The Ballad Of The Righteous Sunby EpicplatypusChaptersIntroductionBook 1: Broken Hymns, Chapter 1: Eye of the stormBook 1: Broken Hymns, Chapter 2: Welcome HomeIntroductionThe Ballad of the Righteous Sun Come little filles, i'll tell ye a tale of the ship Righteous Sun and her captain Lightsail Twas a cold October Morning on the north shores of Equestria. The ocean sat motionless in the twilight as a young filly stared out into it's abyss. She watched the small waves crash in to the sand, one after the other while humming a tune. She kicked at the small rocks near her hoof. Her pink fur almost camouflaged in the luster of the sand at sunset. The salty air blew her light green mane. This was her usual evening routine. Her mother would be inside cooking while her dad was out in the town closing up shop at his market. This left her just enough time between her school work and bed to sit out on the beach and watch Celestia's sun disappear beneath the horizon. Her dad always told great tales of his time as a sailor with the Equestrian Navy. They filled her with wonderment. Some of his stories were so grand that they were almost unbelievable. He spoke a lot of his time with the most legendary captain in the entire Equestrian Armada. Lightsail, so close a friend was she to her father that he named his only child after her. In his old age however, his memory began slipping. A result, he said, of a head injury he sustained in a battle during the Great Shadowy War. That was the one experience he did not speak much about. He was slowly losing his memories of his days in the Navy. "Lightsail! Come inside! Dinner is almost ready and your father is almost home!" The little filly turned around and shouted back, "Ok mom! In a minute, the sun is almost down!" Her mother smiled and shook her head from the back door of the wooden home on the hill. The sun was almost below the horizon when a small flash of light appeared near the beach. A small glimmer in the waves. Lightsail stood up and walked closer to the water. There, a few yards off shore was a large glass container. The sun slowly set beyond the horizon, but not before casting one last ray of light that made the bottle shine. Almost as if Celestia herself wanted that bottle to be seen. The little filly stepped in the frigid water and immediately withdrew her hoof. If she were a unicorn she could just levitate the bottle to her, or if she were a pegasi she could fly out and get it without setting hoof in the water. She looked back at the house and again in to the water where the bottle floated. She contemplated her decision for a short minute before stepping back in the water. Something about this bottle appealed to her, as if it was meant for her. Inch by inch she submerged in to the icy black. Eventually the water was too deep for her to stand. With the bottle only a few feet in front of her muzzle, she jumped and started kicking her legs. Despite living by the water for her whole life, she never swam. Her father forbade it and her mother always agreed with him. Something about the ocean taking too much from him already. She wildly kicked her legs and swam out to the bottle. She snatched the bottle with her mouth and turned around to see a large dark form swimming toward her from the shore. It grabbed her with powerful hooves and pulled her back in to land. "Lightsail! What do ye think yer doin!" Her father set the little filly on the beach. "How many times must I tell ye to ne'r go in the water without me or yer mum here!" He pulled his red hat off his head and ran a dark grey hoof through his brown mane. He sighed and sat down and looked at his daughter. Her head was hung low and she was idly kicking at the bottle she found in the water. "What's this then?" He picked up the bottle with one hoof and inspected it. "Buck! Is she ok!?" Misty called from the house. "I'm ok mom!" Lightsail called back. "I'm not a baby anymore" she muttered under her breath. Buck patted her head. "Aye, yer not, but that doesn't mean we arent gonna stop worryin 'bout ya." He turned his attention back to the bottle and noticed something in it. It was a large scroll. "Well, would ya look at this! Lightsail! Ya found a good ol' fashioned message in a bottle! I han't seen one o these in years!" Lightsail looked up at her dad, "What's a message in a bottle?" Buck adjusted his position so he was sitting next to Lightsail and wrapped a hoof around her shoulder. "Back in my sailin days, when a ship were to sink, the cap'n would take their memoirs and put them in a bottle. So one day a pony might happn cross it an' know their tale! Some ponies would write them fer fun, others wrote them when they got stranded an' use them to call fer help." He turned the bottle over in his hoof. "I woner which one this be?" "Buckfast! Lightsail! Come inside, lets eat!" Misty called down from the house. Lightsail and Buckfast stood up. "Cmon then, lets go inside and open it!" Buckfast said, smiling at his daughter. They both ran up to the house and shut the door behind them. The inside of the house was simple. constructed mostly of wood, hoof made by Buckfast. The entire house had a rustic and warm feel to it. There was a stone fireplace in the living area along with Lightsail's bed. The kitchen sat at the back of the house with a round wooden table. Various pictures and plaques adorned the wall. War medals, old family pictures, various important news clippings with pictures of Buckfast on it. There was a master bedroom adjacent to the living room. The ponies hooves clopped across the wood floor as they entered and sat down at the table. "What do you have there Lightsail?" Misty said as she set a plate down in front of her daughter, levitating it with her magic. Lightsail set the bottle on the table, "It's a message in a bottle!" Misty laughed. "Have you opened it yet sweetie?" "No not yet! But daddy said we can open it now!" She said with a wide smile on her face. A towel plopped down on her head and started rubbing her dry. "Aye! I did didn' I?" Buckfast said as he dried off the still soaking wet filly. He removed the towel and tossed it aside as he sat down. "Go ahead an' open it then!" Lightsail beamed. She grabbed the bottle and started tearing at the cork with her teeth, trying to remove it from the top. Eventually, after much struggling the cork popped out and bounced off the walls before landing on the table in front of Buckfast. He picked up0 the cork and inspected it. A small "R.S." was inscribed on the top. His eyes shot open. Lightsail removed the scroll from the bottle and immediately it seemed to grow 5 times in size. Whoever put it in the bottle enchanted it so it could be removed easily but still hold a large volume. She unrolled the scroll on the table and cleared her throat. "Lightsail...." Her father interrupted her before she began reading. "Before ye begin, what is the title on the top o' the scroll." Confused, Lightsail read aloud... "Memoirs of the Captain Lightsail... the Ballad of the Righteous Sun" She looked up at her father. Her mother looked over at him too. His eyes were pasted open and locked on the scroll. "Daddy... are you ok?" "Buckfast." Misty said, wrapping her arms around him. "Is this the captain Lightsail." He stood up and grabbed the scroll from his daughter. His eyes flew over the pages. "Aye, this is the memoirs of my cap'n." Book 1: Broken Hymns, Chapter 1: Eye of the stormMany ponies may think of me as a hero. But I assure you that is far from the truth. My life has been long and it has been difficult. I wish I could say that I was a hero. I wish I could lie and tell you that my life was a glorious escapade of valorous battles between the forces of good and evil. But the truth is far more sinister. My history is a violent one. My life has been a constant battle between me and my sins. I was a filly, I was a captain, I was a traitor, a pirate, an adventurer, a ruler, a God. But most important of all. I was the sea. I was the waves, the wind, the water. I was the black depths and the clear blue shores. I was the storm and I was the calm. I was, and still am. Captain Lightsail, and this is my story. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The skies above the ocean were clear. Various fluffy clouds adorned the vast expanse of the open blue. It was warm with a slight breeze that lightly played through the red strands of a young filly's mane and she slept on her canoe that sat a great distance from the beach. Her grey-blue coat was frizzy. Adorned with variations of color from the childhood in the sun and the salt, her white freckles were covered with sand and dirt from her busy day. She laid on her back in the canoe gently snoring as the waves rocked her back and forth. Slowly her eyes flickered open as she let out a yawn and sat up. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and looked around. Gasping she realized that she had been adrift all afternoon. Luckily for her it was a calm day. She put a hoof over her eyes to block out the sun as she scanned the horizon, the shore was still visible, but it would be a long row home. The sun was high in the sky. The filly assumed it was around mid day. "I couldn't have been out for long. The sun hasn't even moved." She mumbled to herself as she gathered her oars and set them up on the rowlocks. She rotated the oars and dipped the blades in to the clear blue water. she pulled back and the canoe began moving. She was breathing heavily, trying to get the small craft up to speed. She adjusted her heading towards the shore and continued working. Lightsail finally got the canoe up to speed when the sky suddenly went black. She stopped rowing and looked around the boat, confused. The little filly turned her attention skyward and found the source of the sudden nightfall. The sun was completely blotted out by the moon. She was in the umbra of an eclipse. She shielded her eyes from the rays of light that passed around the outside of the eclipse. She turned and looked down again at the water when she felt her canoe begin rocking. The wind and waves were beginning to pick up. She grasped the oars again in a panic and began rowing with all of her strength. The sea was in a rage. The waves were picking up at an abnormal rate. They threatened to capsize the filly at any second. Lightsail had just about made it to shore when a wave knocked her ship to the side and another came directly after and broke over her starboard side. The wave rushed over her and flung her in to the sea. The filly was pushed and pulled by the riptide. She thrashed her hooves about, attempting to get herself upright as the water threatened to consume her. The wave that took her in did dot do her the luxury of allowing her to get one good breath in before she fell. She was quickly running out of oxygen. Desperately, she thrashed about, trying to fight her way to the surface. Bubbles erupted from her mouth as she screamed in panic. This caused her to sharply inhale and take in a mouthful of water. She was choking and coughing underwater as her vision slowly faded. Lightsail was slowly slipping in to the the icy black. Before her eyes shut, she caught a glimpse of a dark shape of a pony underwater, staring at her. It's eyes were yellow and it's mane seemed to blend in with the water. It flowed like water. The pony effortlessly moved through the water as it rushed toward Lightsail. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ At that moment I thought that death was coming to take me. But I was wrong. The figure I saw was much worse than death. I do not remember much after seeing the figure in the water. But I do remember waking up on the beach. My canoe was sitting in pieces next to me. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lightsail turned over and coughed. Salty water and bile erupted from her mouth. She tried to make herself stand up but could only manage to get her forehooves extended. She coughed and gagged again as more fluids erupted from her. She took a sharp inhale and her coughing fit began to subside. The wooden canoe sat several yards from her, it had been crushed and torn by the rocks and the waves. She slowly pulled herself up and shook some of the sand from her mane. She hobbled over to the canoe and put a hoof on it. "Father is going to kill m-" She silenced herself suddenly as she noticed that somepony, or some THING was watching her. She looked toward the ocean and say the head of a pony sticking out of the waves a hundred or so paces from her position on the shore. The head did not seem to move with the waves. It sat completely motionless. The color matched the dark blues of the ocean. The yellow eyes seemed to glow. Lightsail took a few steps back. "W-WHO ARE YA!" She screamed out at the pony. "WHY DID YA SAVE ME?" The eerie creature blinked twice and spoke with a voice that rang like choir chimes. It echoed through the water and caught Lightsail off guard by it's calming beauty. "My name is Calypso. As for my actions. They will be answered in good time, little one." The shape melted back in to the water and disappeared. Lightsail ran to the edge of the water. "H-HEY! Ya never let me say thanks!" Lightsail looked around and noticed that the sky was still dark. She scanned the horizon and noticed that all throughout the ocean, the waves were unruly. After Calpyso disappeared, the waves near shore began to pick up as well, the wind had started to howl again and thunder crashed in the distance. Lightsail turned and ran towards higher ground after a particularly large wave threatened to drag her back in the ocean. She left the pieces of her canoe behind and hopped up the hill at the end of the beach. After cresting the dune, she made off towards the tree line to find a trail back home. Lightsail's mother, Quill, sat on the back porch of her home that sat atop a hill. The view from the back of the home usually held a beautiful view. From the vantage point you could see the large rock formations that sat on the western end of the long beach and the palm forest that began halfway down the hill and continued to spread for as far as you could see. On a clear day you could see the curve on the horizon in the distance. Quill was much too troubled to be bothered with the view. She scanned the beach. Her eyes darting back and forth. She was muttering prayers to Celestia and Luna under her breath as she fiddled with a dish cloth. Tears stained the dark orange fur on her face and her black mane was unkempt, hastily pulled back with several pins in to a sloppy braid. "MOM!" Lightsail's voice came from the trees. "Lightsail?" Quill stood up. "Darling! Where have you been?!" She took a few steps off the porch as Lightsail emerged from the trees, covered from head to hoof in sand, dirt and leaves. "Did you try to climb the rocks again? No! Was it those kids from the cove? I told you I didn't like you spending time with them!" Quill was storming toward Lightsail now, her fear replaced with loving anger. "Mom, i'm fine. I ju-" Lightsail muttered. "Have you SEEN the ocean today! This weather came out of nowhere! I thought you were out in your canoe!" Quill hugged her daughter. "I was worried sick!" "But mom." Lightsail said, trying to push away from her mother. "I WAS in my canoe!" Quill lightly smacked the back of Lightsail's head. "You! I- Do-" Quill put a hoof over her eyes. "Did you NOT pay attention to the weather?" "Mom! It was different this time! I was asleep in the canoe and the tide rolled in and pulled me out a bit. But th-" Lightsail was interrupted once more. "Oh dear merciful Celestia child! Did your father teach you nothing? Where was your anchor? why didn't you tie it off to a tree or-" "Mom! Can I finish?" Lightsail blurted out. Quill stopped speaking and nodded her head after taking a deep breath. "Ok, when I woke up there was an eclipse! And then the waves started getting choppy so I tried to row back in to shore but everything was CRAZY! My canoe was tipped over and I fell in, but I was saved by this, pony like thing. An-" "'Pony like thing'? What in Equestria are you