The group entered the seaside village of Holiday Beach…or rather, what was left of it. A clearly independent town that had no allegiance to any realm, Holiday Beach had been filled with ponies, Abyssinians, gargoyles, kirin and a host of other species, all living in harmony. Now they all lay dead in a parody of that same principle, all of them brutally massacred at the hands of the remainder of Tirek’s forces. Nearly all of the town’s buildings were ash and while some were still aflame, the dying smoke that crept into the air were indicators that what had happened occurred days ago. The frozen ground was slick with the iced-over blood and entrails of the townsfolk, who had been mercilessly slaughtered. As if to send a message to any that had somehow managed to survive, a dozen decapitated heads were set upon pikes embedded into the ground, their eyes having been gouged out by seabirds having looked for morsels to eat.

Daisyblaze looked heartsick. “I didn’t…I didn’t sign up for this sort of thing.” She looked at the others. “Is this what you’ve been dealing with since this started? Nothing but death and wanton slaughter?”

“Thou art a gentle soul, Daisy. I would not censure thee if’t be true thee hath decided to leaveth us anon.”

“No, Lady Megan. I made a promise to the hedgehogs of that village and I mean to keep it.” She then gave a comforting grin. “Besides, not every adventure is going to be bright and squeaky clean. If it were like that, I’d be in a Daring Do novel.”

“I would not wish thee to d’part. But I fear ‘twill receiveth worse ere ‘t gets better,” Megan told her. “The ordinary is wrought with villainy such as this, and this is by sorrows none out of custom.”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure that’s how it works. But I’ll be fine.”

Megan was about to say something else, when something whizzed past her. A second one sounded and she reached out, catching the arrow that had been aimed for her head. “If’t be true thou art hither to square us, we shalt giveth thee a mighty challenge, but if’t be true thou art hither to protect the town, we mean thee no harm!”

A voice by the docks called out, “Do you mean that?”

“Aye, I do. I gage’t upon the name of mine own sovereign, Queen Faust, and upon the lady who doth rules in her stead, Princess Celestia.”

“As do I. I am a Knight of the Church of the Alicorns and I would fight until the end to protect those in need,” Sundance swore.

“Same as I,” Twilight vowed.

“Um…I’m just an adventurer, but I’m with them,” Daisyblaze stated, “so take that as you will.”

Several uncomfortable seconds of silence went by before the voice said, “Okay, we’re coming out!” A second later, two earth ponies came out, both with bows and arrows on their backs. To make them feel more at ease, the others sheathed their weapons, though silently Megan and Twilight prepared spells, just in case.

“What happened here?” the first one, a pink mare with a short sky-blue, yellow and magenta mane and tail asked. Standing next to her was a peach-hued mare with a sea-blue mane and tail. Both had the same blue eyes and same cutie marks, twin blue and white seashells. “We were out fishing,” she explained. “It’s what we do for a living.”

“We only left a couple of days ago!” the other mare cried. “What happened?”

“We don’t know, but we have our suspicions,” Twilight told her, going into an explanation of everything they had been through in a couple of days, and how the remnant armies of Tirek were slaughtering everything that remained in their path. As a safety precaution, they did not reveal their mission, but instead stated they were assigned to deal with the remainder of Tirek’s forces around the world.

“And right now we have reason to believe they’re headed to Umberfoal, possibly to regroup,” Sundance told the two. “We were coming here in the hopes of hiring somepony to take us across the sea, but when we got here we found the place in this condition.”

“Unfortunately,” Daisyblaze added, “as you can see, they set fire to just about every vessel in the port and even if one was intact, I don’t think any of us are qualified mariners.”

“Yond’s true, Daisy. I hast many talents, but being a sail’r is not one, certes,” Megan admitted.

“Well…we have a ship,” the first earth mare spoke. “It’s not a luxury vessel or anything you’d find in Canterlot or Manehattan, but the Johnathan Livingston Seagull’ll get you across the way, if you’re willing.” She looked at her counterpart. “Sis?”

“Are you sure about this?” the second asked the first.

