Interlude 1
Open Sea
4 Hours after the Tower Clash
Dragon of the Depths
When Razor had returned via teleporting onto the ship's deck his crew immediately moved to check on him making sure he was okay, during which he told them what had happened. That had been four hours ago, now it was nighttime with a clear sky, at the moment Razor and Atlas were sitting on the balcony on the ship's stern, behind Razor's office, both not in their usual attire and instead just having blankets over their laps with Razor's being blue and Atlas' being green. Beside the hammock there was also a decent-sized table and two outdoor recliner chairs, both items nailed to the deck to keep them in place during storms and rough seas. Razor leaned his head back into the chair as he gazed out, tonight was just right; clear sky, full moon, clam waters, and him sitting with his lovely wife just relaxing with a large and tall mug of hot chocolate spiced with cinnamon topped with thick marshmallows and whipped cream with a wafer cookie inside the cream along with sides of salted soft and crunchy pretzels, cheddar cheese on seed crackers, potato chip cookies, mint candies, sea salt frozen yogurt, and a plate holding slices of Imperator's Grave's own infamous Cannon Orange to complete the set.
Razor always found it funny how whenever he and Atlas just sat down together they always had a little buffet, even if they were just having drinks. He did frown think that though, he knew why that was the case. After rotting away for seven years in that cupboard only barely getting enough food to survive, it had left him with deep scars and a fear of starving to death. It didn't help that he had been so badly malnourished when he did flee escape he could barely move.
Razor let out a pain-filled sigh as he looked into his hot chocolate, his comfort drink, as he thought back to that night eighteen years ago.
Flashback
Eighteen years ago
The night Razor escaped
Everything hurt, the pain in his stomach was the worst of all as it drowned out the rest. He was so weak he could even stand, his "father" hadn't even left any scraps for two days.
'I... can't move... is... is this... the... end?
NO!! I can't... can't... give up...
I... just... got... to...'
Slowly, ever so slowly he rose, his weak body aching in places he never knew he had, and threw himself against the door to his cell, his home for as long as he could remember. The door moved only slightly, he slummed against it, almost ready to give up hope.
'how... long... has... it... been...
it... doesn't matter... anymore...'
He flopped to the floor and leaned against the door, letting out a weak sigh as the life started to leave him.
'I'll... be... with.. you... soon... mommy...'
He shifted as he laid his head down and began to close his eyes for the final time.
'Don't give up, little one...'
...when the door sudden shifted again, the sound of wood lightly splitting filling his ears.
'You're almost there...'
'Wait... could... could it... be?'
'Don't give in... the Abyss wishes it
He raised his head with much effort, and saw a very thin line of moonlight through a small crack. His eyes widened as a small ember relit. He stood up and pressed against the opposite wall, then leaped at the door. It moved slightly and once again he hear the sound of wood splitting, and saw the moon-lit crack get bigger. Hope began to burn again in his heart, he leaned back and threw himself against it again, same result. The fire in him grew bigger and he body slammed the door again.
There was a thunderous Crack as the wood holding the lock and hinges broke free of the wall and the door fell to the dusty floor with a crash, with him on top of it. He lay there as the dust settled, looking toward the moon in awe after not seeing it for seven years.
It took a minute to sink in, but he lifted his head up as the realization came.
"I'm..." He coughed, both the dust and how raw his throat was. "...free?"
He was startled at hearing his voice, having stopped using it to save energy six years ago.
"I'm... I'm free..."
The fire in his heart grew bigger as he realized this wasn't a dream, but reality: He was truly free of his prison!
He almost started jumping for joy before his body reminded him he couldn't.
"I'M FREE!" It came out is a croaking laugh but he didn't care, his spirits were back up now. Now he could leave this behind, but first he needed to find food. Despite the pain he was in he eventually manged to fully stand up and walk away from what had almost been his grave. The building was surprisingly empty, not a soul other than him (he would later learn everyone was away from the mansion at the time) as he walked towards where one of the pantries was, stopping as he pasted a mirror and for the first time in seven years look at himself.
