//------------------------------// // Intermission 01: Meetings and The Crescentia // Story: Procyons and Ponies // by The Philosopher King //------------------------------// After the prison barge had left along with the other students’ ships, the heavy escort ship, the RLS Lyonesse, stopped next to the Comet and proceeded set planks for boarding. Jim, however, wanted to keep these ponies a secret for a while, and as a result, asked them to stay in his cabin for a small bit. A red haired woman dressed in naval blue attire proceeded to walk across one of the set planks and walked straight to Jim. “Ah, Lieutenant, again I commend you and your crew on the bravery you showed against those cowardly pirates.” said Admiral Amelia. “But I believe we have a much more… pressing issue.” “What is it, ma’am?” Jim asked. “As I believe Mr. Onyx has told you, three creatures warped onto my ship roughly thirty minutes prior to your arrival, Lt. Hawkins.” she replied. “Two are equines with wings and horns that claim to be immortal, and one was a decent sized lizard that seemed similar to the space dragons of the volcanic sectors. The crew sadly knocked said lizard out with a sedative syringe as soon as it appeared, as I was in my quarters making final preparations when they appeared. I was not told they were there until five minutes later. Last I checked, they had placed said lizard in one of the crew hammocks. And that was a nice adlib about how you rescued a lifeboat on the way out here, Mr. Hawkins.” “What do you mean, ma’am?” he asked, sweating a little bit. “I believe another group, specifically of six equines of various colors warped onto you ships thirty minutes before we started the exam and you hid them to avoid catching any suspicions. Am I correct, Mr. Onyx?” she said while turning her head towards the man of stone. “He is guilty as charged, Admiral.” he said, trying to stifle his laughter.. “Thanks for that, Mr. Onyx.” said Jim, clearly ticked. “No need to thank me, sir.” he said, full out laughing at this point.. “Tell them they can come out now.” she ordered. “Umm… yes ma’am.” he said. “And Jim, you should come out of your shell. You’ve built up a facade over the years in the academy, lighten up. I still remember that rebellious youth from Treasure Planet, and that I believe will be much more successful than this… falsification of the man I once knew.” “Yes Admiral!” he said, opening the door to his cabin and rushing off. Twilight had resumed reading Jim’s collection of books, and Morph had resume the magnifying glass shape. She had just finished another book when Jim came into the room that the ponies were in. “Good news everyone…” he said, in a rather excited voice. “The Admiral wants to meet you all.” “Really?” asked Twilight. “I didn’t think you were gonna tell ‘em about us, since it would cause a ruckus.” said Applejack, giving him a strange look. “My lug of a first mate told her that you were all on the ship in a private communication channel without my consent.” he said in good humor. . “Yay! More new ponies to meet!” said Pinkie Pie. “Pinkie, as para usual, calm down.” said Twilight. “You’re lucky me and the Admiral are on amicable terms.” he joked again. “Anyway, here we go.” He opened the door and lead the group, tailed by Morph, outside the cabin. When the group exited the cabin, Mr. Onyx and Admiral Amelia were talking with a pair of alicorns, one alabaster, the other naval blue. But next to them was a hammock tied up into a bag, snoring extremely loudly. “Ah, thank goodness you all are okay!” said Celestia. “I thank you for taking care of my ponies, Mr. Hawkins.” “You’re welcome, ma’am.” he said. “These are the diarchs of the land of Equestria, Mr. Hawkins.” said Admiral Amelia. “They are Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, controllers of the Sun and Moon that orbit their planet. The snoring, makeshift hammock bag is Twilight’s semi-useless, semi-lazy assistant, Spike.” “Am I the only who sticks up for him?” asked Twilight as Spike let out a loud snore. “His snoring is not exactly helping your case.” said Mr. Onyx. “Wha-” came out of the bag. “Hey, let me out! This isn’t funny guys!” he said. “Should we let him out?” asked Mr. Onyx. “I have a better idea. Luna, make him fall asleep again.” Celestia said as she rolled her eyes. “Hey, just let him out!” said Twilight. “He’s going to cause more harm than good right now, Twilight.” said Luna, using a tiny bit of magic to make Spike fall asleep again. “Thanks a lot…” she grumbled. “Pish-posh.” said Amelia. “And now that you are here… your diarchs and I have come to a conclusion on a pressing issue.” “Yes?” asked Twilight. “Apparently, a chaotic entity from your world has gone missing after the explosion.” said Amelia.  “As a result, I shall require you six and your assistant here to stay on Mr. Hawkins’ vessel for the entire proceeds of the peace treaty. A diplomatic Procyon fleet is currently on its way to Parliament, where I shall introduce Celestia and Luna to the representatives and Queen after we deal with a few minor problems, including a pirate base.” “Umm… What.” said Jim. “I am leaving you in charge of these six.” ordered Amelia. “Take good care of them and treat them as you would any other crew member, perhaps better. They are effectively representatives of their nation, and can fight. Do not underestimate them, Mr. Hawkins.” “Yes ma’am?” he said, still confused. “Treat them as you would an escort mission. For all practical purposes, it is an escort mission without a destination for now. They most likely can help on all jobs except for handling the weaponry. Now, get your new crew members accustomed; you are now effectively on break until tomorrow, and I shall need you to meet me at one of the smaller archipelagoes at 0900 hours. Am I clear?” “Crystal.” said Jim. “Very well. I shall acquaint Celestia and Luna with the Crescentia, and I recommend you do the same with the others. You have a busy time frame, as the day is still young. Congratulations on passing, Lieutenant.” “Yes ma’am.” he said. “Thank you again, Mr. Hawkins. I do not know what I would do if these six ponies were harmed.” Celestia said. “You’re welcome, ma’am.” he said. Amelia and the two princesses reboarded the Lyonesse as its sails flared, sending the ship off after the boards were removed. “Well now…” Jim said. “What are we gonna do with this lazy bag of purps?” He gestured to the snoring, tied up hammock bag. “Just let him sleep it off I guess unless you can undo it…” said Twilight. “Option A it is then. Mr. Onyx, can you place him in the crew’s quarters?” Jim decided. “Yes, sir.” said Mr. Onyx. “He certainly doesn’t weigh the same as a bag of purps, sir.” he said, heaving the sack of Spike onto his back. “Be careful with him!” said Twilight. “He’s still young, you know.” “I am personally more afraid for the wood of the ship if I were to drop the sack than its contents.” he said, laughing as he walked underneath to the crew quarters. “Well… I suppose we should get to know each other a bit better after setting course to the Crescentia.” Jim said. “Helmsman! Set course for the Crescentia at Ahead Full!” “Yes sir, Cruising Speed!” said the Helmsman in response. “So what do you want to know?” asked Twilight. “I… actually have over a thousand, but roughly two-thirds have nothing to do with your group.” Jim replied. “I may as well ask the other third. So…it might seem much to ask, but perhaps I am going to need, to quote a great work, a brief history of your world.” “Wel-” started Twilight, before Applejack covered her mouth to stop her. “I hate to stop this, but how far away is this Crescentia?” Applejack asked. “She will take a long time if you let her start I’m afraid.” “We have a good amount of time before we get there, I’m afraid. Go on ahead, Twilight.” “I can’t wait to start…” she said. Prior to this situation, a decent sized pirate vessel drifted through the etherium on the edges of the Procyon Territories. The ship flew a common pirate flag, an alien skull with crossed rings. It had a large cabin, decent hull, and large sails with decent engines. The ship had one name, a simple name that fit the man who sailed it as Captain: The Argentum. “We’re onto those etherium currents lads, as soon as we get to those Proc frontiers, we’ll be hauling the whole o’ their treasures lads!” said the captain. The captain waved his ‘arm,’ a metal appendage that the captain augmented himself. “Ay, captain!” replied the loyal crew. “Steady as she goes,” the man said.  I’ll be in me cabin if ye need me.” He walked into the captain’s quarters towards the back of the ship. While sitting at his desk. he started to repair the bolts on his right ‘leg,’ another cybernetic device that also had a myriad of uses just like his arm. However, a small flash of light left something… incredibly strange to the pirate’s eye. “What in the name of holy Mary are ye?” he asked. “I might would like to ask the same of you, my fine sir.” it responded. The creature was a combination of parts from numerous animals, ranging from parts of reptiles to that of mammals. “Hmm… I believe ye might be helpful.” he said. “Say… ‘ave you ever heard of a lad named Jim Hawkins?” “No, but I would like to inquire who you are, and what you are?” the creature asked. “An old cyborg. Name’s Silver, John Silver.” he said. “I’ve never seen such as creature, you appear to be composed of tissue and metal at the same time…” added the creature. “Ah, I get that a lot. Cyborg’s aren’t too common, now, are they? But I’ve never seen a creature such as yer self to be fair…” Silver said. “I am a Draconequus; the one and only, and my name is Discord, spirit of Chaos and Disharmony. Sadly, I appear to have been thrust into this dimension without a guide.” “How interested would ye be in becoming a space privateer wit me? I be in need of a first mate…” he said. “I humbly accept your proposition!” Discord answered immediately. “So where are we off to?” “Procyon frontiers.” said Silver. “We’re robbing those bogarts dry of their wealth in the name of old Queeny.” “Excellent, as I believe I have an objective of my own already. See, I’ve figured out now during this conversation where the entropy of this world lies, and the only signature from my world lies in the home territories of your Queen near some strange crescent shape…” “The Crescentia. We can go there later, I’m still a wee bit of a wanted man, even though I perform