It took just a little bit longer for the ponies to create the sails needed for the wooden ship, but thanks to Twilight and Rarity’s magic, and the latter’s sewing skills, they managed to get the job done. The only real hard part was lifting the sails up to their designated positions on the shop in order for the wind to move it forward. Which meant the two Unicorns had to lift the large heavy sails high in the air, while Applejack and Pinkie Pie used their vines to tie them up. It took a few tries, but in the end, they eventually managed to get the job done, with some help form the Shadowbolts in the process. Once the sails were formed, they let Mother Nature do the rest of the work, and after a few false pushes, the ship slowly sailed off into the waters. They all then took this time to try to regain some of their strength, having used a good amount of it on their journey. Even so, none of them let down their guards, for they knew anything could pop out of the ocean at any time; they just didn’t know what yet.

“Whoo hoooo, this is so awesome!” Pinkie Pie squealed from the crow’s nest, both her forelegs flailing about. “I can see the entire water from up here!”

“Pinkie Pie, be careful up there!” Rarity shouted from below. “This ship may be big, but there are still certain parts of it that could seriously injure you! So please keep an eye on yourself okay dear?”

“Oh, don’t worry Rarity, just let her be.” Rainbow Dash chuckled, flying beside the alabaster Unicorn. “This is Pinkie Pie you’re talking to here; nothing bad is gonna happen to her! She’ll be just fine up there, and so will the rest of us!”

“That’s easy for you to say Rainbow.” Rarity snorted, turning up her nose. “A majority of the members of our groups are flyers, and can easily fly out of danger! The rest of us are Unicorns and Earth Ponies, and we have to be a bit more vigilant about keeping ourselves safe.”

“Except you don’t really need to.” Rainbow Dash murmured, wrapping a foreleg around Rarity’s neck. “Having a bunch of Pegasi and a couple of Thestrals here with you all is exaclty why I’m saying that we’re going to be okay. Because we’re going to be keeping a close eye on the water, and on you, so if you fall out, we’ll be there to catch you!”

“And if you have any wounds and scars, we’ll also be there to help heal them.” Fluttershy said, landing on the other side of Rarity. “Well, those of us who will be able to use healing powers at least…”

“Well…when you put it like that, that does sound more reassuring.” Rarity murmured, mulling in thought for a moment. “Still, I can’t help but be concerned about what creatures lurk under the depths of this wonderfully divine water.”

“We all are Rarity, ya ain’t th’ only one.” Applejack said, lying on the large vines of one of the sails. “Zephyr was kind enough t’ give us plenty of examples of what could be lurkin’ in those watery depths down there. As Granny Smith always said, never judge an apple by its seeds.”

Goku, who was swinging around the bow sprit by her tail, shouted, “Don’t you mean don’t judge a book my its cover?!”

“Uh, yeah…” Applejack murmured, sweat dropping. “That…”

“I was just about to say that.” Fluttershy said sheepishly. “But it looks like it was said for me…”

“Applejack does make a valid point still.” Twilight said, walking over to the others. “This is the Everfree Forest, and their danger all around, both on the ground, the air, and the sea. We’ve encountered dangers in the sky and on the earth, and even underground…I can only imagine what dangers we’re going to face in the see.”

“Um, Twi, don’t you remember me say that they were?!” Zephyr called to her from behind the steering wheel. “I had explained what kind of creatures that we were going to be facing, those being the Cragadiles, Sharks, Giant Sea Snakes, Octopuses, Giant Squids, Hydras, Sea Serpents, and Dragons!”

“Oh, right sorry Zephyr!” Twilight said, shooting him an apologetic smile. A second later, the last couple of words he said caught up to her, and she shouted, “Wait, Dragons?! You never said that there’d be dragons in these waters!”

“Uh, yeah I did!” Zephyr said with a half-lidded gaze. “Or at least, I tried to, but you interrupted me before I could finish my sentence!”
The embarrassed blush on Twilight’s face grew darker. “Eheheheheh…right, sorry!”

“And you’re saying that we should listen when ponies are talking.” Rainbow Dash said with a snort. “Hypocrite…”

“Hush you!” Rarity hissed, slapping the cyan mare’s face with her tail.

“Zephyr and Applejack both make good points about these waters.” Fluttershy said, making the others turn to her. “There are a multitude of different creatures right under our hooves and this whole ship, each of them equipped with their own arsenal of weapons. The Cragadile and the Sharks with their agility and jaw power, the Octopuses and Giant Squids with their suction cup tentacles and bird-like beaks, the Sea Snakes and their constriction hugs of death, the Hydras and Sea Serpents with their multiple heads and swiping tails…” She shuddered. “...and the giant water dwelling dragons…”

The buttermilk Pegasus suddenly felt a warm webbed wing drape around her, and she looked over to see Goku smiling sweetly at her. “It’s alright Fluttershy, we know how you feel. At this point, we’re all pretty much expecting some other creature to pop out and try to eat us up like the other eight onesthat tried to do so in the forest. My only hope is that we don’t run into the last animal that Zephyr mentioned, that being the water dwelling dragons…now that would be truly bad for all of us.”

“Your damn right that it would be.” Fast Tracks said as he and the Shadowbolts hovered around them. “Coming face to face with a dragon would not be good for any of you, that is if you’re not a Shenron or a Thestral. Too bad that we don’t have the one guy in these seas to protect us all from all of these badass beasts.”

“I beg your pardon?” Rarity asked, raising a brow. “What exactly do you mean by ‘one guy’?”

“Oh, you didn’t know?” Violet Fire asked, giggling a little bit. “There is a famous legend that said to be confined in the Everfree. One that roams the very waters of the forest we’re sailing across right now, never encountered by ponies too afraid to trek in this forest. It’s a legend that, while seeming dangerous, won’t exactly hurt you…if you don’t end up losing your nerve that is.”

“Wait an apple pie cookin’ minute.” Applejack said suddenly, holding a hoof up. “Yer meanin’ t’ tell us that there’s some kind o’ legend here? In the Everfree Forest, th’ most dangerous o’ all o’ th’ wild places known in Equis?”

“Certainly.” Lightning Shadow murmured. “Like Captain Violet just said, this legend is known to live in these very waters, in various parts of the Everfree. Swimming just below the surface in of any boats or ships that happen to be sailing through these waters.”

