FreeWing Meet up {FreeWing Only}

[QuickLime]

The crew had been divided for a while but it was time to come out of Hiatus and start to soar again, GangPlank leaned on the wheel of his trusty ship, right where he had sent them all the message he would be at..it had been so long since he had seen them..StarlessShroud..Gravy... all of them! It was going to be like a great family reunion and the addition of fresh blood to the group was going to be amazing!

He was hoping that shortly after they were all there they could set off! He had heard of a trade ship containing bottles of pure rainbow, and he wanted it, he figured they could easily take the ship from the sea and then switch to the air in no time! It was going to be good to be back in the saddle!

Though while waiting for his crew to reassemble GangPlank let out a yawn and started to doze on the wheel..surely they would wake him when they arrived..

[starswirlthebearded]

It had been a while since Short Fuse had been with the FreeWing pirates. She had returned to her job as a pyrotechnician in Hoofington (which admittadly sounds far less cool and awesome than "Demolitions expert of FreeWings") and she still made an awesome living doing that, just not as fun. People found it hard to forget a pony covered in scars from a fillyhood accident she supposed.

Fuse was finishing up a rather large order of smoke bombs and bright firework-like displays for the theater for a production they were running when she got the letter. It was from Captain Gangplank. She read it over twice just to make sure she wasn't dreaming. She jumped up and tried to do a backflip in a fit of happiness and fell flat on her flank. But it didn't matter! She was going to be free again! She filled her saddlebag full of necessities (which meant gunpowder packs for the Captain's flintlock pistol, a few drinks and snacka and as many explosives as she could fit). For fun, she created a special welcome back batch of explosives that were very loud but had no power (essentially a bit of compressed gunpowder with a chemical primer) just to give any crew a bit of a scare. If she was going to make an entrance it was going to be one with a bang!\

Fuse headed to the rendezvous point outlined in the letter and found the plank to FreeWing already extended but no one to be found. She figured she must be the first one there, besides the Captain. She immediately, and surprisingly quietly, made her way to the bridge where she figured the Captain would be if not on deck. And there he was, asleep like a peaceful colt on the shining sea. She gave a mischievous grin as she used her magic to levitate her greeting "gift" to right behind the captain's resting head. With a quick bit of concentration she used her magic to ignite it.

BANG!!!

It went off right behind the Captain's head as planned with a more glorious sound than she could have hoped from such a small charge! "HEYA CAPTAIN! Hope I didn't disturb you any! I just thought it was only fitting that your Demolitions expert entered with a bang!" She said excitedly and rather loudly with a large grin on her face. "Short Fuse, Mistress of the fire flower, at your service once again Captain Gangplank" she said with a bow.

[RarityDash]

Starless Shroud had been both excited and surprised to get her message from Captain Gangplank of the Freewing. During her previous tenure onboard the airship as a simple deckhand, she had done her best to stand out as little as possible. Blending in had always been a specialty of hers, so much so that she was kind of surprised the captain would even remember her name after such a long time apart. That said, Starless was eager to return to the skies. It played to her benefit. She was harder to track up in the air. Being a sky pirate provided her a certain level of cover that was hard to find on the ground.

Which was good, because Starless certainly needed it. After the crew had dissolved, she had went back to her life of crime, ripping off ponies all the way from Las Pegasus to Marelia with varying results. As good as she was, the jobs had to generally stay small. The game was to not call attention to herself and to never stay in one place too long. She had successfully eluded capture through it all, but being on the run was nevertheless exhausting and the constant travel was starting to eat into her profits in a serious way. A break from it all to let everything die back down was just what she needed.

She had arrived at where the Freewing was docked early to scope it out, but had opted to linger out of sight until someone else happened by. As it were, the first to saunter out onto the Freewing to greet good ol' Captain Gangplank was the demolition specialist Short Fuse. This mare had the right rough and tumble attitude, and was probably one of the Freewings Starless respected the most. She had the scars to show she had been through a lot, and like Starless herself even had a patch over one of her eyes. She was a boisterous mare, and Starless had gotten the impression previously that the two of them had more in common than just eyepatches.

After Fuse had given her reintroduction, Starless decided to show herself and greet the others as well. Striding up into view, the violet earth mare adjusted her hat and approached. "Hey Captain," she said, nodding to the stallion first. "Fuse." she looked toward the unicorn mare. "Pleasure to be sailing with you once again."

​

[Corsair]

Below the deck of the Freewing, a short, muscled diamond dog stood in the darkness of the galley. In one paw, he held an odd bundle of wood and herbs. In the other, he held a firelighter. The dog had a cloth tied over his muzzle, and a long knife hung at his belt. He slowly approached the stove, his eyes moving constantly in the dim light. He tossed the bundle into the stove, then made sure that the flue was tightly closed before setting it alight.