my work in the name of the Queen. I believe that’s where ol’ Jimbo is too anyway, so we’ll just take down a few procs and head that way.” he finished. “Very well, Captain Silver!” Discord said, teleporting in a flash. “And so, that’s how Equestria was made.” said Twilight as the Torpedo Boat proceeded to cruise to the reserved dock position. “Wah- oh, thanks for that.” said a slowly awaking Jim, who had been resting his weight on the wooden railings of the ship. “I started to ramble, didn’t I?” she asked, turning away from the railing. “Why don’t you ask your friends and Mr. Onyx?” he said, gesturing to his first mate who had fallen asleep while sitting next to his cabin door. The other four ponies had fallen asleep next to him. “Jim!” shouted a voice coming up from the lower parts of the deck. “Coming Doctor,” he yelled in response. “I believe you probably want to check up on your friend, don’t you?” “Of course,” replied Twilight, following the lieutenant to the lower deck of the ship. They entered the medbay, seeing a patched up Rainbow and a robot applying the last band of gauze. “Jim, I never really got a chance to ask this, but why did I get sent a wounded cyan pegasus roughly an hour ago?” asked Doctor Doppler. “Because, simply, shit happens Doc.” he said in response. “They don’t really know themselves how they got here other than through the manipulation of a transdimensional device.” “She really should have been more careful…” he said. “Ugh, you sound just like my parents.” said Rainbow. “Well, at least THEY had common sense apparently.” he said. “I remember when Jim here used to fly his Solar Surfer into restricted areas, and his poor mother had to pay the fines for it! That’s what happens when you’re reckless!” Delbert finished. “But he’s a successful naval guy now…” she argued. “However, he wouldn’t be in one piece right now had it not been for the little bit of common sense his mother and I have given him. Silver too, but he really only encouraged that recklessness a bit…” Delbert said. “Doc, I think that’s enough.” Jim ordered. “So when can I start flying again?” asked Rainbow. “Umm… we have absolutely not a single entry on your species… and you expect us to be capable of giving you a range in which you will heal?” B.E.N. criticized. “I mean… if she heals near the rate of one of the old planet’s equines, it should not be too long hopefully. But don’t expect to start flying anytime soon.” the Doctor theorized. “Grrreat...” she said. “Look at the bright side, at least you can walk around now. Perhaps this will teach you some humility…” he said as he rolled his eyes. “Yeah, sure, whatever.” she said. “Are we somewhere we can stop now?” “Yes, we have arrived at the Crescentia. We were just about to wake up your friends, as Twilight here bored them and my first mate to sleep.” he said. “Hey! You asked for that information…”  Twilight said as she blushed. “I can imagine how that happened already.” said Rainbow. “Well… off to the spaceport!” said Jim, rushing out of the room. “Hey, wait up!” said Rainbow as she galloped out of the room, trailing behind Jim. The Crescentia, in the first time you see it, is a breath taking sight. A bustling metropolis filled with fine architecture and equally fine people. The structure was shaped for its name, the crescent shape of the old earth's moon. It is a breath taking sight to those familiar with the etherium of space, and as a result when the six ponies got a good sight of it, it was a shock. "Whoa..." said Rainbow as she stopped to look at the giant city the ship had docked on. "Hey, wake up Mr. Sandstone." Jim taunted as he jerked on the man of stone's arm. "Sorry sir!" said a startled Mr. Onyx. "It was just that her speech... erm...uh..." "Went on too long?" said Twilight. "Eh... yes." he said. "I reccomend you hold off on such lengthy lectures, as we can't risk the rest of the crew falling asleep." "Alright..." she said. "So now... what about the rest of your friends?" Mr. Onyx asked. "Well... we should probably wake them up." she said. "Oy, captain!" shouted one of the crew members that was walking up onto the deck. He was carrying a hammock sack on his back. "Yes? What is it?" asked Jim. "I was about to rest for a while when I found another hammock tied up in it!" the sailor complained. "And it has..." "Don't worry, it's just a lazy bag of purps. Just hand it here." "Alright then." he said, handing Jim the bag. "Thank you sailor." he said, and he untied the bag. "Five...more...minutes." said the reptile inside. "See? He's lazy, Miss Sparkle." said Mr. Onyx. Twilight responded only with a facehoof. "No, we're at our destination. You're waking up now." said Jim as he turned the hammock bag upside down, emptying it as he would purps into a barrel. "Ow!" shouted the dragon. "Could you NOT do that?" "No. Because we have to go now." said Jim. "Mr. Onyx, I will guide these three since they're already awake. Can you get the other four up and awake while I start a bit early?" "Of course, sir." Mr. Onyx replied. "The only thing I would suggest not doing is trying to get any of them on your solar surfer you have in your home here." "Excellent." said Jim "Let's get going, I want to show you all around a bit."