Arc I - Under the High Moon
Prologue - Lost and Found
Entry 26-A
Fifteenth Cycle of the Stormy Season.
The Log of Chief Navigator, Twilight Sparkle
Once upon a time, they said this world was home to a million secrets. Secrets hidden in the woods, the caves, and within ourselves. Secrets that could shatter the world, or simply shatter the sense of one-self
.
Yet it wasn’t always best such secrets were to be found…
My mother once said that the island I live on is just the tip of a massive mountain. One of the highest in the land formally known as Equestria. To the old ones, this mountain must have been a sight to see, casting a shadow over half the nation… a nation of soil, not water.
That was, until Princess Luna was became corrupted, having grown envious another’s sway over the heavens and the ponies below it. A being known simply as Princess Celestia. Her own sister.
I've read about this being... studied her: I've been fascinated her since I was a filly, though I can't put my hoof on why. It's like deja-vu in a way - I feel like I should know her... but I don't.
And for some reason, it makes me sad.
All I know is from my books - some centuries old - about what happened all those years ago...

The two fought…

The former was defeated – exiled to the moon for a thousand years.
Yet solving one… ‘problem’, awoke another.

Sensing weakness, one who had long since dwelled in places nopony was meant to sea, beneath a stormy maelstrom in the central sea, awoke: the dreaded old god, Nathusha.

Once again, Princess Celestia fought selflessly - however, this time, not for the sake of those who dwelt in the light, but those who dwelt above the seas...

Yet, despite all her efforts, he cast down the solar goddess...

... And claimed the greater whole of all land as his own.

The solar princess was not killed, however, or so say the legends. Celestia, being of beauty was captured by Nathusha her and brought her back to his home of R’Lach, deep beneath the waves to be his queen. Neither have been heard of since. Nopony even has a clue where R’Lach is.
I never knew this world, so I sometimes wonder why I long for it. Equestria, or the Equestrian Remnant as it is now called, has moved on – the world has moved on. We’re used to the sea – we respect the sea, yet… the sea was meant for visiting, not living upon. I sometimes wonder what it would be like Nathusha had never came. What would the world be like? Would Princess Celestia still be around? Who would I be? Would I even ‘be’ at all?

Again - I feel... cold at the thought.
However, the past is the past, and there's no use worrying about what could be. Now all that’s left is to look towards the future. A future set under the moonlight. For one year ago, Princess Luna returned, or ‘Nightmare Moon’, I should say, and I was ready. Two days before it, I was given a scroll containing an ancient prophecy by a mysterious stallion named Captain Black Harness, who’s family I suppose once served the ancient solar goddess.

Five others were given this scroll, five others who are now my greatest friends: Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack. Together we freed Princess Luna of her ancient burden.
And she was grateful – to her sister, and to the Elements.
Our nation took to her like a daughter to a long-lost mother. Over the past year, she has guided us. Loved us-

- And protected us when need-beShe has made the Equestrian Remnant strong in the eyes of the world. I even became her faithful student in the art of magic.

Yet she did not forget who she was – and her wrath over her sister’s absence could be felt for many moons. Yet Captain Black was not done delivering messages. One stormy night, he knocked on her palace’s door, holding a message that held a simple set of far-away coordinates, ones near the edge of the map, and a single message written in her sister’s hoof-writing: ‘Fly here for answers.’

With a new-found determination, the Princess of the Night sought to travel this long journey. However, because of her weakened state brought upon by her battle with the Nightmare, as well as a loss of connection with her sister, she could not hope to travel the journey…
At least – not alone…
Among the clatter of glasses and the hearty laughs of patrons, a blue pegasus and a purple unicorn made merry within the Leaky Dragon, Pony Island’s premiere establishment for all things debauchery. The former looked as if she could handle another pint, yet the latter…
“Ugh…” she groaned, slamming her tankard down on the table.
The pegasus grinned teasingly. “Oh come on, Twilight! If you’re going to hang out with me, you’re going to have to learn how to handle your liquor!”
Twilight blinked, gazing at her groggily – and annoyed. (Annoyed is the wrong form here. Consider
“How… did you even manage to drink three pints, Rainbow? I think pegasi were supposed to have a low tolerance…”
“Pfffft – not this pegasi,” she giggled, soaking up another blast of Sweet Apple Hard Cider. “I may train for stunts in the day, but during the night… yeah- you get where I’m going.”
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “B-But… why?”
“Duh!” she snorted, rolling her eyes. “Isn’t it obvious?”
…
A pause.
Twilight slowly nodded. “… Not really.”
“Ugh – come on, Twilight. Who am I trying to join?”
Twilight managed a smirk. “The ponies waiting for new livers?”
Rainbow gave her a blank look. “Oh very funny... come on, you should be able to guess this!”
Twilight’s baffled look continued. “You might need to give me a hint, considering my brain feels like it’s about to meltdown, because I have no idea how joining Triton’s Angels has anything to do with drinking…”
Rainbow closed her eyes, sighing. “Twilight… Twilight, Twilight, Twilight…”
“E’Yup.”
“… There’s more to being a Sea Angel than just cooling off awesome stunts – even though I can pull off those stunts quicker than you can pull a muscle during jogging –“
Twilight narrowed her eyes. “You were using your wings!”
“So? Grow wings!”
Twilight groaned heartily. “Oh by the love of Luna…”
Rainbow shrugged, carrying on as if she had heard no criticism as all. “Anyway – what do you think the Sea Angels do when they’re not practicing, kicking Naga flank, or doing shows?”
Twilight shrugged, taking another agonizing sip of hard cider and coughing. “Um- eating and sleeping?”
“Well, yeah,” Rainbow said, a smirk slowly forming on her again. “After they get done drinking!”
Twilight deadpanned.
“So you’re practicing… drinking, so you can…”
Rainbow chortled. “Keep up, of course! I don’t want to look like a lame, two-cider filly flyer when I hit the big leagues, you know! Spitfire would never respect me that way!”
“Gee, thanks, Rainbow,” Twilight muttered.
She grinned sheepishly. “Er – no offense, Twilight. You’re a bookworm, so I gotsta give you some slack.”
“Yeah yeah yeah,” she grunted, taking another tiny sip. “Just try not to fly home drunk. Luna knows we don’t need another Mare Doe washing up…”
“Pfffft – you act like I can’t swim!” Rainbow Dash grinned.
Twilight glanced at her above her mug. “… You can’t swim.”
“I could if I was struggling for my life!” Rainbow beamed. “I could rock the waves just like I rock the sky!”
“You know, being thrown into the deep end, quite literally in this case, isn’t always the best way to learn,” Twilight chuckled.
“Hah!” Rainbow scoffed. “And that is why you were never be a Sea Angel, Twilight!”
“Other than the fact I’m a unicorn?”
Rainbow shook her head, almost as if she didn’t notice Twilight’s sarcasm. “No, cus’ you got no sense of risk-taking! Jumping in the deep end is what the Sea Angels are all about!”
Twilight sighed deeply. “Luna, please watch over her – for me…”
“Blah blah blah,” Rainbow grunted, before taking another sip and clearing her throat. “But uh – speaking of Luna. Did she ever tell you what the big plan she has is yet?”
“No – not yet,” Twilight moaned.
“Sounds like it’s driving you nuts – I know I’d be going nuts! She says it’s going to be massive, right?”
“As big as your ego,” Twilight said, sticking her tongue out.
She gave a mock wince. “Ouchie – touché.”
Twilight shook her head. “But yeah – she still hasn’t told me. Leave it to Luna to hold a carrot in front of me… well, if I liked carrots, but you get the idea…”
“So you have absolutely no idea, right? And more importantly – you have no idea how I’m supposed to be involved, right?”
Twilight shook her head. “All I know is that it has to do with the Thunder-“
Rainbow’s eyes widened, her wings suddenly flicking outward.
Twilight blinked, gazing at her incredulously.
“D-Did you just… get a wing-thing because I mentioned-“
Rainbow quickly gasped, blushing as she attempted to push her wings back to her sides, growling all the way.
Twilight couldn’t help but giggle.
“Oh shut up,” Rainbow snapped. “Can you blame a pegasus for being fascinated by airships? And the Nocturnal Thunder is one of the biggest, most awesome airships around! Do you know what’s friggin’ on that thing?”
“Mhmm, yes - I know the specs-“
“Over ONE-HUNDRED cannons!” Rainbow continued enthusiastically, all-but ignoring Twilight.
“Mhmmm, and-“
“All top-of-the-line! Then, it’s got those Requiem guns – the ones that unicorns would love to make out with!”
Twilight nodded, looking slightly annoyed. “Yuh huh – I know, Rainbow-“
“It’s got em in the front and back! That and the three-inch thick hull… by Luna I’d like to see the Naga punch through that! Seriously, I don’t know how that thing stays in the air with all the weight on it! Do you know?!”
“Well, it’s because of the-“
“Oh yeah - the Leviton thing! Yeah – that’s right! Oh my gosh, I remember when they still had to use blimps! Welcome to the new age, baby!”
Twilight finally gave up, taking a deep breath. “Yes, Rainbow – I know all about it.”
Rainbow gave her a look. “Well, why didn’t you say anything?!”
Twilight opened her mouth to say something, but quickly gave up on the prospect. She took another sip of her drink with a defeated look on her face.
Rainbow carried on. “But yeah - you know what this means right?!”
“No clue…” Twilight muttered.
“Ugh, come on, Twilight – you’re supposed to be the smart one!” Rainbow said, exasperated. “The Nocturnal Thunder being involved plus the Elements means only one thing: WE’RE GONNA GET TO RIDE ON THAT BABY!”
“Woah – hang on,” Twilight said. “Don’t get your hopes up. We have no idea what we’re going to be doing. It could be completely separate from the Thunder for all we know!”
“Way to kill dreams, Twilight,” Rainbow muttered.
“I’m just being realistic!” Twilight said. “We’re honestly not going to know for who knows how long? Luna is a very meticulous planner. Whatever she has going on is probably not going to be executed until-“
“Right now?”
Twilight gasped, twirling about. That voice was as familiar to her as the sun – which was currently shining through the door to the tavern, turning the voice’s origin into a silhouette.
“Hahahaha!” Rainbow giggled. “Totally a classic! What’s up, Shining Armor?”
“Hey there, kiddo,” Shining smirked, walking over to the table and giving her a quuick noogie.
Now he could be seen more clearly. He was his familiar self, a built stallion who had long since lost his right eye to the Naga. A magical seeing crystal, one only given to the most important ponies, replaced it. However, something was different about him. His normal guard armor was replaced by a different uniform entirely… one of an officer in the Royal Navy – in particular, the Air Fleet.
But that wasn’t the most unusual thing about his presence…
“S-Shining?” Twilight gasped, baffled. “What are you doing here?! I thought you and Lady Cadance were on your honeymoon!”
“That’s Quartermaster Shining Armor now, Twili,” he winked. “Or should I call you… Chief Navigator, Twili.”
“Huh?” Twilight said, furrowing her brow. “B-But I’m not part of any crew. I’m not even in the Navy! I mean, I know a lot about navigation, but why am I-“
Her eyes widened. Shining slowly smiled.
“You’ve got to be kidding me…”
Shining chuckled heartily. “And this is why she wants you, Twilight – you always were the brains of the family.”
Rainbow Dash did a double take, glancing from Shining to Twilight. “So wait – what’s happening, again? I’m lost.”
Shining chuckled once again, slowly turning towards her. “We all may be sometime soon, even with Twilight’s skill here. I just got briefed on a special project that you, Twilight, and the rest of your friends are going to be involved with – if you accept Princess Luna’s offer, that is.”
“Alright…” Rainbow said slowly. “But I mean – can you stop being so vague? No offense, but I’d like to know what I’m jumping into.”
Shining nodded slightly, before turning towards the nearby bar counter. “Yo, Berrypunch, can you shoot us another trio of pints? On me!”
“You got it, hot stuff!” she chirped.
“Ugh… please… no,” Twilight grumbled, rubbing her rumbling, aching stomach. "Both with the flirting she always does and with the drinks, that is."
Shining coughed, simpering. “Er – hold off on Twilight’s, please, Berry.”
“Pffft – light weight,” she smirked. “Na, just kidding. You’re cool, Twli.”
“Well – are you going to tell us or keep procrastinating?!” Rainbow said impatiently.
“Tell you?” Shining chuckled, taking a seat at the round table. “As soon I’m done catching up with you two, I’m going to show you!”
Twilight and Rainbow gazed at him, baffled. “H-Huh?”
He shook his head, smirking. “Gotta build up the suspense. Trust me – this is going to blow your mind more than alcohol ever could.”
"You might want to think twice in Rainbow's case," Twilight giggled.
“Ugh – come on, Shining Blueballs! This is getting on my nerves!” Rainbow snapped. “How about a hint?”
“Fine - Alright, alright!” Shining said, holding up his hooves defensively. “Take a look outside- your hint is hovering above the bar.”
Rainbow’s eyes widened. It was as if she knew what was coming… “Wait a minute…”
“Hah, I was right!” Twilight grinned.
“Na… this is wayyyy too weird,” Rainbow said skeptically, trotting to the door. “Too coincidental! I won’t believe it until I-”

…Her eyes widened.
Her jaw nearly hit the ground as she stepped outside.
A low humming sound overtook the surroundings, one that couldn't be heard in the Tavern. It came from only one place: a massive titan of wood and metal hovering in the sky above, yet not reaching for the clouds by any stretch of the imagination. Its overbearing form blocked them, hovering only about four hundred meters off the ground. To Rainbow’s guesstimate, it must have been a quarter-long as Pony Island, which was two kilometers in length, and probably cast a shadow that covered half of it.
The most powerful force in the Remnant’s Navy was right above her.
This allowed Rainbow to see all the details. Pegasi swarmed around the Nocturnal Thunder, carrying supplies and chariots containing all walks of life. Sailors of many different races climbed the masts, checking the sails. Even more pegasi seemed to be examining every little piece of the hull and its equipment that could be seen: the ground-pounder cannons, the Lightning Drive, its primary, magical-powered thruster, its bomb-bay and hangars.
Rainbow Dash could only sum it up in two, awe-struck, squeaky words.
“S-So… a-awesome.”
“Wow. This is incredible!” Twilight gasped, galloping along-side of her. “I’ve seen it before… but never so close! Truly an engineering marvel.”
“’An engineering marvel’ she says,” Rainbow laughed sarcastically. “How have we not conquered the world with this thing, yet? Seriously!”
“What is there to conquer?” Twilight said, rolling her eyes.
“Well – islands and stuff!” Rainbow Dash said defensively. "Islands with... palm trees? And coconuts! Buck the coconuts!"'
Twilght gave her a blank look. “Yuh huh.”
Rainbow shook her head in disbelief. “B-But… yeah… what is this beautiful tax-burden, not that I have a problem with it, doing here, anyway?”
“Like the Thunder, do you?” Shining smiled, trotting up next to her.
Twilight grinned at him. "What was your first clue, the squeaky voice or the drool?"
"You should have a cutie-mark in snark," Shining chuckled. "I wouldn't be surprised if it'd look like your face."
"Compliment accepted."
“Pffft.... yeah- anyway - back to mwah," Rainbow interrupted.
"So sorry to take the splotlight off you," Twilight sighed.
"You better be. Cus honestly, does Applejack like Apples?" Rainbow laughed sarcastically. “If the Thunder was a dude, I would totally have a three night-“
“Er, yeah-“ Twilight said, throwing a hoof in front of her muzzle. “We both know where that’s going.”
“Mph- mph mph! Mph!” Rainbow growled angrily.
Shining chuckled. Then, he slowly, contemplatively nodded to himself, before saying:
“Well, I’m glad to hear it, Rainbow. Cus you’re going to be second in command of protecting her for the next year or so."
"W-What?!" Rainbow squeaked. "But - but h-how?! Nonono, damn you for this tease, Shining - I can't! I have the Sea Angels to try out to and-"
"Spitfire is going to be on the ship - the Sea Angels are disbanded for now," Shining stated. "However, she is going to be your commanding officer."
The cocky mare's eyes dilated. "B-But... how? I'm still a grunt - I just got out of boot camp like a year ago!"
Shining couldn't help but crack a smile. "Well - you're getting kicked upward. Congratulations, Second Lieutenant Dash – welcome to the Royal Marines.”
Rainbow seemed ready to have a heart attack. “I-I’m…. I-I’m going to be… I-I… er… w-wah…”
“And – I’m its navigator?” Twilight gulped, taking deep breaths. “N-No pressure, right?”
Shining smiled at her warmly, before patting her on the back with a comforting hoof. “Don’t worry, Twili – honestly. I’ll be with you the entire way, and Princess Luna wouldn’t have given you two this honor if she didn’t think you could handle it. She must see something in you more than you seem to, because this is going to be the one of the most important undertakings in the Equestrian Remnant’s history.”
“Yeeeah, not helping, Shining,” Twilight gulped.
Rainbow Dash shook her head in awe. “This has to be some sort of prank! Good one, Shining!”
“This is no joke,” Shining said, shaking his head. “Princess Luna trusts you and needs you. I need you, Twili. Like I said, this mission is going to take over a year.”
“What’s the mission, though?!” Rainbow Dash asked eagerly.
Shining glanced about before leaning towards the two. “What I’m about to tell you cannot be revealed to anyone – Luna’s going to make an official announcement later. However, she said the Elements were allowed to know. We’re going to be taking a voyage – a long one, to areas that haven’t been traveled to since the Great Flood. Hopefully, things will go smoothly, but the one thing I’ve learn is to always expect the seas to throw you curve-balls…”
“To where, though?” Twilight grunted impatiently. “Come on, Shining! Spit it out!”
“Very well,” he said silently. “We’ll be taking a trip to the edge of the map. Approximately four-thousand, two-hundred and twenty-three kilometers to the South-West. It’s there Princess Luna hopes to find answers.”
“To what?” Rainbow said.
Shining narrowed his eyes.
“To what happened to her sister, of course.”
Chapter II - The Best and the Rest
Twilight narrowed her eyes skeptically as Rainbow Dash bounced in glee. They sat in a two-seat chariot bound for the Nocturnal Thunder - two bat-pony pegasi dragging them.
"Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!.!.!" Rainbow cried, before taking a deep breath... and repeating. "Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!.!.!"
Shining took a deep breath. "How long is she going to keep doing that?"
"This is nothing," Twilight smirked. "You should have seen her when she got Spitfire's autograph."
"Oh my," Shining sighed. "Well - Spitfire's cool, though. I'm sure she can take a bit of hero worship."
"Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!.!.!"
Twilight bent forward and whispered into Shining's ear: "How much is a bit?"
He rolled his eyes. "Don't worry - I have full confidence Luna and I have picked the best crew imaginable."
"Really?" Twilight asked, curious. "Anypony I'd know?"
"Maybe," Shining nodded, stroking his chin. "I've definitely met a lot of... um- interesting people this last week. Heh - I definitely will not forget this one guy..."
One Day Prior...
Shining Armor Motivates the Motivators - With Booty
The roar of the crowd nearly deafened Iron Will as he stepped out from behind the curtain. Thunderous applause and hoof stomping greeted him as he took a bow.
“WELCOME to today’s motivational seminar! My name is Iron Will, and I’m here to teach you all how to be assertive! Now, if you are not 100% satisfied with the training you receive, you will pay nothing!”
The crowd cheered.
“Now, our first lesson is simple. Don’t be shy; look ‘em in the eye!”
He ran to the front of the stage and glared at the ponies in the audience. Many of them trembled at the sight of his intimidating gaze. Some of them shirked back in sheer terror.
Iron Will chuckled, “See, you have to remember: looks can’t hurt you! Unless, of course, they’re from a cockatrice. In which case it will turn you to stone. Now, for my next segment, I need a pony to volunteer from the audience.”
Dozens of hooves shot up in the air. Iron Will scanned the crowd until settling on the pony he wanted to pick.
“How about you, over there?”
Iron Will pointed towards a young stallion who wasn’t even raising his hoof, and his goat assistant shined the spotlight over on him. His eyes widened as he sidestepped out of the spotlight, but it simply followed him.
“I didn’t volunteer! No! Anything but being in front of the crowd!” the stallion shouted.
“You may not have volunteered,” said Iron Will, “But life is what happens when you’ve made other plans. Get up here!”
The stallion quivered in his horseshoes.
“Get on stage, or else I’ll RAGE!” Iron Will shouted at him. Evidently the stallion’s fear of public speaking was less than his fear of Iron Will, because he sauntered onstage.
“What’s your name, sir?” Iron Will asked.
“Ernest,” he responded.
“Well, you certainly weren’t earnest just then!” Iron Will chuckled. The crowd laughed.
“Gee, never heard that one before…” the stallion muttered, rolling his eyes.
“Let’s start off with a handshake. Next to your appearance, that’s one of the first thing that ponies notice about you, after all.”
Iron Will took the pony’s hoof in his hand and shook it, squeezing it so hard that Ernest thought his hoof would break, and shaking so vigorously that Ernest’s entire body tremored.
“What kind of handshake was THAT?” Iron Will asked, raising his eyebrow, “You have to give a FIRM handshake. That’s our second lesson. Don’t squirm, be firm!”
“But I have a hoof, I can’t be firm--”
“With a grip, no. Only Iron Will and others with hands or claws can do that! But you can still shake. Now we will repeat it, and this time, shake your hoof.”
They shook hooves once more, and this time Iron Will was pleased with the hoofshake.
“Excellent! Now that’s a good way to make a first impression!
After going over more assertiveness techniques, Iron Will went backstage, completing his performance.
“Baaaaah!” one of his assistants, Gomez the goat, bleated at him.
“What’s that, Gomez?”
“Bah.”
“Iron Will doesn’t remember scheduling a visitor.”
“Bahahaaaaa baaaah.”
“Look, Iron Will doesn’t care whether it’s important or not; I told you no unscheduled…”
Just as he spoke, the door opened and a white unicorn stallion walked in.
“Hello, Mr. Will.”
Iron Will dropped his magazine, turned around, and glanced at the newcomer.
“Who are you? What are you doing here?” he asked.
“My name is Shining Armor. I’m the Captain of the Royal Guard, as well as the Quartermaster for the ship Nocturnal Thunder, and I’m on a mission.”
“Really, huh?”
“Yes. I’ve heard tales of your strength and courage.”
“Have you, eh? Well, I do train ponies to be assertive so that they can stand up for themselves!” he said, striking a pose in front of Shining Armor.
“That’s great,” said Shining Armor, “Though I don’t need you for that; I need you more for your brawn. You see, there is a secret mission for the Equestrian Remnant. I’ve looked over your past. Apparently you were a marine at one point, on the ship Golden Wings. You had an exemplary record as well; I see that you earned several medals for valor. I would like to ask if you want to do that again.”
“Iron Will was once a Marine, yes,” he answered. “They made a minotaur out of me! I wouldn't be the motivational, assertive speaker that I am had I not served. But, as invigorating as that sounds, I do have a nice career here as a motivational speaker… I can’t go giving all of that up!”
Iron Will took a stand on top of his chair and extended his hands towards the heavens.
“Think of how many ponies I won’t be able to inspire when I’m gone? Think of how many ponies will let themselves be pushovers and doormats because Iron Will isn’t there to tell them--”
“Did I mention the treasure hoards?” Shining Armor interrupted.
For a brief second, two bits appeared where Iron Will’s eyes once were.
“I’m sorry, did you say treasure?” he asked, getting down from the chair.
“Yes. There is considerable gold to be had where we’re going. I can’t disclose our exact mission, but I can say that you will be compensated quite nicely.”
“Deal!” said Iron Will, extending his hand to Shining Armor and shaking his hoof vigorously. Unlike the stallion from earlier, Shining Armor had a firm hoofshake.
Shining Armor smirked. “But I thought that you have ponies to motivate?”
“Pfft,” said Iron Will, waving his hand in the air, “You know Iron Will always say. If you’re getting paid cash, then go bust your ass! And also, life is what happens when you make other plans. Iron Will says that, too.”
“Glad that you see things my way,” said Shining Armor. “Now, come with me, and I’ll show you the ship.”
As Iron Will and Shining Armor walked towards the door, Gomez the goat bleated urgently at Iron Will.
“Baaaaah!”
“Tell them that Iron Will is booked for the foreseeable future!”
(Moar to come)