The dog quickly backed out of the galley, as the room rapidly filled with smoke. There was a feral grin on the dog's face as he watched, and waited. Just as the galley filled completely with the smoke, the first of the dog's victims appeared...

A large rat ran out of the galley door, under the paws of the diamond dog. Soon, it was followed by several other rats, and various mice and other vermin, all fleeing the acrid smoke. The dog turned to watch them go. Then, one of the rats turned and made a rude gesture, before continuing its flight. Gravy, the diamond dog cook of the Freewing, just laughed. "That's right, little vermin! This Gravy's kitchen! You get out, and stay out!" he said, his accent a strange mix of Stalliongrad and the usual diamond dog dialect.

Soon enough, the smoke began to clear, and Gravy was able to take the cloth off of his face. For as long as the FreeWing had been grounded, it was no surprise that the rats and mice had moved in. The smoke wasn't harmful, but was unpleasant enough to drive them away. Gravy took a deep breath of the cleared air, and smiled again. It felt good to be back. This galley was the closest thing that he had had to 'home' for a long time.

Gravy had had trouble adjusting when the crew of the Freewing broke up. He considered the crew, particularly Medic and Captain Gangplank, to be his 'pack.' His own pack had dis-owned him, so he had created a new one among the crew. When the ship had been grounded and the crew dispersed, Gravy felt lost and alone again. Thankfully, he and Medical Medley had stayed together. The two had traveled around Equestria together, never quite finding anyplace to settle. Besides, they had both known that inevitably, Gangplank would get tired of a 'normal' life and launch the FreeWing once again.

Overhead, Gravy could hear the sounds of hoofsteps up on the deck. More of the crew must have arrived. He meet with the other later; there was much cleaning that needed to be done to get his kitchen back to normal. He was about to get started, when a loud BOOM startled him. Gravy, startled, stood up straight, and smacked his head on the top of the doorway. He may have been short for a diamond dog, but this ship had been built for quadrupedal ponies, not someone who walked on two paws.

Rubbing his head, Gravy turned to the ladder up to the deck. He knew the pony that had probably set off that explosion had to be up there. The dog poked his head up out of the hatch and looked around. The Captain was up by the wheel. There was Starless Shroud and... there she was. Gravy pointed a finger at Short Fuse. "Hey, crazy boom pony!" he shouted, "You knock that off, or Gravy put poison joke in your next meal!" He slammed the hatch closed. but a huge grin was spreading across his muzzle. Yes, it was definitely good to be home.

[QuickLime]

Things were already off with a great big BANG! He jerked awake and laughed at Short Fuse's well meant wake up call "Ahoy!" He smirked at her, giving her an elbowing, waving quite happily at Starless Shroud "It's good to see you back! The both of you! HO How I'v missed you while We've been apart! But we're here now yes? That's all that matters!" GangPlank was grinning so hard his CHEEKS were starting to THROB! He was so happy! His family was back together! They were gonna go forth and sail and adventure!

Medic chuckled slightly as he moved to stay below deck with Gravy, when the crew went their separate ways He had stayed by the diamond dog's side, seeing him more as a brother than just the ships cook, glancing up he laughed "Do we even have any poison joke ON the ship?" He asked, tapping the side of his face with his hoof in thought, Last he checked? No! Ah well, it was good to be back on the ship, right now they were at sea but soon they'd be in the air, soaring over Equestria!

"I'v really missed being here you know Gravy? It's like ...life isn't as fun unless we're all in it together.."

[starswirlthebearded]

"Fuse." she looked toward the unicorn mare. "Pleasure to be sailing with you once again."

Fuse smiled at the crew member... Starless Shroud as she recalled. She wore an eyepatch similar to her own and was a criminal. Though being a criminal wasn't what drew Fuse to this life in the first place, she never felt the need to judge others, and in fact kind of respected that she was able make a living outside of the law. It was probably more fun and interesting than what Fuse did outside of being a pirate. Making controlled safe explosions and light shows, while good for the wallet, weren't very good for the soul. They lacked the energy that Fuse loved. "HEY! Shroud! Good to see you!" She said energetically. This crew was like her family, and likewise she treated them as such. "It's going to be a blast sailing with ya again! It really is good to be back home." She quietly levitated another one of her "gifts" from her bag to commemorate seeing Starless again, but that idea was cut short when another familiar face popped up from below deck. The ship's cook, Gravy, who... didn't always appreciative of Fuse's explosions.

Gravy pointed a finger at Short Fuse. "Hey, crazy boom pony!" he shouted, "You knock that off, or Gravy put poison joke in your next meal!"

