“Pinkie Pie, you did it!” Fluttershy cried as she and the others ran up to the Earth Pony. “You managed to get rid of the Hinoinus!”

“I did?” Pinkie Pie asked, looking around at the small clearing around them. “Huh, I guess really I did make them go away!”

“That you did, and it was incredible!” Twilight exclaimed. “Who knew that your laughter would bother the Hinoinus so much!”

“Hmhmhm, well of course it is silly! Laughter is the one thing that’ll make all those icky lonely feelings that you have go away! especially that icky stinky laughter that those doggies were giving off.” Pinkie Pie giggled, giving Twilight a knowing smile. “Plus, as a wise pony once said…laughter is the best medicine!” She added with sly smile and a wink.

Rainbow Dash snorted, a grin coming to her own face. “Nice one Pinks.”

“Well, it certainly helped in saving our lives from these dreadful beasts.” Rarity said, heaving out a relieved sigh. “Thank you for that by the way, darling…and I’m sorry if I was too harsh about you singing.”

“Yeah, an’ me ‘bout yer laughing’.” Applejack added, fiddling with her hat. “Fer a second there Ah thought ya had went plumb crazy. Ah shouldn’t have jumped t’ conclusions like that.”

“Awwww, it’s alright you guys, I’m not upset or anything! You guys were scared, and thought we were gonna get eaten, so it’s not surprising that you reacted the way you did.” Pinkie Pie replied sweetly, giving both mares a comforting smile. “To be honest, I was even a little surprise here myself! One minute I wanted to hide under a rock, and the next I was laughing till my tummy hurt! Heehee, my brain works in some really strange ways, doesn’t it?”

“That it does Pinkie…I wonder why.” Goku said dryly, earning another chorus of laughter from her friends.

At that moment, Goku felt a warm body press up against her own, and she looked over to see Violet Fire leaning against her. The poor mare was still giggling her head off, trying to stop her tears of laughter from falling down her cheeks.

“Oh, my Celestia Pinkie Pie!” She giggled as she wiped at her face. “What in the world did you do back there?!”

“Do what?” Pinkie Pie asked, tilting her head. “What’re you guys talking about?”

“Don’t play dumb with us girl!” Fast Tracks snorted. “You know exactly what you did! You created a giant sphere of earth around those Hinoinus, then, you trapped us in vines, and then proceeded to make them tickle our furry assess off!”

“Not to mention the singing.” Lightning Shadow added. “As cute as it was, I was not expecting you to do that in the least. Nor was I expecting it to work the way it did.”

“Well, when you’ve known me for as long as the girls did, you tend to pick up on some things about me that you never would’ve expected!” Pinkie Pie giggled. “Like how I trapped all of those doggies in my sphere and tickled the confetti out of you all with my vines!”

Storm Shadow sweat dropped. “Yes…that’s what Fast Tracks just said.”

“W-we understand that Pinkie Pie, but…” Blue Skies murmured. “Why…did you do it?”

“Weeeeeeeell…I noticed how you guys were getting tired out by those doggies, especially since you know, your magic gets drained super-duper quickly because of how much of it you used in all of your attacks.” Pinkie replied nonchalantly. “So, I decided to rush in there and add a little laughter and smiles to you and Zephie to keep you all from becoming doggie chow! And I did that by singing a super duper sweet sweet catchy oh so happy song sung to me by my Granny Surprise Pie! Bet you guys weren’t expecting that to happen huh?”

“Not in the least.” Storm replied, rubbing her sore cheeks. “Still, it did…I don’t know how in the name of Faust it did but…you managed to make it work.”

“Well, that’s Pinkie Pie for you!” Rainbow Dash grinned, throwing a hoof around the Earth Pony. “She’s always able to make even the most impossible things happen, and she totally did now! now we can get out of here without having to worry about those drooling mutts trying to rip our throats out!”

“Hinoinus…” Fluttershy emphasized, glaring up at Rainbow.

“That we don’t, and now we can continue our journey.” Rarity nodded, turning tail. “Come along everypony, we haven’t a moment to spare!”

“Hey! Zephyr’s supposed to be the one leading here!” Goku exclaimed, grabbing the fashionista by her tail and yanking her back. “Go on buddy, take charge of this group!”

“Alright alright, you don’t need to push!” Zephyr said with a slight chuckle. “Jeez, you Thestrals are strong…”

“Hey, wait for us!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she, Rarity, and Applejack went after the stallion, leaving Fluttershy, Twilight and Pinkie Pie with the Shadowbolts.

“Wow…this place looks a little…torn apart doesn’t it?” Lightning Shadow asked, looking around at the deep cracks, footprints and rubble surrounding them.

“Yes, it does.” Fluttershy replied somewhat bashfully. “You’re had quite the, um…scuffle with the Hinoinus, didn’t you Violet Fire?”

“That’s an understatement baby.” Violet said plainly. “They just kept coming at us no matter what we through at them. It’s like they were completely and totally resistant to anything that we threw at them. I’m pretty sure that would’ve all eaten us alive had it not been for Pinkie Pie jumping in at the last minute.”

“I’m going to have to agree there.” Storm Shadow said, glancing over at the bubblegum pink mare. “By the way Pinkie…how did you know that would end up working on the Hinoinus?”

