Ponies, Pirates and Peculiar Psychopaths

by Dropbear

Schemes and Plots

“All of you remain calm!”

Lieutenant Arcane Light strained his voice to yell over the din of the panicking crowd below. Earth pony commoners and Highborn unicorns alike stampeded into any kind of shelter, the smell of smoke and fire in the air. Spitting some dirt out of his mouth to continue, Arcane glanced up towards the sky.

The King’s shield was no more, seeming to have been annihilated by the huge explosion. Arcane wasn’t a simple peasant, he knew all kinds of combat spells and yet he’d never seen anything on that scale. Evidently, neither had anyone else either, his fellow soldiers equally nervous and jittery. They all formed a solid line, spears and swords pointing out in an attempt to stop ponies from storming into the castle courtyards.

“Return to your homes in an orderly fashion!” he bellowed, his words having little effect. A clanking of metal drew his attention, and when he looked to his left he saw three fully-armoured knights stand beside him.

“You there, unicorn,” the leader addressed, her tone one of displeasure. “Why are you ordering ponies around when you’re as naked as a commoner?”

Arcane spared a glance to his light-brown coat, his mark of a spear on a shield plain to see. He narrowed his eyes, fixing the knight with a glare from his icy blue eyes.

“I’m organising my troops to keep order, as is my duty as Lieutenant. I had no time to put on my armour when the attack happened, and I prioritised action over getting dressed.” Through the knight’s helmet slits, he saw purple eyes glare at him. “Speaking of which, you took your time.”

“Watch your tongue, knave!” another knight warned, his voice heavy with threat. “Or I’ll cut it out!”

“Severus,” the lead knight replied. “Refrain from such actions.” She fixed Arcane with another glare. “Besides, if we cut out his tongue then we’d have to be the ones dealing with the rabble.” The surrounding soldiers twitched, but were wise enough to not rebuke the knights’ insults. Arcane however was furious that he was doing all of the work, and then these three stuck-up nobles barge in to just throw out criticism.

“If you’re not going to help, then why are you even here?” he asked, snorting while he did so.

“King Sombra is concerned that the attack spell was a cover for a possible invasion, and as such has ordered us to hold the line while he ensures the safety of castle’s treasures.”

‘Big surprise there,’ Arcane fumed to himself. He had served under Sombra’s father and had greatly respected the stallion.
His son however, not so much.

Sombra was less of a general and more of a slimy politician, more suited to sucking up in the courtroom than the hack and slash of combat. He couldn’t even beat one pirate captain he was that pathetic. He may have won over everyone else, but Arcane didn’t buy into the lies.

“As of such, we are taking command,” the knight continued to inform him. “You, however, are to get your naked body and greasy mane out of my sight. Go and put your armour on before I make you a commoner.” Arcane huffed but did as ordered. The problem with the knights was that they were all of noble birth, and thusly higher than him. Granted, he was a unicorn and therefore above the earth pony peasants, but he was not a noble and the knights were very capable of carrying out their threat.

Walking away back into the castle grounds, he glanced up at his black mane. It wasn’t greasy; in fact it was quite clean and well-cut.
“Stuck up inbreds,” he muttered to himself. “I didn’t fight three wars just to be treated like a piece of-“

Arcane’s grumbling was interrupted by a roar, actually multiple roars.

‘Dragons!?’ he thought while trying to pull his non-existent sword. He’d encountered dragons before, and every time it had ended with a few of his fellow soldiers being burnt to a crisp or eaten.

The grey triangles that flew over the city were far from dragons however, the wings on these didn’t flap and instead of coming out of one mouth, the flames came from four openings on the back. Ponies all around him stopped and stared at the sight, the triangles soaring over without incident.

‘I wonder what they are?’ Arcane questioned while watching in awe.

It was then that one of the castle’s towers exploded.

Arcane dived to the ground while stone rained down and ponies resumed their panicking. Raising his head, he realised that the tower that had been destroyed was the headquarters of the Knight’s Guild. Any further alarm or secret elation was cut off by more explosions, these ones striking the barracks, walls, guard towers and a few blew chunks out of the castle itself.

He looked up in time to spot a thin, cylinder with a pointed tip scream towards another castle tower, a tongue of flame gushing out of its tail. It collided with the stone and cracked it asunder in a flash of light, yet more stone falling down. One large, smouldering block in particular was heading right for him, Arcane lighting up his horn in preparation to try and stop it. It slowed however, and instead it started to drop down towards a group of earth pony peasants.

The two mares and a stallion looked up at their oncoming deaths in horror, time seeming to slow. They were paralysed with terror, their legs seeming to disobey them. Their simple farmers garb fluttered in the wind, Arcane’s eyes widening.

Putting his ingrained distaste aside, he poured magic into his horn and focused. He imagined the spell in his mind, and he tried his best to predict the path of the debris.

Just as the stone chunk was about to crush the three hapless peasants, a blue bolt of energy flew out from Arcane’s horn. It collided with the stone but didn’t even scratch it, Arcane wincing for what was to come.

Thankfully for him, and the earth ponies, while his magic didn’t destroy the stone like he had hoped, it did push it off course.

With a thud, it crashed down harmlessly into the grassy ground. Arcane breathed a sigh of relieve and got to his hooves.

Whatever had been causing the devastation had appeared to have stopped, a strange sort of peace settling over the city. Arcane quickly made his way back to the entrance to the castle courtyards, aiming to survey the damage to the market place.

“Thank you, sir,” one of the earth pony mares thanked, Arcane ignoring her leaving the trio behind. Upon reaching the entrance he found that all of his soldiers were gone, abandoned spears and swords littering the ground. Standing in the middle of it all was the three knights from before, all clad in their steel plate and aiming their glowing horns into the sky.

“Where is everyone?” Arcane inquired, the lead knight snorting while searching the sky.

“You’re subordinates are ill-trained cowards,” the mare spat. “They all bolted after the first few explosions.”

Arcane was about to defend his troops, planning to bring up the fact that giant flying triangles zooming over the city and blowing things up might just be a little too much for soldiers not protected by full plate armour, but he decided that action was worth more than words.
Leaving the three knights to continue their useless vigil, Arcane moved into the market and set out to re-organise his troops. He grimaced while fires started to burn, dodging ponies that were aimlessly galloping around in terror and yelling.

He had a feeling that this wasn’t over just yet.

Sombra hurriedly shoved scrolls and books into the large saddlebags he was wearing, the magical tomes the most expensive and dangerous out of all the ones kept in the castle library. He moved from bookshelf to bookshelf, ignoring the bangs and booms outside.

Soon his bags bulged and he could fit only one more book, the King glancing between the two left on the small shelf in front of him. He could pick ‘The Never-Ending World of Nefarious Necromancy’, or he could choose ‘Despicable Dark Magic, Domination Edition’. Sombra was too preoccupied to question just why the library contained such books, but his eyes were drawn to the gold-etched black book on the left.

“Domination,” he muttered to himself, liking the sound of that. Shoving the tome into his bag and closing it shut, Sombra turned to leave but paused. Glancing back at the book of necromancy, he bit his lip in thought.

‘Maybe I’ll have room for just one more…’

Before he could even think any further, a loud explosion rang out, seemingly directly outside the library window.

“Or maybe not,” he grumbled, scrambling to leave the room. Galloping towards the door, his horn lit up and a green bolt of magic shot out. The magical projectile hit the bookshelf and set it aflame, Sombra rushing past and emerging into the upper floors before the flames started to spread. He spotted a group of armoured knights heading towards him, the soldiers breaking down doors to peer into the rooms within.

“Sire!” the lead knight addressed upon spotting him. “Thank the Heavens that you’re safe! Quickly, we must get you down to the vault!”
Sombra grimaced, he’d been planning to flee the castle and escape, but he wouldn’t be able to fight off the five trained nobles. Instead, he decided to improvise.

“Yes, lead the way,” he ordered the stallion, the knights nodding and forming a protective group around him. The guided him down the stairs, the clanking of armour and weapons soon overtaken by cries of panic. While they briefly stopped on the ground floor, Sombra looked out and saw a crowd of peasants and guards stuffed into the castle, all of them trying to seek refuge from whatever was attacking.

With a sneer of distaste, Sombra and his escorts once again moved down another flight of stairs. Torches in wall brackets lit their path, the noise of the citizens fading to be replaced with armoured hoofsteps and barked orders.

Sombra left the staircase and looked around, the subterranean floors having been out of bounds to him before his rise to King. Everything was made out of thick, solid stone, and everywhere he looked guards and knights stood at attention or rushed around in and out of rooms.

“The vault is this way Sir,” the lead knight spoke up, sheathing his sword and heading deeper into the corridor. Despite his urge to get out of the castle, Sombra followed with his bags still full of tomes. Glancing around, he had a sizable guard force around him including the elite knights, so maybe it wasn’t the worst thing to happen.

Passing through a heavy oak door guarded by an entire ten-pony squad, Sombra and his escort entered a large room that certainly lived up to the name of ‘vault’.

The walls had a slight glow to them, and Sombra could detect the magical enchantments on them. In the centre of the room was a large war table, with an entire map of Equestria and the surrounding lands and seas. Sombra couldn’t hear any more explosions, so either the room was sound-proofed or the attack had stopped.

