Chapters Prologue: What We Need to Know
Equestria was in ruins after Discord’s reign. With the land devastated from his magic, it would take many years for the land to recover. It’s likely the country would have fallen if not for the efforts of the Alicorn Sisters Celestia and Luna. Over time the efforts of the two would eventually restore Equestria to its former glory, where the Ponies could live in peace and harmony. But not all was well: Celestia over time soon lost herself to the praise and love, becoming blind to the nobles doing things that she would have condemned. Luna meanwhile was shunned, though the reasons have been lost to history, many in the modern day believe that the nobles feared her headstrong nature and refusal to be beguiled by their schemes. Add to that her control over the ominous night, and the nobles slowly turned others against her.
Luna wasn’t alone however; there were those that showed her love and praise, among those being none other than one of the Pillars of Equestria Flash Magnus, who would become one of her closest friends. Luna would also gain a lover; a Winged Thestral named Star Hunter.
Star Hunter was a member of the Thestral Clan known as the Star Clan, named for the pattern on their wings which resembled the stars in the night sky. Star Hunter had gotten his name from his habit of flying into the night sky like he was trying to hunt the stars, when in actuality Hunter was merely finding a good spot to read his favorite stories. It was during one of these trips that he met Luna, who was annoyed because each time Hunter would unintentionally keep getting in the way for her drawing the constellations. The two ended up bonding over their shared love of the night and when Hunter finished his Guard training Luna made him her personal guard, where she later discovered that Hunter and Flash were best friends and had been for a long time, even going as far as to call each other brothers. Hunter soon proved to be quite different from other guards in that instead of trying to get the headstrong and boisterous Luna away from a battle, Hunter would give her a spear or some other weapon and let her fight beside him. His antics drove Celestia insane much to Luna’s amusement. Luna and Hunter grew closer as time went on, eventually leading to Flash and another Guard finding the two on Luna’s bed under the sheets, having just “rolled in the hay”. While the other guard was unamused, Flash actually found it funny and when word got out he defended the pair, even going as far as to say: “A guard in bed with a Princess ensures her safety, as the last thing an assassin would expect is a guard waiting under the blankets.” Celestia wasn’t happy though and tried to reassign Hunter to the frontline units, but in the end Luna overruled her.
A mouth would pass and the two had a big surprise; Luna was carrying a foal! News of this shocked everyone as it was once thought that Alicorns could not have offspring, but once it was time Luna proved it was indeed possible. The Foal however proved to be an even bigger shock; for the Foal was an Alicorn!
It took a bit of time to get the newborn Filly wrapped in a blanket as she apparently was tired of being constrained and ended up whacking Hunter and Flash in the face with her wings, which had the same pattern as Hunter’s. Flash and Hunter managed to get the Filly wrapped in the blanket, though neither came out of it unhurt: Flash ended up with a black eye while Hunter got a bloody nose, but both were smiling at the end.
The first year of the Filly, who Hunter and Luna named Star Wing, was among the best for them. But sadly… their happy life was not to last: During an attack by rogue Griffins Luna had been badly injured and likely would have been killed if not for Hunter, who took the would-be fatal blow for her and allowed her to be taken to safety.
While the rogues were defeated, Hunter’s wounds proved too much and he died later that night. Luna was completely heartbroken while Flash broke down crying, the loss of his best friend too much for the proud soldier to handle. While the two would eventually recover, things only got worse: Celestia fell deeper into blindness as the nobles started getting bolder, and though they knew they couldn’t harm Luna less they suffer her wrath, they soon discovered Star Wing was a much easier target. After the leader of the nobles, Lord Ego, managed to manipulate Celestia into jailing a five-month-old Star for the crime of crying too loudly, the young filly’s status as a target was cemented. Star would be treated worse than a slave, referred to only as “Moon Spawn,” given only the absolute minimum of food by cooks bribed by the nobles, and constantly thrown in jail for the pettiest of crimes.
But Star did have those who loved her: her mother tried her hardest to spend every moment possible with her while Flash, when able, would read her stories and share his meals with her. They weren’t the only two either; the other Thestrals, especially the Star Clan, treated Star Wing like one of their own and Flash’s fellow Pillars were also kind to Star, with Meadowbrook being one of the only medical Ponies outside of the Thestrals Luna would allow to treat Star, as those under the nobles’ employ either tried to not heal or or even harm Star.
Despite everything Star went through, she kept a bright smile and made jokes and quips. Thanks to Flash’s stories, Star gained a love for adventures and tales, and, much like her father, read every story she could get her hooves on. Star would even read stories to her mother in attempts to keep her happy, and even in the modern days many believe that if it wasn’t for Star’s positivity, Luna would have fallen far sooner.
Star soon grew to believe that if she could become a hero like the ones in the stories than those who hated her would change their minds, all she needed was a monster to fight and defeat.
Her wish came to her, but not at all like she expected.
Chapter 1: Into the Sea of Legends
The little alicorn filly called Star Wing burst from the forest and took to the sky. Though the storm clouds ahead flickered with lightning, Star's electric green eyes challenged the storm with a piercing glare.
To Star Wing, the storm was nothing compared to what was behind her. Behind her was pain; behind her was hatred. Behind her was the shattered remains of a life she should have abandoned long ago.
Why didn't she abandon it earlier, one might ask? The simplest answer of all; love. Her mother, Princess Luna, had needed Star Wing. For though she controlled the moon and watched over the night, no pony recognized her for the wonderful mare Star Wing knew. The ponies would rather heap all their praise and adoration on Celestia, Luna's elder sister and the controller of the sun.
Star's eyes - slit pupiled like her thestral father - contracted in anger. She remembered how Celestia had let the ponies' admiration corrupt her. How she let the ponies neglect Luna... and abuse her. When they had demanded Star - at five months old - be thrown into a dungeon for crying too loudly, Celestia had accepted it without question. When they ordered the cooks to leave Star the barest scraps for nourishment, Celestia didn't bat an eye. And now, when Luna finally had enough, accepted the dark persona of Nightmare Moon, and straight up fought her sister in an effort to make her see her and her daughter as equals, Celestia merely banished her to the moon without a care in the world.
Oh, how the thought of Luna shifting into Nightmare Moon made Star's gut churn. She had done her best to comfort Luna; she had entertained the princess of the night with tales of great heroes; dreams of how she and Luna would one day become mighty saviors of Equestria. How every pony would bow and scrape and apologize for all the years of pain and hate.
But when Luna fell to darkness, and emerged as Nightmare Moon, the ponies gave Star her opportunity. "There's your chance to be a hero," they mocked. "Go fight Nightmare Moon! Go prove you're not like her."
But how could Star fight her own mother? The only one that had loved her? Even in her darkened form, Star had seen Nightmare's eyes widen in recognition. Saw her reach out for her. Heard her whisper, "My beloved Star?" in a pain-creased voice.
Star couldn't do it. She couldn't fight her mother. She couldn't destroy the one pony who had loved her. So Celestia did it for her. And the so-called nobles laughed.
"We knew it," they crowed. "We knew it! You're nothing but disgusting Moon Spawn. Like mother, like daughter. You deserve to die same as her."
Star knew full well they would kill her; there was no doubt Celestia wouldn't stop them. She never cared before; why should she now? Luckily, there were some that looked out for her. Flash Magnus, her father’s best friend and an Uncle to her, among them; he spirited her away, helped her flee into the forest after giving her a pair of saddlebags with her belongings which included a bunch for her favorite books and her dad’s High Royal Order Metal, one of the highest awards in Equestria. Flash had ensured her escape, were it not for the storm clouds ahead of her.
"So, come on, you miserable storm," Star dared the black clouds as they enveloped her. "You've already thrown everything you can at me. I've taken it before, and I'll take it now!" She threw her hooves out in challenge. "HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT!"
The storm complied. A streak of lightning shot through the air, searing into Star's little body and hurling her from the sky. However, Star underestimated her young body's capabilities for flight; for instead of crashing into forests or land... she fell into the sea.
Freezing cold waves wrapped around her like a blanket, binding her in ice and pulling her down into a maw of black emptiness. Liquid pushed at her mouth, seeking to fill her lungs and drown her, no doubt like the nobles would have attempted.
"No!" Star thought in defiance. "This is not how my story ends!"
She lifted her horn, calling upon all her magical might. Her horn sparked in the dark waters, and exploded with light. A sphere of air briefly surrounded her.
But as the icy water pressed against it, the cold temperature reacted against the magic. Star felt the temperature drop below freezing. The cold struck her like a charging dragon. She lost her grip on reality. And as her vision faded away into darkness, her tiny sphere of ice floated with the currents, before settling against the ocean floor.
Time had no meaning to the ice sphere. With how deep it had sunk, there was no way to judge the time. No way to see the countless rises and falls of the moon and sun.
No way to tell how much time had passed... until they came.
The ruins of a once proud ship, touching down gently on top of the icy sphere. It wasn’t too long after that visitors came.
As the wreck was fairly deep down, the only creatures who could access it were creatures that could breathe underwater: Shark Ponies, Merponies, and Sea Ponies with Sea Serpents as support. Together, a large group of the aquatic creatures - all dressed in similar pirate garb that had been streamlined for movement underwater - followed down after the wreck. Withdrawing intact and sealed canisters, they took several trips to and fro, scavenging what they could from the wreck. While some of the canisters had been broken open and their contents exposed it still wasn’t that much of a loss, the only total loss in fact was the ship, known on the surface world as a “Bulk Merchant”, as when it had impacted the ocean floor the keel had broken in several places. But even then, with how fresh the wreck was the Salvage Teams that would be by later would be able to get a lot of resources out of it.
The leader of the team, a Shark Pony Stallion, smiled as his crew finished hooking up the last few containers and with two sharp tugs to the chains their loot was lifted up towards the surface, he then turned to another Shark Pony Stallion as he came over.
"That's the last of the loot sir, should we head up ourselves?"
"Not yet, we'll do one last sweep of the ship first," The leader said, gesturing with a foreleg. "I know the coming Salvage Teams will do their own sweeps, but better safe than sorry."
The second Shark Pony nodded but before he could respond a third voice spoke up.
"Sir."
The two turned to look at a Merpony Mare coming towards them.
"What is it, Coral?" The leader asked.
"I'm picking up a strange reading on the waterproof scanner, a lifesign... but it's not coming from the ship. Rather… from under it."
Blinking in surprise, the two Shark Ponies looked at each other then back at the Merpony.
"Under the ship?" the second shark pony asked. "It can't be the crew, all of them were able to leave before the ship went under."
It took a few minutes but the three gathered a small team with a few Serpents as the rest did a final sweep of the ship, they soon found the spot and after pulling some wreckage away and digging down, they hit it; a perfect sphere made of magically-strengthened ice.
But it was what was inside the sphere that had their attention: inside was a Thestral Filly curled into a ball and after a quick scan was shown to be alive and sleeping, it wasn't long before they spotted a horn along with the wings. The Filly was an Alicorn!
The lead Shark Pony took hold of the sphere, stared at the Filly within for a minute, then turned to his team.
"We'd better bring this up to the Archduke."
His team nodded in agreement as they looked back at the sphere and the Alicorn Filly within. Working together, they hoisted the sphere up to the surface. Where a massive dreadnought of a ship, far bigger than most surface ships and silhouetted by the sun, awaited them.
Star's vision slowly returned to her. Blurred shapes shifted and throbbed before her. Voices echoed in her ears as she struggled to wake.
"By the great spirits," one voice echoed. "An alicorn filly. All alone... what could have happened?"
"Is she still breathing?"
"Well physically she's fine," a third voice said. "Health is good, and she appears to have no injuries or any long-term effects from being frozen. Though she does seem to be a bit underweight for her age and a little malnourished. Not too badly but enough to be noticeable."
One of the blobs shifted closer to Star. She made out a thestral, eerily similar to the photos Luna had shown her of her father. He had her father's white mane, so similar to her own. He even had his - and her - electric green eyes, though this particular thestral's eyes were slowly widening in growing shock.
"It can't be..." he breathed out as he stared at the star pattern on her wings.
"Star Chaser? What's wrong?" Another member asked.
"This Filly..." Chaser turned to the others. "This is Star Wing! Princess Luna's Long Lost Daughter!"
"What?" "Impossible!" "But she vanished eons ago!"
The voices all jumbled together into a cacophony of gibberish, drilling against Star's ears like the babble of a cafeteria. She covered her ears with a groan, catching the attention of the others.
"Stop! She's awake! She's waking up!" the third voice declared, bringing a relieving end to the chatter.
Star slowly sat up, blinking the haze out of her eyes and wiping them with a hoof, before looking up at her surroundings. Several creatures of many different species stood before her; some pony, some griffon, some kirin, some minotaur, and more than Star could remember from her stories and the visits of various ambassadors that came to the castle on occasion. Star blinked as she tried to take in everyone around her; the only thing she could see in common among them was their pirate-like attire.
For a moment, silence reigned as everyone waited for Star to speak. The filly coughed, finding her voice... along with a memory of one of her favorite pirate stories.
"So..." she ventured out tentatively. "Are you guys going to use me to stop some sort of curse that turns you into werewolf skeletons?"
The pirates blinked, glancing at each other with surprise and confusion. "Wait, what?" rang out from more than a few mouths. Star, reading the room, gave a grin.
"I'll take that as a no." Noting how sore she was, Star stretched and cricked her back, sighing in relief. "Okay, then, who are you guys really? And... why am I here?" She looked around, taking in the masts and rigging that immediately told her she was on the main deck of a ship of some kind, though not one she was familiar with as this one looked to be far bigger than the ones she knew of, in fact the main deck reminded her of a castle courtyard. "Wherever 'here' is."
"You're on what is called the Dragon of the Depths, lass," A new voice spoke.
The crowd of pirates parted, to reveal one that Star knew could only be the Captain. He was a Western Kirin with a silver coat, a red, gold-striped mane on his head, neck, and top length of his tail, and red eyes with slit pupils. His back legs had the hooves of his Pony half while his front legs ended in the hand-like claws of his Dragon half with four fingers. His wings showed his Pegasus parentage as his wings were over-sized compared to Kirin who were born from either Earth Ponies or Unicorns with a wingspan of, by Star’s guess, fifty feet when fully extended. At the 'wrist' of the wing arms were small four-fingered hand-like claws similar to the ones on his front legs, the right one holding a large dragon-shaped halberd. Two fangs stuck out of his upper lips with the tips reaching to his chin, two half-a-meter long black horns jutted out from the back of his head under his very large tricorne hat and on either side of his long mane.
His tail was three times the normal length of most Kirin his age, who's tails were normally eight feet long on average, and was tipped with three scythe shaped blades with the shortest on top and the longest on the bottom. His tail was twenty four feet long, not counting the blades which was four feet on the longest one.
Draped over his shoulders was a cape normally worn by Kings, which along with his hat, gave him the air of Royalty. Star quickly recalled what she knew about Western Kirin, including that back when she still lived with her mother, whenever the ambassador for the Kirin would come to the castle for meetings or whatnot, he had always treated her with kindness and had even shared a number of stories of their home mountains with her.
From what Star could see, this one seemed to be slightly shorter than Celestia by maybe one or two inches give or take, though his massive hat which actually resembled a crown from its coverings and had two sets of long teeth braced on the sides, made him look bigger.
The Captain stopped in front of her and leaned his head down. "As for who we are, lass, we are the Outcasts of the Abyss. And I am Archduke Razor Tail."
Star nodded, glancing at his tail as it slowly swayed across the deck. "Explains the tail," she mused.
Razor smiled in amusement, and the crew chuckled. Grinning at their reaction, Star inclined her head in a bow.
"Well, good to meet you,” she replied. “I'm..."
"Star Wing; the daughter of Princess Luna," Razor Tail replied with a grin.
Star looked up, partially in shock. "My reputation precedes me?" she asked.
"More than you know, lass," the kirin replied, gesturing to the thestral that had been examining her from the start. To Star's surprise, he not only had a similar mane and eye color; he even had the same star-like pattern on his wings that she had. Though his didn’t have quite the same shine to them that Star’s had; they almost appeared to be decorative paint or perhaps tattoos, whereas hers were naturally a part of her wing fibers; a gift passed down from her mother, Princess Luna.
"You wouldn't happen to be familiar with the Star Clan, would you?" Star asked. "Maybe a certain - really awesome - Star Clan member called Star Hunter?"
The Stallion gave a smile in return.
"Yeah; I'm Star Chaser." His smile faded, "And I'm sorry to say, Princess, but you've been in that ice sphere for a long time."
Star shivered slightly, drawing the blanket she had been laying on around her. "Explains the cold," she muttered, cricking her shoulders, before giving him a grin. "Well, either way, thank you for releasing me." Her smile turned wry. "If this was a game, this would be the part where I tell you how to use the jump button, right?"
Numerous chuckles rose up from the crowd as Chaser gave her a small smile, which faded again as he said his next words.
"The thing is Princess, my line comes from your uncle Star Fighter. He was my ancestor."
Star's smile faded into confusion. "A-Ancestor?" she stammered, before looking up at Razor Tail. "H-How long was I a Star-cicle?"
Razor hummed as he laid down next to her. "What was the last thing you remember, Star?"
Star looked down. "I... my mother..." A haunted look came over her. "She changed. The nobles, they... hated her and hated me. B-But I was so sure we were going to earn their love. But then my mom... turned into something dangerous. Something scary. I tried to fight it, but... but she was my mom! How could I...?"
Star started to shake her head, struggling with the memories as they came crashing back. Realizing what was happening, Razor gently laid a wing on her, the wing hand gently rubbing her head.
"It's okay Star, you're among friends here." He gave her head a gentle nuzzle.
Star froze. Only her mother had ever nuzzled her like that before. Her mother who...
The dam broke. She buried her head into his shoulder, sobbing as the horrible memories came back.
"They took my mom...!" Star whimpered in despair.
Razor tightened his wing around her and rested his head on her back as he comforted her.
"Don't hold any of it back Star, just let it out."
Star wasn't sure how long she cried, holding onto Razor like a giant teddy bear. But faintly, she managed to remember her rational side.
"Come on, Wing," it said in her head. "Crying's not going to help for long. We gotta be heroes. Come on... calm down..."
Sniffling, Star wiped at her eyes. "I-I'm sorry," she mumbled, struggling to keep her voice level. "I... she just..."
Razor hushed her. "It's okay," he assured her, gently stroking her head. "It's perfectly okay."
