Chapter 12: Blackcap Peaks part 2
Blackcap Peaks
With Razor
Razor glared at the cave entrance, now he knew he was not alone. After making sure he was alone and the Mares weren't going to jump him out here he reached back and took the chest off his right flank and set it down in front of him. The chests, besides having the symbol on the front, were actually fairly large, not enough to be a huge problem a him but still quite big. The chests were shaped like normal at the bottom halves but the top halves widened towards the top of the lids, had designs showing Kirins all over it, a large ring-shaped handle on each side, and a very large key hole.
Razor took a large, white key with a Kirin skull shaped end and slid it into the hole, then turned it clockwise than counter-clockwise. The chest let out a hiss of air and steam while claw shaped latches on the outside snapped open. He opened the lid and reached in, pulling out several items: The first were grenades like the ones he had used on Ashbone Spires with two key differences; the first was instead of a metal cap and ring was a handle with a metal cap akin to one on a water bottle and a icon showing a silhouette of a Pony in a field of some sort.
This was a grenade of Germane design, and the icon was the symbol for magic capture fields. This type of field was used in various items with the intent to capture living (or non-living) targets in a magic field that locked their bodies up keeping them from moving yet allowing them to be aware of their surrounds, breath, and talk. The same type of magic used on the Traveler.
The next items were six cap and ball (or percussion cap) revolvers the same make as the ones he already had, he then pulled out twelve cylinders, each with the same symbol as the grenades. He laid out a sheet of cloth over the sand and laid his twelve revolvers, he picked one up and very carefully detached the cylinder and swapped it for the capture one. He did this with all twelve.
With that done he put everything he didn't need back in the chest and closed it, then slipped it back into place on his flank. Razor stood up and looked back at the cave.
"Okay Mares, time for a hunt."
Razor slowly walked to the cave and started sniffing the air while his ears perked up, listening for anything out of place. It wasn't long before he picked up the sound of voices not to far ahead, down the main path covered in mist. He stopped and listened for a minute.
"Are you sure he will come this way Twilight daring?" A voice that reminded him a little to much of the late Royals asked.
"Yes, the book I read on pirates said they tend to let their guard down if they are carrying treasure and think they are alone, so ambushing him will be easy."
Those books are outdated Miss Sparkle. And you really need to learn to keep your voices down if you want to spring an ambush. Razor thought to himself shaking his head.
"Come on y'all, there's six of us and only one of him." A voice with a southern accent said.
A larger force doesn't always mean victory.
"Yea, we've faced down Nightmare Moon, Discord, and many others and we won." A certain rainbow-haired Pony said. "He's only a pirate, we'll have no trouble with him."
Razor wasn't sure if he should be feeling insulted or not.
"Um... Rainbow, that pirate is a Kirin. You have heard the stories about they combat abilities right." A barely audible voice said.
"Come on Fluttershy, those are just stories. There's no way they could handle the fastest Pegasus in the Equestria, I'll take him down with old lefty and righty."
Now Razor was insulted.
Well, ain't you an arrogant one Miss Dash, time to knock that ego down a few levels.
Razor looked around, found a path that led to a spot over looking the six Mares, and pulled out a grenade. He activated it and tossed it into them. The Mane six saw the grenade land among them cutting off their plan with shrieks of surprise and fear. Rainbow, due to being in the air, escaped the blast, her friends weren't as lucky. Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie, and Fluttershy found themselves entrapped in a magic field that left them unable to move.
Rainbow landed in front of them.
"Girls! You okay?!"
"Rainbow behind you!" Twilight shouted.
A loud and heavy thump filled the air of the cavern as Dash spun around, standing there was Archduke Razor Tail, and he looked ready for a fight.
"The pirate lord." Rainbow said with a growl, puffs of steam coming out her nose.
"The fastest Pegasus in Equestria."
"What did you do to my friends?!"
"Your friends will be okay, that field fades after some time and they'll be right as rain." Razor said slowly spreading his wings, showing the heavily scared and burned membrane.
"How did you even know we were here?!"
"First rule of hunting; Never let the prey know you are there waiting for it."
"Be careful Dashie! Those claws, teeth, and tail blades ain't for show!" Pinkie said, uncharacteristically serious.
The two stared each other down as the they began to circle one another. Rainbow had speed and her smaller size on her side, but Razor had a Kirin's durability, size, and combat experience on his. After a few times Razor stopped and let out a low roar, challenging the Pegasus. Rainbow answered the challenge by giving a flap of her wings and charged the Kirin. Razor meet the charge by moving forward and shoulder-charged Dash, forcing her to the cave floor on her back, He then quickly raised a fist and brought it down to her face. She dodged it at the last second, grabbed a small rock and slammed it into the side of the Kirin's face, knock him off her.
