Canterlot Castle, Hallway 7C,
Monday, January 4th,
5:56 AM
“Your Majesty, your appointment with the reporters is in three minutes and forty two seconds.” Secretary Raven Quill said as she lightly jogged, doing her best to match her ruler’s significantly longer stride.
“We’re well within time, Raven.” Celestia said calmly, every so often glancing out of the massive, ornate windows that separated the marble castle interior from the white expanse of Canterlot and the green expanse of Equestria beyond that.
“Princess, had I not found you, I doubt you would have been able to make it in time!” Raven protested vehemently.
“I was preparing for the press.” The Alicorn replied smoothly.
“You were eating cake!”
“And slipping on my regalia. In fact, had you not arrived, I would have teleported to the Throne Room with ten minutes to spare. Instead, I’m not forced to walk quickly to the Throne Room and possibly arrive with only seconds to spare.” Celestia explained smoothly, making Raven glance away, slightly ashamed at ruining the Princess’ schedule. When her pace slowed fractionally, Celestia instantly spoke, softly saying, “Do keep pace, Ms. Quill. We don’t have much time left.”
“One minute, seventeen seconds.” Raven said softly just as Celestia levitated open the side doors to the Throne Room. Moving with a fluid speed and grace she had long since mastered, the Alicorn climbed the steps to her throne and sat down on it. As she seated herself, her horn lit up as she smoothed out her coat, polished the gold she wore, altered her mane so that it would billow out to her left instead of into the back of the throne, and cleaned off the slight smear of frosting leftover on her muzzle.
“Four seconds.” Raven commented from the right side of the throne room, near the base of the stairs leading to the throne.
3...2... “Open the doors.” Celestia commanded of the two Royal Guards posted on either side of the doorway just as she finished fixing her appearance. They complied instantly, swinging the two doors outward, allowing the press outside access to the Throne Room on the one day a year they were able to interview the Princess, even if it was as a group.
The pack, not a group or gathering, but a pack, of reporters rushed into the massive room, jostling for the best positions, those being nearest to their ruler’s throne. They fought amongst themselves like the wolves they were, vying for the position at the head of the pack. Right as they managed to reach the base of her throne, one reporter, a Unicorn, claimed the position of Alpha in time to look up at his Princess and smile winningly, eager to ask the first question of the day, his mouth already opening and a question on his lips.
“The maroon Earth pony.” Celestia said simply, nodding at the Earth pony just behind the Unicorn. The Unicorn had a look of slight sadness on his face, which cleared as the maroon Earth Pony prepared to ask her question. The mare beamed as the crowd slowly fell silent, then when all was quiet, she lifted one of her legs with a specialized clipboard attached to it. Before she pulled the pencil out of the strap on the board with her mouth, she stated her question.
“What’s your opinion on the increased tax on members of the nobility that your sister enacted last week?” Before Celestia had time to even fully comprehend the question, and the connotations it carried, all of the reporters were staring at her as the maroon mare held the pencil to paper, ready to transcribe her answer.
The Princess took a moment to respond, in order to appear to be mulling the question over as if she was considering the question, but it was a ploy. It was Celestia who had suggested to Luna that the tax revision be one of her first acts as a returned Princess. The younger sister had latched onto the idea and enacted it nigh immediately, simultaneously giving her the appreciation of the majority while making her the new noble target, just as Celestia had wanted. “I believe that Princess Luna was looking out for our little ponies. The smaller noble portion of the country has nearly half the total wealth of the country, but now, that wealth will help the entire country.”
This was a game she was very familiar with. Every reporter who came here asked a question, expecting a complete, honest answer. And in their minds, that’s what she gave them. In reality, she never really answered their question. Celestia didn’t tell that maroon mare her opinion, she just rephrased what was happening. Seeing the mare happily write down the answer, she then nodded to the Alpha in the front of the group. “The teal Unicorn.”
“What’s your take on the amount of inner city crime?” He asked, happy to be picked.
“The crime rate in cities like Manehattan, Fillydelphia, and Baltimore is at an all-time low. In other parts of the country, crime is already nonexistent.” Celestia explained, giving him no real answer. Not that he noticed. He quickly wrote down he words with nary a thought.
“The cerulean pegasus.”
“Your Majesty,” He started, being the first to greet her formally. “How do you feel about Equestria’s growing wealth, and the influx of capital in our economy?”
“I believe our wealth is growing due only to our partnerships with other countries. Without them and the trade they offer, we wouldn’t be as well off as we are now.” Celestia allowed herself to fake a wry smile, and a small chuckle for effect. “Of course, neither would they, either.”
The press chuckled along with her, not catching Celestia’s hidden meaning whatsoever. It seemed that was a question most of them wanted because the next few seconds were filled with intense scribbling before hooves raised again. “The grey Earth pony.”
“Equestria’s wealth has been growing exponentially recently. Trade goods are coming in and being used to make products, which are then being sold domestically or overseas. However, taxes have shown that net wealth of the Crown and large businesses is still growing in leaps and spades. In short, how is Equestria’s expansive wealth being used to help the other countries of the world?” She asked, giving the most detailed question as of yet, even going so far as to provide some background.
“Not only is Equestria helping by shipping back finished products in addition to raw materials, but our trade agreements provide other countries such as Gryphonia with materials and equipment they just don’t have normal access to. Everything from simple Flame-Spark firestarters to Magically Modified Organics is being sold at reduced prices.” Celestia explained with a smile.
“What of the threat of piracy?” The same reporter asked. The Guards immediately moved to throw her out only to stop when Celestia waved her hoof.
“Piracy is dead.” Celestia stated firmly, with finality. “Our Navy has hunted down each and every pirate, tracked down their leaders, found their strongholds, and dealt with them. We have nothing to worry about.”
The grey mare wrote down the answer and before she could ask another question, Celestia spoke. “The yellow Unicorn.”
“So you would say that the world is experiencing an era of peace and prosperity?” He asked curiously.