Star sniffled, and managed a faint smile at the Captain. She sighed. "My... my mom... tried to protect me. Celestia never did; she let the nobles throw me in jail when I was a kid... just for crying."
There was numerous loud shouts, some louder than others, of “WHAT?!” from the gathered crew, with one of the Pony pirates - a snow white pegasus mare with an eyepatch topped with some sort of ring - snarled in anger. "That horrible mare..." she hissed.
"My mom tried to protect me..." Star continued. "Flash Magnus too. But it got too much for my mom. She snapped... they overpowered her... sent her away... and I was worried they'd do the same to me. So I ran… Uncle Flash helping me escape... and a storm tried to stop me. I got launched into some water, and I tried to keep myself alive with a bubble spell..." She closed her eyes, and sighed, her voice much more even. "And then I woke up here."
Star Chaser rubbed his hooves together nervously. “Is there… anywhere you want to go?” he asked. “Maybe back to…”
“No!” Star barked, her voice louder than usual which caused several of the crew to flinch from the sudden pain in their ears. She caught herself, and cleared her throat. “No,” she said more evenly. “Equestria isn’t my home anymore.” She managed to crack a small, if humorless, grin. “I think the ponies there have made that more than clear.”
Razor tsked in sympathy. “Well, lass, "You wouldn't be the first alicorn we've encountered or helped, and you're still a filly. As beautiful as the Sea of Legends is, it is still a dangerous place, especially to youngsters like you. So; if you choose, you can sign up as one of the crew aboard this ship.”
Star cocked an eyebrow. “Be a pirate?” she asked, intrigued.
“You'll be pulling your weight around like the others,” Razor admitted. “But as you are still a foal, it wouldn't be anything too physically demanding for now. But in exchange: you'll be under my protection, you'll receive a full share of treasure like the rest of the crew when the time comes to divide the plunder, and you will be treated with respect like the rest of the crew. As the Pirate Lord of the Sea of Legends, I hold a lot of power here and judging from the books we found in your saddle bags, you always wanted to be a hero right?” He finished with a playful grin.
Star chuckled sheepishly as she noticed said bag, which was bursting with books about heroes and legends alongside her other belongings, which included her father’s medal around her neck. “Maybe a little.”
“Well now you have the chance to be one. It'll take time but you'll find those in the Sea of Legends, or SOL for short, are far more willing to thank those who help them."
He removed his wing and stood up, walking in front of Star and offered her his hand. "So what do you stay Princess? If you chose not to join I know a few individuals that will make sure you're safe until you're ready for the world. Just know that even here an Alicorn can attract a lot of attention, not all of it good."
Star nodded, and started to reach for his hand… before a sudden growl rang out. Everyone spun, looking for the source in confusion. A second growl sounded, and Star found the source: her own stomach. As it gave a third growl, she swallowed and chuckled sheepishly. Razor just chuckled in amusement.
“Hungry?” he mused. “Wouldn’t surprise me. After all, a thousand years is a long time to go without food.”
Star chuckled. “Yeah, and getting chased off by angry nobles didn’t exactly leave a lot of time for lunch.”
Razor nodded before turning to Chaser. “Chaser, bring her to the Tavern,” he said.
“Right away, sir,” the thestral agreed. Star rose up, cricking her legs like a cat or dog, before joining Chaser as he led her to the tavern.
Chapter 3: Imperator's Grave
Razor and Night Fire walked along a well used path before coming out into what the former called “The Coves.”
“Coves?” Night Fire asked, glancing around in intrigue.
“The Coves are the heart of Imperator’s Grave,” Razor explained. “And where the vast majority of the inhabitants lived.”
Night looked around in wonder at the area of twisting waterways, docks and buildings that were filled to the brim with homes and businesses ranging from small family owned shops to large pups and tavern and everything in between with winding streets of cobblestone all over the place.
Night noticed that the buildings were all made out of three things: rock, bones of various sizes, and ship hulls. Banners and flags of many different styles and designs hung all over the buildings with rope and chains strung in between them, from which lanterns of many designs and other items hung. As Night Fire gazed around in awe, she noticed that among the flying creatures she was familiar with, like pegasus ponies, griffins and dragons, She also saw what she could only describe as large wyverns: navy blue in color and looked as one would expect a wyvern adapted to life in the sea. Many were sleeping soundly, a few even lightly swaying to the shanties that filled the air, while others were awake and flying about. Night saw what she guessed was a mother bringing a mouth-full of fish over to a nest on top of one of the buildings, a nest made of large rib bones, old cotton sails, and ship planks. The wyvern opened her mouth and dropped the fish she had been carrying into the nest where Night saw baby wyverns happily start eating. One got too close to the edge and tumbled out, only for a passing pegasus stallion to catch it and gently place it back in the nest, the mother giving him a soft nuzzle as thanks.
“Oh, my Faust!” Night whispered in glee. “Are those Sea Dragons?!”
“Sea Wyverns, actually,” Razor replied. “A type of super predator that usually lives in deep waters hunting large masses of fish and large crabs and lobsters. The ones around here call Imperator’s Grave their home and nesting ground. They’re used to the inhabitants that have lived here for many generations and as such peacefully coexist with them, part of which you just saw.”
“WOW!” Night squeaked, practically dancing on the spot in glee. “I love dragons so much! Getting to see one now…” She giggled like a filly on Hearth’s Warming Eve.
“Remember, Night,” Razor noted with a light-hearted chuckle. “It’s Sea Wyverns.”
“Right-sure,” Night said, though her eyes remained on the nest of tiny sea wyverns, her electric green orbs sparkling with joy. “Sea dragons…” she whispered as she walked after Razor.
As they continued down the street, Night got a curious look in her eye. “So… I get that it’s probably been like this for a time, but… who came up with the name? Imperator’s Grave?”
“Well,” Razor replied. “Let me give you a little history lesson: While no one knows the exact date and time, it is known that long ago, long before even the first Hearths Warming at around a thousand years at least, an individual known simply as “The Imperator” traveled the then uncharted Sea of Legends with his crew, seeking fame and fortune. One dark, still night, the Imperator had a dream; one of a place where he would find what he sought. He searched for weeks before he found that place: a massive archipelago of towering cliffs, rock formations of all types, shapes and sizes, several inlets, many long abandoned structures of a lost civilization, and vest cave networks with many islands both large and small surrounding the archipelago. The Imperator realized that this place could become something grand so he and his crew built what would be the very first port in the Sea of Legends, peacefully coexisting with the native Zebra Tribe after he freed them from the Leviathan that had enslaved them. As the years passed the Imperator would eventually leave the land of the living behind, passing on with a proud and happy smile on his face and surrounded by the vast wealth he had gathered over his long life. The archipelago, which would become known as “Imperator’s Grave”, would grow into what it is today: A towering, sprawling, and thriving city built of rock, shipwrecks and bones of sea creatures where those swept up by the tides would find a safe haven and a place to start over.``
Night gazed around at the site. “A place to start over…” she murmured. “That’s something I need now more than ever…”
“Now let’s visit one of my favorite places.” Razor said as he lead Night onwards. As they walked, Razor pointed out the various locations such as the “Kraken’s Pit”, a series of nine large open-air pits close to the center of Imperator’s Grave that reached below sea level, some up to a mile deep, with roaring waterfalls along the edges of each pit. Throughout each one was a network of chain and rope that resembled a spider web with multiple structures hanging down from random points with net-enclosed rope bridges connecting each of the buildings to each other and the pathways along the edges of the pits.
Night watched the waterfalls as they carried water down into the pit. “I’m guessing people around here don’t have much problem with noise, eh?” she quipped.
Razor chuckled. “Sound-dampening spells ensure the noise isn’t a problem.” He indicated the structures. “This is where those with little to no coin live,” Razor explained. “In homes made of the captain’s quarters of small ships like sloops and the skulls of large sea creatures suspended above the white waters below by those thick chains and rope that was kept safe though dedicated maintenance crews.” He shrugged. “It may be the closest thing to “slums” in Imperator Graves, but the housing of the Kraken’s Pits are free of charge and the houses can comfortably hold one to a small family of five.” He grinned. “Plus the white waters below make for excellent fishing.”
Almost on cue, Night noticed a small group hauling what looked like a very large lobster mixed with a shrimp covered in heavy grey chitin plates.
“Dang!” Night said, pointing to the creature. “Looks like a lobster and a shrimp went down to Funky Town!” That caused Razor to snort as he tried to keep from laughing while those in earshot had directions ranging from snorting to laughing.
“That, Night Fire, is a ‘Salt Lobster.’ Ugly as sin yes, but they’re very good eating, especially with rum. The meat from Salt Lobsters is in high demand around the Sea of Legends, but the creatures are very dangerous to hunt and many a would-be hunter has fallen to their claws.”
Night eyed it’s large crab-like claws, and shuddered. “No kidding. I wouldn’t want to be pinched by those.” Her ears perked. “Do you guys still have that holiday where you get pinched if you’re not wearing green? Because I’m pretty sure everyone would be wearing green around something with pinchers like that.”
Razor couldn’t help but laugh at that. “Keep making quips and jokes like that, Night and you’ll bond with the Dragon’s crew in no time.” He finished with a toothy smile. “But to answer your question: yes, that holiday is still around.”
"Ah, good." She smiled at his compliment. “Can't help with the jokes, by the way,” she added. “Other ponies - at least the younger ones - tolerated me a lot more when I cracked jokes or made them laugh. A funny Moon Spawn is more fun than a broody Moon Spawn, as they said.”
Razor nodded, agreeing with her.
Soon he led her to a fifteen-story building that to Night resembled a hotel or perhaps a breached cruise ship. Above the entrance was a large sign with the words “Sea Oasis” on the face.
Night tilted her head. “How can an oasis be in an ocean? Oases are spots of water in deserts, but seas are nothing but water. So… is it fresh water, or… I'm overthinking it, aren’t I?” She turned to Razor, who gave her a toothy smile.
“This here, Night, is the Sea Oasis Tavern. The largest of its kind on Imperator’s Grave and the most popular. First built by the Imperator it has become the favorite hang-out of many a pirate, including many legendary ones.”
“Legends? Stories?”
Night eagerly followed him through the doors, letting the sounds and smells inside flow over her like a rogue wave. Chatter and songs filled her ears as her nose picked up the scent of rum and cooking, the latter of which caused her to start drooling slightly as her stomach growled, much to Razor’s amusement. As they entered the building, Night took a look around: Unlike most buildings Night knew of, the interior of the Sea Oasis was rather open with only a small amount of walls here and there, in place of walls were pillars of various sizes made of metal, wood, and bone. It reminded Night of a library, only instead of shelves filled with books, there were platforms with bridges and walkways where the customers sat, ate, and drank. Even though Night Fire wasn’t a changeling, she could still feel the sheer positive emotion that hung in the air; far different from the dinners she once had with her mother among the nobles and what Night would call “False Emotions”. While those had always been stuffy affairs with more than a few glares at best sent her and Luna’s way, here she knew that it was all genuine: The various creatures talked and laughed with joy, happily feasting and drinking without a care. While much different than what Star was used to, she couldn’t deny that she found this to be much better.
Several of the customers noticed Razor and greeted him warmly as he returned the greetings, even ruffling the mane of a young Colt and saying that he’d grown so much, the colt laughing happily in response. Some thestrals came up to Razor and chatted for a minute before one of them noticed Night Fire standing next to him.
“Who’s this dragoness, Razor? She doesn’t look like yours.” He asked as he leaned his head up to get a better look.
Razor gave a sly smile and leaned over to Night Fire, whispering to her.
“I know you said other’s shouldn’t know about you yet, but trust me; these folks can be trusted. You’re among friends.”
Night Fire thought for a minute, but the temptation of meeting her own kind was overwhelming, and she nodded. Razor gave her smile and turned back to the thestrals.
“Well my friends, would you believe…”
Behind him, Night Fire let her spell reverse; flames crackled and smoked around her, exposing her horn, her ruffled white mane, and soon enough, her young filly body. She grinned as the light from the last few sparks of her lowered spell shined off the shocked thestrals’ eyes.
“A long lost Princess of Equestria?” Razor finished with a grin.
Jaws didn’t just hit the floor, they went through it as things went dead silent all around, at the sight of a Princess many thought was gone for good. One of the thestrals, a winged mare, found her voice first.
“Pr-Princess Star Wing?! Is that really you?”
Star smiled. “In the flesh.” She glanced down. “I’d say what’s left of it, but… there’s quite a bit left.”
Another thestral - a cave stallion - spoke next.
“Everyone thought that after you fled into the Everfree that you were…” He trailed off.
“It seems reports surrounding my death were... greatly exaggerated.” She quipped, causing many outbursts of laughter to sound out around the Sea Oasis.
“So it would seem,” the thestral mare said, before a curious look came over her face. “I have to ask though: How did you end up with Razor? Not that you couldn’t have picked a better creature as a protector. If he’s looking after you, you have nothing to worry about.”
“That’s good, because I was already at my worrying capacity,” Star replied.
Jumping onto a table, Star dramatically recounted her story; from Flash Magnus helping her escape to her angrily challenging the storm, leading to her being tossed into the sea. After guessing how her backfiring magic put her into a cryo-induced coma inside a magically sealed sphere of ice, Razor picked up the story, explaining how they’d been salvaging the wreck of a Northern Trade Union Bulk Merchant that had gone down during a storm the night before when the team had found Star in that ice sphere and brought her to the Dragon, where they had unfrozen Star and in short, she had joined the Outcasts.
“After all,” Star concluded. “Where else was I going to go? It’s not like Equestria wanted me.” She glanced around. “I’m pretty sure getting chased off into the sea is a good indicator that you’re not wanted, right?”
She managed to sound like she was joking, but around her the various creatures gave Star looks of understanding; many of those in the Sea Oasis could never return to their homelands for one reason or another.
“But enough about me,” Star insisted. “What about the rest of you?” She walked down the length of the table. “Captain Razor told me that this was the dwelling place for living legends of the seas. What stories and fables have I missed out on while I was sleeping? What great deeds have you all accomplished?”
Razor had a large smile on his face as Star began to hear just some of the many tales those on Imperator’s Grave had to tell, from what he could see it seemed that she was in her element: Her joy was as clear as a cloudless day as the customers around her told her their stories, though they were careful to leave out any details that she didn’t need to hear at her age. Despite being technically over a thousand years old she was still a filly thanks to being frozen for such a long time.
His smile fell. In a way, Star had avoided a fate worse than death. She was asleep for that entire time and that had been a good thing. Razor knew all too well what it was like to be in a tight, dark place for a long time. Only those he deeply trusted, like his Head Officers, knew his true story: Razor had been born to a loving mother in the form of a Pegasus Mare by the name of Silver Winds, in fact he was the splitting image of her by having the same mane and coat colors. The only color different was that her eyes had been emerald green while his were red.
His father… to put it simply, was so rotten to the core that not even the creatures in the Kirin Mountains would so much as lay the tip of their tongues on his corpse. And that’s saying a lot. Razor’s father was an Earth Pony who had dealt in things not even the worst nobles in Canterlot would dare touch with a thirty-one foot pole, including several acts of high treason which Razor knew was one of the only crimes to still carry the death penalty. The only reason Celestia hadn’t “taken care” of him yet (and not for a lack of trying) was because he was very, very good at covering his tracks and rarely stayed in Canterlot at all. The worst of his crimes was what he had done to Razor and Silver Winds.
Razor’s birth hadn’t been… consensual on Silver Winds’ part, and Razor hadn’t been the only one. He had learned that he actually had a younger brother, who was no longer among the living thanks to their father abandoning him to a rival. Razor hadn’t found much left, but gave what he did find a proper burial and hoped his brother was at peace. As for Razor himself: When he was five years Razor had been thrown into a small cupboard and pretty much abandoned to die as his “father” only saw him as something less than a living creature and cast Silver Winds to the waves in a place called “The Lost Tombs”. Seven long years Razor had suffered in that place until he finally broke free, seven years of his life lost, his foalhood that he’d never get back.
He slowly and carefully let out a sigh that no one noticed, he remembered the escape before falling into the sea, then waking up at a place called “Ironclad’s Rest”: A massive ship graveyard very deep in the Sea of Legends, the place where the Outcasts of the Abyss were born.
The place where he met the love of his life: Atlas Moth.
While Razor’s father was still around, Razor and the Outcasts had vowed that they’d catch him one day. He had managed, if just barely, to evade the Outcasts’ claws several times but both he and Razor knew his luck was running out. And soon, Razor would see that his father was put in an unmarked grave and forgotten.
While he’d never found any proof, Razor was sure that his father was part of the NTU.
And as far as Razor was concerned, the only thing he had gotten from his father was the red eye color, and even then those that had encountered his father had said, even if they were unaware of the relation, that Razor’s eyes were much nicer to look at.
Giving his head a small shake he looked back at Star, smiling again as the filly listened with undivided attention to the various tales she was told. In a way, he saw himself in her: A lost soul that had been shunned and forgotten, much like so many of the Outcasts.
Razor gained a determined feeling in his chest as his thoughts started talking.
‘Star Wing, you and I are more alike than you think. While I may not know the full story behind your pain, this I do vow: I will give you the life that you were wrongly denied so long ago; a life where you’ll be loved for who you are, a life where you are loved by those around you, a life where you will grow into one that touched many hearts.
A life where you’ll be the hero you always wanted to be, and the Outcasts will be with you the whole way Star. You may not know it yet, Star, but you found a true family with the Outcasts. I know that Atlas, Snowy, and Zenith will be better aunts to you than Celestia ever was.
Those fools in Equestria so long ago were blind to your potential Star, but I’m not, and you have plenty of it Star.
You have my word not as a Pirate, but as a Kirin. And we Kirin take giving our word very seriously.’
As Razor came out of his thoughts he noticed none other than one of his old mentors sauntering up to the Filly, he chuckled. ‘This is going to be interesting.’
Star was having the time of her life, listening to the various stories those around her had to tell. She turned around as the next one, stopping and looking up in awe at the pirate that had stepped up to her.
He was a tall Earth Pony Stallion with a brown coat and a long and thick graying black mane, beard and tail, all three of which had slow-burning cannon fuses tied into them. He wore a tricorne hat with a cluster of white feathers off to one side, a coat, waistcoat, shirt, pants, and boots, all in black.
Star sat there in awe; while she didn’t know this pirate, he gave off the vibe of a figure of legend that sparked her curiosity. For a moment, she was silent, before pointing to the cannon fuses tied into his beard.
