The Star Guard

by Car Cloth

Pirates

Chapter 14
Pirates

Mist rolled off her bed, confused. Scootaloo had disappeared and then the dream world had just… ended. That didn’t normally happen.

“Rumble!” Equinox gasped, jumping up from the couch. She wildly glanced around the room, prompting Mist to do the same.

“What happened?” Mist asked. The window was broken open, the glass shattered inward and on the floor. Across from the window was the rundown warehouse used to hold cargo from the docks.

The room was wrecked and the door left open. Marble and Scootaloo were nowhere to be found. Where are they? Equinox galloped from the room, hitting the door as she went. Mist followed her down the hallway toward Pip’s room. His door was also broken and Equinox burst through it, calling out for Rumble. Mist entered the room, not surprised to see it was in the same mangled condition.

Phantom Shade was just waking and Rumble was lying on his bed, but otherwise nopony was here. The couch was turned over and the floor covered in orange feathers, like there had been a scuffle, but Mist didn’t see anypony nearby.

“Where’s Squeaks?” Mist asked, worried when she saw his usual places empty. “Where are the others?”

Equinox ran to Rumble’s side and began shaking him. “Rumble! Wake up! Rumble!” He didn’t move much outside of his shallow breathing. Mist recognized that… it had been just like Princess Celestia when they found her with Nightmare Moon. Unmoving. Unresponsive.

Phantom Shade left the room. Mist, uncertain of what they should be doing, flew out into the hall, hoping to find more clues. Noi, the pony who had hosted them in her little hotel, was walking up the stairs.

“Noi! Where’s Squeaks?” Mist asked in a panicked tone.

“Um, would you all mind keeping it down in your rooms?” Noi asked, ignoring Mist’s question. “I know you guys have important Star Guard business to do, but some of the other guests are complaining.”

“Pipsqueak! Have you seen Pipsqueak?!” Mist couldn’t care less about the other guests complaining about the noise!

“No, I didn’t see him. All I heard was all the thumping. Are you guys training in your rooms? I know there isn’t a rule about that, but I thought it was just common sense to not do t-”

“What about any strange ponies? Have you seen any of those?” Mist pushed Noi to the side and began examining every inch of the carpet in the hotel. When she found nothing, she realized that the ponies must have exited the same way they came in. Through the broken window.

“Is something wrong?” Noi asked as Mist pushed past her again, flying back to the rooms. Mist didn’t answer because she honestly didn’t know if the situation was bad or not. She flew back into the room with her sister and Rumble. Equinox was still standing next to the pegasus pony, guilt written across her face.

Phantom Shade galloped back into the room and shut the door behind him. His gold eyes were staring, unseeing, at the floor in front of him.

Knock, knock.

Everypony jumped. Phantom Shade took a deep breath and cracked the door open an inch. “Yes?” he asked, his voice remarkably calm for what was going on.

“Is everything okay?” Noi asked from the hallway.

“Yes, everything is fine.”

“What was all that thumping earlier?”

“We were…” Phantom Shade hesitated a moment and glanced around the room. “We were sparring. Forgive me. It was a lack of common sense that led to such uncouth behavior. It will not happen again.”

“Oh, okay. Thanks! Just keep in mind the other guests are trying to sleep when you guys are working!”

“I shall.” Phantom Shade shut the door with a hard click. He then turned to Mist and Equinox. “It’s imperative that we start searching immediately. Once the day-pony in the hall leaves, we’ll search the warehouse. They must be close by.”

“Why didn’t you tell her something was wrong?” Mist asked. Why hide it?

Phantom Shade walked over to the corner of the room and examined the Star Guard armor. It was all there… whoever had broken in hadn’t taken it. Phantom Shade slipped into his. “An element of being a part of the military, or any agency with the public safety in mind, is that you should always appear as though you are in control of a situation, even if you aren’t. It wouldn’t help us to start a panic. It definitely wouldn’t help us if everypony in Manehattan thought we were being robbed.”

