My Little Pony, Friendship is Magic: Storm of Friendship

by SuperPinkBrony12

Jumping Ship

It wasn't long before the zeppelin reached the very center of the Sea of Clouds. Just like Captain Celeano had predicted a huge bank of clouds rose up to greet them. "Alright, ponies it's showtime!" The captain encouraged.

"Ready, Thunderlane?" Soarin asked his fellow Wonderbolt, who nodded in reply. "Let's show these clouds who's boss!" The two stallions lept from the ship and quickly set to work on dispersing the clouds. In a matter of moments the pathway ahead was clear, the clouds had all been parted. Both pegasi landed back on the deck when their work was done.

"Splendid job, mates!" Captain Celeano showered the two with praise. "Now we've got a clear path to Mount Aris. We'll be there in about an hour," Then she gave a whistle. "Jack!"

The green and brown feathered parrot that had spotted the group in the cargo hold earlier came swooping down. "Yes, Captain? You rang?"

"Take the wheel for me, and give a shout when we reach Mount Aris," Captain Celeano instructed. Then she looked up to the crow's nest and called. "Any sign of trouble, Gus?"

Gus squawked back. "Negative, Captain. All's calm."

The captain smiled. "Most excellent. Now I've got time to sharpen my fencing skills," Turning to Soarin she asked him. "You said you're the Co-Captain of the Wonderbolts?"

Soarin blushed modestly. "Not that I like to brag but yeah, it's true."

The parrot pirate captain gave a hearty laugh. "Well then, scallywag. Fancy a little bit of friendly sparring? I could use a worthy opponent to sharpen my fencing skills on."

"But I've never dueled before." The pegasus stallion protested.

"Well like they always say 'No time like the present!'" Celeano encouraged, tossing a small sword towards Soarin. "Don't worry, I won't be too hard on you. But all the same I don't plan to lose."

Soarin grit his teeth, wielding his sword with his hooves. "Well I don't either. But something tells me I'm way out of my league."

"Ooh! This I gotta see!" Braebrun declared as he bounced over. "Too bad Shinin's gotta be a party pooper and miss out on it."

"Now now, Braeburn, let's not speak ill of our friend behind our back," Fancy Pants advised. "He's probably still getting over his airsickness and needs time to rest. We've all been through a lot already today, I can't imagine how much stress Shining is going through right now."

Thunderlane nodded and sighed. "I sure hope he's okay. It must really be killing him not to have any contact with Equestria at all. He sure seems to be betting it all on Queen Novo being able to help us."

"Well for our sakes, we'd best hope she can," Fancy Pants replied. "Because otherwise we'll have come all this way for nothing."

---

While the pirate ship cruised through the Sea of Clouds, Tempest's own zeppelin was traveling in the same area. But it was headed East per the advice of Capper.

Grubber, piloting the zeppelin, grumbled to himself. "Why do I have always do the hard stuff around here? It's 'cause I'm a midget, isn't it?" But the hedgehog had no one else to talk to, he was alone with his thoughts. A sigh escaped his lips. "Well that, and I got a soft spot for Commander Tempest ever since she stood up for me. Sure wish I knew why she puts up with the Storm King when all he does is berate her and send her to chase down those who defy him."

The hedgehog's eyes began to scan the surrounding sky, largely out of boredom. "Nothing to see here, as usual," He moped about. "Nothing but clouds as far as the eye can see. And a pirate ship headed towards Mount Aris. Wait a minute!" He scanned the sky again. No, he wasn't seeing things. There was indeed a pirate ship. And it looked like there were ponies onboard. "Hey, Tempest! Get up here, now!" He called. "You'll never believe what I just spotted!"

Tempest came trotting up to the bridge a moment later with a groan. "Grubber, I'm in no mood for your games." She bitterly hissed.

"It's not a game, Tempest! There's a pirate ship just over yonder! And it's got ponies onboard!" Grubber eagerly reported while bouncing up and down. "Come on, take a look!"

The broken horned unicorn reluctantly did so, scanning the location Grubber was pointing to with a telescope. Her eyes didn't deceive her, there were ponies onboard the ship. The very ponies that she'd nearly captured back in Klugetown. "Well well well, this is my lucky day." She declared with a smile.

Grubber, meanwhile, let out a gasp! "This means Capper lied to us! They're headed South, not East!"

