Since the Storm King has defeated and met his final destination, Hippogriffia, together with Seaquestria, have been living in harmony for a long time. Now that they’re free from hiding, it was time for them to rebuild what was been destroyed. It was all thanks to the daughter of Queen Novo, Princess Skystar, who has helped Twilight’s friends to save Equestria by leaving her mother without her notice. With her help, they finally defeated the Storm King. Since then, Queen Novo, who has already grounded her daughter for that, has been implementing on making her home more harmonious and amicable, while at the same time making foreign relations with other kingdoms, including Equestria, to establish their formal camaraderie.
Sometimes, for the queen, it is excellent for her to be out of her kingdom since that’s not the first time she has ever gone out, she even had that one adventure when she was being transformed into a changeling and together with other leaders and was searching for another magical geode. Well, she’s going to have another adventure… on purpose.
It was a beautiful morning, and everygriff was having a very enjoyable time of their moment from strolling in the park and having picnics on sandy beaches. As they were having their time, a light yellow blur flashed past them. It’s Princess Skystar, she was heading back towards her castle in a flash while carrying out a brown bag full of mail, which they’re from her cousin, Silverstream. She landed in front of the entrance after she arrived, and runs through the open gate to find her mother. Speaking of her mother, Queen Novo was in the dining room drinking her cup of hot brewed tea while gazing out of the window to view the nice environment of her kingdom. As she took another sip of tea, she heard the door open to see Skystar coming in with a bag of mail.
“Good morning, mom,” the young princess proclaimed. “I got mail for us.”
“Ah, good. Who’s it from?” the queen asked, and continues to drink her tea.
“From my cousin, Silverstream.”
“Ooh! I see she’s been having a nice time there. What has she written for us?”
“Let me see.” Skystar then grabbed one envelope from the bag and ripped the seal open to reveal a personal letter from her cousin. She unfolded it and read it. “Here it is. This one here’s about a pool party she and her friends had last month. All of her pals have said that they’re having a blast, the best time they had.” Skystar smiled as she read it. “And she also has a list of what other creatures turn into when they use the pearl shard.”
She gave the letter to her mother for her to read for herself. Queen Novo was amazed to find out about the list Silverstream has written about those creatures that have been shapeshifted when a pearl shard was used. “I’m amazed! Dragons became sharks, yaks became walruses. Neat.”
Skystar grabbed another letter, and once again, ripped the seal off and took it off. “Ooh, there’s another one about this unique magical map that summons her professors on various missions beyond Equestria!”
“Mmmm… interesting.” As Novo began to wonder how a map like that would work, General Seaspray approached them.
“Pardon me for the disturbance, Your Highness,” he proclaimed, “But we have visitors that have arrived here.”
“Visitors, huh? Who’re they exactly?”
“Let’s just say… a gang of pirates… friendly ones to be precise. They called themselves avians, and they seemed to know Princess Skystar really well.” Novo was a bit puzzled until he turned to his back. “You may now enter, madam.”
Entering their dining room is one female avian pirate. She has a maroon tricorn hat with a bright light red feather, a beauty mark, and long green feather hair that matches her tail. She also wears a golden and brown dress with a green baldric around her waist with a silver sharp sword. Princess Skystar quickly recognized who this pirate was. She identified her as Captain Celaeno.
“Captain Celaeno!” she cheerfully gasped.
The pirate captain smiled as the young hippogriff flew over to her. “Ahoy, princess! I see you’re having a blessed morning today.”
“Wow! I haven’t seen you in ages! How are you today and your crew?”
“Better than a slice of fresh pineapple, laddie. And… we got ourselves a new ship. My mateys including Mullet are on deck right now. Wanna see?”
“YES, PLEASE!” Skystar nodded with excitement and came after the captain towards where her ship was docked.
The airship belonging to the avian pirates had a nice polished brown color to it with a golden lining. The big sail waving above the ship had the front shape like a bird’s beak. The crew members were tying down the sail as Skystar flew onto the deck with Celaeno soon joining her.
“Wow! This looks incredible!” the hippogriff commented with awe.
“Yep. We’ve tried to get it to look as close to the original as possible,” Celaeno informed. “Wait until you see the sail unfold. Until then, I’ll show you the below deck. Lix has been enjoying her new kitchen.”
“Um, that won’t be necessary, Captain,” Novo said. She quickly flew onto the deck right beside Skystar. “We’re… kinda busy at the moment.”
“I’m not,” Skystar spoke. She quickly turned to face Captain Celaeno. “I never truly got to know your crew before. We were busy planning on taking care of…… you know who.”
“I know what you’re talking about,” Celaeno added. “He deserved that fate. Now, how about I properly introduce you to my crew?” Skystar nodded with excitement as she followed her down below deck. Novo followed them and eventually found a total of five avians, including Captain Celaeno. “Princess, I’m sure you’ve remembered my crew; my first mate Mullet, our navigator Boyle, our chef Lix Spittle, …and Squabble.” He squawked when his name was mentioned.
Skystar looked at the last pirate mentioned. “Okay? What does he do?” the princess asked.
“He’s the buccaneer who loves to lighten a sad mood. He’s also good with medical assistance, believe it or not.” Squabble gave a thumbs up in confirmation. “They’re all a great crew, one I don’t know where I would be without them.”
“Ahem,” called a voice. Skystar and the pirates looked towards the stairs to see Novo walking towards them. “Skystar, I demand you off of this ship immediately!”
