Large waves of water crashed against the sides of the magically morphed wooden ship as it swayed and swept across the seas of the Everfree Forest. The violently blowing wind blew wildly against the giant leafy sails as it pushed the ship across the wildly swaying water. As this happened, lightning bolts still shot out through the still gray covered sky as thunder roared across it, letting the ponies that were still on the ship know that it wasn’t calm yet. However, none of them were paying attention to any of those things at the moment. Not at the harshly blowing wind that slammed against the leaf made sails of the ship and pushed it forward. Not at the large clouds covering the sky and blocking the view of the moon and the stars from the view of the sailors down below. Not even at the ear-splitting lightning tearing through the sky or the flashes of thunder coursing through the clouds that would’ve made them jump out of their skin. The only thing they were focusing on was the powerful creature that was standing in the middle of their ship that they were all surrounding, whom was smiling at them calmly.

“I…I-I’m sorry darling, but could you repeat that please?” Rarity asked, her question making it seem as if she didn’t hear the Hippogriff. “I could’ve sworn t-that you just said that you were called…the legendary, Ranger of the Sky.”

“Yes, my lady, that is exactly what I said.” Sky Ranger replied in a gentle yet powerful voice, never losing his smile. “I am, indeed, this beautiful Eden’s Ranger of the Sky.”

“No way, you mean that you’re actually him?!” Pinkie Pie squealed as she grinned widely, bouncing over to the four-winged hippogriff. “Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh! I can believe this; I really, really, really, can’t believe this! we’re actually meeting a living legend in the actual flesh! Most legends are supposed to be into ancient history and things like that, but holy cow, we’re actually meeting an actual living legend! How exciting is that?!”

“Exciting? Exciting?! How about trying batshit awesomely crazy?!” Fast Tracks shouted, bearing his own wide grin as he flew around the party pony. “Do you know how many crazy stories that I’ve heard about this guy and all that stuff he does in this forest?! I’ve been wanting to meet this guy ever since I first heard about him! Well, that’s not to say that I really expect to meet him when I heard of him, but still, you get what I’m saying, right?”

“Yes, Fast Tracks, we understand precisely what you’re getting at.” Lightning Shadow replied, giggling at her Vice Captain’s excitement. “We know how you have a knack for wanting to get to meet living legends and ancient beings face to face, even though it was impossible. Alas, it looks like you finally had your wish come true, in circumstances least expected that is.”

“You mean all our wish, sister?” Storm Shadow asked, raising a brow at her sister. “Don’t forget, Fast Tracks wasn’t the only one who was interested in knowing about the Everfree Forest’s Ranger of the Sky. We all wanted to know more about him, along with his history and just what he’s capable of…and I especially remember about how you were raving about wanting to know all the fact about the Ra-er, Sky Ranger, especially since you’re the most book loving of us. Isn’t that right Captain Violet?”

The ebony mare nodded, smiling sweetly as she patted a blushing Lightning on her head. “Why yes Storm, I most certainly do, and I still thing that it was one of the most adorable things that I’ve ever seen since having Lightning on our team. I still remember how you trotted and skipped about when you were told of a new living legend we discovered! Hmhm, it was so cute I just wanted to cuddle you all day!”

“Captain, please don’t remind me of that!” Lightning whimpered, her light gray striped face turning an even deeper shade of red. “You said that you’d never speak of that around other ponies!”

“I never made any promises Lightning.” Violet Fire chided playfully, booping Lightning on the nose. “Plus, you told your sister not to speak to anypony of that incident, not me. So, I’m not guilty of anything and I get to talk about it, hmhmhm!”

“Jerk…” Lightning Shadow huffed, crossing her forehooves as Twilight slowly stepped up to Sky Ranger.

“I…I can’t believe it. This is…this is just impossible.” She breathed, her wide violet eyes scanning Ranger’s regal body up and down. “How…how can I be staring into the face of an actual living legend? There’s no way that this can be really true!”

“Well, it has become possible Twilight; you can tell just by looking at the guy.” Zephyr said more calmly. “My Mom’s told me all about the Ranger of the Sky, and how he resigns in these woods that we’re sailing across. At I didn’t really believer her all that much, especially since no verbally speaking creature is said to live here, other than the Thestrals of Hallow Shades.” His ears went back as he frowned. “Now I’m feeling like a real piece of shit for not giving her the benefit of the doubt, especially now that I’m seeing it with my own two eyes.”

“I hate to say it, but honestly felt the same way. I owe an apology to my Mom and Dad for thinking they were pulling my leg; me Snowflake, and Midnight.” Goku nodded, staring in awe at the hippogriff stallion, mainly at his earrings. ‘That’s not the only thing that’s shocking about him either.’

“Hold on, wait a minute everypony, back up!” Applejack shouted, holding a hoof up. “Now, let me get all of this straight!” She turned to Sky Ranger with a skeptical frown on her face. “So, what yer tellin’ us is, yer th’ self-proclaimed Ranger of the Sky, that Violet Fire and th’ rest o’ these here Shadowbolts are talkin’ ‘bout?”

“They have namesyou know Applejack.” Rarity scolded, put Goku put a hoof on her shoulder and shook her head.

“Yes, my dear farmer, I am. All in the flesh and one hundred percent real.” Ranger replied, his tails skirt flicking about as he flared his four wings again. “I even have the namesake if you didn’t hear me or your comrades the last couple of times, but I can assure you that I am him.”

Rainbow Dash flew up to the large Hippogriff, hovering just above his face as she asked, “Oh yeah? And just how exactly do we know that you’re really this legend huh?”

“Rainbow Dash!” Goku hissed, grabbing the mare’s tail with her mouth and yanking hard. With a cry, the cyan mare found herself plummeting to the ground. “How many times do we have to tell you not to get into other’s faces like that?! You’re not going get anywhere with others if you keep that up, and the same goes for you, Applejack!”