To put it bluntly, he looked absolutely horrible.
His body was pretty much a walking skeleton with skin over the bones, his coat which had once been a shining silver was now a color that would put grey to shame, his eyes were so sunken it couldn't be put to words, his mane on his head and top of his tail which were once a rich red and striped with beautiful shining gold were discolored so badly he couldn't even name the color now and were twisted into something that would make the term "rat's nest" sound generous, and his teeth, claws, and tail blades were so dull he doubted they could even cut hot butter.
And that was only what he could see!
He pulled away from the mirror, not wanting to look anymore, and moved on. He soon found what he was looking for, it appeared this area of the building had been abandoned recently since it was in a state of disrepair though the canned food he found was still fine. He slowly and shakily picked up a can of refired beans, relieved to see a pull tab and he carefully hooked the ring with a fang. While his teeth were dull they were still held strong in his mouth and with a pull the can opened with a hiss of air. He pulled the tin lid off and took it in his hands, and slowly licked the mashed bean matter off.
It was the most delicious thing he had ever had at the time.
He spend the next while slowly eating, the pains in his belly leaving as he carefully filled it, until he was fully for the first time in seven years.
Later
With his strength coming back slowly he left the mansion, know that if he was caught again death would be a blessing. So he packed what he could and headed to the one area were his mother had told him to go before she was taken and he was locked up. It didn't take long to find what he was looking for and found a pair of magically preserved saddlebags holding several items which after doing a quick look through he put on and took to the air, surprised by how fast his body was recovering.
'Come here... little one... to me... the Abyss awaits it's champion...'
Later still
He was over open sea now, the land far away as he beat his wings hard against the air as he flew. He didn't know were he was going, but he didn't care, as long as he was away from that place.
Unfortunately, he was still fairly weak and he was running out of energy. His wings became heavier as time passed, until finally... he passed out and dropped into the cold sea, sinking into the Abyss.
But before he completely loss consciousness, he as a very thin jellyfish-like creature and three tentacles as big as a watch tower with many glowing spots running their length coming towards him as his vision went dark.
'Do not fear... little one... for your new life... has only just began...'
Present Day
Razor took a sip of his drink, a sigh of per bliss coming not his nose as he felt the warm liquid run down his throat. He would remember that day for as long as he lived, at the time he believed he was going to be fish food. Yet image his surprise when he woke up, his body healed of its sickness completely. He remembered looking around to find himself on an wet and rocky island filled to the absolute seems with shipwrecks and surrounded by a massive Supercell with the eye over the island.
Razor smiled fondly, after doing some exploring the place for and hour he had heard crying, so he followed it... and found his soulmate.
He turned to look at said creature, Atlas had her eyes closed and a content smile on her face as she embraced with gentle wind blowing through the air around them, her long purple mane, worn loose instead of the normal braid, looked like a curtain of silk. He reached over and lovingly squeezed her hoof, she opened her eyes and looked back, squeezing his hand back. Razor loved Atlas with all his heart and soul, which she returned in full force. Both their souls had been shattered beyond repair, yet when they first embraced that early morning on Ironclad's Rest, they started healing.
Now they were happily married and had a great son that they loved as much as they did for each other if not more, and While Razor was unsure of what the future would bring, he knew that with them and the others standing with him that he would take it all with a smile.
Atlas reached over and gently brushed a tear from his face, a bit of his long red and gold mane flowing her hoof as she did so. Atlas loved seeing Razor with his mane down, to her it made him look free and wild. He only ever had his hair down like this around those he had absolute trust for, and even on this ship; crewed by his most trusted and loyal Outcasts, only a few and ever seen him like this.
"You okay sweetly?" She asked gently.
"I will be my love. Just remembering the past." Atlas leaned up til she was sitting straight.
