//------------------------------// // Departure // Story: Night Patrol 2: Awakening // by Foxgear //------------------------------// Night Patrol 2: Awakening ch 5 By Foxgear “There are no cannons,” were Luna’s first words when she saw the ship that would be carrying her to Nippon. The ship was a fragile-looking thing named The Le flur. The Le flur was a gaudy gold color with purple accents; she didn’t know what it was that the captain of the ship was saying as he gave her a tour, but she found it of little importance. Following her were her ‘bodyguards’ for the trip, Spitfire, and Goodnight. She had personally requested Spitfire, Goodnight was having been recommended by Spitfire and if Spitfire thought the guard pony was up for the task then she saw no problem with the selection. “Sorry sister, but The Royal Equestrian Airship hasn’t used cannons in five centuries.” Her sister Celestia was also here to see her off and looking very sheepish as the tour progressed. No doubt Celestia knew she would not find The Le Flur adequate transport and she would be right. One barrage from her old flagship the Moon Cutter would send this ship crashing to earth. “Is this not the most elegant ship you have ever seen Princess Luna? Much more tasteful than the old rugged airships crafted after old sea vessels, much more fuel efficient and aerodynamic,” boasted Captain Vain Gull. “Please do not hold back, tell me what you think of my beauty!” Celestia tensed as Luna sucked in a breath, “She looks as tough as a fragile flower in front of a stampede of buffalo and could be easily taken as a young virgin mare in at a ball by the most spineless of stallions and left with a ruffled dress and streaking mascara.” The captain and crew stood with mouth’s hanging. Celestia gave them an uneasy smile, while Luna tapped at the deck with disdain. “This wood would never survive a single attack, it’s too flimsy. Is there not another ship we could take? Perhaps an older vessel, preferably with cannons?” “Just what are you expecting to encounter during this flight Princess?” Captain Vain Gull demanded looking to Celestia for help. The older princess stepped back, not wanting to get involved. Ponies would have to get used to her sister with no filters. That was her mistake last time and she would not repeat it. Besides Luna was correct about the ship, it’s been awhile since Celestia used it herself. Sure they switched out the cannons for unicorns firing magic, but the last time she flew in an airship about… three hundred years ago? The ships were at least still armored for combat, she trembled to think what the rest of the fleet looked like. “I don’t know what to expect Captain and that is the problem. You must prepare for the unexpected and you have clearly failed to do that. What would happen if we were attacked? The only fighters aboard are me and my guards, a total of three. What countermeasures do you have?” Vain Gull backpedaled as Luna walked sternly towards the captain. “Well? Tell me?” “We have never been attacked, though, what would be the point?” Luna shook her head in dismay, things were even worse than she thought. Still, she didn’t have much choice at this point, however, she was not about to leave with things like this. “Spitfire, Goodnight, please go find some additional security. Pick whoever you like, but they must be capable.” “Roger that ma’am,” saluted Spitfire, “Come on, Goody, I know who just to get!” “Coming,” the night guard yells chasing after Spitfire. Luna found something funny with the way he flew. She had been under the impression Goodnight was an earth pony as she’s never seen his wings, why did he hide them? Disregarding the matter, for now, Luna looks to Celestia, who was clearly uncomfortable as the crew of the ship sulked away. “Did I overdo it?” “Only a little,” replied Celestia with a forced smile. “Your criticism was harsh but true. However, I think you forget the times we live in. We are not at war Luna, nor have we been for some time.” “I think you forget the times we have lived in, if there is war then peace will come someday, if there is peace then war will come someday. Do not forget we battled the griffons twice only a few decades apart. Also, I do not know these new allies you have spoken of.” “You will meet them soon enough, they are planning a visit in the coming year or so.” Luna asked, “What of the griffons?” Celestia’s face turned grim, she walks towards the ramp with her head bowed low “Don’t worry about the griffons. Sixes ensured they would never do what they did a third time, even to this day they feel the effects of his deeds.” That caught Luna’s interest, “What did he do?” Celestia didn’t turn around, “You don’t want to know. You really don’t. He… he was different without you around.” She said no more on the matter nor did Luna ask. Celestia taking her leave before she could. “Curious, I’ll have to look into that when I get back.” Spitfire and Goodnight return roughly thirty minutes later with two more ponies in tow, both wonderbolts, a bit overkill probably, but Luna likes the