Rainbow quickly rolled onto her stomach and stood up, Razor doing the same. The two stared each other circling again, the Kirin let out a growl, Dash doing the same. Razor roared again and charged with Rainbow also charging, they meet at the middle and locked each other. Unfortunately for the Pegasus the Kirin's greater strength and size allowed him to push her back, sending her onto her back again but she managed to use her back hooves to push him off to the side, followed by rolling to the right herself. Razor got up and swing his tail at her, Dash dodged it and gave it a kick. Razor let out a growl of slight pain and anger.
This Mare does know how to fight, seems Spitfire did give her some proper training.
Razor was impressed, He had thought Dash wouldn't know how to actually fight smart with her track record and all. Clearly he was wrong, he stared at her and let out a low growl.
Rainbow glared back at him, then charged. Razor blocked her first swing but missed her second, Dash manged to get three hits along with a buck from her hind leg to his face but Razor retaliated with his own punches. Rainbow did her best to block them but Razor landed one on to stomach followed by grabbing her mane and throwing her across the cavern where she rolled to a stop next to her frozen friends.
"Rainbow are you alright?!" Rarity asked.
Rainbow knew she wasn't; her body was covered in bruises from the hits Razor had landed, although she did get a few good hits in herself, Razor had recovered faster then she would think. While Rainbow was the fastest Pegasus in Equestria, she wasn't the most durable and while she did have some close-combat training from the Wonderbolts, she didn't have much actual experience.
Razor flared his wings, let out a roar, and charged. Dash shakily stood up and tried to block his attack, but he knocked her down with a headbutt, stunning the Pegasus and knocking her against a rock. Razor grabbed her mane and lifted her head so she was looking into his eyes. Rainbow, at that moment, realized she had greatly underestimated him, and she was scared.
Razor moved his tail blades forward till the edge of the largest one was pressed against her throat, all Razor had to do was pull the blade across and she was done for. Rainbow closed her eyes, her friends were shouting her name in fear for her, and waited for the end, a single tear fell down her face.
Scootaloo, I'm sorry.
She felt the blade move, away from her neck, and felt the grip on her mane release. She slowly opened her eyes and saw Razor walking away from them, before he jumped up the shaft they came down and his tail disappear up it. A few moments later the field holding her friends faded and they were released. They rushed over to her.
Twilight carefully checked her over, thankfully her injures weren't as bad as they looked. Rainbow rubbed her throat, both surprised and relieved. The others wrapped her in a group hug, then helped her out of the cavern, AJ and Pinkie carrying her on their backs. No sooner had they stepped into the sunlight that a yellow flash appeared, reveling Night Light, and he wasn't happy.
"Girls, back to the boat, now."
The girls nodded and started walking with Night follow behind, a single thought going through their minds; Why did the pirate spare Rainbow?
Above them on the rock wall Razor watched them disappear into the jungle.
"I hope you learned something today Mane Six, I'm not like the ones you faced in the past. Unlike Nightmare Moon I don't need magic to be a threat, unlike Discord I don't play games like that or think I'm untouchable. The scar at the base of my wing is proof of that. I know you're worried your friends but as long as they are part of my crew they will be safe, till next time we meet." He said quietly.
Razor spread his wings and took to the air, flying towards the fortress ruins.
"Wait, Zenith, are you... oh you're doing that without me now?! Well here I come!"
Razor gave a powerful flap of his wings and shot forward.
With Apollo's Group
At the same time
Thunderlane walked along the path next to Apollo as their group moved towards the old cave system. He was wearing a vest the same color as the Wonderbolt's uniform with a yellow belt and baldric, both with silver buckles, and had a sheathed cutlass under his left wing.
"Something on your mind lad?"
Blinking, Thunderlane looked over to see Apollo looking at him with a curious expression.
"A number of things actually, even though me and my friends have been aboard the Dragon for some time now, I'm still amazed by the members of the crew."
"Oh? How so?"
"Well... the fact that so many different species are able to work together peacefully is a bit jarring, I mean almost every time we've meet a new species they've been, for lack of a better word, jerks."
Apollo let out a light laugh.
"You wouldn't be the first to point that out lad, quite a few new members do the same."
"Really?"
