Flash panted as he, Rainbow, Heart and Soul flew behind their friends, the group working to escape from Tempest's attack. They had barely managed to get away thanks to the windmill blade ride, and after that, they were back to sprinting.

"We have to get there!" Twilight cried as they leapt out of a building they had just run through, pointing to an airship, "To the docks!" They all nodded and ran up a long flight of stairs, arriving at the top, only to find somepony waiting for them.

"Going somewhere?" Void commented as he appeared on the last step, the ponies and dragon gasping as he raised a hoof that began to be surrounded by electrified dirt. But before he could fire the attack, he was suddenly kicked away, Springer appearing as he slammed his foot into the masked pony's side. "AUGH!" He yelped, slamming into the side of a wall as the ponies rushed up to the jakhowl.

"Had a run in with Armalum!" Springer replied, "And get this, it's not just Twilight and Soul they're after. They want you too!"

This made them all go wide-eyed as the dock came into view. "All the more reason to get out of here," Twilight sighed as they kept running, only to see the only airship there leaving. "Hurry!" Rainbow spotted a piece of rope connected to the ship that was still laying on the dock, the pegasus quickly grabbing it before pulling the line.

"Feel anything?" Flash asked Springer as Applejack pushed Rarity along the rope. Springer scanned the area, only to shake his head. "Good. If Tempest doesn't know where we're going, she'll hopefully go the wrong way.

Fluttershy flew above the line as Spike tried to tightrope behind Applejack and Rarity, though Soul grabbed him before he could fall and the ponies managed to get across. But then Pinkie jumped on the rope so hard that Rainbow Dash lost her grip on it.

"PINKIE!" They all cried as they watched her fall into the mist below the city. Flash dived down to save her as Twilight and Rainbow grabbed Springer. The Royal Knight straightened his body as best he could, managing to reach the party planner before she hit the rocks sticking out the ground next to the ocean. He pulled her up by the tail and threw her onto the ship before diving down himself. He flattened his body against the ship's floor and glanced back at the dock, just in time to see Void and a few Storm Guards run up. Pinkie was about to say something, but he stuffed his tail in her mouth and shushed her.

After a few seconds, Void left the docks and he breathed a sigh of relief. "That was too close," Twilight moaned before a lasso flew out and grabbed the five. They all let out a yelp as they were pulled behind a bunch of boxes that the others were hiding behind, Spike then putting a finger to his lips and pointing past the boxes. Flash glanced up as much as he dared and spotted a pair of shadows.

"Did you hear something?" A gruff voice asked, being replied to by a squawking sound. "Eh, probably just the rats. If we find 'em, we'll eat 'em."

"This isn't good..." He whispered before staring down at his wound, the black vein just barely showing itself now. "I have a feeling this is gonna get a lot worse."

Armalum had reformed enough to walk and had returned to the airship, only to find Tempest and Grubber waiting. The unicorn turned to him, glaring as she saw the damage done to his still healing body. "What happened to you?!"

"That jakhowl's gotten stronger since we last met at the Lost City," the living armor growled, "He managed to get the drop on me, but I should have held him off long enough to allow you to take the princess." He looked up at the ship, "Are they on board?" Grubber gave him a look and gestured for him to stop talking behind Tempest's back. "You did get them...right?!"

Tempest glared at him as they heard hoofsteps and turned to see Void...and not a single alicorn in sight. "You lost them?!" Tempest asked, her horn sparking as Void remained silent. He then held up a hoof and started charging up the electrical energy he had taken from Lightning, Tempest ready to intercept it...only to fire it at Armalum.

"GYAH!" He cried as the bolt zapped him, forcing him down as he twitched and his armor began to crack.

"Useless!" Void hissed, "I would have had them if you had managed to do your job and take down the jakhowl! Just when I was about to grab them, he pounced on me and allowed them to escape, all thanks to you screwing up!" The bolts fizzled out at this, Armalum now smoking as he laid out on the ground, "Don't forget, I was the one that saved you when the Storm King brought you in! Found a way to allow you complete anatomy and convinced the Storm King that you could be a valuable asset!" He started coughing and fiddled with the dials on his suit, "Don't let me regret that. Understand?!"