wonderbolts. She found them to be very competent during her time disguised as Emerald Moon. They were out of doubt the most comparable to her Night Patrol of old. However, she failed to recognize the two before her. Both of the unknown wonders were mares. One had a dark blue coat and white mane and the other had a tawny brown and a strange mane that resembled a rainbow, but instead of a multiple of bright colors, it changed from different shades of black turning to gray, before finishing with white. Spitfire introduces the two, “This is Night Glider, Fleetfoot’s cousin; she joined the class after you… I mean after Emerald Moon, so she’s kind of rookie. This one here,” Spitfire points to the tawny mare, “Is one of our more experience bolts, codenamed DD.” “Call me Daring,” introduced the mare, “I just happen to have a mission in the direction you’re going, so I’ll be leaving you after you reach Nippon.” That peaked Luna’s interest, “What kind of mission if I may ask?” Daring smirked placing her hoof on her head like she was going to tilt a hat, “Forgot I’m not wearing that right now…” she mumbles earning a few curious looks from the group. “Ah sorry, force of habit. I can’t tell you the exact details, but I can say my mission in archeological in nature.” “Archeological,” said Luna frowning, “In other words legalized grave robbing.” “Better me than somepony else,” was Daring's reply letting loose a long yawn. “If you don’t mind, I’m gonna catch a nap. Just got back from a long flight back from the zebra jungles and I could use some Zs. Wake me up for the last watch.” “She certainly is very carefree,” Luna notes with distain as Daring trots away. “She kind of reminds me of you Spitfire.” Spitfire’s face turns sour, “Thanks for that.” “Did I cause offense?” “No,” sighs Spitfire, not really sure how to reply. “Daring is a pony Celestia trusts a lot, so she gets cut a lot of slack. She doesn’t have to show up for annual training or ever perform in shows. She doesn’t even need to follow any pony’s order except for Celestia’s. We call her the rogue wonder. Rumor is Celestia trained her personally.” “Interesting,” Luna mused wondering what purpose Daring’s missions served her sister. (Probably looking for lost powerful artifacts if I were a gambling pony.) “Let’s leave her be then.” The wonderbolt captain nods, knowing better than to poke her muzzle into affairs she clearly wasn’t meant to poke in. She had her issues with the rogue wonder, but Daring was a wonderbolt at the end of the day and could be trusted. Looking at her other last minute teammate Spitfire found Night Glider still stiff at attention. “You can be at ease now. Don’t be so uptight Night Glider, I need you loose and alert.” “That’s kind of a contradictory statement ma’am,” Night Glider points out, still maintaining her stiff posture. Gulping as Spitfire leers at her with what looked like an irritated glare, one she remembered from her time in the academy. The wonderbolt captain gave her a pat on the back rather than the ear chewing she had been expecting. “You're defiantly Fleet’s cousin. She acted the exact same way you are now when she first started, but don’t worry I’ll crack that shell soon enough. Then you’ll be a real wonderbolt. You just have to find your switch.” “My… switch…uh, ma’am?” She chuckles ruffling Night glider’s hair, “Yeah, your switch, you can’t be a wonderbolt all the time. You gotta learn how to go from cold professional back to normal you or what you’ll consider normal after a couple of missions. Whatever the cause you and Goody will take first watch after we take off, it will be a good warm up for your first mission.” Night Glider salutes with a wide grin, “Yes, ma’am!” She was going to do fine mused Spitfire as she trots to the cabin. The ship rumbling beneath her hooves, meaning it was time to take off. In the cabin looking over the controls was Luna, if there was one thing she could give this ship credit for, it was the fact the controls were much more streamlined. The Moon Cutter, even when upgraded, still needed a crew of twenty to fifty ponies just in the command room alone. The Le Flur only needed five. The number of gauges and gadget’s to keep an eye was drastically reduced. The ship took off with great speed, much faster than the Moon Cutter. A set of Gem Thruster Engines, GTE, one of Gadget’s later inventions pushed the ship forward rather than the ship riding on clouds. This did, however, mean the ship would go crashing down if the engines were cut, rather than float on the clouds. The Moon Cutter could lose its engines, but as long as the cloud machine worked it would still fly using its sails via wind or wing power. “I expect you will come to love this ship more by the time this trip is done your highness,” said Captain Vain Gull as he left the first mate to take the helm. “Love is a strong term, but I will adjust the best I can. Clarify for me Captain, you ever been in conflict before?” “No,” The Captain answers while looking a bit embarrassed, “I am afraid I have not, at least not real combat. I’ve done