“These pirates you’ve seen in front of you are friendly, mother,” Skystar stated. “They’ve helped us defeat the Storm King.”
“Nice to know, but I’d appreciate it if you listened to me.” Novo grabbed a hold of Skystar’s claw and began to pull towards the stairs to exit the ship.
“Your Highness,” Mullet said, “If this has to do with our sudden arrival, we need to do some maintenance on this ship.”
“If it’s emergency repairs,” Novo said, “Then I understand that. Now, I’ve to deal with a daughter who has problems listening to orders.” The queen looked toward the princess, who was starting to feel frustrated.
“Mom, I just wanted to communicate with them. Again, they’re the ones who helped defeat the king who sent us into hiding,” Skystar stated.
“You ran away with them straight into danger. What if you got hit by one of those destructive orbs?”
“But I didn’t and we don’t have to worry about him ever again.”
Mullet leaned closer to the captain of the ship. “Should we say something?” he whispered.
“Best to stay out of the way,” Celaeno responded. “This seems to be a family issue.”
Skystar had another detail to point out. “If he were still out there, we’d still be hiding in Seaquestria.”
“Where it would be safe,” Novo stated.
“But he might still be out there, and Equestria would be under his fist. What would he do if he eventually found a way to take over Seaquestria?” Skystar’s voice sounded like it was breaking, so Celaeno decided to step in.
“ALRIGHT! How about we have this conversation on shore?” the captain suggested. Both hippogriffs took a minute to catch their breath.
“Let’s get off the ship,” Novo said. She then headed towards the stairs and stepped down together with Skystar and Celaeno.
“Is your mother consistently like this?” Celaeno whispered.
“Only when I do something like this,” Skystar sighed. “I get bored there. There’s only so much I can do. I want to do something new.” Celaeno was about to give her input on this until her beak inexplicably started glowing. The same thing appeared to be happening with Skystar and Novo.
“What’s happening!?” Novo cried.
“Don’t ask me,” Celaeno cried. “I swear, my crew and I didn’t pick up any treasure that has any kind of stupid curse.”
Skystar was just as confused as they were until she remembered something from her cousin. “I think I know what’s happening,” she proclaimed. “Silverstream told me about this. Whenever some part of a creature’s body begins to glow, it means they’re called to do a friendship mission!”
The Queen and the pirate looked at each other as if they didn’t fully understand this. “What’s she talkin’ about?” Celaeno asked.
“I remember getting letters about my niece going to several parts of Equestria,” Novo responded. “Perhaps, she would know something about this.”
“Well, I’ll do it, as long as it can get this glowing on my beak to stop. It’s going to give me a headache.”
“Then let’s go find Silverstream, she's in Ponyville!” Skystar proclaimed. She quickly flew to the train station with Novo and Celaeno having to check one or two things before they left.
“I’ll tell Seaspray that I’ll be gone for a couple of hours,” Novo proclaimed.
“And I’ll inform Mullet to be in charge of the ship until I get back,” Celaeno added. Both walked away to do these tasks as Skystar waited excitedly at the train station.
Meanwhile, in Ponyville, Silverstream was wandering around town with some of the other hippogriffs, specifically Gleaming Pearl, Sunshine, Kelpie, and Coral. “So, how have you enjoyed Ponyville so far?” Silverstream asked.
“It’s great, I gonna admit,” Sunshine commented. “Aside from most ponies overreacting to tiny things.”
“I’d love to move here when I’m older. What about you guys?”
“If I have free time, I’d like to check out Canterlot with Pyther,” Coral added. “Or maybe… visiting Diamond Shine’s home.”
“Yeah, I’ve been curious about that,” Gleaming Pearl commented. “Is it entirely made of crystals?”
“From what I’ve seen, yes,” Silverstream confirmed. “Have you guys seen Deep Sea? I’ve been trying to get to know him more but he’s never around when I want to talk with him.”
“He’s not a social creature,” Coral stated. “The only one he wants to be around is Timber Sparks. Kelpie, do you have anything to say about that?” There was no response from him. They turned as they saw him appear to be standing still. Judging by his affectionate face and his aroused wide-open wings, he looks like he was daydreaming. “Kelpie? Kelpie?”
“What’s the matter with him?” Sunshine said.
“Did he get stung by a bee?” Gleaming Pearl added.
“What’s wrong, Kelpie?” Silverstream doubted.
“S… S… S… Skystar,” he muttered with love-struck eyes. Confused, they turned around. To their surprise, they saw Princess Skystar coming in from the train station. Silverstream was ecstatic when she saw her cousin.
“Silverstream!” the princess cried with glee.
“Skystar!” Silverstream cried.
They ran over and hugged each other tightly. “It’s so good to see you again!”
“I’m glad to see you too. How’ve you been lately?”
“Doing fantastic!”
As the two cousins chatted about how they’ve been since they last met, Queen Novo, along with Captain Celaeno, walked over to them. Silverstream then noticed her, which made her happier.
“Aunt Novo!” Silverstream exclaimed, giving her a royal bow first before hugging her. When the hippogriff pupils also noticed the queen arriving here, they gave her a bow too to show respect.
“Hello, Silverstream. How’s your day at school?” Queen Novo said with a smile.
“Pretty average.” She turned back to her hippogriff friends. “They’re having it good too.” They nodded and noticed the pirate captain standing beside the queen, feeling puzzled about who she is and why she was here with her.
