Captain Celaeno and her crew were back where they belonged, sailing the area known as the Sea Of Clouds, once again on the look out for treasure and adventure. They were still stuck with the Storm Guard ship they had taken when they left Canterlot, but they had managed to personalize it by using some paint they'd gotten in Klugetown. Using that paint, they had decorated their temporary conveyance in colors similar to their old ship.
"Steady as she goes, Mullet." Celaeno told her first mate, who was currently at the wheel.
"Aye, Cap'n." Mullet nodded.
"It's great to be doing what we love again, isn't it?" Boyle grinned. "No more deliveries, no more schedules... just the open skies, and adventure on the horizon!"
"Truer words were never said, Boyle." Lix nodded.
"Caw!" Squabble agreed.
"No argument here, scallywags." Celaeno nodded. "Now, let's cut the chatter, and find us some treasure!"
"Aye-aye, Captain!" The crew chorused (save for Squabble, who emitted a drawn out squawk).
With that, the crew flew onwards, seeking new adventure and treasure. For most of the day, there was nothing. This was pretty much par for the course; in the old days, they would search for weeks on end before locating sizeable amounts of treasure. That was part of the excitement: they never knew when they would find their next big score. And when they caught a hint of hidden treasure, they would gladly follow the smallest of clues to their target. It was what they lived for, no question about it.
After breaking for lunch, the crew returned to the deck, ready to continue their voyage.
Celaeno stood at the front of the ship, gazing out into the clouds.
'We're back.' She thought. 'Back where we belong. All thanks to a certain group of stowaways... one rainbow-colored stowaway in particular. Now it'll be "time to be awesome" all the time.'
"We've got trouble down below, Cap'n!" Boyle yelled, rousing Celaeno from her reverie. "Cast yer eyes starboard!"
Celaeno and the rest of the crew looked over the side of the airship. Down below, a group of Abyssinians were being accosted by a group of Storm Guard soldiers.
"The Storm Guard?" Mullet frowned. "I thought those overgrown bilge rats were finished!"
"What are they doing out here?" Lix scowled.
"Caw!" Squabble added.
"They must be stragglers who slipped the net after the Storm King was taken down." Celaeno mused. "Either that, or they don't even know his majesty is nothing but a pile of rocks now, and think it's still business as usual."
"Your orders, Cap'n?" Mullet asked.
Celaeno took a moment to consider their options. In the past, her crew, while not exactly apathetic, were more inclined to just stay out of the affairs of others unless it was absolutely necessary. But a lot had happened since then. Certain events had changed their point of view. Celaeno knew what had to be done, and she knew her crew felt the same way.
"We descend." Celaeno ordered. "And then we put those bullying bilge rats in their place!"
"With pleasure, Cap'n!" Mullet spun the wheel.
The crew cheered as the ship turned in the direction of the altercation.
Down on the ground, the Abyssinians found themselves cornered. The Storm Guard advanced on them, growling in their distinctive guttural speech.
"Please, just leave us alone!" One Abyssinian, a white-furred male, pleaded.
"You already destroyed our country, robbed us of our riches." An orange-furred female declared nervously. "Why wasn't that enough for you?"
The Storm Guard didn't answer, only advancing further.
"Don't waste your breath." A gray-furred male, more powerfully built than his white-furred companion (yet still no match for their aggressors) snarled defiantly. "Don't give them the satisfaction."
As the lead Storm Guard raised his massive fist, the shadow of the pirates' ship fell over them. The Storm Guard froze for a moment, confused, as it seemed they were being joined by reinforcements. That believe was shattered when Celaeno and her crew swung down to the ground via rope.
"Prepare to kick some booty, crew!" Celaeno roared.
Realizing they were not being joined by comrades, the Storm Guard stepped forward to face the newcomers.
One of the Guards swung his fists at Squabble, who sidestepped each blow, swaying every which way like a wheat stalk in the breeze.
"Cawww!" Squabble chuckled, enjoying the game.
"Grrr!" The Storm Guard snarled, incensed.
