The Free Skies

This chapter will update as the story unfolds, so please check back whenever you find something you don't understand, or if you want to learn more about the world!

Agri-flotilla: A fleet of interconnected ships, usually anchored to a mountain to use the land for extra farming space. Mostly made up of Agri-helicarriers, but there are ships of smaller classes that protect the flotilla and its interests.

Scout: 10-40 feet long. A ship about the size of a shuttle, but built to be much sturdier and far faster. Used primarily as patrol craft by agri-flotillas and as scouts by smaller fleets to ensure there’s nothing dangerous in the fleet’s path.

Shuttle: 15-20 feet long. Think like a golf cart/taxi meant for only getting around inside of a city. Definitely not made to be used in anything above category 4 weather.

Racer: 20-25 feet long. A ship that’s about as big as a scout or shuttle, but made completely for speed and is almost defenseless. Used for emergency transport of a single person, mail, and in death races.

Fighter: 40-70 feet long. Larger than a Scout ship and more heavily armed and armored. Used as fast-response units by fleets and usually used by lone pirates.

Frigate: 70-100 feet long. Larger than Fighters and usually backup if an enemy isn’t deterred by fighters. Usually a flagship of small pirate fleets.

Bomber: 80-120 feet long. Rare ship type that is used only for large-scale assaults when negotiations have broken down completely. If a fleet has one of these anywhere, you can bet they have the means to produce old munitions from the Apocalypse War. Sometimes mistaken for frigates or cruisers.

Cruiser: 100-150 feet long. Larger than frigates, but used in the same capacity.

Cargo Freighter: 200-600 feet long. Used mostly by traders or converted into pleasure yachts by those wealthy enough. Very modular and big enough to carry other ships inside of it if you want to sacrifice cargo space.

Helicarrier: Think like the one from The Avengers only made from mis-matched or welded together pieces. Size is usually between 1,000 and 2,000 feet long.

Diver: 4,000-6,000 feet long. Huge ship at least four times as big as a heli-carrier that is sturdy enough to weather the currents and lightning inside of the Surface Storm. Used to decontaminate and bring up soil, airship parts, and anything valuable. Never attacked due to their position and as they have a hull thick enough that not even a fully grown dragon can pierce through it.

Dreadnought: 7,000-8,000 feet long. Bigger than a Diver but smaller than an agri-helicarrier. Used as flagships in large to huge fleets and as the lynchpin in the defenses of agri-flotillas. If you draw the attention of a dreadnought, you better say your prayers unless you have one yourself.

Agri-helicarrier: A helicarrier that has been converted to mostly fields for farming. Usually made from ten to twenty helicarriers welded together. Size is usually between 10,000 and 20,000 feet long and at least 4,000 feet wide.

Destroyer: 50,000 feet long relic of the Apocalypse War. Even a heavily damaged and sunken destroyer can still decimate any size of fleet. Only one has been recorded to survive the war and thousand years following it.

Canterlot Agri-flotilla: A collection of 568 interconnected ships, helicarriers, and agri-helicarriers anchored around Canterlot Mountain. Seen as the capital of the Equestrian territory.

Griffonstone Agri-flotilla: A collection of 893 ships anchored around the ancient buildings of Griffonstone. Home to most griffons.

Kludgetown Agri-flotilla: 314 ships anchored to the artificial mountain that is the ruins of the original Kludgetown.

Everfree Agri-flotilla: A collection of 205 ships dedicated to the preservation of what species there are left in the world.

Mt. Aris Agri-flotilla: Home of the Hippogriffs, a collection of 563 ships surrounding the ancient buildings in the interior of the mountain.

Grand Admiral Celestia: Celestia's title as she's the leader of all of Equestria's agri-flotillas.

The Moon’s Shadow: Sister ship to The Solar Wind. Flagship of Equestria’s second fleet. Decided lost in the Apocalypse War along with the entirety of the second fleet.

The Solar Wind: Flagship of the Canterlot agri-flotilla. Only known Destroyer to still be functional and Celestia’s personal ship.

Providence: Destroyed flagship of Griffonstone.

Apocalypse War: The conflict that mutated the world into what it is today, a thousand years later.

Death Race: An extremely dangerous race through hazardous areas or even parts of the Surface Storm. Preferred over large scale battles to resolve disputes between fleets. Those participating in the race are outfitted with transponders that give much more detailed information about the ships such as when the ship gets hit and when it is destroyed.

Skyways: What the various slipstreams and airways above the Surface Storm are called.