"Aye, and its not surprising considering the different reputations. Now, I personally have nothing against the Yaks but... Rutherfold isn't his father. And my own kind is a disgrace to what we once were."
"I've heard the stories, is it really that bad."
"Aye... That's why I came to the Sea of Legends, sought Razor out and joined the Outcasts. I wasn't the first or the last, heck look how many Griffins live in Equestria now. The Griffins once had powerful empire but when the Idol was lost, we caved-in on ourselves due to our own greed an infighting. In a way that was a good thing, the leaders at the time were warmongers."
They stayed silent for a few minutes, then Thunder asked.
"What's your story Apollo? If you don't mind me asking."
"Well Thunderlane, I was born to a Noble family but my parents died when I was six, leaving me to the care of my Grandfather, who was not a nice guy even by Griffin standards and even greedier the others. Sure he gave me anything I wanted, but there was always a price, the only thing he cared about was his legacy. I escaped and fled to the Sea of Legends, and joined the Outcasts after hearing about them and meeting Razor. My Grandfather did come looking for me, to "reclaim his property"."
Apollo snarled at the last line.
"I'm sure he was behind my parent's dead, thankfully I didn't have to deal with him for long when he came after me."
"How so?"
"Razor put a bullet through his head and cast him to the abyss, good feathering riddance I say."
Thunderlane didn't say anything else for a short while, once some time had passed he asked.
"What did Razor mean by "very thorough the last time we were here and doesn't mean we missed any twelve years ago"? The Outcasts were here once before?"
"Indeed we were, have you ever heard of the legend of the "Fountain of Youth"?"
"Yes, a magic fountain that gives whoever drinks from it eternal life but that's just a story."
Apollo gave him a look that said, "Guess again lad." Thunder's eyes widened.
"It's REAL?!!"
"Was real, twelve years ago. To tell that tale you will need to hear another; Many years ago this island was ruled by a pirate lord know as "The Unicorn of Death" or The UOD for short. He was a Unicorn Stallion with a black coat and white mane that ruled a small empire from this very island with an iron hoof. From this island he would launch raids at various port towns, cities, and fleets, looting and enslaving everything and everyone in his path."
"One of the threats Razor had to destroy... How does he tie into the fountain?"
"It was the reason for the Unicorns power, he used it to live far passed his own lifespan. You see, the fountain didn't actually grant eternal life. Two gold, jewel encrusted chalices were filled with water from the fountain, then..." Apollo paused looking at the wall of vines in front of them.
"Lad, you're about to see one of the Unicorn's worst crimes."
Apollo laid a wing on Thunderlane's back and gently pushed him through the vines, Thunder was horrified at the sight awaiting him.
Merpony corpses, hundreds of them, both Mare and Stallion, all hanging by their tails which had large meat hooks through them attached to heavy, spiked chains, hanging above small pools of water, just barely out of reach of their hooves. A number of them were just skeletons, others were in various levels of decay, dark streaks ran from were the hooks were impaled which Thunderlane knew full well was blood.
But by far the worst part was the faces of the not-as-decayed ones; their faces were frozen in what seem to be absolute horror and untold pain, and their eyes or rather, lack of! Their eyes and eyelids were gone, just the holes remained with dried blood streaks running down their faces.
Thunderlane could only stare, eyes wide, ears pinned back and mouth dropped open, unable to believe the terror he was seeing. This looked like something out of a horror movie, but this was way, way too real.
"And this was only one of his many crimes." Apollo said walking up to the Pegasus.
"What kind of monster was that Unicorn?!"
"One that had at least five hundred years of life in him. The fountain needed the tears of a Merpony to work, the chalices were filled with the fountain's water and a Merpony tear was added to one. The Unicorn would drink the one with the tear and force a Merpony or a unlucky prisoner to drink the other. The fountain required a sacrifice, it would give the Unicorn his full life span back on top of what he had already lived, and the full lifespan of the sacrifice."
Apollo looked at the hanging corpses with heavy sorrow.
"This was just one way of gathering those tears, another one was... doing something unspeakable to both Mares and Stallions."
Thunderlane had no words, finally after ten minutes he said,
"No wonder Razor wanted to take that Unicorn down, not even Princess Celestia would let a monster like that live."
"Indeed, and it turned out taking him down was much easier then we had thought."
"Huh?"
"The Unicorn was very skilled in magic, living five hundred years gave him time to study after all, and could even best an Alicorn if a magic duel. But for all that power, he had one fatal flaw."
"And that was?"