The Storm Guard redoubled his efforts, becoming more and more angry with each missed attack. As he swung once more, his arm was caught by a tail, one with a fork on the end of it.
"Need an easier target?" Lix smirked. "How about yourself?"
Using her tail, Lix made the Storm Guard hit himself repeatedly in his face.
"Urgh! Urgh! Urgh!" The Guard groaned.
One last punch cracked the Guard's mask, and knocked him out cold.
"Guess no-one told him my specialty is knuckle sandwiches." Lix smirked.
"Caw!" Squabble nodded.
Meanwhile, Boyle faced off against another of the Storm Guard.
"I think this calls for the trusty grappling hook..." He switched his hook hand for a new weapon.
"Hurrrgh!" One of the Storm Guard charged at him.
Boyle backed away against a small ridge, then sidestepped his foe's attack.
"My turn." He smirked, taking aim with his grapple.
Boyle fired his grappling hook at the Storm Guard. The weapon flew past his foe's head, embedding itself in the rock race behind him.
"Hur, hur, hur." The Storm Guard snorted mockingly.
"If that's your way of saying 'you missed', then you're sorely mistaken." Boyle smirked.
Boyle pulled hard, causing the grappling hook to break out of the rock. The upper part of the ridge collapsed with slabs of stone falling down and burying the Storm Guard.
"Enjoy your dirt nap, boyo." Boyle snorted.
"Hyah!" Celeano swung her trusty cutlass at the lead Storm Guard.
"Rrrgh!" The leader blocked the blade with his shield.
"Tough guy, eh?" Celaeno smirked. "This should be fun..."
As Celaeno continued her battle, Mullet faced off with another Storm Guard. This one was slightly bulkier than the others, with cracks in his armor. But he was also faster than his comrades, managing to land a glancing blow on the side of Mullet's face, causing him to stumble back.
"Not bad, fuzzy." Mullet rubbed the bruise where he had been struck. "But let's see if you can do that again."
The Storm Guard narrowed his eyes, and threw another punch. This time, Mullet was ready; he caught the punch, and used the momentum to flip the Storm Guard onto his back.
"And the answer is 'no'." Mullet grinned.
As the Storm Guard tried to get back up, Mullet kicked him in the head, knocking him out.
"Stay down." He ordered.
Meanwhile, Celaeno and the lead Storm Guard were still locked in combat.
"Hah!" Celeano swung her blade at the Guard.
The Guard swung his shield in response, knocking the cutlass out of Celaeno's hand.
"Uh-oh." Celeano gulped.
The Storm Guard thrust the point of his shield forward. Celeano manged to dodge it in time, and kicked at the Storm Guard's chest.
"Ruurgh!" The Storm Guard snarled, stepping from the force of the impact.
"Think just because I'm unarmed, I'm defenseless?" Celaeno jeered. "Think again!"
Angered, the Storm Guard doubled his efforts, swinging his shield at Celaeno. The wily Captain artfully dodged and weaved, leading the Storm Guard over to a large rock.
"Come on, you overgrown bilge rat!" Celaeno taunted her enemy as she stood directly in front of the rock. "Hit me with your best shot!"
"Raarrgh!" The Storm Guard roared. His anger pushed to the limit, he thrust the point of his shield toward Celaeno.
At the last second, Celaeno leapt aside, and the shield ended up jammed into the rock.
"Huh?" The Storm Guard grunted. He attempted to pull his shield free, but it wouldn't budge. "Come onnn!"
The Storm Guard pulled harder, placing one foot on the rock for leverage. But, rather than free his shield, he only succeeded in snapping it in half.
"Whoops..." He cringed, staring at the broken half in disbelief.
"You really should be more careful with your toys." Celaeno smirked.
"Grrr!" The Storm Guard dropped his broken weapon, and charged at Celaeno.
"Want some more, do ya?" Celaeno taunted him.
As the Storm Guard threw a punch, Celaeno vaulted over his arm, and thrust her crystal peg leg right between his eyes.
"Arrhh!" The Storm Guard stumbled back, his helmet cracking from the impact.
