//------------------------------// // Chapter 17: Learning More // Story: High Seas of Adventure // by Silver Dragon Blade Wing //------------------------------// Twilight's Group Twilight rested her head on her hooves, it had been a week since they had lost the Dragon's trail in that storm. A full week since the pirates had slipped away. She had been going over the maps and charts but that was getting her nowhere, the Sea of Legends was a huge place. Twilight was honestly confused on how it had manged to stay hidden like it had for so long. Then again, most Nations of the world were land-locked so only a few had any real reason to build a navy, and even then most of the seas remained unexplored. Twilight decided to focus her attention elsewhere, after the raid on the Traveler she had done inventory on the books to see what had been taken. She had been a bit surprised to find only one book missing but it had been a real important one, the book in question was titled "Sea Artifacts" and it had details on many items that were said to exist within the waters of the world. Now, Twilight was somewhat doubtful about the contents but after finding things like the Elements, the Tree, and other such items she knew better than to dismiss them completely. She opened a copy of that book and began reading through the pages, finding nothing at first but soon something caught her attention: It was a picture of a disk of some sort with one diamond in the center and six crystals around it with the points pointing towards the diamond. According to the book, this artifact was a key of a very ancient place referred to as the "Lost Tombs". From what Twilight had manged to learn, the Lost Tombs were once part of an Empire that ruled the Sea of Legends long before the First Heartswarming, sadly there was very little information about them which didn't surprise her, legends and stories that old would be very difficult to remember. After all, until she returned many thought that Nightmare Moon was just an old Pony Tale. As for why Razor was looking for it, she couldn't guess. Twilight had at first thought it was treasure but after some thinking she realized it couldn't be that, Razor was already very rich and likely wouldn't need any left over trinkets from a long forgotten empire. But then, what was he looking for? Forgotten artifacts maybe? Twilight was brought out of her thoughts when she felt someone tapping her shoulder, turning around she found herself looking into her father's yellow eyes. "You okay there sweetly?" "Yea dad, it's just... ever since we lost the Dragon in that storm I've trying to piece together where they could have gone. So far, I've only hit dead ends." She paused, "And I'm worried about the ones they took, who knows what has happened. I'm scared dad, I promised their families they would be safe and this happened. I... just don't know what will happen and it scares me, and than there's Neighsay; Mr. "Non-Ponies threaten our country, we must not teach them friendship." If he had his way my school would have been shut down, I don't think he really understands that Ponies can be just as dangerous as other creatures, even more so in some cases." She finished with a sign. Nightlight watched her for a second, then pulled her into a hug. Twilight leaned against his chest as he rubbed her back. "It'll be okay Twilight, just have faith." Twilinght snuggled deeper into her dad's embrace, letting out a sign. This lasted for a few minutes when a knock on the door caught their attention, Twilight walked over and opened it to find Applejack waiting. "Yes Applejack?" "Ah just wanted to tell you that we're runnin' low on supplies, Flash has spotted a port not to far away so Ah rekcon we can resupply there." Anything else she was going to say was cut off as her face suddenly turned green and she covered her mouth with a hoof. "Some seasickness pills would be great too." Both Twilight and Nightlight cringed, ever since they had left Manehattan poor Applejack had been suffering from seasickness, while the medicine from the Traveler had helped they had run out two days ago and Applejack was being hit hard. Four times now she had to lean over the side of the ship and release. "Good idea, let me make a list of what we need." Later After docking at the port, the group started to feel something was off. For one, the docking fee was overpriced. For another, the atmosphere felt... wrong, almost oppressive. Nightlight along with the Mane Six went to the tavern to see if they could learn more about the Sea of Legends while Flash and Flare when to buy more supplies. Nightlight couldn't help notice several Earth Pony Stallions wearing what he guessed were navy blue, red and white uniforms consisting of a bicorne hat, coat worn over a vest and shirt, black belt with brass buckle, pants and boots. Each one was armed with a musket, a longsword, and a flintlock pistol. From Nightlight's military trained eye he couldn't help but feel that the soldiers discipline was... lacking as they walked in too loose of a formation and, to his annoyance and somewhat anger, the Stallions as they passed locked their gazes on the six Mares with him. More specifically, their flanks. Twilight was wearing a vest to cover her wings