Celestia smiled lightly, her eyes lighting up with a practiced joy, calculated to get the best results. It had taken her years to get it down perfectly, but it had more than made up for it in recent years. “Yes, yes I would.”
Gryphonia, Port Naru,
Thursday, January 7th,
11:42 AM
The vulpine biped looked up in confusion and concern, his right paw dropping to the saber resting beneath his desk when the door to his office was shouldered open. He relaxed when a Gryphon chick walked in. Her head and chest feathers were stained a permanent red and two flintlocks hung at her side, the trigger mechanisms modified to work with her claws. Her beak was twisted into an angry snarl, and an audible snarl sounded out as she tossed a newspaper onto his desk.
Looking down, he saw it was already open, specifically to an interview. An interview with Celestia herself? Aye, that’s interesting.
Quickly reading it over, his keen ears picked up the Gryphoness mumbling under her breath. “‘Only wealthy because of other countries,’ ‘sharing our wealth,’ ‘era of prosperity,’ ‘piracy is dead.’ Ha! We’ll show ‘er piracy. What does she know a’ the world outside Equestr’an shores?”
“Blatant propaganda is all this is.” The biped replied, tossing the newspaper into the lit fireplace behind him. “Celestia knows damn well that piracy ain’t dead. We’re livin’ proof a’ it.”
“What are we goin’ ta do, Cap’n?”
“We’re goin’ ta meet our informant.” The bipedal vulpine said as he stood up. “Come along, Stain. Bring yer cloak.”
“What about ya?” Stain asked as they left the office, as she began heading toward her own room.
“I’m the last of me kind. Anyone who knows anythin’ would recognize me on sight, even with a cloak.” the Cap’n said over his shoulder.
“Right, Cap’n. Gimme a moment to throw tha cloak on.” She said, right before entering her room. The vulpine waited patiently at the end of the hall for her to return, which she did just a few moments later. “Ready.”
“Let’s go. He ain’t gonna wait fer us all night.” The captain said as he turned around and the two continued down the hall.
“No, but ‘e would for ‘is payment!” The Gryphoness retorted with a small laugh.
“Any o’ us would.” the Cap’n said with a grin, standing in a doorway that opened to a starry sky.
“True ‘nough, Cap’n.” They stepped out of the doorway into the cold, dark night, together.
Author's Note
Well, this is the prologue to my third story. Truthfully, I didn't expect to start another one so soon after starting Imperial Hunter. I planned to finish Daedalus' New World before starting a third, but, well, inspiration struck. I've actually had to do a lot of research for this story, but research isn't as good as firsthand experience, so if I get anything wrong, tell me.
As always, don't hesitate to tell me what you think about this chapter. Not much has been revealed about much of anything, but you might have a thought anyway. Special thanks to my editor who looked over this chapter!
Last but not least, I'm only posting the Prologue for a few days, maybe a week or two, for me to write out the next few chapters so I have a bit of a backlog. I wanted to go ahead and post the Prologue to get an idea of the reception this story might make. The Prologue is short compared to the real chapters, which average out around 6k rather than 1.6k, but it provides some basic setup for the story.
The Hungry Hen, Gryphonia,
Thursday, January 7th,
12:34 PM
“Well if it isn’t Captain Avarice! What’ll ya be havin’?” The grey-plumed Gryphon tavern keeper called out to the vulpine as he entered the tavern. For the moment, Avarice ignored him, in favor of a more important task. His bright amber eyes lazily drifted across the bar as he looked for his informant. The walls were made of hewn oak planks, fit together tightly to make solid walls. In the center of the tavern was a roaring fire pit that made up for the noticeable lack of insulation, generating a large amount of heat and smoke. Tables were scattered around the room, some of which had patrons seated at them, though most were empty. Permeating through the room was a thick fog of tobacco smoke that assaulted his senses. He didn’t see him. Not at the bar, nor at any of the tables around the room. The informant had not arrived.
“Not ‘ere yet.” Avarice said in a low voice to his companion.
“Aye. Take a seat and we’ll wait for ‘im, I guess.” Stain replied softly. Avarice nodded and crossed the room, sitting at a corner table in the back of the room, with Stain joining him soon after. Raising his paw in the air, he twirled it around in a signal to the barkeep, who acknowledged it by nodding to him. Avarice let his paw fall back to his side as the barkeep began grabbing a few bottles with his talons.
“Whaddya think tha info be about?” Stain asked him softly, head tilted closer to him to lower the chances of eavesdropping.
“Not quite sure meself.” Avarice replied. “All’s I know that he has news o’ some merchant ship headin’ through the sea. He’s gonna tell us its bearin’, otherwise we’d never find it.”
“And in return?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.
“That’s what tha negotiations are fer, to discuss tha percentages.”
“Right.” Stain replied. “Whadoya think he’ll ask fer?”
“Prolly fifty percent. He ain’t gettin’ that much, though.” Avarice replied. The barkeep came over and set three mugs of ale on the table. Avarice reached into his faded blue coat and tossed him a gold piece, which he deftly caught. “For my tab.” he told the barkeep with a nod.
The Gryphon nodded back, and headed back towards the bar. With the possible eavesdropper gone, Avarice continued. “I’ll have ta get ‘im to settle for thirty five. He’s got the location, but we’re the ones doin’ the hard work and riskin’ our lives.”
“How much do ya think we’ll get outta it?”
“Not quite sure- I think that’s him.” Avarice started, then cut himself off when another cloaked figure walked in. The heady smoke hanging in the air did wonders at obscuring his form to the point that Avarice only knew he was quadrupedal. If it weren’t for the claws and beak poking out below the cloak, he wouldn’t know it was another Gryphon. The newcomer gave a cursory glance around the room before settling his gaze on Avarice. With a confident stride, he made his way over to the table and took a seat.
“Are you Black Avarice the Emerald Fox?” The cloaked Gryphon asked, the voice clearly giving away her gender.
