...I’m sure she couldn’t have gotten very far. You worries are misplaced. No harm could come to her, not here.” Vega Lyrae said as we combed through the labyrinthian hollows of the Eclipse.

“It’s not her we’re worried about,” muttered Chives.

It didn’t help that our area of search was of gigantic proportions. As the former flagship of the Elders, she had never really seen much of the sky. Her role was one of making a statement, reinforcing the power that the sect had in our society.

As such, she had been in pristine condition when the High Elder had liberated her. Over the few cycles in service with the grizzled old fool, various modifications and daily wear and tear had given her a decidedly worn-in, patchwork appearance. The entire ship, save for the ribs and keel, was made entirely from blackwood, and other dark breeds found only in the deepest groves of the subterranean forests.

I searched high and low, opening every hatch I stumbled across, revealing cabins, closets, hallways, staircases, lounges, and every other sort of accommodations that a luxurious cruiser would be fitted with. Chives assisted me, doggedly pursuing down others paths, occasionally popping up, looking lost, to inform me that he had not found our lost friend. Vega Lyrae, meanwhile, simply followed us, with a relaxed air about him. Most vexing.

But the most troubling thing, though, was not the absence of Luna, but rather the absence of everyone else.
Aside from the High Elder, my butler, and I, we had not seen head or hoof of the crew since embarking on our search. With nothing but the empty echoes of our hooves upon the floor and the faint thrum of the ship’s pylons, it may have as well been abandoned.

“Where is everybody?” I wondered as I poked my head into yet another empty cabin.

“The ship was built to house our entire Order, our families, our servants, and their families. Not to mention a detachment of forces specifically requisitioned from the King’s Own Guard — a private army. She was designed to house an Earldom, but now only carries a tavern’s worth of rogues and paupers.” The High Elder shuffled his wings about on his back.

Chives grunted. “Sounds like you had your very own country.”

“Aye. Now that I’m on the outside, I can can see that. The Elders have too much influence, too much power.”

I couldn’t help but agree with that. Their order had been slowly building itself since the first King donned the Nightcrown. They were advisors, scholars, doctors, academics, engineers... no respectable keep in the Kingdom existed without the presence of hosted Elder to assist. They had made themselves essential to the lifestyle of the Lords and Ladies, and therefore to the country. A Kingdom without the Elders would collapse in days.

“Knowledge is Power,” I murmured their time-honored mantra.

Chives grimaced. “And absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

“Precisely.” The High Elder went past us and continued onwards. “Now you see why we need a strong leader, a new leader. To wipe away the corruption that has begun to stagnate in the bowels of the Celestial City.”

Chives and I followed him as he made his way through the ship. Left, right, down a staircase, across a gangplank, another left...

“Where are we going? You seem to have a specific direction in mind.”

“To find our Princess. I’d wager my drake’s reins that she’d be famished after releasing all of that energy from before. No doubt she’d encounter others who are also drained from the battle.”

“Get on with it,” I snapped, my frustration mounting.

“As of this moment, most of my crew is in the medical bay. The rest, however...” The High Elder stopped in front of a grand door. He grinned over his shoulder at us. “...Are in the mess.”
The door swung open, revealing a grand, cavernous chamber, filled with longtables. Many of the tables were empty, aside from the farther ones, where several crewmembers could be seen crowded around in a huddle, cheering and yelling.

“THIS, THIS NECTAR OF THE GODS! WE DOST ENJOY IT VERILY! ANOTHER!”

Abruptly, a barrel flew out of their midst, landing heavily upon an empty table, before rolling towards us. Chives shouldered it aside as it rolled past.

“Found her,” he muttered.

“I smell moonshine. You don’t think...” I began.

“Pray to the stars that she hasn’t.”

We shoved through the crowd at the end of the mess, who began to part once they noticed the High Elder was among us. Murmurs of respect and salutations filtered through the air, until we reached the spectacle they had been concealing.