“What?! What the hay did Ah do?!” Applejack asked, her jaw dropping. “All Ah did was ask him who he was!”

“After you had gotten up in his face like you were going to fight him.” Fluttershy said sternly, shaking her head. “You and Rainbow really need to learn about the concept of personal space, otherwise, you’re not going to get to know that things you want to know about somepony…or, in this case, somegriff.” She snapped her gaze over to Rarity, who looked like she was about to add something. “And you’re not any better either Rarity, so don’t you even start!”

As Rarity blushed with embarrassment, Sky Ranger chuckled and said, “Oh don’t worry about it girls, I’m not at all bothered by your friends behaviors. I’ve had others from my past do the same to me, only they actually did want to fight me!” He lifted a claw to brush some of his feathered purple mane out of the way. “Though, if you want to know if I’m actually the real thing, why don’t ask the ones who do know who I am?”

“Y-you mean us?” Blue Skies asked, blushing as the Hippogriff aimed his smile at her. “W-what do you want us to say about you?”

“Anything that you do know about me, since you do seem to know so much.” Ranger replied, giving a little shrug. “Just as long as it’s not anything false.”

“Y-yes, of course.” Blue nodded, her tail tucking between her hindlegs slightly. “We know that you resign in the Everfree Forest, and that you’re the tamer of its wild weather too. We also know that the Ranger of the Sky has the very same physical description that you have Mr. Ranger.”

“Is that so?” Applejack asked, still sounding doubtful. “And jus’ what description does so called Legend of the Everfree have that this, Sky Ranger, does?”

“The very same one that Sky Ranger does.” Zephyr replied softly, slowly pacing around the Hippogriff. “I mean, look at him, he has all of the descriptions that my Mom told me he’d have in the legend about him. A bright blue coat with some spots here and there, a mane and tail skirt of purple feathers, blue eyes that look like they’re made from the sky itself with the pupils literally shining white instead of being your typical black. Not to mention the fact that he has four wings instead of two and those…fashionable earrings on his ears.” One of his hooves reached up and gently grabbed at one of his own earrings hanging from his ears. “And this Hippogriff has each and every single description the Legend of the Everfree has, so there’s no question that he is indeed the Ranger of the Sky.”

“Wait a minute, seriously?!” Rainbow Dash shouted; her eyes wide with disbelief. “He really has four wings instead of two?! How in the hay is that even possible?!”

“That’s something that me and the other Shadowbolts were always wondering ourselves.” Violet Fire replied. “Then again, not every creature is quite the same way so…I guess it shouldn’t really come as that much of a surprise.”

“That it shouldn’t, and if you’ve been in this forest for long enough, you’d find that the creatures here aren’t exactly normal.” Ranger nodded, folding his wings as he walked about the ship. “And if you’ve been to the places that I have, you’d see that not all verbally vocalizing creatures are born the same way either.”

“Eenope.” Goku nodded, still looking at the Hippogriff stallion’s earrings. “No, they are most certainly not.”

“Well, it looks like you have your proof there, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and so do the Shadowbolts.” Fast Tracks said, raising a crimson eyebrow at the two active mares. “Do you believe that Sky Ranger is the legendary Ranger of the Sky now?”

Rainbow Dash huffed, rolling her eyes. “Yeah yeah, whatever we believe you, and him too.” She replied begrudgingly grumbling under her breath. Before anypony could replied, she suddenly flew right back up to Sky Ranger and jabbed a hoof into his chest. “However, just because you’re some great legend, doesn’t mean that you’re off my radar! I’ve got my eye on you, and if I see you messing with me or any of us for any reason, I’m gonna fry that beaked ass if you’re, you got me?” She warned, trying to intimidate the Hippogriff by getting right into his face.

“I got you, loud and clear by good athlete.” Sky Ranger chuckled casually, much to Rainbow Dash’s great annoyance. “Now, would you kindly stop glaring at me like you’re about to zap me?”

“Oh yeah? And what if I don’t?” Rainbow Dash dared with a growl, leaning in even closer to the Hippogriff. “What’re you gonna do if I don’t? Or are you afraid to hit a girl?”

Sky Ranger said nothing, but merely raised a brow at the Pegasus, not noticing the irritated glares aimed at her by the rest of her friends. Before they could chide her or pull her away, Sky Ranger merely lifted a claw and gave Rainbow Dash a gentle flick on her forehead. A flick that sent her flying into the wooden ship’s foremast with a sickening crunch, making everypony flinch. With a low moan of pain, she slowly slid down and slumped to the floor, her eyes swirls of pink as stars spun around her head.

“Yowch!” Pinkie Pie winced, rubbing her own forehead as if she had gotten a flick herself.

“Does that answer your question?” Sky Ranger asked, his still gentle tone carrying an undertone of firmness behind it. When the mare didn’t reply, Sky Ranger got a little worried and asked. “I’m sorry, did I overdo it?”

“Oh no dear, you didn’t overdo it at all.” Rarity replied, glaring down at Rainbow Dash. “In fact, I think that little love tap was just what our dear Rainbow needed at the moment.”

“I see…well, if you say so.” Sky Ranger said, shaking his head. “Anywho, now that we have the pleasantries out of the way, I’m curious about something. Why is it that a crew of young sailors like yourselves are here in this forest of all, well…forests? From what I’ve heard, it hasn’t been traveled by your kind since the time it first evolved and made itself known in Equestria.”