“We’ll be right by you, Your Highness,” the lead knight stated, saluting and gesturing for his subordinates to guard the door. The four normal knights moved to stand beside the doorway, the leader shutting the barrier and placing himself in front of it.
He had to admit, their loyalty was rather impressive.

With a smirk, Sombra made his way to the red velvet chair at the head of the table, overhanging torches providing ample illumination. Settling into the comfortable seat after a mareservant removed his bags, Sombra leaned back and placed his hooves on the table.
“Would you like something to eat or drink, Lord?” the young mare inquired, Sombra smiling back into the pearl-white mare’s ruby eyes.

“Indeed, some sustenance would be welcome.”

“I’ll organise it right away,” the servant bowed, before passing the knights and exiting the vault. A silence descended over the room once she had departed, Sombra tapping his hoof upon the edge of his chair.

He had to re-evaluate his plans for dealing with the biped, this attack certainly one of his doing. Of course, like all pirates the being seemed to be out for power, and he might be open to a working partnership.

Sombra already had what he wanted. A castle, land and a country full of subjects willing to live, work and die for him. With the pirate captain on his side, he could use the biped to deal with the Pegasi, Griffons, Minotaurs, Zebras and Diamond dogs while ‘gifting’ their land to keep the beast happy. It was certainly worth a try, and Sombra was confident that he’d be able to persuade the Captain over to his line of thinking.

‘Yes,’ he thought to himself, his smirk morphing into a grin while he leaned back and waited for his refreshments. ‘After all, a powerful pawn is still a pawn.’

Chrysalis didn’t even know what to think anymore.

Here she was, a simple drone from a little-known hive city, sitting in a tower while flying triangle’s bombed the pony capitol. She was changing into… something, had ten nymphs to look after and a being that was at the same time kind and mentally unhinged was currently scratching her behind the ears.

The twists and turns that life creates.

“Whelp, that’s enough bombing for one morning,” Nigel suddenly announced, his fingers dancing over the glowing screen on his chair’s armrest. Regretfully, Chrysalis shook her head and ended the ear scratch, standing up after remembering the nymphs down below.

“I’m going to get the nymphs, it’s time for their breakfast,” she reminded, casting a final glance out of the windows. In the distance, the flying triangles were returning to the mountain they had come from, leaving a smoke-covered city behind them.

“You need any help?” he inquired, Chrysalis waving him off.

“No, I’ve got it, just don’t do anything crazy while I’m gone.”

“Me, do something crazy?” Nigel placed a hand over his heart. “I’m puzzled as to what gave you that idea.”

Chrysalis decided to just let the issue drop, making her way towards the lift. Pressing the button to take her to the living areas, she glanced out towards the command room. She had to admit, it almost seemed like a family to her.

Nigel, Morning, Sunflare, even Spyglass and Clover were quickly becoming people and ponies that she looked forward to seeing in the mornings. Granted, most of them were kind of here against their will, and Platinum was also present, but it still felt like a family to her.

The lift doors closed and she felt it move down, the journey only a few seconds before it came to a stop. The doors opened and she stepped out, passing the living room and kitchens in her haste. Chrysalis actually felt joy at the prospect of seeing the nymphs again, despite her initial fears that they’d turn out to be a hindrance.

Closing on the door to her room, she could hear the chirps and chatters from within, thumps on the door indicating that the ones within where very much awake.

“Okay, calm down,” she reassured while pressing the button to open the door, the chirps changing to ‘Chrysalis’ at her voice.
As soon as the door opened, a tide of nymphs flowed out to bounce around her, the youngsters calling out greetings while they jostled for a position at her legs.

“Morning!” a few managed, while others stuck to just her name. Still, they were certainly learning far more quickly than she had thought they would.

“Aren’t you all just so smart?” she questioned, taking some time to rub each one on their heads. The little curved horns that each possessed were growing larger, and the males had started to get notably taller than their sisters. At this point Chrysalis didn’t even care if they were even siblings by blood, from now on she’d refer to them as if they were. “Now come on, it’s time for breakfast.”

“Food!” the chorus changed, Chrysalis beaming with pride. The feeling that she was helping them grow was a pleasant one, and as she started to lead them back to the lift she had a bounce in her step.

The nymphs briefly sniffed the entrances to rooms that they passed, the young ones not having explored the living areas yet. Upon reaching the lift, Chrysalis allowed them a minute to roam around the recreational area before opening the lift.

“Let’s go,” she asked, the nymphs turning to follow. With alarm, Chrysalis realised that they were one short, and upon looking at the table in the middle of the room she noticed that Keith had climbed up on it.

The young male had his eyes narrowed in concentration, and his wings were buzzing furiously.

“Keith, no!” Chrysalis ordered, however the nymph didn’t listen.

She watched on in horror when he jumped, his legs propelling him off the table and towards the ground.

With a joy-filled chirp, Keith took flight and zoomed towards her, shakily but managing to stay off the ground.

He still hadn’t worked out on how to land yet, however.

Chrysalis winced when he collided into her foreleg, not because it hurt but because she knew he’d be worse off. Looking down, he was rubbing his head beside his horn, his mouth wavering while his siblings laughed at his actions.

“See, I told you?” Chrysalis lectured, using her magic to lift him up to her face. She gave him a peck on the sore spot, and his sniffles began to die out. “You’ll get it one day though, I just know it.” This returned the smile to his face, and instead of putting him down she placed him on her back. Focusing back on the rest of the nymphs, she sighed when she saw that they too were heading towards the table with their wings already buzzing.

‘And it begins,’ she thought, before moving to halt them.

“No, no more flying practice from the table,” she ordered, the nymphs pausing and looking back at her. With a hoof point from Chrysalis towards the lift, their wings settled down and they sluggishly made their way back towards her. “Hurry up; the sooner we get in the lift the sooner we get fed.”

“Nigel!” Reflection called out, the nymph leading the pack back to the lift with a surge of energy. When she arrived she beamed up at Chrysalis, as if expecting a reward for doing as asked. Once all were in the lift, Chrysalis gave her another pat on the head. Reflection seemed slightly displeased with the contact, but Chrysalis could relate that it wasn’t as good as an ear scratch from five fingers.

Another short trip and they reached the command floor, the lift doors opening to disgorge a tide of cheery, energetic nymphs. Chrysalis smirked when Buzz accidently rammed Platinum on the side in his haste to greet her, the Princess jolting in surprise. Platinum went to glare at the nymph, but a glance over to Nigel tapping his fingers together in his chair persuaded her otherwise. Instead she hesitantly patted it with a hoof, before trying very hard to ignore Buzz by staring out the window.

The other nymphs made beelines for Clover, Morning, Spyglass and the seated Sunflare. The exception was Reflection, who predicably headed straight for Nigel.

“Hey there Reflection,” he greeted, Chrysalis trotting up while he gave the happy nymph an ear scratch. A flow of emotion started up as the nymphs began to siphon, Chrysalis also receiving a helping of the nourishing energy.

“It’s going to be trouble up ahead,” Chrysalis informed him. “Keith managed to fly off the table down below.”

“Did he now?” Chalmers questioned, looking around while Reflection rubbed her side against his leg. “Where’s the little troublemaker?”
Both Chrysalis and Nigel tried to spot the nymph in question, and Chrysalis was the one to find him first. Keith was balancing on a console, his wings fluttering with his eyes locked on Morning’s back.

This time, it wasn’t the ground that had Chrysalis worried.

“Keith, no,” she warned, but once again it was ignored. With a chirp of joy, Keith propelled himself off and flew, Nigel watching with amusement while Chrysalis started to gallop towards him. This time he managed to glide quite a distance, and with a thud he made contact with Morning. The Captain remained still while Keith used his forelegs to cling around her neck, Morning continuing to stare out of the window.

“There’s one of them on me, isn’t there?” she deadpanned, Keith letting out a chirp and greeting.

“Morning!” he announced, earning amused laughter from the ponies and human watching. Chrysalis was not as pleased, hurrying over and removing him from Morning.

“I’m so sorry, he doesn’t know what he’s doing-“

“Relax,” Morning chuckled. “I understand.”

Chrysalis couldn’t believe it, the mare was actually happy?

“You’re just trying to learn, aren’t you little one?” Morning continued, shocking Chrysalis to the core.

“Okay,” she turned to Nigel. “What’s going on with Morning, have you replaced her with one of your machines?”

The room burst into laughter, except for Morning who stared at Chrysalis blankly.

“I’m allowed to be happy sometimes,” Morning informed her before smiling at Keith. “Besides, Nigel’s given me the ship, and he just told us that it’s ready.” Chrysalis searched her memory, and her eyes widened when she recalled Nigel telling her that he was going to ‘pimp’ Morning’s ship with laser cannons.

Chrysalis didn’t know what ‘pimp’ meant, but she did understand what laser cannons were.

“I’ll get the pen,” she muttered, continuing to lift the Keith in her magic while heading towards the metal play pen that Nigel had built the other day. The nymph struggled in her grasp while she hooked a hoof through the metal bars and dragged the topless cage beside Nigel’s chair. An irritated Keith was soon placed inside, soon followed by every single one of his siblings.

“Is that needed?” Chalmers inquired, Chrysalis furrowing her brows. He wasn’t the one who had to pull them off normally sociopathic pirates, and he seemed to not be too concerned with them jumping off random objects in an attempt to fly. Even now, Keith and a few others were buzzing their wings and trying to gain some lift.

