A World Above

by KidatHeart5


Encounters

The anchored ship bobbed gently amidst the soft waves of the sea. It was actually quite colorful for a pirate ship. There were rainbow-colored wings on the sides of the ship and a parrot figurehead positioned at the front of the vessel.

            Vapor Trail remarked, “Wow, it’s so colorful.”

            Sky Stinger said uneasily, “Yeah, I always thought that Captain Hoof’s ship would be…scarier than this. Then again, he ambushed us on land, so we didn’t really see the ship. Still, it’s odd that he would decorate his ship like this. He is not a nice parrot.”

            Zealot asked, “Sorry, did you say ‘parrot’ or ‘pirate’?”

            “He’s both, actually. He’s a parrot who’s a pirate. The same goes for his dastardly crew.”

            Roller said as he clashed his hooves together, “I say we get in there and give ‘em what for.”

            Sky protested, “I would seriously advise against that. Whip’s mentor, Blue Star, told him that when he was Pony Pan, Captain Hoof got himself a powerful weapon loaded with serious magic. I mean really serious magic. He said that Hoof stole it from one of his friends. Blue’s, not Hoof’s. He told Whip he was never the same after that. The missing page that was ripped out of the journal is proof that he blamed himself for what happened to his friend.”

            Skater asked, “Did you, Whip, or Blue ever try to get the magic back from Hoof?”

            Sky shook his head, “No. Blue warned Whip that it would be too dangerous to steal the weapon and magic from Captain Hoof. And after the ambush that made Whip lose the badger, I’m not too keen on confronting Hoof face-to-face. Besides, even without using the weapon, Captain Hoof is pretty dangerous and cunning. You do not want to mess with him.”

            Blaze asked, “Let me ask you something: was Hoof using the weapon when he ambushed you?”

            The Pegasus scoffed, “Like he needed to. It was just a land attack in the middle of the night. Trust me, Captain Hoof is a very good fighter without the weapon. He almost ended Whip’s career for good.”

            The unicorn said as he put his hoof to his chin, “So maybe Hoof only uses the weapon for more dire situations.” His eyes then widened with realization before he flashed a smirk, “Guys, I think I have an idea.”

            After going over the plan, Sky grumbled as he stepped out of the brush, “I can’t believe I’m doing this.”

            Vapor pleaded softly, “Just please be okay.”

            Just as Sky put his hoof onto the shore, Blaze whispered to the group, “Go, go, go!”

            At his behest, the group started to move through the trees alongside the shore. Once they were several feet left of the ship, they followed Mischief onto the shore and into the water, where he created an underwater current to travel to the other side of the sea.

            As this happened, Sky grumbled to himself, “Why am I even doing this?” He then said in a falsetto voice, “’Hey, Sky! I have a plan! We’re going to travel underwater while you stay and draw Hoof’s fire.’ Yeah, good idea! Make me bait for that dreaded pirate!”

            He then stopped before his hooves could touch the water. He took a deep breath and said, “Okay. Here we go.” He inhaled as deeply as he could before he saw the muzzle of a cannon appear on the side of the ship. He nervously said with fear buzzing in his chest, “Well, seems they dragged out Long Tom. Time to give them a show.”

            He spread out his wings and crouched before zipping up into the air. When he reached the heights of the tallest trees, he gave a whistle. He then taunted, “Hoof! Hoof, you codfish! Here!”

            Right on cue, the cannon started firing its deadly balls at Sky, who dodged them with flair and confidence. Meanwhile, the rest of the group was traveling quickly underwater via the current as if it was a tube. They held onto each other’s hooves/talons tightly and were wearing bubbles on their heads to keep from breathing in any seawater.

            Vapor fretted, “I hope Sky will be all right.”

            Roller remarked, “He’s Pony Pan. He can get out of any scrape.”

            “Yes, but this is actually the first time he’s had cannonballs fired at him!”

            Mischief, who was at the front, reassured her, “Don’t worry. We’ll get to the shoreline in time.”

            True to his word, they surfaced near the shoreline within ten seconds. As soon as everyone stepped onto the sand, Mischief concentrated his thoughts on Sky Stinger and his antlers glowed green. At that moment, Sky turned around to see a cannonball headed straight for him. He knew he wouldn’t dodge it in time, but to his surprise, he found himself on a different beach.

            Sky said breathlessly, “That was too close a call! Why couldn’t you just teleport us here?!”

            He answered with furrowed brows, “I can only teleport somewhere if I can see it. But since I’ve seen you before, that’s how I was able to teleport you even though you were out of sight.”