“Alright, you guys are really staring make me unable to take all this suspense!” Rainbow Dash said, biting her lip in frustration. “Will you please just tell us what this legend is already?!”

For a moment the Shadowbolts all looked at one another, as if debating whether or not they should actually reveal this so called, Everfree Legend. Finally, Storm Shadow broke the silence, and, while looking each of the mares in the eyes, she asked, “Alright…for starters, have any of you heard of the legend of the, ‘Ranger of the Sky?’”

Pinkie Pie suddenly came falling face first right onto the deck, before bouncing back up with a wide grin on her face. “The Ranger of the Sky?! I’ve never heard of anypony like that before! Are they a he or a she?! Can they fly or swim?! Are they a pony like us?!”

“Hold on sweetie, slow down so you can breathe.” Violet Fire chided gently, putting a hoof to Pinkie Pie’s muzzle. “Now to answer all of your questions at once, the Ranger of the Sky is a he, yes he can both swim and fly. Well, he can also walk on earth as well, and no he’s not a pony…at least not entirely.”

This caught Twilight’s interest. “Not entirely a pony? You mean this Ranger of the Sky is a cross between two species, like the Griffons are?”

“Yes, he is.” Lightning Shadow nodded. “Have any of you heard of the elusive Hippogriffs before?”

“The hippo what now?” Applejack asked, wondering if she heard right as Fluttershy gasped.

“Hippo…griff.” Fast Tracks emphasized slowly. “You know, those really cool looking crosses between an eagle and a pony?”

“I’ve heard about those creatures.” Fluttershy said, her eyes wide with recognition. “I read it in one of the many books of legendary creatures that my parents gave me when I was just a filly. Within the pages of those books I found scriptures that foretold a race of majestic Hippogriffs that lived on a vast land of mountains beyond the boarders of our land, and they were said to be known as the masters of both the sky and the sea. They lived in various parts of the southern mountains long ago, but now its seems they have all disappeared, and I'm not sure why. The Hippogriffs have been known to move on one mountain in particular, called Mount Aris, which was mentioned many times in my books, and it seems this mountain has some special significance to them all. The Hippogriffs were said to even have the ability to transform into Seaponies, or merponies to put in more simpler terms.”

“Seaponies?” Rainbow Dash asked, a confused frown on her face. “How in the hay could they do that?”

“Their King and Queen had a pearl that was magical in every sense.” Blue Skies explained. “It’s said that when this pearl used, the magic within it covers the hippogriffs in misty cloaks that’ll turn them into beautiful and regal Seaponies. You don’t have to worry though; it doesn’t hurt at all; the process is said to feel quite pleasurable as a matter of a fact?”

“Pleasurable how?” Rarity asked curiously.

The palomino mare blushed. “I’m not sure…all I do know it’s supposed to feel really, um…good.”

“So…the Hippogriffs of Mount Aris are not only crossing between eagles and ponies, but with this pearl, they can turn into Seaponies too?” Twilight asked, silently wishing she had notes to jot this all down. “I see…and you’re saying that this, ‘Ranger of the Sky’ is just like them?”

“Mhm.” Violet Fire nodded. “It’s the main reason why he’s known to roam these seas, because of his ability to turn into a water breathing creature. Of course, he can also revert back into his Hippogriff form so he can roam the skies and mountains for as long as he wants to.”

“Wait a second!” Applejack said, a thought coming to her. “Y’all jus’ said that with th’ pearl that this here King an’ Queen o’ these Hippogriffs are what’re known for turnin’ th’ rest o’ their kind int’ these water swimmin’ ponies. How can this Sky Ranger possibly do that without the magic o’ this pearl, that don’t make no sense!”

“We were getting to that, but you interrupted us before we could continue.” Blue Skies replied, making Applejack pause and blush in embarrassment. “To answer your question, there are two ways that the Hippogriffs can travel through water without having to use the pearl. First, they’d have to turn into another creature in order for them to be able to travel through the water so they don’t have to worry about drowning, which is something that hippogriffs can do. One that Fluttershy may be more than a little afraid of.”

It didn’t take Fluttershy even two seconds to catch onto what Blue Skies was saying. “Oh…I think I can see.” She said, her tone holding the slightest bit of apprehensiveness. “So…what’s the other way that the h-hippogriffs can travel through the w-water?”

A sudden clap of thunder cut Blue off from her potential answer, and all of the ponies looked up to see storm clouds gathering up into the sky. Just as they turned their attention away from it, they felt a violent bump against the ship, making all of them stumbled about the wood made ship.

“Whoa, did anypony else feel that?” Goku asked, scrambling to her hooves as Chenoa listened out with his ears. “Something just hit the ship just now.”

“Well I certainly felt it.” Rarity replied gravely. “I don’t think that was a rock of sorts either.”

“Same here.” Storm Shadow murmured. “There was no way that could’ve been an underwater rock. If it was, we would’ve either turned the other side or stopped right where we are. I know that there is something lurking from underneath us.”

“What do you think it could be?” Twilight asked as the ship got turned the other way. “It has to be something big.”

“Not sure, but there’s no way I’m gonna let it eat my new friends!” Fast Tracks hissed, before flying over to Zephyr. “Yo Zeph, you’re the steerer and the main leader of this group! What do you want us to do?!”

“Well, I already sense something was underneath the water, so I was already planning.” Zephyr replied, closing his eyes as a sky-blue aura surrounded him. In swirl of magic, he was back in his Ascension Mode, armor, cape and all. “Violet, I want your team to fly around the ship and keep a lookout from below for anything that could pop out from below, or in the sky!”

“Right, come on team!” Violet Fire nodded, before they all took flight.

“Rarity Twilight, you two go the front and the back of the ship!” Zephyr ordered in full guard mode. “You can use your magic to attack and block any creature that comes from those sides of the ship!”

“Got it!” Twilight nodded, as she and Rarity went to their resigned destinations.

“Applejack, Pinkie Pie, you two will take the sides of the ship!” Zephyr commanded. “Your strength should be able to hold back the more powerful creatures here in the sea. Since the tree still has its magic, you should still be able to use it for some form of attack or defense.”

“Okie Dokie Lokie!” Pinkie Pie giggled as she and Applejack trotted to the ship’s side.

“Goku, Rainbow, you two will take the crow’s nest!” Zephyr concluded, spinning the steering will about. “It’s the highest point of the ship, so you should be able to see the furthest!”