"Hit 'em high... Hit 'em low!" Celaeno swept her crystal appendage through her foe's legs.
"Whoa!" The Storm Guard fell flat on his back, losing consciousness on impact.
"Nice work, Cap'n!" Mullet called, as the rest of the crew cheered Celaeno's victory (having been watching from the sidelines).
"Enjoyin' the show, were ya?" Celaeno snorted.
"We knew you had that overgrown gorilla handled, Cap'n." Boyle declared.
"The day a single opponent can beat our Captain is the day I turn in my ladles." Lix smiled.
"Caw!" Squabble added.
"Can't argue with that logic." Celaeno shrugged. "Now, let's how our feline friends are doing."
The crew walked over to the Abyssinians, who were eying their saviors warily, feeling as though sudden change in fortune was too good to be true.
"You cats okay?" Celaeno asked.
"Yes." The orange female said awkwardly. "Thank you."
"When we saw that ship, we thought we were going to see more of those fiends." The white-furred male admitted. "We didn't expect to get help, but we're grateful to have it."
"And we were happy to give it." Celaeno nodded. "The names Celano, Captain Celaeno. And this here is me crew: Mullet, Boyle, Lix Spittle and Squabble."
"I'm Prowler." The white-furred male declared. "And these are Whiskers." He indicated the female. "And Slinker."
He pointed to the male.
"Hello." Whiskers waved awkwardly.
"Yeah, hi." Slinker said coldly.
"What are a bunch of Abyssinians like you doing so far from home?" Boyle asked.
"'Home' is just where our problems started." Prowler sighed. "The Storm King and his legions attacked our capital, taking everything of value and leaving it in ruins. Some of us managed to escape, but most were captured and made to be slaves."
"That's terrible." Lix gasped. "We've seen that kind of thing before. Never gets any easier..."
"At first, we thought we were the lucky ones." Prowler admitted. "We managed to flee the attack. With our home destroyed, we were reduced to wandering around, trying to find a new home. Then we received word that our King and Queen had managed to survive the attack, and were trying to rebuild Abyssinia. We were so glad to hear it, we rushed back home. Unfortunately, we were captured by the Storm Guard on the way back."
"We barely managed to escape from the camp where we were being held." Whiskers added. "But then those Storm Guard monsters managed to catch up to us. If you hadn't shown up, we would have been thrown right back into the camp."
"Glad to help." Boyle nodded.
"Wait..." Slinker said suddenly, having been appraising Celaeno and her crew throughout the conversation. "I've seen these birds before... That's right! They were working for the Storm King!"
"What?!" Whiskers frowned. "Slinker, are you serious?"
"Dead serious." Slinker scowled. "I saw them once at Klugetown, decked out in uniforms with the Storm King's emblem on it!"
The other Abyssinians stepped back, suddenly fearful of their saviors.
"It's not what you think." Celaeno declared. "Yes, we did use to work for the Storm King. But we were only delivering his stupid merchandise."
"After he forced us to work for him." Mullet added.
"Aye." Boyle nodded. "That scurvy Storm King took everything from us, just like he did for all of you."
"Is that right?" Slinker sneered suspiciously. "Funny how you happen to have one of his ships..."
"Use your head, lad." Mullet scowled. "If we were really still workin' for the Storm King, why would we go to the trouble of saving you?"
"He makes a good point." Whiskers admitted.
"And what exactly were you before you were 'forced' to work for the Storm King?" Slinker asked, using finger quotes.
"We were freelance treasure hunters." Celaeno announced.
"...You were pirates?!" Prowled gaped.
"Freelance treasure hunters." Celaeno said irritably. "There's a difference."
"And now, you're 'freelance treasure hunters' again?" Slinker growled. "Forgive me if that doesn't inspire much confidence."
"Look, you needed help, and we gave it." Mullet scowled. "Not that we did it just for thanks, but your lack of gratitude is gettin' on my nerves."
"He's right." Whiskers declared. "Pirates or no, former employees of the Storm King or no, they still saved us. If it weren't for them, we'd be back in that space camp right now, along with all the others. The least you can do is say 'thank you', Slinker."
