The four ponies sat together in the captain’s quarters of the Flying Dutchmare. Time Turner had introduced the grey pegasus as the Dread Pirate Derpy. She appeared to be the captain, but Turner continued to do most of the talking. “Tell me, Miss Do—”
“Daring,” she said.
“Tell me, Daring,” Time Turner said, “what do you know of the Midnight Moon?”
“The ship?” Time Turner nodded and Daring shrugged in response. “Not much.”
“It’s an old pony tale,” Braeburn said. “It’s not real.”
“Nah,” Time Turner said, rolling his eyes. “It’s a myth, just like Big Hoof or the Flying Dutchmare.”
Braeburn’s ears flattened as he frowned, “What? You’re tellin’ us the stories are true?”
“Of course they are. Let me tell you, he may be a bit smelly, but Big Hoof is one hay of a cook.”
“The Midnight Moon was the flagship of Queen Nightmare Moon,” Daring said, drawing their attention back to herself. “Nopony but the princess really knows how much is fact and how much is fiction. Stories say Nightmare Moon was an evil pony who wanted to rule Equestria. She met Celestia’s forces on land, sea, and sky with an army of darkness. After years of fighting, Celestia finally prevailed and locked her away, imprisoning her permanently aboard her own ship.”
Time Turner nodded approvingly. “It was long before the invention of the skyship, of course. The aerial battles were fought by pegasi. Whichever side controlled the air could support the ground troops more efficiently. You saw a small party of Nightmare Moon’s dark army today.”
“You mean the Shadowbolts?” Daring asked.
“Yep. That’s just the tip of the iceberg. If the queen gets free, she’ll have all kinds of beasts and ponies to call upon.”
“But how’s she supposed ta get free?” Braeburn asked. “The story says she was locked away forever.”
“That’s the funny thing about forever, it’s a very very long time,” Time Turner said. “All kinds of things can happen. Things seem to stay the same over the course of days or weeks or months, but they’re always changing. Even if it takes ten thousand years for the change to be noticeable.”
“So what’s changing that will let Nightmare Moon get free?” Daring Do asked.
“When Princess Celestia defeated the queen, she needed a prison capable of holding her. Obviously, stone and iron wouldn’t cut it. With one of the most complicated spells ever conceived, the princess turned the night sky itself into Nightmare Moon’s prison, trapping her power in the darkest corners between the stars. Her physical body was bound to the Midnight Moon, which was then sent to the bottom of the ocean.”
Time Turner pointed to a star chart on the far wall. “Every prison needs a door. There has to be a channel between Nightmare Moon’s trapped power and her physical body, otherwise she would just build up her strength over time. To be possible, there would need to be a static connection between the stars and the earth.”
“The Northern Cross!” Daring said, eyes widening.
“Exactly,” Time Turner said. “Five stars spinning through space at the exact same rate as our planet, always in the same spot in the night sky. Well, almost exactly the same. After thousands of years, the relative position of the cross has changed. It’s like shifting a prison cell over without moving the prisoner, eventually they’ll be sitting out in the open.”
“Now wait just a second,” Braeburn said. “The princess put the Northern Cross up there so that sailors would always be able to navigate. Are ya saying that’s just an excuse, that the real reason for the cross is to hold in some ancient evil?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying. The Midnight Moon is sealed away directly under the Northern Cross, in the arctic waters, hundreds of miles North of the Crystal Empire. The prison has been shifting ever since its creation, and it’s finally moved enough for Nightmare Moon to begin exerting control on the outside world. With the Shadowbolts, she hopes to break open the prison entirely. Derpy?”
The captain nodded, reaching into her black vest and drawing a small cloth sack. She handed it to Daring. Daring opened it and pulled out a large coin. “Another piece of eight?” She turned it over, expecting the star symbol, but instead found a bolt of lightning coming from a cloud.
“We don’t know which one it is,” Time Turner said. “Our research gave us the seven facets, but the only symbol we could find was the one for magic.”
“What do these coins have to do with Nightmare Moon’s return?”
“We’re still not sure how the coins factor into it all, but she wants them. Obviously, what she wants and what’s best for the rest of us are two very different things. We think there’s somepony who can help us, though.”
“Who,” Daring asked.
“An old witch, living in the Everfree.”
“You mean a unicorn?”
“No. I don’t think she’s even a pony. They say she has visions of the future, and always knows something, for the right price.”
“Well, what are we waiting for?” Daring said. “Let’s go!”
Time Turner nodded and looked to the Captain. Derpy pushed away from the table. “Avast, me hearties, weigh anchor!”
“Uh, Derpy? The crew can’t hear you in here.”
“Oh, right.”
*****
Twilight sank to the floor, dazed by the sudden torrent of noise and light. Sparkles and smoke spun around them in a furious whirlwind as screeches and wails made thought close to impossible.
She closed her eyes, muting the flashes of light, and took a long breath. Nothing was actually touching her. Nothing had burnt her or struck her. The rapid movement of the lights hadn’t even kicked up any wind.
With luck, the crews aboard the Wake and Juggernaut would storm the ship and win the fight through sheer numbers. It was probably too much to expect the pirates to be hindered by the imaginary storm, otherwise the entire thing would be a pointless gesture.