"He had forgotten how to fight without magic, his men and slaves were terrified of him so he never had anyone try to overthrow him, for that would have lead to a fate worse the death. When the Outcasts attacked, we blasted through his forces like they were nothing, they had gotten to use to attacking and raiding weakly defended or defenseless enemies."
"Which meant they could not fight against one that was very strong and knew how to fight."
"Aye, there's also the facts that most of his forces, who were badly mistreated, surrendered to us and turned on their master and his own "Elite Guard" barely had any training and their gear was subpar at best. Razor and the Unicorn faced each other, the latter making threats of different sorts of things he would do after he had won as he always had before. The Unicorn hit Razor with a powerful blast of magic, laughing in triumph thinking he had won, only for that same to cut off as he saw the magic simply flow over Razor as if he'b only been hit by a watery mist."
"How was Razor not effected? A blast like that should... have..." Thunderlane's eyes widened, "Razor Tail is a Kirin! And Kirins are immune to magic!"
"Right you are lad, the Unicorn was to shocked to try and defend himself as Razor beat the living crap out of him. I remember it well..."
Flashback
Twelve years ago
The top of the Unicorn's fortress
"You don't even deserve to be called a monster... Filth!"
The Unicorn went flying from a kick from Razor, landing and sliding over the flat roof.
"You are weak, undisciplined, and you have forgotten the fear of death. Allow me to reacquaint you."
Razor wracked the Unicorn in the head with the hammer part of his halberd, sending the Unicorn sliding over the edge. The Unicorn grabbed hold of the edge, down below Razor's Outcast army and the remains of the Unicorn's own army fought his loyal elite guards, who were falling fast to the overwhelming numbers, better training, and superior weapons.
"I am Archduke Razor Tail, and you empire, your wreath, your now former slaves... are the Outcast's of the Abyss."
Razor swing his halberd, runes flaring white, the scythe tip hitting the neck of the Unicorn. For a moment, the Unicorn hung there, then he fell to the ground below. His body hit the top area of the stairs leading into the fortress, the head detached and rolled down the stairs and came to a rest among the bodies of the Unicorns elite guard, the head's face in untold pain. Above Razor flared his wings, arched his back, and released a thundering roar into the sky, joined the the cheers of victory from his forces, both old and newly added, the former slaves holding up the head and body of their late former master.
Flashback ends
"Wow..." Was all Thunderlane could say.
"After that battle we went to the fountain, and set about getting ready to destroy it. As we were doing that a Panish Noble with his men appeared, having come to do the same thing, Razor talked to him for a few minutes, explaining that he saw the fountain as too tainted to be left standing while the Panish Noble wanted to destroy as it was an affront to their beliefs. Razor told the Noble all he wanted were the chalices and even offered the Noble the fuse for when the explosives were ready. The Noble thought about it and agreed, and in the end the fountain was destroyed without any fights and we went on our separate ways. After that we hunted down the remaining loyalists and destroyed them, leaving nothing left of that small empire."
"Razor thinks there may be survivors?"
"Aye, possibly."
Thunderlane nodded and the group continued on, leaving the hanging bodies in piece. They didn't find any trace of the ring after a very thorough search and they moved towards the fort to regroup with Zenith. As they walked the saw a large, skull-shaped cloud over it.
"Oh boy." Apollo said.
"What's wrong?" Thunder asked.
"Zenith and her group doing a fortress raid, without us. Razor's gonna be cheesed."
"A what?"
Thunder didn't get an answer as Apollo shot forward in a run, the group joining him, Thunderlane took to the air to keep up.
With Zenith's Group
At the same time, again
Zenith and her group had just stepped into the ruins of the fortress when a loud but at the same time deep horn went off and a large skull-shaped cloud formed above. She and the pirates quickly pulled out their weapons while Soarin and Sky, who were wearing similar outfits to Thunderlane's, looked surprised then pulled out their own weapons.
No sooner had they done that when many clouds of sand and dust burst up ten meters ahead, followed by hooves, hands, and other limbs.
Skeleton limbs.
From the ground many skeletons of various creatures emerged holding rusted swords, axes, polearms and other melee weapons.
"What the hay?!"
"Are we actually seeing this?!"
Both Soarin and Sky could only stare in disbelief, the two of them couldn't believe that in front of them were moving skeletons.
"This is real lads, meet one of the most common threats of the Sea of Legends." Zenith said. "Gunners, get ready!"