“Yes, it is very much needed,” she replied with a huff. “Besides, with this talk of laser cannons it’s probably the safest option.”

“Ah, I do love how you’re always so concerned with what I’m doing.”

The statement took Chrysalis by surprise, and she stumbled on her hooves. The ponies gave her knowing glances but Chalmers didn’t seem to notice anything different. He beckoned her over, and as soon as she was close she felt a hand start to rub her head again. Her eyes rolled at the pleasant feeling, and she collapsed down onto her rump while the nymphs sat and watched with jealousy clear on their faces.

“I’m going to get some breakfast,” Spyglass announced, the stallion glancing out of the window before getting to his hooves. Platinum followed him, while Clover stood up and pushed Sunflare’s wheelchair for her.

“Are you coming, Morning?” Clover inquired, the Captain shaking her head in response.

“No, I have to talk to Chalmers for a minute. I’ll catch up.” With a nod, the four Equestrians entered the lift and left the room, Chrysalis sitting down to watch the upcoming conversation.

“So, what’s the issue?” Nigel inquired.

“Nothing really,” Morning answered while sitting down on a nearby cushion. “I just wanted to ask you what kind of upgrades you’ve given the ship. I mean, I like it here, but I’ve been looking forward to taking to the sea again.”

“Understandable,” Nigel agreed, before waving a finger in the air. “But it’s like I told you last night, it’s going to be a surprise. I promise that you’ll love it though, and it’ll be more than a match for any other ship.”

“Just one hint?” Morning begged. “Please? The waiting is killing me.”

The hand rubbing Chrysalis’s head left when Nigel leaned forward. “Come closer,” he whispered, Chrysalis and Morning moving their heads closer. “You want to know a secret, the most important thing about your newly-upgraded ship?”

“Yes,” Morning breathed, a foal-like joy in her eyes. “Tell me.”

Nigel cleared his throat, a process which he drew out as long as possible. Finally, he cuffed a hand to his mouth and looked around to make sure no-one else was in the room.

“It floats.”

A stunned silence descended upon the room, broken only by the buzzing of nymph-wings and a single whisper from Morning.

“You Bastard,” she insulted, her eyes narrowing and her voice returning to full volume. “You actually went through all of that just to play me along?”

“The art is in the build-up,” Nigel answered wisely while leaning back in his chair. Morning wasn’t pleased with the answer, but Chrysalis could see that there was no real anger.

“I should go and work for Sombra,” Morning informed, turning away with a huff.

“What you should do is stop being such an anti-social sook and grab some breakfast with the others.”

“Pfft,” was all Morning replied with, but she still left the cushion to walk to the lift. “And to think, all those years of loyal service and this is what I get in return.”

This earned a chuckle from Nigel, the human shaking his head while Morning flashed him a smile.

“Ah, okay fine, I’ll show you and the others the boat after breakfast and me some time with the nymphs, deal?”

“Aye aye,” Morning eagerly acknowledged before hamming the lift button in an attempt to make it go faster. Chrysalis glanced up at Nigel once the lift doors had closed, Morning’s behaviour odd, to say the least.

“She’s happy.”

“She is, isn’t she?” Nigel replied, placing his head in a hand while bringing up one of his floating screens. “It’s amazing what a little reward can do to really bring the best out of people.” Brushing off her personal opinion that gifting a pony an entire ship and making her captain was a bit more than a ‘little reward’, Chrysalis asked a single question.

“What’s my reward?”

“Why, my glorious presence of course,” Nigel joked, placing a hand over his heart. “For what more could you want?”

She could name many things, however she had to admit that he featured in the majority of the scenarios she could think of. Truth be told, she really didn’t have a need for gold or jewels, as most of the things that ponies wanted didn’t’ really appeal to her. Glancing over to the nymphs in the pen, she thought of one thing that she wanted.

“Can you promise me that you’ll always be there, for me and the nymphs?”

The sudden change visibly surprised him, Nigel doing a double take at the question.

“Meaning…?”

“Well,” she started to clarify. “I know that you’ll have a lot to do, and you might get a little carried away while doing it, so can you try to make sure that you’ve got the time to spend with me and look after the nymphs?”

“Chrissy, Chrissy, Chrissy,” Nigel muttered, scratching her behind the ears again. “Do you honestly think that looking after you is something you should be rewarded with? That’s a rather stupid reward.”

“Oh,” she mumbled, his words causing her to flinch. Suddenly, the scratching didn’t feel nearly as good as it did before.

“It’s a responsibility.”

Now that brought her hopes back up, and looking up she could see the truthfulness in his eyes.

“I’ve come too far to just forget about you and the nymphs, you lot have grown on me.” Both of them glanced over towards the pen, the nymphs having given up on trying to fly and were instead playing with joyful chirps. “So I’ll promise to always do my best, and to put you and the nymphs first.” He paused, rethinking his promise. “Actually you’ll have to be second; the UIP has to be first all the time. You know, with the whole treason thing and that song and dance.”

She cracked a smile at that. “Better than nothing I guess.”

“Some things in life are just not ours to change,” he told her, leaning back in his chair. “I mean, sure, my position affords me some decent advantages, not to mention a fat pay check, but she’s a cruel mistress.” Getting up, Chrysalis moved around to his front, staring up at Chalmers with a grin. Leaping up, she placed her forehooves on his legs and gave him a mock glare.

“What’s this about a mistress?” she teased, Nigel breaking into a grin and grabbing her head with both hands.

“Ah Chrissy, never change.”

Chrysalis couldn’t help but go stock still as his hands massaged not just the top, but the entirety of her head. Her head tilted from side to side with the rub, the fingers reaching behind both ears and conferring an absolute blissful state of relaxation. Without even noticing it, her head was touching cool metal and she was resting in his lap. Laying down, she was resting half her body on him while the rub continued.

And she didn’t mind it one bit.

“You’re just like a big, oversized nymph, aren’t you?”

“Shudup,” she managed out, before she gave up on speaking and just accepted it. All of her concerns melted away and she had decided that this here was exactly where she wanted to be forever.

But it was not to be.

“Come on, let’s go and grab some breakfast with the others,” he suggested, removing his hands from her head. Chrysalis however, refused to move without a fight.

“But I don’t need to,” she protested. He sighed, and Chrysalis suddenly found herself lifted up. While she tried to figure out what was going on, he stood up with her still in his arms.

“We’ll be back in a few minutes okay?” Chalmers told the nymphs, the youngsters paying attention not replying but nodding instead. Chrysalis was lost for words while she was carried to the lift like a nymph, Nigel lifting her up becoming a fairly common occurrence. With a chuckle, he bounced her slightly in his arms. “You’re getting bigger.”

Chrysalis grumbled in response, settling into the grasp before the lifts doors closed and they began their journey to the lower floors.

“There’s forty-seven commoners wounded, three knights killed and three castle towers have been demolished.” Sombra tapped his hooves on the table as the unclothed guard, a Lieutenant Arcane, read from a list. “Numerous houses and stores in the market area have been damaged or destroyed, and extensive damage was done to the barracks and guard house. The outer wall has many sections destroyed, and we’re open to assault from the north and west facings.”

“Only three dead?” Sombra questioned, the low number quite unusual for the sheer shock of the attack they had faced.

“All of them were knights in the tower when it was destroyed, sir,” Arcane answered. “It seems that the… triangles that attacked us were aiming for military infrastructure and not for wide-spread damage. Most of the wounded were caused by falling masonry and debris, as well as injuries caused from peasants panicking. Most of the damage done to the market was due to the fires and not the explosive spells.”

Sombra sat back and went back over the information. The triangles had been seen heading back in the direction that the pirate had made his base in. They obviously had enough power to wipe out the city, let alone the castle, so why did they fall back?
The biped must have just used them as a warning, either that or he was playing with them. Still, it was proof of his potential usefulness, and Sombra had an idea forming.

“Lieutenant, organise an escort of nights and guards, as well as arrange to have a tenth of the treasury loaded onto a wagon.”

“A tenth?” the guard questioned with furrowed brows. “But my Liege, what are we-“

“Do not question me, Lieutenant,” Sombra growled. “However, if you must know, we’re going to pay a little… diplomatic visit to our good friend on the coast. After this, I predict that the Pegasi will fall soon after.”

“But sir!” a mare in full plate armour interjected, the knight trotting over from the door of the vault. “If it was indeed him that attack us today, then he’s responsible for the deaths of three of my fellows! A filthy commoner, no, less than a commoner, murdered three of our esteemed nobles!”

“Such is war, Knight. The fact that he managed to without even stepping near the city is evidence of the power we could gain with him as a puppet. A little gold to grease his claw and he’ll be ours, I know his kind.” Sombra looked over towards the Lieutenant, the guard still standing and staring in shock. “Didn’t I order you to move, Lieutenant? When I leave I expect that everything will be ready to travel with me.”

“Uh… Yes sir!” the stallion snapped out a salute before scurrying away out of the room.