The best thing to do, Twilight concluded, is to wait it out.
The Falling Feather lurched to the side and began drifting. The deck below Twilights hooves rumbled, and the wind began to pick up again. The light and sound faded, and Twilight looked back up.
They’d been disoriented and blinded for a minute, two at the most. In that time, the Feather had worked free of the Juggernaut’s grip and was making a run for it. The Wake was right behind them, but too far to launch a boarding party. The pirate’s had moved to surround their small group.
Twilight stretched her head to get a look at the Juggernaut, still hovering near the cliffside. The massive ship’s sails were in shreds. Half the masts had been cracked or knocked over completely, and long gouges had been torn into the hull. With a pathetic shudder, the ship began to sink into a slow spin, bouncing once off the mountain on its way down.
“My ship!” Iron Will choked out.
“Impressive,” Rarity said with a confident smile. “Trixie, you never mentioned being able to do something like that before.”
Trixie stared at the Juggernaut with a mix of awe and horror. “I didn’t, I mean, of course The Great and Powerful Trixie could tear a ship out of the sky with her magnificent power. There is a small problem though.” Trixie glanced back at the captain. “Trixie didn’t do that.”
Rarity frowned, moving closer to the rear of the ship to watch the Juggernaut’s decent. With another shudder and a high pitched wail, the Juggernaut plummeted. It slammed into the mountainside and began to slide. The long gouges in its side exploded into splinters as dozens of bolts of ink shadow tore through the hull and took to the sky.
“What the hay are those?” Spike asked under his breath.
“I don’t know,” Dash said. A moment later her eyes widened. “They’re going after the Wake!” Her wings flared up and she began to gallop forward only to be tackled by a pair of heavy earth ponies.
The dark streaks angled toward the Rainbow Wake, tearing through its sails in a lightning fast pass. They doubled back ramming into the deck with a series of solid thuds. They writhed and twisted, taking on a familiar shape.
“Are those ponies?” Rarity asked softly.
“We have to stop them!” Rainbow shouted, struggling against the ponies holding them down. “You have to let us go, otherwise this ship will be next.”
Rarity looked at her, eyes darkening with worry. After a moment, she nodded. “Let her up.”
Rainbow rocketed up from the deck of the Feather, closing the distance between the two ships in seconds. Her voice drifted back as she began shouting orders to the confused crewmembers.
“You are a captain of Celestia’s Guard, aren’t you?” Rarity asked. Shining nodded and she continued, “Take the minotaur captain and his griffons. Pinkie will prepare a party to assist the Wake, and you will be leading them.”
Shining raised arched an eyebrow. “Why should I trust anypony in your crew?”
“Because I would much rather fight the enemy on the Wake and leave my own ship undamaged. For the moment at least, we have a common goal. You’re sister would certainly be safer if the fighting was done elsewhere.”
Shining narrowed his eyes, but nodded. “Twilight, get below decks and stay there until this is all over.”
Rarity turned to her crew. “Pinkie, round up a party for the guard. No, not that kind of party. The rest of you, prepare to assist the Wake.”
The crowd scattered into a flurry of motion. Twilight didn’t even have time to protest being left behind before her brother was being whisked away by the energetic Pinkie. Iron Will and the griffons hurried after him.
“Captain Rarity?” Flim asked.
“What do you want us to do now?” Flam continued.
“I have a very important job for the five of you,” Rarity said. “You’re going to go below decks and make sure I don’t hang for piracy when this is all over. Seize them.”
*****
Rainbow Dash dived after the weird pegasus, shouting over her shoulder, “Keep them off the sails, and for the love of Celestia don’t let them reach the core.”
The dark pegasus slowed, reaching a hoof toward the hull of the Wake.
“Get away from my ship!”
The pegasus flinched, looking up just as Dash collided with him. She bore down on him, rolling him through the air before delivering a well aimed kick at his head. She flailed off balance when her kick met with nothing but open air. The pony had melted into a cloud of dark smoke. The smoke swirled past her and formed into the pony again.
He began pushing her further down, beating at her head and shoulders with flailing hooves. She managed to catch one of his legs and rolled back, turning them about once again. The dark pegasus bucked and caught her in the gut with both hind legs. She let out a small “oof” and drifted sideways as he caught himself and began to rise again. She recovered a few moments later and gave chase.
They’d fallen almost half the distance to the ground. The sounds of the battle were too far away to be heard. Dash narrowed her eyes. The only thing in the sky was this enemy pegasus. Nothing else was important. Her wings burned as she pushed herself faster. Heat built up as she strained against the air and gravity. A steady rumble began as a familiar cone of pressure formed ahead of her. Still, she pushed herself faster.
The Sonic Rainboom was Rainbow Dash’s favorite claim to fame. When she got moving fast enough, a sonic boom and rainbow would happen all at once. It wasn’t practical for offensive use. It took too long to get going, and charging headfirst into the enemy wasn’t the brightest move. She’d never used one in an actual fight.
She’d especially never Sonic Rainboomed somepony at point blank range before.
Ponies can explode. Who knew? She thought, leaving a trail of wispy black smoke.