talking about?" Quill gave Lightsail a confused look. "She was all dark blue, her name was Calypso! She saved me so I- HEY!" Lightsail was being dragged back to the house by her front hoof. Quill was shaking her head. "Your father needs to stop telling you all of these stories." Quill shook her head. "You need a bath young filly! And then straight to bed with you!" Lightsail sighed in defeat and did as she was told. After a very vigorous and thorough cleaning from her mother, Lightsail was laying in her bed and looking out of her window next to her bed that looked out over the hill and the ocean. She turned over and stared at her ceiling. The little filly was mentally going over the events of the day. She vividly remembered the mysterious blue pony named Calypso. She thought about the eclipse and the storm and the crazy unpredictable weather. She rolled over to her side again and gazed out at the ocean again. She sat up when she heard the front door open. Her father must be getting home. Gladius worked in the Equestrian Navy. He was a first mate on a battleship that mostly sat anchored at the docks at the Northern Naval Base that was located several miles down the road near Maryville, a large shipping city that delivered massive amounts of goods directly to Canterlot. It was a city that Lightsail had only seen a few times. Her father wasn't around that much because of his job. Lightsail got out of bed and walked over to her bedroom door. She made sure to avoid the crayons and wooden toys that were sitting on her floor. The little filly cracked the door open slightly and peaked out in to the main room. She could head the clopping of hooves on the wooden floor and her mother informing him of what Lightsail had done that day. Gladius removed his Equestrian Naval armor. A sleek, all white affair adorned with gold trimming, colors that matched his fur and mane, and a black anchor on the breast plate. It was constructed of extremely fine steel created by hoof in Marechester. Lightsail always admired it. The finish was matte as to not cast a glare and the helmet sported 3 small spikes arranged in a mohawk pattern instead of the usual plumes found on Equestrian guard's armor. He set his armor down on the table and sat down. Gladius hung his head and Quill stopped talking. Lightsail could just make out what was being said. "Quill, sweetheart. The ship is being activated." Gladius' voice was low and rough. "Something happened today." Quill sat down across from him and extended a hoof and gently placing it on top of his. "Gladi... What is going on." Lightsail's father looked back up at his wife. "The Equestrian military is mobilizing to defend the homeland, just in case." He sighed. "I'm sure you noticed the eclipse and the weather today?" "Defend from whom? Why would we need to worry about our defense? No one would dare attack Equestria with Celesia and Luna in ch-" Quill's eyes widened with worry. "Are the princesses ok?" Gladius placed his other hoof on top of his Wife's. "Princess Luna attempted to assassinate Celestia." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Now i'm sure this may come as a surprise to whomever may be reading this. Yes, I was but 12 years old when the great division took place. Now I sit here, writing my memoirs at the age of 988. I have lived for a very long time. I have seen many things. I have done many things and many ponie's lives were cut short because of me. Shortly after the Great Division, my father was killed in an attack on his ship by Lunar rebels. A small faction of ponies in Equestria remained loyal to Luna and attempted to overthrow the princess. This has since become known as the Celestial Civil War. Years later I had decided to join the Equestrian Navy and follow in my father's hoofsteps. I wanted to be a captain. I wanted my own vessel. I had already made a name for myself due to my natural talent for sailing. I became one of the youngest captains in Equestrian naval history. I was given a crew, a ship and a mission. This is where I made the biggest mistake of my life. Book 1: Broken Hymns, Chapter 2: Welcome HomeMany years had passed since the Great Division. Lightsail had since grown up and the land of Equestria was a much different place. There were factions of Lunar rebels hidden throughout the various islands that dotted the Unchained Ocean. A great war had broken out in the years following Princess Luna's banishment. The various groups of "Lunatics" as the Equestria Military called them, came out of the woodwork. It first started out as protests and riots in the capital, then moved on to attacks, terrorism and eventually an all out rebellion. The dissenters were pushed out of the major cities and town in Equestria and forced in to hiding. The fallout of this conflict heavilly influenced the life of Lightsail. Her father and his crew was dispatched as a sort of hunter-killer team with the help of the neighboring Griffon Kingdom. Though no one refered to them as "killers". This was mostly because of a strict gag order by Princess Celestia to keep the population at large in the dark about her operations in the north. Not that anypony would blame her if they knew the truth. The Lunatics in the north were extremely violent. They believed Princess Luna to be the one and only true princess. They worshipped her as a god and saw Celestia as a false prophet and sought to crucify her as one. When Gladius' ship landed on the shore of Rickter, an island sitting a few dozen miles off the shore of Pasadeneigh, they were ambushed by a score of Lunatics armed with Flintlock rifles, bows, and cannons that they had placed in the hillside that overlooked the beach. A member of Gladius' crew had sold information to the leader of the LORE or, Lunatics of Rickter Equestria. The crew fought bravely and managed to retreat to their ship with over half of their brethern slain on the beach. Gladius had volunteered to stay on the beach to hold off the advancing horde to give the crew more time to escape. He relinquished command of the crew to 1st Liutenant Cutlass, several ponies stayed behind with him. The only passage to the beach was a narrow gap in the rocks. Gladius and his fellow Guardsponies stood at the end of the opening and held off the LORE for an hour while the remnants of his crew made their way back to the boat. He was cut down by an arrow through his throat. The crew of the Iron Maiden escaped the battle and were able to make it to a nearby Equestrian Naval port off the island of Civolt. Word of the slaughter had made it's way back to the mainland and spread before Princess Celestia had a chance to control it. Lightsail and her mother, Quill, received the news of Gladius' death from now Captain Cutlass several days later. Aid and comfort was offered to the family by the remaining crewmembers of the Iron Maiden. The funeral was held on the beach, no body was recovered. In a counter attack by the Equestrian Navy they had found the bodies of the crew, they were all burned to mostly ashes with a message carved in a wooden board. "No Peace Until Nightfall" As the years passed, Lightsail had joined the Equestrian Naval academy with much protest from her mother. At the age of 18 she was hoof chosen by Admiral Cutlass to attend the Captain's Course. This mostly due to her aptitude for sailing. Her cutiemark ended up being an image of a Ship of the Line. Rumors spread that she had received the recommendation for the course because of her close relationship with Admiral Cutlass. These rumors were silenced after Lightsail graduated top of her class 2 years later... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Fillies and Gentlecolts, it is with great honor that I present the graduating class of the Equestrian Naval Captain's Academy!" Applause filled the air in the courtyard of the Naval Academy.It echoed off of the stone walls of the school. Cheers came from the crowd as they all stood on their hind hooves in reverence to the class. The 14 students stood at attention on the stage in front of the crowd. A breeze blew softly through the arches of the structure, it carried a salty smell off of the ocean. The grass of the courtyard swayed slightly and the students could almost swear that the sun was shining brighter just for them. The Pony of Ceremonies, Admiral Hailstorm, stepped away from his hoof crafted wood podium on the stage and trotted over to the students. He stood several paces in front of them facing the crowd. Executing an about-face he looked over the students. 2 rows, 7 ponies to each row. He smiled. "Welcome to the ranks of the elite." He said with a gruff voice and a crooked smile that reached all the way up to his white eyepatch that covered his left eye. "Remember now. the lives of your crew are in your hooves. One mistake, and hundreds can die." He said in a low tone, almost a whisper, just barely loud enough to be heard over the clapping and cheering of the audience of the student's family and friends. "CLASS!" Hailstorm yelled. The students lifted their right forehoof and placed it over their chest, they all responded with booming voices in unison. "WE ARE THE ELITE! WE ARE CAPTAINS! LEAD, FIGHT, WIN!" Hailstorm chuckled. "Dis-MISSED!" he made a right face and walked off while the students took one step to the rear and sounded off with a loud and thunderous. "CAPTAINS LEAD THE WAY!" They all turned to eachother and commenced with the hugs, pats on the back and laughs. The students removed their white 3 point caps and stepped off the stage in to the crowd of awaiting family members and friends. Lightsail trotted off towards her mother who was sitting in the front row. Quill stood up from her chair and made her way over to her daughter. "My dear, i'm so proud of you!" she wrapped her hooves around Lightsail and hugged her tightly. "Your father would be so proud to see you now." A tear trickled from her eye. Lightsail pulled away from her mom and wiped her own tears away before helping her mother. "I know he would. I just wish he was here to see me today." Lightsail brushed some tears off of her white jacket. "Aye. I do to. Look at you! you've gotten so tall!" Quill now had to look up to make eye contact with her daughter. "Still got that same old red mane and them same 3 freckles though." She sighed. "You look so much like your grandmother!" Lightsail laughed. "I hope that means I look mature and not like an old alcoholic!" this made Quill chuckle. "Yes, yes, she did like to drink didn't she. And i'm sure she'd be very proud of you right now as well." Quill hugged her daughter again. "I hope you don't mind if I intrude." a voice came from behind Lightsail. Quill looked up and her eyes went wide. "P-Princess!" Lightsail turned around and they both bowed. "Oh, stop, stop." Princess Celestia giggled. "Please don't let me interrupt this touching moment." The princess' multi-colored mane waved in the breeze. "I simply wished to congratulate Ms. Lightsail on her graduation. Admiral Cutlass told me much about you. Your father was a fantastic sailor and we all miss him dearly." Lightsail nodded her head. "Thank you princess. That means a lot to us coming from you." "Dear, I hope you don't mind if I borrow your daughter for a short minute. I wish to speak with her regarding the next step in her career." Celestia smiled at Quill. "N-no not at all Princess! Please do, i'll be waiting out by the garden with the rest of the guests when you're finished." Quill hugged her daughter one more time before turning around and trotting off towards the garden where tables of refreshment had been set out. "Just like your father, can't resist a free meal." Celestia said, turning to Lightsail. "Follow me. I have something very important to discuss with you." Lightsail followed the princess as she turned away and walked in to the school. The inside of the school was made of grey stone bricks from floor to ceiling, their hooves echoed throughout the hallways. Celestia used her magic to open the door to a classroom. Inside, the desks were lined up in even rows of 5. Lightsail entered and looked around. "This is where my navigation class was hel-" "Lightsail, listen." Celestia's voice had changed to a commanding and serious tone. "One of the former dutied of my sister was to manifest herself in the dreams of troubled ponies to help them with important life decisions. Since her banishment I have taken that responsibility upon myself. Unlike her, however, I do not interfere in my subject's dreams." Celestia walked over to the window and looked out on the ocean. Lightsail followed and stood behind her. "In the last few weeks I detected something strange. About you." "Me? Princess I assure you i'm just as normal as any of the other ponies in my class." Princess Celestia waved her hoof. "Yes, so you think. I have seen your dreams Lightsail. You can stop lying to me now." the princess turned and towered over Lightsail. She made direct eye contact. Lightsail wanted to look away but was unable. "You dreams of avenging the death of your father. They are unnaceptable. I have seen the great evils you are capable of. I know of your past and your interaction with the ocean. Lightsail, you are a catalyst. You know not what you are capable of starting. My advisors believe I should not allow you to captain a ship in my fleet." Celestia turned away. Lightsail's mouth hung open and tears began to form in her eyes. "Princess! No! This is my dream! Since I was a filly I wanted to be just like my father, I wanted to serve under you as a captain. you CAN'T do this to me!" Celestia stomped her hoof. "Enough!" She closed her eyes and breathed one heavy breath through her nose. "Lightsail, I disagree with my advisors. I will allow you to captain a ship. You will become captain of the Alestorm. Your crew is a fine one. Their captain recently retired and none of the crewmembers are of the right rank to take over the ship." Celestia turned to face Lightsail again. "This ship is armed with 16 cannons in 2 rows of 8 on both sides. Every pony in the crew is well trained in ship defense, but not offense. This is why i'm allowing you to captain her. You will be an escort ship for the Iron Maiden II." Lightsail beamed. "Thank you princess! This is the best news. I won't let you down I swear!" "Lightsail." Celestia silenced her once again. "Understand this. You will be nought but an escprt ship for the first part of your career. I wish to monitor your behavior. The last thing this land needs is another catastrophe in my campaign in the north." The princess sighed then smiled. "Congratulations Lightsail." She extended a leg, and shook Lightsail's hoof. "Remember Lightsail. Before setting upon a path of revenge you must first dig two graves. One for your enemy and one for yourself. You are a good pony. I do not want to see you corrupted, you are better than that. Serve under me with honor. Be the best captain you can be, live your life happy and fulfilled. That is the best revenge." Celestia dropped her hoof. She turned away from Lightsail and vanished in a flash of light and smoke. Lightsail shielded her eyes from the flash. Once the light had subsided she dropped her hoof and looked around the room. "Princess?" She questioned. "I... I won't let you down!" She shouted, hoping that the princess was still listening. " I promise, no, I swear to you on my honor as a captain! I will NOT let you down!" Lightsail made her way out of the room and down the hallway of the school. Her mind raced over the conversation she just had. She thought to herself. "She knew... she knew about my dreams and my desires. But I can't let her down. I have to be the best. I have to prove to her i'm worthy of serving under her." Lightsail stopped at the door that lead to the courtyard and looked out the window that lead to the ocean. She saw a dark shadow move under the waves and out to sea. Shaking her head, and rubbing her eyes she looked again and it was gone. "I- I'm seeing things." She reassured herself before making her way outside and over to the garden. Joining her classmates and her mother in the celebration. It would be good to get her mind off of things for a while.