At this question Pinkie Pie, who was currently going ahead of their group stopped bouncing, looking in between her two friends. A few seconds later, she giggled merrily, before she turning to look at the Shadowbolts a sly grin etched onto her face.

“Well, let’s just say that I showed them why I love to laugh, like they did.” She said in a sweet, yet sly tone as she gave the elite flyers a wink. “…and why laughter is the best of all medicine ever!”

Thankfully, Zephyr, the girls, and the Shadowbolts didn’t encounter anymore Hinoinus during the rest of their trek through the Everfree Graveyard. Though they did get the chance to see a different kinds of prehistoric animal skeletons piled around the it, much to Fluttershy’s secret elation. It didn’t take them very long to get out, thanks to the giant groves of trees that could be seen on all sides of the Everfree Graveyard, and they were soon back in the trees. Unlike most of the other clearings they were in, this one was wider, and wasn’t as dark as the others, thus allowing the ponies to see more clearly. As usual, Zephyr took the lead of the group, while the Shadowbolts formed a circled around the seven mares, looking out for any danger. Though that wasn’t the only thing they had to deal with.

“Are you sure that you don’t need me to heal your injuries?” Fluttershy asked softly. “Really I don’t mind using more of my magic for it.”

“Fluttershy, we told you, it’s alright, they’re only slashes.” Zephyr replied in his most assuring tone. “It’s not like we weren’t given them by all of the animals here, like that Doragontora that tried to drag me into the forest.”

“Try getting nearly gutted in the stomach while you’re at it.” Violet Fire murmured, holding her barrel. “Oh, sweet Celestia that hurt so much. I’ve never felt such a burning sensation in all of my time fighting beasts.”

“Well, they arecalled Hinoinus, as Fluttershy put it.” Lightning Shadow sighed. “Named for their control over fire, besides most of the other elements of nature. It shouldn’t really be surprising to feel them slicing into you with claws and teeth feeling as if they were on fire.”

“True.” Storm Shadow nodded, rubbing at her own scars. “Plus, Hinoinus are known for having speed and strength equivalent to that of a whole pack of Timberwolves. I’m just glad that they weren’t fighting us at their full, full power. I don’t even want to know what would happen if it were to come to that magnitude.”

“Wait a minute, what?” Rainbow Dash asked, looking shocked. “They weren’t even going all out on you guys?”

“Well, yes Dash, they were.” Blue Skies replied, gingerly touching her muzzle. “But their power was only up to the level that our magic went when we ascended. If we had gone and used our main trump cards, then the Hinoinus really would’ve unleashed their full power on us. On one hoof, we may have stood a better chance against them and would’ve defeated them without Pinkie’s help, but on the other hoof…”

“You would’ve been wasting power on an adversary that wasn’t even putting Equestria in peril or danger.” Goku finished for the palomino filly. “And you wouldn’t have had enough to use it on Nightmare Moon or whatever creations she may have.”

Blue Skies nodded. “Yes.”

“Ya ’know, now that Ah think about it…that does make Pinkie Pie jumpin’ int’ help y’all more sense.” Applejack said, rubbing at her chin. “Them fire doggies weren’t even using all o’ their magic on y’all, even when ya went int’ yer main powers. If they did, it would’ve forced ya to really go all out, an’ all o’ that power y’all were saving would’ve been wasted.”

“Precisely.” Twilight nodded. “Which makes it all the more essential that Pinkie Pie intervened before things got rough for the Shadowbolts.”

“I know honey and we’re grateful for what Pinkie Pie did, we all are.” Violet said, a grimace formed on her muzzle. “Still, these scars that the Hinoinus gave us are burning. I’m gonna be feeling this whenever I sleep for a week... maybe two.”

“Awww, you poor dear…it’ll be alright, those burns aren’t going to remain forever. Just wait, before you know it, you’ll be able to feel that oh so familiar silky-smooth texture of all that beautiful fur!” Rarity cooed, rubbing the ebony mare’s back. “Speaking of which, we’re sorry that we couldn’t save your suits from meeting the same fate. I mean, you did technically leave them in our care.”

“Eh, don’t worry about it; we have plenty of those suits at home, so we can always get more of them.” Fast Tracks shrugged. “Besides, it makes it so much easier for me to move around, not having to worry about sweating so much in it!”

“As another fellow Thestral who has been in a good number of suits similar to your team’s, I can relate.” Goku said, giggling, holding Chenoa in one foreleg. “Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind getting in a dress or sexy outfit to provoke the colts into getting into a one-night stand with me…” She giggled more at the blush on Fluttershy’s face and the glare on Rarity’s. “…but more often than not, I do like to get out there and really be free from any kind of restraints. Even if they are a dress or suit that makes me feel like I’m suffocating or dying in a desert. Which is why me, and the girls have our dear Rarity here to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

“Well of course darling.” Rarity said, her revolted face turning into one of pride. “Whenever I do have inspiration, I always ensure that my clients are the utmost comfortable in whatever suit or dress I have them in. I’m not just some cheap designer who’s in it for the bits, especially since I already have enough from all of the gem hunting that I’ve been doing.”

Rainbow Dash snorted. “I’d beg to differ…” She grumbled, just low enough for only Goku, Fast Tracks, and Fluttershy to hear.

