Chapter 15: Aboard the Dragon of the Depths #2
Dragon of the Depths
Two weeks into the voyage
Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo were walking through one of the ship's halls chatting when they heard a voice finish saying something, walking to were the voice came from they walked through a door and into a large room. The room was easily the size of the throne room of Twilight's castle and had eight Outcast banners on the walls hanging from the ceiling, these banners were badly damaged in various ways, with some missing large sections. The walls had many small famed pictures of various creatures with names and tiny yellow glowing crystals under them in between each banner, on the wall across from the door was a another banner that was larger then the others and more or less intact.
The most eye catching was the large and damaged figurehead in the shape of a black dragon roaring in flight with glowing red fire coming out of its mouth and a small chest clutched in it's claws was hanging by a set of heavy chains from the ceiling. A closer look at the figurehead showed that the fire's glow was very dim and what appeared to be lighter areas under the eyes, almost as if the dragon was or had been crying.
Sitting in the center of the room under the figurehead was Razor Tail with his head lowered and his hat over his chest, the CMC slowly approached as he lifted his head and opened his eyes, dried tears stains visible.
"Hello Crusaders." He said in a quiet tone.
"Hello... sir, whats this room?" Sweetie asked as the other two looked around. Razor placed his hat back on his head, wiped his eyes and stood up.
"This is the memorial, every Outcast we have lost from the beginning and since has their picture placed here so the ones still alive remember their sacrifice, the crystals under each picture tell a bit about them and their final words, you just tip a crystal and it will show you. All Outcast bases have memorials like this one."
Razor then looked at the hanging figurehead.
"And for some of us, to remember not to let our own pride blind us."
The CMC followed his gaze, after a few minutes had pasted Scootaloo spoke, pointing at the hanging figurehead.
"If you don't mind us asking, what's the story behind that figurehead."
"It looks like the Dragon in your faction's flags and banners." Sweetie Belle added.
Razor glanced at them out of the corner of his eye, then gestured for the three to follow with his tail. They walked to the wall with the larger banner which had a small counter the CMC had missed before, on the counter was a large book with a picture of a large ship that bore a close resemblance to the Dragon on the cover with the words "The Black Dragon and her Crew" under it. He picked up the book and showed it to the three fillies.
"It was once part of the Outcast's very first ship; a former Caribou ship known as a Leviathan, that we named the Black Dragon."
"Leviathan?" Applebloom asked.
"Aye, you're on board one now. The Dragon of the Depths is a Leviathan, which is a upgraded version of her sister ship. Leviathans are perhaps the rarest type of ship to ever sail for several reasons, among them being cost."
Razor let out a sigh as a small smile came over his face. "Aye, The Black Dragon, toughest warship to ever sail these water, tough enough to face multiple ironclads at once and win. But she wasn't always that way. From we we know, she was a prototype was to be delivered to the Caribou lands when she was caught in a storm and sank, the same storm also sending the shipyard where she was build to the sea as well. She somehow ended up on Ironclads Rest, where we had set up base. When we found her she was nothing but a wreck."
Razor's smile grew
"Even so, we knew she was no regular ship. We used parts of the many wrecks in Ironclads Rest to fix her up and we sailed her for a long time. Until the Battle of Fallen Rest, were she was lost along with so many Outcasts. She fought well, taking down many enemy ships, ironclads included, but even she couldn't hold forever. By the time the battle was over, she was far beyond repair and all but me and my Head Officers were dead. We placed the bodies on the Black Dragon and set her aflame. She finally sank ablaze, slipping below the waters to her final resting place, our tears following her."
Razor closed his eyes as as his smile turned into a sad frown and tears fell.
"She and the lost crew earned their peace, that figurehead hanging there and this banner here are the only surviving pieces of the ship. In fact, there is a story that the lighter areas under the figurehead's are tears from it mourning the ones who died aboard the Black Dragon."
The CMC stared at the figurehead, looking even closer the three swore the actually saw tears falling from the dragon's eyes. They then looked over to the banner.