“Aye, thought you’d think that since I’m tha only one of me kind.” Avarice replied.
“And your companion?”
“First Mate Blood Stain.” Stain replied.
“Fair enough.” The informant replied. “Let’s talk payment.”
“First, we need ta know what we’re goin’ up against. What kind o’ ship is it? Cargo? Escorts? Artillery? Weaknesses?” The captain asked, probing for info.
“It’s an Equestrian merchant ship, if that doesn’t tell you enough.” the unnamed Gryphonness said. She would have needed to be blind to miss the glimmer of greed in both of their eyes. They knew exactly what that meant. “Cargo consists mostly of gold, silver, and gems. There’s no escorts and it has sixteen cannons, all of them thirty-pounders. The most important thing is that it’s a water-borne vessel. I’m sure you understand the significance of that.”
Avarice understood perfectly. That was something that was incredibly important and made the entire situation several times safer. “No escorts? That seems incredibly unlikely.”
“Equestria trusts their new magi-tech cannons. They likely believe they’ll need nothing else.” The informant clarified.
“Cannons aren’t enough ta win a naval battle.” Avarice pointed out.
“Most pirates have been paid off by Celestia, and you’re considered a myth. Without the threat of piracy to Equestrian ships, they have nothing to worry about.” The informant retorted.
Avarice was silent for a long moment as he mulled it over. Turning his gaze slightly to look at Stain, he saw her blue eyes flash in the light as she nodded. Looking back to the informant, he spoke. “With the information ya’ve given us, I believe it ta be worth our time. Ten percent.”
“Fifty.”
“Twenty.”
“Forty. You wouldn’t know about this ship without me.”
“Thirty. Without me, ya’d still know about this ship, but wouldn’t have anybody ta raid it for ya!”
“Thirty.” the informant agreed. “Fair point.”
“It’s leaving Port Mercy in fourteen hours and it’ll eventually reconnect with Baltimare. The usual path. It’s called the Dragon’s Bounty. The usual dead drop. ” The informant said. Suddenly, she stood up, spun around, and immediately left the tavern.
A moment later, Avarice and Stain downed their remaining ale and left. With the two out of the bar and the smoke no longer assaulting Avarice’s sensitive nose, Stain spoke, still keeping her voice low. “An extra five percent isn't bad.”
“No, it’s not.” Avarice agreed. “That could be an extra thousand. Rather fortuitous.”
The two walked through the port town in silence for a time, making their way to the docks. Avarice’s ears picked up murmuring as they walked through town, most of the inhabitants unable to believe that he was real. The Fox didn’t care, though. When one was the last of their kind, they tended to be relegated to just a myth. As long as none of them attacked, things would be fine. Before long, the pair of them rounded a street corner and were greeted by the sight of the docks a few blocks ahead. With the final stretch in sight, Stain spoke, keeping her voice low. “So what’ll be tha plan?”
“Tha crew’s still aboard the ship, yeah?” Avarice asked.
“Yeah. Too early fer them ta go waste their money on ale and hens.” The Gryphon replied.
“Then we’ll leave immediately. Tha sooner we can hit tha ship, the more time we’ll have ta get away before Equestria sends help.” Avarice said. “Look, there be my ship.”
His words rang true. The port, like all ports, had several water vessels docked as their crews and captains would carouse in their cabins or taverns. None of them were important, that much he took note of. Three vessels flew the Gryphonian flag, while two more flew private flags. None of them he recognized as pirate flags. It was the sixth and final ship, his ship, that caught his attention.
The Crimson Deceit was his proudest accomplishment. Twelve years of piracy is what it took to afford her and to upgrade her. He had paid several times his own weight in gold to buy the ship, but the price was well worth it. It was a basic brig sloop, but so heavily modified it was considered a one-of-a-kind class. The Deceit started off as nothing more than a water-borne vessel, but years of modifications changed that. Special pulleys allow the masts and sails to be lowered to the deck, where they could be moved and stored. A small engine would fill a large balloon up with helium which, when attached to the ship via reinforced cables, turned the boat into an airship.
The ship was two hundred and fifty feet long and fifty feet wide. She could carry up to two hundred tons of cargo, or three hundred while in the air. With twenty four cannons on the cannon deck and six specially-designed cannons on the main deck, it made engaging enemy ships incredibly easy, particularly since the average brig wouldn’t be anywhere near as armed and it would be unexpected. But the real reason he bought the ship was its speed. In the water, she had a total of eight sails that could get her moving up to fifteen knots. In the air, she could move at twenty five knots. She could outrun any ship in the waters, and was damn close in the skies.
On a normal airship, the balloon was the weakest link. Not on the Deceit. It was dual-enchanted both to be even lighter and to be harder to pierce. An opponent ship would have an easier time hitting the cables than tearing the balloon open. The ship itself was made primarily of wood, with alloyed magicite plating, providing incredibly light protection against threats both physical and magical. Four decks made up the enter ship, with a prisoner hold at the very bottom. A square hole extending down to the cargo deck allowed a crane to move cargo through all the decks without having to be carried down stairs.
The top deck only had one area higher than it, that being the bridge and cabin where Avarice slept, worked, and piloted the ship. It was a simple building, only three rooms; his office, his bed, and a bathroom. On the main deck, below the bridge, was another cabin where Blood Stain lived. The second deck was the cannon deck, with the third being where the rest of the crew lived, including the galley and mess hall. The fourth deck was a mixture of cargo hold and equipment storage.
Stain and Avarice walked up the gangway onto the ship and saw a dozen Gryphons and a Minotaur- most of his crew- reclining on the deck and resting off last night’s hangover. When one of the Gryphons saw him and Stain, he quickly stood up and called out. “Cap’n and First Mate aboard!”
Immediately following the call, everyone stood up and watched him, waiting for an order. Avarice watched with a small smile overcoming his muzzle, his paw coming up to subconsciously adjust his tricorn hat. “Untie us from tha dock and unfurl tha sails. We got a target!”
