The reptiles hissed joyfully as they hauled on the vine hawser. Sunflash and Bella did their best to slow their descent into the swamp by spreading their paws and holding their heads back.
"I'm sorry, son," said Bella. "You were right, we shouldn't have trusted Smerc."
Sunflash tried to reassure her, though inwardly he was sad that he wouldn't get to see Salamandastron before he died. "It's all right. It wasn't your fault. Let's give 'em one last battle cry before we go."
They clasped paws and gave voice to the ancient badger war cry. "EULALIAAAAAA!"
Rainbow Dash arrived like a bolt of lightning. She grabbed Smerc's unconscious body and flew up into the sky with it, high above the swamp. The reptiles down below set up a piteous wail.
"Sssstop, do not let him sssssink!"
"Right, listen up, this is how it's gonna go!" Rainbow Dash shouted. "I'll set your leader down once you pull my badger friends out of the swamp."
The eels and newts started pulling the vine the other way, forcing the log back out of the quagmire. Bella and Sunflash felt themselves pushed upward from beneath, free from the mud. They looked like a pair of slime-covered primeval monsters.
"Now push the log to that bank over there," Rainbow directed. The reptiles hauled the log onto a dry bank with lime and alder trees growing on it.
Sunflash and Bella lay completely exhausted, the mud plastering them turning to a gray, cementlike coating in the hot sun. Rainbow Dash strutted around them, carefully brushing the mess off their faces so they could see. Spitting out the gritty substance, Sunflash nodded weakly at the reptiles.
"That lot look disappointed. We would have fed them for six seasons after they'd suffocated us," he said.
"Thank you for saving us, friend," said Bella. "We owe you our lives."
The Pegasus grinned. "Well, Sunflash did save my life, once upon a time."
"You dealt with those vermin quickly and decisively," said Sunflash. "I've taught you well."
Suddenly, Smerc stood up, one side of his jaw swollen out of shape as he grinned lopsidedly and jeered, ""Ello, stripedogs, see yer 'scaped from d' swamp. Heeheehee!"
Sunflash made a halfhearted grab at the cheeky newt, but he was too slow. Smerc toddled quickly off into the shrubbery. A moment later he was heard shrilling, "Gerroff me yew! Lemmego, I di'n't do nottink!"
Two strange creatures hove into view, each dragging Smerc by a leg. They had birdlike heads, wings, and talons, but their back halves resembled those of lions.
"Hey dudes," one of them said. "We heard the commotion over this way so we cruised over to take a look. I'm Gilda Griffon an' this dork here is Greta."
"Gilda!" Rainbow exclaimed. "Oh, man, it's been a while!"
"You two know each other?" Sunflash said in surprise.
"Are you kiddin'? Gilda was my best friend from my days at Junior Speedsters flight camp. She's half eagle, half lion."
"And all awesome," Gilda added.
"Well, I'm Sunflash the Mace, and this is my mother, Bella."
"What are two griffons from Equestria doing down here in Mossflower?" Rainbow Dash asked.
A dark look came over Gilda's face. "We're on the track of Captain Warpclaw an' his searats."
"Sea… rats?" Rainbow Dash repeated, puzzled.
"Aye, I've heard of them," Bella said. "They're evil pirate rats that take delight in the pain of other beasts. My father, Boar the Fighter, was slain by them."
"Pirate rats, huh? Does anybeast ever call 'em pirats?" Rainbow chuckled at her little joke, but no one else did.
"Most of the griffons of Griffonstone were off clearin' a dam from the broad stream a few weeks back," Gilda explained, "And when we got home we found that villain Warpclaw had sailed his ship Gutprow clean up the Griffonstone river from the sea an' carried all the little griffons off for galley slaves."
Sunflash thought of the little Cutie Mark Crusaders back in Ponyville, and a wave of anger swept over him against the searats for stealing little ones.
"How many griffon children were taken, Gilda?" he asked.
"Thirty-four…" Gilda stopped midsentence. For a moment her eyes filled with pain. "And that includes my own little cousin Gabriella Griffon."
Sunflash picked up his mace. "Come on then, there's no time to be lost. We're with you!"
"Why would you help us?" the other griffon, Greta, asked. "We've done nothing for you."
"Any friend of the ponies is a friend of mine. See?" The badger showed them his medallion.
The griffons gaped open-mouthed as the huge badger went pounding off down the steep slopes toward the distant shore. They were amazed at his agility and strength. Where he could not climb he took great leaps, where it was too steep to walk he threw himself into a roll, and any rock or hindrance that barred his way was pulverized beneath the mighty mace. The griffons and the Pegasus flew behind him, trying to keep up, and Bella followed as best she could.
They made the beach an hour after dawn. Sunflash gathered them behind a rocky outcrop from where they could see a stream flow across the shore and into the sea.
"The ship will be coming down this stream," said Gilda.
"Right, we need a plan," said Sunflash. "Has anybeast got any ideas on how we can slow them down or stop them from reaching the sea?"
Bella scratched her chin as she gazed out over the beach; then she pointed to one spot. "See there, that's where the sand forms in a bump on the tideline. The river flows shallowest over that part. Maybe it's shallow enough for you to stand in it, Sunflash."
Sunflash dashed out to the spot and plunged into the water. It only came up to his waist. "What now?"
"Now, try and roll that big boulder into the water. When the pirat ship reaches it, it'll be blocked and you can easily board it."
Rainbow Dash was elated. "Oh, you used my-"
"That's right," said Bella. "You know, I never thought of calling them that before."
Rainbow flew over to Gilda. "Don't worry. If anybeast can save the griffons, Sunflash can. You'll be glad t' be on the same side as this badger, just wait and see!"