“On it, come Dash!” Goku saluted before taking off to the highest ship point. As she did so, Pinkie suddenly galloped over to Zephyr, alerting the stallion’s attention.

“P-pinkie, what’re you doing?!” He asked, a bit taken aback. “I thought I told you to guard the left side of the ship!”

“I know!” Pinkie Pie said, digging into her mane. “I just wanted to give you this!”

With a swing of her hoof, Pinkie Pie threw a large Pirate Captain’s had over to Zephyr, this one consisting of a blue and yellow color with a long bright orange feather. The stallion hunched his body as the hat landed on his head after a few spins, before he looked up at it.

“A...Pirate Captain’s hat?” Zephyr asked, both of his ears popping out from either side. “Why the buck do I need this?”

“Uh, duh, cause you’re the captain of this little crew!” Pinkie Pie giggled. “Plus, you’re the one commanding the steer, and a higher rank than all of us! So, I think it’s only fair that you should be made captain, and look like one hmhmhm!”

“Just go with it, Zephyr!” Rainbow Dash shouted from above. “Its just Pinkie being Pinkie!”

“…Okay?” Zephyr murmured, raising a brow. “I don’t see a reason for the had to be included, but alright.”

Another hard crash into the ship from below alerted the royal blue stallion back to the situation at hoof, and he scanned the waters for anything down below. Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Twilight watched from front, back, and sides, while the flyers watched from above. Splashes of water crashed against the ship, due to the water swaying so strongly, both from the wind, and from whatever creature that was prowling around the ship. For minutes that seemed to stretch on forever, there was nothing, and for just a brief moment the group though that the creature had left them alone.

Then, all thirteen ponies felt themselves either meeting the ground or about to as something slammed into the ship from the bottom. They all screamed as the wooden ship was sent flying into the air and sailing across it. Those that were calm enough to know what to do grabbed the sides of the ship or the vines tying the sails together to keep from falling into the sea. Some of them didn’t react in time, and found themselves flying through the air towards the water where the creature was waiting. Luckily the flyers of the group saw them falling towards certain death, and they caught them before they could meet their end.

“Holy bucking shit!” Fast Tracks yelled as he met the others down below. “That was bucking insane?!Did the rest of you guys see that shit?!”

“Y-yeah…w-w-we did…!” Blue Skies whimpered, looking as white as a sheet. “A-and it was so h-huge!”

“Huge?!How ‘bout addin’ bein’ as strong as buck behind it?!” Applejack asked, trying to stand on wobbly hooves. “Whatever that thing was, it catapulted us int’ th’ air like it was nothin’! Ah am so glad that this ain’t just a regular wooden ship! If it was, it probably would’ve broken in half jus’ by that hit alone!”

“No kidding.” Rainbow Dash snorted. “Problem is, we still don’t know what it was that attacked us so we can kick its ass!”

“Um, Rainbow Dash…” Storm Shadow said, looking rather worried. “I don’t think we’re going to have much luck fighting this particular creature.”

Suddenly, Lightning Shadow gasped and screamed, “LOOK OUT; SCATTER!”

Everypony looked to where lightning shadow was pointing and immediately saw why. A gigantic tail, the size of the ship, was sailing towards them. Their eyes widened when they saw the blue tail blade at the end, and all went in opposite directions to avoid being sliced. Well all of them except for Applejack, who looked to be too stunned by the sight to get to safety.

“APPLEJACK!” Pinkie Pie screamed as she scrambled to rescue the farmer from being sliced in two. Just as she reached her and took her in her forelegs, a blue bur came in between them and the tail blade, preventing both mares from getting cut in half.

“Zephyr!” Twilight and Goku cried in unison.

Zephyr growled loudly as he grabbed the side of the edge sharp blade, both of his forehooves having turned into draconic claws. With an explosive roar, a pillar of flames shot out from under him and traveled down the tails starting from the blade. This in turn caused a series of pain to shoot through the creature, as evident by the roar of pain that shot throughout the air. With a swift jerk, the tail pulled away and crashed back into the water.

“Father Shenron Almighty!” Zephyr panted as he collapsed onto his rump. “That was way too close for comfort! Are the two of you okay?!”

“Uh, y-yeah, we’re fine!” Pinkie Pie cried, gulping. “Still, that was so close I almost felt that one!”

“Same here! Ah really thought I’d be turned into apple slices!” Applejack shuddered, looking up at Zephyr. “You okay there, hon’?”

“Yeah, I’m just glad the two of you are okay.” Zephyr said staggering back to his feet. He picked up his Captain’s hat and adjusted it back on his head. “Still though, that was one huge tail! Now I know that is not some Giant Sea Snake!”

“N-no…i-it’s not.” Fluttershy said with a whimper, sounding like she had just woken up from a nightmare. All eyes turned to her, and they jumped back upon seeing the petrified look on her face, as if she was seeing her greatest fear. “L-look…!”

Following the line of Fluttershy’s gaze, everypony felt their minds all but shut down at the sight that they were seeing before him. There, slowly emerging from the water with streams of the liquid falling from its scaly body, was probably the biggest water dragon they had ever seen. It was clearly a water dragon, as evident by the gills on the sides of its scaly reptilian face and the curved barracuda like teeth that it was baring at them. The water falling from its aquatic blue skin made it shine in the moon’s pale light as its pale blue eyes blazed down at them hungrily, its snake-like tongue slithering across its lips. The shadows of its massive wings spanned over the entire ship as its massive webbed claws gripped its side, it’s bladed tail swaying behind it as its neck, elbow, and back spines glinted at the tips.

“Oh shit!” Rainbow Dash cried; her pupils contracted. “Now that is one big dragon!”

“That is not just a dragon!” Violet Fire shouted from above. “That is a water dragon, a dragon designed for life in the water rather than just the air and ground! You can tell just by the color of its skin and the gills it has in between its cheeks!”

“And I’m sure that all of you guys know, as with any dragon, they can breathe fire!” Fast Tracks added. “Which means, we are more or less basically screwed!”

“Not unless we can counter its attacks when they’re thrown.” Lightning Shadow said, trying to calm the light brown stallion. “We’ve managed to make it this far, so i don’t doubt we’ll be able to get past this.”