“Seriously? You actually do gem hunting?” Fast Tracks asked, looking to be both surprise and impressed. “And I thought that me, Goku, and Zephyr were the only ones that did that.”

Rarity paused, looking at the light brown stallion in surprise. “Wait, you do gem hunting as well?”

“What Thestral doesn’t?” Fast Track asked, chuckling a bit. “Our enhanced vision doesn’t just allow us to see through the dark, but also allows us to detect magic filled gems too. It’s sort of like how you Unicorns use those gnarly looking horns of yours to detect them. Except with us, we can actually see the magic inside the gems before we see the gems themselves. It’s a trait that Nightstalkers, Shenrons, and the dragons all share, one of the reasons our clans had allied with one another.”

“It’s also why you why we’re known to be incredibly rich and stocked, just like me and my Mom are.” Zephyr added. “Although, we’d prefer if we didn’t tell certain ponies that, least they start asking us for money when they’re more than capable of gaining as much of it themselves.”

“It’s also sort of why my Mom and Dad prefer if our family lived with the Queen rather than our own home instead.” Goku concluded, rubbing the back of her head. “They didn’t really want to have to deal with all of the nobles trying to suck up to us for the sole reason that we have so much bits in stock. That and, we’d have the Queen on our back should that happen, and she wanted us to live in her castle with her, especially after seeing the potential that me and my sisters had, our little brother included.”

“Oh, trust me, I know what that’s like.” Twilight sighed, flicking her tail. “I’ve experienced that a considerable amount of times. I’m glad that I met somepony who knows what I went through at the hooves of the nobles…in their own way.”

“Well that was a might generous o’ th’ Queen t’ do that.” Applejack smiled. “Y’all must’ve had a real good time being able to live in a place o’ royalty huh?”

Goku blushed bashfully. “I admit, we all did enjoy the benefits of living with the Queen, but that did not mean that we mooched off of her! We did all that we could to show our appreciation to the Queen, even if it was the little things. Of course, Queen Celestia was not having any of that, and just told me to keep doing my hardest while adding some fun to the mix.”

“That’s our Queen for you!” Violet Fire laughed. “Always trying to find a balance for everypony so too much of the other doesn’t happen! One of the reasons why so many ponies want to stay with her, like the Thestrals and the Saiyans.”

“No disagreement on that.” Lightning Shadow nodded. “Although, since we are going to save her sister, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad living in her headquarters. Well, if she’s up for doing it that is.”

“I wouldn’t put it past her to be.” Storm murmured, draping a wing over her sis. “I mean, she was the one to give the Shadowbolts a place in her army in the first place. So, we could arrange making some new living headquarters once we free her from Nightmare Moon’s grasp.”

“Good idea!” Fast Track nodded enthusiastically. “I’d love to see what kind of living quarters that Queen Luna can set up for us when we get her back! I’m betting that they all totally live up to our nighttime standards, since we are known as the Shadowbolts!”

“Well, since this is the Queen of the Night and Goddess of the Moon we’re talking about, I don’t doubt it.” Goku giggled at her fellow Thestral, reaching over and ruffling his mane. Suddenly, she paused and began to swivel her ears around. Chenoa, who was nestling inside of her mane, took notice of the mare’s expression, and gave a few squeaks.

“Goku, what’s the matter?” Fluttershy asked, her guard going up. “Do you hear something in the woods?”

“Yeah, but it’s not really an animal. I can smell any nearby, and I can’t sense any magic of an animal either…well, other than Chenoa’s.” Goku replied, sniffing the air. she closed her eyes and focused her magic in her ears, allowing her to hear the strange sounds better. “It sounds like…water.”

Violet Fire’s ears perked. “Water? You can hear water from over here?”

“…Yeah, I do…it sounds like its rushing and crashing onto a shore.” Goku replied, looking ahead of her. “We’re definitely close to a lake or a pond nearby here, and it’s just up ahead.”

“Oh Celestia, that’s wonderful!” Rarity gushed, her expression brightening. “If there’s water nearby, then that we can use that we can bathe in it! I can use it to finally get all of this dirt, grime, and mud off of me! Not to mention the blood, oh…now that is something that I really want to get off!”

“Same here honey.” Violet Fire murmured. “I wanna find something to soothe this burning feeling in my barrel, and waters just the thing for it! the sooner we get there the better!”

“Well then, let’s get over there then!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “I’ve been sweating so much since all of those fights that I really need something to cool me off!”

“Hey, wait for me Dashie!” Pinkie Pie cried, running after the cyan mare as she flew off into the forest.

“Not if I get there first!” Rarity hissed, speeding after the duo. “Pure clean crystal water, here I come!”

“Girls, hold on a sec!” Applejack cried, before the two mares vanished into the forest. “Consarn it, those two never listen!”

“C’mon girls, let’s go after them.” Twilight said, galloping ahead. “We don’t want them to run in any danger before we get there.”

“That makes two of us Twi.” Goku sighed, flying ahead of the group. “I swear of those two mess up on something, I’m going to drive their heads into the sand.”

“Get in line.” Zephyr said dryly, following after his fellow flyer.

