In the city of Las Pegasus, on the west coast of Equestria, two pink alicorns were stepping out of a train at the railroad station. They were Princess Flurry Heart and her sister Princess Fahari.

"All right," said Fahari. "Prepare yourself for the most luxurious boat outing that ever outed a boat!"

"An' more fun dan youse can shake a stick at!" said Flurry Heart. She sounded like a Mossflower ferret when she talked because when she was a baby, she had been kidnapped by a ferret and raised by him for fifteen years. But now she was back with her real family. You can read about this in my story A NEW MOON.

A fox, who was also pink, staggered out of the train car and onto the platform with a heavy pack on his back. This fox was named Felch and he was Flurry's best friend. The reason he was pink was because a while back, he had died and been brought back to life by a creature named Tasque, who was a hybrid between a hare and a space alien. Tasque had cried magic tears on Felch that turned him immortal, but also made him pink. "Wait for me, guys!" Felch said. "Boy, this pack is heavy."

"Good t'ing we don't have ta walk far, den," said Flurry. "Dose stairs over dere lead down to da harbor, right, Fahari?"

Fahari nodded. "That's right. Wait till Kroova Wavedog sees all the grub we've brought along."

"Well, I don't mind livin' off the land, but I can't stand that idea of Kroova's of livin' off the sea. You know what that means: raw fish 'n' seaweed!" Felch said.

The three of them walked down the steps to the harbor. An otter was waiting for them at the dock. "C'mon, mateys, stir yore stumps or we'll miss the tide!" he said.

"Which one of these boats is yours, Kroova?" Fahari asked.

"This one." Kroova went over to a double sailed ketch. "I stole it off some searats a season ago."

Flurry, Fahari, and Felch heaved their packs on board. Kroova gasped at the sight. "Stamp me rudder, are y'tryin' to sink us wid vittles?"

"Don't know what you're talking about, mate," said Felch. "We just brought along a few little things to keep ourselves from starving. We got cotton candy, taffy, circus peanuts, and lots of fun stuff like that."

Kroova wrinkled his nose. "You didn't bring no cucumbers, did you?"

Flurry looked at the other two. "I don't t'ink so. Why?"

"Because cucumbers are dangerous to have at sea. If you drop them in the water, a bunyip could come and overturn your boat!"

"Aw, you're just stringin' us," said Flurry.

"No, he's right," said Fahari. "Auntie Twilight told me that that happened to Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity one time."

"Well, we don't have any cucumbers anyway," said Felch. "Let's get going!"

Kroova loosed the bowline as they all skipped aboard. He caught the breeze just right and sent the ketch skimming on a westerly tack, his hearty laugh ringing out. "Ha harr, me old mateys, welcome aboard the Stopdog!"

Flurry looked at him questioningly. "Did youse say da Stopdog?"

Kroova winked and gave her a roguish grin. "Aye, that's the last thing I 'eard those searats hollerin' after me. 'Stop, dog!' So that's wot I called 'er, the Stopdog!"

The little ketch was soon lost in a world of silver flecked water, scudding out north northwest over moonlit realms, like a willow leaf on a huge immeasurable pond. "Shouldn't we be doin' something?" Fahari asked. "Like paddling or tugging on ropes to make this boat go?"

Kroova had the foresail fixed and the sternsail controlled in one paw as he held the tiller with the other. "Bless yer 'eart, no, mate. This un goes by 'erself, though it needs a hexpert's paw like mine t'keep 'er on course."

Felch watched the skillful otter intently. "How did you learn to sail like that? Did your parents teach you?"

Kroova shrugged. "I never 'ad no parents, leastways none that I knows about. Out 'ere on the briny, 'tis learn fast or perish, an' I wasn't about ready to perish!"

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At about two o'clock on their second day out, a slight smudge became visible on the horizon about two points southwest of them. Kroova examined it through a spyglass. "Sailin' vessel lyin' to, west half south," he shouted, "flyin' distress signals."

In an instant the two ponies and the fox gathered around him. "What kind of ship is it?" Fahari asked. "Can you tell?"

"She's a brigantine," replied the otter, "and all that I can make out from here would indicate that everything was shipshape about her. Her canvas is neatly furled, and she is evidently well manned, for I can see a number of figures above deck apparently engaged in watching us. But I can't tell what sort of animals they are. I'll alter our course and speak to them—we'll see what's wrong, and lend them a paw if we can."

"Dat's right," said Flurry. "Do anyt'ing youse can for dem."

"How exciting," exclaimed Fahari. "'Course it's not a real shipwreck, but maybe it's the next thing to it. The poor souls may have been drifting about here in the center of the ocean without food or water for goodness knows how many weeks, and now just think how they must be lifting their voices in thanks to God for his infinite mercy in guiding us to them."