“We don’t have a choice. We have nothing now and I don’t know about you, but I kinda feel we have to do something,” the first sister replied, before turning to the group. “We’re not from this town originally either. Sis and I are from the Sirenian Coast and we decided to go into the fishing business together.” The first one offered a hoof. “I’m Rhythm Coral and this is my sister Jazz Ocean.”

The others introduced themselves and after the two sisters got over their shock at who they were in front of, they all settled down to the all-too-familiar grisly task of burying yet more dead. To the two knights, it seemed as though it was happening to the point of cliché. To Daisyblaze, she was starting to become aware of the fact that not all adventures were the rollicking, wild ones she was used to or even the sanitized friendly ones in the Daring Do books. To the sisters, however, this had been their home and these their friends and to have to bury them after seeing what had been done to them made them all ill.

But to Megan, this was something that she’d been long used to over the centuries. Burying friend, foe and stranger alike, she’d become completely numb to death and its presence around her. She knew she could die; she felt as though it had happened to her once before and even Faust had told her that even though she’d gained an alicorn’s lifespan and power near that of one, she did not have the true immortality that came with them. But for it to happen to others over countless ages and for it to never visit her, she felt as though she were cursed. The pandas of Zhanguo had a saying: “May you live in interesting times.”

Megan had felt she’d lived a long enough life for many interesting times, and it never seemed as though it would end.

Hours later, the Johnathan Livingston Seagull cut its way across the iron-hued waves, pulling away from the lost town. Because the trawler was too small for Dinah, she had to be left behind, much to the vanargand’s reluctance. Megan left instructions for her steed to head home to her pack and to have them send another, so that when she returned she would have a mount for the trip home. Dinah whimpered her concern, but Megan lied once more and though she felt guilty about it, convinced the giant wolf to do as bid.

She wasn’t the only one feeling separations blues. So, too, were Coral and Ocean, from the place they had called home. The sisters explained that even though they were from the Sirenian Coast, they had never really felt at home there and so by being fisherponies, they were able to go wherever the ocean breezes took them, up and down the coast to trade and enjoy their lives to the fullest. They’d settled down somewhat over the years in Holiday Beach, but with it now gone, they had nowhere to go, so they would eagerly join up with the group in order to avenge their fellow slain townsfolk.

“Once we landfall, if ‘t be true we doth not returneth within a week, inform Princess Luna of ev’rything and prithee advise her to assault Umberfoal with all the hosts the lady can muster,” Megan advised them. “If’t be true something is stout enow to killeth me, ‘twill be stout enow to end alicorns – and the ordinary cannot afford such a peril. Not anon, not with this unnatural winter undertaking.”

“We are not warriors, Lady Megan, not like the rest of you, but I don’t like the idea of leaving you behind,” Coral said reluctantly.

“I agree,” Ocean admitted. “Besides, we have to do our part.”

“I ken thy fears. Thou feelst as though thou art abandoning us and thou art both brave and kind enow yond thee would not wanteth to commit such to others. But I gage thee, we shall square our way through the foe and deal with those varlets as fierce we can. F’r the sake of all, we wilt.”

“Well, we have a strong following wind with us, so we should reach our destination within two days,” Coral commented. But we’re going below the Bearless Circle – the coldest part of the world, so are you prepared for this?”

Daisyblaze rolled her eyes. “Well, I don’t know about them – I guess their armor is magicked so that they’re protected. But like pegasi, we batponies can deal with bigger shifts in temperature. Just in case, though, I have a parka in my backpack, so I’ll still be able to move around. What about you two?”

“Oh, we’re used to this,” Ocean, at the Seagull’s tiller, commented. “Seaponies have to be used to the change in the weather at any time and even before the weather got really weird we were already used to what things are like here near the Bearless Circle. Plus, sometimes we have to be out in the worst of storms, trying to haul in the fishnets. So don’t worry about us, we’re fine, right, sis?”

Coral nodded. “Yeah, if anything, it gets bad for us because the weather shifts so often out here on the seas, we sometimes forget what time of the year it is!” she said with a laugh.