“Um… Silverstream, who is that?” Sunshine asked, pointing at the captain.
“Uhh… I have no idea.”
Celaeno heard the question and held out a claw to the junior year hippogriff. “My name’s Captain Celaeno,” the pirate explained, “and I’m here on business with the queen and princess of Mount Aris.”
“Something… strange happened a while ago,” Novo explained. “Her crew were stopping by to check on their ship when suddenly… our beaks started glowing.”
“Hey, that’s like what happened to Silverstream before,” Coral explained. “Her beak glows whenever something in Equestria or anywhere needs her or her friends.”
“That’s right!” Silverstream said to Coral, then turns back to her aunt and cousin. “I’ll show you that map that does that.”
“Please do,” Novo requested. “I have a feeling that this glowing thing will happen again until we take care of whatever this supernatural force wants us to do.”
Silverstream nodded and led Captain Celaeno, Queen Novo, and Princess Skystar towards the crystal treehouse. The rest of the hippogriffs stayed behind as they weren’t sure if it was a good idea to get involved with what looked like business. Gleaming Pearl then noticed Kelpie still in his state of daydreaming and smacked him in the face to awaken him.
After a short walk, with Silverstream asking her aunt and cousin how they’ve been and learning more about the pirates, Celaeno and the hippogriffs made it to the Treehouse of Harmony. The captain was amazed at how grand and glamorous it was, and she thought that it was like she was in a land of fairy tales. It’s like the first time in her life seeing this gorgeous treasure. As they came inside the treehouse, they could see the giant holographic map was activated. Once again, their jaws dropped seeing how grand it is.
“Blow me down!” Captain Celaeno exclaimed.
“This is HUGE!!!” Princess Skystar added.
“I’m impressed!” Queen Novo also exclaimed.
“I know, right,” Silverstream said happily. “This is a very grand map. Anyways, your beaks glow for a good reason. You can tell by your silhouettes circling that specific location. Right there.” She then pointed at the three silhouettes circling.
They got a closer look at the location. It looked to be a collection of islands and cliffs. The hippogriffs were confounded about what this could be. “What is that place?” Skystar asked.
“Numerous islands and cliffs I see,” Queen Novo guessed, “this looks like it came out of a motion picture.”
Captain Celaeno got a closer look as well, but her eyes became wide open, and released a gasp as she recognized the place. “Ornithia!” the captain gasped.
“Ornithia?” Skystar questioned.
“My motherland. Born and raised into the avian tribe you see right now.” The captain placed her talons on her hips and looked proud.
Novo just nodded and looked toward her niece. “Silverstream, please explain how this map works?” the queen requested.
“Oh, it’s simple,” Silverstream responded. “Every time this map calls for creatures like you, it means that you have a mission to accomplish, and by mission, I mean helping other creatures in need.”
Looking at the group of islands and cliffs, Celaeno started to get excited. “So, you’re saying that we’re supposed to go to my home?” she asked to make sure.
“Yep, that’s how it works.”
“YES!!!” Celaeno cheered as she gave a fist pump in excitement. “My crew is gonna love that when they hear it! Come on, princess, the sooner we get back to Mount Aris, the sooner you get to see my home!”
“Okay!” Skystar replied. She and the captain raced out of the treehouse, both excited about where they were going.
Novo watched them running off, feeling concerned about what was going on. The queen turned to her niece to ask her something. “Silverstream, when the map calls for someone, can only those who are called go?” she asked.
“Well, for us, our professors would usually travel with me and my friends when we went on friendship missions to accompany us,” Silverstream explained, “But they didn’t do anything.”
“Ohh… Right then.” The Queen looked and could hardly see Celaeno and Skystar run back to Ponyville. “I better get going. Thanks for helping us Silverstream.” Novo quickly flew off with her niece waving goodbye.
“Bye, Aunt Novo,” she called, waving to the hippogriff Queen who flew away.
When they got back to Mount Aris, Celaeno quickly hopped onto the ship with a very cheery smile and gave a loud whistle to call her crewmates down. “Mateys,” the captain called. “I got good news! Pack ye coffers and hoist the sail, cos we’re heading back to Ornithia!”
Her crewmates cheered as they heard the news much to their delight. Captain Celaeno then quickly went back down from the ship to pick up Queen Novo and Princess Skystar while the crew wasted no time getting their ship back into the air. “We’re seriously heading home?” Mullet questioned.
“Hey, I’m not gonna complain about it,” Lix Spittle stated. “I haven’t been back home in years. Boyle, what do you think?”
“I’ll be jolly to get back home and see our old chums again,” the avian with a hook hand spoke.
“You’re right,” Mullet commented. He looked towards the flank of the ship, where he saw their captain walking back on board with Queen Novo and a few guards following her. The first mate stepped over in front of the queen to explain this concern. “My apologies, Your Majesty, but I’m afraid your guards can’t come with us.”
“Why not?” Novo complained, “They’ll be the ones to protect us from danger.”
“There’s so much room on this ship,” Captain Celaeno noted. “We had parts of it modified to fit only the five of us. The rest of it was for booties and doubloons we’ve found.”
“So, you’re saying that only my daughter and I can go with you.”
“I'm afraid so. Sorry about it, you know this trip was sprung on us.” Novo had to admit, she was right.
“Very well. Let me grab something real quick before we go.” Novo and her guards walked off the ship as Celaeno went to check on how the princess was doing.