It didn’t take long for Zephyr, the four other mares, and the Shadowbolts to reach the next end of the forest and find their friends. Much to their utter relief, Rarity, Rainbow, and Pinkie Pie were there, and it didn’t look like they had run into any danger along the way. Despite that, it didn’t however, take away their awe and amazement at the sight of the beach that they now found themselves in. The pond or lake that Goku assumed they found was far bigger than she had originally thought that it’d be, more than big enough to be an ocean. It stretched out as far as the eye could see, just like the forest itself, with the same being said for the sand shore. The trees on the other side of the miniature sea was far enough for them to seem like leaves that could be fit inside an adult pony’s hoof. Another thing that was noticed was that the water was crashing wildly, both in the water, and on the beach. A certain something that a few mares did not mind in the least.

“Oh yeah, this is awesome!” Rainbow Dash cried, slashing in and out of the water like a seal. “I have not felt water this good in ages! I’m feeling cooler already!”

“Same here Dashie, this so much fun!” Pinkie Pie cried, swimming on her back in a freestyle position. “Look at all of this splishy splashy water, it just makes me wanna have a pool party here right now!”

“Well, I’m glad that you two are enjoying yourselves, I knowI certainly am.” Rarity hummed, running a hoof through her mane and tail skirt. She glanced over at Violet Fire, who was in the water with them. “How’re you doing over there, Captain Violet Fire?”

“Just fine baby.” Violet Fire cooed, sighing contently as she laid in the water, her head resting on Blue Skies back. “I can feel the burns on my chest and stomach cooling already. This is definitely what I needed after all of those fights that we had in the forest before we reached you eight.” She pulled her mane back as she looked at Rarity, giggling. “I bet you’re really enjoying this water too~!”

“Oh, it feels just absolutely divine!” Rarity squealed, falling into the water with grace that made her seem as if she was a mermaid. “This is the coolest, cleanest water that I have ever felt in my life! It feels as if its cleaning me of all the filthiness this forest has given me since the beginning of this entire journey! It appears that not everythingabout this forest is revolting, and there are somethings about it that’re just spectacular!”

“This is why you should never judge a book by its cover Rarity.” Fluttershy advised, running her hooves down her wet pink mane. “Just like how ponies say to don’t judge other ponies by their appearance, don’t judge any environmentby its appearance as well.”

“That’s right, because you may end up finding out certain things about that something or that somepony that you might like.” Zephyr said softly, shaking his body of water even as he still continued to trudge through it. He let his body fall into the shallow water, rolling around in it for a moment before coming back up, sighing blissfully. “And it looks like we all found it in the form of this wonderful water…”

Blue Skies giggled, ruffling her wings. “Well, you specifically of made it clear that you like it, after you rolled around in it like a little dog. You were like a little puppy experiencing water for the first time; it was so cute~!”

“I-it was not!” Zephyr protested, ignoring the head pat Fluttershy gave him. “I-I was just taking a relaxing dive in the water after being covered in scars and blood for so long, that’s all!”

“Oh, don’t be so worried about being judged Zephyr.” Storm Shadow said, wrapping a striped foreleg around the stallion’s neck. “There’s nothing wrong with a grown pony acting as if they were a foal again, most especially a grown stallion. Who said that only mares did that and not the stallions? It’s not like one side is mature and serious while other side isn’t; not everypony grows out of being a foal entirely.”

A huge wave of water suddenly splashed onto the four Pegasi, and they looked over to see a laughing Applejack galloping past them. Her bandana was absent around her neck while her head no longer consisted of her Stetson, giving Fluttershy the impression that she had gave them over to one of the other girls.

“Ya got that right Storm!” The farmer snorted, taking another dive in the water before coming back up again. “All o’ th’ work that Ah do in th’ farm doesn’t leave me with a whole lotta time fer mahself if Ah don’t stick t’ the routine properly! It’s real nice t’ finally stretch mah legs fer somethin’ other than applebuckin’!”

Fast Tracks suddenly came out of nowhere, inadvertedly tackling Applejack into the water as Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash chased him around. “That makes four of us!” He exclaimed as he turned tail and ran from the three mares.

“See what sis mean?” Lightning Shadow asked, turning back to Zephyr. “Nothing wrong with letting out the child nestled within you.”

“Well, if you say so.” Zephyr sighed, letting out a snort. “Just don’t expect me to do it all the time, especially with what’s at stake here. The second I sense that something’s up around here, you’d better belief that I’m be on high alert. I didn’t make it into the Guard by goofing off.”

Fluttershy giggled, taking Zephyr’s head on her hooves and bringing it into her chest. “Oh, don’t worry Zephyr, we know that you’re not goofing off or anything like that. You’re just taking some time to let out some steam that’s all. Even Royal Guards need to have a break from their duties from time to time, and that’s all that you’re doing.”

“Y-yeah, that’s right.” Zephyr nodded; his voice slightly muffled by Fluttershy’s chest fluff. “Just kicking back for a little bit.”

“And speaking of blow off steam…” Fluttershy continued, her voice gaining a sensual edge to it as she lifted Zephyr’s head. “I have forgotten about how you saved me from getting zapped by that Shinomōkin at the beginning of our adventure in here. Nor did I forget how you saved me form getting scorched alive by the Manticore before I healed it of its injuries. Along with saving Rarity from getting ambushed by the Doragontora or getting a severe injury from that tumble we all took in the underground cavern.” She leaned in closer, their noses nearly touching as she stared into Zephyr’s orange eyes with a gentle, yet lustful gaze. “So many heroic deeds all done in one night in so many different scenarios...you are certainly going to get rewarded for all your services to us tonight.”

