The sound of chirping lightning and ear-splitting thunder could be heard throughout the vast waters of the Everfree Forest as the five-headed Hydra and Sky Ranger clashed. The enlarged thunderous Hippogriff stallion screeched loudly as he collided violently with the multi-headed reptile in mid-air, sending courses of lightning through the beast as the sky erupted with its own blood. The Hydra let out a loud chorused roar in return as it launched hits five heads at Ranger, its gigantic razor-sharp teeth sinking into the cloud covered form of its opponent as it rolled them around in the air with its wings. This did not deter Sky Ranger as he beat his gigantic wings furiously, not wanting to give the Hydra the advantage so easily in the fight. He could feel the beasts tail clubs collided with him as the Hydra attempted to bludgeon him from behind, only to get electrocuted once more.

Overwhelmed with pain, the Hydra let out a multitude of roars and ripped itself away from Sky Ranger, though not before it felt more chunks of its flesh being ripped out. Blood once more rained down from the air, most of it falling into the water while most of landed onto the wooden ship, where his new comrades were currently taking safety in. It fell all across the sails and the deck of the ship, showering the sails and making a pool of crimson on the deck. However, none of them paid attention to any of that, for all of them were too focused on what their temporary Captain of the ship had just said to them.

“W…what did you just say Zephyr?” Twilight asked in a voice barely above a whisper, her wet and bloodied mane falling limp. “Please tell me that I did not hear you say that our ship is falling apart!”

“That’s exactly what I just said Twilight.” Zephyr replied gravely, another crack appearing inside of the ship. “It looks like the ship that Goku, Fast Tracks, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie had made is starting to give out on us.”

“It’s true, Ah can see the damn cracks and splits comin’ from all around it.” Applejack added, pointing to various parts of the ship. “It looks like our ship is startin’ to git on its last legs, we’ve barely just even started fully sailin’ it!”

“B-but it can’t fall apart now!” Rarity protested, looking like she was going to have a panic attack and faint. “W-we’ve just started to get across these waters, and from the looks of it, we aren’t even halfway through it! We can’t really be expected to swim all the way to the other side of this miniature sea, do we?!”

“I don’t think we’ll have any other choice Rarity.” Fluttershy murmured, a frown adorning her face as she looked about the horizon at the forest ahead of them. “From where I can see, were still a good distance away from the shore as a matter of a fact, it doesn’t look like we’ve even gotten halfway across here yet. Mainly because of the water dragon that came and tried to eat us earlier, and…the fight that’s happening in front of us now. If the ship breaks any further, we may have to end up swimming over there.”

“Awww, already?! I don’t wanna leave this big awesome ship now!” Pinkie Pie whined, hanging form one of the sails on the foremast. “We’ve only just made it and we were having so much fun sailing across the water like real actual pirates! Are we really going to have to do the abandon ship order before we’ve even had all the fun of sailing?!”

“I’m afraid you may have to honey.” Violet Fire sighed, looking up at the sky. “The weather isn’t exactly looking too good right now, especially with what’s happening above us. Though I don’t think that we may have to end up swimming…at least not in the manner your implying.”

“Captain V’s right.” Fast Tracks nodded. “Remember when Sky Ranger told us about that plan that he has to help us escape if he feels like the Hydra won’t go down? He looked us all right in our faces and said that it’d be the best course of action if we want to make it out of here alive.”

“Oh yeah, that’s right!” Goku exclaimed, her golden eyes lightning up. “Ranger told us that he was going to transform all of us, and those transformations were going to be able to help us glide through here before that Hydra at us!”
“Exactly.” Lightning Shadow nodded, turning to watch the resuming fight between the Hippogriff stallion and the Hydra. “The only question is, will Sky Ranger be able to beat the Hydra before he’ll have to do that.”

“That can’t really be answer for certain, but I hope the ending comes quick.” Storm Shadow replied, looking around the slowly cracking ship. “I can feel the magic in this ship slowly draining, and it’s not going to be too long before it falls apart at an even quicker rate. The magic that the tree was connected to even before Goku tore it from the ground is vanishing, and when it does…this ship will no longer be able to hold out.”

“Oh dear…if that’s true then, Sky Ranger will need to finish the fight fast!” Blue Skies whimpered, her ears pinning back. “Then again, I don’t think it’ll really matters if he wins or loses this fight against the Hydra anymore. We’ll still have to make a decision to either abandon ship, or get sunken into the ocean by the Hydra…either way, we’re gonna be leaving this ship soon enough.”

“Uh, I think it’ll be a lot sooner than you think.” Rainbow Dash said, her cyan face paling as a shadow loomed over the ship. “EVERYPONY SCATTER!”

Looking up, everypony’s eyes widened when they saw Sky Range falling towards them; his large back colliding with the right side of the ship with a sickening crunch. Splitters and chunks of wood went flying in all directions of the ship, said ship cracking and breaking even more from the impact of the collision. Luckily, it didn’t last for very long, and Sky Ranger was back in the air again, his thunderous form emitting lightning crackling around him as he flew up at the Hydra once more.

“Sweet Faust that was way too close!” Goku cried as she held Chenoa tightly to her. “At the rate they’re going, they’re gonna end up destroying the ship faster than the magic is draining from it!”

“No shit sherlock…” Zephyr murmured, his ears pinning above the holes in his Captain’s hat. “One more hit like that, and we’re definitely going to be taking a swim sooner tha we’d like. Only…Sky Ranger won’t be able to help us in that regard in time.”

Chenoa let out a worried squeak of agreement.

Clapping his giant wings together, Sky Ranger propelled himself up towards the Hydra, aiming for its group of heads. The hive headed draconic beast saw it coming and was able to reel itself back just as Sky Ranger’s claws swiped at it. This proved to do nothing as Sky Ranger shot out a blast of blue lighting at the Hydra, who merely let it strike it in the chest as it was blown back. Once the attack receded, the hydra roared as bolts of lightning crackled around it, some of it reigning down from the sky and joining it. It then let out a breath of fire mixed with lighting as it struck Sky Ranger right where his stomach was, the attack going right through his back as he spiraled through the air.

By the time he managed to fight himself, the Hydra was already coming at him, but Sky Ranger was quickly to strike back despite his pain. With a swift swing of one of his wings, he sliced two of the heads of the Hydra off his beak coming in to rip off a fourth one while one of his talons went for a fifth. Blood squirted out of the heads like multiple hoses from four of the five headless necks as he shot a blast of lightning at the Hydra’s stomach.

‘Something’s not right here…I’m hurting the hydra, but it doesn’t seem like I’m getting anywhere, especially with the regenerative abilities.’ Sky Ranger thought to himself as he watched the Hydra plummet into the water. ‘I didn’t really notice it at first, but when I hit it in the chest just now, it didn’t look like it had hurt it in anyway. In fact, it almost seemed as if it was letting me hit it directly there…why is that?’

The Hydra suddenly burst out of the water, all of its heads intact once more as it flapped its enormous wings to propel itself up towards Sky Ranger. As if showing him the revelation to his confusion, a shining green light shined form its chest, allowing Sky Ranger to see the emerald that was right in the center of its chest. At that moment, something struck inside of Sky Ranger, something that had him thinking about that significant thing.

‘That emerald…I’ve seen it before. From what I can remember, each and every single Hydra that I’ve seen in this forest has that.’ Sky Ranger thought to himself, a perplexed frown on his face. ‘I know that it’s made for something highly important that helps the Hydras in fights, either against each other, or another beast in this forest. I just can’t seem to remember what.’

