> A Silver Lining after a Storm
>  by Juke Denton
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sun shone beautifully in the skies of Florida, where a young boy named Kyle, who was ten years of age, took in the warm, crisp weather from the balcony of his home.  As he was enjoying the weather, the boy looked at his watch and asked in an impatient tone, "Come on, where are you?"

The young boy had looked forward to this day for almost a month.  It was the day his father promised to take him boating to an isolated island a few miles off the coastline for the first time.  Needless to say, the child had a hard time coping with the amount of excitement he had for this trip and wouldn't trade the opportunity to go boat riding to an island for anything else.

Just then, a loud honk sounded as the boy looked over and saw his father's Jeep pull in the driveway, with a motorboat in tow, and immediately went to greet his dad in the entry hall. Stepping into the hall from the garage was a man who was in his early 40s, had a beefy mustache, and wore glasses.

"Dad!" The boy shouted as he went over to embrace his father.

"Hey son!  Sorry for running behind.  Traffic was bad coming back." The father said as he returned the hug. "So are you ready for today?"

Kyle broke the hug as he looked up at his dad and said, "Are you kidding?  I've been ready for this day since you first told me, so of course I am!"

"Glad to hear it.  Now then, do you have everything packed that you're wanting to bring along?"

"Sure do!" The boy said excitingly as he went over, picked up his backpack, and unzipped it to show his father the contents inside.

After looking through his son's belongings, the father gave a look of approval and said, "Now then, did you put on sunscreen?"

"Yep." Kyle answered back.

The father then drew a smirk and asked in a playful, "Hmm...did you really?  Or are you just wanting to fry yourself like bacon?"

The boy couldn't hold back his laughter as his father caught on to the lie and said, "That's what I thought.  Now come on.  Let's put some on you so you don't burn yourself, okay?"

Kyle nodded his head as his dad retrieved a bottle of sunscreen and spread on enough to last the whole afternoon.

"Right, that's better now." The father said looking over his now sun-screened son.

The boy didn't feel too fond of being covered in the goop, but deep down knew that it was for the best.

"Well I've got everything for the trip packed in the Jeep, and filled the gas in the boat, so if you're ready let's head out!”

The boy's eyes widened with excitement as he quickly ran to the vehicle and called shotgun.  The older gentlemen gave an amused chuckle as he thought to himself, 'Just like his mother, hungry for adventure.'

The father then climbed into the driver’s seat, started up the engine, backed out of the driveway and began the drive to the beach docks.

---

It was the last day of classes at the School of Friendship until summer vacation.  Most of the students were trying to get through their final exams as best as they could, with some having an excruciating amount of difficulty remembering the material.

One group of students, however, were breezing right through the exams with little trouble. These students consisted of Sandbar the Earth Pony, Gallus the Griffon, Ocellus the Changeling, Yona the Yak, Smolder the Dragon, and Silverstream the Hippogriff. All their study sessions throughout the semester paid off with how well each one was unfazed with the questions.

When the bell finally rang to signify the end of the semester, a loud joyous shout exploded throughout the campus as all the students rushed out of their classrooms with papers flying everywhere. The Young Six just barely evaded the mob as they quickly made their way to the entrance of the school.

After clearing from the school crowd, Sandbar said, "So let's be honest, who here had trouble with those tests?"

"Not me." Smolder said with a bored expression.

"Same here." Gallus added.

"Yona's studies with friends make tests EASY!" The Yak exclaimed, stomping the ground in excitement.

Ocellus giggled at Yona's eccentric behavior and said, "I certainly can't argue with you there."

"Well now that school's out, what are we going to do for the summer?  Oh!  Oh!  I know! Maybe you all can visit Mount Aris and we can all hang out!  What do you all say?!?" Silverstream asked in her usual overly excited tone.

"Actually...I can't.  I'm spending the summer with my parents in Fillydelphia." Sandbar said while rubbing a forehoof on his arm.

"Oh!  That's okay, but the rest of us can hang out, right?"  Silverstream asked with hopeful eyes.

"Sorry, but there’s a decree requiring all griffons to return to Griffonstone." Gallus said with a disappointed tone.

"Yeah...unfortunately I can't either.  Ember is expecting me to lead an expedition to find a surplus of gems.”

“As much as I would love to, I promised to take part in a summer Changeling meditation program that will eat up a good portion of my free time.  Sorry about that Silverstream.”

“Yona up for spending time with hippogriff friend!” The yak said with a stomp.

“Really?!?” Silverstream asked pushing her talons against her cheeks in a cute way before hugging her yak companion. “This is great! We’re going to have so much fun!”

Just then a grey colored, mare pegasus with crossed eyes flew to the group and asked, “Excuse me, is there a Yona around here?  I hope I’m not too late.”

“Yona right here!” The young yak said happily.

“*PHEW*!  That’s a relief.  I have a letter addressed to you from Yakyakistan.” The mailmare said as she dug into her bag and gave Yona an envelope using her wing.

The yak took the letter before the mare said, “Another successful delivery!  Well, better get going!  See you all around!” And with that the pegasus flew away.

After the mare was out of sight, Yona ripped the top portion of the envelope, took out the message from inside of it and began reading silently.

“So...what does it say?” Silverstream asked in a nervous tone.

“Yona’s tribe requests Yona to return as soon as possible to ready for creating new stomping grounds.” The yak read, before looking at Silverstream and saying, “Yona spend time with hippogriff some other time.  This more important!”

“It’s okay...I understand...” Silverstream responded with a disappointed sigh while hanging her head down.

“Why so down Silverstream?” Asked Sandbar. “I mean sure the six of us won’t be able to see each other for the summer, but aren’t there others at Mount Aris you’ll be able to spend time with?”

“That’s the thing!” The hippogriff said with a sad look in her eye. “I’ve already spent so much time with others of my kind that I had hoped I would be able to spend at least a good portion of the summer with other creatures, like you guys.  It’s something I had longed wished for since...since......”

“The Storm King?” Smolder asked finishing her friend’s sentence.

“Mmhmm.” Silverstream replied nodding.

“Well, I’m sorry we can’t hang out this summer with you.” Sandbar said putting a supportive hoof on Silverstream. “But I promise to make it up next year.”

“Same here!”  Smolder said bending one knee and wrapping an arm around the hippogriff.

The others agreed and all huddled up for a group hug.

“Thank you all...” Silverstream said, nearly on the verge of bursting into tears, but restrained herself to just enjoy the moment.

The six friends soon broke the hug and each one, with the exception of Silverstream, went their own separate ways, leaving the hippogriff alone.

“Well...guess I better head home then...” Silverstream said to herself looking glum while heading to the train station.

---

The Jeep was in reverse; slowly rolling down the concrete docking ramp with Kyle’s father making sure not to have the car too close to the water, but backed up enough for him to undo the restraints on the boat holding it to the transport.  Once he reached the desired position, the father put the Jeep in park, and said to Kyle, “Okay, I’m going to need your help so listen carefully.  I need you to unhook the boat from the rig, but as soon as you are done, grab your belongings and meet me at the docks.  Think you can handle this?”

“Sure thing Dad!” The boy said with confidence.

“Good boy!” The father said ruffling his son’s hair.

“C’mon Dad, cut that out!” Kyle cried out in an annoyed tone.

“Okay. Now wait until I tell you to start.”

Kyle’s father jumped into the boat and raised the motor to remove the fastener holding it in place.  He placed it in a compartment before lowering the motor into the waters.

Kyle waited in anticipation as his father continued prepping the boat. It wasn’t long until he heard the father say, “Okay Kyle!  Start unhooking!”

With that, the boy began to carefully detach the restraints of the boat from the rig.  Soon enough the vessel was released and began to freely drift away with the ocean waves, until the father started the engine, put the motor in reverse mode and began to make his way to the wooden docks.  Kyle then grabbed his backpack from the car, headed to the docks and got there just as the boat arrived.

“Here!  Catch!” The dad shouted as he threw a rope in Kyle’s direction.  The boy caught it with ease as the older male turned off the engine, climbed onto the dock, and tightened the rope around the wooden post.

“Well, that’s got it!” The father said looking at his rope work before turning his attention to his son and saying, “All that’s left is to park the Jeep.  Go ahead and get yourself settled in the boat.  And make sure put your life vest on.  I shouldn’t be too long with the car.”

“Okay Dad.” Said Kyle.

The boy carefully climbed on to the vessel, set his backpack to the side and opened one of the compartments to find the right size life jacket for himself.  He clipped it securely on himself before he sat down on one of the seats and waited for his dad.

It wasn’t long before Kyle’s father returned to the dock and climbed back on to the boat to join his son. After unwrapping the rope from the dock and grabbing a life jacket of his own, he started up the engine again and asked Kyle in the most pirate like tone, “Arr yer ready to head out to ye open sea?”

“Aye, aye sir!” Kyle said saluting; garnering a chuckle from his father.

“Then off we go!”  The older male said as he steered the boat away from the docks and gave the motor more thrust.  The boat jumped up and down in a rhythmic motion against the ocean waves all while Kyle sat back and stared out at the endless waters in the horizon.  He began reminiscing about earlier times and as he did a somber thought crossed his mind.

‘I wish you were still with us...’

The Florida waters were quite a sight for the young Kyle as he continued to stare at the never ending sight of ocean waves in the distance.  As he was enjoying the boat ride, the boy quietly stared at the cloudless sky while beginning to think about more positive memories.

“We should be at the island in about 15 minutes!” The father said, breaking Kyle’s concentration. “I know you’re going to love this!”

“I’m holding you to it!” The boy said, earning a chuckle from the older man. “But what is it about this island that’s so special?”

“I’ll tell you when we get there!” Kyle’s dad said as the boat continued towards its destination.

---

“Attention passengers!” A voice over a loudspeaker said. “Thank you for riding with us today!  We hope your travel is a safe and pleasant one!  Our scheduled arrival to Mount Aris Station will be in about one hour!  Thank you again for choosing us!”

Silverstream let out another disappointing sigh for what might have seemed like the hundredth time.  She was still having a hard time accepting the fact that none of her friends from school could spent time with her during the summer.  The young hippogriff looked out the train window and stared longingly into the distance.

‘I wish I didn’t have to spend summer alone with just my kind.  I wish I could have someone to spend time with that’s not from Mount Aris.’

Silverstream then looked around her to find that she was the only passenger in the cabin, sighing once again. She was struggling to fight back tears and tried to think positively.

‘At least I have Terramar and cousin Skystar who I can spend time with.  Who knows? Maybe this summer won’t be so boring.  Yeah!  I won’t let some setback ruin my summer!’

With that the little hippogriff was filled with a newfound sense of determination and happiness.  She continued to look out the train window and brainstormed ideas of activities to do with her brother and cousin.

---

The boat was tied up to a crudely made pier as Kyle and his father walked around the sandy shores of an isolated island.  The boy had put his shoes in his backpack to enjoy how nice the warm sand felt on his feet.  The two continued walking until they came upon a few trees containing two hammocks, a table with an umbrella and two chairs.

“My son, welcome to Paradise Island!” The father said proudly.

“Wow!” The boy said running over to one of the hammocks, putting his backpack on the ground and laying on it.  “This is cool!  How long have these hammocks and chairs been here for?”

“Actually I bought these new and set them up a few weeks ago since the older ones had worn down with time.” The father answered as he climbed onto the other hammock to lay down in.

“Does anyone else know about this place?” Kyle asked curiously.

“Probably the government.”  Kyle’s dad responded humorously.  “But in all seriousness, there was only one other person I knew who came to this island as well.  In fact it’s how we first met.”

“Mom...” Said Kyle putting two and two together.

“I was a much younger lad in those days.”  The man said thinking back to his earlier years.  “The first time I met her was when I was taking my own father’s boat out for a joyride miles off the coast.  I had come across this island by complete accident, but my curiosity compelled me to look around.  I had spent some time exploring when I saw her giving herself a tan right near the shore.  She must’ve heard me approach since she was immediately shocked by my presence and asked who I was.  I explained that I didn’t mean to intrude and that I had wandered a few miles from the mainland shore.  Surprisingly, we hit it off pretty well and talked for hours before the sun started to go down.  We made it a tradition to where we would meet up at this island once every two weeks.  The months following the two of us soon developed a more romantic relationship and we saw each other more often, both here and on the mainland.  About a year later is when I asked your mother to marry me at this very spot.”

Kyle had taken in every word his dad said and could picture in his mind the events that might’ve played out in reality.

“So that’s why this place is special.  Something almost magical in a way that’s impossible to describe in words.  I felt it and so did your mother.  Unfortunately, after you were born, real life started to take over and we simply didn’t have the time to come here as much as we used to.  We came here together one last time when you were just a little over a year old.”

“Wait?  This isn’t the first time I’ve been to this island?  Then how come you said in the time building up to this trip that this would be my first time coming here?”  Kyle asked, confused.

“Perhaps I misused my wording when planning and for that I apologize.  I meant to say that this is would be your first time traveling to Paradise Island, grown up.”

“Ohh...I get it!”  Kyle said clearing up the misunderstanding, but only brewing up more questions in his head.  “But why didn’t you tell me about the time you and Mom took me here? And how come we haven’t come here since then?”

The father let out a heavy sigh before he said, “It was a difficult decision I made on my part to wait until you were old and mature enough to know.  Between working full-time and raising you, it hasn’t been easy to find any free time to travel out here.”

The boy was left in even more confusion than before.  Why did his father not think he was mature enough before now?  Before Kyle could ask anything else, a sudden gust of wind blew through, surprising him and causing him to fall out of the hammock.  The father got off his hammock and noticed that dark clouds were approaching from the horizon.

“That’s odd.  They weren’t predicting any storms today. Well we’d better hurry and head back to the mainland Kyle.”

After grabbing his backpack and putting on a pair of water shoes, the boy followed his father back to the boat and climbed inside the vessel.  The two put on their life jackets as the father quickly unfastened the rope from the deck, fired up the engine and made par for the course.

As the boat traveled along the ocean, the sky continued to grow darker by the minute. Soon the sun was blocked by the overcast sky and rain started pouring down.

“If I knew it was going to rain like this, I would’ve brought some rain jackets and fishing rods with us!  It would’ve been a real gentleman’s fishing trip!”  The father said heartily.  Kyle however was simply trying to cover his head as best as he could with his backpack.

The ocean waves began to beat hard against the boat and bright flashes of lightning danced across the sky with thunder following closely behind.  Kyle’s father struggled to keep ocean water from getting inside the vessel.

“Kyle!” The older male shouted. “Try to scoop out the water with the bucket.  It should be in one of the compartments!”

The young lad quickly found the bucket and started to scoop the water that was already flooding the deck to the best of his ability.  Unfortunately, it seemed no matter how hard the boy tried to empty the water in the boat, more just kept pouring in.

“It’s no good Dad!  There’s just too much coming in!”

“Keep trying!” The father said having a hard time with keeping a firm grip on the wheel.

Just then, a brilliant flash lightning struck not too far away, followed by another and a few more that seemed to strike almost in the same place. The father looked in awe at the sight that unfolded before him, but his expression changed to one of stern horror as he saw the last thing he ever wanted to see in the middle of an ocean storm.

“MAELSTROM!”
https://www.deviantart.com/lavenderrain24/art/A-Silver-Lining-After-A-Storm-Commission-Sketch-1017445126
Kyle stopped what he was doing after hearing what his father yelled, looked to the side of the boat to see a huge whirlpool building up and immediately a sense of sheer terror overcame him.

“Kyle! Forget about scooping out the water! Secure yourself to one of the seats, quickly!”

The command didn’t seem to register in Kyle’s mind as he was too overcome with fear to more or say anything.

“KYLE!  GET BACK HERE, NOW!”

Hearing his father scream broke Kyle out of his shock, hurried back to one of the seats and fastened himself as securely as he could.

“Hang on!  I’m going to try to go around it!”

Between the heavy rain, the pounding ocean waves, and now a huge whirlpool, it was practically a fool’s errand to try and brave a storm like this.  Fortunately for Kyle’s father, he was more than an average Joe when it came navigating through treacherous waters.  Using knowledge his own father taught him, he began to slowly, but expertly, make his way around the vortex.

Kyle was watching in both anxiety and fascination at how well his father was traversing in such conditions and thought that with such skill they would make it back to shore okay.

That thought was cut short though as a huge wave crashed onto the port of the boat, causing it to go off the intended path and instead started to get sucked right into the whirlpool’s might.

Kyle’s fear started to get to him again, but the father refused to give up. The latter decided to try a different tactic and hoped that it would work. He brought the motor to a halt and allowed the boat to travel in the direction the vortex was swirling in. The boat was beginning to get dragged more toward the center of the maelstrom, while at the same building up the necessary momentum the father needed to get out.