“That’s um, kind of a long story actually Ranger.” Fluttershy replied, blushing sheepishly. “You see Sky Ranger, me and the rest of my friends were planning for a celebration with our Queen, to celebrate the longest day of the year, called the Summer Sun Celebration. Unfortunately, we had gotten, um…brutally interrupted by an old enemy of Celestia’s, and she declared that she’d rule all of Equestria in Eternal Night after she had killed Celestia and her Sun. So, we’re on a mission across the Everfree Forest to get to the weapons needed to stop her and, um, purify her before she succeeds in her plot against Queen Celestia and everypony else, including us.”

“We’re here to help them oh that quest honey.” Violet Fire added, gesturing to herself and the rest of the Shadowbolts. “We’re the Shadowbolts, Ariel Flyers that take residence in the city and castle of Canterlot, and we were the ponies that Queen Celestia sent to aid these seven in their quest across this forest.”

“I just happen to come along with them.” Zephyr replied softly, nonchalantly holding a yellow hoof up. “I wasn’t really ordered by the Queen since she was pretty much on the upper stage floor and bloodied, trying to heal her own wounds. Even so, that didn’t mean that I was going to let Twilight and her friends face this alone, especially in a place like this. Plus, I’m a Solar Royal Guard of Queen Celestia’s Solar Division, and Twilight here is a foalhood friend of my so…” He draped wing over the smaller Unicorn, who blushed at the warm contact. “Oh, and I’m Zephyr Dragon Shield Doragon Shenron by the way, third in command of the Solar Royal Guard.”

“Very nice you meet you Captain Zephyr.” Sky Ranger said, giving a respectful nod to the now blushing blue stallion. “So, to summon this up correctly, you’re on a mission to defeat an old villain of your Queen, or, at the very least, from what I’ve heard, release her from a corruption that has plagued her before she takes over this land. And in order to do that, you have to travel into this Savage Eden of the East, in order to find the weapons needed to defeat them?”

“Eeyup, that fills up everythin’ that Fluttershy jus’ told ya.” Applejack replied, snorting slightly as she flicked her tail. “Th’ one drawback in this whole thing is that th’ weapons we need t’ defeat that Nightmare Moon varmint is that are in th’ same place that she is. At Queen Celestia’s old castle that’s said t’ be nestled right in th’ middle o’ this here forest.”

“Wait, old abandoned castle?” Sky Ranger blinked, the farmer’s last words catching up to him. “You wouldn’t happen to mean the newly formed castle in the middle of the Everfree Plains, would you?”

Fluttershy froze, her pupils contracting in her teal eyes as she took in the Hippogriff stallion’s last words. ‘Everfree…P-Plains?’

“Newly…formed castle?” Twilight asked, raising a navy-blue eyebrow. “What do you mean there’s a newly formed castle? There’s only one in this entire forest, and last I heard, it was all but turned into a pile of rubble.”

“Are you sure? Because while I was taking a flight around this forest, I had seen a castle being reconstructed and reformed before my very eyes. And I just so happened to be quite close to it as well.” Sky Ranger replied; his own face morphed into one of perplexation. “If the castle that you are looking for really is in the state that you said that it’s in, then must be a different kind of castle that I saw.”

“I’m afraid that we’re not quite following you darling.” Rarity said tentatively. “There’s no way that you could’ve seen another castle. Are you sure that you weren’t just seeing things?”

“Rarity! Don’t ask such a rude and offending question!” Goku hissed sharply, her tone making the alabaster Unicorn freeze. “I don’t see how you can possibly mistake seeing something as large as a damn castle! Especially if you’ve seen it up close!”

“No, it’s okay.” Sky Ranger assured, holding a talon up to calm the tan Thestral. “To answer your question Ms. Rarity, no, I was not seeing things. I know what I saw, and let me tell you, I rubbed my own eyes to ensure that I was just seeing things. Alas, with the amount of time that I’ve been in here, my eyes have developed quite a sharp edge to them. So even if I didn’t believe it, there was no mistaking what I had seen happen before me.”

“Hold on!” Twilight suddenly shouted, making everypony turn to her. “Where did you say that this new castle was in?”

“He said that it was in the Everfree Plains honey.” Violet Fire replied. “Didn’t you hear him the first time?”

“Yes, it’s just that…” Twilight replied, trailing off for a moment, before turning to Pinkie. “Pinkie Pie, do you still have that extra map? I want to see something really quick.”

Pinkie Pie smiled, reaching into her mane and pulling out the map and hanging it over to Twilight, who took it in her magic. Folding it open, she held it out in front of Sky Ranger and asked, “Okay, no Sky Ranger, you said that the castle you saw was in the Everfree Plains, correct?” She pointed to a yellow grassy part of the map. “These plains?”

“Yes, exactly there.” Sky Ranger replied, pointing to the same spot with a claw. “Right where that picture of a ruined castle is. Why do you ask?”

“…Because those plains are the exact location where Queen Celestia’s old castle is.” Twilight replied slowly, her eyes widening. “The very same place where you saw you said the new castle that you did.”

“Wait a minute…” Storm Shadow said as realization kicked in. “I-if…the castle that Sky Ranger saw being created is in the same place as the abandoned castle. T-then the abandoned castle that we’re looking for, where Nightmare Moon and the elements are is…”

“The very same castle that Sky Ranger had seen.” Lightning Shadow finished, her tone barely above a whisper. “And that means, Queen Celestia’s old castle has been rebuilt and is now standing proud and tall in the middle of the Everfree Forest.”

“B-b-but that’s impossible!” Rainbow Dash, who had recovered from her head flick, shouted in disbelief. “There is no way that a castle that’s been left alone for who knows how long could be rebuilt so quickly, no matter how much magic you have! Especially in a crazy and shitty place like this!”