The banner in question was the same as the other banners, but instead of a black quadruped Dragon in flight above a maelstrom with a small chest with clutched in it's claws, it was two crossed halberds behind a forward facing dragon head.
The three fillies stared at the banner, then looked at Razor who had his eyes closed and lost in his memories. Razor suddenly felt the Crusaders, who had started crying themselves, wrap around him in a hug which he returned with his wings.
"Thanks you three, even though we've moved on it still hurts, its a wound that will never heal for any of us as along as I and the other survivors live."
They stayed there for awhile, after which they left the room and moved back onto the deck.
15 days
Angel Wings was walking through the Dragon's lower halls deep in thought when she bumped into something hard, which let out an "Oooff!" in surprise. Looking up she found herself looking into White Fang's pink eyes, a large mug held in his right wing "thumb".
"Oh, I'm sorry White. I didn't see you there." Angel stammered. White held up a hood with a gentle smile trying to calm her down.
"Its okay Angel, bumping into each other is more common on board then one would think, and you didn't spill my hot chocolate, so its okay."
He then tapped the mug with a hoof.
"Also helps that Razor had the glasses, mugs, and other cups enchanted to avoid breaking and spilling. Snowy came up with the idea after Fire Gem spilled his boiling hot coffee on his lap." White and Angel both winced.
"That most likely wasn't very comfortable for him I'm guessing." Angel asked.
"Ohhh, it wasn't. It does not help that I was sitting next to him and got splashed by some of that coffee, good thing I had a blanket on. Anyway, what were you doing lass?"
"Just wandering, since work is done for the day I don't really have much to do."
White paused for a minute, then asked.
"Well, if you want, I could make you some hot chocolate and give you some company."
Angel looked away thinking about his offer, then looked at him with a small smile.
"I'd like that White. I do enjoy our talks." White and Angel, since soon after the latter came aboard, had started to hang out over drinks and just talking.
"Then follow me." The two trotted down the hall, Angel not noticing the light blush on White's face. They walked into the area of the Quarterdeck where the Head Officers had their rooms, White unlocked the door to his and opened it to allow Angel in first.
"Wow..." She said as she took in the room.
The room was the same 15 by 15 foot room each the Head Officers had with an attached bathroom, the wall opposite of the door held a mannequin with a full set of Night Guard armor with a small banner on each side. The wall on the right held a king-sized bed and a dresser with what looked like a small memorial with pictures and small glowing yellow crystals, the wall on the left was covered in weapons of various types ranging from daggers to some firearms. The wall with the door held a small kitchen with a counter-mounded stove and some other common kitchen items.
White followed Angel in and shut the door behind him.
"Like it?"
"Yes, first time I've seen your room. We usually meet in the Main Tavern or on the deck."
"Usually during dinner, I'm glad we have some time together alone... I might have worded that wrong."
"No I understand, from what I've heard despite having left the guard, you still hold onto your honor."
"That's true Angel, very true."
Once White made a hot chocolate for Angel they sat down at the table and just sat for several minutes enjoying their drinks. After drink about half the cups the two started talking.
"So Angel, how life on board been treating you so far?"
"Well the work can be hard at times but the crew has been really friendly and helpful, which makes it easier."
"We've all been there Angel, it became a sort of tradition for us to help out new members, even if they're only with us for a short time."
"Seems like this voyage is going to be a long one though."
"I get that, the Sea of Legends sticks to no time so short voyages can becomes long. It doesn't help that the storm system is out of control."
"I take it the Sea of Legends has no Weather Teams?"
"None what so ever, the weather here is just too unstable and unpredictable."
"Must be quite scary."
"At first, once you get used to it, not so much as fear but respect. Still, would be nice to have some warning. I've seen storms of incredible power just appear out of nowhere. Like the ever feared Hyper Maelstrom for example and rogue waves."
White paused for a second, "Come to think of it, I think the Everfree has storms that are more controllable, though not by much."
"Is it really that bad?"
"It can be, but it really depends on the area. Some areas heave relatively clear weather most of the time, others have out-of-control storms, like the area that boarders the Steel Yard."
"The Steel Yard" Angel asked tilting her head and raising an eyebrow.