Princess Luna sat upon a bench, a pile of finished plates on either side of her. Her wings held another barrel high above her head, tilted downwards to spill it’s contents into her waiting mouth. At the same time, she appeared to be hoof-wrestling with a large, strapping fellow in a crusty bandanna, who was visibly straining against the alicorn.

“Luna! There you are!” I cried.

She stopped swinging the moonshine and a huge smile spread across her face. “CASSIUS!” she roared. “AND CHIVES! ‘TIS GOOD TO SEE THEE BOTH!”

With little apparent effort, she flexed her limb and sent the crewmember she was hoof-wrestling spinning away into the air. “I WIN AGAIN! RETURNETH WHEN THOU HAST CEASED THINE FOALISH BAWLING, THAT I MIGHT TUTOR THEE A SECOND TIME IN THIS NOBLE ART!” The crewmember in question had run out of the mess with his tail tucked twixt his legs.

“Knock it off.” The High Elder spoke evenly, and to nobody in particular, though the rabble died down almost the second the words left his lips. Clearly, these vagabonds had nothing but respect for their leader. “Second Mate Duskwing. What exactly is going on here?”

A gaunt-looking pirate muscled through the crowd. “Sorry, Big Vee, zurr, she’s th’ one’ that dun start’d it. Oi’s jus mindin’ moi own buzzinez, an’ she storm in hurr, roight as ye pleaze, an’ starts packin’ it away loike she’s never seen a good servin’ a vittles in her loife. Drank a whole durn barrel ‘o shine, ‘n sturts challengin’ uz ta d’ more, zurr.”

I blinked, looking at Chives.

“What did he just say?”

“He was wondering who that ugly fellow is standing between ‘Big Vee’ and I,” Chives deadpanned.

I looked about, and suddenly realized where I was standing. “Hey!”

The High Elder, however, seemed to have no trouble understanding the second mate’s dialect. “I see. Gather the rest of them and go topside. You have the helm, Mister Duskwing. Set a course for home, and make as much speed as you are able with this skeleton crew.”

The second mate saluted. “Aye, zurr.” The other crewmembers followed him out, shooting dirty looks over their shoulders at a very smug-looking Luna.

That left only us four in the mess; an snarky butler, an ungracious nobleman, a rebel leader, and an intoxicated alicorn.

Stars above, where did it all go wrong? I wondered.

“Grrf. Smack. So, what thou means to confer is thou means to instate ourself as a Queen of your nation. Mmmmfff. Because yonder twinkling lights ‘midst the sky put some sort of... sluurrrp. Prophetic limeric into thine noggin?”

Luna was apparently so famished that she had continued to feast during the entire recounting of the High Elder’s tale. He had left nothing out — his intentions for Luna, the Kingdom, the Elders, and showing her the actual “prophecy” itself.

Her appetite was startlingly vast. A second empty barrel of moonshine now lay in pieces upon the floor, crushed to pieces against Luna’s forehead by her own hoof. Several more dishes had joined the towers upon the table, each leaning dangerously in a different direction.

Where was she putting it all?

It boggled the mind. The sheer amount of food she had consumed by this point should have filled her stomach to the point of rupture. Yet she seemed no different, if a little louder than usual.

I deduced that her body, so drained of energy from the massive expulsion earlier, was absorbing lost reserves so quickly that it was nearly instantaneous. Going by the pure mass of all that had been eaten, those reserves were vast, indeed.

“Aye.” The High Elder nodded sagely. “Everything the Prophecy has foretold so far has come true. I have no reason to doubt that it would not continue to do so.”

“Perhaps,” said Luna, between bites. “But, old one, there is something thou hast not accounted for!”

“Oh? And that would be?”

“We have no desire to start a war amongst your people. We also have no desire to take the seat of highest authority amongst them. We simply wish to return home.” She took another swig of moonshine, lifting the entire barrel in a telekinetic grip. “Besides,” she continued easily, “have we struck you as anything like a proper queen should be like?”

He was about to reply when she let loose a thunderous belch.