The Gunners with the rifles lined up, aimed, and fired a barrage of bullets into the skeleton horde, taking a large number down. But more arose, ready to attack. From what the two Traveler Ponies could see there were two types; The first was your standard skeletons with nothing else on them and the second type wore pieces of cloth in various colors. most of them wore random articles of sea damaged clothing while others didn't, most had various melee weapons though some were unarmed and a few even had damaged matchlock, wheellock and flintlock firearms.
The Skeletons charged while the ones with firearms fired, they all missed and at least two had their weapons detonate in their hands. The Outcast Gunners fired again while another Outcast pirate, an Earth Pony Stallion, walked up behind them. He was wearing a black, gold edged bicorne, a white scarf tucked into a white shirt, a dark blue navy coat, a brown leather belt, black pants and gray boots.
A cap and ball revolver was stuffed into his belt and a cutlass hung at his side, along with a large trumpet. The latter he took off his belt and blew into it, a gold colored energy emerged from it and spread to the Gunners, covering them in the energy and their weapons in lightning of the same color.
The Gunners fired another barrage, bringing even more down, Soarin swore he saw the words "Critical Hit" in green on each hit.
The Marauders took drinks of their potions and letting out a loud battlecry clashed with the waves of skeletons while the Brawlers pounded their drums. A Deck Swabber hefted his Gatling gun and opened fire mowing many down. Soarin ducked a sword and brought the attacking skeleton down with his own, Sky was next to him.
"You doing okay Sky?"
"So far, though I think for the future anything we see in the Sea of Legends that shouldn't be, don't question it."
"Like Pinkie and her, odd abilities."
"Yea."
The first wave of skeletons went down easy enough, the next wave included a new variant that was covered in plants but were otherwise the same as before. At this point the Outcasts had reached the remains of the inner courtyard and encountered another variant.
"OH THESE ARE IRON! swords wouldn't do anything to them!"
"How do you damage them then?" Sky asked.
"Water or explosives, Grenadiers get over here and take them down!" Zenith shouted.
A group of pirates wearing brown coats, pants, boots, and bags, tan shirts, belts and sashes, bandoleers with grenades, some sort of tribal shield on their backs, an explosive plunger with sticks of dynamite and various types of hats with slow-burning fuses stuffed under them and tied into the hair charged forward.
Some had swords in one hand and grenades in the other while others had cap and ball Hand Mortars. As the grenadiers took down the Iron skeletons another pirate suddenly shouted,
"Oh we have metal and Ghost!"
"Metal ghost dear Faust, does anyone have a psychic type?"
The "Ghost" skeletons had black-as-night bones, eyes moonlight white and wisps of black fog emitting from them. A new group of Outcast pirates engaged the ghost skeletons.
This group wore brown tricornes, sea green waistcoats with brown belts around the stomach over white silk shirts, armore plating on the shoulders and torso, black gloves and pants, brown belts with steel buckles, brown bags and sea green silk sashes, brown knee-high boots, and shields on their backs. Their hats, waistcoats, belts, bags, gloves, pants and boots were all leather.
They were duel-wielding Pinfire 20-shot pinfire revolvers with more stuffed through their belts.
They pulled out their pistols and opened fire. The battle lasted for some time as waves of skeletons emerged from the ground, Soarin and some other pirates did receive injures but a group of Outcasts; ones that wore white hooded robes, blue waistcoats, white shirts and pants, and blue bags and boots moved around healing the injured with potions, spells and the like. Finally a skeleton wearing attire normally worn by captains appeared, and after a long fight Sky landed the finishing blow. He picked up a disk with a skull missing the lower jaw and glowing green eyes, he looked at the others.
"What is this?"
"That's the vault key, follow us."
They walked through the ruins till they reached a large, rounded door.
"This is it, place the key in that slot Sky." Zenith said. Sky walked forward and did so, a heavy rumble shook the ruins a bit as the door retreated under ground, revealing a large vault filled with treasure. The pirates eyes and smiles went very wide and bright as they laid eyes on the loot, six years worth.
"Wow..." Sky breath out in awe, Soarin's jaw had dropped to the floor. After the pirates checked over the loot, and finding the smaller ring they all gathered it and (with Sky carrying one of the labeled "Fortress Chests" as per Outcast tradition) exited the ruins just as Apollo and his group arrived.
"Crap we missed it?" He asked.
"Sorry Apollo, but yes." Zenith said with a smirk.
"Dang it!" Apollo said with a pout.
Around them the two groups told each other about what they had found.
"Are you serious Thunderlane?!" Sky said.
"Believe me I wish I wasn't."