Skystar was below deck with Squabble, who helped her get comfy on the hammocks, which looked bigger than a normal one. “Are these hammock bed hybrids?” the hippogriff princess asked. Squabble nodded as he leaped into one of the accompanying hammocks.
The captain walked in and could see the princess lying down. “Enjoying yourself, lass?” Celaeno chuckled.
“Yeah, this is comfy.”
“Glad you’re enjoying it. It’s gonna be a long trip, but it’ll be worth it.” The captain then looked back to the stairs to see Novo walking down with Boyle helping carry a chest.
“What did you pack in here, Your Highness?” Boyle questioned.
“Something to be used in an emergency,” the hippogriff queen said.
“You probably won’t need that,” Celaeno said. “We have a couple of bad eggs at home, but it’s nothing that’ll be out of our control. Alright, Boyle, set sail to Ornithia.”
“Aye-aye, cap’n.” the ship’s navigator responded with a salute. He placed down the queen’s cargo and went to do her orders. “ALL CLAWS ON DECK!” In a matter of minutes, the pirates’ airship was in the air and started sailing towards Ornithia. Novo and Skystar hopped onto the deck, waving goodbye to the hippogriffs and seaponies as they would be gone for a while.
After sailing for a while, Skystar was starting to get a little bored. She looked towards Squabble, who was swabbing the deck. The avian with a metal looked at the princess, concerned. He squawked a little bit, and despite not fully understanding what he said, Skystar understood that he was asking what was wrong?
“Nothing, I’m just feeling bored,” the princess muttered. “What do you pirates do for fun here?” Squabble thought for a moment before he had an idea. He led Skystar down below deck where he showed her a couple of instruments. She held up a set of bongos and slammed his head atop them, making a beat.
He passed the bongos over to Skystar, who happily tried drumming a beat with her talons. “So, you often play music while waiting for your destination?” Squabble nodded in confirmation. “I like it,” Skystar giggled as she played a couple more beats. Boyle was nearby and heard the sound of the bongos and walked in to investigate.
“Squabble,” Boyle called, “You didn’t say you were having band practice…” He paused when he noticed Skystar playing with the bongos before she noticed the pirate behind her. “Oh, ahoy, princess. Trying to have fun, eh?”
“Yeah. It gets kind of boring up here.”
“Time flies faster when you help keep the ship running. Though, that does help make things more entertaining.”
“What else do you do for fun?”
“Depending on the types of ships that pass by, we jump aboard and… borrow a couple of things.” Skystar tilted her head in confusion. “Hey, we’re not those kinds of buccaneers. We have standards, just ask our cap’n.”
“Um, right. What other games do you guys have?”
He then took a quick look around and notice a dart board nearby with 10 darts punctured on each segment, including a bullseye. “How are you with darts?” Boyle pointed over to a nearby dart board, which Squabble was excited to try out ut with Princess Skystar.
“I’ve seen some of our guards at Mount Aris play that before,” Skystar noted. “I’m up for trying new things.” Boyle and Squabble were happy they had somebody to play with now.
At the helm of the ship, Captain Celaeno peeked through her telescope to see how close they were to Ornithia. She was a little disappointed when she couldn’t find any of the islands.
“Captain?” asked a voice. Celaeno put her telescope down to look at Queen Novo, who walked up beside her. “How close are we to our destination?” the hippogriff asked.
“Not fer a couple of hours.”
“I see. Tell me, what was your hometown like for you and your crew?”
The captain managed to regain her smile. “Aye, it was a blast. My hearties and I had the hearts of adventurers even when we were young laddies. Kind of wish that all our mateys could be with us on our adventures, like Ocypete.”
“Who?”
“Ocypete, she’s the princess of Ornithia like your daughter. I was damn lucky to be close with her since my family used to be servants for the royals. During free time, Ocypete and I would play pretend for hours. Sometimes, my parents had to come to get us, because when we passed out from exhaustion, we slept like logs in the evening.”
“Wow. You two do sound very close. I’m sure she’ll be pleased to see you again.”
“I wonder how much she has changed. I’ve been away from Ornithia fer years since my ship was taken over by…” Celaeno paused as she didn’t like remembering an infamous king. She was partly thankful when she was interrupted by something crashing below deck. “What the?”
“I’ll check it out.” Novo walked away from the helm and made her way below deck to see Skystar and the pirate cleaning up some spilled pots.
“I’m so sorry,” Skystar apologized. “It was an accident.”
“It’s alright, princess,” Boyle responded, “It’s better than a window or an eye.”
“What’s going on here?” Novo questioned. Skystar and the pirates looked towards the queen, with the hippogriff looking apologetic.
“We were just playing darts, mom,” Skystar explained. “It was getting kind of boring on the ship.”
“It was my suggestion,” Boyle stated. “She… uhhh… needs more work.”
“Understood,” Novo said flatly. She looked at Skystar and simply requested to talk with her outside. The mother and daughter left Boyle and Squabble to clean up the mess from the princess’s misfired dart. “Skystar, we’re guests on the ship. The captain would appreciate it if we didn’t make a mess.”
“It was only an accident,” Skystar stated. “Besides, it was a game they suggested. Why are you still treating me like a fledgling?”
“Skystar, we’re heading to a kingdom we know nothing about.”