            Skater said, “Save the talk for later! Let’s just go before Captain Hoof uses his telescope to see us!”

            As quickly as they had arrived, the group ran from the shore and into the woods. After a minute, they stopped to catch their breath.

            Flurry panted, “I think we’re safe.”

            Blaze agreed, “Yeah, if Captain Hoof saw us, he would’ve lost us by now.”

            Opulence asked, “Where are we?”

            Sky said as he saw a piece of wood sticking out from behind a curtain of leaves on a tree, “Hang on, I think I see something.” He pulled back the leaves and read aloud, “’Turkey Wood’.”

            Roller snickered, “Turkey Wood? What, are these woods filled with turkeys?”

            As if an answer to his rhetorical question, a blue turkey with a few icicles hanging from its body gobbled frantically past the group.

            Gabby asked, “Ice turkeys?”

            Skater rolled her eyes and corrected, “Cold turkeys.”

            The adults responded, “Ah.”

            Suddenly, a flock of cold turkeys like the first one sprinted past them while gobbling in panic.

            Nova shivered as a cold turkey sped by her, “Brr! They’re ice cold to the touch!”

            At that moment, they heard distant shouting and the sound of…spraying water?

            The approaching voice growled, “You better run, you filthy beasts! This will teach you to mess up my garden!”

            Steam preceded the discolored turkeys rushing out of the brush frantically. The last of the turkeys were being chased by a gush of water battering their brown backsides. The group had to close their eyes to shield them from the stray hot water droplets that were already scalding their coats.

            A young unicorn stallion burst from the brush and shouted again as he blasted a hose at the turkeys, “Back! Back, you!” When he noticed other ponies in front of him, he uttered in surprise, “Oh! Forgive me. Let me turn off the water.” His horn glowed silver and the water gushing out of the hose eventually slowed to a stop.

            The group opened their eyes to see a stallion with a white coat and a very light yellow mane with a silver streak in it.

            Flurry said, “Thank you for turning off your…hose. Just what were you doing?”

            The pony sneered, “Those obnoxious turkeys were in my garden and eating my food again. Honestly, this is the third time this week!”

            Mischief mentioned, “We might have an explanation for that. Weird things keep happening on Paraddock and we think-“

            The stallion frowned, “Of course weird things keep happening on Paraddock. It’s weird. I should know. I’ve been here several times ever since I was a young colt.”

            Nova said in surprise, “But how is this possible? Usually, Paraddock beams you up if you’re a kid and you’re in trouble.”

            He smirked, “Well, it just so happens that I have the means to travel to Paraddock and back. I even have a chateau to stay in while I’m here. I consider it my summer home. I can show you if you want. You seem like the kind of ponies I can trust.”

            As they followed the pony, Zealot said, “We haven’t been properly introduced.”

            The stallion stopped and turned to face them as he chuckled, “Oh, how stupid of me! I am Prince Silver Tongue of Maretania.”

            The adults froze in surprise. This was Silver Tongue, the son of Prince Blueblood? The son of the stallion the royal sisters so utterly despised because of past misdeeds? When the adults inspected him more closely, they did see a hint of Blueblood in him.

             Apple Butter nervously said, “Oh, you’re Blueblood’s kid! Nice to meet you. Yeah, your mom was at the banquet. She happened to mention you there.”

            Silver Tongue gave a smile, “I’m sure. I’m Mother’s pride and joy, after all.” When they started walking again, he asked, “You know, I didn’t catch your names.”

            Flurry answered, “Oh! Beg pardon. I’m Princess Flurry Heart of the Crystal Empire. This is my fiancé Sir Mischief, Lady Nova Rose, Zealot of Marendelle, and my cousins Prince Blaze of Canterlot and Prince Roller Blade, Princess Skater, and Princess Apple Butter of Marendelle.”

            “You’re royalty? Very interesting. What brings you to this intriguing yet backwards world so high up in the sky?”

            Mischief answered, “We were looking for these kids.” He gestured to the small ponies. “They were taken from their parents and brought here because someone on Paraddock thought they were in danger.”

            “I remember the first time I came to Paraddock. Maretania was on the verge of waging war with one of its neighbors. I had a lovely dream when I went to bed that night. I woke up in a field of many flowers, some of which were very odd indeed. I was scared at first, and then I thought I was still dreaming. But it turned out to be more than the most imaginative fantasy I could think of.