IntroductionThe Ballad of the Righteous Sun Come little filles, i'll tell ye a tale of the ship Righteous Sun and her captain Lightsail Twas a cold October Morning on the north shores of Equestria. The ocean sat motionless in the twilight as a young filly stared out into it's abyss. She watched the small waves crash in to the sand, one after the other while humming a tune. She kicked at the small rocks near her hoof. Her pink fur almost camouflaged in the luster of the sand at sunset. The salty air blew her light green mane. This was her usual evening routine. Her mother would be inside cooking while her dad was out in the town closing up shop at his market. This left her just enough time between her school work and bed to sit out on the beach and watch Celestia's sun disappear beneath the horizon. Her dad always told great tales of his time as a sailor with the Equestrian Navy. They filled her with wonderment. Some of his stories were so grand that they were almost unbelievable. He spoke a lot of his time with the most legendary captain in the entire Equestrian Armada. Lightsail, so close a friend was she to her father that he named his only child after her. In his old age however, his memory began slipping. A result, he said, of a head injury he sustained in a battle during the Great Shadowy War. That was the one experience he did not speak much about. He was slowly losing his memories of his days in the Navy. "Lightsail! Come inside! Dinner is almost ready and your father is almost home!" The little filly turned around and shouted back, "Ok mom! In a minute, the sun is almost down!" Her mother smiled and shook her head from the back door of the wooden home on the hill. The sun was almost below the horizon when a small flash of light appeared near the beach. A small glimmer in the waves. Lightsail stood up and walked closer to the water. There, a few yards off shore was a large glass container. The sun slowly set beyond the horizon, but not before casting one last ray of light that made the bottle shine. Almost as if Celestia herself wanted that bottle to be seen. The little filly stepped in the frigid water and immediately withdrew her hoof. If she were a unicorn she could just levitate the bottle to her, or if she were a pegasi she could fly out and get it without setting hoof in the water. She looked back at the house and again in to the water where the bottle floated. She contemplated her decision for a short minute before stepping back in the water. Something about this bottle appealed to her, as if it was meant for her. Inch by inch she submerged in to the icy black. Eventually the water was too deep for her to stand. With the bottle only a few feet in front of her muzzle, she jumped and started kicking her legs. Despite living by the water for her whole life, she never swam. Her father forbade it and her mother always agreed with him. Something about the ocean taking too much from him already. She wildly kicked her legs and swam out to the bottle. She snatched the bottle with her mouth and turned around to see a large dark form swimming toward her from the shore. It grabbed her with powerful hooves and pulled her back in to land. "Lightsail! What do ye think yer doin!" Her father set the little filly on the beach. "How many times must I tell ye to ne'r go in the water without me or yer mum here!" He pulled his red hat off his head and ran a dark grey hoof through his brown mane. He sighed and sat down and looked at his daughter. Her head was hung low and she was idly kicking at the bottle she found in the water. "What's this then?" He picked up the bottle with one hoof and inspected it. "Buck! Is she ok!?" Misty called from the house. "I'm ok mom!" Lightsail called back. "I'm not a baby anymore" she muttered under her breath. Buck patted her head. "Aye, yer not, but that doesn't mean we arent gonna stop worryin 'bout ya." He turned his attention back to the bottle and noticed something in it. It was a large scroll. "Well, would ya look at this! Lightsail! Ya found a good ol' fashioned message in a bottle! I han't seen one o these in years!" Lightsail looked up at her dad, "What's a message in a bottle?" Buck adjusted his position so he was sitting next to Lightsail and wrapped a hoof around her shoulder. "Back in my sailin days, when a ship were to sink, the cap'n would take their memoirs and put them in a bottle. So one day a pony might happn cross it an' know their tale! Some ponies would write them fer fun, others wrote them when they got stranded an' use them to call fer help." He turned the bottle over in his hoof. "I woner which one this be?" "Buckfast! Lightsail! Come inside, lets eat!" Misty called down from the house. Lightsail and Buckfast stood up. "Cmon then, lets go inside and open it!" Buckfast said, smiling at his daughter. They both ran up to the house and shut the door behind them. The inside of the house was simple. constructed mostly of wood, hoof made by Buckfast. The entire house had a rustic and warm feel to it. There was a stone fireplace in the living area along with Lightsail's bed. The kitchen sat at the back of the house with a round wooden table. Various pictures and plaques adorned the wall. War medals, old family pictures, various important news clippings with pictures of Buckfast on it. There was a master bedroom adjacent to the living room. The ponies hooves clopped across the wood floor as they entered and sat down at the table. "What do you have there Lightsail?" Misty said as she set a plate down in front of her daughter, levitating it with her magic. Lightsail set the bottle on the table, "It's a message in a bottle!" Misty laughed. "Have you opened it yet sweetie?" "No not yet! But daddy said we can open it now!" She said with a wide smile on her face. A towel plopped down on her head and started rubbing her dry. "Aye! I did didn' I?" Buckfast said as he dried off the still soaking wet filly. He removed the towel and tossed it aside as he sat down. "Go ahead an' open it then!" Lightsail beamed. She grabbed the bottle and started tearing at the cork with her teeth, trying to remove it from the top. Eventually, after much struggling the cork popped out and bounced off the walls before landing on the table in front of Buckfast. He picked up0 the cork and inspected it. A small "R.S." was inscribed on the top. His eyes shot open. Lightsail removed the scroll from the bottle and immediately it seemed to grow 5 times in size. Whoever put it in the bottle enchanted it so it could be removed easily but still hold a large volume. She unrolled the scroll on the table and cleared her throat. "Lightsail...." Her father interrupted her before she began reading. "Before ye begin, what is the title on the top o' the scroll." Confused, Lightsail read aloud... "Memoirs of the Captain Lightsail... the Ballad of the Righteous Sun" She looked up at her father. Her mother looked over at him too. His eyes were pasted open and locked on the scroll. "Daddy... are you ok?" "Buckfast." Misty said, wrapping her arms around him. "Is this the captain Lightsail." He stood up and grabbed the scroll from his daughter. His eyes flew over the pages. "Aye, this is the memoirs of my cap'n."