“You’re leading the delegation?” the knight questioned with her voice dripping disbelief. “We lost hundreds of soldiers and one of the best knights when Platinum was in charge! The forces guarding that town are not natural, and it would be folly to-“

“I need to show the biped that I do not fear him,” Sombra answered coldly. A hoof went up to touch his jaw, and he remembered all too well that the biped did not fear him. “So far, we’ve only suffered defeats against him. If he wished to kill me, then I have no doubt he could have already done it. However, if I appear with gold and an offer of an alliance, then we can cement a powerful ally instead of fall to a powerful enemy.”

Sombra leaned forward over the war table, his eyes locked on the islands marked ‘Pegasi’.

“And then, after all of our enemies are subjugated, we deal with him once and for all.”

“Is it going to be much longer?”

Chrysalis rolled her eyes at Morning’s complaining, the mare still pestering Nigel about the ship. After a surprisingly friendly and social breakfast, all of them had returned to the command floor to await the completion of Morning’s ship.

“Five more minutes and we can go down, hold your horses.”

Dismissing the strange phrase that Nigel uttered, Chrysalis instead gazed out over the town below them. The lines of droids stood completely still on the streets, the townsponies gingerly trotting past them while they went about their daily business. With a smile, Chrysalis noticed a group of pony children were trying to climb up the legs of one of them, Nigel not paying attention due to his focus on the floating panels in front of him.

Turning back to the nymphs behind her, Chrysalis scooted her cushion closer and watched them play.

“Chrysalis!” Holey greeted merrily, the nymphs seeming to be having a wonderful time in their metal pen. Smiling, Chrysalis reached in a hoof and rubbed the nymph’s belly, Holey chirping happily and nuzzling the limb in return. Soon the hoof was crowded by nymphs, and their attention was helping Chrysalis deal with the situation.

“So are they yours?”

Glancing up, Chrysalis saw that Clover was leaning over and watching the nymphs, the green unicorn evidently aiming for the same thing as her.

“Well, not by blood,” Chrysalis answered, getting used to using the reply. “When we had just arrived in Equestria, we found them in the market. Nigel rescued them for me, and now we both look after them.” She glanced up to Chalmers, the human far too engrossed in mumbling to himself and staring at the glowing screens. “We do both have some adjustment to go through though, as you can probably see.”

“Well, they seem to be growing well,” Clover tried to reassure. “May I… pet one of them?”

“Go ahead.”

Gingerly, Clover reached her foreleg in and touched one of the nymphs on the top of the head. The youngster turned around and pushed back up into the rubbing hoof. It was one of the larger of the bunch, and as it turned Chrysalis caught the flash of a nametag reading ‘Shade’.

Clover smiled when Shade started to chirp, and when he nuzzled her leg she let out a giggle.

“They’re adorable,” she remarked, smiling down at Shade.

“They can be a hoof full though,” Chrysalis commented, a few of the other nymphs crowding around Clover’s hoof. “And it’s only going to get worse, they’ve started to learn how to speak.”

“Really?” Clover questioned, before moving her head closer and grinning at the nymphs. “Can you say ‘Clover’?”

“Pony,” she received from one nymph, sparking a chorus of ‘pony’ from the rest. Chrysalis gave Clover a shrug, before another voice spoke up from the back of the pack.

“Clover.”

Chrysalis recognised the voice and smiled, finding Reflection and seeing the nymph place her forehooves on the Buzz’s back. Her sibling shot Reflection an unamused look that was ignored, Reflection standing up shakily and buzzing her wings.

“Clover!” she repeated a few times, before the other nymphs started to emulate her. Clover was locked in awe, the unicorn staring down at the nymphs learning her name with happiness.

Meanwhile, Chrysalis noticed that Reflection was looking over towards Nigel, the human not realising that he was her focus of attention. Chrysalis smiled at the scene, wondering why Reflection seemed to always desire the human’s attention. At the same time, the fact that the nymphs had bonded so well with him was reassuring, and despite his carelessness she knew that Chalmers felt the same about them.

“He’s busy,” Chrysalis mentioned, picking Reflection up off of the visibly annoyed Buzz and placing her back down on all four hooves. She received a pout in return, but soon Reflection’s smile returned and she once again nuzzled a foreleg.

“Hey, Clover,” Spyglass spoke up, having been watching the proceedings. “Maybe you should quit your assistant job and become a nanny.”

“Maybe I should,” Clover replied while lifting Shade up in her forelegs and hugging him.

“It was a joke,” Spyglass clarified before turning back to the card game he was playing with Platinum and Morning.

“And… finished,” Nigel announced, pressing a button and getting out of his chair. “Righto, let’s go and see what Morning gets to Captain, shall we?”

“I have no objections to that!” Morning replied, practically leaping to her hooves and heading for the lift. “I can already hear the creak of the sails in the wind!”

“Someone’s going to be disappointed,” Nigel muttered, before he walked over to the nymph pen. “We’ll catch up,” he informed, Spyglass, Platinum and Clover nodding before joining Morning in the lift. The door shut and the noise of the descending lift could be heard, Chrysalis looking back towards the nymphs while Nigel lifted the entire pen up.

“Is I going to be safe for them?” she questioned while the youngsters fanned out around the large room.

“Sure it will be,” Nigel reassured, putting the pen back down and patting her on the head. “I think they’re smart enough to stay away from the water.”

She glanced over to Keith, the nymph once again trying to fly off a console.

“Are you sure?” she asked with a gesture towards the eager nymph, Chalmers chuckling and moving to intercept him.

“He’s just trying to learn,” Nigel replied after catching the nymph mid-jump. Keith glared up at him but was met with an ear scratch, his wings dying down while he settled into the arm holding him.

“Me too!” a voice called out, and Chrysalis shook her head when Reflection raced over towards Chalmers.

“I think you’re forgetting a word,” he responded, Reflection ceasing her grasp on his leg to sit back and think.

“Please?” she tried, earning a grin and a pick up. She settled down in the arm, Keith giving her an unamused look when his ear scratch stopped so Nigel could pick her up and hold her.

“They’re all getting bigger, aren’t they?” he commented, Chrysalis nodding. The largest nymph, Buzz, was about half the size of a fully-grown male drone, and the nymphs were growing larger every day. Chrysalis looked down at herself, even she was now up to Chalmers’ waist, when before she only came up to his armoured knee. She still hadn’t seen him unarmoured, but it must give him quite a lot of extra height.

“Well, we’d better get them all ready.” After stating this, Chrysalis moved to towards the teleporter door. “Come on everyone, we’re going out into the town for a while.” With cheers, not chirps, the eight remaining nymphs stopped their playing to crowd around her, Nigel grinning while he followed her into the teleporter.

“Motherhood suits you well,” he chuckled, Chrysalis smiling at the complement.

“You know, I never thought I’d ever hear those words.”

“There’s a time for everything,” Nigel replied before starting the teleporter sequence. “You’re doing well so far.”

Before Chrysalis could thank him for the praise, a blue flash light up the chamber and they were atomised.

“What’s taking them so long?”

Clover tilted her head when Morning grumbled, the pirate mare pacing in a circle.

The last few days had almost seemed like a dream, so much of what had happened was just so weird. First, she’d nearly been executed. Secondly, she’d been rescued by an alien pirate who changed between nice and frightening seemingly at random. Thirdly, she was now about to go and look at a pirate ship along with two pirates, an assassin, a wheelchair bound knight, a changeling, ten changeling nymphs and Princess Platinum.

It was almost enough to drive a mare to drink.

“I wonder what this ship will look like,” Platinum mused, Clover hesitating before replying. The Princess had changed dramatically, no longer bossy and cruel but relaxed and friendly. Her silver mane was currently hanging long, and overall the silver unicorn just seemed happier. Still, Clover had been her advisor for years, and she doubted that a pony could legitimately change so quickly.

“It’ll probably be more alien than we could even imagine,” Clover guessed, Platinum nodding thoughtfully.

“You’re probably right, I mean look at the rest of the things that he has created.”

Wait, did Platinum just say that? No insult or veiled threats?

“It is all pretty strange,” Clover continued, her voice warming. “You’re… cheerful today.”

“Why shouldn’t I be?” Platinum questioned, waving to a group of utterly confused townsponies. “It feels incredibly good to not have to worry about ruling a country and just acting like a normal peasant. Granted, a peasant with a private bathroom with hot water on demand, but this is the closet to being a commoner that I’ve ever been. Is it always this simple for you ponies?”

Clover winced internally at being called a commoner. She was technically a lower noble, although she had to admit that Platinum used to treat her more like peasant. Bottling it up, she tried to convince herself that the Princess was trying and it was just a slip-up.
“I wouldn’t call what’s going on ‘simple’,” she went for the diplomatic response.

“I’m enjoying it,” Spyglass trotted up to add. “Well, you know, besides the whole ‘explosive around my neck’ thing.”

“Oh, Nigel wouldn’t ever blow you up of he didn’t need to,” Platinum reassured. “Out of all of us, I think you entertain him the most.”

“Geez, thanks,” Spyglass rolled his eyes and trotted over to the seated Sunflare. “I’m just thankful that I didn’t end up like Sunflare over here.”

Clover grimaced when she looked a Sunflare’s horn stump, something the ex-knight noticed.

“There’s nothing I can do about it,” Sunflare informed. “And to be honest, it’s the leg that’s bothering me more. At least then I wouldn’t have to have Spyglass push me around, it’s getting annoying.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” the spy replied with narrow eyes, Sunflare’s answer cut off by a groan from Morning.

“Hurry up!”