"You know you can let it go now Razor, that filth is dead. You were there when Snow pulled the trigger."
"I know Atly. It's just... I don't think I can fully moved pasted it until I put my mom to rest properly." He sighed, "If only she could see me now, the last we saw of each other was being dragged away from each other kicking and screaming."
Atlas reached over and put a hoof on his shoulder.
"I've wanted to ask honey but... why didn't you put him down? You were one of the ones to suffer the worst at his hooves."
"Key word there is one of the ones, he hurt Snow just as bad and she asked if she could be the one to put him down. So I gave her the go-ahead to do so before we attacked."
"There's more to it isn't there." That wasn't a question as she looked at him with a raised eyebrow, Razor chuckled.
"There was one more thing; after so long I had just decided that he was now worth my effort to kill, in a way I got my revenge as we chased him back to where it all started. Seeing that place burn gave me more joy then putting a bullet through his skull would have. That and I wasn't about to have him try to say he was "proud of me" for coming to that, I saw it in his eyes: He wanted to say it, not would have if he wasn't muzzled."
Atlas had smiled at Razor's mention of the mansion burning; while it was consumed by the flames Razor had actually pulled out bags of hot dogs, chocolate, marshmallows, gram crackers, and campfire sticks before handing them out and telling his crew to enjoy a feast of hot dogs and s'mores as the building burned.
A final insult to his former prison, the feeling of a long overdue victory had been sweet, and so had the feast.
"So you let Snow finish the job? Give a final insult to him by making him believe you now saw him as below you as he once did?"
"Aye... show him in his final moments that he was no longer worth anything to me."
The two fell into a comfortable silence as they leaned back into their chairs and enjoyed their snacks and company. Razor couldn't help but wonder what to do about the Equestrian Fleet though, while they had lost them for now it was only a matter of time before they crossed paths again.
'Guess I'll just have to take it as it comes. At least the ones on board took the news well enough, I did give my word that I would take them home after this voyage but... will I be able to keep that word? Maybe I should pay a good friend of mine a visit tomorrow.'
What no one on the Dragon knew that down below, deep in the abyss, a massive shaped moved and slowly moved towards the ship, reaching out with a tentacle. But instead of attacking, it merely rubbed against the hull, gently enough to not leave a mark or make noise, much like a mother would rub her baby's head.
A gigantic head slowly moved into the light, revealing gem-like scales of various colors and six massive eyes with slit pupils colored a light shade of blue. The creature stay low, only showing a bit of the head as it retracted it's tentacle. The around it many smaller creatures, possibly babies of the big one, swam around making curious chirping noise. A low female voice, sounding almost like a whale call, yet as gentle as silk, sounded in their newborn minds.
"Yes... my little ones... that is... his ship... we can't stay long... but he was... the one... I saved... all those years ago... you will be able... to play... with him... someday... he and his companions... have done much... for our home..."
With that the creature pulled back, disappearing into the darkness of the abyss, the babies following close behind.
A little breather chapter for after the craziness of the last one, I wanted to go a bit deeper into Razor's past and his thoughts and the relationship between him and Atlas.
I'll be completely honest: I was crying while writing the first part of the flashback, when I got to the part with I'll... be... with.. you... soon... mommy... I had to pause and walk away for a short bit to get back under control. I can't even begin to imagine the hell that Razor when through those seven years.
And just who or what was that creature in the last bit? The only things we know that it was a she and she was a Leviathan of some kind.
Next chapter will be a second Interlude where we'll see how the Equestrian fleet is down after the Tower Clash and after that I think we'll go with the Dragon's crew for a bit, and the next chapter after that we'll do a land battle.
See you then. 
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Nice work, mate. Just to let you know, I am now part of the Keelhauled Podcast for their community episodes and will be a recurring guest at the near end of each month.
Links here: One. Two. Three. Enjoy mate.
10761908
Thanks, and nice to know about the podcast.
What were your thoughts on this little chapter though?