"One moment please."
White stood up and walked over to a small chest that was sitting on the dresser and opened it, he searched for a minute then pulled out an old looking scroll. White then walked back over and set the scroll on the table.
"Here, take a look."
Angel opened the scroll, it showed a map with two marked areas; A smaller one marked with grey storm clouds with blue/white lightning bolts, the other made up the rest of the map. It had many, many reddish brown ship-like shapes, if Angel has to guess, she would say about ten thousand, maybe more. These shapes were all set on a ocean colored red with the words: "Waring, No Sail Zone!" marked in black.
"This is the Steel Yard?" Angel asked looking up.
"Aye, the Steel Yard is an area of open water filled with steel-hulled ships of unknown origin, no one knows where they came from or who built them. To my knowledge, some of those ships have been there for a long time, hundreds of years if not more."
"That long? shouldn't at least some of them have sunk by now."
"You'd think so but no, there are many theories on why however; some believe it's due to the ships being made from steel while others think it's due to the heavy magic in the waters around that area."
Angel thought on that for a few minutes, then asked.
"What kind of ships are they? From what you know." White rested his chin on his hoof.
"It's a bit hard to say for sure, most of them don't really have any set type. Some are cargo ships while others are clearly warships due to both the weapons and the damage on them, heck one of them, a large ship of some sort, looks like it was split into several sections yet it still floats. Why I have know idea." White said shrugging.
Angel looked back at the map, then back at White.
"Has... anyone been on them?"
"Only Razor, and he made it clear that he wouldn't go back onto those ships unless given a very good reason."
Angel moved her head back a bit with a worried look, form what she had seen, Razor was a Kirin that very rarely let fear get to him, if something in the Steel Yard that made Razor not want to go aboard the ships there then...
"Why?" She asked slowly.
"From what Razor told us, he found bodies, a lot of bodies, of an unknown creature. Funny thing is, they weren't from any creature we know of."
"Really?"
"Yea, Razor said they were bipedal but not as big as Yetis or the like. Most looked like they died from combat wounds but others looked like they died of fright. Razor also told us the bodies were heavily decayed, and that he started seeing things."
"Seeing things? How so?"
"I can't answer that Angel, and Razor refuses to talk about it. He even when as far to have the Healers look over him both physically and mentally, something there effected his mind and he wanted it out. But I don't know anymore details on that."
Angel looked a bit creeped out, if the area was that dangerous.
"I'm starting to see why the Steel Yard is marked as a "No Sail Zone"."
"There's also the fact that some of the ships have highly unstable ordnance that could go off at any time."
Angel rolled the map back up and gave it to White who set it back in the dresser chest, than the two of them sat down and finished their hot chocolate. After they finished Angel looked up at White looked back with a curious expression, he noticed and looked at her.
"Yes Angel?"
"White, I'm just wondering..." She trailed off, seemly reluctant to continue.
"Wondering how I joined the Outcasts?"
"Yea. How did you..."
"You wouldn't be the first to ask. It started years ago, back when I was still a guard. I had just finished my shift and was on my way home when Dark suddenly ran up to me crying in terror, he told me that our family had been attacked by loan sharks even though we never took anything like a loan, my guard salary was more then enough. By the time I got there, it was too late, we found Night crying over our dying parents. Mom held us the best she could with dad while he told us to get out of Canterlot, for those hitponies could come back at any time. Once the two of them passed, I told Night and Dark to say put, while I went after those Ponies."
White let out a breath, tears falling slowly from his good eye.
"After I left I soon found them, they had been coming back to finish the job. I waited for them to pass, then attack from behind. The two at the back were dead before they knew what hit them, the other two manged to attack but one of them fell quickly while the last one put up a fight. I did finally end him but he manged to damage my eye enough that I had to run to the hospital after. Long story short, it had to be removed." He reached up and rubbed his false eye.
Angel had her mouth covered with her hooves, her own eyes wide and tears lightly falling.