The royal blue stallion gulped audibly, his face burning. “W-well, yeah of course I am. I mean, I am a Royal Guard and all, and I know that Celestia’s gonna give me a hefty pay at the end of all of this.”

“I’m sure you will, but what I mean is, that’s not the only reward you’re going to be getting, and certainly not just by the Queen.” Fluttershy said sweetly, her voice still carrying the undertone of sensualness to it. “And I’m pretty sure I’m not going to be the only other mare to reward you either.”

“W-what?” Zephyr asked, having already gotten an inkling of what Fluttershy was saying. “What are you p-p-planning to g-give me?”

With a sly smile, Fluttershy ran her right hoof down Zephyr’s chest, all the way into the water and down to a part of his body that make him jump. His face turned even redder as Fluttershy began to rub that part of his body. “Does that answer your question Zephie?” She purred in his ear.

Deciding that he needed a way out before things go too embarrassing, Zephyr looked around in search of Twilight. To his relief, he saw her sitting at the edge of the bank, looking over what seemed to be a paper of some sorts. Wasting no time, he immediately got to his hooves and said, “Oh would you look at that, Twilight looks like she’s having some trouble with something over there! I should go and ask her what’s wrong so I can help her sort it out, and…yeah, I-I’ll be back in a bit!”

With that, he turned tail and galloped off towards the shore, leaving Fluttershy, Lightning and Storm Shadow behind in the water. He ignored the giggling that was ringing in his sensitive ears as he skidded next to a halt next to the Unicorn. It seemed that Twilight had noticed, because she looked up at him from her paper with a knowing expression.

“Hey Zephyr.” She said calmly as the wind blew in her mane. “Finally got your fill of the beach water and took care of all those wounds?”

“Uh, yeah, you could say that.” Zephyr replied a little too quickly, glancing back behind him. “I had a bit of um, help from your friends too...”

“So I saw.” Twilight said dryly, giggling a bit at his flushed expression. “I take that you didn’t come over here just to keep from needing to study pony anatomy with Fluttershy?”

The blush on Zephyr’s face was so strong that he could swear he felt steam coming out of his ears. “Uuuh, yeah, I did. I-I noticed that you were looking at something on the shore there…is that the map that Pinkie had given you?”

“Mhm, I’m just doing an extra thorough check to see how much of the forest we have left to go through.” Twilight replied, looking back at the map. “I have to admit; I didn’t predict to water here to be so…expanded.”

“I sort of did.” Zephyr said, flicking his tail. “That’s the thing with maps, they make you think that places like this are so small, when in reality, it’s a lot bigger than they look. Just like with the whole forest itself on this map…it looked small, bit it was bigger than almost any of you could’ve thought possible.”

“Yeah, no argument on that.” Twilight sighed, folding the map and standing up. “And that’s what has me so concerned right now. With how big this water is, I’m not sure how long it’s going to take us to reach the other end, if we’ll be able to get over there without too much trouble…”

“Twilight, you should know by now that getting past this forest without having any marks on you is next to impossible.” Zephyr said, putting a hoof on the mare’s shoulder. “We all have the scars to prove that much, and so do you. Although, I can see what you’re trying to point out here…you know with all of the dangers that the sea has to offer. Like Cragadiles, Sharks, Giant Sea Snakes, Octopuses, Giant Squids, Hydras, Sea Serpents and Water Dra-”

“Alright, alright, I get it Zephyr!” Twilight growled, jamming a hoof in his mouth. “No need to list out every single thing that could kill you in water, especially since we’ve already faced one of them already.”

“Doesn’t rule out the possibility of us facing them again.” Zephyr pointed out. “Cragadiles don’t just live in accessible underground caverns, and they’re certainly not the only water dwelling creatures out here.”

“I know…and that’s another thing that worries me.” Twilight sighed. “I just can’t help but wonder if we’ll be able to fend them all off.”

“We did with the Cragadiles, so I’m confident that we can do the same with the other sea creatures here.” Zephyr said casually, wrapping a foreleg around Twilight in a hug. “Plus, we have the Shadowbolts, one of them being a Thestral, your seven trump cards, and me to back you all up. I’d say our chances of surviving this little sea adventure is pretty high.”

“Yeah.” Twilight nodded. “I hope so.”

“Speaking of Thestrals…” Zephyr continued. “Where did Goku go?”

“Oh, she went back into the forest to get some trees and leaves from the bigger ones.” Twilight replied nonchalantly. “She wanted to get some of the strongest giant leaves and bark possible for when we built our ship to sail.”

“Oh okay, cool.” Zephyr nodded, blinking a second later before Twilight’s words fully sank in his head. “Wait, what?”

“HEADS UP EVERYPONY!!! TIMBEEEEEER!!!”

The powerful call that came from the forest sent everypony scurrying out of the water before their brains fully processed what was going on. It came just in time, for a gigantic tree with groves of equally giant leaves, came soaring out of the forest like an arrow from a bow. It crashed into the shore of the ground and crashed straight into the water, emitting huge waves from either side. They swept up everypony within range, carrying them some distance away from the tree and further down either side of the shore. When the water calmed again Goku suddenly came soaring out of the trees, landing on the fallen tree with a slight skip in her step.