Navigated by its unconcerned crew, the trawler moved away from the coast, farther and farther until in the end it was nothing more than a little black line on the edge of the horizon. For the others, it was the farthest they’d been away from land in their entire lives. Even Megan, throughout all her life, had not been on the sea before. When she told the others, they grinned.

“So I guess there’s a first time for everything, Lady Megan?” Twilight told her.

“Peradventure so. As time goeth on, thither is at each moment something new to experience, after all,” the woman said sardonically.

“Well, count this as just another experience!” Daisyblaze laughed, lifting off the deck and taking to the air. “I know you all don’t know about this, but the feel of sea air beneath my wings kinda tickles. We batponies, and I guess the pegasi too, feel the change in air current and pressure in our wings. It’s just natural. And colder air is heavier.”

“Makes it harder to fly in?” Sundance asked.

“A bit, but nothing that a well-trained flier can’t deal with. Some kids might have some problems, though.” She looked at Megan. “Should I scout around the area, Lady Megan?”

“It really shouldn’t be necessary,” Ocean commented. “There’s nothing for miles around and even if there was, trust me you’d see it coming.”

“Anon, I bethink we shouldst gird any precautions yond we can. We mayest able to see what’s coming in the heav’ns, ‘r on the flote, but ‘neath the deep be an elsewise different concern,” Megan noted.

“Don’t worry,” Coral assured them. “As soon as I see one, I’ll ask a whale or a dolphin if they can help us out. As long as we split our fish with them, they’re always willing to lend a hoof, er, flipper!”

“So thou canst bandy with the creatures of the flote? Thou art far resourceful than I hath expected.” A thought then came to her. “Thou mention'd thee hail from fair Sirenia, correct? Art thou Hooves, mayhaps?”

Coral and Ocean looked at Megan with surprised. “You know about—?” Coral began.

“Look who you’re talking to, sis,” Ocean reminded her. “I’d be more surprised if she didn’t know.”

“Point,” the first conceded. “But to answer your question, Lady Megan, no, we’re not. To a degree, we’re all trained for that sort of thing, but in the end, it’s a matter of whether you have the actual skills or the drive. In our case, we had no interest in it and wanted to sail the seas, but not as part of the military, so we decided to go into fishing. It’s worked out for us.”

“I wouldst concur,” Megan agreed. “Far be’t from me to vex ‘bout the changes of th’ ordinary. If’t be true I’d hadst mine own way, I’d end a housewife wed to some nameless knight in Yorkshire.” She leaned against the gunwale as if taking stock of her life. “I nev’r hath chosen this life, and in many ways, t’was press’d ‘pon me. But it’s granted me the kind yond a simple uneducat’d peasant wench couldst nev’r grasp. I am anon far from the maiden I wast, and in God’s final, as thee sayeth, ‘it hath worked out f’r me.’”

A day later, land was a distant memory and the ponies not typically used to being aboard seagoing vessels were green to the gills; even Daisyblaze, who had spent a good portion of the day before airborne, had been buffeted enough by the various frigid winds that she wasn’t feeling as well as she’d been the day before. Only the two mariners and Megan seemed to be faring well despite the rolling seas, which had turned from a deep electric blue to an iron gray, the whitecaps frothing and battering the hull of the small vessel.

“Twila, don’t you know any anti-seasickness spells?” Sundance gurgled.

“When would I have a chance to use them?” the unicorn responded between retching over the side of the ship.

“Ah, landlubbers,” Ocean laughed, though not without sympathy. “Don’t worry, girls; by the time we reach Umberfoal, you’ll definitely have your seahooves!”

That made Twilight even sicker.

Sundance looked at Megan, who sat on the deck in a meditative posture. She seemed to channel magic through her hands and had a serene look on her face that neither of her fellow knights had. “And how are you managing to survive this, Lady Megan?” she accused.

Without opening her eyes, she stated, “Focus upon thy trials, at each moment. Whe’r thy foe is a villain with a pike ‘r the weather itself, one needs at each moment mark eft f’r strife and gird thyself for battle. That is what such means to be a knight in the service of others.” She opened her eyes, and the look in them was that of wisdom itself. “If’t be true thou art at each moment prepar’d, thou shalst nev’r stumble when the hour is nigh.”

