Author's Note

Guys, thank you all for the support on this story, it means a lot to me. As such I decided to update right before I start school. Have an awesome summer!

Theatre

Fancy Pants, commander of House White-golds’ standing army, held an expression of incredulity on his face. The reports didn’t make sense.

“Fleur, are you sure about this?” He asked, not liking the news one bit.

His wife, Fleur di lis, nodded and replied, “Yes, the reports are correct. Commander Rainbow Dash has been missing for a week, as are her seconds in command. My spies have also informed me that House Earthborn has stopped using the railways. Just today my informants have contacted me about a destroyed Earthborn staging area. Whomever struck left none alive and didn’t bury the bodies, they just left them where they lay. Applebloom and the caravan that went with them were nowhere to be found, neither was Applejack herself.”

Fancys’ monocle nearly fell from his face as he formed his response, “An entire camp eliminated? By the Almighty, what could have done this?”

Fleurs’ next words stunned him, “I think it was the remnants of the Crescent Guard. Princess Luna’s elite force, known for their brutal style of shadow war.”

“Crescent Guard? Those Thestral are all dead, everypony knows they were rounded up by Ms. Sparkle and exterminated for not adhering to her,” Fancy Pants countered the theory.

It was then that Sweetie Belle made herself known to the room, “What’s the Crescent Guard and shadow war?”

Fancy wordlessly offered the teenager a seat beside his wife and replied to her query, “The Crescent Guards were Princess Luna’s elite soldiers, Thestral hell bent on eradicating any and all threats to Harmony as concerned to national security. Basically, they were professional assassins and saboteurs. Shadow war is a term akin to guerrilla war, save for it’s explicitly used at night. You see, Thestral don’t understand the concept of large armies having at each other, instead they invented a system that ensures maximum casualties and at the same time having the least casualties.”

“So they got rid of Applejack?” Sweetie questioned the older stallion who shook his head.

“No, I’m afraid not. They were all executed by Twilight Sparkle. Besides, I’ve had the displeasure of seeing their handy work, they aren’t sloppy and clean up their messes. Rest assured my dear, they’re gone. Whatever hit House Earthborn, based on these reports, began the raid with explosive devises. A very frowned upon tactic in Thestral eyes,” Fancy assured the young unicorn, much to the annoyance of his wife whom glared at him for not believing her.

“We cannot simply rule this out,” Fleur tried to protest, only to receive a warning look.

“I can assure you Lady Sweetie Belle that you are perfectly safe behind these walls,” Fancy said before he smiled as the teenaged mare curtsied and left husband and wife alone.

“I will issue an order to our army and the navy in the bay, all sections on alert. Even if it is only to make you feel better my dear,” Fancy conceded after Sweetie Belle shut the door behind her, Fleur kissed her husband on the cheek and exited swiftly.

***

Flintlock stared at the bottle of rum on his desk, it’d never been opened.

“Captain?” Flintlock looked up at the sound of his princess as she spoke.

There she was in front of him, disguised as a red haired unicorn, and garbed in a white shirt and fine red cloak. Not a bad look to be honest.

“A bit on the stereotypical side but it should do the job,” Celestia admitted with a grin.

“We need to work on the voice and something else, a defining physical feature. A scar or something, to really get them to believe the look,” Sidewinder suggested as he peaked out from a large cupboard.

“Hmm, oh, I know,” Celestia said as she looked into a mirror before her horn lit up.

The illusion of a large, unsightly scar appeared below her left eye and stretched to her lower jaw, “How’s that?”

Flintlock grinned and said, “Now the voice, can you try a Trottingham accent?”

“The rain in Mane stays neatly in the plain,” Celestia enunciated with a high class Trottingham accent.

Flintlock and Sidewinder grinned at each other, this was going to work beautifully.

“Perhaps we need to…” Flintlock began before multiple thumps from below was heard.

All three paused as it continued before Flintlock flew out of his cabin and down below deck with the other two following soon after. Sidewinder followed his friend below deck and witnessed what was happening, two sailors were fighting, at first glance, then it became apparent that one wasn’t a sailor. A light blue coat and white tail identified her, Fleetfoot.

“What the hell is going on here?” Flintlock shouted, his nerves already rattled at the mere prospect of seeing the object of his ire again.

“This horse snuck aboard sir. We were going to teach her a lesson,” answered one of the sailors.

Flintlock turned to Sidewinder for him to bring the former wonderbolt to his cabin, only the Thestral was already on the move.

“Come with me, now,” a cross Sidewinder whispered to the mare before he lead her above deck.

Flintlock glared at the scene, plates were on the floor as was the food.

“Mr. Featherstone, if this mess isn’t clean in ten minutes every member of this crew will receive no rations from here on out. I won’t have rats aboard my ship,” Flintlock said in a whisper before he went into the armory.

The earth pony went to work, directing the crew to clean up the mess before the captain returned with a ballistic gauntlet. The room fell into a hush as the captain aimed at a sitting stallions crotch and fired.

The stallion yelped in fear as the ball smashed into the wood seat inches away from his testicles.

“Does everypony understand what happens to mare beaters?” Flintlock questioned and paused briefly before he continued, “Does anypony have anything to say?”

No pony moved.

Within the captains cabin Sidewinder ranted, “Why would you even try to sneak aboard Fleetfoot?"

