Prologue
The Sun had forsaken her.
Clutching her hooves to her skull and whispering to herself, Golden Oak sat in her cabin as her ship drifted aimlessly through the eternal night. The only source of light in the small space was a sickly and pale glow from her horn. Sweat beaded on her brow and her eyes were bloodshot.
“Cowards!” She spat. “Cowards all of them.”
A slight glimmer from the window caused her to shriek in terror. Two orbs stared at her stared at her from the darkness beyond the glass.
“You won't take me!” The unicorn cried out. “I will not fall like my crew!”
She shivered uncontrollably when the light outside faded from view. Although she couldn't see anything outside, Golden Oak knew that the creature was out there watching her, mocking her.
The ship rocked slightly, causing Golden Oaks to clutch at the wall until the ship settled.
“They won't come inside the ship.” She muttered over and over, trying to convince herself of the lie.
The wall she was huddling next to suddenly thumped, causing her to scream in fright and scramble to the other side where she resumed her mutterings.
Golden Oaks couldn't remember how long she had been alone, or when she had last eaten. Oh, how hungry she was and yet the mare would not set one hoof outside of her cabin. The cook had been one of the first to go missing, so there was no way she was going near the galley.
Uttering curses upon her crew, the ship, and most importantly, the darkness, Golden Oak finished off her batch of curses with herself. As much as she hated to admit the truth, the captain of the Sun's Glory had no other creature to blame for her troubles other than herself. It was enough to drive her insane.
“Stupid trade routes. Stupid glowing things! STUPID COURSE CHANGES!” The unicorn screeched at her cabin.
Before she could say another word, the sound of a distant horn froze her mid breath. It was mournful and lonely, but to her it was the most beautiful sound she could ever have heard. Without thinking, she sprang to the door and threw it open before rushing to the deck. In the darkness above was the gas envelope, still floating with a ship beneath it despite the neglect it had suffered.
Golden Oak clambered up the stairs to the top of the pilothouse and looked around. In the distance, she could see a set of lights that looked suspiciously like another airship.
“Help!” The mare croaked, suddenly realizing that the gnawing hunger had not only eaten away at her stomach but also her voice.
Thinking quickly, she turned the ship's spotlight towards the distant lights and tried to light the wick inside, but it merely sparked in irritation rather than delivering a bright flame. Her frustration mounting, Golden Oak jumped from the pilothouse to the deck and found a lantern hung by the side of the ship.
The wick burst into fire with barely any trouble and Golden Oak held the lantern up and began to wave it back and forth.
“Help!” She called, licking her dry and cracking lips trying to will herself to be louder. “Help me!”
She wasn't sure, but it looked as though the lights might be getting closer.
“Over here! HELP! HELP—”
With a sudden crack, the piece of railing she had been leaning against snapped and Golden Oak felt herself fall forwards off the side of the ship. Together, she and her lantern fell into the dark, inky blackness beneath the ship without a sound.
The mare arched her neck so that she could look up her ship as she fell, her mouth open in a noiseless scream. Like a candle being snuffed out, the lights that had taunted her outside the relative safety of her cabin vanished into the dark, leaving her alone in the vastness of the shadows.
A clang and crack announced the arrival of the lantern on the rocks far below the ship, but Golden Oaks lifeless body never touched the earth.
Like moths drawn to flame, creatures of all types drew themselves to the dockyards to watch the latest spectacle. Although most were there for the entertainment, a select few bullied their way through the crowd to the front in order that the master of ceremonies might see them better.
“Mares and stallions, may I please have your attention!” An elderly stallion called from an elevated stand in front of the crowd.
The roar of the multitude did not diminish in the slightest, causing a massive female minotaur standing to the stallion's side to bellow out loud enough to shake any nearby glass.
“QUIET!”
One could have dropped a pin and it would have sounded deafening in the silence that followed. The stallion on stage, having had the foresight to plug his ears prior to his companion's roar, stood up a little straighter and cleared his throat.