"Says you." Slinker turned away.
"Well, I can say it." Prowled admitted. "Thank you all for saving us. I'll admit I'm not exactly thrilled about the 'freelance treasure hunter' thing, but if you were willing to go to all that trouble to help a bunch strangers, maybe 'freelance treasure hunters' aren't as bad as I thought they were."
"Thanks... I think." Celaeno shrugged. "Now, what's this about a slave camp?"
"Yeah." Mullet agreed. "How many other cats have they got locked up there?"
"About two dozen of them." Slinker scowled. "All of them toiling away for the Storm King."
"Maybe not." Mullet declared.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Slinker frowned.
"He means the Storm King bought it a couple of weeks ago." Boyle announced.
"He did?" Whiskers frowned. "You're sure?"
"Pretty sure." Liz nodded. "He was turned to stone, then shattered to pieces. He's sleepin' with fishes alright."
"But if that's true, why are the Storm Guard still doing this?" Prowler asked.
"Best guess: they're trying to carry on their boss's legacy." Celaeno surmised. "And they're forcing your people to help them prepare for a new campaign of invasion and conquest."
"I hated leaving the others behind." Whiskers said regretfully. "But the three of us only got away becaus our manacles broke."
"We couldn't free the others, much less without drawing attention." Prowler recalled. "So we had no choice but to flee while we had the chance."
"That really put a crimp in my tail." Slinker growled. "Even as we speak, our fellow Abyssinians are being worked into exhaustion."
"Well, we're just going to have to do something about that, aren't we?" Celaeno said boldly. "Are you up for it, crew?"
"Aye!" Mullet, Boyle, and Lix cheered.
"Caw!" Squabble squawked.
"We can't ask you to do that." Prowler declared. "You've already done enough for us."
"You don't have to ask." Celaeno smiled. "The Storm King and his scurvy minions have already caused enough harm in this world. We're not going to let them gear up for a second try."
"But even with your help, we'd still be out-numbered." Whiskers pointed out.
"Which is why we're gonna out-smart them." Mullet declared. "We'll use our ship to slip right past their defences. They won't know what's happening until it's too late."
"Once we're in there, the element of surprise will give us all the edge we need." Boyle added.
"But we're not exactly fighters." Prowler frowned. "We'll probably just get in the way."
"Speak for yourself." Slinker scoffed.
"You can stay on the ship." Celaeno replied. "Our goal is to save Abyssinians, not endanger them. So, shall we?"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Slinker pulled Prowler and Whiskers aside. "Do you really think it's a good idea to trust them?"
"What choice do we have?" Whiskers retorted. "You said you have the idea of leaving the others in there. Celaeno and her crew are our best bet of seeing them free."
"So unless you have a better idea, I suggest you get on board." Prowler declared. "And I mean that quite literally."
"...Fine, let's do this." Slinker reluctantly gave in.
"Okay, we're ready to go." Whiskers told Celaeno.
"Great." Celaeno smiled. "All aboard."
The pirates, joined by their passengers, climbed back up the ropes, and boarded the ship.
"Alright, now where do we find this camp?" Mullet asked as he took the wheel.
"It's a little ways south-west." Prowler instructed.
"Then south-west we go!" Mullet spun the wheel.
The airship changed direction. As they neared their location, Celaeno and the crew readied themselves for battle.
"Are you can handle this?" Whiskers asked worriedly. "This is a lot more than just four Storm Guards."
"Relax." Celaeno assured her. "We've taken on a lot more in our time."
"The Captain's right." Boyle nodded. "We fought a whole army of Storm Guards on the day the Storm King went down. Compared to that, this shouldn't be too tough."
"I hope you're right." Prowler declared. "Not to put any undue pressure on you, but the fate of all those Abyssinians rests in your hands."
"Now why would that put any pressure on us?" Lix joked.
Soon after, they saw the camp up ahead.
"Okay, battle stations, everyone." Celaeano ordered. As her crew eagerly obeyed, she turned to their passengers. "You'd better get below decks. This is probably gonna get ugly."