1904933
((Warning: This shouldn't be intertwined with other chapters))
My Little Pony:
The Sound of Thunder
Chapter Past – The Beginning of a New Age
Once upon a time, in the magical world of Trinity, there were two regal sisters who ruled together and created harmony for all the world. To do this, the eldest used her alicorn powers to raise the Sun at dawn; the younger brought out the Moon to begin the night. Thus, the two sisters maintained balance for their kingdom and their subjects. But as time went on, the younger sister became resentful. The ponies relished and played in the day her elder sister brought forth, but shunned and slept through her beautiful night. One fateful day, the younger alicorn refused to lower the Moon to make way for the dawn. The elder sister tried to reason with her, but the bitterness in the young one's heart had transformed her into a wicked mare of darkness: Nightmare Moon. She vowed that she would shroud the world in eternal night and a major battle took place.
Two streaks lit up the night sky under the new eternal moon. The golden and blue streaks crashed into each other several times, each crash causing an explosion of bright light. Both princesses where putting their all into this fight. This was the fight to determine the fate of the world... or at least it was meant to be that way.
The clash of powers could be felt through all of Trinity; the intensity of this fight was undeniable. There was no mistaking that things would be different very soon, though it would change more than they realized.
The battle raged on for many hours until they both went for the final blow; the streaks vanished and were soon replaced by two beams of magic. The blue and golden beams met in the center of the two alicorns, forming a giant ball of magical energy. The final blow had turned to a battle of mental strength and determination.
Within seconds, Celestia's will was already starting failing her; her emotional state was demolishing her will significantly. If only...
Luna's hatred prevailed; Celestia closed her eyes, accepting the defeat. The ball of power slammed into her, exploding on contact. She was sent flying down towards the castle they once ruled in as one.
Celestia smashed through the wall of the castle and slid across the floor, coming to a complete stop as her back slammed into a pedestal. Off the pedestal fell one of the Elements of Harmony, landing next to Celestia as she cringed in pain from the crash landing. Celestia looked at the stone orb. She knew exactly what she needed to do, but she was unsure if she was willing to do it. She looked back towards the night sky. She saw her sister's silhouette in the glimmering eternal Moon that hung in the sky.
Nightmare Moon was flying straight at Celestia, ready to finish off the fight once and for all.
Celestia closed her eyes as she gathered the Elements from the pedestal, and fresh tear crawled its way down her cheek as she activated them.
Luna was almost on top of Celestia, but the power that emerged from the Elements gave Celestia strength once more. Nightmare Moon realized what her sister had done too late and found herself bouncing off what seemed like thin air, watching everything in her vision fade to black even though she was still conscious.
Celestia watched as her sister vanished, tears now streaming across her face. Her sister was gone; she had banished Luna to the Moon. There was nothing she could have done; it was too late to act by the time she learnt the truth.
Celestia lowered the Elements back onto the pedestal then screamed in sorrow at the sky.
Fate has been cruel and order unkind.
How can I have sent you away?
The blame was my own; the punishment, yours.
The harmony silenced today.
Nightmare Moon, Trinity's most dangerous enemy thus far, had been defeated, but at the price of one of Trinity's most important goddesses. There was a major phase shift in power that could be felt by all who dwelled in the land, leaving the message that this world's power had weakened; there was a major phase shift and it woke an ancient power that rested in the darkest crevice of Trinity's oceans. Trinity's power had weakened and Trinity retaliated, calling for a long forgotten power to return and help restore the balance of the world.
The scales on the back of a large serpent traveling through a dark ravine shimmered above the black void of the ravine's surface with the reflection of the remnants of light that managed to struggle their way down to these unknown depths of the ocean floor. A creature that hadn't moved for millennia finally awoke once more.
Soon the creature rose from the abyss and void it had lain in for eternity, returning to the plain of existence once again.
Nathusha had returned, ready to reclaim the world as his own like it was oh so long ago, in a different time, when he ruled as the Old God of the Sea. His pace quickened as he approached the surface, eager to rule Trinity once more.
It all ended with an ear-piercing screech that came from the ocean's depths.
The cry set fear into the hearts and souls of all that heard it.
The sea itself began to quake and soon the great beast rose above the waves, its plated scales rippling with water. Its scales seemed sharp enough to cut air. It towered over the shore of Equestria as the top of Mount Canterlot towers over the land. It looked down at the shore before him with its four blue luminescent eyes. It opened its mouth, revealing two rows of jagged teeth that were made out of the same material as its scales.
“Ra fem o ni graal, mezeno dun ko!” It bellowed.
Celestia looked out her window with shock; hearing the ancient tongue of the gods was very rare. She saw something in the distance; a line that stood tall, perpendicular to the horizon. She was too far away to see what it was, but she knew that whatever it was, it wasn't good.
Celestia ran to the Elements of Harmony and put them in a saddlebag, then teleported to the seafront to find a humongous sea serpent towering over the shore.
She flew up to the serpent's head and said, “I, Celestia, am the current ruler here. I have come.”
She scanned over the serpent before asking, “Who are you?”
“An en te gra Ra Nathusha,” Nathusha answered, glowering down at the insolent spec that called herself Celestia. “Zerk Ra o te Dazed.”
“I've never heard of that name before,” Celestia said, “but that matters not. Why do you come here, Nathusha?”
“Ina isa!” Nathusha hissed.
“You're just as insolent,” Celestia replied, “I am goddess here now, not you.”
“An ald ver. An dezar qwa al kany anek,” Nathusha said.
“Is that a challenge?” Celestia asked.
“Kan,” Nathusha agreed, “dun dagi zerz vat!”
Without another warning, Nathusha dove upon Celestia, submerging them both into the water. He resurfaced further from shore, bringing them both into his domain. In his mouth was a golden sphere that was protecting Celestia. He tossed the sphere in front of him.
Celestia broke the spell and flew down to Nathusha's current height. She then flapped her wings gently so she could remain a float as she waited for Nathusha to make his move.
From behind Celestia, part of the serpent suddenly shot up from underneath Celestia. Celestia barely managed to dodge the ragged scales as they soared passed. Nathusha lunged forward, forcing Celestia to dodge into the path of the scaled body that was collapsing back into the sea, falling down upon Celestia.
Celestia teleported out of the way, appearing upon the top of Nathusha's head scale. In retaliation, Nathusha dove into the cold sea. Celestia took off before the water swallowed her up along with the ancient sea god. Celestia flew out of the way before the serpent's tail could attempt to whip her out of the air as it returned to the water below.
Nathusha's tail submerged, leaving Celestia to watch the water for whatever danger that might jump out.
Suddenly a surge of water erupted from the remotely calm surface of the sea; its shape was a perfect replica of Nathusha. It arced back down, towards the princess, attempting to bring the sea to her. As soon as the head reunited with the water, it reappeared out of the raging current it had left behind and lunged for Celestia one more time.
“Coward! Will you not face me?” Celestia called, narrowly escaping the water entity's second attack with only a dampened hoof.
The ocean laughed, sending large waves in every direction.
Once more, the water entity jumped from the sea. This time, while the entity attempted to distract Celestia, Nathusha came out from Celestia's shadow on the water. Celestia launched herself up with a single wing flap, rising above the chaos.
Celestia had no idea how she would defeat the ancient god. She could only wait to see if she could find a weakness before it was too late. Down she swooped, gliding over the water as she looked for the once again vanished Nathusha. Suddenly, out of nowhere, she swung up.
Moments after she turned upwards, the ocean opened its mouth and rose after her, wanting to encase her with its watery walls. The newly formed dome of water was almost fully closed around Celestia; she only had moments before she was trapped by the water.
She burst through the hole, folding her wings to avoid them getting soaked. Celestia hovered over the dome of water, finding herself slightly damp.
“Too close,” she muttered as she flew to the side of the dome.
Nathusha burst out of the top of the water mound that had almost engulf the princess, sending a giant wave – a tsunami – in all directions. The wave would no doubt cause havoc at any and every shore it crashed upon, but that wasn't Celestia's main concern. She knew she would not be able to win this battle if she did not find some solid ground.
In the distance, Celestia thought she heard a feint crash of a wave hitting a cliff. The slight distraction was enough for Nathusha to send Celestia flying with a whip of his tail.
“Zero deken opa?” Nathusha mocked.
The motion of flying through the air brought back the memory of her fight with her sister that had taken place only hours before; the same falling motion as when her sister had sent her flying into the castle. The same sister that she had...
Suddenly, Celestia slammed into the sand, soft and shiftable sand. She stood up and found herself standing on the beach a small, deserted island. It wasn't much of an island, it was more like a mound that had managed to swim out of the ocean's depth and breath air once more. The beach was only the backside of the rocky hill that led to the cliff top of the small, uninhabited island.
Celestia shook her head. She had already struggled with much difficulty to put her emotions aside once already, and knew she couldn't do it again; she could only put it to the side of her head for the moment, which she did.
Celestia went to take off, but soon found herself stumbling in pain; her left wing had been broken. She folded both wings up and walked the short distance to the cliff top.
She stood upon the cliff's edge, staring over the vast sea before her. “Come forth, isa o te dazed!”
As if waiting for the queue, Nathusha broke the water's surface. His tail was wrapped around the tiny island, nearly crushing it. Waves rippled around his great mass, splashing over the island and his own body. Still, he was mostly submerged underwater, his true length hidden beneath the waves.
Celestia looked the serpent in the eyes as she brought forth the Elements of Harmony.
“This is the end of your foolishness!” she said, activating the Element, “Now return to the depths from which you came!”
A colorless light glowed from Celestia's horn, casting its beams in every direction. Many beams of the colorless light arced towards Nathusha's head. Celestia's power while wielding the Elements was great indeed.
“Al nazat Harmony takin zushand un du?” Nathusha stated, “Du alo nazita!”
Luna... Her sister's name flashed through her mind, which was soon followed by her thoughts flooding with the memories that she had, only earlier, pushed aside; she lost her focus, for she was still having trouble dealing with the emotional blow she'd suffered only hours ago. She had just lost her sister, yet she already had so many troubles to deal with.
If only Luna were by her side...
The Elements shattered. Nathusha had whipped them with his tail while she was distracted, smashing them into a fine powder. Celestia's horn went out and she almost collapsed, but managed to catch herself with her remaining strength.
To use the Elements, one is required to link their soul and powers with the Elements, thus achieving a perfect harmony. Shattering the Elements while they are in use would also shatter the user's power as well; the user's power becomes depleted instead of limitless.
“Akzan al anek!” Nathusha thundered.
With the remainder of her strength, Celestia, though she had to struggled to do it, looked up at the creature before her and spoke a prophecy in a voice that could be heard across all of Trinity.
“Heed my words, Nathusha. You have not ridden this world of the Elements of Harmony; they will return someday, when the souls of six ponies bring them forth once again. They will free my sister from Nightmare Moon and end your reign.”
Nathusha responded to these words with only a deep, hoarse laugh.
Celestia lost her remaining strength and collapsed, falling off the cliff's edge. Her body tumbled in the air, plummeting towards the hungry sea.
A sphere of water jumped out the sea below Celestia, flying up to eagerly greet the defeated princess. It engulfed her, then continued upwards until it hovered in front of Nathusha's head as he spoke ancient words of binding and magic.
The orb of water started to shrink and continued until there was nothing left where it had hovered, locking the Princess of the Sun away in a location unknown to the world.
Nathusha dived back into the ocean, setting his eyes on the rest of the world.
Such a cruel twist of irony, Celestia thought. She was sprawled upon the floor of some unknown temple interior, laying in a puddle of water. She should have been completely soaked, yet she wasn't even damp. Not even the puddle she was laying in sent water to cling to her skin and sink into her hair.
But where am I? She wondered before she blacked out.
“Qwa al ni!?” Nathusha raged, “Graal al gizad te dazed!”
When Nathusha had first arrived, his cry was only an ear-piercing screech; he was now surfaced and the water no longer muffled his scream. Across the world, an ear-wrenching noise, that sounded ten times worse than that of the eternal screams of enraged demons crossed with the cries of ponies burning alive, tried to smash and pulverize the eardrums of those who heard it.
The world was not like it was in the time of old; the oceans have shrunken, seceding from the world and giving way to earth. It was an outrage and he would fix it; Nathusha cursed the world and its entirety with unrelenting rain that would last an entire year.
Until it was fixed, this world wasn't worth his rule; he completely vanished from the world, returning back to the depths from which he came.
***
The world was literally drowned; Nathusha had put nearly 90% of all land back beneath the waves. He rose from the depths once again to see the world purged of the filth known as land that had penetrated the surface of the beautiful ocean. Though the world was not completely water, his anger was finally expended; the result was satisfying enough for him.
“Te zerk graal al var!” Nathusha bellowed in something that may have been joy.
Down in the depths did the Old God then go, leaving the surface to return to his ancient throne where many ages were spent during his old reign as God. He was now God of this world once more; he would return to his rightful throne that laid down in the ocean depths.
Celestia and Luna were now gone and he did nothing to deal with the Sun and the Moon; he left the responsibility of raising the sun and moon fell to the noble houses of the Equestrian Remnant.
With that, Nathusha left Trinity with only a legend to be passed down through the years.
((The following is a failed attempt at trying to write the end like the storybook beginning.))
The world drowned; the old god put nearly 90% of Trinity back beneath the waves. The serpent returned from the depths to see the world. The serpent's anger was finally expended. The serpent bellowed in something that may have been joy. With the two alicorns gone, it was left upon the serpent to take responsibility of the Sun and the Moon. The serpent vanished from the surface, leaving only a flooded world and a legend behind.
((I may add one other thing here later))

1904935
Ragnar Bloodeye. Audio journal
Entry 1.
I remember a time before all this talk of duty and honour. A time your achievements were earned by the strength of your weapon arm, and the skill of your crew. Now, it seems to be all about following and magical talismans.
Almost a year ago, a Nightmare returned to the world, only to be defeated by six ponies holding mystical artefacts of an age long past. The Nightmare, now redeemed, brought fresh hope to the ponies, rising to lead them to a new age of prosperity.
I would have been a fool to stand away from such power, and now I’m bound by all these rules. Sometimes I think the entire thing was a mistake, and if I wouldn’t have just been better off forging my own way.
Of course, it’s hard to prosper on your own in this world anymore. Marauders, raiders, pirates, you name it. There is always someone who wants what you have. Reminds me of the past, sometimes I’m not sure if I want to forget it or not.
I still remember the time when they came for me though…
The bar was sparsely decorated, a singled dim magi-light casting long shadows around the room. The patrons were not much more interesting, being a bland, drab mix of all the creatures given sanctuary by the Equestrian Remnants. Ponies, Griffons, Diamond Dogs, you name it. If it walked on the land, it was a fair bet that at least one of its kind could be found somewhere in the Remnants fold.
Most of the clientele were gathered around a small table, occupied by four creatures of varying people, a massive, scarred Minotaur, a pair of Earth ponies, one male and one female, and a Pegasus. Each one had a large number of mugs in front of them, as well as another currently at their mouths, throwing their heads back and downing the contents.
Suddenly, the Minotaur gave a whoop, slamming the mug down on the table, before turning towards the bar.
“Barkeep. More.” He called out.
“Way ahead of you Ragnar.” The barpony laughed, grabbing a mug and walking over to a tap, filling it to the brim with the frothy goodness that was Remnant Grog, a perfect blend of fresh water, hops grown on the few fertile parts of land left, and rough rum. “You sure you can still cover this all?”
“Of course. When have we ever let you down?” He asked, raising his head slowly.
Barkeep still shuddered when he saw Ragnar’s face, no matter how many times he saw it. The entire left side was a mass of rough scar tissue, stretching in a thick, ugly line down his face, starting from above his left eye, and ending just below the right corner of his mouth. What always disturbed him the most however, was his eye. The ruined orb was a pure, milky white colour, with little to no distinction between the remains of the pupil and the rest of the ruined orb. He shuddered to think what sort of fight Ragnar must have got into to gain such a wound. The result was Ragnar’s face being split into two unequal halves, one half being a large dark green mass of fur, while the other half was just a reddish brown scab, broken up by the occasional hair poking through.
“Still can’t look at me eh?” Ragnar laughed.
“You know it you ugly Bull.” He replied with a grin.
“Just get me my damn drink you unicorn prick.” He retorted, smiling as the drink was slid in front of him. “You guys still in?” He asked, looking around at the other Minotaurs in his group.
“I still don’t know how you do it.” The male Earth pony belched, raising his mug, “But I’m still in.”
Roaring with laughter, the four creatures raised their mugs, before knocking back the contents and slamming them down on the counter. Slowly, as if in slow motion, the Pegasus toppled backwards, crashing to the floor with a loud crash that drew the attention of everything in the bar.
“Look like we have a looser.” The female pony laughed, prodding the unconscious Pegasus with a hoof.
“Feathers always are lightweights.” Ragnar mused. “Although you aren’t much better sweet cheeks. Maybe we should find a more…appropriate activity for you?”
“I already told you Ragnar, I’ve got a relationship.” She growled.
“So?” Ragnar asked, draping his hand around her shoulders. “What’s life if you don’t have a little fun every now again?”
“Ragnar!” The male Earth pony called out. “She’s mind, hands off.”
“Keep her then. I’m just having a bit of fun. Lighten up.” He laughed, draining his cup.
“You’re so…annoying.” The Pegasus groaned.
“Thank you. I try my best.”
“Why don’t you leave? There must be somewhere else you would rather be? Maybe a brothel?” The female Earth pony asked.
“Why would I leave? The night is young, there’s beautiful women, and all the booze I could want.”
“How about I drink you for it?” The Pegasus asked. “You win, you can stay, One of us wins, you leave.”
“Want to raise the stakes?” Ragnar asked.
“What did you have in mind?” The male Earth pony asked.
“First one to pass out has to pay?” Ragnar offered.
“You’re on.” The female Earth pony grinned, looking over at the scarred Minotaur. “You guys joining in?”
“I guess I could do with my drinks being paid for.” The Pegasus smiled, lifting his glass.
“Barkeep. Three more.” Ragnar called out, bringing the barpony over to them.
“Not another ‘who gets to pay’ contest?” He asked exasperatedly.
“You know it.” Ragnar smiled. “Plus it’s to see if I can leave.”
“I swear to Celestia, if you start another fight…” He began.
“Don’t worry. I’m not taking part this time.” Ragnar assured him.
“Well, if that’s the case, what’s the poison this time round? Remnants grog? Maybe a little Apple Cider?”
“Anything from back home?” Ragnar asked.
“Funny you should say that.” Barkeep said, reaching bellow the counter, and drawing out a large bottle from beneath the counter with his magic. “We received a fresh supply of Minotaur vodka from the homeship. Guaranteed to end this contest quickly.
“Oh yes. I can drink that stuff all day.” Ragnar smiled.
“Oh come on. Is there anything you can’t drink in excess? I just got the place fixed from last time.” Barkeep said exasperatedly.
“Doesn’t matter. You and I both know that you’ll serve us anyway. You need the bits.”
“I know.” He sighed.
“And you know I’ll pay for damages, just like last time.” Ragnar prompted.
“I still don’t know where you got all this money from.” Barkeep said, grabbing four glasses in his magic and pouring out four measured shots.
“I told you.” Ragnar said, grabbing the glass, and in tandem with the others, downing the glass, before setting it back onto the table. “I came into most of it.”
“That is extremely ambiguous and you know it.” The pony said, pouring more alcohol.
“And that’s how I like it.” Ragnar smiled, downing the glass again.
For almost an hour, the four creatures continued to knock back their drinks, slowing down from the pace that they were setting before, as hand-eye coordination began to fail them.
“Thirty…two.” The Pegasus slurred, placing the glass down.
“Thirty two.” Ragnar said, placing his own glass down, struggling to stop himself from swaying too much.
“Thirty…” The Female Earth pony began, before toppling from her seat. “Two.” She said, raising her glass up to put it on the counter, before hauling herself back up.
“Heh? You…there?” The Pegasus mumbled, waving his hand in front of the final member of their group.
When he received no reply, he poked the drooling pony softly, and sent him toppling to the floor.
“Looks like…you…stay.” The female pony said disjointedly.
“Nah. I’ll…leave. Hear that barkeep? I’m…leaving. No fight.” Ragnar groaned, standing up and swaying dangerously.
“But you won?” Barkeep said in confusion.
“Got other things to do.” Ragnar groaned, stretching.
“Just get out of here then, you drunken buffoon.” Barkeep called, wiping down the surfaces with a small cloth.
“Bite me.” Ragnar chuckled
“That’s five hundred and sixty four bits you owe me.” Barkeep said to the semi-conscious Earth pony, as Ragnar left the building.
Eventually, and after a few tries at grabbing the handle, Ragnar managed to stumble out onto the streets, leaving the little sign of The Bannered Mare behind him.
Swaying violently, Ragnar managed to make it almost five steps, before his legs gave way, and he fell to the floor.
As he struggled to regain his footing, he saw a set of armoured hooves walk into his lie of sight, followed by a heavy sigh.
“Did I do something wrong?” Ragnar hiccupped, turning over to look up at the pony.
“Are you the Minotaur known as Ragnar?” The white Unicorn asked.
“Depends on… whose asking.” Ragnar slurred.
“I am. I fail to see the relevance here.” The pony replied tetchily.
“If you want to kill Ragnar, then no.”
“And if we come with orders from her eminence princess Luna?” The guard asked.
“The Nightmare? What does she want?” Ragnar asked, rolling back over and struggling onto his knees.
He remembered when he had first set eyes upon the creature known as Nightmare Moon, in all her terrible glory. After her defeat, he had allied himself with her and all of the Equestrian Remnants, but never before had she called upon him for anything.
“Princess Luna. She is no longer Nightmare Moon.” The guard corrected, before continuing. “I am assuming by your reaction that you are indeed Ragnar.”
“I am.” He affirmed.
“Good. Princess Luna has asked for you personally. She tasked me with retrieving you.”
“And you are?” Ragnar asked.
“Captain Shining Armour. Royal guard.” He said smartly. “How I got landed with this back-end job is beyond me.”
“What…do you mean?” Ragnar growled, narrowing his eyes and getting to his feet, towering over the pony, albeit with quite a lot of swaying involved. To his credit, the pony didn’t even so much as blink.
“I’ve heard all about your exploits. Kicked out of twenty eight of the bars in this city for drunken violence. Locked up for a total of seven weeks for drunken violence. Responsible for over thirteen thousand bits worth of damage due to, once again, drunken violence. You must agree that a pattern is forming here.”
For a long time, Ragnar glared at the pony, before his face cracked.
“Twenty eight is it? Thought I broken the thirty.” He laughed disjointedly, in the way that only a drunkard could.
“Are you going to come along or not?” Titanium asked testily.
“Out of interest. What happens if I don’t?” Ragnar asked, putting his finger to his lip and striking an overly exaggerated innocent pose.
“Then I will make you come with us by force. The princess has tasked me with your collection, and I plan on delivering. Am I going to need to follow through with that?” As he said that, a host of other armoured hoofsteps could be heard, and Ragnar suddenly found himself surrounded by guards.
“You make…compelling argument.” Ragnar said slurred, before collapsing to the floor again, snoring loudly
“Why am I not surprised?” Shining Armour sighed, before signalling for two of the unicorns to lift the sleeping form of Ragnar. Getting into formation, the squad of guards marched off towards the docks.
***
Ragnar awoke with a start, finding himself lying face down on a wooden floor. Groaning, he rolled over, clutching his head as he slowly got to his feet.
“Where am I?” He thought aloud, before staggering over to the window, careful to avoid the pile of what he guess was his own sick.
“Ah.” He nodded, looking down at the city from the balcony where he had been left.
He had never been to New Canterlot before, but from the stories that he had heard, he guessed that this was it. Before he was grounded, he had avoided it as a matter of principle, and after he had been grounded, he had never had any reason to go there. Now he was it, he almost regretted not trying to come earlier. The city was a gleaming white, acting as a beacon to all those who saw it. It was rumoured that if you compared New Canterlot to Old Canterlot, it would have been hard to say which of the two cities was more impressive.
“Ragnar? Princess Luna will see you now.” A Pegasus said, walking through the door, wrinkling his nose at the stink of the room.
“Good. Lead on.” Ragnar said, walking over to the Pegasus, who flinched as his eyes rested upon the scar.
“Is it the scar?” Ragnar asked, grinning widely and exposing his rows of teeth.
“N...No sir.” The Pegasus stammered, before regaining his composure. “If you would follow me, I will take you to her highnesses throne room.
“Lead on then.” Ragnar smiled, rolling his head and getting a satisfying ‘click’ from his neck for his troubles.
The Pegasus exited the room, leading Ragnar through the various corridors of the palace, until they finally reached a massive set of doors. The guards to either side of it glanced at each other, before opening the doors with a flash of their horns.
“Presenting Princess Luna. Goddess of the Moon and the Night, and ruler of the Equestrian Remnants.” Called a pony from the side, as Ragnar strode into the room.
“Nightmare.” Ragnar said, falling to one knee and bowing his head in respect.
“Ragnar. You may stand.” Luna said from her throne. “I suppose you are wondering why I called you here, no?”
“I am. You must have a reason to call me from the Manehatten docks.”
“You are right there. First, a question. What do you know of Edge Island?”
“Edge Island?” Ragnar asked, taken aback by the sudden question. “I know that nobody that ever ventured further than it has ever come back to tell us what is beyond it, and I also know that very few creatures save for the Naga have ever tried to get to it.”
“Precisely. Myself and the Elements of harmony have received word that is vital to my future. For that, we need a crew. So far we have almost five hundred. What we are lacking is defensive forces on board the ship.”
“So let me get this straight. You want me, of all the Minotaurs you could have chosen, to come on an airship with you, sail half way round the world for parts unknown, and act as security? Don’t you have Royal Guard for that?” Ragnar asked.
“Yes we do. Although the naval guard prefer to be called the Royal Marines.” Luna acknowledged.
“So why do you need me? I don’t exactly have the…cleanest, past.”
“Precisely. We have an exemplary contingent of Marines on board. What we are lacking is those who are less scrupulous. Ponies, or Minotaurs, are willing to plunge their hands into the muck to get a job done. You’re sullied, better you do it than someone new.”
“And who says I want to do that anymore?” Ragnar asked, balling his hands into fists.
“I do. That is if you wish to ever be on board a ship again, and yes, that was a threat.”
Ragnar growled softly, before letting his hands droop by his side.
“Do we have an agreement?” Luna asked.
“Yes.” Ragnar asked, his voice hollow.
“Good. I am glad we have an accord. Now, to business. On board, you will be under the direct surveillance of Lieutenant Spitfire and Second Lieutenant Rainbow Dash. This will mean you answer to them, they tell you to jump, you say how high, do you understand?”
“Yes.” Ragnar replied in the same hollow voice.
“This doesn’t make you a Marine. You are not part of the military, meaning you will not get the perks that come with ex-service after this voyage is done.” Luna continued. “What I can promise you is a full pardon. Your past, erased. You will be free again, no more surveillance.”
“You’re serious?” Ragnar asked, raising an eyebrow.
“I am.” She said, levitating a scroll out from a small box to her side. “A Letter of marque. You can be free again, working as a privateer for the Equestrian Remnants. To be signed when, and if, you get back after doing your job properly.”
“Nig…Luna.” Ragnar breathed, using her actual name for once. “I…I don’t know what to say.”
“You do not have to Ragnar Bloodeye.” Luna smiled. “And do not worry. Noone on board, save myself and Lieutenant Spitfire , will know of who you were, as long as your past remains firmly in the past. There are other, ex-pirates, on board, they have been pardoned. You have not yet proved that you should be.”
Dumbstruck, Ragnar bowed his head, before being lead out of the room.
A Letter of marque. I can hardly believe it. One mission and I can have my old life back, just working for the Equestrians rather than myself. All I have to do is keep my past where it belongs.
Regardless of what anyone thinks, my past is just that, my past. Who I was, isn’t who I am anymore, no matter how much a part of me deep down wants it to be my future.
One thing I can say is the ship is something else. The Nocturnal Thunder. It stretched on for almost half a kilometre, each surface inlaid with the familiar form of cannon ports. I couldn’t even begin to count them all, but if I had to guess, I would say that there must have been something in the region of two hundred standard cannons. Coupled with this, were six ground pounder cannons, five Requiem Magitek Cannons, and Big Bertha. That, thing, could have sunk any ship it set its mind to in short order, and just the sight of it made my hair stand on end. It wasn’t all that long ago that I would have been steering clear of this ship, and now I was boarding it.
Oh well. As they say, never look a gift pony in the mouth. Who knows, maybe on this trip I can finally get wind of something worthy to replace The Harbinger? I mean, maybe someday soon I’ll be able to have a ship of my own again. The obvious choice is right in front of me, but I would be an absolute fool to even attempt anything against this vessel…wouldn’t I?
This journey will be remembered by history, and whatever happens on this journey will decide my future, and how history remembers me. Will I be remembered as Ragnar, or Bloodeye? Will the lives I have taken, and will take, be seen as an act of cruelty, or a justification to a valid end? Can I keep using home as an excuse to kill? Will I be remembered as someone who will kill one to save a thousand, or the one who will kill a thousand, just to save one?