"Well we can deal with him later," Tempest coldly declared. "For right now, capturing the prince and his friends is our top priority! Take the wheel, Grubber! I'm gonna put together a boarding party."

---

The peace and quiet of the Sea of Clouds was suddenly broken, as a frightened squawk pierced the air! "Captain, a Storm King zeppelin is approaching! And it's approaching fast!" Gus cried out.

"What?!" Celeano gasped as she rushed to the nearest vantage point and pulled out a telescope. Sure enough, the emblem of the Storm King's army could be seen clearly on the approaching airship. In a matter of minutes it would be close enough for those onboard to access the other aircraft.

"Oh no! They must've spotted us while we were clearing the clouds!" Soarin realized.

"Or maybe removing the clouds also gave away our hiding position!" Thunderlane nervously suggested.

"What are we gonna do, Captain?!" Gus anxiously asked as he swooped down. "If Commander Tempest finds out we're ferrying these ponies to Mount Aris, we're doomed!"

Celeano grit her teeth and quickly formed a plan. "Go wake Shining Armor and his dragon friend, and get them below deck with the others! We'll keep 'em out of sight in the cargo hold until Tempest leaves! Quickly now! Go, go!"

"What's all the commotion?" Shining questioned as he stumbled out of the cabin he was in.

"It's Tempest, she's found us! And she's closing in fast!" Fancy Pants frantically explained. "Come on, we need to get below deck!"

"But what about the pirates?!" Shining asked.

Celeano merely ushered the ponies (and dragon) down to the cargo hold, hiding them behind some of the barrels. "Not a word," She whispered to them. "We'll get Tempest to leave, then come back to check on you. Whatever you do, don't do anything that'll attract attention." She then quickly made her way back up to the main deck and shut the cargo hold door, just as Tempest, Grubber, and several of the Storm Guards walked onto the ship with a captive Capper in tow.

"Captain Celeano." Tempest began.

The captain merely shook her head. "We can drop the formalities, Tempest. We're both working for the same guy after all."

"Oh really?" Tempest questioned as she took notice of the captain's attire. "Then what's with all the pirate gear? You're supposed to be the Storm King's delivery birds. Why aren't you in uniform?"

Celeano tried not to look suspicious as she quickly answered to the broken horned unicorn. "I thought it would inspire the crew if we dressed up like in days of old. They've been feeling kind of down in the dumps ever since Storm King gave 'em a thorough tongue lashing the other day. I tried to tell him it wasn't our fault the merchandise was late but he just wouldn't listen."

"Why are you on your way to Mount Aris?" Tempest questioned at length as her eyes narrowed. "Shouldn't you be heading the other way?"

"Top secret orders from the Storm King himself," Celeano quickly replied. "He wants us to check on a possible rebel outpost near Mount Aris. Said he might 'overlook' our poor performance if we gave him a reason to rest easy. And with you tied down hunting the prince, we were the only ones available."

Grubber, meanwhile, happened to sniff the air. "I smell ponies." He commented.

The pirates all gave odd looks at Grubber, hoping to throw him off. "I don't smell anything, it must be you." Celeano retorted.

"I suppose you wouldn't object if I searched this zeppelin from top to bottom myself, would you?" Tempest inquired of the captain. "If you're thinking of deposing me, think again. I'm not in a good mood today, and my patience is wearing thin."

"You're welcome to search to your heart's content," Celeano politely offered with a bow. "But you won't find anything except Storm King merchandise. I guarantee it."

Tempest was not convinced, the unicorn mare was silent for but a moment before she declared. "Nice try, but I know you're hiding ponies somewhere. The prince and his friends are onboard, and I want to know where," Then she issued a demand to the pirates. "So here's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna count to three and you can either tell me where they are, or I'll tear this ship apart plank by plank until I find them."

---

Meanwhile, down in the cargo hold, Shining Armor was beginning to grow anxious and impatient. It didn't help that the rude awakening earlier had only made his air sickness worse. "We've got to get out of here, now! Tempest is sure to find us!" He firmly whispered to the others.

"Shining, we've gained these pirates' trust!" Soarin protested. "They won't let Tempest come near us! With them on our side, we can totally take these guys!"

"But they've got Capper hostage, they may use him as a bargaining chip!" Shining shook his head. "I won't put innocent lives in danger just to save our own hides. If Tempest catches us, there's no telling what she'll do," Then he added. "Besides, it's best for all if we get out of here and back onto solid ground. Then I can think straight without my air sickness getting in the way."