Tempest smiled and turned to a pair of Storm Guards, who were currently dragging a familiar cat toward them. They threw him to the ground, Tempest walking up and grabbing his chin, "Now," he looked up at her, "Where are they going?" Her horn charged up at this, the cat flinching at the sight.

"Okay. No need for violence. Uh, they're headed-" He was about to say Mount Aris, but before he could, the sun managed to break though the clouds for a second. Its light hit the button on his coat and made him flinch for a second before looking down at it, the cat remembering what Rarity had done...only for the memory of the betrayed look on her face, his heart feeling squeezed before he made a decision and smirked.

"They headed east!" He announced, pointing in the opposite direction of Mount Aris. "Yeah, to...to Black Skull Island." As he said this, he didn't see Tempest, Void and Armalum share a look, the cat turning back to them. "So uh, glad I could be of service to His Majesty, the Storm King." He carefully tiptoed backward, "I'll just be on my way."

The Storm Guards then grabbed him, Tempest chuckling as they turned him back to her, "When I get my princess..." A deadly smile began to appear on her lips. "Until then, your fate is still...up in the air." Capper's eyes went wide as the unicorn boarded the airship, the guards pushing him toward it as well.

"Tell me?" Void asked, "Did your species evolve from anything that might have had wings? I could do a few experiments on you that could cause those traits to appear." He grabbed his coat and pulled Capper, "Because you'll be needing them if it turns out you lied to us...understand?!" Capper nodded before Void pushed him away, getting on board as the cat turned his attention to Mount Aris. Hopefully, by the time Tempest figured out he had tricked them, the ponies would have found what they were looking for. And he would have thought of a way to charm himself out of the ten-mile skydive.

The ponies were now doing their best to stay hidden. Applejack and Rainbow were glancing out between the boxes and saw that the ship was being run by a bunch of humanoid bird creatures. One of them scratched their butt while burping, Rainbow flinching at this.

Applejack turned to Twilight, who was still looking at the map. "Whadaya think, Twilight? Should we just...ask 'em to take us?"

Twilight shook her head, "Last time we trusted somepony, he tried to sell us!" Flash was about to say that they shouldn't let that stop them from ever trusting others again, but he didn't get the chance.

One of the crates hiding them was suddenly lifted out of the way, allowing those on deck to see them as they all gasped. "Hey, guys!" A green parrot creature yelled, "Come check this out!" Another parrot, wearing an eye-patch, stepped up and smirked at them.

"Looks like a pack of stowaways." A pink parrot, who appeared female, stepped up next.

"What are we s'posed to do with 'em?" Flash didn't give them to chance as he pulled out his sword.

"Back off!" He yelled, the parrots leaping back as Springer and Heart got into fighting stances. That is, till Flash used his wing to slide Heart back to the others, "No flames. Zeppelin." Heart frowned at this as Flash turned back to the parrots. "Look, we don't want any trouble. We're just trying to get away from a bunch of really nasty guys."

"Is that so?" Flash turned to a female voice and was met by a tall white parrot with green hair, her right leg replaced by a peg. "And we should care...why?"

Flash pointed the sword at her, the blade glowing. "Don't try anything. If you do, I have no trouble throwing this up into the balloon and bringing the ship down."

The tall parrot glared back at him, "You think you can scare me?!" She then suddenly pulled a cutlass out of thin air, the other three doing the same before they all charged. Flash leapt and clashed with the captain as Springer used Steel Paw to block the other three's swords.

"Who are you?" The parrot asked Flash as she tried to push the pony back, only to feel the pegasi eaisly shove her back.

"The name's Flash Sentry!" He yelled, "Royal Knight of Equestria. And who, might I ask, is you supposed to be?!"

The parrot smirked, "Celaeno." She pulled her sword back and swung it at his neck, Flash barely ducking under it. "Captain Celaeno!" She thrust the blade, Flash easily deflecting it. "And when I'm done with you and your little doggy..." Springer then kicked the other parrots away, "I'm throwing you all overboard!" She charged, squawking as she did so while Flash spun like a top to counter her.

But before they could clash, a loud train whistle sound filled the air. The parrots all stopped in place, Celaeno lowering her sword. "All right! That's lunch!" The other parrots put their weapons away and turned to walk to a nearby door, leaving the others stunned.

"Uh...excuse me?" Flash held up his sword, "Weren't we in the middle of something?!"