as the group had felt that an Alicorn might draw unwanted attention. He felt the girls crowd closer to him as the neared the tavern, his instincts (and most likely the girls' own as well) were telling they should not stay here any longer than they had to, because to Nightlight at least, it seemed they might be in hostile territory. Another thing he noticed was that the soldiers appeared to be underweight, unless their uniforms were a size or so bigger, the uniforms hung loosely around their bodies and the soldiers appeared thinner than they should be and from their movements Nightlight could help but wonder if they were malnourished. I don't like this, the way those Stallions were staring wasn't the normal "Their pretty" way, but like a predator looking at prey. I'm starting to wonder if this was a good idea. We'd better get to the tavern, get what we need, and leave. Nightlight and the six Mares noticed that the looks became more predatory as they neared the tavern, most of the Stallions they passed eyeing the girls flanks like a swimsuit magazine. Finally they reached the tavern, as Nightlight paid the bartender for some information the girls looked around, stay close to him while trying to ignore the stares directed towards them, thankfully most of the customers ignored them after staring for a few minutes. Twilight soon noticed something out of the corner of eye, a piece of paper with something on it. She picked it up to read it, her eyes widened for a brief moment, then folded and tucked it into her vest. Before her friends could ask Nightlight told them they were going back to the ship. The six fully agreed and stayed close as they left. Not noticing that they being watched, and unlike the stares, the one watching had something in mind. The watcher was an Earth Pony Stallion with a white fur coat, black mane and tail, and blue eyes. He wore the same uniform as the Soldiers but much more clean, like the type officers wore. He was also much healthier looking than the soldiers and even had a very slight belly. He watched as the group left than set some bits down on the counter before getting up and walking away. He exited the tavern and caught the tails of the group disappearing around the corner, he turned and walked in the other direction, towards the port's fortress. It took some time but he reached the gates and entered, the guards saluting him as he passed. The Stallion walked through the fort before eventually reaching an ornate door, reaching up with a hoof he knocked before entering the room which was an office, sitting at the decks was another Earth Pony Stallion wearing the same uniform but had items that showed he was an Admiral. He was also healthier looking and had a slightly larger belly than the first Stallion. The Admiral looked up as the first Stallion entered. "Have something to report Captain?" The Captain saluted before answering. "Yes sir, I just saw none other then the Equestrian Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends in the tavern as I was finishing my last drink." The Admiral's ears shot up and he leaned forward. "Are you sure?" "Positive, Sparkle was wearing a vest that covered her wings but I know that Cutie Mark anywhere, plus the ones her friends have. I also saw her Father, the retired Equestrian General Nightlight Sparkle himself." That caught the Admiral off guard, he shot up and leaned over his deck, causing the Captain to calmly step back as if this was nothing new. "Are. You. Serious?!?" "Absolutely sir, unless that Stallion I saw was a Changeling, there is no mistake that it was him." The Admiral stood up and walked from behind his deck to stand in front of the Captain. "How long until your ship is ready to sail?" "About..." he paused, thinking, "an hour and a half, two hours at most." "Then you have your new orders." "Tail and capture them, I understand sir. After all, I know just how much even one of the former bearers of the elements would be worth on the Slave Market, and that's not even counting a Princess of Equestria and the former leader of the Equestrian 501st Army Group himself. we both know that he would sell of a very high price, after all it was his loins that made both the Prince of the Crystal Empire and one of Equestria's greatest heroes and newest Princess. I'm looking forward to this." "Good, as for me I'll looking for that item I've been after." "Any luck on finding it sir?" "The only lead I've found is that its somewhere in the Steel Yard." The Captain's eyes went as wide as dinner plates. "The Steel Yard!? Sir, you know why that place is marked as a "No Sail Zone"!" "That story of "Steel Guardians" is only that, a story. You focus on your mission, and I'll focus on mine. Also, while your tailing Sparkle, if you see the Dragon of the Depths, Stay away! Nothing we have can hope to have a chance in Tartaurs against that monster. Do you understand?" "Very much sir, I know all to well what that beast can do." The Captain rubbed a large scar on his head as he said this, a past reminder of an almost fatal encounter with that very ship. "Good, now go. We cannot let this slip pass us. The Outcasts' raider fleets have been hitting our Merchant Fleets harder and harder, if we don't get the income we need to build