Starlight Glimmer was looking out the window when she saw the group of shrews coming towards the Castle of Friendship. She ran to get Twilight.

"I saw eleven or twelve of them, Twilight. I think this may be the last of them! But I didn't see Trixie anywhere…"

Twilight acted speedily. "We've got to open the doors and let them in. Hurry now, they may be followed by searats!"

Without further event the last of the slaves made it safely into Twilight's castle. As the chains were being cut from their wasted limbs, Twilight questioned them, "How did you escape?"

"Three big Pegasus ponies with wings came and released us," one of them said.

"That must have been the Wonderbolts! But where are they?" Twilight asked.

"And what happened to the unicorn who was with you?" Starlight added.

"They must still be at the farm, fighting the ratas. They were outnumbered, but they charged right into the ranks of the vermin, laughing and joking. I've never seen anything like it!"

"Oh no!" cried Fluttershy. "They could be killed!"

"This is all my fault," Starlight Glimmer said. "I was the one who urged them to free the slaves."

"Maybe it's not too late to save them," Twilight said. "Come on, everypony!"

Twilight, Starlight, Fluttershy, Applejack and Rarity rushed outside and galloped across town to Sweet Apple Acres.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It was an immense cavern, high above the tide mark on the sheer rock coast, facing the open sea and well lit by the summer sun. Free creatures, former oar slaves and Fort Bladegirt drudges, sat about on rocky ledges, cleaning and preparing weapons, cooking over fires and readying meals. All activity ground to a halt as Mariel came hurtling down the tunnel into the cavern, with her friends trailing behind.

Heedlessly dropping the flaring torch, she threw herself into the paws of Joseph, hugging him fiercely as her tears flooded into the silver-gray fur of his broad shoulder.

"Father! Oh, Father! I always knew I'd find you again someday!"

Joseph the Bellmaker held his only child, the pain and anguish of many long days and nights turning to unbounded joy as a happy smile lit his strong face, banishing the glistening dew which threatened to spill from his proud eyes. "Mariel… Mariel my little maid, how you've grown! I never knew all this time whether you were alive, but in my heart I refused to believe that you were dead and I always knew you'd return somehow, my little Mariel!"

"Nice to see you again, shipmate," said a voice. Mariel lifted her head and saw a big otter. He was Finnbarr Galedeep!

"I thought you were dead too!" Mariel exclaimed. "Last time I saw you, Gabool was throwing you into the sea!"

Finnbarr grinned. "If you want to kill an otter, you're better off not throwing him into water, I allus say! The rest of my crew must've been drowned, but I managed to swim to shore."

"How have you guys been surviving all this time?" Spike asked.

"I'll tell you the whole story tonight at dinner," Joseph said.

Captain Celaeno said, "I'm going to fetch the rest of my crew," and she flew out through the mouth of the cave.

That night the fires blazed merrily in the cavern of the Trag warriors. Huge platters of shrimp and shellfish were served, with wild oat and barley bread, hot from the rocks it had been baked on. Casks of preserved fruits taken from searat ships were opened and a fine barrel of daisy and dandelion beer tapped.

Celaeno's pirate parrot crew had joined the group in the cave. Their ship was safely anchored in the clouds, where the rats couldn't get it. The friends sat around as Joseph related his story.

"Gabool pushed me from a high window of his banqueting room. Luckily for me I did not strike the rockface on the way down. I hit the water hard and was knocked senseless; I was weak and ill from being starved and imprisoned, otherwise I might have stayed conscious. The sea must have washed me around the headland, and I came to jammed against a reef on a small inlet somewhere up the coast of Terramort. That's where Finnbarr found me."

"Aye, we helped each other stay alive," Finnbarr said. "We couldn't afford to be seen- it would've meant certain death- so we stayed on this side o' the island, surviving as best we could. One day we came across these caves. We discovered that there were tunnels leading out of the cave, to places all over the island, and Gabool didn't know about 'em!"

"Some nights we would steal supplies from the ships, weapons too," Joseph continued. "Soon we came across others, house slaves from Fort Bladegirt who had managed to escape, sometimes oar slaves thrown on the beach because they were too sick and weak to pull an oar anymore. In time our numbers began to swell. That was when we decided to form Trag. Our mission is to rid the earth of Gabool the Wild."

"We were planning to attack Bladegirt in force tomorrrer," said Finnbarr.

Celaeno touched her wing to her cutlass. "Well, me and my crew are with you, if you'll have us!"

"Excellent!" said Joseph. "We may not have the numbers of the rats, but we have courage and determination."