Spring break had come around at the Southern Downstrike School of Magic and Transcendence. Dragonfly, Gaelic Casúr, Beast, And Brazen Voice had decided to take a trip, and to take the Freiheit for a test drive. Over the last few weekends, Brazen Voice had been making expeditions to the port city where the Freiheit lay in harbor. He had been updating the ship, by automating her boilers, upgrading electronics, radio, galley, maintenance, and essentially removing any need for a crew on board. He had one or two more final touches left to make before they departed. He needed to update her rocket motors. The ones she currently possessed were her original rockets from her retrofit in the Changeling war. All Brazen Voice needed to do was replace those rockets, and they’d be on their way, sailing for leisure on the open seas for the entirety of spring break. They left campus on the first Saturday morning of break, and took a train down to the Freiheit’ port. He found he could sell the old rockets in order to pay for the new motors, amongst other renovations. It would seem that motors from that era were more valuable than he had first thought.
Brazen Voice had the new motors shipped to the maritime museum where the Freiheit was docked. With the permission of the king, he was cleared to take the ship from the museum for break, and make any modifications he desired. On first day of break, the four of them left campus in the morning by train over the mountains of the Hammer Kingdom to the port city. Brazen Voice got right to work on installing the new motors with the help of Beast in dragon form to do the heavy lifting. Gaelic Casúr and Dragonfly decided to go to the beach while the other two worked on the ship. Within a couple of hours, the new motors had been fitted to the ship, and and they were ready to set sail.
Beast and Brazen Voice walked down to the beach looking rather tired, but proud of their work. Gaelic Casúr and Dragonfly were relaxing on the beach. Brazen Voice and Beast saw this, and decided that this should be stopped immediately. They proceeded to run like maniacs to the water splashing all around to get the other two’s attention, and encourage them to come into the water. Dragonfly and Gaelic Casúr couldn’t resist the shenanigans, and joined them in the water. They splashed around, swam with the waves, and generally enjoyed themselves.
After a while, they noticed that the sun was starting to go down. Brazen Voice called to his friends, “We had better cast off before it gets too late. Time to sail on a hundred and fifteen year old battlecruiser for a week!”
They cheered, shook themselves off on the beach, and walked to the dock. As they boarded, Brazen Voice asked them to follow him to the bridge. All of the lights in the ship were off, which made it a little difficult to find the way He walked to the wheel of the ship. Beside the wheel was a cavity in the control panel. Brazen Voice walked up to it and inserted his robotic hoof into it and twisted it like a key. The ship responded by lighting up every single bulb, and with the boilers coughing to life. The Admiral removed his hoof from the control and stood back for a moment. “We’d better let the boilers heat up a little before we cast off, do you guys want to help me with the lines and the gain plank?”
The three of them went down to undo the lines, while the Admiral went to the bow. Once the ropes were off, he engaged the propellers, and they were on their way. Dragonfly, Gaelic Casúr, and Beast went up to the bridge to see how Brazen Voice was doing, But they saw no Admiral to greet them. He came shortly behind them, giving commands to an invisible crew that seemed to be walking with him, “...degrees... steady as she goes, throttle at 40%.”
The Admiral walked past his friends to the wheel, and seemed satisfied with the course and moved over to a navigation table and pulled out a chart. He switched on a lamp and began to examine the chart with a compass. He looked to be plotting a course to the northern shores of the Hammer Kingdom. The other three walked up behind him to see what he was looking at. Beast asked, “Everything ship-shape Admiral?”
Brazen Voice turned around with a look of surprise on his face, regained his composure and said, “We’re underway, and everything is working like clockwork. Your family was very kind to keep the Freiheit in this condition, Dragonfly. I could never thank you enough for reuniting me with my ship!”
Dragonfly accepted the compliment, “Well she’s out of the navy now. She’s just your leisure craft, and a museum piece when you’re not using her. By the way, what were you doing behind us? I thought you would stay on the bridge”
Brazen Voice looked concerned for a moment. “ Um, yes. Well, I was just replacing a piece of the figurehead I carried with me in the trenches. And wait, she’s decommissioned? So I shouldn’t have restocked her ammunition magazines, or automated the guns?”
The other three looked back with concern. Brazen Voice chuckled, “I suppose I shouldn’t have said that. Perhaps taking a pleasure cruise on board a fully operational warship isn’t as relaxing as sailing on an unarmed vessel.”
Gaelic Casúr smiled, “Not as long as we can be a little trigger happy with a couple of naval grade howitzers and anti-aircraft guns.”
Dragonfly and Beast smiled mischievously. Beast chuckled, “This is gonna be one heck of a cruise!”
* * *
The Freiheit sailed into the sunset as the four friends enjoyed the breeze on the aft deck. They had all found a few deck chairs and watched the seagulls following in the wake of the great ship. Her engines churned away with a steady, rhythmic thumping sound. She produced a steady trail of smoke from her smokestacks that slowly dissipated behind her into the dusk. A small pod of dolphins had decided to follow the wake of the cruiser and swam alongside her. They happily breached the surface, greatly amusing an ecstatic Dragonfly who looked down at them over the railing. Beast held out a few scraps of bread to the seagulls to catch out of his hoof while he made supper on the grill. Gaelic Casúr had found, and was making use of a deep sea fishing rod over the side of the ship. Brazen Voice was just enjoying the sunset, and relaxing in a deck chair beside one of the aft guns.
Brazen Voice decided to make use of a few refinements he had made to the aft deck. He stood up and walked over to the door to the cabins. When he tapped the floor with his robotic hoof, it responded by opening and rising to reveal two turntables, and a soundboard. Several speakers revealed themselves around the deck as their coverings unfurled. The other three looked over to Brazen Voice as he put on his trademark headphones, and smiled. The Speakers came to life with a lively beat. Brazen Voice turned on his microphone, “Electrojazz is in the house!”
The party carried on with food and music into the late hours of the night. The deck was lit up with the warm glow of the ship’s incandescent deck lights. Electrojazz kept the music coming as they relaxed and talked in the cool salty breeze of the night. When they finally decided to call it quits for the night, Brazen Voice went up to the bridge one more time. Beast, Dragonfly, and Gaelic Casúr followed him up there to see what he was up to when he was talking to his nonexistent crew. As the Admiral reached the bridge, he looked around and walked over to the navigation table. The other three peaked in through the door to see what he was up to. Brazen Voice moved away from the table and gave orders to his seemingly invisible crew. “Set course due north along the shoreline maintaining a distance of 20 miles.”
He turned around to see three sets of eyes peering through the doorway. He smiled and invited them in, “I suppose you were expecting a ship this old to have a crew. One of the updates I made was to automate the ship so only one crew member was required. That one crew member is me, and my robotic leg is the key to the ship. I programmed the bridge to respond to voice and visual commands. So all I have to do is give my commands as the captain, and the ship responds. It just seemed natural to me, because it was the way I commanded my ship in the Changeling war”
To prove his point, Brazen Voice decided to give a demonstration. He turned around and looked out the windows of the bridge. And in a great booming voice, the Admiral took command of his ship, “All ahead full!”
The ship lurched forward, throwing Dragonfly, Gaelic Casúr and Beast back with the sudden acceleration. The Admiral stood firm, legs spread wide, ready for the lurch of the ship. He smiled and turned around to the three ponies now strewn about on the floor on top of one another. “She may be over a hundred years old, but she still has a spring in her step! Engines 40% throttle.”
The ship decelerated to her original pace and the three ponies on the floor gathered themselves up. Beast had one thought about all of this, ”So if there is no crew on board, how does the ship stay clean and in repair? And are the crew’s quarters vacant?”
Brazen Voice was glad to explain, “The decks are now swabbed by several small modified robotic vacuum cleaners. If you get up in the night, you might see one of them moving around. The engine rooms are now maintained by several special purpose robots that Gaelic Casúr and I designed. I however decided it would be best not to try to automate the galley, so we will have to make our own meals. The crew’s quarters have now been converted into three spacious cabins for my guests, the ship’s computer mainframe, and a lounge.”
The Admiral showed his guests down to their cabins. Each had been given a little flair for its intended occupant, but were still rather simple. They were each furnished with one full sized bed, fireplace, fine wallpapers, a bathroom, desk, chair, closet, and a door to one of the side decks. Once they had moved their things in, and had gotten acquainted with their surroundings, Dragonfly asked, “Brazen Voice, do you mind if we take a look at the captain’s quarters?”
Brazen Voice smiled, “Not at all! Right this way”
The shipmaster decided it was best to give a full tour of the ship while he was at it. They walked through the galley, through the cannons’ bay, over engineering, to the bow deck with it’s massive gun, and up through the lounge to the captain’s quarters. The captain’s quarters were sealed with a single regulation hatch door. Brazen Voice opened the door with a soft creak. He walked in and turned on the lights. Their warm incandescent glow illuminated a small space, barely large enough for a single raised bunk and a desk. This small space however, was furnished with fine red and gold wallpaper, red curtains that partially covered small, yet elaborate windows, a studded leather wingback chair tucked into a desk. A bookcase hidden beneath the bunk, leaden with classic novels and history books. The ceiling was trimmed with fine plaster moldings and gold trim. The carpets were a fine red velvet, and near the windows sat a large, brass nautical telescope. Near the door sat a large oak desk and a small table with a brass gramophone on top of it. On the far wall of the room also laid a large curtained bed with fine red silk sheets, and a closet. The three other ponies stared at the room with awe. Dragonfly broke the silence by remarking, “You really are the classiest pony I have ever met.”
* * *
The next morning, Dragonfly awoke to the smell of bacon and eggs wafting up from the galley. She rose and made her way down to the source of the aroma to find Beast in the kitchen making breakfast. She rubbed her eyes and smoothed her ruffled hair. Dragonfly’s mouth watered as she looked at a busy kitchen furiously making every food that could possibly be eaten for breakfast laid out in massive quantities. Dragonfly called to the cook, “Just how many people did you expect to be eating with us?”
Beast, happy to see he wasn’t the only one awake turned and replied, “Oh all of this is for me right now, yours is coming along over there.”
He pointed to a single stove that had four large frying pans cooking eggs, potatoes, bacon, and pancakes. It was a good amount of food for three ponies, but it paled in comparison to the food cooking in the rest of the kitchen being meticulously tended to by Beast’s magic. Dragonfly decided it might be best to get her food and get out of the kitchen before Beast started to devour his personal feast.
The next to come down to the galley, newly awakened by the smell of food was Gaelic Casúr. He came down to see Beast setting a long banquet table for a feast, but the entire table only had one chair. Beast looked up from the tin of keesh he had just placed upon the tablecloth, and looked up to see his friend. Slightly defensively, he said, “This is my food, your’s is on the stove in the kitchen. I’m sorry, but I take my breakfasts very seriously. It may be in your best interest to leave me alone while I eat.”
Gaelic Casúr decided not to question Beast, and quickly walked into the kitchen, got himself a plate of food, and quickly left the premises. He walked out to the starboard deck in hopes to find a deck chair and a table on which to dine. When he opened the door, he was greeted by a blue sky, and the reflection of the sun on the waves. Once his eyes adjusted to the light, he saw Dragonfly had had the same idea, and was relaxing in the shade of an awning extended from the side of the superstructure. Gaelic Casúr greeted his friend, “Hey! How’s it going?”
She smiled, “Oh, it’s great! I love the breeze out here, and the salt in the air! This is the best spring break I’ve ever taken!”
Gaelic Casúr agreed, “This will make so many other ponies jealous! I mean how many of them will be able to say that they took a cruise on their break. Let alone on a decommissioned, retrofitted, steam powered cruiser?”
“Not very many.”
Gaelic Casúr had sat down and took his first bites of his meal. “Beast did a great job with breakfast, but I can only imagine how much food he eats on a regular basis if that is his breakfast. And I hope he doesn’t get that defensive about it all the time.”
Dragonfly reasoned, “We had a late night, maybe he just wants to fill up. Besides he’ll still make food for us, and whatever keeps him happy is fine by me.”
Gaelic Casúr shrugged his shoulders, “I guess I just want to be able to sit down to breakfast with him without worrying if he’s going to--”
A door slamming interrupted Gaelic Casúr mid-sentence. They heard frantic metal hooves hitting wooden deck, and deep shouting in German. It could only be Brazen Voice. “DIE MEER IST SCHWARZ MIT DIE TOTES HOFFNUNG VON EINE GROSSE FRUSTUCK! ICH WERDE NICHT ZU STERBEN UBER PFANNKUCHEN! HILF MIR! ICH BRAUCHE HILFE UND ESSEN! ABER HILF ZUERST!”
Brazen Voice came sprinting around the corner of the deck from the bow with Beast on his tail. Beast had taken on Changeling form and was catching up to Brazen Voice like a swirling, black cloud of locust. They swept past Dragonfly and Gaelic Casúr, as they quickly reached the aft deck. Brazen Voice Jumped into the air, and his robotic hoof flashed a bright blue light, which seemed to activate a hatch on the deck. He dove into its depths as it shut behind him leaving Beast pounding on its cover. Dragonfly and Gaelic Casúr ran to Beast to try and calm him down before he turned into a dragon and destroyed the ship.
After Beast calmed down, Dragonfly and Gaelic Casúr tapped on the hatch Brazen Voice had escaped through, and tried to coax him out. Dragonfly yelled down in an encouraging voice, “He’s not going to try to kill you anymore! He just thought you were trying to take some of his breakfast. I admit he probably didn’t need all of that food, but he made some for us.”
Gaelic Casúr burped, “Yeah, about that.”
Dragonfly put two and two together, “So then, Beast only attacked you because Gael didn’t want to share, you can throw him overboard if you want, but just come out of the hatch!”
No response.
Beast took a crack at it, “Hey Voice, I swear I’m not gonna kill you. Just come out of there, and I’ll make you some breakfast to make up for it.”
Nothing.
Gaelic Casúr tried his luck, “Hey man, I’m sorry I ate your food, but I’ll buy you a case of ramen when we get back to make up for it.”
Still nothing.
The three ponies sat on the deck for a while wondering what they were going to do on a ship with no captain moving under its own power. Gaelic Casúr thought for a moment, and turned to Dragonfly, “Did you really mean he could throw me overboard?”
Dragonfly tried to defend herself, “You did take his food, and he is the Captain. There are just some things you don’t do.”
The blacksmith put on a questioning look, “How was I supposed to know that?”
“Beast produced a notecard labeled ‘Brazen Voice’s food.’ Next time, don’t take food from this one.”
Gaelic Casúr blushed, “Well, maybe, you should make epic breakfasts for us too. I bet I can eat just as much as you can.”
Beast raised an eyebrow, “Do you really want to do this. You want to challenge me to an eating contest? I already ate half of that banquet table, and I know for a fact that I could eat more than you.”
Gael produced a set of aviator sunglasses, “It’s epic meal time.”
The two of them proceeded to walk to the galley, stretching as the went. Dragonfly couldn’t help but follow, assuming Brazen Voice heard this conversation while hiding under the deck. She followed them with a nervous look on her face. She couldn’t help but think that at the end of this, there would be no food left on the entire ship.
They sat on either side of the table with the food that was left there. Beast looked across the table rearing to go, “The one with the most finished plates at the end wins. The one with the least does the dishes.”
Gaelic Casúr smiled and extended a hoof, “Deal.”
Beast shook it and began to count down. “Three, two, one, go!”