“That… is freaking awesome,” she commented.
The pirate chuckled light-heartily at Star’s quip as he sat down.
“Well lass,” He began, his voice aged yet carrying a wise tone of one who had seen it all, done it all, and survived. “I will admit: Never thought in me remaining days I’d see another legend come to life.”
Star chuckled, raising an eyebrow in disbelief. “Another legend?”
“Well lass; by legend I mean a young Princess thought lost so long ago, yet she is here before us alive and well.”
Her laugh had a shakiness to it. “Seems a bit far-fetched, I mean… I didn’t really get to do anything legendary. Not for lack of trying, of course, but...”
The Pirate chuckled. “Perhaps not, but you were the very first alicorn to be born after all.” He frowned slightly, “And the poor treatment you were given is also well known here. Razor wasn’t kidding lass: you’re among friends here. After all: Many of us have a deeply rooted hatred towards most nobles for those reasons, a number having the dishonor of experiencing it first hoof.” He then cleared his throat. “But forgive my manners, lass, I’m Blackmane: Former Pirate Lord and one of the most well known and feared pirates to sail the seas, though I’m quite old now and have long left my sailing days behind me. I’m also one of your good captain’s mentors.”
Star looked at Razor who confirmed it with a nod of his head as Blackmane continued, telling Star a few of his own tales. Her eyes were wide with awe as Blackmane retold his exploits as a pirate; how he was the scourge of the Sea of Legends and feared for his prowess in combat.
“How did Razor luck out with a mentor like you?” Star whispered eagerly.
Blackmane noticed that Razor was called over by an Earth Pony Stallion named Rook, one of the Outcast’s Recruiters, and smiled as he turned back to Star.
“Well Lass, I met Razor when he was only a teen: At the time a meeting between the various Pirate Lords, known as a “Brethren Court”, was being held. You see Lass; a Brethren Court is only called when events that affect all Pirates come into play. In our case a dangerous Pirate Hunter had been roaming the seas, killing any and all Pirates he came across. It had gotten so bad that the Court was called, which is where I met Razor. The meeting didn’t really get far because at the time most of the Pirate Lords were… what’s the word… full of themselves. Their “plan” was to surround the Pirate Hunter in an ambush and blast his ship until it was nothing but splinters. However while the other Lords were arguing on who would lead the fleet, I noticed this teenage Pegasus-born Western Kirin studying the map closely so I asked what he was doing. I startled him as he jumped a bit, but he started explaining before the other Lords cut him off saying they didn’t need advice from a kid, except for one: Lady Silver Sword.”
Blackmane smiled fondly.
“Of all the Pirate Lords at the time, Lady Silver Sword was the best of them. She had built an empire from scratch right out of Imperator’s Grave, though the Pirate Hunter had caused it to collapse and she wanted revenge. Despite being one of the most dangerous Pirate Lords of her time, she was also a very friendly and even motherly sort who valued her crew and was as loyal to them as they were to her. You would have loved her Star, she had many a tale to tell.”
He frowned and shook his head. “Sady, she’s no longer among us. She was killed in that battle.”
Star frowned, looking down. “I’m sorry,” she said. “She sounds like a great mare.”
“She was; her death was mourned by many. Silver Sword silenced the other Lords,” Blackmane continued, “As her wraith was highly feared, and she gently spoke to Razor, asking him to say his piece. Razor explained that from what he’d heard and read up to that point, he’d come to believe that the Hunter’s ship was an “Armored Ship.”
Star’s ears perked. “Armored Ship? Like a ship that’s… a knight?”
“Not quite lass, though a good guess. Ships like Frigates, Sloops, and so forth that have been built with a special kind of armor that all but renders them, or the hulls at least, immune to cannonballs though shells will still get through. Razor explained that if the Hunter’s ship was armored then surrounding it would be a death wish, so he proposed another idea: Close to the place where the ambush was to take place was a narrow channel. Razor’s idea was to use our fastest ship to lure the Hunter into the channel, and once in place pirates armed with muskets would spring up and fire barrages into the main deck while those able to breath underwater would climb in through the open gun ports on the lowest gun deck. Both Silver Sword and I realized it was a perfect plan, but the other Lords refused to listen and went ahead with their plan.”
Blackmane facehoofed, while Star winced.
“I’m guessing the other Lords paid for that,” Star mused.
“Did they ever, as it turned out; Razor’s guess was right on the mark, the Hunter’s ship was an Armored Ship and he slaughtered us. Quickly the only ones left were me and Silver Sword, and she was fatally wounded after a shot exploded next to the helm. That was when Razor came in. After he had put forth his plan, Silver Sword saw potential in the lad and brought him aboard her ship with his friends, one of whom you’ve likely met already, with the intention of mentoring him afterwards. I was already an old Pirate by this point and had been thinking of retiring, and I too saw potential in the lad. Razor went up to where Silver Sword was lying and they exchanged some words. I was too far to hear what they were saying, but I saw her lift her hat off her head and place it on Razor’s head.”
Star looked for Razor Tail, specifically his hat. “So that’s where he got that from…” she mused.
“Razor has modified it over his life as a Pirate Lord, but it is one of his most treasured items. After Silver Sword gave him her hat, he then took the helm of her ship and moved towards the channel, and I knew immediately what he was planning, and as I was closer I told my crew to set up our ambush. To make a long story short: We won thanks to that plan. The Pirate Hunter followed Razor right into the channel and was one of the first to fall.”
A proud smile appeared on Blackmane’s face. “That was Razor’s very first ship capture.”
Star smiled. “Sounds like a mission for the story-books.”
“Afterwards I boarded Silver Sword’s ship to find her on her last legs, her wounds were too severe. Razor sat down next to her, and she gently reached up to rub his cheek. She then passed her Piece of Eight to him, making him the next Pirate Lord in her stead, and told him he would make a great Pirate Lord before she closed her eyes for the final time. I started teaching the lad everything I knew, for I knew Silver Sword was right.”
He looked over as Razor finished talking to Rook and was making his way over to them.
“And she was indeed right; Razor’s lived up to our expectations and more.”
Razor reached them and placed a hand on Star’s shoulder, having heard the last bit of the story.
Star smiled up at him, placing her own hoof on his hand. With a story like that, she knew she was going to have quite a lot to live up to.
‘But I’m ready for it,’ she insisted to herself, hoping her thoughts reached Razor through her smile. ‘I promise you, Captain, I’m going to prove myself to you. I’m not sure how, I’m not sure when. But if you could do that… so can I.
I just need the right opportunity.’
As Star listened to the various tales and stories the members of the Oasis had to share, no one noticed a particular pirate who's sunken hazel eyes watched Star with an intrigued grin.
This pirate was built like a minotaur, with curled ram horns that nestled a black mohawk between them. His tail was oddly long for a minotaur, and wagged like a chimpanzee. A bright yellow, skull-patterned shirt decorated his compact and wirey upper body, and camouflage trousers covered his goat-like legs. However, his most striking feature was a scar that stretched from his right lower lip to his right upper ear, twisting his entire face into a lopsided Glasgow grin. A grin that only widened as he stood up and made his way out of the tavern.
As he left, two other pirates noticed him leaving and followed - one was a yellow dragoness with powerful back legs and a beak-like snout. She wore no clothing, her body shrouded instead by dancing flames. The other was a bright blue sea serpent, almost like a sea or shark pony, but with no sign of pony heritage in his scaley face. His bandana and harnesses were soaked, water falling from his body, yet following after him as he walked like quicksilver. The two fell in line behind the pirate, as he made his way back to the Coves.
"What's de plan, Capt'n Luco?" the sea serpent asked.
"She's with Archduke Razor Tail," the dragoness pointed out. "Attacking him would be suicide."
"Correct, Blazy," Captain Luco replied, his lopsided grin not faded. "Additionally, she’s only a filly. Trying to hurt her now poses no challenge. No true battle. And it’s never the victory that matters; it’s the fight.” He turned away from the tavern. “Leave her be for now; the Sea of Legends will have plenty to challenge her and help her grow before we need to step in.”
“Like the Northern Trade Union?” Blazy growled.
Luco’s eyes sparkled. “Hm…” he mused, an idea possibly growing in his twisted mind.
Chapter 4: Lore and Build Up
After listening to the various tales Star found herself sitting in between Razor and Blackmane with a large plate in front of her, which held several items of food; some she was familiar with like pineapples and mangoes (the latter she happily devoured thanks to her thestral heritage kicking in), there were two she wasn’t: The first was the biggest orange she’d ever seen. By her guess it was at least eight inches in diameter with dark orange skin that was more like a shell.
“Uh, Captain?” Wing noted. “I think someone mixed the fruit up with the ammo.”
Razor noticed her pointing at the odd oranges and laughed. “Those are Cannon Oranges,” he explained. “The insides make the orange hard to eat, admittedly, but the juice is quite rich in vitamins and minerals. Especially vitamin C, thiamine, folate and potassium.”
“Oh,” Star realized. “All very important to avoid getting scurvy.” She chuckled as she took one of the oranges. “But you’re gonna make me fight for it, right Mr. Cannon Orange?” She grinned. “Well, challenge accepted!”
After a glorious fight with the cannon orange shell - a fight she won - Star noticed a second type of fruit: a large banana one meter in length. “And… that?” she asked.
“Sea Salt Banana,” Razor replied. “Think of Equestria’s Zap Apples.”
“Also rich in vitamins and minerals?”
“Very much so.”
Curious, Star took one. Thankfully, the peel was much easier to work with than the cannon orange. She took a bite, blinking in shock.
“Salty?” she paused, letting the taste develop. “No… sweet! Salty sweet.” She scoffed. “Oh, that’s why it’s called Sea Salt, right?”
Happily, she finished the banana, before turning her sights to a platter of salt lobster meat. In a few seconds, she found out why it was in such high demand: The moment it touched her tongue she tasted the juice and the meat seemed to melt in her mouth, making it even tastier. She couldn’t really describe the taste sadly - she had never had something like this before - but she couldn’t help but moan in delight which caused Razor and Blackmane to chuckle in amusement, remembering their own first times tasting the same meat.
As she ate, she could recall this was one of the few times she’d had her belly full. Thanks to the nobles, she had only ever gotten the lowest of scraps back at Equestria. After she was finished she rubbed her belly as she laid on Razor’s back.
“That’s gotta be one of the only times I’ve had a full stomach when I wasn’t around my mom or Uncle Flash,” she noted wistfully. “They always made sure I had enough.”
With Star reassuming her Night Fire persona, she and Razor left the Sea Oasis and he continued to show her the various sights; starting with a place called the “Market Grottoes”. The place was situated in the lowest parts of Imperator’s Grave, sitting just behind the wall to the port she had seen coming in and was a vast open-air market with shops of all kinds.
“With the right amount of coins,” Razor said. “One can buy almost anything. From everyday items like tools and bedding or even more dangerous items like weapons.”
“But no slaves, right?” Night remembered. “Slavery is beyond forbidden. Taboo!” She struggled not to laugh. “‘Taboo!’ Such a fun word to say for things that are so wrong.”
Razor chuckled as he also told her it was were the lowliest inhabitants (though he explained that was used very loosely and those same inhabitants were no worse off than those living in the Kraken’s Pits) dwell in a labyrinth of meandering canals and hidden inlets, with no separation between the homes they build and the sea where they ply their trade.
As they moved through the market Night spotted a bandana; a black strip of cloth with images of a red and blue dragon lunging at each other out of bursts of rainbow-colored flames. Night gasped in awe, catching Razor’s attention.
“Captain. Look!” she whispered. “Those dragons!” She indicated the bandana. “Their beautiful fury. Those passionate eyes. They understand! I must have them!”
Darting off Razor’s back, she eagerly pranced over to the marketer. “Tell me, my fine man,” she said. “How much for the dragons?” She indicated the bandana.
The sales pony laughed. “One of my finer ones, yeah?” He held out a hoof. “Ten bits.”
Nodding, Night dove for her bag… only for her face to fall. She glanced up at Razor, who struggled not to laugh at the look of utter sheepishness she had.
“I… didn’t think to pack bits when I left,” she whispered. “Captain, what do I say to the poor guy, he thinks we have a sale! I can’t give him nothing in return! I’m not a spoiled brat of a princess! I swear I’m leaving that life behind!”
“Relax, Star,” Razor replied, smoothly striding past her and placing the required payment on the stall. The salespony handed him the bandana in turn, and Razor offered the bandana to Star.
Night gasped in glee, before hugging Razor tight. A few seconds later, Night sat proudly on Razor’s back, her hood further back and the bandana on full display as she giggled proudly at the sight of it tied around her head.
“Well Night Fire, looks like you have the first item of your outfit now.” He said with a smile.
“My joy is endless and my day is wonderful,” Night Fire replied.
Razor’s smile grew bigger as he moved to the next spot: The giant inlet that Night had seen from the Dragon.
“This here is known as “The Maw”, where ships enter Imperator’s Grave to load and unload their cargo. Not really much else I can say about the port itself since when you see one port you kind of see them all.”
Night looked around, noted that Razor was right in that regard, when something caught her attention: Nearby was a Fluyt Merchant ship with its crew unloading their cargo, but that wasn’t what Night was looking at. It was the giant hermit crab, around the size of four wagons by Night’s guess and it’s shell looked lit it was made out of the husk of a ship though she couldn’t guess what kind. As she watch she noticed the Fluyt’s crew were attaching their cargo to the shell via ropes and netting, Razor followed her gaze and chuckled.
“Never seen giant crabs before huh?”
“I’ve only seen crabs in story books before.” She glanced at him. “Forgive me, but I remember them being slightly smaller.”
He grinned. “Giant Crabs come in various forms, from hermit to fiddler to coconut, and Merchants commonly use domesticated ones for moving heavy items. Those Crabs are also good in a fight, as you can probably tell by their claws.”
Night nodded, spying said claws. “Who do you think would win in a pinching contest?” she noted. “The Giant Crabs or the Salt Lobsters?” She mimicked two pinchers fighting each other with her hooves. “Rawr-rawr, yer not wearing green! I’mma get you!” she quipped in a bad impression of a lobster voice.
Razor laughed, as did several others in earshot, at her antics. The next place he showed her was located in a shadowy counter of The Maw inside a large inlet cavern easily large enough to fit a fleet of two hundred ships, known as the Guard Fleet Docks.
“You see Night,” Razor began, pointing out the place. “In addition to the deadly currents, hidden reefs, and sea creatures of all shapes and sizes that call Imperator’s Grave home, there is the massive armada that protects the waters around the archipelago. Ships patrol the waters every hour of the day from sunset to sundown, keeping watch for any threats that dare to attack.”
“Nice,” Night commented, while Razor then gestured to various points of the area.
“They might be a bit tricky to see from where we are, but first there’s the Shipwright Bays.” He pointed to the back area of the inlet cavern, where Night could see what looked to be a series of drydocks. “Those are basically drydocks for ship building, repairing, and whatnot. Not really much else I can say.”
“Kind of like the backstage crew in a theater,” Night Fire mused. “They’re not really talked about, but they do important stuff.” She noticed Razor’s look of curiosity. “I didn’t just get my story-fix from books. The Castle of Two Sisters had a really wonderful theater, with the best productions I’d ever seen.” She gazed at the dry docks wistfully. “That theater… the library… they’re definitely two of the very few things I miss about that place.”
She grimaced - she was getting a little too wistful and broody for her own liking. She needed to kick things back up to positive and light again. Her eyes fell on a massive ship sitting roughly in the center of the area. While not even close to the size of the Dragon, this ship is dwarfed all the ones around it, and it had a strange shape to it. It took a few seconds but something clicked in her mind as Night realized what she was looking as: A type of ship known as an Eastern Reaches Junk. Before today Night Fire had never seen one beyond a few pictures, and even than they’d been small fishing boats. This ship was clearly a warship by both its size and cannon ports.
“H-Hey, Captain Razor, isn’t that an Eastern Reaches Junk?” she asked with a new spring in her voice. “Looks like someone’s evolving ships.”
“That, Night Fire, is a former Caribou ship that was heavily damaged and rebuilt known as a “Titan”. Titans were created to counter other nations largest ships. Due to cost and other factors the Caribou were only able to build twenty-five of the beasts.”
“Right,” Night Fire nodded. “Mom and Uncle Flash warned me about the Caribou. Sworn enemies of Ponies everywhere…” She paused. “Except for the Red Nose Clan, they’re okay.” She gasped. “Is it true that a Red Nose Caribou saved Hearth’s Warming Eve?”
“Can’t really tell you that, lass,” Razor replied. “I mostly just know about the ships.”
Night Fire shrugged. “Ships are interesting too,” she replied, leaning forward as Razor continued.
“The one you see here was one of the first five that we… “liberated” from the Caribou. As it was badly damaged the Fleet Grand Admiral that took the ship rebuilt it in the image of the Junks of her homeland.”
“Fleet Grand Admiral?” Night asked.
“Under me and my Head Officers there are five individuals known as “Fleet Grand Admirals”. They are the Outcasts’ most loyal and trusted Officers, with their own armies and armadas at their beck and call should it be needed. Each one lost many things, family included, to those like Slavers and gave all they could to make sure it wouldn’t happen to others. This ship here is named the “Reach of Vengeance” and captained by the Eastern Kirin Ribbon Wave. I can’t pronounce her Eastern Reaches name but she’s fine with her second name and I think actually enjoys it. She lost all but one of the things she loved to the Northern Trade Union, and she now wants to see the faction that took everything from her burn until there’s nothing left.” Razor frowned as some memories came up. “It’s a little difficult for me to talk about Night, since I don’t think you’re old enough to hear the full story."
"Eh... heh, sure," Night murmured, glancing away before shaking off her nervousness. Thankfully, Razor didn't notice.
"But I can tell you, is that while she lost her mate; he didn’t pass without leaving her something.” He finished with a tooth smile as Night Fire's eyes slowly widened, as what Razor just said went through her mind.
“Ah!” Night realized with a grin. “Mama Ribbon Wave.”
Razor’s nod was all the answer she needed.
Night Fire smiled softly, but paused as a thought came to her. “Hang on, you said ‘first’ of five Titans? Where are the other four?”
“Well besides the Reach; there’s the “Rider of Storms”, the “Fortress of Freedom”, the “Haven of Souls”, and the “Burning of Tyrants”. Each of these ships are floating fortresses in their own right and each one is Captained by an individual like Ribbon Wave: Those who lost almost all they loved and now form the most powerful forces of the Outcasts.”