“RD’s right.” Applejack nodded; her own mind unable to comprehend all the information. “Ah mean, sure, we Pegasi an’ Earth Ponies can form houses outta clouds, summon giant walls of earth, an’ encase our bodies in it an’ all o’ that. An’ we can even make dome or even a magically protective cabin if we have enough magic and endurance. Hay, me, Pinkie Pie, Goku, an’ Fast Tracks had made an’ morphed this entire ship out of a giant tree with our magical connection t’ th’ earth fer Faust’s sake, an’ that was after Ah found out jus’ how strong of a connection Thestrals had t’ th’ earth. How in th’ hay can somepony be able t’ make somethin’ as big as a castle, even if they didn’t completely make it themselves?!”

Zephyr, who had been mulling over the information Sky and Twilight had given, went wide eyed as something clicked in his mind. “Son of bitch…it was her!”

Sky Ranger looked over at the stallion. “Pardon?”

“It was Nightmare Moon Nocturnis! She was the one who made that new castle that Sky Ranger had seen!” Zephyr exclaimed, making everypony jump. “Why else would there suddenly be a random castle out in the middle of the Everfree Forest? Because Nightmare Moon was the one who created it with her own dark magic no less!”

“That…does make sense dear. I mean, Nightmare Moon has fled in the direction of the Everfree Forest, so she should be hiding in here.” Rarity murmured, mulling over the guard’s words. “A-and, based on what Twilight read in her Reference Guide, the Elements of Harmony are here, so there’s another chance Nightmare Moon is in the abandoned castle. Or rather, her new castle that she had created.”

“Oh dear…” Sky Ranger muttered, his eyes widening as he put the pieces together. “So, you’re telling me that it was this Nightmare Moon individual that made that castle?”

“Well, how else can you explain what you saw, Sky?” Fast Tracks asked knowingly. “Nightmare Moon resigning in the Everfree Forest? The Elements of Harmony being in Queen Celestia and Queen Luna’s abandoned castle? That very same castle being the one that you saw forming, and the one that Nightmare Moon is surely hiding inside with the Elements? There’s no other way to explain it, other than the fact that Nightmare Moon had created her own castle using the parts of the abandoned one as an extra back up! Not only that, there’s also a chance that she may have found the weapons you’re looking for, and she’s hidden them in different parts of her new castle for us to look!”

Blue Skies bit her lip as she thought over the light brown Thestrals words. “Y-you don’t think she could’ve really done that, do you?”

“I have no clue, but if she was powerful enough to make a giant castle made almost entirely out of her own magic…” Goku replied, her face grave as her ears pinned back. “The she’d have no problem hiding the Elements in different parts of her new castle, so we’d have no choice but to look for them. I’m not saying that I know that for sure, but it’s a possibility…and I really hope that I’m wrong.”

“Same here baby; that would really put a damper on your mission. Especially with whatever monsters or villainous creations that Nightmare Moon may have hidden in her castle.” Violet Fire nodded, before turning over to Sky Ranger. “Speaking of which, Sky Ranger, what exactly did this castle look like, and how big was it?”

The azure blue Hippogriff ruffled his wings. “Well, judging from the amount of times that I had seen the old version of the castle flying over the trees, it’d say that it’s big. At the very least, three to four times as big as the old version of your Queen’s castle.” He replied, making the ponies eyes widen in disbelief. “While it wasn’t big enough to be seen over the giant groves if trees it was more than big enough to be seen over the entire Everfree Plains, probably even bigger than your Queen’s new castle. It was mostly blue with some parts even black, with the tops of the tower having crescent moons, all of which are quite beautiful in my honest opinion. The tallest tower of the castle had a giant crescent moon that was so big it could easily be mistake for a star if your far enough away from it. Oh, and there was also a fight of icy stairs that went form the amount of earth that the castle was on to the larger part that it wasn’t connected to.”

“Black and blue walls and towers, statues of crescent moons, icy stairs…” Lightning Shadow murmured, soaking up the description of Nightmare Moon’s new castle in her head. “Yes, that definitely sounds like the new castle Nightmare Moon had created. The very same one that she’s resigning in right now, and the same one that we’re all heading to as well.”

“Well that’s just a might dandy ain’t it?!” Applejack growled, kicking at the wall of the ship. “Not only do we nearly eaten, electrocuted, buried alive, blood sucked, torn apart, an’ burned int’ fritters by all o’ these Faust forsaken critters in this abomination of a forest,” She ranted with an angry lash of her tail. “but now, we gotta deal with tryin’ t’ go through a new giant castle that Nightmare Moon varmint made fer herself, to look for them Elements we need t’ beat her! On top o’ that, she may have hidden ‘em somewhere in her castle, which will force’ us to searchin’ ‘round it, an’ fall fer whatever kind o’ trap she may have set up!” The farmer stomped the wooden ship hard, causing a large crack to appear as her emerald eyes glowed fiercely. “Can this damn mission git any harder than it already is?!”

A high-pitched squeak suddenly cut through the ship’s atmosphere like a knife through butter, and all eyes turned to see Chenoa flying towards them in a panic. The look on the bat pup’s face made it seem like he had seen something out of his deepest darkest nightmares, and it put everypony on edge. Immediately, Fluttershy, Goku, and Fast Tracks were in front of the bat, trying to calm him down and find out what was wrong.

“What is it girls, what’s the matter with Chenoa?” Blue Skies asked worriedly. “Why does he suddenly look so scared?”

Fluttershy, after receiving a few frantic squeaks from Chenoa, gasped and whipped her head to the others. “Everypony, we need to get the sails blowing and get out of here right now!”

“Why?” Rainbow Dash asked. “What did that bat tell you Flutters?”

“Chenoa said that there’s another water dwelling creature prowling around us right under the ship!” Goku replied immediately. “And it’s heading straight for us right now!”

“WHAT?!” Pinkie Pie screamed, going bug-eyed. “What is it?! What’re we going to get eaten by next?!”