“Well, if you mares were interested in seeing if Lady Megan can get seasick, you’re about to get your wish,” Coral said uneasily as she stared into the distance with a spyglass. “We’ve got a storm incoming, and it’s coming fast. Faster than I’d like.”

“How fast are we talking?”

“Based on my guess? Probably an hour or even less.” She looked at Daisy. “Can you do anything about that?”

The batpony shook her head. “Afraid not – for one, I’m not weather trained. Furthermore, even if I was, this is the open sea, and so it’s probably a natural storm and so it’s much stronger than the ones the Weather Service creates. We’ll probably have to ride it out.”

“Well, storms at sea can be unpredictable, so we’ll see how bad it is as it gets closer,” Ocean advised, “but for now, I think it’s best that we start battening the hatches and tying down the loose gear on deck.”

Standing over the cauldron, the Witch watched the image from afar. That little group heading towards Umberfoal was likely not going to stop her plans, but they might cause a problem, and problems were not what she needed right now, not with her plans so close to fruition. She’d already had more than enough delays in her quest and having these constant metaphorical thorns in her side was not particularly pleasant.

Worse, Spartoi was starting to become aware that she wasn’t quite exactly in tune with his plans. He’d demanded that she create a new means of bolstering their forces so that “Lord Tirek could be raised without interference from Canterlot” – and he told her as if she was the same level of suffering sycophant that he was. Part of her wanted to end the bastard where he stood, but she had not yet enough time with his forces to find out if she could truly bring them beneath her control. Once she was sure she could do that, that would be the moment that Spartoi outlived his usefulness.

He did make one good point, though: the Megan couldn’t be allowed to make landfall. She was Faust’s will, and whether it meant stopping them “in Tirek’s name” – all the quotation marks included – or through her own means, that damnable creature had to be stopped. Power was nearly in her grasp and nothing – nothing! – could be allowed to jeopardize that.

The Witch focused on her own power, calling up eldritch spells that hadn’t been heard on Equus in ages. These would be used to summon a creature that would do the job against the Megan and her allies. And once they were out of pocket, the Witch would be free to do the deed she needed to in order to further her plans.

Thinking about Erroria, though…it brought out uncomfortable feelings within her. Feelings she wasn’t sure why she had. She was no pony, and by all rights, given the hell they had given her throughout the ages, she should be more than happy to slay and lay waste to the damn things and everything that they represented.

And yet….

The witch shook her head. No. The power within the child would be hers, one way or another. She needed that power and the filly had it, and there was only one way to take it.

Seeing the malevolent powers building between her digits, she completed the chanting of her spell and loosed the spell into the sky, a sickly green jag of energy that lanced into the distance. Somewhere a distance away it would meet with the Megan and her forces, and when it did, it would turn out to be a very bad time for Faust’s knight.

The Witch grinned. It would be very bad indeed.

As the storm got closer, Coral and Ocean noticed the rolling, bucking movement of the ocean’s surface as the storm grew closer. The situation was punctuated by the increased choppiness of the waves and the bouncing of the ship’s bow, the Seagull’s waterline and prow starting to clear completely as the undulation of the water continued.

“That storm’s moving pretty fast,” Coral pointed out. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a squall act like that before.”

“I’m in agreement,” Ocean stated to her sister. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d almost say that somepony summoned a storm and is sending it our way to prevent us from reaching our destination.”

“Haply yond’s possible,” Megan told them. “Pegasi be not th’ only thus hast any hest of weath’rmongering talents, and any beldams of ill-intent would knoweth how to summon a wind yond would vex us.”

“That doesn’t sound good at all,” Twilight admitted.

“It isn’t,” was Coral’s reply. “Alright, anypony who has no business being topside better get belowdecks, fast.”

“It stinks like fish down there!” Sundance whined.

“Take your pick – smell like smelt or get tossed around like a kickball match by rowdy foals!” Ocean told her.

Megan looked at Daisyblaze. “Daisy, canst thou soar ahead and insp’ct yond storm? If’t be truly ensorcelled in origin, we needest ken what else might come our way.”