more fleets our hold on the Sea of Legends will lessen even worse than when that lizard killed the Union's puppets." The Captain saluted, about faced, and left the office. Twilight's Group Back on their ship Flash and Flare had some bad luck getting supplies, the Merchants over charged them and they couldn't get as much as they had wanted, the two did get some but at best it would only last two months. At the moment everyone was gathered in the Captain's Quarters, waiting for Twilight to show them the paper she had picked up. "What did you find Twilight?" Velvet asked. "Must be something big or important if you wanted us all in here." Spike added. "It's big, here." Twilight set the paper on the table, it was a wanted poster, of Archduke Razor Tail. What the poster side was "WANTED: The Kirin Pirate Lord Archduke Razor Tail." Under that was a drawn picture of the Kirin, followed by; "By order of the Northern Trade Union, he is wanted alive or dead for," The list was quite long but the ones that stood out were "Raids on Slaver Fleets" "Murders of Pirate Hunters" "Port Attacks" and "Treasure Fleet Raids". Under the list was a warning; "Razor Tail is very skilled in combat and is more than capable of defending himself so it is vital that he is not underestimated for your own safety. He has slayed many a would be hunter with ease and is the Pirate Lord of the faction called the "Outcasts of the Abyss". It is currently unknown how large this faction is. Finally under that at the bottom of the poster was the reward. The group read it and their jaws hit the floor, completely shocked by what they saw. "One Billion Bits!!!" Rarity all but shouted. "How would anycreature have a bounty THAT big!?" Applejack said. "I didn't think a bounty could even get that big, and just what did Razor Tail do to get that?" Spike asked. Nightlight spoke up. "This wasn't right away, this bounty was built up over time. From the list here, Razor has been very busy and it looks like he has been active for a long time." "How long Hon?" Velvet asked. "According to the back of the poster, at least eighteen years, maybe longer." "Nineteen years? If my knowledge on Kirin aging is correct, Razor is currently thirty years old." Twilight said. "Which means he, if it was eighteen years, was about... twelve years old when he started his pirate career." Velvet said, a shocked look appearing over her and the others faces. "What would cause someone so young to become a pirate." "His home life must have been awful, for a youngin' like him at the time to turn to that." Applejack said. Nightlight continued. "I have to agree with you on that Applejack, while we were at Imperator's Grave I got hold of a history book. While I know that has to be taken with a grain of salt, it had said that almost nothing of Razor's past is known, only that he appeared one day, and effectively built was is not the Outcasts of the Abyss." He rubbed his chin with a hoof, "It's likely the only ones who know of his past are his Head Officers." "Head Officers?" Rainbow asked. "Those elite pirates we encountered on the Traveler," Twilight began. "The Changeling Queen, the Pegasus Mare, the Griffin, the Dracony, the three Thestrals, the two Dragons, the giant Minotaur, and the Zebra Mare. Those must be his Head Officers." Now that they thought about, that would make sense. The various pirate units they saw on the Traveler followed the orders of each one of them, implying that they were at least of high rank. If they were Razor's Head Officers they would most likely knew more about the Kirin than any other, plus from what Rarity had said, Razor and the Changeling Queen, who Rarity said was named Atlas Moth, were happily married and had been for a few years. On that thought another crossed their minds; if the two were married, did they have any foals? More questions then answers but know they had some idea what they were up against, especially if the Mane Six (Unknown to the others) were to face the Kirin again, the six knew they would have to be ready this time. The group soon set sail to start searching for the Dragon again, not noticing a navy blue, red and white colored Brigantine following them at a distance. Shining Armor's Group Another unknown very large island Shining's group had dropped anchor on the other side of an island that was bigger than the last one, having been attracted to the large amount of ships moving about what appeared to be a large shipyard. Shining chose to scout it out alone while the others checked over their supplies, figuring they had enough to make it to the next port but they wanted to make sure. Shining soon found himself on an over grown ledge overlooking the shipyard, pulling out a spyglass he began his recon. The first thing that stood out was in the center of the port city, for lack of a better word, was a massive tower-like structure similar to the one that Dark Moon had seen at that gem mine. Shining's best guess was it was a power generator of some sort. Around the base of the generator were various industrial buildings with workshops, factories, housing and other structures he couldn't identify from his current position. One thing he couldn't help but notice was that every building expect for the generator had