Before he had even finished the “o” in go, Beast had his face buried in a plate of bacon. Gaelic Casúr was right behind with three pancakes. Dragonfly couldn’t help but chuckle as she watched this spectacle unfold. The two of them were shoving food into their mouths as fast as the laws of physics allowed. Their faces had not yet lifted from the table since the start, and their heads were obscured by a cloud of debris forming from the demolished food. Their pace did not cease, they continued moving their hooves as fast as the pistons of a steam locomotive at speed as they shoveled more and more food into the black holes of their stomachs. Beast hurled his empty glasses across the table on top of Gaelic Casúr’s, much to his disdain.
Dragonfly burst into laughter as Beast tried to empty a pitcher of orange juice into his mouth still full of pancakes. Amidst her laughter, she saw one of the plates on the table lift up and move toward her and to the right, surrounded by a light blue magic. Her eyes followed the flight of the plate to the source of the levitating plate. Brazen Voice had appeared next to her, and began to enjoy his breakfast. As Dragonfly inhaled to ask him the obvious question of how he got there, he placed his hoof over her mouth silencing her. He whispered just over the sound of the other two eating their own faces off, “Let’s let them finish this, besides, I want a show with my breakfast. And before you ask, A Captain knows his way around his ship. I just snuck by through one of the steam tunnels. I’ve been watching since the contest started. And I just took one of the plates to leave an odd number on the table. Now we’ll have a clear winner”
Dragonfly couldn’t disagree with with letting the contest take it’s course. The two athletes were nearing the end of their race. They were beginning to show signs of fatigue. Their express train speed had slowed to a snail’s pace. They were at an equal pace coming to the last three plates, slowing to taking individual bites as opposed to shovelfuls. Brazen Voice was taking his time with a fork and knife as he cut up a fried egg, and sipped his coffee. There was one plate in the middle of the table as each contestant tried to finish their plate in front of them. Their coats were covered with bits of food and syrup, the table filled with stacks of empty plates and random pieces of food. Beast finished his plate first, and jumped to the last plate. He proudly began to eat the last nourishment of the last plate with a fork and knife. Gaelic Casúr buried his face in his hooves in defeat. Beast took his second to last bite, and was about to impale the last morsel with his fork. He stopped mid stroke, gripped his stomach, and collapsed to the floor moaning.
Gaelic Casúr looked up from certain defeat to see that his opponent had fallen. A gleam of hope flashed across his eyes. He pulled the last morsel across the table with his magic, and triumphantly ate it for all to see. He raised his hooves in victory, and faced his audience. Only now did he notice that his audience had gained a new member. Brazen Voice had finished his own breakfast, and was clapping in approval for Gael’s victory. Gaelic Casúr blurted out, “Where the-- oooof.”
Gaelic Casúr also collapsed on the floor. Dragonfly remarked, “I guess those dishes aren’t going to get done for a while then are they?”
Brazen Voice chimed in, “Do I still get to throw him overboard, and get a case of ramen?”
Gaelic Casúr shouted, “NO!”
After which he cringed and rolled on the floor in agony. Brazen Voice couldn’t contain himself. He burst out laughing, and rolled on his back, his entire body shaking with the contortions of his diaphragm. Dragonfly couldn’t resist joining in. Which left two ponies laughing at the other two’s expense, and no hope of dishes being done any time soon.
* * *
After Gaelic Casúr and Beast had settled their stomachs, and taken enough antacids to settle the heartburn of a kraken after eating Atlantis, Beast reluctantly began the dishes, and the other three ponies moved up to the bridge to set a course. They decided to head out to the open ocean to a small desert island to relax. Brazen Voice set the course and gave the word, “Rudder 20 degrees to port, throttle to 50%. Reset rudder, steady as she goes.”
Their course was set, and they were on their way. The Admiral walked to the bridge’s windows, stood, and crossed hooves behind his back. He looked out upon the same sea he sailed one hundred years ago. Nothing had changed here. The sea was the one constant in his world. Brazen Voice embraced a great many things about this new time. He had met friends, better and closer than any he had had in the 1910’s, or could have ever hoped for. But as much as he loved his friends here, and new technology, this time was not the world he was born into. As much as it hurt, he knew that he could never go back. He would only gain attention for his deeds in the war, and his enhancements. All of his friends and family had died in the war, and he had already said his goodbyes when he and his friends were drafted. His time in that world had passed, but he could never completely be at peace with leaving it behind. A part of him would always live there. But here, he could live his life. He could do the things he hadn’t done in his old one, and live his life contented with his cherished friends. Here, he could feel loved for who he was. Not what he looked like, or what he had done. He could be happy here.
The Admiral scanned the horizon. Nothing but open sea for the moment. He grabbed his cane, and produced a small telescope from the handle, fixed to the top to pivot up and down. He took a glimpse at the horizon through the lenses, and saw a bird, floating on the water, about a mile away. He stowed his spyglass and turned to Gaelic Casúr. He smiled mischievously, “Didn’t you say you wanted to get trigger happy with a few naval grade howitzers? Because I see a seagull about a mile out that way. And there’s such a surplus of seagulls.”
Gael and allowed a smile just as mischievous as Brazen Voice’s to creep across his face. Voice jabbed his cane in the direction of their target, “Right full rudder! All ahead full! Bring port cannons to bear!”
The Freiheit’s engines roared to a glorious thunder as she lurched forward. There was a great racket of metal on metal far below the bridge as the cannons were loaded, and positioned to fire. The great gun on the bow deck turned her giant maw to the port and gazed to the blue sky as it readied to fire. Every cannon was functioning perfectly as they responded to their new mechanical crews of robotic appendages loading and positioning them. “Steady as she goes! Elevation at 15 degrees! Stand by to fire!” The Admiral purposefully trotted over to the port windows of the bridge to a console below the window. From the console he produced a hollow brass tube upon a stand of two strands of telescopic metal meeting the tube at it’s point of balance. At the fulcrum, there was a binocular viewer perpendicular to the width of the cylinder, from which one could view their target with increased depth perception through the lenses on each end of the tube facing forward. The image seen through the viewfinder magnified the target and see markings about the shells expected trajectory and corrections to be made in case of heavy winds. This was the port rangefinder, from which the Admiral could confirm the shells projected trajectory was on target. He glanced into the device and saw that the old instrument predicted the shells to land just to the north, and called out the necessary correction to place the shells on top of the seagull.
Every cannon on the ship was angled perfectly at the lone seagull, pulling at their reins to finally unleash their fury for the first time in a hundred years. Dragonfly shouted out in disbelief, ”What do you think you’re doing!? You’re just gonna blow up a random seagull just to get trigger happy?”
The two stallions looked back as though they didn’t understand, and questioned simultaneously, “Yes?”
Dragonfly wasn’t surprised, but she still didn’t want them to annihilate a random bird. She grabbed Brazen Voice’s cane out of his hoof, and extended the spyglass. She saw the seagull flutter away. “It just flew away anyway.”
The two colts hung their heads, disheartened that they couldn’t send the seagull into oblivion. Dragonfly couldn’t help but feel guilty for ruining their fun. She looked into the spyglass one more time, and saw an empty milk carton drifting near where the seagull was poised. She perked up, “Do you guys want to shoot a milk carton instead?”
Before she had finished that statement, Gael had already grasped the spyglass out of her hoof. Once he had gotten a sufficient glimpse at the flotsam, he gave the spyglass to Brazen Voice, who confidently brought the telescope to his eye. After a moment of assessing the target, he retracted the spyglass, and tossed his cane into Gaelic Casúr’s hoofs as he walked over once more to the rangefinder. “Rudder left 10 degrees!”
He brought the rangefinder to his eyes, “Right 15 degrees, elevation to 17 degrees... Steady... Fire!”
The entire vessel reverberated with the enormous thunder of the cannons as they sang for the first time in 115 years like it had passed in a day. It threw all of the three ponies on the bridge on their backs. Their ears were ringing, and their heads spun from the shock. Brazen Voice grunted, “Aaaggghhh, she’s still got it!”
They all stood up as fast as they could to see the carnage to unfold. As the smoke of the cannons’ salvo dissipated. the target’s location came into view. The anticipation mounted as the shells raced to the surface, far out of view. They pressed their hooves and faces to the glass as they stared, daring not to blink at the unbroken surface of the waves where the unsuspecting milk carton lie. The waves that held the target in their grasp looked as though they had instantaneously come to a boil, and were heaved up into great towers by the underwater explosions. The water seemed suspended in the air indefinitely until it slowly rained down, like a summer shower, until all that was left were a few wisps of mist carried away by the breeze. Then came the dull thud of the shock wave as it hit their chests and shocked their ears.
Gaelic Casúr and Dragonfly stared back at one another with a look of ecstasy, with their jaws dangling far below what one would think of as an anatomically possible position. Brazen Voice looked at his companions and chuckled, “Yeah, I did that too when I first saw her guns fire. Right rudder 10 degrees. Throttle at 40%. Stow guns. Steady as she goes.”
After the Admiral had issued his commands, the sound of a pony storming up to the bridge was heard. Beast pounded into the bridge, covered in soap suds. “What the hell was that!? I’m trying to do dishes, and you decide to work the throttle like a handsaw, and fire a broadside? How Am I supposed to clean all of those dishes when you can’t decide whether to go fast or slow, left or right, or be at war or peace!? I was catapulted into the sink for cryin’ out loud!”
Brazen Voice apologized, “Sorry, we just decided to blow up a milk carton. I’ll help you with the dishes if it would make you feel better.”
Beast straightened up his neck and gave him a questioning look, “You blew up a milk carton just because you could? That’s awesome! But you’re gonna help me with the dishes now because I wasn’t there to see it. And you know you’re doing that again so I can see. There’s no room for discussion.”
Brazen voice sighed, “OK, I’ll let you know the second we spy another milk carton.”
Seconds later, five pegasi began to orbit the Freiheit. The Admiral climbed a ladder in the bridge, and got up on the roof to examine the situation. One of them called down, “Shut down your engines immediately and surrender your ship. You are in violation of countless laws by firing those guns!”
The Admiral saw the crest of the Hammer Coast Guard on the pegasi uniforms, and was not phased by their leader’s aggression. “You really should reconsider ordering me to hand over my ship when you arrive here with four companions, none of them armed, and expect me to hand over a fully operational airworthy cruiser, armed to the teeth with anti-air guns, that I can command with a flick of my hoof.”
The Coast Guard officer stopped in midair and examined the ship he was flying over. He gulped and fluttered down to the Admiral with a bead of sweat on his brow. “Well, yes, that is true. Umm, you were still firing in peaceful waters. That is against the law, and I will have to secure your ship because of it.”
The Admiral smiled and put a hoof over the pegasus’ shoulder, “I respect what you’re trying to do here. It must take guts to approach a warship and kindly ask it’s Captain to relinquish it. But the cold truth is, I outrank you. I’m Admiral Brazen Voice of Trost, and I have the Princess Dragonfly on board to advise me, as well as the King’s permission of complete control of this vessel. The King trusts me personally, and would certainly agree that a test of the Freiheit’ guns is necessary for the protection of the valuable assets on board. She hasn’t fired them for over a hundred years you know. After this test, we now know that her guns are fully operational, and the Freiheit is ready for battle, so that we may defend the King’s daughter, should any harm be seeked upon her, or any of the Freiheit’s passengers on this pleasure cruise. Therefore it would perhaps be in your best interest to for you to forget this situation ever happened, and tell your coast guard comrades that the Freiheit is in good hoofs, and she would never fire her guns without good cause. She is a noble ship, as is her captain. Now, before you go, would you and your friends care for some refreshments? We haven’t had any visitors for the entire voyage!”
The Coast Guard officer had a blank stare in his eyes. He shook his head and blankley said, “No sir, that won’t be necessary. Might I say that it’s been an honor to meet you sir, and I will inform as many of my peers as I can about your ship’s special policy.”
And with that he flew away, his companions close behind.
After wishing the Coast Guard members farewell, the Admiral stepped back down to the bridge. Where the other three ponies were waiting for him. Gaelic Casúr asked, “What was that all about?”
The Admiral nonchalantly replied, “Just a few pegasi admiring the ship”
The other three accepted this explanation, and Brazen Voice decided to head down to the galley to help finish the dishes Beast hadn’t gotten to. When that was finished they joined the other two in the lounge as the ship continued its course. Brazen Voice and Beast found Gaelic Casúr and Dragonfly making use of the ship’s 72 inch flat screen and surround sound. Gael was slaying all those who opposed him in some long forgotten land as Dragonfly watched and conversed with him. They shouted valiantly as they laid the final blow upon a dragon, and stood above it’s body and absorbed it’s soul. Beast asked Gaelic Casúr if he wouldn’t mind switching off. Gaelic Casúr had decided that he had played enough for a while, and let Beast take over. Brazen Voice walked in behind and lounged on his favorite riveted leather wingback chair, and Beast found a recliner to his liking.
Beast started a rampage through a mystical snowy land, cleaving in twain various enemies with a wide selection of weapons. Gaelic Casúr made comments to Brazen Voice upon the blacksmithing process of the weapons that Beast wielded. Brazen Voice listened intently as to learn what he could for his own blacksmithing. This went on for some time until Beast switched weapons to a single scottish broadsword and began to fence with it. Gaelic Casúr had forged such a sword, and began to talk of it’s craftsmanship and design. He turned to Brazen Voice and expected him to be returning his glance and listening intently, but his eyes instead met the sight of the other pony enthralled with the screen, mouth agape, never averting his gaze. Gaelic Casúr paused for a moment and asked Brazen Voice if something was the matter. Brazen Voice did not avert his gaze, or make any intention of doing so. Gael waved his hoof in front of Voice’s eyes with no result. Without warning, the Admiral stood from his chair and held his right hoof pointed at the screen. He spoke, his eyes changing their expression to a look of rage and disgust, “How foolish must one be to wield such an elegant sword in that manner!”
With that he stormed to the wall and removed a sword from the wall that had been hanging in front of the old Trostian banner. He yanked it from the sheath as the sword sang in delight of being drawn. The Admiral slowly, and confidently assumed a proper fencing position facing an invisible enemy on the other end of the room. Beast now had paused his game, for something far more entertaining was unfolding away from the screen. Brazen Voice shouted “En Guarde!” and lept forward, his sword swinging every which way, its single edge leading the way as it carved the air. He followed with a series of blocks and jumped back in response toward his opponent’s unseen strikes. He spun around in a daring parry slicing at waist level, jabbing, and thrusting his opponent into submission.
After he regained his composure, the Admiral walked to the banner, sheathed his sword, and returned it to it’s position in front of the banner. Then he returned to his chair, and addressed the surprised looks of his friends. “One does not use such an elegant blade to hack at their enemies as though it were a bludgeon as Skyrim suggests. Despite its misleading name, the scottish broadsword is an elegant weapon, made more for fencing than for mindlessly beating thy foe. Neither did it originate from the land of the Scottish ponies as the name suggests. It was designed by ponies who spoke German tongues, only to be named the way it is for it’s exploits at the hoof of Scottish ponies.”
Gaelic Casúr was the first to ask the obvious question, “How do you know so much about that sword?”
Brazen voice took off his hat, and stowed his monocle, “I carried a sword just like that one with me during my days in the war. I insisted to carry that sword at my side instead of the regulation cutlass, threatening to refuse to captain my ship without it. It meant a great deal to me as it was brought from the distant lands of the Germanic ponies. A year before I graduated High School I took a trip to those lands with a few members from my class in an ambassador’s concert band and choir. We spent three weeks in those lands, and upon one of the last days, we entered a blacksmith’s shop. That sword caught my eye from the street, and I couldn’t resist having a look. I caressed it’s handle guard and felt it’s balance. It was a fine work of swordsmithing, and I made no attempt to resist the impulse to buy it. I spent nearly every bit I had left on that blade, much to the ridicule of my parents when I returned home with it. But it was they that insisted I take it with me.
