Gnash considered this. He paced in front of her, then dropped back onto his front legs. “They wouldn’t try to spear me again?”
“No, they wouldn’t,” Fluttershy agreed. “This has all been one big misunderstanding. And it needs to be resolved right now.”
“Okay, but they have to leave the Beezlebug fields alone!” Gnash cried out, seemingly out of nowhere. His nostrils flared. He started breathing heavily, as if he was so angry he might explode. “And where are my friends and family? I can’t find any of their burrows! Everything is different up there now with this Seapony kingdom built on our land.”
“We didn’t know it was their land,” Cerulean shot back. “Their burrows are underground.”
“We should knock it all down!” Gnash suggested.
“You will not!” Cerulean said, an edge to her voice. “We have built our whole lives there!”
Fluttershy couldn’t take it any longer. The way things were going, they’d be arguing for another century.
“If the Sand Dragons build their homes underground,” Fluttershy tried, “then you can’t blame the Seaponies for not knowing where they were. After all, they are new to Seaquestria. They haven’t been here for centuries like you have.”
Gnash didn’t respond. He seemed as if he was listening, but Fluttershy couldn’t be sure. He snarled again, letting out a flurry of bubbles.
“And just think about why they left Mount Aris—their home was destroyed by their enemy,” she continued. “How do you think they’d feel if you threatened to destroy their new home?”
“The same way I felt when I woke up to find that everything had changed,” Gnash said, annoyed. “Terrible.”
“Exactly,” Fluttershy said. “Why don’t you try to become friends with one another? Teach them what land is Sand Dragon territory. You can work together to harvest the seaweed fields—that way no Seapony, Sand Dragon, or Beezlebug will go hungry again!”
“I’m so hungry!” Gnash roared. Fluttershy passed him another seaweed cake and floated quietly. She waited, watching as Gnash ate the treat and slowly calmed down. It took him a minute to absorb what she’d said, but he seemed to understand. “Now I can think.”
“Does that sound okay to you?” Fluttershy asked, looking to Cerulean.
“It does,” the Seapony agreed. “We have yet to explore a lot of the sea. It would be an honor to have you show us more about our new home in the ocean. We can help you find your other sand burrows. And maybe we could even make a few giant-size seaweed cakes that the Sand Dragons can enjoy once they wake up….”
Gnash glanced at the spear in his tail. “And no more spears?”
“Of course not!” Cerulean said, looking a bit embarrassed. “We will even help you remove that one.”
“Okay, then,” Gnash agreed. He untied the kelp around Cerulean’s fins and sighed. “I guess you two can go….” He slumped down, looking sad. “But I hope you do come back.”
“Friends don’t let one another down!” Fluttershy replied without missing a beat. “We’ll see you soon. Let’s not wait any longer. Salt Air must be quite scared by now….”
Gnash nodded and opened the door to release Fluttershy and Cerulean. They swam in circles, relieved to be free again. Cerulean spread her fins and did a quick, joyful spin.
Fluttershy swam forward, about to thank Gnash and Cerulean for their understanding, when she heard something behind her. She turned to see Salt Air hovering in the main burrow. Her face was lit up by the glow of the electric eels. The Seaponies were right behind her, their spears aimed at Gnash!
Fluttershy’s heart sank. They had come to fight. Before she could stop them, the Seaponies charged forward.
“Attack!” Salt Air yelled. Then she launched another spear, hurling it toward Gnash’s head.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Gnash dove out of the way. As he did, his front leg swung to the side, knocking Cerulean into the wall. She hit the stone hard and slumped against it. Two guards swam to her and held her, trying to wake her up.
“Stop this!” Fluttershy called out, but nocreature could hear her over the clash and clank of the spears.
Gnash rammed against Coral Rose’s shell shield, sending the Seapony flying back. The Sand Dragon bit down on a guard’s spear and snapped it in half. “You promised no more spears! You lied!”
Fluttershy swam to the ceiling, trying to get Salt Air’s attention, but the Seapony was calling out orders to the rest of the guards. She didn’t even look up.