After a few laps, Kyle’s father turned the motor back on and was ready to see if his plan would work.  Just as he was about to steer in a different direction, a huge flash, followed by a massive boom sound filled the air.  The boy was temporarily blinded and deaf from what happened, but when his sight returned, he noticed that his father wasn’t at the wheel and didn’t see him anywhere.

Now he was truly afraid.

“Dad?!?  DAD?!?” Kyle screamed as loud as he could, but no answer came back.  He undid his seat harness, put on his backpack, and looked around the boat, only to find that the front portion of the boat’s bow was blown off.  The boy at this point was completely paralyzed, unable to think straight and stared into the depths of the whirlpool’s center.

The boat by this point had leaned in at such an angle to where it would tip over at any moment, returning Kyle back to reality.  With no other option, Kyle grabbed onto whatever part of the vessel he could and held on for dear life.

The boy began hearing a loud cracking noise and sure enough, the structure was splitting down the center from the damaged bow.  The boy gripped tighter and prepared himself for what was about to happen.

*CRACK*

The boat split off into two as Kyle continued to hold on to part of the now broken vessel, all while being dragged by the whirlpool’s powerful currents.  With what little strength he had, Kyle let out one final cry.

“DAAAAAAAAAAAAD!!!”

But his screams were drowned out by the sound of the storm and whirlpool.  The boy could only wait for what he believed to be his ultimate demise waiting for him at the center of the vortex.  As he was being pulled by the current, he swore that he saw something forming at the center of the whirlpool.  It looked like...

Suddenly, something hard smacked the back of Kyle’s head, and everything went black.
> Chapter 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Now arriving at Mount Aris Station!  Please wait until the train has come to a complete stop before disembarking!  We thank you again for riding with us and we hope to see you again soon!”

Silverstream got up from her seat and made her way out to the loading platform.  Unfortunately for her, there were no other hippogriffs at the station to greet her.  To make matters worse it had begun raining outside.

‘Guess every hippogriff is staying inside today.’  Silverstream thought to herself.  A clap of thunder sounded in the distance, causing the hippogriff to cower in fear.  She quickly got her bearings together and stepped out in the rain.  Despite the fact she had nothing to cover herself with, she didn’t want to keep her family waiting.

She began making her way home, to her father’s house.

*BOOM*

Silverstream cowered in fear once again, shutting her eyes tightly, and trying to cover herself with her wings in the process.  She quickly realized it was just thunder again and continued her way home.

---

Sky Beak was humming a tune to himself as he was in the kitchen, finishing a dish he was preparing for Silverstream’s return.   Just then, he heard the sound of his front door knocking.  He immediately grew a wide smile as he assumed his daughter finally returned home for the summer.

He answered the door happily, but his excitement soon turned into surprise at the sight of, “General Seaspray!  Uhh...sir!  To what do I owe this visit?”

“No need for formalities Lieutenant Beak.” The gruff hippogriff said with a dismissive wave of his talon. “We’re not on duty.  But, may I come?  I’m getting soaked out here as it is.”

“Of course sir!  By all means, please!” Sky Beak said standing away from the door to make room.  Even though he wasn’t on duty, it didn’t change the fact that he felt the need to speak with a superior officer in the same manner as if he were on an assignment.

The drenched general trundled over to the fireplace to dry himself off (despite knowing he was going to get wet in the rain again).

“Curse this rain.  One of these days we’ll have to do business with those ponies to negotiate a trade for...what are they called again?  Umbers?  Unbrails?”

“Umbrellas.  That's what they’re called, sir.  At least, that’s what my daughter says they are.” Said Sky Beak with a quick chuckle.  Seaspray however was not amused, but nonetheless cleared his throat before speaking again.

“Is Silverstream home with you at the moment?”

“No, not yet sir.  I would suspect that the train will pull in soon though.  Why is she in trouble?”

“No, no, of course not.  But...”

The general looked around the room suspiciously, making sure there wasn’t anything or any other living being to eavesdrop on them.

“...what I’m about to tell you must never leave this room.  Its secret is of upmost importance and you must not tell any other creature about it; not even your family.  Do I have your word Lieutenant Beak?”

“On my honor as a lieutenant, you have my word!” Sky Beak proclaimed proudly to his superior officer.  “But what’s so secretive, sir?

“Our recent encounter with remnants of The Storm King’s army have led me to believe that they may be planning something big and soon.”

“But how, sir?” Sky Beak asked in confusion. “Their leader is nothing but chunks of rock.  Queen Novo herself saw him as such.”

“That may be, but with the reports I’m getting about how the remnants keep consolidating with more recruits from where The Storm King originally came from, there’s no telling what they plan to do.”

“Reports from whom, general?” The lieutenant asked.

“A trusted confidant who knows the army and has had experience with them in the past.”

Sky Beak was about to ask who Seaspray was referring to, until his eyes went wide and asked, “You don’t mean...?”

“Indeed I do lieutenant.”

“Even after the invasion!  You can’t honestly believe-“

“My confident is trustworthy, has the means to report whatever activities the remnant army is plotting, and will pull through for us, lieutenant!” The general interrupted; silencing whatever other protests Sky Beak had.

“I understand sir.” Sky Beak said rubbing a talon against his forearm. “Was that all you wanted to tell me?”

“There is something else.  The remnants have stolen a magical prototype device from a ship bound for Manehattan.  I don’t know what it does but it cannot be good if they have possession of it.”

“But I don’t understand.” Said Sky Beak. “How could they have stolen something that important on the seas?  It should be next to impossible with our ships and sailors helping ponies with cargo.”

“That’s the reason why I came here unannounced Lieutenant Beak.” General Seaspray said lowering his head and giving a hard sigh before raising his head up again. “I have reason to believe there might be a traitor in our midst.”

“No...” Sky Beak said refusing to believe what he just heard.

“I know it’s hard to accept, I had a hard time myself with the prospect that one of our own is a defector.” The dark blue general said clenching a fist in anger, before relaxing and turning to the light blue lieutenant. “That’s why I need a close hippogriff I can trust.  Your loyalty to the navy has never come into question and I can think of no one more qualified than you.”

“Qualified for what sir?”

“I’ll be requiring your presence on more trips I take part in.  You’ll need to keep a close eye on any and all navy members who seem suspicious and report directly to me.  Essentially, you will be my eyes and ears.  Do you understand Lieutenant Beak?”

“Yes sir!” Sky Beak said, proudly saluting.

Seaspray returned the salute and said, “This is an important task that I wouldn’t ask of just any sailor in the navy, but I know I can rely on you.”

“Thank you sir!  When do we depart?”

“We shall set out in two weeks.  For now, just enjoy the time you have to spend with your daughter.  I’m sure she’ll have a lot to tell about her time away.”

The higher ranked officer was about to head to the door before Sky Beak said, “Just one thing, sir.  This magical prototype device, do the leaders of Equestria know about it?”

Seaspray stopped and said, “Princesses Celestia and Luna are already aware of the theft. They have some of their best soldiers searching for it and the remnant army as we speak.  The other tribes I’m afraid cannot help us.  We’re already on bad terms with the Griffons, and the other tribes don’t want to spark international incidents that could lead to war.  Now I must be off.  I will be accompanying Queen Novo and her daughter on their diplomatic visit to the Crystal Empire.  Their ship will be leaving at any moment’s notice, so I must go. Tell Silverstream I said hello and I shall see you again soon Lieutenant Beak.”

With that, Seaspray went out the door, leaving Sky Beak all alone.  The latter sat down and was trying to process everything that the general had said.  As he did, he suddenly remembered something.

‘Oh no! The dinner!’

The worried hippogriff rushed to the kitchen, but sighed in relief as the meal he was making, thankfully, didn’t overcook.

Before Sky Beak could anything else, a series of knocks sounded from the door as he quickly opened it to be greeting with a soaked, but still cheerful Silverstream.

The young hippogriff shouted happily, “DAD!” before tightly hugging her father.  Even though she was soaked from top to bottom, Sky Beak didn’t care and said, “Silverstream!  I’m glad you’re home!”

They soon broke the hug before the two realized that water was dripping from both their bodies.  The two gave a chuckle before Sky Beak said, “Well, you should probably dry yourself off.  Dinner is almost ready.”

Silverstream went over to the fireplace and warmed herself up while grabbing a nearby towel to dry herself with. Her father soon returned with a bowl of soup and bread for both of them. The younger hippogriff’s eyes widened at the food.

“Is this...?”

“Yep, I thought I’d make your favorite tonight: Calamari Chowder!  To celebrate the end of your school year!”

The chippy hippogriff gave her father another hug, this time without the aspect of getting any water on him.  As she broke the hug, something occurred to her.

“Hey Dad, where’s Terramar? Is he visiting Mom?”

“Oh that’s right!  Your brother decided to take part in a summer getaway with a group of Seaponies he’s made good friends with.”

“Oh...” Silverstream responded disappointingly.

“What’s wrong Silverstream?” Sky Beak asked in a concerned tone.

“It’s just...I was hoping to be able to spend some time with Terramar, that’s all.” Silverstream answered tilting her head down.

“He won’t be gone all summer.” Sky Beak said reassuringly, bringing a talon under his daughter’s chin to have her look up at him. “You’ll still be able to spend time with him before the next school year starts.

“Yeah...I guess so.” Silverstream said feeling somewhat better. “By the way, I saw General Seaspray leaving the house earlier.  What did he want?”

Remembering the promise he made to his superior naval officer, Sky Beak went with a bare minimum answer by saying, “He just came by to bid me farewell.  He’s accompanying Queen Novo and Princess Skystar to the Crystal Empire.”

“Of course...” The younger hippogriff said feeling more upset.

Not wanting to try to make his daughter more depressed, Sky Beak looked at the food and said, “Well, why don’t we chow down on this delicious meal?  It is your favorite after all!”

“I’m not hungry...” Silverstream said in a monotone voice, heading off to the direction of her room. “...I just want to be alone right now.”

Sky Beak reached a talon out and was about to ask what was bothering her, but the door to her room was already shut.  He let out a sigh of defeat and relaxed his outstretched arm.

‘Why is she acting like this all of a sudden?  Did something happen to her at school?’  Silverstream’s father questioned to himself. ‘Maybe when she wants to talk, I’ll ask her.’

---

Silverstream sat on her bed thinking about how her summer wasn’t going how she had hoped.  First her friends from school, then her brother and now her cousin.

“What is this world coming to?” Silverstream asked to herself on the verge of tears. “Why is every creature too busy this summer?  Even my own family.”

Unable to take it, the young hippogriff snuck out of her bedroom window and flew off in the rain.  She didn’t care where she was heading or if she was getting soaked, her upset nature was in control.

She landed on a beach close to where the waves reached the sand and let out all her anger and sorrow.

‘Why? Just why?’ The sad hippogriff thought to herself as she just huddled herself and let the tears flow freely down her already wet face.

After several minutes of letting it all out, Silverstream decided to head back home until something caught her eye.  There was something that was washed up on the beach nearby, prompting the hippogriff to see what it was.

When she got close enough, Silverstream was taken back at what it was.  It was a bag with back straps.

“Huh?” Silverstream said aloud with a raised eyebrow. “Who would leave a bag like this out in the sea?  It sure is a strange looking bag.  Wonder who it belongs to?”

Just then a huge tidal wave crashed onto the beach, soaking Silverstream even more.  She shook her head before she looked back at the bag, only to find something else next to it that caused her to gasp in fear and fly a good distance away behind a tree.

When she calmed herself down enough, Silverstream peeked around the tree and took a good look of what washed up next to the bag.

It was a creature, the likes of which she had never seen before.  It was furless, except for the little that was on its head.  She noted the life jacket it donned and the strange clothes that seemed foreign to her.  What really caught her attention though was a device that was wrapped around what she assumed was the creature’s claw.

She cautiously approached the creature to see how it would react to her.  When she got close enough though, she gave the body a slight prod on the arm before quickly hiding behind the tree again to see its reaction.

No movement.

‘Is it...dead?’ She thought to herself curiously.  She approached the body again, but this time looked at the face and noticed that he was still breathing.

‘It’s alive!’ The hippogriff said in her mind.

As she’s staring, Silverstream couldn’t help but feel sorry for the unconscious creature. Realizing it was getting drenched both from the rain and the waves, she tried to move the creature away from the crashing waves, only to realize how heavy it weighed.  Silverstream was able to move it away slowly, inch-by-inch, until (what felt like several minutes) she dragged the body towards the tree she hid behind earlier.  She also grabbed the bag and placed it next to the unconscious body.

Knowing the creature would need help when it wakes up, Silverstream began to contemplate.

‘What to do?  What to do?  I don’t know what it is or where it came from, but I have to do something!  But what?’

Finally the young hippogriff had an idea and said to the unconscious creature, “Don’t worry, I’ll be back soon!”

With that, Silverstream flew away to get help.
> Chapter 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sky Beak went up to the door of his daughter’s room and knocked a few times.

“Silverstream?  I don’t know what’s upset you, but I’m sure it’s something we can talk about.  Will you let me come in?”

Silence.

“Did something happen to you at school?  Was there a quarrel of some kind?  Please, I just want to know why you’re upset.”

Still, no answer came from the other side of the door.

“Silverstream?  Are you there?”  Sky Beak asked while knocking on the door a few more times.  Having not received an answer he opened the door and immediately his eyes widened.

“Silverstream?!?  Silverstream!!!”

The father hippogriff checked around the house but could not find a trace of his daughter anywhere.

“Silverstream!  Where are you?!?”  Sky Beak asked loudly pacing back and forth, fearing she may have ran away.

Sky Beak was about to head outside to look for his daughter, when suddenly the front door slammed open with a drenched Silverstream standing at the entrance.

“DAD!”

“Silverstream!”  The father said as he went over and hugged the soaked hippogriff tightly.  “Where we you?  I was worried sick!”

“I’ll tell you later.”  Silverstream said breaking the hug.  “But right now, there’s a creature that needs help!”

“Creature?  What sort of creature?”  The father asked both in a worried and suspicious tone.

“I don’t know, but it was unconscious when I found it!  Please, we have to help it!”  The younger hippogriff said as if it were the end of the world.

Sky Beak looked away for a moment, before returning his attention back to his daughter, who was pleading with puppy dog eyes.

“Alright then.”  He said.  “But if it tries to attack or harm you in any way, then you know what I’ll have to do.”

The younger hippogriff understood her father’s concern as she nodded her head before saying, “Now let’s hurry!  It’s still at the beach and could be trouble!”

Silverstream quickly flew off with Sky Beak following close behind her, with rain droplets hitting down on them.

It wasn’t long until the two hippogriffs landed in the beach area where Silverstream found the creature.

“So where is this creature?”  Sky Beak asked looking around finding nothing out of the ordinary.

“Right over here!”  Silverstream said aloud behind the tree where she hid the body. She dragged the creature out of hiding where her father could see it.  Sky Beak gasped for a moment from the sight of it, before flying closer to get a better look at the figure.

“Incredible…I’ve never seen anything like this.”  The father hippogriff said as he brought a talon and felt the creature’s head.  “Where did it come from?”

“I don’t know.  It just washed up on shore along with this bag.”  Silverstream replied as she showed her father said bag.

Sky Beak studied the bag along with the rest of the creature’s accessories.  A lot of mixed reactions were running through his head

‘Could this creature have come from…no!  This creature couldn’t have any affiliation!  Or…could it?’

“Dad are you alright?”  The younger hippogriff asked.

“Yes, I was just thinking what would be the best course of action to do for our friend here.”  Sky Beak said.

“Should we take him to the emergency room?”  Silverstream suggested.

“I’m inclined to do so, however I don’t know if that’s a good idea.  To have a new creature suddenly introduced to the public might create panic.  Not to mention all the medical experts who would want to do tests and studies would probably terrify the poor thing.”

“Then what should we do?  We can’t just leave it!”  Said Silverstream as she began to express anxiety.

“Calm down.”  Sky Beak replied putting a supportive talon on his daughter’s forelimb. “I know how much you want to help it and since it doesn’t look too beat up, here’s what we’ll do.  We’ll take the creature into our home and wait until it wakes up.  If it is in dire need of medical attention, we can take it to the emergency room.  Okay?”

“Okay.”  Silverstream said feeling more at ease with her father’s suggestion.

“That’s my girl.”  Said Sky Beak giving Silverstream a couple pats on the head. “Now come on.  Help me lift the creature onto my back.”