“Don’t worry about that right now Pinkie!” Zephyr replied firmly, flying over to the steering wheel of the ship. “We need to get out of here, before whatever’s under is now get us! Now, go and ready your engine so we can-”

The next thing Sky Ranger and everypony knew, the ship was being thrown into the air by what looked to be a massive clubbed tail that burst from the water. Zephyr’s muzzle hit the steering wheel with such a force that it broke his muzzle, nearly rendering him unconscious in the process. While the same couldn’t be said for everypony else, those that couldn’t fly found themselves screaming louder than the ones that could as they were sent reeling through the air. Luckily, the Shadowbolts were able to get their barings quick enough to fly through the air and grab their friends, even the ones that could fly as the ship fell back towards the ocean. Just as landed, another tail shot out and send it in the opposite direction of the ponies and the one Hippogriff, with Zephyr still on it.

“GET BACK TO THE SHIP!” Goku ordered everypony loudly, making a beeline for the floating appendage. “ZEPHYR IS STILL ON THERE! WE NEED TO GET TO IT BEFORE THEY BOTH GET DRAGGED UNDER THE WATER!”

Nopony needed to be told twice as they flew straight for the ship, with Sky Ranger following close behind them, while keeping an eye out for the new creature in the water. He suddenly saw a draconic horned head burst out of the water and head for them, and the Hippogriff stallion went into action, firing a gigantic bolt of lightning at the creature. It went straight through the back of the creature’s neck, causing a huge shower of blood to reign out and a roar of pain to emit. The water dwelling creature’s head shot straight back down into the water with a mighty splash as the others made it to the ship, and Twilight faced to Zephyr’s side.

“Zephyr, are you alright!” Twilight asked desperately. “Zephie?! Zephie?! Please speak to me!”

Zephyr, who was holding his bloodied muzzle with one hoof, jammed his other into the lavender Unicorn’s mouth. “Calm down Twilight, you’re gonna make me bleed more if you keep shaking me like that! Just let me collect myself before I pass out from this bloody nose!”

“What in the heck was that?!” Pinkie cried as Zephyr struggled to his hooves. “That thing was so so so so HUGE! And it just whacked our ship to the side like it was nothing! It was so fast, that I didn’t have time to really see it with my own two eyes!”

“Try nearly smashing the ship to bits while you’re at it!” Rainbow Dash added frantically, staring down at the large holes in the wooden ship. “Does anypony know what in the shit that thing was?!”

“I’m not exactly sure…” Rarity said, rubbing at her eyes. “Though, if my eyes saw correctly, it looked like I had seen two giant spiked tails instead of one. Unlike the giant snake head that I had seen before Sky Ranger had went and struck it with that lightning bolt.”

“Wait, two tails?” Applejack repeated, snapping her head over to Rarity. “How in th’ hay can this new critter have two tails instead o’ one? The only way that can happen is if it’s…is if its…”

“Hydra…” Fluttershy breathed, her voice carrying a basket load of terror.

Goku snapped her head to Fluttershy, her own cat-like golden eyes wide. “W-what did you say Fluttershy?” She said, her voice slightly shaky.

“H-H-Hydra! It’s a Hydra that attacked us!” Fluttershy repeated much louder. “It was a Hydra that attacked the ship! A flying Hydra!”

Right as she said the species of their new adversary, an ear-splitting cross of a screech and a roar exploded throughout the sky, making everypony cover their ears. Another violent smack against the ship sent them tumbling across the deck of the ship, but thankfully, the ones that were earth bound weren’t thrown off of the ship. A scream suddenly echoed about, sounding so bone chilling that it caused everypony’s head to shoot into the direction of where it had come. They saw Rarity on her haunches, her eyes as wide as saucers with her whole body was shaking as if she was drenched an ice-cold water. Following the direction of the fashionista’s gaze, almost everypony froze in place at the new creature that they saw.

Looking over the giant wooden ship, green eyes flashing with hunger and malice, was probably the biggest Hydra that was ever witness by the eyes of ponies. It had deep orange scaly skin that seemed to give off a bit of a shine, despite their being no moon in the cloud covered sky, being lit only by the flashing lightning. They all had razor tipped head and neck spines, as red as the blood that dripped from the neck of one of the heads of the five headed beast. Each of them had long horns that were slightly curved down in the middle and upward at the end, looking like they could pierce through a pony quite easily swiftly. The beast had a massive pair of draconic wings, with the bottom of them being the same scarlet red color as their head, neck, back, and tails spines, the five tails adorning them as well. Lastly, the Hydra’s five tails had huge clubbed spikes, the very same ones that smashed the ships side and bottom, and right in the center of where the Hydra’s chest, was a bright green gem flashing as bright as its eyes.

“Whoa…” Fast Tracks murmured. “Now that is one giant and downright badass looking Hydra!”

“Really?! That’s all you have to say?!” Rainbow Dash shouted incredulously a vein pulsing through her forehead. “We are literally staring into the eyes of something that can easily be mistaken for a four headed dragon, and that’s the first thing you say out of the top of your head?!”

“Well, why wouldn’t it be?” Fast Tracks countered back with a hard frown. “I mean, look at it! its appearance alone is enough for me to say that it’s awesome looking! Even if it is planning to try to sink the ship and eat us all, which, by the way we’re not planning to do!”

“Neither am I!” Sky Ranger replied firmly, flying in front of the ponies as lightning danced around his body. “This creature may be fearsome and powerful, but I so am I! I am not known as the Ranger of the Sky for a reason, because I am a master of said sky! And I will use that same mastery to ensure that none of you get eaten by this beast!”

“W-wait, you’re going to fight him by yourself?” Fluttershy cried, worry clouding her voice. “Don’t you think that you should let us help you?”