“We know it has creatures who help take care of a king who sent us into hiding. You know that…”
“We don’t know how different their home is. It’s best if we stay on the safe side.” The princess groaned as her mother went to rejoin the captain. Skystar went back to clean up her mess, frustrated with her mother.
Boyle and Squabble were nearly finished as the annoyed princess walked in. “Sorry to disturb you for a while, but… have you ever had to deal with overbearing parents?” she asked. The two pirates looked at each other having a feeling they knew how the conversation went. Squabble tried to give his sympathy, but he and Skystar had a language barrier.
Thankfully, Boyle was able to translate. “We were mates with another princess at home,” he explained. “She was kind o’ such as yerself.”
“Oh?”
“Aye. You could ask Mullet or the captain more about her if you want. She’ll likely be very different when we get there.” Skystar got excited that she would be meeting another princess, shortly before she noticed Squabble bringing over a red scarf with white spots on it and an eye patch.
“What’s this for?”
Boyle quickly translated what Squabble squawked. “You’re traveling with us and we have helped each other before,” he explained. “So, he thinks you should be like a pirate.” The excitement started to shine inside of Skystar’s eyes as she was excited to get a new look.
A little later that evening, Captain Celaeno was excited as she knew they were getting close to her homeland. Still using her spyglass, she kept an eye out for their destination. As she was doing that, Mullet approached the captain. He cleared his throat to get her attention, and she turned around to see him standing behind them.
“Cap’n,” he said, “Li’l Lix has prepared grub fer us.”
“Mighty well,” the captain responded. “I’ll help ye lower the sail once I inform the queen.” Mullet saluted and got to his position while Celaeno folded her spyglass and kept it onto her baldric and relayed the information to Queen Novo, who shortly went below deck to join the rest of the crew for dinner.
When she found the rest of the pirates, she was surprised to see what Skystar was wearing. She now had the scarf tied over her mane, along with the eyepatch over her left eye, and a hook hand over her left talon and blue vest. Novo was surprised by what she saw.
“Skystar, what are you wearing?” the queen asked.
“Squabble here thought it would be fun if I dressed the part of a pirate,” Skystar explained with the said avian giving a thumbs up.
Novo was about to speak up if it wasn’t for the ‘SPLAT’ of Lix pouring stew into the bowls. “Ay, let yer kid have her fun,” Lix said. “We’re pirates. Adventure be a part o’ our life” Novo just sighed, sitting across from her daughter while Celaeno and Mullet walked in.
“So, how are ye doin’ on the ship so far?” Celaeno asked.
“It was kind of boring after a while,” Skystar admitted. “Though, I did enjoy some of the games you all had on here.”
“Sorry, you can’t join us in most of our usual activities,” Boyle said. “No ship raids or islands to explore…”
“Raids?” Novo questioned.
“Relax, we’re not those kinds of pirates. We did what we usually did while we’re not performing maintenance on deck.”
“Yeah, playing cards do pass the time,” Skystar noted. “I hope Squabble can instruct me how to have a good poker face.” She looked at the pirate with a metal beak who had a victorious smirk on his face.
“Right then,” Novo commented. “Anyways, I was hoping the rest of you could tell me more about Ornithia. I heard most of it from your captain’s point of view, but what about the rest of you?”
“Allow me,” Mullet said, raising his arm first and the queen allowed him to speak first, much to Squabble’s annoyance, knowing he was going to wait his turn. “Ornithia was a kingdom that held itself on its sense of adventurin’. We’re not the only sailors who live there, there are all sorts of airships, though not all fer pirates like us. There are ones that transport passengers and cargo to various islands.”
“But you’re birds,” Skystar commented. “Can’t you fly like them?”
“That’s the thing. Avians like us can’t fly like hippogriffs, we can only glide at best. Wit’ various villages of our kingdom built on top of cliffs, we rely on airships fer transport.”
“Why on the cliffs up so high?” Novo asked.
“We reckon it’s fer a few reasons. High tide, predators, but a few o’ ‘em thought it’s because of the kingdom’s founder; Black Beak.”
“Ooh, was he a king?” Skystar asked, curiously.
“Nah, he was one of the most famous… or infamous, depending which side you’re on, of all time,” Celaeno explained. “Legends say that he hides on top of one of many islands, hiding his precious booty around in his caves, and offering safety to other fellow mateys he deemed worthy.”
“He sounds… well…” Novo couldn’t think of any kind words to say given what she heard about the pirate.
“It’s okay, Black Beak had a lot of enemies. If it wasn’t for him, we wouldn’t have such a great home. I hope they still recognize us, especially Ocypete.”
“I’m sure that she’ll remember you,” Mullet said, reassuring the captain. “C’mon, dig in.”
“Please do,” Lix requested. “I’ve gone all out since our passengers are royals. I’ve also added those special sunflower seeds.” Squabble promptly dipped his beak into his stew.
“…Is your crew like this?” Novo asked. “Like… all the time?”
“It gets wild on a busy day,” Celaeno noted. She started enjoying the stew that Lix had prepared as they kept talking about Ornithia, making the hippogriffs excited to see what the said kingdom looked like. Most of the crew would finish quickly as they were so close to home and they thought it would’ve been a better fitting place to still than in the hammocks.
As they sailed for a few more miles, Skystar roamed around the ship, looking for something to do. “Uh, Boyle,” the princess pirate asked.