Book 1: Broken Hymns, Chapter 1: Eye of the stormMany ponies may think of me as a hero. But I assure you that is far from the truth. My life has been long and it has been difficult. I wish I could say that I was a hero. I wish I could lie and tell you that my life was a glorious escapade of valorous battles between the forces of good and evil. But the truth is far more sinister. My history is a violent one. My life has been a constant battle between me and my sins. I was a filly, I was a captain, I was a traitor, a pirate, an adventurer, a ruler, a God. But most important of all. I was the sea. I was the waves, the wind, the water. I was the black depths and the clear blue shores. I was the storm and I was the calm. I was, and still am. Captain Lightsail, and this is my story. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The skies above the ocean were clear. Various fluffy clouds adorned the vast expanse of the open blue. It was warm with a slight breeze that lightly played through the red strands of a young filly's mane and she slept on her canoe that sat a great distance from the beach. Her grey-blue coat was frizzy. Adorned with variations of color from the childhood in the sun and the salt, her white freckles were covered with sand and dirt from her busy day. She laid on her back in the canoe gently snoring as the waves rocked her back and forth. Slowly her eyes flickered open as she let out a yawn and sat up. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and looked around. Gasping she realized that she had been adrift all afternoon. Luckily for her it was a calm day. She put a hoof over her eyes to block out the sun as she scanned the horizon, the shore was still visible, but it would be a long row home. The sun was high in the sky. The filly assumed it was around mid day. "I couldn't have been out for long. The sun hasn't even moved." She mumbled to herself as she gathered her oars and set them up on the rowlocks. She rotated the oars and dipped the blades in to the clear blue water. she pulled back and the canoe began moving. She was breathing heavily, trying to get the small craft up to speed. She adjusted her heading towards the shore and continued working. Lightsail finally got the canoe up to speed when the sky suddenly went black. She stopped rowing and looked around the boat, confused. The little filly turned her attention skyward and found the source of the sudden nightfall. The sun was completely blotted out by the moon. She was in the umbra of an eclipse. She shielded her eyes from the rays of light that passed around the outside of the eclipse. She turned and looked down again at the water when she felt her canoe begin rocking. The wind and waves were beginning to pick up. She grasped the oars again in a panic and began rowing with all of her strength. The sea was in a rage. The waves were picking up at an abnormal rate. They threatened to capsize the filly at any second. Lightsail had just about made it to shore when a wave knocked her ship to the side and another came directly after and broke over her starboard side. The wave rushed over her and flung her in to the sea. The filly was pushed and pulled by the riptide. She thrashed her hooves about, attempting to get herself upright as the water threatened to consume her. The wave that took her in did dot do her the luxury of allowing her to get one good breath in before she fell. She was quickly running out of oxygen. Desperately, she thrashed about, trying to fight her way to the surface. Bubbles erupted from her mouth as she screamed in panic. This caused her to sharply inhale and take in a mouthful of water. She was choking and coughing underwater as her vision slowly faded. Lightsail was slowly slipping in to the the icy black. Before her eyes shut, she caught a glimpse of a dark shape of a pony underwater, staring at her. It's eyes were yellow and it's mane seemed to blend in with the water. It flowed like water. The pony effortlessly moved through the water as it rushed toward Lightsail. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ At that moment I thought that death was coming to take me. But I was wrong. The figure I saw was much worse than death. I do not remember much after seeing the figure in the water. But I do remember waking up on the beach. My canoe was sitting in pieces next to me. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lightsail turned over and coughed. Salty water and bile erupted from her mouth. She tried to make herself stand up but could only manage to get her forehooves extended. She coughed and gagged again as more fluids erupted from her. She took a sharp inhale and her coughing fit began to subside. The wooden canoe sat several yards from her, it had been crushed and torn by the rocks and the waves. She slowly pulled herself up and shook some of the sand from her mane. She hobbled over to the canoe and put a hoof on it. "Father is going to kill m-" She silenced herself suddenly as she noticed that somepony, or some THING was watching her. She looked toward the ocean and say the head of a pony sticking out of the waves a hundred or so paces from her position on the shore. The head did not seem to move with the waves. It sat completely motionless. The color matched the dark blues of the ocean. The yellow eyes seemed to glow. Lightsail took a few steps back. "W-WHO ARE YA!" She screamed out at the pony. "WHY DID YA SAVE ME?" The eerie creature blinked twice and spoke with a voice that rang like choir chimes. It echoed through the water and caught Lightsail off guard by it's calming beauty. "My name is Calypso. As for my actions. They will be answered in good time, little one." The shape melted back in to the water and disappeared. Lightsail ran to the edge of the water. "H-HEY! Ya never let me say thanks!" Lightsail looked around and noticed that the sky was still dark. She scanned the horizon and noticed that all throughout the ocean, the waves were unruly. After Calpyso disappeared, the waves near shore began to pick up as well, the wind had started to howl again and thunder crashed in the distance. Lightsail turned and ran towards higher ground after a particularly large wave threatened to drag her back in the ocean. She left the pieces of her canoe behind and hopped up the hill at the end of the beach. After cresting the dune, she made off towards the tree line to find a trail back home. Lightsail's mother, Quill, sat on the back porch of her home that sat atop a hill. The view from the back of the home usually held a beautiful view. From the vantage point you could see the large rock formations that sat on the western end of the long beach and the palm forest that began halfway down the hill and continued to spread for as far as you could see. On a clear day you could see the curve on the horizon in the distance. Quill was much too troubled to be bothered with the view. She scanned the beach. Her eyes darting back and forth. She was muttering prayers to Celestia and Luna under her breath as she fiddled with a dish cloth. Tears stained the dark orange fur on her face and her black mane was unkempt, hastily pulled back with several pins in to a sloppy braid. "MOM!" Lightsail's voice came from the trees. "Lightsail?" Quill stood up. "Darling! Where have you been?!" She took a few steps off the porch as Lightsail emerged from the trees, covered from head to hoof in sand, dirt and leaves. "Did you try to climb the rocks again? No! Was it those kids from the cove? I told you I didn't like you spending time with them!" Quill was storming toward Lightsail now, her fear replaced with loving anger. "Mom, i'm fine. I ju-" Lightsail muttered. "Have you SEEN the ocean today! This weather came out of nowhere! I thought you were out in your canoe!" Quill hugged her daughter. "I was worried sick!" "But mom." Lightsail said, trying to push away from her mother. "I WAS in my canoe!" Quill lightly smacked the back of Lightsail's head. "You! I- Do-" Quill put a hoof over her eyes. "Did you NOT pay attention to the weather?" "Mom! It was different this time! I was asleep in the canoe and the tide rolled in and pulled me out a bit. But th-" Lightsail was interrupted once more. "Oh dear merciful Celestia child! Did your father teach you nothing? Where was your anchor? why didn't you tie it off to a tree or-" "Mom! Can I finish?" Lightsail blurted out. Quill stopped speaking and nodded her head after taking a deep breath. "Ok, when I woke up there was an eclipse! And then the waves started getting choppy so I tried to row back in to shore but everything was CRAZY! My canoe was tipped over and I fell in, but I was saved by this, pony like thing. An-" "'Pony like thing'? What in Equestria are you talking about?" Quill gave Lightsail a confused look. "She was all dark blue, her