"You freeloaders can have something to eat if you want," Celaeno replied, "If you're gonna get thrown overboard, you might as well not die on an empty stomach." With that, they disappeared through the door, leaving a bunch of very confused ponies in their wake.

"O...kay," was all Flash could come up with as the others grouped around him. "Well...I could eat."

"Are you serious?!" Twilight yelped, "They just tried to kill us! Now you wanna sit down to a meal with them?!"

"I didn't sense any deception from them," Springer chimed in, "I don't think they intend to poison us or something."

"I still don't think we can trust them," Rainbow commented, "Watch, the second we get in there, they'll pounce and I'm gonna be ready." Twilight nodded, her horn sparking.

But as they stepped into the room, they found the parrot sitting at a table as the pink one threw some slop onto the bowls. They all sat down around the table as the pink on asked, "You want one scoop or two?" She plopped the gruel into Twilight's bowl, the mare just blinking at her.

"What?" The parrot took this as a statement and didn't give her a second scoop, and moved onto serving the others. Once she had, she sat down and the parrots got to work eating. After a minute or so, Twilight just stared at the birds, only for Rainbow to speak up.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! So you were about to toss us overboard and you stopped for a lunch break?" Twilight looked around the bird next to her, giving her a look that said 'shut up.'

"Storm King only allows one break a day for meals," the bird replied, "Then it's back to hauling goods."

"So...you're delivery guys?" Spike asked as Heart sipped some of the gruel and almost threw up.

"And gals," Celaeno responded, "These uniforms aren't exactly doing us any flavors."

Hearing this, Twilight pushed her bowl away and took out the map. "Then can you deliver us to Mount Aris?" She gave her a pleading look, but the parrot shook her head.

"Sorry." She took a binder with the Storm King's logo on it from under the table. "We do what the Storm King orders, or we suffer his wrath."

Rarity's eyes went wide hearing this. "There's pudding?" But she got her answer when more goop was thrown down onto her bowl, making her frown and slump back. "Oh."

"You all do seem like nice birds," Flash chimed in, "But no matter what, I'm not letting you throw us overboard. Even if I have to fight you all and do the same to you."

The parrots nodded at this, only for Springer to ask, "Does the Storm King have any way of monitoring you?" The birds shook their heads, "So he wouldn't know we were here unless you told him." They shrugged at this, "So can't you just let us off somewhere within walking distance and not tell the guy we were here?"

"And what do you want us to do if he somehow finds out?" Celaeno asked, "You don't know the Storm King very well, do you?"

"Yeah," Celaeno nodded. "That's how it goes for everyone. No one knows where the Storm King came from. Some have heard stories that he's the last living descendant of an ancient king that once wielded a great magic, but lost it and went insane. That drove him to attack a far-off land and be defeated, leaving his kingdom in ruin."

Rainbow stared at the parrots, then at the room around them. "You weren't always delivery birds, were you?" Celaeno raised an eyebrow, "What about before the Storm King?"

The captain put down her spoon and sighed. "Yeah." She reached over to a poster with the Storm King's face on it, "We used to be much more adventurous." She pulled the banner aside, revealing a large black flag with a bird skull and crossbones on it.

"Whoa!" Rainbow started putting the pieces together, "You used to be...pirates?!"

"Um," eye-patch parrot spoke up, "We prefer the term swashbuckling treasure hunters."

Rainbow glared at them, "You birds have a choice to make." Everypony turned to her at this, "You could let some cloven-hoofed Storm King tell you how to live your lives, or..." She ran over and grabbed the poster before ripping it off the wall, uncovering the flag. "...you could be awesome again!"

Twilight's eyes went wide at this. "Rainbow Dash, this really isn't a good time for a-" She didn't get to finish as the pegasus landed on the table.

[Rainbow Dash]
"I know the world can get you down

[Rainbow Dash]
Things don't work out quite the way that you thought
Feeling like all your best days are done
Your fears and doubts are all you've got

She marched to the middle of the table as the others smiled, getting into the song as music began playing in their heads.

[Rainbow Dash]
But there's a light shining deep inside
Beneath those fears and doubts, so just squash 'em

She crushed a milk tanker underhoof, accidently spitting it over Twilight. She then flew behind Celaeno and grabbed the curtain behind her that had the Storm King's logo, ripping it away to reveal a treasure trove of pirate items.