at least one flag and long banner proudly displaying the colors of the Outcasts. Guess the Outcasts are really into symbolism. Looking towards the shipyard he saw what one would expect, among the docks he could see ships enter and leaving like normal, along with several dry docks. The latter of which had several ships docked but he couldn't get a good look from where he was. It took some time avoiding patrols to get to a closer vantage point, he eventually reached another ledge overlooking the shipyard. Pulling out his spyglass again Shining examined the dry docked ships; There were eight ships, the first being what he guessed was a Caribou Titan judging from its size, being repaired and modified. The second was a Juggernaut colored in a navy blue, red and white scheme that was being repainted and also modified. What really had Shining's attention however was the other six ships. From what he could see they each appeared to be two juggernauts that had been lengthened to double their usual size, they also had an extra gun deck added, or at least he thought. From what Shining knew about Juggernauts the warships had five gun decks, these ships looked like they had six but the bottom one was covered up, implying that these ships could be Armored Ships. Along their hulls was metal plating of some kind, most likely iron steel, with the bow looking heavily reinforced, two twin smoke stacks jutted out of the back. What are those? Shining lowered his spyglass, staring at the new ships. From his point of view they looked like the Outcasts had taken the ideas of the Armored Ship and the Ironclad and combined the two together to make a whole new ship type. He frowned, not sure what to think about that idea. Figuring he'd seen enough and wanting to avoid getting caught he made his way back to his group. Later Shining was sitting in the Captain's Quarters thinking over what he had seen, while the shipyard itself wasn't anything unexpected he wasn't sure what to think about the six new ships he'd seen. On one hoof he found the notion of combining an Armored Ship and an Ironclad together ridiculous but on the other if the idea worked that would mean the Outcasts had an entirely new ship type that no one else knew about. Shining signed, resting his head on a hoof. The more he thought about it, the more he wondered just how big the Outcasts truly were. To his knowledge Pirate Clans were the largest form of Pirate Gang, but even though they often had ships like Frigates and Ships-of-the-Line those were in small numbers and even then very few Pirate Clans had Armored ships. So just how big and resourceful was the Outcasts of the Abyss? His only guess was either they were being funded by someone or they weren't actually a Pirate Clan but something new altogether, and that worried him. Another thing was their leader, Archduke Razor Tail. During a stop to resupply Caramel had found a wanted poster of the Pirate Lord, listing what he was wanted for and the reward, the latter of which caught everypony off guard. If there was one thing Shining knew right now from all of this, it was that Razor had broken the record of the most wanted creature in history by a large margin. One billion bits, I never thought anycreature could even get a bounty that high. On thing that did confuse him on that front was why weren't there more bounty hunters or pirate hunters after him? Maybe he was considered too dangerous?" Still, one thing Shining had to give Razor credit of was the freeing of slaves. Any Equestrian worth their Cutie Mark viewed slavery as a special sort of evil, in fact it was one of the few crimes in Equestria that still had the death penalty. Razor's apparent hatred of slavery didn't surprise Shining though; besides being know as formidable warriors, all Kirin had a seething hatred for slavey, to the point that any slaver they caught was said to suffer a fate far worse then death. No living creature other than a few Kirin actually knew just what happened but the stories were not pretty, stories of torture so horrific that the slaver would beg for death but would still be kept alive for as along as possible which was just one of many. From what Shining knew the rumors were enough to cause any slaver who couldn't escape to willingly take their own lives. Not that Shining, or many others for that matter, really cared, slavers were considered among the worse of sum so the less of them around the better. Despite not knowing what would happen to any slavers Kirin caught, and quite frankly he never wanted to know, Shining actually knew why Kirin had such hatred for slavery. It was mostly forgotten history by this point and only very few actually knew the reason. The Kirin had been, long before the Heartswarm, slaves themselves, of the Centaur Empire. The same Empire that was destroyed in a massive uprising by the Kirin. In fact, the land where the Kirin Mountains stood was once the heart of that very empire. That certainly explains why Tirek avoided Kirin like a plague, at least he's in a grave now so we wouldn't need to worry about him ever again. He was also wondering if Twilight's idea of splitting up to cover more ground had been a good idea, so far they hadn't encountered any threats but that just worried