name was Calypso! She saved me so I- HEY!" Lightsail was being dragged back to the house by her front hoof. Quill was shaking her head. "Your father needs to stop telling you all of these stories." Quill shook her head. "You need a bath young filly! And then straight to bed with you!" Lightsail sighed in defeat and did as she was told. After a very vigorous and thorough cleaning from her mother, Lightsail was laying in her bed and looking out of her window next to her bed that looked out over the hill and the ocean. She turned over and stared at her ceiling. The little filly was mentally going over the events of the day. She vividly remembered the mysterious blue pony named Calypso. She thought about the eclipse and the storm and the crazy unpredictable weather. She rolled over to her side again and gazed out at the ocean again. She sat up when she heard the front door open. Her father must be getting home. Gladius worked in the Equestrian Navy. He was a first mate on a battleship that mostly sat anchored at the docks at the Northern Naval Base that was located several miles down the road near Maryville, a large shipping city that delivered massive amounts of goods directly to Canterlot. It was a city that Lightsail had only seen a few times. Her father wasn't around that much because of his job. Lightsail got out of bed and walked over to her bedroom door. She made sure to avoid the crayons and wooden toys that were sitting on her floor. The little filly cracked the door open slightly and peaked out in to the main room. She could head the clopping of hooves on the wooden floor and her mother informing him of what Lightsail had done that day. Gladius removed his Equestrian Naval armor. A sleek, all white affair adorned with gold trimming, colors that matched his fur and mane, and a black anchor on the breast plate. It was constructed of extremely fine steel created by hoof in Marechester. Lightsail always admired it. The finish was matte as to not cast a glare and the helmet sported 3 small spikes arranged in a mohawk pattern instead of the usual plumes found on Equestrian guard's armor. He set his armor down on the table and sat down. Gladius hung his head and Quill stopped talking. Lightsail could just make out what was being said. "Quill, sweetheart. The ship is being activated." Gladius' voice was low and rough. "Something happened today." Quill sat down across from him and extended a hoof and gently placing it on top of his. "Gladi... What is going on." Lightsail's father looked back up at his wife. "The Equestrian military is mobilizing to defend the homeland, just in case." He sighed. "I'm sure you noticed the eclipse and the weather today?" "Defend from whom? Why would we need to worry about our defense? No one would dare attack Equestria with Celesia and Luna in ch-" Quill's eyes widened with worry. "Are the princesses ok?" Gladius placed his other hoof on top of his Wife's. "Princess Luna attempted to assassinate Celestia." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Now i'm sure this may come as a surprise to whomever may be reading this. Yes, I was but 12 years old when the great division took place. Now I sit here, writing my memoirs at the age of 988. I have lived for a very long time. I have seen many things. I have done many things and many ponie's lives were cut short because of me. Shortly after the Great Division, my father was killed in an attack on his ship by Lunar rebels. A small faction of ponies in Equestria remained loyal to Luna and attempted to overthrow the princess. This has since become known as the Celestial Civil War. Years later I had decided to join the Equestrian Navy and follow in my father's hoofsteps. I wanted to be a captain. I wanted my own vessel. I had already made a name for myself due to my natural talent for sailing. I became one of the youngest captains in Equestrian naval history. I was given a crew, a ship and a mission. This is where I made the biggest mistake of my life.
Book 1: Broken Hymns, Chapter 2: Welcome HomeMany years had passed since the Great Division. Lightsail had since grown up and the land of Equestria was a much different place. There were factions of Lunar rebels hidden throughout the various islands that dotted the Unchained Ocean. A great war had broken out in the years following Princess Luna's banishment. The various groups of "Lunatics" as the Equestria Military called them, came out of the woodwork. It first started out as protests and riots in the capital, then moved on to attacks, terrorism and eventually an all out rebellion. The dissenters were pushed out of the major cities and town in Equestria and forced in to hiding. The fallout of this conflict heavilly influenced the life of Lightsail. Her father and his crew was dispatched as a sort of hunter-killer team with the help of the neighboring Griffon Kingdom. Though no one refered to them as "killers". This was mostly because of a strict gag order by Princess Celestia to keep the population at large in the dark about her operations in the north. Not that anypony would blame her if they knew the truth. The Lunatics in the north were extremely violent. They believed Princess Luna to be the one and only true princess. They worshipped her as a god and saw Celestia as a false prophet and sought to crucify her as one. When Gladius' ship landed on the shore of Rickter, an island sitting a few dozen miles off the shore of Pasadeneigh, they were ambushed by a score of Lunatics armed with Flintlock rifles, bows, and cannons that they had placed in the hillside that overlooked the beach. A member of Gladius' crew had sold information to the leader of the LORE or, Lunatics of Rickter Equestria. The crew fought bravely and managed to retreat to their ship with over half of their brethern slain on the beach. Gladius had volunteered to stay on the beach to hold off the advancing horde to give the crew more time to escape. He relinquished command of the crew to 1st Liutenant Cutlass, several ponies stayed behind with him. The only passage to the beach was a narrow gap in the rocks. Gladius and his fellow Guardsponies stood at the end of the opening and held off the LORE for an hour while the remnants of his crew made their way back to the boat. He was cut down by an arrow through his throat. The crew of the Iron Maiden escaped the battle and were able to make it to a nearby Equestrian Naval port off the island of Civolt. Word of the slaughter had made it's way back to the mainland and spread before Princess Celestia had a chance to control it. Lightsail and her mother, Quill, received the news of Gladius' death from now Captain Cutlass several days later. Aid and comfort was offered to the family by the remaining crewmembers of the Iron Maiden. The funeral was held on the beach, no body was recovered. In a counter attack by the Equestrian Navy they had found the bodies of the crew, they were all burned to mostly ashes with a message carved in a wooden board. "No Peace Until Nightfall" As the years passed, Lightsail had joined the Equestrian Naval academy with much protest from her mother. At the age of 18 she was hoof chosen by Admiral Cutlass to attend the Captain's Course. This mostly due to her aptitude for sailing. Her cutiemark ended up being an image of a Ship of the Line. Rumors spread that she had received the recommendation for the course because of her close relationship with Admiral Cutlass. These rumors were silenced after Lightsail graduated top of her class 2 years later... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Fillies and Gentlecolts, it is with great honor that I present the graduating class of the Equestrian Naval Captain's Academy!" Applause filled the air in the courtyard of the Naval Academy.It echoed off of the stone walls of the school. Cheers came from the crowd as they all stood on their hind hooves in reverence to the class. The 14 students stood at attention on the stage in front of the crowd. A breeze blew softly through the arches of the structure, it carried a salty smell off of the ocean. The grass of the courtyard swayed slightly and the students could almost swear that the sun was shining brighter just for them. The Pony of Ceremonies, Admiral Hailstorm, stepped away from his hoof crafted wood podium on the stage and trotted over to the students. He stood several paces in front of them facing the crowd. Executing an about-face he looked over the students. 