Ublaz and Rasconza met on a hill, as they had agreed. "The cap'ns are all dead," Rasconza said. "I meself slew Barranca, but you know that. So, I'm in charge of all the crews now an' I want peace. There's no profit in both sides killin' each other off. 'Ere's my proposition. You appoint me grand cap'n of all the ships in 'arbor an' I'll serve yer."

"Forgive my asking," Ublaz interrupted, "but how can you captain six ships at once?"

Rasconza shook his head. "I don't want ter cap'n all six. I'll take the one called Bloodkeel, which I used to work on under Captain Slashback. The other cap'ns I'll appoint from the crewbeasts, but I'll be the boss cap'n, and they'll take their orders from me when we're at sea. You'll control all on land. This is the way it'll work. I'll increase the tribute each ship 'as to pay, and we'll split it two ways, me 'n' you, an' none the wiser. Agreed?"

Ublaz spat on his paw and held it forth. "Agreed!"

Rasconza also spat on his paw and clasped with the pine marten. "Ha harr, you won't regret this day's work, matey!"

That very day Rasconza picked out a crew and set off in the Bloodkeel on a plundering trip. But Ublaz had outfitted the ship with a defective rudder and tiller. "Rasconza is a born troublemaker, ambitious and deceitful," he told Sagitar when they were alone in his throne room. "So, I decided to dispense with him. The new tiller has a special metal spike protruding from the back of it. Every time the steersrat moves it, the spike gouges into the thinned stern below the waterline. By tomorrow morning, Bloodkeel will be deep down on the ocean bed!"

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Twilight and Starlight were sitting down to supper. Starlight noticed that Twilight looked sad again. "What's the matter now, Twilight?"

"The Cutie Mark Crusaders found another pearl in Zecora's house, and I found the fifth pearl behind a washing machine at the laundromat," said Twilight.

Starlight was puzzled. "That's good, isn't it? Now we only have to find one more."

"But the last riddle is harder than all the others put together:

This has a head and tail

But it is not money.

It is a flying insect

That helps to make honey."

"Doesn't sound too hard to me," said Starlight. "Sounds like she's talking about a bee."

Twilight grabbed her by the shoulders. "But there's no beehives anywhere in Ponyville! I looked all over town. I even searched the Everfree Forest! No bees!" Twilight was so agitated she didn't realize she was shaking Starlight.

"Okay, okay, calm down," said Starlight.

Twilight let go of her and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry," she said.

"It's okay. We'll figure it out. Together."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Aboard the Waveworm, Romsca and Lask were eating dinner together in Lask's cabin. They were sharing a pizza. There was only one piece left. Lask reached for it.

"Get your slimy paws off dat pizza slice," Romsca snarled. "Da last one's mine!"

The lizard's eyes flickered dangerously. "There were eight piecez, and you've already had four."

"No, I only had three!"

"I only had three too."

"Oh, an' I suppose da other one just evaporated!" Romsca said sarcastically.

"I don't like the tone of your voize!"

Romsca brandished her switchblade. "What are ya gonna do about it?"

Lask leaped across the table and tackled her. They rolled around on the cabin floor as Romsca tried to stab Lask and he tried to bite her throat. The table and chairs were knocked over in the commotion. Finally, they crashed through the cabin door and onto the main deck. Lask's lizards and Romsca's crew gathered around the combatants.

Lask disengaged himself from Romsca and leaped to his feet. "Thiz scum tried to knife me!" he shouted to the other lizards. "Kill her!"

Romsca jumped up too. "Come on, boes! Let's clean up dis bunch of rotten reptiles!"

The two groups of vermin threw themselves into the fight.

Inside Romsca's cabin, Fluttershy and Rarity heard the sounds of steel upon steel and roars of conflict as paws stamped about the deck, accompanied by the occasional scream and shout as somebeast went over the side.

"What's going on?" Fluttershy cried.

"They're fighting," said Rarity. "Either Romsca has attacked Lask Frildur or vice versa."

"We need to help Romsca," Fluttershy said firmly. A steely glint appeared in her eye that reminded Rarity of Rainbow Dash.

Rarity frowned. "Why should we help either one of them? Let them all kill each other off, I say. It's not like you to want to take part in a battle."

"Those lizards wanted to kill us. Romsca stopped them," Fluttershy said. "Now we must help her in return."

"I suppose you're right," Rarity said. "But how do we get out of here? Romsca locked the door from outside."

"We'll have to break it down," Fluttershy said. She tried kicking the door but her hooves weren't strong enough.

"Here, let's use this," Rarity said, dragging a table over.

The two ponies lifted the table and slammed it against the door, once, twice, three times! Smash! The door broke off its hinges and crashed onto the deck.