“Kidnapped,” Mist corrected with a nervous laugh.

“Under no circumstances are we to admit that!” Phantom Shade snapped. “Not until we know what’s going on!”

Equinox turned away from Rumble with a glare. “We have bigger problems on our hooves! Rumble died in the dreamscape! He… I watched him be melted! We have to do something to help him! He isn’t waking!”

“And we certainly will not mention that!” Phantom Shade said with a dark, ironic laugh. “Now get up and get dressed! Quickly! We need to find these attackers and deal with this situation before anything gets out of hoof!”

“What about Rumble?” Equinox asked, her emotions torn.

Phantom Shade dramatically waved a hoof around the room. “Do you see our captain? How do you think we’re going to go into the dreamscape and help Rumble if we don’t have his magic necklace? We can’t! Get your priorities together! You’re the only one I can count on right now to solve this situation!”

Mist rubbed her hooves together and half-smiled. “I’m here! I’m ready to start looking!”

Phantom Shade barely acknowledged her with a look. He grabbed his bow and a quiver of arrows as Equinox donned her armor. Mist flew over and began suiting up as well.

“You stay here,” Phantom Shade ordered her. “You’ll only get in the way if you’re with us.”

“But I’m a member of the Star Guard too! I should be helping!” That’s what Squeaks would do!

“You’re mediocre at best,” Phantom Shade dismissively stated. “I remember you during the Night Guard training. You stay and watch over the pegasus, just in case our attackers return. Equinox, you’re with me. I know you can get the job done.”

Equinox brought a hoof up to her damaged wing but said nothing.

“I can fly!” Mist said, though she almost regretted it. She didn’t want to hurt her sister, but she was useful!

Phantom Shade glared at her. “Equinox knows what it takes to get the job done. You don’t. Wait here and watch the pegasus. We’ll be back.”

“It’s almost dawn,” Mist said. “Three searching is better than two!”

“You’re trying my patience!” Phantom Shade hissed. “I wasn’t inviting discussion, I was issuing a command!”

Mist solemnly nodded and watched as her sister and the old captain galloped from the room. How was she supposed to prove she was just as awesome as Princess Luna if everypony assumed she couldn’t handle anything?

I hope Squeaks is okay.

The instant they were gone, she gazed at the floor and saw something odd. A colorful and glittering substance had been thrown around the room. Potions? Magic? What was that about?

---

“What’s going on?!” Pip asked aloud. The darkness of the night made it difficult to see without his fragment. The lights of Manehattan had almost disappeared off into the distance and all he knew was that he was tied to a boat mast!

Pip looked left and then right. Marble, Scootaloo and Specter were tied up, though not to anything. Thunder Clash was also on the boat, but he was injured and unconscious, just lying on the open deck. “Marble!” Pip called to her. She was still sleeping. “Marble!”

She blinked a few times and lifted her head. Like Pip, she was momentarily dumbfounded and confused. “What the...?” she asked, craning her head to get a quick look at Manehattan.

“Hey, Mizzen! They’re waking!” a high-pitched voice screamed.

Pip turned toward the source of the scream and was shocked to see a breezie. Like all breezies, the tiny pony creature had giant fairy wings and long antennae. This particular breezie had a light blue coat, a purple mane cut like a Mohawk, and a long purple tail. Her eyes were bright violet and her eyelashes were thick and obvious.

“A breezie?” Pip asked aloud. “I thought they lived in the Breezie Grotto?”

“What’s going on, Gale? What did you say? You know it’s hard to understand what you’re sayin’ from across the boat!”

The breezie frowned and shouted, “They’re awake!”

To Pip’s surprise, a bat pony flew out of the captain’s cabin. He was rugged, wearing a black bandana and carrying a belt of daggers on his belt. The bat pony had a brown coat, ears that ended in tufts, black leathery wings, and obvious fangs. His mane was white, and his eyes, uncharacteristically for a bat pony, were bright blue, though he still had slit-pupils.