            “The flowers had lovely voices and they sang to me for hours. When they suggested I explore the jungle, I was a little hesitant to go in, but I’m very glad I went in anyway. It was an experience I would remember forever. Oh, look! We’re already here!”

            The group looked upon the elegant chateau in awe and wonder. It was like something out of a fairy tale, what with the flowering vines decorating the exterior and a gazebo amidst fragrant flowers.

            Skater breathed, “Silver Tongue, this is so awesome!”

            “Isn’t it? I took some inspiration from Dandy Grandeur’s abode. Of course, his chateau in the countryside can’t possibly compare to my second home here on Paraddock.”

            Blaze asked, “Wait, you know Dandy Grandeur?”

            “Oh, yes. Maretania and Prance always has good relations with each another. My parents are rather fond of Dandy Grandeur, though he’s unfortunately been abdicated for some time now.” He faced the Guardians and asked, “I’m told you played a part in that.”

            Flurry explained, “We don’t wish to antagonize you, but here’s the story: when we didn’t support Dandy’s wish to have his nephew marry Velvet Blue, he had us locked in a warehouse and disabled our powers for a while. He also hypnotized Velvet into proceeding with the wedding. When we got to the chapel and broke the hypnosis spell on her, Dandy behaved…badly. There were guests who saw the whole thing, so that forced Dandy to step down and give the throne to Feather Bangs.”

            Silver Tongue said, “Well, that explains a lot. Dandy doesn’t talk about what happened, but from what you’ve just told me, he left quite a smudge on his legacy.”

            Mischief asked, “So you’re not upset that we played a part in his abdication?”

            “Why, of course not! I have no ill will towards you. After all, you were just doing your job. I’m merely saying that it was rather unfortunate that he made poor choices that led to his downfall. He’s not a bad pony, you know. He has charisma, charm, and is certainly the most prim and proper pony you’ll ever meet.”

            Opulence spoke up, “Wait a minute! Mommy, Daddy, Grandpa, and Grandma are very prim and proper!”

            Ruff asked, “What’s ‘prim and proper’?”

            She shrugged, “I dunno. They say it all the time.”

            Jam fussed, “Can we have dinner now? I’m hungry.”

            Silver Tongue said, “Well, then, perhaps we should get supper started. I’ll have the dining room set up and the food ready for you.”

            Flurry smiled courteously, “Thank you very much for your hospitality, Silver Tongue. We really appreciate it.”

            He chuckled, “My pleasure, Your Highness.”

            When Silver kissed her hoof, Mischief felt a slight twinge of jealousy and distrust towards the prince.


            When Gale had seen the large fun room for the first time, she and the others were in complete awe. It had everything a kid could want: crazy tube slides, trampolines, even jungle gyms galore. With her parents with her while the others toured the palace with Gladmane, she spent hours in the fun room before she wore herself out from both hunger and exhaustion.

            She fussed to her parents, “Mommy, Daddy, I’m done playing. When do we eat?”

            Sky Blitz assured her, “Soon. Gladmane said he’ll send a guard to take us to the dinner theater. He should be here any minute now.”

            Whirl Wind whispered to his wife, “If you ask me, he should’ve been here sooner. I’m starving here.”

            As if on cue, the striped bat pony guard entered the room.

            Whirl smirked and whispered to Sky, “Hey, Sky. It’s Hot Stuff again.”

            She chuckled as she tapped his arm playfully, “Stop that!”

            Gale smiled and greeted him, “Hi, Mr. Bumble Tiger!”

            Whirl and Sky’s eyes widened in mortification and they worried the guard would react badly. To their great surprise, he began to laugh heartily.

            After a good laugh, the guard wiped a few tears from his eyes and said as he caught his breath, “Nopony ever gave me a nickname like that. Must be my eyes that scare them. But thanks, I needed that laugh. You are now officially my favorite princess.”

            Gale cheered as she clapped, “Yay!”

            He then smiled, “Now, may I escort Your Highnesses to dinner?”

            Sky smiled, “You may.”

            Whirl picked up his daughter as he said, “Come on, Gale.” After he placed her on his back, he said, “Let’s follow Mr. Bumble Tiger.”

            The adults laughed as they began to walk out of the room.

            The guard gently said, “My name is Foxhelm, by the way. Just thought you should know. I’ll come whenever you need me.”

            Whirl asked, “Does every guard give a guest their special treatment here?”

            “Well, considering your daughter lightened up my spirits, I hereby give you permission to call for me anytime you need help.”

            The prince said in amazement, “Wow, thanks.”