haaa! Take that, pirate SCUM!" He cackled gleefully as he tore through ship after ship with the power now in his hooves. He failed to notice that, while they were winning, the ship was taking quite a beating.
Inside the ship, Moxie braced her legs slightly as another explosion rocked the Celestial. "Always so extreme..." She mused to herself as she rushed down the hall, knocking an unfortunate guard unconscious as she made her way through the ship's underbelly. She knew the signs well - Follow the path with the most guards. That tactic had led her to more treasures than she could count, and still she stuck to it as she darted through the ship, using stealth where possible but holding her own in any fights she might have gotten into. She was making her way towards a very particular room: The Vault. Within those thick metal walls lay her ultimate target...
Still the colossal battle raged on between the titanic Celestial and the swarms of pirates clouding around it. Stormwing's rampage with the Cerberus array had not gone unnoticed by Archimedes, who once again called to his troops through his shortwave "Quit yer screwin' around! Stay away from that giant turret!" He then turned to Midnight, swinging the ship closer to the Celestial's bow. "Except you - Target that array and either take it down or take down the bastard manning it! Use your bombs!"
"Aye, captain!" Midnight licked her lips and grinned gleefully as she took a short break from shooting, leaning over to slowly press a red button on her dashboard.
Within the ship's gargantuan underbelly, Moxie had finally reached her destination - The Vault. And it looked spectacular, the great metal wheel connected to the tens, maybe hundreds of iron locks, bolts and bars sealing her goal within - but there wasn't a door in the world that could keep her out, and this one was certainly no exception. All she had to do was get past the guards - Which would be a tricky manoeuvre, considering they were incredibly close together and there was no side entrance. Stealth was not an option. She'd have to rely on Plan B.
"Hi there~" She cooed seductively, ascending stairs and swishing her hair alluringly. As she had suspected, the guard's attention was drawn in like a fish on a line as they fell head over hooves over her. Ponies like them were so predictable... "I seem to have gotten lost..." She continued, approaching one of the guards and extending a foreleg around his neck. "I don't suppose you could help--" The act ended there. With a flick of her wrist, she had snapped that guard's neck, stolen his Shock Baton and lobbed it at the other guard, sending a 3,000 volt shock right through his body - he was jittering on the ground before he could even touch his own weapon. Moxie smirked - Another job well done. Patting down the bodies of the guards, she quickly found a large set of keys - and had to stifle a chuckle as the predictability of ponykind showed once again: one of the keys was clearly marked "Vault". So much for secrecy...
Holding her breath, Moxie carefully inserted the Vault key into the lock and turned it with a small click. With a series of ratchets, creaks and the grinding of metal on metal, the door slowly unlocked and swung open, showing a long corridor leading to the vault. Slowly, the young mare stepped forwards, traversing the long, straight path before her to the dream she had wanted to fulfil for years now...
BOOM!
Back on deck, a large bomb launched itself from Midnight's cannon, exploding upon impact with the Celestial's massive Cerberus array, tearing through their metal bodies as if it were paper. Stormwing cursed as the bomb put all but one of the cannons out of action, and he turned his chair back around to give the crew more orders - And almost immediately wished he hadn't.
The deck of the Celestial was a complete mess. Whole areas of the ship had been torn to pieces like lettuce, with several gaping holes in the deck where he'd been standing not a few minutes ago, and where he'd seen several ponies on guns before at least half of them were dead and most of the rest were broken and bloody on the floor, being hastily carried away by medics. He took one look at the battleground that had been behind him all this time, and quickly succumbed to a dreading realisation: Even if they were to defeat the pirates now, the ship was beyond repair, even if the engines still functioned afterwards.
Archimedes paid little attention to this, merely noticing that his crew, now down to just a few ships, was still receiving a beating from the Celestial's remaining guns. Grimacing, he called into the shortwave radio again, "Bail, bail! All troops pull out! We keep this up, we'll be shredded by the time the Celestial is!" He shouted as his second gunner took a bullet to the face and a ship crashed into the Celestial's side. It was then that he noticed Moxie's ship tethered to the side of the Celestial. Trust her to find some unorthodox way to try and take them down... He swung his ship around, heading for the ship's hull.
"Cap'n?" Came the voice of Midnight from beside him. "Aren't we s'posed to be heading AWAY from the ship?"
"We gotta take out their engines before we escape - prevent them from tailing. Plus, I'm not leaving without Moxie. Y'hear that, Moxie? Time to get your pretty little flank out of that ship, we're bailing!" He shouted into his shortwave.
Midnight was dubious, but knew better than to doubt Archimedes' judgement... "Aye, captain..." Midnight turned her cannon to the ship's hull, one shot exposing the ship's engines before she started laying into them...
Archie's command to Moxie fell upon deaf ears. When the command reached her, she sighed and removed her headset, letting it clatter to the floor inside the vault as she admired the beautiful glass vial before her. The Life Extension Potion... There it was, in all is glory. Sitting on a plinth in the middle of the room, held in place by three metal claws, glowing faintly in a gentle cyan colour. With this wonderful elixir, maybe she would outlive even Archie... Taking the large bottle off its stand, she uncorked it and took in its scent. It smelled like a new life, a new chance, renewal. She brought it to her lips, and slowly tipped the contents down her throat.