"That's horrible! Not even Princess Celestia would let a monster like that live." Soarin said in shock. Thunderlane nodded grimly, he had also been quite surprised about the skeletons. He looked up, and his eyes slightly widened.
"Ah... Zenith, you may want to take cover."
Said Zebra looked over with a confused look.
"Why? What's wrong?" she asked.
The answer came as a wall blew apart with a loud crash, revealing a very angry Kirin.
"ZZZZZZZZZZZZZEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEENNNNNNNNNNNNNNIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Said Zebra's ears folded back.
"Oh Scheisse,"
"Hey that's my line! You did a Fortress raid without me!?" Razor bellowed.
"Razor calm down, you were busy with the Explorer. If it makes you feel and better Apollo and his group missed the raid to, and we did get the smaller ring."
Razor opened his mouth to shout something else, but closed it and took a few calming breaths.
"You right, sorry about flying of the handle like that."
"Ah it's alright ya big lizard," Zenith patted Razor on the shoulder, "we still love ya all the same." Razor just smiled and let out a laugh.
After going over what they all had found they made their way back to the longboats and back to their ship, on another part of the island Twilight and her group left in their ship but lost track of the Dragon as the storm hit the island. Rainbow and Applejack both got a pretty nasty tongue lashing from Night Light. Both ships went different ways and disappeared into the coming night.
So Razor had a small fight with Rainbow, Thunderlane learned a bit about the island, and Soarin and Sky did a Fortress raid.
The fight with Razor and Dash, we knew it was going to be one sided, I might be wrong but Rainbow doesn't really have that much combat experience and, as far as I know, has only faced enemies who were more or less one-shot. Now Rainbow did get some good hits in however, as for why she didn't use her speed, she was in a cavern with somewhat limited room to fly which forced her to stay on the ground. That and the other five were trapped and unable to help.
Next time they face off with Razor things are going to be different, now that they have an idea of what they're up against.
Sea of Legends Threats
Skeletons
The most common threat in the Sea of Legends, no one knows were the Skeletons come from through there are many theories, the most common one is that they might be the remains of those claimed by the sea and the bones are brought to life by magic. This hasn't been confirmed but is believable because of the water having high amounts of untamed magic.
Skeletons are generally appear only on land, in areas that have be abandoned for at least a year, and in small numbers with at most being five so to a prepared pirate they are little threat. While some do fight unarmed most carry a melee weapon of some sort while some carry match,wheel, and flintlock weapons, though these weapons are in very poor condition, to the point where the melee weapons break upon contact and the firearms have poor accuracy, fail to fire at all, and even detonate in their user's hands sometimes.
Once in awhile a large skull shaped cloud will appear above a fortress signaling a very large amount of Skeletons have gathered there, and if defeated will allow the victors to take a huge amount of loot, if the fort hasn't been raid by the time the cloud disappears the fort will become dormant. If a fort has been left unraided for long enough the gathered Skeletons will form a fleet and roam the seas.
Although Skeletons generally only appear on land, fleets of Skeleton ships do roam the sea, those will be covered in a later chapter.
Skeleton units (So far)
Regular: Nothing special, just your ordinary everyday Skeleton.
Plant: Skeletons covered in plants, they somehow have better resistance to firearms but take more damage from melee weapons. In water or rain they become very strong.
Iron: Slow, lumbering skeletons, these are made of the remains of cannons, braces, and other iron objects. They are invulnerable to all but water which weakens them and explosives, through crushing them and high enough heat will work.
Ghost: This type is like the Regular in the day but become very deadly in the dark. Light of any kind in dark areas will stun and weaken them.
Outcast Units;
Quartermaster: Doing the same roles as real life ones, the Outcast Quartermaster also uses their trumpet to boost allied unit making them more powerful. (Type: Hero)
Grenadiers: Seen as nutcases by other and for good reason, these pirates are seemly always drunk as a skunk even when handling explosives and are crazy. Armed with melee weapons and thrown bombs some use modified hand mortars giving allied units short range artillery support. (Type: Missile)
Tide Gunners: An all female unit of gun-slinging sharpshooters, these units are very capable of taking out targets at range with their pistols, and are rather pleasing to the eye as they are deadly. (Type: Missile)
Healer: One of the most loved units, in battle they keep allies in the fight and on ships help the crews fight off sickness. While they carry a pistol and sword these are used only for self-defense, allies are known to protect Healers even at the cost of their own lives. The Outcasts of the Abyss have a good healthcare plan. (Type: Hero)
Sorry if the end of this chapter feels a bit weak, I had a long day and was starting to burn out somewhat, and I wanted to finish it.