Fortunately for Sky Ranger, he didn’t have to wait very long for the answer to his theory, fore the Hydra’s five heads let out blasts of lighting that combined onto one. Holding his talons out, Sky Ranger’s own beak sent out a blast of blue lightning from them, and there was another power that came as a result. As it did so, Sky Ranger felt the attack was much more powerful than the last one and as the attacks exploded in midair, Sky Ranger immediately got his answer.

‘Son of a…of course!’ He thought, recognition clicking within him. ‘It’s the gem in the center of the Hydra’s chest! That’s what’s helping it fight me this entire time and why it’s doesn’t seem to be tiring! The gem is absorbing the attacks that I shoot at a certain spot on the Hydra so it can fire them right back at me!’ Sky Ranger mentally slapped himself, wishing he had known this fact much sooner. ‘If that’s the case, then it’s quite apparent that there’s only one way that I can defeat it. And that, is if I destroy the gemstone itself!’

With that though in mind, Sky Ranger flew back from the Hydra, evading to the left as it tried to slash at him with its claws. Flaring his four thunderous wings out, Sky Ranger screeched as he summoned lightning all over him, the chirping echoing about the air. The lighting ripping through the air above him joined the lightning he was emitting, making it stronger and even brighter than it was just moments ago. Looking back at the Hydra he could see it flying towards him, all four of its heads inhaling to let out an attack that gave Sky Ranger the impression that it was to finish him off.

‘Very well then, if that’s how you want to do this, your wish is my command.’ Sky Ranger though to himself, preparing to fire off his own attack. ‘However, I will not be the one who falls to their watery grave!’

With that thought, Sky Ranger soared towards the Hydra just as its five heads shot out blasts of lightning and fire, once again going into its combination. Just as it was about to hit, Sky Ranger ducked under it, flying just under the Hydra before he shot is attack up at it. Unlike all of its other bolts, this one was going up in near straight line, going right towards the emerald glowing within the center of its chest. A sickening glass-like crack echoed about the air as the bolt struck the emerald, even going straight through it and out of the Hydra’s back. The loudest roar of pain burst out from the Hydra’s five heads as blood burst out from its chest and back, its giant form falling to the ocean. As it vanished within the watery depths, another thought struck Sky Ranger, this one being more terrifying than the last.

‘Wait a minute, if I was going to defeat the Hydra, then that mean that I had to destroy the emerald within its chest. Otherwise it would just keep coming at me.’ The enlarged Hippogriff stallion thought as his heart rate increased. ‘If that were to happen then, something rather catastrophic would happen, not to the Hydra but to those around it. And that thing is…oh no!’

With his heart filled with fear, Sky Ranger raced down towards the wooden ship that Goku and the others were still currently resigning in. He could see the ship was starting to come apart, which only served to fuel his fear and desperation to get down there and get them all away from the Hydra as quick as possible. As he receded back to his normal form and landed onto the main deck of the ship, the others immediately met with him.

“Well Sky Ranger did you do it?” Twilight asked hopefully, biting her lip. “Did you manage to defeat the Hydra?”

“Yes, I did, I was finally able to find the weakness that was literally staring in front of me the entire time.” Sky Ranger replied immediately, a frown adorning his face. “But I’m afraid that we don’t have time to celebrate right now. I need to get all of you off of this ship right now before you all get blown away!”

“Blown away?” Rainbow Dash asked, a confused frown on her own face. “What the hay are you talking about?”

Sky Ranger slammed a talon onto the ground, large cracks appearing as he did so. “No time to explain right now! I just need all of you to get to the left side of the ship, now!”

Everypony jumped at the authoritive commanding tone in the Hippogriff stallion’s voice, but they nonetheless complied to his orders. As they did so, a bright green light emitted from behind them, causing them to turn around to see the motionless Hydra glowing near the ship.

“Um, Sky Ranger…” Fluttershy murmured, looking over at the Hippogriff stallion. “W-what’s happening to the Hydra?”

“Something that’s going to blow us all into bloody smithereens if we stay here talking about it instead of escaping.” Sky Ranger replied briskly, looking over at the ocean and over at the ponies in earnest. “Alright, now, I want each of you to hold hooves while two of you hold onto my talons.”

“Now why in th’ hay do ya want us t’ do that?” Applejack asked. “Jus’ what are ya plannin’ here Sky?”

“Why do you think I’m planning?” Sky Ranger asked incredulously, taking a hold of Goku and Rarity’s hooves. “I’m going to turn all of you into Sea Ponies; the plan that I had told you all before I went to fight the Hydra!”

“Wait, you were actually going to do it?!” Pinkie Pie cried, her cerulean eyes widening. “We’re going to be turned into sea creatures?!”

“Well…partially yes!” Sky Ranger replied, looking back at the glowing Hydra. “Now is everypony ready to go?!”

“W-wait a second!” Twilight suddenly cried. “H-how are you going to even turn is into Sea Ponies?! Shouldn’t you have some kind of magical artifact or amulet or something that allows you to do something like-?”

“For the love of Shenron, Twilight, we do not have time for you asking Sky Ranger about is questions right now!” Zephyr suddenly shouted, startling the lavender Unicorn. “We are about to get blown up by a creature that’s not even trying to, and the last thing we need for you to do is try to get more research on him or his powers! Now come on and grab my damn hoof already!”

Under the guard-like command of the royal blue stallion’s voice, Twilight all but wrapped her entire hoof around Zephyrs own, which had suddenly turned into a set of claws. Seeing that the left side was secure, Sky Ranger looked over at the right side and saw that it, along with Chenoa was secure as well. Closing his eyes, a bright white, pink, and orange aura began to appear around him, slowly spreading throughout the air and encasing the ponies and bat pup in its warmth.

“Oh my…” Rarity cooed, her eyes becoming half lidded. “This is…so warm…”

“Alright, the transformation is ready to go.” Sky Ranger said, his hindlegs hunching in preparation for a leap. “Is everypony ready to go now?”

“Ready when you are Sky Ranger!” Goku replied back, her tone surprisingly eager. “Let’s get with the swimming!”

“Alright then…” Sky Ranger nodded, his azure eyes flashing. “JUMP!”

With those words, everypony either flew or jumped over the side of the ship, the screams of Blue Skies, Rarity and Fast Tracks echoing about as they headed towards the water. It felt like a pretty long fall, for the ship was rather large in comparison to the average marine or pirate ship. Time seemed to slow down as the sound of an explosion rang in Sky Ranger and the ponies’ ears, letting them know that the Hydra finally had exploded. Just before they hit the water, the heard the ship explode behind them as evident by the large chunks of wood and one of the masts falling. That was the last thing they saw before the coolness of the water swept over them and the sound of bubbles filled their ears.

Then there was a flash of bright light, and then a powerful shockwave, before everything went dark.

When Goku finally came to, she did so slowly. As if her body and mind were trying to carefully prepare her for what was to come when returned to the waking world. The first thing to start functioning was her eyes, and as they fluttered open, she could see the surface of water above her, which was being lit by the moon just to the right of her vision. The first thing to come to her mind as she moved her forehooves to her face was that she was in the water and from the way she was laying, she was at the bottom. Her first initial instinct was to hold her breath, but as she inhaled, she immediately realized that she was able to breath it. As if the water she was currently lying in and surrounded in was air itself, like she was a mermare.