[Rainbow Dash]
And let it shine for all the world to see
That it is time, yeah, time to be awesome

[Ponies]
Ah, ah, ah-ah, awesome!
It's time to be so awesome!
Ah, ah, ah-ah, awesome!
It's time to be so awesome!

Slowly, Celaeno's crew joined in on the drumming. Twilight sighed at this and left the room while the pirates got into the swing of things. Eventually, only Celaeno was left not singing and drumming...only for her to speak up.

[Captain Celaeno]
You've no idea how hard it's been

[Ponies]
(It's time to be awesome!)

She swept her food away and turned to the pirate stuff, staring at a portrait of herself dressed in pirate gear

[Captain Celaeno]
This dull routine we've been forced to do

Rainbow then flew up to her, having found the same hat she was wearing in the picture and holding it out to her.

[Rainbow Dash]
Don't let them rob you of who you are
Be awesome, it's all up to you

She flew over to the others, who were giving her an expectant look with a smile. Celaeno stared at them, then at the hat before smiling.

[Captain Celaeno]
I feel the light stirring deep inside
It's like a tale still yet to be told

[Ponies]
(It's time to be awesome!)

She threw her uniform hat off and replaced it with the pirate one, the others smiling as the parrots threw their hats away.

[Rainbow Dash and Captain Celaeno]
And now it's time to break the shackles free
And start living like the brave and the bold!

Celaeno kicked open a chest that was holding multiple pirate items. Her crew ran over, putting on their hooked hands and changing into pirate get ups. Even the ponies got in on the fun, grabbing some of their own pirate gear. Heart tried to look extra cool by putting an eye-patch on both eyes, only to then walk into a wall.

[All]
It's time to be awesome!
Let loose, be true, so awesome!
It's time to be awesome!
Go big, be you, so awesome!

Once they were all dressed up, Celaeno lead them back up on deck and kicked the door open. They leapt out into the open air, revealing to the world that they were back. One of the parrots, Mullet, swung on a rope and grabbed Rainbow as he did so.

[Mullet]
We used to soar through the clouds in the skies

The female parrot, Lix Spittle, spotted Twilight working on the map and started drawing on it, putting Xs all over it as Rainbow shot past them and plopped a pirate hat on the princess' head.

[Lix Spittle]
Elaborate schemes we would love to devise

Celaeno's first mate, Boyle, climbed up on deck carrying a treasure chest they had hid away after the Storm King took over.

[Boyle]
We rescued our treasure and stored it away

He tossed it to Rarity and the captain, Celaeno taking out a large gem and showing it to Rarity.

[Captain Celaeno]
Saving those gemstones for a rainy day

The captain then leapt up onto the figure head of the ship, Flash and Rainbow flying over to her and looking out at the sky as they did so.

[All]
We see that light filling up our skies

Flash looked up and saw something on the front of a balloon: A large metal bird with its wings folded. Rainbow then spotted Celaeno was still holding the Storm King's book.

[Rainbow Dash]
So take the Storm King's orders and toss 'em

She pulled it from the parrot and threw it away, Celaeno smiling as it disappeared below the clouds.

[All]
'Cause it's the time to let our colors fly

[Captain Celaeno]
Hey, scallywags, it's time to be awesome!

[All]
Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!

She leapt over to the steering wheel as the others began working the ship. Dancing around and laughing up a storm, the only one not enjoying herself being Twilight. "Come on!" The captain exclaimed as she spun the wheel, "Let's show these little ponies how it's done!"

Her crew ran over to some ropes and started pulling them, the metal bird's wings beginning to unfurl. And as they did this, giant feathers of every known color began to furl outward. They grew larger as the sun broke through the dark clouds around them and illuminated the wings.

"Wow..." Flash whispered as the other ponies, Springer and Spike stared in awe. He then noticed Twilight not looking, too focused on the map. "You're really missing a sight here."

"No time to look at pretty stuff," she replied, "We've wasted enough time already."