Sky Ranger glanced at the veterinarian, the smile he shot her so reassuring that it quelled most of her fear and worry. “Do not worry, I know what I am doing my dear gentle caretaker. If I did not think that I could compete with this beast, then I wouldn’t be trying to fight him on my own at all. As I have said before, I am known as the Ranger of the Sky in this beautiful forest for a very well induced reason, because those very same skies have helped me in times like this.”

“…Are you sure that you’ll be able to take him on by yourself?” Zephyr asked after a short moment of silence. “What if the Hydra overwhelms you to the point where he’ll subdue you long enough to go after us and try to burn us alive?”

“I don’t let that happen!” Sky Ranger declared firmly, hovering higher in the air. “And even if it does, I have a plan of how we can escape if this ship gets sunken into the waters.”

“Wait, you already came up with an idea of how to help us escape?!” Twilight asked, aghast. “W-what kind of plan is that?!”

“Unfortunately, I don’t have much time to explain, as you can all plainly see.” Sky Ranger replied, the lightning around his body growing. “Let’s just say that you’ll find it quite…enjoyable.”

Blue Skies gasped, a blush coming to her face as she caught onto what the Hippogriff stallion was saying. “Oh…my…”

Before anypony could question him any farther, Sky Ranger let out an echoing screech and shot towards the five headed Hydra, lightning dancing around him. The beast roared and charged at the Hippogriff, the middle head preparing to shoot off a breath of fire at the azure blue flyer. Just as it fired, Sky Ranger let out a huge breath of azure lightning that clashed in an enormous power struggle between the two for a long moment. When it ended, Sky Ranger flew closer to the head that tried to burn him, using one of his four wings to swing at huge slice of lightning at the beast, which cut deep into the third head of the Hydra.

The third hydra head let out a deafening roar of pain as lightning tore through its slippery scaly body, blood spurting from its neck and from the parts that the lightning was stabbing it. Without a moment’s hesitation, Sky Ranger shot another one of his other four wings out, sending another slice of lightning at the middle head that sliced it completely off. Blood sprayed form the wound like a fountain, some getting onto the ship as the middle head of the hydra fell into the water with a mighty splash.

“HOLY SHIT!” Rainbow Dash screamed, backpaddling instinctively. “Did he just decapitate one of that Hydra’s heads?!”

“Y-yes dear, I’m afraid he did.” Rarity replied weakly, feeling bile rise up in her throat. “And it was the upmost revolting sight to see.”

“You bet it was!” Pinkie Pie gagged, her entire body turning a deep shade of green. “Oh boy that was just disgusting! Like trying to chew and swallow a moldy cake!”

Applejack nodded, her own face once again going green as if she was becoming seasick again right at that moment. “Ain’t that th’ truth. Ah really wish he could’ve told us what he was going t’ beat this thing like that b’fore he went ahead an’ did it.”

“I don’t think it wouldn’t have mattered Applejack.” Goku said, looking far less disturbed by the brutal act. “Because that move that Sky Ranger pulled isn’t going to help him in defeating that Hydra.”

“What’re you talking about Goku?” Rainbow Dash asked perplexedly. “He literally just sliced off one of those things heads. Isn’t that supposed to make it weaker or something?”

“No baby, it’s not.” Violet Fire replied gravely. “I don’t know if you know this about hydras, but other than the fact that they have more than one head, adorn wings and even being able to breath fire, they have incredible regenerative abilities. It’s so powerful that the Hydra can easily be mistaken as an alien if it were not for its multi-headed draconic appearance. If you try to slice any of its limbs, wings, or even the heads off, they’ll simply grow back at a speed so fast it’s like fire spreading around a forest.”

“Are y’all serious?!” Applejack shouted, her incoming sickness momentarily. “So, no matter how many times that Sky Ranger cuts off that varmint’s heads, they’ll just keep growin’ back?!”

Fluttershy nodded gently, looking only slightly less unfazed by what she brutal act that she had witnessed. “It’s especially bad if you cut off the heads, rather than the limbs, tails, and wings, because while that one head you cut off will grow back almost immediately after it’s cut off.” She explained, brushing some of her beautiful mane away. “If you try to cut off all of the heads of the however…then the Hydra will not only grow them all back simultaneously…they will even have twice the number of heads than before. Even worse, they’ll grow twice as big as they did before in order to maintain them.”

“T-T-Twice the number of heads?” Twilight stammered, her mind freezing slightly as she tried to take in the information. “T-then how is Sky Ranger supposed to d-defeat him?!”

“I don’t think you’ll need to worry about Twilight.” Storm Shadow replied gently, staring at the glowing gem within the Hydra’s chest. “Something tells me he’s going to find a way.”

There was suddenly a bright flash of light, followed by the chirping of lighting and crackling and clapping of thunder brought their attention back to the fight. They could see the middle head of the Hydra having grown back with a sickening popping sound, the beast had lightning shooting all around its body as it roared and screeched a Sky Ranger. The Hippogriff stallion was currently diving towards the five headed winged beast, his whole entire body covered in in the same cloak of clouds and lightning as it was last time. Swooping down, he swung one of his fused thunderous wings down the chest of the five head Hydra, leaving deep puncturing cuts down its skin. As the Hydra roared out in agony, Sky Ranger flew back from the beast, watching as the blood from the slashes flew and sprayed out onto the miniature sea.

With lightning crackling wildly around him, Sky Ranger shot a blast of lightning out of his mouth and at the Hydra, watching as it struck the beast right in its chest and sending it crashing away through the water. Strangely enough, it didn’t look like it was hurting the Hydra, even as the attack blew him away from Sky Ranger and the ponies on the attacked ship. The moment the Hippogriff stallion stopped, the Hydra roared and charged back at them, only this time, it tried a different tactic of attack. When it was within range, the beast suddenly lashed one of its giant clubbed tails out, the spikey club shooting towards Sky Ranger at breakneck speed as it slammed into him. Just a she was hit the club slammed directly into the right side of the ship, gaining the same large punctures that the left part of the ship had.