‘Wait a minute…’ The tan Thestral thought to herself as she slowly sat up. ‘I was just on the ship with Sky Ranger and the others. He had told us to jump because he was going to transform us into water dwelling creatures before the Hydra that he was fighting exploded. If I’m here in the water, and I’m able to breath then that means…’

“Oh good, you’re finally awake.” A familiar regal, intelligent and powerful voice suddenly said, causing her to jump and snap fully awake. Whipping her head around, she found herself meeting the familiar azure eyes of Sky Ranger. “Are you feeling okay?”

“I…is that you Sky Ranger?” Goku asked dumbly, looking the transformed Hippogriff’s new body up and down. “You look...different than what you were just a few moments ago. Like…a hay of lot different.”

Indeed, Sky Ranger did look different; a good portion more than his Hippogriff form for when he was still on their wooden ship. His white patched sky-blue fur was replaced with that of scaly skin that looked smooth to the touch, while his ears and beak were replaced with that of a pony’s ears and muzzle. His talons were replaced with flippers that were the same gleaming white color as his talons were, with his hindlegs and hooves being that of hind fins. Lastly, his feathery mane and tail had become that of indigo fins, while his lower body had become like that of a mermare’s own.

“Yes, I look quite a lot different when what I originally looked like back on your ship. I admit, it’s quite the rather breathtaking look is it not?” Sky Ranger asked, smiling brightly at Goku, who just merely nodded her head. “However, I’m not the only one here who went through a breathtaking transformation.”

Raising a jet-black eyebrow, Goku followed Sky Ranger’s downward pointing flipper and let out a gasp at what she saw. The lower part of her body, once having a set of tri-colored hindlegs and a long overly extended tail, now had the lower body of that of a mermare’s. Her hindlegs were nowhere in sight, but Goku could see that her lower fish body had the same trio-colors of her forelegs, and her tailfin still had the midnight blue highlights at the edges. Looking at her wise, she could still see that her wings had changed somewhat as well. Both of them looking slightly smaller, but by no means any less strong, the wing claws still looking as fierce as ever. Although the membranes were more see-through than they usually were, unlike her usual ones. As Goku felt at her mane, she noticed that it was a mix of her normal mane and head fins, giving her the impression that her mane was now designed for adapting underwater.

“Well?” Sky Ranger asked, his grin not faltering in the slightest. “What do you think? Rather amazing isn’t it?”

“I…I can’t believe it…I’m a Sea Pony.” Goku whispered, her forehooves coming to her face and muzzle. As she felt around it, she could still feel her fangs poking from out of her lips, even when in her new transformation. Once the shock of her new form sunk in, a smile broke out onto her face and she let out a squeal. “I’m a Sea Pony!”

Sky Ranger chuckled, watching as Goku swam around in her new form. “I take it you like you new aquatic form?”

“Like it?!” Without warning, Goku swam up to Sky Ranger and enveloped him in a tight hug, spinning him around in the water. “I bucking love it! I never ever thought that I’d actually become or be turned, into a Sea Pony before! This is just absolutely incredible!”

“That it is Goku, and for ponies like you, it would be.” Sky Ranger said, wincing slightly at the strength behind Goku’s hug. “And I can certainly say the same about your friends too.”

“My friends?” Goku asked, her glee being replaced with confusion once more. Smiling, Sky Ranger pointed behind her, and Goku looked to see her friends in a group behind her. Her eyes widened when she saw that each and every one of them were turned into Sea Ponies like her. Some of them were swimming around, while the others were admiring their new transformations and raveling in them. A good few of them seemed to be watching out for danger while the rest seemed to be admiring the underwater world around them. As they continued to frolic about, Fluttershy, who was conversing with what looked to be a white Stingray, noticed the tan Sea Pony out of the corner of her eye and she gasped.

“Everypony look!” She suddenly shouted, the volume of it making everypony pause in their swimming. “Goku’s finally awake!”

Upon hearing this, the rest of the groups’ gaze snapped over to where Goku and Sky Ranger was, and all of their faces lit up with joy. Before she knew it, Goku found herself in a group hug by the rest of her six friends, Violet Fire and Fast Tracks included. Storm Shadow, Lightning Shadow, and Blue Skies all just hovered back, though they too were smiling with just as much joy.

“Oh, I’m so glad you’re finally awake honey!” Violet Fire cooed, planting a motherly kiss on Goku’s forehead. “I thought that you were never going to wake up while we were down here!”

“Yeah, glad to see that you’re up and kicking, or in this case up and swimming.” Fast Tracks nodded, giving a wide fanged grin. “And you look just as awesome in this from as you do in this form, not to mention sexier!”

“Yeah, I am…and, um…thanks.” Goku murmured bashfully, blushing softly as her friends parted from her. “Wait a minute what do you mean you thought I was never going to wake up? Are you saying that I was actually unconscious when I was going through this transformation?”

“Well, yes dear, but not for very long.” Rarity replied. “From what we were able to determine, you had probably gotten hit on the head by one of the parts of the ship. Or you had gotten overwhelmed by the shockwave of the explosion from the hydra that had, unfortunately, demolished our ship. Either way, you were out for a good while…maybe for about five or ten minutes at best.”

“Ten minutes?!” Goku repeated, her forehooves flying to her head as she rubbed at it, wincing just a second later. “Damn…I guess I must’ve gotten hit pretty hard by the ship and that explosion. I guess it’s a good think that the transformation had completed just before I feel in the water, huh?”

“Emphasis on just before.” Rainbow Dash replied with a laugh. “Had that not happened, you definitely would’ve been sleeping down forever. Either that, or you may have been eaten by a bunch of Cragadiles or Sharks or Dragons or-”

“Okay Dash we get it, and Goku gets it too.” Twilight interrupted sternly. “Please don’t go and put that mental image in our heads. We’ve got enough things to worry about already, and we don’t need the fact that underwater predators may come down here and eat us.”

“Yeah Dashie, I don’t wanna think about Goku’s inner party streamers flying about and getting ripped out by a bunch of Sharks, Cragadiles, and Dragons.” Pinkie Pie frowned, her pink colors going green. “And not the fun type of streamers either?”

Lightning Shadow raised a brow at Pinkie. “Inner party streamers?”

“I think that’s her way of calling Goku’s entrails.” Storm Shadow whispered in her twin sister’s ear. “Along with her own and her friends’.”

“Its’ just Pinkie being Pinkie Lightning, just go with it.” Applejack said with a chuckle, waving a dismissive hoof. “So…where’s th’ remnants of our ship?”

“It’s just over there.” Zephyr replied, pointing a hoof over at a large mess of wood behind Goku and Sky Ranger. “The explosion from the Hydra was so powerful that it had ended up destroying the rest of the ship, even though it was still more or less intact. All it is now is just a pile of wood joining all the other ships that might be here.”

“I see.” Goku murmured sighing somewhat dejectedly. “Well, it’s not like we can’t make another to sail back here. That is unless Queen Celestia and her army meet up with us over at Nightmare Moon’s castle and decided to take us back herself.” Her ears suddenly perked as she looked around again, looking slightly more worried. “Wait a second, where’s Chenoa?! He didn’t get caught up in the blast, did he?!”