Night Fire grinned. “Bet those Caribou and NTU jerks won’t be needing a bathroom when those Titans show up.” She gazed back towards the Reach, curious about what kinds of stories the Fleet Grand Admirals would have.
Her attention was quickly diverted, though, as Razor pointed out a warehouse the size of a shopping mall, where the various treasures brought in by Outcast raiding fleets were stored for later use, a large area above the Guard Fleet docks that was known as the Arms’ Dump which was essentially a small city of blacksmiths. Night could hear the pounding of metal even from where they were thanks to her Thestral hearing. As they were leaving the Maw, Night Fire spotted another type of ship that she’d only heard about before: A longship, though this one more closely resembled the other ships in that it had more than one deck and cannons. The bow also had a heavy metal ram, plating, and a figurehead in the shape of a wolf in mid-pounce. She watched as the metal-plated longship used its oars to pull into an empty stop and the crew started unloading their cargo. The Ponies were quite large; Night Fire could only compare the size to some of the larger guards from her time in Equestria, ones that she tried to avoid as they were quite mean to her. But these Ponies, they looked even bigger with heavily scared faces and hardened looks in their eyes. Night was sure that just one of these Ponies could take on ten of those Guards and win with ease. Each one wore what she guessed was a set of very heavy winter clothing made from furs, though despite the temperature they didn’t seem even the slightest bit fazed by the heatt. She tipped Razor’s head with her hoof and pointed.
“So, Captain? Are those guys like… North warriors or something? I remember tales about warriors from the North, and… these guys are giving me that vibe.”
Razor followed her talon and nodded. “They’re known as “Frozen Fangs”. They live in the far north area of the Sea of Legends, a harsh winter wasteland sort of like where the Crystal Empire stands. These hardened individuals come down to Imperator’s Grave in their metal-plated longships to trade, bringing with them tons of meat, furs and weapons from their home. Some of the inhabitants here on Imperator’s Grave are of Frozen Fang descent and you can find their longships built into the architecture of the place. Due to the harshness of their home their numbers remain on the lower end, but each one is a hardened survivor and believe it or not; one of the few creatures that even the worst of slavers avoid at all costs.”
Soon they left the Maw, and reached a building built from the rear half of what she'd been told was once a ship known as a Juggernaut - basically a Ship-of-the-Line taken up to eleven, and the massive skull of some kind of Leviathan.
"Now, I have some work that needs to be taken care of," Razor said. "Might be too boring for you."
Night Fire chuckled. "New place and new people? The last thing I could possibly be is bored."
Razor chuckled. "All the same..." he noticed a shark pony in the distance - ironically, the one that had freed Star from her icy prison. "Deep Fang!"
The shark pony galloped over. "Yes sir?"
"Watch over the lass here," Razor said. "Show her the other wonders this place has to offer."
Deep Fang saluted, and with another nod exchanged between the princess and the archduke, Razor left to his own business, while Night Fire turned expectantly to Deep Fang."
"So what else is here, Mr. Fang?" She asked the Shark Pony as he lowered himself into the medium-sized floor pool in front of them.
"Well first, you can just call me Deep, as for why we're here; we wanted to show you something special. Take and hold a deep breath, then follow me under."
Tilting her head in intrigue, Night sucked in a breath, her cheeks puffing out like a squirrel. Taking a running start, she did a backflip into the water, following him into the depths. There wasn't much to note at first; except for several strange creatures she'd never seen or read of before: They resembled long and very thin jellyfish-like creatures without any tentacles and were white in color with a brown stripe at one end. As Night watched one came toward her and before her eyes opened up like an umbrella. She nearly flared her wings and tried to swim backward, but felt a hoof on her back and looked to see Deep giving her a reassuring smile.
"It's okay, it won't hurt you."
Trusting him Night Fire let the creature close around her head, and before her surprised eyes saw the water within drained out: she could breath like she was above water. In amazement she turned back to Deep, who had a large smile on his face.
"Surprised?"
"That’s one word for it,” Night Fire admitted, running her hooves over the creature’s transparent skin. “What is this, some sort of… magic bubble creature?”
"Well Night," Deep explained. "What you have there is a creature called a "Diver Bag": Diver Bags feed off of carbon dioxide though they can still draw in oxygen through gills on the brown band if none of the former is available. If a creature was to enter the water and let a Diver Bag come to them, it would expand and move over the head like a helmet, latching onto the neck. Diver Bags do not harm their "host," however, rather they drain water from "inside" the formerly white now transparent "bubble" and out through the gills. Once the Diver Bag is over the creature's neck they would find that they could now breath underwater as you're experiencing now, the Diver Bag draws in oxygen like before which is then pumped into the bubble allowing the host to breath, while the Diver Bag get its food from the carbon dioxide when the host exhales."
“Cooperative symbiosis,” Night realized in glee. “That’s so cool!”
"Exactly. Diver Bags are essentially living re-breathers and as long as the host wears one they can stay underwater for as long as they want. They can't go too deep though. To remove a Diver Bag the host simply grabs hold of the brown band and gently pulls; the Diver Bag releases its grip and the host takes it off and puts it back in the water."
Night felt the Diver Bag's skin again, chuckling in awestruck glee before she began to swim, following Deep as he led her through a short tunnel and onto a platform that overlooked a very large chamber that Night Fire was sure could easily fit the Castle of the Two Sisters several times over in all four directions.
A sudden heavy thump behind her caught her attention and she flipped upside down to see more. Her eyes widened and jaw dropped open in awe; a massive Leviathan rose up with a pair of huge four-fingered hands attached to thick arms, resting on the platform. It's six eyes glowed a soft light blue as it looked at Night Fire, it's body was covered in what looked like gems of red, green, blue, and other colors in various patterns all over its body.
Night Fire then heard - or more like felt - something in her head. It held the power of a raging storm, yet it was as gentle as a light spring shower. The edges of her vision became distorted while a distorted picture of the Leviathan's face appeared in the middle. A voice - female, and motherly at that - whispered through her mind.
"Welcome little one. This is your first day here. I hope you will enjoy your time here."
With that the Leviathan moved from the platform and swam away as Deep came up next to Night Fire, who slowly circled right side up again as she watched the Leviathan swim away.
"That's a Gem Leviathan, Night Fire, largest of the creatures found around Imperator's Grave. These beautiful Leviathan-Class creatures are the offspring of Edelsteine, the mother of all Gem Leviathans."
He led her over the edge of the Platform, where Night Fire saw several groups of other creatures.
The other creatures seemed to be playing with what could only be babies of the Gem Leviathan, some of which noticed Night Fire and swam towards her, chirping excited sounds as they came up. The group of nine stayed for a second, then one gently and playfully bumped its head against her chest before swimming just out of reach.
Night Fire knew what it wanted; the babies wanted her to play with them, which she was quite happy to do. Briefly, she paused, remembering when playing with younger foals had gotten her in trouble with the nobles. But when she glanced at Deep, he nodded with a reassuring smile.
“It’s okay,” he said. “Go on.”
Grinning hopefully, Night Fire pumped her wings and chased after the baby Leviathans. A laugh of delight slipped from her lips as she swam and played with the babies, for once able to have the time of her life. Deep watched with a happy smile of his own as he stroked the head of an older baby.
'This is so much better than Equestria,' Night thought with glee. 'I don't think anything can spoil this for me!'
The ports of the North Trade Union were not a safe place for lonely folks. The earth pony Beast Buster sat at the port, always on the lookout for potential slaves to break in. His favorites were always girls; especially warrior girls. Even on it’s own, there was a certain thrill to breaking a proud and haughty warrior girl and making her into a pleasure slave who was only good for satisfying her master. But for Buster, he had a personal investment in breaking their self-righteous minds.
Several years ago, his brother, Beast Breaker, had captured a beautiful white diamond dog. A dog capable of a strange magic that had earned Breaker a fortune in the fighting pits. Unfortunately, the blasted Princess of Friendship, Twilight Sparkle, had gotten involved, and in the chaos, Breaker’s pet broke free and killed him.
It still made Buster furious to think of; every time he heard of that slave - Shiva, she was apparently called - cozying up to Celestia and Twilight, and spreading their childish message of friendship and love.
One day, he vowed, one day, he would get Shiva. And he wouldn’t just kill her for what she did to his brother. No, death was too good for the she-dog. He would see her on her back before him, her eyes shining with the broken light of a slave that had accepted their role in life. She would be his personal pleasure slave. He would show her just how superior stallions were to whatever dog she had given herself to in order to have those brats that were apparently following her around. And he would make sure she knew that she was back under the command of one of the Beast clan. After all, that was where women really belonged; and it was beyond time Shiva remembered her place.
Hence, when a yellow dragoness touched down on the docks and made her way into port, Beast Buster couldn't help but shiver in delight at the sight of fresh meat. This particular dragon had very toned flanks, and she didn't even wear clothes! She would be the perfect substitute for Shiva until he could get the diamond dog.
The dragoness noticed him. He grinned in challenge; daring her to do something. After all, this was his territory. She had walked into the lion's den; and soon enough, she'd learn her place.
The dragoness smiled, before turning, letting him get a better look at her backside. Unfortunately, he was so distracted by her plump calves and supple legs... that he missed the ball of fire bouncing on her tail.
There was a sudden flash of light. A searing pain tore through his eyes. Beast Buster wailed in agony as the fire ball smashed into his face, the fire blinding him.
He nearly tumbled into the water, desperate for the liquid's cooling sensation. Unfortunately, a red-hot talon seized his hind leg and hoisted him back up, denying him relief and instead bringing further pain as his leg was set on fire. The pain only got worse as another talon clamped around his muzzle, silencing his cries to a muffled moan.
"Mouth shut, ears open," a voice that could only belong to the dragon hissed in his ear.
Beast Buster gagged, clutching at her talon, only to burn his own hooves. However, he went still as her voice continued, slithering through his ear and around his brain like a fiery snake.
"Bet you thought I was a beauty, yeah?" she growled. "A fine last sight for your perverted eyes. Well listen close, chief, because I'm about to tell you about someone even prettier."
"Mmph?" Beast Buster whimpered, the pain dulling by a fraction.
"Picture it," the dragon continued. "A young alicorn filly. Fresh and innocent, like a little deer fawn. Fur black as the night, and eyes electric green. Wings that look like portals into the very depths of space." She licked his ear. "Enticing, isn't it?"
"Mm-mm... mph?" Beast Buster mumbled, trying to convey that she sounded... familiar.
"That's right," the dragoness whispered. "Princess Star Wing has been found. She's closer than you think, you know? The newest pet of Archduke Razor Tail."
Despite being upside down, Beast Buster's heart dropped into his gut. 'Razor Tail?' he thought with horror. 'But... Star Wing is a natural born alicorn! One of the very first! How did Razor Tail get her before us?!’
Unfortunately, the dragoness still had his muzzle muffled, and she didn't seem interested in sharing more.
"Have fun with that," she hissed, before dropping him into the waves.
The water did nothing to quell the burning sensation of her touch. And even as Beast Buster felt other ponies come to aid him, he could tell from their voices that the dragoness was gone. Vanished back over the sea like she had never shown up to begin with.
Chapter 5: Star Vs. NTU - Round One
Beast Buster tapped a hoof tip against his artificial eyes, thankful that while Unicorns were kept as slaves the NTU didn't completely reject the use of magic. Sadly for him, the burns would stay as scars and more than a few times his fellows had cringed seeing his face now.
As much as he hated to admit it to even himself: He knew he was lucky the dragoness didn't kill him, for that was no normal dragon.
After he had recovered and could see again he brought what the dragoness had told him to the higher-ups of the port. They'd been quite enthusiastic hearing about Star Wing, but that same enthusiasm dropped like a crate of anvils into the sea when he mentioned that Razor Tail had got to her first.
Archduke Razor Tail.
It was a name feared and hated by the higher-ups of the NTU in equal measure. Of all the Pirates to sail the Sea of Legends none had earned the fame of the Kirin Pirate Lord, every single pirate and bounty hunter that had ever gone after him had perished and those he let live (after all: Leave one alive to spread the tale) had spread word on just how bad of an idea it was to go after him. Add to the fact he had so many loyal followers, even creatures of the sea, and the NTU’s personal experience after they had gone after one Razor deeply cared about: His wife Atlas Moth.
The NTU had thought it would be an easy job. Oh boy, did they learn their lesson. Atlas was as deadly as her mate. And once word of the assault reached Razor's ears? Sixteen Treasure Fleets looted clean, treasure, ships, crew and all. Ten Merchant Fleets vanishing into the mists never to be seen again. Six War Fleets ambushed and stolen right out from under their noses, and an entire coastline of ports wiped clean off the map with only burnt ruins and salted ground as the mark.
Beast Buster sat on his bed, shuddering at the thought. He took pride in his name, but he had encountered Razor once, and only just escaped with his life. He remembered looking at the Niriked form of the Western Kirin, looking into those soulless white voids. An image that would haunt his nightmares for the rest of his life. Razor wasn't a beast; He was death and vengeance given flesh and blood.
If there was one species on the planet that the NTU avoided enslaving at all costs it was the four races of Kirin. For they knew how to destroy their enemies so thoroughly that they'd never rise again.
The Griffins before Nightmare Moon's banishment learned that the hard way after their Warlord of the time killed a Kirin Hatchling, and the Kirin very nearly wiped the Griffins out entirely.
Beast Buster set his hat on his bed-side table and laid his head down on his pillow, letting out a weary sigh. While the older and more experienced NTU Captains knew that going after the Outcasts was a really bad idea, there were those that wouldn't listen to reason, dreams of glory filling their heads until there was no room for anything else.
And he was sure that there were those that looked to defect or go rogue among those fools.
—-
The Dragon of the Depths docked at the small little island. With a new adventure spread out before them, Razor Tail gathered his crew together.
Star was fiddling with her horn, flashing repeatedly back and forth between her regular self and her Night Fire persona, Atlas Moth watching with a careful eye.
“So far Star, you are doing fairly well, but as you were not born a changeling, you’ll have to expect some difficulties. From what I’ve seen you’ve managed to get the appearance right, but it looks like you’re having trouble actually holding the disguise, as the image is constantly flickering. You are doing well, but you are going to need more time before you get it right Star.”
“Alright,” Star said, turning into Night Fire again with a hopeful grin. One that faded as Atlas shook her head, pointing out the flickering image. “Ugh,” Night grumbled, flexing her arms before returning to her Star Wing persona.
Razor’s voice then called out as he placed a map on a crate sitting more or less in the center of the main deck.
“Alright everyone, now that we’ve arrived it's time to go over why we’re here: We’re looking for something called the “Abyss Eye”.”
The crew looked at him in surprise as Star tried to do the same, but her curiosity won out.
“A giant eye in the depths?”
“No Star,” Razor said, then started explaining. “The Abyss Eye is a diamond, one of the world’s largest in fact, around the size of a foal. From what we know it was being transported from its home island which has been long lost to the Blood Sea, before the ship carrying it was raided by pirates who took the diamond to this island. Now, I know where the Abyss Eye is… but that’s the problem. The diamond is inside a small cave with only one way in or out: A hole too small and narrow for an adult to fit through. There’s also the fact that the cave sits under water, with the water filling it during high tide. Now using a “reverse periscope” I was able to locate the Abyss Eye so I know it’s where it should be, and it turns out it’s inside a skull. How it got there I don’t really want to know.”
One of the crew then asked. “How are we going to retrieve it Captain?”
Razor sighed, “Before I answer that; I want it to be clear I do not like the option and if there was another way I’d take it in a heartbeat. But there isn’t and it’s the only option.”
He looked at Star. She paused for a moment, before shifting back to Night Fire and striking a pose. “I know - I know, I’m hot.” She shot a burst of fire into the air before grinning. Though her grin faded at Razor’s lack of laughter. She shifted back. “Don’t worry sir, whatever it is, you can count on me.”
“Star, as much as I want to say you don’t have to… you’re the only one small enough to enter the cave. Now I’m not ordering it or anything; it’s your choice whether or not you want to try.”
Atlas walked forward. “Honey, why not send a Changeling?”
“Something in the rock around the area disrupts transformation magic, reverting the individual back to their natural form so that option is a no-go.”
Star cricked her neck. “It also helps that I want to try. You guys took me in and gave me a home… getting a diamond sounds like a good start to paying you back.”
As the crew prepared to disembark, Razor took Star aside as she briefly shifted to Night Fire again.
“Night Fire, you’ve been working on your persona for days since we departed, and it’s clear to both Atlas and me that you’re getting frustrated from it. You’re not going to make progress with it if frustrated. Trust me I would know.”
“Frustrated?” Night Fire asked. “My Captain, I mean no disrespect, but what gave you that idea? I’m not frustrated!”
“The fact that your mane and tail hairs are starting to curl and your scales are changing colors like the northern lights among other things.” Atlas pointed out.
Night Fire’s grin somehow remained, even as her eyes contracted to slits, one of the eyes twitching.
Razor merely grinned.
Night Fire’s smile fell, and she sighed, reverting back to Star Wing. She hung her head. “Geez, it even feels better when I’m like this,” she bemoaned.
Atlas and Razor assured her as they disembarked and headed into the cave sections. However, as the crew set off into the island, they were unaware of a few occupants already there: NTU operatives.
The leader - a bold young captain by the name of Wolf Waster, spied through a spyglass at Star Wing, drinking in her form as she talked with Atlas Moth.
“The fabled Princess Star Wing,” Wolf Waster whispered. “Back from the dead… and eagerly delivering herself to us.”
“But sir,” his right hand man insisted. “Look who she's with!”
“I know who she's with, Sneeze,” Waster snarled at his first mate. “It won’t make a difference; Archduke Razor Tail may be the greatest warrior in the land, but not even he’s omnipotent. He likely doesn’t even know that we made another entrance into the cave with the Abyss’ Eye. Speaking of which…” He turned to another NTU operative. “Mr. Smoke Ring, are the charges in the cavern still set to blow?”
The NTU operative lifted a match and a fuse. “Kaboom!” he giggled insanely.
Waster’s grin was scarier than the wolves for which he was named. “Excellent.”
As the crew delved into the caverns, Star moved further ahead, eager to delve into the cave and get what the Archduke needed.
“Star, be careful,” Atlas warned, as Star delved into the cavern.
“Don’t worry, Ms. Atlas,” Star replied with a grin. “I used to squirm through vents and passageways like this all the time back home. Some of the colts and fillies used to call me the Vent Rat for it.”