Chives, sitting directly across from her, was actually blown right out of his seat. “Not bad,” he commented from where he lay spread across the floor. “Not bad at all, if I do say so myself.”

Luna giggled and performed a mock curtsey.

I grimaced, but was nonetheless pleased. I leaned back. So, this nonsense would finally be put to rest. I had no doubts that Vega Lyrae would fold under the pressure from the very object of his mission.

The old coot surprised me.

“Ah, but how can you return home unless you find the means to do so? The means, which, are kept under lock and key in a bastion of the most powerful faction in our Kingdom? A faction that has — regrettably, might I add — put a bounty on your head? Which would never relinquish its grip upon said knowledge unless they bowed to a new leader, one who would not be so easily cowed by their influence...”

“Hmmmmm. We see the logic in thine statement.” She gnawed thoughtfully upon a hunk of bread. “Chives, Cassius, is there truly no other way to gain this knowledge? Could we not simply march there and seize it?”

Chives and I exchanged a glance.

“You’re currently sitting in one of the Elder’s luxury vessels, Luna. The sheer amount of resources they would mass against you would be a force capable of annihilating an entire Duchy,” said Chives. “Good luck. You’re going to need it.”

It took me a great deal longer to come up with an answer. For the life of me, I could think of no alternatives, other than a long and arduous game of attrition, waged from far across the borders, something that would cause more harm than good for the Kingdom in the long running of things. I sat staring at the table, until their expectant faces became too much. I caved.

“...As much as I hate to admit so, the Elders are so intertwined with our government that the only way to negate them is to become the government.”

“One does not simply walk into the Celestial City,” Vega Lyrae agreed. “I can promise you that the coup will be swift and as bloodless as possible, if that is any condolence. I have been working towards this end for cycles, now. All that remains is you, my lady.”

Luna was silent for a moment.

She then said, “In order to return home, we must become a Queen. And then... leave. It does not seem just. We would not abandon thee after winning such a desirable prize.” She sighed. “As much as it confounds us, becoming one with a culture so invested in the night... is tempting.”

“How is the night treated on Equus?” the High Elder queried.

Luna shifted a bit, suddenly looking uncomfortable. Her eyes glazed over a bit.

“Luna?” I asked, worried for my friend.

She suddenly started, blinking a bit. A frown of determination crossed her face.

“We shall do this, old one. If there is no other way to achieve our quest, then so shall it be.” She stood up from the table and struck a rather heroic-looking pose. The effect was somewhat lessened by a small dribble of liquor rolling down her chin.

“We shall become thine leader, and win this damnable crown to Queenhood. Make no mistake, though, we are not a toy to be led about on a leash. You would invest great power into us, and we know not how to use it.” She suddenly looked very tired, and far older than she appeared to be. “But when all is said and done... we will not forget you, or the plight of your people. If what you say is true, then we would see you return home with us.

“Even if it takes a thousand years.”

“Huuurrrrrghghhghgh!”

Accursed ships.

Of all the wretched, depraved methods of travel, we were aboard a ship. I had only ridden a ship one other time in my life, when I was still a youngling. My parents were still alive, at the time, and we had commissioned a small yacht to take us to the Star Spire, a natural formation of rock on the Brightlit Border that would one day be the site of a grand manse that my father intended to build.

It was less of a statement, and more of a personal preference, at least to my father. The both of them had grown tired of the Court lifestyle, and intended to withdrawn from politics the following cycle.

I had understood the how, but not the why.

My mother explained as best as she could to small child as we stood upon the skydock, waiting for the yacht to be made ready for the voyage from the Celestial City.

“Cassie, hon, everything is about where you stand. From where you choose to stand, you might see things differently from others. Perspective is the most important part of being a noble. To rule, you must be kind and strong.”

“Like Da?”

“Yes, Cassie. Like Da. But you must also be fair. That means you must understand all sides of a conflict to judge it.”

“Okay, Mum.”

She’d squeezed me tightly. “There’s a good lad.”

I had no idea at the time, but I had just received some of the soundest advice a young Lord could ever hope to earn.
And it was forgotten instantaneously.