1904935

Gleaming Cutlass stood at his deck, nervously checking and rechecking his maps and calculations. The yellow pegasus may have been looking at the sheets of paper in front of him, but his mind was somewhere else altogether. As sweat dripped from his grey mane onto his eyepatch, Gleam glanced quickly at the entrance to the Command Deck, then just as quickly returned to his charts.
Pull yourself together! You’re not some new recruit fresh out of the academy! You’re a Sailing Master, so act like it.
With a sigh, Gleam stepped away from his station. Second Mate Shadow Fire, who stood off to the side at his own station, nodded to him. Gleam slowly stepped over to the grey unicorn, trying to keep himself from turning to face the door.
“You alright there, sir? Something up?” Even though Gleam had only just met the Second Mate Navigator earlier today, he could already call the unicorn a friend. And he could hear the concern in his friend’s voice.
“No, it’s nothing. Just a little nervous about the new Chief coming in is all. She should be here soon…” Gleam glanced over at the clock mounted on one of the walls. “Just a few minutes now. Quartermaster Armor said that he would be giving her a complete tour of the ship, culminating in her arrival here.”
Shadow cocked his head to the side. “Why are you nervous? Isn’t the Chief an Element of Harmony and the Quartermaster’s sister? I really doubt that she’d be any kind of problem. Actually, she should be one of the best bosses I’ve ever had…”
Gleam felt his face crack into an unplanned grin. “That’s not really what I’m concerned about…”
The Second Mate looked closely at the yellow pegasus. “Well, what’s the problem then?”
Gleam almost opened his mouth to speak his mind, but quickly stopped himself. Yeah, probably not a good idea to tell your direct subordinate that you have the hots for your direct superior. Probably not a good idea to have the hots for your direct superior in the first place, but that’s a moot point.
Gleam stumbled over his reply. “Yeah… I’m not really too sure. It’s probably just my imagination.” Actually, I’m pretty sure that my imagination is the entire cause of these problems…
Shadow shrugged. “Okay then.” The unicorn returned to organizing his desk as Gleam turned away. He looked around the Command Room.
The Command Room, not to be confused with the Command Deck, was a medium sized room aboard the Thunder. Here, most of the strategic planning and all the navigation calculations took place. Half the room was taken up by a collection of chairs surrounding a giant map of Trinity, while desks and other workstations took up the rest of the room.
Because of the sensitive nature of the room and its contents, the designers had place the room deep inside the bowels of the deck, although they placed it at the stern to allow the room to have a window facing the back of the ship. As such, it had windows on one wall, and had two of the other walls adorned by several zoomed in maps of Trinity. The sheer size of the walls allowed the maps to go into great detail while still covering very large areas. Enormous filing cabinets and other storage devices covered the final wall, which also had the single door in it. The room had two exits. The first was the aforementioned door, which led to the hallways of the ship and was situated directly behind Gleam, while the other was a trapdoor to the deck below, which was only to be used in emergencies.
In short, it was exactly the sort of room that Gleaming Cutlass loved to be in.
As the ship’s Sailing Master, First Mate of Navigation, and member of the Princess’ strategic counsel, Gleam spent a lot of time on the command deck.
As Sailing Master, Gleam was responsible for keeping track of all the maps and other data connected to the Navigation department. He also oversaw the Helmsmares and made sure they had everything necessary to keep their jobs running smoothly.
Under the title of First Mate Navigator, he acted as the second highest ranked navigator onboard. Navigators were responsible for plotting the courses that the Thunder flew. He also had to act as Chief Navigator whenever the Chief was not present.
Finally, as a member of the Strategic Counsel, Gleam help the Princess plan the operations that the Thunder undertook. As a student of military history and tactics, Gleam usually worked to coordinate between Quartermaster Armor, the head of the ship’s tactics, and Spitfire, who was responsible for the Marine’s operations.
Shaking himself out of his own thinking, Gleam glanced once more at the clock. Well, at least I spent three minutes not thinking about her…
With a harrumph, Gleam made his way over to the map table. As he looked over the exquisite example of Remnant mapmaking, Gleam thought back to those several hours ago when he had seen Twilight for the first time in years. Chief Navigator Sparkle. At least try to maintain a facade of professionalism.
He had gone down to the Leaky Dragon alongside Quartermaster Armor and a few others so that he could grab a quick drink. But he never did get that drink. He had been… distracted. The last time he had seen Twilight, she wasn’t even a mare.
She had been just a filly when Spike had been a victim of a piratical raid that ended in the capture of several of the denizens of New Canterlot. Gleam had been part of the crew that rescued said victims. During the long trip back to the dragon’s home, Spike and Gleam had grown rather close. It was only fitting that Gleam was the one to deliver Spike back into Twilight’s waiting hooves. And even though Gleam and Spike had stayed in touch, nothing in Spike’s letters had led Gleam to expect that Twilight would be so…
Hot.
After returning to the Thunder, Gleam hadn’t been able to keep his mind off her. Every few seconds, it would invariably drift back to the purple mare. Even the discovery that Twilight was going to be his immediate superior hadn’t snapped him out of it. Made him have almost have a nervous breakdown and immediately feel very guilty over his feelings, yes. Actually stop those feelings, no.
Sweet Luna, I really need to just stop. When she gets here, I’ll just play it cool. Anything else would be against more regs than I could count… Plus, it’ll be kind of weird. Oh yeah, the guy who can’t keep his mind off of a mare he only saw in a bar is calling something weird. Obviously, he doesn’t do ANYTHING weird… I’m such a bad person.
Gleam grabbed the figurine representing the Thunder up from the map table. A piece of crystal carved into an exact replica; the figurine was an exquisite piece of art. It also wasn’t the only one. Several of the chests that lined the walls were filled with figurines of varying shapes and sizes. They had all come aboard with Princess Luna. I really don’t see the need for all these. The regulation tokens work just as well. It’s like she just had them laying around and decided to use them for the table. Though why she would have chests full of toys is certainly a mystery. Certainly, she’s not one of those gamer ponies who collect model ships and use them to act out battles with their friends. There’s no way that our ruler would be into something like that…
Just as Gleam set down the model, he heard the doors to the Command Room open. Inside stepped Quartermaster Shining Armor, resplendent in the uniform of the Royal Navy. Behind him walked several ponies. The first, an orange earth pony with the hat of a farmer, followed closely behind. Beside her walked a cyan pegasus with a prismatic mane. Right after them, a stunning white unicorn with a perfect purple mane and a yellow pegasus strode into the room. The unicorn walked with her head high, but the pegasus kept her head and mane almost to the ground. Finally, in walked a bouncing pink pirate who Gleam had spoken to down at the Leaky Dragon, and… Her.
Twilight Sparkle’s beautiful eyes were wide with wonder as she strode into the room. Gleam quickly averted his eyes, trying not to stare. It was really difficult.
“And finally, this is the Command Room. While the Command Deck is the room where the ship’s orders are executed, the Command Room is where all the planning takes place. The Princess uses half the room for strategic meetings and such, and the other half is given over to the navigation department. This is where you’ll be spending most of your time, Twily.”
The six mares and Shining walked over to the map table as the Quartermaster spoke. Gleam made his way back to his station, but Shining quickly called him over.
“And here’s one of the main crew of the Command Room here now! Allow me to introduce Gleaming Cutlass. He’ll be working closely with you, Twilight, as he is your First Mate Navigation.”
Twilight flashed Gleam a smile, which he gladly reciprocated.
Quartermaster Armor grinned as well. “You two will have plenty of time to get acquainted later. For now, this is the map table. Here…”
The Quartermaster continued, but Gleam wasn’t really listening. He made his way back to his station. As he sat looking his charts over once again, he planned out what he would say to Twilight once the introductions were over.
Unfortunately, his planning was short lived. A teal blur burst through the door and ran up to Gleam. Every head in the room turned to the source of the disturbance, but Gleam only sighed. It was just Duster Crops, the First Mate Sailing Master. A very young unicorn, Duster was highly energetic, but a little on the slow side when it came to things such as realizing that interrupting your boss’ boss’ boss during a tour is not exactly a smart thing to do.
The unicorn bolted over to Gleam. Quickly, between pants, he managed to speak. “Sir! There’s an emergency down in the records room!”
Gleam covered his face with his hoof. “Duster, what did you do this time?”
Duster blushed. “It wasn’t me this time, sir! Somepony broke into the archives, and now all the maps and old calculations are all over the floor. Nothing’s where it should be! I have no idea what happened!”
Gleam slowly pulled his hoof back down to the floor. “Alright. Let’s go see what happened. If it really was somepony breaking in, I’ll be extremely upset. It was probably just an accident though…”
The two of the walked out of the Command Room as Armor continued his speech. Gleam didn’t look back, but he hoped that a certain unicorn was watching him go…

1904938

"Huh, I didn't know Iron Will was a marine," Twilight said, buzzled.
Rainbow laughed. "Yeah, I always just thought he was some nutty blow hard. But I guess before then he was some nutty blow hard with a crossbow!"
"Easy there," Shining growled. "If you're going to be part of the marines, Rainbow, you need to learn respect for your fellow soldiers."
Her pupils dilated. She gulped. "Sorry."
"It's alright," Shining smiled. "Just remember - these people will be your brothers and sisters. You're going to want them to want to watch your flank, you understand?"
"C-Crystal."
Twilight chortled slightly. "Drill Sergeant Shining, I believe you're missing roll call..."
Shining rolled his eyes. "Same goes for you, Twili. The Royal Navy isn't a joke. You two need to take this more seriously."
"Meh," Rainbow grunted. "Why so serious, Shining. Why. So. Serious?"
Shining raised an eyebrow. "I just explained why. Besides - you're going to be working with some... other interesting characters who may not be as nice as Shining. You'll want to watch what you say around them..."
Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Like who?"
Shining gave a short laugh. "Ooooh boy... guess I should warn you..."
[Fenresian's Chapter Goes Here]
[Afterwards, even more recruiting story chapters and interluding dialogue, and then...]
"... And those are just a small piece of a bigger pie," Shining grunted. "We've got everyone on the thunder. Literally - everyone. Pirates, nobles, sinners and saints. I view it as a security risk, to be honest, but the princess thinks otherwise - and honestly, who am I to question an immortal goddess?"
"Experience isn't everything," Twilight stated politely. "I'm sure she didn't want you as her second if she didn't want you to question her."
Shining nodded slightly. "Yeah... true, I guess." He then glanced ahead of the chariot. It had been orbiting the Thunder for a few minutes now, showing off to an awe-struck Rainbow all of her features, before finally:
"Quartermaster Armor. This is Dockbay A Flight Control. You're clear to land. Sorry for the delay - if you'll notice, we're getting a few new crewmembers..."
Shining chuckled slightly, before pulling out a small, blue stone labeled QFCA, and saying into it:
"Understood, flight control. Try to keep some room for us, will ya?"
"Heh. You got it, quartermaster."
There was a bit of static, then silence, as Shining pocketed the stone.
Twilight glanced at it curiously. "That is one of the best communication stones I've seen, or uh - I guess heard is a better term."
Shining grinned. "When I said Captain Luna was an immortal goddess, I wasn't lying. Even with the whole stone thing being a new magical 'invention', I only had to show her how to create them twice before she took to it like Lady Cadance to a cream puff."
His eyes quickly widened in horror, a sheepish looking coming on him.
Twilight and Rainbow smirked.
"Yeah... I'd appreciate if you never tell her I said that," he gulped.
"Hehehe," Rainbow smirked. "Can somepony say 'blackmail'?!"
Shining glanced at her blankly. "Can somepony say 'illegal?'"
"Pffft- like you'd arrest me!" Rainbow said.
... Shining stared at her blankly.
"Y-You wouldn't right? I was only kidding, you know."
Shining smirked, winking. "So was I."
"Pffffft - hahaha!" Twilight giggled.
"Oh, Luna damnit, I hate both of you!" Rainbow snapped.
"Why so serious, Rainbow Dash?" Twilight grinned. "Why. So. Serious?"
"Ugh, that's it - I'm never buying you a round again!" Rainbow growled. "I'm supposed to be the marine's second in command! Shouldn't I like - not be picked on or something?"
"I hope you're not serious," Shining said. "Because I hope you know - rank doesn't mean jack when it come to everypony save for scrubs and bottomfeeders. You want respect? Especially from this crew? You'll have to earn it."
"S-So I don't have your respect?" Rainbow gulped.
Shining glanced away from her. "You have some of my respect, which is decent for a newb. You did take on Nightmare Moon with minimal combat experience... that takes guts." He turned to her, narrowing his eyes. "But you have a long way to go."
"R-Right," Rainbow simpered.
Twilight leaned towards her. "Don't take it personally. He's probably just stressed out..."
Rainbow nodded. "Y-Yeah... guess that makes sense."
"Yo!" Shining called. "Secrets don't make friends. Plus - you don't want to miss this."
Twilight then glanced ahead. "Looks like we're here."
Rainbow's eyes began to shimmer, the two of them beholding a three tier docking bay located on the rear of the ship. Within were a number of craft of all sizes: chariots, small airships, even naval ships. Everything. It seemed like every second or so someone was either leaving or entering - it was the biggest beehive in the Remnant for the time being.
The king of the skies had many subjects.
"So. Awesome," Rainbow sighed dreamily.
"I sense a catch phrase," Shining smirked, as the chariot made a landing upon a dark, wooden floor. All around them flight control pegasi were zipping to and fro, directing various craft or moving them theirselves to specific positions.
"Quartermaster Shining Armor, sir!" one of his bat-pony pegasi who pulled their chariot called in their usual deep, raspy voices. "We understand you have business to attend to with the goddess' holy six! We will take care of docking this craft."
"Er - thanks, boys," Shining smiled, before directing the two to exit the craft. They quickly complied, still glancing about in wonder. Bay A was nearly the size of a small house...
"Holy six?" Rainbow said, raising an eyebrow.
"Heh," Shining shrugged. "Let's just say - any friends of Luna's are friends of their's."
"Yeah..." Rainbow said, looking a bit taken aback.
"S-So um... got a map?" Twilight smiled weakly.
"Your welcome packet will include that," Shining said tersely. "Yep - we're handing out gift baskets."
"Oooo - any energy bars?" Rainbow said, flapping her wings easily.
"Actually - yeah," Shining nodded. "Conserve them, though - we only have ten thousand in cargo. The supply officer says we have plenty of everything, but I don't think he's counting the stress factor."
"The more strenuous the journey, the more food is eaten?" Twilight asked.
Shining smiled slightly. "You bet. Trust me - the most important thing this crew can have is a cool head. Even regular trips can be a bit taxing, but we have reason to believe there may be... obstacles in our way of the objective."
"What kind of obstacles?" Rainbow asked.
"More about that later," Shining said, glancing away from her. "Come on, let's gather up the rest of your friends and give you the tour."
"W-Wah," Twilight blinked. "When did they get here?"
"Mmmm, probably in the last hour. Sorry, sis, but we've had a lot of ground to cover. Hitting Pony Island was just a small part of this. We've been rounding up crew from all over the Remnant - and we still have to hit New Canterlot before we lave."
"Wow," Twilight said, shaking her head. "What in the name of god is this all about?"
"Pffft - it could be about rescueing a fish from a seagull for all I care," Rainbow smirked. "We're on the friggin' Thunder."
"Quit sucking up to the... ship, Rainbow," Twilight sighed. "It's cool, but-"
Rainbow had already darted ahead towards a small opening opposite of the entrance, a ramp leading upwards beyond it.
"Hurry it up!" Rainbow called. "I'll have this ship figured out before the tour at this rate!"
Twilight sighed, shaking her head, though Shining actually seemed to be glancing at her with a bemused expression.
"Don't tell her I told you this, but I'm actually starting to like her," Shining grinned. "A lot of work, though... a lot of work..."
"You don't say," Twilight snarked.
Shining gave her a sarcastic smirk. "Come on - let's not keep your friend waiting... or Princess Luna."
[Moar chapters go here, and eventually Doccular's]