“You… make it sound like a compliment,” one crew member noted.
“A great man once said, ‘never forget what you are,’” Star replied. “‘Wear it like armor…’”
“‘And it can never be used to hurt you,’” Razor remembered with a grin. “A wise man.”
With one more laugh, Star popped out to the other side. As the sound of her rooting around emanated, one of the crew members noticed something. A crate of familiar red dynamite.
“TNT!” he warned.
A string of cursing filled the air as the other crew members heard the warning and spotted the crate, the magic users casting shield spells to cover as many as they could while the others scattered. As the crew scattered, the fuses suddenly blew.
Star jumped, hearing the explosions behind her. “Captain?!” she asked. "Atlas?!"
She was answered with explosions. Dust coated her fur and the exit widened from the blast, but luckily, the ceiling didn’t cave on her. As the small space rumbled from the force of the explosion, what at first appeared to be a white stone tipped over.
Star gasped in delight: it was the Abyss’ Eye! Seizing it, she tried to hoist it up, only to discover Razor’s line about it being the size of a foal wasn’t hyperbole. Briefly struggling with the jewel, Star looked back as the last of the explosions sounded. To her delight, the explosions had widened the exit more than enough for her and the Abyss’ Eye. Getting an idea, Star rolled the diamond back into the cavern and out.
“Captain, I got it!” she cheered… only to pause.
A massive pile of stone separated her from the crew.
“Captain?!” Star called, shoving the diamond to the side and pressing her hooves against the rock. “Atlas! Can you guys hear me?”
“They can’t,” a voice responded.
Star paused, turning. Down a separate path - one likely opened by the explosions - a group of earth ponies were slowly walking towards her, more like wolves than ponies. They wore uniforms different from the more casual garb of the Outcasts. And the looks in their eyes… they reminded Star of an old memory. A very bad memory.
Despite her heart picking up the pace, Star forced herself to grin. “Well, thank Faust you gentle-stallions are here,” she said, before pulling at the wall. “Can you give me a hoof with this wall, these stones are kinda blocking the path.”
“No duh,” the lead earth pony said. “That’s so that dumb kirin can’t save you.”
Star’s heart raced faster, but she forced her smile to stay in place. “Alright,” she said, turning back to the ponies. “Taking a shot in the dark here, but… you guys ain’t Outcasts, are you?”
The ponies chuckled. “Look at that, she’s a bright one,” one of them noted.
Star’s smirk widened, remembering a little trick her Uncle Flash had once told her. “Oh, you haven’t even seen bright,” she replied, before her horn flashed.
With a BANG like a grenade, a pulse of light burned into the ponies’ eyes. They reeled, clutching their faces with yowls of agony. Wolf Waster was the first to recover, blinking his eyes… only to find Star gone.
He swore. “Spread out!” he roared. “The entrance is blocked; she can’t get away.”
Star heard him right as she reached the exit. Or rather, what would have been the exit. Her heart fell as she found another pile of rocks waiting for her.
Her heart wanted to race; her mind wanted to fall into a panic. But she forced herself to breathe.
‘Okay, Star’ she forced herself to recall. ‘Remember that one story about the colt who was home alone when robbers came to town…’
##
As one of the NTU minions reached the exit, he glared around at the lack of any hoof prints.
“Darn,” he muttered. “Little horse must be using those wings.” He looked up… right as a rock smashed him in the face.
Cackling briefly, Star flew back into the tunnels, shutting her snout and letting her dark fur camouflage her into the shadows. She avoided notice as the NTU ponies converged on their downed companion.
“Wart! You alright?” one of the ponies asked.
They got answered with a laser point lighting up on the rock.
“OH!” was all the minions got out before the rock exploded, hit by a beam spell from Star Wing. Three more minions down, though she wasn’t sure how many were left.
‘No matter,’ she thought as she crawled along the ceiling like a spider. ‘I can handle them…’
Smoke Ring and Sneeze looked on with pride at the clearing ahead of them. Strewn with seashells it was, all baited with TNT.
“This is it, Smoke Ring,” Sneeze said with glee. “There’s no way that little princess can get out of this. We’re gonna catch her, and then…”
“Kaboom!” Smoke Ring said gleefully.
“Well, kaboom yeah,” Sneeze admitted. “But then Captain Waster will be so happy with us, and then…”
“Kaboom!” Smoke Ring hissed, pointing.
Sneeze paused, and gasped, as he saw a familiar sparkle of star-like spots heading towards them. “Right, sh-sh…” he whispered, hunching down.
As the two ponies hid, Star came to the entrance to the cavern. Her eyes narrowed as she saw the clam traps laid out for her. Looking up, she saw similar traps hanging from the ceiling. Humming in thought, she glanced at her wings, and shut them tight.
Then, as Sneeze and Smoke Ring watched on in shock, Star began to dance her way around the traps. Spinning, tip-hoofing, and even fluttering gently with her wings, she made her way across the cavern.
Eventually reaching a side that had a small passageway out, Star Wing did one more pirouette, before locking her eyes right on Sneeze and Smoke Ring. She grinned. “Hey, fellas.”
“Kaboom?” Smoke Ring asked.
“Sh-sh-sh!” Sneeze insisted. But Star’s grin only widened as she picked up a small stone.
“Kaboom?” she mused. “What a marvelous idea.”
She then tossed the stone into the air and dove into the passageway. Smoke Ring and Sneeze got one moment to scream, “OH, NO!” before the stone hit.
Wolf Waster jumped as Sneeze and Smoke Ring’s screams emanated alongside the rumble of explosions. Unfortunately, when the screams and explosions dissipated, one final sound he heard… was Star Wing’s defiant laugh.
The NTU Captain rubbed his head, sore and annoyed at how well Star had avoided them.
"Little filly is more tricky than I thought. She'd better be worth all this trouble."
He then blinked, realizing something. "Wait... where's my hat?"
"Yo-ho, my lads!" Star called. When they turned to her, she had the hat on. "I'm the Captain now!"
"YOU LITTLE THIEF! GIVE ME BACK MY HAT!!!"
"Come and get it or swab the deck, me hearty," Star replied, jumping out of sight with a laugh.
Wolf growled, before turning to his men. “Well don’t just stand there; get her!”
The ponies scrambled to obey… only to fall into a massive pit. On the other side, Star laughed with glee as their screams were cut off with brutal CRUNCHES, followed by moans of pain.
Her laughing, however, cut off right quick when Wolf managed a massive leap and cleared the pit. He tackled her to the ground, pinning her down and knocking his hat from her head.
Star yelped, scrambling for purchase, only for his hooves to slam into her chest. She squeaked, coughing as she struggled under his grip.
“Alright,” he growled. “Enough of your games, you little brat.”
“Oh, come on…” she choked out despite her fear, her horn lightning up. “I was having fun. Weren’t you?”
She tried for a beam spell in his eye, but he head-butted her hard with a harsh “NO!” Her eyes rolled and her spell went out as he stood over her with a growl.
“The NTU would’ve paid fine bits for you as a virgin,” he growled, re-positioning her underneath him. “But I deserve something for all the trouble you gave me.”
Star struggled to regain her composure, trying to shove him off as he pressed down on top of her. This wasn’t how her story was supposed to play out. Where was Archduke Razor Tail?
Thankfully, just before the wretched pony could go any further with her, an explosion made the entire cavern rumble. A light lit up just ahead of the two. With the pit blocking off his only means of escape, Wolf Waster was only able to stand up and try to draw his pistol as Razor Tail shot around the corner, followed by the rest of the Outcasts.
A few minutes earlier
Atlas stood up shaking the dust and rubble off her, the crew around her doing the same. Thankfully, no one was hurt due to the quick shield spells. But she noticed right away that there was no sign of Razor or Star. Before she could dwell on it however, the rubble pile in the center suddenly burst upwards as an armored fist and arm shot up, followed by Razor emerging unhurt but looking very cheezed off as his Nirik form burned ominously.
“Everyone alright?” he asked. After a round of confirmation from everyone - everyone but Star - he pressed the tip of his halberd against the rocks blocking their path before releasing energy, exploding the rocks. The Abyss’ Eye sat forgotten and alone next to the cave entrance. However, Razor’s focus was on the hoof prints leading down what looked like a pony-made tunnel.
“Secure the Abyss’ Eye,” he ordered his crew before he charged after whoever had left the hoof prints. Most of the others followed him, a few only staying behind to follow his orders and make sure the Abyss’ Eye didn’t go anywhere.
Wolf drew his pistol as Razor rounded the corner, trying to line a shot up on the Kirin’s head. But Razor was faster on the draw. With a thunderous bang Wolf’s pistol was shot right out of his hoof. The NTU slaver tried to pull out his sword, but Razor was on him before he could even grip the handle.
Then Razor attacked… with his teeth and fire, Wolf could only scream as Razor unleashed the fire and let it burn Wolf for a few minutes, before ending it by literally tearing the Pony’s throat out.
As Razor destroyed the slaver, Star scrambled away, finding sanctuary at Atlas Moth’s side. The Changeling Queen picked Star up and held her against her chest, covering Star’s ears and turning away.
As the crew left the caverns behind and Razor sent a group of the Abyss Guard soldiers to find where the NTU had come from, as well as finish off any survivors, Star’s head remained downtrodden.
Atlas leaned down and gave the Filly a gentle nuzzle. “What’s wrong, Star?”
“I got cocky,” Star said. “I almost had them all… and it wasn’t enough.”
Razor turned and smiled at her.
“You did alright Star, not many your age can claim they held off a group of NTU soldiers like you did. But it’s clear you will need training to fight against ones like the Captain.”
“Yeah.” Star realized how glum she sounded, and puffed her chest up. “Yeah, you’re right. I’m gonna be just like the guys in my stories; when they couldn’t overcome something the first time, they trained, got stronger, and overcame it the next time.” She grinned up at her captain. “Next time we clash with the NTU, they’re gonna regret ever messing with me.”
The Outcasts around her smiled, already planning how to train her. Razor then placed a hat on her head, the same one that formerly belonged to Wolf.
“And now you have a reminder of your first adventure.”
Star felt the hat on her head. “A-Are you sure?” she asked hopefully. “I mean… I didn’t beat him…”
“While it may not have gone as you expected, Western Kirin have a saying: any adventure you walk away from is a good one, regardless of the outcome.” He smiled as he gently nudged her with his fist. “And you can say you stole a NTU Captain’s hat right off his head.”
Star smiled at the thought. “Yeah,” she mused, gazing up at the hat. “I guess I did.” She gazed ahead with determined optimism. “Next time, though, I’m gonna have something that I defeated the original owner in battle for.” She quickly turned to Razor. “Of course, I’ll… need training first, but… oh, you know what I meant.”
Razor Tail found Star training that night, down in a certain area of the lower sections. The Dragon of the Depths boasted a fine training hall and gymnasium, as the crew tended to spend long periods of time away from land; this hall had been placed as both a pass time and to keep skills sharp during the slow times. And it was there that Razor found Star.
The young alicorn was like a superball of destruction, flying back and forth between several training dummies with incredible grace. She shifted form as she fought, punching one dummy as Star Wing, then launching off said dummy and hitting another as Night Fire.
“Star Wing,” Razor called.
CRASH! “OW!” In turning to look at Razor, Star plowed right into one of the practice dummies, sprawling across the floor. “I’m okay!” she regained her hooves, shaking herself off before flapping over to Razor and saluting. “Yes, Captain?”
Smiling, Razor made a “come in” gesture with his tail and several Earth Ponies slowly filed in as Star gazed at the earth ponies with a curious light, noticing their uniforms looked very familiar yet the clothing was clearly re-dyed among other modifications.
Once they were lined up next to him, Razor turned back to Star. “Star… these stallions used to be part of the NTU.”
She tensed up, but didn’t attack just yet.
“We’re not anymore,” one of them confirmed. “And we’ll never be again.”
Star tilted her head. “You mean you gentle-stallions have stories to tell?”
They glanced at each other… before nodding.
She perked up. “Well, in that case…” She shot away and returned with a small miniature campfire - the flames burning with a magic that kept them from hurting the actual wood. She promptly sat herself down with a marshmallow on a stick. She began cooking her candy as she gazed at them eagerly. “Start at the beginning, and when you come to the end, well…” she giggled. “Stop.”
A few chuckled while one, who Star guessed was the “leader” for lack of a better word, took his hat off and set it next to him.
“Well Star, before we start there are some things you might be still too young to understand… that and somethings we’re trying to forget.”
Star chuckled. “Um… you’d be surprised…”
The former NTU Ponies looked at her confused.
What are you talking about?” the leader asked.
Star pulled her marshmallow out of the fire, gazing at it’s warm brown surface with a contemplative light. “Let’s just say I had the Talk sooner rather than later.”
They were shocked. “Princess Luna told you? When?! How old were you?”
“Eight,” she replied. “And… it wasn’t my Mom who told me.”
The group were surprised and the leader leaned towards Star. “What happened, Star?”
Star set her candy down and sighed.
“I spent a lot of time in jail,” she admitted. “I’m not sure if Captain Razor Tail told you how the nobles managed to throw me in jail for crying when I was five months old, but that was just the tip of the iceberg. Any time I scared one of their foals with my mere presence; every time I wasn’t absolutely grateful to the chefs, despite them only giving me trash to eat; and sometimes just because they felt like it, they’d find a way to get the guards to throw me in a jail cell, and there I’d wait until Luna or Uncle Flash eventually managed to get me out.”
“Granted, it wasn’t too bad,” Star continued. “Mostly because of the convicts I was around. They figured out pretty quickly that the nobles and their lap dog guards were full of manure for throwing me in with them, and a lot of the convicts had little sisters or daughters of their own.” She chuckled. “In a way, I grew to like jail; the guys there made sure I had enough to eat, they laughed at my jokes, taught me some good self-defense moves… they were more friends to me than any colt or filly my age.” Her grin faded. “Unfortunately, I let the guards know I wasn’t scared of jail anymore. How some of my best friends were in prison uniforms rather than fancy noble garbs. So, they chose to put me with someone different.”
—--
Many years ago…
The first sign that something was wrong was the direction they took. When Star tried to skip her way to Cell Block A - all ready to tell her main convict friend Crazy Eight about some stories she had read - the guard shoved her away from the usual path, forcing her down another corridor.
She paused, turning back only to get shoved further down the corridor. “Get moving, Moon Spawn,” the guard spat, shoving her again.
“But… Cell Block A is that way,” she insisted, pointing behind him.
The guard’s eyes were unsympathetic. “And you’re not in Cell Block A,” he replied, shoving her again. He grinned. “You gonna do what you’re told, or do I get to do this the fun way?”
Confused, but determined not to let this cruel pony have his fun, Star reluctantly turned down the new pathway, dodging his hoof when he tried to shove her again. Her luck didn’t hold out, as they soon reached a fork in the corridor. In the time it took her to try and figure out where to go, the guard shoved her.
Eventually, they reached a barren, moss covered cell, situated in the deepest, darkest part of the dungeon.
Star shot inside before the guard could kick her again, leaving him only able to slam the door shut on her, rattling her ears with the bang.
For a second, she paced around the dim cell, her story for Crazy Eight still on her lips. Then…
“Well, aren’t you a sweet little thing,” a voice mused.
Star turned; one of the walls was chipped and cracked, with holes that led into the other cell. From the other cell, a pair of blood red eyes were gazing at her through the holes in the wall.
She shrugged. “Well, I do like sugar,” she admitted.
“A sugary sweet black bird,” the pony on the other end purred. “Tell me, my little black bird; how does one so fine enter such a… confine?”
Star swallowed, forcing herself to grin. “It’s, uh… Star Wing, not Black Bird,” she replied. “Princess Star Wing; Luna’s daughter.”
The pony gave a soft breath of understanding. “Ah. So the succubus of the moon brought forth a moon spawn. Unsurprising.”
Star tilted her head. “Huh?”
“Tell me, my little black bird,” he continued. “Are you unhappy with the sun-horse’s reign?”
“You… mean Aunt Celestia?” she asked. She chuckled. “Well, she hasn’t done anything about me being thrown down here… repeatedly.”
The pony cackled. “And she won’t ever. Because the power doesn’t really belong to her. It belongs to whatever stallion noble who’s claimed her. That’s what females are really for, my little black bird; they are there only to be claimed and then serve the most powerful males.”
Star tilted her head. “Serve? Like… the servants and butlers?” She grinned. “Should I buy myself a tuxedo?”
“Amusing,” the pony mused. “But no. Let me explain what your real goal is going to be in life, my little black bird…”
—---
Present Day…
Star half-heartedly nibbled on her marshmallow.
The former NTU Ponies reactions could only be described as a mix of shock, anger, and understanding while in the background Razor was motionless… but one could see the raw fury in his eyes as he gripped his halberd tighter.
“Did he…?” one of the ponies finally asked after a pause.
Star chuckled. “He was behind a wall. And even if the wall had holes in it…” she swallowed, realizing what that still entailed. “No. No, he didn’t touch me.” She looked down. “And he didn’t get the chance to either. My mom and Uncle Flash came down soon after and… well… let’s just say that Nightmare Moon almost came out sooner rather than later.”
“Why didn’t Nightmare Moon come out?” another asked.
“Because for once, Celestia took my mom’s side,” Star elaborated.
—-
Many years ago…
Luna threw the bloodied, broken form of the prisoner at Celestia’s feet. Celestia blinked in shock, as she looked to her sister.
“What…?” Celestia tried to ask, before Luna indicated Star on her back.
“She was placed next to his cell,” Luna seethed. “The wall was in complete disrepair; HE COULD HAVE GOTTEN TO HER!”
“He almost did,” Flash added, with a nasty glower at the guards, who put themselves closer to Celestia out of fear of the anger in his eyes. It was well known that Flash Magnus saw Star Wing as his niece, and every guard knew how dangerous he could be if provoked. “We stopped him just as she was in reach of his hooves.”
Celestia’s eyes widened, before she glared down at the broken stallion before her as he struggled to lift his head.
However, one of the nobles stepped forward. “Princess Celestia, I must say…”
“You will say nothing,” Celestia snarled.
The noble backed up in shock at the anger in her tone. She rose up, glaring down at the prisoner Luna had beaten.
“You clearly don’t recognize this stallion, so let me clue you in,” Celestia continued to her nobles. “This is Quill Blade. A utterly wretched piece of filth who wasn’t dead because death was too good for him. The things he would do to mares… to females of any species…” She glared down at him as he coughed.