“I defended this ship’s decks from many Changelings who wished to board and scuttle her. Despite the sword’s length and close quarters of a warship’s deck, my steel tasted the blood of many Changelings and defended my ship valiantly. It was to my great sorrow to hear that my sword was lost with my leg in the siege of Halbinsel. The magic of the Changeling weapon destroyed it with along with a great deal of me! When I had begun to gain my bearings in this time, I ordered a replica blade from the finest blacksmith in the Hammer Kingdom’s capital. When he had heard my reasoning for this order, and learned of who I was, he consulted many libraries to find my history and find what documents existed of my blade. It is as close a replica as I could hope to imagine.”
Dragonfly turned her chair around, “Can you tell us about your time in the war? I learned about how you lost your leg in the history books, but I want to hear a tale or two from the pony himself. History books are always bad at telling stories.”
Brazen Voice averted his eyes for a moment. The horrors of war clashing with happy memories of camaraderie and family came back to him. He rose from his chair and moved it back so it was closer to the fireplace in the wall behind him. Likewise, the other ponies followed his example and moved their chairs closer. The Admiral grabbed a few logs and stacked them in the fireplace. The Freiheit had been sailing North, and the heat in the air was beginning to fail as cold winds began to circle the ship. He placed a few sticks and straw inside of the stack of logs and struck a match. “It all began one summer day.”
With that, he lit the straw, which quickly went ablaze as the flames crackled with delight. He sat back in his chair with his hooves together on his lap. He sighed and turned to his friends as he began to spin his yarn. “I lived in an old village in the small Kingdom of Trost. The son of an earth pony father, and a unicorn mother. I had one older earth pony brother who I spent every minute I could with. I had just graduated high school a couple of weeks before, and had just begun to settle into the lazy warmth of June. I had finally left the worries of school behind, and relaxed for a few blessed days until the day that a single pegasus flew into the square of our village. He was disheveled and dripping with sweat. He flew all the way to a water trough outside the square’s fountain, and plunged his head in, not emerging until the water level had fallen dramatically. He ripped his head from the water as he gasped, throwing drops of water everywhere from his mane. Finally he collapsed, leaning against the trough. By this point, he had gained a crowd, myself included. Once he had regained some of his breath, he heaved out broken words between pants. “Twenty....miles. I flew... twenty miles.... to.... bring word.”
The crowd murmured amongst themselves. Questions raised about this foreign pony’s message. The exhausted pony sat up a little further against the side of the trough. He had regained enough of his breath to speak complete sentences. ‘The Changelings are invading from the Everfree forest. They started the attack early this morning and have already gained many miles. They do not cease. They do not sleep. They capture all they can, and kill all they can’t. The land they have claimed has been razed and destroyed. It’s a barren wasteland. Halbinsel has ordered conscription from every corner of the kingdom to aid in stopping their advance. All able body ponies in the area of age are to report to the town square tomorrow at noon.’
“Already, objections, and attacks on this pony’s sanity were being made. Until he produced a letter with the royal seal stamped at the bottom detailing all he had just said. I looked around and began to panic. I couldn’t accept that my life had changed so quickly and completely. I pushed my way out of the crowd and began to walk. No particular destination in mind. The word of the new war spread around me as I went. Gradually I began to move faster. I saw happy faces talking and enjoying the day, instantly turned pale to shock as they learned the news. Now I was trotting down the cobblestone streets, still no destination in mind. I only wanted to feel the sensation of growing distance from the square. I wanted to outrun the message, if I could do that, maybe I could go back in time. Back to the village I knew. I began to run. I had gotten in front of the word, and I could only see happy, innocent faces of ponies going about their business. Ignorance is bliss. The only thing that was out of the ordinary for them was a colt running down the street with a look of panic on his face.”
The fire had grown and was casting flickering shadows on the room’s far wall. The TV was shut off. The fire and a few kerosene lamps were the only sources of light in the room. Brazen Voice stared into the fireplace, as though he was looking past it into the very story he told. The fire illuminated the faces of the ponies listening to him. His face was illuminated from below by prosthetics and capacitors with a cold electronic glow. The fire glowed upon the rest of his face with a warm flicker. His deep voice filled the room.
“Several ponies called out to me. Asking me what was wrong? How could they help? What was going on? Was I all right? Was I lost? I didn’t even look at them. I just kept running. By that point I had left the village walls and was running as fast as I could. I kept running and running until my lungs burned. All things considered, it wasn’t very far. My asthma kicked in, and I tripped and fell into a ditch along the side of the road. I curled up into a ball and wept. I was covered in grass, my lungs burned, and my eyes were blurred with tears. Birds chirped around me and the grass swished away unphased. I wept, as the world ignored me. I must have laid there for twenty minutes. I couldn’t stop myself. I couldn’t get the fear, and the questions out of my head. Would my brother and friends be drafted? Would I be drafted? No, I have poor hearing and asthma. The army wouldn’t have any use for me. It didn’t give me any relief. It only meant that I would stay behind, and would have to stay helplessly back home as the strong ponies marched to war. I would be cast away in shame with the other weak ponies. It was foolish to think I could go to college now. The student body would be drafted. I would have to stay back and work for the war effort. I’d blacksmith night and day to provide the materials needed to hold the Changelings back. It was all I could do.
“I eventually stopped the tears and got out of the ditch. Grass and seeds filled my mane, but I didn’t bother to brush them out. I walked slowly with my head hung low all the way home. My mother was weeping on my father’s shoulder. My dad looked to me with a somber look and a nod. I returned the stare and nodded. No more needed to be said. We knew what was to come and what we had to do. I walked up to my room past my brother’s. He was sitting on his bed staring off into space. I turned and walked into the room to embrace him. He didn’t respond for a moment, then his hooves brushed up my back and held me tight. He began to cry. I couldn’t cry with him. There were no more tears left to cry. I held him for a moment, and his tears subsided. He was always stronger than me like that. I grabbed his shoulders and pushed him back to look him in the eyes. I held him there. I looked hard into his eyes and said to him, ‘You and I both know that I’m too weak to be drafted with my asthma and my bad ears. I’ll go with you to the square tomorrow, but I won’t be able to go with you to the battlefield. I’ll stay back here and keep an eye on mom and dad. I’ll blacksmith day and night to build weapons for you, and every other pony fighting with you. You’ll have to go out there, look those Changelings in the eyes, and kill as many of those bastards as you can. Kill for what you love, and for those of us who can’t fight alongside you. Don’t let them capture you, take your own life if you have to. You and I both know what will happen if they get you. Above all, hold your heart steadfast. If you lose that, you’ve lost all we’re fighting for.’
“My brother looked back at me sniffled for one last time, and a look of determination swept over him. He pulled me back and gripped me harder than he ever had before. I returned his embrace, and buried my face in his shoulder. We held each other for what seemed like an eternity. It was the last time we ever would.”
By now the fire settled down to a steady crackle. Brazen Voice took a kettle, filled it with water and hung it above the fire. His audience was enthralled by his tale and leaned forward. The brief pause was almost too much to take. The Admiral settled back into his chair, closed his eyes and took a long deep breath. He held his breath and slowly exhaled, opening his eyes as the air left his lungs. He gazed once more into the fire and continued his tale.
“The next morning I went down to the square with my brother. Everypony who wasn’t in grade school or in retirement was there. I had never seen the square so packed. The mayor came out of the city hall just after the clock struck noon. He stood outside the front door and addressed all of us. ‘I’m very proud to see so many of our own stand ready to take up arms in these desperate times.You all will surely bring honor and glory to our kingdom and our village when you return from this campaign with the Changeling nemesis crushed. We will begin the selection process immediately. You will be called alphabetically and enter the city hall doors for medical examination. You will know if you are deemed fit by the end of your examination. If you are, you will report again to the square tomorrow to march to your training camp.’ With that he began to call out names. My brother and I went through the examination and returned with the results we expected. My brother was to report for training the next morning, and I was to stay behind and blacksmith as much as possible for the Army.”
The fire began to burn low as the water continued to heat up. Brazen Voice now held his hooves together above his waist, clutching one another as he regaled his painful memories. He soldiered on, despite the sorrow welling up in his heart.
“I hardly slept that night, or the one before. The next morning my big brother left. He shook my father’s, and my own hooves and kissed my mother on the cheek. He kept his strength about him as he said his goodbyes. He turned around and marched to the square, never looking back. My mother turned to my father and began to cry. I turned and walked inside and lit the forge in the shop. I yanked the bellows hard as I looked through each design of the weapons the Army had ordered. I hurled metal into the flames and stared into them, as though my gaze was feeding the flames themselves. I grabbed a pair of tongs and pulled out the first piece and saw the bayonet to be made. I hammered furiously. I hammered until sparks flew from the metal and shimmered in my goggles. As the metal cooled, I tossed it back into the forge, yanked the bellows, and pulled out the next piece. I hammered out my frustration. On the Changelings, on the war, on the Army for not sending me, and for reasons I did not know. I just needed to hammer until I felt something other than hate.”
The kettle began to boil.
“I hammered, struck, and sharpened all day and night. I beat the metal as tears fogged up my goggles. I screamed as the hammer sang. I growled as the bellows sighed, and the grindstone rumbled. And I wept as I quenched the new weapons. I forged until I collapsed. By that time, the sun had risen upon a pile of weapons. The entire order was completed the very day it was given, and my metal supply was exhausted.”
The kettle shrieked and Brazen Voice took it from the flames. He poured out the boiling water into a teapot with a strainer. As the tea brewed, the fire crackled on, beginning to die down. Voice placed two new logs onto the fire and leaned back in his chair. The fire was very low indeed, barely casting any light, and left the room very dark. The young Captain continued his story.
“I couldn’t feel anything. I had cried all of my tears. My voice was hoarse, my lungs had drained their last scream. All of my hatred had been pounded into the metal. I was numb. I collapsed on the shop floor and slept for a whole day. But before I did, in the middle of all of that smithing, I made something for myself out of one piece of twisted scrap lying in the corner. I made a swordbreaker dagger for myself. To keep with me at all times in case the Changelings came to the village to find me.
“I woke in my bed the next afternoon. My father must have carried me up there after I collapsed. I had barely eaten over the last few days, and only now had I sat still long enough for the hunger to reach me. I stuffed my face with enough for three ponies before I looked up across the table to see my mother.
“Her eyes were transfixed on a newspaper. She met my bloodshot eyes with her own. She had a huge heart, and was therefore inclined to worry. But her eyes had been drained of tears just like my own. She didn’t say a word, for she was far too bereaved to even contemplate speaking, let alone feel any emotion. She passed the paper to me, and I saw the headline: ‘CHANGELINGS ANNIHILATE BOARDER’. I didn’t need to read anymore. My brother would soon be joining the lines against an opponent that had just steamrolled through the entire regular Trostian Army and national guard. I couldn’t think of anything to say, and stared at the paper for what must have been twenty minutes. I never read anything more than the headline, I was transfixed on the idea of absolute defeat against these monsters. The only thing that averted my eyes from the paper was my father entering the room.
Brazen Voice now took the teapot and poured a cup for each of his friends. He placed the cup on a saucer and garnished each cup with a small tea cake. Each of his friends thanked him for the tea, but his expression had barely changed from the stoic stare he had while he told his tale.
“He was carrying a scroll with the royal emblem on a ribbon tying it shut. ‘Voice, I’ve got a letter for you. A royal messenger just delivered it.’ I picked myself up. At least now I had an excuse to do something other than to grieve with my mother. I opened the scroll with a curious mind. My father peered over my shoulder as I untied it. ‘I saw you finished our order. Fine work, and it explains why you slept for twenty-four straight hours. I know why you did it too. Don’t worry son, we’re all worried about him. I’m just glad you carried on and kept yourself busy.’
“I opened the scroll. But before I could, my father whispered one more thing, much closer this time, ‘I also saw one thing down there that wasn’t on the order. That’s the finest work I’ve ever seen. I made a sheath for it this morning. I’ve always been a little better at that sort of thing anyway. I want you to keep it with you. Always. At least until the war is over. Keep a little piece of us with you.’
“He slipped the newly sheathed dagger into my hoof as he grabbed the bottom of the scroll with me, making it look like he was taking a look with me. Later I took a good look at it. It was finely stitched, and engraved in pristine leather. He had touched up the handle as well. There a braid of his own mane, along with my mothers wound into the grip. I never properly thanked him for that. Never had the right moment. But I think he knew how I felt. He knew my love for that sort of thing.
“I began to read:
Dear Brazen Voice,
It has come to our attention that you have not been drafted due to certain underlying medical conditions. However your academic prowess did not go unnoticed amongst the military. Because of this, you have been selected to captain the recommissioned battlecruiser, Vernichter. As she undergoes retrofitting, you will be trained in the arts of Naval warfare and take your position as her captain when she leaves dry dock. You will report to your village square at noon on Sunday to be taken by special charter to the Naval academy in Halbinsel to begin your training. May this letter find you and your family well. This position is a grand honor to you all. May God bless you, your family, and all of Trost in these trying times.
Naval Command Office,
Halbinsel
“The war wouldn’t let me escape that easily. I was torn with a mix of feelings. Now I could defend my land with my fellow ponies. But I would sacrifice my innocence, the safety of my home, and most likely my life. Nopony in the house spoke a word for some time. Until my mother perked up. ‘Go, Brazen Voice. The time has come for you to serve something greater than yourself and leave this village. We’ll stay here, and pray the Changelings do not meet our walls.’
“I was astounded. My mother was never bold in times of trouble. She barely spoke a word since my brother was drafted. She feared and prayed for him every day, and would surely do the same for me. She had already lost her innocence and knew what sacrifices needed to be made. She had to sacrifice her sons for the greater good. Her tears had dried up. And now all that was to be done was to carry on with a strong heart and mind. She could only do what could be done from her home, as her sons she sacrificed to the effort fought on.”
Brazen Voice looked down to his prosthetic leg, glowing brightly in the twilight. “Her sacrifices were greater than any I ever made to the war. I pray to the lord that the day never comes when I have to cast my children into the depths of war like she had to. The time would come far too fast when she and my father would give much more.
“Four days passed before the time came for me to travel to Halbinsel. My parents accompanied me to the square. I arrived in my best jacket with my dagger underneath it. We waited for the charter for a half hour. The entire time my parents kept me by their side, making use of every minute they had left with me. Knowing full well that I would likely never return. We kept our heads held high and joked and laughed as long as we could. This was the family I knew and loved, casting off the dread and tears for one last moment of love and laughter. Precisely at the stroke of noon, a royal carriage carrying an old, kind faced, grey bearded earth pony flew into the square. The pegasi reared up as they landed, and the passenger, revealing himself as a naval Commander, smiled at us. He stepped down and proceeded to shake the hooves of me and my family. He stressed that I would be safe at the academy, and that my ship would be a strong, and beautiful one. I embraced my father and mother for the last time. I stepped back and they saluted me, I returned their gesture with a big smile. The Commander chuckled at this and I turned to him, ready to depart. My mother called for me as I walked away. ‘Wait! I have one more thing for you to take with you!’
“She produced my scottish broadsword, and latched the sword belt around my waist with her magic. The Commander looked curiously at this gesture and was about to object when my mother stared coldly into his eyes. ‘Do not take it from him. That’s a mother’s order.’
My father interjected, ‘I want him to stand at the helm of his ship with that at his side. It would be wise to allow him to keep it, as to give the cutlass you would give him to another pony. I’m a blacksmith, and I feel most comfortable sending my son to war with this than any other sword.’