The excitement was clearly visible as the Gryphons scrambled to get the ship ready. Avarice picked up several of the Gryphons discussing what the target might be, how much they’ll receive, and so on. The captain just walked up the stairs to the bridge, his First Mate and the Minotaur following behind him. When he got to the top and grabbed the wheel, he heard the Minotaur speak. “Captain, what’s our target?”
“An Equestrian merchant ship, leaving Gryphonia in fourteen hours an’ headin’ ta Baltimare.” Avarice replied, seeing the grin spread across the large bull’s face. “You’ll be headin’ the boarders, as always, Steel.”
“Right, Captain. We’ll be makin’ good money, won’t we?”
“And strikin’ a blow against Celestia.” Stain chimed in. “What should we do about our flag, Cap’n? Lower it and fly an Equestrian one?”
“No, leave our flag flyin’. There’s no need ta trick them. They won’t stand a chance.” Avarice explained, looking up to the Crimson Deceit’s flag. The familiar crimson background with a grasping Great Ape hand stared down at him, the blue and black stripes standing out against the dark red. The symbol of greed outside of Equestria. The symbol of a pirate who followed no rules whatsoever.
Avarice felt the ship shudder when the sails caught the wind, the ship already beginning to move forward. Looking toward the dock, he saw that his crew had already untied them from the wooden docking posts. Turning the wheel and by extension moving the rudder, he felt the ship lean ever so slightly to the right as they turned, pulling away from the port town of Naru. “Get ready for a long trip, crew! We’re ten hours out, and our target won’t be leavin’ ‘til four hours after that!”
“Aye, Cap’n!” Came the resounding shout as the Gryphons moved around the ship, doing the tasks they were required to do. Seeing the trapdoor to the lower decks swing open, he watched as two more Gryphons, a Deer, and another Minotaur came out and joined the rest of the crew.
“Go join your mate, Steel.” Avarice said softly. He received a nod in reply as the Minotaur walked off to join his mate. The ship rocked lightly in the water as the small waves jostled it. They were still near the shore and would be for some time. The waves were small and were easily ignored. In the sky for as far as he could see, there was only blue, with no hint of a storm on the horizon.
His first mate seemed to guess his thoughts. “Clear weather and calm seas, a good omen. We’ll be takin’ tha target by surprise at night?”
“Aye. We’ll inflate tha balloon in a few hours and wait in tha air. We’ll catch ‘em unawares.” Avarice said. “Go get some rest, Stain. I know ya’ve been awake fer two days.”
“Aye, Cap’n. Wake me if ya need me or if somethin’ happens, whichever comes first.” The Gryphon hen replied before she turned and hopped of the bridge, falling the four or so feet to the front door of her cabin, which she then walked into after landing lithely.
Sapphire Sea, International Waters,
Friday, January 8th,
1:20 AM
“See anythin’?” Avarice asked one of the Gryphons, Feather Blade, when he returned from the scouting.
“Aye, Cap’n, tha ship’s about an hour away, but weren’t ya told that there weren’t no escorts?” Feather asked curiously.
“Yes, I was. Why?”
“There’s two Equestrian airships trailing a mile or so behind the merchant ship, hidden in the clouds. If I hadn’t a’ checked, I wouldn’t a’ known they was there.” Feather explained, making Avarice grunt an acknowledgement and Stain speak.
“Seems like we were lied ta. Good work on spottin’ them.”
“Thank you, first mate.” Feather replied. “What’ll we do?”
“I need ta know somethin’, first. How well-armed are tha escorts? Armor? Will tha merchant ship pass right under us or to our side?” Avarice asked him.
“I saw six cannon ports on each side o’ each escort, so twenty four total. They ain’t got any on the front or back like we do, so that’s an advantage. They don’t seem ta be armored, which is rather stupid, but they ain’t expectin’ trouble. All three will pass three miles or so ta our right. You havin’ an idea?”
Avarice nodded. “How high are tha escorts compared ta us? Same height, higher, or lower?”
“Same. They’s hidin’ in tha clouds like we are.”
“Stain, get tha crew ta prepare a full starboard salvo with tha thirty-pounders. Feather, I want you an’ three others to prepare tha ground-pounders. Load ‘em with canister shot. Once we take out tha escorts, it’ll be up to ya four to take out tha guards on tha deck of the merchant. After that, we’ll fly down ta tha deck o’ tha ship and take it. Spread the plan.”
“Aye, Cap’n!” Came the dual reply from both Gryphons, who immediately scurried off to carry out his orders. Looking around the ship, it was hard to see his crew members. They were entirely enveloped in the cloud layer to remain hidden from any who passed under them, which covered the entire ship in a dense fog that was nearly impossible to see through. A few dozen feet off the edge of the ship, he could no longer see through the clouds. His powerful hearing easily picked up the sounds of Stain relaying his orders, shouting to be heard over the dense air.
“I need twelve o’ ya on the cannon deck, starboard side! Slide open tha cannon ports, load round shots an’ wait ta fire! We’re taking out two Equestrian airships before tha ground-pounders thin out tha guards on tha merchant ship, then we’re hoppin’ down ta take ‘em out!”
Shouts of acknowledgement sounded out on the deck as twelve Gryphons rushed below deck, with Stain and another two helping Feather move two of the ground-pounders into position. The runes along the barrels of those two cannons glowed very faintly in the soft moonlight, betraying their magical nature.
“Don’t fuck this up!” Avarice shouted out to his crew. “Remember, if ya do this right, that means tonight’s pay day!”
A roar of cheers sounded out, both from the main and cannon deck, which made a grin spread across his muzzle again. They were excited before, but they seemed to be in a frenzy now, flying across the deck and setting everything up. A magazine was rolled over to the ground-pounders, the small cart containing the gunpowder, canister shots, fuses, Flame-Sparks, and paper wads they needed to fire the cannons. The breech-loading cannons swung open as the canister, paper wad, and paper sack of gunpowder was set inside, in that order. The breech swung shut with a mighty thud, the sound echoed a dozen times from below deck.