1904938

And now... Now I think I shall take a turn.
First off, an introductory segment for Sea Sabre's first appearance:
The shuffling of hooves. A hiss in the darkness. "Ma'am?"
Slowly, carefully, I turn my head just enough to show acknowledgement of the pegasus crouched in the mud beside me. "That's 'Sergeant Major' to you, Private."
He stares at me, wide-eyed in the night. "...I'm scared, Sergeant Major."
I sigh, making a mental note to speak with the newbie once the mission is done. "We all are, private. Remember your training and don't do anything stupid. You'll be fine."
He shivers out a nod, hesitantly crawling back to his position in the mud, mouth still a little open. By all rights I should've given him a good screaming at for leaving his hiding spot. Protocol says that the breaking of protocol calls for a good screaming at. But in my experience screaming doesn't do much but give me a shaky, useless soldier, crying for his mother and not following my orders. Quiet reassurance is much better.
It also doesn't ruin a carefully prepared ambush.
The stars shine down from above, illuminating the waves crashing gently against the shore before us. The coasts in this part of the Equestrian Remnant are mostly covered in a thick coating of trees, but there's an opening here. A small path burnt through the forest in the wake of a thunderstorm. The naga were never much for attacking the larger islands of the Remnant, but they weren't much for forsaking opportunity, either.
And so some academy graduate sitting at his mahogany desk juggled some ideas in his head and sent my squad out to cover it.
One squad. To protect a whole island.
I would do my best not to let the idiocy of some armchair general turn into a serious mistake.
Scanning the treeline, I picked my squad out of the shadows. Five other pegasi, squatting in the mud with varied levels of discomfort. Everyone hated fighting on this island. Mud everywhere.
My ears twitched. The sound of the waves had changed, a sort of wobbly thrashing filling in the usual easy breaking of sea on land. Quietly, I raised my wings. My pegasi followed suit. Applying pressure to the small bit in my mouth, I released the safety on my weapons. Two barrels fell into position on either side of me. Flechette gun and rifle. Personal preference.
A cautious head poked out of the water, scanning the break in the coastal trees for any signs of danger.
Resisting the urge to push further back into cover, I watched as the naga scout climbed out of the water, rising to its full towering five foot height.
Its wide eyes blinked in irritation as they adjusted to the open air, the serpentine creature slithering just a bit further up the path. Its front half was held up, a trident grasped firmly in the hands of its two lower arms. Its upper arms were empty, the webbing stretched taut between fingers spread wide. A thick, rubbery shawl was draped over its shoulders, partially trailing in the sand as it peered forward.
With a few clicks and whistles, it called back to its fellows. More naga rose from the depths, each lightly armed and armored. Tridents, knives, and shawls. A few bows here and there. I glanced back to my squad, making firm eye contact with each. This part was crucial.
Forming a line, the naga raiding party advanced through the burnt out path. I slowed my breathing as the scout passed by, relying on their comparatively poor air vision and the darkness to hide me. Patiently, I waited, counting each one as it passed by. Standard raiding parties were twenty strong. I didn't see any of the heavier armament they brought on larger raids. Good. Naga never broke from tradition.
Five. Six. Seven...
Eight...
Nine...
Ten.
"Attack!"
I sprung forwards, flaring my wings. At a thought, the deadly serrated blades attached to my feathers opened up, gleaming in the moonlight. The naga directly before me fell quickly, my blades opening up his neck. I heard hooves pounding and blades screeching. A watery cry of alarm rang out.
Turning to my left, I raised a wing to deflect a stab from a trident. Fire. The mental command raced down the magical receiver on my neck and down to the gun hanging by my right side. With a flash and a bang, the flechette gun fired. Two down.
Behind me, my squad eliminated the eight naga that had been cut off from their party. Ten more remained. They hissed in fury, but the path was too narrow for more than one to approach at a time.
I grinned.
The first naga charged me, forsaking the bow on its back for a trident. I ducked out of the way easily. No doubt this one was trained in ranged combat. Perhaps if his string wasn't still wet, he might've been dangerous.
Bang! Another one bites the dust.
The flap of wings. The naga don't even notice as three pegasi fall on the rear of their line from above. Only six remain.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Two left.
My wings propel me forwards. Steel flashes, and another naga falls before me.
The last one is easy prey. We fall upon it together, pinning its arms and tail down. Within the minute, it is bound and gagged.
Panting, I look up to my squad. Four grinning faces look back in the darkness. The mission was a success.
I frown.
"Where's the new kid?"
"H-here..."
There he is, crawling out of his hiding spot. Still shivering, though now from more than just cold. Head hung low, tail dragging through the blood-stained ground, he approaches me.
I put a reassuring hoof on his shoulder. "No worries, kid. You did good, for your first time."
"R-really, si- Sergeant Major?"
I nod. "Most newbies run away the first time they see naga."
He gulps.
"Okay, squad." I turn to the rest of my pegasi, jabbing a hoof at the captured naga. "Gather 'em up. We're headed back to base."
986 Words
And later, the story of how she comes to be on the Nocturnal Thunder:
Someone's knocking on my door. I don't know why people knock on the doors around here. The Royal Guard's barracks has never been a very great place for privacy. If a superior needs to see you, they can come in whether you like it or not. So why knock?
I suppose it's just polite.
"Come in."
The door opens, and in steps a white unicorn with a clean blue mane. I blink in surprise, dropping the gun I was cleaning and rising to my hooves to snap off a crisp salute.
"Good morning, Captain."
"At ease, Sergeant Major." I relaxed back to a more comfortable posture as Captain Shining Armor, leader of the Royal Guard, helped himself to the only chair in the room. "I'm here to deliver some news."
News. From the Captain. That doesn't sound good. "What is it, Sir? Is it the mission last night? Everything went off without a hitch, Sir."
He waved a hoof. "No, Sabre, everything is fine. More than fine, even." He levitated a scroll out from within his uniform, floating it towards me. "You're being transferred."
I frowned, opening the scroll and scanning its contents. "To the Navy, Sir?"
"Yes. You're no longer a soldier of the Royal Guard. You're now a marine of the Nocturnal Thunder. You'll be serving on Princess Luna's capital ship."
I glanced down at my uniform, the crest of the Guard sewn on one shoulder, my Sergeant Major insignia on the other. "But why, Sir?"
"I need someone with your kind of experience." He gazed out the window, eyeing the clouds outside. "The Princess is going on a mission, Sea Sabre, and she's given me the task of putting together the best crew I can." He looked back to me. "You're a good soldier. One of the best. Your squad works better than any other in the Guard. The marines onboard the Thunder could use that kind of leadership."
I stepped forwards. "What about my ponies?"
"Pick one, and we'll promote him to sergeant. A new recruit will fill in his spot."
Well, I didn't like it, but orders were orders. Hopefully my squad wouldn't fall apart without me. "Yes, Sir."
He smiled, rising out of his seat. "Excellent. Report to the Nocturnal Thunder tomorrow, at 0600." Halfway out the door, he turned back to me. "Oh, and you may be interested to know that you're not the only Guard being transferred. Corporal Shimmering Honour is also joining the Thunder."
I nodded. Shimmering Honour. We had a history, of sorts. "I'll be there."
Shining Armor left, closing the door behind him.
Why anyone bothers with doors in this place, I don't think I'll ever know.
270 Words
EDIT: Revised 2nd portion to meet proper military protocol.
EDIT: Revised 1st portion to match Battle Harness post.

1904938

I was sitting in the local pub, The Leaky Dragon, with his friend Velvet Song. She was moral support for me, as I am not used to being in places such as this. I was summoned here for some big announcement or similar event. I have my suspicions on what it is, but there’s really no telling. The letter had no name or address on it, but told me to bring a couple of packed saddle bags, and leave them where the others were kept. I ask why, but the royal guard just told me to drop them off and go inside. And I was in no position to argue, and did as I was told.
The items that I needed were listed in the letter. Somehow I had most of them, and what I didn’t would be in supply. At least, according to what the letter said. I tapped my chin in thought. I just couldn’t figure out who summoned me or sent me that letter, and I was starting to get a headache. I shook my head. “No sense in getting stressed about it, yet.” I said rubbing my temples.
“Hmm? Getting stressed about what?” I heard Velvet ask from beside me.
“Why I’m here.” I shrugged. “I have a feeling I’ll find out soon though...” I looked at the plate of food in front of me. I had hardly touched it. Same with the drink too, but I’m really not one for alcohol. Neither was Velvet, but we told an old friend of ours that we would honor her memory. “Best not waste money.” I said, grabbing the mug in front of me. Velvet nodded in agreement. “Here’s to you, Match. May you find rest in the Afterlife.” We clinked our mugs together. “Cheers!” We then chugged them and slammed them down on the table.
I noticed Velvet was starting to get teary eyed. I raised an eyebrow but waited for her to speak first. “This was one of her favorite drinks.”
I nodded and gave a sad chuckle. “Yeah, she did love her cider, didn’t she?”
“Why didn’t she listen to you?” She said, tears starting to escape her eyes.
I moved over to her, and put a hoof on her shoulder. “Hey now, what’s done is done. It hurts for all of us. Especially Doppelganger.” I looked at the ground. “Poor girl. The one time she felt adventurous...” I sighed and closed my eyes. “Damn Naga” I said in a low growl.
Velvet backed away and tapped me on the nose. I blinked a couple times and looked up at her, tilting my head. “Not here, Zeta. There are too many ponies here, and this is our home.” I shook my head, blinked a couple more times, and went back to my seat.
I scratched the back of my head then grabbed a fork and took a bite. It had been sitting there for so long that had grown cold. I chewed and swallowed the forkful of cold, chalky tasting food, and then set the fork down and pushed the plate away.
Velvet looked confused. “I thought you said you didn’t want to waste money?”
“The food was free remember? Though I still feel bad for wasting it…” She then tapped her horn. “Oh…right.”
She laughed at that and used a heat spell. “There, now let’s stop being gloomy and eat.” I nodded. Yep, so much better hot. “Mmm, that is pretty good.” She said with a satisfied smile.
“Did you put cheese and crackers in yours?” I asked while looking at my bowl of chowder. She nodded and shoveled another forkful into her mouth. I shook my head. “Sheesh slow down, will you? You’ll choke.”
She swallowed and nervously chuckled. “But it’s just so good!” I just shook my head and continued to eat.
After I finished with my bowl I stood and turned to Velvet. “I’m going to step outside and get away from all of this noise. You want to come?”
“Thanks but I’m still not done eating. I might join you in a little bit.”
I shrugged and turned toward the door. I saw a royal guard walk in. “He looks familiar… I wonder why.” I thought. As I got further away from Velvet, I realized how loud it was in here and how uncomfortable I would be if it wasn’t for her being here.The loudness of the tavern made me pick up the pace and when I got a few feet in front of the door, another guard walked in and stopped me.
“You can’t go out there.” He said in a serious tone.
I turned to him to object, but he had a very stern expression on his face.. “U-um, yes sir.”
He gave a curt nod. “Good, now go and enjoy the free food.” He said as he took position beside the door.
“Okay?” I said as I turned around and went back to the table. Velvet looked at me with a weird look.
“I thought you were going outside? I was about to join you.”
I shrugged with a confused look on my face. “I was, but apparently I’m not allowed to.”
“Why not?” She asked with raised eyebrow.
“I don’t know, a guard stopped me at the door before I had a chance to get out.”
“I wonder why?”
“I don’t know…”
We sat back down at our table, Velvet ordered another drink (non-alcoholic) and I asked for a water.
“Are you sure you can’t go?” I asked, with a hint of hopefulness in my voice.
Velvet sighed. “I wish I could Zeta, but I missed the sign ups. You know I want to go and help out.”
I frowned, but nodded. “Yes, I know.” I then smiled. “Well, somepony needs to watch over ‘Ganger, right?”
She smiled as well. “That is certainly correct. I saw the book on potions you lent me.”
"Good, good. There should be a few in there to help her if needed."
A few minutes after that, Velvet finished her drink and said she was leaving to check on Doppelganger. I nodded my head and we said our goodbyes. The guard let her leave. Which was a bit irritating. Why her and not me? I muttered a few choice words, turned around and sighed. “Probably a reason for it though. Whether or not it’s a good reason is up in the air.” I shook my head and took a sip of my water. I looked down for a brief moment and apparently Velvet paid for a few more drinks. There was about thirty bits here. “Where did she get all of those?” I wondered. I will have to ask her about that later.
I looked up at the wall clock. “Hmm… When is it going to be time for the announcement?”
“Announcement?” I heard from beside me. Startled, I slowly looked over and saw a white stallion with a dark blue mane with a lighter blue streak in it. He smiled. “Zeta, I presume? Mind if I have a seat?” I slowly shook my head. How did he know my name? “Excellent.” He sat. “So, what announcement did you mean?”
I just looked at him for a little while. He looked familiar but I couldn’t place him. ‘Oh’ I thought. ‘He’s that one royal guard that came in before the other one.’ But that did little to help me. “The one Princess Luna is supposed to make.”
“Yes, that would seem important, wouldn't it? But why do you need to concern yourself with that?” He asked with a weird smirk on his face.
“I applied to be a doctor on the Nocturnal Thunder. I want to see I was accepted.” I said with a hint of apprehensiveness in my voice.
He chuckled. “That sort of thing wouldn’t be in the announcement.”
I gave him a confused look. “Huh? Then why am I here? What was with the letter?”
He laughed and looked at the bits on the table. “Let me buy you another drink.”
I shook my head. “That’s alright, my friend left some bits,” I saw him scooping up those bits. “Never mind.” I took a deep breath. “Not to be unkind, but who are you and why are you here?”
He gave me a smirk. “Is that any way to speak to your superior officer?” I raised an eyebrow and tilted my head. He gave a more genuine smile. “I am Shining Armor, Quarter Master of the Nocturnal Thunder.” My eyes widened, as my jaw slowly dropped. “The announcement is for the general public.” He ordered a few drinks, using Velvet’s money, and took a sip of his ale. “You, however, are not the general public. You are the Assistant Doctor for the ship.”
“Wha…huh?!” I calmed down, taking a sip of my own drink. “Assistant Doctor?”
He nodded. “Yep. Welcome aboard, Assistant Doctor Zeta!”
I shook my head. “I can’t believe it!” But then a thought hit me. “But wait…You must kn-“
His face then turned serious. “Yes. As long as you can keep it under control, then you can keep your position.”
I gave him a skeptical look. “Do you truly believe in the legend? Or are you just teasing me?”
“If there is one thing that I have learned in my years, it would be to believe in anything.” He then chugged his ale and stood up. “Finish your drink and follow me.”
It took me a bit longer than him, but I finished my drink and stood up. I followed him to the door. “So where were you during Nightmare Moon’s return?”
The question caught me slightly off guard. ‘Oh that must be what he meant by ‘believe in anything’ I see now’ “On a small boat, heading for this island.”
“Oh, you’re not from here?” We reached the door and the guard let us out. That didn’t surprise me considering I am in the company of Shining Armor. “What island are you from?”
I looked at the ground. “I don’t really want to talk about it.” ‘Is there a humming sound? Or am I going crazy?’
“Fair enough.” He shrugged. “Now, look up.”
I looked up and saw a huge hulking mass of flying wood and metal. It was breathtaking. “Wha- I-I, Do I really get to be a part of the crew?” He simply nodded his head. It was hard to keep my excitement under control, but I did. “Who do I have to thank?”
“Ha! You don’t have to be so formal.” He smiled. “But, you’re welcome.” He pointed to his left. “Go line up over there. I have other things to attend to.”
I stopped him. “I do have one question.”
He turned around and looked me in the eye. “Yes?”
“What is the objective?”
He turned back around. “Be at the briefing, and you’ll find out.” He then left. Walking toward the pub. I walked over to the line of Ponies, Changelings, and one or two Minotaur and waited. I can’t believe how diverse the crew is. This is…actually quite intimidating. What did I get myself into?

1904938

Lady Anastasia Blueblood sat in her usual seat at the Bright Harbor Café in New Canterlot. Her table was perfectly situated. It sat directly next to the window, giving the unicorn a perfect view of the scenic harbor from which the café took its name. The white coated mare pulled her golden flowing locks behind her ears as she stared out at the sea ships that came and went as the sun shone its magnificent light upon the island and sea.
Lady Blueblood sighed. It had been far too long since she had last been out in the sky above the sea. Her legs ached for the return of the airship’s vibrations as the engines propelled the ship through the magnificent Trinity sky.
She thought back to her old days, back when her title was “Princess Anastasia Isabella Elizabeth Blueblood.” Back when her only dream was one of inheriting her father’s title and becoming one of the Equestrian Remnant’s aristocratic leaders. Of days before she had followed in her family’s footsteps and taken on the role of a servant of the nation.
She smiled as she remembered how much she had hated it at first. The notion of placing others before herself. I was quite the stuck up royal brat back then. It had been very difficult for her to adapt to the Equestrian Navy. But once she had, it awoke something inside her that she had never felt before. A sense of being needed. A goal for her life. A reason for existence that extended beyond herself. She had become more than a leech on her society. She became a true servant.
That wasn’t to say that the journey was without its stumbles. Learning to follow orders and give respect to others had been hard. She still struggled with it, but seven years in the service had cured her of most of her self-centeredness.
Three years ago, at the end of her four years of service, Ana gave up her title of Princess to pursue a carrier with the military. Now, she was more often known as Chief Helmsmare Blueblood than Lady Blueblood. And to tell the truth, the new her preferred it that way. It truly was something, being known for one’s accomplishments rather than for one’s family history.
As the blue-eyed mare sat lost in thought, a certain pink pegasus entered the café. Her eyes immediately turned to her regular table, where she saw her best friend gazing out the window.
Lady Cadence walked over to the unicorn. “I hope I’m not interrupting.”
Ana turned her head, immediately snapping out of her reverie. Her mouth broke into a wide grin as she saw the pony she had been waiting for stride gracefully over to her. “Cadee! It’s so good to see you!” Ana strode over to the pegasus who had been her only friend as a child and who still was her best friend in the world. “How was the honeymoon?”
Lady Cadence returned the smile and the hug. “Oh, it was simply lovely!”
The two nobles sat at their table. “Was it everything you expected?” Although the question itself may have been innocent, the gaze Ana flashed at the other was anything but.
Cadence didn’t notice the gleam in Ana’s eyes. “Yes! Oh yes, it was! My, I can’t even begin to tell you how perfect it was! After the reception, Shining and I boarded the ship and headed for the island. Not an airship, a sea ship. The feeling of the ocean air in our hair as we danced the evening away until we arrived was incredible! We arrived at the resort without incident and had the most magnificent dinner. After that was a walk on the beach, then it was off to bed.” Cadence blushed.
“Oh really? Did you two sleep well?” Ana raised her eyebrow suggestively. Cadence’s blush only deepened.
“Now Ana, you know as well as I do that a lady simply does not kiss and tell.”
Ana smiled coyly. “Oh, so kissing was involved! I really must take notes for my wedding night…”
Cadence threw head back and laughed. “Ana, really! We’re in public! But I will say, it was better than I had imagined. He was quite right about saving ourselves until then. It was magical…”
The unicorn threw up her hooves and made a traditional warding sign with her hooves. “Cadee! So much detail! I don’t know if my mind will ever be free of those images…” She placed her hooves to her head as her friend broke out in laughter.
“Remember, you’re the one who asked! Anyways, the next two weeks were indescribable. Walks by the shore, hiking in the forests, sitting under the stars just talking…” Cadence’s voice trailed off as her face assumed a dreamy expression. “It was perfect. Until…”
Ana turned her head to the side. “What happened? Come on, spill! I’ve been on shore for too long without you, I can’t stand any more waiting.” Although her words were playful, a note of concern was still audible.
Cadence sighed. “Well, about nine days in, a courier from the Royal Guard arrived. He was bearing a letter for Shiny’s eyes only. Naturally, I invoked my authority as his wife and had him open the message in front of me. The contents were… upsetting.”
Ana leaned forward over the table. “Upsetting? In what way? Unless you aren’t supposed to tell me, in which case, don’t. Classified information shouldn’t be shared to just anyone. Even me.”
Cadence shook her head. “You really have changed. The Princess Ana would have insisted on knowing any bit of gossip she could get her hands on, classified or no classified.”
Her unicorn friend nodded. “The Navy changed me. And for the better I think. At least I’m not such a bi- I mean, at least I’m not such a bad person anymore.” Cadence gave her what could only be described as a half-glare. “Sorry. They don’t call it cursing like a sailor for nothing, you know.”
Cadence shook her head. “Anyways, I asked Shining before I came here, and he told me that it would be okay for you to know. In fact, I think he’ll want to talk to you after our meal. But really, let’s order. I’m simply FAMISHED.”
Cadence waved one of the waiters over.
“Yes ma’am, what can I get for you?” The waiter, a grey earth pony with a platter for a cutie mark, stood in a pose that very nearly resembled attention.
Cadence smiled at the stallion. “I think I’ll have the Dandelion and Yellow Rose salad.”
“And I’ll have the daily catch with extra crispy hay fries.”
The waiter nodded. “Very good. You food will be out shortly.” The stallion bowed and headed to the kitchen.
Cadence giggled at her friend. “Fish? Oh, if your mother could see you now! He highly cultured darling eating something that was once another living creature! She’d be horrified!”
Ana barely smiled. “Well, did I ever tell you about that time off the coast of Saganami Island? When my ship full of cadets was beached by a naga patrol?” Cadence nodded, her expression losing most of its humor. “Then I probably told you most of the bad stuff. The nagas were only part of the problem. Hunger was just as much of an enemy. Saganami’s a barren piece of rock. Nothing grows there. For three weeks, we fought off nagas alone, with no officers to help. We had no food, so we survived off the fish that the other unicorns and I could catch. Those fish saved my life. You can really get a taste for something if it does that for you. You either love it, or you retch every time you taste it. I chose the former.” Ana’s smile grew.
Cadence shook her head. “I still think you’re crazy.”
“I probably am,” Ana shrugged.
The waiter hadn’t been lying when he’d said that the food would be right out. Just then, he came out bearing a platter laden down with food. To Cadence, he gave a delectable looking flower salad, and Ana received fried tilapia with fresh hay fries, well done.
“Thank you very much!” The waiter nodded at the words of appreciation from Cadence as he backed away.
The friends ate in silence for a few minutes, but Ana couldn’t take it any longer.
Swallowing her last bite of hay fries, she opened her mouth to speak. “So, what happened?”
Cadence looked up. “With what?” She asked.
“With the message, of course!” Ana rolled her eyes.
Cadence scraped the last of her salad onto her fork and finished it before replying. “It was a letter directly from Princess Luna.”
Ana’s mouth dropped. It may have been five months since the Princess’ return, but that didn’t mean that her direct correspondence was commonplace, even among the aristocrats. “From Luna? Unholy horse apples, what did it say?”
Cadence ignored her friend’s language. “Well, you remember how Shining’s sister and those other five restored her once she returned as Nightmare Moon?” Ana nodded. “Well, after that, she returned to New Canterlot to assume her place as our ruler. But we all know this. Now, remember that first month when she didn’t make any public appearances at all?”
This time, Ana shook her head. “No. I was out on assignment when she returned. I didn’t even know that she was back until a month after. I never heard about her staying away. Did the letter say what she was doing?”
“Yes. It explained that she was busy researching her sister’s disappearance and what had caused the seas to rise. For the whole month, she was spending virtually all her time in the library, except for when she raised and lowered the sun and moon.”
Ana nodded her head. It had been quite a change when Princess Luna had returned. No longer did the greatest unicorns of the nation have to raise the celestial bodies. They had a Goddess to do it for them.
“During this time, she discovered virtually nothing. That’s when she returned to the public eye and began focusing on the government. That all changed sometime a few months ago. She didn’t say when, but she was visited by someone named ‘Captain Black Harness’. Does that ring any bells?”
The unicorn shook her head. Her friend sighed. “We hadn’t either. But this stranger apparently gave her some information regarding her sister. More specifically, he gave her a map. It showed Edge Island and had the words ‘Come here for answers’ written on it. So, ever since then, Luna has been preparing. Preparing to find her sister.”
Ana’s eyes were impossibly wide. “Wait. So, if the legends are true, then she’s going after… Nathusa?”
Cadence nodded.
“Holy shit. Sorry!”
Cadence didn’t seem to care. “I said the exact same thing. She’s putting together a team. And she’s using the Thunder.”
At this, Ana actually laughed. “So that’s what’s going on with that magnificent beast. Some friends told me it was being recalled for retrofits. But why did she send this to Shining? What does the Captain of the Royal Guard have to do with this?”
Cadence looked at the door to the café. “Maybe he should explain.”
Ana turned around, and she saw him. Right inside the doorway stood Shining Armor. He strode purposely over to his wife and her friend. Ana rose quickly as he approached. She didn’t salute, as she was on leave and out of uniform. “Sir!”
Shining nodded to her. “Come on now, going to attention? I thought we knew each other better than that!” He gave his wife a hug. “Do you two beautiful mares mind if I join you?”
“Not at all,” Cadence replied. “I just told her about the first half of the letter.”
Shining’s face became grim. “Straight down to business then. Very well. So you know about the Thunder, then?” At the mare’s nod, he continued. “Well, apparently our Goddess has decided to use the ship to go on a quest to find her sister. She contacted me because she needed a Quartermaster to be her second in command. She thought I would do well.”
Ana’s eyebrow rose. “You? No offense, but wouldn’t a Navy Officer be better?”
Shining assumed a quirky grin. “You forget, I was Navy before I was in the Guard. Captained several ships.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah. Well, she’s beginning upgrades to the ship. Apparently, she’s already assembled a crack team of scientists to develop new tech for it, but she still needs a crew. That’s where I come in. She’s offered me the position and the responsibility to crew the ship, if I accept. I did.”
Ana slowly looked out the window, processing all of this. “Wow. It’s like something out of a story… A great adventure. I think I envy you.”
“Well, you may not have to. I’ve been informed by my wife that you’re on an extended leave. I need a Chief Helmsmare. The position’s yours if you want it.”
Ana’s eyes slowly moved over to meet Shining’s. “R-really?”
“Yes. I’ve heard stories about you, and not just from my wife.”
Ana borke into yet another smile. “Oh, really? Been telling stories about me Cadee? I’m surprised.”
Her friends laughed.
“No, really. Your special talent is your job for Luna’s sake! Having a Helmsmare that most of the Navy thinks is a witch because she’s so good would be invaluable!”
After a brief silence, Ana spoke up. “How long until the ship’s ready?”
“Not another six months at least. We’re projecting seven as a more accurate number.”
“Do you need an answer now?”
Shining shook his head. “No, but I’d like one as soon as possible. I have a lot of slots to fill, and many other things to do.”
Ana slowly stood up. “I… I think I’ll need a bit. This is huge.”
Cadence and Shining stood up as well. “Take all the time you need. I’d rather have you be sure than have you jump in and back out later.”
Ana nodded. “I think… I think I’ll take a walk right now. I’ll let you know when I’ve decided.”
“Ana, please think about it. Shiny’s right. We’ll need you.”
Ana glaced back up. “You’re going as well?”
“Yes. I’ll be one of her Highness’ counselors.”
Ana fidgeted her hooves. “Alright then. I’ll let you know what I decide.”
Cadence gave her friend another hug. “Thank you.”
Ana walked numbly out of the café and down to the shoreline. She just kept walking until she came to an unoccupied stretch of ocean, where she sat down.
Am I ready? Should I head back out after what happened with the Lightseeker? What if I do it again? What if it’s not just the crew’s deaths I’ll be responsible, but Luna’s as well? What if…
He mind reeled with the what ifs. She opened her eyes and glanced up at the sky. Just then, a shooting star made its way across the beautiful blue sky. Its trail was a beautiful golden streak.
Ana smiled. Life isn’t about what ifs. What will be, shall be. And hey, if it’s not me there, who knows what’ll happen to that silly Guard pony who thinks he’s a sailor? What’ll happen to my best riend? What’ll happen to the Princess? No. It has to be me.
With that, Ana stood and, using her magic, pulled a sheet of parchment and a quill from her bag. She wrote two words down before magically sending it off to Shining Armor. As she walked back to New Canterlot, she grinned as she thought of those two words.
I’m in.