"Are you kidding?!" Flash yelped, "We just got ourselves some seriously cool allies. Now they might actually help us find the hippogriffs and fight against the Storm King." Twilight stopped at this as he continued, "We're all doing what we can to help. But sometimes small gestures become a lot more important then-why is Rainbow flying straight up?" Twilight looked up from the map and saw Flash staring at the sky, spotting Rainbow soaring. Flash got his answer when Pinkie started chanting.

"No no no no no! No!" Twilight cried, but it was too late. Rainbow dived toward the ship, picking up more speed with every second as the wind funneled around her. As she did this, lights of every color flashed around her before-

A rainbow sonic boom exploded in the sky, Rainbow leaving a rainbow colored trail behind her as she spiraled around the ship again and again.

Tempest was now staring at the massive explosion of light and color now filling the dark and dim skies. "Interesting," Void stepped up next to her. "According to our intel, that phenomenon can only be done by the rainbow colored pegasus friend of the princess."

"Is that so," Tempest continued to stare at the rainboom. "That'st funny." She slowly turned to Capper, "They don't seem to be heading to Black Skull Island."

"I'd stop talking," Armalum told him from his spot at the wheel. "The less you say, the less reason we have to hurt you." He turned to Tempest, "I guessing you want to give chase?" Tempest gave him a glare that said, 'What are you waiting for?!' "Got it." With that, he spun the wheel and kicked the engines into full gear. The entire ship spun around, the balloon remaining where it was as the ship shifted direction.

Tempest hummed at this, "Let's see just how far they're willing the hold out. If they give the pony up, I'll be willing to forgive."

"And if they aren't?" Void got his answer when lightning exploded from her horn, "I see. I'm glad that's the plan."

"And signaling to Tempest and the others that we're here!" Flash countered, "How many creatures around here do you think would be capable of unleashing something that colorful and bright?!"

"Eh, I'm sure we're fine," Heart shrugged, "What are the odds they happened to-" He didn't get to finish as one of the parrots let out a mighty squawk and pointed behind the ship. They all turned to see an airship with the Storm King's symbol on its balloon.

"Tempest!" Twilight cried, Soul leaping behind her as Celaeno pulled out her cutlass.

"Secure the rigging! Lock down the cargo! Everyone, prepare to be boarded!" Boyle rushed over to trap down and pulled it open, gesturing for the ponies to hide.

"You don't say!" Flash snarked as Twilight fought back the urge to scream. She did end up screaming when the ship was struck by something, rocking it as Flash then found himself at the bottom of a dog pile, moaning every second before they felt the ship get pulled in the opposite direction.

"The same thing that's pulling us toward Tempest's ship," Soul added as they pulled themselves out of the pile. And as this happened, the ship came to a stop and a few seconds later, the boat rocked as several individuals hit the deck.

They heard Celaeno moving around the deck, her peg leg patting against the wood. "Princess"? Prin-Cess, Prin-Cess...nope. All we're hauling is Storm King merchandise."

They heard a squawk as Tempest spoke up. "You do realize that if you were to shelter fugitives, the Storm King would be quite...explosive."

That made the pirates flinch, Twilight looking petrified as she turned to the others. "We have to get off this ship before they tell Tempest we're here!"

Rainbow glared back at her, "We helped them get their mojo back! They're not gonna give us up!"

"I want to agree with you," Flash whispered as he and Springer got ready for a fight. "But don't underestimate the power of fear. Especially given that the Storm King seems to have built his entire empire on it."

Rainbow looked ready to argue, but Twilight spoke up first. "I've got this!" She stared at the cargo bay they were in. She grabbed a large piece of fabric with the Storm King's face on it along with a load of rope. "Hold this!" She gave Rainbow the cloth and Soul the rope.

"What are you doing?" Rainbow asked as Twilight magically pulled them all to a section of the ship before grabbing a lever.

"Everypony...hold on!" She pulled the lever, the floor now giving out beneath them. Screams filled the air as they all began to fall, Flash, Twilight, Rainbow. Heart and Soul instinctively opening their wings and slowing their descent.

The same couldn't be said for the others as Rarity screamed out. "OH, FOR CELESTIA'S SAKE!" They continued to scream, or laugh in Pinkie's case, as they and several items from the cargo bay continued to fall.

"This was your plan?" Flash asked while Twilight dived down. They all did the same, hoping to catch them all in time. But Twilight had other ideas and used her magic to grab all but Flash. Rainbow looked ready to fly up to the ship and give Tempest a beating, but she was also grabbed by Twilight and pulled over to the others.