Fuze grinned as the diamond dog went below deck before she could make her response. Wait do we even have poison joke on board? Fuse never could recall seeing it before, and she figured it was just an idle threat, and she gave a smirk as she spoke to the rest of the crew. "Awww, I think he missed me. Well, I can't just let him go below without giving him a welcome home gift, like I gave the capt'n." With that she took out 4 more of her "gifts" and placed them on the outer edge of the door going down below deck. "Ya'll best cover ya ears, this one's going to be a loud one." Fuse would have threw one below to set off, but she knew full well Gangplank's rules against explosives in the galley, last time she did that, she was scrubbing the decks for a month... Not exactly an experience she was willing to repeat. Still she lit the five explosives in succession so that they sounded like a line of guns going off. She really hoped for a good reaction from Gravy for this one. If anything it would get him out from below deck so she could properly greet him.

"Ahoy!" He smirked at her, giving her an elbowing, waving quite happily at Starless Shroud "It's good to see you back! The both of you! HO How I'v missed you while We've been apart! But we're here now yes? That's all that matters!"

Being elbowed by the captain again, after all this time felt good. "It's good ta see you too Capt'n!" Fuse said with vigor throwing her foreleg over the captain's neck and ruffling his mane with her other hoof. "It's really good to be back. I missed ya, all ya!" She was finally home, and she definitely wouldn't have her neighbors yelling at her for making huge explosions at 3 in the morning, or pesky clients telling her what she should do or what materials to use. At very last, she was free again to sail the seas with her family. And it felt GREAT!

"Oh yeah, capt'n, I have a real gift for ya." Fuse levitated a package out from her other bag. It was her special powder cartridges that she made for the captain on their very first voyage. She figured the captain was in short supply. "I think ya will be needin' these. I haven't made any for you in ages." With her hoof still around the captain's neck, her gift to the captain in front of his muzzle Fuse gave her intrepid captain a peck on the cheek.

[RazorWind]

Despite being a combat-specialist, Razor couldn't deny he felt right at home soaring through the air; wings outstretched and goggles down. His flight had carried him quite a long while, putting his fighter's stamina to the test as he not only carried himself, but his armor and weapon as well. This was all something he could live with though, as his face was plastered with the -biggest- of grins as he searched the land for a particular sort of ship; excitement had been boiling within the stallion's heart ever since receiving that letter! He could still remember the first day he reunited with Gangplank and joined the Freewings, after being apart from his foalhood friend for eight whole years; the adventurer pegasus still remembered just how hard of a flying tackle-hug he'd given the piratey pony. Even now he was struggling to keep himself from aileron rolling about in sheer excitement as he tore through the skies. His search would continue a bit longer until he heard that unmistakable sound of a certain pyrotechnical pony..

BANG!!

As if the explosion had been the starting pistol to a race, Razor darted straight toward the direction of the blast, and sure enough upon flying lower he beheld that familiar vessel resting upon the shore, with a cadre of old faces already gathered around one another. The pegasus's grin widened as he stopped in midair, giving a large and happy-hoof wave as he hovered above the ship.

"A HOY DOWN THERE!" he shouted down to them, laughing eagerly and joyfully. A moment later the pegasus's hooves touched the ground, and his swift gallop brought him up to the already present Gangplank, Fuse, and Starless. He heard shouting in a recognizable voice early, assuming it to be of the diamond dog, Gravy, as the hound was no where in sight. The ol' doctor of the crew was conspicuously absent from the gathering as well, but hay no pony was gonna leave without the Medic; he had to already be here. Still he stood up before his old crewmates, garbed in his usual red cloak and chain armor with his greatsword held over his back, and pushed his goggles up, revealing his bright yellow eyes.

"When I got the message, Cap'n, I swear I left some debris behind me with how fast I bolted out of town!" he chuckled heartily, "Ahh Celestia's mane, its so good to see you lot again!"

[Corsair]

As Gravy descended into the ship, Medic joined him. The doctor looked more relaxed than Gravy had seen him in months. The pegasus laughed, asking if Gravy actually had any poison joke on board. The dog gave him a sly grin, and said, "What you think the 'surprise' in 'Alfalfa Surprise' is?"

The grin was wiped off of his muzzle a moment later when a boom that dwarfed the previous ones sounded almost directly overhead. Gravy once again reacted by jerking upright, this time cracking his head on a crossbeam. His rear paws came out from under him and he thumped to the deck. Gravy hissed, baring his teeth, and brought one of his big forepaws up to rub vigorously between his ears. "Oh, yes. such fun. Much togetherness." he growled in response to Medic's question, his voice dropping with irony.

Gravy rolled up onto all fours this time. Sometimes it was just easier in a ship designed for quadrupeds. He moved into the kitchen again, picking up the biggest cast-iron frying he had. He looked over to Medic again, and said, "You might not want watch this. Will not be pretty." With that, he moved to the hatch again, throwing it open and boiling out onto the deck. Looking around quickly, he spotted an armored pegasus that could only be Razor Wind. The stallion must just have arrived. But then he saw Short Fuse near the Captain. He pointed at the mare with the frying pan and called out, "Tonight, unicorn is on menu!"