The younger hippogriff nodded and moved the body on her father’s back to the best of her ability.  When Sky Beak felt the creature’s form was on securely enough, he carefully took off into the air, but flew at a relatively slow pace as not to let the body slip and fall.  Silverstream followed beside Sky Beak, with the creature’s bag in her arms.

When the two hippogriffs landed at the entrance of their home, Sky Beak went in first and dropped the body next to the fireplace to help dry it from the rain, as well as himself after getting some towels. Silverstream put the creature’s bag over by the fireplace, but not too close so it wouldn’t burn, and grabbed one of the towels her dad brought into the room to both dry and warm herself with.

“So what do we do when it wakes up?”  Asked Silverstream.

“The first thing we’ll find out is whether it has hostile intentions or not.”  Sky Beak answered looking toward the creature’s unconscious form.  “Though judging from the way it looks, it seems unlikely that it doesn’t pose any kind of threat.”

‘But, I’ve been wrong before.’  The elder hippogriff added silently in his head.

After using other towels to help dry off some of the unconscious body, Sky Beak asked, “Wonder why it’s wearing all this stuff?”

“Maybe he gets cold easily and can’t swim very well.” Silverstream theorized from noting the lack of fur on the creature’s body, except the head and the life vest it wore.

“That could be it.”  Sky Beak said rubbing an open talon under his chin in thought.  “Silverstream, could you bring a pillow and some blankets?  I think it’ll be best for our unconscious friend to lay on the couch.”

Silverstream saluted and went to get the items her father requested.  As she was collecting them, Sky Beak stared at the creature in deep thought.

‘I hope my initial fears about you are wrong. But if you aren’t what I think you are, then just what are you and where did you come from?’

Silverstream soon returned with a pillow and three spare blankets, placing them on the couch.

“Here, let’s get our friend up on the couch.” Said Sky Beak grabbing the body with his forearms and using his wings to help gently lay the creature on the couch. He then unclipped the life vest and carefully removed it without hurting the creature and placed the jacket at the base of the couch.  At that moment, Silverstream placed the blankets over the creature and stepped back to where her dad was.

“I guess the only thing to do now is wait until our friend awakens.”  Said Sky Beak.

“Ooooh…I have so many questions to ask when it wakes up!”  Silverstream said in her usual overexcited tone.  “Like is it a he or a she?  Where did he or she come from?  Why is it wearing that thing above his or her claw?”

“Have patience Silverstream.”  The father said with a chuckle.  “First we have to wait until our friend is up for talking. Though that does bring up a good question.  Does its kind even speak our language?”

Silverstream hadn’t taken that into account and started to worry if the creature woke up if it would not only be able to understand them, but also how it would react to them.

“But in the meantime, there is something I want to discuss with you.”  Sky Beak said, interrupting Silverstream’s train of thought.  “About why you left the house earlier.”

“Ohh…that.”  The younger hippogriff said lower her head and ears in shame.

“Don’t worry, I’m not mad I just want to know why.  Come on, let’s go into the kitchen and talk about it while we let our friend recover.”

The two hippogriffs went into the kitchen and situated themselves at the table.

“So why did you sneak out earlier?  You looked like you had something on your mind.”

Silverstream let out a sigh before saying, “I was upset. I was upset because, at first I had hoped to spend time with my friends from Twilight’s School of Friendship this summer.  But all of them have plans for the entire season, until school starts again.  And I wouldn’t have minded spending time with my brother or cousin since they’re fun to be around, it’s just…”

Sky Beak raised an eyebrow as he waited for his daughter to finish her thoughts.

“I wanted to spend summer differently than with the usual hippogriffs and seaponies ever since The Storm King’s defeat. All I did though was get my hopes up too high with how I expected things to turn out.”

“I’m sorry to hear about that.  But, Silverstream.  Something important to remember is sometimes life can’t always go the way you want it to.  When I was your age, I went through a lot of disappointment as well.  At the end of the day, all you can do is move on.”

“Yeah…I guess.”  The younger hippogriff said in a defeated tone.

“But look at it this way.  You’ll still be able to spend time with your brother when he returns before school starts again.  The queen and your cousin will return around the same time as well. There’s also the matter of our unconscious friend in the other room.”

The mention of the creature had Silverstream thinking about potential activities to do when it woke up.  The more she thought about it, the more her spunky old self started to surface again with a surge of positive energy.

“You’re right!  I may not be able to see my friends from school, but perhaps when the creature wakes up it could be an opportunity in itself!  Oooh, I have so many questions to ask it!”

“Now there’s the Silverstream I know.”  Sky Beak said with a hearty chuckle.  “But don’t get too excited when it wakes up.  We don’t know if it’s even seen a hippogriff before and could be easily startled.”

“Oh, right.”  The younger hippogriff said calming down a little.  “Even so, if it’s able to understand us it would be fun to know where it comes from and what its hobbies are.

“I guess we’ll find out soon enough.  But there is one thing I want you to promise me in the future.”

“Yes father?”  Silverstream asked giving Sky Beak her full attention.

“If you’re ever dealing with emotional disappointments and concern about anything, promise me that you’ll come and talk to me about it, instead of running off again.  Okay?”

“I promise Dad.”  Silverstream replied before her stomach growled in hunger. Her expression turned to sheepish as she said, “I guess I still need to eat.”

“It’s alright.  I’ll warm up the chowder.  I still haven’t eaten myself.”

Within a few minutes, Sky Beak heated up dinner and served it, with an eager Silverstream staring at the contents in the broth.  She took a sip of the chowder before her face lit up with satisfaction.

“Still good as always?”  Sky Beak asked with an amusing look on his face.

“Mmhmm!”  The daughter replied as she continued eating the delicious meal.

After the two had finished eating, they cleaned up the kitchen, put everything way, then returned back to the living room to check on the creature.

“Looks like our friend is still out.”  Said Sky Beak while bringing a talon over to the creature’s head.

“Oooh…I hope it wakes up soon!”  Silverstream said having a hard time containing her excitement.  “It’s hard waiting just to find out about this creature!  Imagine if…*GASP*…maybe if it stays around after summer’s over, I could introduce it to my friends at the School of Friendship!”

“Well first things first, we should let our friend recover a bit more.  Perhaps in the morning it’ll finally wake up.”

“I hope so!”

The rest of the evening was spent with Silverstream discussing with Sky Beak about stuff she learned throughout her time at the school and the lessons she and her friends learned from their various adventures. Soon enough, it was time for bed and Silverstream went over to the unconscious creature’s form and held one of its claws in her talon.

“See you tomorrow.  Hopefully by then you’ll wake up and we can both talk to each other.”

Silverstream then said good night to her father, headed to her room and got ready for bed.  She took a look outside and noticed that it was still raining outside, though not as much as before.  She sighed to herself, then got under her covers and started to drift off to sleep.

---

The next morning Silverstream woke up and quickly made her way to the living room couch, only to find the creature still in a state of unconsciousness.  She let out a disappointing moan, but was quickly greeted to the sight of her father entering the room.

“How’s our friend doing this morning?”  Asked Sky Beak.

“Still out.”  Replied Silverstream.

“I see.”  The father hippogriff said bringing a talon under his chin and staring at the body for a moment.  “Well it’s not going anywhere so c’mon.  Let’s go to the kitchen and make some breakfast to pass the time.”

Silverstream couldn’t argue with her father as she started to feel the morning hunger kicking in.  The two got to work in the kitchen with Sky Beak making a fruit salad while Silverstream made scrambled eggs and a potato casserole.

“Mmm!  This certainly hits the spot!”  Sky Beak complimented after trying some of the casserole.  “Did you learn to make this from the school?”

“Yep!”  Said Silverstream digging into some of the scrambled eggs and chewing in satisfaction. “Professors Fluttershy and Applejack were the ones who taught us on how to make it!  I added an extra ingredient to give it some extra flavor!”

“You surely outdid yourself!  Maybe when your brother returns home, you and h-“

Just then a loud groan came from the living room, causing Silverstream and Sky Beak to immediately stop eating and quickly turn their attention to where the sound came from.

“Could it be?”  Sky Beak asked under his breath.

“IT’S WAKING UP!”  Silverstream shouted as she quickly ran to the living room.

“Silverstream, wait!”  Said Sky Beak, following behind his daughter.
> Chapter 3 (Kyle’s Point of View)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kyle stretched himself before he squinted his eyes to find that he was no longer out in the open ocean.  But instead, he found himself lying on a couch right near a fireplace that only seemed to have recently burnt off the last of its fuel source.

‘Where am I?’  The boy thought to himself as his body was still waking up.

Once he felt strong enough, Kyle sat himself up on the couch; only to be greeted to the sight of a strange creature just mere inches away from him a few seconds later.  To say the boy was afraid would be an understatement.  Not only was he speechless, but he was completely mortified at what was in front of him.  He tried to stay as still as possible, hoping that whatever the creature before him was wouldn’t harm him.  Just then, the creature did something that Kyle least expected.

It talked.

“Hello!”

Kyle immediately jumped up from the couch and ran over to the wall and braced against it.  Tons of questions were going through the boy’s mind.

‘What is that thing?!?  How is it talking!?!  How did I get here?!?’

The creature looked at the boy with a mixture of worry and confusion, but Kyle didn’t seem to notice.  As the boy was trying to stay calm, another creature, that seemed to be the same species as the other but bigger and older, went up to the smaller one and seemed to whisper something in its ear.  

Kyle looked all around the room he was in and saw a door right near him and was ready to bolt until the older creature spoke.

“I’m sorry if my daughter frightened you.  She gets very excited when meeting new creatures.”

Kyle could only stare back at the creature as his mind was still trying process what was happening all around him.

“Y…You speak…my language…?”  The boy asked doing his best not to move.

The smaller creature instantly gasped and said, “It talks!  IT REALLY TALKS!!!”

“Silverstream!”  The other creature said looking back at the other.

Kyle couldn’t handle it anymore.  While the two creatures were distracted with each other, he took his chance and bolted to the door.  He quickly turned the handle, swung the door open and ran as quick as his legs could take him.  Little droplets of rain hit the boy’s face and he could hear the smaller creature’s voice calling out to him, but he didn’t care as all he wanted to do was get away from whatever they were.  But as he was running he couldn’t think but wonder where he was.  Looking around, the surroundings were completely unfamiliar to Kyle as everything around him didn’t look like anything from back home.

His train of thought was interrupted however as he ran into something and collapsed on the ground.  He quickly got up to notice another creature, similar to the ones from before, staring at him and gasping before screaming.  Kyle swiftly took off in a different direction, only to find more of the same creatures nearby; all of them staring at him and gasping.  The human pushed himself even further to run and try to find someplace to hide.

Several minutes of running later, the boy hid himself in a large bush in an open meadow.  He did his best to calm his heart rate, but with each passing moment it only seemed to race faster than before. 

“What is this place?!?”  Kyle asked to himself.

In all his time since waking up, something finally dawned on him.

“Wait!  Where’s Dad?”

The boy didn’t have long to dwell on it as voices soon approached.  He could see three of the creatures entering the meadow and wearing what he assumed to be armor.  What really alarmed him was the sight of the spears they were carrying.  Kyle did his best to stay as hidden and quiet as possible while listening to what the creatures were saying.

“You think this ‘thing’ we’re searching for is really that dangerous?”  One of the creatures asked.

“Physically, who knows?  But I bet my helmet it has some connection to The Storm King’s remnant army in some way!  And when I find it, I know just how I’m going to make it talk!”  Another said with a clenched fist.

The second creature’s statement only terrified the boy more as thoughts of being interrogated by it were playing out in his mind.

‘Where are you Dad?!?’

“No-griff is laying a talon on the creature!”  The third member of the group said in a firm tone of voice.  “Regardless of your desire for bloodshed, Wind Soar, our orders are to find the creature and try to bring it back to Lieutenant Beak, WITHOUT harming it!  Is that understood?”

“Yes, Ensign Sea Wave!”  The second creature said while saluting.

“Good.  Air Burst, I trust you to do your duty and keep an eye on him.”  Said the third member before heading to a different part of the meadow.

“You really need to watch what you say around him.  One of these days, it’s going to cost you more than just a lecture.”  The first creature said to whom Kyle assumed was Wind Soar.

“I don’t care!  All I want is to find whoever has any affiliation with the remnant army, choke whatever information I can from them, and pay them back for what they did to Private Peacock!”  

“You’ll get your chance soon enough soldier.  But taking that out on a creature we know nothing about, who very well may have no knowledge or whereabouts of The Storm King’s army, won’t bring your friend back.”

Wind Soar only gripped his spear even more and said, “Even so, I’ll still have my revenge!”

The two creatures walked deeper into the meadow and away from Kyle’s hiding spot.  The boy breathed a quiet sigh of relief as even more thoughts were racing through his head.

‘Who is this ‘Storm King’ they kept talking about? Why would they think I know about him? Do I really look like someone from his army?’

An hour had past as the rain had stopped and more of the same creatures began patrolling through the meadows in their attempt to find the human.  Kyle had laid himself on his stomach, in the same bush he’d been hiding in, doing his best not to make any noise.  Hunger was starting to kick in for the boy, but he continued to lay still and tried to ignore it.  But it was getting hard to bear as a low grumble from the stomach, only signaling the boy’s hunger more.

One of the creatures standing right near the bush raised its ears and head as it turned right to where Kyle was hiding. The human’s heart nearly stopped and could only watch in horror as the creature stared at the bush.  The creature then reached inside the bush with one of its talons and began searching through to see if it could find anything.  Kyle held his breath, shut his eyes tightly and silently prayed in his mind as the talon continued searching blindly through the scrub.

“Every-giff, assemble!”  A voice called in the distance.

The creature retracted its talon from the bush and gathered with the rest of the group.  

“Progress report!”  A creature, who Kyle assumed was the search party leader, said in a military like tone to the others.

“There’s no whereabouts of where it’s hiding, sir!”

“We searched through all the flora, but found nothing, sir!”

“It’s not in the trees or water, sir!”

“I heard a noise from one of the shrubs earlier, sir!”

“What?!?”  The leader asked.  “What sort of noise?!?”

The human’s eyes went wide at what was said. His mind raced quickly while the creatures were still talking.

“Where did you hear it?”

“Over there, sir!”

The group went over to the same bush the creature searched earlier.  The leader did a thorough search, but found nothing inside.

“Are you sure this was the bush, Corporal?”

“Yes, sir!  It was, sir!”

“Well there’s nothing here!  Alright every-griff, it seems whatever this thing is, it’s moved somewhere else!  Spread out to the shorelines and make sure the train does not leave the station!  Understood?”

“Yes, sir!”  All the other beings shouted in unison.

Once all the creatures left the meadow, Kyle peeked from behind a huge rock and breathed a mental sigh of relief.

‘That was close…but how am I going to get out of here?  And where even is here?!?’

The boy walked through the meadow, while making sure there weren’t any other creatures about, and looked to see if there were any possible fruit trees around.  His stomach growled once more as he gave a disappointing sigh.

“I know.  Just try to hold out a little longer.”  Kyle said quietly to himself.

About another minute of wandering later, the boy saw another creature flying towards his location and quickly hid in a bush.  He shut his eyes tightly and remained as quiet as he could until the creature either passed him or left.  But this one did neither and instead sat on the ground nearby and began to…cry?

Kyle opened his eyes and looked to see the very same creature that greeted him the moment he woke up in this strange place.  He listened to what it was saying, while staying hidden.

“Why…just why…?  I didn’t mean to scare it away…I just wanted to help it.  Now it’s gone…probably forever and I never even got to know its name.  Why is this summer treating me like this?!?  WHY?!?”

Kyle felt a twinge of guilt hearing what the creature said, but was still cautious about what its true motives were.  On one hand, it did seem like all it wanted was the chance to help him out in his current predicament and he simply ran out of fear.  On the other, it could all be a ploy for the creature to gain his trust for something sinister later on.  The human was at a crossroads.  Either take a chance and reveal himself, or try to continue to survive on his own.

The creature continued crying for several minutes until there was nothing left.  It was about to fly away when, Kyle said in a different tone of voice, “Wait!”

The creature let out a gasp before turning its head in many directions.

“Hello?  Who’s there?” The being asked a little scared.

Kyle was silent for a moment, thinking of what to say next.

“…I need help.”

“What’s wrong?  Did you lose something?”  The creature asked in a sympathetic like tone.

“In a way…yes.”  Kyle replied shutting his eyes solemnly.

“I’m so sorry to hear that.  Why don’t you come out from behind there and you can tell me more about it.”

“Before I do…I want your upmost promise that you won’t harm me, turn me in, or scream your head off.  Deal?”

“I don’t know why you’d think that, but sure.  Deal.”