"Once I got out, I learned that the four bodies had been found and that some blood that was not theirs was also found. I knew that it was only a matter of time before they traced the blood back to me, so I rushed home, told my brothers to pack everything important, then we buried our parents and got the hay out of Canterlot, leaving the life we once had behind. We ended up here in the Sea of Legends, living on Imperator's Grave. We lived there for a few years, learning about what was going on. The Outcasts at the time were still a young faction, one that was gaining ground in the war with the Royals. When they docked at Imperator's Grave to resupply I approached Razor Tail and explained my wish to join, he accepted due to needing combat veterans at the time and even told me to bring my brothers along with me.
"The three of joined that day and have been with them since."
Angel wiped her eyes, stood up, and walked up to White, giving him a hug which he returned, not noticing the bush that appeared on his face.
"I'm sorry about your parents White, I know that feeling, my own parents die when I was just out of my teens. My father by cancer and mom by a heart attack." She shook a bit, White carefully tightened the hug, rubbing her back as she cried into his chest, being mindful of her wings. After a bit Angel pulled back out of the hug wiping her eyes.
"Sorry about that."
"It's okay Angel, that wouldn't be the first, and most likely not the last time, I've held somebody like that. Even Razor had cried into my chest at some point."
Angel looked back at White, then said, "What did you leave behind if you don't mind me asking?"
White gave her a soft smile. "I don't mind at all. Before that night I was a high ranking guard, in fact I was in Princess Luna's personal guard."
Angel looked surprised. "Really? Then why did you flee? You could have told her what happened."
"Looking back on it I should have, but I don't think it would have mattered. Albino Thestrals weren't... well liked by others. The reasons escape me but I knew that once they found out I would be thrown in prison at best, and my brothers, only Faust knows what would have happened to them. I couldn't take that, so that's why the three of us fled."
He looked up at the set of armor, Angel followed his gaze.
"That's your original armor?" She asked.
"Yes, after what happened I felt that I was no longer worthy of wearing it so I had it set up like this and had this armor that I'm now wearing forged."
Angel and White stayed quite for some time mulling over their thoughts, then she asked about White's new eye.
"Mind if I see your eye?"
"Sure, one sec.."
He reached up and thumped the back of his head, his false eye popping out into his waiting hoof. He gave it to Angel who looked it over, it was one of the most well crafted false eyes she had seen. Despite been made from quartz it looked like a real eye, turning it over she saw some small runes marked on the back.
"What are these runes White?"
"When the eye was made Razor cast those runes so I could see out of it like my real eye, and even when it's out of the socket."
"You can see out of this eye when it's out of your head?" The surprise in her voice spoke volumes, there was also some awe and a tiny bit of creeped out in it as well.
"Aye, works very well for looking into tighter areas, it is something that takes time to get used to, being able to see like normal out of one eye and the images of in this case you holding the eye, not having it blink when I do and seeing it roll across the deck among other things. Speaking of that, Angel could you turn the eye around, right now it pointing towards something I probably shouldn't be looking at." White said looking very embarrassed all of a sudden.
Angel looked at the eye in confusion, then it clicked on what exactly the eye in her hooves was pointing at. She let out an eep while turning every shade of red, giving the eye back to White who popped it back into its place. The following silence was heavy as the heavily embarrassed Angel Wings tried to calm herself while White put a wing between them to give her some privacy.
After several minutes Angel gave the okay, White pulled his wing back and saw her with a sheepish smile. White decided to change the subject.
"So what is it you do Angel."
Angel, glad for the chance, smiled and pulled out a flyer from somewhere behind her back, she gave it to White who read it.
"The Grant a Wish Foundation?" He asked looking up.
A proud and fond smile spread over Angel's face. "A organization that reaches out to and helps those with disabilities, special talents that are not very common or not really in use anymore, and others along those lines. The Grant a Wish Foundation, or GAWF for short, reaches out a helping hoof to them, to let them know thy are not alone."
"A noble thing to do Angel, kind of reminds me of the Outcasts in a way." White said with a smile giving Angel the flyer back.
Taking the flyer back Angel continued, "Me and my friend Stellar Eclipse are the co-founders of the GAWF."