I'm not sure what will come next so... I don't know. 
Anyway, see you all next time 
For those of you wondering, if the Outcasts have bolt-action rifles that use centerfire cartridge, why are they still using cap and ball and pinfire cartridges? Well the Outcasts have the tech but currently lack the factory units to mass produce on those that scale, homeguard and forces like anti-slaver fleets have first grab due to their roles, and cost as only a small number have the skills to make centerfire cartridges and those all go to the bolt-action rifles. The Outcasts are getting there, but its still going to be some time yet.
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Nice to see the Outcasts do a bit of land fighting and a fort raid.
9628893
Might do more of that in future chapters, and the Outcasts will at some point face off with a Skeleton fleet.
Hello Silver,
I really like how you handled the fight with Razor and Rainbow Dash; specifically how you let Rainbow Dash get a few good hits in. Sure, she's not as experienced or as good at fighting as Razor is, but she's still a fighter at heart, and I like how she didn't just go down in one hit and did do her best. Nice balancing of power.
A few things that confused me: I thought that Zenith had only gone with Soarin and Sky, unless having was the reason why Razor was held up at the bridge in the last chapter. I feel that the last chapter and this one could both be improved if you mentioned Zenith bringing these gunners and outcast units earlier; sort of a Chekov's Gun of sorts (if they're going to be important later, let us know early). Mentioning that Zenith brought these guys would both explain why they are here and even solve the problem of the bridge in the last chapter.
Also...
I think you mean 'without' me.
Other than that, this was a fine chapter. I liked the reference to On Stranger Tides, along with how Razor managed to solve the conflict with the Parish more peacefully than the three way brawl that ensued between Blackbeard's people, the British and the Spanish. Always nice to see folks getting along with each other.
Looking forward to more.
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Thanks, this bit honesty was a little hard for me as we all knew from the get go that Razor was gonna win. I don't know the Mane Six's ages but I will say that Razor is thirdly years old here and has been a Pirate since he was twelve/thirteen, with all the experience to back it up. But I didn't want Rainbow to go down so easily, now if Razor wasn't holding back and was serious Dash won't have had a chance, but as he didn't want to do any permanent damage he held back.
You bring up a good point there, I had just assumed that the readers would think the units were already there as they did take away teams, but I understand what you're saying here. Can't make the changes right now but I will later.
Both Razor and the Noble wanted the same thing, so why fight each other when they had a win-win situation.
So what did you think of Thunderlane's interaction with Apollo, the scene with the passed Merpoines, and the fortress Battle? And how would Shiva and co. react to the passed Merponies and the Skeletons? I'm guessing Shiva would been freaked out by the latter.
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I liked the extra characterization we got on Apollo. You mentioned before that he didn't like where his race went as a species, and it was good to see him display that.
Though, there was a part that confused me:
Who does he mean by 'father.' Razor's father? Apollo's father? It was a little confusing, especially since Apollo is a griffon, though he quickly gets to his own species fast enough that it's not really a problem for me.
Disturbing.
Those poor creatures; Blackbeard and the other users of the fountain in Pirates were bad enough; taking their tears and then leaving them to die of dehydration. But the unicorn makes that almost look like a mercy in comparison. Really makes me wish that Razor or the others had tried to give the merponies a proper burial instead, though giving them a burial would have probably lessened the scare impact of seeing how they were mutilated.
Although maybe the scene could still work by seeing the hooks and having Apollo explain what the hooks were used for, leading to Thunderlane imagining the scene. Just something to think on.
Fun and awesome as usual. Excellent work.
👍
She'd be beyond freaked out; she had been held prisoner by a unicorn beforehand, so she'd be wondering what might have happened if he had decided to pull something like what had been done on the merponies to her. Luke similarly would be stunned into silence, trying to keep from completely panicking like Shiva would be doing, and finding a way to calm himself by keeping her calm.
Celine would want to take the bodies down and give them a proper burial, while Star and Kodo would be furious, wanting to track down the unicorn's remains and string him up on a meat hook, not caring that he's already dead.
And even Luco would have a moment of quiet contemplation, mourning the loss of so many merponies - so many potential stories that will never get to be told; so many potentially great fighters and warriors that will never get the chance to show their bravery again. He'd only be comforted by the warm touch of Blaze, who would nuzzle him in a show of support.
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He was referring to Rutherfold's father, and how the current Yak leader is different from the past one. Hope that clears it up.