“She really wants that ship,” Platinum whispered, Clover smiling while she watched the apparently cold-hearted pirate dance from hoof-to-hoof like a tantrum-throwing filly.

“Okay, okay,” Chalmers’ voice called from around the corner, the human emerging with Chrysalis and eight nymphs alongside them. He held two in his arms, and this only caused more questions for Clover. He was no doubt violent, and a little crazy, but at the same time he did seem very compassionate towards the nymphs and Chrysalis. She was still trying to figure out if they were together or not, they were that close.

“Finally,” Morning huffed. “It’s almost noon and we’ve been waiting out here for-“

“Three minutes and fifty-seven seconds,” Nigel interrupted. “It’s hardly a long time.”

“It seemed longer,” came the mumbled reply. Morning turned to gallop further into the town. “Well, we’d better get a move on and the sooner I see it the happier I’ll be.” The Captain began to trot at a brisk pace, Nigel and Chrysalis stopping.

“Should we follow her?” Clover asked, getting a head shake in response.

“Are you coming!?” Morning yelled from up ahead.

“You’re going the wrong way, we’re supposed to be heading towards the coast!” Chalmers called back in response, Morning galloping back.

“I knew that,” she tried to lie, slowing down until she came to a stop before Nigel. “But, I guess since you’re the Commander then you better take the lead.”

“Uh huh, I’m sure that’s the only reason.”

Morning grumbled under her breath, Chalmers smiling at her reaction before he began to stroll towards the beach just outside of the town. Spyglass began to push Sunflare’s chair and the group began to move out.

While she trotted along with them, Clover used the time to think some more. She had to admit, the entire situation was interesting and lately she had found herself relaxing in the small town. Glancing up to a rooftop, she eyed the boxy machine that swivelled around on a turret in its search for any flying intruders. It may have had something to do with the fact that is seemed like nothing could touch them, with all of these alien defences covering the town.

Something brushed up against her, and without breaking step she looked down. One of the nymphs, a large one, was bumping itself against her leg while it trotted along. Catching a glimpse of its name tag informed Clover that its name was Swissy. It was one of the smaller ones, and that combined with the name lead her to believe that it was a changeling equivalent of a filly.

Clover smiled down, the small creature looking up with her solid blue eyes. At first Clover had been wary of them and Chrysalis, their black shells and evil appearance not helping the first impression. However, now that she had gotten to know them, she regarded them just like normal foals. Granted, normal foals that seemed to be growing and learning extra fast, but they behaved like normal children from what Clover could tell.

Chrysalis was okay in her books, the changeling seeming to be very nice and caring. Secretly, Clover had to admit that she admired the way Chrysalis could handle ten, energetic children that were not hers by blood as well as stand the eccentric behaviour of Chalmers. Platinum had been a cruel boss, but Chalmers seemed to often act insane.

Soon the ground beneath her hooves turned from cobbled stone to sand, and the smell of the sea grew stronger. A tug on her tail pulled her from her inner thoughts, and Clover stopped trotting to look behind her.

The nymph, Swissy, had her tail clasped firmly in her mouth, and looking around Clover could see that everyone was staring at her.

“A little caught up in your own world?” Chalmers asked with a chuckle, Clover seeing that his arms were now free of nymphs.

“I, I guess I was,” she awkwardly answered, rubbing one foreleg against the other. She backtracked and patted Swissy on the head, the nymph releasing her tail. “Thanks,” she whispered, Swissy giggling in return. Looking back up, Clover spotted Nigel walking up the very edge of the beach, the waves just breaking on his metal boots.

“Ladies, Nymphs and Gentle… horse.”

“Hey!” Spyglass called out, Nigel ignoring him.

“I present to you, Morning’s new ship!”

The human flung his arms out wide, everyone staring out at the empty ocean.

“Nigel,” Morning began, dropping all formality while her voice dripped with warning. “There. Is. Nothing. There.”

“What?” Chalmers replied, looking back before smacking himself on the head. “Oh, wait, I remember now. Chrysalis, could you please pass me my helmet?”

Before Chrysalis could even move over to pick the headgear off of the sandy beach, a nymph darted out from her legs to race towards it.

“Reflection,” Chrysalis tried to call the nymph back, but was ignored. Everyone watched on while the child put her head down and with visible effort used her horn to lift the helmet up and over onto her own head. Clover and the rest of the ponies tried to stifle laugher when Reflection stumbled on her hooves due to the weight.

Moving from side to side, Reflection headed towards Nigel, the nymph flinching when the waves touched her legs but continued on. With a clunk, the helmet collided with Nigel’s armoured leg and Reflection feel down onto her rump in the small waves. Chalmers knelt down to remove the helmet from the nymph, patting the dazed child on the head.

“Thank you Reflection, good girl.”

With a shake of her head, Reflection snapped out of her daze and grinned up at him before glancing around at the waves that washed up around her. Nigel was momentarily forgotten while she splashed her forehooves down in the waves, giggling while she did so. Her laugher prompted her fellows to join her in the waves, Chrysalis looking on helplessly while Nigel just chuckled.

“Back to what I was doing before,” he stated, putting his helmet on and staring back out at the sea. “Now, which command was it? Ah, there we go!”

Clover fell back onto her rump in surprise, a deep rumbling coming from the ocean out ahead. Her eyes widened as a shape began to emerge from the sea, easily rivalling the largest Equestrian battleships. It seemed to be made of a grey metal, the sun not glinting off of the dull surface. Water dripped off it, the dagger-like bow soon fully out of the water. The rest of the ship followed, and after three loud beeps sounded the metal dome retracted into multiple parts.

The metal pieces slid into various spots around the sides, leaving something that at the same time looked like a normal ship while also seeming far more alien and deadly.

The jagged bow grew into a fat middle and stern, all of it seemingly made from the same grey metal as the dome. Water dripped off it and it was truly a magnificent sight to behold, a large skull and crossbones icon painted onto the side.

“Well, what do you think?” Chalmers asked, turning around to look at the shocked Morning. The nymphs around his legs had all paused playing in the water to stare at the newly arrived ship.

“It came up from the ocean,” Morning breathed out, everyone else equally as surprised.

“Yep,” Nigel confirmed with a nod. “Fully submersible and while surfaced is able to float down the shallowest coasts. Armoured plating fully capable of resisting any number of rocks and ballista bolts, as well as being rust and barnacle proof, and overall is-“

He was cut off when Morning bolted towards him, the Captain jumping up towards him. Chalmers took a step back and nymphs scattered while Morning landed in his outstretched arms, the mare nuzzling Nigel’s helmet while she hugged him.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” she repeated, Chrysalis sending her a very unfriendly glare that was ignored. “It’s better than I expected, and you even made it able to go underwater! How can I ever repay you!?”

“No need for any repayment,” Nigel informed her with a chuckle. He hugged her back, also ignoring the glare from Chrysalis. “You earned it for putting up with me, and I still get a cut of the profits. How about we go and actually step foot and hoof on it?”

“Yes Commander,” Morning eagerly answered, jumping down from his arms. “But how?”

“Simple,” Chalmers replied, walking over towards a rock on the shore. Everyone held their breath while he tugged at an item hidden behind it, wondering what other amazing device he had.

He stepped back and pulled a plain, wooden, rowboat from behind the rock, the small craft easily capable of seating them all.

“I call this, the ‘rowboat’!” he announced while holding up two oars.

“We already have rowboats,” Sunflare deadpanned, Nigel shrugging his shoulders.

“I know, but ‘I borrowed this from a fisherman’ sounds a lot less dramatic.”

Morning could barely contain her excitement while Nigel steered the rowboat towards an opening on the side of her new ship.

Not even the multiple rounds of his people’s primary navel fighting song, ‘Row, Row, Row, Your Boat’, could kill her mood. He had claimed that it was inspiring, Morning could think of a hundred other words that were better adjectives.

Ninety-nine of them would make noblemares faint from embarrassment.

Still, she was finding it hard to find fault with him, after all he had just gifted her a huge, submersible ship of her very own!

While they moved inside the actual ship, the blue sky turning into a dull grey, Morning couldn’t help but look around in awe. Everywhere she looked was covered or made out of metal, the same artificial lights that were in the tower lighting the inside of the ship. They emerged into a large pool in the middle of the ship, walkways with railing everywhere. Nigel guided the boat to one side, and he reached out to press a green button on a control panel.

The water in the pool began to drain, and in seconds the bottom of the boat was touching the floor.

“Hold on,” he warned them, and as such no one fell out when the rowboat tilted to the side. Quickly, he left and hopped out, firstly helping Sunflare out of the boat and then beginning to help everyone else. Morning didn’t need any help, her experience on ships meaning that she was able to nimbly leap out of the small craft with ease. While she waited for the others, she investigated ever console, every walkway and every door.

It took a few minutes, but soon everyone was standing on their own hooves or feet. Well, except for Sunflare, who was sitting in her chair with Chalmers pushing it.

“So this is the docking bay,” he began to inform her, Morning spinning around to pay attention. “You can fit most small boats in here, and allows you to enter and leave the ship without having to do all of the pesky climbing up rigging.” He paused and peered at her closely. “Speaking of which, how do you ponies do that?”

“With difficulty,” she answered, before heading towards the largest door she could find. “Now show me the wheel, I want to get a feel for it.”