“Hear ye, hear ye.” His voice drifted out over the crowded wharf. “As of seven o'clock on the seventeenth day in the month of Mourning in the year nine-hundred ninety-eight, the Annual Ship Auction of Port Willow Glen has commenced. During this auction, there will be no false bids or price gouging, all sales are final, all ships sold as is. Any failure to comply with the rules set forth is considered a crime under article one-hundred and seventeen set forth in the court of Empress Nightmare Moon in the year five-hundred and eighty-two.”
Having recited his speech in the span of a single breath, he paused to refill his lungs before continuing.
“First we have the deed to a river steamer, Gala class. . .”
As the stallion continued to describe the various ships and prices haggled and bid upon them, two creatures watched the proceedings with distracted interest.
“What's with the big turn out?” A pegasus stallion asked his companion.
“Every creature is here to look at that ship from the Sun Lands, whole bunch of theories going 'round about her arrival.” His companion, a thestral mare, explained.
The pegasus looked into sky at the large ship in the distance, the only ship not illuminated by the large lanterns of the city.
“Strange.” He remarked.
The thestral nudged him with her shoulder. “Don't bother thinking about it, that's a fully fledged warship up there. Ain't no way in Tartarus we could ever afford somethin' that big. Let's just focus on gettin' the Grasshopper and gettin' out of this city.”
“Next up, a Rigger's type freighter, the Grasshopper.” The auctioneer called out.
“Oh! This is it!” The mare all but squeaked.
“Shall we start the bidding at—”
“TWO-THOUSAND!” She yelled out, attracting the attention of the majority of those present.
The auctioneer recovered from the interruption seamlessly. “I have two-thousand, who will make it two-thousand and five-hundred?”
“Three-thousand.” Called a griffon.
“Three five!” The mare called out again.
“Thirty-five hundred, do I have four-thousand?” The auctioneer continued to rattle on.
“Four-thousand five-hundred.” The griffon answered, glaring at the thestral mare as if daring her to bid again.
“Oh no!” The mare squeaked to the stallion next to her. “We've only got four-thousand! What do we do?”
The stallion frowned, but took a breath and yelled at the auctioneer.
“Five-thousand.”
“Five-thousand five-hundred!” The griffon yelled out, growing a little red.
The thestral buried her muzzle into the pegasus's shoulder, stifling a sob. He patted her mane to console her as the griffon paid for the ship and the dock handlers moved the ship to the other side of the harbor.
“Well, that's that.” The mare said through clenched teeth as she blinked back a few tears. “We'll try again next year.”
“Wait.” The stallion held her in place.
“Huh?” She blinked questioningly, but the pegasus beside her remained stoic for the remainder of the time.
It was nearly noon by the time it was almost over with only one ship remaining.
“May I please have your attention.” The auctioneer said needlessly as the crowd grew to contain a somber mood. “This last ship is a derelict, found drifting near the Gardner's Lighthouse. According to the captain's log, the last entry was made over two years ago.”
There was murmur through the crowd as they gasped in shock.
“The ship is from the land of Sun, we believe to be one of Daybreaker's own fleet, and is armed to the teeth.” He continued. “All items aboard her now are included in the sale, she's just as we found her. Every last cannon, engine, mattress. . . curse.”
The murmur in the crowd grew louder to the point where the stallion could not be heard anymore, so he simply gave the signal to some workers to turn on a pair of illuminators. Instantly, the ship above them was bathed in light. Wheels squeaked and ropes creaked as the ship was turned around by a system of pulleys to show the port side to the crowd.
In one instant, there was respectful silence. Many in the crowd bowed their heads while others began to openly weep. On the side of the ship was a crude, red hourglass shape etched into the very woodwork.
“There is no love lost between our people and theirs.” The auctioneer dared to break the calm. “But no creature should ever suffer such a fate.”
After a suitable time had passed and no other creature was willing to speak up, he stepped forward and looked to the crowd.
“Will there be any bidding on this ship?” He asked with no reply.
“Scrappers?” The stallion looked to a group of burly ponies who ran the scrapping yard. “She has a lot of fine metals on her.”
Again, there was no reply.
“Very well then, if no creature wishes to purchase this ship, then I see no other—”
“Fifteen-hundred!”
Dozens of heads turned to look at the young pegasus stallion who had spoken up and the threstral mare who had fallen over in surprise.
“Are you nuts? That ship's cursed!” An earth pony yelled.