“I’m on it!” Without further ado, the batpony blasted off into the sky, immediately rocketing towards the thunderheads. In the distance they loomed, black storm clouds that looked extremely ominous and crackled with sickly green lightning, clearly nothing normal. Worse, the storm seemed to be rushing towards them, running headlong as the wind began to pick up, howling in the air.

“Yeah, I have a bad feeling about this,” Twilight said as she stared at the storm one last time before heading belowdecks.

Within minutes, the batpony was back, and there was an ashen look on her face. “Ladies, you might want to get Dance and Twila back up here, and pronto!” she pointed. “We’ve got inbounds and they don’t look friendly at all.”

“A vile host of some sort?” Megan asked as one of the two sisters raced down into the skin of the ship to get the others.

Before she could answer, a jag of electric green plasma tore through the sky, echoing with a sound that sounded like no clap of thunder they’d ever heard before. If anything, it sounded like the screams of the damned as inky, unnatural silhouettes of creatures heretofore unseen began to race ahead of the thunderheads. The monsters were all fangs and claws, leather-winged beasts that lunged towards the boat.

As Twilight and Sundance made their way back to the weatherdeck, they saw the horde bearing down on them. “That,” the unicorn commented, “does not look good.”

Sundance, in response, immediately withdrew her sword. Twilight responded in kind, unleashing a bolt of energy at the boiling mass of attackers bearing down on them. The blast struck true, turning several of them into charred, flaming corpses that plunged towards the raging sea, while others were cored by the blast, their innards flung towards the others. However, the creatures didn’t stop. One of the bodies crashed into the deck with a sickening splash, spraying bright blue blood all over the deck.

“That can’t be natural,” Daisyblaze commented, looking at the thing. It was about the size of a hoofball and had a superficial look akin to that of a vampire fruit bat, but that was where the comparison ended. The “head”, such as it was, was one massive gaping mouth, filled with rows upon rows of gaping, needle-sharp teeth that glistened like poisoned daggers. The body of the beast contained three eyes, one of which had been utterly destroyed, cored through by Twilight’s blast. It flopped around, mortally wounded, but still with a hideous fury towards the heroes, only to be ended by Sundance’s sword as she plunged it through the beast’s body.

“Looks like it’s time to fight, ladies,” she announced, staring at the creatures as they began to circle the ship.

Drawing her sword immediately, Megan started calling out orders. “Coral and Ocean, continue thy mast’ry of the vessel towards our destination. The rest of us shalt square this damnable host!”

Daisyblaze launched herself into the air and immediately started to fling her burning knives. In turn, the group of the flying creatures rushed at her, just as the storm hit the ship in full, with jags of emerald lightning flung around and the wind beginning to shriek as it reached its topmost strength. The batpony immediately reacted, starting to fling her arsenal of flaming knives and using her combat magic when she could, filling the skies with vivid capri-hued ichor that rained down upon the seas and the combatants below.

From below, a voice screamed, “Something’s coming over the side of the ship!” Against the port side of the Seagull, something clawed its way up, digging deep scores into the wooden walls of the vessel. The timbers of the ship groaned in protest, which meant whatever was making its way up was big. Eventually, the first part of a scaly fin poked up over the gunwale.

“Oh, buck me!” Ocean shouted over the howl of the wind. “If that thing gets onboard, we’re in trouble!”

“What?” Megan asked back.

“A ch’en! Amphibious dragon-squid like thing – it’s the natural enemy of seafarers everywhere!”

“Like krakens?” Twilight asked.

“No – krakens prefer to take ships as trophies, while ch’ens capture mariners at sea to eat them!” At that, both sisters’ hooves went to their side and the crossbows they’d strapped on earlier. Between those and the cutlasses they wore, they clearly looked as though they were ready to fight such a creature. Unfortunately, given that their job right now was to keep the Seagull seaworthy and preventing it from capsizing.