“Hang on, we have to do the grand tour!”

Morning grumbled under her breath, she could tell that this would take a while.

“Here you are, the main control room!”

Morning frowned slightly, the plain windowed box far from the futuristic vessel so far. The floor and walls were still wood, granted the outside was armour plated. There wasn’t even a wheel, just a simple wooden chair in the middle.

“Is this some kind of joke?” she asked, Nigel shaking his head and leaving Sunflare’s wheelchair.

“I can assure you it’s not,” he replied, stepping over to the chair and gesturing it over. Trotting up to it, Morning could now see that there was a row of buttons along the side rest. “This is just if you ever want to sit back, relax, and forget that you’re the Captain of an advanced battleship.” He pointed towards a big, red button. “Go on, red buttons are meant to be pressed.”

Puzzled as to what he had planned, Morning turned and sat in the chair. Shuffling back, she found that it was quite comfortable, and with a final glance towards Chalmers she pressed the big red button.

The room came alive with whirring, and panels opened up in the wooden floor. Morning watched as her chair was surrounded with the same glowing panels that he had in his tower, lines of words in Equestrian and pictures filling them all. The windows of the room lit up, and lines measuring speed, wave strength, distance to shore and other such information.

The best was to come however, and Morning’s eyes lit up with glee.

A large, magnificent, silver wheel descended from a hatch the ceiling, a massive picture of her face painted on the middle of it. The wheel stopped its descent right in front of her, and she held her hooves out to touch it. She stopped just before they made contact with the sweet, sweet, metal, and she glazed around the room. The others were all staring in awe at the beeping command room, and Morning fixed Nigel with pleading look.

“Can I…?”

“It’s your ship,” he answered, Morning turning back to the wheel and laying her hooves on it. It felt good, better than she ever imagined.

‘My own ship,’ she thought, running her hooves over the metal. ‘All mine…’

Gripping two of the wheel’s handles with the crook of her hooves, Morning ever so slowly turned it to the port, intending to take the ship further out to sea. Aside from a little icon on a panel lighting up, a compass indicating her direction, nothing happened. This event, or lack of, sparked a rather concerning memory.

“Wait,” she started to question. “This ship doesn’t have sails! How’s it going to move without sails!?”

“Calm down,” Nigel chuckled, his constant cheerfulness getting a little annoying. He reached over with a hand and pointed to a set of buttons marked with opposite facing arrows and one with labelled ‘full stop’. “I found a very simple system. The up arrow is to increase speed, the arrow down is to decrease and the ‘full stop’ is to, well, stop.”

“But how-“

“Try it,” he cut her off, Morning hesitating before pressing the button to increase speed. A little coloured bar on a console lit up with one green bar, and an icon on the console showing a side view of the ship lit up. Morning stared at the symbol at the stern of the ship, underneath the waterline. The ship began to move, and Morning gripped the wheel while trying to take in the information.

“So this… thing, makes it move?” she questioned, pointing a hoof towards the blinking icon.

“Indeed,” Chalmers began to explain. “It’s a simple two-propeller system driven by the fusion reactor I showed you earlier. It requires pretty much zero maintenance, and the ship’s automated systems will be able to handle anything that goes wrong. You get a top speed of thirty-five knots and it’ll run for hundreds of years, more than enough time.”

“What… what happens after I die?” Morning inquired, still taking in the wonderful experience of steering her own ship.

“Well, I hope that you’ll have time to initiate the self-destruct sequence I put in before that happens.” He held up a finger and turned around, dodging nymphs to reach a cabinet at the back. “Speaking of which, I had an owner’s manual made up for you in Equestrian.” He returned with a massive book in his hands, Morning lowering her head in shame.

“I can’t read that well,” she mumbled, afraid that he’d take her ship away because she’d be unable to work it. A pat on her withers prompted her to look back up, and she was met with Nigel smiling at her.

“Don’t worry about it, I also had a basic AI installed to help you out.”

“AI?”

Instead of replying, Nigel pressed another button on her armrest. A female voice rang out from all around the room.

”Hello, I am Artificial Intelligence Unit Three-Seven-Six-Four-One-Seven-D , how may I be of assistance?”

“It can talk?” Morning whispered, Nigel nodding his head.

“Yeah, don’t expect a shining beacon of conversation though, it’s a very basic model. Go ahead, ask it something.”

“Uh, hello,” Morning tried. “Do you have a name, not just some numbers?”

“Artificial Intelligence Units do not come with personal identifications. Would you like to select one, Captain Sparkle?”

“It knows my name?” Morning was shocked again.

“I already put you in as the primary officer, and put in a sample of your voice as well.”

“You took my voice?”

“A recording,” Nigel explained. “I’ve been recording everything, both with visual and audio.” He received stares from all around, the human shrugging his soldiers. “What? I’m a spy; it’s a force of habit.”

Shaking off the notion that Chalmers would ever make a good spy, Morning turned back to the console and cleared her throat.

“Um, I guess your name could be…”

‘Think Morning, what’s a good name for a talking machine controlling a boat?’ With a glance towards Chrysalis, Morning remembered a perfect name.

“Sea Biscuit. Your name is Sea Biscuit.”

“Affirmative, Captain. This Unit’s designation is now ‘Sea Biscuit’.”

“I have never been so proud in my life,” Nigel announced while wiping a tear from his eye. “They just grow up so fast…”

“Sea Biscuit,” Morning asked, getting used to addressing the computer. “What course will get us a good view of the harbour, and end up with us being able to dock at the town?”

“Plotting course now,” Sea Biscuit droned. A line lit up on the front window, and Morning went over the times until arrival and all of the ‘way points’ that were suddenly lighting up. Grinning to herself, Morning gripped the wheel with one hoof and placed the other over the button to increase speed.

“Thank you.” She looked behind her, everyone watching her with mixesof awe and pride. She turned back and grinned, finally she felt like more than a simple peasant.

“Let’s go for a little sail, shall we?”

“Well, this town certainly changed.”

Arcane Light gulped and nodded at the King’s observation. The small group of ten knights, twenty guards and a wagon full of gold had stopped just outside of the normally quiet costal town. There were a few differences from when he himself had visited a year ago, however.

For one, a large black tower that radiated a feeling of evil was erected in the middle, the eerie building certainly not built by pony hooves. In addition, strange towers with rotating boxes were dotted around the town’s perimeter and on rooftops. Some had large, dangerous-looking barrels that reminded Arcane of Minotaur cannons, while the others seemed to have two boxes that pointed up into the sky.

“Your Majesty, I beg you to reconsider,” the lead knight, a mare named Stardust, pleaded. “I have heard tales of these towers, they fire beams of vicious red magic that boils flesh and blood while slicing through armour and bone like it wasn’t there.”

“As I have told you before, Knight, I am prepared,” Sombra growled with a glance up to the darkening sky. “The Gods will soon set the sun, and because of your concerns the trip has taken longer than expected. We can either go ahead and do this, or turn around and walk back in the dark like cowards. If we do turn back, I assure you that you’ll be assigned to help the executioner practice his aim.”

Stardust audibly gulped, the knight saying no more. Arcane held his tongue despite sharing her opinion, facing this pirate meant a likely death, but defying the King meant that it was assured. Sombra seemed to wait for any more objections, and when no more were heard he nodded and straightened his red robes and cloak. A final touch-up of the crown he wore and they were ready to march into their fate.

“Remember,” Sombra reminded. “Heads up and weapons straight, show no fear and do not speak unless spoken to. Let me handle the biped and his cronies.”

“Sir,” the soldiers and knights all replied, Sombra nodding a final time before continuing to trot towards the town. The wagon creaked when the two armoured guards pulled forward, Sombra ordering that the guards bring no peasants and instead pulled it themselves. He didn’t trust the commoners around the gold.

Arcane shifted in his armour and stepped forward, the weight of his sheathed sword providing little comfort. Still, he could see the King’s plan, and if it worked then it did stand to benefit Equestria greatly.

Sombra, leading from the front, had almost reached the outskirts of the town. The King stepped over a blackened patch of grass when all of a sudden the area lit up with red light. Blinking his eyes to get over the initial blindness, Arcane looked towards the King and lost any hint of courage that was remaining.

The King was frozen, one silver-shoed hoof about to step down on the grass. Red dots covered his regal body, and Arcane noticed that the previously rotating towers were no longer moving but were pointing straight at them.

And the barrels were glowing a menacing red.

“Nobody move,” Sombra commanded, before his horn lit up and he took a deep breath. “Attention Pirate Captain! This is King Sombra of Equestria, and I request a meeting with you to discuss the matters between my nation and your… town!”

Nobody moved for what seemed to be an age, and minutes passed before the beams removed themselves from Sombra.

“Oi, Sombra!” a voice rang out from the town, seemingly amplified. “Do you have any idea what time it is!? You must be a telemarketer, I’m just about to sit down to bloody dinner and you barge in and demand a meeting!? Are you stupid!?”

Looking towards the King for guidance, Arcane could see that Sombra was visibly confused. Recovering with a shake of his head, the King stared at the talking town.

“I brought a wagon with gold, if that’s what it takes to buy your time.”

