//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: Docking // Story: Heart of the Ocean // by Silentpegasus //------------------------------// Heart of the Ocean Chapter 1 Docking. Razor Wind, a grey Pegasus stallion with a bright blue mane and tail sat in a jail cell inside the white stone walls of Canterlot. The cell was made of hard cobble stone and stank of blood, pain and fear. Razor knew places like this all to well. He smirked and looked out the barred window, out onto the bright blue ocean. The only home that he’s ever known. Razor put his head against the wall and let out a sigh. Well, Razor here we are again. How’d I get into jail this time? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Six hours earlier. Hmm...Where’s a good place to buy food in this town? Razor thought as he trotted through the small town. His long blue coat with black trim along the edges blowing in the wind. He adjusted his tricorne hat as his bright blue eyes scanned the quaint town. He sniffed the air and let out a sigh. Air’s not salty enough. Smells more like.....dust. He thought with a shrug. “LOOK OUT!” Razor looked up to see a cyan blur racing towards him. He felt the object crash into him and push his back into the ground. As his blurry vision vanished and his eyesight regulated he saw that the object was a cyan Pegasus mare with a flowing rainbow mane. She shook her head and looked at the stunned grey stallion. “Oops. Sorry about that.” She said as she got to her hooves. “No problem. I’ve taken worse hits.” He said as he picked up his hat and placed it on his head covering his bright blue mane. The mare then realized he had a scar over his right eye. “Still, I feel bad. I’m Rainbow Dash by the way.” She said as she stuck out her hoof. “Razor Wind.” He said as he shook the mare hoof. “You new in town?” “Yeah, just got off the dock.” “Oh you travel by boat then?” She said with a smile. “Yeah.” He said as the two started to walk down the road. “So are you a trader?” “I guess you could call me that.” He said with a faint chuckle. “Cool. Interesting to meet an earth pony from the sea.” She said with a smile. “I’m actually a Pegasus.” He said as he raised is coat revealing a bandaged wing. “Oh, sorry.” She said with a sheepish grin. “It’s fine. Kind of hard to see them over this coat I suppose.” “So what are you doing in Ponyville?” “I’m on a shopping spree for food and supplies before I go out again. You wouldn’t happen to know anypony who could sell me some fruit?” Rainbow’s eyes lit up and smiled. “One of my best friends has a small stand not to far from here. I’m sure she’d be happy to help you out.” She said with a smile. “That would be great. Lead the way.” The cyan mare took flight and sped away from the grey stallion who had to break into a gallop to barely keep up with her. “Why aren’t you flying?” “I broke my wings. I need to stay off it for a few weeks.” He said as he pointed to his damaged wings. Rainbow noticed his wing’s were wrapped in a white bandage and had red spots splattered from the inside. “Ouch. What happened?” “While I was offloading a crate the rope holding it up snapped and landed on them.” The mare cringed at the thought. She stopped flying and started to trot next to the grey stallion. The cyan mare ran up to an orange earth pony mare with a blond mane tied back by a piece of red ribbon, operating an apple stand and donning a brown Stetson hat. “Howdy there Rainbow. What can I get for ya?” She asked with a smile. “Razor here needs some fruit for his voyage.” She said as she pointed to the grey stallion. Steel trotted over to the stand and picked up one of the apples and took a bite. “Hey! Ah hope you’re gonna pay for that.” “I will. I’m just sampling.” He said as he swallowed the fruit. “That was the best apple I’ve ever tasted.” Steel said with a satisfied look on his face. “Thank ya kindly.” The mare said as she tipped her hat to him. “Do you sell them in barrels?” He asked as he scratched his chin. “Sure do. How many do ya want? Two?” “I’ll take ten barrels.” The mare’s jaws dropped at the amount. “R-really?” The farmer said in surprise. “Yeah. How much do I owe you?” He said as he pulled out a small quill and note pad. “I’d say.....two hundred and fifty bits.” “Okay. Let’s call it an even three hundred.” He said as he withdrew a small bag of bits. “Y-you don’t have to give us that much.” The mare said in surprise. “I need it delivered to the port. Consider it delivery pay.” He said with a smile. “We can have it there by this afternoon.” She said as she took the bit bag. “Much appreciated Miss......Sorry, I didn’t catch your name.” He said as he put the note pad and quill back into his pocket. “I’m Applejack.” She said as she shook his hoof. “Razor Wind.” He said with a grin. “Bring it to the port and my friends will put it on the ship. Just tell them I sent you.” “Will do.” She said with a wide grin. “Now is there a book store