“Oh, hay yeah that felt so amazing! I haven’t used that much strength in forever!” Goku sighed blissfully, tipping Applejack hat which was currently resting on her head. “This big baby should be big and strong enough for us to sail across that water!”

“GOKU!” Rarity’s shrill shriek cut through the silence of the beach. “WHAT IN CELESTIA’S NAME ARE YOU DOING?!”

“What did you think I did?” Goku called back down form the left side of the fallen tree as Chenoa flew beside her. She adjusted the Stetson on her head while straightening the red bandana around her neck. “I had gone inside the forest and got this giant tree for us to sail across.”

“I GET THAT PART YOU OBNOXIOUS IN SUFFERABLE IDIOT!” Rarity continued to scream, causing the ponies near her to cover their ears. “WHAT I AM ASKING YOU, IS WHAT IN THE WORLD YOU WERE THINKING THROWING THAT GIANT THING OVER WHERE THE REST OF US WERE?!”

“Uh, why do you think?” Goku asked, raising a brow. “So, this tree can be formed and morphed into a ship that we can all use to sail across the other side of the forest.”

Rarity’s eyes blazed as she shot a blast of magic at the Thestral, hitting the bark instead. “YOU MEAN SO YOU COULD USE IT TO CRUSH US AND TURN US INTO FISH FOOD FOR THE CREATURE INSIDE OF THIS WATER?!” She bellowed, stomping her hooves in the water. “I THINK NOT, YOU STUPID AIRHEADED FISH EATING BUCKED TOOTHED APPLE SUCKING BAFOON!”

“Rarity, will you chill the fuck out?!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she, Fast Tracks, and Zephyr came up with Twilight, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie. “I get that Goku nearly squashed us with this thing, but you don’t need to use that as a reason to make all of us go deaf!”

“Yeah, yer soundin’ louder than a rooster cockatooin’ through th’ fields of a farm.” Applejack said, rubbing at her ears. “Seriously girl, calm the buck down.”

“I BEG TO DIFFER ON THAT RAINBOW DASH, AND DON’T YOU DARE TELL ME TO CALM DOWN APPLEJACK!” Rarity continued to shriek, shooting a few more magic blasts. “I THINK I HAVE EVERY REASON TO MAKE EVERYPONY HERE LOSE THEIR HEARING FOR THE SIMPLE FACE THAT WE ALMOST GOT CRUSHED TO DEATH!”

“Well Rarity, in Goku’s defense, she did warn us that the tree was coming. Even if we did get one hell of a jumps scare from it.” Lighting Shadow said, putting a hoof on the fashionista’s shoulder in an attempt to calm her down. “So, I don’t think you should be that upset with her, especially since you were running before you even saw the tree.”

Whirling around, Rarity slapped Lightning’s hoof away, the force so great that it actually hurt as he stumbled back into the water. “DON’T YOU DARE GO DEFENDING HER LIGHTNING! YOU AND I BOTH KNOW WE COULD’VE GOTTEN SQUASHED LIKE BUGS, WHETHER GOKU WARNED US ABOUT THAT TREE OR NOT!”

With another snort, she spun back around and glared up at Goku, who was merely staring back with a deadpan expression. “AS FOR YOU, YOU JUST WAIT UNTIL I GET UP THERE! AND WHEN I DO, I AM GOING TO PLUCK EVERY LAST ONE OF THOSE FEATHERS FROM THE WINGS ON YOUR SHOULDERS FOR MY NEXT DRESS!” She screamed as she began stomping forward, making the water slash around all her. “ AND THEN, I’M GOING TO TEAR ALL FOUR OF YOUR CANINE TEETH FROM THE ROOTS, AND USE THE OTHER SMALLER PAIR AS A NEW PAIR OF EARRINGS, WHILE I USE THE OTHER TWO, TO SHOVE RIGHT UP YOUR-”

That was all that Rarity was able to saw before a hoof slammed into the back of her head, thus causing her eyes to roll back. As she felt towards the water, a striped foreleg grabbed the back of her mane, this keeping her from falling.

“Okay, I think that’s enough screaming like a banshee for you Rarity.” Storm Shadow said, as she hoisted the dazed fashionista on her back. “You okay Lightning?”

The light grey mare shook her stinging hoof around. “Y-yeah, I’ll be okay, but damn that was a hard hit she gave my hoof.” She replied, before turning back to Fluttershy. “Is she always this strong and short tempered?”

“More often than we’d like on the latter.” Fluttershy replied, staring at the lump on the back of Rarity’s head. “As for the former, not really…while Rarity is powerful, she isn’t quite as homed in her abilities as the rest of us are. So, she tends to go overboard with both her magical and her physical strength whenever she gets angry. While she’s not even half Earth Pony, she can pack quite a wallop when she puts her mind to it. Though nowhere near as hard as Goku can, if you haven’t figured that out already.”

“Oh, trust me, we know what that feeling is like.” Lightning Shadow shuddered, remembering all the sparring matches Goku had with the Shadowbolts back in Canterlot. “And that should probably make me glad that it was Rarity who struck me instead of Goku. Because if it was the other way around, I would probably have a broken leg.”