“Only… what you… deserve…” he got out.
Celestia’s horn glowed. Luna covered Star’s eyes with her wings… but Star still heard the sound of her spell firing. When Luna uncovered her wing, Star saw a pile of ash where Quill Blade had been. Celestia looked up.
“Who was the guard that put the Moon Spawn in that cell?” she demanded. “I want him here NOW!”
Star flinched at the Royal Canterlot Voice, but it did the trick. In a few minutes, the same guard that had been shoving and pushing her around was now the one being shoved and forced into a kneeling stance before his princess.
Celestia’s glare deepened. “Iron Hoof,” she mused. “So, you’re the one who put the Moon Spawn with Quill Blade?”
Iron Hoof shivered at the venom in her tone, before managing a nod. “Y-Yes, Your Grace.”
“You did this… despite the fact that your own sister suffered under Quill Blade?”
Iron Hoof noticed the pile of ash, and found it in himself to grin. “It got you to finally give him what he deserved, didn’t it?”
He paused, but just before he could add, ‘Your Grace,’ another beam spell hit him in the chest. He hit the wall with a brutal CRACK, his armor falling to pieces around him as he tumbled to the ground with a cry of agony.
Every pony - even Luna and Flash, both guarding Star Wing - backed up as Celestia bore down on Iron Hoof.
“Did you just come into my throne room,” she growled. “And tell me you were willing to let everything your sister went through happen again to another filly, out of some sick thought of revenge?”
Iron Hoof quivered under Celestia’s glare. “B-But it was the Moon Spawn…” he whimpered.
“DID YOU?!” Celestia roared, the Royal Canterlot Voice causing the stallion to quiver in fright.
“I’m sorry, your grace,” he wailed. “I’m sorry!”
“DID? YOU!” she demanded.
“Yes!” he finally screamed.
“GET OUT!” she demanded, seizing him in her aura and flinging him out of the throne room. “GET OUT OF THIS CASTLE AND NEVER COME BACK!”
Obeying even with what had to be at least three broken ribs, Iron Hoof scurried away, as Celestia slammed the door on him. When she turned back, all the nobles shied away. Even Luna covered Star again with her wing.
“Now, I want you to listen to me,” Celestia declared. “All of you. Whatever my sister spawned from her… ‘affair’… she does not deserve the fate that disgusting monsters like Quill Blade would bestow upon her. No filly - no pony - deserves that.” She glared down at her nobles, her next sentence not a question. “Am I clear?”
“Yes, your Grace,” the nobles stammered, many of them falling to bows like they were worried she’d strike them next.
Briefly, Celestia and Luna locked eyes. And Star saw something more than words pass between them. Luna gave her a soft nod. And for the briefest moment, Celestia nodded back.
—-
Present Day…
Star Wing smiled. “It was the first time I saw Celestia as a true aunt,” Star mused. “It was the miracle that proved to me that miracles exist.” She sighed. “Too bad it was a bait-and-switch. Too bad Celestia didn’t consider what the nobles were already doing to me to be a terrible fate as well.”
Razor was silently enraged, only keeping it down thanks to his training during his time in the Kirin Mountains while the former NTU Ponies showed understanding and pity. But as they gazed on her with sad looks, Star realized how sad she must have looked, and shook off her feelings.
“But… enough about me!” she insisted. “What about you guys? Like I said, you don’t have to hold back too many details - though I do still wish you would.” She chuckled, before waving them on. “Come on. Share your stories. Tell me your adventures.”
The leader picked up his hat and put it back on his head. “Well Star, I was once a captain of a Sloop. A fine ship with a great crew, who like me never really saw the whole point to enslaving others, the only thing we craved was adventure.” He sighed. “But it didn’t last… We had been sailing as escort to a Ship-of-the-line when it turned its guns on us. There was no warning as the cannonballs smashed into our ship, twenty crew mates killed before we even knew what was happening. It turned out that the NTU’s leaders saw us as too much of a loose cannon… and decided to “take care” of us. As our sloop slipped under the waves the survivors climbed onto the longboats.” He snorted bitterly. “Only to find we had been given faulty ones; in the end most of the crew were lost, only me and a few others survived. There had been more but there wasn’t enough room and one by one they fell into the black, never resurfacing. We floated for a full week, and it was only a chance encounter with the Dragon of the Depths that saved those of us who were left. Four more had died during that week, only me and two others out of the ten in that longboat survived, and we were so weak we could barely move. The Outcasts took us in and we have been here ever since.”
Star nodded solemnly, before glancing at Razor Tail with a grin. “Well… you couldn’t have picked a better group to find you.”
After the former Captain told his story the others went one-by-one, Star listened as she heard stories of betrayal, of lost family, and of other mistreatment that would lead these Ponies to join the Outcasts, and they were far from the only ones. During this time Star learned that many former NTU Ponies, each of which had suffered in some way under the faction’s iron hoof, had defected to the Outcasts, much preferring it to their former faction.
And as they told their stories, Star found her early suspicions of the ponies wavering. They truly did seem regretful that they had joined such a faction. And it did make her curious about the NTU ponies she had fought. Were they truly evil? Or could they have been saved?
Then Star remembered what Wolf Waster had almost done to her - how he had reminded her of Black Quill - and shook herself of such thoughts. While it does sound like there are some good souls in there, there are still plenty of bad ones. And I need to be prepared to handle both.
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Chapter 7: Learning the Ropes - Zenith and Steel Mass
Atlas led Star into the Armory, where Zenith was busy looking over the various firearms used by the Outcasts, making sure they were all ready to use and moving any that needed maintenance off to the side. She had just finished checking over a Hand Cannon when the two entered and Zenith greeted them.
“Star,” Atlas began, “This here is Zenith; the Dragon’s Fleet Gunnery Master and the one who looks after the firearms aboard the ship. She makes sure they work perfectly when they need to. She’ll be teaching you about the firearms the Outcasts use and how to properly use them.”
Zenith smiled at Star. “A pleasure to finally meet you properly, young Star. Ready to try your hoof at shooting?”
“Oh-ho,” Star giggled. “Just like in the stories of soldiers.” She immediately went for a long row of pistols.
But before Star could get half-way, Zenith caught her firmly by the tail. “Remember," Zenith said in a firm tone. "Those aren’t toys."
“Right, they’re very dangerous tools,” Star remembered, stepping back from the weapons carefully. “And must be treated with great care… and sensitivity.”
“Exactly.“ Zenith said, and she picked Star up and set her on the table before picking up a pistol and bringing it over. Star immediately noticed it wasn’t a flintlock, rather it was a revolver; a weapon she had read about. Though...
"Revolvers?" Star noted. "Aren't those for cowponies?"
“Curious huh? Well Star; this here is a “Percussion Cap”, also known as a “Caplock,” or “Cap and Ball” Revolver. The Outcasts retired flintlocks early in our history as percussion cap weapons have several advantages over flintlocks: They’re easier and faster to load, more weather resistant, less complicated, and more reliable. Plus they can hold up to eight shots at once, though six is the most common choice. I’ll show you how to load these later.” Zenith then went over to another shelf and picked up a rifle before setting it on the table, allowing Star to get a better look. Like the revolver she had only read about this kind of rifle, a bolt-action rifle, in her stories.
“As with the flintlocks,” Zenith began, “Muskets were retired once we got these rifles; this here is called the “G82 Bolt-Action Rifle”. Officially it’s called the Gewehr 82, the word Gewehr is Germane for “Rifle,” but everyone just calls it the G82 as not many can pronounce the word right. Now the G82 is among our most common firearms, only beaten by the revolvers, and comes in both a single-barrel and double-barrel version.” Zenith went and got the latter form.
“Now besides the obvious twin-barrels and the modified bolt to work the action, there isn’t really anything different between the two forms. These rifles are fed through an internal eight-round tube located under the barrel, with a ninth round in the chamber and the double-barreled version holds a total of eighteen rounds; nine per barrel. Are you following me so far?”
“Like an explorer follows a guide,” Star replied, having been watching with rapt attention.
“Okay, now that you know the two basic firearms I’ll show you the heavier items, but first the rules of gun safety.”
From there Zenith taught Star the four rules of gun safety, stressing how important they were, followed by showing her the hand cannons and other heavy weapons which also included a Gatling Gun. Star paid close attention to the lessons as Zenith showed her how to work the revolver and rifle, as well as showing her how to handle them when firing.
She then waited while Zenith picked out a few weapons for her to try, and led her over to a firing range. Eagerly, Star lined up her shot with the first weapon - a hand cannon - and assumed her Night Fire persona.
“Happy Hearth’s Warming, ya filthy animal,” Night Fire told the target, before pulling the trigger… and getting hit in the face by the recoiling cannon. She clutched her nose. “I’m okay!” she insisted, even as blood appeared under her talons. “I’m okay… look!” She let her bloody nose show as she switched back to Star Wing. “I’m the Red-Nosed Alicorn!”
Zenith couldn’t help but snort some laughter at that, before she showed Star how to properly brace when firing high-recoil weapons like the hand cannon.
Star still gave the hand cannon an intrigued look.
Much later, Zenith found Star back at the firing range, two Cap and ball revolvers in hand.
“What are you doing, Star?” Zenith asked, noticing that the revolvers had bayonets attached under the barrels in a way that would still allow the built-in ramrod to be used as normal.
Star looked back, assuming her Night Fire persona with a grin. “My image, my friend,” she replied. “The recoil on those cannons is some strong stuff. So, I figured, why not take advantage.” She pulled up a chart. “Watch this… I’m gonna make a weapon, where I can throw it… you see?” She indicated a dotted line heading to a drawing of a target with X-ed out eyes and a dopey smiley face drawn on it. “And the recoil will knock it right back to me.” She indicated a dotted line curving in an arc back to a picture of herself, drawn as an oddly sexy dragoness with a far bigger bust than she could ever hope to have in reality.
Zenith blinked as her mind processed what Star had just said, before looking at her with a concerned expression. “Star… is that really a good idea? I’m all but sure that flips off every rule of gun safety.”
“Well, if it doesn’t work, I’ll be sure to wash my filthy mind… hooves…?” She paused. “If it flips off every rule of gun safety, what should I wash out with soap if it doesn’t work?” She considered it before waving a hoof. “Nah, we’ll figure it out if it fails. Now… watch,” Star insisted, picking up one of the revolvers. Grinning in glee, she hurled the revolver at her target.
The revolver went off the wrong way and shot into the ceiling.
Star’s smile didn’t fade. “Okay-okay, that was just a test. This is why we test things; better we do this here than in the middle of a fight? Right? Right…” Star giggled as she picked up another flintlock. “Now this one’s for the gold.”
She threw it. The gun fired alright; but it fired right at them.
“WHOASHOOT!” Star yelped, tackling Zenith as the bullet zipped over their heads.
Zenith picked herself up and gave Star a glare as she picked her hat up. “Star… Why are you using LIVE ammunition while practicing this?! I get the idea behind using the recoil but why not just use the powder?!”
“Because then I'll be prepared for the realism,” Star insisted, grabbing another revolver and assuming her Night Fire form. “Can't fire blanks when on the battlefield, right?”
She threw. The gun hit the target, fired, ricocheted back… but went too high.
Night Fire reached for it, and her magic aura wrapped around the gun, stopping it in mid-air… but also causing Night Fire to revert back to Star Wing.
Star Wing noticed the change and yelped, covering herself.
Zenith raised an eyebrow with a deadpan look. “I know we wear clothes all the time, but we still have our fur, scales and whatnot covering us. So why be so embarrassed?”
“Because I’m supposed to be Night Fire,” Star replied, reverting back to her dragon persona. “Not Star Wing; being Star Wing is going to get me in trouble with the bounty hunters. Unless I can do… this!”
She threw one final time. The revolver hit the target, fired, and ricocheted back… right for her!
“THAT’S IT BABY COME TO…” Night Fire cheered… only for the revolver to zip past her clutching talons and nail her in the face, before bouncing right into her talons.
Night Fire staggered dizzily, reverting back to Star Wing as her nose started bleeding again, and her eyes rolled loopily.
“I got it!” Star cheered. She went cross-eyed and fainted backward.
Zenith face-hoofed: she understood Star’s idea and actually didn’t have a problem with it despite going against the laws of gun safety. But life of a pirate was full of unexpected twists and turns, she did know however that Star was going to need a lot of practice before she even remotely tried this in combat. She sighed before picking up Star by the scruff to take her to medical.
“Seems I’m gonna have my work cut out for me with this one.” She mused with a smile.
“So Star, how good are you with animals?” Atlas asked as she led the Filly down a hallway in the lower sections of the ship.
“Well, it depends,” Star replied. “Sometimes they ran from me, sometimes they attacked me. One time, they liked me… and I’m pretty sure that’s because I managed to swim my way out of a pile of dog kibble.”
Atlas stared at her with raised eyebrows.
“I had some interesting pastimes,” she admitted with a grin.
“Well Star, today you’ll be meeting the Dragon’s Fleet Beastmaster Steel Mass; he’s a minotaur tasked with looking after the various wildlife aboard the Dragon and has even raised a number of them himself. You’ll know who he is when you see him, and don’t be fooled by how big he is; while he is a powerhouse he’s got a heart as big as he is.”
“The Gentle Giant,” Star remembered. “One of the best people you can be friends with.” She skipped on her hooves. “I can’t wait to meet him!”
Soon they reached the door and Atlas opened it, to reveal on the other side Steel Mass with a Sea Wyvern Hatchling hugging him, the Minotuar smiling as he rubbed the little one’s head. Atlas laughed at the sight. When he was handling the animals he would take off the attire above the belt like his heavy coat and armor. He said it put the creatures more at ease around him. Yet, he still wore his gold-colored steel helm.
“Everytime I come down here you’ve got one of the babies in your arms, Steel. If I didn’t know better I’d say that you were their mother.”
“What can I say? I am the one who raises them after all.” Steel quipped back as he brought the hatchling over to what Star guessed was its mother, during which she got a good look at Steel. She had read about minotaurs and had even met a few during her time at the castle, but Steel Mass had to be the biggest she’d ever seen. At around ten, maybe even eleven, feet tall and looked easily strong enough to bring a full-grown Hydra down with just his hands along with quite an impressive set of horns on his head that would likely make any other Bull or minotaur green with envy. Not to mention his strong, muscular looking chest and numerous scars over it.
Star always had a thing for muscular chests; something about the way the muscles rippled under the skin was incredibly fascinating to her.
Turning around, Steel noticed Star next to Atlas. “And you must be Star Wing, our newest recruit. Come to learn about the various animals we have aboard the Dragon?” As he spoke his voice seemed to have a power of its own, yet it didn’t hurt Star’s ears at all. In fact the way his voice boomed sort of reminded her of Luna’s RCV, only Steel’s voice was also quite cheerful.
“Indeed,” Star Wing prostrated herself before Steel Mass. “I, the humble Star Wing, have journeyed far and wide to learn at the hooves of the master!” She looked up with a playful grin even as she kept up her ‘awe-inspired’ voice. “Please, teach me your ways.”
Steel gave her a smile and picked her up before putting Star on his shoulder and walking into the next room as Atlas took her leave. Entering the room Star took in the sight of various creatures she’d seen on Imperator’s Grave. First was the Sea Serpents, lazily lying about, though they noticed the newcomers’ entrance. Past the Serpents were the Crabs, most of whom were sleeping, though some were doing what Star guessed was cleaning their claws. Beyond them, a few Sea Wyverns were roosting. These were not adults but clearly older than hatchlings. By Star’s guess, they were likely teens. Finally at the very back of the room was a lone creature that was curled up and fast asleep - if the heavy snoring was anything to go by. Though the distance and the low lighting made it difficult to see just what it was.
“Well Star; as you can see these are some of the creatures we Outcasts have domesticated. Most of them I’ve raised myself. I’m going to teach you how to care for them as well as befriend them, starting with the Sea Serpents first.”
“Right, Sea Serpents,” Star said with a grin. “Which are different from water dragons… right?”
Steel Mass nodded. “Yes; the Serpents can’t fly and don’t have any sort of “breath weapon” that dragons normally have. The closest animal I can think of off the top of my head to them would be snakes.”
“Hence the serpent title,” Star mused to herself as Steel set her down. She watched as he picked up two large buckets overflowing with fish, and brought the buckets over to the Serpents. Upon sighting Steel’s arrival, the serpents reared up in a manner not dissimilar to standing, their mouths wide open and tongues hanging out. Their fangs dripped as their tail tips wagged. Star couldn’t help but be reminded her of dogs waiting for a treat. The thought made her chuckle.
Steel pour the buckets into a pile, and the Serpents dove at the pile like a foal jumping into a pile of leaves. Star was unable to hold her laughter as the Serpents happily devoured the fish piles and Steel got more full buckets. Star looked over at one bucket and picked it up before carrying it over to some that hadn’t eaten yet. The group of six serpents perked their head fins in curiosity as she came forward, only for Star to not see a little bit of raised floor and tip over it, landing in a heap as the fish in her bucket went flying and landed on her.
“I mean to do that,” she said, glancing up as the bucket landed on her head. “See? New hat and everything.” Despite her joking tone, she still lay still just in case movement agitated the sea serpents.
The Serpents started sniffing her, the feeling of their exhales and noses touching her caused Star to struggle to resist giggling as the Serpents gently started to eat the fish around and still stuck on her as well as lick her, Steel watching with a smile. He then noticed a larger one; an Alpha known as a “Crested Sea Serpent”. These Serpents were named for the large five-arm head crest with red stripes on the arms and were known for being temperamental and aggressive, so Steel grew wary of Star’s safety.
Fortunately his worry turned out to be unnecessary; the Crested Serpent leaned down and sniffed Star, who kept herself still and even lowered her head, remembering such motions as methods to keep angry nobles from hurting her. Just with the nobles, it worked for the Crested Sea Serpent, who after a few sniffs just gave a dismissive snort and moved on to eating some fish.
Slowly, Star stood back up and backed out next to Steel. “Well, they seem nice,” she noted.
“Crested Sea Serpents are sort of loners and generally don’t really care about much," Steel explained. "At least on the surface. I’m not really sure how to explain their attitude. Generally speaking; if you show them respect and don’t provoke them they’ll leave ya alone. The other, regular Serpents on the other hand…”
Star then found herself being nuzzled by purring Serpents. “Can I assume they like me?”
Steel laughed. “It seems that way.”
She laughed as the serpents licked at her. “Now I know how to make sea serpents like me,” she declared happily, before getting a teasing grin. “Drop a bucket of fish on my head.”