"Flash!" She yelled, "Remember my ninth grade science project?" Flash's eyes went wide as he looked around and smirked, seeing why Twilight had grabbed these items. One item was an empty crate that Pinkie had been swimming through when they fell through the trap door, which Flash shot over to and turned right side up. Twilight stuffed their friends inside while Flash worked to keep it from spinning in midair and slow it down, allowing Twilight to grab the cloth she had given to Rainbow and the rope from Soul's hooves.

"What in the hay is she up to?" Applejack asked as the alicorn got to work and within seconds, she had created a makeshift hot air balloon that Flash kept aloft.

However, they were still falling and had left the cloud line. Now, a bunch of trees could be seen getting closer, "Heart!" Twilight leapt into the balloon and grabbed Spike, "Light it up!" She squeezed the Mystic Flame Dragon's stomach and he unleashed a burst of fire into the balloon, Heart doing the same. The orb filled with hot air and after a few seconds, Flash felt the pressure of the box lift off of him.

Leaping out from under the balloon, he looked up and smirked at Twilight's work. "A lot better than the one we made last time," he chuckled as the others sighed in relief.

"Phee-yew!" Applejack added as she saw how close they were to hitting the ground. "Quick thinkin', Twilight!"

"I can't believe that actually worked," Springer fell onto his butt and leaned against the side of the crate.

Twilight rolled her eyes at this as Rainbow leapt out of the balloon and got behind it with Flash. "Next stop, Mount Aris!" The pair pushed the balloon at the mountain, everypony smiling as they saw the mountain wasn't too far now.

But as they cheered, Flash looked back at the ship, "I hope they're alright." If them getting away cost Celaeno and her crew their life, Flash wasn't sure he would ever be able to forgive himself. "Next time," he told himself. "Next time we meet, I'm taking them down."

"And hopefully, we'll have the help of the hippogriffs when we met them again," Springer added as they continued onward.

Back at the ship, the Storm Guards were ripping the place apart, only to find nothing as Capper and the pirates were all being interrogated by a rather annoyed Tempest. "I told you," Celaeno growled, "We don't have any ponies on board. And even if we did, we would have thrown them overboard the second we found them."

"Huh," Tempest raised an eyebrow at this, "Now see...why don't I believe you?!" The pirates backpedaled at this, only to find themselves close to the edge of their ship. "You had better start talking now, or I will turn this ship into a fireball with roasted parrot cooking inside."

The pirates all gulped as Void stepped up. "No need to deep fry the ducks," he told Tempest as the pirates glared at him. "We know where they're going."

He held up a piece of folded paper before unfurling it, Tempest raising an eyebrow at this, "Looks like they're heading to Mount Aris."

She turned to Capper, who started sweating. "Really?" He stammered out before slowly laughing, "Mou...Mount Aris? I...well, that's my mis-I didn't know that...mount Ari...my bad, I didn't...that's my...I'm sorry, I'm very very sorry." Tempest gave the map to Armalum and he returned to their ship, the rest of the Storm Guards and Void doing the same. "So?" Capper asked as Tempest strode across the gangplank, "We good? You can just leave me here. I'm sure helping out with the deliveries of this vessel will appease the great Storm King."

Tempest stopped when she was on the other boat and looked back at them, "Actually, there's a special delivery I wish for you to make. I need you to ship something to the bottom of the ocean." They all went wide eyed before her horn sparked with energy, "Your cold...dead...carcasses!" With that, she fired sparks from her horn that shot up to the ship's balloon and exploded like a massive firework, causing a massive hole to appear within it.

Capper and the pirates gasped as the ship began to lose altitude, Tempest laughing as she fired more sparks at the ship, causing fireworks to destroy the place. They all cried out as the ship was set alight, the flames causing the hull to rip apart and do even more damage. Down in the ocean below the ship, near the forest shore, pieces of the ship hit the water. Feathers from the display, cargo and treasure the pirates had painstakingly protected, and of course, the large bird figurehead that had once proudly adorned the front of the airship. The rest of the airship quickly followed suit, crashing into the ocean and sinking below the waves with its occupants still aboard.