“Not probably.” Fluttershy said as she and the twins flew up to meet the others. “Definitely.”

“Alright, seeing as that little temper tantrum is taken care of…” Goku grumbled, stepping back enough to face everypony else. “Is everypony here and assembled? Because I kind of wanna go ahead and see if we can get sailing so we can cross to the other side.”

“Yes honey, we’re all here, future Elements of Harmony, Guard, Shadowbolts and all.” Violet Fire giggled, her wet mane clinging to her face. “So, how are you planning to make this giant tree get us to the other side of this water?”

“Simple.” Goku chirped with a slight wink. “We’re going to take this tree that we’re on, and morph it into one giant ship!”

Twilight blinked, tilting her head perplexedly. “Um, Goku, not that I’m trying to sound like I think that you’re crazy but…how’re we going to do that?”

“Good question Twilight!” Pinkie Pie replied, giggling merrily. “So…you know how we Earth Ponies have a deep connection to the earth, right?”

“Twilight nodded. “Yes, they have the strongest connection to the Earth out of all the Three Pony Tribes…well, four.”

“Good, good.” Pinkie nodded approvingly. “And you know how the Thestrals, like Goku and Fast Tracks here, are known for their supernatural connection to earth, and their whacky and out of control magic, right?”

“Uh, yeah, we know that Pinks. In fact, Goku’s showed us plenty of examples thousands o’ times since were fillies.” Applejack replied. “Jus’ what’re you goin on’ ‘bout?”

“What me and her implying, us that we could use me, Fast Tracks, Pinkie, and your connection to the earth to make this entire tree into a ship.” Goku explained, motioning to herself, the farmer, the party pony, and the librarian. “Like Twilight just said, Applejack and Pinkie have the strongest connection to the earth, and as we all know, trees, are part of the earth. So, what I was thinking, was that Pinkie Pie and Applejack could channel their magic through this tree and summon and sink parts of the tree, while me and Fast Tracks get to work to morphing it in a ship. Then, while we’re doing that, Twilight and Rarity can make the sails using the giant leaves that’re at the top of the tree.”

“How are we supposed to do that darling?” Rarity asked, having recovered from the head bonk Storm Shadow gave her. “It’s not like we have any rope that we can use to tie them together as sails.”

“You don’t need to use any rope Rarity.” Fluttershy said. “Applejack and Pinkie Pie can both just summon vines out form the ground and use that as rope. You can even change the size so you’ll be able to hold it in your hooves if you can use it with magic like Twilight and Rarity.”

“Oh, that’s right.” Applejack said, pawing at the tree bark. “We can do that…must’ve slipped mah mind.”

“That does sound like a well though idea there Goku.” Lightning Shadow said, glancing back at the tree. “It’s just that we may have a bit of a problem with leaf sails, since they are at the top of the tree.”

“Oh, don’t you worry about that Lightning!” Pinkie said cheerfully. “You just leave that part to good ol’ Pinkie Pie!”

“Well, I guess that settles it then.” Fast Tracks said, clapping his forehooves. “Everypony, stand back! Me, G, Pinkie and Applejack got work to do!”

Everypony else nodded to them as they either trotted and flew away from the Thestrals and Earth Ponies, wanting to give them room. Auras the colors of their bodies appeared making all their eyes glow before they all reared up and simultaneously slammed their forehooves down on the giant tree. Waves of magic washed throughout the giant tree as they covered the it in a bright multicolored aura, thus making it shine as a result. Suddenly, it began to shake violently, and soon started to morph and distort in a way that would seem grotesque if it was an actual living being.

“Oh dear, I think it’s working!” Rarity cried. “This tree is about to undergo a new change!”

“Brace yourselves!” Zephyr shouted, his hooves morphing into claws to grip the wood. “This is gonna be a bumpy ride!”

As he said this, the tree began to morph and shape from that of a tree, to something that could pass off as an actual ship. The first part of the ship to appear was the ship was the keel, which was at the very bottom of the ship, then the rudder, which was at the far back. Next, was the hull, followed by the bow sprit, and the quarter deck in the far top back. Suddenly, two thick pillars of wood burst up from either side of the four ponies creating the ship. These two pillars of wood consisted of the fore mast and the main mast, along with the two topmasts that both had at the top of the pillars of wood. Branches suddenly stuck out from them, six each, all of them enabled for holding the fore topsail, main topsail, mainsail and foresail. The bow sprit was also designed to connect the for stay sail, jib, and the flying jib to the fore mast. Below the main deck, the mast step, forecastle, hold, hatch, keel, and bulkhead formed inside of the castle, thus completing the formation of the ship.

“Oh my goodness…” Blue Skies breathed, her blue eyes wide with awe. “They did it, they actually managed to turn the tree into a ship!”

“You’re damn right they did!” Rainbow Dash grinned widely. “And it looks totally awesome!”

“It really does…Goku really outdid herself this time, along with Fast Tracks, Applejack and Pinkie Pie.” Twilight nodded, talking around the ship and inspecting it closely. As she ran a hoof down the main mast, she heard groaning behind her, and she looked to see the four creators of the ship on the ground in sweating heaps. “Oh no, are you four alright?!”

“Y-yeah, we’ll be okay Twi…” Applejack panted, wiping at her forehead. “Land sakes, now that really took a lotta outta me it did. That was a lot harder than it actually looked.”