“Except that it’s going to be particularly harder this time.” Storm said softly, rubbing her striped forelegs. “If our Ascension Modes don’t work against him, we’ll have no choice but to take out our trump cards.”

Blue Skies frowned at her team. “W-will we really have to do that now? H-here? Even when we haven’t gotten to Nightmare Moon yet?”

The water dragon suddenly let out a deafening roar and it moved away from the ship, the force making the water behind it rise up in massive waves. Opening its mouth, azure blue light could be seen growing within it, and everypony immediately knew what was about to happen.

“HE’S FIRING!” Zephyr yelled, racing towards the ship’s left side. “INCOMING EVERYPONY!”

The water dragon’s blast of bright blue fire erupted form its mouth just as Zephyr gave out that command with an explosive blast. The stream of flames rushed at the ship at such a speed that it actually split the water apart at the surface. Zephyr, who was his Ascension Mode, raced to the side of the ship and summoned a giant sphere in the same form as his Cutie Marks. Luckily, it came just as the flames were about to connect, and a shockwave ripped through the waters as ripples were sent through it. The ship got pushed back even more as the stallion blocked the attack from the giant reptilian, even as its heat began to sweep over him.

“Zephyr!” Twilight cried, rushing over to the stallion. “Get away from there before you get burned!”

“No chance in Tartarus Twilight!” Zephyr yelled over the flames. “If I move, this dragon is going to burn the entire ship along with us on it! I’ve got to get this shield up until he stops or one of us gets the drop on him!”

“But Zephyr, you might get-!” Twilight tried to protest again, but Goku grabbed her and held her back.

“You’re not going to be able to stop him Twilight, you should know that already!” She hissed as she grabbed at the Unicorn’s horn. “And don’t even think of trying to use your magic to try to bring him back or block the attack! Because it’s not going to work, and you’re only going to get us all killed if you do!”

Twilight whimpered in defeat. “B-but Zephyr might…”

“He’s not going to die, okay?!” Goku yelled, her authoritive tone rending the librarian silent as a rock. “Zephyr’s made it this far fighting the animals in this forest, and don’t forget, he can also chance into a dragon himself! For Celestia’s sake, just have faith in him like he’s doing for us!”

“Hold on you guys, I know what to do!” Rainbow Dash shouted, flying away from the ship and towards the water dragon. “I’m gonna give that giant lizard a nice good wallop to the face! I know that will teach him a lesson!”

“Rainbow NO!” Rarity shouted desperately, reaching her hoof out.

“GET THE FUCK BACK HERE!” Fast Tracks yelled taking off after the foolish cyan mare.

Their pleas and protests fell on deaf ears sadly, and they could only watch as Rainbow soared towards the giant fire-breathing dragon. Miraculously, she was able to get to the reptile before it took notice of her, and she whirled around to give it a swift kick to the face. While it didn’t do a whole lot of damage to the beast, it did disrupt its attack. Which allowing Zephyr to out down his shield, even as he was blown back onto the deck. The blue water drake glared at the mare, and then proceed to wipe the grin right off her face by back clawing her away. The force was so great that it sent her zooming away at high speed, and would crashed into one of the masts had Fast Tracks not caught her and cushioned the crash.

“Goddammit Rainbow Dash what the buck were you thinking?!” Fast Tracks shouted angrily, baring his teeth at the athlete. “That was an incredibly stupid move you pulled there!”

Rainbow Dash groaned, coughing up some blood as she struggled to get to her hooves. “I-I’m sorry Fast…I-I-I d-didn’t think t-that he’d hit me t-that hard. I-I really t-thought t-that I had got a g-good hit in.”

“Well you can obviously see that hit was nothing more than a hoof flick t’ him!” Applejack shouted, stomping a hoof on the wooden deck. “What in tarnation was your blue dumbass thinkin’ RD?! Ya could’ve gotten killed, or eaten, up, or worse, burned into a fritter!”

“D-don’t you mean b-burned to a c-crisp?” Rainbow Dash asked, raising a brow as she leaned against the foremast.

“Ah know what Ah said ya ass!” Applejack shouted, her head gaining a tick mark. “It’s a figure of speech goddammit!”

The sound of roaring and water splashing alerted the two mares to the water dragon that was now swimming towards them. Its eyes blazed as its aquatic wings flapped in rhythm with its swimming, thus making it go faster. The thunder above them and the drake clapped loudly to the point where it was deafening, and the flashes emitting from it made the water dragon look even more menacing.

“That’s enough fighting for now you two! We have a dragon trying to burn and drown us alive remember?!” Zephyr said, staggering back to his feet. “If we don’t get our heads in the game, it’s gonna be an advantage for this drake, and he’ll use that to try to overwhelm us even more!”

Twilight ran to Zephyr’s side with Rarity in tow. “Zephyrs right girls, we need to beat this dragon before it kills us! If even one of us gets killed, it’s over for not only us, but for Celestia, Ponyville and all of Equestria!”

“Twilight, I hate to burst your bubble, but this isn’t matter of us winning or losing.” Goku said in a grave tone. “It’s a matter of us getting out alive…and I don’t think this dragon is going to give us enough to even do that.”

“As if he didn’t already try to drown us before we could even think of coming up with an escape plan!” Rarity said in an overly despaired tone, collapsing down on the deck. “Oh, if only we had some sort of saving grace that could just swoop down and save is before we become dragon meat for this ruffian!”

Fluttershy, who was tending to Rainbow Dash, glared at Rarity disapprovingly, and looked to be ready to reprimand her, only for her ears to suddenly perk up. She looked up into the grey filled sky as bolts and flashes of bright blue lightning burst from the clouds, some of them striking the water, causing it to crash against the ship. If that wasn’t strange enough, her sharp ears picked up the sound of what seemed to be a hawk or an eagle’s screeching echoing in the sky.

‘Something’s off here…’ Fluttershy thought as she continued to observe the sky. ‘The lightning bolts…they’re not that the golden white color they usually are…they’re a bright blue. Those are definitely magical lightning bolts, which means that there’s a creature roaming above us.’ She closed her eyes and continued to listen out for the screeches she was hearing. ‘Yes, there is a creature of flight here…but it doesn’t sound like a Shinomōkin, but something else. Something even bigger than that.’