Steel chuckled heartily at that.
After getting Star cleaned up the two moved onto the Crabs. As the smell of food reached them, they stopped cleaning their claws and started walking up. As far as Star could tell there were 4 types of Crabs, all of them the giant kind: Fiddler, Coconut, Porcelain, and Hermit (who had some rather cool shells made of ship parts). Steel laid out fish for the Crabs who started eating, Star watching next to him.
“I presume that you’ve seen the Giant Crabs before?”
“Yeah; back on Imperator’s Grave while Captain Razor was showing me the docks I saw a merchant crew loading their cargo onto one.” Star said, peering into their holding area. She noticed the raised floor, and tried to confidently side step it… only to not account for the slick patch of water on the ground. As she side-stepped into the puddle, she slipped right into the pile of crabs with a yelp.
She froze up as some of the crabs crawled onto her, looking her over in intrigue. “Steel, help,” Star whispered in fear. “I’m not wearing green!”
Steel laughed. “No need to worry Star; those Crabs only pinch on command and that’s saved for the enemy.”
Star glanced over at a crab as it moved over and away from her. She sighed in relief. “Good to know.”
Once Star was free of the Crabs, they moved onto the Sea Wyverns.
“Now I know you saw them on Imperator’s Grave,” Steel said as he fed them. “But let me give you the details; Sea Wyverns are social creatures, roaming in groups that are either family or friends as they hunt fish and crabs, and on occasion Salt Lobsters. To aid them in these hunts and to protect themselves from enemies Sea Wyverns have razor sharp teeth and claws, The sheer body mass as adults (and trust me; they ain’t lightweights), their long tails which are lethal blunt weapons, and finally their feared poison breath attack. Not many actually know this, but Sea Wyverns actually have venom glands and they can pool their venom in their mouths before firing the glob at their enemy, and they can hit a target at a fair distance, with pinpoint accuracy too. I’ve seen it first hand.”
Star watched their mouths in awe. “Whoa. Magic death spit!” When Steel Mass looked at her in intrigue, she giggled. “Sorry. I read a book once about creatures like Sea Wyverns that did something similar. They had venom that they could spit at others as well, and someone started calling it ‘Magic Death Spit.’” She shrugged. “It’s funny to say… and it was funnier to see the character with said spit react to the name.” She put on a posh mimicking accent: “We are NOT calling it ‘Magic Death Spit!’” She grinned. “Three guesses as to what they ended up calling it.”
Steel Mass thought for a moment, then responded with “Poison Breath?”
Star cackled at his answer. “Yes. That’s exactly what they called it.” She had to struggle to stop laughing so he could continue. “A-Anyway, what else was there about them?”
“Sea Wyverns are also very territorial, though not in ways one would expect; As you saw Imperator’s Grave has plenty of them flying about.” Steel chuckled. “Well… those who have tried to attack the place find themselves under attack by not just the defenders, but flocks of enraged Sea Wyverns.”
Star nodded. “Like kicking a hornet’s nest; you attack the pack, it bites back.”
Star picked up a fish and held it out to one of the Wyverns, who after giving her a sniff took the fish. It then nudged her gently before raising it head over her. With an odd sound, a half-eaten fish landed in Star’s lap and Steel burst out laughing. “Oh, that’s one thing I forgot to mention.”
“Wait, I’ve seen this in my stories!” Star said eagerly, holding up the fish. “I eat this to show our friendship, right?”
Steel nodded. “Right you are Star, been there myself and yes… the fish tastes as terrible as you would think.”
“But it’s for friendship!” Star declared. “Friendship will make it taste…” She ate the whole thing… and her eyes bugged out of her skull with repressed disgust. An adorable little whine escaped her, but she forced herself to swallow the fish, and managed to shift her hooves to talons so she could give two hesitant thumbs up. “So good…” she got out.
Once Star had “accepted” the offer, Steel led her over to the last one which shifted as it woke up and turned to look at them. Star paused, her eyes wide for she was looking at an honest-to-Faust Sea Dragon.
Steel saw Star’s eyes light up with… well, stars. Her jaw didn’t just hit the floor, but likely made a bid for the bottom of the sea. “It… he…? She…? They’re… so… BEAUTIFUL!” she managed to get out, her Night Fire form taking over as she stared up at the sea dragon.
Steel smiled at her awe. “This one’s a she, and a hatching; having only hatched just before we found you. Sea Dragons are one of the apex predators of the Sea of Legends that aren’t Leviathans, though there are some who classify the larger-than-normal ones that. Sea Dragons on average grow to be twenty stories tall and full-grown Sea Dragons are highly feared for their rampages that are able to destroy large areas and ability to tear even the largest ships to splinters. Sea Dragons are armed with powerful crushing jaws, thick limbs able to help them move on land as well as through water, a terrifying breath attack of scaling water and blazing steam, and a long tail able to crush even small islets with ease. Now I’ve never seen it myself, since wild Sea Dragons live in the depths, but I’ve heard stories of some Sea Dragons firing a beam of pure lightning at targets, and if you know what lightning bolts can do it doesn’t take much to imagine what that beam can do.”
Star - or rather Night Fire - listened with awestruck wonder, before hesitantly creeping towards the sea dragon, trying not to appear threatening.
“Hello,” Night Fire offered carefully to the sea dragon. “I’m Night Fire.” She paused, turning to Steel. “Can I talk to her like this? Or… am I just insulting her unintentionally?” She glanced back at the sea dragon with worry. “I don’t mean to offend you,” she said quickly. “I just… really like… you. You’re very pretty. A-And I don’t mean that like… uh…” She glanced back at Steel. “I’m making a complete fool of myself aren’t I?"
Steel chuckled as the Sea Dragon made a light rumble and leaned forward to give her a nuzzle, showing that there were no hard feelings.
Star squeaked as the dragon nuzzled her. “Sorry,” she said. “I’ve just… always loved dragons.” She gazed wistfully at the sea dragon. “Ever since an ambassador from the Equestrian Dragon Lands stood up to the nobles on my behalf, I’ve always seen them as these wonderful guardians. I always wanted to be like them.” She glanced down at her Night Fire form with a chuckle. “As you can probably tell right?”
Steel adjusted his helmet as he tossed some fish over to the Dragon who happily chowed down as he continued. “Well, wild Sea Dragons are a bit different from the dragons you knew; for starters, Sea Dragons are extremely territorial, to the point where if they encounter another Sea Dragon in their territory a fight is all but certain, often to the death. On the other hand; the ones around Imperator’s Grave as well as this one here were taken as eggs and raised by the inhabitants. These Sea Dragons are not as powerful, but are far safer to be around-” He was cut off as the Hatchling suddenly reached forward and pulled Star in her Night Fire form over and started to groom her with a rough tongue.
“A-As I can tell, right?” she said, giggling in utter glee as the sea dragon groomed her.
“Yep, funny enough while the raised Sea Dragons are not as powerful; they are able to get along with others that have been raised and form packs which are arguably more dangerous than their wild counterparts. As for how we get the eggs; that’s a very difficult and dangerous job as the eggs only appear during mating season, the only time Sea Dragons can be in each other’s company without tearing each other apart, and during that time they do not like company.”
Star chuckled. “Yes, making eggs is a very delicate process, and they don’t need others intruding or stealing their ‘secret recipes’ right?” She winked, hoping he found her joke a little funny.
Steel chuckled. “Yes indeed, and to protect their young as the hatchlings are quite vulnerable to predators during that time. They may be territorial, but Sea Dragons actually mate for life and are devoted parents. Family units visit each other fairly often when they can.”
Star smiled and leaned back next to her new sea dragon friend. “Well, at least you’re friendly,” she said happily, licking the hatchling back… and regretting it from the taste of seaweed and how rough the scales were. Regardless, she didn’t stray from her new friend. “Does she have a name?”
Steel thought for a second, then smiled. “Yes actually: her name’s Sea Jewel.”
“Sea Jewel,” Star mused, hugging the sea dragon. “Well, Sea Jewel, it’s good to meet you. This is the start of a beautiful friendship.”
View Online
Chapter 8: Learning the Ropes - The Fire Twins
“So where are we going today, Auntie Atlas?” Star asked as she and Atlas walked though one of the halls in the lower stern section of the Dragon, Atlas smiled at being called auntie.
“Well Star; I’m not sure if it will come up much during your time here, but Razor thinks that you should have some technical knowledge, like how engines work and so forth: You never know when you might need it. So today we’re going to visit our two Fleet Engineers Gold Fire and his twin brother Shadow Fire, who will show you the basics of engineering as well as teach you about the maintenance and repair work undertaken to keep the ship afloat and in good condition.”
“Gold and Shadow,” Star noted. “Cool.” Her eyes brightened. “Please tell me Shadow is the bright and bubbly one of the two. It’s too perfect.”
Atlas chuckled. “Well Star I wouldn’t say bright and bubbly; Shadow’s more of a doer if you understand what I mean, and likes to get in the thick of a fight. Gold’s more of a bookworm and a ranged fighter. Now they’re both nice dragons and quite intelligent.”
As they neared their destination a sudden explosion sounded off as sparks and smoke blasted out of a door ahead of them, though the crew around the area were surprisingly unfazed and continued with their work like nothing had happened.
Star blinked at the explosion. “Woo!” she noted. “Sounds like they’re gonna be fun.”
Atlas rolled her eyes with a sigh. “One thing you quickly learn when working with the Fire Twins is that things blowing up are common. Now don’t get me wrong the two are quite gifted; but when you’re working with tech that could be groundbreaking, you have to expect a few setbacks.”
“Oh, I don’t mind explosions,” Star replied. “I love them; every kind.” She grinned. “Nothing was cooler than reading about a hero that would walk away as a big explosion blanketed everything behind the hero in fire, and yet the hero just keeps walking all cool and stuff.” She breathed, imagining the image in her head. “So awesome…” she mumbled.
The two entered the large room to find a Longma and a quadruped dragon covered in soot arguing around an engine of some kind.
“Gold, I told you to make sure the seals were tight!” The quadruped dragon was saying to the Longma.
“I did Shadow! I said to not over-pressurize them!” The Longma said back. The two would have continued but Atlas motioned to Star to cover her ears.
Grinning, Star covered her ears, watching with intrigue as Atlas put a hoof in her mouth and let out a loud whistle. Instantly, the Longma and the quad-dragon turned.
“Boys,” Atlas chastised. “I get you’re frustrated, but snapping at each other like serpents fighting over a fish isn’t going to help matters. So tell me; what happened?”
The Longma, Gold Fire, went first. “Well, as you know, we’ve been working on that project that Razor and Power Gears set up for us. But we’ve been having trouble with a few things like the seals.”
The quadruped Dragon, Shadow Fire, continued. “We’re not sure why but every time we test them, either the seals fail or they go above the safe pressure. Either way they explode as you likely saw.”
“And when we do get the seals to work as they should, the engine’s power output is lower than what we need.” Gold started.
“And we have no clue why,” Shadow finished.
Star gasped in delight. “Sounds like a job for a cliche raw rookie to figure out!” she declared, marching forward and striking a pose. “My new friends, I am here to help!”
The two Dragons turned to look at Star, both surprised at her entrance but they both smiled warmly. “Well Star, pleasure to finally meet you.” Gold said. “I suppose you already know who we are.”
Star indicated him. “Gold Fire…” She glanced at his brother. “And Shadow Fire, right? Hope I’m not mixing you two up.” The two gave her a thumbs up, showing she got it right.
“And help would be appreciated; a pair of fresh eyes could point out what we’re missing.” Shadow said. Gold turned to Atlas. “Thanks for bringing her down, we’ll take it from here.”
“Alright guys, I’ll drop by later to see how things are going.”
After Atlas walked out Star found herself in a blue magic field and was set down on a table, noticing the blue field was also around Gold Fire’s hand.
“Not sure if you’re aware, Star, but Longmas can use magic, though we’re mostly limited to levitation.”
Star hummed. “Well, I… didn’t get to meet many Longmas in Equestria, so… thanks for the facts.”
Gold shrugged. “That doesn’t surprise me; We Longmas were… distant to other species at that time.”
Star shrugged. "It's not surprising," she noted. "Equestrians were kind of... well, there's a few words I could use to describe them, but I'd rather not get my mouth washed out."
Shadow picked up a pair of earmuffs from a shelf and gave them to her. “Since your hearing is going to be more keen than most, you’ll want to wear these to protect it.” He said while also picking up a pair of goggles. “Can’t forget eye protection too, these will also protect your eyes from any bright flashes.”
Star eagerly took the goggles. “Oh, please help me protect my eyes,” she noted, slipping them over her head. “They’re my favorite body part.” She quickly added the earmuffs as well.
Shadow chuckled. “Considering you read stories like no tomorrow from what we’ve heard…” He started.
“It makes perfect sense why you’d want to protect your eyes.” Gold finished.
Wing’s eyes gazed between her goggles, darting between them. “Nice synchronization,” she praised. “I always loved when teams or partners or siblings could do that with each other.”
The two brothers smiled and started gathering materials for what they were doing, Gold bringing over some blueprints. “Now Star; this engine is one of a few designs that Power Gears, the head of Outcast R&D, sent us.” He showed her the blueprints, revealing some sort of flying machine on it.
Star tilted her head at the sight of the machine. “Are those… wings?” she asked. “Why do you need a machine with wings?”
“Well Star let me give you a little lesson about the vessels found in the Sea of Legends; you’re familiar with Airships right? Well out here there are what we call “Air Warships” or “War/Battle Airships”, basically the various water-borne warships like the Sloop up to the Ship-of-the-Line turned into an airship by removing their masts and sails, replacing them with large bags or balloons filled with an unnamed lighter-than-air gas to keep them aloft. The bags are attached to the hull by chains and heavy rope, the shroud that would hold a ship's masts in place allow travel up to the bags. The bags are generally, though not always, oval-shaped and made from thick, durable materials with metal bracing reinforcement. Beyond that the bags' appearance matches the ship's with some sails and other extra additions.
Smaller ships have one bag while larger have two and ones like the Ship-of-the-Line variant have three.
The hull is more or less the same as its sailing counterpart, but with several changes. Besides the masts being removed, the keel has also been removed and redesigned to fit weapon mounts, like the ship's artillery which is now mounted in turrets to aim and attack ground targets. Along with the ship's normal armament a section called the "Bomb Bay" has be installed and the bags have platforms on top and gangways between each bag allowing the crew to attack any flying targets.
Airships in the SOL are propelled by steam powered turboprop engines at the back under the quarterdeck and at the front just behind the prow, each engine is able to run independently of each other allowing the ship to turn on a dime. Sometimes the bags will have engines but this isn't very common for several reasons, one of each is the fact that trying to run hot pipes from the hull to the bags isn't easy and the crew don't what possible burns.
Although Air Warships are powerful and have the major advantage of being able to travel anywhere, they have a number of flaws that keeps them from becoming the norm. The bags' gas is very flammable and if lit can very easily bring the ship down, the bags themselves, while durable, will leak or tear open if damaged enough and it’s generally the rule that if the Airship's crew see the ship's repair team bailing after they sound alarm, it’s time to get off.
Air Warships also have, as a rule of thumb to save weight, light and thinner hulls, making the ship more vulnerable to cannon fire. This flaw is the reason they try to stay out of range of cannons on the ground and engage with only their underside artillery and bombs, and some bolt launching weapons have been modified to fire long range bolts, often tip with fire and/or explosive tips. The last major flaw is they are very vulnerable to the random storms that plague the SOL, even with equipment designed to help them avoid those.”
“Right,” Star noted. “So… pardon me if I’m not getting it, but why build them in the first place if they're vulnurable? If you’ve got people who can fly, maybe they can carry people who need to fly somewhere.”
“Well Star; why do we have airships in the first place or even trains for that matter?” Shadow said. “To travel over long distances, sometimes carrying lots of cargo, without having to stop and rest. While it is true we can fly, most can only fly for certain distances, and if we push too hard we risk our wings locking up.”
Gold picked up after Shadow. “There’s also the fact that Airships can carry far greater loads than an individual can. In fact, there are places not just in the SOL but in the wider world that are heavily dependent on Airships since they’re often in areas where travel by land is difficult to outright impossible. Airships, as Shadow mentioned, are able to travel great distances without having to rest. For example: Say a town in an isolated forest runs out of an important life-saving medicine and access by train has been cut off while travel by land is impossible and it’s too far to fly with stopping, which puts lives at risk. This is where Airships become critical…” He trailed off.
“Since Airships can keep moving over everything in their path, including storms. Are you getting it now Star?” Shadow finished.
Star remembered her own encounter with a storm, and realization struck. “Yep. I’m getting it now,” she said with a nod.
“Now Air Warships are hard to attack from the air with just infantry, since only those who can fly can attack and the crews of Air Warships are fully able to fend them off, which brings us to this;” Gold continued as he gave the blueprint a tap. “These will hopefully allow taking down enemy Air Warships, and there are a few other ideas for them. But as you know we’re trying to find an engine design that does what we need.”
Shadow picked up after his brother. “Early tests showed right away that steam turbine engines, or steam engines in general, were not going to work. So we decided to go with a different type.” He picked up a medium-sized metal can colored red and showed it to Star. “This can is filled with a type of fuel called Kerosene is a combustible oil with low viscosity used by businesses and homes as fuel to generate heat, light and power. Power Gears found out this fuel was perfect for this project, and now we’re trying to get the right engine for this new machine. And as you can probably tell from the explosions… We haven't had much luck. Personally; I’m thinking this current design is the problem.”
Star scratched her head, the whole engineering gig way outside of her area of expertise. “Well, I’ll help as best I can, but the stories I read usually just had the heroes blinking in confusion while the smart guys told them how things worked, so… sorry if I blink a lot here.”
The twins chuckled. “Don’t worry Star,” Gold said with a light-hearted smile. “We’ll walk you through it.”
So the three went to work; the Twins showed Star some basics on machines and how to fix them as they went over the engine, the next test went the exact same way as before: up in a bang with sparks and smoke as the Twin’s frustrated yells joined them in filling the air.
“Well, on the plus side,” Star noted. “These things will at least make nice bombs. Or at least flash bangs.”
Eventually the Twins decided enough was enough and moved onto another design… and this one actually worked!! Though there were some stutters so they turned it off to do some tinkering. The first try…
“Well something’s not right O’ brother mine.” Shadow deadpanned, “Because now it wouldn’t start at all!”