Over the course of the next forty five minutes, the sounds on the deck grew quieter and quieter until all sound was gone, the Gryphons understanding just how important it was to be silent. Around the ship, hooded lanterns were being blown out, silencing their muted glows and covering the vessel not just in cloud, but in darkness. Turning his gaze to the side, he nodded gently to Blood Stain. Returning his nod, she took off into the air as silent as the breeze, flying out toward their right, the side where the ships out. Moments later, she vanished from sight entirely.
Avarice tensed and he saw the four Gryphons on the main deck with him fiddle with the firestarters in their claws. He watched Feather quietly cock his flintlock, the pistol already loaded and ready to take a single life. Both Minotaurs adjusted their grips on their massive axes, anticipation of the bloodshed flowing through their bodies and souls, tensing up in anticipation. The Fox couldn’t quite hear the crew a deck below, which was good news. Ten tense, silent minutes passed this way.
The crew relaxed as soon as Stain’s visage reappeared through the clouds. She drifted over to his side and whispered in his ear, the warm breath threatening to make it flick repeatedly. “Half a mile starboard, two hundred feet ahead of us.”
Avarice nodded, not replying, for sound carried far in the dead of night. The Fox had no idea what type of spells they had on their ships nor how intensely lookouts might be listening. With a slight adjustment of a small lever beside the wheel, he felt the Deceit give a slight shudder as the engines kicked in. Deep in the equipment deck of the ship, hidden behind a locked door, four runic arrays were draining power from four fire-rubies, the energy from which were being transformed into heat, which powered the massive machines that kept the airship just that- an airship.
Silent as the moon, the airship drifted forward, easily catching up to two escorts. The Deceit came up beside the leftmost one, Avarice only knowing of its existence because of Blood relaying information to him as she kept flying back and forth between the two ships. Once they were close enough, he could pick up the sounds of the ponies on board chatting to each other, the slight noise doing wonders in helping him track them. Once he judged that he was just barely out of sight range and at the right height, he nodded to Stain, who dashed below deck. Seconds later, the ship rocked to the port side as a thunderous boom broke the peaceful silence that filled the night.
Smoke billowed up from the starboard cannon ports as twelve thirty-pounders fired their salvo into the enemy airship. Screams of panic and fear sounded from the ship as the cracking of wood and screeching twisting of metal filled the air. The Gryphons and Minotaurs on deck tensed, ready for the return volley.
It never came.
Avarice wasn’t quite sure if the first salvo had wiped out their cannons, or if they were simply too stunned to return fire, but the Deceit was able to reload and get ready to fire again right before Stain yelled, “Fire all! Fire all!”
Of course, the cannons on the main deck didn’t fire, but twelve more booms sounded out as the cannon deck released another volley. The next thing Avarice was aware of is that he was on the ground with a splitting headache, ringing in his ears. Stunned for a moment, it took the captain a few seconds to realize he had been blown back by some sort of explosion. Reaching up to feel around his head, his paw came back dry and he realized he had just hit his head on the floor, not been hit by shrapnel. Standing up and looking to his right, the ringing in his ears faded, only to be replaced by screams of pain and horror from the ponies.
Their ship was on fire. The second volley must have hit their powder stock, igniting all the gunpowder they had stored on the ship. It was entirely good fortune that one of the cannons had managed to hit such a small target, though he wasn’t going to complain. That was one airship down. The explosion had forced a ring of clear skies in the otherwise solid cloud layer, revealing not only the burning ship but the one on the other side, too.
To his amusement, the captain of the second airship was only staring in horror as the first fell to the sea below, crashing into the black waters and vanishing into the depths. Within an hour, the only pieces of the ship that would remain would be burning flotsam. The opponent captain looked up, his wings flaring in shock when his blue eyes met the Fox’s amber ones.
“Fire all!” came the shout from below deck. It seemed the other captain had heard, given the widening of his eyes.
THOOM! Another cloud of white smoke filled the air as twelve cannons fired again, shredding the hull of the airship. More screams sounded out as some of the ponies inside were undoubtedly hit by shrapnel or even a full cannonball. Considering each one weighed thirty pounds, there was no doubt they were dead and gone.
“Feather, aim ya cannon at tha balloon an’ fire!” Avarice shouted. Feather Blade followed the order instantly, he and his helper rolling the cannon back so it could hit higher. Once the shot was lined up, he lit the fuse and ducked out of the way. The cannon fired, the powerful blast forcing the Fox’s ears to fold on his head. The metal can inside the cannon was shredded, the shards and contained pellets flying out at lethal velocity to pepper holes in the enemy balloon, which caused the enemy ship to begin to sink. The force of the shot rolled the cannon back several feet, which was stopped by Steel, who then pushed it forward a little. Avarice nodded and ordered, “Again.”
Within the next minute, the cannon fired again and a great tearing sound filled the air as the small holes in the enemy balloon stretched and tore to meet each other, a massive hole in the side of the balloon forming in moments. Just then, Avarice was forced to duck and take cover when he noticed the small flickering light coming from the cannon ports in the enemy ship. Two seconds later, the fuses he had seen reached the gunpowder and the enemy cannons fired, six shots sailing into the Deceit. He heard wood crack and splinter and even a whistling sound as one cannonball flew several feet over his head. To his relief, he didn’t hear any screaming from his crew, so they either weren’t hit or died instantly.
THOOM! The Deceit fired another salvo, the twelve balls soaring into the enemy ship.
It seemed like it would be the last salvo needed. The enemy ship was rapidly descending into the sea, though not quite as fast as the burning one had. No more activity could be seen on the deck of the enemy ship and the only sounds heard from the escort were screams. Within seconds, the airship was too low for their cannons to be able to hit the Deceit, so Avarice relaxed and stood back up fully. With the ground-pounders reloaded and returned to their spot on the deck, Avarice lowered the ship below the clouds with a lever to his left instead of his right and caught sight of the merchant vessel for the first time.