“Sorry, laddie,” Boyle apologized. “At this time of night, Cap’n requires us to put goodies on the deck below to avoid looting or falling overboard.” Boyle carried a couple of crates away as Skystar glanced around for someone else to talk to.
She stepped up behind Mullet, who peeked through the telescope at the bow of the ship, keeping an eye for their destination. The first mate placed down the telescope and noticed Skystar standing so close to him, which scared the heck out of him and Skystar. “Oh, pardon me, did I get too close?” Skystar asked.
“Not too close,” Mullet admitted, “Warn me next when you get close. Ye scared the heck out o’ me.”
“Right, sorry. Um, are we there yet?”
Mullet double-checked to see if there were any islands. It was getting dark and he could just make out a couple of cliffs. The pirate was confused. “Cap’n,” he called, “take a look at this!” Captain Celaeno hurriedly came over to her first mate and grabbed her telescope from her baldric to examine through. These cliffs looked familiar to her, but she couldn’t understand the situation.
“Ye don’t assume… that’s Ornithia, do you?” Celaeno questioned. Mullet shrugged as he was as confused as she was. “Go double-check with Boyle, I’ll see if there’s a place where we can dock the ship.”
Mullet left to find the ship’s navigator as Skystar followed Celaeno to the helm of the ship. “What’s wrong?” the hippogriff asked.
“Either we’ve gone off course or… hopefully, he wasn’t here.” Celaeno started steering the ship as Novo heard what she said.
“Who is… he?” the Queen questioned for clarification. Celaeno didn’t answer as they sailed closer to the islands just as the rest of her crew walked onto the deck.
“I know these maps like the aft of my head,” Boyle stated. “Do ye reckon some depth perception would make sure we’re goin’ starboard way?”
“Dunno,” Mullet said flatly. “Why don’t ye take a look fer yourself?” He handed Boyle the telescope so he could get a look at the islands, which confused him to no end.
“This…. This can’t be right.” He tossed the telescope aside, which Lix Spittle managed to catch so she and Squabble could get a look at the islands.
When the ship got closer, everyone could see what was on the islands. Some buildings were falling apart, many of them caked with dust, cobwebs, and rotting wood. The island looked like it hadn’t had life in years.
“I’ve hoped that it wouldn’t be like this,” Celaeno admitted, “but…” The captain couldn’t find her words as she looked toward Mullet, who seemed to know what she was feeling.
They eventually found a place to dock the ship. They parked it and released the giant wooden ramp to get themselves down from the ship. They all started roaming around the abandoned village to see if anybody was around. Novo stayed close to her daughter as they explore, the island felt like a ghost town just like Mount Aris, it was freakishly eerie.
“We weren’t gone that long, were we?” Lix Spittle questioned.
“It doesn’t take too long fer most creatures to destroy things ye love,” Mullet commented. He faced Celaeno, who kept one claw on her sword, in case they ran into anything dangerous.
“I’d have to ask Silverstream if that map is on the frits,” Novo commented. “I feel like we were sent here by mistake.”
“There had to be some reason we were called here,” Celaeno stated. “I mean, Hippogriffia was in a similar situation like this ‘til you know who kicked the bucket.”
“Yeah, I thought this felt familiar,” Skystar commented. She glimpsed around the broken and grimy buildings until… they all heard the sound of large footsteps scampering around the area, making them more defensive. “What was that?”
Celaeno drew her sword as she and the crew prepared themselves for the worst. “Remember that package I brought on the ship?” Novo asked. “I think it could be useful right now.”
“Don’t fly back to the ship.” Captain Celaeno warned. “We don’t know what’s out there, and it could most likely snap ye swab in half.” Everyone stood quietly and waited for the noises to acquire again. They heard more footsteps and the pirates guarded the royal hippogriffs.
“Are you sure we’ll be able to make it back to the ship?” Boyle asked.
“It’s not too far,” Mullet remarked, “But we don’t know what we’re dealing with…” The first mate was interrupted by the sound of growling. “SHITE!” He then drew his sword forward. “Where it at?”
They still hear the growlings. They kept glancing from one direction to another until Lix Spittle saw them from the distance. “THERE!” she pointed with a gasp out of her beak.
With the pirates’ swords drawn vertically in front of their faces, and Novo protecting Skystar defensively with her wings, they prepared themselves for the worst as tall quadruped beasts appeared out of thin air, coming towards them. They were covered with jet black fur, each one having razor-sharp claws and long protruding muzzles. These appeared to be some kind of yetis, ones that the avians and hippogriffs had never seen before.
The yetis only glared at its prey. The said prey remained on guard in case these monsters attacked. “Okay, they seem that they can’t fly,” Celaeno whispered to the queen. “Yer Highness, if ye keep as high as ye can, ye’d be able to get back onto the ship, and get whatever that’ll keep you and your daughter safe.” Novo nodded as she held onto Skystar’s claw.
The yetis all looked like they were going to pounce. The moment they did, Queen Novo and Princess Skystar quickly flew upwards and the pirates scattered to avoid getting mauled. They flew back to the ship, high above the ensuing conflict while the pirates did their best to keep the yetis distracted. They were quickly outmatched as Celaeno was pinned down by one of them, trying to use her sword to hold back a yeti’s fangs.
Boyle was able to help her out by smacking the remnants of a wooden pillar on its face. Celaeno got to a safe distance as they saw Squabble riding on the back of one of the yetis like a bucking bronco. He got in over his head and was thrown off through the broken window of a building that was hard to distinguish what it was built for. Squabble groaned as he rubbed his head as he saw he was about to get tackled by a yeti. Seeing this, Skystar dive-bombed without thinking straight into the side of the wild beast, helping to save him.