"...Get below decks..." Slinker muttered, as he and fellow felines followed. "These are our people in danger, and we're supposed to let these birds do the saving?"
"Have you forgotten that they saved us before?" Whiskers pointed out. "We were no match for four Storm Guard, but Celaeno and her crew took them down like they were nothing."
"You don't know that we couldn't have beat them." Slinker said stubbornly.
"Put your pride aside, kid." Prowler admonished Slinker. "Like it or not, these birds are our best shot at using our people free again. There's no shame in getting help when you need it... and our fellow cats need help."
"Whatever." Slinker pouted.
Back on the deck, Celaeno's crew looked upon the camp as they descended. Everywhere they looked, there were chained Abyssinians being forced to carry equipment and supplies, overseen by the Storm Guards. To the crew's horror, one of the exhausted Abyssinians stumbled and fell.
One of the Storm Guards, who was bigger than the others, with a dark blue crest and tail, stepped forward. By the way he carried himself, Celaeno guessed he was the Commander of the operation. The Commander struck the cat, then forced him to get back to work.
"It's even worse than I'd imagined..." Mullet said, disgusted.
"Let's take this filth down." Celaeno snarled.
As planned, the airship drew no attention as it landed within the camp. The Storm Guard apparently believed it to be a supply or scout ship of some sort, leaving their captives in order to gather around it.
"Let 'em have it!" Celaeno yelled.
"Caw!" Squabble squawked as he lit a stream of fireworks (which they'd also bought in Klugetown) and aimed them at the Storm Guard.
The fireworks flew all around the Storm Guards, sending them scrambling.
Celaeno and her crew leapt off the airship, and charged at the Storm Guard. With their enemies taken by surprise and shaken by their first attack, they had a decent enough edge to offset their numerical disadvantage.
"Take this, you scum!" Boyle, having exchanged his hook for a metal hammer, struck one Storm Guard in the face.
"We're not letting you pick up where the Storm King left off!" Mullet added, punching another hard in the stomach.
"Caw!" Squabble removed the life preserver from his neck and flung it at one of the Storm Guard, causing him to trip and tumble into several overs.
"Soup's on!" Lix emptied a bowl full of axle grease in the path of charging Guards, crashing him to slip and crash into several crates.
"That's the way, mateys!" Celeano kicked a Storm Guard aside.
Angered by the intrusion, the Commander stepped forward.
"You will pay!" He roared.
"Figured you were the one in charge." Celaeno declared. "You'll be getting it the worst of all."
"Raarrgh!" The Commander charged at Celaeno.
Celaeno dodged the Commander's first strike, then struck back, kicking him in the chest. But the Commander wasn't as fazed by it as she expected.
"Weak." He hissed.
The Commander charged again. This time, Celaeno leapt aside, then swung her sword. The Commander barely dodged in time, his red crest getting a trim from the cutlass. He felt the damage, then roared in outrage.
"Grarrr!" He spat.
As he charged again, Celaeno directed him toward the grease Lix had spilled. The Commander slipped, and tumbled into his comrades.
"Any good trick is worth using twice." Celaeno grinned.
As another Storm Guard approached, Celaeno made to defend herself... but didn't need too, as a crate suddenly crashed into the Guard's head, knocking him out.
"What the-?" Celaeno turned in the direction the crate came from, and saw Slinker, standing atop some other crates. "What do you think you're doing?"
"You think I'm just going to stand by and let you birds play the heroes?" Slinker sneered, leaping off the crates. "Not a chance. If anyone's going to save these Abyssinians, it's going to be one of their own kind."
"This isn't a game, you know." Celaeno growled. "This is dangerous, life or death stuff."
"So you want me to hide like a coward?" Slinker scoffed. "No can do."
As Celaeno made to retort, she saw the Commander, having recovered from his trip, about to strike Slinker from behind.
"Look out!" Celaeno pushed Slinker out the way, receiving the mighty blow herself. "Ugh!" She grunted, the punch knocking her down.
"Celaeno!" Slinker yelled.
