//------------------------------// // Hostile Reception // Story: Barnacle's Adventure: Pony Pirates on the High Seas // by Paradise Oasis //------------------------------// It was nearly evening when the ship passed through the straits of Maregellian, and Salty saw the towering form of Mount Aris off in the distance. When the lookout yelled to the other ponies on the ship that he had spotted their destination. North Star and the others ran to the ship's bow, and stared at the approaching island. The whole island was a giant spire, sticking out of the middle of the ocean. Surrounding the central spire was a flat, circular island covered with palm trees and ferns. "Oh, wow! It's so pretty!" Fizzy laughed, staring at the towering island in awe. "Do you think all of those hippos live up at the tippy top of that mountain?" "Nah, the hippogriffs have their kingdom on the base of the island." Wave Runner replied. "The top of the spire holds a shrine that is sacred to the hippogriffs. They fly up there for there ceremonies and rituals." "And that's where I'm betting we'll find the key that we are looking for, I'd wager." Barnacle spoke up, looking up from his place at the helm. "I'm already tryin' ta cook up a plan on we might acquire the key, and-" "Uh, cap'n? " Salty called out from the crow's nest, a nervous tone in his voice. "I hate ta interrupt ye, but we have incoming off the starboard bow!" All of the other ponies looked up, and saw what looked like several bird-like forms flying towards the vessel at a great speed. "Blimey, it looks like they have spotted us," North Star noted, squinting her eyes. "I guess the hippogriffs are really eager to greet us!" "Uhhhhh, Barnacle? I don't think those are hippogriffs!" Wave Runner muttered, looking through her telescope. "They look a heck of a lot bigger.... and meaner!" Barnacle looked to the skies for another minute, before his eyes went wide. "GRIFFONS!" Barnacle cried out, jumping away from the helm, and pulling out his cutlass and pistol. "Ponies, battle positions!" All of the ponies on deck ran towards the cannons, while Salty stood firm in the crow's nest, drawing his cutlass. As the flock of nearly forty griffons came racing towards the boat, all of the pony crew aboard stood ready to repel them. "Pony pirates!" The griffin squad's leader roared, pointing a claw towards the deck. "Destroy the invaders!" Two of the fliers dove towards the deck, talon unsheathed, and slashed towards North Star and Wave dancer, who both rolled out of the way, before taking to the skies after their attackers. Another one dove at Fizzy, who tried to dodge the attack, but was brutally slashed along the flanks, by the griffon's sharp talons. "Aieeeee!" The twinkle-eyed pony cried out, before glaring angrily back up at the flying attackers. "Oh no, you are NOT gettign away with hurting me!" Using her unicorn magic, she aimed the ship's cannons, and opened fire on the griffins. The cannonballs stuck four or five of the beasts, sending the griffin attackers plummeting into the water, where the merponies and sirens who had been following the ship tore the griffins to pieces and devoured them. Meanwhile, Salty slashed away at the griffins attacking the crow's nest, blocking the claw slashes and beak pecks of his attackers with his cutlass. One managed to get behind the stallion during the fight, and grabbed Salty's tail in his beak. The griffin tried to pull the earth pony out of the crow's nest, but Salty slashed one of his attackers wing's off, sending him tumbling into the water below. "Arrrr!" The sailor growled gruffly. "No bridie or beastie will be having me fer a meal this day!" High above, the two Pegasus were locked in an aerial dogfight with the griffins. Wave runner swung away with her cutlass, slashing her attackers one by one, and sending them tumbling into the ocean. One griffin got above her, and tried to drop down on her from above mid flight. But the Pegasus flipped upside down in midair, thrusting her cutlass upward, and speared the griffin who had tried to pounce on her. "Trying to sneak up on me, eh?" the cavalier mare laughed, pulling her sword out, as the griffin's corpse tumbled into the water. "How are you doing over there, North?" "Oh, just trying to stay alive, here!" North Star replied sarcastically, just trying to dodge and avoid the griffin attacks. "I say, you really need to teach me some combat skills, it would be rather spiffing if I could defend myself!" "Lure them into the cannon's line of fire!" Wave Runner called back. "Let Fizzy take these beasties out!" North Star swung around in several graceful loops, which the griffins couldn't keep up with in flight. The cannonballs whizzed in just behind her, smacking into the five or six griffins, and sending them tumbling into the ocean. "Blimey, it worked!" North Star beamed. "I bet Barnacle is kicking their tail feathers in, too!" And as North Star looked back down at the ship, she was surprised to see Barnacle kicking, slashing, and shooting at the intruders, picking off griffins with his cutlass and flintlock. When two griffins attacked, diving at him from each side, the earth pony shot one and decapitated the other. The two lifeless bodies fell in front of the captain, as he blew the smoke from his flintlock pistol. "Shiver me timbers!" he exclaimed reloading his flintlock. "No mangy birds are goign to take me ship, while I have anything to say about it!" The defenders fought long and hard against the invaders, killing nearly thirty of the griffins. But soon they were exhausted, and the remaining dozen soon had the pony pirates surrounded on the deck, with the ponies barely able to stand. "Surrender now, pony buccaneers." one of the griffins snarled, as the surviving attackers stared the ponies down. "Or we'll be tossing all of YOU into into the ocean!" Staring into each of the griffin's eyes, Barnacle looked to the frightened but determined ponies surrounding him, and looked back at the cruel and merciless griffins threatening them. The captain's mind raced, trying to decide what to do next in this terrible standoff...