The water dragon’s loud anger filled roaring snapped Fluttershy out of her contemplation of the strange sounds happening in the air. She looked over, and her eyes widened when she saw the Shadowbolts each of them in their Ascension Modes surrounding the aquatic drake. The water rose and splashed in violent bursts, crashing onto the ship and moving back, though the dragon kept trying to swim towards them to get to the others.

“Sorry sweetie, but there is no way that I’m going to let you get to them!” Violet Fire shouted as she inhaled deeply. “Fire Pegasus Knight: Scorching Whinny!”

Black and purple flames burst out of the ebony mare’s mouth and met the water dragon’s face in a violet slam. It roared loudly as the flames quickly heated and started to burn at the scales on its body, but it was quickly to retaliate. Just as the stream of flames ended, the water dragon shot a bolt of azure fire that zoomed and slammed into Violet Fire in the blink of an eye. A loud scream emitted from her as she spiraled through the air, and she found herself falling right into the water.

“Captain!” Fast Tracks shouted, racing towards the spot where Violet had fallen. Thankfully, she was seen floating, so he didn’t have to dive to get her out. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m alright.” Violet said, stretching her wings as Fast Tracks lifted her out. “Wow that fire burnt when it hit me! Of course, I was expecting it…still doesn’t make it any less hot though.”

“Yeah, it really doesn’t.” Fast Track said dryly, watching as the water dragon swam at the ship where the others were. “That giant scaly bastard…he’s gonna pay for that!”

Before Violet could stop him, the light brown Thestral shot off towards the dragon just as it was reaching the ship. Just was it was about to swipe at the masts with its right claw, Fast had come in and delivered a powerful uppercut to its chin. This left the drake in a daze as its head crashed into the water, causing a wave of it to rise and crash right onto the ships deck.

“Take that you overgrown lizard!” He shouted, baring his fangs. “That’s what you get for nearly burning my captain to a crisp!”

The dragon’s head suddenly burst out from the water and turned to glare at Fast Tracks, teeth bared in a rumbling snarl. With a roared it whirled its body around, its tail slamming right into the side of the ship and causing it to spin before crashing back in the water.

“Whoa, this is such a super-duper awesome ride we’re on!” Pinkie cheered, doing loop de loops on one of the vines. “I’ve never had this much fun in all of my life!”

“Stay focused Pinkie Pie!” Zephyr shouted from the steering platform. “I get that your enjoying this, but you need to be careful! All of that spinning you’re doing may end up sending you flying off the ship if that dragon crashes into us again!”

“While it’s not sendin’ me shooting off int’ an apple orchard…” Applejack began, her face going green as she held a hoof to her muzzle. “…it is making me a might sick right now.”

“Oh no, no, no, no, no, please no!” Rarity groaned through her curtain of a wet mane. “Please tell me that you are not getting motion sickness Applejack!”

“It looks like she is.” Twilight said worriedly. “All of that crashing that the dragon is doing against our ship must be taking a toll on her.”

“More like makin’ me feel as if Ah had eaten a bunch of expire apple cider.” Applejack muttered as she leaned on the side of the ship. “Anymore o’ this, an’ Ah’ll…urk!”

“Don’t worry Applejack, I’m sure that it won’t be for very long.” Fluttershy said, wrapping a warm wing around the mare’s back. “The Shadowbolts will take care of all of this before you know it, you’ll see.”

The farmer groaned, leaning her head into Fluttershy’s chest fluff. “Ah hope so…” she said as Fluttershy rubbed her stomach.

“Lightning Thestral Knight: Electric Wing Attack!” Fast Track shouted, shooting multiple slices of lightning at the water dragon. The giant drake used its large wings to block them, but the bolts ended up electrocuting him anyway, the lightning also shooting through the water. The dragon let out loud roar before it fell back first into the water, its wings sprawled out into the air as its tail swung about. After laying in a daze for a few moments, the water dragon burst out of the water and flew at the Thestral stallion.

“Fast Tracks, get out of the way!” Lightning Shadow said as she and Storm descended towards their teammate. “We’re gonna take it from here!”

“Got it!” Fast Tracks nodded, flying back towards the ship. “I hope your ready big guy, because you’ve got a date with the Shadow Twins!”

The water dragon roared at Fast Tracks, and began to fly after him, only for Fast Tracks to shoot a bolt of lightning at the reptile. It sent the aquatic beast crashing into the water, the waves of it rising so high it drenched some of the other Shadowbolts. As quickly as last time, the dragon recovered, and was about to blast at him with its fire, when the Shadow Twins came in.

“Shadow Pegasus Knight: Dark Shadow Explosion!” Lightning shouted, blasting the dragon with the wave of black magic. This time, it saw the attack coming, and used one of its massive wings to shield itself from the stream of darkness. With a growled it flared both of its wings out, and sent the attack in the other direction. Just as it was launching itself at the light grey mare, her twin came flying to her rescue.

“Dark Pegasus Knight: Dark Shadow Neigh!” Storm Shadow yelled, her breath attack slamming in the water dragons face. It lifted its forelegs to block the attack, before using one of its wings to once more deflect the attack, before the dragon did so as well. Spinning around, it swung its massive tail towards the two mares, but Violet Fire suddenly shot down and slammed herself in it.

“Not so fast, you’re getting the drop on us that easily!” The ebony mare shouted, shooting a blast of flames at the dragon’s tail. “Blue Skies, go on and finish it!”

Looking up, the rest of the Shadowbolts went wide eyes upon seeing a large sphere of blue wind swirling up within the sky. Though it was hard to see, the form of Blue Skies was right under it, her hooves raised above her head as her armored shined in the lightning flashes.

“Don’t worry Captain Violet, I’m not it!” Blue Skies shouted from down below. “I’m gonna send this dragon deep in the sea, and then we can make our escape!”

“It looks like they’re wrapping this up here.” Zephyr murmured adjusting the hat on his head. “I have to admit, that was a bit quicker than expected. Then again, these are the Shadowbolts, so I shouldn’t be surprised.”

“Uh-oh, this parties gonna blow!” Pinkie Pie screamed, running about the ship. “Everypony take cover!”

“Pinkie, I don’t think we need to worry that much.” Rainbow Dash said calmly. “Blue Skies isn’t really aiming that close to the ship. The most likely thing that’s gonna happen is that we’re all going to be drenched in water…again.”

“And what, may I ask is so bad about that?” Rarity asked. “Are you telling me that you wouldn’t want to bask in that wonderful crystal divine water again?”