Fleetfoot stood defiant in the wake of Sidewinder’s anger, “What? Did you really think that I’d sit idle and wait for news that you were dead? I’m a big mare Sides, I can fight, you said so yourself! You’ll need help out there!”

“This is different! Yes, you can fight, but you aren’t a soldier,” the Thestral yelled in a retort.

“Not a soldier? I ambushed pegasi with a smaller group and won! What’s got you acting like this? Huh?” Fleetfoot pressed, this made the Thestral practically scream.

“I don’t want to lose you too!” he shouted with tears in his eyes, “If anything happened to you… I-I can’t go on.”

Fleetfoot froze at the outburst and remained frozen when the Thestral continued, “After you came into my life, I could live again. But I just, just, can’t without you.”

The pegasus wrapped her forelegs around the sobbing Thestral stallion in an effort to console him.

“Shh, Sides, shh. You won’t lose me, I promise,” she said as she rocked him gently.

“Forgive me Fleetfoot, I just… After seeing that, that, mare,” Sidewinder tried to explain only for Fleetfoot to nod in understanding.

“I know Sides, I know, but she can’t hurt any pony anymore. And if she tries we’ll handle it together,” Fleetfoot said as she nuzzled her husband.

“I love you, you know? And if you think it’s best that you come along, please be careful when we reach land,” Sidewinder relented finally.

Fleetfoot kissed him on the nose as the doors opened.

Flintlock came into the room again and retook his seat.

“Something I missed?” Flintlock asked as he breathed heavily.

“N-Nothing Flint, just had to let it out,” Flintlock nodded then turned to Celestia when she spoke.

“I suppose that I’ll be getting some sleep. Captain , if you’d be so kind as to wake me when land is sighted?”

Flintlock nodded before the princess went below deck to her cabin.

***

Across the continent Princess Luna sat on her haunches as Gilda of the Gryphon Empire sat before her. Luna cloaked herself in a rather snug set of House Stormwing armor and in disguise as a pegasus.

“As I said, we have a deal with Dash. Give us our money. I would hate for it to come to blows over such a small sum. My soldiers will be compensated in full for their efforts, or Stormwing and my Empire will have some real issues real soon,” Gilda opened at the negotiation table.

Luna tilted her head and replied as she dropped her disguise, “Thine words are… foalish. If, perhaps, Rainbow Dash were still head of her House the deal would still stand.”

The equestrian soldiers had blades by Gilda’s entourages’ necks as the leader herself aimed a pistol at the princess of the night!

“However, that thine accord is null at her capture I have another deal to, perhaps, smooth things over, as it were,” Luna said as she leaned over the table.

“I recommend that you let my guys go, before I put a bullet in your skull,” Gilda said as she pulled the pistol lever back.

“Do you not wish to hear of the new arrangement?” Luna asked as her guards backed off.

Gilda still aimed her pistol as she replied, in an effort to stall, “By all means.”

“You get up. You lay down your weapons. You return to your empire. You tell your father that Princess Luna and Celestia have returned and will resume open trade as soon as possible, and you never set foot or talon in Equestria ever again,” Luna replied tersely, she was in no mood for games.

“And what do I get in exchange for that?” the gryphon sneered back.

“You get to live. You have ten seconds,” Luna replied before she began to count down.

“Seven!”

Many gryphons took to the sky but the leader remained.

“Five!”

Gilda still didn’t move but noted that there were a few ballistic gauntlets being aimed at her.

“Three!”

Gilda growled and threw down her weapon before she followed her soldiers.

“What if she comes back?” Pepperjack asked the princess.

“If she or her followers dare to return, they shall regret it,” Luna responded with a grimace.

***

Flurry Heart peaked off the edge of the tall building as she breathed heavily. It took nearly all of her energy to get up there but it was worth it to not be seen.

The early morning sun gently warmed her as she looked over the factories and into the bay. The pull was there, in a ship with black sails approaching slowly into the bay.

Flurry knew, deep down inside her, that whoever was on that ship would be able to help her, perhaps, finally escape.

***

Fancy Pants stood with his wife on the docks as a familiar ship pulled into the bay.

He recognized it near immediately, the Walrus, a heavily armed brig.

He saw a garbed mare in a long boat with the dread Captain himself, tied up.

“Ahoy!” the pink maned mare shouted upon getting close to the dock.

“Hello madam, here to collect the bounty on Captain Flintlock I presume?” Fancy asked, eager to bring good news to his leader.

“Aye, found him stalking a merchant ship from Zebrica. The mad pony destroyed mine, so I took his. The name’s Sunny Days, Captain Sunny Days, at your service mi’lord,” the mare said with a polished accent as she pushed the feared stallion to his knees.

“Captain Flintlock, it is truly a displeasure to see you again, after you left the halls of my prison red with blood,” Fleur said as she glared at him.

Flintlock struggled at his bindings and gag, which Fleur removed after he tried to say something.

“You know Flintlock, it would be the proper time to wave the white flag,” Fleur chided the bound stallion who stopped struggling for a moment.

Flintlocks’ expression went from angry to a calm boil as he growled out, “The only thing that I’ll be waving is your head, on a stick, in front of your weeping mother!”

“Such barbarism. Guards take him away!” Fancy shouted after the threat to his wife before he turned to the newcomer and said, “Welcome to Manehattan my lady.”

“I believe I shall enjoy my stay,” she replied with a smile.