I fully agree, if Shiva was with Razor that day I'm all but certain that she'd give that Unicorn a fate worst then death. Fun fact: When Razor killed the Unicorn the runes on his halberd flared white, which is a special kind of Rune Magic that for a split second (if the his is a fatal blow) forces the victim to feel all the pain they have inflicted on others, enhanced a hundred fold, all at once. So in that split second that Unicorn felt every last bit of pain he ever caused on others, so he died in pure, raw agony.
With Apollo speaking in the background, telling of the scene and the narration describing it in detail. That is an idea, and would it have a greater scare factor?
Thanks.
Battles aren't really a strong point for me, but maybe I'm being too hard on myself.
I can see Apollo laying a wing over Shiva's back, saying;
"When we first saw this, we couldn't believe just how low that Unicorn had gone. Many of the Outcasts with us at the time openly started weeping, the Merponies with us broke down brawling their eyes in pain and fear, the others' just stared in shock. It was right then and there that Razor declared that the Fountain was to be destroyed, that it was too tainted to be used anymore. He said the fountain was suppose to grant life, but instead it only brought death." He looked over the bodies. "We were too late to save them, but we could at least stop others from suffering the same fate and end the pain once and for all."
Shiva's response to that?
Apollo would gladly take the two over to where the remains were, by this point there would likely only be the skull but I'm assuming that would be enough.
As you once mentioned, Luco maybe a troll and drives other's crazy, but he wouldn't go this far and in fact hate's death. I Might be getting this wrong but I can see Luco somehow bringing the Unicorn's spirit back from whatever hell he ended up in only to give him the mother of all "Reason you suck" speeches before putting the Unicorn in a far worse place.
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Yeah, that clears it up. Thank you.
"Thank you," Shiva would say solemnly, still too overwhelmed to say much else. "Thank you, Apollo." She'd gaze up at the bodies with sadness. "You're right. No Fountain of Life is worth this."
They'd make it work, hanging the skull on one of the hooks, Kodo in particular spitting on it.
He'd love to if he could. But another reason why Luco hates death is because his magic - while chaotic and capable of a lot - is incapable of bringing back the dead in any way, shape or form.
Blaze would admit to the others that she's actually happy in a way that his magic can't bring back the dead. Otherwise, it wouldn't have taught him the value of life; he'd become callous, saying that anyone lost can just be revived, and it would make him a worse person as a result. After all, why get mad or sad about someone dying when he can just bring them back? And worst of all, think of how much trolling he could do by holding someone's life over the heads of their loved ones.
Sometimes, it's better for power to be limited. As Stan Lee said, great power comes with great responsibility. And responsibility is something Luco really needs to work on.
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You're welcome.
At least they were avenged, and I can see Shiva turning back to look as they were leaving, Luke gently gripping her paw.
"There's nothing more we can do for them Shiva, best to let them rest in piece."
"I know Luke, it's just..." She trailed off there, then looked over the bodies and whispered, "I hope you found piece." She then turned and walked away with Luke behind her.
Anything the two would say to the skull?
True words.
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Nice description. That is pretty much how she'd act.
Star would shake her head. "I don't understand people like you," she'd say to the skull. "To be able to inflict this much misery and despair... how can you possibly think that's okay?"
"Because it benefits him and him alone," Kodo would growl. "That's all scum like this understands; to them, it's all about themselves and their selfish wants." He'd spit at the skull. "And where'd it get you, huh? HUH?!"
Star would pull him back. "Easy, Kodo," she'd note. "It's not like the guy can hear you." She'd grin at the skull. "He's a little air-headed right now." To prove her point, she'd crack open the skull, revealing nothing but air inside. "See?"
Kodo would still be mad, but he'd have it in him to chuckle at the joke. "Good one," he'd admit.
Star would give her own ponderous look to the skull. "Well, you may think it's all about you," she'd tell the skull. "But it's not. And that's why people like me and Razor Tail and all the other heroes are around; to stop you and show you why your way will always fail." She'd turn away. "Let's go, guys; I need to beat up someone like him; do my part as a hero."
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Thanks.
Not sure what I can say in response, but the other Outcasts around them would be in full agreement with the two.
And Star's joke.
It's funny because its true.
And what would Shiva and Luke say to the skull?
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Shiva would say nothing, just giving the skull a dark glare before walking off like it wasn't worth her time. Luke would stick around a bit longer before flipping the skull a rude gesture.
"Hope you're burning in Tartarus, you prick," he'd mutter at the skull.
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That sums up what the Outcast Merponies did as well, though some went a step further, but I'm not gonna say more on that.