“Which one of you is the Guardian of the Night?” the bat pony casually asked as he flew across the deck of the boat. His cutie mark was a boat riding waves.

The other members of the Star Guard began to wake. Thunder Clash, however, was still very much unconscious.

Pip opened his mouth to respond and froze. His Fragment of the First Night was around the bat pony’s neck! He had stolen it! “That’s mine!” was the first thing that came out of Pip’s mouth.

“The captain asked you a question, earth pony!” the breezie barked. It was trying to be intimidating, but the squeaky voice, tiny body and giant beautiful wings made it really hard to take seriously.

Without warning, Marble jumped up and broke the ropes securing her. She spread her hooves apart, bracing for a fight. “Pip, give the word and I’ll liquefy this boat!” Marble raised a single back hoof, prepared to start bucking the wood all around them.

“No!” Pip gasped. “I need to get the fragment first!”

The bat pony captain took off Pip’s necklace and held it out to examine it. “This?” he asked in an amused tone. “You’re concerned about this? I think a smart pony would be more concerned about how far from port we are. Or that one of your friends is in no condition to swim.” He nodded with his head over to Thunder Clash.

“What did you do to him?” Pip growled.

“We didn’t want to have to rough him up, but your friend apparently needs two doses of sleeping gas before he gets knocked out. Made the mistake of thinking one would do it and then bam. He’s all over us! We had to get out of there earlier and everything…” The bat pony trailed off, but then turned his attention back to the group. “So, I’m going to ask again. Which one of you is the Guardian of the Night?”

Marble kept her leg cocked and ready. “I’m still willing to do this,” she said in a mildly excited tone.

“You aren’t breaking this whole boat down!” the breezie said with a snort and laugh.

Marble gave her the challenge accepted face. She brought her foot up slightly higher to kick downward, but Pip shook his head.

“No! Don’t! We can’t afford for the boat to fall apart!” Pip was earnestly pleading. He knew Marble could easily destroy the boat. There was no doubt in his mind.

“Hey!” the bat pony barked, drawing everypony’s attention. He was holding the Fragment of the First Night over the edge and twirling the chain around the edge of his hoof, threatening to drop it at any second. “Is anypony going to answer me? I get really jittery when I don’t get my answers…” He fake-dropped the chain and fragment. Pip could almost feel his heart stopping.

“I’m the Guardian of the Night!” Pip told him. “Please don’t drop that! It’s very important!” If he lost the Fragment of the First Night to the sea, he would be forever losing a piece of Luna’s magic! He would effectively fail his entire mission! The Nightmare Forces would have practically won at that point!

The breezie frowned. “You? You’re the Guardian of the Night? Are you sure?”

“Y-yes!” Pip said, vigorously nodding. “I am!”

“And all these other ponies are members of the Star Guard?” the bat pony asked for clarification.

“Yes! Now don’t drop that!”

The bat pony flew back to the center of the deck and threw the necklace back onto his neck. The breezie landed on his shoulder and glared at them.

“Look, I’ll be frank. My boss told me to bring him the Guardian of the Night, no matter what. So, you guys are going to sit tight and let me, Captain Mizzen, take you all to go see him. I’ll give you back your necklace once we’ve reached the halfway point, how’s that sound?”

“The sun’s about to rise,” Specter said with a nervous laugh. “Aren’t you worried about that at all? I know I sure am…”

“Don’t worry. We have a nice dark hold for you.”

Marble shook her head. “How about you give us back all of our stuff now and I won’t totally wreck everything onboard? I think that’s more of a fair deal.”

“Oh, a feisty one,” Mizzen said with a laugh. “Riddle! Riddle, get out here! The Star Guard wants to meet you too!”

“Don’t you and Gale have everything under control?” said a muffled, timid voice from the captain’s cabin. “I think you guys have it.”

“Riddle! Get your flank out here now!”