"If they've been drifting for any considerable number of weeks without food or water," hazarded Felch, "about the only things they'll need'll be what we didn't have the foresight to bring along—an undertaker and a preacher."

"Don't be horrid, Felch," returned Fahari. "You know perfectly well that I didn't mean weeks—I meant days; an' anyway they'll be grateful to us for what we can do for them. I can scarcely wait to hear their story."

Flurry had taken Kroova's spyglass and was examining the ship. Suddenly she gave an exclamation of dismay.

"By George!" she cried. "It is serious after all. Dat ship is afire. Look, Mr. Kroova," and she passed the glass back to her host.

And sure enough, as the owner of the Stopdog found the brigantine again in the center of his lens he saw a thin column of black smoke rising amidships.

"By Jove!" he exclaimed. "This is terrible! The poor devils on that boat must be panic stricken! We've got to help them! Full speed ahead!"

He brought the Stopdog toward the other boat. Soon they were close enough to hear cries for help. "Aye, aye, mateys, looks like you're having some trouble," Kroova called.

He could hear the animals on the other boat, but he wasn't quite close enough to see them. "I'm Captain Jones," a voice shouted, "of the brigantine Clarinda. We got a cargo of dynamite. We disabled our rudder yesterday, an' this afternoon fire started in the hold. It's makin' headway fast now, an'll reach the dynamite most any time."

"We better take 'em aboard an' get away from here as quick as we can!" Flurry exclaimed.

"I don't like the looks of things," said Kroova. "She ain't flyin' any dynamite flag, an' if she was an' had a hold full there wouldn't be any particular danger, an' anybeast that has ever shipped dynamite would know it, or ought to. It's not fire that detonates dynamite, it's concussion. No sir, there's something queer here—I don't like the looks of it."

But now some of the crew members on the other ship were climbing into a lifeboat and rowing toward the Stopdog. "Will you take a look at those beasts!" Kroova exclaimed. "Did you ever see such an ugly-looking pack of unhung murderers in your life!"

The beasts in the lifeboat were rats, weasels, ferrets, and stoats, and they were led by a silver fox with a red tail. "Oh no!" Fahari exclaimed. "Pirates!"

The pirates leaped from their lifeboat onto the deck of the Stopdog and surrounded Kroova, Flurry, Fahari, and Felch, flashing quick-drawn revolvers from beneath shirts and coats.

"Keep quiet," commanded the silver fox, "an' there won't none of you get hurted. My real name is Captain Plug Firetail."

"What do you want of us?" cried Felch. "If it's money, take what you can find aboard us, and go on your way. Nobeast will hinder you."

"Youse guys ain't part o' no Juska clan, are ya?" Flurry asked. "Naw, ya can't be. Ya ain't got no tattoos."

Plug's eyes fixed themselves on her. "Are you a unicorn?" he cried in an accusing tone of voice.

"We're alicorns," said Fahari. "Both of us are. We're sort of like unicorns, but we also have wings like Pegasi."

"But can you do magic just like unicorns?" Plug demanded.

"Well, yeah," said Fahari.

"Thanks," said Plug, with a self-satisfied grin. "That's what I wanted to be sure of." He reached out to grab her, but Fahari shot out a hoof and punched him in the stomach. He doubled over.

"Get the alicorns, lads!" Plug cried as he clutched his injured midsection.

The pirates swamped them. The friends fought back as best they could. Flurry floored a rat with a heavy blow. Kroova caught a ferret's footpaws and sent him flat. Felch seized a paddle and batted at the vermin like a madbeast, but a rat named Ripper ducked beneath the paddle and struck Felch twice below the belt with trip-hammer velocity and pile-driver effectiveness. Felch collapsed.

A weasel named Slitfang stunned Fahari from behind with a cutlass hilt. He and another weasel named Tazzin crouched over her, their blades at her throat. Slitfang roared out, "Surrender, or this un's a deadbeast!"

Fear for her sister's life caused Flurry to freeze. So did Kroova and Felch. "That's better," said Captain Plug. "Come on, let's get her back to the ship. We only really need one unicorn."

The vermin dragged Fahari into their lifeboat and rowed back to their own ship. As they got close to the pirate ship, Fahari saw that it was really called the Sea Scab, not the Clarinda. And the fire was really coming from a bundle of oily rags burning in an iron boiler on the deck. The ship was in no danger; that had just been a ruse.

Four vermin bound Fahari with ship's ropes. "What's the meaning of this?" she demanded. "What do you want with me?"

Plug held his cutlass point to her chest. "It's not a question of what we want. It's another creature who wants you- King Agarnu of Riftgard!"