The Commander had no reply to this, and allowed me to board the carriage with the sword on my belt. Soon thereafter, we left. It was the first time I had ever flown, and it was a little frightening. But it didn’t stop me from waving to my family as I took off. My parents kept strong, and waved back with proud smiling faces. The small crowd that had gathered in the square with my parents waved me off too, and moved over to comfort them as I flew away.
“Once we had gotten out of the village, the Commander addressed me, ‘You have a wonderful family my boy! That will give you something to fight for when the time comes. The fight before you will not be an easy one. We are losing ground fast against this enemy. I do not think that this will be a fight that we can win my child. It has only been a week, and they have already consumed a fifth of our kingdom. However, our resistance has been concentrated, and the advance of the Changelings has been slowed. Soon, the time will come for the navy to come into play. The Changelings have no ships, which is one of a few advantages we possess. As they approach the coastline, we will strike them relentlessly from the sea. Your ship is undergoing major renovations in drydock as we speak You will learn and sharpen your tactics as she is rejuvenated. I will be your personal mentor at the academy. I was the Captain of the Vernichter for her entire tour of service. But I’m far too old to command the seas now. Naval Command wanted me to train the next crew of her as she was brought back into service. Specifically her new Captain.’
“I was excited to have the one on one attention of this wise old Commander to give me the training I would need. But the responsibility frightened me. I had a couple questions, ‘will my crew be new sailors as well?’
“The Commander smiled, ‘Yes, they will be. All experienced ponies have their own prior commitments. However the Vernichter will not be alone. Two more ships from her class were saved from scrapping with her and are undergoing the same retrofittings as her.’
“I inquired as to what those modifications were. The commander smiled, ‘She’s been given a radio, refurbished engines, two extra keels and rudders for stabilization in the air, anti-air guns and munitions, new armor, hydraulic control planes, and rocket boosters.’
“I stood in shock, ‘Rocket boosters? Stabilization in the air?’
“‘Yes. As you can imagine, she’s obsolete primarily because of her lack of speed. Now she’ll be able to outrun anything in the sea or sky. For a short distance. When her armor was replaced with lighter, stronger materials, there was room for some extra cargo, so to speak.’
“The day after we arrived, I caught my first glimpse of the ship. She was still in drydock, and masked beneath a web of scaffolding. But below were the gallant curves of a beautiful lady of the seas. Her noble outline caressed my eyes, which had nearly popped out of my head in a trance. Several minutes had passed until the Commander could bring me out of it.
“My days at the academy were very busy and very long. The war raged on far from the walls of Halbinsel, as the Changelings pushed on ever more. Their advance was slowing, but not ceasing as I readied myself to combat them when they reached the sea. The only thing that motivated me was the thought of commanding my ship at the end of it all. But after nine weeks of intense training, my ship was seaworthy, and I was ready to begin training on the sea. The crew and I took the ship out on a first cruise much like the excursion we are on now. The excursion mounted to just under two weeks of intense training of all sorts, including fleet exercises with the lady’s sisters. The crew learned the comings and goings of the ship very quickly, and I learned her mannerisms and became accustomed to commanding her. We had completed our checklist, and everything was ship-shape. She was battle worthy. We had only to bring her back into port where she would be christened with her sister ships and their Captains ushered into command. We made the last leg of the journey home at night. I retired for the evening and left the old Commander in charge of his ship for one last time. He disembarked the vessel and returned to naval command when we made port.
“I climbed into the crow’s nest and relieved the sailor on duty. I wanted some time alone, and the crowsnest at night was the only place on the ship that one could feel truly alone. The stars above me were completely unobstructed, save the black billows of smoke rising from the smokestacks behind me. I sat there alone with my thoughts. Thoughts of home, my brother in the trenches, and of what was to come. The gentle rocking of the ship should have lulled me to sleep, but I could not ease my restless mind. As we closed into port, the bridge called up to me to give the distance between us and our sister ships. I responded, and gave the information needed, however the Commander didn’t expect to hear my voice. I assured him that all was well. When we dropped anchor alongside our sister ships, I went to my quarters and eased my tired mind to sleep.
“The next morning, all three ships sailed to the docks in formation and their Captains went ashore. The Commander gave me my Captain’s bars in the ceremony, and the ships were christened. All three cast off at once and went in separate directions to where they were needed. As they left port, we all did our final test simultaneously. We engaged our rocket boosters and parted in different directions. We sailed South into the skies, as our sisters made the other two prongs of a giant trident in the sky. It must have been quite a site, but we only covered about two miles with a full burn of our fuel supply. We’d stop in a port again before our first engagement to refuel.
“After a day of sailing, we reached our port. This was much closer to the front lines, and the local population had fear and sorrow in their faces. The enemy was only 30 miles from the city limits, and closing fast. Everypony here was preparing for the worst, evacuating citizens and fortifying the city. The dock crew was hasty in their work, and shooed us out of the docks as quickly as possible. They had a look on their faces that said, ‘Better you than me.’
“Our mission was to provide offshore bombardment on the Changelings closing in on the port city. We came into the rear of a formation with a flotilla of a Dreadnought class battleship, a cruiser, four destroyers, and last but not least, the newly christened Freiheit. We came up into formation with the task force from the rear, feeling very small next to the Dreadnought. The Freiheit was no small ship, but the Dreadnaught towered above her and dwarfed her flanks. As we approached our target the destroyers moved to our starboard side to provide anti-air fire for any Changelings that may try to fly aboard our ships from the sea. The Commodore captaining the Dreadnought ordered every ship to target coordinates about three miles inland, presumably where the Changelings were entrenched. We positioned our guns and waited for the order to open fire. At the second it arrived over the wireless our cannons roared to life, sending an enormous salvo of screeching shells into no-pony’s land. We sailed slowly along the shore and continued the barrage. Time passed and the thunder continued. It was nerve wracking to say the least. I knew the shells wouldn’t hurt us, but the world shook around us like the end of days.
“After a sizable length of time, We received a message from the Dreadnought, a formation of pegasi were inbound to our location along the shoreline. They were most likely a bombing group returning to base. What was significant about this report was that the pegasi were being chased by a gargantuan writhing cloud of Changelings. They were barely keeping ahead of the horde, were outnumbered about 20 to one, and were carrying their wounded. They couldn’t stay ahead long and were making a final desperate dive to the flotilla. We couldn’t do anything against the horde until the pegasi landed. If we tried to shoot down the Changelings, we would hit as many friends as we would foes. And to make matters worse, the only safe landing place for miles was the decks of our ships. And we wouldn’t know who was a Changeling and who was a pony if they all came at us at once.
“The radio was buzzing with panicked chatter of half-made plans and terrified pleas. Nopony was able to gain control. I stamped across the bridge to my wireless operator and grabbed the microphone from his hoof. I shouted into the ears of the ponies on the other bridges, ‘Are we to bicker senselessly until the Changelings hold their hooves on our throats?! Or will we give these vile demons the fate they deserve?!’
“The Commodore hailed his ships, ‘Thank you for stopping the chatter, but who are you to rally us in a scenario such as this?’
I lifted my voice with a new vigor, ‘Captain Brazen Voice of the Freiheit! Commodore, we haven’t time for formalities. I will take my ship to the skies and gain the Changeling’s attention as you take the pegasi on board to sort out friend from foe and tend to the wounded. We will return with the horde on our stern unobstructed by friendly ponies for anti-air support from the rest of the flotilla. Unless anypony else has a better plan, I suggest we execute this strategy immediately.’
“The Commodore hailed our ship almost immediately after I had explained my strategy. ‘I don’t think we’ll be getting any ideas better than that before the Changelings are on our decks. Freiheit, you are clear to break formation. Keep your heads on straight, and godspeed you crazy son of a gun.’
“Thank you, sir. Breaking formation.” I placed the microphone back on the console, and shouted to my crew, ‘Left half rudder, full speed ahead!... Right half rudder...Steady as she goes! We sail into the pages of history! Ready yourselves for your moment of glory!’
We moved out from behind the Dreadnought and slipped past her and the cruiser. Ponies were out on the decks leaning over the railings cheering and waving us on as we swiftly cut through the waves, quickly gaining speed. The grand engines below roared with an ever-growing tenacity as great billows of black smoke and cinders poured from the stacks. I walked to the front windows of the bridge and stood looking the enemy head-on. The great cloud moved closer, roiling with hatred. I pulled out my spyglass. I could see the pegasi fleeing on their last ounce of strength from the Changelings with their allies in sight. Their perseverance was paying off as they had made a significant headway from the Changelings. It was up to us to keep those pegasi, and ourselves alive. I needn’t remind my crew what would happen if we failed. ‘Give her everything she’s got! We need every inch we can get between us and the flotilla! Batten down the hatches! Prepare for liftoff!’
“The ship responded with a low rumble as the boilers were pushed harder than they had been in fifteen years. The entire crew ran about in organized chaos, getting ready to take to the skies and meet the Changelings on their own terms. Everypony outside the bridge donned cutlasses, rifles, leather helmets, flight jackets, scarves, and goggles.
“The Freiheit thrust forth from the rest of the ships as fast as she could. We were making good speed despite her outdated engines. I called down through the ship’s communication tubes, ‘Port guns, ready for a single salvo at 15 degrees over the pegasi. Fire at my command and immediately stow guns for aerial maneuvers.’”
The fire grew low once again, but Brazen Voice placed no new logs to fuel it. He looked down to the fire as his brow furrowed in concentration. His expression was one of purpose and stoic bravery. He looked as he did on that day to the approaching swarm of Changelings. His eyes never faltering from the sight, only analyzing how to destroy it. His voice took on a lower tone as he recalled his great battle.
“I waited for the precise moment to turn to starboard and fire into the Changelings, now flying low along the sea with the pegasi. Once we were perpendicular with their path, we would fire a single broadside underneath the swarm to knock some of them out of the air with the ejected water, but mostly to get their attention. The time was nigh, I called to the ponies on the bridge, ‘Right full rudder! Maintain speed!’
“The ship lurched heavily to port, and I fought to keep my footing on the bridge. We turned incredibly quickly, and I had almost forgot to issue the command to right the ship in the turn. ‘Straighten rudder! Stand by to fire! Open boosters!’
“The ship righted herself. And at the moment she did, I pointed my hoof at the target and shouted, ‘FIRE!’”
The logs in the fire collapsed as if by command and a new stronger fire emerged.
“The ship racked with the recoil, but I didn’t hesitate, ‘UP SHIP! RISE TO 1,000 FEET!’
“Once again, the ship shook, but now it didn’t stop. It just got harder and faster. The rockets had ignited, unleashing a great wake of flame that turned the water at our sides into steam instantaneously. We lept from the sea in a great cloud of steam, smoke, and flame. I quickly strapped into my chair, and fought the compression of the acceleration on my body. The flank mounted guns were stowed, and the deck guns had been realigned. We were airworthy. As we rose from the cloud of steam around us, I looked to port and saw the shells strike the sea below the Changelings, shooting great jets of water to the skies, inundating many of their wings, and hurtling them to a watery grave. I shouted above the fiery roar of the rockets, ‘ALL TO PORT! ALL GUNS, FIRE AT WILL! FULL SPEED AHEAD! LEVEL OUT, RAMMING SPEED!’
“We charged right into the swarm as the pegasi made their escape through our wake of smoke. Every machine gun on deck opened up their fiery maws to hurl thousands of projectiles into the Changelings that had darkened the skies in front of us. We were gaining ever more speed, and drove right through the Changelings; a flaming juggernaut. The Freiheit became a giant battering ram, as hundreds of Changelings struck the bow and the superstructure. They cracked the bridge windows and shook the hull. She gained a new coat of paint in Changeling blood. For a few fleeting moments, we were an icebreaker in a sea of Changelings.
“I bellowed once more, ‘ALL TO STARBOARD, DIVE 25 DEGREES! BRING US TO THE NORTH OF THE FLOTILLA’!
“The fuel for our rocket engines was beginning to run out. We had to set down soon before we ran dry, and get back to the protection of the rest of the flotilla. We dove out of the Changeling swarm, hurtling along the surface of the waves. With the last sputters from our vertical engines, we were within range of the other ship’s anti-air guns. ‘FIRE RETROROCKETS!’
“Just as I gave the order, our vertical boosters gave out, and we hit the water like a giant skipping stone. The retrorockets threw me forward in my seat from the deceleration. Waves were decimated by the furiously cutting bow, only to be instantaneously boiled by the flames. We skipped again and again until we set down for the final time in a great burst of water from the bow. I unfastened my harness and rose from my seat, taking a moment to regain my balance. “Stow motors! Half speed! Right full rudder! Bring starboard cannons to bear! Here they come!’
“We had positioned ourselves beyond the northern end of the flotilla behind the rear of the formation. The Changelings were closing fast, beginning a sweeping dive on the task force, with a newfound rage. The Freiheit had completed her objective making the Changelings abandon their attack on the pegasi who were now safely aboard the other ships, separated from several Changeling imposters within their formation. Instead, the Changelings became enraged with the daring ship that charged headlong into their ranks. They had one intent and one intent alone: destroy the Freiheit. Luckily, they would have to fly over every other ship in the flotilla to get to us. But it would be foolish to think that they would leave us alone.
“The Commodore came on the wireless, ‘Well done Freiheit. These pegasi are lining up to thank you. All ships, ready flak shells. Fire at my command. Machine guns, stand by to open fire.’
“We loaded our main guns with flak shells and trained every gun we could into the swarm. As they came ever closer we had to fight the urge to unleash our salvo prematurely. I called down below decks, ‘Steady, you have slain many thus far. And many more shall perish!’
“The sky began to blacken as the furious swarm came closer and closer. The buzzing noise of all the wings became overwhelming. It was like a million giant hornets coming to kill us all. Finally, the much awaited catharsis came over the wireless, ‘Fire main cannons!’
“An earth shattering concussion exploded into the heavens, The buzzing of the Changelings took on a new tone, shattering their impending tone into one of fear and chaos. Once again, the air was rent apart with an explosive concussion. This time it was the flak shells bursting in the air, sending shrapnel throughout the entire swarm. Hundreds of them fell like flies... or pieces of flies. Our bridge filled again with the voice of the Commodore over the wireless, ‘All guns, fire at will!’
“Instantly, our decks rattled with the sound of dozens of machine guns filling the air with their staccato stream of bullets. Despite all of the firepower of our ships, the Changelings came closer and closer. Though many of them fell into the sea below like rocks, more came closer and closer to our decks. My heart filled with fear at the thought of Changelings boarding the vessel. But before I could react, the Changelings began to bomb the ship with magic bolts and ordinances they carried on their bellies. The entire swarm was focusing their attention on us, and only now had they gotten close enough to attack. Moments later, the first Changelings set hooves on our decks. In desperation I called over the communication tubes, ‘All personnel, we have enemies aboard, all available crew topside! Engineering, hold your posts, and barricade the entrance!’
“The anti-air guns turned to the Changelings on our decks. That gave the ponies from below decks enough time to swing open the hatches and take up positions deck. Changelings fell from the sky as ponies on the decks fought to viciously to their last breath to defend the Freiheit. No matter how hard, we fought, they kept coming. They fell the crew on the deck one by one, and the guns silenced as they drone of Changelings swarming about grew in a tone of pride. Most of them left the deck and buzzed about with their work finished as the rest pushed into the hatches. Soon they had breached the superstructure and had overridden our command of the ship from the auxiliary command. They began to steer us away from the task force as fast as they could with diminishing power from engineering as they killed the engines. I had had enough of cowering above the battle, and drew my revolver and sword. Every other pony on the bridge took up positions behind their consoles. Several drew cutlasses and stood by my side. My entire bridge crew consisted of unicorns. I preferred to have ponies with magic to make remedial tasks on the bridge move faster. But their magic could be used for far more than sorting maps. I faced the shaking door, ‘On my mark, we push the door in on them. Then, we push those bastards back out onto the deck and into the sea.’