some mock battles with some of the other captains, but that is it.” “I see, let us hope should the need arise you will be up to the task. Forge by fire is the best way to test one's abilities. On that note, I will be resting in my cabin. So close to home I have little fear of attack, so best to relax now. I suggest you do the same Spitfire.” “I’ll be right behind you ma’am, just give me a few minutes to catch up.” Once Luna left the cabin the air changed drastically. Vain Gull huffs and wrestles a pipe from his coat pocket taking a deep long drag as he ignites the tobacco inside. Angrily he ground his teeth against the carved wood, letting out a huge puff of smoke that fills the cabin. “The nerve! She acts like I haven’t been serving for the last ten years! She’s nothing like Celestia, just like the rumors said! All posh and hot air! No respect!” Spitfire grabs him by the collar, the wonderbolt jabbing her muzzle right into the other captain’s face with clear irritation. “I suggest you remember who you’re talking about! She maybe Celestia’s younger sister, but doesn’t mean she’s some immature brat throwing her title around, she’s the co-ruler of Equestria, the highest authority next to Celestia and don’t forget for however young she may appear she is still far older than you or me or anypony else on this ship combined and has lived through several lifetimes. She does not need your respect and if you want any from her then earn it!” She sent the Captain sprawling to the ground, snorting hot air as she looks at the rest of the crew. None dared matched her gaze. Satisfied she left. “Hey… hey… HEY!” “Whoa! Don’t scare me like that!” Night Glider screams, “Why I… oh Daring! I thought you were asleep!” Daring glares grumpily at the new wonderbolt, “I was, but my room is right below where you’re pacing back and forth!” “Oh… sorry… I’m just so nervous! This is my first mission and for a princess no less. I mean I just got out of the academy about twelve hours ago, I probably shouldn’t even be here, but my cousin Fleetfoot vouched for me to come to Spitfire, and I went along with it because I was so excited but now that I’m here I… are you… are you writing this down?” “Uh? Um yeah, I keep accounts of all my missions. It’s part of my job.” “Wow, from what Fleet was telling me, you probably have enough to write several, if not an entire series of books!” Daring laughed awkwardly, “Books yeah… maybe someday… when I retire.” “So…” Night Glider said looking dreaming eyed at Daring. “So… what?” “What’s it like being a wonderbolt? Fleetfoot told me a lot of stories, but she’s family so I think she kind of sugarcoats it. I want to hear another pony’s experience!” “I’m not your typical bolt,” Daring said submissively, wanting to be done with the conversation. Night Glider was sticking close though not letting up at all, much like a certain other pony she knew, herself of course. There was the rainbow hair mare Spitfire was talking about that apparently looks like her, but she was sure they were nothing alike after that. It’s not like they were long lost sisters separated at birth or something. Her mother would have told her that if that was the case. A nudge in her side brought an end to her musing, “What?” “Sorry, you were kind of zoning out? If you don’t want to tell me your stories it’s fine, I can go ask Captain Spitfire. I think my shift is almost over anyway.” Daring looks up at the night sky. Night Glider has been on watch since they departed several hours ago, that’s some dedication and probably one of Spitfire’s tests. (Spitfire’s probably been evaluating her the whole time too. Best not say anything; I don’t need Captain Fire head making things more difficult for me.) “I need a few minutes to wake up, so stick around a bit,” advised Daring. “Now as I was saying I’m not a typical bolt. Celestia trusts me to go on a multitude of dangerous life threatening solo missions that a team would be too slow for. You see kid, when you work alone there’s no waiting up for anypony or worrying about injured; it’s just you, yourself, and whatever you go on you. You need to be resourceful, quick-witted, and carry a neckless of ancient lucky charms around your neck.” “What…” “Don’t believe me? Look at these babies?” Daring dug into her suit, pulling out a heavy gold chain with a number of different charms attached to it. “This charm here stopped an arrow. This one stopped a door from sealing me into a viper pit, and this one was in my soup, which had been poisoned.” Night Glider stared unbelieving, “What kind of work do you do?” “That’s classified,” Daring snaps turning serious as she stuffs her charms back into her suit. “But someday, if you get good enough I might drop your name for my replace in a few years. You’ll have to start learning ancient Equestrian and reading a lot of books, and I mean a lot of books. Now off to bed, I’ll take over from here.” “I’m not a kid,” huffs Night Glider.” Daring smiles ruffling her mane, “No, but you are a rookie and I outrank you, so… go to bed and don't give me any of that I can’t sleep