Over the brass-coated gunwales sharp claws, glistening from the seawater, carved gashes as it reached for purchase. A long neck, attached to a massive head with four eyes and a trifurcated mouth, within which were suckers ringed with sharp incisors. The ch’en reared its head back and roared a bellow that split the air with its animalistic rage.

Megan roared out, “BACK TO HELL WITH THEE, FELL BEAST!” Slamming her sword into the deck, she called up a magical spell into her hands. Multicolored rings of light encircled her hands, spinning like a gyro. Finally she unleashed her cast at the ch’en, hitting the creature in the withers. Chunks of scales, flesh and kelp flew off the predator as it bellowed in pain.

As the beast recoiled from the blow, the Seagull listed with it, almost knocking those on their feet off the deck! “It’s buried itself into the hull!” Coral shouted. “We need to get it off the Seagull before she capsizes!” As if to underscore her warning, a second claw from the ch’en became noticeable, and along with it, a small forest of tentacles, which immediately started to burrow their way into the wood of the decks, hoping to complete its takeover of the trawler.

“I’m a little busy at the moment!” Daisyblaze shouted from above, pirouetting to narrowly avoid the creatures burying into her side like avian eels. One had already attached itself to her hindleg and while she’d burned it off with one of her knives, the muzzle remained fast attached to her, with her blood dripping out past where the mouth clamped on.

Twilight, for her part did not answer, instead summoning dozens of fireballs and flinging them in spraying, undulating patterns. The missiles found their targets sure and easily and vaporized everything that they touched, lessening the numbers of the lampreybats, but only by a fraction. They seemed to be infinite in number, like they were coming from an invisible warren just in the air.

For her part, Sundance sliced and burned through the creatures as well, the magic in her sword now active and the blade aflame with the spell ensorcelled into it: Celestia’s Flame. Even though the weapon was slowly starting to become coated in the blood of the lampreybats, the earth mare still swung the blade for all it was worth, hewing the creatures as they attacked.

That left Megan to deal with the ch’en. Its head was already larger than her entire body, but the Swordbearer of Faust stood fast as she pulled her blade from the plank once more. “I AM THE SWORD OF FAUST AND I DOTH NOT YIELD ONE FLAGSTONE, BEAST!” she bellowed as she rushed towards the creature, who lunged forward on its own with its serpentine neck. Dancing out of the way of its strike, Megan whispered something and runes came alive on the blade of Carnwennan, its heft beginning to glow with the same powers of harmony that she’d earlier wielded. She struck against the beast’s face as it tried to pull back, drawing blood and leaving a glowing trace of power against its muzzle. The ch’en roared in pain and lanced out at Megan with one of its tentacles, who nimbly dodged out of the way, leaving the venomous appendage to hammer into the wood.

“Lady Megan, we can’t take another blow like that!” Ocean cried, holding onto the helm with every bit of strength she had. She had changed into her siren form and wrapped her tail around the ship’s wheel in order to gain extra grip, as the seas were tossing the Seagull around like a bath toy. Next to her, having already furled the sails, Coral attacked the lampreybats with both her and her sister’s cutlasses, desperately trying to keep the parasitic beasts at bay. If Ocean fell, while Coral could take the helm herself, there would be one less defender and in a situation where they were being quickly overwhelmed, the results would be fatal.

Beneath them all, the boards of the Seagull began to groan and splinter. The tentacles of the ch’en were embedding themselves deeper and were probably in the main spaces at this point, heading to punch through the keel and sink the ship. Worse, even if they somehow managed to kill the ch’en, its corpse would never let go and would either need be pried off manually or else the Seagull would soon be a complete loss.

“Sis, we need to find a place where we can get to safety!” Ocean stated. “Get in the water and see if you can find a jetty or a sandbar or an islet!”

“I can’t abandon you!” Coral shouted back.

“DO IT!” her sister begged. The truth was plain: either Coral went to find a place for safety or help, or none would be forthcoming.

But the answer came not from Coral, but instead a flash of blue light that briefly blinded everyone present. When their collective vision cleared, they noted they had several less attackers around them. Moreso, of the ch’en, there was little left, as part of its body and head had been completely disintegrated, its entrails spilling onto the deck and part of its spine hanging off the side of the ship, the bones scored and burnt with electricity dancing along its length.