"Stellar Eclipse?"
"A Pegasus Stallion who has spinal muscular atrophy type III, he will live a full life and can walk on all four hooves for brief periods but most of the time he moves around with a wheelchair cart. He's a very good friend of mine and we've known each other since Flight School."
"As for you?"
"I have both a congenital heart defect and connective tissue disease, thankfully either are too serious and I will live a full life."
"Sounds like you two became very close." White said, Angel not noticing the very slight sad tone as he said that.
"We are, we did date for awhile but we never really... clicked in that way, for lack of a better word. We see and think of each other more as brother and sister."
White's ears slightly perked, which Angel didn't notice as well, after she said that. They spent the rest of their time together talking until Angel had to head to bed, he walked with her and wish her a good night. After that he walked to Atlas' door.
I hope she's in and not with Razor doing some of their "Cuddle Time".
White shuddered, remembering the time he walked in on them. The less said about that the better. He reached up and knocked.
"Atlas, you in?"
"Sure White, come in."
White opened the door and did so, shutting the door behind him. Atlas was sitting at the table with Snowheart, playing what looked to be poker due to the plies of what were known as betting coins, small coins made of metal scraps that would have otherwise be discarded. Both Mares looked up at White as he entered.
"Hey White, would you like to join us? Snow and I are almost done with this round." Atlas asked cheerfully.
"Actually this round is over." Snow said laying down her cards, Atlas looked at them, then her own, before groaning and laying her's down.
"How do you do that Snow." Said Mare just smiled. White smiled than shook his head.
"Thanks for the offer girls but I'm headed to bed soon, I came in because I want to ask you something."
"Oh? What did you want to know Whitey?" Snow asked.
"Well, how to proceed."
"Proceed? With What?" Atlas asked tilting her head.
"You know our new crewmates, well... I think I'm in love with one of them." White said rubbing a foreleg nervously.
Both Mares' eyes went so wide they almost popped out of their sockets while the pupils shrank down to almost nothing, White telling them that he was in love with someone was a huge shock because of his past... "loves". White Fang had three Marefriends in the past, all of which did not end well at all. The first one was a gold digger who tried to leech off his guard job, the second cheated on him, and the third humiliated him in ways best left unsaid. The poor Stallion hadn't even shared a bed with a Mare yet, even after White joined the Outcast due to him closing his heart to that kind of love.
So the fact that he was willing to open his heart to love again caught Atlas and Snow completely off guard.
"White Fang... Did, did we hear that right?" Atlas started.
"You've fallen in love with one of the new Mares?" Snow finished.
"Yes, the Pegasus Mare Angel Wings."
The two Mares were silent for several minutes as their minds tried to process this, finally Atlas spoke.
"Well what do you want to know?"
After they talked for a bit about how White should move forward he left and when to bed, Atlas and Snow looked at each other.
"He is opening his heart again, after all these years." Snow said.
"I never though he would after the last heart break." Atlas said shuffling the cards.
"Do you think Angel Wings will be the one for him?"
"I think so, while we were talking I did a scan and he has a faint but growing love bond with her, one she returns as well."
"I hope it will work, poor White has been through enough heart break already."
"Agreed, while I normally don't stick my nose in this sort of thing I'm going to talk to Angel tomorrow, see what her feelings are."
"Going to ship them are you if she feels the same?"
"Like you wouldn't as well."
Both Mares laughed and went back to their game, with some plans for tomorrow.
So White Fang has a crush on Angel Wings, who might return it. 
The Grant a Wish Foundation is based of the real life "Make a Wish Foundation", who put several OCs, Angel Wings and Stellar Eclipse being two of them, into MLP FIM. Figured I'd give a shout out to them.
First time I tired my hand at romance so I hope it isn't bad.
Seems Atlas and Snowy are shippers, no pun intended I swear.
Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter out, several things were happening in real life that keep me from working on it.
On another note, it seems there are more Steel Hulls out there, not just one that attacked that Caribou fleet.
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Uh, an entire section of water off limits to everyone, filled with the still sailing corpses of ships, that Atlas deemed as unnatural.