the Soldier in him. It had been too quiet, way too quiet. He stood up and walked to the window, looking out over the water. "Be careful Twily, I'm not sure why but I feel that danger is coming for us all. That it's only a matter of time before it finds us." Equestrian Fleet The Alicorn of Freedom "So Wave, what can you tell us about the Outcasts of the Abyss?" Iron asked. "Besides what I said before, only what I can remember off the top of my head. Where would you like me to start?" Celestia, Luna, Iron Waters, Neighsay, the five foreign leaders, the Pillars and Blade Wind were once again gathered in the captain's cabin with Wave Surfer to learn more about what he knew as he remembered a few things after the Skeleton Fleet attack, thankful only minor damage had been done to the Equestrian Fleet and no one was hurt. The most of the Skeleton weapons had either self-destructed or failed to fire at all, so the Equestrian ships had no problem re-sinking them. "Why not start with their history, I'm quite curious about that." Blade Wind said. "Well, from what I know the Outcasts were first formed at least eighteen years ago, no one but the Outcasts' founders knows the exact time but that's the general time zone. They first appeared taking down the first of seven royals that ruled before, starting what we Sea of Legends folk know as "The Rise of the Outcasts War"." "I'm guessing it got the name from the fact it was that time the Outcast rose to power." Luna said. "Yes, it was a three year long war that saw the fall of the royals and the Outcasts calming the Sea of Legends. Most of what I know is from second-hoof and third-hoof sources, from what I understand the royals had grown detached from reality and had grown very incompetent. At the time nothing threatened them other than each other and pirates, so at first they didn't see the Outcasts as any different. That proved to be their downfall, by the time the royals realized the true threat of the Outcasts, only two remained." Everyone looked a bit surprised, and maybe a bit disturbed, at that. "How did the royals not realize the threat and how did Razor get support so quickly?" Iron asked. "As I said, the royals were both very incompetent and detached from reality, focusing only on their own wealth and power, which ties into your second question. Razor got so much support so quickly because before he showed up, the creatures of the Sea of Legends, Ponies, Griffins, Dragons, and all others, lived in what could be called absolute poverty though calling even that might be generous under the royals. The creatures owned nothing, not even their shelters, which often times were just tents that had long passed the point of being trash and others built from tree branches. The royals would often times send their soldiers to tear down those shelters, leaving the creatures formerly living in them out in the cold with only their own body heat for warmth. Food and water was even worst, to the point that adults would give up what they could find to the young so they could have even the slightest chance of surviving. Sickness and malnourishment was all too common while the royals grew fat, and that's only the very tip of the iceberg. If I go any further we'd be here all day." Wave waited as the others took this all in with various levels of horror and pity on their faces, after several minutes Celestia finally spoke. "Makes sense then why the Outcasts would get support so quickly; the creatures after so long finally saw a thin ray of hope for a better life and latched onto it with everything they had." She paused, then asked. "Wave, how old is Razor?" "As far as I know he turned thirty earlier this year, though I don't know when exactly." Starswirl counted while tapping his hoof, mumbling out the math, before his eyes went wide. "If I'm counting this right, Razor was twelve years old when he formed the Outcasts!" "Twelve years old??!!" Was the utterly shocked response from the others, unable to believe their ears. "Hold on, how and why would a kingdom's worth of creatures, of different types no less, follow a twelve year old?!" Neighsay half asked half demanded. It wasn't Wave that spoke next but Somnambula. "They saw hope, hope for a better future. They didn't care if their new leader hadn't reached his teen years, they saw a chance for freedom and latched onto it." Wave spoke next. "Add the fact that the creatures by that point had nothing left to lose, plus former guards and officers that had been jailed along with their families for either questioning their royals or because said rulers were paranoid of uprisings that didn't even exist." "So once the latter was freed by the Outcasts they taught Razor all they knew so he would become the leader they needed." Luna said. "And from there the war began." Celestia finished, Wave nodded his head. "Yes, I can't tell you much on that front as I wasn't in the Outcasts, only stories I've heard of a few of the more famous battles." "Which ones?" Blade Wind asked. "Well, three major ones come up immediately off the top of my head; The Battle for Smuggler's Cove, the Battle of Fallen Rest, and the Invasion of the Fortress of Royalty." "Any particular reason for those three?" Ember asked. "Those three are listed