“Salt Air—over here!” Cerulean yelled, trying to distract her. Gnash was already fighting six Seaponies at once. They kept charging him with their spears, but they were hardly a match for the giant beast. As each one sped forward, the Sand Dragon knocked them away. One Seapony hit the wall. Another was thrown backward into two other guards. Salt Air snuck up behind the Sand Dragon, but he turned and roared loudly in her face. A rush of bubbles came out of his mouth and pinned her to the floor.
The more times the Seaponies got knocked down, the more desperate Fluttershy became to put a stop to the madness. She couldn’t stand the thought of Gnash getting hurt again. Fluttershy swam over to Gnash and spread her fins out wide in front of him. Immediately, everycreature froze.
“Please, Salt Air! Listen to me!” she cried. “He didn’t want to eat Cerulean! He didn’t even hurt her! All he wanted was some seaweed to eat and to find his friends!”
Fluttershy saw Princess Skystar in the corner of the burrow. She looked frustrated. Her guards were on either side of her, trying to protect her from the fight.
That was it! Fluttershy swam over. If anypony could control Salt Air, it would be Skystar.
“Skystar!” she said. “Order them to stop! Tell them there’s been a misunderstanding. The Sand Dragons are gentle creatures. They don’t even crunch crabs!”
“I thought as much!” Skystar’s eyes darted to Salt Air, who was still trying to fight. Skystar’s eyes narrowed in a mixture of determination and anger. “Why are they doing this?” she asked. Nopony answered. “My mother didn’t order an attack on a peaceful creature!”
Two Seapony guards circled Gnash, each darting behind him. He kept swatting them away, but two more showed up after them. A pink Seapony with huge purple wings zigzagged behind him, then landed a quick blow with her shield, hitting him in the back.
Skystar knew that Fluttershy was right. If she wanted the battle to stop, she’d have to stop it herself. Three guards were closing in on Gnash. She swam down, putting herself between them and him. She held up both of her fins.
“As princess of Seaquestria, I order you to stop!” she yelled as the Seaponies raced toward her. “Queen Novo does not want this. This is all a mistake.”
The three Seaponies slowed down, floating just in front of her. One flipped up her helmet. “A mistake?” she asked. “What do you mean?”
“This Sand Dragon didn’t hurt anypony,” Fluttershy explained. “It’s the Seaponies who owe him an apology for building on top of the Sand Dragons’ ancient burrows and harvesting all the seaweed!”
The Seaponies glanced around, waiting for Salt Air to respond to the claim.
“But he ponynapped Cerulean!” Salt Air swam forward. “No gentle creature would take a hostage like that. He’s just trying to trick us!” She held her spear up and aimed it right at Gnash’s belly. “I’m sorry, Fluttershy.”
Fluttershy watched as the Sand Dragon closed his eyes, scared of what would come next. She couldn’t take it any longer. As Salt Air hurled the spear, Fluttershy shot out toward it, swimming as fast as she could. She put herself between them, crashing into the coral spear before it could hit him. The spear flew off course and went right past Gnash’s shoulder. But Fluttershy was moving so fast she couldn’t stop herself. She swam straight into the side of the burrow, crashing headfirst. She felt a heavy, spinning feeling, and then everything went dark.
CHAPTER NINE
Fluttershy?” a voice said softly. “Fluttershy, can you
hear me?”
Fluttershy’s eyes were closed. She could tell something was going on around her, but she couldn’t tell what. Her head was throbbing. Where was she? How long had she been here? And did she really have to wake up? Wherever she was, this bed was so cozy and warm….
“Fluttershy?” the voice said again.
Fluttershy slowly opened her eyes. She was in a room she’d never seen before. It looked like the Sand Dragon’s burrow, because it had the same gray walls and seaweed curtains that were in the great hall. Electric eels lined the ceiling, snaking this way and that, lighting up everything with their orange glow.
“She’s awake!” Princess Skystar cried. “Fluttershy! Fluttershy! Are you okay?”
Fluttershy looked down, noticing the bed she’d been sleeping in. It was a mixture of moss and sea sponge. They’d covered her with a thick blanket made of kelp. Her head still hurt, and she was sore, but other than that, she felt okay.
“I think so…” Fluttershy said. She looked around at all the worried faces. Gnash was standing beside Skystar. As soon as he saw her eyes open, he smiled a big, toothy grin, revealing a row of yellow and brown fangs. Salt Air and the guards stood on the far side of the room. Cerulean and Coral Rose both hung their heads. They didn’t look at her.