“This is the first time I’ve worked on an engine like this Shadow.” Gold said as he read the blueprint for the engine. “This is new ground we’re trending here.”
Eventually they got the engine running again but there were still some issues so the two tinkered some more before lifting their heads up with smiles and turned to Star, who was sitting on the nearby table with a button control pad which was hooked up to the engine.
“Alright that’s it.” Gold started.
“Try it Star.” Shadow finished. Star gave a nod and pressed the on button… and yet again more sparks and smoke appeared, with even bigger blasts then before causing the Twins to jump back in surprise as Shadow flared his wings.
“OH TURN IT OFF! TURN IT OFF! TURN IT OFF!! ” Both shouted as Star tried to do so… by repeatedly pressing the on/off button in a panic.
Later Atlas came down to pick up Star, only to find the three covered in soot. “What happened to you guys? Engine blew up on you again?”
“In a sense…” Gold said.
“But the good news is we got the engine working the way we need.” Shadow said.
“And we had a blast of a time.” Star added with a wink.
The three Head Officers couldn’t help but smile/snort/chuckle at her pun.
Chapter 2: New Lives and New Locations
Soon after Star was taken to the Tavern to eat, Razor and his head officers had gathered in their own meeting room to discuss Star Wing.
“The poor thing,” Atlas Moth, a Royal Changeling that was the Outcasts’ Fleet Secretary and second in command who was also Razor’s loving wife, said sadly as Razor rubbed her back. “How could Celestia have let her be treated like that?”
“I don’t know Atlas,” Snowheart, the Pegasus from earlier said, gripping the handle of her sword so hard that her hoof under the glove she wore was turning whiter. “But the fact that she would allow a Foal of only a few months to be thrown in a cell just for crying too loudly is just…” She trailed off as she tried to get her rage under control. Snowheart, also known as Snowy or just Snow to her friends, had been a mother herself many years ago. She had married a loving Unicorn Stallion named Dusk Light and the two had been gifted with three Foals, but their happiness didn’t last. The family had been taken by Caribou Slavers and Snow was separated from the rest, the ship her family had been placed on had vanished at sea. They had been lucky, Snow didn’t have that same luck. For seven long and terrible years Snow had been a slave and it had destroyed her, by the time she had finally escaped and found by Razor and Atlas Snowy had only been a broken shell of a Mare just barely holding onto a rock at sea.
“I understand why you’re feeling that way Snowy.” White Fang, an albino winged thestral, said. “But what I don’t understand is why. I met Celestia back when I worked as one of Luna’s personal guards. And Celestia was nothing like Star described.”
“Remember, White,” Fire Gem, a dracony (Pony/dragon hybrid), said. “It’s been over a thousand years since Star last saw Celestia. According to the various records; Celestia was a far different mare back then, and a lot can change in one year, let alone a thousand.”
A zebra, Zenith, spoke next. “If I was to hazard a guess: banishing her sister and the disappearance of her niece right after was too much of a shock for her. From what we know of the Elements, if used like they were against Nightmare Moon, it forces the bearer to feel the pain of the other.”
“Meaning that Celestia would have experienced not just what Luna had gone through, but also Star.” Apollo, a griffin, said. “I think it’s safe to say that the Mare Celestia was back then died that night.”
A minotaur named Steel Mass turned to Razor.”If you don’t mind me asking: why did you ask Star Wing if she wanted to join?”
Readjusting his seat, Razor looked out over his other Head officers. “Well besides the fact that Star believes that she can never go back to Equestria? She’s miles from home, and you all know as well as I do what will happen if the Northern Trade Union gets their hooves on her.”
Immediately the others agreed: the Northern Trade Union or NTU for short, was an Earth Pony-run faction in the Sea of Legends that on the surface appeared to be a simple trading company, but those who lived on the SOL knew the truth: The NTU were nothing but two-bit slavers that saw all others as either labor slaves or pleasure slaves, making them one of the most hated faction in the Sea of Legends. It went unsaid, but the other Head Officers knew full well on what Razor had meant and it was all thanks to another alicorn filly: Flurry Heart.
While the birth of an alicorn had been a truly amazing thing after Star had vanished, it hadn’t taken long for word to reach the NTU. Now that they knew for sure that a natural-born alicorn was possible, if very rare, they've been keeping a sharp eye out for one. Fortunately, most of the only widely known alicorns were in Equestria and even the NTU wasn’t willing to take on the full might of the Equestrian Navy, leaving only a select few known alicorns in the SOL, who stayed well hidden and were more than capable of defending themselves with added help from any allies they’d made. However, with the sudden finding of Star Wing, another one was now in the Sea of Legends. The problem here was Star, despite her love of stories and heroes, had never gotten the chance to actually train herself in combat, and as such was highly vulnerable to being captured by the NTU. And the second she was old enough, assuming the freaks didn’t consider a thousand years of stasis to be old enough already...
But fortunately for Star, she’d found her allies in the Outcasts of the Abyss who would protect her from the NTU and teach her what she would need for the inevitable encounter.
_________________________________________________________________________
Much later, Razor and Atlas entered the Main Tavern which was what the crew had come to call the main dining area, where they found several of the crew grouped around the newcomer. One of her books was laid out before her, next to several used plates, and she read from the pages with an intense light in her eyes.
“‘I will not die a monster,’ he declared with defiance,” she read. “And with a mighty lunge, he seized his malfunctioning invention, sending it down-down-down into the dark depths of the river below.”
Several of the crew cheered. Star glanced up with a glitter of joy in her eyes - usually, ponies just told her to shush or shut up when she got too into her books, but not this crew. They encouraged her and a few even played out some of the scenes in the story. Her eyes sparkled again as she noticed Razor and Atlas, the others noticing them as well.
Razor walked over first with a grin. “So,” he noted. “Have you given my offer some thought?”
Star smiled, donning a pair of comically large glasses from her bag and flipping through the pages of the book she was reading. “Yep, I’ve carefully considered your offer, gone over every possible alternative and calculated the - who am I kidding, I didn’t even need to consider it.” She tossed aside her glasses and stood up with a salute. “Captain Razor Tail, consider Ex-Princess Star Wing recruited!”
Razor gave Star a smile as he reached forward and the two shook hand and hoof. “Welcome to the Outcasts, Star Wing. This will most likely be a different life to what you're used to, but I can guarantee there won't be a dull moment.”
Star smiled, and looked over at Atlas as she came forward to stand next to Razor. Atlas looked like other Changeling Royals that Star had read about; her mane and tail were royal purple as were her eyes. The former two having been done in seven braids that were tied at the middle with a large red bow and a large red barrel bead just about the tip. Both the mane and tail had many small diamond, emerald, sapphire, and ruby clips woven throughout the hair. A large sword that Star recognised from her stories as a Claymore rested along her back.
It was her wings however that was the eye catcher; they were shaped like that of an Atlas Moth and were very large, Star was sure that she’d have no trouble keeping up Razor’s own oversized wings in flight.
Star’s own wings fluttered in envy, but her eyes darted between the two. “I’m sensing something between you two,” she noted. “Let me guess… taking a shot in the dark here…” She hummed before pointing at Atlas. “You’re his first mate.”
“Very good, Star Wing,” Razor began, “This here is Atlas Moth; my second-in-command, and my wife.” Atlas lifted her left hoof, showing Star the gold and silver ring studded with diamonds, emeralds, sapphires, and rubies that she wore.
Star’s eyes widened. “Oh-ho… so… first mate in more ways than one.” She laughed.
“Razor here hoofcrafted this ring for me, to seal our bond.” She said as her and Razor shared a loving nuzzle, Star couldn’t help but think of her mother and father seeing the two.
She smiled softly at the memory, and stayed silent, not wanting her bad jokes or quips to ruin their moment.
Razor turned back to Star and said; “Now before you truly start your new life on the Sea of Legends however, you’ll be seeing one of the best sights in the Sea of Legends: Imperator’s Grave.”
Star cocked an eyebrow.
“Imperator’s Grave?”
Imperator’s Grave
The others tried to prepare Star for what Imperator’s Grave was. They told her about how it served as a haven for pirates, privateers, smugglers, and any other type of sailor the tides swept up. How it had become an anchor point for all trade routes around the world, and how everything - “Except for slaves,” Razor said firmly. “No. Slavery. Allowed.” - could be purchased there.
But it was another matter to see the site itself.
Star hung upside down from the rigging like a baby bat, gazing in awe as Imperator’s Grave loomed over the horizon: a massive archipelago of towering cliffs, rock formations of all shapes and sizes defending the place better than any army. A giant inlet like the maw of a crocodile was protected by the rock formations, leading to a dock where ships of all sizes had a constant flow of supplies, passengers and cargo moving in and out of the ships. Further on, ten story high rib bones dotted the dock, with smaller but still large leviathan skulls forming a sort of town of huts in the wall’s shadow. The town led to a fortress with walls made of rock, shipwrecks and rib-like bones reaching up twenty stories high, with cannons, rockets and other weapons protecting whatever was the source of several dancing lights. Several entrances stood at various intervals on the walls; each one was guarded by a giant reptilian-esque skull big enough to swallow the Dragon of the Depths whole. Even from a distance, Star could hear the chatter of crowds and the clink of gold with her thestral hearing passed down from her father.
Razor Tail joined Star on the rigging, grinning at her wide-eyes of amazements. “Princess Star Wing,” he declared. “Welcome to Imperator’s Grave.”
Star was speechless; she’d read about locations like Imperator’s Grave in many of her stories but to actually see one in real life was… she didn’t have the words. Soon the Dragon pulled into a cluster of three large, connecting inlets and into a massive dock that seemed to be a small town in its own right. Drawbridges connecting the topsides of the inlets opened to allow the Dragon’s masts to pass through with no trouble and along the top edges facing inward were numerous winches and cranes.
Soon the Dragon came to a stop as it dropped its four massive anchors as large and wide gangplanks and docking supports moved from the docks and attached to the side of the Dragon. Razor turned to address the crew.
“Alright ya’ll, we’re going to be at Imperator’s Grave for a few days so enjoy your shore leave. See you all again in a few days.” With that, he gave a wave of his Halberd and the crew started to disembark as Star came down from the rigging and sat on the railing to the right of the triple helm, gazing out over the town-dock.
Razor came up to her. “You’re going to be with me while we’re here, Star. Ready to see Imperator’s Grave?”
Star grinned, though her grin faded as she peered at the shoreline. “Before we go, one quick thing…” She glanced around. “Let’s be honest; I’m not sure people should know about me yet.” She looked down with a small glower. “And I’d rather leave the life of the Moon Spawn behind me.” She looked back up with a grin. “Hopefully, though… I’ve got a solution.” She fluffed her wings. “Stand back… I haven’t tested this in a thousand years, so I have no idea what’ll happen.”
The crew backed up a respectable distance as Star’s horn lit up, and she began to shroud herself in blue flames. For a moment, several of the crew flinched, wondering if Star was burning herself alive. Atlas Moth, however, recognized the flames of a changeling spell.
Just before she could speak, the flames popped with a burst of magic. And in Star’s place stood an adult dragoness. She still had Star’s black and white color scheme - though now in scales instead of fur - and she had Star’s brilliant green eyes. Evidently, she also had Star’s personality, for as the dragon took one look at her new body, she whooped in delight.
“It worked!” she cheered. “By Faust in Heaven, it worked!” she broke out into a fit of giggling.
“Um… what worked, exactly?” one of the crew asked.
Star managed to calm herself enough to explain. “Well… you see, the Castle of Two Sisters got diplomats from several non-pony factions, right? Two of those factions were dragons and changelings.” She grinned at Atlas. “The changeling diplomat - uh, Antenna, I think her name was - she noticed me getting picked on in the past, and took pity on me.” She lifted her talons. “She showed me the shapeshifting spells so I didn’t have to worry about the nobles seeing me. And… well, the dragon diplomat - Cinder - stood up for me when Lord Ego wanted to throw me in jail for looking at him wrong.” Her eyes turned dreamy. “Oh, that dragon was magnificent. His scales… his wings… his thick muscles…” she paused, realizing she almost revealed too much information, before chuckling. “Well… either way, I’ve always wanted to be a dragon. And now I get the chance!” She spun in a circle with a giddy cackle.
Though her cackling died as Atlas walked over to her, looking over her new form with a critical eye. “Uh, is it… okay?” Star asked.
“You learned pretty well,” Atlas said. “But there are still some flaws.” She smiled. “Imperator’s Grave will be safe enough for now, but later, I’d like to teach you some fine tuning methods to fix them.”
“Oh, sure,” Star replied. “I’d love that.”
“First, we need to gather our supplies,” Razor replied with a smile, knowing that Star would now be safe from threats for the time being. “If you’re ready, Princess Star…?”
Star chuckled. “Ready, but Princess Star is the life I’m leaving behind. From here on out, I shall be known as… ‘Night Fire.’” She struck a pose, before joining Razor. And together, the two departed the Dragon.
As they disembarked, Star took a brief glance back at her new home, taking in the sight of the Dragon of the Depths.
The first thing that struck her was the sheer size of the ship: Star had read about many different kinds of ships in her stories from water-bound to even space ships; she even once read about ships capable of traveling underwater. But never about one this size; by Star’s guess the Dragon of the Depths was around 1,504.10 ft, maybe longer. The hull was at least 28 decks above the water line, not counting the fore and aft-castles, but towards the front a space was missing six decks, while the colors of the hull were in a pattern of four colors: black, red, purple, and cyan in that order from the bottom which repeated as it traveled up the hull and there was bright gold trim all over the hull, such as in between the gun decks and the gun hatches themselves are also the above four colors only set to give two different contrasts to the gun deck they were on, being the black areas have red hatches with purple centers, the red areas had cyan hatches with black centers, the purple areas had gold hatches with cyan centers, and the cyan areas had black hatches with red centers. Spread all over the Hull were glowing orange ember-like spots, appearing like fire was burning brightly on the interior walls of these areas, there were also areas where the same glow effect was red with large Runes mixed in and emerald green. The size of these areas ranged from large to small and long to short with a few spots not having any Glow at all, and none of the three Glowing areas crossed over each other, with each being on a color band that allowed one to easy see the Hull color in bright lights while still leaving the Glow easily visible. The Glow Effect is also visible on the centers of the Gun Hatches.
What really caught her eye was the bow: it had been shaped like a massive dragon head with a gaping maw and giant teeth, looking ready to swallow anything unfortunate to fall in and the two large crystal eyes were blood red and glowing and protruding from the chin was a long and very big hardened steel ram that had claw like spikes starting from the back half of the ram to just in front of the hull, the spikes started small and increased in size towards the back. Under the very long bowsprit, which protruded out just above the dragon's head, were several figureheads; the base of the Figureheads on the Bow constantly emitted a shroud of thick fog that trailed several feet behind as the Ship sailed forward. The first Figurehead sat under the others and was a large piece of curved metal resembling a cutlass blade with the cutting edge bearing a resemblance to teeth on a saw blade.
The second Figurehead was above this one and the bottom one was attached at the back point to the base of this one, it was a round gold shield-like face boarded by a silver ring with the sail symbol in black on it, trailing behind the shield are four banner-like extensions curved from wood, two on top and two on the bottom, with silver coin-shaped claps towards the ends. The top banners were red and the bottom ones were black. The symbol on the shield had glowing red outlines and eyes that cast the black shape of the symbol on the water in front of the ship like a spotlight.
Fitted over the top of the second Figurehead was the large skull of a creature with a beak with the Shield Symbol being seen in the mouth from the front. Attached to the chin of the skull was the first figurehead on the front point.
Attached to the bowsprit in front of and above the forehead of the skull was a figurehead consisting of a metal extension with a Pony Mare skull missing its lower jaw with red Gems in the eyes, nose, and protruding out of the mouth. At the base of this Figurehead is a pair of large gold-colored lanterns, one on each side, a red cloth is draped on each side starting just behind the top of the skull and down to behind and a bit past the Lanterns. A black chain started on the part above and forward of the Mare skull which traveled up to a gold chain loop with a large cage hangs from in between this Figurehead and the next one. The cage had a gold top with short chain, base, center ring and rivets and black bars with a red cloth covering the floor and hanging down a bit.
The third figurehead was a dragon with its body coiling around a metal beam twice, with the tail splitting in two and traveling above the eye sockets of the skull. The Dragon had two front legs with tree fingers tipped with black claws while the open maw of the Dragon had black, rock-like teeth. The body glowed brightly with yellow in the center that changed to orange than red towards the edges and tips.
In front and above of the dragon was an alicorn with a gold coat and purple hooves, wrapped around the horn were two Purple chain rings and another four were wrapped around the cannon of the right foreleg. The mane, tail, eyes, horn and wings were glowing: The mane and tail are red, the eyes are silver, the horn is green, and the wings had two glowing areas: The feathers were blue while the wings themselves were orange. The eyes projected a large silver halo or ring around the bowsprit above the head, this ring was quite visible even in the fog around them and in the left hoof was a large lantern in the shape of a gibbet cage with a large red flame burning within.
In front and above of the alicorn was a wyvern colored various shades of red ranging from normal to dark with its tail going into the wood attaching the Alicorn to the bow and the mouth was open with flame shooting out, the eyes were orange and yellow as was the flame. The Wyvern had three metal bands that were black but the areas in front of the body changed to orange then yellow, the center of the bands were broken, bent and twisted. The rivets holding the bands to the bowsprit are also glowing orange.
In front and above the wyvern was the final figurehead which is another dragon only shaped like the symbol on the sail with a silver body, red eyes, and black claws and tail blades. The center tail blade had a sapphire on it in the center of the blade, a long harpoon with small chains hanging off from in between the Alicorn and the Wyvern Figureheads towards the back jutted out. The Dragon had both back legs on this harpoon and the front left leg is gripping it while the right front leg had a rounded shield with a symbol of two crossed halberds behind a forward-facing Dragon head on it, the symbol glowed green.
Set to the sides of the Mare Skull Figurehead above the cloth extensions are a were of four Harpoons with three sets of chains holding them up set in a 12-3-6-9 pattern though the top and bottom Harpoons are longer, the ones at the 12, 3 and 9 positions had Red paint on their tips that resembles blood.
So full of detail and care were they, Star quickly found herself looking away, blinking in utter bafflement. Ultimately, she shook her head: looking back wasn’t going to get her anywhere, she reminded herself, moving forward was going to get her somewhere. And so, Star - or rather, ‘Night Fire,’ - followed along Razor Tail.