crap either. When a wonderbolt is ordered to do something they do it!” “Again, I’m not a kid!” Night Glider groans as she trotted away, only to blush red at the fact she just sounded like a child. Daring’s hushed laughter making her ears burn with embarrassment. “I think I hate you.” “Join the club!” Daring laughs as she fell onto her side. Once she was certain she was alone she walks over to the lantern by the door and produced a book within Nippon dialect. “Let’s see Celestia wants me to go…” “Celestia wants you to where?” A voice asked startling Daring. The rogue wonderbolt bounced her book back and forth comically between her hooves before finally getting a firm grip on it and pulled it close like it was her child. Still panting hard from the shock of being surprised, she looks up to see Princess Luna ominously standing over her, the shadows of the night turning her meek figure into a rather imposing one. Almost like the darkness was being drawn towards her. “I’ll ask again, where does Celestia want you to go?” Sweat began to pour down her head. She was under-expressed orders not to tell Luna of her mission if there was not need to. Too bad Celestia didn’t factor in just how intimidating her little sister could be. She was just glaring demandingly at her and already she was ready to spill the beans about everything! “I um… your kind of scary… you know that? I mean did you have to sneak up on me?” “I am the Princess of the Night. Not the Princess of Sunshine and happy feelings, there was one at some point, two, in fact, they were sisters. Sadly they are both long dead.” Daring sheepishly peered out from behind her book, “Is that… is that a joke?” “Does our face look like it is jesting?” “No…” “Then we are not joking,” said Luna with a solemnly stone expression. “We will drop the matter for tonight, but know we have our eyes upon you.” Luna left, her booted hooves ominously clicking against the wooden deck. Daring nervously looks around for any signs of the Princess and found none. Sighing in relief she returns to her book, only for the lantern to die out. Groaning she stood up and relit it, Luna’s face appearing right in front of her. “Boo…” “AGHHH!” The next morning everypony gathered for breakfast, the table was silent save for the clattering of plates and the barely suppressed chuckles of laughter. The object of said laughter sat with her legs crossed and glaring at everypony that dared to be more open with their amusement at her expensive. One pony, in particular, held more of her ire than the rest, the pony that caused this situation to happen, that pony was Princess Luna. Eating her morning pastry as regally and dignified as a princess would be expected too. Never even acknowledging the fact she was being glared at with immense malice. “Do I have something on my face Daring,” asked Luna wiping her muzzle with a napkin. “Have I removed it? I would hate for you scream in terror again.” The table rumbles with laughter as Daring fumes, her face turning red as she sinks into her chair. “No Princess, there is nothing your face.” “Good to hear,” replies Luna setting the napkin down. A wicked smile playing her lips. “Really though I do not see what is so embarrassing, you’re a mare; it’s only natural that you would scream like one when frightened.” Daring huffs as she resumes eating. “Don’t let her get you down Princess,” said Spitfire from across the table. “She’s just mad that you caught her off guard is all. That and we all found out she screams like a scared little filly!” The wonderbolt captain burst into an uncontrollable fit of laughter, pointing her hoof directly at Daring while the other pounded against the table. “This is the best trip ever! I’m telling the entire barracks when I get back!” “Do it and I’ll tell everypony the screaming you do with Soarin! I know what you two do!” Daring said snarling at the wonderbolt captain, who had been rendered silent and equally red-faced. Hiding her own faint blush Luna fake coughs to break the tension. “Yes, let’s leave it at that then, we are all friends to a degree here.” She said looking around the table with a serious expression. “I want to keep it that way. Any secrets learned and to be learned from here on will be kept as such. Anypony that breaks this pack will be answering to me directly. Are we all clear?” The entire table replies, “Yes, your majesty!” Luna nods, satisfied with the response. “Good to hear. Now let us finish our meal and travel to the upper deck. According to Captain Vain Gull, we are out of Equestrian territory and thus I want everypony alert. I should not need to remind anypony what could happen if we are taken out the sky over the ocean.” Spitfire, Goodnight, Night Glider, and Daring all nod in affirmation. They all knew the warning that had been drilled into their heads at junior flight school so many years ago, wet wings get you nowhere. Setting their dirty plates in a stack for the cleaner the five of them venture up to the top deck. Already the morning sun was peeking over the horizon, shining its magnificent light