1904951

“LISTEN UP YA SCURVY BILGE RATS!”
The crowded metal galley went almost silent, a collection of strange and motley individuals. True, half the crew of the Logical Defiance were ponies, though they varied in the level of scarring and personal hygiene they had. Yet here and there there were changelings, diamond dogs, goats, cows, seaponies, griffons, the odd moving skeleton...
There was one thing they all had in common, though. They were all, at the moment, giving their attention to the pink longcoat-wearing maniac swaggering through the crowd with a toothless crocodile perched on her tricorn.
“Now Aye’ve been hearen’ some grumbles bout our current course. Why we be servin’ with regals, aye?” The pony twirled around suddenly, the motion briefly revealing the cheshire cat on her flank. “Maybe ya think ol’ cap’n Piepan’s lost her last marbles. Maybe ya think Aye’ve gone softar than a squiddie! Well Aye’m here ta tell ya the only soft thing this captain has is her love padding, ya got that?! And none of ya arrrrr going ta see that lest Aye want ya ta see it!”
She pressed a hoof against the cat-shaped necklace she wore. “This thing here, now. This is valuable and powerful. Lots of ya be thinking maybe, it’s this new fancy jewelry that’s getting to me mind with some cockymamy magic. Yer thinking Aye’m mad ta keep it on me person. Well, laddies, Aye AM mad! Madder than a halfdrunk threelegged rabbit inna carrot factory! This thing ain’t taking me mind anymore then it’s been taken already, so lest ye had some complaints with how Aye be running this crate afor, ye better keep yer yaps shut!”
“Selling out to regals puts a damper on profits,” mumbled one of the watching griffons.
In a blink of an eye, the pink pony had leapt across the room and slammed him up against a wall. “LISTEN HERE, LADDIE! We naught be serrrrving under no regals. We be shipping with them, and they know better then ta try chaining us with legalities! The princess has promised us a large share of’n the royal coffers, a share that be impossible to take any ‘ther way. Naught be needed from us fer it, save me presence and that we what help find her bonnie lass.”
She dropped the griffon, swinging round. “That’s right, me buckos! The regal high-ups think that this should be secret fer now, but Aye know what Luna be searchin’ fer. None otha then her dear sister, and why not? Aye know Aye’d have ye scour the seas if’n me own grey lassie were lost, and not only cause she’s the only pone that keeps our engie in check!”
A white unicorn slung a foreleg round the neck of a blushing grey mare. “And I’d be right behind ya! Anypone that messes with my Octy’s going to find a mean beat on their heels!” She pulled her purple goggles up over horn, grabbing a giant wrenchscrew from the back of her jumpsuit. “THE BEATING OF THEIR SKULLS!”
“Vinyl, darling...” The grey pony glanced around at the chuckles and saucy grins of the crowd, suddenly feeling her dress might be a bit too tight. “I do love you, really, but must you be so bloodthirsty?”
“...We’re pirates, hon.”
“...ah, yes. That. Carry on then.”
“Yar harharhar!” The pink pony’s laughter echoed throughout the chamber. “Aye, family be one o’ the most driving motives in this world, ye know. And, let’s face it laddies. That pony up top the regals can bring forth the moon! Not somebody ta be tangling with, even fer madponies like me.” She winked conspiratorially. “But, if’n say somepone were ta help her find that which be closest to her heart, well, that somepone might find tha regals turning a blind eye ta certain... incongruities, shall we say.”
The smile faded from her face. “Thar arrrrrrrre going ta be some diffrences, o’ course. We’ll be surfacing the ship more often than norm, and ye best get ready ta have some regals slounching through tha halls. If they wanna look where we keep tha things tha law says we can’t have, or if they get too pushy, tell’m that Cap’n Piepan’s worked things over with tha big white quartermaster o’ theirs. They’ve got some rank on them, so they ain’t going ta do anything without his permission. Keep yer arms open and yer knifes sheathed, got it? Flipside, ya best be ready ta spend some time on that big flying bundle o’ guns they call a ship!” She snorted. “Aye don’t think any of ye be wanting to tangle with that beastie. We could take her, aye, but laddies... it ain’t worth it. Best ta keep the shark killers on arrrr side.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Any more questions?”
There was a general murmur to a negative effect.
“Aye then. GET BACK TO YER STATIONS YA FILTHY SEADOGS!” She pointed at two diamond dogs. “That goes double fer ye, Sparkles, and triple fer ye, Star! Vinvin, ye can twist tongues with me sis later but right now Aye need ye and yer machine crew ta look over tha hull and propellers. This tub might need ta fly at a moment’s notice, and Aye ain’t going ta let some rusty bolt drown me ship.”
The engineer pouted. “Just five more minutes?”
“Vinyl, dear--”
“Aye’ll give ye ten, and lock thar door.”
“PINKIE!”
“You heard the captain!” Vinyl quipped, dragging her away.
Cap’n Piepan chuckled at her elder sister’s protests before twirling once more. “Navigator Deadeye! Them Regals gave me this.” She tossed a rock at a unicorn, who fumbled with his magic awkwardly. “Tis a varient communication stone, keeps track o’ the Nocturnal Thunder. Ye best be incorpating that thing in yer charts from now on, lest Aye say otherwise. GET TO IT!”
“Um, yes ma’am! Right, um, right away!” The poor stallion stumbled out the door, nearly tripping over a palomino colt on his way.
“Oy! Look where you’re going!” The young pony shook his head, before saluting and giving Pinkie a wide grin. “Cabin Boy Pippington Britishhooves reporting for duty, marm!”
“It be good ta see yer ready ta serve, Newt! Aye want ye ta see ta the locks on arrrrr special storage rooms. Gummy here knows how they all work,” she explained, plasing her gator on his vest, “so be sure ye pay good attention to his hints.”
“Yesmarm! You can count on me!” The colt dashed into the metal hallways of the Logical Defiance.
“Cloudkicker! Trixie! Get ye lazy rumps over to me cabin!” Cap’n Piepan gave her commanders a stern look as she left the room. “We’ve got serious matters that need attending.”
The blue unicorn short the lavender pegasus a look.
Cloudkicker smirked, flicked her blonde mane, and saluted. “Aye aye mon capiton!” She rolled her eyes at Trixie. “After you.”
“Thank you.” With a quiet adjustment of her big, feathery hat, the Great and Powerful Trixie trotted quickly down the hall and did her best to ignore Cloudkicker’s eyes on her flank.
.It wasn’t long before the three of them were lounging in a bright pink room, maps taped to the wall alongside weather patterns, calendars, profit charts, and sketches of widely varying quality. The captain took a moment to regard one of these with a small smile, a portrait of two stick figures dressed up as pirates standing on a grey block with five odd shapes on each side. The signature read simply “4 best captan” in black crayon.
“Newt really captured your good side,” Cloudkicker commented, her voice devoid of its usual salaciousness.
“Aye. He’s a good lad... deserves better than a swabbie’s life, that’s fer certain.” Piepan sighed. “Mayhap after this lil’ sojourn we can set him up. Now then.”
Taking up a lounging position on her big, comfy couch, the pony gestured toward the various beanbags lined up against the wall. Cloudkicker and Tixie pulled a couple of them up, sinking into the bright fabric.
“Ye probly be wondering how Aye knew of Luna’s little quest.”
Trixie nodded. “That thought had crossed my mind; it doesn’t seem like something that the government would just let out.”
“Aye. Thing of it is, that piece of hot flank Twilight has fer a brother happens ta be serving as the organizer fer this quest. Aye told him flat out Aye weren’t stepping on a Regal ship without good reason, and... let’s just say Aye loosened his lips a mite.”
“Isn’t he married?” Cloudkicker asked sternly. “Rule nine, you know--”
“Thar be more then one way ta get stallions ta talk!” Pinkie snapped. “That only be tha quickest. Have ye so little faith in me that ye think Aye would take somethang so precious from an innocent?”
The pegasus, mollified, backed down. “Sorry. I keep forgetting you’re... you.”
“Mmm, mayhap ye need a remedial look in yer head then.” The captain rolled her eyes. “Aye wonder if’n Aye’m in me right mind, entrusting this ship to ye two.”
That got Trixie’s attention. “Wait. You’re... what?”
“Part o’ the deal me and Shining worked out be this: Aye’m to stay aboard the Thunder fer four days o’ the week.” She snorted. “Parentally, if ye be a naughty nautical nightmare it be best to watch ye close. So, while Aye’m schmoozing with the regals ye two will be in charge o’ running this beastie. One of ye must be aboard at all times, got that? The other of ye,” she rummaged through the couch cushions, “need ta keep this on ya!”
“....A rubber chicken?”
Pinkie blinked, giving Trixie a confused glance before she looked at the object in her hoof. “Neigh, hold on, this be wrong...” She tossed it over her shoulder and tummaged through the couch again, producing a towel, a pair of big brown shoes, a red and grey amulet with wings and a unicorn head, a very confused Parasprite which she immediately tossed at Trixie who teleported it out to sea, and a coffee mug with the labal #1 Lunatic before she finally found what she was looking for. “Ah, mine communication stones. Aye will be having one on at all times, and neither of ye shall leave this ship without the other. Don’t lose it!”
Cloudkicker took one of the faintly glowing stones with a solemn nod. “You have my word.”
“Good lass. Now, Aye want ye to keep tha crew in line, quell any rumors of me being seduced by the regals. Aye’m going ta be the one seducing them, savvy? And both of ye listen ta Vinvin, she knows what this flying submarine be needing more than any o’ us.” The captain patted the walls affectionately. “She what be designing the old girl, after all.”
Cloudkicker saluted. “You can count on us, captain! We wouldn’t let the Logical Defiance sink if it cost us our lives!”
“Ah... well, we’ll certainly keep her shipshape,” Trixie offered.
“Ye best be doing so, lest Aye be taking ye booty!”
Cloudkicker smiled.
“Neigh, lass, not that booty. Aye speak only of the wealth.”
Cloudkicker’s smile faded away.
“Though if ye be agreeable to it, Aye may have some of that afor Aye must be off.” Piepan gave the pegasus a smirk. “Ye be joining us, Trixie?”
“The Great and Powerful Trixie refuses to partake in any such activity without a minimum of four involved,” the unicorn stated haughtily.
Cloudkicker shrugged. “Your loss.”
“Come on, Kicker, let’s not be wasting what time Aye have left here!” The captain grabbed the pegasus and pulled her on the couch.
“At least wait till I’m out of the room,” Trixie grumbled, rolling her eyes. She left and shut the door, flicking her ears at the sounds from within. “Honestly, does the captain take nothing seriously?”

1904935

(1513 words, written over two days of procrastination and drawing)
How many years has it been? It’s always eternal twilight in here, from that tiny crack in the door. I decided to not count it, in any case. No point in it anymore. Why would I need to? I can’t sleep anymore, and I doubt I would ever willingly return to society ever again. I know what I’ve become. I have a duty to my friends. They died going there, creating me. I owe it to them to at least try to figure out what that place was hiding.
Grey twisted a bit, chains clinking around his limbs. With a grunt, he yanked out a piece of rebar from his ribs, carefully threading it between strands of barbed wire wrapped around his barrel. A bit of steam hissed as his right hoof extended, revealing a four pronged claw. Floating lines of ancient machines floated around him. A tiny welding torch lit up in between, one eye focusing on the metal, the other slowly rotating upwards, sending a weak red light at a blueprint, its designs drawn in with a laser.
Grey scooted over to the wall, carefully sliding a chain into a mass of gears, wheels, and weights. This was a massive Ruby Golberg project he undertook a year ago, something to distract himself. His ear flicked as a newspaper slid through the slot. He finished adjusting the chain and slid over to it. He ignored the time stamp and flipped through the pages. He trusted what was written: he wasn’t in a position to search for facts himself, and the guards had thoughtfully made a modified one. There was no title proclaiming what publishing company it was, just mostly reliable facts that certain journalists made for him.
Most of the time, he read it for amusement, since he was still pretty sure some bias was leaked in, despite their efforts. As he read up on the other countries that bordered the Remnant, a ghostly hoof gestured at an article on the other side of the page. It proclaimed Luna’s bold journey to find some hidden treasure or truth. She was commanding the Nocturnal Thunder, a retrofitted warship dwarfing pretty much any other in existence.
Earlier this year, he met had personally met the Princess. He was poisoned a decade or so before, or so he was told. She was apparently intensely curious about the pony who designed a good portion of Equestria’s more quirky, yet sometimes effective weapons. After a lot of “ums” and “ahs,” the guards and doctors related, though insisted on the Princess maintain a shield at all times.
This was the time he attacked a Princess.
He felt her coming. It immediately sparked a cold pit of fear into his stomach region, and ramped up his paranoia to never before seen levels. The fear made the little claw on his hoof spin, sending metal wires clawing through his neck. A tiny infrared sensor grew into his right eyeball, also giving it a dull glow.
A few minutes later, Princess Luna cautiously entered. A blast of electrical energy slammed into her shield nearly immediately, pushing her off balance and making her shield spark and flicker. Buried capacitors hidden within the debris of the decade old, uncleaned workshop, burned from the heat, Tesla Coils melting and bouncing off her briefly unshielded back.
She barely managed to get her shield back up in time before a chainsaw, a billowing jet of flame behind it and spraying a fountain bright orange sparks as it careened through the concrete and shattered, crumpling against her shield.
The two froze in a tense standoff, the Princess haloed in her shield and from the light from the doorway, a battle spell readied on her horn, and Grey, a shadow with a hovering red “eye,” a mass of metal pipes, hydraulics, and gears bulging from his right arm. The chains wrapped around his limbs clinked as he strained as far back into the room as possible.
Luna gritted her teeth, tensing up when she saw a slight movement coming from the metal arm, but was surprised when instead he grabbed a dangling wire and pulled. Hard.
He screamed, a guttural, savage roar. Bandages tore as the wire ripped through, sawing through bone and tissue, even scratching some of the metal “organs” inside. “NggrrAAAAHHHHNNT YET!” He had collapsed onto his side breathing heavily and painfully, his glowing eye focused vaguely behind her.
She saw a unicorn doctor trembling beside her, a detonator hovering in his magical grasp. “Not...” he gasped. “...today.” He glared at the doctor after he caught his breath. “Now put that thing away. Weren't we about to introduce me to this fine lady here? She got to be somepony important enough to spark such a reaction. In fact, it’s the biggest reaction it had in general that I've experienced. So far, all I've found out about this thing is what technological levels it may have reached, augmented with our sciences, but nothing about culture or purpose. Even if I don’t learn much other things, it’s a variable that I can study.” He said this while casually ripping off the massive growths the Chaos Metal created in preparation for combat.
“Really?” Luna asked, somewhat uneasily.
“So yeah,” Grey said, chatting with Luna over a crumpled plate of metal he punched together that could only vaguely be considered a table. “There’s always an urge to kill one of your ponies lurking in the background, but over some biased decisions-” he chucked, “-I decided that I will instead postpone my possible execution in favor of the spirit of archaeology. I owe it to my...friends...to at least try to figure out what they died for. So far, it seemed to be somewhat warlike, and it has been trying to convince me to ‘reclaim’ the land for it to grow, (whatever that would accomplish,) by blowing everything in the vicinity up.”
“What’s stopping you then?” Luna asked.
“Oh, you haven’t seen my medical history?” Luna shook her head. “You remember this?” Grey pulled up a wire dangling from his (re)bandaged hoof. “Barbed wire.”
Luna made a “Nope” face.
“The doctors and I have tried numerous spells and drugs, but so far, the only thing that keeps its potency over long periods of time has proved to be pain. Unending, constant pain. This stuff is wrapped around all of my limbs like bracelets and knotted over everything else. I think I broke a rib when I tightened it when I was trying to quiet the voices back there. I know I made a bad first impression, but I actually refuse to kill anything. Harm, disable, maybe, but if this thing ever finds an excuse that is dire enough for me to kill somepony, it may replay it again and again. I am bombarded by hallucinations on a constant basis. Some of them appear to be dead spirits of my old buddies, some of them are demons, and some of them reveal a bit about it in some way. These barbs dull them a bit, allows me to figure out which voice is actually mine. It doesn't look good, but it works. If you want to know more, you can ask those fine folk out there. They can explain much better than I can.”
This went on for a little bit longer, Luna asking a little bit about his work, and left feeling a bit unnerved. The story the doctors fished out about his “birth” wasn’t much help either.
“Ah, an epic travel to the ends of the planet. I remember those off-hoofed comments about making a deck mounted version of the crossbow. And she is recruiting from the best, eh? It seems like a fun trip. Might actually do some physical archaeology for once. If she wants to survive those harsh seas, she’s going to need somepony to make her the most blatantly overpowered ship for her. Huh. That seemed to spark a response from you.” He patted his hoof. “You want to get out of this confinement, don’t you? So do I, but is it really me?" He thought for a bit. "If you calm down for a bit. I assure you that that is a good idea. Yes? Then so be it.”
He pulled a spring, which released a ball bearing into the massive contraption behind him. He slipped a note outside, requesting a transfer to the Nocturnal Thunder, offering his skills as an engineer, and whatever undesirable task (that doesn’t require killing, though defending is fine) that needed to be done, or long shifts during his off time. He promised that his infection is willing to be on its best behavior for this. If not, there’s always the threat of a Cascade Bomb sewn into his back to keep it in line. He wouldn’t take much space. He barely needed any food, and could stay out of the way from everything if needed. Plus, he can feel a design to absorb energy from the sun slowly growing in, possibly lowering his “food” requirement even lower. Also, he would make the creepiest jailer ever.
He glared at a sheepish looking pegasus floating in front of him.
“Now, what should I bring?” He eyed a blue quarterstaff split in three with bulbs. He grinned, the action slicing a bit of skin off his nose.

1904935\

Urgh…” Grey Shadow murmured. He looked out the window, shielding his eyes before the bright morning sun. “Time to get up…” he muttered to himself.
Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes with one grey hoof, he pushed himself out of his bed with the other. He had been a bit lucky, as he could sleep in an actual bed. The rest of the changelings sharing the house were not so comfortable during the night. The only problem he had was the fact that the sun woke him up each morning. Although, that was kind of a perk, considering the temperament of the changelings he lived with.
Being grey instead of black was a curse. The other changelings constantly bullied him because of it, no matter how hard he tried to make them stop. They always stop short of killing him, as many a naval captain would be angry that some idiot changelings had killed the best gunner they could find. Grey wasn’t bragging when he says that. He doesn’t even brag at all. Grey had been training his entire life to shoot targets with both magic and siege weapons.
His favorite had to be the requiem cannons used by the bigger airships. Their firepower combined with their accuracy were good enough, but the design of the beauties was the real deal breaker. All sharp edges, built for functionality, the requiem cannons beautiful to someone who can appreciate practicality.
Grey mused this as he wandered toward the front of the house. Why he was thinking about these things was beyond him, he just thought them. Exiting the front door, he continued to wonder what firing an actual requiem cannon would be like. The noise, the flashes, the smells, the shudders. It would be amazing, he decided, to fire one of those. It would be like a dream come true.
None of the changelings on the streets paid him any attention. Well, except for the ones who believed that Grey’s shell would be softer than a normal changeling’s. They were trying to attract his attention with bedroom eyes and other little flirtatious movements. He ignored them, as he knew they would be disappointed, and probably a bit angry, when they discovered that his shell was just a tough as any other. It was only a little thinner.
He buzzed his wings as he passed through the town on his way to his training ground. They were at least four centimeters longer than the average changeling wings, and about three centimeters wider. Another defect he had been born with. Let’s not forget his eyes as well. They were more sensitive to light than other changelings’. They absorbed more of it, thanks to their darker shades.
Arriving at the other side of town, Grey began to smile. He was only truly happy when he was alone, with his guns. Slowly making his way over to the clearing, he grinned. Last time, he had set up the targets in the most complicated fashion he could think of, making this almost a challenge. He burst into the clearing and fired ten shots out of his horn. Ten shots. Ten bulls-eyes’. It was getting way too easy for him to hit the targets.
Grey suspected that he would still be able to hit the targets after two decades of never touching a firing range. Pulling his miniature requiem cannon out of the bushes, he began to set up his firing mechanism. It changed a little every time you used it. He quickly finished this up and took aim. Ten more shots. Ten more bulls-eyes’. Grey sighed and pushed his replica back into hiding. He was beginning to grow bored of shooting stationary targets. He wondered when the next naval officer would approach him with a contract.
Heading back into town, he decided to take a look into the bar. While he does avoid drinking alcohol when he can, he likes to listen to the visitors talk about their adventures. He also found most of his contracts this way. Entering the bar, Grey noticed a pony. They were a white, regal-looking stallion, with a bichrome mane, two shades of blue. Doing his best to get the pony’s attention, while simultaneously trying to avoid as much attention as possible, Grey stretched his wings in an attempt to show his grey chitin.
The pony had obviously noticed, for as soon as Grey did so, the pony began to walk in Grey’s direction. The stallion looked familiar, but Grey could not place where from. As they approached each other, Grey realized who the stallion was. He was Captain Shining Armour of the Royal Guard! Grey confirmed this when he saw the cutie mark. It was the same.
The captain drew within earshot and began, “Hello, I’m‒”
Grey interrupted him, “You’re Captain Shining Armour. I noticed. I assume you have some form of contract for me?”
Shining grinned, “You are certainly quicker than the other members I have met so far. The Princess wants you to come with us on a journey. We aren’t sure how long it will take, but it will take quite a while. It will be dangerous, and it won’t be comfortable. However, we want you to be our bow gunner.”
Grey’s excitement could be passed off as a smirk, but that was only on the outside. On the inside, he was squealing more than a schoolfilly on her first date. “I’m assuming that the ship will be the best Her Majesty can get?” He already had an idea of what it would be, but he needed confirmation.
“It’s Her Royal Highness, but yes. It will be.” Shining Armour replied, “I’m assuming you’ll want to know how much‒”
“Nah, I’m okay. I’ll do it.” Grey smirked, for real this time. He knew exactly what ship they’d be aboard, and who some of his superiors were.
“Fine. And, since you’re now part of the crew, I expect to be addressed as ‘Quartermaster’, or ‘sir’. Do not interrupt me again, either, or you won’t be part of this crew anymore,” Shining snapped. He was tired of this changeling’s insubordination.
“Whatever you say, sir.” Grey snapped back. He was surprised when a white hoof thrusted a small notebook into his hooves.
“You are going to write in this, and I hope for your sake that you use it to find out how long you’ve got until you’re off this boat.” Shining growled. This changeling needed to be taught some more strict military regulations.
Grey glared at him, but gave up and started laughing. Shining was confused. Was he laughing at the threat? Grey stopped laughing and said, “Yep, you’re a good one.” At Shining’s confused look, he added, “I test my superiors before I actually obey them. If they can’t control themselves to deal with a situation like this, then they don’t deserve to be giving me orders. Look, I’m sorry, but I needed to make sure you didn’t just scare your subordinates into submission.”
He reached out with a hoof, “Alright with you?”
Shining thought for a second before smiling, “Alright with me,” and returning the hoof-bump. “You’re still gonna write in that journal though.”
Grey just rolled his eyes and nodded. He would write in the journal, just… modified, a little.
Look, an explanation for the differences between the journal entries and the actual events!
Anyway, this was 1,213 words. Thanks for watching! See ya!