Tempest watched the ship sink before turning to Armalum, "Set a course for Mount Aris."

Armalum nodded and grabbed the lever that powered the engines, thrusting it forward. But when he did, the entire ship started rocking as the engines started to make noises, "Whoa!" Armalum powered it down and turned to Tempest, who was now glaring at him.

"Engine must have overheated," Void spoke up, "I guess it didn't enjoy going at full power." He could see Tempest's eye beginning to twitch. "Give it an hour or two to cool down and it'll be good as new."

"You have exactly one hour to make it work," Tempest hissed as her horn sparked. "Or you and Armalum are going overboard!"

Void just stared at her, only to shrug, "Sure. I like a challenge." He turned to head below deck, Armalum following him. "But don't expect the engines to take much more punishment if you keep pushing them like this!" He didn't know if Tempest replied to that statement as he headed for the engine room. But as he did this, he suddenly felt a strike of pain in his body, "Augh!" He cried, coughing several times as he staggered toward the wall.

"What do you think?" Void growled before fiddling with the dials on his suit, his breathing stabilizing after a few seconds.

"You're getting worse," Armalum added, "We can't hold this off much longer. Eventually, even that suit won't be able to save you."

"I know," he sighed, "Looks like patience is no longer becoming a virtue." He began to head toward the engine, "Let's get this hunk of junk flying again before Tempest gives me another reason to be worried for my life." His breath filled the room, sounding like something out of a horror movie as he did so. Time was running out.

Back on the hot air balloon, the ponies watched as the mountain got closer. "It won't be long now," Twilight whispered.

"What do you think the Hippogriff Queen will be like?" Soul asked, the others frowning at the thought as they remembered Wingill.

That is, till Flash spoke up, "Let's not judge somepony by one individual. I mean, imagine if the first pony these hippogriffs met was somepony like Big Score, Shocker or even Tempest? Just because those three are bad news doesn't mean the rest of us shouldn't be trusted."

They nodded back at this, only for Heart to ask, "Say...why do you think she's working for him?"

"Tempest." They turned to him, "Why'd you think she started working for the Storm King?"

"I don't know," Twilight sighed. "Could be for any reason. Maybe she realized how powerful he was and decided that it was better to work for him then stand against him. Or maybe she just wants power and sees him as a shortcut to getting it."

"Maybe it has something to do with her horn," Soul chimed in, "I might not have always had magic, but if I had my horn broken, I would be pretty upset about it."

"Well, it's no excuse for helping to conquer our home and enslave ponies that never did anything to her," Rarity added.

"I know," Soul nodded. "I just wish...we could find a way to help her. We've been able to turn other enemies to our side before. Who says we can't do the same here?"

"I wish it was that simple," Twilight sighed, "But...Tempest has made it pretty clear she doesn't want to be friends. For now, we have to focus on saving the friends we have, and worry about trying to make Tempest see the error of her ways later.

They nodded as the mountain came into view, now seeing it was less like a mountain and more like a fortress. It was located on a large island with only a single land-bridge connecting it to the mainland, the island being surrounded by a bunch of skyscraper-sized spikes that stuck out of the water. The mountain had been carved out somehow so that it looked like a pair of wings that were wrapped around a large plot of land that got steeper the higher it got. The very top had a large spire sticking out of it with a sphere at the very top.

"Yup," Twilight nodded, "Mount Aris." She signaled to the pegasi, "Head for the top!"

The pegasi nodded and prepared to push the basket upward. But before they could, a powerful gust of wind swept around the mountain and struck the side. Flash and Rainbow gasped as the balloon was pushed away, "EVERYPONY!" They cried as their friends screamed, the pair chasing after them.

The wind was so strong that it pushed the balloon toward one of the spikes and before anypony could do anything, the fabric touched the tip and teared. The hot air began to escape, leading to the craft to start falling. "HANG ON!" Flash yelled as he and Rainbow dived down, Heart and Soul grabbing some of the rope connected to the crate and flying up, both trying to slow the craft down. But it wasn't enough, both soon losing their grip. The balloon continued to fall, only to miss a big spike sticking out the water, but the balloon fabric did get snagged. This brought it to a sudden and complete halt, the remaining ropes bouncing the craft back up with such a jolt that some of the occupants were thrown out.

