Fluttershy and Rarity burst onto the deck. The din of conflict had diminished. Deadbeasts were draped everywhere- from the masts, over the rails and on the deck from stem to stern. Only one couple were still dueling, Romsca and Lask. Romsca lunged at the lizard with her switchblade, but Lask sidestepped the blow and brought his fangs down onto her arm. Romsca groaned and dropped the knife.

With a sweep of his tail, Lask tripped Romsca, sending her sprawling. "Now I will find out what ferretz tazte like!" he said.

Fluttershy looked around for a weapon to use against the lizard. She grabbed the first thing that came to hoof, a large box, and hurled it at Lask.

The box bounced off his head, hit the deck, and burst open. There was a giant inflatable life raft in there! When the box opened, the raft expanded to its full size. It hit Lask as it inflated, knocking him overboard.

Romsca got to her feet. "Dat was some quick t'inkin'. Ya fixed ole Lask good 'n' proper! Tanks."

"Where is everybeast?" Rarity asked.

"Dey're all dead. Dere's only da three of us left alive on dis tub."

"That was so brave of your crew, sacrificing themselves to defend us," said Fluttershy.

Romsca looked blank. "Defendin' you? What are ya talkin' about?"

"That's what the fighting was about, wasn't it?" Fluttershy asked. "The lizards wanted to eat us, and you and your crew stopped them."

"Oh, yeah, dat's right." Romsca wasn't about to tell them that the fight had started over a piece of pizza. If they wanted to think she had been trying to protect them, bully for them. It would only make them more sympathetic to her.

"Can we turn the ship around and head back to Equestria now?" Rarity asked.

Romsca shook her head. "Not without da rest of da crew. But we're bound due west, an' with luck we'll landfall at Sampetra. Dat's our only chance. Otherwise, we don't have any hope o' reachin' land at all."

"But isn't that where the awful Emperor Mad Eyes rules?" said Fluttershy.

"I've got friends dere too, other pirates. I'll tell 'em you're my pals an' dey'll help us. I won't let Mad Eyes get ya, cause after da mess I made of dis mission, I'm in as much danger from da emperor as you are. He'll never forgive me for da loss of his Monitor General."

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Rasconza the fox and a rat named Guja lay on the shore of Sampetra. When Bloodkeel sank, they were the only two who had managed to swim back to land. The fox's voice was rasping and painful, bitter and vengeful. "A full crew, matey, an' we're the only two left alive t'tell the tale!"

"Aye, Cap'n," said Guja. "All our shipmates, either drowned or eaten by the big fishes, every beast jack o' them slain by Mad Eyes' treachery!"

Rasconza unbuckled the belt at his waist, which had ten daggers in it. He laid the weapons out one by one on the ground. Selecting his favorite blade, he began honing it on a piece of rock. "Mark my words, Guja, the worst day's work Ublaz ever did was to leave me alive. Though he don' know it, his dyin' day is near!"