‘Well…no turning back now...’  The boy thought to himself as he did his best to swallow his fear.  He then slowly stepped out of the bush and into the creature’s playing sight.  The creature widened its eyes and gave a loud gasp as Kyle expected the worst.

“You…you never actually left?!?”  The creature asked while pushing its talons against its face in a manner that Kyle had to admit was pretty cute.  It then grew a smile and wrapped its forearms around the boy in a tight embrace.

“THIS IS A-”

“Hey!”  Kyle said clamping the creature’s beak shut quickly.  “Remember our deal?”

“Mmmhmm.”  The creature responded and nodding in a yes like notion.

Kyle then let go of the beak with the creature letting go him in the process.

“I’m really sorry if I frightened you earlier!  I didn’t mean to!  Honest!”  Said the creature while grasping its talons in an imploring manner.

“I believe you.”  The boy responded trying not to let his guard down too much.  “But that doesn’t mean I completely trust you or your kind.”

“I understand.”  The creature said lowering its head for a few moments, before lifting it up again in excitement.  “But still!  I have so many questions to ask you!  Like oh, oh, oh!  What’s your name?  Are you a he or she?  Where do you come from?  What kind of creature are you?  How old ar-”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!  Hold up there!”  Kyle interrupted once again, but without clamping the beak shut.  “I’ll answer your questions.  But I have questions of my own I want answered.  Okay?”

“Sure!”  The creature responded eagerly.

“To answer what you just asked me, my name is Kyle Robinson, but just Kyle is fine.  I’m a male.  I’m from Florida; a territory in a country called the United States of America which is on a planet called Earth.  As to what species I am, the scientific term is Homo sapiens.  But most of the time we refer to ourselves as humans.  And I’m currently ten years old.”

“Those sure are strange names.”  The creature said bringing a talon under its chin.  “But still, there is so much more I’d love to know about your world!”

“I’ll tell you more later.  But right now I need some answers.  I suppose the first thing I should know is your name, what you and everyone else here are exactly and what this place is.”

“I’m Silverstream!  I guess you probably forgot when my father said it.  He and I are hippogriffs, along with the rest of everygriff here!  Though don’t confuse us with griffons.  We’re like totally different species.  I’m also a she, before you ask.  And this is our home, Mount Aris in the land of Equestria!  But we also have a second home called Seaquestria as well.”

Kyle took in all the information before saying, “I’m definitely far from home.”

“Can I ask you more questions now? Please!  Please!”  Silverstream asked in a cute manner that the boy couldn’t resist.

‘This is going to go on for awhile…’  Kyle thought to himself.
> Chapter 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sound of a growl came from the human as the boy clutched himself while squinting his eyes.

“Kyle!  What’s wrong?!?”  Silverstream asked, worried she did something to hurt him.

“Ugghh...it’s my stomach...needs food...”  Kyle answered back, trying to ignore the hunger pangs that were kicking in.

“Oh you’re hungry? Well let’s head to my house!  It’s just d-“

“NO!”  The human yelled.

The interruption caused the hippogriff to jump slightly before she asked, “What do you mean no?  I just want to help you.”

“I don’t fully trust you...or your people...”  Kyle said as starvation was really taking effect.

“Please!” Silverstream said as she clasped her talons together and gave the human an imploring look.  “What can I do to earn your trust?”

“Bring something edible...like fruit...but bring no one...!”  Kyle responded in a weaker tone.

“Okay, I’ll be quick!” 

After Silverstream flew away, Kyle hid himself in the same bush as before and tried to think about other things besides food.

‘Please hurry...’





Silverstream landed at the doorstep of her house, entered in and quickly made her way inside towards the kitchen.  The hippogriff didn’t have to search long and hard to find a bowl of fruit sitting on the table.  She was about to grab the bowl until she heard from the entryway, “Silverstream? Are you here?”

‘Oh shoot!’  The young hippogriff thought to herself as she went to see Sky Beak standing at the door.  She thought quickly of what to say to him.

“Dad!  Did you find the creature?”  Silverstream asked in a fake, hopeful tone.

“Unfortunately no.” The older hippogriff said as he went to sit down on the couch.  “I’ve had soldiers searching everywhere and we still can’t find our young friend.  Have you already sent word in Seaquestria?”

“Yes, mom helped me with warning the citizens.”

“That’s good.”  Sky Beak said with a sigh.  “I just don’t understand how it could’ve just disappeared.  It must have some kind of magical ability if it’s able to hide or escape.”

Of course only Silverstream knew otherwise.

“I need a moment before I continue the search.  But, do you want to accompany me afterwards to help find our young friend?”

“No thanks Dad.”  The younger hippogriff answered as she looked back at the kitchen as she waited for the right opportunity to grab the fruit and get back to Kyle.

“Are you sure?”  Sky Beak asked.  

“Yes, I’m sure.  I just want to be alone right now.”

“Listen,” Said Sky Beak as he rose from the couch and put a talon on his daughter.  “If it’s because you’re feeling guilty about our friend running away, it’s okay.  I still love you.”

“No, it’s not that.” Silverstream responded with her patience being tried, while shouting in her mind, ‘Hurry up and leave!  Kyle needs me back!’

“It’s not about our conversation from last night then, is it?”  The older hippogriff asked.  “Please I just want to know i-“

“I’M FINE!” Silverstream blurted out in frustration, slapped away her father’s talon and gave him an angry look.  “I just want to be left alone, okay?!?”

The sudden outburst from his daughter left Sky Beak shocked for a moment before he had a sad look on his face.

“I’m...sorry Silverstream...” The father said in a sorrowful tone.  “I'll continue the search and you can have some time to yourself.”

Sky Beak then went to the door and opened it.  Before heading out though, he looked back at the younger hippogriff and said, “I was only trying to help...that’s all.”

With that, Sky Beak closed the door and left Silverstream all alone.  The latter had a look of regret written all over her.  She hated how she snapped at her father and promised herself she would make it up later, but right now the human was a bigger priority.  The young hippogriff grabbed the bowl of fruit from the kitchen, opened the front door, and carefully looked around to make sure her father and other soldiers weren’t watching her.  When she was sure it was clear, Silverstream shut the door, and quickly flew back toward Kyle’s hiding spot.

‘Don’t worry!  I’m on my way!’





To say the human was hungry was an understatement.  It felt like forever since he last ate something and was on the verge of going mad.

‘Mmmpphhh!  Where is she?!?  I can’t take this anymore!’  The boy said silently in his head.  Every passing second felt like several minutes as Kyle couldn’t handle the distress much longer.  He closed his eyes tightly and began to pray in a whispered tone.

As more time passed by, the boy was on the verge of screaming, until...

“Kyle?  Are you still here?  I brought some fruit from my house.”

The answer to his prayer had arrived as the starving human looked to see the hippogriff standing nearby with said fruit.  He quickly left his hiding spot and went over to the bowl of delicious looking produce.  He picked one out of random, bit hard into it and chewed long and hard; enjoying the flavor in the process as he felt at peace for the first time since waking up in the strange, new world.

Silverstream watched in curiosity as the human continued to devour the fruit with juice running down from his mouth.

‘Do humans usually eat like this?  I’ll have to ask when he’s done.’

After finishing the fruit, Kyle looked at the hippogriff and said, “Thank you Silverstream...sorry for not saying anything earlier, but it feels like forever since I last ate anything.”

“It’s okay.  I figured that was the reason.  But can I ask you more questions now?  Pleeeeeease?”  Silverstream asked giving the boy deer-like eyes that would make anyone nearly die of adorabetes.

Kyle couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight and said, “Sure.  But I still need more to eat.  So ask your questions and I’ll answer them in between bites.”

“Okay!  So is this how you usually eat?”

The boy looked at the hippogriff with a confused look and asked, “I don’t think I understand what you’re asking.”

“I mean do you eat all food with those claws?”  Silverstream asked, pointing to the limbs that were holding the fruit.

“Oh!”  The boy said as he was finishing chewing a bite of fruit before swallowing and saying, “No, not for all.  There’s some food humans eat with utensils like a fork, knife or spoon.  Where I’m from it’s considered civil to eat using a plate with said utensils, usually at a table.  It depends on who you ask because some people have a preferred way of eating.  And by the way, these ‘claws’ are called hands and each of the five digits are called fingers.”

The human showed the hippogriff one of his hands as he wiggled his fingers.  Silverstream watched on in amazement.

“That is so cool!  It’s almost like our talons!”  The energetic hippogriff declared as she showed Kyle one of her own forelimbs to him.  “So aside from fruits, what else do humans eat?”

“Well...”

Kyle thought carefully about how to answer that one.  He wondered if it would be best if he lied a little about his diet so she wouldn’t worry about what he usually ate.  But after considering it, he decided to be honest with his answer.

“Humans are omnivores.  Meaning we eat meat and vegetables.”

Silverstream’s eyes widened and began to worry if maybe she made a mistake trying to befriend the human.  As the human took another bite of fruit, she asked in a nervous tone, “Umm...you don’t happen to eat creatures like ponies...do you?”

Kyle immediately stopped chewing and gave Silverstream a look like she was out of her mind.  He quickly finished what was in his mouth before responding.

“I don’t know why you’d think that Silverstream, but the thought of a human eating a pony or a horse is disgusting!  Why would you think I’d eat something like that?”

The young hippogriff let out a sigh of relief and said, “Oh...thank goodness.  I was worried because I have good friends that are ponies and wouldn’t want to see them on some-creature’s menu.”

“You have friends...that are ponies?”  The boy asked, giving her a deer headlight look.

“Mmhmm!  They are so friendly and nice!  There’s Sandbar who’s pretty chill and fun to talk to!  There’s also the professors at the school I go to and *GASP*, you absolutely have to meet Headmare Twilight!  She would absolutely love to meet you!”

‘Yep, I’m definitely far away from home.’  The boy said to himself silently whilst taking another bite.

“Do you have friends who are ponies where you come from?”

“Not really.”  Kyle answered back.  “I don’t see many ponies and horses in the area of Florida I live in as they aren’t very common.  And while they can make good companions for humans, they never talk.”

“Wait!”  Silverstream replied in an over-the-top emotional tone. “Ponies in your home world don’t talk?!?”

“Umm...no.”  Kyle said before chewing more fruit.

“That’s horrible!!!” The hippogriff cried out.  “I suppose next you’ll tell me that your world doesn’t have magic!”

“Umm...no it doesn’t.  Magic is merely something that exists only in stories.” Kyle replied in a matter of fact tone.

Silverstream let out a dramatic gasp before asking in a worried tone, “Then how do the sun and moon move in your world?!?”

“The sun doesn’t move.  The Earth orbits around it by gravitational force the same way the moon orbits the Earth.  Pretty obvious.”  The boy answered as he was finishing another fruit.  “Why?  Does the sun and moon here move differently?”

“Yep!”  Silverstream replied with a grin.  “The rulers of Equestria are the ones who raise and lower them each day!”

Kyle stared at Silverstream for a good moment before he asked, “How do you mean they ‘raise’ and ‘lower’ them?”

“Easy!  Princess Celestia uses magic to raise the sun each and every morning while Princess Luna does the same for the moon!”

“That’s impossible.” Said Kyle thinking that this had to be some sick joke.

“But it’s true!  They’ve been doing it for over a thousand years!”

“A thousand years?  Who are they then?  Are they goddesses of some sort?”  The human asked, grabbing another fruit to eat.

“No, they’re alicorns.  A mix of pegasi and unicorn with unimaginable powers who live in Canterlot.”

“I don’t believe you.” The boy said, garnering a horrified gasp from the hippogriff.  “Not unless I see the proof with my own eyes.”

Silverstream let out a disappointed sigh as she swore in her head that she would introduce the boy to the Royal Sisters.  She then saw something from before that caught her eye and asked, “Say, what’s that thing you’re wearing around your hand?”

“Oh this?”  Kyle said, bringing up his right wrist up and showing the gizmo to the ever inquisitive hippogriff.  “It’s a watch.  It’s a device that tells time.”

“Oooh!”  Said Silverstream as she stared in awe.  “I’ve seen ponies carry them but never have I seen one like this before.  Usually the ones I’ve seen have these little needles going in a circle.”

“Well this watch is very different from those other ones.  This one is digital, has a stopwatch function and morning alarm system built into it and it’s waterproof.”

Silverstream took in every word the boy said, but it was when he mentioned that it was water resistant where she couldn’t contain her excitement.

“That!  Is!  AMAZING!  Having a way to tell time, especially underwater?!?  IT HAS TO BE ONE OF THE GREATEST IDEAS I-”

“Hey!”  Kyle interrupted Silverstream’s thoughts. “Not so loud.  Don’t forget our earlier deal.”

“Oh...right. Sorry.”  The hippogriff said with a sheepish look that made Kyle forgive Silverstream for her recent outburst.  “But still, it's incredible to have a watch that actually works in water! Human technology must be pretty awesome back where you come from!”

“You have no idea.” The boy said in a tone suggesting both good and bad implications.  “And before you ask, it would take several hours to explain my world’s technology to you so let’s save that discussion for another time.”

“Okay!  But speaking of water, are you good at swimming?”

Kyle noticed how much more curious Silverstream looked when she asked that question, but didn’t faze him from answering with, “Well...I wouldn’t consider myself to be the best swimmer, but I can stay afloat as long as I’m not in the middle of an ocean. Though, why do you ask?”

“When I found you washed up on the shore, you were wearing a life vest of sorts.  I didn’t know if maybe your species was capable of it or not.”

“Oh we are.  Some people are better swimmers than others.  But I was wearing it because my father and I were out taking a boat ride in the ocean and…”

Kyle suddenly remembered something important that was amiss.

“DAD!  I almost forgot about him!  Quick Silverstream, you didn’t happen to see another human who looks older than me, have you?”

“No, I haven’t.  Sorry Kyle.”  The hippogriff said, shaking her head disappointingly until an idea went off in her head.  “But I know!  We could look for him together!  My own father can help us look f-“

“Out of the question!” Kyle interjected Silverstream’s suggestion.  “I told you, no one else!”

“Kyle please!”  The young hippogriff folded her talons imploringly at the human.  “My father is kind and he would do anything to help you!  Why won’t you take my word for it?”

“I still don’t fully trust anyone.  I’m very grateful for the fruit Silverstream, but I can’t take any chances right now. Besides, there are others of your kind still looking for me and from what I heard come from their beaks, their reception would be less than welcoming.”

“But...how will you survive on your own?”  Silverstream asked, catching the boy off guard.  Up till now, Kyle hadn’t thought about long term plans and knew full well he couldn’t keep hiding where he was and relying on Silverstream to consistently sneak food to him.  At the same time though, he was in a foreign land with creatures he knew little to nothing about that could potentially spell trouble for him if he wasn’t careful.

“I don’t know…” The human finally responded.  “...but I’ll find a way.”

“Will you at least give my dad a chance?” Silverstream asked calmly.  “He never once hurt you and will certainly help you find your own father.”

Kyle thought back to when he first woke up in Mount Aris and his encounter with Silverstream and her father at their home.  He vaguely recalled how the older hippogriff seemed to have a reasonable demeanor about him and how he scolded Silverstream when she got too excited.  The boy felt like he was at a crossroad and had a choice to make.

“Please?  Will you let him help you?”  Silverstream begged as the boy gave out a sigh.

“Very well…”

The hippogriff was about to jump for joy until the human spoke up again.

“BUT!  Only him!  Don’t bring anyone else!  Understand?”

“I understand.”  Said Silverstream as she prepared her wings for takeoff.  “And you have my word that it’ll only be my father and I who’ll return!”

Just as quick as she made her promise, the energetic hippogriff flew away once again leaving the human to himself.  Kyle decided to return to his previous hiding place and took the bowl of fruit with him. All he could do at this point was trust that Silverstream would indeed remain true to her word.
> Chapter 5
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Silverstream flew over her home land, she couldn’t help but think back to earlier when she unintentionally yelled at Sky Beak.  She was consistently justifying to herself that it was a spur of the moment issue and that she was in a hurry to help Kyle, but at the same time guilt had been eating away at her.

‘I’ll make things right!’  Silverstream thought to herself as she looked all over for her father.

Several minutes of flying later, Silverstream found who she was looking for and descended towards him.  At the moment, Sky Beak was talking with a few fellow hippogriff soldiers until the sight of his daughter broke his attention away from them.

“Silverstream?  What are you doing here?  I thought you wanted some alone time.”  The older hippogriff asked in a relatively surprised tone.

“Dad...could I speak to you alone, please?”  Silverstream asked while giving her father a look, making it clear that something was urgent.

