//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1 
// Story: War Songs by Moonlight 
// by extrapixel 
//------------------------------//

"So I trust the rules are clear then," Loch-and-Key, a sturdily-built, dusky blue unicorn mare, said as she removed the magic inhibitor from her sister's horn.

"Crystal," Stella Nautica, a small lilac unicorn, responded bluntly, as her sister guided her into the processing room of the coastal prison.

"No more traficking illegal cargo," Loch said as she turned and shut the heavy steel door behind her, leaving the two ponies alone.

"I think doing an end run around of aristocratic monopolies is hardly immoral..."

Loch's eyes narrowed.  "No more 'borrowing' ships from the merchants' private navy."

"I gave them all back, and it isn't like they were being used at the time..."  Stella said meekly.

"And no illegally parking your rickety pirate ship in the harbor."

"I'm a corsair.  Not a pirate.  And the Everlight is not rickety.  It's streamlined, eschewing modern luxuries in favor of practical essentials.  It's a prime example of economy of form, and furthermore-"

"Sis.  Please.  I'm begging you.  If it was up to the landed families in this city, you'd be in a pit so deep and dark in this facility that you'd never see the light of day again," she sighed.  "And I'd never see you again."

"I know.  And I do appreciate everything you've done for me.  It can't be easy for your career in the royal navy to have a sister who is, well..."

"A pirate?  Freebooter?  Privateer?  Troublemaker?"

"I note the conspicuous absence of the term 'corsair' from your litany of synonyms, which I may've mentioned is my preferred title, but yes, all of that."

Loch opened a nearby storage container and removed some garments, tools, a coin purse, and a thin saber.  She handed the items to Stella.  "Well, save some of your thanks for The Duchess."

Stella packed away her things.  "Duchess Radiance herself commuted my sentence?"

"Did you think I did it all on my own?  I'm a well-respected officer, but I don't have quite that kind of weight to throw around.  No, evidently your tendency to pick on her political enemies, and them alone, has made you fairly popular with her.  Which brings us to the final condition of your release."

"Y-yes?" Stella said, growing a bit anxious.

"Radiance is embattled.  The military stands with her, at least right now, but the situation is very volatile.  The landed families in this city vehemently oppose her reformist tendencies, and they'd love to see her replaced with a more traditional, and pliant, head of state."

"Politics is exhausting..."  Stella said.

"In any case," Loch continued, "your no-strings-attached lifestyle has made you an unlikely but appealing new recruit for our little organization."

"Your organization?"

"The Hand of the Duchess, a small group of loyalists within the military and intelligentsia who support The Duchess both overtly and, well, covertly," Loch said.  "You look a bit pale.  I thought you'd be excited."

"I hear the sound of strings being attached,"  Stella sighed.

"You're free to come and go as you please.   There's no parole period, no official monitoring of your activities,"  Loch said reassuringly.

"What assurance do you all have that I'll comply if there's no enforced accountability?  No threat of punishment?"

"Oh, there's a punishment, alright,"  Loch said smirking.  "The full, scorching hell of sister-promise-breaker guilt."

"Ugh, ok.  Fine.  Anything but that.  What am I supposed to do?"

"Patrols have been disappearing.  Several officers have gone missing.  Radiance thinks it's something bigger than internal political opposition to land reform and improving prospects for artisans and laborers."

"An actor external to the city?" Stella asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine, but she suspects a wider conspiracy.  So long as the military remains loyal to The Duchess, a coup is out of the question.  Eroding morale and eliminating the most loyal members of the officer class
could certainly change the landscape a bit, and she doesn't think the aristocrats have the means to achieve that themselves.  They have a small private navy and marine corp, but that's only large enough for escorting merchant ships."

"I'll look into it, but I admit I don't know where to start."  Stella said.

"You could try talking to your,"  Loch paused and acquired an exasperated expression "your corsair friends.  You can go places easily that we can't.  We've tried the official channels."

Stella grinned brightly.  "I'll see what I can do."  She turned to head out of the prison but paused and looked back at her sister. "With everything going on, are you sure you'll be ok here?"

Loch shrugged.  "As ok as any of us, I suppose.  But I won't sugarcoat it, things are really bad right now."

"I'll do whatever I can, sis.  I promise,"  Stella said softly.

"I know."  Loch bumped her head affectionately against Stella's.  "You were always the resourceful one."

Stella turned and left and headed into the busy streets of the city of Diadem.