The vessel was most definitely a cargo ship. If Avarice had to guess, the ship may have been twice the size of his own, the Equestrian boat easily topping four hundred feet at least. And it was a boat. It was water-borne, no balloon or engine to speak of, forced to remain far below his own ship. With the Equestrian vessel remaining at sea level, it was not just slower than the Deceit. It was also unable to strike him. Cannons can’t shoot straight up, and they most certainly couldn’t shoot miles into the sky. With victory assured, Avarice began to direct the Crimson Deceit toward the Dragon’s Bounty, being sure to keep it a mile or so in the air.
Avarice glanced toward the trapdoor leading to the lower decks, seeing the Gryphons climb out one by one until they were all on deck, ready to board the enemy vessel. Feather and his three helpers were ready to fire upon the Bounty, ready to thin out the ranks on board the ship. The cold screech of metal sliding on metal filled the air as the Minotaurs sharpened their axes, preparing to lead the charge onto the enemy vessel. Flintlocks were loaded and cocked, spare powder and shots being placed into pouches to reload easily. The Gryphons didn’t need swords or axes, not with their talons. Talons that could rend flesh from bone with predatorial ease.
Avarice’s vulpine ears twitched in place, the cold wind blowing through his faded blue coat and rustling his grey fur. Amber eyes shone suspiciously into the darkness as a whistling whine caressed his hearing. Something was coming.
The airship jerked violently in the air, a multicolored explosion of light, flame, and magic filled the air to the portside. Two more explosions, both off by several hundred feet, lit up the night sky as magical mortars detonated around the ship. Two Gryphons ran to the bow of the ship and shot their flintlocks down at the Bounty, an effort in futility that would lead nowhere. Another Gryphon cursed in her native language, ducking down behind two crates to ward off the shrapnel she feared, shrapnel that didn’t exist with the Equestrian’s magic mortars. Avarice was content that at least no one screamed in fear.
Turning the wheel far to the left, he knew the rudder would shift to the left as well. With the thaumic pressure created by two of the four engines shoving against the rudder, the entire ship began to turn toward the left. The airship tilted as it turned, though nothing slid across the deck or fell out. Within minutes, the airship was out of the Bounty’s mortar range, though that did not mean it was free to leave.
“First Mate Stain, do ya see where tha mortar fire be comin’ from?”
The Gryphon hen watched closely, her keen eagle eyes easily seeing down to the decks of the Bounty. There was one area, near the stern of the ship and past the cabin, where she could see several Unicorns running around four tube-like objects. “Aye, Cap’n! Their stern has a mortar deck, behind tha bridge!”
“Get on tha long nine and take it out!” Avarice ordered her.
“Aye! Dust, with me!”
Stain ran toward the long nine, one of the most notorious cannon types invented. Not quite as powerful as a thirty-pounder, the long nine only fired cannonballs weighing around nine pounds, making it an incredibly light hitter compared to most. What made it shine was the eight foot barrel in comparison to a thirty-pounder’s two foot barrel. The long nine, with the proper powder amount, could hit a target up to twenty miles away horizontally, an extraordinary feat. Working with Dust, Stain was able to quickly load the long nine and take aim, using the attached sight to aim properly. “How far would ya say it is from us?”
“Eight miles.” Dust replied with a grunt.
Adjusting the cannon on its axle a little, the sight dipped down until the mortar deck rested firmly on the line marked with an eight. Stepping back, she nodded to Dust who tapped a Flame-Spark to the fuse, which quickly caught and began burning. “Firing!”
Four seconds later, the cannon fired. The boom was not quite as loud as a thirty-pounder, and it didn’t move very far back, but it was obvious that there was more powder than one would expect from a nine-pounder. All the Gryphons watched intently at the mortar deck as the cannonball arced through the air. To their vocal amusement, one Unicorn spotted it and shouted aloud, pointing at it with her hoof. A moment later, the cannonball impacted her squarely in her back. Her spine seemed to cave in as her body almost wrapped around the cannonball, the Gryphon’s powerful sight picking up the shards of bone and streams of blood that shot out around her.
The cannonball didn’t stop, continuing through one deck and into the bowels of the ship, wrecking carnage and damage upon anything in its way. With a panicked look, one of the Unicorns lit his horn and vanished, clearly teleporting to somewhere else on the ship.
“Again.” The captain called, not able to see the mortar deck but aware of what happened by the reaction of the crew.
Stain and Dust nodded, quickly reloading the cannon before pushing it back up to the bow where it would have an unobstructed shot. The first mate aimed it again, centering the sight on top of one of the mortar tubes and nodded to Dust, who lit the new fuse. Once again, it only took seconds for the cannon to fire and the shot to sail through the air and impact a mortar. The solid cast-iron ball solidly hit the tube, the runes inscribed onto it flaring into existence for a moment before a powerful explosion removed the mortar deck from existence. Three more followed soon after, the colorful destruction lighting up the night sky as the other mortars detonated in turn.
Avarice watched as his crew started laughing and cheering, visibly ecstatic at the destruction of their obstacle. He grabbed the lever on his right and pushed it forward, feeling the ship pick up speed rapidly. Turning the wheel to the right, he began to align his ship to hover above the Bounty, slightly offset to the port side. Once the ship was half a mile below the Deceit, lined up with the bridge of the ship as the stern was still on fire, Avarice gave the command to Feather, “Ground-pounders, hit them.”
In the instant following his command, the two cannons tilted down at a ninety degree angle, hinges allowing them to be lifted up and locked in place. With the barrels pointed almost straight down over the side of the airship, the runes along the barrel lit up to stop the canisters from simply sliding out under gravity's power. A moment later, the burning fuses reached the gunpowder and detonated, shredding the cans and sending razor sharp shards and pellets down onto the deck of the Bounty. Well over a dozen ponies fell screaming in agony as hot metal burrowed into their flesh and tore arteries, scarlet life essence quickly staining the deck.