“SKY RANGER!” Fluttershy cried, watching in horror as the Hippogriff was driven deep into the wood of the ship. Her horror soon turned into shock when a large stream of blue lightning traveled up the clubbed tail of the Hydra, slicing and stabbing as it did so. It reached the Hydra and made its body explode into a shower of lighting as it sliced and stabbed the creature, causing blood fly as an explosion of lightning rang out. As the tail club pulled away, Sky Ranger suddenly came flying out, turning into a giant bird of grey clouds and lightning in the process.

With a loud screech, Sky Ranger collided with the five headed Hydra, sinking his enlarged talons into the beast’s stomach and slashing mercilessly at it as he chomped on one of the its other heads. While this move was able to stun the Hydra somewhat, even as he sent volts of electricity through its body, it left him vulnerable to the other four heads the Hydra occupied. Wasting no time, they lunged forward and sunk their teeth into the sides, shoulders, and neck of Sky Rangers giant storm cloud covered form.

Despite the pain shooting through his body, Sky Ranger continued on relentlessly with his assault, using his talons to stab at the Hydra’s stomach, ripping out flesh and slicing off chunks that he flung into the sea around them. The crystal-clear blue waters turned a deep scarlet, the color growing stronger the more Sky Ranger Continued to rip at the Hydra. Even as he ripped out a chunk of flesh from the neck of its second head, causing his face to get showered with blood. He then proceeded to use one of his enlarged wing claws to slash and stab at the other headless Hydra heads, splitting their necks apart and ripping off their heads to gain the upper claw in the fight.

Although its body burned in pain, the Hydra did not give up, and with a mighty heave, its slammed one of its tail clubs into Sky Ranger’s back, stunning him long enough to get him to let go. The same thing could not be said for the Hydra itself, for the four of its five heads, having now grown back, got their own grip on Sky Ranger. With a heave, it sank one of its massive clawed forelegs straight through Sky Rangers giant thunderbird form, before shooting a blast of yellow lightning at him. Following his pain filled screech, the Hydra pulled Sky Ranger into the bloodied water with it, its clubbed tails smacking against the surface as they disappeared below it.

“Oh no! The Hydra pulled him under the sea with it!” Twilight cried desperately; her violet eyes wide with panic. “We have to go after him!”

The lavender Unicorn made to jump into the sea, but Pinkie Pie stopped her before she could even climb all the way over. “NO! You can go panicky now! If you do, you’re going to get zapped, and not in the good kind of zapped either!

“Pinkie Pie’s right Twilight. The last thing Sky Ranger needs is you putting yourself in Danger so needlessly.” Zephyr stated to his friend, staring down into the water. “Can’t you see what’s happening down there? Can’t you see those flashes of light?”

“Flashes of…light?” Looking down, Twilight’s eyes widened when she saw blue light flashing every few moments in the water. Through the split-second flashes, she could make the outline of the Hydra and Sky Ranger’s giant thunderbird form duking it out under the ship. “T-they’re still fighting down there?”

“It looks like they are honey; and there’s something else.” Violet Fire replied, pointing down with a black hoof at the volts of lightning rising out of the rushing water. “It looks like Sky Ranger is using the water as a tool to try to electrocute the Hydra while its underwater. It does make sense, since water does nothing to protecting anything or anypony from being electrocuted by lightning.”

“Which means that the Hydra won’t be able to evade Sky Ranger’s attacks!” Fast Tracks added, a wide grin stretching across his face. “So as long as he stays under water, then he’ll have the advantage!”

“M-maybe so, but…” Blue Skies murmured worriedly. “If Sky Ranger keeps shooting lightning all over the water, w-won’t be also electrocute the other animals roaming around it too.”

“I’m sure he’s taken that into account Blue, but it’s not like he really has much of a voice if this was his plan.” Lighting Shadow replied. “Sky Ranger’s just going to have to deal with that consequence when it comes if it means defeating the Hydra. Besides, it did pull him into the water while holding onto him with four of its heads, so he was undeniably backed into a corner.”

“True.” Storm Shadow nodded. “Though something tells me things will be fine-”

The feeling of something colliding with the ship and sending it flying forward cut off the light grey mare, and most found themselves tumbling across the neck. Another smack to the ship, this time coming from the front, sent them reeling back from where they were pushed, before a final strike sent them up into the air.

“Oh sure! Things are going to just fine! Good one, Storm Shadow!” Rainbow Dash shouted, glaring at the Shadowbolt. “Tell us, did you mean things will be fine for us and Sky Ranger?! Or for the dumb fish swimming in this damn water?!”

“I’ve decided I’m not going to answer that.” Came the dark grey mare’s blunt reply. “Though I think a majority of you know what I was getting at.”

Goku raised a hoof up. “I sure did!” She replied dryly as Chenoa squeaked pitifully in her other hoof.

“Everypony, look!” Rarity shouted, pointing a hoof forward as her sapphire eyes widened at the sight of Sky Ranger and Hydra burst out from the water. The former’s claws were currently sunk into the latter’s stomach, which Sky Ranger then used to slice upward and slice the Hydra’s stomach apart in various splits. Lunging forward, he bit a mouthful of the Hydra’s wounds and ripped out a giant chunk of scaly flesh, before spinning around and slashing at it with his giant wings once more.

