.
The ocean was calm and serene. No high waves disturbed its surface, no sharks looked for prey underneath it. It was a summer day. The sun shone from the sky, not hot or unpleasant, but with a comfortable warmth. A beach was nearby, gray-sanded and with very gritty grains, and a cliff, with rocks as black as the night. Behind them was a mountain, Aris, it was called. It was once home of the proud and mighty hippogriffs, until a warlord came, destroyed their home and forced them to flee into the depths of the ocean. Fast winds were blowing around its peak. But down at its bottom, where the ocean water got warmed up by the rays of the sun, was only a mild breeze.
The mild breeze blew over the ocean, creating tiny waves on its surface. A flight of seagulls crossed over it, maybe on the way back home to their nests or searching for unattentive fishes that were foolish enough to swim too close to the surface. It was a perfectly peaceful scenery. Then the peacefulness came to an abrupt and sudden end, as the surface of the ocean got pierced by something.
Water splashed high up into the air, like a rocket that had been fired off from the very bottom of the ocean. A pink-colored rocket, apparently, as all that could be seen was a pink streak that shot out from the surface.
“I'M FREE!” the blur shouted, now recognizeable as a big, fish-like creature: A seapony.
Its skin was of a bright pink and its face cast forth a contagious happiness one really didn't see all too often around these lands. The creature stayed in the air for only a second, then it dropped back into the water with another splash.
The surface got disturbed by this once more, then it slowly calmed again and the tiny waves returned. And it stayed like this, as the next time the happy seapony stuck its head out of the water, it was at the aforementioned beach with the gray sand. It crawled on land. It did so very awkwardly, because equipped with fins rather than legs, its body was not made to move on land. Then the seapony got wrapped up in a white light and as the light had faded, legs had sprouted where fins used to be. Feathers, where there were scales once. A hippogriff stood where the seapony had been.
If someone would have asked this hippogriff, she (it clearly was a female one, this was apparent now) could have told an exciting, albeit sad, story. Not only did she belong to the people who had to save their lives by going under the water, she also had the unfortunate luck of having become born in the depths of the ocean. As such, this hippogriff did not know much about the world on the surface. There were a few things her parents had told her about, but she had never ventured far enough to see these things with her own eyes. It was forbidden, as the warlord's soldiers were patrolling the surface day and night to find the hippogriffs' hidden exile. She had spent her entire life, which was a duration of twelve years up to the present day, in this underwater exile.
Lucky for our young hippogriff, though, the warlord had been defeated recently. His soldiers either surrendered or run for the hills. He was dead and his army was gone. And that meant, that the hippogriffs were free now. She was free now and today, it was the first day on the surface in her young life.
And now that she stood on a beach for the first time ever, our young hippogriff was craning back her head and looked up into the sky. And her pupils contracted. “W-What is this?” she spoke in fear and tumbled back a little, until she was one step in the water again. She stared at the sky and tried to assess its dimensions. She asked herself how far it reached and where it ended. And came to the conclusion that it was endless. The thought intimidated her. Imagining that this blue mass above her head never ended, after all she had known for her entire life were ceilings and dark depths of water, made her feel like something was pressing her head together. Her heart started to race. She had never been so scared before.
And as she stood there like this, readying herself for fleeing back into the familiar ocean waters, a second seapony rose from them and crawled on the beach. And just like she did before, it transformed into a hippogriff. A male hippogriff this time and much, much older than she was. And unlike her, his feathers and fur were of a violet color. He stepped at her side and placed a claw on her shoulder.
“This, Silverstream, is the sky,” he spoke to his young companion.
“T-The sky?” she answered. “W-Why is it so big? I'm scared.” The female hippogriff, whose name we now know, crouched down to his claws.
“Don't worry,” he tried to reassure her. The voice he spoke with was regal and refined, and a little arrogant, and there was a calming aspect to it. “There is no reason to be scared. The sky is our true element and domain and it has been conquered by many generations of hippogriffs before you. You will conquer it, too, and you will learn that there is nothing to fear.” He spoke these calming words and then picked Silverstream up. He took her by the claw and his imposing wings lifted both of them up into the sky.
“General, no!” the young one shrieked and she held on to his claw, closing her eyes and whimpering.
“It is time for you to learn how to fly.” The general spoke with authority, but also with determination. “The way to Equestria is long and our wings are the only means of transportation that can get us there. We will practice until you can fly just as good as I.”
And that's what the two hippogriffs did. The older one taught the younger one everything he knew about flying. He explained how to flap one's wings, how to use the wind to one's advantage and, as she was able to flutter at the spot, demonstrated her his own flight skills so she would learn by observation. And learning the young hippogriff did. And how fast she learned! Mere two hours after the General's teaching had begun, Silverstream was flying freely. Gone was the primal fear of the sky, vanished as fast as it had come upon her. She was flying daring maneuvers now and she laughed and cheered the entire time. The once fearful hippogriff was now filled with vigor. Everything was to the General's satisfaction.
“Excellent!” he spoke, commending the young one's abilities. “Now you are ready to make the journey to our destination, the Friendship School of Princess Twilight Sparkle of Equestria!”
Silverstream heard the words and stopped her maneuvers. She flew to her companion and mentor and she flew faster than the wind. “A pony princess?” She yelled into her mentor's face. She was excited and curious.
“Yes,” her mentor spoke. “You will meet the princess soon. Only a few days of travel are between us and Equestria.”
“Then let's go! What are we waiting for?! I want to know how pony princesses look!” Silverstream performed a loop in the air.
The General nodded. And so, the two hippogriffs, one young and the other old, started their journey to the faraway kingdom of Equestria. And one thing was already sure:
Silverstream would explore what was an entire new world to her and make many marvelous discoveries.