Pipsqueak has never felt so scared in his whole life. Come to think of it, he had never been more scared than all those times when he was just a little kid at school. Well, littler.

Before coming to Equestria, even before meeting Spike and his fellow Knights, Pipsqueak had always been picked up by the bigger kids at school. Most of them were girls who have enjoyed ridiculing him for his short height and baby face.

He had been ridiculed so much, it drove him to the point where Pipsqueak was too afraid to even stand up for himself. That is, until he and his cousin Featherweight, met Rumble, Featherweight, Button Mash, and later, Spike, at a Five Guys restaurant in New York, where Pipsqueak summoned all his courage to stand up to a group of bullies.

Pipsqueak had never felt so pleased with himself since then. He felt so proud of himself to actually stand up for himself and his friends for once, that as the years went by, Pipsqueak matured into a courageous young boy, despite his shortened height.

To further his courage, Pipsqueak was more than happy when he and his fellow Knights first met Captain Celaeno, after she was rescued from a squadron of Cerulean Hunters.

See: Mission Rogue Diamond Part 1: Reflection.

It was a little known fact that Pipsqueak's always had a fascination of pirates. Therefore he's very enthusiastic upon meeting the parrot pirate and was very dedicative towards her. However, over the course of the times that followed since their meeting, the two have formed a real bond, parallel to that of a mentor and a student.

Secretly though, Pipsqueak didn't just see Captain Celaeno as a captain. Furthermore, she was more than just a mentor to him. She was like a second mother to him since he lost his birth one to the North Atlantic Sea back on Earth.

But now, here he is, dreading at the thought of losing his mentor to a stormy vampire of a bird. It's like losing his mother a second time.

"Pipsqueak?" A voice called, startling the young boy out of his thoughts.

Turning to his right, Pipsqueak's breathing came to a slow calm when he saw that it was only Madame Harpy, "Oh, hello ma'm," He greeted the harpy.

"You're awfully quiet, for a landlubber who Celaeno has taken under her wings," Harpy noted. "What seems to trouble ya lad?"

Pipsqueak hesitated, reluctant to admit it to the harpy, but sighed, "I'm scared, ma'm," He answered.

"Well I'd consider ye a fool if ye aren't. Not a single soul, before Celaeno, had ever dared to face the impundulu and lived to tell the tale ye know. Only a fool would be in their outrageous mind to consider fighting him."

"It's not just the impundulu," Pip added. "I'm scared at the thought of losing Captain Celaeno! It felt like just yesterday she took me as her temporary first mate. But now, I'm about to lose her," Pipsqueak clutched his head in his hands as he groaned, "It's just too soon! I'm not ready to sail without her!"

"And yet, ye got this far on yer Thunderbird airship. And ye didn't need her to captain the ship, did ya?"

"That was different! I sailed the ship because I wanted to save her!"

"Then do it again ya pipsqueak! If you were that determined to make it this far to save yer captain, then show me that determination again!" Harpy patted the boy on the shoulder. "If ye want to save Celaeno that badly, then don't let all this journey be in vain! Yer doing it all for her! Show her, show the world, show the impundulu just how far you'll go for yer friends! As the old same goes, 'Birds of a feather must stick together!'"

Unsure of the harpy's words, Pipsqueak turned his head to look at Celaeno's hat in his lap. Past voices started to echo in his head as he recalls a talk he once had with the anthropomorphic parrot.

"Celaeno?" Pipsqueak began. "Just curious. But how exactly did you start your life as a pirate?"

Celaeno looked at Pip's eyes, seeing his eyes lit with wonders, "That be a tale of mine that's precious than a jewel of a thousand kingdom," Celaeno smiled in nostalgia. "And no one, besides my crew, hals ever asked me about that story. Until now, that is."

Pipsqueak took a seat, eager to hear the tale, "I'm listening," He smiled.

Past

When You're Alone - John Williams

"It was long ago, back when I was just about yer age, and back when I still had both my legs," Celaeno narrated. "My father was a brilliant merchant, a famous explorer, with the stars and a compass as his friends, for they guide him in the directions where he needed to be."

A young Celaeno was on the decks of a great airship, watching the night sky, decorated in a blanket of stars. Standing by her side is an older parrot, with blood red feathers, and sapphire blue at the tips of his head and tail feathers, weary yellow eyes. For attires, the parrot was don up in a long brown leather coat, over a uniform befitting of an admiral, complete with a huge hat that has a long red feather.

"Wow!" Young Celaeno smiled, as she marveled in awe at Princess Luna's beautiful night. "Ooh, father look!" Celaeno pointed to a set of stars that formed a constellation. "There's Scorpius! The scorpion!"