I'm getting a flashback to the Reavers from Firefly. That or Man of Medan.
9920505
Definitely a creepy place, and I understand the flashback to Man of Medan but how so with the Reavers from Firefly? I know who and what the Reavers are but I haven't seen Firefly in a long time so my memory is a bit rusty.
9922972
It's mostly because of that scene from the movie when the heroes enter Reaver space and it's littered with half cannibalized ships and dead husks.
9923104
That makes sense, I hadn't thought of that when I made the Steel Yard. Although, that does give me an idea for the future.
10013829
Sorry for bad english but i don't want to see him panic (that's the word i have in french) i want to see him badass.
I don't have RD in a relationship but it's my best shipping (stupid Soarin), so make him strong and brave please
Hello Silver,
For someone trying his hand at romance for the first time, I'd say this was a pretty impressive. The dialogue feels natural, the chemistry is cute, and Atlas and Snowy's reactions were awesome (So, what would they call this ship? Angel Fangs? White Wings?)
Something I did notice:
This felt a lot like telling over showing, and I felt that it could've been incorporated into the dialogue:
Just my suggestion. This was a nice little dive into White's story, and I'm glad you shared it. You have a lot of characters, so it was a little difficult to keep track of all of them. But having these small moments is a great way to let them get some characterization.
A small bit of trivia; I mentioned before that Star would want to get along with White and his brothers due to them being thestrals and her being part thestral. But hearing his story would sadden Star, as she would insist that her mother would've understood White's dilemma, and done what she could to help him. She'd also be furious about a loan shark just assaulting his family for no reason; it would've been one thing if they had a debt to repay, but just mindlessly attacking them? It's villains like that who Star feels she's really needed for.
Anyway, thanks for sharing.
10989376
Thanks, really appreciate it.
As for the ship name, I think White Wings works the best.
You are right, that is a small habit that doesn't appear often but it does once in a while. I do like your suggestion though.
One problem with having so many characters, but small moments to help to ring them to life.
Hmm, nice to know that, though White would tell her that he's found his home with the Outcasts now. And those loan sharks were actually hired by Razor's father, the reason died with him but White and his brothers feel that maybe it's best they don't know it.
10990007
Either way, thanks for sharing.
10990268
Believe me, if Shiva was able to use the Pack Link on him she'd know all of his crimes. How a kind Mare like Silver Winds ended up with him is a total mystery, perhaps it wasn't with her consent if you get what I mean.
10990766
I should be shocked, but at this point... all I can say is that it's a good thing he's dead.
10990767
Agreed, If Shiva was with the Outcasts at the time what would have she done?
10990777
She would have pack linked with Razor's father, and forced him to experience all the pain and suffering that all the Outcasts had suffered because of him and his actions. He'd experience the agony of losing something he loved; the torment of being a slave or being treated as less of an object, the lashes and slings of physical abuse...
Shiva would overall just pile all the torture and pain that his actions had inflicted back onto himself, until his mind broke from the collective trauma, and he was left a shivering, sobbing mess.
10990803
I think Snow would still pull the trigger, wanting to make sure he'd never come back, but at the same time he wouldn't have died as himself so...
10990819
Oh, Shiva would still encourage Snow to pull the trigger on him; no way would she want even the slightest risk of him recovering and getting to continue his ways.
Shiva's normally a patient and understanding wolf, but after everything Razor's father did... she wouldn't be able to accept any kind of redemption for him. She'd be sorry about it, but as far as she'd be concerned, he was far gone even before she broke his mind.
10990831
I can see Shiva turning to Razor after they got back to the ship and saying. "I'm glad Razor you never ended up like him, how your mother ended up with him is something I'm not sure any of us will ever know."
Fun fact: The only thing that he ever got from his father, as far as Razor is concerned, is the red eye color, and even then others have said Razor's eyes are far nicer to look at.
10990851
Mostly correct, though in regards to his mother, Shiva would be more likely to say, "I don't know how your mother ended up with him... and part of me doesn't want to know."
10990852
Razor would say, "Same here Shiva, I just hope she found piece."