1904935

Professor Cheerilee was having a crummy day.
There was probably another word for it but she didn't like to swear, not even in her own head. So she went with 'crummy' which, while adequate, lacked the poetry to describe how trying the day was.
It was supposed to be a day of triumph. She was giving a big lecture in the morning on her new findings, lunch with the university president and a naval officer, followed by a grant proposal in front of the board in the afternoon. If all went to plan, she was going to be popping open that bottle of champagne hidden in her Magitek cooler at the end of the day. Plus, she had remembered to pack her breakfast, cinnamon oats, her favorite.
Plans are, of course, what sea-nagas laugh at when ponies dare to make them. Thus it was pre-destined that she would be running late without time to eat her breakfast, and the lecture was sparsely attended, and had a few walk-outs. Worse, one of those walk-outs was the military officer who was also supposed to join her for lunch. The navy was her primary source of funding. That 'wasn't good', another polite euphemism for what was actually said when the University president chewed her out during the lunch set for three, only attended by two.
No pony likes to be yelled at, but it was especially trying to be screamed at by your boss, right before a grant proposal meeting. Led by your boss. Where you are the one asking for the grant.
“In conclusion, this University is at the edge of a cave in terms of researching the ocean floor. “We can either dive in and find out new wonders that will illuminate our past and inform our future, or we can turn back, and stay in darkness.”
She squinted under the lights, which somehow were worse than the auditorium she had been in earlier. The artifical glare was nothing compared to the frosty reception she was getting from her peers, the board members and, yes, the University President.
She cleared her throat, and continued “I am happy to address any questi-”
The President did not hesitate. "New Equestria has to keep looking forward, and so must its university. Miss Cheerilee," and he emphasized the 'Miss' with a pause and a look over his spectacles, "you would have us spend thousands of bits to go to the bottom of the ocean floor and do... What, exactly?"
"Mr. President, 97% of our world is covered in ocean. We've only truly explored 3% of it. This proposal would-"
Another pony on the board, an old, fat Pegasus with a dyed orange mane, harrumphed, "Miss, your proposal would only open up a quarter of a percent of the map. I hardly think that would bring much prestige or revenue to this university."
"3.25% of the map is more than 3%, Professor Fligthless."
She could hear the fat pony bristle. "It's Doctor Flightless, Miss Cheerilee."
"And it's Professor Cheerilee, sir."
"Professor," came and older voice, the only mare on the board and the only one to ever show any interest in her work, "what do you hope to find in these drowned cities and castles? Most of them have already been plundered for treasure by pirates, or the naga."
Cheerilee smiled at her old friend. "The key to our future, Miss Mayor. Baubles and jewels come and go, but the real treasure is still down there."
"Which is?" Asked the university president, smiling in a way the unnerved Cheerilee.
"The reason the waters rose." There was pause, and a poorly hidden snicker. She gritted her teeth and went on. "This world is a story of before, and after. During the before, I am convinced the three tribes lived in harmony, on the land. You don't build castles and towns and cities when you know a flood is coming. Something happened. Something big." The silence was deafening, but she didn't care. "It wasn't supposed to be like this. Our world wasn't supposed to be covered in water. And the answer is in the water."
"In this quarter of a percent of the map?" sneered Dr. Flightless.
"Maybe!" Cheerilee pounded her lectern. "We won't know until we look!"
"By all means, look," said the President. “Knock yourself out. But you’re asking to do it on our time, and with our bits. Bits that do not, sadly, grow on trees.”
Cheerilee was shaking. “We’re not a business. We’re not a factory. It’s our job to learn, to educate, and to find the things that belong in museums. Before the pirates do.”
“Cheerilee, if you can’t even get a visiting naval officer, visiting just to listen to you, to stay through your lectures…” the President sighed, but with a sneer in his voice, “... how can you persuade us your project needs more funding?” They stared at one another. “Or any funding at all?”
Cheerilee opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She was proficient in several languages, but could only speak a little acacadamia-ese. Still…
“Excuse, Mr. President. Am I being fired?”
Her one defender spoke up, “I am fairly certain no budget decisions have been made.” There was a pause. Mayor Mare arched an eyebrow. “Certainly not when I’ve been in the room.”
There was an uncomfortable shifting of bodies around the board. No pony made eye contact with Cheerilee, or each other.
Finally, the President spoke up. “Thank you for your time, Miss Cheerilee. We’’ll let you know what the board decides.”
As Cheerilee walked out of the room, he added, “I wouldn’t work too hard at planning next semester.”
After the parade of horribles, the last, least and yet the most annoying: her afternoon snack had exploded in her saddle bag. Reams of notes were now covered in cinnamon oats, which was charming as a nursery rhyme but annoying as a reality.
She didn’t know whether to scream, cry or just get drunk.
Her dillema was answered when she walked into her office. It was a fair size, but most of it was taken up with a large and ungainly Magitek Cooler. It was a steam and magic powered refridgetator, necessary for perserving samples and fossils found on the ocean floor. There was barely room for her desk and chair, which was fine because she rarely used them anything other than more counter space. Maps adorned the walls with little pushpins, plaster molds of fossils littered the floor and the desk, and open books were everywhere. It was the office of a pony who had her work and not much else.
There was also a large, white, unmistakably male flank sticking out of her open Magitek Cooler.
"Hey! Can I help you?"
His horn appeared first, revealing his unicorn identity. It was glowing. She heard a cork pop, and a champagne bottle floated up, along with his curious muzzle. He was a striking white unicorn stallion who had just opened her only bottle of alcohol.
Cheerilee was flustered and outraged. "I was saving that!"
He smiled, "For today, Ms. Cheerilee. You were saving it for today." Closing the door with his back legs, he looked around the office. "Do you have glasses, or?"
Now that she was able to get a good look at him without a door in the way, Cheerilee recognized the uniform. Navy. High ranking. This did not bode well.
"I don't. Uh. Coffee cups, I've got coffee cups. Sir." She started to salute, but we waved her off with a chuckle.
"Just point me towards them, unless you want to drink out of the bottle.."
She shook her head. "I'll get them." Brushing past him, she dropped her soaking bag (I'll deal with that after the stallion in charge of my funding leaves), picked up two clean cups and turned back to him. The cups suddenly floated out of her hooves and towards the stallion.
"Allow me." He began pouring. The bubbles sizzled against the paper sides of the tiny cups. "If I can ask, you keep a hundred bit bottle of bubbly in your magitek fridge, but no champagne glasses in case you need to open it?" He floated a cup back to her.
She swallowed and gently took the cup out of his magic field. "The idea was to open it when we could afford the glasses. Most of my budget goes towards keeping the magitek cooler running.” She fronwed. “Now I'm not even sure if I have a budget anymore."
"Oh I think we can take care of that." He lifted his coffee cup. "Cheers."
She nodded and lifted her cup, taking a small sip. He was not so shy. She hesitated. "Sir, if I can be so bold, who are you?"
The white unicorn almost spit up his champagne, but managed to choke it down. Wiping his muzzle, he chuckled and shook his head. "My mother would be so mad at me right now, I apologize. My name is Shining Armor. I'm the new Quartermaster of the Nocturnal Thunder."
Cheerilee's eye twitched. “Shining Armor.”
“Yes Ma’am.”
"You," coughed Cheerilee, "you're the navy pony who was at my lecture today, weren't you?"
"Right again. Sorry I had to cut out early, but I had heard what I needed to hear.”
“The Shining Armor who was supposed to attend the luncehon with the University President and I?
“And I am sorry about that as well, but quite frankly, I don’t much care for that guy. More bubbly?"
Cheerilee nodded dumbly. More alcohol sounded about right, right now. He walked out of her lecture and no-showed at her lunch, but now, he was here, drinking champagne with her. Unless he was a sadist, something didn’t add up.
She held out her cup, and he magically tilted the bottle to refill. With a heavy sip and a deep breath, she said, "Mr. Armor, I know that my topic can sound, dry, I guess, but I assure you-"
"You misunderstand. All I need to hear was that you were as good as your writings suggest. Luna values words, but puts higher value on meeting the pony face to face." He refilled his cup. "Of course, she can't meet everypony face to face, so here I am. The bubbles are just a little bonus." He winked and took another sip.
It was a lot to process. Cheerilee fixated on one element that stood out. "Princess Luna reads my work?"
"She likes to keep on top of what the experts are saying in all relevant fields." He looked around the office, at all of the artifacts and scribbled writings and maps. Then he looked back at her. "You are the expert in your field."
Cheerilee was stunned. “Surely there are other ponies…”
Shining shook his head. “You’re it. And we need you. Your princess needs you.”
Suddenly, another red flag went off in Cheerilee’s mind. "Nocturnal Thunder… That's the Princesses new ship, isn't it?"
Shining nodded. "Our city on the sea. She sails in four days. With or without you. But hopefully, with you.” He downed his cup, and held up the bottle. “More?”
Cheerilee held out her hoof. “Wait. Me? What would a naval ship need with a historian?”
“Well, that’s the thing…” Shining floated the bottle over to her, and started pouring more bubbly. “The places we’re going, the Princess and I, we thought it’d be right up your alley.”
Cheerilee’s eyes lit up. “You mean the waters around the Midway islands?”
“Past that. All the way to the Edge, and beyond. And yes, underneath as well.”
She dropped her cup, and there was a dull splat as Champagne spilled onto the ground. Shining stopped pouring. “Oops. Sorry about that.”
“Mr. Armor, no pony’s ever gone that far… and come back to tell about it.”
Shining grinned. “Don’t you want to be on the first boat that does?
Cheerilee reached out, grabbed the bottle out of the air, and killed it. A crooked grin took over her face. “Is this a job interview?”
“This is a job offer. You’ve already passed the interview.You’ll be given a uniform, a rank, and you report directly to the Princess. And me. And occasionally, the ship’s naviagator. Well, we’ll figure it out.” Shining coughed, “We can’t pay much, but-“
“Mr. Armor, the mere possibility of seeing where the world ends…” Cheerilee stared past him, “I’d do it for free.”
“First rule about naval life, Professor Cheerilee.” Shining walked over and whispered confidentially. “Never tell the Quartermaster you’ll do something for free.”

1904935

Sea Sabre's arrival on the Nocturnal Thunder.
I'm assuming that she is part of the initial crew, before the ship tours the Remnant to find other members. Does anyone know where the Thunder initially cast off?
I’ve been told before that a ship is a messy place. “Loose,” as a fishpony-turned-soldier once phrased it. Arriving at the Pony Island Naval Dock one morning, I couldn’t help but think of him.
We never had this kind of chaos in the Guard.
There were ponies running everywhere. Non-ponies, too. I saw a couple griffons carrying something onto the deck, and a minotaur grimacing at the tumult. The Remnant represents.
Before me was the Nocturnal Thunder, bobbing gently over the waves. It was a real beast of a ship. Biggest vessel in the navy, fiercest deck guns in the world, best crew across the seas, and most advanced “requiem” cannons in the Remnant. The first three sounded pretty good, even if I didn’t know enough to judge for myself, and the last didn’t really mean anything to me.
I wasn’t a Navy mare by any means. I’d seen ponies walking around in sea-stained clothes looking up and tossing around words like “beautiful” and “gorgeous.”
I don’t get that. Seeing this massive ship before me, teeming with life as it prepares for its journey, cannons poking out the hull like quills on a porcupine, only one word comes to mind.
Impressive.
“Sergeant Major!”
Shining Armor approaches, a clipboard floating by his side. I offer him a salute, and he waves it away. Must be a busy day.
I settle for a slightly less formal greeting of respect, dipping my head. “Morning, Sir.”
“Good to see you here on time. If only half of my crew had your kind of punctuality.” He frowned down at his clipboard, scribbling something. “You’ll be bunking with the rest of the marines, in the barracks. You know where that is?” He looked up expectantly.
I nodded. “I’m sure I can find my way, Captain.”
“No. I'm not a Captain anymore. Quartermaster.” He raised a brow.
Years of Guard instinct, swallowed in seconds. “Yes, Quartermaster.”
“Good. Go get yourself situated, Sergeant Major. I’ll have tentative squad assignments out within a couple days.” He turned to walk away.
I raised a hoof. “Tentative, Sir?”
He grinned, looking back. “Tentative. We’ll be touring the Remnant gathering crew, and not all the marines are boarding here in New Canterlot.” He paused. “Also, you may want to meet Spitfire and Rainbow Dash. They’ll be your commanding and executive officers.”
“Right. I will, Sir.” Rainbow Dash, huh? And Spitfire? So now I’m taking orders from some magic filly and a stunt flier. Great.
He nodded. “Carry on.”
At that, he trotted away and disappeared amongst the moving mass of sailors filling the dock.
I wasted no time starting up the main gangway, full saddlebags bouncing against my sides. Three masts towered above me, their shadows stretching across the length of the ship. Strangely, there weren’t any sails on them.
The marines stood out from the rest of the crowd. They walked different from the others, stood different. They were the unicorns that kept all entries in sight at all times, the pegasi that tensed when a shadow flitted past their hooves, the earth ponies that stood with their forelegs just slightly bent, always ready to buck.
And some of them weren’t wearing uniforms.
We never had this problem in the Guard.
A white pegasus mare approached, her curly red-blonde mane bouncing along with her step. I couldn’t help but notice that she was out of uniform.
“Hai!” she exclaimed. “I’m Tricky!”
I suppressed a wince. Her voice was unpleasantly high. “And what rank are you, Tricky?”
She cocked her head. “Corporal. Why?”
“How do you address a Sergeant Major, Corporal?” I narrowed my eyes.
For a few seconds she remained still. I could see the gears working in her head. Realization struck her as she hastily snapped to attention.
“That’s better.” I waved for her to be at ease. “I am Sergeant Major Sea Sabre. Corporal Tricky, could you show me where the barracks are located?”
She nodded enthusiastically. “Sure thing, Sarge!”
I cringed. Had this pony never learned how to address a superior officer? “I am not a ‘Sarge,’ Corporal. I am a Sergeant Major.” I left the implied order unsaid.
She grinned, beckoning to me as she started down the deck. “Yeah, sure thing.”
Sweet Luna.
I would have to do some work with these marines.
If there is one thing that my time in the Guard has taught me, it’s that you can judge a soldier’s worth by the quality of their gear.
A soldier’s gear is their lifeline. It blocks an otherwise fatal attack, eliminates the enemy, and keeps them alive. Rookies don’t understand that. They leave their blades unclean, the barrels of their weapons clogged with residue, and their boots unpolished. They pay for it, in the end.
My gear is immaculately cared for, as it deserves for all it does for me. I spend at least an hour of every day maintaining it. Cleaning it. In battle it returns the favor, responding to my wishes with nothing short of perfection.
Unpacking is a simple task for me. After a brief inspection of the bunks in the onboard barracks, taking careful note of the state of each, I chose an empty one for myself. I slipped out of my saddlebags, depositing them on the floor, and pulled out my sheets. Within a few minutes the bed was perfectly made.
Turning back to my bags, I removed my gear, making sure to treat each piece with the respect it deserved. First the harness, a hardened saddle with a slot on each side for my guns to hang. Then the helmet, an open design that kept my vision clear while protecting my neck. My guns of choice, a Mk. 10 rifle and an E-42 flechette gun.
Last, the blades. Carefully smithed steel, arranged to sit safely amongst a pegasus’ delicate feathers, controllable by magic signals transferred through the harness to open, close, and angle themselves. Even in the musty interior of the ship they shone.
Laying each piece on the bed, I pulled out my cleaning supplies. Whether they were perfectly maintained or not already, I hadn’t given my daily respects yet.
“Good morning, Sergeant Major.”
I glanced up. A zebra had climbed down from the bunk above me. Her neat posture of attention was a breath of fresh air. Even better: she was in uniform.
“Good morning, Corporal Lilly.” I waved a hoof, and she relaxed. “Are you bunking with me, then?”
She nodded, smiling. “Sure thing. Did you just arrive? How are you liking the ship?”
I shrugged. “Not a Navy mare, myself. The ship is fine, but I find the marines to be… lacking.”
She grinned. “The Navy isn’t as strict as the Guard is. Everything is more fluid offshore. I’m sure you’ll get used to it.”
Looking down to my blades, I began to carefully polish their surface. “Half of them aren’t even in uniform. The rest don’t know how to address a superior. I don't understand how this ship can run.”
“Permission to speak freely, Sergeant Major?”
Why not? “Granted.”
“In the Navy, we spend months at a time with the same marines. We work hard on the sails, and leave our uniforms in our beds to keep the sea-stains off. We memorize each other's ranks and names, and we show respect in more ways than tacking words on the ends of sentences.”
I looked up from my work, meeting the zebra’s gaze. Guard protocol said not to let your charges get too close to you. They had to see you as an authority, not a friend.
But I wasn’t in the Guard anymore. I had a new protocol to learn.
Raising a hoof, I gave her a pat on the shoulder. “Thanks for telling me, Corporal. I’ll work on it.”
She nodded. “No problem. See you around.” With another smile, she trotted away.
I returned to my maintenance, considering what she’d told me.
We never had these problems in the Guard.

1904935

Ragnar looked over the dock at the massive ship that dominated it. The Nocturnal Thunder was most definitely a ship of war, but it was more than that. He had laid his eyes upon scholars, scientists, farmers, even a second royal princess. This ship was truly built for something more than simple fighting, and it made Ragnar uneasy. He had only been on a few ships not designed for war in his time, and most of them had simply been for the purpose of pillage and loot. Now that he thought about it, he had never voluntarily been on a ship not designed for death and destruction.
Pushing the thoughts from his mind, Ragnar grabbed hold of the single bag he had been permitted to bring, and walked up the gangplank. A short distance later, Ragnar was on the deck of the ship, and let out a breath that he did not know he was holding.
“You there. Name,” Called a voice from off to the right of Ragnar.
Ragnar turned, and saw a Pegasus walking toward him.
“What’s it to you?” He asked, before relenting. “Ragnar.”
“Oh yes. The ‘combat specialist’. I’ve heard of you,” The Pegasus said. “Lieutenant Spitfire expressed her wish to see all those who would be serving under her.”
Ragnars’ eyes glinted in anger, but his reply was steady and measured.
“As she commands,”
“Follow me then please,” the Pegasus said, walking away, before disappearing bellow the deck.
Sighing, Ragnar followed the pony, catching up with Pegasus and walking beside him.
“You never gave me your name.” He said simply, not looking down.
“My apologies. Jetstream, at your service,” The Pegasus said, giving a slight nod, before pointing to a door. “Spitfire is beyond there.”
With that, the Pegasus left, walking away down the passageway. Turning, Ragnar knocked once on the door, before pushing it open and entering the room.
The room itself was sparsely decorated, being dominated by a table with various charts and scrolls resting upon it. The sole occupant of the room was pouring over one of the charts, her back towards the door.
“Spitfire?” Ragnar asked, walking into the room and closing the door.
“Lieutenant.” The pony said, without turning round.
“What?”
“Lieutenant, half-wit,” She said, turning around to face Ragnar. “You will address me as either Ma’am or Lieutenant. Is that clear?”
“Yes, Ma’am.” Ragnar replied, putting emphasis on the word.
“Better,” She replied, walking around Ragnar, as if she was inspecting him. “I’m going to make myself clear Minotaur. I don’t like you. I don’t like your kind, nor your blatant disregard for authority. If it were up to me, you would never have been allowed to see the light of day again, much less been allowed on a ship.”
“Then it’s a good thing it wasn’t up to you then.” Ragnar said, venom dripping off his voice.
“You will speak when spoken to!” Spitfire roared. “I am your superior, and you will address me as such.”
“Then tell me what I will be doing on board, Ma’am. Other than looking at your, sweet, flank, that is.”
“You are nothing more than a savage brute, Bloodeye. A simpleton who has one purpose on board. You are to fight when I command, you are to stop when I desire it, and answer to any and all senior officers of The Nocturnal Thunder and its Marine corps. Second Lieutenant Rainbow Dash, Quartermaster Shining Armour, and anypony else who holds rank over you. And Ragnar, try anything with mine, or any other pony’s flank, and you will regret it. Is that understood?”
“Crystal, Ma’am,” Ragnar growled. “Point me towards someone whose skull needs cracking, and get out of my way, and keep anything with wings that isn’t a pony away from me.”
“Griffons are a part of this crew Ragnar. I know your past, and I know the hate you harbour for Griffons,” Spitfire said, stopping her pacing and standing in front of Ragnar. “I also understand it. I am not heartless, but I do ask you to put aside your past, and look to the future. You will be serving alongside Griffons. Do anything against them and I will personally see you hang from the yard-arm. Dismissed.”
With that, Spitfire turned and returned to the table, and the charts upon it. Growling softly, Ragnar turned, and walked out of the room, and back into the passageway of the ship.
Standing outside the door, Ragnar looked around, before setting off in the opposite direction from where he had come from, going deeper into the ship.
Eventually, he found a long room, dominated by the forms of multiple bunks. Assuming that this would be where he was expected to bunk down, Ragnar tossed his bag onto the nearest bed, opening it and spilling the contents out, before picking them up and looking over them.
Pulling out a brown object, he laid out a mass of brown leather strips, attached to a thick belt, on the bed, inspecting the worn piece of armour. He ran his hands over the heavy metal studs that held the strips together, before testing the series of spikes that ran along the belt of the armour.
Placing the armour to one side, he pulled out a pair of leather gauntlets, inspecting them, before slipping them on. Grabbing the leather war kilt, he slipped it on, before slipping his weapons into a chest harness, and exiting the room.
Getting back onto the deck, Ragnar walked over to the rigging, jumping onto it with a practiced ease, and scaling it until he was halfway up it.
Stopping, he let go with one hand, and stared out at the horizon. The view of the sea filled his vision, and he slowly drew one of his axes, twirling it around in his hand while dreaming of days gone past.
This was going to be one hell of a journey.
Ragnar Bloodeye. Audio journal
Entry 2.
First day on board the ship. No surprises, Spitfire doesn’t like me, and from the looks of the other crew, they aren’t looking at me to favourably either. Crew wise, this ship is different. Ponies and other creatures from all walks of life are on here. Some look like they could actually hold their own, others look like they’ve never swung an axe in their life.
I wonder, just how many of the supposed elite marines on board this ship have ever taken a life? How many of them have had the lives of hundreds rest upon their decisions, not knowing if the decision they have to make will kill or save the lives of their comrades? I doubt may have. Spitfire maybe, some of the higher ups, possibly, but not all. Some are still green, not least Rainbow Dash ‘Second Lieutenant Rainbow Dash’. She may be the reason the nightmare was defeated, and she has some of my respect for that, but it will take more than some magical trinket and a royal appointment to make her a warrior. She hasn’t killed yet, but is expected to lead.
Sometimes to lead properly, we have to follow those who hold experience over us.
Entry ends.