“Squabble, Are you alright?” the princess asked.
Squabble nodded in confirmation as he climbed out of the window. However, the yeti didn’t take much damage from being rammed into and stood right back up. She dropped her hook hand and scooped Squabble up to avoid them getting pounced on.
Novo quickly forgot to get her equipment and flew over to save her daughter. The two hippogriffs, and their passenger, flew high above the abandoned village. Squabble squawked as he pointed down to his crew.
“We won’t be able to help them if we get mauled by those beasts,” Novo stated. She looked for a safe place for them to land when all of a sudden, there was a loud ‘BANG!’
A cannonball shot out of nowhere, smacking one of the beasts right to its face so hard, that it fell off the edge of the cliff down to the sea. They were surprised to see that giant bullet coming out of nowhere. Where did it come from? They scanned around to see where it came from, and from the distance, they could see more avians running out and charging at the yetis with their battle cries. They were all wielding weapons, either blunt objects like clubs, sharp swords, or a small hand cannon that Skystar hadn’t seen before.
The hippogriffs and Celaeno’s crew managed to get away from the chaos and immediately found a hiding spot, which is right behind the torn-down building. “Who are those creatures?” Novo ventilated.
“Likely other pirates,” Celaeno guessed. The group heard somebody clearing their throat to get their attention and they turned around to see who made the noise. The avian getting their attention had a lanky frame and a dark purple coat. Her feathers were pink matching her beak and peg leg. Additionally, she wore a captain’s hat and a golden dress, showing she was a pirate, like Celaeno and her crew.
“I didn’t expect you to be here,” she commented.
“We’re actually happy to see someone,” Celaeno admitted. “Where did these yetis come from?”
“How should I know? My crew is risking their lives getting you to safety! Follow me!” The new unknown pirate led the crew and hippogriffs away from the chaos, with the armed avians following them. They arrived at an area where a small open hole was visible. The purple and pink pirate quickly slid down that hole, much to Novo’s shock.
“Should we trust her?” the queen asked.
The growls of the yetis getting closer made them look back to see how close they were getting. “Unless you have a better idea…” Celaeno proclaimed. “Down you go! Quickly!” Her crew quickly started to slide down the hole. First Mullet, then Boyle, then Lix Spittle, and finally Squabble and Princess Skystar together. The rest of the other avians pushed past Celaeno and Novo, who saw the yetis would be next. “HURRY!” she shouted as she slides down. Queen Novo then quickly joined in, just missing the yetis, who were agitated that their prey got away.
Celaeno and Novo slid down the dirt slide with high velocity. With big and little bumps on the way, and a hit in the face when there’s a turn. It is a long ride. They eventually reached their end point, coming to a stop on a flat surface. The captain jumped off onto her feet when she made it, and Queen Novo made it as well, but instead of jumping onto her hooves and claws, her body clashed with Celaeno, making them tumble to the earth face first. She got up first and lend a helping claw to the queen to get up as well.
“Ye alright, Your Majesty?” Captain Celaeno said.
“I’m fine,” she flatly replied, spat out a clump of dirt, dusting off the dirt with her wings. “That was a very disty slide.”
As they dusted themselves off, they then noticed their crew standing over them. “Cap’n, Your Majesty,” Mullet exclaimed. He held out his talon to help them both up. “Glad ye made it.”
“Is Skystar alright?” Novo asked.
“I’m right here,” the princess said. They looked over to the princess getting some dust brushed off her by Squabble, which made Novo feel relieved.
“I’m glad that you’re alright. Where are we exactly?”
“This… is New Ornithia,” said the purple and pink pirate. “What you’re looking at right now is the entrance, follow us.” The royals and Celaeno’s crew followed them down the tunnel until they came across an underground village. The visitors gasped at the sight of the patchwork of buildings and the avians wandering around, many of them looking to be on edge.
Some of them stopped to look at the hippogriffs, as well as Celaeno and her crew. The captain had several questions and she wanted answers. “Okay, first of all, who are you?” the captain questioned.
“Madam Harpy,” the unknown avian answered. “And I’m guessing you’re wondering why we’ve all moved down here?”
“I’ve had a couple of theories and that’s not what I was going to ask. Where are the royals?”
“The royals? Why’d you be…”
“Answer the question!”
“Cap’n,” Mullet requested, getting ready to hold her back. “You must understand, seeing our home… It’s a surprise for anybody. Not to mention, she was very close with the royal family.”
“Hmm, if you insist,” Madam Harpy responded. “Just letting you know, you might be disappointed.” She led the visitors to New Ornithia through the village. Captain Celaeno wasn’t interested in the conjoined home the avians were having to live in now, or the bakeries running on fumes, she was just concerned with the family she grew up with were doing.
Eventually, they came across a tiny castle, one that had very few guards standing outside. They saw the crowd approaching them with Madam Harpy at the front. “Ah, Ms. Harpy,” the guard said, “Did you figure out the sign of…” He paused once he saw Celaeno, who was examining the cheap-looking castle.
“Is that her?” the second guard questioned. “Captain Celaeno?”
“I mean… She has changed as she has grown up. Wait here.” The guard went back inside the castle, letting the pirates wait outside, some of them confused by the reactions the guards had.