It was very cold. Almost TOO cold. Nevertheless, Moxie continued drinking, and as soon as the elixir had reached her stomach, it began taking effect. However, it most certainly showed that this potion was experimental. Her body began tensing up, and she slowly felt a terrible burning sensation spread throughout it. She let out a gasp of pain and shock as she convulsed, eventually collapsing to the ground, her body seeming to become harder as she writhed in pain...
Meanwhile, on the deck of the ship, Stormwing looked out over the battlefield, observing the pirate ships as they jumped away in surrender. They had won... But the victory was as phyrric as it could be. Slowly stepping out of his chair, he looked left and right, trying to see if there was a pony left alive who could explain the situation. Eventually, he rounded on a Medic, who looked to be the only one still able to stand aside from him. "How many are left?" He whispered, his calm and sincere voice masking his uncharacteristic fear. As Captain, the lives of his crew members were in his hooves, and any pony saved was one less death weighing on his soul.
"Very few, Captain..." The medic replied, shivering in her uniform. "Around half of the crew are casualties, and the two thirds of the survivors who aren't comatose are mostly injured."
The Captain raised his voice slightly. "Where is Gale Force?" he asked, the concern almost tangible in his voice. Hesitantly, the medic pointed over to one of the squirming bodies strewn across the deck of the ship. Immediately, Stormwing hurried over.
As he feared, Gale force lay there, broken and bloody on the deck, fighting a losing battle for his life, bullet wounds peppered across his body like holes in cheese. It was a truly painful sight for the Captain to see... But still, he approached the young Pilot, and bent down to hear his final words...
"Captain... I'm so sorry..." Gale wheezed, just managing to cough out his words with the pain slowly enveloping his body.
"You ain't got nothing to be sorry for, kid..." Stormwing replied. With wounds like that, there was no chance of him surviving. But at the very least, the Captain hoped that he could make this pilot feel proud in his final moments. If he couldn't save his life, he could at least make sure that he died a happy stallion.
"I... guess you're right, Captain..." Gale spluttered. "Now that I think about it..."
"There was nothin' you coulda done, kid. Those pirates had us outnumbered, took us totally by surprise. You did what you could, and for that you can be proud. And I'm sure that your family will be proud of you too..."
"Yeah... I sure--" Gale coughed several times, blood escaping his windpipe. "--hope they do. Because if they... do... It means I... don't have any... regrets."
"You bet. I'll make sure they know you died like a hero, piloting this ship to the end."
"To the very end... And you know, Captain... I should be thanking you. I might not've.. known you for that long, but... In that time... You taught me to... have pride in myself. And for that... I'm grateful..." At that moment, Gale mustered up the very last bits of his energy and, amidst coughs and wheezes, cried out into the smoke-filled, battle-scarred air: "I am... The pilot of the HHA Celestial... And I... Am... Awesome!" With that he took his final breath, collapsing onto the deck of the ship that would be his tomb... Stormwing gently moved his hoof down Gale's forehead, closing the Pilot's eyes for the final time...
The Captain stood up slowly, once more approaching the medic, giving her one last order: "Make sure his family knows he died like a hero." And with that, he stepped past her into the bowels of the ship, beholding as he entered even more of the destruction that the ship and its crew had suffered. Dead bodies lining the shattered halls, broken walls and doors everywhere. Suddenly, one more explosion rocked the ship as, on the other side, one final bomb detonated, and the sound of one last ship making good its escape could be faintly heard. Minutes later, an engineer ran up from a lower deck, putting on a very solemn face when he saw the Captain in the ruined corridor.
"Captain..." He spoke nervously, looking exhausted. "...Our thrusters and Jump Engine have just been destroyed."
This was exactly what Stormwing had been hoping wouldn't happen. Without engines, the Celestial was dead in the air... But there was one final lifeline. The ship had been fitted with an experimental emergency jump engine, designed for worst-case scenarios like this. "And the Deadalus engine?" He replied, hopefully.
The engineer shook his head. "Crippled beyond repair. Most of our weapons are damaged, and four are totally beyond repair, and even if the engines were working, the propellers are torn to pieces, we'd never get anywhere."
"What about radio?"
"Our mast is gone, all signals are dead."
"And what about the precious cargo?"
"Destroyed. One pirate was found in the vault, presumably dead."
Stormwing closed his eyes, exhaling deeply as his head sank slightly. Never did he think he'd see the day that a ship such as the Celestial fell to pirate attacks... Yet today, he had witnessed exactly that. They'd even made off with the Life Extension Potion... This truly was a defeat that would be remembered for years to come. But there was little time for worrying right now, there were still lives at stake. Opening his eyes again, Stormwing issued one last order to the Engineer in front of him. "How many lifeboats survived?"
"It's a mystery as to how, but the lifeboats were unharmed."