“A wagon filled with gold, do you take me for some sort of cheap… time-courtesan that will sell his precious moments for some shiny metal!?” There was a pause, Arcane and the lead knight sharing a look before the disembodied voice rang out again. “Actually, I guess I am. Hang on, I’ll be out in a few- Reflection, get down from there, no flying at the dinner table!” There was a loud thump, before the voice sighed and finished the sentence. “Minutes.”

There was a click and then silence, Sombra remaining still and staring at the entrance to the town.

“What are we trotting into?” Arcane mumbled, more to himself than anyone else.

Sombra stood tall and proud while he watched the imposing figure approach from the town, the Pirate Captain stepping out into view.

The sight was confusing to say the least. Around the biped’s neck was a white napkin, and a struggling creature was held in his arms.

The black bug looked positively evil, with a curved horn and solid blue eyes that soon focused on him. Upon looking closer, Sombra could see tiny white pupils that stared at him intently.

“So, Sombra,” the pirate announced, his free claw rubbing his metal head. “You said something about gold?”

Shooting a glance to the Lieutenant in charge of the normal guards and the lead Knight, a glance that said ‘I told you so’, Sombra cleared his throat and gestured to the guards attached to the wagon. The two unicorns stepped forward with slight hesitation, and after giving them a glare he powered his horn and pulled off the plain grey covering.

Heaped in the wagon was a pile of gold and silver coins, enough money to make one richer than most of the Equestrian nobles.

Emotionlessly turning back to the pirate, Sombra stared at him and resisted the urge to glare.

“I gather that this is an ample amount to secure a meeting to discuss matters?”

The biped started to walk forwards, the creature in his arms alternating its gaze between the knights and the guards all shifting in their armour. With a claw, the pirate picked up a single gold coin and rubbed it between the metal digits.

“I would say this is quite an ample amount for a meeting,” the biped repeated. “However, there is also another thing to consider…”

Sombra flinched when a mass of red dots covered him and his troops, every single pony covered while the biped was untouched.

“Now,” the pirate continued, picking up another gold piece and walking back to the front. “I know you probably won’t understand what’s happening, but you’re all currently covered with the targeting sights belonging to my loyal defence turrets. The beams they fire travel faster than light, the ‘beam’ is actually an after image, and are all capable of easily dispensing with you all within seconds. So, I ask you this.”

Sombra glared at the biped while the pirate bent down, a golden coin soon placed on his muzzle with the tap of a claw.

“Why should I, little King, listen to you when I can just kill you here and now, take all of your treasure and then take your country tomorrow?”

Sombra concentrated. The biped’s voice still maintained a playful tone, but there was also the cold, hard, edge of truth in his words. He had no doubt that the creature had the capacity to murder him, both morally and physically, and so he chose his next words with great care and consideration.

“Because if you do kill me,” he began. “You’ll never get to hear what I have to say. What I’m going to offer you will net us both far more treasure than I have here or even back at my castle. We’ll be rich beyond our wildest dreams.”

A sharp chuckle from the biped rang out in the night air, the sun having just dipped below the horizon. Sombra stood still while the creature continued to laugh, even the most stoic of the knights beginning to sweat inside their armour.

“You… you want to work together?” the pirate managed to ask in-between chuckles.

“I do,” Sombra confirmed, remaining strong in the face of the menacing creature. “We’re both powerful, and why should we waste time fighting amongst each other when we can focus our collective energies against others?”

The laughter stopped, and the pirate stood back up tall. His free claw dropped to his side and an object popped out of his body, the biped picking it up and pointing one end towards him. Sombra found himself staring into a small black barrel; the claw-held object evidently some kind of weapon.

“Sombra, working with someone like you would no doubt lead to treachery, betrayal, pain, death, sadness and agony. As of such, I have thought very deeply about your proposal.”

The barrel drew closer, Sombra’s eyes widening.

‘No, surely that fool wouldn’t actually-'

“Bang,” the pirate said, lifting the object up and putting it back away. “Nah, this is going to be barrels of fun, I can just tell.” The pirate turned and started to walk back into the town, the red dots dying out while the ‘defence turrets’ went back to surveying the area. “Come along then, you may as well have a spot of dinner before we talk business. Bring your gold to the tower and send your troops to the tavern. Let the innkeeper know that I’m buying.”

Sombra remained frozen. Did he just get invited to dinner by the very same pirate that had attacked his city multiple times?

“What do we do sir?” Lieutenant Arcane inquired, the stallion’s voice shaky.

“You heard him,” Sombra ordered. “Move into the town, drop the wagon off at the tower and then wait at the tavern until I am done. Cause no trouble and keep an eye out at all times.” With his orders relayed, Sombra began to trot towards the large black tower that the biped was heading to. He had been traveling for most of the day and he had skipped breakfast due to the morning attack, so food before the meeting sounded appealing. There was one concern, however…

“You, Knight Stardust,” he directed while pausing, the lead knight jerking back.

“My Lord?”

“You are to accompany me, give your weapon to another to look after.”

“But My Liege,” the mare questioned. “I know mostly healing and shielding spells, what good am I without a sword or lance?”
Sombra smirked, and continued on his way.

“It’s simple, I require someone to test my food for poison. We cannot be too careful, after all.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” the knight replied before lowering her voice, thinking he couldn’t hear her. “They better poison the second spoonful.”

Sombra decided to not punish his subordinate for her treasonous words, he had a feeling that the upcoming dinner and meeting would be punishment enough.

“You did what!?”

Chrysalis was seeing red at the moment, Nigel standing before her with his helmet in one hand and a wincing Reflection in the other. Slowly, he lowered the nymph onto the table, and Reflection hurried off past plates of food to shelter near Morning. The other nymphs were all huddled around the legs of the ponies sitting down to dinner, Spyglass still with a half-eaten noodle hanging from his mouth.

“I invited him in for dinner.”

Chrysalis glared at the two Equestrians behind Nigel, a knight in full plate armour and King Sombra himself. She couldn’t believe that he’d be so stupid.

“I can see that, Nigel, what I can’t see is why! He tried to kill Platinum and Clover, remember?”

“You bombed my entire-“

“Shut up!” Chrysalis interrupted Sombra’s complaint, standing up from her chair and pointing a hoof at him. “You stay out of this!”

“Chrissy, look, just calm down,” Nigel said while raising his hands in front of him.

“Calm down!?” she fired back. “You brought a murderous King into the same room as the nymphs, and one of his knights! What if he tries to get one of the children!?”

“Then I’ll kill him,” Nigel answered, nothing but sincerity in his answer. Chrysalis stopped and took a few deep breaths, the King staring up at Nigel with an irritated look.

“You promise?”

“One step out of line and I’ll gut him, no playing around,” Chalmers swore, Chrysalis breathing a sigh of relief before sitting back down on her metal chair. Grabbing a glass of water in her magic, she took a few long, deep gulps and then set the empty glass back down on the metal table. “Another glass?”

“Yes thank you,” she mumbled, Nigel taking her glass and turning towards the kitchen.

“I’ll be back in a minute, take a seat.”

Focusing back on the newcomers, Chrysalis and the rest of the group stared at the King and the Knight. Sombra was busy looking around the dining room with interest, while the Knight appeared to be having a staring contest with Sunflare.

“So,” Sombra began, tearing his eyes away from the metal walls. “You all have a… nice tower.”

“It’s the Commander’s,” Morning informed, lifting another forkful of noodle into her mouth.

“And you are…?” Sombra asked.

“Captain Morning Sparkle,” came the reply, Morning not bothering to finish her mouthful before answering.

“I see,” Sombra responded with a sneer, before glancing towards Clover and Platinum. Clover was trying to avoid eye contact while continuing her meal, and Platinum was fixing Sombra with an even gaze. “Platinum,” he addressed, leaving out her title which only increased Platinum’s glare.

“Sombra,” she replied, also leaving out his title. “How’s my country been since you stole it from me?”

“Better than ever,” he replied with a smirk. “What’s living with a pirate like?”

Platinum looked like she was about to jump up and smack him, so Chrysalis stepped in to preserve the peace.

“What do you want to talk to Nigel about?” she interrogated, Spyglass slowly sinking down in his chair to avoid detection. No one noticed Reflection look towards the unicorn spy, the nymph starting to edge towards him.

“That is between him and me,” Sombra informed coldly, causing Chrysalis to narrow her eyes.

“Anything you say to him, can be said to me,” she returned, making sure to show a little of her fangs. Sombra however was not intimidated, and instead had the guts to smirk at her.

“What, have you married him, insect?”

The room went dead silent, Chrysalis staring at Sombra while the corner of her mouth twitched.

“Sir!” the knight hissed while breaking her gaze away from Sunflare. “What are you doing!?”

Chrysalis was in the middle of planning just how long she could drag out Sombra’s death when a clattering from the kitchen broke her from her thoughts.

“What did I miss?” Nigel asked, entering the room with two steaming bowls and a glass of water. He set the bowls of noodles down in front of Sombra and the knight before sitting down next to Chrysalis. He passed her the glass of water and gave her a pat on the head. “You’re a little green there, Chrissy.”

“It’s nothing,” she dismissed, catching Sombra grinning before she turned her head away. She spotted Reflection on the edge of the table, staring at Spyglass. He was attempting to crawl away from the table, no doubt hesitant to sit at the same one as Sombra. Reflection however had different plans, and before Chrysalis could intervene the nymph had leapt into the air and onto Spyglass.