“Thank my lucky starfish!” Skystar said with a giggle. Then she grew serious. “Salt Air and the guards know now they cannot act without my permission. What they did tonight was, like, completely inexcusable, you know?”
“Your Highness,” Salt Air said, still keeping her eyes on the floor, “again, I beg your forgiveness. We thought the Sand Dragon had captured Cerulean and Fluttershy. We thought we needed to do something. To rescue them and prevent Seaquestria from a Sand Dragon attack!”
“You could have really hurt Gnash,” Skystar said. “And for what? Because you were angry? Because you assumed the worst? Because you didn’t listen?”
Salt Air didn’t answer.
Princess Skystar swam toward her, shaking her head. “You could learn something from Fluttershy! We all could.”
Salt Air laughed. “From the same pony who tried to steal the pearl? Didn’t her friend run off with it when you weren’t looking?”
“Um, nooooo. From the same pony who stood up to you when no other pony would!” Skystar corrected. “And will you let that pearl thing go already? I think she proved she’s on our side here tonight!”
Gnash paced beside Fluttershy’s bed. His scaly skin was scratched up in a few places, but otherwise, he seemed okay. He stared at Salt Air, his dark brows pulled together. “I should take you as my prisoner!” he joked. When nopony laughed, he just shrugged. “What? Too soon?”
Skystar stifled a giggle. Salt Air looked particularly salty about the comment.
Gnash plopped down beside Fluttershy’s bed, and a small smile crept over his face. He suddenly seemed calmer and maybe even… happy. Fluttershy was starting to think he was like a lot of creatures she’d met on her adventures—all roar and no bite. It didn’t seem as if Gnash actually wanted to hurt anycreature, even if they were trying to hurt him.
“You are a nice Seapony,” Gnash said, gazing at Fluttershy. “I’ve never seen bravery like that. And I’ve been alive for five hundred moons! You risked your life for a stranger, and for a stranger who accidentally ponynapped your friend. If the Beezlebugs were here, they would present you with a heaping plate of seaweed mash as a thank-you.”
“It was the right thing to do,” Fluttershy said, and she meant every word. Maybe Gnash had made some mistakes, and maybe he did have a fiery temper, but that didn’t mean Salt Air was allowed to hurt him. What kind of pony would Fluttershy be if she had stood frozen, watching the battle? She couldn’t have lived with herself if anypony or anydragon was hurt… or worse.
“Gnash,” Skystar started, “I want you to know that no matter what happened tonight, you can count the Seaponies as friends. We’re sorry for all these misunderstandings and for not finding you sooner. When you’re moving thousands of Hippogriffs under the ocean, you can sometimes forget your manners.”
Gnash’s eyes darted to the back wall where Cerulean and Salt Air were still standing. His expression grew serious again. He kept looking at Skystar, then back to the Seaponies, as if he wasn’t sure whom to trust.
“Skystar never says anything that she doesn’t mean,” Fluttershy assured him. “Please, give the Seaponies another chance.”
“She’s right! Tomorrow night we will be back in the village,” Skystar went on. “And we will hold a ball in your honor. With a feast! Please come as our special guest! Oh, you just have to!”
“You all want me there?” Gnash glanced around the room. The Seaponies’ expressions began to change from solemn to smiles. “You’re sure that’s a good idea?” Gnash asked. “I thought that Seaponies hated me. That they thought I was a”—he paused, as though he couldn’t bring himself to say it—“crab-cruncher.”
“We will explain everything,” Fluttershy said. She turned to the guards. “Right, everypony?”
“Hmmm… what would I even wear?” Gnash asked. “I mean, I haven’t been to a ball in… well, ever.”
“Wear whatever you like!” Skystar said. “You can meet my mom, Queen Novo, and some of the villagers!” The princess leaned in and gave him a little wink. “I think some of your friends might be in attendance as well.”
“Really?!” Gnash smiled a big, goofy smile, as if he’d been trying to hold it back but couldn’t. Then he returned to his seat beside Fluttershy. “You can stay here to recover if you need to,” he said. “There’s a good glitterfish doctor a few miles west. Well, at least there was a hundred moons ago….”