Surface Storm: What passes as a surface in the Skyways is known as the Surface Storm. It is a 2 mile thick band of radioactive storm clouds. Interestingly enough, its top 300 feet is the calmest portion of it, with most of the destructive power transferred into a constant powerful updraft, allowing smaller airships and large surface area ships to stay afloat without any power whatsoever. The top 300 feet of the Surface Storm also creates free water and energy. However, beyond the 300 foot mark, the winds return to shredding apart anything unfortunate enough to go down there, and the radiation and lightning incinerate whatever is left.

Storm Creatures: Within the 300 foot safety layer lies a bevy of strange creatures, each one built to survive on mostly sunlight and water (and occasionally, each other) despite their animalistic features. Many of these are heavily mutated, but recognizable versions of land creatures, as well as birds and, strangely enough, quite a lot of sea creatures.

Foals working: As long as a child has their Cutie Mark, foals aren’t questioned while they work and it’s up to their parents to keep them going to school. Most of the time those under age are forbidden from taking jobs or requests that take them away from their home, though there are exceptions such as if the foal in question is known to not have guardians anymore. This way of thinking does unfortunately result in orphans leaving orphanages to join up with a traveling ship’s crew or just saving up to get their own ship.

Weather Categories: Storms in Skyfree are categorized into ten individual classes.

• Category 1: Light showers, thin breeze.
• Category 2: Heavier showers, strong breeze.
• Category 3: 30 mph winds, light hail, some lightning.
• Category 4: 40 mph winds, strong hail, lightning.
• Category 5: F-1 tornado. Extreme amounts of hail and lightning.
• Category 6: F-2 tornado. Flying metal debris and hail.
• Category 7: F-3 tornado. Lightning arcing between metal debris.
• Category 8: F-4 tornado. Lightning charged hail storms.
• Category 9: F-5 tornado. Clouds of plasma and fire.
• Category 10: The Surface storm.

Magicite: Comes in several forms with varying prices and volatility, though no one knows if there are more kinds or not. Magicite is magic solidified into a rock form, somewhat like a gem.

• Green Magicite:
• Most common, but also the most volatile form. Used in magical weapons.
• About 5,000 creds per pound when cut properly.
• Clear Magicite:
• Second most common and second least volatile form. Used in magical engines because of how well it burns and how long-lasting they are.
• About 5,750 creds per pound.
• Gold Magicite:
• Third most common and second most volatile. Used in wizard staffs mostly, though other kinds can be used.
• About 6,250 creds per pound.
• Purple Magicite:
• Second rarest kind and third most volatile. No known uses as of this moment.
• About 9,500 creds per pound.
• Pink Magicite:
• Third rarest kind and the middle man of volatility. Used in magic generators.
• About 9,000 creds per pound.
• Red Magicite:
• Rarest form and least volatile, also known as The Philosopher’s Stone. Used in high-powered staffs.
• About 10,000 creds per pound.
• Blue Magicite:
• The middle man of rarity and third most volatile. No known uses as of now.
• About 7,000 creds per pound.
• Cyan Magicite:
• About the same as Blue in rarity and of the volatility of Pink. No known uses as of now.
• About 7,500 creds per pound.
• Gold:
• Rarest and most expensive metal.
• 500,000 creds per pound.

Weapons

Arcano Cannon: A ship-mounted, turreted shotgun. Needs a magical power source to work.

Power Generators

Most ships usually have multiple power cores for both redundancy and to power more things than just one core could.

Particle Annihilator Core: Produces the most power out of all the different generators, but it is the least stable and actually takes away from a ship's structural integrity. As such it is not recommended to put one on anything smaller than a large cargo ship.

Arcano Power Core: Cannot power anything but magical weapons. Must be recharged by a unicorn, but can go for months between charges. Not as stable as a combustion engine, but definitely more durable.

Solar Power Core: Basically just solar panels bolted to the top of a ship. The most stable power core a ship can have outside of either Wind or Lightning. Produces the least amount of power.

Wind Power Core: The best way to let others know you're old and want sails instead of propellers. Just as stable as Solar Power, but the energy produced varies with wind speed.

Lightning Power Core: Mostly used by those who follow storms, or who dive down into The Storm. It's a good idea to have at least one as you can't go a full day in the Skyways without seeing lightning at least once.

Hydrogen Power Core: The most widely used power core there is, as water is the most plentiful resource there is. Not as stable as a combustion power core, but much more stable than an Arcano Power Core.

Combustion Power Core: Old as the Storm, but still usable. Considered a cheap and replaceable part that should really be outdated.

Fission Power Core: A dirty and dangerous way to make power. More stable than a Particle Annihilator Core, but considered to be something only pirates would use.

Fusion Power Core: Literally a slowly exploding nuke. More stable than a Fission Power Core and more clean, but still considered something no respectable pilot would consider.