up on them. Spitfire, Daring, and Night Glider trot out to soak up the sun’s rays of vitamin D. Luna and Goodnight hid in the shadows. “You do not care for the sun either Goodnight?” “Not really, it hurts my eyes more than other ponies, it’s kind of trait in my family.” Luna found that curious, but Goodnight was becoming a much more curious pony then she first thought. Such as the fact he had wings. “Why did you hide your wings from me?” Goodnight was taken by surprise by the question. His wings moving slightly from their hiding place, but not enough for Luna to get a good look at them. “No reason. I just thought it would be a good surprise in a fight. A lot of ponies underestimate you if they think you’re an earth pony.” “They still do that,” Luna sneers with disgust. Seems something remain the same, no matter how much time passes. “What a foolish mistake. One I hope you do not make Goodnight. Some of the most dangerous ponies I ever faced were earth ponies.” “Really?” inquires Goodnight. His ears flopping down tight against his head under Luna’s vicious glare. “Yes,” she replies with venom. Silently she trots away into the light, leaving Goodnight feeling like he just got on her bad side again. Timidly he steps out after her, remembering Spitfire’s words to him. He didn’t need to impress her, he needs to protect her, whether she likes him or not. Moving the bow of the airship Luna slants her gaze down to the ocean. The light of her sister’s sun did make a very vibrant display of color against the waves below. The variety was nice, but she still preferred the colors of the night. As she admires the view she took notice of three black dots moving across the waves. They moved in a pattern with one dot leading the other two, almost like a formation. (Must be a couple of ships transporting goods.) She reasons, but something felt strange to her. The speed of the airship should be far greater than any ship at sea is capable of due to that lack of resistance from waves crashing against the ship. So how where those ships keeping up with them? The black dots lurch up and gain altitude, their shape becoming much more distinct. The two ships in back broke formation, going in opposite directions and continuing to travel upwards, keeping the sun behind them. The front ship was now climbing almost vertically straight up, flying ahead of them and higher. She knew what this meant. “Prepare for combat!” Luna screams whipping her horn around and throwing up a shield in front of the ship. Smoke erupts from the attacking ships, two cannon shots from each, the shots hit her shield making her buckle. Why did she have to be so weak right now! “VAIN GULL! Move! Dodge! Do anything but sit here like a lame duck!” The ship lurches right, sending everypony flying at the sudden shift. Another barrage of cannons flew past, missing the ship entirely. “Good, good, keep it up! Spitfire, Goodnight you take the port side, Daring, Night Glider take the starboard side, keep close! Gull turn left and fly under them! I’ll try to disable them!” “Roger that ma’am!” Vain Gull calls over the speaker. The ship turning as Luna directed. “We need to get closer! Fly up!” Luna yells as she calculates her shot. A magic beam or bullet should pierce the hull, but if she was too far away the spells would be too weak to do any real damage with her current strength. “Somepony grab me some clouds!” “I’m on it!” calls Night Glider veering off towards a patch of clouds. Cannons roar as the attacking crews fire scatter shots at her. She flips and turns, flying over the shots, crashing into a cloud. Her target secured Night Glider grabs the entire cloud and drags it back to the ship, landing hard on the deck she slumps to her belly. Relief flooding her system at the face she made it back unharmed. “No time to rest kid, get up!” Daring shouts. Night Glider nods standing up on excited legs and jumps back into position. “Stick close and you’ll be fine.” Assured Daring whatever help it may be. Night Glider smiles and nods back, flying ahead with determination. On the deck, Luna pulls a clump of cloud the size of her head. Squishing the cloud between her front hooves Luna compressed it into a small black clacking ball of thunder. Grabbing the thunder ball with her magic she creates a solid magic sphere around the ball and waits for the ship to turn around. The enemy ships came into view again. She orders Vain Gull to keep the ship steady as she lined up her shot. Rearing up on her hind legs Luna launches the thunder ball. The ball sparks across the sky crashing into the side of the middle ship and exploding! The ship lurches, tilting and falling, the cannons of the ships went off hitting the ship to the left of it. Fire breaking out as the second ship began to descend towards the water. The third ship open fired and Luna flung up another shield to block. The barrage ended, but Luna was panting hard. “You ok Luna?” Spitfire asked. Luna tiredly nods, her coat dripping with sweat, “Yes, just let me take a moment to catch my breath. I am still unused to having such