“Our horns lit up with magic ready to leap forth, and I screamed louder than I had ever before, ‘PUSH!!!’
“The door shot back and pulverized several Changelings against the far wall of the hallway. We charged into the hall, crying out with all of our might. The Changelings were in absolute shock at this sudden resistance, and couldn’t recuperate enough to resist our attack. There must have been 20 Changelings in the hall that now lay strewn about the floor. Their black, steaming blood was splattered on the walls, and dripped from our uniforms. I scanned the hall, and saw every enemy there was vanquished. I sheathed my sword, and we moved stealthily through the ship. Changelings had taken most of her, but they were focusing on engineering in the bowels of the hull, sending a small force to attempt to crush the officers on bridge, and keeping the skies above the ship occupied, until they could bring the Freiheit down. We had drifted too far from the flotilla for the other ships to give effective supporting fire to force all of the Changelings onto our decks. We could therefore sneak past them and move nearer to the the bow unseen. I ordered my first mate, and my engineering officer to barricade the bridge, and to take command of the ship. We absconded through a narrow electrical tunnel to a hatch to the port deck near the bow. I grouped up my unicorn comrades by the hatch. Before we breached onto the decks, I ordered each of my companions to take a rifle from the armory and to fix bayonets. We slung them over our backs and burst open the hatch.”
Brazen Voice shuddered. ‘Nothing could prepare me for that sight. Not the hall of eviscerated Changelings, the falling bodies rent in twain by the flak, or the pieces of Changeling, splattered in streaks of black blood and entrails all across the ship. What I saw was only describable as utter calamity. The sky was black with the swirling swarm of changelings and stray tracer rounds, as our foes attacked the ship. They constantly made aimless dives at the superstructure. The ship’s armor was too thick for their magic to break, no matter how many times they struck it. The wooden deck was decimated to splinters in most places, leaving the armor below to tread upon. The sides of the superstructure and the decks were smeared with Changeling and pony blood alike. Mangled bodies of both sides lay strewn about, expressions of fear, anger, and pain filled their faces. No living creature besides myself and my bridgemates were on that deck. The entire ship was pockmarked from thousands of bolts of Changeling magic and ordinances. The Freiheit’ rearmost smokestack had collapsed onto the aft deck and smoke and fire spewed from where it once stood. I almost vomited from the sight of it all, but I had to keep moving. If I didn’t, the Changelings would strike me down in a heartbeat. I moved quickly and low to the deck along the side of the superstructure to the bow. My bridge crew reluctantly followed me along the bloodstained deck. I kept my eyes held high, averted from the carnage below my hooves.
“The smell of death became overwhelming. It took all my effort to hold my stomach against it’s convulsions. I thought I had it under control until I slipped on a puddle of blood. I slid until I was face to face with the eviscerated bodies of two gunner ponies with their backs to the railing. Instantaneously, I lost control of my stomach and vomited at my hoofs. I slowly rose, still convulsing with every part of my body shaking with disgust and misery. I didn’t realize that I was still beside my fallen shipmates. I opened my eyes, and saw a look of comradery on their faces. They had fallen together, fighting side by side to the bitter end. It was absolutely heart wrenching. But I had to tear myself away, lest I meet the same fate. I pressed on to the bow deck.
“My objective was to get to the deck gun on the bow and fire a signal to the other ships that there were still ponies aboard the Freiheit. It was the only way to reach them now. The radio had been knocked out, and the changelings blackened the sky too thickly to fire a signal flare. If we reached the gun in time, the other ships could send assistance and we could save our ship. I would much rather have my ship saved, albeit damaged beyond recognition, than have engineering scuttle her, bringing down myself and everything else aboard her to a watery grave.
“We reached the gun unopposed. the crew who manned the gun had long since abandoned their posts and died with rifles in their hooves, aimed to the skies. I ordered my comrades to form a perimeter, operate the three empty anti-air guns around the main gun and not to fire unless fired upon. It did not seem that the Changelings had noticed our escapade yet, and I wanted to keep it that way. Four other ponies and myself loaded the gun with a star shell and began to pivot it up and to starboard to burst over the flotilla. The Changelings noticed the great gun moving below, and began to dive upon us. My comrades fired into their ranks, and drew my attention. ‘Keep them off of us as long as you can!’
“It took two of us to pivot the gun, and the rest fired into the skies. I took up my rifle and ordered my two strongest comrades to pivot the grand howitzer. The Changelings were held in surprise that a resistance was being mounted from this stricken ship. They hadn’t yet coordinated an attack on the bow, and we could hold them off for the time being. The gun was almost in position, when every last Changeling over the ship dived furiously on the bow. All of the guns on the ship wouldn’t have been enough to hold them off, let alone three AA guns and a few rifles. They bombarded us, and I had just enough magic to stop the bolts that came for me. The ponies on the gun were their primary target, and couldn’t do anything to stop their demise. They were struck down almost instantaneously and landed on the bow, surrounding those of us who were left.
“I had had enough of defeat and setbacks for one day. I took my empty rifle and hurled it like a javelin into one of the Changelings standing between me and the trigger on the howitzer. I charged headlong into their shocked ranks, screaming to the devil himself and plunged my horn into the throat of another. I wrenched my horn from it’s mangled neck. Black Changeling blood dripped into my eyes and blurred my vision. But I saw just enough to find the trigger of the cannon. I lunged for it, jumping over the pile of Changelings I had just tackled to the deck. I hung in the air for a moment, my hooves spread-eagle. Time seemed to stop. I saw the trigger, and my hoof was just above it. I seemed to slowly drift down towards the trigger like a feather in a windless room. I strained my foreleg as far forward as I could, hoping it would just be in reach. At last, I felt the weight of the trigger upon my the tip of my hoof, and felt it slide down. I was so focused on the miniscule sensation of the pressure of the trigger that I had completely forgotten that the gun would fire as a result of engaging it. The colossal howitzer hurled itself backwards with recoil, it’s chambers barely missing my head as they reared back. It roared to the heavens, and stopped my heart for a moment with it’s gargantuan concussion. The shell screamed through the seemingly impenetrable darkness above and over the dreadnaught, trailing a magnificent scarlet streak, and bursting into a brilliant crimson flare.
“The other ships in the flotilla saw this grand report, and their Captains took their spyglasses to their eyes. On the bow deck they saw a small company of ponies making a final stand against every Changeling that still assailed our ship. My first mate had miraculously regained control and moved us closer to the rest of the flotilla and raised flags signaling enemy occupation to prove that the Freiheit was still in the command of Trostian ponies. The Commodore was henceforth convinced that this was not a Changeling plot, and ordered all able-body pegasi from the bomber group and elsewhere to prepare for a raid on the decks of the Freiheit. They would clear her decks and ready her for boarding by the nearest destroyer.
“Upon the decks, we held our own. The Changelings took the form of my ponies and I at the bow. I shouted to my comrades, ‘SHED UNIFORMS!’
“Every creature on the bow did as I commanded, and threw off their coats. But the Changelings had no cutie marks, as ours were concealed beneath our cloaks. We all knew who was who, and my ponies by the howitzer consolidated themselves into a ring, shoulder to shoulder. I reared up on my back hooves and drew my sword and revolver, turning back to back with my cutie marked comrades beside the deck gun. The ponies on the AA guns pointed their barrels down, and fired upon the blank flanks of the Changelings. They were cutting them down like a harvest of wheat. My comrades and I kept a circle about us, cutlass and broadsword swinging with all of our might. I discharged all six of my shots from my revolver, as I swung my sword. I cast my revolver into the face of a Changeling, and drew my dagger in my left hoof.
“I struck out all around me, swinging my sword and dagger despite the burning pain in my asthmatic lungs. My legs too grew weary, and the Changelings were gaining the upper hoof on me. They sliced my chest, and cut away at my coat. One struck at my back right leg, and I collapsed in pain. Three Changelings in my form stood above me with menacing looks on their faces. My faces. They lifted their horns above me and they glowed with their evil magic. My comrades behind me thrusted their cutlasses into the Changelings above me, but gave up the advantage they had on their own assailants. Two of them were struck down before I could react. I exhausted my last ounce of strength by throwing my dagger into the heart of one of the Changelings, and thrusting my broadsword into the leg of another while still sprawled out on my back. Soon my sword was ripped from my hoof, and I was left defenceless, gasping for breath, strewn about the deck in agony and exhaustion.
“The AA guns had fallen silent. Whether the ponies operating them had fallen, or they had exhausted their ammunition is unclear to this day. Only two of my comrades near the gun still stood against the Changelings, who were closing in with their horns glowing. It seemed that all was at an end. I rose to my front two legs with my back right leg out laid out, bleeding and searing in agony to face my demise. I looked at my foe, bested, but not defeated. I had taken thousands of their lives, and they could not extinguish my legacy. No matter if they took over the whole world and burned every history book and record of the war in existence. Ponies would hear of this day, and it would give them hope to know that valor existed even amongst certain defeat.
“The Changelings began to harvest the love of comrades in arms from my shipmates and I. It struck my heart and sapped all of my strength. We collapsed to the deck, completely surrounded by our foe. My consciousness waned, and I found it hard to keep my eyes open. My hope of surviving this ordeal faded away. It seemed that the other ships had abandoned us. I whispered my last breath to those about me, “It’s been an honor, my friends.”
“I felt a soft wind across my coat and a great chaos erupted on the deck. I heard explosions, gunfire, and the clash of metal and flesh once more. I ripped open my eyes with a tremendous effort. Above me flew a herd of pegasi, zipping back and forth, striking the Changelings with cutlasses, pistols, and rifles. The Changelings were quickly routed and fled from the deck in their true forms only to be quickly struck down by the flotilla’s anti-air guns. A pegasis landed above me with a huge light machine gun in her hooves and unloaded the magazine into the retreating Changelings. She reloaded and charged to the nearest hatch. The rest landed on the decks and charged below to take back the ship. I could feel my strength returning as the Changeling spell lifted. I gasped for breath with my burning lungs and made no attempt to rise from the deck with my wounds. Soon, several pegasi with medical cutie marks landed on the deck and began to address the injuries my comrades and I had sustained. I pushed them away from me, “Off! Off, I say! I may be the Captain of this vessel, but I am far from the one in the worst condition!’
“I coughed several times, tearing up my lungs. ‘I’ll be fine. Leave me for last. That’s an order!’
“I laid back once more on the bloodstained deck and slowly regained my breath. Pegasi were flying every which way about the ship, tending to the wounded, and ridding the ship of the last few Changelings within her bowels. One of the destroyers sounded her foghorns as she heaved to our ship and began to send ponies aboard. I glanced up to the bridge and saw my first mate looking down at me through the cracked glass. She smiled and saluted me. Finally, it seemed it was all over.
“A mismatched crew of what was left of the assault force, sailors from the destroyer, and the able bodied pegasi from the bombing wing sailed our wounded ship with the escort of two destroyers back to the very port we defended earlier. The rest of the flotilla resumed the bombardment it was entrusted with in the first place. Most of my crew perished in the fight. Only 197 of a crew of 806 survived the assault. Most of the survivors were those who had successfully barricaded themselves in the fire rooms. But every single one of the hundreds of pegasi from the bombing formation had escaped their ordeal. And nearly all of the thousands of Changelings in the assault had perished. It was a great victory, but it came at a great cost. The Freiheit was cast in dock for three weeks of repairs. During this time, most of the surviving crew was in the hospital, including myself.
While I recovered, I heard news of my home and of my brother on the front. My hometown was under siege. It was unclear who was alive in the walls and who was not. My brother was still in the trenches and had sent a personal letter of congratulations to me for my deeds. He had been promoted to lieutenant and was in charge of his own platoon. He fought with distinction, holding his own against the Changelings. I wrote a long reply reminding him that I still outranked him and was still bigger than him. I said that I hoped that this war would be over soon so I could see him again.
“A new crew was assembled and we were underway. Naval Command assigned us rather simple tasks during this time to allow our new crew to become accustomed to life at sea. Our old crew was mostly young draftees. But the new members were even younger, or far too old to be going to war. It was a sign that Trost was losing ponies to defend her, and was robbing the grave and the cradle to hold on a little longer. I welcomed the new recruits, but greaved night and day for the crew that I had lost. Nothing could rid me of the feeling of their blood on my hooves. What could I have done differently? Why should their Captain have survived? All I could do was pray to have this grief lifted from me and to be able to move on. I kept reminding myself that it was the Changelings who had taken the lives of my crew, and their actions had saved many other lives. It didn’t help much, but it was the only solace I could gain.”
Brazen Voice sat up straight, “The only reason I haven’t gone mad over it all has been that I’ve seen the future that my comrades died for. Seeing this world, I know that their sacrifice has not been in vain. Since I’ve come here, my shipmates have haunted my dreams less and less. The sea no longer reminds me of their agonizing screams. And every corridor of the ship only brings me memories of their happy smiles serving under a Captain they respected and admired. I can now think back upon my shipmates as fondly as I did before.
“We carried on several bombardment, evacuation, and escort operations as the Changelings were closing in on Halbinsel. Now when the Changelings faced us, they seemed wary to confront ‘Hydrus Invictus’. Or so had been the title afforded to the lovely lady. Despite our efforts, it was only a matter of time before they besieged the Capital. The Changelings were smaller in number, and we had consolidated our defences. Thus the progress of the enemy had been slowed significantly. The Changelings were very foolhardy in their nature, and it was showing in their tactics. They made rushes against defences far stronger than their attacks and obsessed over cities. They were hungry for love to sustain their assault and wanted citizens tightly packed inside their homes as easy prey. However cites could be defended, and the Changelings foolishly threw all available forces at their walls. We struck down thousands of the heathens. But they just kept coming. Soon, every citizen left in the land had been moved behind the walls of Halbinsel, and every warrior had dug in in front of them. Now the entire Changeling Army was within Naval artillery range, which gave us one of few advantages against them.
“So began the siege of Halbinsel. In order to provide another officer in the trenches, I relinquished command of my ship and left her to go to defend the city on hoof. She carried citizens from the city and struck down many Changelings with the armada as she left. But she did so without her figurehead’s horn, which laid nestled in my jacket. When I entered the city, I saw her as a shadow of her former self. She had been bombarded from the air for weeks, and it had taken it’s toll. I was given a uniform and a division to command in the trenches outside the fortifications. Before I left the walls I was given a letter, long delayed in the Halbinsel post. It was short and officially stamped, stating only three things. My village was overrun and razed, my parents were unaccounted for, and my brother had fallen while leading a charge.
“I was numb. I shed no tears. I just felt my heart turn to stone. All of my family was surely dead. Nopony could have survived the incarceration of the Changelings for long. Which meant my parents had either died in the siege of my home, or died slowly in custody. I walked into the trench, and observed my surroundings. I crawled into the hole that would serve as my bed for the night. I shed a single tear and prayed. I collapsed into a restless sleep, and dreamed a very strange dream. Something told me, everything was going to be all right; like a voice had told me a long story. And only at it’s end did I find it’s moral. I would have to wait until the end of mine before I could grieve. I would fight my last battle with new vigor. My heart would not be so easily corrupted. It beat strong with the vigor of youth and deep with steadfast love yet to be tapped.