“What the buck just happened?” Sundance asked, looking at the creature. “Lady Megan—”

“Nay, t wasn’t me,” Megan admitted. “E’en such as I wouldst knoweth not to heft a hex like yond in our hence precarious situation.”

Daisyblaze crashed on deck, with four of the lampreybats hanging off her. Twilight immediately moved to her side to use magic to pull her off. “Did you see what that was?” she asked.

“No, not a clue,” she panted, weak from her wounds and the bats’ venom. “I was busy dealing with our problem.”

“I can see that,” she said, carefully rendering medical assistance. “Good job, Daisy.”

“Still, I don’t like it,” Ocean said as she morphed back to her normal form. “It got the beasts off our backs, but the ship is heavily damaged and we’re going to have to look for a port soon.”

“No, we needst must sail onwards,” Megan told them. “If’t be true we doth not stand ho the beldams, the ordinary shall lie in gravest peril.”

“Lady Megan, if the ship doesn’t get patched soon and the carcass of that ch’en off, we could capsize and then we’re going nowhere!” Coral told her. “I know your mission is important, but how far are we going to get if we’re in the middle of the ocean and nowhere to make repairs?”

“Well, maybe they can help us!” Sundance pointed at something in the distance – a large, three-masted ship sailing towards them.

“Good! Daisy’s going to need more medical help than I can give her,” Twilight stated. “We mages know some healing spells, but my second name is Starfield, not Sparkle.”

“Hail it,” Megan ordered. “We art in dire straits and the law of the flote, as I recall, requires those who can provision succor t’ those who hath request of such.”

“On it, Lady Megan,” Twilight replied, summoning a magic spell, then firing a signal tracer into the air.

As the ship grew closer, it was then that they noticed something about it was…odd. For one, despite the fact that it sailed forward, the wind had begun to die down and so it wasn’t strong enough to billow the sails like they were. Second, there was something…off about the sails and the wood itself: They looked somewhat translucent, like the ship’s timbers weren’t really wood or the sails not actually cloth. Finally, as the newcomer approached, the crew and passengers of the damaged Seagull noticed there weren’t other seafarers on the other ship.

“What in Davy Pone’s Locker is going on?” Sundance asked. “Where’s that ship’s crew?”

Coral and Ocean looked at each other, then shouted in unison, “All hooves – abandon ship! Now!”

“Why?” Megan asked.

“That’s not a ship – that’s a mano’war!” the siren sisters called out. “It’s a type of jellyfish that pretends to be a ship so that it can ambush other vessels!”

As if its plans had just been ruined, the two anchor ports on the bows blinked, revealing alien eyes that stared at them with an insatiable hunger. Out of the water several stringy blue tentacles arose, some of which had anchor-like graspers at the end, but those weren’t the concern. No, that was saved for the second set of tentacles, all of which had orifices at the end that looked eerily like cannons. It didn’t help that they started to glow with the same intense blue light that had destroyed the ch’en earlier.

“Twilight!” Megan called out. “Shield us!”

“I can’t!” the unicorn called back. “I’m using most of my magic to pull the venom out of Daisy! If I stop now, she could go into shock!”

The “cannons” on the mano’war’s tentacles started to glow brighter, meaning it was going to cast the same spell.

Sundance raised her sword and shouted, “For the Alicorns!” rushing forward to see if she could absorb the blow. She knew it would kill her, but if it meant her friends would survive, it would be worth it.

Meanwhile, Megan began to cast another spell. She could cast a shield big enough to protect them, but being better at offense, she wasn’t as fast at casting defensive spells like shields. And there was no guarantee she could do it in time.

The mano’war’s cannon appendages began to bead at the end with energy leakage, a sign it was going to fire.

At the edge of the starboard hull, Sundance stood, having sheathed her sword and withdrew her buckler. It was larger than her but too comically small to block the blast that would soon come and reduce her to ashes and who knew what to the rest.

The spell in Megan’s hands grew, but she wasn’t sure if it would be enough.

The world flared in blue-silver.

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