1904935

Joker inwardly sighed as he glanced at the small gemstone in his hooves, it glowed a soft purple in the faint hues of the night. Above him the enormous ship known as the Nocturnal Thunder and the Remnants most colossal achievement rested, it hung in the air forebodingly like a great shadow cast along the land. He looked back down at the small gemstone as a single tear slid down his face, pocketing the gem and looking back up at the ship with renewed vigour. "We did it, bud." Joker said to nopony in particular, wiping the tear from his cheek. "We made it here, it's time to do something right for a change."
He smiled and craned his neck to the left as he looked over at his saddlebag, using one of his wings to unclasp it from his side. It landed with a soft 'thud' against the grass and bounced a few paces from where he was standing. Trotting up to it and righting it with his hooves, Joker looked at the small metal saddlebag in curiosity - it was amazing what you could make with a friend. He flicked all three switches directly facing him and then pushed the middle one back down, the case hissed as it decompressed and opened to reveal the contents within.
Pushing his hoof into the metal bag Joker began to search for what he needed, frowning as he was unable to find it. He found his bronze casing and the scrap metal he kept with him, his wrench and even his old deck of cards - but eventually he managed to find what he was looking for, it was a small blue stone roughly the size of his hoof. Joker suspected that somepony had probably spent ages making over five hundred of these, but that wasn't his problem. He smirked as he tossed it in the air a little bit, admiring the smooth surface and fine craftsmanship. Placing it down besides him he looked back over at the case and closed the lid, flicking the middle switch back up before pushing all three down, and hearing a heavy bolt slide into place locking the saddlebag tight.
Walking behind the metal saddlebag and positioning himself, Joker lifted it up with the tip of his wing and clipped it into place on his armour. Funny thing, he had no idea if this stuff was actually allowed on board. He supposed he'd need to change into his new outfit as soon as he got on board, after all he was going to be working alongside some very important ponies... and other races, too - he'd heard plenty of stories. Joker smiled and turned to his right as he went to un-clip his wing holsters, only to look down at his trusty companion - his sword Aecor. He patted the unholy blade and grimaced slightly as his armour was scratched by the vicious thing. "We're going on an Adventure buddy, except this time we'll be cutting open more than just petty thieves."
Turning his attention back to his wing clips Joker gently unhooked the small metal rods from his wings, opening them fully and ruffling them in the space around him. "I hate these little clips, even if they're useful they still hurt like hell." He said with a mock whine, glad that nopony was around him. Joker gave his wings a once over and checked for any issues, scanning the feathers and armour covering the tips as he prepared for flight. Happy with what he saw, he crouched down low besides the ground and made one final check. He gently probed his mind in search of his primal companion, his Vaetir friend - the remnants of his best friends instinct.
He was greeted with the relentless anger of a shattered soul.
Joker shuddered and kept the bridge between him and the Vaetir open as he leaped into the air, keeping the small blue rock in his grasp - it was his ticket inside. The connection between Joker and his internal companion strengthened and grew as his massive wings propelled him through the air with grace and speed, they became a single entity as he propelled himself forwards with the grace of a Pegasi and the strength of a Longwing - the effect of two primal urges becoming one within the soul. He danced past the clouds and flew over the island as he made his way towards the Nocturnal Thunder, his new home among the skies. Some ponies called it the last beacon of hope.
Joker made his way towards the ship swiftly and gracefully, admiring the huge vessel before him with a pair of shining eyes. It was just then that he felt the small blue stone in his hooves vibrate, causing him to nearly let go of it. Joker stopped for a moment as he heard something from the stone, he smirked and waited another moment for it to start transmitting.
First Mate Helmspony, Joker Longsword, Sir. This is Dock-Bay B flight control, you're cleared for a landing but you better hurry up, you're pretty late.
Joker smirked and held the small stone up to his muzzle and laughed softly, keeping an air of authority as he spoke, or at least what he counted as one. "Understood, flight control. How's my partner doing? I bet she's just dying to meet me." Joker continued to fly forwards as he approached the landing bay, clearing his head as he blocked his companion off once more and focused on landing.
She's a little annoyed at how long you're taking, Sir.
Landing with a soft slide against the flooring, Joker placed the small blue stone in his pocket for future use and concentrated on walking forwards. He gave a few friendly waves to the ponies he saw along the corridors of the airship, and bumped into a few others by accident. He swiftly continued in the direction he guessed was the Command Deck, although occasionally he found a sign pointing that way. Joker made mental notes of the architecture of the ship, curiously going over the details of its shape and construction - wondering exactly who had made such a beautiful ship. He knew it was around one hundred years old but he had absolutely no idea who had crafted the vessel, it was a massive mystery to him.
Eventually he came upon the Command Deck itself.
Stepping inside for the first time Joker was taken back a little by the sheer complexity of the room, in the centre was a raised platform with an arrangement of seats and the like, he guessed those may be used by the higher ups but he'd need to double check that. The back wall was reinforced and dwarfed by one massive panel that was absolutely covered in dials and knobs, all of which related to the engines and large scale weaponry. The walls besides him were covered in small desks and stations, all of which had their own separate dials and such to be monitored. Currently the room was rather sparse, there were no ponies around from what he could see.
Joker trotted down to his station at the front of the room, which had two steering mechanisms in place. He ran a hoof down the former, on the left, and let a small smile cross his face as he became acquainted with the device. He already liked this ship, and the fact that they had included an older model of steering stand made him love it even more. Behind him were two seats akin to those further along, with a table separating them covered in all types of maps and charts. Pulling his slick black fedora off and cupping it in his hoof, Joker placed it down on the chair behind him and ran a hoof through his mane letting out a soft sigh.
"You're late; you're not in your assigned clothing and you're practically making out with the steering stand - here I was thinking my illustrious partner would be interesting." Joker heard a chuckle from behind as he turned to face his partner, the Chief Helmsmare. He let out a small whistle as he scanned her up. Gorgeous face and fantastically beautiful mane, check. Body that could put an angel to shame, check. Sarcasm that rivals that of his own? Only time would tell.
"Hello beautiful!" He said with a small purr, wiggling his eyebrows much to his superiors surprise, she simply rolled her eyes.
"I suppose you're Joker Longsword? Weren't you supposed to be on the ship about six months ago, when she set sail?" The mare rolled her eyes in Joker's direction and trotted down towards him with a certain air of superiority, yet she presented herself in a very feminine manner. What took Joker back most of all was how easily she parleyed his comments, which was defiantly something he was going to enjoy in the coming months.
"You already know who I am? My my what gave it away? The dashing looks or the fantastic personality?" Joker smirked and looked back over at the array of dials surrounding his station, taking note of the magnetic compass, gyrocompass and the rudder angle indicator. "I had some business to attend to although I'm sure you understand, right dear? Why you're going to be my best friend in the coming weeks! I bet someponies might even call us star-eyed lovers by the end of it all, eh?" He chuckled heartily and continued to study the console before him. "And on the matter of dress-codes, Ma'am, you look fabulous in uniform." He teased with a small smirk.
Anastasia laughed for a moment before standing next to him and whispering "In your dreams, Joker." She casually walked over to her station next to his own and looked out across the massive expanse of a ship before them both, grinning and turning to face him as she leaned against the desk before her. "If by fantastic personality you mean oddly dressed, flirty and completely insane then sure that's what gave you away." She laughed and tossed her mane a little, looking back over the ship, taking her time to watch all the ponies go about their business.
"So, am I calling you Anastasia, Ma'am or just Ana?" Joker said as he examined his steering stand with glee, going over the mechanism a few times to try understand the best ways to use it. "Actually I've decided I'm going to call you Ana, it fits you pretty well don't you think?" He said with an honest smile, turning to look up at her while he was busy running his hooves all over the device.
"Actually I'd greatly prefer if you called me Ma'am for the time being, no offence to you of course - I'll gladly accept another name when I know you a little better..." She said with a smile of her own, quickly replaced by a look of confusion as she stared at the stallion playing with his equipment. "Do you know how to fly this ship?"
"Nah, I plan on getting us all killed." He said as he stuck out his tongue and turned to face his superior once more, beginning to look her over with a little more depth. "I'm kidding, I know her well enough - all ships are the same, some just need a little more care and a lot more skill - lucky for you I've never lost a hand of cards before, so we'll be just fine." He smiled and gave her a little nudge with a wing, picking his fedora up and placing it on his head once more.
Anastasia let out a small chuckle and returned the small gesture with a small whack behind the ear, a little harder in fact. "Hooves off your superiors, hm? Anyway at least our First Mate Helmspony is confident in his abilities, I suppose we'll die in a blaze of glory at least." She turned her head to the dials and equipment on her side, noting the inbuilt communications stone she would be using to receive any information about the ship to pass on to Joker. Looking back up she noticed he was trotting towards the door, and called out after him. "Where exactly do you think you're going, Joker?"
He looked back at her curiously and smiled, tipping his hat as he opened the door before him. "I need to actually find my quarters, store my equipment and get changed - I don't feel like having our Quartermaster catch me breaking protocol. We're shouldering a big job on this ship, all of us - we can't afford to screw up you know?" With that he trotted out of the room and back into the corridors of the mighty vessel, beginning another adventure to find where exactly he'd be staying.
But as he trotted onwards he took a small necklace from his pocket and slung it around his neck, letting the dull humming of the gemstone calm him as his worries washed away. We did it Clocks. He said to himself, hoping his long lost friend could hear him. We did something right, and we're on a mission to save the world - we're about to do something good, like you always wanted, friend.
With that, Joker continued onwards down the hallways of the mighty Nocturnal Thunder - both excited and scared for what laid ahead.

1904935

There’s something strangely satisfying about the clop of hooves on wood.
I’m not sure what it is. The sound just feels so wholesome, ringing in my ears. And yet authoritative, too. Like it demands respect. Clip, clop, clip, clop. Meditative.
Glancing out a porthole, I catch sight of Pony Island. For some reason, the higher-ups decided to park the ship above a tavern. Inappropriate, if you ask me. The rest of the crew didn’t seem to object quite so much. They were all grinning and laughing, prancing about on their hooftips in anticipation of drink.
We never had this problem in the Guard. I’m not sure if I like Navy protocol.
I arrive at my destination, stopping before an unlabeled, nondescript door. One of several in the officer’s hall, marked only by the orange pegasus lounging before it. Thankfully, she was in uniform. Corporal Jetstream, it said.
I nodded my acknowledgement. “Corporal.”
She slid into attention, just a bit too casually for my liking. “Sergeant Major.”
“Is Lieutenant Spitfire busy?”
She shook her head. “Nope.”
I raised a brow. “May I enter?”
Wordlessly, she knocked on the door. Three short, quick knocks. It didn’t sound nearly as nice as hooves on wood had sounded a few moments ago.
A raised voice sounded out, muffled by the wood. “Come in.”
Jetstream pushed the door open, allowing me through.
With a nod to her I entered into a neat little office. An imposing cherry wood desk took up much of the room, with the rest dominated by an array of bookshelves and filing cabinets. There was another door behind the desk, just slightly ajar, revealing the corner of a bed and a mirror.
That’s what an Academy degree will get you. Seven years killing naga? A bunk with all the rest.
I snapped to attention, offering the perfect embodiment of a salute. “Colonel Spitfire, Ma’am! Sergeant Major Sea Sabre reporting for duty!”
She rose briefly from her seat to return the salute. “At ease. Take a seat.”
I complied, letting myself relax into one of the two cushioned chairs on my side of the desk. Spitfire turned her attention to a stack of folders before her, looking through them, selecting one, and opening it for inspection.
Probably my folder. I wonder what the higher-ups tell eachother about me?
“Says here you’ve got some experience.” Her eyes looked up to meet mine, the question left unsaid. What are you to me, it asked. Are you an asset, or a liability?
I resisted the urge to stand to attention. “I have seven years in the Guard, Ma’am. Been fighting naga since basic. You will find no better soldier than I onboard, Ma’am.”
She nodded, slowly, ever so slightly raising a brow. “Is that so?” Another glance at the papers. “Unfortunately, Sergeant Major, I don’t need you to be a soldier. I have almost a hundred marines. I need you to be a…” Eye contact. “Teacher.”
Teacher? I frowned. “What do you mean, Ma’am?”
She leaned forwards. “These marines are not all like you, Sea Sabre. Some of them are rookies fresh out of basic, still excited and cocky from their cutie marks. Some of them were, well…” She paused, preparing herself to spit out the unpleasant word. “Pirates, and don’t know how to work with a structured command and a team. I need you to keep the rookies alive, and keep the mercs in line.”
I nodded. “Understood, Ma’am.”
She raised a hoof, signaling that she wasn’t done. “I will freely admit that I don’t have as much experience as you. Lieutenant Colonel Rainbow Dash is worse; she never even went to school for her rank. I expect the command to go to her head, and I expect you to counteract that.
“I know you hate going against protocol, Sea Sabre. Every CO you’ve ever had has reported as much. But if you receive a poorly judged order from the Lieutenant Colonel, I expect you to defer to me. And if I’m not available, I expect you to judge for yourself.”
Wait, what? “Insubordination, Ma’am?” Protocol was very clear. Never go against orders. Problems with a superior were to be ignored during battle, and discussed with a superior afterwards. Never disobey an order.
“It’s fine. Think of it as an order from me,” she said.
Hesitantly, I nodded. “Yes, Ma’am.” Standing order to disobey the rookie magic filly, when appropriate. Noted.
“You understand I want you to keep these marines under control?”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
“You understand I cannot interact with them the way you can?”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
“You understand I want you to protect them from Rainbow Dash until she gains more experience?”
After a moment. “Yes, Ma’am.”
She nodded, leaning back in her seat. “Excellent. In that case, you’re—”
“Hey, Spitfire!”
I cringed as a scratchy voice sounded out behind me. Who would dare to address the CO like—
A rainbow maned mare trotted in from the hallway, grinning like a foal with a new toy.
I already don’t like her.
Lieutenant Colonel Rainbow Dash wasted no time in approaching Spitfire, ignoring my standing salute as she pulled the other mare into an ecstatic hoofshake.
Spitfire, to my surprise, didn’t immediately put Rainbow Dash back in line. She didn’t pull her hoof back. She didn’t even narrow her eyes in silent disapproval.
She shook back.
“Good morning, Lieutenant Colonel Rainbow Dash.” She coughed, nodding her head in my direction.
Rainbow Dash turned, curious as to why there was this strange mare before her, standing so stiffly, right hoof suspended just above her brow. She turned back to Spitfire.
“Uh, what is she doing?”
We never had this problem in the Guard. Ever.
“She’s saluting you,” Spitfire explained. “Salute her back and tell her to be at ease.”
Rainbow let out a little laugh, rolling her eyes as she looked to me. “Ooookay, then.” Over the course of a few brief seconds, she managed to butcher everything the Guard ever held dear with a salute so sloppy that my old drill sergeant would’ve literally killed her. “At easies.”
Oh Luna. Please.
I relaxed. “Lieutenant Colonel Rainbow Dash. It’s good to meet you, Ma’am.” Please, just leave this ship and never come back.
“Uh, yeah, you too… uh…”
“Sergeant Major Sea Sabre,” Spitfire supplied.
“Yeah, Sergeant Sea Sabre.” Rainbow extended a hoof.
Is this some kind of cruel joke?
I grabbed the hoof and gave her a firm handshake.
She nodded, pleased that the introductions had passed, and turned back to Spitfire. “So, uh, how are you? It’s really great to meet you! Huge fan! I just— I was wondering, could you, maybe, explain to me how you do the Ponychev’s Cobra? Or maybe the—”
I stopped listening. Spitfire made a discrete motion with her hoof. With a nod and salute, I left the room. Only years of Guard instinct kept my hooves from stomping.
Hooves on wood. For some reason I couldn’t find it calming anymore.

1904935

The unicorn sat in his cell, watching the sunlight move across the ground as the day wore on. The guards posted outside the bars had shifted, but otherwise nothing had happened all day. Based on the angle of the sun, and the fact that he was still in his cell, he had a suspicion.
It was confirmed when the outer door opened, and a white unicorn with blue hair and a smart military uniform walked in. The guard at the door immediately stood and saluted.
"Sir!"
“At ease, Officer. Has the prisoner said anything?"
"Sir! The prisoner has not said anything all day! Sir! "
The guard pony was standing so tall and straight that Blackjack thought he might pull a muscle. The naval unicorn had similar concerns, giving the guard a look as he pulled out a file.
“You can leave us, Officer. Thank you.”
“Sir?”
Shining Armor turned and stared the guard pony down. “I said you may leave us, Commander. This will be short.”
The guard pony frowned but, eyeing the stripes on Shining’s uniform, saluted and left. The two unicorns looked at one another.
“Blackjack, right?”
The black unicorn said nothing. Shining eyed his cutie mark: two playing cards, an ace and a jack of spades. White outlines on his black coat. And a cracked horn.
Shining levitated a file out of his shoulder bag flipped through it. “I’m just curious. How bold—some might say suicidal—do you have to be to return to the same place where you were first convict of weapons smuggling to smuggle more weapons?"
Blackjack chuckled, and then finally spoke. “Wwwwwwhat’s the job?”
Shining Armor blinked and almost took a step back. Blackjack’s voice had stretched out the first word of his sentence, as if the word had to fight to get out of his throat. “I’m sorry?”
Blackjack shook his head. “Pony Island is a small town. Two ships in and out every day, not counting small passenger ships and fishing boats. There’s an eight o’clock, and there’s a two o’clock; if I’m reading the light right, it’s four o’clock, going on five.”
“So?”
Blackjack grinned. “I should have been on one of those boats, boss. So what’s the job?”
What an ass, Shining thought to himself.
“It’s Shining Armor. Quartermaster Shining Armor.”
“You don’t leave ponies like me in a place like this. Arrest, convict, put me on a boat. Manehattan always pays to extradite. But I’m still here.”
“Yes. I ordered that your extradition be stayed until I had a chance to talk to you.”
“So. What’s the job?”
Shining Armor arched an eyebrow. “You’re a cocky stallion, aren’t you?”
“You’re in a naval uniform, talking to a felon, in the prison of a small town. And unless I stole something from a family member—unlikely, unless they deal in immortal swords—you have no reason to care about me. Unless.”
Shining Armor looked back down at the file in front of him. “Unless.”
Blackjack grinned again. “You need me for something.”
This isn’t how this is supposed to go, Shining sighed inwardly.
Leaning against the bars, Blackjack clapped his hooves together with a grin, "Don’t be shy, Quartermaster. This isn’t my first unofficial jail break. What do you need? An artifact? Documents? Friendly persuasion? Unfriendly persuasion?"
"I need a Sergeant."
Blackjack's smiled melted into confusion. He cleared his throat, trying and failing to silence his verbal tic. "Wwwwhat?"
"I need a Leader for the unicorn marine squad on the Nocturnal Thunder. We sail in three days."
Blackjack cocked his head "You should be talking to a Marine, then."
"According to this," Shining Armor flipped through the file, "you are one. Well, were one. Top marks in everything but following orders. Dishonorable discharge."
Annoyed, Blackjack turned away and grumbled. "Only made it past the first year."
"Did you really stab your commanding officer in the front leg?"
"It was a wild throw from twenty hooves away, I wouldn't call it a stabbing."
"He needed surgery. You pierced the bone."
Blackjack shrugged. "Well, I was aiming for his head."
Shining tried to hide his smile. "You'll plead guilty to your crimes. Your sentence will be served out onboard the Nocturnal Thunder. Minimum one year, or however long the mission takes. You'll have a uniform, a rank, and if we live long enough to spend it, a salary. And you WILL pay taxes."
Blackjack shook his head. "I don't like it."
"No pony likes paying taxes."
"I mean the whole thing. You must have hoofheads chomping at the bit to lead whatever thing you got cookin'. What's the mission?"
"Classified."
Blackjack snorted. "Need to know, and evidently, I don't need to know. So buck you, I'm going to Manehatten."
Shining glared. "Mr. Jack, you can spend the next twenty years in an underwater isolated chamber in the cells of Old Manhatten, which I promise you, you will... Or you can serve your Princess. Help the greater good. Do something with your life."
There was a silence. They stared at one another.
"Hhhow would this work?"
Shining stood up, packing up his file. " You'll have a division, and a commander. But you'll also report directly to me. when we need you to run special ops."
Blackjack snorted. "I want my knives."
"We have our own weapons."
"I want my knives."
Shining sighed. "Why?"
"Because eventually you're going to ask me to do something bad for your greater good. And when that happens? I want my own blades."

1904935

Logbook Entry Number…I’ve lost count. Oh my…
Life aboard the Nocturnal Thunder. How am I to explain it? Perhaps I can attempt to sum it up in a few short words. I’ve always liked shorter words. They’re nicer and flow better. Anyways, the words that I’ve chosen are: big, loud, and stressful.
Big.
Everypony is always out and about, and since there are so many ponies, it must be a very large ship to accommodate them all. Very large? Not even close to describing how giant, frighteningly, horrifyingly huge it is.
When I first boarded the ship, I was so nervous. Rainbow Dash was talking with Twilight, Pinkie was with her crew, and I don’t know where Applejack and Rarity were, but I was scared…
“Hey! Watch it, lady!”
“Get out of the way!”
“I’m trying to walk here!”
The yellow pegasus mare shrieked, jerking backwards as several ponies scrambled across the deck of the ship, cluttering it so much she couldn’t even see a foot in front of her. Was that a minotaur? A changeling?
Passing by, a pony seemed to notice her predicament and smiled in a bittersweet way before tipping his head at her. “I suggest you fly over the crowd, Miss,” he remarked. “That way you can…” The rest of his speech was lost as he was swept back into the crowd; Fluttershy had opened her mouth but quickly shut it again. She bit her lip, nearly drawing blood.
How were they supposed to know that her wing was, well, crippled? There was no way around it, she supposed. Even if she could fly a little, she wouldn’t choose to, not by a long shot. Maybe there was another way…
Slowly the doctor pegasus watched the gaps that came and went as quickly as fast-flying butterflies, darting throughout the members of the ship. There were so many ponies boarding, there had to be a sizable gap somewhere…
Ah-ha!
Quickly, Fluttershy zipped into a larger spot and felt the hard wood under her hooves. She exhaled. Made it.
That was when she realized she was being pushed from all sides. Where were they taking her? Which direction did she want to go? Oh, why didn’t I study that map Shining Armor gave me? He had given it to her when visiting to explain the ship’s mission, and how, as one of the Elements of Harmony, she had practically been required to come.
She hadn’t wanted to go at first, despite the mysterious scroll she had been given containing the prophecy. It had seemed too dangerous, too risky.
Then she had discovered that the Nocturnal Thunder was one of Rainbow Dash’s favorite things. Ever.
Ever since about the middle of her school years, Fluttershy had had what one could call a very large crush on the Element of Loyalty. She knew it was impossible and she knew Rainbow was everything she wasn’t, but perhaps that was why she admired her so much. Rainbow Dash was like the pony that completed her. It was too good to be true.
Rainbow had been the one to defend her from the bullies that taunted her about her crippled wing.
Rainbow had been the one to introduce her to others, and even help her be a bit more social.
Rainbow had been the one that was by her side, even in the disastrous attack by Nightmare Moon that eventually led to the coming of their wonderful Princess, Luna.
Fluttershy owed Rainbow Dash a favor.
“Excuse me, Miss?”
The pegasus nearly jumped right there; she turned to see a light tan unicorn stallion with bright green eyes and a darker brown mane blinking at her curiously. “Would you happen to be Doctor Fluttershy?”
How did he know her name? Fluttershy answered with caution. “Y-Yes…”
The stallion broke into a wide grin. “A pleasure to meet you, Miss. My name is Doctor Adorable. You’re off to the Medical Ward to get settled in, I presume?”
Her gratitude could hardly fit on her face; the mare nodded rapidly, beaming. A way out! A way out of this huge mess! The timing was so perfect Fluttershy was amazed. It was like something that would have happened to a character in a book, not little old her.
Adorable smiled, nodding at her and beginning a steady trot a bit to the right of where Fluttershy had originally been heading. “Then follow me, Miss…right this way.”
“Please…just Fluttershy is fine.”
Loud.
“Another round!”
So loud.
Fluttershy winced, placing her hooves over her ears and trying once again to curl up in a pitiful little ball on the bed of her bunk. Her logbook was out, sprawled across the sheets and open; Fluttershy had been trying to write for the last hour but had continuously been interrupted by ponies cantering across the deck of the ship. They were probably drunk.
She’d have to deal with it, though. She had been dealing with all other sections of her visit quite well so far and was very proud of herself.
Would Rainbow be proud?
Get her out of your head, Fluttershy. Maybe try to go to sleep?
In response to this newest thought, the doctor curled up under her sheets, slowly placing her logbook to the side of the bed and closing her teal eyes, wings folded contentedly against her side.
Canter, canter, trot. Screaming. Yelling.
Fluttershy gritted her teeth and rolled over.
“I can’t believe it!” somepony screeched.
I can’t believe you won’t be quiet. Fluttershy inwardly got irritated at herself for sounding so rude, but she couldn’t help it. Pressing the front of her forelegs to her chest, she closed her eyes and simply breathed in and out. In, out. In, out…
The rest of the night was loud, but Fluttershy managed to ignore it.
Somewhat.
…and stressful.
“Oh mah stars, she’s hurt! Get out o’ the way, everypony! Mah Apple Bloom’s gone and hurt herself!”
“Quickly, Fluttershy! Get the splint,” the head doctor, Cox, snapped in her direction. In the few days she had been on the Thunder, Fluttershy had learned that the stallion was not one to mess with – he especially loved to belittle Doctor Adorable, who put up with it all quite well, and with a smile on his face.
“The splint!” Cox repeated, eyes narrowed in frustration; Fluttershy yelped and nodded, scrambling as fast as she could to the side of the room where the medical supplies were laid out. She found the splint with no difficulty and folded it under her one good wing before giving it off to Doctor Adorable, who then passed it to Doctor Cox.
A little yellow filly, a darker shade than Fluttershy’s own fur and feathers, was brought in, amber eyes half closed and one hoof weakly twitching. “It hurts,” she whimpered to the one carrying her, an orange earth pony Fluttershy instinctively recognized as the filly, Apple Bloom’s, older sister Applejack, the Element of Honesty.
“Ah know, Apple Bloom. But it’ll be alright, y’all will see,” was the only response.
Fluttershy’s heart raced with fear as Adorable used his magic to bind Apple Bloom’s right foreleg, which was already starting to turn purple. “W-What happened?” she managed to squeak out.
Applejack acknowledged her fellow Element for the first time, nodding in Shy’s direction. “Runnin’ around, trying to explore the ship. She jumped onto some wooden boxes and they collapsed…good thing they were empty.”
“That could have been bad,” Adorable agreed, looking up from his work for a heartbeat to nod.
In that heartbeat, Cox leapt on the unicorn. Not physically, of course, but in words, which, in Fluttershy’s mind, was just as bad. “What do you think you’re doing?” he growled, making a noise deep in his throat.
Adorable blinked in confusion. “Talking,” he replied slowly.
Cox rolled his eyes. “Don’t be smart with me, Adorable. If you look away from your patient for even a moment, you could lose your concentration. Do you know what this means?”
Fluttershy lifted one hoof tentatively. “D-Don’t get distracted, sir?” she offered meekly.
“Exactly!” The head doctor stamped one hoof for emphasis. “You let yourself get distracted, Adorable, and a wide world of things could happen to your patient. You could laugh and your magic could break her leg!” His eyes were wide; his chest heaved.
Applejack rolled her eyes and snorted. “Horsefeathers, Doc Cox. Apple Bloom’s fine, an’ y’all have no right goin’ around an’ scarin’ the other doctors to pieces like that. Look at poor Fluttershy!”
Break a leg? Fluttershy’s eyes stretched wider. When she had been in school, she had been taught to be cautious and to stick to her strengths, which meant no potion-mixing for the pegasus (there had been enough explosions to let her know that wasn’t where her heart lay). But they had never reinforced the dangers so honestly and so harshly as Cox did that day. And though later Adorable and Applejack comforted her, telling her that Apple Bloom’s leg never would have broken anyways – that it was only a sprain, nothing serious like a Naga wound…
…the stress still got to me.
There are good things on the ship, of course. What would life be without a few good things sprinkled in every once in a while? Adorable is kind to me, and Cox isn’t too bad, just a little bit harsh. Rainbow Dash and all of my friends are here, and some of the ponies seem genuinely sweet. I don’t know…I guess I’m just too shy to really get to know anypony else, including the strange zebra that is the assistant doctor, Zeta. With this adventure, I hope to get stronger, in more ways than one…
…oh, that sounds scary. Eep!
Signing off,
Doctor Fluttershy