But Fluttershy was already up. She pushed back the kelp blanket and swam into the room. Her head still felt a little heavy, but otherwise, she was okay. “I’m all right, I think. I can go back with them,” she said. “Besides, I’m sure Queen Novo is worried about you, Skystar. I’m sure she’s worried about all of us.”
Fluttershy bowed in front of the giant beast, and he bowed back.
“It was an honor,” he said in that gentler tone that seemed to come and go.
“We will see you tomorrow night at the ball,” Skystar said as her guards formed two lines around her. Fluttershy stayed toward the back with Coral Rose, holding on to her wing in case she needed to steady herself.
“Tomorrow night!” Gnash called after them with another huge smile. As they filed out of the Sand Dragon’s burrow, Fluttershy swore she could hear the beast giggling with excitement.
CHAPTER TEN
Skystar!” Queen Novo yelled from the upstairs window. She had been keeping lookout on the second floor of the castle, waiting for her daughter and the guards to return. As soon as she saw them coming up the street, she disappeared from her perch, then reappeared at the main gates. She swam as fast as she could toward them.
“You’re home,” she said, throwing her fins around Skystar. She buried her face in her daughter’s neck. “I was so worried. I heard the guards talking about the Sand Dragon, and how vicious it was, and—”
Skystar laughed. “Actually, I think he was just a little bit hangry, you know?”
“Hangry?” Queen Novo repeated.
“Like hungry and angry at the same time,” Skystar replied. “Moooom. It’s slang!”
Queen Novo nodded, looking confused. “Oh. Right.”
Skystar continued. “But anyway, we worked through the misunderstanding, thanks to my best friend Fluttershy!” Skystar said, darting over to Fluttershy and giving her the biggest hug.
Fluttershy tried to smile, but she could barely breathe. Skystar was squeezing her so tightly. “Thanks…” she barely got out.
“He didn’t hurt you, did he?” Queen Novo asked, swimming around her daughter to check for scrapes or bumps. “The stories I was hearing had me so scared—”
“You’ll meet him soon enough,” Skystar said. “And you can see for yourself.”
“What?�
�� Queen Novo asked. “Skystar! What have you gone and done now?”
Skystar glanced over Queen Novo’s head to the two Seaponies at the castle gate. “Tell the cooks to prepare a seaweed feast for tomorrow night! We’re throwing one of the grandest balls Seaquestria has ever known, in honor of our new alliance with the Sand Dragon. Spare no expense!”
Queen Novo’s eyes went wide. “The Sand Dragon is coming…here?”
“His name is Gnash, and he’s going to be guest of honor,” Fluttershy explained. “He really isn’t as bad as everypony says. He’s kind of nice sometimes. Did you know he’s friends with the Beezlebugs?”
Skystar pointed to the square down below. Hundreds of the blue critters were still scrabbling around in the streets. “Well, then he should love it here!” They all laughed as Queen Novo called the rest of the guards from the mission back inside.
The Seaponies filed inside the great hall. Fluttershy had never been so happy to return somewhere. It was so different from the Sand Dragon’s lair, with huge, open windows and light streaming in from every direction. One of the castle crabs was playing the harp, filling the entire room with peaceful music.
Skystar swam up and down, doing a few quick spins. “If the Sand Dragon is coming here for a ball, then I need a new gown and have to figure out how to do my mane, and we need to bring in flowers from the water poppy field!” She grabbed her pale-blue mane and lifted it up and down, then she pulled it to the side. “Updo or down? Side braid? I can’t decide! Come on, Fluttershy, we have to find you the perfect look, too!”
Skystar grabbed Fluttershy’s fin and pulled her toward the castle gates. They swam past Cerulean and Salt Air. Salt Air had barely said a word the entire journey back to the castle. But now she looked directly at Fluttershy, as if she wanted to say something. Fluttershy slowed down and pulled Skystar to a stop.
“I thought about it,” Salt Air said, carefully choosing her words. “And Princess Skystar was right. I could learn a lot from what happened out there, and I could learn a lot from you. I shouldn’t have attacked Gnash like that. I didn’t even know him! My temper sometimes gets the better of me.”
Fluttershy Balances the Scales Page 5