“I think Rainbow is implying that she doesn’t want to get nearly burnt alive again.” Twilight said, her own wet mane clinging to her face. “Then again, I can see the other point your making too.”

“Um, you guys…” Fluttershy murmured, still holding a green faced Applejack as she looked up at the giant sphere of blue wind. “I think we may want to take cover anyway.”

“Alright, everypony, please move out of the way! This one is going to be big!” Blue shouted, preparing to attack. “Sky Pegasus Knight: Brilliant Slicing Wind Bomb!”

The other Shadowbolts made a break for the ship just as Blue Skies unleashed her attack, the giant sphere of wind diving straight for the water dragon. She made a break for the ship just as the water dragon rose from the water and saw the attack coming. The water dragon roared as the wind sphere slammed into it, immediately exploding into a flock of slicing wind that sliced all throughout the air and the water. Thanks to their expertise in evading attacks, Blue Skies and her team had no problem keeping themselves from being sliced in midair. They were all soon at the ship and the all took cover from the magical wind slices as the waves of the water crashed into the ship. They stayed like that for several long moments, and only when they were sure that all was quiet again, did they dare take a peek at the water.

“Is…is it gone?” Rarity whimpered. “Oh, please tell me that it’s is gone now! I do not want to have another jump scare from that beast!”

“Well, the waters are calm, and I don’t see any spines anywhere.” Goku said, observing the waters closely. “I’m pretty sure it’s safe to say that dragon is down for the time being.”

“Which means that he could come back up at any minute…or moment, given how fast he’ll recover form that last attack.” Violet Fire said urgently. “Is everypony ready to go now?”

“W-wait a minute…” Applejack groaned, laying in Fluttershy’s lap. “W…where’s Pinkie Pie?”

“Oh, she went down to the bulkhead of the ship.” Zephyr replied before anypony could grow too concerned. “She wanted to get the engine she made ready for when we, and I quote, “go sailing across the air like party cannon confetti.””

Twilight paled. “Wait, for when we what?”

A violent clap of thunder, followed by several bursts of lightning drew the thirteen ponies’ eyes up to the sky and the clouds that covered it. Multiple sets of blue lightning bolts shot out from the sky, some of them just striking air, while others struck the water. While none of them struck the ship itself, wind blowing around them, and the clouds swirling from above gave them all an uneasy feeling in the pits of their guts.

“Oh dear…” Lightning Shadow said in an uneasy sing song voice. “It looks like we’re about to have a little scuffle with Mother Natura.”

“More like she’s going to tear us a new asshole for messing with so many of her kiddies.” Fast Tracks gulped. “Not that I’d blame her if that were really the case.”

“Crap, we gotta get going now!” Rainbow Dash shouted, biting her lip fearfully. “Where the buck is Pinkie Pie?!”

Right at that moment, a door to the floor of the ship burst open, and all eyes turned to see a widely grinning Pinkie Pie. “Alright guys, the Party Cannon Engine is ready to fire! On your cue Captain Zephyr; just use the wholes I left in the steering wheel, channel the magic in, and we’ll be good to go!”

“Got it, thanks Pinkie!” Zephyr shouted, jamming his hooves into said holes. “Alright everypony, prepare for take o-”

The Solar Royal Guard was cut off when he felt something slam into the ship with such a force that nearly everypony almost fell off of the ship. Thanks to his hooves being inside the steering wheel, Zephyr was able to keep himself from being flown away. Alas, that did nothing to quell his terror upon seeing the dragon on the right side of the ship rather than the left.

“Oh dear…” Fluttershy whimpered, wrapping Applejack in a protective embrace. “He’s back…”

“SON OF A BITCH!” Rainbow Dash screamed. “He’s back up already?! How in the hay was this damn lizard able to recover so fast?!”

“Rainbow, you do realize that this is a dragon, do you not?!” Rarity shrieked. “Attacks like that, no matter what the scale, is always something that these beasts will be able to recover from in what seems like no time at all! Why do you think they labeled as the most dangerous creatures anypony can come across?!”

“Um, girls, is now really the time for you to be debating bow powerful dragons are?!” Goku shouted, watching as the dragon ascended into the air. “We’re about to get blown away if we don’t do something!”

“Not if I can help it!” Zephyr shouted, galloping to the right side of the ship. “Pinkie, I’m leaving you in charge of our escape! And hurry, before the dragon makes its mark again!”

“Okie Dokie Lokie Zephie!” Pinkie nodded, bouncing over to the steering wheel.

“Zephyr wait a minute!” Twilight shouted, running over to the stallion.

“Don’t even think about trying to stop me Twilight!” Zephyr growled menacingly. “Did you forget what almost happened last time when you-”

“I’m not trying to stop you!” The librarian cut him off. “I’m helping you!”

Zephyr paused. “W-what?”

“You heard her darling.” Rarity cooed trotting along the other side of Zephyr. “We’re both going to help you.”

“I don’t think you’ll have enough time guys!” Fast Tracks shouted. “He’s already firing!”

Just as this was said, the dragon roared as it shot a huge stream of azure fire at the ship, this one being as twice as big as the first one it made. It went at such a speed that it was inevitably apparent that Zephyr, Twilight, and Rarity would not make it in time.

‘No! We won’t make it in time!’ Zephyr screamed in his head. ‘We’re gonna get blown away!’

“EVERYPONY TAKE COVER!” Storm Shadow screamed. “BRACE FOR IMPACT!”

Right as it looked like the stream of fire was about to blow the ship to wooden smithereens, a saving grace came for them all. Through the swirl of storm clouds, a lightning bolt bigger than any that was ever seen tore out of the sky. Its azure blue form soared passed the ship, right in between the foremast and mainmast and towards the stream of fire, and clashed with it. The shockwave that emitted from it blew the ship away from the dragon as its stream of fire was deflected and shot the other way.

“Whoa!” Rainbow Dash yelled. “Did you guys just see that just now?!”

“Yeah, we sure did!” Goku said, her cat-like eyes looking like they were going to fall out of their sockets. “And it was huge!”

“W-w-where did it come from?!” Blue Skies cried. “T-that bolt came from the side of the ship, not from above! S-so that means some kind of bird or animal must’ve shot it!”