We held the lines for several days until the last citizens had been evacuated. After a long artillery barrage, the ships supporting Halbinsel left with the last refugees. Their final barrage had made a weak point in the Changeling lines. I led a charge to attack their artillery and severely weaken the siege. They never expected such a bold move from a beaten and besieged army, and so their unorganized defences left little resistance to a direct offensive. During the charge I was struck with an enchanted trebuchet stone which severed the left half of my torso and began to corrode away at the rest of my body. A strange pony saved me and gave me this prosthetic limb. He called himself the Doctor. He flew through the universe in his time machine. He told me that my charge had destroyed the artillery. I later looked up that this allowed the last of our tanks to advance to the Changeling trenches while my ponies distracted and destroyed the artillery. They advanced to the Changeling lines and covered the retreat of my ponies once their mission was complete. The tankers fought until the last of their land-ships were out of commision. But they were kindly escorted back on hoof by my ponies returning from their attack. The attacks stalled the siege enough that the Trostian Navy could return and evacuate the military personnel still in the city, and so the Hammer cavalry could attack. I was a bonafide hero. Written down in the history books and promoted to Rear Admiral post-mortem. I asked him to bring me to this time. I had no friends or family left back in that time, and I couldn’t go back to that. The only attention I would’ve gained would have been for my deeds in the war, not for who I was behind the legend. And so I now sit here before you at the end of my grand campaign as your humble friend.”
Brazen Voice rekindled the fire and it’s warmth and radiance filled the room once more. The Admiral looked away into the fire for a moment more. He turned and looked up to his friends in the new, brightly burning light of the fire. His eyes shown with a deep passion, and a knowledge gained through the sorrows of war. They were bright with the vigor of youth, yet deep and striking with volumes of wisdom. A pony of his age should not posses eyes that had seen so much, or a mind that knew so much. But the deep portals to his soul showed something else. Within those lipid blue pools showed a compassion which few other ponies could rival. And within him beat a heart, deep and filled with love for those around him. The war had taken a great many things from him, but he still lived. His heart still beat with a rhythm of friendship and joy, despite that cruel fate had torn half of it away. Laughter still filled his lungs, and peace came to his mind. The war had not taken him, body, mind, or soul.
Dragonfly stood from her chair and walked over to Brazen Voice. She lifted him from his chair and embraced him. Beast and Gaelic Casúr put their hooves on his shoulder. They held him. He was home here. He could live on here, despite all of his guilt and sorrow from the past. He would put this new time to use.
* * *
Night came upon the Freiheit as she sailed North. They all relaxed about the ship, had a lavish supper thanks to Beast, and turned in for the evening. Above her cabin, Dragonfly heard a peculiar noise. The ceiling seemed to reverberate with a low hum. It began to irritate her, and she knew that she wouldn’t be able to sleep with it in her ears. She rose and walked upstairs, and became mildly irritated when she saw that the source of the noise was the Captain’s quarters. She knocked on the grand doors of Brazen Voice’s chambers. She was summoned within, and opened the door to a very different room than the one she had seen before.
The only light in the room came from a desk lamp and the open closet doors. It was a pale electric orange; very out of place in this room. It was cast from several strange looking whirring metal contraptions filling the closet. These things seemed to be the source of the noise. In front of them sat the large oaken desk, on which was strewn a collection of odd instruments. Upon that table was a pony that Dragonfly had never seen, leaning low, back facing the mare. He was only a silhouette illuminated by the dim, somber lights in front of him. Slowly, almost with pain, he lifted his head from the table and stood to the left with the lamp illuminating the side of a familiar face. Brazen Voice looked to her with a sullen, tired eye. She looked below the unusual monocle free eye to see a metal cowling reflecting in the lamplight. The rest of him was laying on the table. Along the outside of the cowling were several cables and tubes of various sizes and colors connecting him to the machines in his closet. For the first time Dragonfly saw Brazen Voice without his attire, his prosthetic, or the left half of his chest.
Dragonfly meekly asked, “Brazen Voice, is that really you? What is all of this?”
Brazen Voice’s distinctive tone reassured her that this was indeed her Admiral. “Yes, it’s me. This is the machinery that maintains my robotics. I’m sorry it woke you. But without it, I couldn’t keep my body in working condition for very long.”
A shiver ran down Dragonfly’s spine when she saw her friend without his trademark appendage. It was unnerving to see him so dependant on this technology. “You need this to stay alive?”
Brazen Voice sighed, “Yes. I built it all actually. My cybernetics give me a sort of mechanical omniscience that helped me design them. The coat and vest I have give my body the power it needs from solar energy when I’m out and about. But when I’m sleeping, this machinery supplies my robotics with electricity and maintains them for the next day. It also lets me take off my clothes so I can wash them,or take a shower without dying in the process. I have to make sure all of this, my robotics, and my clothes are functioning at nominal levels, so I know they’ll keep me alive.”
Dragonfly was shocked, “That must take a lot of work! I’d hate to imagine what would happen if any of that failed.”
“It’s kinda like brushing your teeth in all honesty. Except it just takes the slightest bit longer.”
He looked down at his leg again, and spoke a little softer, “It must be odd to see me without all of those clothes. I don’t think you’ve even seen my cutie mark before. It’s strange to think that a pony with a cutie mark for his voice became the legendary Lost Admiral of Trost. It’s also strange to be seen this way. The last time anypony did, I was on an operating table. “
He gestured to the cowling, “Kinda menacing without all of the classy duds isn’t it?
His words captured her thoughts exactly. “Well...” She tried to make it sound better than it was, “it’s not-- not as classy, sure.” She shrugged a smile
Brazen Voice chuckled, brushing off Dragonfly’s worries. She moved over to the table, and saw something new in the lamp’s glow. There were glinting metal bands spreading throughout the stallion’s ivory coat. They originated in his breast cowling, ran up to his mane, and up and down his spine. It almost looked like the cowling was hanging onto him with them. Upon closer inspection, his fur was torn in several places with battle scars. It was as though his own body was torn between past and present. It was a combination of machinery from a cold, unkind future, and the warm simplicity and scars of the past. The very idea was a metaphor of himself. Brazen Voice put Dragonfly’s thoughts into words, “It’s symbolic in a way. My old life was ripped from me like my torso. And now I’m in this time with a new part of me to fill the void. It’s very different, but fantastic in it’s own way. It gives me things beyond my wildest dreams. Technology, and opportunities I could never think of having in the past. It’s as much a part of me as my old body was.”
Dragonfly took it all in. Without his prosthetics he’d die instantly. His mind also depended on past and present. He could never forget his past. It was what made him who he was. Despite the horrors of war there were things in the past he could not forsake by forgetting. As Dragonfly thought of this, she saw an old black and white picture, in the intricate frame of the inside lid of a music box. It pictured a smiling young Brazen Voice and his family in a park. His past had taught him dignity, grace, and it would undermine everything about himself to forget it. The future was a gift of life to him. Brazen Voice should be dead, but instead, he came here, to finish the days the lord gave him. Without either side of time, he would die, and his mind would collapse into insanity.
Dragonfly roused herself from her thoughts. “Don’t worry about waking me up. I just wanted to know what was going on up here. I’ll let you get back to work. Sorry for bothering you. Pleasant dreams!”
“I suppose I will dream pleasantly, depending on what you mean by pleasant.”
Dragonfly turned around, as she was beginning to leave. “What do you mean?”
Brazen Voice sighed, “I have to make a little bit of a choice as to where the comfort of my dreams will find me. When I sleep with my prosthetic on, I dream of the present day. When I leave it off, I dream of the past. I see my old home, friends, family, and myself as they all were back then. I can be in the sanctity of the past there, and wake to the cold reality where it has all passed. Or I can sleep with it on to dream of the world as it is. It is a choice I make every night. I can’t decide if dreaming in the past is absolute bliss, or a horrible nightmare.”
Dragonfly looked to him with grave concern. She couldn’t help but realize that he was referring to the time of her birth as the future and his as the past. He may have only lived a couple months longer than her, but he had been through far more than she had. “Don’t torture yourself. You can never go back. You said it yourself. By dreaming of the past, you’re only giving yourself a taste of a world that you’ll never see again. I can’t imagine losing your family like that. God only knows what I’d do without mine. But you have to keep your mind here. You’re here for a reason. Stay with your friends, and keep looking forward. I’ll do everything I can to make this place seem as close to home as I can. Maybe then, you’ll have dreams you can truly enjoy.”
Brazen Voice sighed and turned his head, “I suppose I am here for a reason beyond myself. I guess I wish it all hadn’t happened so suddenly. Within a week, the war had started, I had been drafted, and said goodbye to my family and home without any prior knowledge. Then in an instant, I find that my family is dead, and my home has been burned to the ground, followed by me losing my own life. So to speak. In all honesty, I’m happier here than I was at my home. This world has given me a much greater sense of belonging than I ever felt in the past. I never had any friends that truly loved me, and my home was stifling with my parents always overreacting about one thing or another. Here I’m my own pony. I have you, your family, Beast, and Gaelic Casúr to thank for that mentality. If you hadn’t let me into your hearts, I would’ve lost myself in this world, and who knows what would’ve become of me. I can never repay any of you. But I’ll gladly serve as your Admiral, as it might be the only service I can pay in return. I am your humble servant, your majesty.”
Dragonfly frowned. “Oh get up. I’m your friend because I enjoy your company. I don’t need you groveling at my hooves to satisfy me. I enjoy your company as a friend.”
Brazen Voice, now slightly flustered, rose and levitated his robotic torso and leg into place. “As you wish.”
He walked over to his bed, with cables trailing behind him. “We’ll make landfall tomorrow afternoon. It’s gonna be a busy day. You’d best get some sleep too.”
“Ok, good night Voice.”
* * *
The next morning, Beast woke up, as usual, earlier than the other ponies, and walked down to the galley to make breakfast. When he got there, he found Brazen Voice at the counter to the kitchen with a small radio, sipping on a mug of coffee. He had a bowl of oatmeal, and a buttered english muffin. He turned around, “Good morning Beast! I hope you don’t mind me making my own breakfast this morning. We’re going to make landfall today, and I wanted to be up early to catch a glimpse of our destination when it comes into view.”
Beast walked into the kitchen and leaned over the counter from the other side. “Where are we going anyway? I guess I just thought we were going on a cruise to nowhere. But then you took us north. I know you like the cold and all, but really?”
The Admiral chuckled, “We’re going to a small island just off the coast of what was once Trost. I admired it from afar in the war every time we passed it, going to and from missions. It’s just a little south west from Halbinsel. When I read the charts about it, I saw that it had an unusual warm current that reached out to it in the spring. Nopony will be there because they all went south, just like you would expected us too. We’ll have the whole island to ourselves. The water will be warm, and the air will be unseasonably warm because of it. It may be cold now, but it’ll be fantastic weather when we arrive.”
Beast smiled, “That’s actually pretty awesome! How long can we stay there?”
“I suppose, this is the third day of the trip, we should be able to stay today, and two more days. That’ll give us enough time for the return journey, and to get everyone back home. That’s also allowing a little time in case of any delays.”
Beast was very pleased, “All right! This is gonna be great!”
Brazen Voice downed the last of his coffee, “Indeed it shall! I’m going to go up to the bridge, come on up if you like.”
“Okay Admiral, I’ll head up there when breakfast is over.”
An hour passed, and Beast, Dragonfly, and Gaelic Casúr walked up to the bridge with their bellies filled. They found the Admiral looking over the chart table with a gramophone playing some old swing next to him. He stood, and walked over to a telescope at the front windows of the bridge. After a long look he produced his pocket watch. He returned it to it’s pocket and walked back to the ship’s wheel tapping his hooves to the tune the entire time. Startled, he looked up to see his friends entering the bridge. “Ah! Thank you for joining me! Our destination has just come into view. One moment please.”
The Admiral turned around to face the wheel, “Left rudder 3 degrees. Ready a starboard longboat for landing... Steady as she goes.”
Brazen Voice turned around once more, “We are on course and should make landfall within an hour and a half. Get some things together for the beach. Gael, do you have any sort of gadget with you to check the weather for the next couple days?”
He lifted a hoof with a hologram projecting cufflink. It displayed the weather forecast for the next week, and it seemed to be a warm, bright week ahead of them. Before he shut off his gadget, something caught his attention. “Hey Voice, you said that this entire ship was automated right? So there’s no crew, and that would mean we are the only ponies on board correct?”
The Admiral grew very confused, “Why yes. I automated her myself. It’s just us. Why do you ask?”
Gaelic Casúr looked closer to his hologram. “There’s another pony on board in engineering. I’m certain of it. And they have been moving up to the bridge ever since I turned this on.”
“That’s preposterous!”
Suddenly a mysterious white mare clad in black walked into the bridge. Brazen Voice whirled around and drew his sword and assumed the proper fencing position upon his hind legs. “UND JETZT WIR TANZEN!”
This strange pony, who had now jumped back in surprise, replied, “Whoa! Calm down Baron Von Crazy Hosen! Don’t you recognize me from the castle?”
Dragonfly instantly recognized her sister. “Blade! How did you get on the ship?!”
Blade had now relaxed a little, “I snuck on. You guys really aren’t that observant. I even heard all of Brazen Voice’s little story from the shadows.”
The Admiral was very confused, and embarrassed at his reaction. He sheathed his sword, and regained his composure, albeit with blushed cheeks. “Where were you all this time?”
The other four responded in sync, “Engineering.”
A mildly perturbed and still confused Brazen Voice welcomed his new guest. “I suppose we can’t throw you overboard now. Welcome aboard the good ship Freiheit! It’s been awhile since you snuck up behind me in the castle.”
“Yeah, it sure has. I suppose I really ought to ask for your invitation next time. But this is way more fun.”
“You are very stealthy indeed! This is the second time you’ve done that. I can deduce that you showed your face now because you heard that we are near our destination. Feel free to join us, there is no need to stay on the ship.”
Blade smiled, “Sounds good to me!”
Soon the island came into view and grew steadily larger and larger. Brazen Voice anchored the Freiheit offshore in still waters. The ponies got into a wooden longboat which they lowered to the side and rowed ashore. The island wasn’t very large, but it’s extinct volcano towered over the surrounding sea. Below it’s peak was a small forest of deciduous trees and conifers. It’s beaches were a brilliant white and surrounded the entire island, soft and lavish all around. Beyond the beach, a coral reef surrounded the island, enclosing a warm, calm lagoon. Upon setting foot on the island, Beast instantly ran into the forest to go find supper, and get to work on cooking it. Brazen Voice and Gaelic Casúr pushed the boat back out into the lagoon, and began to fish for lunch. Dragonfly and Blade stayed on the beach and relaxed.
The soft lull of the waves caressed their ears, and the sun stroked their coats. Once in awhile, a stray note of jazz or techno caught their ears from the boat. And now and again, one of the two fisherponies exclaimed as they reeled in a fish. Eventually, Dragonfly rose from the sand as a butterfly caught her eye. It fluttered into the woods, as if to beckon her. She playfully trotted after it, and found butterflies and dragonflies swirling around in a mystic dance, just inside the trees. She giggled as they landed on her coat, and tickled her with their wings. As she lifted her hoof into the air, a single dragonfly landed upon it and locked eyes with her. A gentle breeze wafted into the trees and let a single beam of light through the canopy, to touch her wings. They glistened magnificently, reflecting thousands of rainbows upon the forest around her. The dragonfly upon her hoof looked to its own wings, as if out of jealousy to the mare’s. He buzzed off, and once again joined the dance under the leaves.