around here?” He asked as he looked at the two mares. “Why?” “When you’re on a ship for six to eight months at a time you need to keep yourself busy.” He said in a light tone. “Twilight runs the library in town and she sells books from time to time.” Dash added. “Where’s that?” “You probably passed it. It’s a massive tree in the middle of town.” Applejack added. “Thanks.” He said as he trotted away from the mares. As the stallion walked away the mares looked at one another in surprise. “Rainbow. Who in the hey was that?” “He just got into town this morning.” The cyan mare said with a shrug. “Well, whoever he is he’s okay in my book.” She said as she started counting the bits. The grey stallion made his way back through town looking for the massive tree “HEY!” The stallion’s vision was then filled with the color pink as a pink Earth pony mare with a bouncy pink mane seemed to pop out of nowhere. “I’ve never seen you here before. Are you a new pony in town?” “Yes, I just got here this morning.” He said with a smile. “I’m Pinkie Pie!” She said with a massive grin on her face. “Razor Wind.” The stallion said with a grin. “Do you know where the library is? I’m having a little trouble finding my way around town.” “Yeah! I know where that is. My best friend Twilight runs it. Follow me!” The pink mare said as she zoomed off in another direction. Razor looked in surprise at the mares speed and charged after the mare. He saw the pink blur stop in front of the massive tree. As Razor caught up with the mare he was out of breath. “Here ya go.” “Thanks.....How......can you.......run....so fast?” He asked as he caught his breath. “I drink A LOT of coffee.” She said as the two trotted inside. The stallion shook his head as the two made their way inside. Steel looked around the room and marveled at the collection of books. The stallion then saw a lavender mare behind the desk with massive stacks of paper. “Hey Pinkie Pie. What brings you here?” “Razor is new in town and he’s looking to buy some books.” She said as she pointed to the grey Pegasus. “Hello.” He said with a smile and a quick wave. “Hi. My name is Twilight Sparkle. How can I help you?” “You mean THE Twilight Sparkle? Element of Magic and student to Celestia herself?” He said in amazement. “Yeah, you’ve heard of me?” “Who hasn’t. It’s an honor to meet you.” He said with a bow. “Oh stop.” She said with a small blush. “How can I help you?” “I would like to buy some books.” He said with a gulp. “Sure, got anything specific?” “Colt Brown, Daring Do and if you have any plant or medical journals would be nice.” He said with a grin. “Why do you need medical journals?” Pinkie asked. “When you spend six to eight months on a boat you need to learn how to take care of yourself.” The mares looked at him in surprise. “What do you do?” Twilight asked. “I’m a trader on the ocean. My crew and I are collecting supplies before we go out again.” He said with a shrug. “That must be interesting.” Pinkie said. “Oh trust me it is.” He said as Twilight lifted a pile of books over into a bag. “Thank you Ms. Sparkle.” He said with a grin. “How much do I owe you?” “That’ll be fifty bits.” She said with a smile. “AH!”Pinkie yelled causing the other two ponies to look at her in confusion. “I still haven’t thrown you a party yet! I’d better start planning.” She said as she started to zoom out of the room. “Pinkie WAIT!” He yelled. The Pink mare stopped in mid air and landed on her hooves. “The rest of my crew is still on the boat and we need a good party. Mind if I bring them along?” “Sure the more the merrier!” “Awesome!” He said with a grin. Pinkie smiled and raced out the door. “Is she always like that?” “That’s just Pinkie being Pinkie.” Twilight said as she rolled her eyes. She then noticed that her mirror was flashing. The lavender mare trotted over to it and touched the surface with her horn. “Hello?” "Hey sis." The image of a white stallion with a long blue mane appeared in the image. “Hey Shining! What’s up?” “Just wanted to see how my favorite sister is doing.” He said with a smile. The grey stallion tapped Twilight on the shoulder. “Thanks for the books Twilight. The bit’s are on the desk.” He said as he pointed to a small bag on the desk. “No problem. See ya.” She said with a smile. Razor picked up the bag and made his way out the door. The librarian turned her gaze back to the mirror to see the stallion with a shocked look on his face. “What’s wrong Shining?” “N-nothing. Sorry Twi, but I gotta go.” “Wait what’s-” She was cut off as the connection was severed. The mare looked at the mirror for a second and let out a sigh. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Back in Canterlot Shining stormed into the lunch hall dressed in his full armor. The other guards were sitting down eating when they saw the captain. Everypony in the room got to their hooves and saluted. “Everyone in full combat gear now! Meet me by the front gate when you’re ready!” The ponies rushed to their lockers and threw on their armor and weapons. They looked at one another in surprise. They had never seen Shining like this. He was always calm and collected. The army stood at attention in front of the guard captain. The ponies waited in anticipation for their orders. “Guards! We’re double timing it to Ponyville!” He yelled. The mass of guards funneled out of the castle courtyard and made their way to the massive chariots. The Pegasi hitched themselves up to the chariots and started to ferry the guards through the sky. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Razor Wind made his way back to the docks with the bag of books slung over his back. As he approached the edge of town a white bird descended and perched itself on the stallion’s head. “Hey Snow, what’s up?” The large bird let out a caw and pecked at the note it had tied to it’s leg. “Message from Breeze?” Razor. There’s an orange Earth pony mare here with ten barrels of apples. She said you paid for them. The stallion let out a sigh and quickly withdrew a quill from his jacket and wrote down a quick message. He rolled the piece of paper up and held it up to the bird’s beak. The bird erupted a white flame from it’s mouth and engulfed the letter along with the bag of books. As he continued to walk through town with the bird sitting on the top of his head. The two were then stopped by a yellow Pegasus mare with a long pink mane and tail. “Um....excuse me. I was wondering if I could ask you something.” She said in a timid tone. “Sure.” “What kind of bird is that?” She asked as the bird flared its black tipped wings. “She’s a Phoenix.” He said as the bird cawed. “Oh she’s beautiful.” The mare said with a smile. The bird took flight and landed on the mares back. “She seem’s to like you. What’s your name?” “It’s...um....Fluttershy.” “Sorry, what was that?” He asked as he leaned in closer. “Fluttershy.” “One more time?” The mare took a deep breath and gathered her courage. “Fluttershy.” “Nice to meet you Fluttershy. I’m Razor Wind and this is Snow.” He said as the bird started to preen itself. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Applejack was standing on the dock in front of a teal Unicorn mare with a brown mane and a skeptical look on her face. The sea air filled the orange mare’s nose causing her to sneeze. As the teal mare lifted an eyebrow the farmer let out a heavy sigh and adjusted her hat. “Like I said for hundredth time; Razor Wind bought these apples and told me to drop them off.” She said as she pointed to the ten barrels of apples behind her. “And like I said; you’re not dropping anything off until-” The Unicorn was cut off as a small slip of paper appeared in front of her along with a pile of books. Calm down Breeze. I bought the apples and she’s telling the truth. P.S. I bought some books. The mare read the letter again and gave the farmer a sheepish grin. “Heh, heh. Sorry. Thanks for the apples.” “No problem. Need a hoof getting them on the......hey where’s your ship?” Applejack asked as she looked around the empty port. “The rest of the crew is off shore. I’m just here to look after the supplies until it’s time to leave.” “Razor told me you guys were traders. What do you trade?” “All sorts of things. I don’t really pay attention.” She said with a shrug. The orange mare gave a nod and left the mare standing at the dock. Her horn flared and the supplies, along with herself vanished in a puff of smoke. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Back in Ponyville Razor and Fluttershy trotted into Sugar Cube corner where they were met by Rainbow, Twilight, Pinkie, Applejack and a white unicorn mare named Rarity. He started to tell them stories about his trips and adventures. “Well, Razor it sounds like you get around quite a lot.” Rarity said with a smile. “Yeah, I love to travel.” He said with a grin. “Why do it by sea?” Twilight asked. “Every other Pegasus I know flies. I like to consider myself the first Pegasus that prefers the sea to the sky.” He said as he sat back in his seat. “Flying is awesome!” Dash interjected. “I know that, but navigating the ocean takes a lot more skill.” He said with a shrug. “Whatever, I still say that-” The mare was cut off as a small purple dragon burst into the room out of breath. “Twilight.......Important.....” He said as he caught his breath. “Slow down Spike. What’s up?” The lavender mare asked. Spike took a moment to collect himself. “Your brother just showed up at the library with a bunch of guards. He’s on his way here right now.” The mares looked at one another in shock. “What’s Shining doing here?” The lavender mare asked. “I don’t know. He didn’t-” He was cut off as the white stallion barged into the room and his eyes locked on the grey stallion who had a smirk on his face. “YOU!” The guard bellowed as he pulled the sword from it’s sheath. “Long time no see Armor. How’s