Luckily, the balloon was only a few feet off the water when this happened, the group now finding themselves splashing into the flat without too much injury. The fliers arrived and found Springer, Applejack and Pinkie were surfacing out of the water, the rest still hanging in the balloon.

"Everypony okay?" Flash asked as they grabbed the non-fliers out of the balloon.

"Err..." Springer swam to the land-bridge, "I think I left my stomach five thousand feet above us."

"Well at least we're all in one piece," Applejack added as she got onto the bridge and shook herself dry before ringing out the water in her hat.

"Too bad the same can't be said about the balloon," Heart sighed, "Now how are we gonna get to the top of the mountain?"

"We walk," Twilight replied, the others groaning before making their way across the land-bridge before reaching the island. They soon found themselves at the bottom of a large winding pathway that zigged up one way, then zagged up the other way and so on.

"This could take a while," Springer gulped. As he said that, Spike started gagging. They all turned to him as the little dragon spat out a large cloud of smoke that began to take shape. It formed a scroll, which the dragon caught and opened.

"It's from Thorax." He read, "He says he's preparing his army and will be ready to come to our aid in a day or so." He then started gagging again and spat out another scroll, which he also caught. "And this one's from Ember. She's saying the same thing. The dragons are ready to repay the ponies for helping stop Malafear."

"Great!" Twilight cheered, "Send them back and say we'll contact them again when we're ready to go. I wanna talk to the hippogriff queen before I make any plans." Spike nodded and quickly pulled out a pencil he had found in the crate, using it to reply before sending the scrolls off again. "Now, let's go find that queen." The others nodded and began to make their way up as the fliers, minus Twilight and Fluttershy, flew straight up to get a better look and make sure there weren't any obstacles. The others walked and found the path, which like the mountain, had been carved out of rock and placed atop the dugout soil.

There was no doubt in any of their minds that the mountain was inhabited. However, getting there was another story. "We had to crash the balloon at the bottom of the mountain!" Rarity complained a good hour or so into the climb. She was the second to last of the group, Springer being the only one behind her, wanting to make sure they didn't leave anypony behind. "That's it!" The fashionista exploded, "I simply...cannot...even! I have nothing! The bad guys have won!" She fell to the floor, looking ready to pass out. "I'm so sorryyyyyyyy-y-y-y!" Her head hit the ground and she just laid there, Springer staring down at her.

"You finished?" Rarity turned to give him puppy dog eyes. "I'm not carrying you."

Rarity looked ready to cry as Rainbow called out from the front of the pack. "We're almost there!"

"No, really!" Rainbow gestured to the top of the path, where the tips of the stone wings touched the ground. "We're actually here!" Between the stone wing-tips was a stone gate, which was carved to look just like a pair of hippogriffs whose foreheads were touching, and their bodies curved into an archway they could pass through. They couldn't see anything passed the arch, which was covered in a thick fog.

The others soon arrived, all but Springer and Rarity getting to the top. When they did, Twilight gasped. "This is it!" She looked ready to cry with joy, Pinkie letting out an 'ooh' as they stared at the entryway.

"Well I'll be," Applejack laughed as Rarity finally made it to the top. "Hippogriffs, here we come!

"No time to rest yet," Flash added, "These hippogriffs might be friendly, but they might also be ready to attack anypony that isn't them."

"Flash is right," Twilight nodded as they marched through the gate. "Be ready for anything, and try not to do anything that'll upset them. The last thing we need is to have an entire kingdom hating us."

"Err...girls," they turned to Springer as he held up his paw, "I don't think we need to worry about that."

"I...can't sense anything." Their eyes went wide at this and they picked up the pace, rushing into the mist. It took them all a few moments to adjust to the not so clear air, only to reach the other side of the archway and their vision cleared. As it did this, they were greeted by a sight they hadn't been expecting. A large assortment of buildings surrounded them, all looking like web-like domes filled with glass. But all the houses were completely empty, with not a single hippogriff in sight.

Overgrown vegetation and cracked windows were in every direction they looked, and some of the houses even appeared to have collapsed, with the plants growing around the ruins. There was only one word they could use to describe the place, and that word caused every ounce of hope they had for saving their home to shatter. Abandoned.

Flash Sentry Chronicles: The Movie

by Banshee531

Chapter 4