“No Goku, don’t worry, he’s right here.” Fluttershy said sweetly, swimming over and presenting the transformed bat pup to the tan Sea Pony. Chenoa’s pure white fur gave way to scaly skin that shining just as bright, with his bat wings becoming see through wings, just like Goku’s own, the claws still extended, looking design for the water. The pup also looked to have a set of four legs, flippers adorning his paw-like feet to allow him to paddle trough the water along with his wings. Finally, his tail had seemed to thicken and grow in length, the tip having a large kitchen knife like stinger at the tip of it.

“Oh, my Faust, Chenoa!” Goku squealed, bringing the sea bat into her arms. “Look at you, you look so adorable! With those little forelegs and watery wings, and that wickedlooking stinger you have! Now you can swim around in the water just like your Auntie Goku and the rest of us can; and you can use that wicked stinger if yours to sting and fend off any sea creature that tries to eat you! Isn’t that right?”

Chenoa squeaked happily in response, nuzzling into Goku’s scaly chest as she kissed his forehead.

“Ah have t’ say Sky Ranger AH didn’t really expect you t’ be able to turn us all int’ Sea Ponies like that.” Applejack commented, admiring her aquatic form. “An’ I especially wasn’t expecting ya t’ be able t’ chance that bat int’ a sea bat…how were you even able t’ do that?”

Fast Tracks hissed. “His name is Chenoa, dammit!”

“Oh, well you see, that’s actually a very simple question.” Sky Ranger replied, smiling as he pointed at his chest. “You see these nine pearls imbedded in my chest?”

“Why yes we do, and we must say, that they look absolutely divine.” Rarity cooed; her eyes wide as she stared at the gleaming ‘V’ shaped pearls. “Where did you even get such gems like those?”

Sky Ranger’s smile faltered slightly, and he rubbed the back of his head. “That…is a story that I’d like to save for another time. The way I got these pearls within me is not something that I’d like to talk about very often.”

Blue Skies, sensing the solemnness in Sky Ranger’s tone, frowned with sympathy. “Oh, I see…well, that’s okay Ranger. You can just tell us how you were able to transform us with them; you don’t need to tell us where you got them.”

“Thank you.” Sky Ranger said, smiling gratefully at the palomino Sea Pony. “Anyways, it’s quite the simple thing to do. All I had to do was focus my magic into the pearls in my chest, and awaken the magic flowing within them. Then, I just let the magic within the pearls spread out to any living thing, Pony, Hippogriff, or otherwise, into an aquatic creature. Which is exactly what happened with all of you when I spread the magic of the pearls to you.”

“Seriously? It’s that simple?” Rainbow Dash asked, raising an eyebrow in perplexation. “I thought that it was a lot more complicated than that.”

“Well, it more or less is.” Sky Ranger murmured. “You see, while I can turn more than one creature into an aquatic one, I can only do it a limited number of times. Just how there are nine pearls in my chest, I can only do the transformation technique a number of nine times. If I do it even more than one time after that, I’ll immediately lose consciousness.”

“Oh! Well that makes a lot more sense put like that!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. “Is that why only eight of your gems are glowing instead of all nine?”

“That’s correct Pinkie Pie.” Sky Ranger nodded. “And the more times I use the technique that I used on you, the more of these pearls will dim. I will have to wait a whole hour for the one that I used just now to regain it shine before I can use it again. It’s been ten minutes, so it’ll be another fifty minutes before this one fully…recharges.”

“I see…then that means we’ll have to stay underwater for a good while, depending on how long it takes to get to the other side of the Everfree.” Goku murmured, before looking down at Chenoa. “In the meantime, we get to enjoy these new forms of ours, while I get to enjoy seeing Chenoa’s new adorable form, heeheehee!”

“Um, Goku, Ah don’t wanna break up this little tender moment o’ yours…” Applejack said, tapping the Sea Pony mare on the shoulder. “…but A think we’d better get a move on right now. Now that we’re awake, it’s best if we get t’ th’ other side of this here sea as soon as possible. With how many underwater critters there are here, who knows when we might get preyed upon like a bunch o’ sheep on a ranch.”

“Applejack has a point there Goku.” Zephyr nodded. “We’ve been lucky these past ten minutes being able to swim and collect ourselves without any nearby danger. If we stay here any longer, these waters are going to be painted even redder than they already are…only this time, it’ll be with our own blood instead of the Hydra’s.”

“That’s right, we still have to get to Nightmare Moon anyway.” Twilight said firmly, before turning to Sky Ranger. “Sky Ranger, would you mind if you helped us swim our way through here? I’m afraid we’re not exactly used to traveling underwater.”

“Why of course, I was the one to change you into aquatic equines.” Sky Ranger replied, smiling eagerly as his tail flapped about. “Come now everyone, allow me to take you on a journey through the seas!”

The future Bearers of Harmony and the Shadowbolts found themselves enjoying their swim through the water much more than they though they would. Aside from the vast amounts of the H20 that was being light by the Moon up above, there were so many other beautiful things that the water blessed their eyes with. Numerous towers and groups of algae covered rocks adorned the sea floor, adorning various colors and shapes that seemed to glow and shine. Aquatic plants of all species and sized littered to sand covered sea floor as if it was a forest growing under the very one above the Sea Ponies were swimming under. That, however, was nothing compared to the amount of aquatic wildlife swimming about, ranging from various species, be it fish, crabs, octopus, eels, snakes, sea reptilians, and marine mammals as well, with some predatory aquatic fish resigning within them as well.

“Wow…” Blue Skies breathed, staring in awe at the aquatic world around them. “It’s so beautiful down here! Look all of the plants and fish…I’ve never been in a sea like this before!”

“I know, isn’t it just wonderful?” Fluttershy gushed, smiling with absolute glee. “I’ve always wondered what aquatic life would be here. I’ve been to aquariums before in my life, and they’re all very beautiful, but I’ve always wondered what it’d be like in the Everfree Forest. It’s even more beautiful than I had ever thought that it would be; as much as the land above~!”

“Yeah...I never even thought that a place like the Everfree could contain something this…breathtaking.” Twilight breathed, swimming alongside Zephyr. “I guess I was so focused on how dangerous that it was that I didn’t seem to see the other qualities that it held.”

“That’s okay Twilight; I’m sure that many ponies like you would feel the same way if they were in your position.” Zephyr said gently, rubbing a hoof down Twilight’s scaly back. “Then again, even if they did see something as beautiful as this, they’d still be unable to really open their eyes and really see it.”

“Sad, but true…and I’m glad you think so Fluttershy.” Sky Ranger murmured, smiling back at the Sea Pony mare and stallion. “I have always had an appreciation for the beauty that this forest held, both in land and in the water. I’m sure that a good number of animal lovers like you, Blue Skies, Violet Fire, Fast Tracks and Goku had always wondered what life was like under this behemoth of a forest. Too bad those that did probably ended up being eaten by the life that was down here.”

“I’m betting that they were. Too bad that this forest is far too dangerous for ponies that aren’t Thestrals or Kirins to live in, let alone explore and study in.” Goku nodded solemnly, sighing as she swam about the water. “I gotta admit though, it is so incredible being a sea pony!”

“You better believe your fish tailed ass it is, G!” Rainbow Dash laughed as she and Applejack swam around the group. “Not only to I get to swim around here as fast as I want, but I also get to breath both underwater and in the air! How cool is that?!”