"But Shining!" Soarin protested again.

Big Macintosh spoke to break up the feud. "I'm with Shinin' on this one. Even if the pirates are willin' to help us, Capper's still a wild card. And if we fight here what's to stop this ship from fallin' out of the sky? At least if we leave now, we'll have the element of surprise on our side, and Tempest will spare the pirates."

"And just how are we supposed to escape? Thunderlane and I are still exhausted from busting the clouds earlier!" Soarin remarked.

"I have one idea, but it's a risky one," Shining explained in a whisper. "It involves having to throw ourselves out of the cargo bay."

"What?! Are you crazy?!" Fancy Pants remarked. "There's gotta be another way!"

The alicorn prince only shook his head. "There's no time! Just stay close to me and hold on tight!"

---

While the conversation between friends was going on in secret, Tempest was slowly counting while she eyed the pirates. "One..." No one said a word. "Two..." The pirates held fast to their swords, ready to draw them at a moment's notice. "Don't make me say three..." Tempest warned as the bulge where her horn should be began to ominously spark. "Three!"

"Aaahhhhhh!" Came a chorus of screams! The source of which appeared to originate in the cargo hold. Some of the Storm Guards quickly rushed down there, only to find the cargo bay doors flung open and a tarp to be missing. However, in their haste to escape the group had unknowingly left behind the map leading to Mount Aris.

"They escaped, Commander. Most likely toward Mount Aris." One of the Storm Guards reported as he came back up from the cargo hold.

"They escaped?! From this high an altitude?!" Celeano thought to herself. "I sure hope they known what they're doing!"

Meanwhile, Tempest was growling, gritting her teeth and stomping her hooves in frustration. "I don't believe it! That's three times now in the same day! Just how hard is it to catch a small band of runaways?!"

"Sorry, boss," Another Storm Guard apologized. "We almost had 'em this time. If we'd thought to check the cargo hold sooner, we would've got 'em for sure."

Grubber turned his attention to Capper who was whistling rather slyly and nervously. "I should've known you were pulling a fast one on us, pussy cat!" He angrily remarked.

Capper laughed and tried to play it off. "Oh, did I say East? Gee I am so sorry about that, really. Cats are never great with directions, I get them mixed up all the time."

Tempest wasn't convinced, her bulge continued to spark ominously. "All I see here is a ship full of traitors!" She coldly hissed. "All of you are under arrest for aiding traitors to the Storm King, and you can come back to Canterlot with me as my prisoners. Then you can explain your crimes to the Storm King himself, and I doubt he'll be as forgiving."

But Celeano stepped forward. "You'll never take us back to Canterlot, Tempest! You can't tell us what to do anymore!"

The broken horned unicorn only sighed and shook her head. "You have chosen very poorly," Then she turned her attention to the ship and declared. "Hope you packed a parachute, Capper. Because this ship is going down."

"Uh-oh!" Was all Capper and Celeano could bring themselves to say, before they hastily rushed to jump off the ship!

If anyone had been watching, they would've suddenly seen the sky light up like a fireworks show and then seen flaming planks plummet down from the sky. And maybe they would've seen a zeppelin with the Storm King's logo flying away towards Mount Aris, while several figures (including a cat held in the claws of a parrot) struggled to slow their descent.

Author's Note:

While we can assume the parrots likely flew away, the movie never explains (or even hints at) how they or Capper were able to escape when Tempest blew up the airship. So I wanted to make sure that was specified.

I also wanted to address the possibility that the stallions could try to fight Tempest, and the risks that would come with engaging her in the air aboard a zeppelin.

You're probably wondering why I uploaded two chapters today. Well that's because I'll be out of town this weekend for a wedding, and won't be back until late Sunday/early Monday. So the double update is because I won't be able to crank out the chapter for Sunday. Updates will resume as normal on Monday.

Comments

[Comickook]

Once again, very good job on the latest chapter. The exchanges, characterizations, action and future chapter set-up are all quite well done. I particularly liked the Both Sides Have A Point argument AND how you went into slightly more detail on certain things (such as the escapes and Grubber, again, trying to reason with Tempest).

Well, I hope you and your family have a good time at the wedding and I am definitely going to be looking forward to more of this.