among the most important of the Outcasts' battles, this may take a bit of time and I might miss some things but I'll try to get what I can." Wave took a breath and began. "Smuggler's Cove is an important trade port not for the cargo that passes through it, but for its location. You see, there is a massive section of the Sea of Legends that remains more or less unexplored. The reason is what we know as "The Blood Sea", named so for both its blood red waters, heavy choking fog and the many lives it has calmed. I've never been there myself but I know the stories: Anyone who enter becomes disorientated and will end up lost within the fog as all navigation equipment becomes useless, while it slowly corrodes all not-living organic matter and materials that it touches. The environment also turns red and black clouds form. Those on the ships hear ominous music play whilst the ship buckles and breaks, continuously damaging the ship until it sinks, taking the entire crew with it. Those that managed to turn back and escape arrive at where they started, often with heavily damaged ships. It is for these reasons that no one knows just how large the Blood Sea is or what lays beyond it, Smuggler's Cove sits at the entrance to the only safe path through the Blood Sea. At the other end it a massive chain of harsh and volcanic Islands formed of Volcanoes, covered with half-burnt plant life and strange red crystal growths. Aside from the Volcanic Islands, there are also several Volcanoes in the water throughout the area. The whole Area is extremely dangerous to any seafarers with the Islands posing various threats to any explorers in the form of active Volcanoes that are ready to erupt at any time with Lava falls, boiling hot waters, constant Earthquakes and erupting Geysers. Even the caves offer little protection with cracked lava flowing through and very dangerous Magma Skeletons looking for a chance to sneak up on unsuspecting foes. Few ever go there and it would most likely be left and forgotten about, if not for the extreme resource wealth found there. That island chain is perhaps the richest area in terms of things like metals, sulfur, and a resource we call Thermal Crystals." He reached into his tail and pulled out a tiny, faintly glowing orange chuck of crystal. "When the Caribou took me I was able to keep this hidden, they really don't search their slaves very well." Celestia picked up the crystal with her magic and she and the others examined it as Wave continued. "This one has very little charge left which is way it has a faint glow, at full charge they glow like a fog light. These crystals produce heat and the Outcasts use them for things like warmth, light, cooking, and even as a power source. All Outcast ships are fitted with steam engines and instead of coal they use these crystals as they are safe, clean, and easily renewable." "How so Wave?" Iron asked, looking very interested. "Simple; just place them in or close to a heat source like a fire or even a candle when empty. The crystal absorbs heat and that recharges it until its full. Even sunlight on a hot day will work, all you need to do is wait." They all looked at the tiny crystal in Celestia's magic with great interest. "If any of us could get a hold of these they could change things back home considerably." Luna said as Celestia gave Wave the crystal back as he went on. "Unfortunately they only grow on that island chain as far as I know of, which is why the Outcasts have Smuggler's Cove very heavily protected." Ember then spoke up. "I can see why, there's also the lava and sulfur." "And just what use would lava have?" Neighsay asked, not seeing the need for it. Ember snorted in response. "Well chemically lava contains the elements of Oxygen, Silicon, Aluminum, Iron, Calcium, Sodium, Potassium, and Magnesium along with several others in small amounts." She was answered with surprised looks. "What? I know Dragons are seen as uneducated brutes but as the Dragon Lord I do have enough of an education to know these things. After all, it helps when the Dragon Lands trade metals with Equestria for gems." "It's true," Celestia said, "While Equestria does have metal mines a large amount comes from the Dragon Lands." Iron spoke next. "And sulfur is used for a number of things, including black powder." "Now to get back on track, Wave, continue please." Star Swirl said. "I can't tell you much about the battle as not much is really mentioned about it, only that the Outcasts won and gained access to the island chain. Now the Battle of Fallen Rest, that I know a bit about." Wave tool a breath and continued. "The Battle of Fallen Rest was perhaps the largest battle of the war, Razor Tail and his crew at the time brought an army of hundred thousand strong to battle one of the final royals, Razor's first ship, The Black Dragon, leading the charge. They ended up going against an army of Royal Loyalists three times that size. I don't know much about the battle itself but I do know that somehow the Outcasts won and wiped out their enemy, but they do not consider it a victory at all." The others looked confused at that. "Why would they not consider it a victory? Just the fact they wiped an army three times their own is quite a feat." Blade