“Perdy darn dandy if ya ask me RD.” Applejack replied with a chuckle, bumping hooves with the cyan athlete. “AH have t’ be honest though…it does feel a might weird not havin’ mah hindlegs an’ a fish tail instead. Almost as if Ah didn’t even have em in the first place.”

“I agree with you there dear. It’s like we were born as Sea Ponies instead of actual ponies designed to walk on the very earth that we thrive upon.” Rarity nodded, running her hooves down her own body, as if feeling it for the first time. “Be that as it may, it doesn’t take away just how absolutely glamorous that I look! I mean just look at these fins; they’re absolutely divine!”

“Forget the fins, look at our Cutie Marks!” Pinkie Pie said, pointing to a fin that contained her mark of three balloons. “Those pearls not only turned us into Sea Ponies, but it also made sure that we still had our marks on us before we did! If that’s not super-duper amazing, I don’t know what is!”

“Maybe now having the ability to breath underwater and looking like legendary versions of merponies?” Fluttershy suggested sweetly, waving her tailfin innocently. “Maybe you could count that is something even more amazing than having Cutie Mark fins?”

Pinkie giggled. “Yeah, maybe you can count that too, heehee!”

“Oh totally, and it really helps in relieving all of the stress and being hunted down by so many wild beasts, on the ground, in the air, and even underground and in the sea!” Fast Tracks said jovially, ascending and ascending in the water. “It feels so good to just swim around and breath in water as if you were flying in it!”

“And it also gives us a chance to explore these new bodies.” Lightning Shadow nodded, observing her Sea Pony form carefully. “To think there was an actual power that could make something like this happen…I have to wonder just what other powers and species are out in this world. just like what other secrets that this forest may hold.”

“Oh, it holds many secrets by dear…both beautiful and deadly.” Sky Ranger replied, look around at the vast aquatic world. “Though, it’s nothing compared to the secret that lies in the middle of this beautiful forest…one that all animal lovers would kill to discover.”

“Oh really?” Storm Shadow asked, raising a brow. “And what kind of secret is that?”

The azure blue Sea Pony stallion looked back at the group swimming behind them. “Have any of you heard of the place called, Rambling Rock Ridge?”

“The ramblin’ what now?” Applejack asked, raising a brow.

“Rambling Rock Ridge, Applejack…you need to learn to pay attention when ponies are saying certain things.” Rarity replied, ignoring the glare the farmer shot at her. “I do apologize for my friend’s behavior Applejack. What were you saying about this place?”

“Well… the Rambling Rock Ridge is actually a cave that’s said to be nestled right in the middle of the Everfree Forest, right behind your Queen’s old castle on the Everfree Plains. Well, what was left of the castle before it was transformed by Nightmare Moon anyway.” Sky Ranger said somewhat sheepishly at the end before continuing. “However, what’s so legendary about it, is that it is said to be the Beating Heart of the Everfree Forest.”

“The beating heart?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Why in the is it called that?”

“Because within the cave entrance of the Rambling Rock Ridge, is said to be another stretch of the Everfree wilderness.” Fluttershy replied. “The Everfree Forest is big enough as it is, big enough to eve rival the forests of the Undiscovered West in fact. However, legend has it, that within the Rambling Rock Ridge’s cave entrance, is a bountiful Eden of land that is as beautiful as it is endless. It contains vast areas of trees, forests, jungles, mountains, swamps, plains, shrubs and waters as far as the eyes can see, with all the animals that you can find that inhabit this very forest and so many more. It is said to be one of the many wildernesses that remaining completely untouched by the Three Pony Tribes, thus letting it remain truly wild, with the only species of equine there being the Thestrals and Kirins.”

“Wait a second Fluttershy…you just said that this Eden in this Rambling Rock Ridge place is the only number of wild places that aren’t inhabited by ponies.” Twilight said. “How can it be a really wild place its inhabited by Thestrals and Kirins?”

“Because, the Thestrals and Kirins that’re apart of the Eden within Rambling Rock Ridge are said to have been in it since it was first originated.” Fluttershy replied, glancing over that the lavender Sea Pony Unicorn. “Not only that, but the Thestrals and the Kirins have not been known for hunting or killing any of the creatures within it, other than the purpose of food when it comes to the herbivores, just like any other carnivore. That, and…well, Thestrals and Kirins aren’t really included as part of the Pony Tribes due to the short amount of time they’ve been in this plant and their powers.” She shot Goku, Fast Tracks, and Zephyr a sheepish smile. “Other than that, they leave the animals alone and join them all in what is known as, a least in there, the Great Circle of Life.”

“The Great Circle of Life…now that’s something that I know is made to be philosophical.” Rarity said, giggling in a hoof. “You really enjoy learning about things that have do with nature, don’t you dear?”

“I certainly do Rarity, and I know that I’m not the only one either.” Fluttershy replied, earning smiles from Zephyr, Goku and Violet Fire. “I don’t know if the Eden of the Everfree Forest is real or not…but if it is, I’d love to see it.”

“Hey…everypony, look!” The ebony mare shouted, pointing a hoof up. “I think I can see the shore from up here!”

“Yeah me too!” Fast Tracks nodded, his expression brightening. “It’s faint, ‘cause I can’t really see from outside of the water, but I can see the outline of trees from down here!”

“It looks like we’ve finally made it to the other side.” Zephyr murmured. “It took us nearly an hour to get there, but we finally made it.”

“Well, it was a good hour well spent in my opinion.” Sky Ranger commented, looking down at his ninth gem, which was now glowing as if it wasn’t even used. “My ninth Pearl Stone is back to its beautiful shine, and it’s ready to be used in another transformation move again. Though I get the feeling that I’m going to be using it for a lot more ponies this time.”

“Yeah, I do too.” Goku nodded dryly, giggling as she gently elbowed the Sea Pony stallion in his side. “We can worry about that later though. Right now, we’ve got a surface we need to swim back to, and forest to continue trekking.”

“Awww, do we have to leave already?!” Pinkie Pie whined pathetically. “I wanna swim some more down here! It was so much fun experiencing what it was like to be a Sea Pony! I don’t want that to end now!”

“Sorry Pinks, but we gotta go unfortunately.” Applejack said gently, yet firmly putting a hoof on the Sea Earth Pony’s back. “We still got a villain we need t’ defeat an’ a town we need t’ save from that very same varmint too. Ah’m afraid that we’re gonna have t’ cut this lil’ free time o’ ours short.”

“Well shit, and I was already getting used to being a Sea Pony too.” Rainbow Dash grumbled, crossing her forehooves. “Life can be really shitty sometimes…”

“Oh, now don’t be like that girls, it’s not like it’s going to be the last time you get to swim with me.” Sky Ranger said optimistically, a cheery grin on his face. “If you want, after all of this over, and if you’re Queen is okay with it, I can turn all of you into Sea Ponies again and we can all swim through the entire sea together, for much longer.”

“Wow really?” Blue Skies asked excitedly. “You’d really do that for us?”

“Well if course; it’s the least that I can do after you had let me guide you through this forest.” Sky Ranger replied, rubbing his flippers as he blushed. “Plus…I do want to make up for more or less getting your ship destroyed anyway.”

“Alright! Now that’s what I’m talking about baby!” Fast Tracks cheered, doing flips and circles around the water. “Come on you guys, let’s get to that castle and send Nightmare Moon to Tartarus and back so we can swim through these waters again!”