"Round up the crew. Get them on the lifeboats. Anypony who's still alive, get them off this ship." He turned around, speaking to the few living ponies behind him. "And that goes for all of you. Get every living mare and stallion out of here!"
A chorus of "Aye, Captain!" rang through the room as everypony scrambled to get themselves and the injured towards the emergency escape dinghies - with the sole excepction fo Stormwing himself. Instead of following everypony else, he wandered towards one of the few remaining untouched doors. There was just about enough time for him to record one final Captain's Log...
Breaking in through the ship's hull, Archimedes stormed through the ship, following the trail of bodies until he found a great, open metal door. Taking a deep breath, he slowly walked through this door, following the long corridor beyond down to the small room at the end. And upon entering, he was most definitely not prepared for what he saw within.
Lying on the floor, completely unmoving, was Moxie, her eyes closed, unbreathing and apparently frozen. Drinking the potion had not extended her life as she expected - She was, in fact, trapped in a state of suspended animation. Not dead, but neither was she living - time had completely frozen around her. However, there was, of course, no way that Archie could have recognised this at first glance.
"Gah... You silly bitch, falling asleep in the middle of a siege! Wake up!" He growled irritably as he drew back his claws and struck the apparently sleeping pony around the face... But it would feel like hitting a block of ice. Moxie remained unmoving and unbreathing, and most certainly not waking up - obviously this came as rather a shock to the dragon. He tried again. And again. And again. But every time, he would get a little closer to breaking his claws. Frustrated, he then attempted to lift Moxie from the ground. "C'mon. I don't know what's happened, but I'll fix ya up when we get home, ya dumb kid." But alas, this was also to no avail, as being suspended in time had also rendered Moxie totally immovable, as if she were stuck to the ship's floor by some sort of impenetrable adhesive. Naturally distressed by this, Archie fought hard, trying desperately to remove the pony whom he had treated as a daughter from the ship's floor. "Come on! Come ON, you stupid bitch, COME ON!" But it was no use - Moxie wasn't being moved any time soon.
The Dragon knelt down next to her, tears beginning to well up in his eyes. "Why... What did you do to yourself, you dumb-ass bitch...?"
But this moment of sentimentality was broken as he heard hoofsteps above no doubt the Celestial's crew scurrying around to try and get off the ship. He quickly realised that if he stuck around any longer, then both he and Moxie would be found, and most likely captured - or worse, killed. So, begrudgingly, he stood up from the ground, slowly turning around to face the door. But before he left, her turned back to the lifeless form of Moxie, a few tears lingering in his bloodshot eyes. "I'll see you again, Moxie... Just you wait for me." With that, he walked back up the corridor, heading back out into the ship and navigating his way around the silent halls. Assuming that his crew had left him, the pirate leader spread his leathery wings and took to the air, flying out of the ship's hull and away into the Sky, leaving his ship behind with the wreckage. If he was heard, he'd probably be shot immediately.
"Captain's log. Date 19th of the 4th, 42 NCC. This infamous day shall be remembered for years to come... and for all the wrong reasons. Just a few minutes ago, the Celestial came under fire. But this wasn't just some random pirate attack, no... This was carefully planned out. They hit us where it hurt, when we were most vulnerable. and by Faust, they hit hard. We lost half our crew to their bullets, and nearly drained our own supply. The ones that did survive are mostly injured, and at least a third are comatose. But the biggest casualty wasn't the crew, no... Nopony on this ship suffered more than the Celestial itself did... Outer hull ripped apart, 4 weapons out of commission... And that's the lightest of it. The propellers are chewed up, and the thrusters and jump engine crippled - which means we can't move. Even the Daedalus engine is gone... We're dead in the water, and with the radio out of action too there's no hope of a rescue... so the remains of the crew, along with myself, are abandoning ship in the life dinghies, which by some miracle survived the attack. Whether we'll reach land before we all starve, I have no idea. I just hope we reach Newhaven before there's any more attacks. This is Captain Stormwing of HHA Celestial, signing off."
The tape recorder fizzled and died as it reached the end of the tape. Stormwing slowly and carefully removed the tape reel, stashing it under his wing. That tape had once contained a message from his wife, a reminder of what he had back home in Newhaven. It had also been the only other tape that he could find in the room - but this was a necessary sacrifice. This tragedy was one that must never, ever be repeated, and to ensure that, the world needed to know what had happened here today. The pain and suffering that Stormwing's crew and ship had suffered would not go unknown or unnoticed. With the tape reel safely under his wing, Stormwing finally left his office, heading down to join the rest of his crew in the life dinghies.
That was the day the sky tremored. The day that ponykind finally realised the true dangers of piracy in the Sky. The events of the 19th of the 4th would later become known as the Celestial Disaster, and prompted the major powers of the world to form the General Council of the Sky to better monitor and protect the Sky and its inhabitants. The Celestial itself has since faded into legend, and its current whereabouts remain a mystery to this day. Some say that it's still out there, floating around in the Sky, waiting to be found once again... And as for Moxie, when she woke up it would be the year 65 NCC - and the world would be a much different place than it once was.