“Of course dear!”  Sky Beak replied before turning to the soldiers and saying, “I need some time with my daughter.  Meet up with the others and I’ll join in with the search team later.”

The hippogriff soldiers saluted Sky Beak before taking off, leaving only the later and Silverstream to converse with each other.

“So go ahead Silverstream.  What’s on your mind?”  The elder hippogriff asked, giving Silverstream his full attention.

“Well, first I want to apologize for the way I screamed out at you earlier at the house.”  Said Silverstream while putting a talon on her forearm.

“There’s no need to be sorry, Silverstream.  I understood how upset you w-”

“Please!  Let me finish Dad.”  Interrupted Silverstream.  “It had nothing to do with me being upset about anything.  Because the truth is…...”

“Yes?”  Sky Beak asked with anticipation.

“...I had already found the creature.”

The older hippogriff’s eyes widened immediately from what he just heard.

“You mean you found where our young friend was hiding?!?  Why didn’t you tell me?!?”

“Dad please!  Not so loud.”  Silverstream said while she darted her eyes all over to make sure no one heard them.  “Yes, I found him and didn’t say anything because I was the only one he trusted and didn’t want me to expose his hiding spot to the others looking for him!”

“Well where is he now?  Is he alright?”  Silverstream’s father asked while the two walked to a more secluded area.

“He should still be where I left him.  He was pretty hungry earlier, so I gave him some of our fruit.  I hope you’re not upset.”  Said Silverstream as she embraced her father.

“Of course I’m not upset.”  Sky Beak replied, returning the hug.  “But I’m disappointed that you didn’t tell me back at the house.”

“I wanted to, but I had given Kyle my word earlier on that I wouldn’t tell you about him.”

Sky Beak released the hug before saying, “I take it this, ‘Kyle’ is the name of our young friend?  But why are you telling me about him now?”

“Because he’s been separated from his father and wants to search for him.  He still doesn’t trust any other hippogriff to ask for help, but I was able to convince him that you can aid him.”

Sky Beak was silent for a moment as a lot of thoughts were going through his head.

“Please Dad.  Won’t you help him out?”  Silverstream asked in an almost saddened tone.

“Of course I will, Sweety.”  Sky Beak answered, causing his daughter to spout out a bunch of thank yous.  “But where exactly is he?”

“He’s in the Harmonizing Heights.  Come on, I’ll show you where he is.”

The daughter hippogriff quickly took to the air as the father did his best to catch up.  As the duo were heading to Kyle’s location, Sky Beak couldn’t help but feel remorse for what had befallen him.

‘The poor lad...he must be terrified and probably has nowhere to turn to.  I’ll do whatever it takes to help him.  That’s a promise!’

---

Kyle looked at his wristwatch once again.  It was hard to tell whether the time was accurate to where he was or not as the sun was completely blocked by dark clouds looming in the sky.  The boy swore that if he stayed in the bushes any longer, he’d have to start calling it a second home.  Of course finding a way home was one of his top priorities next to finding his father.

“I hope you’re okay Dad…”  The boy said quietly to himself.

A few more minutes had passed before Kyle could hear thunder rumbling nearby and light raindrops began falling to the ground.

“Oh, great.”  The young human responded in annoyance.  It was times like these where the boy wished he had his rain jacket.  Luckily the bushes provided plenty of cover so he didn’t have to worry about getting soaked too badly.

“If I get back home, I’ll never take raincoats for granted again.”  Kyle said as he huddled himself up.  

The boy continued to wait patiently for Silverstream to return.  As he did, he looked at the fruit bowl and studied the various designs on it.  He had to admire the craftsmanship put into it and wondered just what kind of culture the hippogriffs had.  While continuing to stare, he found a symbol of what looked to be two jagged lines imprinted on the bottom of the bowl.  The human couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but something about the design of said symbol looked awfully familiar.

Just then, a familiar pair of hippogriffs landed close by with the younger one of them saying, “Kyle?  Kyle, where are you?”

“Over here.”  The boy called out from his hiding spot.

“Ah, so our young friend is here.”  The older hippogriff said as Kyle slowly exited the bushes, with the fruit bowl in his grasp as tiny droplets of rain hit him.  He, however, remained cautious toward the older hippogriff’s presence.

“Kyle, this is my dad.  Dad, this is Kyle.”  Silverstream introduced the two.

“A pleasure to finally meet you Kyle, I’m Sky Beak.”  The father hippogriff said with a warm smile, extending a talon forward.  Kyle was skeptical about whether to return the gesture or not, but after looking at Silverstream and back at Sky Beak the boy felt he was trustworthy enough and shook the talon.

“...Nice to meet you as well, sir...”  Kyle said in a slightly nervous tone.

‘He certainly doesn’t seem to pose any kind of threat.  Well-mannered and civil.  Perhaps a bit shy, but still polite; maybe he and Silverstream could get along quite well and become good friends.’  The elder hippogriff thought to himself as he broke the talon/handshake and said, “There’s no need to be alarmed.  I realize how being in a new environment might feel unsettling.  But from what I understand, you and my daughter seem to have already made a good connection with one another.  Though if you don’t mind me asking Kyle, where do you come from and what sort of species are you?”

“Well, simply put, I’m not from around here.  As I told Silverstream already, I come from a place called Florida, which is part of a country called the United States of America, on a planet called Earth.  And I am what’s called a human.”  The boy said, starting to open up a little more to Sky Beak.

“Interesting.”  The male hippogriff said rubbing one talon under his chin and once more thinking to himself, ‘If what he’s saying is true, then he couldn’t possibly have any connections or affiliations with the remnant army!  But then, how did he get here?’

“Oh by the way sir, I think this belongs to you.”  Kyle said as he held up the fruit bowl towards Sky Beak.  “And thanks again for the food Silverstream.”

Before Silverstream or Sky Beak had the chance to say or do anything, a loud whistle sound echoed throughout the area.

“THERE IT IS!!!”  A voice shouted nearby and soon enough a group of hippogriff soldiers flew towards the boy and landed nearby. The human drew a wide eyed look at Silverstream, feeling betrayed.

“You brought him here so they could capture me, didn’t you?!?”

“No, I swear I had nothing to do with this Kyle!”  Silverstream said feeling just as surprised to the sudden arrival of the soldiers.

As the soldiers drew closer to Kyle, they drew their weapons out.  Needless to say the boy was filled with fear at the sight of the swords and spears pointing at him and clutched onto the fruit bowl tightly for protection.

“Dad, do something please!”  The youngest hippogriff cried out while tugging one of her father’s forelimbs.

Feeling his daughter yanking on his leg filled Sky Beak with the right mindset and spoke in an officer like tone.

“It’s alright soldiers, the young lad is with me.  I have this situation well under control so stand down.”

The hippogriff soldiers however didn’t react or follow what Sky Beak said and only continued to aim their weapons at Kyle.

“Did you not hear what I said?  I told you to stand down!”  Silverstream’s father said, beginning to lose his patience.  Once again, his order fell on deaf ears as nothing.  Not even the rain that was beginning to pour down a little harder deterred the soldiers' concentration on Kyle.

“STAND DOWN SOLDIERS!!!  THAT’S AN ORDER!!!”

“On whose authority?”  A voice called out from behind.  The surprised Sky Beak turned around to see a gruff looking hippogriff with a dark gray body, a wavy black mane and tail with streaks of the same dark gray color as the rest of the body, and armor that clearly showed how battle hardened he was.

“Captain Flight?”  Sky Beak questioned, before he quickly cleared his throat and said, “I mean, on my authority as lieutenant, sir!  

“As I recall correctly Beak, you are currently on leave and won’t be on active duty for another two weeks.  So no, you are not in any position to give out orders to any-griff.  And I could have you demoted for attempting to act outside such jurisdiction.”  Captain Flight lectured Sky Beak with a glare that would make any officer of lower rank dare not question back.  The former then changed his demeanor to a more calm, collective state and said, “But your error is easily forgivable since you found the creature we’ve been searching for.  Well done lieutenant.  I will take it from here.”

As the captain began making his way towards the human, Sky Beak asked, “Permission to speak freely sir?”

Captain Flight stopped dead in his tracks, but didn’t turn his head to look back.  He was silent for a moment before saying in a firm, but fair tone, “As stated, you are not on duty Beak.  But whatever reservations you are holding I suggest you disclose them now.”

“Well sir, to be direct, I was the one who organized the search party to look for him in the first place.  Also, I do not think it would be wise to have this creature locked away, sir.  He is an intelligent being, has shown nothing but civility both to me and my daughter and poses no threat or danger of any kind.  It is clear that he is lost, is not from this world and could be the only one of his kind here.  But if you’ll allow me, I’ll take him under my custody to learn more about him.”

“Under normal circumstances I’d agree to this.”  Captain Flight replied before he turned his head sharply to look Sky Beak dead in the eye.  “Except Beak, you seem to forget that I was the one who authorized the search for this creature in the first place.  And the only reason why is because I’m not taking any chances of letting any potential followers of the Remnant get away.  Thus, the decision falls unto me what will be done with the creature.  And the way I see it, it does have the potential of being a threat to us.  Which is why the creature will be kept under guard until Her Majesty returns.”

Ordinally in any other situation, Sky Beak would’ve felt intimidated by the captain’s gaze, but something within the lieutenant hippogriff caused him to remain firm as he replied with, “Sir, I must object.  How does he have any means of being a threat to us?  I mean look at him.  He’s terrified, he’s far away from home, and has nothing on him that could be classified as a weapon of any kind.”

As Sky Beak was continuing to speak on his behalf to Captain Flight, Kyle could only stare at Silverstream’s father, whilst trying not to think about the swords and spears surrounding him.

“If he’s not a threat Beak, then why does he carry that item bearing the insignia of the Storm King’s army?”

“Because I gave it to him!”  Silverstream answered before her father had the chance to answer.

The two older hippogriffs immediately turned their attention to the youngest with Sky Beak saying, “Silverstream, don’t.  Let me take care of this.”

“Hold on.”  Captain Flight said holding a talon in the air.  “I want to hear what she has to say.  What do you mean you gave it to the creature?”

“Well...sir…”  Silverstream started, feeling nervous with how her dad’s superior officer was staring down at her.  “...you see, he was hungry.  So I went home and fetched that bowl with the fruit it had and gave it to him.”

Captain Flight returned his attention to Sky Beak with a cold stare.

“You kept that bowl in your household?  Explain yourself, Beak!”

“It was something I acquired when we won against the Storm King’s army in Klugetown, sir.  It looked valuable enough in the condition it was in and took it as a spoil from the battle.”

The captain continued to stare at Sky Beak silently for a few moments as the sound of thunder boomed in the distance, before the former said, “You are either very stupid or very foolish to think that keeping something once belonging to the Remnant is a good idea.  And you’re lucky General Seaspray speaks very highly of you or I would order my troops to arrest you where you stand for being a potential spy!”

Sky Beak was about to protest more, but from the way the conversation was heading decided not to say anything else from that point as Captain Flight continued to stare at him, before turning back to Kyle.

“Now, as I said, this creature will be quartered under my jurisdiction until Queen Novo returns from her diplomatic trip to decide what will be done later.  Wind Soar!  Air Burst!”

Kyle recognized the names as a dark blue hippogriff and green hippogriff soldier pointed their spears away from him, saluted their commanding officer and said in unison, “Yes, captain!”

“You two are to escort this creature to the holding cells and keep guard over him!”

“Yes captain!”  Air Burst responded stoically.

“With pleasure, sir!”  Wind Soar said in a dark tone before looking at Kyle and said, “Let’s go, you.  I’ve got a lot of questions to ask you.”

Kyle felt his worst nightmare coming true as the dark blue hippogriff (and frankly the last one he wanted to face) was coming right towards him.  Wind Soar was about to draw his spear towards the boy, when he heard the captain’s voice say, “Soldier!”

Wind Soar turned back to Captain Flight and gave him his attention.

“Just remember, that he is not to be harmed in any way.  If I find that he has, you’ll receive more than just a demotion.  Am I clear, Wind Soar?”

Wind Soar didn’t answer back right away, but after looking at Air Burst for a few brief seconds, he reluctantly looked his captain in the eye and said, “Yes, sir.”

Captain Flight wasn’t convinced of Wind Soar’s response, went up to him and said, “You’re trying my patience.  I said, Am.  I.  Clear?’”  Putting a huge emphasis on the last word.

“Yes sir!”  The dark blue hippogriff answered back in a more soldierly conduct.

“Good.”  The gray hippogriff said, returning back to where he stood earlier.  Wind Soar and Air Burst then carried out their orders and started to direct Kyle with their spears.  As the rain continued to pour, the boy nimbly moved where he was ushered, but not before he was given a push by the blunt side of Wind Soar’s spear to hurry up.

“One last thing!  Except under my orders, the creature is to remain in his cell and no other hippogriff is allowed near him!  Understood?”  The captain asked the two soldiers.

“Yes sir!”  Air Burst and Wind Soar saluting before concentrating back on their task.  As they led Kyle to where he would be confined, the boy did his best to cover his head with the fruit bowl.

“I’ll take that!”  Said Wind Soar as he snatched the bowl from Kyle’s hands, leaving him at the mercy of the rain. As he passed by the other soldiers, the boy could only look down as he held his arms together tightly from both the cold and pure anxiety he was feeling.  Air Burst felt pity for the boy, but had his orders to carry out and continued to lead him to his destination. 

After the human and two hippogriff soldiers were out of his sight, Captain Flight turned to the other soldiers and shouted, “Every-griff else, DISMISSED!”

It didn’t take long before Captain Flight, Sky Beak and Silverstream were the only ones left.  The captain gave Sky Beak a cold hard look.

“I would’ve thought by now Beak that your previous attempt with trying to reason with an unknown creature would’ve given you better judgement, but I guess that lesson wasn’t hard enough for you.  Or did you simply forget?”

Silverstream’s father immediately recalled back to what the captain meant and gave him a stoic stare back.  “No...I have not forgotten, sir.  Nor will I.  But I know this boy is not who you claim he is.  There’s no record of any creature like him existing in Equestria and The Storm King himself couldn’t have created him.  It would be in the best interest to learn about him and perhaps help him return from where he came from.”

“As before, that will be left up to the queen’s discernment when she returns.  Now I must be off.  I have a sea search to conduct.”

Captain Flight began walking in the opposite direction of where Sky Beak was facing.  He only took a few steps, before saying, “A few more things Beak.  Since General Seaspray isn’t around to vouch for you, I suggest you throw out any other items in your household that could hold connections to the Remnant.  I’d hate to find his faith in you misplaced.  And you’re lucky that I chose to spare the creature instead of ordering my soldiers to finish him.  He may very well have valuable knowledge that could benefit us, even if it is not related to The Storm King’s army.  But next time, I may not be so merciful to any other creatures I find.  Good day...lieutenant.”

Spreading his wings, Captain Flight took off to the rain filled skies until he was nothing more than a speck in the distance.   Sky Beak stood quietly as rain pelted against his feathery body.

“Dad?”  Silverstream asked, breaking her father out of his dazed state.  “What’s going to happen to Kyle?”

“Like Captain Flight said.  Queen Novo will decide what is to be done with him when she returns from the Crystal Empire.”

“But we can’t just leave him in jail!  He’s afraid and needs help!”  The younger hippogriff said, dreading what might happen to the human.

Sky Beak was lost in a state of discouragement.  He desperately wanted to help Kyle, but at the same time he couldn’t risk doing it without consequence.

“I know.  But this is out of my talons and the captain’s orders are final.”

“But...but…”

“I promise you…”  Sky Beak began before placing a talon on her shoulder.  “...the queen will hear us out when she returns and I’ll do everything I can to convince her of the boy’s innocence.  But for now, I need you to be patient and not do anything rash that could jeopardize Kyle’s safety.  Can I count on you to do that?”

“Mmmhmm…”  Silverstream nodded, feeling her eyes getting watery.

“That’s my girl.  And don’t worry, our young friend will be fine.  Now let’s get back home quickly and dry off from this rain.”

As the father and daughter hippogriff made their way back home, Silverstream couldn’t help but think that the worst was yet to come for the human with various situations playing in her mind.

“Stay safe Kyle…”  She said, whispering to herself.
> Chapter 6
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A loud moan came from the semi-conscious form of Kyle’s father as he opened his eyes weakly.

“Uhh…”  The human groaned as his brain finally kicked in gear, sat himself up and looked at his surroundings.

Instead of being greeted to the vast expansive sea and treacherous whirlpool, he found himself in a huge room full of various markings and symbols on the walls and ceiling.  He had a hard time making out what they meant, but one symbol in particular caught his eye.  His curiosity compelled him to get a closer look as he slowly stood himself up.