“Right back at ya Fast!” Rainbow Dash cheered as she followed the Sea Pony stallion up towards the surface.

“Guys wait!” Twilight shouted, but the two athletes were already swimming their way up to the surface. “I swear, those two are too much alike….”

“That makes two of us.” Violet Fire giggled. “Come on you guys, let’s get back up there before those two knuckleheads get lost.”

“Right back at you V.” Goku as she swam to towards the surface, Chenoa and the others following close behind her.

Thankfully, Rainbow Dash and Fast Tracks didn’t run into any beasts or anything else that was dangerous after the others exited the sea. Although they did spend a good few minutes trying to find the reckless cyan Pegasus and light brown Thestral through the thick foliage of trees. After they had managed to regroup, while giving the duo a good scolding, the group was no once again trekking through the forest as they did before they had set sail. Only this time, Sky Ranger was now accompanying them, serving as extra protection and company for the ponies. Little did any of them realize, that they were about to get another temporary companion along the way.

“I have to say Sky Ranger; it was rather pleasant experience that you put us through under the seas of the Everfree Forest.” Fluttershy said, smiling sweetly at the Hippogriff. “In all of my life, I had never dreamed that I’d ever become a Sea Pony, especially in a place like this. That was certainly one of the best experiences of my life, without a doubt.”

“Indeed darling, that swim was just exquisite!” Rarity gushed, her tail skirt flicking about. “My Cutie Mark shined the brightest that I had ever seen since I had first gotten it! It just absolutely sparkled under the water while I was swimming, and my mane and tail oh! No words could describe just how graceful they looked under the water!”

“Uh-huh, it was just so much fun being down there!” Pinkie Pie squealed as she bounced around the Hippogriff. “I’ve been to ponds and pools and swam in them before, and it was fun in its own way, but that had to be the best swim that I’ve ever had in my life!”

“Well, I’m glad that you all had fun, and I’m happy that I could provide.” Sky Ranger said, smiling back at the mares and Shadowbolts. “Though, I’m pretty sure that a good portion of you still found it rather off that you had been turned into another different species.”

“Ah certainly did…Ah am never gonna forget the feelin’ of having a giant tail fin instead o’ mah own back hooves.” Applejack nodded, looking back at side legs and giving them a few kicks. “Still, it was rather nice t’ be able t’ breath underwater…an’ swim around in too. Ah guess Ah wouldn’t mind tryin’ it out again sometime.”

“Well, I certainly wouldn’t!” Rainbow Dash snickered, hovering above the rest. “Do you know how awesome the feeling was to be swimming and breathing underwater as a Sea Pony?! And here I thought going fast in the air was the only cool thing about being a Pegasus! Well, other than being able to control the weather and all that!”

“That makes two of us!” Fast Tracks nodded. “I can’t wait to get back into that water and swim as if I was flying in it! Another legitimate reason to take Nightmare Moon down where she stands!”

“I think Goku and her friends have that covered Fast Tracks, but I can see your point.” Violet Fire said, patting the light brown stallion on his head. “I have to say though, you all looked quite alluring in the Sea Pony forms Sky Ranger had you all go into! And Chenoa, oh he just looked so adorable in his, and fierce with his stinger too!” She reached over to said bat and scratching him under his chin, earning a content squeal from the pup in response. “If he was that cute in his aquatic form, then I wonder how cute Sheton would look if he was turned into a Sea Pony!”

As soon as those words left her mouth, Fluttershy, Blue Skies, Goku, Lightning Shadow, and Storm Shadow all paused, the image of a Sea Pony Sheton forming in their minds. A squeal left Goku and Blue Skies mouths, the former’s being louder than the latter’s while Lightning and Storm merely blushed, managing to keep themselves composed.

“Dammit Violet Fire, you just had to put that mental image in my head, didn’t you?!” Goku shouted, her cheeks burning. “And just when I thought I had gotten myself all prepped up and ready for battle again, you just had to go and ruin it!”

“I know, and here I thought that Sheton couldn’t get any cuter than he already is!” Blue Skies whined, frowning at her Captain. “Why did you have to go and say that Captain?! Whyyyyyy?!”

The ebony mare giggled, smiling in amusement at her teammates and Goku’s blushing faces. “I’m sorry girls, I just couldn’t help it! The thought was just too much to keep to myself and I had to voice it out to you!” She said, her tail flicking about in excitement. “I can just tell by the looks on your faces that you’d love to see something like that happen! And I certainly know the rest of you would want to see that happen to your own siblings too!”

“You have no idea…” Fluttershy replied, the blush on her face darkening as the image of a Sea Pony Scootaloo appeared in her mind. As these thoughts continued to race through the gentle Pegasus’s head, she was brought sharply back to reality when a smell hit her nostrils. A smell so strong and coppery that it made her want to gag and retch right on the spot had it not taken her aback so strongly. She wasn’t the only one however, for Goku had also picked up the scent, which was far stronger for her, and even more revolting.

“Um…Fluttershy? Goku?” Blue Skies asked, noticing the change in both mare’s body language. “Is there something the matter?”

“Girls, stop.” Goku said abruptly, her commanding undertone making everypony, even Zephyr and Sky Ranger stop in their tracks. Not taking her eyes from in front of her, she took a few sniffs, and gave just the slightest grimace on her face. “Do you guys smell that?”

Rainbow Dash paused. “Smell what?”

“That…coppery and sour scent.” Fluttershy replied, her pupils contracting slightly. “I don’t want to scare you guys, but I know that smell, and it is not something that you're going to like.”

Raising a brow, Zephyr stepped up towards the group and gave a few sniffs of the air himself, and just a moment later, he reeled back. “Oh, Sweet Faust and Shenron…that’s blood!”

Rarity paled. “B-b-b-blood?! Y-you mean a-actual blood?!” She stammered as if she didn’t believe what Zephyr had said. “The very same fluid that is pumped through our veins by our hearts?”

“The very same one Rarity.” Fast Tracks asked, his own face scrunched up in disgust as he looked over at Lightning, Storm, and Violet. “And it looks like we’re not the only ones who smell it either.”

“Oh goodness, it’s so…strong and foul!” Lightning Shadow gagged, holding a hoof to her muzzle as Storm Shadow draped a wing over her. “What kind of poor creature in this forest could’ve gotten injured to the point where it’s blood is this strong?”

Sky Ranger who was also sniffing out in the air, froze and let out a gasp. His azure eyes wide as his shining white pupils contracted in realization. “Dragon…”

Twilight snapped her head over to the Hippogriff stallion. “W-what did you say?”

“A dragon…it’s dragon blood that we’re smelling!” Sky Ranger repeated, slightly louder. “There’s no doubt about it; there’s an injured dragon somewhere around here!”

“Whoa, hold on, wait!” Rainbow Dash shouted as Fluttershy, Blue Skies, Violet, Goku and Zephyr all gasped in horrified shock. “You’re saying that there’s an actual dragon here?! Like the one that we nearly got burned by while we were sailing here?!”

Pinkie Pie nodded, confirming the cyan mare’s suspicions. “It looks like it Dashie, I can smell that icky scent too!”

“Whoa nelly…now that’s not something that Ah was expectin’ t’ happen…at least not again.” Applejack murmured, still trying to comfort her sister. “What do y’all think could’ve happened t’ th’ critter?”

“I don’t know, but I’m not gonna just stand here and wait to find out.” Goku replied, her eyes narrowed. “Come on guys, follow me!”