"Very good, Celaeno," The old parrot smiled, before he challenged. "Now, tell me. Where's the Big Dipper with the Little Dipper?"

Celaeno looked up, scanning the night sky as she searched the night sky, "Um, there's Polaris the North Star. Then that means, the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper are right there!"

"Correct again! I see you've been studying your stars!"

"Of course I have father! When I grow up, I want to live the life of adventure, just like you, with the stars as my guide!"

Celaeno's father chuckled heartedly as he got down to his daughter's level, wrapping his arms around her, pulling her in a loving embrace, "I know you will, lass," He smiled. "And I could never be so pride of ya."

"Wow, he sounds like a great dad!" Pip commented.

"That he is. And a well respected pirate. For ye see, unlike most pirates, my father only aims to steal treasures from fellow pirates. There is no fun, nor is there any honor, for a pirate like him to steal from common folks. And that earned him a few enemies in the pirate life."

The loving tender moment was interrupted, when a fleet of pirate ships had attacked the airship Celaeno and her father were sailing on. In appearance, these pirates appeared to be a mix of anthropomorphic crabs and crows. These pirates swarmed the ship, plundering it of its rich contents of merchandises and treasury, and took many of the ships crew members as hostages, onboard the pirate ships, until Celaeno and her father were all that's left.

Being an experienced fighter in his travels, Celaeno's father refused to go down so easily. Reaching into his coat, the old parrot pulled out a pair of guns.

"Stay back!" The parrot squawked, holding his guns up. But the pirates refused to yield, "I said BACK!!!"

With that, a fight ensued, as the pirates lunged towards the old parrot, who bravely, and skillfully, fought back with the use of his guns, and his wits. Celaeno watched from behind a crate, watching the fight ensued. She watched the fancy tricks her father used with a spin of his left hand and a spin of his right hand, as he fired every shots at the attacking pirates.

But during the fight, Celaeno was snatched up by one of the pirates, who threatened to take her life, if her father doesn't surrender. Celaeno refused to be the reason her father was defeated. So she did the best she could to escape. She bites down hard on the pirate's hand, forcing him to release her.

As her father fought on however, he failed to notice a spiderpony crawling to the crow's nest and bringing what looks like a sniper rifle. He takes aim at the Ornithian and fires, hitting him in the back, much to Celaeno's horror. Celaeno's father stumbled back dropping his guns in the process.

Just then, a much larger spiderpony appears dragging a mace like weapon along with him. The old parrot looked at his daughter then back at the spiderpony and stares defiantly at him. Weakly, he picks up one of his pistols and aims at the spiderpony. Sadly, the hulking brute was quicker as he swung his mace and sent the old parrot flying to a wall and crashes into it.

A horrified Celaeno rushes to her father to see if he's alright. Her father was was not in the best of shape, as he was impaled by a large splinter of wood in the lower abdomen, a massive bruise was forming on the left side of his face where the mace struck him, and there was still that bullet wound in his back. Needless to say, it was doubtful he was going to make it.

Celaeno looks back and sees the pirates ready to abduct her as well, but were stopped by the large spiderpony who shook his head and ordered them to go back to the ship, he looked at the father and daughter briefly before leaving himself. Celeano didn't know whether it was out of respect, pity, or something else entirely.

"Cel...aeno..." Her father weakly said. she whipped her head back to him, tears started to form in her eyes, "M-My dear daughter please promise me that no matter what happens, be strong, for your mother, and for me."

"I will father, I will." She said with hot tears going down her face.

"G-Good, that's all...I need...to...hear..." Those were his final words as he went limb and closed his eyes for the last time. Pretty soon after, Celaeno wept openly on his chest.

Celaeno walked over to her father's grave, failing to hold back the tears. Years passed as Celaeno grew up into a fine parrot woman. But all the same, the pain of her father's death continues to linger, as well as her love of adventure, as if it's calling out to her.

On My Father's Wings

Present

"Pipsqueak!" Harpy shouted, snapping Pipsqueak back into reality. "Ye alright there lad? Ye looked as if ye were lost in a trance."

"Uh, I'm fine," Pipsqueak answered. "I was just thinking."

"Thinking is done now Pip," Harpy frowned. "Now's the time to actually do something. And if yer planning on rescuing Celaeno, then count me in. I owe her a favor. And I recommend you should as well. Are you a pirate?"

Pipsqueak let Harpy's words sinked in, before he looked back at Celaeno's hat. Holding the hat up, he dons up a newfound look of determination, as he puts the hat back on his head, "I'm a pirate," He answered.

He's a Pirate - Pirates of the Caribbean

Author's Note

In loving memory of Stefan Karls. 1975-2018.

You Are A Pirate