“Uh-huh…” Pinkie Pie moaned, sprawled over the farmer. “I’ve morphed big objects before, but never anything this big before. I guess in all of the years that I’ve been working for the cakes, it looks like I had gotten a little rusty.”

“Well, we certainly haven’t that’s for damn sure.” Fast Tracks said, staggering to his hooves as he helped Goku up. “I know that we Thestrals are known for creating objects out of mere earth, thanks to our overwhelming levels of magic, but…jeez that took a lot out of me.”

“You don’t just mean physically and magically, do you?” Goku asked, sucking in deep breaths to calm her rapidly beating heart. Chenoa was hovering beside her, nuzzling in her cheek in some form of comfort. “Because it feels like my head is going to crack like a hatchling popping out of an egg.”

“I’m pretty sure he also means that honey, I can tell just by the look on his face.” Violet Fire replied dryly, walking up behind both Thestrals. “Regardless, both of you did an amazing job, and that goes for you two Pinkie Pie, Applejack.”

“T-thanks…Ah’m glad Ah could help.” Applejack said, looking slightly less tired. “H-hey Goku, c-can Ah have mah hat an’ bandana back now?”

“Huh, oh, right!” Goku nodded, trotting over and setting the Stetson of Applejack’s golden maned head. “There we go, good as new AJ!”

“Thank ya kindly sug-ack!” Applejack began, only to gag as Goku rather tightly wrapped her bandana around her neck. “Not so tight hon’! Ah still need t’ be able t’ breath with this thing.”

“Oops, sorry.” Goku giggled. “Guess I’m not totally out of it.”

“Um girls, I don’t mean to interrupt, but we haven’t quite finished here.” Rarity said. “We still have the sails that we need to make in order for the wind to pull us into the sea.”

“Oh, that’s right.” Twilight replied. “So, the larger branches and leaves are still at the top right?”

“Not exactly.” Pinkie Pie replied, rubbing the back of her head. “When we were creating the ship, the leaves were kind of sucked inside the ship. Don’t worry though, I’ve created a quick way to get them out into the open!”

Storm Shadow raised an eyebrow. “What quick way is that?”

The sound of something popping out from the back of the ship made nearly everypony jump, and they ran to the back of the shop. There, just atop the rudder was a large engine hole that was shooting out gigantic leaves just big enough to be used for sails. The hole continued to let out the leaves for a full ten seconds before it stopped, leaving a huge pile of them on the shore for the ponies to grab.

“Well…that’s one way to do it.” Lightning Shadow muttered. “Anypony gonna go and get those leaves?”

“We will dear!” Rarity said, trotting to the side of the ship. “Me and Twilight are the ones who’ll make the sails after all. I do want to spend a bit more time in that divine water anyway.”

“You’re going to need our vines to do that!” Pinkie Pie said, racing over and diving rump first into the water. After shaking the water from her now wet mane, she looked up and said shouted, “That means you too Jackie!”

Applejack sighed tiredly, adjusting her Stetson and bandana as she walked over to the edge of the ship. “Got it…”

Author's Notes:

First off, I want to just apologize for not being as clear as I was about the next upcoming chapters in my last authors not about this particular part of the journey. What I meant to say was that I was actually going the splitting this into two parts, since I had a good portion of this little watery adventure thought up and written in my head after I had spent some of last night on it. And, after reaching it to the amount of words that I did, I have officially confirmed to myself that this is going to be a two parter here, mainly for the next character that I'm planning into introduce in the chapter after this. So once again, I apologize if I had confused any of you on that or left you in the dark about this being a two parter.

Also, I'm sure there are a lot of you who're wondering how in the name of Lauren H. Faust herself that some of the ponies in this group were able to make a ship out of the wood from a gigantic tree and sails of out of gigantic leaves, right? Well, as I've mentioned, and as you have seen in all of the previous fights, Applejack and Pinkie Pie's connection to earth allows them to bend it to their will, and not just the dirt, but also the plants all around them, like the vines they like to summon, something that I failed to give out through a good portion of this story. So this also allows them to bend anything that disconnected to the earth to their will, along with the Thestrals, another thing that they are known for other than their unimaginable control over weather, abundant amounts of magic, and their supernatural strength, speed, and senses. Of course, in this AU, the Thestrals have an even deeper connection to the ground than Earth Ponies do, so Pinks and AJ needed just a little hit of help when changing the giant tree that Goku took out of the forest that nearly squashed them. Also, this is an idea that I got from the movie Frozen, which is the same movie where I got the idea of Nightmare Moon creating her new castle back in Chapter 13, so if you have forgotten about that part, go back and read that chapter, and hopefully, the creation of the ponies' ship will make al little bit more sense. As for the sails, to put it simply, I made the Everfree Forest a larger version of the Titan Forest from Attack on Titan, rather than just expanding it across the eastern part of the map of Equestria. Except in this AU, its so much bigger than even that, which includes the branches and even the leaves. Add that to the ponies using the vines summoned from the earth as magical plant versions of rope, and...yeah, I don't think it should be that too far off.

Well, that's it for right now; the next chapter will appear either today, or tomorrow morning, depending on what else I can put in it for the second part. What I know I will put in for sure, is our brand new surprise character!!!