1904935

Cheerilee was having a crummy day.
There was probably another word for it but she didn't like to swear, not even in her own head. So she went with 'crummy' which, while adequate, lacked the poetry to describe how trying the day was.
It was supposed to be a day of triumph. She was giving a big lecture in the morning on her new findings, lunch with the university president and a naval officer, followed by a grant proposal in front of the board in the afternoon. If all went to plan, she was going to be popping open that bottle of champagne hidden in her Magitek cooler at the end of the day. Plus, she had remembered to pack her breakfast, cinnamon oats, her favorite.
Plans are, of course, what sea-nagas laugh at when ponies dare to make them. Thus it was pre-destined that she would be running late without time to eat her breakfast, and the lecture was sparsely attended, and had a few walk-outs. Worse, one of those walk-outs was the military officer who was also supposed to join her for lunch. The navy was her primary source of funding. That 'wasn't good', another polite euphemism for what was actually said when the University president chewed her out during the lunch set for three, only attended by two.
No pony likes to be yelled at, but it was especially trying to be screamed at by your boss, right before a grant proposal meeting. Led by your boss. Where you are the one asking for the grant.
“In conclusion, this University is at the edge of a cave in terms of researching the ocean floor. We can either dive in and find out new wonders that will illuminate our past and inform our future, or we can turn back, and stay in darkness.”
She squinted under the lights, which were somehow worse than the auditorium she had been in earlier. The artificial glare was nothing compared to the frosty reception she was getting from her peers, the board members and, yes, the University President.
She cleared her throat, and continued “I am happy to address any questi-”
The President did not hesitate. "New Equestria has to keep looking forward, and so must its university. Miss Cheerilee," and he emphasized the 'Miss' with a pause and a look over his spectacles, "you would have us spend thousands of bits to go to the bottom of the ocean floor and do... What, exactly?"
"Mr. President, 97% of our world is covered in ocean. We've only truly explored 3% of it. This proposal would-"
Another pony on the board, an old, fat Pegasus with a dyed orange mane, harrumphed, "Miss, your proposal would only open up a quarter of a percent of the map. I hardly think that would bring much prestige or revenue to this university."
"3.25% of the map is more than 3%, Professor Flightless."
She could hear the fat pony bristle. "It's Doctor Flightless, miss Cheerilee."
"And it's Professor Cheerilee, sir."
"Professor," came and older voice, the only mare on the board and the only one to ever show any interest in her work, "what do you hope to find in these drowned cities and castles? Most of them have already been plundered for treasure by pirates, or the naga."
Cheerilee smiled at her old friend. "The key to our future, Miss Mayor. Baubles and jewels come and go, but the real treasure is still down there."
"Which is?" Asked the university president, smiling in a way that unnerved Cheerilee.
"The reason the waters rose." There was pause, and a poorly hidden snicker. She gritted her teeth and went on. "This world is a story of before, and after. During the before, I am convinced the three tribes lived in harmony, on the land. You don't build castles and towns and cities when you know a flood is coming. Something happened. Something big." The silence was deafening, but she didn't care. "It wasn't supposed to be like this. Our world wasn't supposed to be covered in water. And the answer is in the water."
"In this quarter of a percent of the map?" Sneered Dr. Flightless.
"Maybe!" Cheerilee pounded her lectern. "We won't know until we look!"
"By all means, look," said the President. “Knock yourself out. But you’re asking to do it on our time, and with our bits. Bits that do not, sadly, grow on trees.”
Cheerilee was shaking. “We’re not a business. We’re not a factory. It’s our job to learn, to educate, and to find the things that belong in museums. Before the pirates do.”
“Cheerilee, if you can’t even get a visiting naval officer, visiting just to listen to you, to stay through your lectures…” the President sighed, but with a sneer in his voice, “... how can you persuade us your project needs more funding?” They stared at one another. “Or any funding at all?”
Cheerilee opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She was proficient in several languages, but could only speak a little acacadamia-ese. Still…
“Excuse me, Mr. President. Am I being fired?”
Her one defender spoke up, “I am fairly certain no budget decisions have been made.” There was a pause. Mayor Mare arched an eyebrow. “Certainly not when I’ve been in the room.”
There was an uncomfortable shifting of bodies around the board. No pony made eye contact with Cheerilee, or each other.
Finally, the President spoke up. “Thank you for your time, Miss Cheerilee. We'll let you know what the board decides.”
As Cheerilee walked out of the room, he added, “I wouldn’t work too hard at planning next semester.”
After the parade of horribles, the last, least and yet the most annoying: her afternoon snack had exploded in her saddle bag. Reams of notes were now covered in cinnamon oats, which was charming as a nursery rhyme but annoying as a reality.
She didn’t know whether to scream, cry or just get drunk.
Her dilemma was answered when she walked into her office. It was a fair size, but most of it was taken up by a large and ungainly Magitek Cooler. It was a steam and magic powered refrigerator, necessary for preserving samples and fossils found on the ocean floor. There was barely room for her desk and chair, which was fine because she rarely used them for anything other than more counter space. Maps adorned the walls with little pushpins, plaster molds of fossils littered the floor and the desk, and open books were everywhere. It was the office of a pony who had her work and not much else.
There was also a large, white, unmistakably male flank sticking out of her open Magitek Cooler.
"Hey! Can I help you?"
His horn appeared first, revealing his unicorn identity. It was glowing. She heard a cork pop, and a champagne bottle floated up, along with his curious muzzle. He was a striking white unicorn stallion who had just opened her only bottle of alcohol.
Cheerilee was flustered and outraged. "I was saving that!"
He smiled, "For today, Ms. Cheerilee. You were saving it for today." Closing the door with his back legs, he looked around the office. "Do you have glasses, or?"
Now that she was able to get a good look at him without a door in the way, Cheerilee recognized the uniform. Navy. High ranking. This did not bode well.
"I don't. Uh. Coffee cups, I've got coffee cups. Sir." She started to salute, but he waved her off with a chuckle.
"Just point me towards them, unless you want to drink out of the bottle."
She shook her head. "I'll get them." Brushing past him, she dropped her soaking bag ‘I'll deal with that after the stallion in charge of my funding leaves’, picked up two clean cups and turned back to him. The cups suddenly floated out of her hooves and towards the stallion.
"Allow me." He began pouring. The bubbles sizzled against the paper sides of the tiny cups. "If I can ask, you keep a hundred bit bottle of bubbly in your magitek fridge, but no champagne glasses in case you need to open it?" He floated a cup back to her.
She swallowed and gently took the cup out of his magic field. "The idea was to open it when we could afford the glasses. Most of my budget goes towards keeping the magitek cooler running.” She frowned. “Now I'm not even sure if I have a budget anymore."
"Oh I think we can take care of that." He lifted his coffee cup. "Cheers."
She nodded and lifted her cup, taking a small sip. He was not so shy. She hesitated. "Sir, if I can be so bold, who are you?"
The white unicorn almost spit up his champagne, but managed to choke it down. Wiping his muzzle, he chuckled and shook his head. "My mother would be so mad at me right now, I apologize. My name is Shining Armor. I'm the new Quartermaster of the Nocturnal Thunder."
Cheerilee's eye twitched. “Shining Armor.”
“Yes Ma’am.”
"You," coughed Cheerilee, "you're the navy pony who was at my lecture today, weren't you?"
"Right again. Sorry I had to cut out early, but I had heard what I needed to hear.”
“The Shining Armor who was supposed to attend the luncheon with the University President and I?”
“And I am sorry about that as well, but quite frankly, I don’t much care for that guy. More bubbly?"
Cheerilee nodded dumbly. More alcohol sounded about right, right now. He walked out of her lecture and no-showed at her lunch, but now, he was here, drinking champagne with her. Unless he was a sadist, something didn’t add up.
She held out her cup, and he magically tilted the bottle to refill. With a heavy sip and a deep breath, she said, "Mr. Armor, I know that my topic can sound, dry, I guess, but I assure you-"
"You misunderstand. All I needed to hear was that you were as good as your writings suggest. Luna values words, but puts higher value on meeting the pony face to face." He refilled his cup. "Of course, she can't meet everypony face to face, so here I am. The bubbles are just a little bonus." He winked and took another sip.
It was a lot to process. Cheerilee fixated on one element that stood out. "Princess Luna reads my work?"
"She likes to keep on top of what the experts are saying in all relevant fields." He looked around the office, at all of the artifacts and scribbled writings and maps. Then he looked back at her. "You are the expert in your field."
Cheerilee was stunned. “Surely there are other ponies…”
Shining shook his head. “You’re it. And we need you. Your princess needs you.”
Suddenly, another red flag went off in Cheerilee’s mind. "Nocturnal Thunder… That's the Princesses new ship, isn't it?"
Shining nodded. "Our city on the sea. She sails in four days. With or without you. But hopefully, with you.” He downed his cup, and held up the bottle. “More?”
Cheerilee held out her hoof. “Wait. Me? What would a naval ship need with a historian?”
“Well, that’s the thing…” Shining floated the bottle over to her, and started pouring more bubbly. “The places we’re going, the Princess and I, we thought it’d be right up your alley.”
Cheerilee’s eyes lit up. “You mean the waters around the Midway islands?”
“Past that. All the way to the Edge, and beyond. And yes, underneath as well.”
She dropped her cup, and there was a dull splat as Champagne spilled onto the ground. Shining stopped pouring. “Oops. Sorry about that.”
“Mr. Armor, no pony’s ever gone that far… and come back to tell about it.”
Shining grinned. “Don’t you want to be on the first boat that does?”
Cheerilee reached out, grabbed the bottle out of the air, and killed it. A crooked grin took over her face. “Is this a job interview?”
“This is a job offer. You’ve already passed the interview. You’ll be given a uniform, a rank, and you report directly to the Princess. And me. And occasionally, the ship’s navigator. Well, we’ll figure it out.” Shining coughed, “We can’t pay much, but-“
“Mr. Armor, the mere possibility of seeing where the world ends…” Cheerilee stared past him, “I’d do it for free.”
“First rule about naval life, Professor Cheerilee.” Shining walked over and whispered confidentially. “Never tell the Quartermaster you’ll do something for free.”

1904935

Revised Blackjack
The unicorn sat in his cell, watching the sunlight move across the ground as the day wore on. The guards posted outside the bars had shifted, but otherwise nothing had happened all day. Based on the angle of the sun, and the fact that he was still in his cell, he had a suspicion.
It was confirmed when the outer door opened, and a white unicorn with blue hair and a smart military uniform walked in. The guard at the door immediately stood and saluted.
"Sir!"
“At ease, Officer. Has the prisoner said anything?"
"Sir! The prisoner has not said anything all day! Sir! "
The guard pony was standing so tall and straight that Blackjack thought he might pull a muscle. The naval unicorn had similar concerns, giving the guard a look as he pulled out a file.
“You can leave us, Officer. Thank you.”
“Sir?”
Shining Armor turned and stared the guard pony down. “I said you may leave us, Commander. This will be short.”
The guard pony frowned but, eyeing the stripes on Shining’s uniform, saluted and left. The two unicorns looked at one another.
“Blackjack, right?”
The black unicorn said nothing. Shining eyed his cutie mark: two playing cards, an ace and a jack of spades. White outlines on his black coat. And a cracked horn.
Shining levitated a file out of his shoulder bag flipped through it. “I’m just curious. How bold—some might say suicidal—do you have to be to return to the same place where you were first convicted of weapons smuggling, to smuggle more weapons?"
Blackjack chuckled, and then finally spoke. “Wwwwwwhat’s the job?”
Shining Armor blinked and almost took a step back. Blackjack’s voice had stretched out the first word of his sentence, as if the word had to fight to get out of his throat. “I’m sorry?”
Blackjack shook his head. “Pony Island is a small town. Two ships in and out every day, not counting small passenger ships and fishing boats. There’s an eight o’clock, and there’s a two o’clock; if I’m reading the light right, it’s four o’clock, going on five.”
“So?”
Blackjack grinned. “I should have been on one of those boats, boss. So what’s the job?”
What an ass, Shining thought to himself.
“It’s Shining Armor. Quartermaster Shining Armor.”
“You don’t leave ponies like me in a place like this. Arrest, convict, put me on a boat. Manehattan always pays to extradite. But I’m still here.”
“Yes. I ordered that your extradition be stayed until I had a chance to talk to you.”
“So. What’s the job?”
Shining Armor arched an eyebrow. “You’re a cocky stallion, aren’t you?”
“You’re in a naval uniform, talking to a felon, in the prison of a small town. And unless I stole something from a family member—unlikely, unless they deal in immortal swords—you have no reason to care about me. Unless.”
Shining Armor looked back down at the file in front of him. “Unless.”
Blackjack grinned again. “You need me for something.”
This isn’t how this is supposed to go, Shining sighed inwardly.
Leaning against the bars, Blackjack clapped his hooves together with a grin, "Don’t be shy, Quartermaster. This isn’t my first unofficial jailbreak. What do you need? An artifact? Documents? Friendly persuasion? Unfriendly persuasion?"
"I need a Sergeant."
Blackjack's smiled melted into confusion. He cleared his throat, trying and failing to silence his verbal tic.
"Wwwwhat?"
"I need a Leader for a specialized unicorn marine squad on the Nocturnal Thunder. We sail in three days."
Blackjack cocked his head "You should be talking to a Marine, then."
"According to this," Shining Armor flipped through the file, "you are one. Well, were one. Top marks in everything but following orders. Dishonorable discharge."
Annoyed, Blackjack turned away and grumbled. "Only made it past the first year."
"Did you really stab your commanding officer in the front leg?"
"It was a wild throw from twenty hooves away, I wouldn't call it a stabbing."
"He needed surgery. You pierced the bone."
Blackjack shrugged. "Well, I was aiming for his head."
Shining tried to hide his smile. "You'll plead guilty to your crimes. Your sentence will be served out onboard the Nocturnal Thunder. Minimum one year, or however long the mission takes. You'll have a uniform, a rank, and if we live long enough to spend it, a salary. And you WILL pay taxes."
Blackjack shook his head. "I don't like it."
"No pony likes paying taxes."
"I mean the whole thing. You must have hoofheads chomping at the bit to lead whatever thing you got cookin'."
Shining shifted in his seat. "We have a lot of good unicorns. Brave unicorns. They don't have your experience." There was a pause. "Or your ability to get into place no pony should be able to get into. And out of."
Blackjack smirked. "So what's the mission?"
"Classified."
Blackjack snorted. "Need to know, and evidently, I don't need to know. So buck you, I'm going to Manehatten."
Shining glared. "Mr. Jack, you can spend the next twenty years in an underwater isolated chamber in the cells of Old Manhatten, which I promise you, you will... Or you can serve your Princess. Help the greater good. Do something with your life."
There was a silence. They stared at one another.
"Hhhow would this work?"
Shining stood up, packing up his file. "You'll have a division, and a commander. But you'll also report directly to me. When we need you to run special ops."
Blackjack snorted. "I want my knives."
"We have our own weapons."
"I want my knives."
Shining sighed. "Why?"
"Because eventually you're going to ask me to do something bad for your greater good. And when that happens? I want my own blades."

1904935

Subject Name: Willow (Formerly Teacozy)
Location: The Last Drink, New Canterlot
Date: September 15th, 1001.
Staring at the light brown of the wooden wall, Willow briefly amused the idea of the letter being a trap. She quickly dismissed the idea with a shake of her head, chuckling uneasily to herself. “Even if it did seem rather odd, I doubt they would have tried to lure me into a populated town to take me down, when they could have easily done it now and got the drop on me…” she looked down at the letter in her hooves again, reading over it again while she waited.
To the pegasus and vampire, Willow,
I am led to understand that you have skills as both an alchemist and explosives expert. Not to mention the skills that come with your… condition, you would be a valuable asset to our cause. I cannot say more through this message, but I can tell you that we will be traveling a long distance to find what we’re searching for. This is an offer to assist the Equestrian Remnant. If I’ve piqued your interest, meet me at The Last Drink in New Canterlot on the 15th.
Sincerely yours, Lord Shining Armor of the Equestrian Remnant
The informality of the letter puzzled Willow more than anything else, considering who it was supposedly from. Shining Armor? The Shining Armor? If the letter was indeed fake, whoever faked it did so poorly and with a poor choice in impersonation.
“Maybe their plan was to tip you off so that when you did come you would expect to be ambushed, which would throw you off guard so that you could be ambushed,” said a deep voice from behind Willow that to anypony else, may as well not exist. A voice Willow knew all too well, to her annoyance.
She barely regarded him as she replied, “Maybe so… but I doubt it. What I know of Shining Armor states that he’s an honorable sort, and wouldn’t try to deceive anypony into doing something for him.”
“Oh you are quite a fine judge of character… especially towards those you’ve never met.” A true statement but nonetheless painful. The ghostly presence chuckled as he observed the pitiful look on Willow’s face. “You really shouldn’t let these things get to you, you’ve made a few mistakes; so wha—”
Willow spun on him as her lips curled into a snarl. “Why don’t you just go and die you—” her quip caught in her throat as she beheld not the drake, but a certain white stallion with an electric blue mane partially concealed by a gray cap. Saddlebags covered his cutie mark but the pegasus remembered the purple star upon the blue shield and three lighter blue stars above that shield, that adorned his flanks. He frequented the news alongside other important ponies.
Her horror spread across her face as she realized what he would have seen, and by his raised eyebrow she could only stand there with mouth agape. He cleared his throat, “I would hate to have come all this way to hear something like that… That’s an odd rejection, Miss Willow.”
“No no no, I wasn’t talking to you Lord Armor… I was lost in thought and you merely startled me, please excuse me.” she dipped her head in apology, but he waved it off with a hoof.
“It’s perfectly fine, as I know it’s common for ponies to lose themselves in their thoughts, however it does strike me as odd… guess I’d rather not know.” He held out a hoof to the downcast mare, “You’ve probably already guessed who I am, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Willow.”
Willow took the hoof in her own and shook it gently, as though it would break if she shook too hard. “You’re quite informal for a Lord, both in your letter and in person.”
Shining smirked at the statement, casting a look around the room. “Yeah well... pretty barren room for a Canterlot inn, huh?” His attempt to shift the subject didn’t go unnoticed and neither did the other comment. “Although, I suppose a vampony doesn’t need to sleep very often… is it vampony or vampire?”
Willow shrugged, “Vampire is the general term but vampony is the more commonly used of the two. Why?”
“I’ve heard the sun is lethal to the common vampony, if the legends are true that is. How did you get here if that’s the case?”
While she was willing to play along Willow could clearly see she was being interrogated. “I… think that’s a myth, I can walk in the sun for a bit just fine. I generally wear a suit that protects most of my body,” she waved a hoof over at dark cloth, metal plates positioned all over various parts to protect the body without restricting movement, “with holes open for my wings, tail, and a hood that protects my face. “However when it comes to long distance I need a series of enchantments to keep the sun from burning me alive.”
“Do you sparkle in th-” he was cut off mid sentence by the look she shot him, one most ponies don’t shoot people higher up than them on the food chain, “Okay, nevermind. Anyways, I’m asking all of this because I’m recruiting for an… adventure of sorts. Have you heard of Edge Island?”
“The name sounds familiar. Stories about ponies going there seeking treasure and fame. Funnily enough no stories ever come back.” Willow was connecting dots in her head, and came to a conclusion. “You want to go there?”
“We need to go there. I can’t explain quite why here but trust me when I say it’s important to the safety of Equestria as we know it…” Almost as an afterthought, he added, “But a journey like that is bound to have some rewards. Bits, treasure—”
Willow cut him off yet again, “That place is halfway across the world, Lord Armor. It would take much longer than I have to do whatever it is you want me to do, wherever it is you want me to do it. Why do you want me specifically to do it anyway.”
“You like explosives. You’re skilled in potions, poisons, and projectile weaponry. As the only vampony seen in Equestria for a hell of a long time, you’ve left a bit of a trail behind you.”
“What do you need me for exactly?”
Shining cast a glance over his shoulder at a figure standing in the hallway behind them. “Have you heard of The Nocturnal Thunder?”
Willow’s eyes lit up at that single statement. “That beauty of a ship? Capable of holding hundreds of ponies easily, with hundreds of various cannons and—”
“We’re lacking a master gunner and you seem qualified, not to mention you’re being vouched for by somepony pretty high up…” The figure said in a slow, quiet tone of voice, a mare clearly visible in the shadows. Her horn sparkled for merely a moment revealing a single glimpse of her beautiful face. “You are a daughter of the night. Kin to one of those I created many moons ago. I believe you would know me as... Princess Luna.” Willow wobbled on her hooves, eyes rolling into the back of her head as she slipped and fell to the floor.
Shining cleared his throat. “That doesn’t exactly inspire hope in me, if I may be totally honest.”
“I have faith that she is the right choice.”
The strange dark blue alicorn left the inn the way she had come with the white one falling closely behind. On his back was a new pony, it was a bat winged pegasus in strange dark armor that concealed most of her body. Her face was concealed mostly by a hood, but the hints of a violet muzzle peeked out from underneath it.
From afar two diamond dogs watched, the female wearing a simple hooded cloak whilst the male wore chain armor and a cloak - a massive sword across his back. He spoke first, “Star... ain’t that the same pony that was supposed to meet that Shining Armor lad here? The one on that white unicorn’s back, traveling with that tall unicorn?”
“Indeed it is, Sparkles…” She grinned wickedly and snapped her claws at Sparkles. “Go pull the ship around and make sure we’re all ready to go… I recognize the blue one, that’s that princess. And royalty tends to be pretty wealthy...”
“And if they lead us right to that wealth…”
“Then, with a few little details most ponies call plans, that wealth can become our wealth… I think we’re gonna be rich.”
(Never mind how stupid it is to follow the biggest and apparently one of the most dangerous ships in the entire Equestrian Remnant or whatever… No, nothing could go wrong.)

1904953 Since we're re-doing the story, I'd like to correct something. In the very first sentence of my chapter, it's supposed to be "Velvet Song", not Remedy. I messed up...