the wife?” He asked in a relaxed tone. “Shut it! You are under arrest!” He bellowed as three other guards quickly surrounded him. “Would somepony please explain to me what the buck is going on?” Rainbow yelled in confusion. “Okay, long story short.....I’m a pirate.” Razor said as the mares looked at him in surprise. “A very dangerous Pirate with a 150,000 bit bounty on his head.” Shining said as he pulled out a wanted poster with the stallion's picture on it. “C’mon Shining you know me. It should at least be up to 180,000.” He said as he sipped his drink. “Why are you here?” He asked in astern tone. “I was buying supplies for my next voyage. I can show you the receipts.” He said with a shrug. “You are still under arrest.” Shining said as he raised his blade to the stallion’s throat. Razor let out a sigh and put his hoof on the blade. “C’mon Shinning I prefer not to do this inside.” He said as he pushed the blade away. Razor quickly got to his hooves and dashed out the door only to be met with at least fifty guards in golden armor with blades drawn. The stallion smiled and looked back at the guard Captain. “Did you put this on all for me? You’re too kind.” He said with a smug grin. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way.” Shining said as the group surrounded the stallion. Razor looked up to see a familiar white bird flying overhead. Razor smirked and put his hoof inside his jacket. The guards got into charging position while some unicorns charged their horns. The group heard a snap and saw the stallion’s belt holding two swords and a pistol attached to the back dropped to the ground. Razor kicked them over to the guard captain who had a confused look on his face. “Have it your way then. I surrender.” He said with a smug grin strewn across his face. The group of guards looked at one another in shock and surprise. Shining trotted forward and cuffed the grey stallion who still held the grin on his face brimming with confidence. “You are going to be locked up for a long, long time.” Shining sad as he walked him over to a cart with steel bars on the window. “We’ll see.” Razor said as the guard captain locked the door. The guard ponies then started to make their way back to Canterlot. Shining trotted over to his sister and her friends and let out a sigh. “Are any of you hurt?” “No.” Twilight said still getting over the shock. “Ah can’t believe ah sold apples to the likes of him.” Applejack said as her brow narrowed. “It’s okay. You didn’t know.” Shining said with a grin. “So is he some famous pirate?” Rainbow asked. “Infamous. That stallion has sunk at least six fleets worth of Equestrian battle cruisers.” Shining said as he walked inside and sat down with the mares. “It sounded like you know him.” Dash added. “Oh yeah I know him. I saw him clear the deck of a Griffin ship all on his own. He’s easily one of the most dangerous pirates on the sea.” He said as he let out a sigh. “However, if there’s one thing I know it’s that he wouldn’t give up without a fight.” “So why did he surrender?” Twilight asked. “I have no idea.” Shining sad as he got to his hooves. “Just be careful. If Razor is here then you can bet your flank that the rest of the crew is too.” “Ah met one at the docks. She was a Unicorn mare. Ah didn’t get her name.” The farmer said as she scratched her mane. “It’s fine. We don’t know much about the other crew members. Just report anything to me and I’ll be here ASAP.” He gave the lavender mare a hug and galloped out of the bakery after the other guards. The mares sat in silence and looked at one another in concern. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The teal unicorn mare waited near the docks and looked up to see a familiar white bird racing towards her. The bird perched itself on the mares back and cawed. “Hey Snow. Where’s Razor?” The bird pressed it’s forehead against the mares. “Want to show me something?” The bird gave a nod. The mare’s horn glowed and several images flashed in the birds eyes. A small magical aura encased their heads as the images flashed in the mares eyes. Breeze face hoofed and let out a loud groan as the connection was severed. “That bucking idiot!” She yelled as she and the bird vanished in a cloud of smoke. The two reappeared on a wooden deck where ten other crew members were bust tying knots and swabbing the deck. A large griffon with brown feathers and an eyepatch walked over to the annoyed mare. “What’s up Breeze?” “Razor got captured.” The Griffin face palmed with his claw. “That idiot. Do you know where they took him?” “No, but don’t worry. I know just who to ask.” She said with a menacing grin. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Razor leaned his head back against the stone wall and pulled his hat over his head as he closed his eyes. He heard a door open and saw two stallions in gold plated armor stand guard outside his cell. The stallion smirked and drifted off to sleep.