Dragonfly herself decided to join this waltz in the air. She buzzed her wings, and spun in the air, fluttering along to what seemed to be a choreographed dance to welcome spring. Dragonfly was herself amongst the forest. She could feel its essence welcoming her, and every tree seemed to sing her welcome in the breeze. Suddenly, the butterflies and dragonflies scattered. She fell to her four hooves, and before she realized what had happened, Blade was laughing hysterically, androlling on her back. Dragonfly questioned with a displeased tone, “Blade! What was that for?! You know I hate it when you do that!”
The breeze became a cold wind that began to rustle the uneasy forest. Dragonfly took a quick step forward with her hooves dug into the ground and scolded with an almost timid tone, “Blade!”
The sun had once again been blocked by the trees, and the air became noticeably chilly.
Brazen Voice and Gaelic Casúr reeled their lines in and began to row ashore as waves started to rock the boat. Small clouds manifested themselves in front of the sun, casting a grey shadow over the island.
Blade’s laughter calmed, and she got to her hooves covered in chrome studs, spikes and black leather. “Relax, flower filly, it’s just for fun.”
“No, it isn’t!” Dragonfly defensively scolded again. “You ruined my fun. Why do you always have to do that?! You know I love to be--”
“Oh,” Blade interrupted, her irritated tone much more dominant, “so you’re allowed to have fun, but I’m not? I’m just messing with you.”
“It’s not even funny!” Dragonfly argued. “Why can’t you just leave me alone when I’m with the forest animals? Look at them now, they’re gone, ‘cause they’re scared.”
A wave splashed Brazen Voice and Gaelic Casúr ashore. They hopped out, and quickly ran over to the two mares to see what all the commotion was. They had heard most of the argument from the boat, and didn’t want any more of it.
Blade answered, “Well, geez, sorry. Remind me not to try to have fun with you.”
Dragonfly replied, “Just don’t--”
Brazen Voice spoke above Dragonfly, “Hey, hey, hey! Calm down! No need to be at each other’s throats! The butterflies and dragonflies will be back soon enough.”
Gaelic Casúr tried his hoof, “I know Blade wasn’t supposed to be on the ship, but the more the merrier! Please stop fighting.”
Dragonfly calmed down and hung her head, immediately apologizing timidly, “Sorry, Blade. I didn’t mean to snap. I guess I just wanted some time alone.”
Blade answered, “Yeah, it’s all right.”
The princess sisters made amends, and the cold wind died down almost immediately. The waves settled down, and the clouds slowly began to thin. Brazen Voice acknowledged this anomaly, “Awfully strange weather, don’t you think?”
Beast emerged out of the woods with a slain boar on his back, “What’s up with the weather?” The other four looked in shock that he had already killed a full-grown boar. Beast questioned, “What? It’s dinner!”
Dragonfly blushed and confessed to Voice, “I influence the weather.” She paused, “Most of it is involuntary, because it’s triggered by my emotions. But it never gets really bad, I guess because my abilities are kinda weak. It can be noticeable, though.” She added, “Sorry, guys. I’ll fix it,” and looked towards the sky through the trees, willing the clouds to disperse completely, revealing the blue sky and allowing the warm breeze to sift through the forest again.
Gaelic Casúr raised his eyebrows, “Well, that’s interesting.”
As they returned to their camp, Beast began to cook supper, Brazen Voice and Gaelic Casúr hoisted the boat further ashore. Brazen Voice began to take off his fancy duds, and fetched a strange looking package from the bow of the boat. he connected several wires from it to his foreleg, took off the last of his clothes and strapped it to his back. The package beeped and hummed as he removed his leg’s attachments. He stowed the sound equipment, and replaced it with entirely new additions. The other ponies looked to him with suspicion as he worked. Finally, he rose from the boat with a diving mask. Now they understood, he was just going scuba diving.
He walked over to the water and dove in. Suddenly, the water began to bubble, and he rocketed off into the water, diving deep into the coral reef. He had attached propellers to his leg, thrusting him through the water like a supersonic submarine. He burst from the water, and hovered above the water with a wriggling fish in his mouth. He spat out the fish and tried to cough out the taste. Then he rose above the middle of the lagoon and shut off the rotors. He dropped like a stone and did a cannonball into the still water below him. The Admiral stayed underwater for some time after that. His pack was supplying power to his prosthetics with several capacitors. They could power him for an hour of diving or low flight. The pack didn’t contain any air tanks at all. It did however have an aqualung, which would work like gills, filter out the air dissolved in the water, and give him air to breathe through his mechanical lung.
Under the water, the Admiral shot around like a torpedo. He saw many colorful fish, a few sea turtles, and even a couple stingrays. He found several large shells and carried them with him. Dragonfly, Gaelic Casúr, and Blade were swimming around, and splashing each other on the beach. Beast had occupied himself with roasting the boar in the sand. Brazen Voice popped his head up from below the water where the others were goofing off. Gaelic Casúr saw him, and jumped on top of him, pretending he was a shark. Brazen Voice dropped his shells and panicked, activating his rotors, hurling the two of them back out into the lagoon. Gaelic Casúr hung on for dear life as they skipped along the surface and dove down to the bottom. The Admiral thrust up after almost hitting the bottom and breached the surface, hurling the two of them thirty feet in the air. They climbed up and up until the rotors coughed out and they stalled. They fell back to the water screaming their lungs out and flailing wildly. Both of them struck the surface with a colossal splash.
The others looked on in fear that their friends had just drowned in the middle of the lagoon. Beast and Blade quickly pushed the boat into the water and rowed as fast as they could. Dragonfly flew as fast as she could into the middle of the lagoon where the water still rippled. Nothing could be seen in the deep blue water. Dragonfly bit her hooves in fear and fluttered back in forth, not knowing what to do. Two stallions suddenly burst from the water gasping and burst out laughing. Dragonfly scowled at the two of them and kicked water into their faces for making her worry. The two stallions splashed her back, wet down her wings, and made her fall into the water with them laughing just as hard as the other two. Beast and Blade dropped their oars, unamused. Gaelic Casúr called out to the two ponies in the boat, “Hey guys! Who made the bigger splash!?”
They answered simultaneously, “You.”
Gaelic Casúr raised his hooves in victory, “YES!”
All five of them got back to the beach and made a fire as the day wound down. Soon thereafter, Beast’s luau was ready to eat. They filled their bellies with the succulent pork and fish. Soon their full stomachs made them very tired and they decided to call it a day. Brazen Voice produced five hammocks from the boat and they strung them between the trees near the fire. Soon they were all asleep under the stars in the warm light of the fire.
The next few days passed far too quickly. They spent most of the days on the beach, and ate heartily thanks to Beast’s cooking and hunting. They hiked to the top of the mountain in the center of the island and looked out for miles. None of them set their hooves on board the ship for five days. They had everything they needed on the island, and were without a care. They swam in the sea and fished for hours on end. Brazen Voice found many shells from the bottom of the lagoon, which he planned to sell to put a little money in his pocket again. Naval renovations aren’t cheap after all. It wasn’t until Sunday morning that they turned their minds from their leisure.
They were all laying on the beach watching the tide roll in and listening to the lull of the waves when Dragonfly rolled her head to the side and moaned, “Ugh. I don’t want to do chemistry tomorrow.”
Brazen Voice, who had been resting his eyes with his hooves for pillows, perked up his head and chuckled, “Now why would you decide to pick tomorrow to start that when you have the rest of break?”
Dragonfly rose her head again and gave him a very puzzling look, “Well I have to get it done before class don’t I?”
The Admiral didn’t seem to understand what the problem was, “You see, this is why I did mine before we left.” He lifted his head ever so slightly to give a nod to the white and gold beauty in the brilliant blue before him, “That and I could turn my full attention to a fair lady.”
The Princess laid on her side to look at him head on, “You do realize we start classes again tomorrow, right?”
Brazen Voice snorted, “It would have to be sunday for that to be true now wouldn’t it?”
All four of the other ponies chimed in, “It is Sunday.”
The Admiral furrowed his brow presumably in a moment of frustration, but froze without notice. He remained that way for quite some time without a single movement to be seen anywhere on his body. Blade cocked her head to the side, “Um, Brazen? You okay?”
Nothing happened. But after a couple seconds of the others talking amongst each other about what they should do with the Admiral turned to stone, his ear twitched. The conversation stopped immediately as the other ponies turned to look at him in shock. But yet again, nothing happened. They continued to talk, but this time not taking their eyes off of their frozen counterpart. A sort of rumbling sound came from him but left silence once more. Beast slowly stood up at this and began to take a step towards him. Simultaneously, Dragonfly stood up and began to take a step backwards. Gael and Blade soon followed suit.
Beast cautiously extended a hoof to the frozen sailor who had yet to move. The rumble resumed momentarily and beast pulled his hoof back in reflex. He looked down to see that his hind leg had been shaking and making the noise. Drawing up courage, once more he extended his hoof closer and closer to the frozen stallion before him. Just as he was about to touch him, the Admiral turned his head in a smooth and relaxed motion towards Beast as if nothing was the matter calmly and naturally saying, “Yes?”
Beast recoiled in fright at his reaction. After quickly regaining his composure, Beast cocked his head and inquired, “Are you al--”
The Admiral instantly threw himself backwards and landed on all fours in a backwards spread eagle just barely holding himself above the ground on his back-stretched legs and shrieked in a tone so high that no-pony thought that such a deep-throated stallion like him should ever be able to reach. He shrieked on and on in this very unusual position with his lips flapping wildly about his teeth, contorting in the unearthly force of his cry. All four of the others clapped their hooves to their ears and dropped to the ground as Brazen Voice screamed on and on, mercifully dying away into a hysteric laugh. With a deep gasp, he began flailing wildly in the sand shouting, “WIE BIST DA KARTOFFELN AM DIE RADIO?!!”
With that, he took off storming around the beach like a raving lunatic screaming more random phrases in German. Sirens and sporadic explosions with smoke following soon after came from the Freiheit in the distance, only adding to the calamity. Gael and Beast took after him at a full sprint after sitting in awe on their haunches with the others for a moment. It took both of the giant stallions to tackle him to the ground. After they had dunked him in the lagoon several times, he regained his composure. The Admiral took a deep breath and plopped down in the sand on his tail. “Thank you. I needed that. You all might want to take a seat too. The boilers are just heating up now. It’ll be about five hours until she’s built up enough steam to get underway.”
All of the others shouted, “Five hours!”
“Yes! These things take time. If we do it any faster, we’ll blow the boilers and sink our only way home. And the only reason we can go this quickly at all is because two of the boilers have been online in reserve this whole time. Patience. She’s more than capable of getting us home on time. This is why I was at the docks before you all. In the meantime, shall we get things packed up and get aboard to enjoy a few last hours of vacation?”
The other four accepted his explanation and proposal. They put everything in the longboat and pushed it into the lagoon. With all four oars under sufficient operation, Brazen Voice stood in the bow, one hoof on the tip of the bow like he was crossing the Delamare as they approached the ship. Smoke continued to rise from the smokestacks as he continued bringing the ship back to life. Soon they were at the ship with the rowers tired and out of breath. Brazen Voice attached lines to the boat and signaled for them to be lifted onto the deck of the ship. The Freiheit responded promptly as though she was happy to see her Captain once again. Soon they were on board and the Admiral directed them to their cabins to stow their things for a rough voyage home.
Once they had finished doing so, Brazen Voice ushered them all to the galley, where he had begun preparing a meal for them. The first one that he had made for them and as a sort of farewell before they began their trip home. He had also set out a game board on one of the long tables in the galley. “Would you all care to pass the time away with me with a little game. This is probably an ancient antiquity to you youngsters, but it’s called ‘monopoly’.”
All four responded without a moment’s reparation, “We know.”
He turned away from the stovetop with a confused look on his face, “Really? You’ve played this before? I thought you guys were too into video games and whatnot for this sort of thing.”
Dragonfly replied, “As much fun as video games may be, we always used to play monopoly as a family.”
The Admiral smiled, “Well, isn’t that lovely! And now I won’t have to explain the rules!” He turned his attention back to his frying pan, “Let’s get started, shall we? I’ll roll first.”
Without any attention directed toward the board, Brazen Voice lifted up the die and rolled them with his magic to see what place he would take in the order of things. The game continued on this way until the food was finished, and it was then continued with plates next to each pony at their point on the board. Hours and hours passed with game and food.
Try as as they might, the passengers and Captain were still rather uneasy with the thought of returning to school on time. But they soldiered on trying to distract themselves to the best of their ability. At the end of it all, Brazen Voice and Gael were sitting at either end of the board with so much money stacked up between the two of them that it was hard for either of them to see the other. But they had to call it a tie, as the boilers had finished producing enough steam to allow them to get underway. They quickly packed up the board and absconded to the bridge. Brazen Voice took his helm and ordered the ship to raise anchors and begin transferring steam to the pistons.
Soon, the Freiheit was churning away from the reef and building up speed. Blade was the first to question Brazen Voice’s intentions, “Just how are you going to get us back to port in time to catch a train back to school? This ship is over 115 years old for crying out loud!”
Brazen Voice slowly turned around with a scowl on his face as deep and as hot as the fires of tartarus. “It would be unwise to challenge the honor of the ship that you currently entrust your life to. Much more so to insult the Captain who guides your only mode of transportation off the island. The Freiheit has seen many years and many seas. But she is by no means the slowest ship on the water. I suggest you all take a seat and strap in. This will most certainly be interesting. ALL AHEAD FULL!”
The ship lurched forward and her engines thumped with new purpose. Blade took a seat next to Dragonfly at the navigation desk. Once she had strapped in, Dragonfly leaned over to her sister’s ear, “Don’t ever do that again. I wanna make it home in one piece. Brazen Voice is in charge here. Don’t insult him.”
Blade shyly nodded in agreement. The ship was at full speed and her Captain looked to the seas over the bow with a fiery vigor in his eyes. Waves crashed above the flanks of the bow as she thundered forth, cutting the sea like a hot knife through butter. “Batten down the hatches! Unfurl rocket motors! Prepare for liftoff!”
Suddenly, the Admiral’s plan was clear. Beast strapped into the engineering officer’s chair. “I wonder how those new rockets are going to work!”
Beast’s comment didn’t register in Brazen Voice’s ears. “UP SHIP!”
Just as he uttered the command, Beast’s comment entered his thoughts. He could only bring himself to utter one phrase,
“Uh-oh.”
He hurled himself into his chair and yanked the straps as the rockets thundered to life. They engaged with a deafening thud, and slammed the ponies down in their chairs. “HANG ON TIGHT!”
The ship hadn’t been calibrated for the extra thrust of the new rocket motors, and shot to the heavens like a comet bursting from the sea. The force of acceleration hammered all of the ponies back into their seats. It became a struggle for all of them to breathe. Brazen Voice called on every ounce of strength to issue commands, “LEVEL OUT! MAINTAIN ALTITUDE AND COURSE!”
The ship shook violently, creaking and moaning from the new stress on her hull. Transonic winds shrieked outside the bridge, but the Freiheit kept picking up speed. Soon, the ship shook violently one last time, as a huge boom racked the ship. The Captain screamed, “WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!”
Beast screamed back, “I THINK WE JUST BROKE THE SPEED OF SOUND!”
A wave of pride and adrenaline washed over Brazen Voice, as he realized that his ship had just gone faster than any other ship in history. The flight smoothed out a little, and they flew through the skies like a bat out of hell for what seemed like an eternity. Time and their vision blurred together with the vibrations and the velocity of the ship. The fuel in the rockets didn’t seem to run out, so he continued the burn to make up lost time. Eventually Brazen Voice’s monocle flashed and alerted him that they had exhausted three quarters of their fuel supply, and were almost to the harbor. The Captain reacted quickly, “CEASE ALL FORWARD THRUST! ALL TO PORT!”