said, before she suddenly realized something. "But it..." "Came at a very high cost." Wave finished for her. "Even though the Outcasts won they lost ninety-five percent of their forces. At the time Razor had allowed the fact that they had only face enemies that were too incompetent, arrogant, or cowardly before that battle go to his head." There was a long pause as the group took this all in, Celestia, Luna, Blade, Iron, Seaspray, Thorax, Flash, and even Rutherfold took off their head gear if they wore any and bowed their heads while the others looked like they didn't know how to react. After a few minutes the bowing ones stood back up and Iron spoke. "What about Razor? Your tone implies he lost more then that." "He did, Razor lost the Black Dragon with all but a few of its crew, who are now his Head Officers, and his best friend, a Tatzlpony who was named Silver Tail. Silver died saving Razor's life, which deeply effected him." "It's understandable then why the Outcasts wouldn't consider it a victory, not with the lost of so many even if they wiped the enemy force out." Seaspray said, his tone showing a bit of sympathy for the Outcasts. The others voice their agreement. "So what about the last one Wave?" Luna asked. "The Invasion of the Fortress of Royalty? Well for that one-" Wave was interrupted when a guard, Unicorn this time, entered the room in a sprint. "Admiral! Princesses! Caribou ships have been spotted off our bow." "Caribou ships?! All hooves battlestations!" Iron jumped out of his chair and rushed to the deck, the others behind him. Reaching the deck they saw a fleet of twenty Caribou ships in the distance out of weapon range, barely visible in the early hours of the night, Iron turned to order the crew to get their cannons when he spotted something out of the counter of his eye. Turning to that he saw a strange, ghostly green glow getting bigger out on the water a good distance away from the Equestrian Fleet, the others following his stare. "What is that?" Ember asked. She got her answer when the glow, and the water around it suddenly exploded. What they saw caused jaws to drop and eyes to widen. From the glow and churning water as a massive ship emerged from below, the bow in the shape of a dragon head with a gaping maw and giant teeth, looking ready to swallow anything unfortunate to fall in and the two large eyes were glowing an unnatural green and white. 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 long bowsprit, which protruded out just above the dragon's nose, was a spot that was missing a large figurehead of a quadruped Dragon in flight above a maelstrom, clutched in it's claws was a small chest. The hull and the sails were completely black and were heavily tattered with many holes of various sizes spread throughout them, numerous masts that reached very high into the air ran along the top of the hull. The ship itself was at least 16 decks above the water line, not counting the fore and aft-castles, but towards the front a space was missing six decks, lanterns with the same glow as the dragon's eyes could be seen all over the top decks, forecastle and aft-castle. On each side of the forecastle were what looked like runways like those on Equestria naval carriers. Massive amounts of damage was easily visible all over the floating monster from the missing figurehead, broken masts, and large sections of the hull missing, each damaged or missing area had a glowing energy of some kind in place to make the ship look repaired, including the masts and figurehead. Finally the entire ship had what was the largest flame the Equestrian fleet had ever seen burning over its decks. Both the "repaired" sections and the flames were the same color as the eyes and lanterns. Those on the fleet could only watch as what could only be a gigantic 458.45 meter long ghost ship slam back into the surface of the water, kicking up large waves as it landed and leveled out, water pouring down over the sides. As they watched the ship's sails filled with a ghostly wind and the haunted rumble of rusted and damaged steam engines roared to life. All over the ship they saw ports open and cannons covered in bones, glowing runes the same color as the rest, and bones roll into firing position, and the ghost ship sailed towards the Caribou fleet as if the Equestrian one wasn't even there. Soon the ship's cannons fired, tearing through the Caribou fleet like it was nothing, the "battle" only lasted a few minutes but soon only the ghost ship stood tall, victorious over the burning remains of the once mighty Caribou fleet. After few seconds, as if checking to make sure its work was finished, the ghost ships's cannons rolled back into the hull and the ship slowly sank bow first back into the sea form which it came from. Those on the Equestrian fleet could only stare, even after the ship disappeared completely, at the spot. Finally after what felt like an eternity, though it was only ten minutes, the guards began shouting. "Did we just SEE THAT?!?!" "What the buck was that?!" "Whatever it was it tore through the Caribou fleet like our sun Princess through cake." "I do not eat cake that fast." "You do too sister." Iron found his voice and closed his mouth. "Did, did we just see an actual ghost ship?"