Barranca and his rebels were fighting Ublaz's soldiers up on the barricades just like in Les Miserables. The monitor lizards were shooting arrows at them from below. The arrows had been dipped in the lizards' own venom. One corsair captain after another fell prey to the deadly missiles. Bilgetail, Bloodsnout, Flaney, Rippdog, Slashback. They all died.

A stoat named Rocpaw slumped over the barricade wall. Next to him, Barranca watched with concern. "What's wrong, mate? Have you been wounded?"

"Nah, just depressed. This is a terrible start to an uprisin'. Those lizards have got us pinned down."

Just then Ublaz stepped in front of the lizards and addressed the remaining rebels. "Had enough? If you surrender now, you can leave unharmed!"

"Sounds good to me!" said Rocpaw.

Barranca grabbed him by the arm. "Wait. It could be a trick."

"He doesn't need to trick us. Face it, we've already lost. I'm going out there to surrender to him."

"You can do what you want, but I'm staying right here," Barranca said.

Rocpaw climbed down from the barricade and walked over to Ublaz. He hadn't taken two steps before Sagitar Sawfang leaped out of nowhere and ran him through with her trident. Ublaz kicked Rocpaw's dead body. "Fool," he said.

The monitors sent a fresh volley of arrows flying up at the barricade, and Barranca had to duck to avoid them. A fox named Rasconza squatted next to him. "We're bein' massacred," he said.

"The scum 'ave got us trapped," Barranca agreed. "I don't have any plans left."

"I got a plan," said Rasconza.

Barranca's eyes lit up. "Really? What is it?"

The fox grabbed Barranca in a tight embrace and slew him with a single knife thrust. "Yer worries are over now, Cap'n!"

On the other side of the barricade, Ublaz couldn't see what had happened. "What's going on over there?" he muttered to Sagitar.

Suddenly Barranca's corpse came flying over the barricade wall. Rasconza appeared. It was he who had thrown it.

The monitors were about to shoot Rasconza but Ublaz stopped them. "Hold your fire. I want to hear what this fox has to say."

Rasconza bowed. "Thank you. I'm called Rasconza. I slew Barranca and now I alone rule the rebel crews. I want to meet you tomorrow morning, Emperor, on the heights above the north inlet. You may bring armed guards with you. I want to talk peace."

The emperor twirled his silver dagger. "Peace, eh? All right, I'll take you up on your offer."

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Twilight and her friends were searching the kitchen at Sugar Cube Corner when Joshy accidently broke a candle and knocked it over. "Sorry about that, wot," he said.

Twilight picked something up off the floor. "Look! It's the pearl. It must have been hidden in the candlewax!"

"An' there's another one o' them balled up pieces o' paper," said Applejack. "It must be the next clue." She handed it to Twilight to read.

"My first is in blood and also in battle,

My second in acorn, oak, and apple,

My third and fourth are both the same,

In the center of sorrow and twice in refrain,

My fifth starts eternity ending here,

My last is the first of last… oh dear!

If I told you the answer then you would know,

'twas made in the winter of deepest snow."

Twilight drummed her hooves in frustration on the floor. "Ooh, that Zecora! If she were still alive, I'd give her a piece of my mind! This rhyme's twice as tricky as the last one!"

"Well, it doesn't sound too difficult to me," said Discord. "The answer's got to be a six-letter word."

Twilight scratched her head. "How did you work that out?"

"She speaks of 'my first,' 'my second,' 'my third,' 'my fourth,' 'my fifth,' and 'my last.' That's six letters in total. And I think I know what the first letter is. 'My first is in blood and also in battle.' Both of those words begin with B."

"Good work, Discord," said Twilight. "So, the second letter must be A. That's the only letter that appears in acorn, oak, and apple."

"Let me see that rhyme thingy," Joshy said. He scanned the lines. "Aha! 'My third and fourth are both the same, in the center of sorrow and twice in refrain.' The middle of the word sorrow contains the letter R twice, an' R crops up twice in the word refrain. So, it's R an' R. Not too hard after all, wot!"

"'My fifth starts "eternity ending here,"'" Starlight quoted. "The phrase 'eternity ending here' starts with E."

"So, we got a B, an A, two Rs, and an E," said Applejack.

"And the last letter must be L," said Twilight. "'My last is the first of last.' The first letter of last is L."

"B-A-R-R-E-L," Joshy spelled. "Barrel!"

"So, the third pearl must be hidden in a barrel somewhere," Twilight said.

Applejack had an idea. "We got lots o' barrels at Sweet Apple Acres. Maybe it's there. Now that Ah come to think of it, Ah remember Zecora comin' over to mah house right after Graylunk disappeared."