“By the Gods, it’s on me!”

“Ignore him,” Nigel reassured after a mouthful of his own noodles. “Spyglass just likes to play with the nymphs.”

“There’s more of them! They're coming out of the walls!”

“Are… are you sure he’s okay?” the knight inquired, staring at her own bowl of food after peering around the table.

“Perfectly fine,” Chalmers confirmed. “Now eat up, I don’t have all knight… get it?”

Judging from the look on Sombra’s face, he was not one for puns. This brought Chrysalis a small measure of joy. Good, given Nigel’s record then there would be plenty more where that came from.

“Indeed, time is precious and I am eager to get down to discussing our deal. Knight Stardust, if you may.”

The knight gulped before she removed her helmet, the metal helm coming off and being placed on the table. A deep blue coat, silver mane and yellow eyes were revealed, the mare not too shabby on the eyes. Out of the corner of her eye, Chrysalis saw Nigel raise an eyebrow, and so she made sure to watch the Equestrian for any sign of seduction. After Platinum, she couldn’t trust anyone but herself when it came to Nigel, not even the human himself.

Gingerly, a yellow glow held up a fork and Stardust removed a few noodles from the King’s bowl.

“Oh come on, my home cooking’s not that bad, don’t you trust me?”

“No,” Sombra answered immediately. “Now Stardust, eat the…”

“Noodles,” Morning provided, finishing her own bowl and letting out a belch.

“Yet more proof that you’re a pirate,” Sombra muttered, but everyone was focused on the very nervous Stardust. Slowly, ever so slowly, the mare lifted the fork into her mouth and closed it. Removing the silver utensil, she chewed, and her eyes widened.

“Oh my,” she announced once she had finished the mouthful. “This is delicious!”

“And poison free,” Nigel added, everyone looking towards Sombra. After peering intensely at his own bowl and the knight, who was currently wolfing down her own food, Sombra lifted up his own fork and gathered up some noodles.

Slowly and methodically, he raised it to his mouth and then removed the fork, Sombra chewing with no expression on his face. Slowly, a smile made its way onto his stern features, and he placed his fork into his bowl for another load.

“It is surprisingly edible,” he complemented… sort of. “May I ask what flavour it is? It is most pleasing.”

“Chicken,” Nigel answered while taking a sip of water.

Sombra and Stardust’s forks dropped out of their magic, while Morning, Platinum and Clover’s mouths dropped open.
Spyglass was too busy being swarmed by nymphs to pay attention to the fact that he may have eaten meat.

“You fed us meat?” Stardust asked with a horrified whisper. “Why?”

“Nigel, what in Tartarus!?” Platinum yelled out. Chrysalis didn’t get what the big deal was, she thought that the noodles had tasted rather nice.

“Relax,” Chalmers tried to calm them. “It’s just flavouring, it’s artificial. What, you think I have the time to buy, slaughter and prepare a chicken with all the things that I do? Besides, you all liked it.”

“I… I’m not hungry anymore,” Sombra announced, his grey face a shade of white. He pushed away his bowl, a bowl that was soon taken by Morning. They all watched while the Captain stuck her own fork into the noodles and began to eat, Nigel wearing a huge grin on his face.

“What?” Morning questioned, looking up at them all with a mouthful of noodles. “They’re really good noodles.”

Sombra nodded his thanks to the human and levitated his now-full glass of brandy over to his lips. Taking a sip, he could taste that it was of a good quality. He normally wasn’t one for alcohol, but after the somewhat disastrous dinner he appreciated something to take the edge off.

He shifted on the red cushion and looked around the ‘command level’ of the tower, the human sitting back in a large metal chair after pouring his own drink.

“So Sombra,” Nigel, as he had learned was the human’s ‘first’ name, began. “What deal do you propose?”

“A deal where we both benefit greatly,” he began, choosing to keep it simple. “We both unite to take care of the pegasi, split the spoils fifty-fifty, and I allow you to keep this town and recognise it as…”

“Eviltopia,” Nigel provide before taking a sip of his drink, Sombra twitching at the name.

“Yes that. Moving on, with the Pegasi defeated our position will be secured and there will be no need for us to fight. You can target non-Equestrian shipping and I provide your crews with safe ports and places to offload their loot. Deal?”

Sombra awaited an answer, confident that the pirate would accept his carefully thought out plan. There was no way he would refuse, the chance for loot and spoils would be irresistible for a creature like him.

“No deal.”

‘Wait, what?’ Sombra thought to himself in disbelief, his shock obviously evident since the pirate smiled and decided to elaborate.

“Now, why don’t you hear my plan out,” Nigel started, Sombra grimacing. He didn’t like playing second fiddle, but it wasn’t like he had much of a choice at the moment. “Forget about attacking the Pegasi, I mean, what do we have to gain?”

“Gold and the assurance that they’ll no longer be a threat,” Sombra answered, figuring that the points were obvious.

“True, but we gain far more by working together.”

“Working together, with Pegasi? They’re cowards hiding up in cloud-cities, no self-respecting unicorn would unite with them! Not after last time!”

“And yet you’re sitting in my tower, discussing business with me while sipping a drink,” the human pointed out, Sombra grudgingly accepting that he was right. “Now, this may just be my good ol’ human ignorance, but you’re all ponies, are you not? Besides, with you, me and them working together, we can tackle our real foes.”

“Who?”

“Why, the Griffons, Diamond Dogs and Zebras, of course,” Nigel clarified while holding out the brandy bottle. “More brandy?”

Sombra glanced down to his empty glass, the realisation that the biped was advocating war against most of the known world leaving him shaken. “Yes, thank you.” More brandy was poured, and the human continued on.

“Now, while wiping out the Pegasi would no doubt get us a large amount of gold and silver, it does not get us one of the most precious commodities of all.”

“Go on,” Sombra said while taking a gulp of brandy.

“Land,” Nigel finished, draining his second glass and leaning back in his chair once more, his fingers forming a pyramid. “As well as eliminating a bunch of slavers, we also secure large amounts of land. You’ve seen some of my base and machinery, I guarantee you that I’ll be able to extract a plentiful bounty from the earth. You’ll be swimming in so much gold and silver, gems and jewels, that you’ll be the richest unicorn alive.” The human leaned forward and offered a hand, the metal sliding back to reveal the same flesh as his face. “What do you say to that deal?”

Sombra considered the offer. There were still many things to work out, but the offer of a mountain of wealth was incredibly temping…

“You do realise that we’ll be at war with the rest of the world?” he questioned, not fully trusting the human’s state of mind. “The Griffon Empire alone numbers in the millions, with the Zebra Lands following close behind. Even if we join with the Pegasi, we will have barely a million ponies.”

“Leave the fighting to my forces,” the human reassured, his hand still outstretched. “Any war will be over quickly, cleanly and relatively casualty free… for us at least. Then, all you ponies have to do is to help ensure the security of the conquered lands while I drill. Then we all reap a profit and live happily ever after.”

Staring at the offered limb, Sombra took a moment before lifting up a hoof and meeting it. The digits grasped him around the leg instead of the shoe, and the biped shook three times before letting go.

“It’s done then,” Sombra clarified, Nigel nodding in agreement.

“Indeed it is, another brandy to celebrate our new working partnership?”

“I must decline,” he replied with a shake of his hoof. “It is late, and I have far to travel-“

“You can stay in a guest room,” the human offered, taking Sombra by surprise. “Your knight can have a room as well, I promise that I won’t dispose of you while you’re sleeping. Your troops can stay at the tavern free of charge.”

“I…” Sombra began, not sure that he should take the offer. However, the human waved the bottle of brandy, and he found himself desiring another glass.

“Oh, why not,” he finished, levitating his glass over with a slight smile. “One more glass can’t hurt.”

A cool night’s wind blew over the town, the tavern a hub of activity as Equestrian guards and knights took advantage of the free food and drink. Down below in the tower, ponies and changeling snored away, with a certain Equestrian knight fast asleep in a borrowed bed.

On a grassy hill overlooking the town, two figures weren’t so carefree.

A white pony, possessing both large wings and a long horn, gazed over the numerous turrets that dotted the perimeter of the town. Her wavy mane blew in the breeze, a slight sparkle to the lengths of hair.

“Why don’t we go in now, Celestia?”

Celestia turned her head to her little sister, Luna shaking her blue mane out of her eyes while she moved to stare at the town. The younger alicorn was a little bit shorter than her older sister, but both were still young and thus were still growing year by year.

“Because Luna, Mother and Father warned us that this new being has potent magic at his disposal, we must wait until he is away from his…” Celestia watched while one of the turrets vaporised a stray hare on the outskirts of town with a red beam of light. “Peculiar wards.”

“Why can’t they do this?” Luna questioned. “Why send us?”

Celestia sighed, reminding herself that Luna was still young and learning.

“They sent us so that we can experience what guiding a world is like,” she explained. “They have their own ponies to look after, and we now have ours. You’re no longer a filly, and I am not as well. We can deal with this strange biped, and stop his chaos, by ourselves. Have faith in yourself, Luna, and we’ll be watching over our ponies before you know it.”

“I can’t wait!” Luna announced happily, her wings flapping with joy. “Can I be Princess?”

“We’ll both be Princesses,” Celestia reassured, before turning back towards the town.

‘There’s just a few things in our way…’