“Blah...blaaaaarrrghh!”

I had misremembered the effects of the trip, at least until this moment. The second the yacht had began to move, a terrible sickness began to overwhelm me and I almost immediately began to retch over the side of the gunnel. The rolling of the deck, the swaying and pitching back and forth, back and forth...

My father, ironically, shared my distaste for such travel, but had developed a tolerance to it from years of treating with guests to airborne parties and events.

He had joined me at the railing, rubbing circles around the small of my back. A melodious hum rumbled forth from his breast. There wasn't any particular tune or melody to it, but at that moment it was the song of heaven.

"Hmmmmm, hmm-hmm-hmmm..."

My father was a true Lord. Everything I am not, he was. Strong, resilient, confident, and gracious. He had many friends and few enemies... but those few were powerful as they were elusive to my young mind.

They had precious little time to spare, such were their duties. I was overjoyed that they had chosen to spend some of that time with me.

“Haahhh... hahhh...”

“Cassius? What are you-”

“Rrrrghh. Sick. Leave me, Chives. Ugh!”

“You’ve been shut in this cabin since we set out.”

“Garrghh. Can’t. Move. Gonna... all over.”

“There there, old friend.”

“I hate this.”

“I know. I know. Easy does it.”

“...”

“Hmmmmm, hmm-hmm-hmmm...”

“Home.”

Such a simple word. For the High Elder and the crew of the Eclipse, it meant something I had considered impossible.

High Elder Vega Lyrae flapped his wings cheerfully, sweeping a tip out in a grand arc, encompassing the jaw-dropping sight before us.

“Behold, lords and ladies, the place where dreams are made, broken, and reforged, all in the very same day! Where the wine runs as rivers, the company is as dangerous as it is ripe with debauchery, and adventure is always a hair’s breadth away!”

“Figures you’d end up in a place like this, you old codger,” said Chives.

“Like minds, Chi. Like minds.”

“DEBAUCHERY!” cheered Luna.

The ghost ship sailed to a ghost city.

“Lo and behold; Star’s End!”

Star’s End.

A place that should not exist.

And yet, clinging like a limpet to the surface of a canyon wall, civilization bloomed. There were no royal records of the place, and you wouldn’t find it on any map in the Archives.

It was the home of the lost and the damned, the wretched and the hopeful. Orphans, exiles, adventurers, mercenaries, pirates, dealers, fabricators, villains, and all manner of the few brave or desperate enough to search the White Wastes for a place to call their own.

It was not built in the usual way of our people, that of carven-out chambers amidst the rocks and cliff-faces. Star’s End was a haphazard mass of scuppered hulls, the dead hulks of former skyships serving as a cobbled-together city.

The Eclipse slowed to a crawl as the helmsman roared his orders for docking. We had all assembled upon the deck itself, which was covered by a mighty tarpaulin to shut out the light of the sun. The portmast was retracted as we hugged the far wall of the canyon during the descent to the city.

I clung miserably to the railing, occasionally groaning in misery. The lessening of speed had done wonders for my sickness.

Luna stood tall and proud, re-adorned in her battered armor, looking every inch the figure that Vega Lyrae desired to forge her into. Standing nearby, the High Elder was in a splendid mood.

“Much work to be done, oh yes. Plans to make, debts to call in.” He was almost singing his words. “And a ceremony to prepare!”

Luna raised a brow, but did not relinquish her gaze upon the pauper city. “Ceremony? What nonsense is this?”

“Why, your coronation, of course. Before you rise to become a Queen, you must first become a Princess.”

Luna flinched. For an instant, I thought that an instant of recognition flashed amidst her eyes. Then, a pleased smile crossed her face.

“Princess. Princess Luna!” she declared.

“That has a nice ring to it...”

Author's Notes:

I responded to no less than three different calls while cranking this chapter out. Firefighting; good for the community's soul, bad for the writer's goal. Hah! That rhymes. ...OhgodI'msotired.