“Ah, I see our guest is awake!”

Kyle’s father immediately froze before turning toward the source of the voice.  The only thing he saw however was a thick blanket of darkness to where the voice came from.

“Who’s there?  Show yourself!”  The human asked, trying to be assertive.

“My, my.  You certainly do have intelligence, as well as an edge.  But you need not fear.  Everything you wish to know will be answered in due time.”  The voice responded calmly.

Kyle’s father was still apprehensive with what the mysterious voice said, but slightly lowered his guard and asked, “What do you want with me?”

“I’m curious about your kind.  I’ve never seen a creature like you before.”

The human was only left puzzled at the voice’s answer and responded back with, “What?”

“You seem confused.  Very well.  Allow me to answer your previous question.  I am…”

Kyle’s father looked on as he saw something step out from the shadows, the likes of which he never saw before.  It was a tall looking satyr, ape-like being with a stone like crown and a robe embedded with a symbol that looked oddly familiar to the human.

“...The Wind King!  The rightful ruler of this land!”

Needless to say, Kyle’s father was wide-eyed at what he was looking at.

“This is unreal…”  The human muttered under his breath as he continued to stare.

“Now that I’ve introduced myself, perhaps you might reciprocate the introduction by telling me your name.”

“Paul Robinson.”  The human answered while unsure whether or not the so-called Wind King was fully trustworthy.

“Hmm, an odd name.”  The Wind King said, holding a paw under his chin.  “Then again, it’s not everyday I’ve come across a creature like yourself.  Tell me, what are you exactly and where do you come from?”

From the mannerisms, tone and body language The Wind King presented, Paul felt he was trustworthy enough and lowered his guard.

“I’m a human.  And I come from Earth.”

“Human?  Earth?”  The Wind King asked with a raised eyebrow.  “Intriguing.  I’d like to know more about what they’re like.  But I’m sure you have other questions you want answered and I’ll be happy to answer them.”

Paul thought about what to ask first until a sudden realization hit him, causing him to gasp loudly.

“KYLE!”

The Wind King was slightly taken back at what the human shouted and asked, “I’m sorry, what?”

“My son!  We were at sea together and we got separated while trying to navigate around a whirlpool!  You haven’t seen another human who’s shorter than me have you?”

“I’m afraid I haven’t.  You were the only one my soldiers found unconscious just off the coast.”

“I have to go find him!”  Paul said as he began to run to the exit door, but not before a pair of spears from two guards blocked his path.

“Easy there my dear human!  This is a foreign land to you is it not?  It would be unwise to run out there without some knowledge of where you intend to go.”

As much as he hated to admit it, Paul knew The Wind King was right.

“I know...but I can’t leave my boy hanging out there by himself.  Something horrible could happen to him.

“Not to worry Paul.  You have my word that I will order my scouts to spread across the seas to search for your son.  But I can’t make any guarantees that they will find him right away.”

“I understand and thank you.”  Paul replied, feeling at ease.  “What exactly is this place though?”

“This is my island realm!”  The Wind King exclaimed as suddenly, curtains from one part of the room opened up to reveal what was outside.  It looked like a simple enough place with towns and a factory in the distance, but what really caught Paul’s eye was how dark and overcast the sky was.  

“It doesn’t have much of a given name I’m afraid.  But it’s home.”

“So, you’re the king over all this land?”  Paul asked, noticing how empty the streets looked close by.

“Indeed!  And beyond the seas as well...before I was betrayed…”

Just then, a creature bearing resemblance to the two guards from earlier, but slightly different, entered inside with what looked like a glowing potion that gave off a ringing sound.

‘Is that a cell phone ringtone I hear?’  Paul asked silently to himself.

“I’m sorry to cut our conversation short, but you’ll have to excuse me.”  The Wind King bowed to the human.  “I have some important business to attend to.  My guards will show you to one of the guest rooms, where you can stay for the time being.  I’ll send someone to you when dinner’s ready.”

Kyle’s father thanked the Wind King sincerely as he went to follow the two guards to their destination.  When the human was out of sight, the curtains closed back up and a small pot emerged in the center of the room.

“Well don’t just stand there, answer it!!!”  The Wind King demanded, frightening the creature holding the potion.  Said creature quickly popped the cork off, poured the liquid in the pot.  From the pot rose a fiery smoke with an image of a shadowy figure that kneeled itself before it spoke.

“Sire, I have news to report!”

“Report at once!”  The Wind King said as he sat down on his throne.

“One of our contacts has information regarding The Staff of Sacanas.”

The mention of the staff made the king’s eyes grow wide as he said, “What?!  What about the staff??”

“With the details given, there’s good news and bad news.  The good news is that we have the exact location of where it currently is.”

“Ah, this is excellent news!”  The Wind King said, feeling giddy as he clapped his hands in delight.  “So where is it?”

“That brings me to the bad news.  It’s in Ponyville within the castle of Princess Twilight Sparkle.”

“WHAAAAAT?!?!”  The Wind King shouted in rage.  “That mangy little pony has the staff and thinks she can keep it?!?  I’ll break off her horn if it’s the last thing I do!!”

The satyr-ape creature went on a tirade for another minute before looking straight at the shadow figure and asking, “The one who got this intelligence, do they have the means to access her castle?”

“I’m afraid not, sire.  From the information given only the Elements of Harmony and her close friends have access inside.”

“I see.”  The king replied with a fierce look written on his face.  “I think a full scale assault on Ponyville is in order.  Holding the citizens hostage should be enough to convince that pathetic princess to relinquish the staff.”

“Sire, if I may make a suggestion?”

“You may.”

“Would it not be wise to find a different means to retrieve it more...discreetly?  You don’t have enough troops to spare to launch a full scale attack without the risk of losing most, if not all of them.  Besides, it would be a suicide mission to do such a thing with how far we’ve come.  We need to play it smart.  I would recommend letting our contact find some means to gain access inside the castle without causing suspicion.”

The Wind King thought about the idea before letting out a sigh to let out whatever frustration was left in his system.

“Very well...but I want up-to-date reports on the contact’s means of accessing that castle!”

“Understood!”  The shadow figure saluted to the king.

“Now, is there anything else to report besides that?”

“Yes there is.  Not exactly one pertaining to anything important, but our contact from Mount Aris said it might be of potential interest.  He has come across a specimen that is completely foreign to Equestria.  From what he described, it’s similar to an ape but completely hairless with the exception of its head, wears clothing similar to what some ponies wear, and has the intelligence to speak.”

The Wind King raised an eyebrow at the description, thinking for a moment, before saying, “This creature, what else does the Mount Aris contact know about it?”

“Not much else, except that it refers to itself as a human.”

“A human, eh?”  The Wind King asked, rubbing a paw under his chin as an idea began forming in his head and a grin grew on his face.  “I’m very interested to know more about this human.  Make sure the contact knows that I want all available information on it.  Where is it now?”

“Yes sire!  The human is currently being kept behind bars by the hippogriffs until Queen Novo returns to Mount Aris.”

“I see.  If there’s anything that comes up regarding the staff or the human, you will inform me at once!”

“Of course, sire!”  The shadow figure said while saluting once more.

“If there is nothing else then, you’re dismissed.”

“Affirmative!  Out!”

The flame smoke dissipated leaving The Wind King alone in his thoughts.  A few minutes later, he looked at the guard who brought the potion bottle and said, “You, go fetch Swallow at once!”

Nodding at the king’s request, the guard quickly left to comply.  It wasn’t long before he returned with another who looked like other storm guards, but wore a slightly different outfit.

“You wished to see me Excellency?”  He spoke in a gruff voice.

“Yes.  Guard, leave us!”

Once the two were alone, the satyr-ape king got straight to the point.

“For your recent actions, I have decided to promote you to the rank of lieutenant.”

Waverly looked up at the king and asked, “What have I done to earn this, Your Excellency?”

“You were wise in convincing me to let that creature live.  Normally I had planned to do away with it, but in light of recent events this creature, this human, could prove to be the answer to all our problems.  Which is why I reward you by placing you in command of our scouting forces.  Rise, Lieutenant Swallow!”

The newly appointed lieutenant stood up and faced The Wind King with a stoic expression.

“What are your orders, Excellency?”

“You will take the three fastest ships and be on the lookout for those troublesome hippogriffs.  I want you to report back what their activities are across the waters!”

“As you wish, Your Excellency!”  Swallow saluted.  “When do I depart?”

“You are to leave at once.  Inform the crew that this order comes directly from me.  And tell the current officer in charge that I have summoned him.”

“Yes Excellency!  Is there anything else?”

“That is all.  You’re dismissed.”

One last salute later, Lieutenant Swallow left to perform his duty while the satyr-ape sat back down on his throne.

‘It won’t be long now.  Soon everything will be in place and I will have what I need.  Every creature will tremble and fear the wrath of The Storm King once more…’
> Chapter 7
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I’m only going to ask you one more time!  Where is The Storm King’s army?”

“I-I don’t know!!!”  Kyle replied, on the verge of tears.  “I don’t know any Storm King or where any army is!!!”

No matter how many times the boy answered, the hippogriff wasn’t convinced and only kept pressing harder.

“Let me be clear with you.  While you’re with me, I may be the best friend you’ve got around here.  And if you want it to stay that way, you’ll be straight and honest with me.  Now tell me what I want to know!”

Kyle couldn’t hold back his tears anymore as he shouted, “I KNOW NOTHING, I SWEAR!!!”

“I don’t believe you, you lying sack of-”

“WIND SOAR!”

The human and the dark blue hippogriff immediately turned to see Air Burst at the cell door, with him giving his fellow soldier a dark look.

“Didn’t the captain make himself abundantly clear that the prisoner is not to be harmed, in any way?”

“Questioning a prisoner does not constitute harm.”  Wind Soar replied harshly.  “Besides, I was only getting warmed up with my interrogation methods.  I’ve almost nearly-”

“I think you’ve questioned him enough!!!”  The green hippogriff interrupted in a stern manner.  “Look at him!  He’s already emotionally broken as it is!  You think a kid like him is going to know anything regarding the whereabouts of The Storm King’s army?”

Kyle sniffed a few times, watching the two hippogriffs argue with each other, while secretly wishing that he had simply not accepted Silverstream’s help.

“Let me tell you something, Air Burst.  The moment you let your guard down, that’s exactly when things start turning sour!  Just like with Sky Beak!”

“Careful Wind Soar…you owe him more than you and Captain Flight realize.”

“The only thing I owe him is the disgust and contempt I have for what happened that day!  Of course you on the other talon would defend him only because he gave you a promotion!”

“How dare you!!”  Air Burst replied, feeling his anger rise.  “You think that just because he advanced my rank that it’s the reason why I would go out of my way to defend him?  Either you are too blinded by your own vanity or you haven’t had enough time to think rationally after Peacock’s death!”

“You leave her out of this!!!”  Wind Soar nearly screamed as he was on the verge of screaming for bloodshed.  Kyle covered his ears, shut his eyes tightly and wrapped himself in a cowardly fetal position, not wanting to be part of the conflict.  The two hippogriffs were glaring sharp daggers at each other and were nearly ready for a fight.  Just then a loud whistle, followed by a loud, “ATTENTION!!!”, caused the two soldiers to face the source of the sound and salute stoically.

Kyle lifted his head slightly to see a gray colored hippogriff soldier entering the cell and staring at the other two.  The human recognized him from before as the one who was with Air Burst and Wind Soar earlier.

“Now what’s going on here?”

“I was in the middle of interrogating the prisoner befo-”

“I wasn’t speaking to you Soar!!!”  The gray hippogriff harshly cut off Wind Soar before turning to the green hippogriff and said in a more still tone, “Air Burst.  What is the meaning of this confrontation?”

“Ensign Sea Wave, sir, I heard yelling coming from the cell while Wind Soar was interrogating the human and I assumed he was harming him.  I made it very clear that our orders from Captain Flight were that the boy wasn’t to be harmed in any way, before we started arguing with one another about Lieutenant Beak.”

“And did Wind Soar harm the prisoner when you arrived?”

“He was about to strike him when I arrived.”

“That’s not wh-“

“HOLD YOUR TONGUE SOLDIER!!!”  Sea Wave yelled at Wind Soar, shutting him up.  He gave the dark blue hippogriff a dark look before turning his attention back to Air Burst and returning back to the same demeanor as before.

“But did Wind Soar actually harm the prisoner when you arrived at the cell?”

“No sir.”

“Then your assumption was incorrect.”  Sea Wave said before looking over at the human, who immediately hid his face after making eye contact with the hippogriff.  “But in any case, we don’t want the prisoner to be mentally broken when the queen returns and your methods Wind Soar are not doing any-griff any favors.  Therefore Air Burst, I want you to be the one to question the human and inform me about anything valuable.  Wind Soar, you’re ordered to kitchen duties from here on out until further notice!”

“With all due respect sir, we were both ordered by Captain Flight to guard the human and to ensure no one else goes near him.”  Said Air Burst, before the Ensign approached with a squinted look in his eyes.  The green hippogriff began to grow nervous, but refused to let it show on the outside.

“Except you forget that Captain Flight is away and has left me in charge around here.  You still have your duty to guard the prisoner, yes.  But you and Soar are still expected to follow my orders.  Is that understood, soldiers?”

“Yes sir!”  Both hippogriffs said in unison.

“Good.  Now get moving Wind Soar before I consider having you demoted…again.”  The gray hippogriff said before taking his leave from the cell.

Kyle looked up to see the dark blue hippogriff about to leave as well but not before receiving a glare from him that said, “You and I aren’t finished yet!”  After Wind Soar was gone, Air Burst let out a sigh through his nostrils and looked over at the boy.  He could see plainly that the human was still shaken up and felt regrettable leaving him alone with Wind Soar.  The green hippogriff went over and sat next to the boy, but Kyle only hugged himself and hid his head back into a fetal position.

“I’m…sorry.”

The curled up human said nothing.

“I know how terrified you must feel.  And I apologize for my companion’s behavior.  The truth is, Wind Soar hasn’t been the same as he used to be.  He…*sigh*...something happened to him and it’s affected him hard.”

The boy remained silent and didn’t make any moves.  Air Burst couldn’t help but pity him.  The hippogriff decided to give the boy some time alone to recover as he stood up and walked over to the cell door.

“I’ll bring you something to eat in a little while.”

Air Burst closed and locked the cell and headed for the door leading out of the cells.  As he opened the door, he took one more look over his shoulder to where Kyle’s cell was.  After letting out one more sigh through his nostrils, the door closed tightly behind him.





“Oooohhh…”  Silverstream sighed in frustration.  “How can we just leave Kyle in jail?  There has to be a way to help him!”

The young hippogriff was all alone in her room, contemplating ways to help her human friend.

“Maybe I can sneak in and visit!  No, that would never work.  Or maybe I can send him a gift to help lift his spirits!  Then again, Dad did say that prisoners aren’t allowed gifts.  Perhaps I could…naw that would take too long.”

Silverstream sat on her bed, feeling more discouraged by the second.

“Come on!  There’s gotta be something!!”

As she thought about trying to help Kyle, she started thinking about her friends from the School of Friendship.

“I do hope they’re having a fun summer.  Maybe when this whole issue is put behind and school starts again, I can introduce Kyle to every-creature, the teachers an-”

Suddenly, an idea sparked in Silverstream’s head as she gasped.

“Of course!  But the big question is how to do it?”

The hippogriff thought for a few minutes until she had a plan thought out.  She then flew out of her room down to the living room where her father was sitting.

“Dad?”

“Yes, Silverstream?”  Sky Beak asked, turning his attention away from the fireplace.

“Could I have some money to travel to Ponyville?”

“Ponyville?”  Silverstream’s father asked with a raised eyebrow.  “But you only just got back from being there. Why would you want to go back so soon?”

“Because, I want to spend some time away to get my mind off Kyle.  I mean, I still worry about him, but I want to distract myself with something else until Aunt Novo returns.  So, is it okay?”

“Well, truthfully I had hoped we could spend some time with each other.  I mean you were gone for several months and only wrote a few times out of the school year.”

Silverstream felt guilty at the moment and thought about her dad’s words, but still wanted to stick to her plan.

“Yeah…but couldn’t we hang out after I return from Ponyville?  I wouldn’t be gone too long.”

“I know!  What if I went with you?  I’ve been curious about what it’s like and you can show me all there is to see.  What do you say?”

‘NO, NO, NO!  THAT’LL RUIN EVERYTHING!!!’  Silverstream internally screamed but externally began to grow nervous while trying to think of an excuse.