Spreading her bat wings, the tan Thestral took off into the grove of thick burly and foliage filled trees, ignoring the protest of most of her friends as they followed her, Chenoa included. Leaves and trees rustled under and around them as they followed the scent of the dragon blood, which was growing stronger by the second as they neared. It soon began to get so overwhelming that some of them felt tears welling up in their eyes at how sharp the pain the smell was in their nostrils and in their eyes, but they continued to push on. Despite the potential danger ahead, Goku did slow down, and from the way Fluttershy, Zephyr, and Violet Fire were following after them, they weren’t either.

After what seemed like endless running and flying, the ponies and one Hippogriff found themselves in front of a scene that made them all freeze. Just twenty feet away from them, was a huge dirt trail going down the path that they were going on. It started just behind a large tree that appeared to be violently snapped in half, before going down for a few yards and up again, stopping at the very top of the path. As they continued to examine it, they could see what looked to be large black and blue circles that looked to be like scales, and as they looked closer, the group could see they actually were scales. Some of the scales were piled on top of large patches of blood covering almost the entire dirt trail, forming small pools of blood that went up it.

“Oh shit…” Rainbow Dash murmured, her jaw hanging open slightly. “What the hay happened here?”

“It looks like something crazy happened here, that’s what!” Pinkie Pie said, staring wide-eyed at the scene before them. “What do you guys think happened here?”

“Well…judging by the blood and scales that are here.” Storm Shadow replied, eyeing the scales and crimson stains closely. “It looks like an animal of some sorts got into a little accident…and judging from the snapped tree beside us, I’d say it was a flight accident.’

“Oh no…you don’t think the poor thing’s still in pain, do you?” Blue Skies asked as she looked at each of the others. “Wait a minute, what am I saying?! Of course he’s in pain! Why else would there be blood and scales all over here?! We have to help it!”

“Blue Skies wait!” Violet Fire shouted, grabbing onto the young mare’s tail with her teeth. “Listen honey, I know you want to help the drake, but you can’t go rushing in like that.”

“Why not?!” Blue Skies shouted, glaring back at the ebony mare. “Are you saying that I should just let that poor dragon blood to death from whatever wound they have?”

“No, she’s not.” Sky Ranger said, putting a talon on Blue’s shoulder to calm her down. “What Violet is saying is that you need to go by this carefully. While your intentions may be pure, there’s no guarantee that the dragon will let you help it. Odds are he may try to attack you or scorch you alive the moment he sees you pop up so suddenly.”

“Sky Ranger is right Blue.” Fluttershy nodded, her tone gentle and soothing, yet firm. “If there’s one thing that’s dangerous besides a wild animal, is one that is wounded and scared. An animal that is either scared or critically injured by another is going to fight for its life if it encounters another animal that has the intent to harm it. Even if it may not be our intention, it’s still going to fight and bite back if it believes it’s in danger. It will even go as far as to kill its potential enemy if that’s what it has to do, and they won’t hesitate either.”

Blue Skies anger quickly diminished, her ears falling limp. “Oh…right. I’m sorry…I wasn’t thinking there.”

“Don’t worry about it Blue, just keep calm and tread carefully.” Zephyr replied, patting the smaller Pegasus on her head. “Alright everypony, whatever you do, don’t make any sudden movements or sounds while we’re heading up here. As you can plainly see the dragon that’s over this slope is most likely inured to the point where it can’t even fly. So be sure to tread lightly and look as none threatening as you possibly can while we tend to it.”

“Darling…are you sure that’s the best idea?” Rarity said tentatively, taking a step forward. “This is a dragon that we’re talking about, a creature that hardly accepts help from anything or anypony, even other dragons. We know for certain that they don’t accept help from ponies, nor do they offer any help in return to us; not that they’ve ever have. And I don’t think that this particular dragon will be too pleased with us doing that…especially in whatever state he’s in.”

“Yeah, not to mention that the last dragon we met tried to burn us alive!” Rainbow Dash growled, crossing her forehooves. “Why should we go out of our way to help this dragon when the last one tried to eat us like that Hydra did?!”

“Because it’s the right thing to do Dash, for one.” Fluttershy said sternly, glaring up at the cyan mare. “The second reason is because this dragon wasn’t the one that tried to eat us back in the sea that we were sailing and swimming in! Third, this dragon is so wounded to as to where he may not be able to fly right now, and I don’t need to see it to know it! The scales and the blood all over here is proof enough of that!”

“Yeah…we can kind of see that Fluttershy.” Twilight murmured, only to shrink back when the buttermilk Pegasus’s glare was trained on her. “L-look…we won’t stop you if this is what you want to do. It’s obvious just by looking at you you’re not backing out from this, but still…are you really sure you want to do this? This isn’t like you to want to actually get up close with a dragon.”

“Twi’s right Fluttershy…with the exception o’ Spike, he’s the only dragon you’ll go anywhere near, and he’s not even a full one.” Applejack added tentatively. “An’ there’s that lil’ phobia that ya have o’ them critters too…what’s so different about this one here?”

“Applejack, were you not paying attention to what Fluttershy was saying?” Lightning Shadow asked incredulously. “This was not the dragon who attacked us back in the sea, there’s blood and scales all over here, and the poor thing is probably writhing in agony right now! What more reasons do you need to understand why Fluttershy wants to do this?”

“And this has nothing to do with my dracophobia either.” Fluttershy added stomping her hoof in the ground, caring not for the blood that coated it. “This is about me helping an injured animal in need, regardless of the fac that it’s a dragon and I have a phobia of them. Under normal circumstances, I probably would’ve cowered in fear of one and ran under a rock, but this is not one of those times. I’m a Rosario and a Tenshi, and it is my sworn duty to protect and nurture forms of life! And if it happens to be a dragon, one of the two creatures in this forest that I’m more terrified of than any other creature, then so be it!”

With a graceful lash of her tail, Fluttershy turned tail and trotted down the slope, Goku, Zephyr, Blue Skies and Sky Ranger following close behind. The others looked at one another, before eventually following suit, Rainbow Dash grumbling and Rarity whimpering all the while. As they went down the slope and up again, they saw bigger, more fresher pools of blood, and even larger scales covering the ground beneath their hooves. The metallic stench filled their nostrils and hit the roof of their mouths causing them to cringe and even gag in disgust. They eventually found themselves at the very top of the slope, where the foul stench of the blood and scales reached its maximum peak. When they looked around, none of them could surpass their gasps at what lay before them.

Laying just below them, with large blankets of algae covering random parts, was probably the biggest clearing they mares had seen so far, minus the Shadowbolts. The size of the clearing that they had all fought the Timberwolves in was nothing compared to the one that they saw now. Large towers of algae covered rocks were towering in random parts of the amazingly wide space, with a huge abundance of grass that covered every single inch of the earth around the rocks. On the walls of the clearing, were rocks and boulders that poked out in various random spaces, the algae covering the towering rocks covering those parts as well. As the finishing touch, an enormous water hole stretched out in the very center of the clearing, the sight of large fish swimming around it being illuminated by the light of the Moon.

It was a rather extraordinary sight if the ponies were being entirely honest with themselves, but that wasn’t what had them so shocked and horrified. What had them in such a state was the sight of the creature that they were all searching for in it, and the condition it was in.