2 rows, 7 ponies to each row. He smiled. "Welcome to the ranks of the elite." He said with a gruff voice and a crooked smile that reached all the way up to his white eyepatch that covered his left eye. "Remember now. the lives of your crew are in your hooves. One mistake, and hundreds can die." He said in a low tone, almost a whisper, just barely loud enough to be heard over the clapping and cheering of the audience of the student's family and friends. "CLASS!" Hailstorm yelled. The students lifted their right forehoof and placed it over their chest, they all responded with booming voices in unison. "WE ARE THE ELITE! WE ARE CAPTAINS! LEAD, FIGHT, WIN!" Hailstorm chuckled. "Dis-MISSED!" he made a right face and walked off while the students took one step to the rear and sounded off with a loud and thunderous. "CAPTAINS LEAD THE WAY!" They all turned to eachother and commenced with the hugs, pats on the back and laughs. The students removed their white 3 point caps and stepped off the stage in to the crowd of awaiting family members and friends. Lightsail trotted off towards her mother who was sitting in the front row. Quill stood up from her chair and made her way over to her daughter. "My dear, i'm so proud of you!" she wrapped her hooves around Lightsail and hugged her tightly. "Your father would be so proud to see you now." A tear trickled from her eye. Lightsail pulled away from her mom and wiped her own tears away before helping her mother. "I know he would. I just wish he was here to see me today." Lightsail brushed some tears off of her white jacket. "Aye. I do to. Look at you! you've gotten so tall!" Quill now had to look up to make eye contact with her daughter. "Still got that same old red mane and them same 3 freckles though." She sighed. "You look so much like your grandmother!" Lightsail laughed. "I hope that means I look mature and not like an old alcoholic!" this made Quill chuckle. "Yes, yes, she did like to drink didn't she. And i'm sure she'd be very proud of you right now as well." Quill hugged her daughter again. "I hope you don't mind if I intrude." a voice came from behind Lightsail. Quill looked up and her eyes went wide. "P-Princess!" Lightsail turned around and they both bowed. "Oh, stop, stop." Princess Celestia giggled. "Please don't let me interrupt this touching moment." The princess' multi-colored mane waved in the breeze. "I simply wished to congratulate Ms. Lightsail on her graduation. Admiral Cutlass told me much about you. Your father was a fantastic sailor and we all miss him dearly." Lightsail nodded her head. "Thank you princess. That means a lot to us coming from you." "Dear, I hope you don't mind if I borrow your daughter for a short minute. I wish to speak with her regarding the next step in her career." Celestia smiled at Quill. "N-no not at all Princess! Please do, i'll be waiting out by the garden with the rest of the guests when you're finished." Quill hugged her daughter one more time before turning around and trotting off towards the garden where tables of refreshment had been set out. "Just like your father, can't resist a free meal." Celestia said, turning to Lightsail. "Follow me. I have something very important to discuss with you." Lightsail followed the princess as she turned away and walked in to the school. The inside of the school was made of grey stone bricks from floor to ceiling, their hooves echoed throughout the hallways. Celestia used her magic to open the door to a classroom. Inside, the desks were lined up in even rows of 5. Lightsail entered and looked around. "This is where my navigation class was hel-" "Lightsail, listen." Celestia's voice had changed to a commanding and serious tone. "One of the former dutied of my sister was to manifest herself in the dreams of troubled ponies to help them with important life decisions. Since her banishment I have taken that responsibility upon myself. Unlike her, however, I do not interfere in my subject's dreams." Celestia walked over to the window and looked out on the ocean. Lightsail followed and stood behind her. "In the last few weeks I detected something strange. About you." "Me? Princess I assure you i'm just as normal as any of the other ponies in my class." Princess Celestia waved her hoof. "Yes, so you think. I have seen your dreams Lightsail. You can stop lying to me now." the princess turned and towered over Lightsail. She made direct eye contact. Lightsail wanted to look away but was unable. "You dreams of avenging the death of your father. They are unnaceptable. I have seen the great evils you are capable of. I know of your past and your interaction with the ocean. Lightsail, you are a catalyst. You know not what you are capable of starting. My advisors believe I should not allow you to captain a ship in my fleet." Celestia turned away. Lightsail's mouth hung open and tears began to form in her eyes. "Princess! No! This is my dream! Since I was a filly I wanted to be just like my father, I wanted to serve under you as a captain. you CAN'T do this to me!" Celestia stomped her hoof. "Enough!" She closed her eyes and breathed one heavy breath through her nose. "Lightsail, I disagree with my advisors. I will allow you to captain a ship. You will become captain of the Alestorm. Your crew is a fine one. Their captain recently retired and none of the crewmembers are of the right rank to take over the ship." Celestia turned to face Lightsail again. "This ship is armed with 16 cannons in 2 rows of 8 on both sides. Every pony in the crew is well trained in ship defense, but not offense. This is why i'm allowing you to captain her. You will be an escort ship for the Iron Maiden II." Lightsail beamed. "Thank you princess! This is the best news. I won't let you down I swear!" "Lightsail." Celestia silenced her once again. "Understand this. You will be nought but an escprt ship for the first part of your career. I wish to monitor your behavior. The last thing this land needs is another catastrophe in my campaign in the north." The princess sighed then smiled. "Congratulations Lightsail." She extended a leg, and shook Lightsail's hoof. "Remember Lightsail. Before setting upon a path of revenge you must first dig two graves. One for your enemy and one for yourself. You are a good pony. I do not want to see you corrupted, you are better than that. Serve under me with honor. Be the best captain you can be, live your life happy and fulfilled. That is the best revenge." Celestia dropped her hoof. She turned away from Lightsail and vanished in a flash of light and smoke. Lightsail shielded her eyes from the flash. Once the light had subsided she dropped her hoof and looked around the room. "Princess?" She questioned. "I... I won't let you down!" She shouted, hoping that the princess was still listening. " I promise, no, I swear to you on my honor as a captain! I will NOT let you down!" Lightsail made her way out of the room and down the hallway of the school. Her mind raced over the conversation she just had. She thought to herself. "She knew... she knew about my dreams and my desires. But I can't let her down. I have to be the best. I have to prove to her i'm worthy of serving under her." Lightsail stopped at the door that lead to the courtyard and looked out the window that lead to the ocean. She saw a dark shadow move under the waves and out to sea. Shaking her head, and rubbing her eyes she looked again and it was gone. "I- I'm seeing things." She reassured herself before making her way outside and over to the garden. Joining her classmates and her mother in the celebration. It would be good to get her mind off of things for a while.