They hurled into the harbor, sailing on a wake of fire, carrying far too much speed. They were hurled against the sides of their seats. The Freiheit careened just above the waves of the harbor, flash boiling the waves to steam. “FIRE RETROROCKETS! CEASE ALL VERTICAL THRUST!”
It was too little too late. Soon, they were skipping on the harbor waters, turning wave they hit into a burst of steam. “ALL REVERSE!”
The ship barrelled on until it crashed parallely halfway through a dock, stopping herself in it and promptly setting it on fire from the heat of the motors. The Admiral breathed a sigh of relief, until he looked out of the bridge and saw the flames. He cringed, wondering how much it would cost him. Suddenly he heard a crack of thunder and saw a sudden pouring rain extinguish the flames. Soon thereafter a cyclone of wind swooped in and carried away the debris. The cyclone turned into a misty blue streak that careened back and landed on the deck. It revealed itself as a light blue pegasus in a coast guard uniform with a curious swirl in his feathers. The pegasus saluted the wary Admiral, who had risen from his seat and gone to his window to examine the commotion.
The Admiral walked out of the back of the bridge as the other four helped each other come to their senses. He trotted down towards the bow deck with haste to greet his guest. He stood before the hatch to the deck, straightened his coat, vest, hat, and tie before he opened the hatch. Taking a deep breath, he swung open the hatch with just a hint of pomp. He strolled out onto the deck with an air of distinction and his head held high. “Good afternoon! I must apologize for the ordeal I have created. The old girl got loose and ran amuck a little there.”
He got a good look at the pegasus, and saw he was just about his age as he shook his hoof, “Rear Admiral Brazen Voice, at your service.”
The pegasus returned his gesture undaunted by any of the Admiral’s prosthetics or antiquated speech, “Commander Cyclone Wing, sir. I’ve heard a great deal about you from my comrades. Seems you’ve made quite a name for yourself. And you have a flair for pulling some crazy stunts. I know my history, and may I say that it is truly an honor to meet you. But just out of curiosity, why was it that you sailed into harbor on a wake of fire and rammed into a dock?”
Brazen Voice cringed, he knew that this was going to be costly. “We had a deadline to meet, so I used the rockets to make up lost time. The controls on my ship were calibrated for her original motors, not the new ones I’ve upgraded her with. Given the extra thrust, she flew a little faster than intended.”
Cyclone Wing looked to the side of the ship at her exhausted motors. “I wonder why they don’t put rockets on ships like that anymore? So, how are you going to explain all of this to the authorities? Dock’s aren’t exactly cheap. In fact, the local guard will probably be on their way.”
Brazen Voice gritted his teeth and looked away as he thought of the consequences. The passengers had made their way down to the bow and poked their dizzy heads out of the hatch. Cyclone Wing lifted his hoof to wave to them with a big smile on his face. He seemed to pay no mind to the fact that the passengers were comprised of a half-changeling, a dragonfly-winged pegasus, an enormous clydesdale with futuristic technology, and a unicorn clothed like an assassin. “Hey everypony! Good to see you’re all in one piece!”
They walked out onto the deck, happy to meet a warm reception. Soon, a pudgy purple unicorn in a major's red civil defence armor accompanied by two in gold marched from shattered dock onto the bow. He shouted with a look of fury on his face, “What is the meaning of this! I expect a full explanation and compensation for your actions, by the power invested in me!”
Brazen Voice took in a reluctant breath to explain the situation, when Cyclone Wing whispered in his ear, “I now pronounce you stallion and wife!”
The Commander chuckled and turned to face the officer with a straight face. Brazen Voice couldn’t hold back a smile, but regained his composure quickly; much to the disdain of the major. The Admiral once again inhaled, this time in a much better mood only to be interrupted once more by the Commander, “Major, this ship has simply executed a test of her aerial boosters.”
Cyclone Wing looked to Brazen Voice as though he wanted him to complete his alibi. The Admiral cleared his throat, “Why yes! As you can see, the Freiheit is still completely operational despite her age. This test has accomplished its goals: not only has it shown that the Hammer Kingdom has cared for her to the utmost degree in my absence, but that the modern Navy could learn a thing or two from her.”
Brazen Voice, feeling exceedingly bold, strolled over to the major, whose face had turned as red as his armor. The Admiral stood on his back legs and pointed to the entrance of the harbor. “Not only did a 115 year old ship enter this harbor unannounced, but also fully armed, completely unstoppable by the port’s defences. If we were hostile, the entire city would be aflame as we speak. To my knowledge, the Hammer Navy possesses no modern ship that could boast such a claim. It would be to my council that such renovations should be greatly considered. Now concerning your dock. That also merely demonstrates the value of ramrods on modern ships. Such a tactic and design dates back to antiquity. But as you can see it is far from obsolete.”
The major was now shaking with fury. “AND JUST WHO ARE YOU TO MAKE SUCH ACCUSATIONS!? YOU AND YOUR CREAKY, RUSTED BUCKET OF BOLTS!? I’LL HAVE YOU COURT MARTIALED FOR TALKING TO ME LIKE THAT!”
Brazen Voice now looked down upon this coward, hiding behind his fabricated glory. His eyes took on a look of piercing wisdom in a keen stare through his pitiful soul “Rear Admiral Brazen Voice of the good ship Freiheit. Hero of Trost, and savior of Halbinsel. Undoubtedly you’ve heard my name from the coast guard and you think you want to show this son of a bitch a piece of your mind. Well here I am. All you’ve shown me is that cowards are still given false power to appease their incessant lips so those above them can have a moment of silence. I had thought better of this future.”
The major looked to his guards, and all around him in twitchy glances. “Well-- you need to respect your elders. You’ll pay for what you’ve done!”
Brazen Voice grabbed his shoulder with his robotic hoof. The guards did nothing to stop him. “Not only will I have you discharged for your insolence, It will take a miracle to save you from a firing squad. And if heaven has mercy on your sorry ass, I’ll personally see to it that every living moment you’re still breathing is one of pain and misery. Everypony in the entire Hammer Kingdom knows my name now, and I can already tell that they like me more than you. Not only do I not respect you, I don’t find you worthy to cast my shadow upon!”
The major, now dripping with sweat was about to open his defiant mouth, when the Admiral pulled him to his face until the bridges of their noses touched. He spoke with deeper voracity and glared with deeper disdain. “And if you think that my title was gained by the virtue of some lucky chance of being in the right place at the right time, you are sorely mistaken. I have sacrificed more than you have ever gained in twice my years, and yet you still call me your inferior. You don’t deserve your title, nor do you deserve your pitiful life!”
Brazen Voice shoved him back to the deck and drew his sword to his neck. The major screamed in horror as he scuttled back on his rear. His guards fell to the deck and laughed on their backs. After Brazen Voice was satisfied with his pitiful groveling, he sheathed his sword. “Now that you’ve heard my explanation of my perfectly reasonable, and profoundly moving demonstration, get the hell out of my sight. If I ever see your bombastic face again, I’ll personally see to it that you’re at the bottom of the sea within the hour.”
He turned to the guards as the major fled as fast as his stubby legs could carry him. “If he ever gives you trouble, you know who to call.”
They saluted with beaming faces, “Yes sir!” and trotted after their major who happened to be cowering in the nearest shadow.
Needless to say, the major was promptly relieved of his position, Brazen Voice had no fines placed against him, and soon the Hammer Navy began laying down a new line of cruisers with rocket boosters and ramrods. They would become very formidable vessels, taking lessons from the past to become incredibly lethal.
Brazen Voice sheathed his sword as Cyclone Wing turned to him, “Well that escalated quickly. You handled that very well I think.”
The Admiral smiled at his new friend, “I aim to please! By the way, how was it that you cleaned up my mess so quickly? I’ve never seen a pegasus do anything like that before.”
Cyclone wing smiled, and spread his wings, “My wings emit a special magic that allows me to grow and dissipate clouds with magical vapors emanated from them. Also my hooves are electrostatically charged. When I use the two of these together, I can control weather in a small area. When I saw the fire in the harbor, I spawned a raincloud and drained it of its contents above the flames. When the fire was out, I spun up a tornado and carried the debris to the lumber yard. Might I say that you have quite a ship to sustain all of that. She’s a beautiful one as well. They just don’t make anything like that anymore.”
The Admiral took this compliment and gained respect for this curious pegasus. “Well, you helped me get out of a bit of a spot today. So if you ever want to take a little ride on my fair ship, just let me know.”
A big goofy smile grew over the Commander’s face. “Wat? You mean like real talk? I get to go sailing on the Freiheit? I just have to say that you are a very nice pony, and ponies say nice things about you.”
He quickly produced a pen and notebook and began to scrawl something inside of it. “Here’s my phone number and dorm room. I’m enrolled at the School of Magic and Transcendence but do this to pay for tuition. Just let me know if you want to hang out sometime.”
Brazen Voice took a look at the paper with new interest. “You’re at SDSMT? I’m there too! In fact, we’re on the same dorm floor! How did we never meet before?! We must pass like ships in the night!”
Cyclone Wing squeaked with glee, “This is awesome! I’m in the same dorm as the Lost Admiral! We’re gonna be bestest buddies, and go get sandwiches, and play board games, and eat pumpkin pie--”
Brazen Voice cut him off, “Did you just say pumpkin pie?
“Yes?”
The Admiral’s mouth watered, “That dish has not graced my lips for over 100 years! I crave nothing more!”
They stared at each other for a moment, as the other four groaned in disbelief. Brazen Voice broke the silence, “Did we just become best friends?”
“Kinda...”
They laughed their hearts out as the rest cringed at the thought of another lunatic to deal with. Voice took a few breaths and regrettingly said, “Well, I guess I should probably get my ship out of this dock and get on the train to school. See you when classes start again?”
“Sure buddy,” He nudged him with the tip of his wing to turn him around, “Just don’t take out any more docks okay?”
He gave him a pat on the shoulder and was about to fly away, when he realized that his hoof was stuck to the unicorn’s prosthetics. Brazen Voice turned and looked to see the pegasus’ hoof arcing electricity into him as he tried to yank it away. Strangely, he didn’t feel any shock. He ignored this to push Cyclone Wing’s hoof off with his magic. They separated with a great flash of electricity, and regained their balance. Before anypony could make a comment, a low rumbling filled the deck. The Admiral felt his foreleg begin to give out and he almost collapsed, as he lifted himself to his back legs. He held his left foreleg with his right as he tried to figure out what was going on. His brain was overloading with signals it had never experienced before. They all seemed to be shouting one word: “Purge”.
The vibrations shook his entire body and his prosthetic flailed about wildly as it tried to make up from down with the data. Soon the vibrations became faster and faster and concentrated into his shoulder blade, producing an intense mechanical whine. All five of the other ponies had hit the deck as Brazen Voice hobbled about the deck trying to maintain balance. Then they stopped. All of the vibrations just stopped. And he was left holding his hoof making sure it was still on. He turned to his friends as they rose from the deck.
Brazen Voice smiled, and sighed. As he was about to calm his friends, he heard his own voice. He had to stop and think for a moment. He hadn’t wanted to say that, and didn’t know if he said it at all. What he was concerned about was a voice, much like his own that seemed to be speaking in his head. Later he would elaborate that this voice was merely his brain interpreting a very profound signal from his cybernetics into his own voice. That signal was, “Maximum subsonic discharge primed. Purge initiated.”
For a fraction of a second, fear flowed through his veins instead of blood. Before he could react, a gigantic ‘wub’ shook the whole ship as it burst from Brazen Voice’s shoulder blade subwoofer. All of the sound energy had excited the air around him into a plasma state which imploded immediately back into the subwoofer, and shot down his foreleg in a massive ‘a-dub’. The energy left his hoof in what could only be described as a blue beam of concentrated sound and plasma, directly into Beast. It drained for several seconds, and almost wubbed the ship, and everypony’s eardrums apart. After one final massive drop the brutal music ceased and the beam stopped. The Admiral’s foreleg vented plasma for a few moments as he stared in awe at what his “bass cannon” had hit. Every single wub had shot directly into Beast, leaving only a charred manifestation of what was once a pony. Dragonfly shouted to him, “Beast! Are you all right!? Say something!”
The char cracked all over the surface, and began to sluff off, revealing a violently shaking Beast, gritting his teeth, and unable to focus his wide-open eyes. He began to manage to speak between the shakes, “Ieee---I, I, I-I. I, can’t, s-s-stop... da, wubs!”
Brazen Voice looked at his scorching hot prosthetic still venting superheated air. “It would seem that your electrostatic hooves supercharged my sound system, Cyclone. That may come in very useful someday. All I’ll need to dispose of anything at anytime is a significant external power source.” The foreleg furled it’s attachments as it finished cooling. Somehow, the bass cannon had not damaged any of Brazen Voice’s prosthetics or even ripped his clothes. The futuristic materials were definitely designed to take a beating. Momentarily after the mechanics had stopped venting, the leg was cool to the touch, and Brazen Voice’s coat didn’t have even a single scorch mark on it.
Cyclone Wing tried to hold back laughs as he spoke, “Nothing says best buddies like a friendship-powered bass cannon!”
Beast quickly began to recover and the Admiral sailed his ship back to the museum. Cyclone Wing absconded the vessel and returned to his duties. After the Freiheit had docked the ponies disembarked and made their way to the train station. But not before Brazen Voice said goodbye to his ship. He walked to the bow, whispered sweet nothings to the figurehead, removed it’s horn, and kissed it’s golden seahorse in bitter farewell. Soon they reached the station with minutes to spare. Voice smiled, unable to contain his pride, “I told you I’d get you back on time!”
The other four didn’t seem particularly amused by this and grunted their thanks. The sun began to set in the west as the train departed. Dragonfly and Blade departed at the Capital to return to their castle. They would join the other three the next morning for classes. The sun hung low above the sea as they received their goodbye hugs from Dragonfly. The stars had come out by the time the other three arrived at campus. They were exhausted, but thoroughly relaxed by their little excursion. Classes would start again tomorrow and they’d be back in the hectic swing of things again.
Brazen Voice said goodbye to his companions as they went to their dorms. He walked to his own dorm down his hallway. Cyclone Wing’s door was closed, and the lights were off. He certainly was a fast flyer to beat them back like that. Brazen Voice made his way to his own room to find his roommate, Still Winds, sound asleep. He quietly set his things down and hooked himself up to the power grid as he undressed. Finally, he could crawl up into his bed and put his weary head to rest. He let out a great sigh. It was sad to leave the vacation behind, but at least his friends would still be around. The time for relaxation had passed, and tomorrow would bring with it a brand new wealth of knowledge to learn. A warm slumber passed over him as he eased his furrowed brow, and sweet dreams of his new life filled his eyes.the sea as they received their goodbye hugs from Dragonfly. The stars had come out by the time the other three arrived at campus. They were exhausted, but thoroughly relaxed by their little excursion. Classes would start again tomorrow and they’d be back in the hectic swing of things again.
Brazen Voice said goodbye to his companions as they went to their dorms. He walked to his own dorm down his hallway. Cyclone Wing’s door was closed, and the lights were off. He certainly was a fast flyer to beat them back like that. Brazen Voice made his way to his own room to find his roommate, Still Winds, sound asleep. He quietly set his things down and hooked himself up to the power grid as he undressed. Finally, he could crawl up into his bed and put his weary head to rest. He let out a great sigh. It was sad to leave the vacation behind, but at least his friends would still be around. The time for relaxation had passed, and tomorrow would bring with it a brand new wealth of knowledge to learn. A warm slumber passed over him as he eased his furrowed brow, and sweet dreams of his new life filled his eyes.