“Are you certain that the royals will still remember you?” Novo questioned.
“If the guards remember me, there’s a big chance that the royal will too,” Celaeno guessed. They all listened carefully and heard some voices of excitement from inside the castle shortly followed by the sound of fast footsteps. The doors opened up and a gray avian wearing a tiara and a green and yellow dress had seen better days.
She seemed to be a princess, who looked at the pirate captain up and down. “Celaeno?” she asked, “Is that you?”
Celaeno took a moment to figure out who this was before she spoke. “Ocypete?” the captain asked.
“CELAENO!!!” Without warning, the princess squealed in delight, before giving Celaeno a tight hug, much to the pirate’s surprise. “Celaeno! I thought I’d never see you again!” Ocypete cheered. “It’s been a while since we last met.”
“Um…. I’m happy to see you too,” Celaeno wheezed. “Could you let me breathe?” The princess saw what was wrong and let go of her old friend, who had a big gasp before she spoke again. “Thank you. It’s… great to see you too.”
“The feeling’s mutual. It’s…. been a rough couple of years.”
“Yeah, I was hoping to address the elephant in the room; where did those yetis come from?”
“No one knows. They just showed up one day.”
“Is that why you’ve all retreated down into New Ornithia?” Mullet asked.
“Um… Yes,” Ocypete said. She looked past Celaeno and focused on her crew and the royal hippogriffs. “I’m sorry, Cellie, can you introduce me to your friends behind you.”
“Of course,” Celaeno said. “These four are my crew, my first mate Mullet, our navigator Boyle, our chef Lix Spittle, and Squabble. And we’ve been sent here with the representatives of Hippogriffia, Queen Novo and Princess Skystar, the two hippogriffs you see there.”
Ocypete noticed the hippogriffs, who stepped forward to introduce themselves to the avian. “It’s nice to meet you,” Novo commented. She and Ocypete shook talons. The princess did the same with Skystar.
“Um, hello,” the hippogriff princess said.
“Hello,” Ocypete said. “You must be the princess. Is something wrong?”
“Well… It’s just this place that kind of reminds me of home.”
“You’re not too far off,” Novo admitted. “This place is giving me a sense of déjà vu.”
“Were you in hiding from… the king too?”
“...What king?”
Ocypete felt a little concerned about answering this, but she managed to say the words; “The Storm King.”
“WHAT!?” both queen and pirate captain gasped.
“You heard about him?”
“Unfortunately, we’ve met,” Celaeno groaned. She looked towards Mullet, who felt just as uncomfortable as her.
“The less said about him, the better,” Novo stated sternly.
“Glad he’s gone,” Skystar spoke.
“Gone?” Madam Harpy questioned.
“Oh, he’s dead,” Celaeno stated. “No chance of him coming back.”
This was a shock to everyone who heard it. “That’s… great news!” Ocypete cheered. “You went off against the Storm King?!”
“We had a bit of help,” Celaeno noted, “But still, he’s gone for good.” Ocypete clapped her talons together in glee.
“Oh boy! We have to tell my family about this! Come on!” Without warning, the princess pulled Celaeno inside of the castle. The rest of her crew and the hippogriffs followed them while Harpy’s team stayed outside.
Inside, the little castle, the princess led her guests to the rest of the royal family. They were all standing in front of thrones and looked amazed when they saw Celaeno. “I don’t believe it,” the avian king gasped.
“It’s true, father. Cellie has returned,” Ocypete confirmed.
“I think it would be best if you gave your visitors an introduction?” Mullet suggested.
“Of course. Queen Novo, Princess Skystar, I’d like you to meet my family. My father; King Thaumas, my mother; Queen Ozomene, my brother; Prince Aello, and my sister; Princess Zephyra.”
Celaeno saw the familiar royals as she noticed they didn’t look that glorious since the last time she saw them. They looked to be filthier and their clothes had a couple of tears in them and while she didn’t want to say it, there was a bit of an odor that needed to be dealt with. “I know we don’t look that pleasant,” Queen Ozomeme admitted, “It’s been rough ever since we were forced into hiding.”
“We know how that feels,” Skystar commented.
“The Storm King is probably deep down in Tartarus right now,” Boyle said, “What’s stopping us from just taking the yetis outside?”
“There seems to be a never-ending number of them,” King Thaumas stated. “They’re a lot more clever than they look. We’re unable to think of a strategy that’d get rid of them without sacrificing any more of my civilians.”
“Pardon me, Your Highness,” Mullet spoke, “We’ve dealt with the Storm King’s forces before. If we can figure out how these yetis behave, we should be able to get rid of them.”
“That’s right. And then you won’t be able to get stuck down here anymore,” Celaeno added.
“We appreciate that,” Thaumas said, “But we’re not going to take any more risks now. We’re struggling with our meals as it is.”
“But if you stay down here, things are only going to get worse.”
“I know you’ve got plenty of experience, Celaeno, but as long as I’m king, I’m doing what’s best for Ornithia!” The avians swore the castle nearly shook from Thaumas raising his voice. Novo had plenty of experience with loud creatures, so she wasn’t too affected by this.
“How about we get settled, then we can work things out?” the hippogriff queen suggested.
“Good idea,” Ocypete commented. “Everyone, follow me. There are guest rooms here.” The princess guided her guests to where they could stay for the night all while they had different thoughts about the problems that Ornithia was facing.