“Well…as I said, I wasn’t planning on being there for very long.  I’d just be there mostly to visit the professors and ask them if I can be of any help to them for the next few days.  And also to ask them if it’s possible to be in the same classes as my friends for the next school year.”

Sky Beak’s eyes lit up at his daughter’s plan and said, “That actually sounds like the perfect opportunity to meet them and ask how well you’ve done in their classes!  When did you plan on leaving?”

“I was going to take the next available train over there, but you don’t have to come Dad.”

“Oh nonsense!  This could be the perfect opportunity to not only spend time with you, but to also learn more about what the ponies are like!”  The older hippogriff said as he got off his seat and headed to the front door.  “I’ll head to the train station and get us some tickets.  Be back shortly!”

After the father hippogriff shut the door behind him, Silverstream quickly flew up to her room and let out a scream.

“How am I going to make this work with him constantly following me?!?  This makes the entire trip pointless!!”

After several minutes of venting out her frustration, the young hippogriff sat back on her bed and began to rethink her plan.

“Okay, maybe it won’t be all that bad.  And this could still work.  I’d just need to find a way to get him to leave for a few minutes when the time is right.  But the question is, how?”

Going through various scenarios in her head, Silverstream had a potential idea and hoped that the stars would align properly to make it work.  Just then, the sound of the front door opening reached the hippogriff’s ears as her father announced his return.  She flew down to where he was and with her trademark expression asked,  “Did you get the tickets?”

“Indeed I did!”  Sky Beak replied, showing his daughter said tickets.  “And the train leaves for Ponyville first thing tomorrow morning!”

“Yes!  Thank you Dad!”  Silverstream said energetically as she hugged the older hippogriff, before she realized he was drenched from the rain outside.  She tried to shake the water off of her fur which garnered a chuckle from her father.

“You’re very welcome.  Now come on, let’s get dried off and then we’ll get dinner started.”
> Chapter 8
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Paul sat on the bed provided for him in the guest room, looking down at his hands as the only thing that was going through his mind was his son.  He internally cursed at himself for being unable to protect his boy during the storm and didn’t want to think of the potential outcome of him being badly hurt or worse, dead.

“Kyle…whatever it takes.  No matter the cost.  I’ll find you and make sure that you’re safe, before we find a way home.”  The human promised himself before he heard a few knocks.  Paul looked up to see one of the guards from earlier open the door, give a few grunted sounds and gestured his arm.  He assumed that dinner was ready as he followed the guard back to the room he was in previously, when he first awoke in the strange, new world.  Entering the room, the man saw a table in the center covered in a white cloth, with six chairs on both sides of the table and one at the head where The Wind King sat, eating away.

“Ah, my dear human!”  The Wind King said in a pleasant tone.  “Please, have a seat and help yourself!  You’re just in time for the main course!”

Paul couldn’t help but feel slightly nervous at the last statement, until he saw some guards walk in with a couple serving dishes.  The smell that emanated from them was more than enough to ease the human’s worry.  He sat himself at one of the empty chairs and looked at the glass plate, cup, and fancy silverware before him before taking notice of the edibles.  Most of the food looked completely foreign to the human but could pick out some familiar fruits and veggies.  But it was when the meat was served that Paul raised an eyebrow, which The Wind King took notice of.

“What’s the matter?  Do humans not partake in eating meat?”

“Yes, they do.  It’s just…I’ve never seen any kind like this.  If you don’t mind me asking, what type of meat is it?”

“Only the finest you’ll ever find around here, courtesy of the griffons!  M’koue meat!  It’s best when it’s freshly made!”  The Wind King explained while cutting off a slice from some bones.

“Griffins?”  Paul asked in a confused tone.

“Indeed!”  Said The Wind King before taking a bite out of the meat.  “I take it griffins don’t exist where you come from?”

“No, no they don’t.  Except in myths and legends.”  Paul answered back before stabbing what he assumed was a piece of broccoli, with his fork and eating it.

“Fascinating…”

The next minute of dinner was spent in silence as Paul looked around the room seeing all the markings and art adorning the walls.  The same symbol he saw earlier once again captivated him.

“Something caught your eye?”

The Wind King’s voice broke Paul away from the wall and said, “Sorry, I was just intrigued with the art design, but yes there has.  I’m very curious what that picture over there is.”

The satyr looked in the direction the human was pointing and his demeanor immediately changed.

“Oh…that.”  The Wind King said in disgust.

The picture looked to be a big sun-like symbol with  six gems orbiting around it.  All seven looked as if they were raining down what looked to be a beam of light onto a creature that looked similar to The Wind King.

“I guess it’s something that you’d rather not discuss then?”  Paul asked, going back to his dinner.

The Wind King breathed in before letting out a sigh of frustration and saying, “Well, since you already asked, I might as well be the one to tell you.  My family was once rulers of a great nation beyond these waters.  We co-existed with many creatures; yaks, griffins, dragons, and our most trusted allies: ponies.  Together with our knowledge and their means to unite, all creatures lived together in peace, harmony and prosperity.  But one dark day…without warning, the ponies invaded our home and declared war on our nation.  It wasn’t just a rogue group of ponies either, they were led by none other than their own ruler…Celestia.  With her influence, she convinced other tribes to fight against us and many lives were lost over the course of days.  Despite our army’s numbers and my family’s best efforts, we were driven away from our home and forced to live here, in exile.  The only tribe Celestia didn’t completely win over were the griffins who are still our only trusted allies.  Even so, our land was now hers and was absorbed into her kingdom…Equestria.”

Paul could tell The Wind King held a lot of contempt for this “Celestia”, but remained quiet and let him continue.

“After news spread of the war, she made an effort to convince all her subjects that my family and inhabitants were the ‘real traitors’ and that she was the one who brought about a new age of peace.  Of course not all creatures believed her, but most were too afraid to speak out against her because of her means to harness the power of the sun.  And since Celestia’s life-span was beyond what any creature could ever dream of, being already over 1000 years old, not even her own subjects questioned her.”

The human’s eyes went wide after hearing the number and said, “1000 years old?!?  How can anybody live to be that old?  And how exactly does she harness the power of the sun?”

“She has the power of moving the sun and the moon on her own.  She could have it to where it might be everlasting daylight or perpetual nightfall if she ever felt it was necessary to show her power to her subjects and keep them in line.”

“How is that possible?”  The human asked in disbelief.

“She was infused with magical abilities at a young age and has grown powerful over the years.  And knowing her, she wouldn’t hesitate to punish any-creature that defies her rule or gets in her way.  She even sentenced her own sister to the moon for a long time to prove her point.”

“That almost sounds absurd.  Where I’m from the sun and the moon move by themselves.  If this Celestia is as powerful as you claim, I wouldn’t want to even think of her visiting Earth.  But getting back on topic, who is that in the picture there?  It almost looks like…you.”

 The Wind King turned his head, stared at the mural for a few moments in solemn silence before standing up and walking over to it.  He put his palm on the image of the satyr.

“My father…he was one of the last ones who tried to take back our home and avenge our fallen soldiers and mother.  Unfortunately, his best efforts ended in vain and cost him his troops and ultimately, his life.  I said earlier that Celestia has the power of the sun at her beck and call, but she used something just as powerful to finish him off as a warning to other races who would attempt such a thing again.  I do not know what they are exactly, but from what I understand, they are magically infused gems with tremendous power.  It was the last known time they were ever used by her.   That was over 50 years ago.”

The room was silent for a few moments before the human said, “You have my condolences.  I can certainly understand what it’s like to lose someone close to you.  It must’ve been hard to live alone for the last 50 years.”

“No, I wasn’t alone.”  The Wind King said as returned to the table.  “I still had a legion of troops with me that pledged to defend me and…him.”

“Him?”  Paul asked curiously.

“My brother.  He and I were the last of our family’s bloodline after our father died.  We both swore vengeance against the ponies who invaded us and the other tribes who abandoned us.  We knew that an all-out assault on Equestria was a suicide mission, so instead the two of us spent years expanding our influence and building up our forces.  Even with what we had done, both of us knew that it still wasn’t enough to challenge Celestia.  That is until we heard of a powerful artifact that could bring any army, no matter how strong, to heel.”

The human’s eyebrow widened a bit at the last sentence and listened even more intently.

“It was said to be located in an isolated region far beyond the mapping borders.  Both of us ventured there with some troops, only to be greeted with an unwelcome wagon of heavy resistance.  Both sides suffered major losses, but fortunately our search proved fruitful and we found the artifact: The Staff of Sacanas.  Little did I realize though, that my brother secretly wanted the staff for himself and wanted to rule alone.  Yes, my own sibling betrayed me.  We fought each other and despite my best efforts, I was overpowered and left imprisoned in stone.”

Paul simply said nothing and continued to listen to the story.

“Nothing…I felt nothing for months, except the hatred and contempt I had for the only other surviving family member I had left.  It was almost as much as what I felt towards Celestia.  I had swore to punish him if I ever got free, which eventually I did by some stroke of luck.  But by then, I had heard that he had been slain by none other than a pupil of Celestia herself.  One who recently ascended to princesshood.  Twilight Sparkle…just the very name irritates me!”

The Wind King scraped his fork against the table as he mentioned the pony’s name, which garnered a worried look from Paul.  The satyr noticed and as quick as his anger rose, he calmed himself just as fast.

“My apologies, Paul.  Whenever I think about what’s happened within the past decades, it’s enough to bring my anger out…even among those I trust.  But please, don’t hesitate to ask any questions.”

The human kept silent as he went back to eating for the remainder of dinner.  After he was full, Paul needed to ask the important question lingering in his mind.

“Thank you for the dinner, Wind King.  I’m sorry to ask so soon, but is there any potential news regarding my boy?”

“There is indeed.  Both good and bad.”

Paul gave The Wind King his full undivided attention.

“The good news is that your son is in fact here in this world and alive.”

“And the bad…?”  The human asked anxiously.

“Bad news is that he’s been captured and imprisoned.”

“WHAT?!?”  Paul asked, standing up from the table.  “Who’s got Kyle?!?  And what are they doing to him?!?”

“Calm down!”  The Wind King said with a slight hint of authority in his voice.  “One of my agents informed me from an earlier report that the Hippogriffs had captured a creature with the same species name you used.  And judging from the description, it must be your son.”

“Hippogriffs?  As in the half eagle, half horse type of creatures?”

“Indeed.  They too are on the side of the ponies of Equestria.  They must think he’s a potential enemy.”

“If they hurt my boy…I will slash every last one of their feathers off.”  Paul said in a dark tone as he gripped his fork tightly and stabbed a piece of meat on his plate.  “Do you have the means to send an army to save him?”

“Unfortunately no.  At least, not at this time.  Thanks to my idiot brother’s incompetence and greed, my armies and forces have dropped down by 70%.  And with my enemies on high alert, I can’t spare the numbers to commence a rescue mission.”

Paul slammed a fist on the table as he swore under his breath and clenched his teeth.

“But there might be a way.”

The human looked up with curious eyes and simply asked, “How?”

“There is something I want to show you.  But it’ll have to wait until tomorrow.  I have other pressing matters to attend to for the rest of the evening.  For now, my guards will escort you back to your room or if you like, they can take you to the library so you don’t bore yourself.”

“I’ll head back to the guest room, thank you.”

With that, Paul followed a few guards that gave low grunts until The Wind King was alone at the dinner table.

“So far, so good.  Everything’s going according to plan.”





Silence.  That was the best way to describe the hallways inside the prison cells.  Aside from the occasional water dripping ambience, nothing made a sound, not even the only human who sat alone.  As it was, Kyle just sat on his bed hugging his knees tightly and stared blankly at the floor as if he were in a state of trance.

Just then, the sound of a door unlocked nearby, but the noise didn’t seem to register in Kyle’s mind.  It wasn’t long before the familiar green hippogriff, Air Burst, stopped in front of the cell door, unlocked it and entered with a bowl of food, a wooden spoon and a small glass of water.

“I’m sorry it took so long to bring this and I’m sure you’re probably starving, so here you go.”

The hippogriff put the contents down next to the boy, but he didn’t seem to pay any mind.

“I’m not sure if this is what humans even eat, but it’s the only thing I could bring.”

Kyle said nothing as he only continued to gaze at the floor.

“Well, enjoy your meal.”  Air Burst said before making his way out of the cell.

“Thank you.”

The sound of the human’s voice caught the hippogriff slightly off guard and he turned around to see him looking over at the bowl’s contents.  The food looked like porridge rice with some chopped up veggies and tidbits of fish all mixed together.  Kyle slowly reached his hand over to the wooden utensil, scooped up some of the porridge and looked at it with a cautious eye.

“Don’t worry, it’s not poisoned.  We wouldn’t do that to prisoners of any kind.”  Air Burst said with assurance.

Kyle continued to stare at the contents a few more seconds before bringing it to his mouth and expecting the worst.  To his surprise, it wasn’t as bad as he thought.  It wasn’t the best thing he ever tasted, but it wasn’t terrible.  After swallowing it, he scooped up some more and ate it.  The hippogriff decided to stay and keep the boy company and stood close by.  Many questions went through Air Burst’s mind, but let the human eat in peace.  Kyle finished the rest of the meal in silence, while occasionally having a sip of water to help drain it down.  Once done, he handed the bowl and glass back to Air Burst and gave a small burp.

“Excuse me.”  The boy said timidly.	

“It’s alright.”  Air Burst replied and took the contents from Kyle’s hands, putting them on the nearby table.  “I’m surprised you ate it that quickly.  I can’t say it’s top of the line food we have around here, but truthfully, I didn’t know if it was even edible for…humans, right?”

“It was, yes.”  Kyle answered, not daring to look at the hippogriff.

Wanting to make the human feel better, Air Burst decided to change the subject.

“So what’s your world like?  Is it similar to this one or is it different on a major scale?”

Kyle only responded with his teeth chattering and holding his arms together.

“Are you freezing?  Do humans usually get cold easily?”

The boy nodded at the hippogriff before giving off a sneeze.

“Hold on.  I’ll be right back and get something for you.”  Said Air Burst as he left the cell, locked the door, and quickly zoomed out of the block.  Kyle had some ideas of what he was bringing back, which gave him a slight bit of optimism that he only had one time after waking up in the strange new world.  It wasn’t long before Air Burst returned to the cell, with both a blanket and a pillow.

“Here you go.  This should warm you up and help you sleep better.  Just be sure not to let Wind Soar see any of it.”

Kyle threw the blanket around himself and soon his shivering subsided.  When he felt better, the human looked up at Air Burst with an inquisitive look.

“Thank you, again.  But…why?”

“Even though you’re under confinement, I still believe in treating prisoners with well deserved respect.”  Air Burst replied with a small smile.

“No I mean, why do people think I’m part of some ‘Storm King’s army?’  I don’t know any Storm King or any army of his for that matter.  Who even is this Storm King?”

Air Burst thought long and hard of how to answer the boy’s question before sitting down next to him.

“Many hippogriffs right now are scared because we’ve been at war for several years against the Storm King and his armies.  To put him simply, he was a power-hungry, maniacal tyrant who was bent on world domination.  Thankfully he’s been defeated, but his armies continue to ravage, conquer other lands, and even use other creatures to fight for them.  So seeing a new creature we know nothing about raises a lot of questions as well as suspicions about where they come from.  I am certain that you’re completely innocent, but…as you’ve experienced for yourself, some of the other soldiers are not so optimistic.”

“Like Wind Soar?”  The boy asked.

“Yes…he was affected heavily from war.”

“Is that why he’s so angry and grouchy all the time?”

“That’s putting it lightly, but yes.”

“Why?”

“Well, it happened shortly after The Storm King’s defeat when we were given an assignment to liberate Klugetown from the Storm King’s armies.  Lieutenant Beak, led a platoon of soldiers to seize one of the enemy’s strongholds.  Wind Soar and I were part of the unit.  We fought long and hard, but eventually we broke through their defense and overpowered them with minimal casualties.  As we continued on, we came across a cage with a strange looking creature we had never seen before.  Judging from the look of it, it looked like a child.  Lieutenant Beak took pity on it and freed it from its confines.  But little did we know, it was all a trap.  Once free, the creature sprung into action, used a hidden blade and fatally stabbed one of the soldiers.  Lieutenant Beak was quick to subdue and hold it in place while the rest of the team tried to care for the soldier who was stabbed.  Everygriff was in shock, but none more so than Wind Soar…”

Kyle waited in anxious anticipation to hear the reason why.