“Blimey, 'e mus' be insane, 'e is!” Remarked a hippogriff.
The insults started to flying in faster, with chantings to lock the stallion up or banish him. Although the stallion was trying to calm them down, the creatures around him began to work themselves up into frenzy. However, before the crowd could turn into a full on mob, again the minotaur onstage silenced them with a massive roar.
“Young stallion, are you sure that you wish to purchase this vessel?” The auctioneer asked cautiously. “You realize what that mark means, do you not?”
The stallion nodded confidently. “The risk I am taking is my own, I'm not afraid.”
“Very well then!” With a stamp of his hoof, the stallion on stage sealed the deal. “Sold, one derelict warship to the yellow pegasus with blue hair. May the Empress have mercy on your soul, young colt.”
The ship had been hauled down from above the harbor to the jetty to allow a ramp up to the deck. It was up this ramp that the young stallion climbed onto his new ship, one that he looked over with pride. The paint was worn and peeling, a fine layer of dust covered most surfaces that were not disturbed by the wind, and there were a multitude of other problems just waiting to be fixed. However, the ship was his, and his alone.
“ARE YOU BUCKING NUTS?”
His first mate, however, did not share his sense of pride. The thestral stood on the jetty next to the ship, not even daring to set hoof on the ramp.
“YOU BOUGHT A CURSED SHIP! . . . WITH OUR MONEY!”
The stallion sauntered down the ramp with a grin on his face. “Technically, it was my money, I only paid fifteen-hundred for it.”
“It was our money!” The mare shouted in his face. “You and I, the money we've been saving all our lives so we could buy an airship and start our own shipping company! AND YOU JUST BLEW IT ON THIS?”
He looked at the ship, his smile a little less vibrant than before, but still there. “You just don't see it? We would have paid more than twice as much for the Grasshopper and now we've got a ship more than twice the size for half the price!”
“Yeah, a bucking warship! We agreed to bid on the Grasshopper 'cause she was a freighter, something small with which we could start off with.” The mare practically sobbed before pointing at the ship. “Do I need to make a list of why this is a bad idea? It's too big for us to handle, it's a bucking warship, it's one of Daybreaker's ships, and, oh! Not to mention, IT'S BUCKING CURSED!”
“Yeah, but it's a ship!” The stallion retorted. “You and I both made a promise that today was the day! Not next year, not tomorrow! Today, we would buy a ship and make a name for ourselves. Well, now look, I'm probably the most famous creature in all of Willow Glen.”
“That's not the type of attention that we want.” The mare growled.
The stallion shrugged. “So what? What do we care what this town thinks of us?”
“A lot!” The mare protested.
“Really?” He accused. “Name one friend in this town apart from me!”
“Gilda!”
“Gilda?” The stallion laughed. “The griffon that threw you off a cliff for fun? Right.”
The mare puffed out her cheeks. “Well what does it matter? That ship—”
“Is a ship!” The stallion cut her off. “Plenty big, plenty strong, and most importantly, it's taking my flank out of here! I don't care if I have to work that whole thing by myself, it's leaving this harbor today! Go wait tables for the next ten years if you want to, I'm out of here.”
“Hey wait!” The mare protested, but it was to late. The stallion was already running up the gangplank to the ship.
“Ooooh!” She danced on her hooves for a few minutes.
“Oh what do I do?” The mare asked herself over and over.
With a acrid belch, a thick puff of smoke wafted from the smokestack in the middle of the ship, soon followed by a steady cloud of thinner smoke that rose into the darkness. Without a second thought, the thestral mare raced to the edge of the jetty where she had left her few belongings and a sack of money before scrambling back to the gangplank.
“Hey! Wait for me!” She yelled at the ship despite it's lack of movement.
She tripped at the top of the ramp and landed on her chin, accidentally dropping her things as she did.
“Ouch.” She winced as she rubbed her chin.
A yellow hoof offered itself to her and she looked up to see the stallion's smiling, soot covered face beaming down at her.
“Ready for an adventure?”
She took it and let him pull her up.
“You kidding me?” The mare chuckled. “That gangplank was an adventure, going out in this thing is suicide.”
The stallion laughed. “Well, at least nopony will miss us when we're gone.”