“Oh, please don’t tell me it’s that Shinomōkin again!” Fast Track groaned. “As fun as it was to battle that guy, I really don’t wanna get electrocuted to that caliber again!”

Rarity reached over and gentle tapped him on the shoulder. “N-no darling…it’s not.”

An ear spitting of an eagle and a hawk drew all their attention to the stormy skies, only to be met with a sight that froze all their nerves. There, descending down from the thunder clapping skies, was what could only be described as a raptor of thunder and lightning. Its blazing azure eyes shined so bright that it blinded the sailing ponies, lightning bolts jetting out of its storm coated wings and body. Its crest, tail feathers, claws, and beak gleamed a bright purple and blue color gleamed within the thundering sky as it soared towards the waters. As if its giant appearance wasn’t shocking enough, what the creature did next completely blew the ponies away.

It spoke.

“DON’T TAKE ONE STEP FURTHER, DRAKE OF THE SEAS!” It bellowed, his voice echoing about the vast waters. “YOU SHALL NOT HARM THESE SAILERS ONE MOMENT FURTHER!”

“Whoa nelly!” Applejack yelled, jumping to her hooves. “Did…did that thing just talk?! Or Ah’m a goin’ crazy right now?!”

“I think it did Jackie!” Pinkie squealed, grinning widely. “He really did just speak, and it sounded so incredible!”

“W-what even is that thing?!” Rarity cried, holding onto one of the rope vines. “And why is it ignoring us and going after that dragon?!”

“I have no idea, that that is definitely not an Everfree animal!” Fluttershy shouted through the swirling wind. “And I don’t think that he’s here to eat us either!”

As if to prove her point, the giant thunderous bird flared its gigantic wings as the water dragon slammed into him, presumably trying to get to the ponies. The dragon roared loudly, driving its claws deep where the raptor’s neck, before chomping on the other side. The raptor screeched as it swung around in the air with the reptile their wings clashing against one another as they fought not to fall into the sea.

The raptor then sent an electrocute volt throughout the dragon at the least expected moment, causing it to roar and rip itself away. While it was dazed it, the raptor sent a breath of lightning at the aquatic reptile, before coming in and driving its four-talon legs into it. The dragon let out a roar of pain as the talons sunk into its flesh, before it felt water wash over it as the raptor sent it splashing hard into it.

“My Celestia…he’s actually fighting that beast!” Rarity cried; her eyes wide with awe. “And he’s winning! H-how is that even possible for a beast like…that?!”

“Don’t know and don’t care! He’s helping us from getting burned to a crisp, and that’s all that matters right now!” Fast Tracks shouted. “Yo, Pinkie, are you starting that engine or what?!”

“On it!” Pinkie Pie shouted, jamming her hooves into the holes of the steering wheel. Before she could start channeling her magic in, the ship was rocked once again into a spinning mess that prevented their escape. “Whoa, what happened?!”

“That varmint…he blew a blast o’ fire at th’ ship!” Applejack growled with a hoof stomp. “There ain’t no way he’s lettin’ us leave easily! Even with that other one tryin’ t’ rip his scales off!”

“Um, Applejack, you heard the raptor speaking, didn’t you?” Storm Shadow asked. “And it was without a doubt male too. The least you can do is call this raptor by its gender instead of by all of those rather crude names.”

“Thank you!” Goku cried. “I was just about to say that!”

The sound of sword clashing drew everypony’s attention back to the fight between the two beasts, and they watched in amazement as they dueled. The raptor and dragon swung at one another with their tails, causing large sparks to fly in the air. Their claws gripped and slashes at each other as they tried to gut each other, but only one side was gaining any luck. As they flew through the air, they released giant breath attacks of their attacks at one another, causing a massive shockwave throughout the air and the water.

At some point in the fight, the raptor gained the upper claw in the fight, before anypony knew it, multiple bolts of lightning were being shot at the water dragon. As it sailed through the air, the raptor collided with the reptile, before slashing at it with his large bladed tail, and slashing it right in its stomach. In a final finishing move, soared towards the drake and grabbed it by both of its forelegs, spinning it around as it were an egg.

In a final finishing move, it sent on last blast of lightning at the sailing water dragon, watching as it exploded in midair and flew a good distance away from both himself and the ship with a loud splash. A few moments later, the dragon popped out of the water for the final time, but instead of attacking, it shot a deafening roar at the storm coated raptor. With that, it spun around, and dived headfirst into the water, letting its tail raise in the air for two seconds, before it slammed down into the water and vanished into the depths below.

With the dragon gone the giant four-legged raptor gave out one last shriek as it ascended into the sky, its vast wings spreading wide as its entire body shined blue. In a flash of blue and a clap of thunder, the creature vanished into the sky, leaving a stream of lightning in its wake.

“Whoa…now that was sick!” Rainbow Dash shouted; her jaw unhinged. “He just threw that giant dragon like it was nothing!”

“Eeyup, he sure did.” Applejack murmured. “Though, Ah don’t think it really hurt him all that much. Well…other than them nasty claw slashes he gave him.”

“Well, that was a dragon we were fighting that was trying to kill us, so even those injuries won’t slow him down in the least.” Storm Shadow said softly, looking up at the sky. “What I want to know is…where did that giant raptor go?”

“I have no idea honey, but I do know that he’s still somewhere around here.” Violet Fire replied knowingly. “The sky is still grey, and there’s still lightning coming out from it too.”

“D-do you think he’s gonna come back?” Blue Skies asked apprehensively. “I-I mean, not that I’m not grateful for him saving us, b-but, I really don’t wanna get electrocuted.”

“Um, Blue, I think it’s a little late to wish for that.” Zephyr said, his voice shaking slightly.

Twilight glanced over at her foalhood friend worriedly. “Why is that?”

Another burst of lightning answered Twilight’s question as giant blue one came rocketing down towards the ship. The gang went wide eyed with horror as it came soaring down towards them, the screech of an eagle following afterward.

“Cause there a bolt coming right for us!” Pinkie Pie screeched. “Everypony duck!”

The warning came just in time as the lightning bolt crashed in between the main mast and the foremast of the ship, lightning shooting everywhere. Everypony expected to get electrocuted on the spot, but instead of pain, they felt a surprising coolness and warmth coat them. It was as if the surges of lightning were protecting them any of the dangers they were all currently sailing under. This went on for a bit, before the shining source of the lightning dimmed, revealing to all an absolutely stunning sight.