The four Gryphons quickly reloaded the two cannons and fired again as the Deceit drifted forward, eradicating even more of the ponies. Twice more was the system repeated before the ponies on the Bounty realized they should run below deck and put several thick layers of wood between them and the canisters. At the end of the barrage, the exposed decks of the merchant vessel were abandoned, the remaining living ponies having scattered below deck.
“Cap’n, how many do you think are left?” Stain asked him.
The vulpine’s ears flicked side to side as he strained his hearing, doing his best to pick up as many distinct voices as he could. After several minutes of listening and analyzing the voices, he had a rough estimate. “No less than ten and no more than thirty. Let’s go! I want two Gryphon guards ta stay on board, the rest carry tha non-flyers down ta tha deck. Minotaurs first! Let’s steal us some wealth, shall we?”
A resounding roar of agreement met his shout. He saw two Gryphons grab Steel with two more grabbing Hammer, his mate, and lift the two over the side. A moment later, he felt Stain’s claws grip his shoulder and lift him up, quickly descending and carrying him down to the enemy ship. The wind was strong, as it usually was three thousand feet in the air, and the smoke from the magical fire burned at his nose and made him scrunch his eyes partly shut. At the least, there was plenty of light. It didn’t take long for the boarding party to reach the deck of the Dragon’s Bounty. As soon as everyone was landed and ready, Avarice started speaking but made sure to keep his voice low. “Ya know tha drill. Stain, Feather, Steel, with me. The rest of ya go down and capture as many as ya can, kill tha rest.”
A chorus of low agreements met his pointed ears before most of the Gryphons and Hammer found the trap door and made their way into the lower decks. As they made their way below deck, Avarice took the chance to examine the ship closely now that he was on it. The first difference he noticed was the lack of on-deck cannons; all of their artillery other than their mortars must have been below the main deck. In front of him rose a large, multi-room cabin where the captain and his officers likely slept. Scattered around the top deck were crates of various equipment needed in maintaining a ship and he wasn’t too concerned about checking them out yet. His main interest was raiding the cabin before the fire reached it.
“Let’s get ta tha cabin. There might be important information in there that we can use.” Avarice said, silently drawing and cocking his flintlock in his left paw while drawing his saber in his right. It was good for one shot before it needed to be reloaded, but that one shot was powerful enough to stop a charging Minotaur in its tracks. The pirate captain led his group into the cabin, his powerful hearing ensuring they would be hard to sneak up on. As soon as they entered through the main double doors, they were greeted by the sight of a hallway that extended some fifty feet and had five doors, two on each side and one at the end. “Stain, with me. Feather and Steel, ya’ll check the rooms across from us. Don’t move on ta tha next room until we’re ready, got it? Grab anything that seems valuable an’ anything made o’ paper.”
“Aye.” Three separate voices replied. Avarice waved his paw toward Feather, then toward the room on the right. Without waiting for a reply or seeing what happened, Avarice led Stain into the left room, swinging the door open forcefully in case there was someone waiting behind the solid oak portal. There was none and the vulpine was forced to stop the door before it slammed into the wall, possibly alerting anyone else in the cabin to their presence. Avarice entered slowly, keeping his head on a swivel with his flintlock and saber at the ready.
The room appeared empty.
The captain rose to his full height and examined the room in more detail. It was, as he expected, clearly someone’s quarters. A soft-looking bed dominated the back wall of the room with a desk taking up most of the left wall. Before Avarice could examine the desk, Stain had already walked over to it and began rifling through it, looking for any papers. Continuing his examination, he saw that the right wall had a wardrobe, which he walked over to and began searching through. There were four drawers, all of which had various articles of clothing. Some of them seemed to be made of simple cotton or wool, which he tossed on the ground, and others seemed to be meant for selling or formal affairs, being made of silk or satin. He ripped the sheets off of the bed and quickly stuck the expensive clothes into it, then tossed it out the open door in time to see Stain hold out a small stack of papers to him. He took them and stuck them in his jacket without a second glance, planning to read over them later.
With a nod of his head, he and Stain left the room in time to hear shouting break out below deck. Avarice strained to hear what exactly was being said but it sounded like it was coming from at least two decks down, too far for the voices to carry accurately. Instead, all he got was the basic gist that orders were being given, though he couldn’t tell by who. A moment later, two doors opened up; the one right beside him that Feather and Steel came out of, and the second door on the right, where a golden armored Earth pony walked out of, crossbow at the ready. Without a second thought, Avarice’s left arm snapped up and he fired, the round shot exiting the pistol at lethal velocity only to find a home in the wall- after entering the pony’s eye and exiting his skull. Red blood and yellow fluid shot out of his punctured eye, splattering across Avarice’s coat and filling his nose with the scent of gore. The wall behind the pony was coated by blood and grey matter, chunks of which slowly dripped off the wall and onto the floor.
The captain waved his paw toward the crossbow, which Feather quickly grabbed and tossed onto the bedsheet sack in the hall. It was simple fortune that the pony hadn’t pulled his trigger in his death, which he was grateful for. Once again, Feather and Steel took the right door that was mostly likely empty and Avarice and Stain took the left. Not bothering with stealth now that a shot had been fired, the Fox just kicked open the door and stepped in, his sword already poised to stab.
To his luck, there happened to be a pony inside. Without a thought, the blade sung through the air and sunk home into her chest, a soft sucking sound filling the air once Avarice pulled his blade back, indicating that he had pierced a lung. The mare jerked back in time with Avarice’s own recoil, a puff of white smoke and echoing boom signifying that Stain had shot the mare in the chest, likely hitting her heart or other lung. Avarice stood back up, one ear flat against his head as a thin trail of blood made its way down his head. “Not so close ta my face, lass! My ears are sensitive!”