As the bloodied Hydra tried to fly away from the thunderous Hippogriff, the latter flew back a good distance away from the beast, before inhaling and letting a giant bolt of blue lightning strike it. The bolt pierced straight through the Hydra’s stomach, just below the shining emerald green core that was in the center of its chest, before entering out of its back. Blood burst out the wound and flew out of the five heads’ mouths as it went falling towards the sea. With a clap of thunder resounding across the sky, Sky Ranger dived down, his enlarged beak stabbing the Hydra one last time, lightning coursing through him before they both vanished into the sea.

“Whoa, look at him go!” Applejack said, tipping her hat. “He’s givin’ that mutant varmint a run fer his apples in that water!”

“Um, I think you mean a run for his bits.” Fluttershy corrected gently, making the farmer blush.

“I know, it’s almost like Sky Ranger is playing with that ruffian instead of actually fighting him.” Rarity nodded, holding a hoof to her forehead. “Although, those last few moves that our dear Hippogriff pulled on that Hydra were rather…one another level, if I may admit.”

“Well, we are in the Everfree Forest right now Rarity, and in here, brutality us pretty much a way of life.” Goku muttered, smiling as Chenoa gave a squeak of agreement. “So, you can’t really blame Sky Ranger for going off like that on the Hydra, even if may seem barbaric.”

“She has a point there, Rarity.” Twilight nodded. “Still though, I wonder how long Sky Ranger can hold out against the Hydra before it begins to overwhelm him.”

As if to show that he could, Sky Ranger suddenly burst out of the water, two of the five tail clubs of the Hydra in its claws as he carried it into the air. After wildly spinning the winged beast around, he threw it into the opposite direction of the ship, where the Hydra immediately took flight. With a loud simultaneous roar, he flew at a charging Sky Ranger, all five of its heads’ mouths open in an attempt to shoot a combined lightning bolt at the storm raptor formed Hippogriff. Sky Ranger retaliated with his own blast of lightning that looked to be just as large as the ones that five headed Hydra shot out form its own group of mouths. They clashed in a power struggle that split the clouds above them apart, revealing the beautiful twinkling stars and the moon that now lit the waters below them.

The moment of amazement was cut short for the ponies witnessing it as the power struggle came to an explosive end, and Sky Ranger made his next move. With a clap of his storm covered wings the enlarged Hippogriff soared towards the Hydra, who flew right back at him with its own claws outstretched. They clashed once more in an explosion of power, lightning, and thunder as Sky Ranger lunged forward, snapping his enlarged beak around the neck of one of the heads. With a heave, he ripped it off, letting blood rain over the sky as he ripped at the Hydra’s draconic wings and tore the flesh off its back. Pushing the enraged Hydra back, Sky Ranger collided into it and sent it diving towards the water, sending another slash of lightning that sliced off another one of its heads.

“Something tells me that Sky Ranger’s going to be holding out for quite a sometime.” Lightning Shadow replied. “I mean, it clearly looks like he has the advantage in this battle.”

“Uh-huh!” Pinkie Pie giggled. “He’s really giving that big scary scaly Hydra a real party he is! I know that it’s not going to be long before he delivers the grand finale! Oh, I can’t wait for it!”

Just as those words left the party pony, Zephyr, who had been heading back to the steering wheel, froze as he heard a gut-wrenching crack of wood. Looking over to the source, he paled upon seeing a massive wooden crack appear in the middle of the ship, looking to slowly be growing larger by the moment. As he got closer to inspect it, the Solar Royal Guard saw even more of the cracks start to spread along the ship.

“Oh shit…” The royal blue stallion murmured, biting his lip as he stomped his hoof. “SHIT!”

“Zephyr, honey?” Violet Fire asked gently, having heard the older stallion’s curse. “What’s the matter?”

“You guys, I don’t want to set you all in a panic,” Zephyr replied as calmly as he could. “but I am really hoping that Sky Ranger gets to the grand finale quickly.”

“Why’s that?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Are you afraid that you might get electrocuted by them or something.”

“No, I’m not.” Zephyr replied, glaring up at Dash with a serious expression. “I’m afraid that if Sky Ranger doesn’t defeat that Hydra soon, he’s not the only who’s going to become sea food.”

“W-w-what are you talking about Zephyr?” Blue Skies stammered. “I-is there another sea creature that we should know about?”

Zephyr flicked his tail, ruffling his wings as he let out an anxious snort. “No there isn’t, but I’m afraid that we’re going to have another close encounter with one.” He replied gravely, his garnet eyes flashing brightly. “Because our ship…is starting to get eaten up by the sea.”

Author's Notes:

I admit, I had a little bit too much fun writing this piece of chapter involving the next sea creature that the girls, the Shadowbolts, Zephyr, and our new OC Sky Ranger was going to face, but I just could not contain myself. Throughout almost the entire chapter to the end, I was relishing in writing about the next beast and the fight that was going to transpire afterward, and I'm pretty satisfied with out it went. Now, for this of you who're curious as to where I got the idea for the five headed hydra, is from the movie of Godzilla: King of the Monsters, where Gidorah had appeared and was battling for dominance against Godzilla, along with Rodan and Mothra. I know that Gidorah only has three heads and not five, but still, I think you can all see where I got the idea for the hydra can't you, so I'm not really ripping it off from the movie. Finally, I did tell you guys that things were going to get pretty gory brutal in the fight between the draconic Hydra and Sky Ranger, but if it wasn't exactly up to your standards as I said that it was going to be in my last author's note, then I apologize. Don't worry though, the fight won't be quite as long the next time we come back here, and I'm even planning to throw in another surprise in store involving Sky Ranger!!!

Well, that's all for now everypony!!! Next time were going back to Ponyville where the Apple Family and our good ol' Apple Matriarch is going to have a throw down with the Dark Army, and Crimson Skies shows off the Shadowbolt that's nestled deep inside of her!!!