“The one who was stabbed was none other than Private Peacock.  She held a special place in his heart.  Before our mission to Klugetown, Wind Soar was more upbeat and would even playfully brag from time to time.  Most of his free time was spent with her.  I had heard rumors that he even convinced higher officers to let him go on some missions Peacock went on.  I could tell they were very close and with how badly she was wounded, it forever changed him.  There wasn’t enough time to get her medical help and……Wind Soar has never been the same since then.”

Kyle stared back at the hippogriff with dread as he let the information sink in.  He was silent for a moment before asking, “What happened to the creature that did it?”

Air Burst said nothing as he turned his head to the side, closed his eyes and let out a sigh through his nostrils.  Kyle understood the gesture as his eyes widened and his heart sank.

“Now you understand why.”

The human was too afraid to say anything else at this point and Air Burst could tell.

“You have my promise that Lieutenant Beak and I will do everything we can to help you out.  But until our queen returns, I need you to do something for me.  I need you to be strong and make it through the next two weeks.  Can you do this?”

Kyle looked over at the hippogriff and stared at him carefully before giving a nod of approval.  Air Burst then stood himself up.

“I know I’m asking you to toughen it out, but when it’s over the lieutenant and I will make things right.  Try and get some sleep.  I’ll bring you breakfast when I can tomorrow.”

With that the hippogriff exited the cell, closed the door and locked it before leaving the cell block.  Kyle sat alone, wrapped in his blanket and silently sobbed at the dark details from Air Burst’s story. 





“So Silverstream.”  Sky Beak said, taking a bite of some delicious stew.  “Where should we visit first when we get to Ponyville?”

As Silverstream and her father were eating dinner, the former was thinking of how to make her plan work without sounding suspicious.  “I was originally thinking of visiting the School of Friendship first to ask about next year’s classes, but I think it would be great to see some of the professor’s homes first and introduce you to them!”

“I’m certainly down for that.”  The father hippogriff chuckled at his daughter’s enthusiasm.  “Any other places you would recommend we visit while we’re there?”

“None in particular, but our professors always tell us to stay away from the Everfree Forest.  In it lurks all kinds of unknown horrors that would make Professor Dash feel uneasy about and she’s not the type to scare easily.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”  Sky Beak said before noticing his daughter looking slightly gloomy.  “What is it?  You were excited just a moment ago.  Was it something I said?”

“No it’s just…”  Silverstream stopped before looking up at her father.  “I can’t stop thinking about Kyle.  Why did they have to lock him up?  He did nothing wrong!”

“It’s not that simple m-”

“You saw and spoke to him yourself!  He was scared!  He was afraid!  He was harmless!”

“I know Silverstream, bu-”

“And to boot, he’s probably even more terrified being interrogated for stuff he doesn’t even know about by that mean brute!”

“SILVERSTREAM!”  Sky Beak’s voice roared through the house that made his daughter freeze in fear as he asserted himself.  “That ‘mean brute’ is someone I’ve known far longer than you have!  And I will not hear you speak about him that way ever again!  Is that understood?”

“...Yes dad…”  Silverstream responded in a pipsqueak like tone.

“Now…”  The elder hippogriff sat himself back down, more composed and calm as before.  “I sympathize with how you feel about our young friend.  I too saw how distressed he was and I want to help him out in any way I can.  But I can’t.  It’s out of my control until your aunt returns home from the Crystal Empire.”

Just then, a brilliant idea popped into Silverstream’s head.

“But what if it was?”

“What do you mean?”  Sky Beak asked with a raised eyebrow.

“I mean, you just said that Aunt Novo is in the Crystal Empire right?  So what if she received a message about Kyle and his unfair imprisonment?”

“Unfortunately, by the time any letter reaches the far north, she’ll already be on her way back to Mount Aris.  So what are we even talking about?”

“I’m talking about a speedy, direct message!”

Sky Beak gave his daughter a blank look, still not knowing what she meant.  Silverstream gave out a sigh before fully explaining herself.

“In Ponyville, Headmare Twilight has a baby dragon assistant who has the ability to send messages to close friends.  So what if she were able to forward a letter to her sister-in-law, Princess Cadance, for her to give to the queen?”

Sky Beak thought long and hard about Silverstream’s idea.  Before saying anything, he looked his daughter dead in the eye.

“Before I say anything about this plan, I want you to be honest with me.  Was going to Headmare Twilight about this the REAL reason why you wanted to go back to Ponyville in the first place?”

Silverstream felt herself breathing anxiously as if trapped.  Feeling like a child caught in the act, she desperately wished she could’ve taken back what she said and just kept her mouth shut.  But as is, all she could do was answer back with a nervous, “Umm…yes…”

“I see.”

The father hippogriff stood up and was silent for a moment before saying, “We will go and see Headmare Twilight when we first get to Ponyville.  BUT!  You will let me do all the talking with her about the situation.  I don’t want to make things any more complicated than they need to be.”

“So we’re going to help Kyle?”  The younger hippogriff asked with a hopeful look.

With a confident nod from Sky Beak, Silverstream embraced her father tightly while throwing a pluthero of thank yous toward him.  The two soon finished their dinner and as they were picking up, Sky Beak thought about the possible repercussions from the plan.

‘This will come back to bite me I’m sure.  But I don’t care.  That boy deserves better than this!’
> Chapter 9
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sounds of water droplets were echoing through the cells as Kyle slept soundly.  His sleep was interrupted however by one droplet that landed on his head.  He wiped the water off with one of his hands before deciding to sit himself up.  As he did, he was greeted to the sight of several hippogriff soldiers standing right outside his cell with the last one he wanted to see, leading them.

“Take him.”  Wind Soar ordered as the cell door opened up and a few guards quickly chained the boy up so he couldn’t escape.

Kyle was then led down a long hall full of hippogriffs staring at him long and hard with some gossiping in the background.  Fear was the only emotion he felt, but it wasn’t until he entered a large throne room where he was surprised with what he saw.  It was a room filled with different creatures, all staring at the human and began yelling various accusations.

“You served The Storm King!”

“You sold our soldiers out!”

“You killed our family!”

“You ate my friend!”

Kyle tried to speak out against the egregious charges, but his voice was drowned out by the crowd.  A loud boom then silenced all the creatures and a looming hippogriff figure on a huge throne caught the boy’s attention.  And standing next to the throne was none other than Captain Flight.

“Well?  Have you anything to say in your defense?”  The hippogriff spoke in a deeply authoritative manner.

“I-I know nothing of this Storm King.  I never killed or ate anyone’s friend.  Honest…”  Kyle answered while trying his best not to cry on the spot.

“LIAR!”  One of the creatures in the crowd said while more spoke up in protest against the human until they were shushed once more.

“The charges against you are heavily stacked.  And in light of evidence brought to me by Captain Flight…”

The hippogriff on the throne showed off the same bowl Kyle ate from earlier on, garnering loud gasps.

“...you are hereby…GUILTY AS CHARGED!!!”

The room roared to life once more with many creatures demanding bloodshed and retribution.  Everyone was hushed for a third time before the figure on the throne spoke again.

“For your crimes against my citizens and the other nations, it must be shown that no creature's actions go unpunished!  And for this, you are hereby sentenced..TO DEATH!!!”

With that Kyle was dragged away from the spot he was standing in by two hippogriff soldiers and escorted through a crowd of various creatures.  Every single one in the crowd had viscous contempt of some kind towards the human.  He tried his best to protest what was thrown his way.

“No, No!  I didn’t do anything of the sort!  I swear!”

But once again, his voice was completely drowned out by the mob.  He could only continue to watch on in fear at the endless ridicule he faced, until he was brought before a guillotine when his eyes widened in absolute horror.  He was quickly placed in position and could only continue to stare at all the faces that had pure, unadulterated, hatred written all over them.  Though he thought he had seen one creature in the crowd that had more of a look of curiosity and confusion than malice, not that it mattered as the blade was raised high in the air as a hippogriff executioner brought his face close to the boy’s.

“Any last words…traitor?”

Kyle could see his time was up.  But something within him wouldn’t let him give up.  Using the energy he had left in him, he began screaming as loud as he could.

“Airburst!  Sky Beak!!  Silverstream!!  DAD!!  ANYONE!!  HEEEEELP!!!”

*GASP* *GASP* *GASP*

Kyle woke up in cold sweat as his heartbeat was as if he just ran a mile.  He tried his best to calm his breathing down, but couldn’t stop and continued to breathe heavily.  He threw off the blanket, sat himself up in the dank cell and hugged himself tightly as he recalled all the events he just experienced.

“When will this nightmare end?”  The boy asked in a quietlike tone.

After some time, he finally calmed himself down and attempted to sleep once more.  His mind had a hard time shaking off what he just experienced, but Kyle eventually passed out and slept dreamlessly for the remainder of the night.





The evening had gone by quickly for all the citizens of Mount Aris as morning soon approached.  While the sun was still blocked by the overcast sky, it stopped raining for the time being and some hippogriffs went about their day outdoors.  Silverstream got up bright and early to get prepared for her trip back to Ponyville with Sky Beak.  When she was fully ready, she then flew down to the kitchen to satisfy her morning hunger with Sky Beak.  The young hippogriff greeted her dad with a verbal salutation and a morning hug.  Just as she was about to ask if the breakfast was ready, she caught a whiff of something that made her eyes widen.

“Umm, Dad?  What’s that smell?”  Silverstream asked in a worried tone.

“Oh.  I was trying to replicate that casserole recipe you made yesterday.”  Sky Beak said as he showed his daughter what looked like overcooked and burnt potatoes.  “Guess I need to practice a little more before mastering the recipe.

“It’s okay.  I’ll still try some.”

“You don’t have to force yourself to eat it if you don’t want to.  I’ve also made a fruit salad if you care for any of that instead.”

“No really, I’d like to see how it is!”  The daughter said not wanting to make his cooking efforts feel in vain.

“Alright.  But eat quickly, the train leaves in about an hour and I have to grab a few things on the way.”

The younger hippogriff sat herself down and got herself a serving of the casserole and salad.  When she took a bite of the potatoes, Silverstream’s taste buds were immediately greeted by the most well done style of food she ever tried in her life as if eating ash.  Refusing to vomit it up however, she quickly grabbed a few fruits from the salad on her plate and was soon relieved at the refreshing flavor to help her swallow the otherwise overcooked dish her father prepared.

‘Yup, I definitely need more practice.’ Sky Beak thought to himself while letting out a quiet chuckle.

The two quickly finished their breakfast (with Silverstream opting not to finish the rest of the casserole serving) and cleaned up after themselves, before Silverstream returned to her room and grabbed a strap-on bag.  When she flew back down, Sky Beak was wearing a basic sack and waiting at the front door and immediately noticed what she was carrying.

“What’s that for Silverstream?” The father questioned.

“Oh, this is in case we buy anything while we’re in Ponyville.  Plus, since we’re visiting the school, I wanted to ask Professor Applejack if she might lend a few apples from her farm for some recipes.”

“I see.”  Sky Beak said, before he looked his daughter in the eye.  “Now remember, you let me do all the talking in regards to Kyle.  I don’t want to take any chances of jeopardizing the boy.  Understand?”

“Yes dad.”  Silverstream replied while nodding.  “I just don’t want him to suffer and be miserable in jail.”

“I know how you feel.  I’ll do my best, I promise.”

The two shared a hug before heading out the front door.  On their way to the station, Sky Beak stopped at a currency exchange for some bits and got a few food items for the trip.  They soon got to the train, showed their tickets and entered a cabin where a few other hippogriffs eagerly waited for the engine to start.  The father and daughter found an empty seat and sat comfortably for the next few minutes before an announcer’s voice filled the room.

““Attention passengers!  Thank you for riding with us today!  Our schedule will be a one way trip to the Ponyville Train Station and should arrive by early afternoon! Thank you again for choosing us and we’ll be heading off soon!”

Silverstream sat in silence, thinking only of possible outcomes this trip could have that would affect Kyle’s outcome.  Good, bad, ugly, pleasant, disastrous.  But whatever it might be, she wanted to believe it would all work out, somehow.

The train soon blew its whistle as the passenger cars rattled into motion.  Silverstream looked out the window to see Mount Aris slowly starting to vanish from view as soon enough, the wide ocean was the only thing she could see now.  With nothing else to do, the young hippogriff put her head against the wall, closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.





“Nnnnggggghhh!”

Paul did a few stretches to help get his blood flowing for the morning.  Even though he was still tired and the sun was nowhere even close to breaking through the dark, overcast sky, the man still willed himself to get going for the day.  After feeling awake enough, he looked outside the window to see a group of grunts performing what looked like a kind of military march of sorts.  He then shifted his gaze around to see if there were any other activities happening.

It wasn’t long until he heard a few knocks coming from the door as Paul turned around to see a guard entering, giving a grunt, and extending his arm towards the exit.  The human understood what it meant as he followed the guard through the hallways until he arrived at the ever familiar room where The Wind King was.

“I see my guard brought you in right on time!”  Greeted the satyr before sitting down at the table.  “Help yourself to whatever you like!  I assume humans like eggs in the morning?”

“Yes, thank you.”  Paul answered, grabbing a seat and serving himself.  He looked at what was most appealing on the table before settling on a few hard boiled eggs and some fruit.

Most of the meal was spent in silence while The Wind King occasionally hummed a tune between bites.  In the middle of the meal though, Paul broke the quiet atmosphere and said, “I am curious what it is you want to show me.”

“All in good time my dear human.  But please, if you have any concerns about the rest of the food, just let my guards know.”

“No, no.  Everything looks fine.”

Breakfast continued on for a little while longer, until there were only plates filled with scraps.  A burp rang loud from The Wind King’s mouth before sitting himself up.

“Ahhh…and now on to business.  If you’d care to follow me.”

The satyr waited until the human walked up to him before leading Paul out of the room and through various hallways, with a few guards accompanying from behind.  They soon exited the king’s castle and were greeted to the dark, overcast outdoors.

“Pardon me for asking, but is it always this cloudy?”  Asked Paul.

“Indeed it is.”  The Wind King said in a matter of fact tone.  “The perpetual, overcast sky is what’s prevented my enemies from laying siege.  Why do you ask?  Do humans prefer a different weather environment?”

“Where I’m from, the weather changes by itself with different conditions coming and going.”

“Interesting…” The Wind King said under his breath.  “So it sounds like you leave everything to nature’s mercy?”

“Not everything.”  Paul replied as he gazed in the distance.

Nothing else was said between the two until they reached the entrance of what looked like an old fashioned factory.  Two guards standing at the doors gave grunted nods before pushing them open, allowing The Wind King, Paul and the other guards to enter.  The sound of machinery and clanking metal echoed the halls as the satyr led the human to a huge room.

“This…is what I wanted to show you.”

In the middle of the room sat a giant contraption that Paul stared at inquisitively.  Its design was that of an arch but with various unique designs etched across the metal work.  On top it was a disc that had a star imprinted in the center.

“What exactly is it?”

“A device that is designed to create jump points between two spaces.  You see, it was meant to be used for gathering supplies across enemy territory without alerting them to our presence.”

Paul let The Wind King finish before asking, “So it’s a wormhole generator?”  The satyr gave the human a confused look from the question.  “Never mind.  So why did you want to show this to me?”

“Because…”

The Wind King was quiet for a moment, as if thinking of how to properly answer.

””…it’s what brought you and your son to this world.”

A quick, sharp, inhale went through the human’s nostrils as eyes immediately grew wide attention to The Wind King with an accusing expression.

“Now, now before you say anything, bringing you and your boy here was completely unintentional.  You see, the previous crystal I used to power the mechanism was highly unstable and caused a surge that couldn’t be controlled.  It began ripping holes in the fabric of space and I was lucky to have the machine shut down before something worse happened.  Unfortunately…that crystal was also the last one and there’s nothing left in my possession that has enough power to run it.”

Paul took in every piece of information before he pieced two-and-two together.  “So even if I rescued my boy…we’re…”

“Yes…I’m afraid so.”

The human looked away from the satyr and stared at the lifeless machine.  “There has to be another way.”  He said in silent determination.

“There is one other way…”

Paul turned his head back at The Wind King and asked, “There is?  How?”

“The Staff of Sacanas.  It has more than enough power and durability to run the machine.  And with any luck, be able to send you and your son back home without tearing the fabric of reality apart.”

“I thought you said the staff was in the possession of…what’s her name again?  Twilight Sprinkle?”

“Sparkle.”  The Wind King said with utter disgust.  “And it is.  I’m still trying to come up with a solution to retrieve it.  But in the meantime, I ask that you simply wait, and have some patience until things work out.”

“I understand.”  Paul responded before the two headed out of the factory and back to the castle.  Many things were going through the man’s mind, but nothing more so important than his son.

‘I can only hope you’re holding out Kyle.  Don’t lose hope my boy.’