To her credit, Stain at least had the sense to look ashamed. “Sorry, Cap’n. I saw an enemy and reacted.”
“Don’t think she was much of an enemy.” Avarice commented, dismissing the issue. Judging from the mare’s apparent age, around fifteen, she was likely the merchant’s daughter. Whether she was or wasn’t, she was dead now. Glancing around the room, he saw a jewelry box that no doubt held valuables. “Get the jewelry. I search the rest of the room.”
Stain nodded and grabbed the box, the sound of jingling filling the air as she did so. There was undoubtedly something of value in there. Quickly searching through the rest of the room, he found a small journal that he tucked into his coat alongside the papers before turning around. Before he left the room, he knelt down and examined the young mare, quickly looking for anything she may have been carrying. Other than a rather cheap-looking necklace made out of false silver, there was nothing.
“Thinkin’ she’d be put ta better use in ya bed?” Stain jested, seeing him examining her.
Then she balked at the glare he sent her way. “Right, right, rapin’ and pillagin’ is one thing but-”
“Necrophilia’s a step too far.” Feather finished from behind Stain, making her jerk to the side. “Though I don’t think any o’ us are rapists.”
“Only twenty o’ us for now. Wait ‘till we have about sixty an’ think again.” Avarice retorted, stepping out into the hallway again. “Feather, shoot tha door.”
A small boom and a puff of smoke followed his statement, followed by the sound of a body hitting the floor. Striding forward and kicking the door open, he was greeted by the sight of a dead, well-dressed pony lying on the floor, a large hole right below his horn. “Good shot, mate. Search tha room. If ya drop any papers in ‘is blood I will throw ya into tha sea!”
“Aye.” Stain agreed.
“Understood.” Steel grunted out, walking over to a clearly locked strongbox. With a mighty swing of his axe, he outright sheared the wood off to the point where the lock was no longer attached to the chest, which he then kicked open with a hoof. “Gold, Cap’n.”
“Take tha chest.” Avarice said, sticking more papers into his coat. Turning around, he saw Feather strap a new sword at his side, the sheath stained in the merchant’s blood. His first mate seemed to have found two new flintlocks, which she was happily loading.
Finished with her task, Stain looked up to him and asked a question. “Any fightin’ below deck?”
“Can’t tell. My hearin’s a little shot right now.” Avarice replied, shooting her a mild glare, which she flinched at. The other two took note of the exchange and finally noticed the thin trail of blood coming from a still-folded ear, both snorting in mild amusement. “Let’s go check. Tha real treasure will be down below anyway, not here.”
“Right.”
“Steel, take point.” Avarice said. The large Minotaur nodded and lead the way through the hall, only stopping to pick up the loot they were stealing, and back out into the deck where the sound of hissing met his ears. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw three Gryphons manipulating the clouds to put out the fire roaring on the back of the ship. When Steel walked across the deck to meet his mate, Avarice was greeted by the sight of eight ponies tied up and disarmed, surrounded by eight more Gryphons. Three more were already bringing the stolen goods up to the main deck, ready to be transported back to the Deceit.
“Any injuries?” Avarice asked, walking over to a Gryphon he recognized as Swift Claw.
“None, Cap’n. Ponies are a frightfully skittish bunch.”
“Aye.” The pirate replied, then raised his voice. “Start transportin’ the treasure back to the Deceit. I want ta be gone within tha hour!”
“What about the prisoners?” Swift asked.
“What prisoners?” Avarice replied, making Swift smile. Seconds later, eight claws slid over eight throats, their lifeblood pouring out like fountains and onto the deck. All eight Gryphons immediately started bringing the treasure up to the Deceit while the three from earlier and the three that had been putting out the fires starting bringing it up to the deck. Within twenty minutes, all the crates had been brought up to the surface of the ship. With that process finished, Stain grabbed Avarice’s shoulders again and lifted him into the air, sparking him to speak. “Don’t ya dare drop me, Stain.”
“I won’t. If I do, how would I get paid?” She asked jokingly, making a soft grin cross his muzzle. Without hassle, she dropped him on the deck of the ship. Once the Gryphons dropped off the Minotaurs and landed on the deck, Avarice did a quick head count.
Eighteen, nineteen, and me, twenty. That’s everyone. Avarice thought to himself. With knowledge that everyone was aboard the ship, he climbed up to the bridge and immediately started moving them away from the wreckage.
“Where to?” Stain asked curiously.
“Back to Naru. We need ta sell this loot and that’s a pirate port. Go ahead and start takin’ inventory.”
“Aye.” The First Mate replied.
“Feather! Get on the stern long nine and shoot out the Bounty’s hull!”
“Aye, Cap’n!” Feather shouted in reply, quickly flying up and making his way behind the bridge to the cannon. Avarice heard the long-familiar sounds of a cannon loading before the Gryphon shouted back. “Captain, there’s a foal on the boat! Blue fur, red mane, Unicorn.”
“Fire away!” The captain replied.
A few moments later, a thunderous boom shook the air and he heard the distant sound of cracking wood and displaced water- the sound of a ship sinking. “It’s sinking!”
“All of ya, go get some rest. You’ll be paid in full once we return ta Port Naru!” Avarice knew they weren’t going to get some rest. They were all going to go to the mess hall and drink and gamble the night away. It was a successful raid with no injuries or deaths. They had plenty of reasons to celebrate. Still, though, they filed off the deck and made their way through the bowels of the ship, leaving just him and Stain on the main deck.
“A good haul, Captain.” Stain said softly, a gentle yet proud smile directed toward him.
“Aye, Stain.” Avarice replied, returning it with one of his own. “A good haul indeed.”
Author's Note
The first taste of true piracy! I know some of you might think the two airships went down easy, but I find that naval or air battles don't last long. It's the boarding where time, effort, and combat lie.
Don't hesitate to leave a comment, even if only to thank my editor, NeoLegendDJ!