limited magic.” She tries to take flight, but Spitfire blocks her and pushes her back towards the deck. “Leave this to us,” the wonderbolt captain said smiling. “We can handle one ship by ourselves. Wonderbolts! Grab some clouds; we’re going on a bombing run!” Spitfire, Goodnight, Daring, and Night Glider grab clumps of cloud from the cloud on the deck and fly up towards the last ship. Dodging cannon fire they flew up above the ship. The pirates panick as the wonderbolts line up their dive. The pegasus ponies flew straight down, leaving a trail of black clouds in their wake as projectiles ranging from arrows to tea cups were thrown to try and stop them. They broke off their drive dropping the thunder charged storm clouds and pull up. A chorus of explosions follow in their wake. The bombers turn around to admire their work. The deck of the ship caught fire and the crew desperately tried to put it out, but it was no use. Broken bits of flaming wood fell to the lower decks, igniting the gunpowder, the ship explodes into a massive fireball and fell into the ocean on top of its brethren ships. The le Flur pulls up beside them. Luna flew off the deck and points down towards the wrecks. “Let us go meet out opponents.” The five nod and follow her down to the burning ships. The six equestrians land on the pirate ship that most intact. The ship was taking water and slowly sinking. However, there was something strange, the deck of the ship was completely clear of any signs of life. Trails of blood show signs of bodies being dragged across the deck to down below, but why? The ship was sinking. They should be going to life boats or standing here begging to be let on to the Le Flur. This was not a normal pirate crew. “Should we check below deck,” asks Goodnight looking down the stairwell down to the lower levels, but not daring to take a step down in fear of ambush. Luna walks to the captain’s quarters and opens the door. Lighting her horn she peers inside and found no pony inside, but something did spike her interest though. “No, not yet at least, Daring, Spitfire come inside, Goodnight, Night Glider stand by the door and keep watch.” The two reply, “Yes, ma’am,” taking their positions on either side of the door. The desk inside the cabin held Luna’s attention as she trots around the room. It was clean, organized and covered with maps and letters, nothing unusual for a captain’s desk really. Be that as it may, it was a bit too clean in her opinion. Either this pirate was very tidy or they weren’t pirates. (Maybe I’m being a bit too ignorant in my deduction. Most pirates are Navy defectors; a clean desk wouldn’t be so strange from a former naval officer. Still, this desk is too clean.) Grabbing the letter lying on top of the desk Luna proceeds to open them. The letters were thick, made from expensive paper, the words were written were hard to read and in a language, she didn’t know. She calls Spitfire over and held the note up for her to read. “What does this say? Do you know?” Spitfire cocks her head to the side, frowning as she looks over the page, “Nope, sorry. Foreign language is not my strong suit.” From the other side of the room, Daring scoffs in irritation. Trotting over to the pair she grabs the note from them. “It’s modern Germane, nothing too hard to read,” Daring said laying the letter back on the desk. She picks up another tears it open, reads it and then places it next to the first letter. A smile dancing on her lips as she looks between the two notes. “Huh, interesting.” “What is it, what do they say?” asked Luna standing behind Daring, peering at the letters. “Nothing much except that these guys aren’t pirates, but privateers.” Explains Daring much to the shock of Luna and Spitfire. “Seems the Kaiser of Germane gave them permission to attack other vessels in order to mess with the trade markets, they were allowed to keep whatever goods they found in return.” “I see, so this is an international issue. Still, that does not explain where the crew as gone. The lower levels should be flooded by now.” Daring stuffs a letter into her suit while Luna and Spitfire weren’t looking, Princess Celestia would want to know this as soon as possible. Kind of sucks she couldn’t just tell Luna, but orders were orders. “Never mind them, they probably died or escaped by now. We should go; water is seeping up through the floor.” Luna lifts her leg feeling water touch her coat, “Indeed, come everypony, we are leaving.” They took flight, leaving the ship to its fate as it sank below the waves. Once they were back on the Le Flur they resume their journey to Nippon, confident the matter of the Germane Privateers could be settled until later. On a distant isle made of small rocks, the captain of the pirates crawls onto the wet surface, falling onto his back as he coughs up water. He was the only survivor. A shadow fell on him and he looks up at the tall black imposing figure with a crooked horn. “My Queen…” he said with desperation as the figure raised her jagged hole filled hoof and brought it crashing down on his skull.