Hello Silver,
This was a very nice breather episode; after the chaos that went down in the previous chapter, it's nice for the characters to get a moment to relax, breathe and enjoy each other's company. Atlas and Razor continue to feel very genuine with each other, and the dive into Razor's backstory was heart-breaking. The knowledge that he was not only going to get out of that but get revenge on top of it was the only reason I wasn't breaking down. Even then, I still wanted to reach through the screen and tell Razor, It's going to be okay. You're going to rise far above the scum that put you here. You're going to rattle the stars.
Of course, no story is perfect, and I did see some points you could improve:
He did frown, thinking about that? I get what you're trying to say: his buffet isn't for no reason, and the reason isn't good. But the sentence felt a bit off when reading it. Maybe try, 'he frowned as he remembered why there was always so much food.' Helps roll off the tongue a bit better... even if we don't really need our tongues to read.
I think you mean 'pure' bliss.
'not' worth 'the' effort to kill. Though good on him for realizing that the greatest insult an enemy can suffer is to be ignored.
would have. The not implies he wouldn't have spoken even if he was muzzled, which got confusing.
You're talking about the Traveler's crew, right? Thunderlane and Soarin and the others. Just what were their reactions? I would have liked to seen how they reacted to Celestia's actions. Were they despondent; did they not know what to say? A bit more detail would've been nice.
But, other than that, I really enjoyed this. And now I'm really curious about that Leviathan. When I first heard the voice that helped Razor get out, I thought it was his mother or someone like that. But now with the Leviathan, I'm wondering if there's more to it. No need for spoilers; I'm sure the truth will come out soon enough.
Thanks as always for sharing.
Small note: Shiva would shake her head at Razor's description of his escape, while Star would groan in comical frustration.
"No offense, but I already shattered his skull and bones trying to kick them across the Sea of Legends; I don't know how else I can get catharsis every time I hear about the horrible things he did or allowed to happen!" She'd pause and raise her hooves. "No offense, Captain."
"Take catharsis in knowing he's dead," Shiva replied.
"And wherever he's burning in Tartarus," Kodo would add. "He's getting crushed under the weight of the other cursed souls Razor and we have been sending his way."
"Also, stop wasting your time thinking about him," Celine would recommend. "Like Razor said, he's not worth the energy. The scumbag's a popped pimple on a donkey's rear; the best way you can hurt him at this point is by letting the memory of him fade away into nothing. Pretend he never existed."
Star would sigh. "Yeah," she'd admit. "But it'd still feel nice to give him a good smack."
10997142
He wasn't kidding when he said "A soul as shattered as mine.".
As I mentioned in the Author's Note I was crying and actually had to pause while writing that part, really makes you want to give the poor Youngling a hug. The fact he survived seven years of that is shocking, I can't even begin to imagine the hell he went through, locked in darkness in a cramped cupboard with little food and even less water.
Really shows just how horrible a Pony his "father" was.
I'd do the same thing, hold him against my chest and never let go. And he rattled the star alright.
Yeah that was what I meant, but your suggestion does sound better.
Doh
yep I did.
Funny enough, that wasn't the first time Razor and his crew almost caught the scumbag. There were several other times but he always managed to slip away, but not this time. During that time Razor slowly realized that his "father" wasn't worth anything to him. Now Razor was still gonna see him dead, but ultimately let Snowy, who suffered as much, be the one to pull the trigger.
I meant to actually do that but forgot while I was writing.
It is a mystery, the only thing that's clear is that Leviathan somehow knows Razor. When he fell into the sea as a Youngling could the tentacles he thinks he saw belong to it?
Razor would give her a chuckle and a smile. "None taken Star, believe me; you're not the only one who feels that way."
Razor would agree saying "Indeed he is Kodo, and only the deepest and coldest parts of the Abyss are reserved for them."
Razor would nod his head and say "And now that he is dead he can no longer hurt another, and in time he will be nothing but a distant memory, then nothing."