"Captain!" Mullet yelled. He made to help, but was tackled by another Storm Guard.
As Celaeno struggled to recover from the punch, the Commander moved in to finish the job.
"Think again, ugly!" Slinker pounced upon the Commander, punching, kicking and scratching for all he was worth.
"Rrr!" The Commander snarled.
Slinker felt himself getting grabbed by the scruff of his neck.
"Put me down, Storm scum!" He struggled to free himself.
"Foolish cat." The Commander spat. "Prepare to be skinned!"
"Not today!" Celaeno struck the Commander's outstretched arm with her crystal peg leg.
"Arrr!" The Commander yelled, dropping Slinker. "You-"
Celaeno kicked the Commander in the stomach, winding him, then tripped him with her peg leg. As he struggled to get up, she pointed her cutlass toward him, letting it hover over his eye.
"Order your troops to surrender." Celaeno demanded. "They're pretty much done anyway."
The Commander looked around. Most of his troops were indeed down, and the remainder were being picked off one by one. Reluctantly, he raised his hands in defeat.
"Good choice." Celaeno smirked.
Not long after, the Commander and his minions had all been restrained via rope, chains, or anything at hand, and placed inside a fenced area that had been used to keep the Abyssinians when they weren't working. The Abyssinians had been freed, and were happily reuniting with Prowler, Whiskers and Slinker.
"Thank you all." A light brown male, who had identified himself as "Pads" smiled at the pirates. "We owe you our lives."
"It was our pleasure." Boyle smiled. "Truly."
"Captain?" Slinker approached Celaeno.
"Yes?" Celaeno asked.
"Thanks for saving me." Slinker said awkwardly. "I guess that's two I owe you now."
"You saved me back there, too." Celaeno declared. "So let's call it even."
"If you say so." Slinker smiled.
"What's in these crates those brutes were making you carry?" Lix asked.
"Mostly equipment and supplies." Pads answered. "But some were filled with treasure looted from other lands."
Squabble, while checking one of the crates, found a large amount of gold and jewels inside.
"Caw!" He squawked happily.
"That's a lot of treasure." Boyle noted, opening another crate to find more.
"You should take this." Celaeno told the Abyssinians. "You're going to need it to help rebuild your country."
"Are you sure?" Whiskers asked. "I mean, you put your lives on the line for us. I'd say you deserve that stuff more than we do."
The crew shared a look.
"We disagree." Mullet smiled. "You need it more than we do. "
"Besides, we prefer to hunt for our treasure." Boyle added. "Just finding it like that offers no challenge."
"In other words, it's all yours." Celaeno grinned.
The Abyssinians cheered.
"I'm not too big to admit I had you birds pegged wrong." Slinker declared. "Even after everything I said to you, you went above and beyond to help us, without even expecting a reward."
"To be honest, we were given help a little like that ourselves not too long ago." Mullet smiled. "What we did today... well, let's say we were just payin' it forward."
"That as it may be, we still think you deserve a little something for helping us." Whiskers declared. She dug out a large ruby from one of the crates. "Here, take this. It might just buy you a new ship to replace that eyesore."
"Well, if you insist." Celaeno reluctantly accepted the gift. "Good luck with rebuilding your country."
"Thank you." Prowler smiled. "For everything. And know that you'll always be welcome in Abyssinia."
"You're too kind." Celaeno grinned.
"We'd offer you a lift there, but our eyesore of a ship can't fit you all." Mullet admitted.
"That's okay." Pads declared, indicating a small group of airships nearby. "I think we can organize our own method of transportation."
"Besides, you've already done more than enough for us." Whiskers stated.
"No argument here." Slinker nodded. "And good luck with your 'freelance treasure hunting'."
Celaeno tipped her hat to their new friends.
"Come on, ya scallywags." She told the crew. "We got us some treasure to find."
"Aye, Cap'n!"
"Caw!"
The crew got back inside the airship, and took off back into the skies, the Abyssinians waving them off. Their search for treasure might have hit a detour, but it was one they would have gladly taken again, because doing the right thing had become more valuable to them than any amount of gold or jewels.