Standing in the middle of the magically morphed ship, lightning coating his entire body was the most mythical looking creature the ponies has ever saw. It, or rather, he, was a cross between a hawk and a pony, with a cyan blue coat, as blue as the sky whenever it was daytime. His mane and tail consisted of feathers instead of hair, both of them being deep indigo and violet color, one thick bang framing his face. His eyes were a glowing azure blue color, the pupils gleaming a pure white, and his beak and claws being azure blue as well. The creatures majestic looking pair of wings spanned to a size bigger than even Goku’s, being a combination of its fur, mane, eye, and even pupil color. His lower pony was that of a pony, the hooves being a pure white in color, and the inside of his ears and the base of his tail had feathers as well. Lastly, right onto his back, was the tattoo of a winged blue panther in an attack position, and a pair of white earrings could be seen hanging from his ears.

‘Wait, earrings?’ Goku, staring at the appendages expectantly. Once the lightning had vanished from the creature, the tan Thestral noticed the appendages he had on his ears, and she gasped in shocked disbelief. ‘No way…are…are those the-?!’

“Sorry about the sudden scary entrance, young sailors.” The creature said in an intelligent, regal and powerful tone. “I didn’t see any other way that I could get here without you thinking that I was coming to attack you.”

“W-what?” Twilight asked, confusion taking over her shock. “W-what’re you talking about?”

“Oh, don’t tell me that you’ve already forgotten?” The creature said with a chuckle. “Did you not see my form of the giant raptor that was fighting that water dragon just a few seconds ago?”

“Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa, wait!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “That thing was you?!”

The hybrid creature nodded. “Indeed, it was, that wonderful creation of the skies was one of my many forms.” He replied; swishing his tail skirt about. “I must admit, I was thinking about going into the form that would’ve matched that dragon’s, but I guess the last form was good enough.”

“W-what form were going to go in?” Fluttershy asked gently. “Wait no, I’m sorry, what I meant to ask was…a-are you a…hippogriff?”

“Oh, so you figured out what I was did you?” The hippogriff stallion asked, grinning as his beak gleamed as brightly as his eyes. “What was it that gave it away?”

“Long story short, her parents used to tell her stories about Hippogriffs.” Zephyr replied, taking a few steps closer to the hippogriff. “I did to, and judging just by the way you look, I know for a fact that you are one.”

“Well, it’s rather hard not two.” The hippogriff replied, glancing up at Zephyr’s had before locking eyes with him. “I’m assuming that you’re the Captain of this ship?”

Before Zephyr could reply, Applejack stepped in. “B’fore we git onto that, Ah wanna know somethin’ that Ah’m sure all o’ us want to know right now.” She leaned up almost too close to the hippogriff and looked him dead in the eye. “Jus’ who in th’ hay are you?”

“Applejack, don’t get so close to the dear!” Rarity chided, grabbing the farmer by her tail with her magic and pulling her back. “I know you want to know who he is, but you don’t have to get right up in his face to do it! There is such a concept as personal space!”

“That’s right Applejack, there are other ways to get to know somepony without trying to be so intimidating, which almost never works.” Goku hissed, cuffing the Earth Pony on the back of her head, before turning to the hippogriff. “Sorry about that sir, some of my friends can be pretty invasive…would you please be so kind as to tell us who you are?”

“Oh, that’s quite alright my dear, I’ve met a fine share of individuals who’re like your friend, and I know that it won’t be the last.” The hippogriff said, waving a dismissive claw. “Now, as for my name, I go by many. The Azure Eagle, the Azure Panther, and sometimes the Azure Dragon, but if you want to address me in a more affectionate manner, you may call me, Sky Ranger.”

Each of the Shadowbolts gasped at the last two words, drawing the attention of Zephyr and the seven mares. They stepped back a bit upon seeing their wide eyes and jaw dropped facing, with a couple of them even shaking on their hooves. Concern well up in the other eight members of the group, but before they could vocalize it, Fast Tracks spoke.

“Wait…did you say Sky Ranger…as in Sky Ranger Kaminarinoraion Shizensoshiryu?!” The light brown Thestral asked, earning a nod from the amused hippogriff. “N-no way…t-then that means you’re the…t-t-the-!”

Sky Ranger smiled at the group, flaring his pair of four wings as his earrings glinted in the moonlight. “Yes, my little ponies. I am the master of the skies and the seas of this mysterious yet absolutely magnificent Eden of land, with a good portion of the earth as well." His azure eyes glowed as he took a step forward. "Though, I am more ironically and commonly known as…the Ranger of the Sky.”

Author's Notes:

Well, there it is everypony, the big surprise that you have all been waiting for since the last two blogpost that I made on this part of the girls' adventure!!! Now, before any of you ask this, yes, I did get this idea for the new character from the MLP Movie, when the Mane Six traveled to Mount Aris to gain help from the Hippogriffs in order to defeat the Storm King before he took over Equestria entirely. I loved that movie from start to finish, from the animation, to the adventure, to the songs, to the hippogriffs, all the way to the ending song from Songbird Serenade herself!!! The one of the reasons for this is that I wanted to have some other verbal character fill in the place for that overdramatic yet polite sea monster Steven Magnet...well, at least for the time being anyway, even though Sky Ranger will have more eventual appearances. Now, don't get me wrong on this, I do like Steven Magnet, and I think that he's a cool guy but...I really don't like the fact that he's a sea monster. I just really don't like his design...nothing against any type of sea monster but...it just really doesn't suit my tastes. All tastes in designs aside, I may have that guy appear sometime in between the next few chapters of this first story, but if not, we'll just stick with having Sky Ranger resigning within the Everfree Forest; I'm gonna have to think on it before going back to the part of the girls adventure through the waters. Also, I'm sure that all of you are wondering about the four wings that Sky Ranger has on him, something that you wouldn't normally find on a winged creature. I won't give any spoilers, but I will explain things in due time. Just be prepared for what you're going to find out about Sky Ranger's majestic, yet unusual appearance.

Well, thats it for now everypony; sorry I couldn't stick to posting this chapter in the morning if that's what you were expecting. It would seem that ending this chapter, and introducing Sky Ranger was a bit more harder than I thought it'd be.... Well, regardless of that, let me know what you think of this chapter, and stay tuned for a revisit back to Ponyville!!!