A lanky, awkward unicorn walked out on deck. He had a light brown coat with faint stripes across his legs and neck. His mane was mostly white and bristly, also faintly striped, and his tail was cut short. He wore glasses and a bandolier of potions.

Riddle nervously straightened his glasses with his telekinesis and nervously gazed upon the Star Guard. “This is the Guardian of the Night? He doesn’t look like much of a fight. Er- dang it! I’m so sorry!” Riddle smacked himself in the face. “I swear I’m not trying to rhyme!”

Gale, the breezie, rolled her eyes. “I’m starting to think you do it on purpose. Just to annoy me.”

“I won’t rhyme, just watch! Not rhyming should be hard to botch!”

The breezie groaned.

Mizzen waved his hoof through the air. “Just put them back to sleep, Riddle!”

“R-right! Sorry!” Using his magic, the unicorn floated up a potion and smashed it on the deck. Since the ship was moving, the glittering vapors that burst into the air washed over the Star Guard, taking Pip by surprise. He accidentally got a mouth full of the potion vapors and began to cough.

Within moments he felt the dreaded need to sleep wash over him. Pip could barely keep his eyes open, despite the fact that he did not want to sleep. How did Thunder Clash stay awake through one dose of this?

Pip closed his eyes and instantly fell asleep.

Comments

[pahnazd]

Uh-oh. Big trouble. Pip should have chucked Marble at their enemies, not on the ship. That would get him some results

[SageBrony07]

Wow. Impressive. I hope they can save Rumble though. Great job. Thanks for the update. I was happy to see this.

[doorcf]

Ok, this just got BAD

also poor Mist she wants to do better but almost no one exceot Pip gives her a chance

[Unbridled Dolly]

Marble, DO SOMETHING!!

[FluffyDoom]

ThunderClash=Badass

Anyway, NOOOOOOO! They got kidnapped, and so easily, they reallly need Phantom, I mean, besides Thunder he is seriously the only fully trained pony there who can keep his head.

[Biker_Dash]

Shit just got real, colts and fillies!

[HarmoniaTheConfuzzled]

Who the hell left the damn window open!
Breezies...

[appleblossom]

This is getting good I can't wait for the next update

[kushi02]

I love this story!!!!

[EclipseStar]

Really hope that this story isn't dead, I really just love it.

[BurningBright]

please please PLEASE tell me this story is still active.

[The Shade]

... This somehow slipped under my radar.

[Solid Punch]

Hey, you're still alive?

[Thunder--Clash]

No offense but do you still write stories because I would really love to see this story developing into the best story EVER
lets face it you are an AWESOME writer

[HarmoniaTheConfuzzled]

6536465
Why thank you my friend!

[Color Spark]

Are you going to continue this? Because I really love the plot in this, and it's really well developed. So please say yes, if not at least put it on hiatus or mark it cancelled so people won't go hoping for an update like me.

[A.P.O.N.I.]

Phantom Shade? Fuck you. You're not in command.

[Daps]

6694473 Neither is Pip. He's incapacitated and unable to communicate, and with Phantom Shade as the second highest ranking officer, he's the acting officer.

[pony of change]

I found Guardian of the Night and Star Guard a week ago and now I've read all of it. I need more

[PurpleHilt]

I need more.

[Syldiin]

No...
NO....
NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!
Tell me this story is still going!
Please tell me it hasn't sat for three years without an update!
Nooooo!
I'll dieeee!
COME BACK CAR CLOTH, WE NEED YOU
I WAS COUNTING ON THIS STIRY BEING FINISHED DANG IT
NOW I HAVE TO END ON A CLIFFHANGER!

Woe is me!

*dies*
P.S. BEST. BOOK.
EVER

[Stellar_]

I just finished the first and came here expecting more only to find it incomplete
I hate it when this happens.

[mrier27]

7327458
I found it 2 days ago and now I’ve read it all!

[Tevesh]

Oh, this is so good! Unfinished?