Lying right at the top of the clearing, a great pool of blood surrounding it, was possibly the most extraordinary looking dragon that they had ever seen. To say that it was a giant would’ve been a major understatement. It was absolutely ginormous, bigger than both the Battoookami and the Manticore combined, almost three times as big. The scales adorning its body was black, the blackest the mares had ever laid their eyes upon, equivalent the night sky above them and Nightmare Moon’s own coat; having different shadings of blue. Its wingspan was absolutely massive, stretching over stretching well over half of the large pit clearing, with its tail pretty much doing the same, having light and dark blue spots adorning them, along with its legs. It had a large set of wolf-like ear set on its head, with smaller ones in between them, and a set of blackish blue spines going down its back. At the base of its tail was a much, much smaller set of wing fins, and at the very base of its tail, were wing fins were slightly bigger than the ones at the base.

All of which looked to be absolutely sliced to ribbons, and dripping with blood.

“Oh…my…Faust…” Rarity said, her voice just barely above a whisper as her pupils contracted. “What…what in the world happened here?”

“Ah…have no idea Rares. I was expectin’ this here dragon t’ be a little roughed up an’ not really all that hurt, but it looks like Ah was wrong.” Applejack replied, looking as if she was trying to deny the harsh truth of the brutal scene before her. “Ah certainly wasn’t expectin’ anythin’ like…this…’r fer him ‘r her t’ be lookin’ like, well…that.”

“Look at all of that…that…blood.” Twilight breathed, her intellect mind trying desperately to understand what she was seeing. “I’ve…I’ve never seen so much blood in my life. W…what could’ve caused all of this?!”

“Don’t look at me, I wasn’t expecting any of this either!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, doing her best to not looked to disgusted at the sight. “Still…whatever did this must’ve had a really big grudge against this big guy.”

“Y-yeah…this isn’t was I was expecting to see at all either.” Pinkie Pie whimpered, her vibrant pink colors starting to turn a deep shade of blue. “The poor thing must be in a lot of pain to look like that…Fluttershy w-what do you think happen to him?”

As the party pony and the others turned to look at the two Pegasi, they all froze upon seeing the looks of shock, horror, and absolute awe etched on their faces, Zephyr included. Neither mares acknowledged that they had even heard Pinkie Pie, both of them continuing to stare at the scene before them.

“…Fluttershy…Goku…Zephyr?” Violet Fire asked after a short silence. “Are you three okay?”

The ebony mare's soft voice seemed to snap the three ponies out of it; they gave jumps of surprise as they looked back up at Violet Fire, who was looking back down at them worriedly. They looked at her for a moment longer, then at their friends, and back at each other again. Their eyes went back down to the bloodied and wounded dragon lying just yards away from them, before looking at each other for a third time. A silent message seemed to pass between them, and their expressions morphed into ones of fierce determination as they nodded to each other. Then, without warning, the trio spread their massive wings and took off towards the fallen beast, leaving their surprised friends at the edge.

“Wh-hey! Guys wait up!” Fast Tracks shouted as he took off after the girls, his team and the others following shorty after.

It didn’t take even five seconds for Goku, Zephyr, and Fluttershy to reach the other side of the clearing, the latter landing on the blood covered ground while the former continued to soar overhead. Fluttershy barely registered the blood sticking to her hooves and legs as she rushed over to the fallen dragon, Goku landing at her side just a second later, white Zephyr hovered above them both. None of them said word to each other as they took in the gruesome state that the dragon was in, and the scarlet pool that went around its entire body. They took in everything, from the slashes and bite marks that adorned its head, neck and legs, to the holes and tears in its wings, to the cuts that ran along its back, and the fins on its tail. Every single part of the dragon was either cut, or bit onto, and not a single injury had blood not seeping out of the wounds. It looked as if the mighty beast looked to as if it was already dead, if its still body and was anything to go by. Even so, Goku, Fluttershy, and Zephyr had a feeling that something else was up.

Before they could think on it any farther, the rest of their friends and the Shadowbolts came flying in, a couple of them doing their best not to get too much blood on them. They quickly rushed to the two mares’ sides and joined them in seeing what was wrong with the dragon.

“Mother of Faust…it’s worse than I thought.” Storm Shadow said as she pulled back her giggles, allowing everypony to see the shock and horror in her icy blue eyes. “Look at him…he’s completely butchered…”

“Butchered?! He looks like an apple that went through th’ cider machine an’ came out more like applesauce then cider!” Applejack exclaimed, shooting the dark grey mare an incredulous look. “Is he even still alive?!”

“I doesn’t look like it.” Lightning Shadow replied hovering over to the dragon and inspecting its injuries. “Those wounds are deep, but they don’t look like they’re fatal…and the blood is still fresh, so I don’t think he’s been here for very long. Do you think we should check to see if he’s still alive?”

“I’ll do it.” Blue Skies said before anypony else could reply. Pulling back her goggles, she quietly hovered to the ground, paying no mind to the blood covering it. She slowly walked towards the dragon, taking care not to spook or startle it awake as she made her way towards its stomach. The palomino mare lightly pressed her ear against it, listening out for the faintest sound of breathing or heartbeat. A few seconds past, and a faint thumping sound reached her ears.

“Oh thank Celestia…he’s alive, I can feel his heartbeat.” She finally said, pulling her head away as she looked back at the others. “It’s faint, but…it’s still there…barely.”

“Wait, really?!” Rarity asked in disbelief. “I honestly thought that he was dead! How can he still be breathing in the state that he’s in?!”

“I have no idea….” Violet Fire said with a small chuckle. “I’m actually wondering that too to be honest. I don’t know how he can still be alive, but…he just is.”

“Wow…I figured that he’d still be hangin’ on there, but still…wow!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “This dragon’s got nerves of steel!”

“You can say that again Dashie!” Pinkie Pie giggled, happy and relieved to know the dragon was still alive. “Hey Fluttershy, Goku, do you know what kind of dragon it is?”

“We do...and we were definitely expecting to find a dragon of this kind here.” Zephyr replied, slowly looking over at the others. “Nor did we ever think that we were going to even see it.”

“What do y’all mean?” Applejack asked, raising a golden eyebrow. “Just what kind o’ dragon is this?”

“One that I thought was just a legend…well, up until now at least.” Goku replied as she slowly looked at each of her friends an the Shadowbolts. Her golden feline eyes were filled with shock, disbelief, awe, and amazement, all of which reflected in her voice as she spoke. “Everypony…we haven’t found just any dragon here in this clearing; we’ve found…a Night Fury.”

Author's Notes:

Okay, I have a bit of a confession to make here...out of all the chapters that I had written and was the most excited about either writing or rewriting, this one has to be at the very top of that list and because of that...I sort of lost focus writing the last chapter. My impatience sort of got the best of me and I felt like I sort of rushed the last chapter so I can get to this one...mainly about the surprise in this chapter and the new beast that the girls, Zephyr and the Shadowbolts will be helping instead of fighting. I'm sorry about that, that was a heat of the moment type of thing, and I'll be sure to ensure that it won't happen again for the rest of the story, especially towards the finale battles now that it's past me. Speaking of which, I hope you guys liked the surprise that I showed you all here, because I certainly had a fun time writing it and describing it, along with that little adventure under the sea!!!

Well, that's all for now. Tune in next time for some intel about my favorite species of all HTTYD Movie dragons, along with a beautiful act of generosity from our overdramatic fashionista!!! With any luck it should come out later on today or tonight at best!!!