When they returned to the castle, new guards were stationed outside. They opened the gates for Princess Skystar without saying a word. The princess swam in circles around the great hall, her shopping bags under her foreleg. She’d picked out the prettiest blue shimmery scarf for her mother and brought back some seaweed cakes for all the cooks in the castle kitchens.
“Mooooooom!” she called out, swimming to the ceiling. “We’re home! I brought you something really special that I know you’re going to love!”
But nopony answered. “Maybe she’s having dinner?” Fluttershy suggested as she swam after her friend. Skystar wove through the empty castle halls, toward Queen Novo’s bedroom. But on the way there, she heard voices coming from the great gallery—a meeting place off the throne room. There was hardly ever an occasion to use it (other than game night), so it struck Skystar as odd. She motioned to Fluttershy to be quiet as they swam up to the doorway to spy.
The scene inside the great gallery was peculiar. Queen Novo and Salt Air sat in two of the huge carved coral chairs, below a series of giant murals depicting different scenes from Mount Aris. Queen Novo looked serious. The majority of the Seaquestrian guard force stood opposite.
“Cerulean has been gone much longer than expected. There is cause for concern!” Salt Air exclaimed, her voice twice as loud as it normally was. “And I will not sit here and wait to find out that she’s been attacked by a Sand Dragon when we are fully capable of aiding her. Please, Majesty, let us go!”
“Enough!” Queen Novo barked, then spoke more calmly. “I don’t understand why everypony is so worked up. There is no Sand Dragon! Golden Fin even admitted that what he saw could have been an illusion.”
“Your Majesty.” A smaller Seapony with pink wings swam forward and addressed Queen Novo. “Please excuse my forwardness. I don’t mean to swim out of line, but I don’t think it was an illusion…. I think… Salt Air might be right.”
“And who are you?” Queen Novo raised a suspicious brow.
“Coral Rose, the new Seaquestrian historian, at your service.” The small Seapony bowed, eyes downcast. “I believe that the Sand Dragon is real, and it’s awake.” At this, Salt Air’s face flashed a triumphant expression, only to morph back into one of extreme worry. Cerulean could really be in danger. Coral Rose shifted around nervously. “I… I can prove it.”
“You can?” Queen Novo asked. She leaned forward in her chair. Her attention had clearly been piqued. “How?”
“It’s all right here in the legend, Majesty,” Coral Rose said, scrambling to unfurl a scroll. “We are due for what is called the ‘Dragon’s Morning.’ Every hundred moons, supposedly the Sand Dragons awaken from their hibernation deep in the sand. They wake up quite hungry and go looking for—”
“For Seaponies?!” Skystar’s voice echoed through the gallery. The guards froze, noticing Skystar and Fluttershy floating in the doorway. “It’s true?!” the princess shouted, swimming inside the room. Fluttershy followed behind, feeling awkward and out of place. “Seaquestria really could be in danger?”
“Skystar! There you are.” Queen Novo looked quite relieved to see her daughter. “Go to your chambers and visit with Fluttershy there, okay? The castle needs to be on lockdown until we know more.”
“But Cerulean’s out there….” Skystar’s eyes went wide. “And I want to help! Are we going to rescue her?”
“Yes,” Queen Novo said decidedly. She exchanged a look with Salt Air. “Tonight.”
“Then I’ll go get my things!” Skystar said, her voice trembling. “Wait for me!” Skystar shot out of the room, leaving only a trail of bubbles behind her.
A trail of bubbles… and Fluttershy. She moved behind a group of guards in a feeble attempt to hide. This was not how she’d pictured the evening unfolding.
“I know my daughter well enough to know that she is determined to go—no matter what I tell her to do.” Queen Novo swam back and forth, then back and forth again, pacing the room. “Salt Air, you must watch out for her.”
“Of course, Your Majesty.” Salt Air brought her fin to her chest in salute.
Queen Novo nodded before adding, “And so must you, Fluttershy.”
It was as if the water had drained from the room. Fluttershy suddenly felt all eyes on her. There had to be a mistake! Fluttershy was not even really a part of this kingdom. She was just a visitor. Why would they want her along on such an important Seapony mission?
“M-m-m-me?” she stuttered, meeting the queen’s eyes. She looked worried, her brows drawn together in a line.
“Yes. Skystar has told me of your many brave pursuits in your land. And my daughter trusts you. Please, Fluttershy? We have already suffered through a great war with the Storm King in Mount Aris. We cannot take another tragedy.”
Fluttershy didn’t know what to say. But she knew one thing for sure—a friend needed her. And she never turned her back on a friend in need. “Okay, I’ll go.”
“We have to resolve this however we can,” Queen Novo said, her voice full of sadness and worry. She’d worked so hard to keep the peace in Seaquestria. It was vital that it remain so. She put a fin on Fluttershy’s shoulder. “Please be careful out there.”
“Exactly! We must take precautions to protect ourselves from the monster!” Salt Air said to a Seapony standing in the back of the crowd. “Let’s bring our coral spears and shell shields. Helmets, chest plates. Full armor. I’m not taking any chances.”
Suddenly, Skystar reappeared. She wore a saddlebag that had been decorated with shells. “What’d I miss?”
Fluttershy struggled to find the words to explain the quick turn of events. In a moment’s time, talk had turned from keeping peace to wielding weapons. She knew she’d have a hard time persuading Salt Air to not go at all, but there had to be a better way. Wouldn’t showing up in armor make everything worse? Bringing a small army with spears and shields? If Cerulean wasn’t already in danger, she surely would be if the Sand Dragon thought the Seaponies wanted to harm it.
“Don’t you think the spears will scare it?” Fluttershy asked. She’d encountered so many other scary creatures before. She’d tamed a cockatrice, a Manticore, and even befriended a Draconequus. There were fierce Dragons in Equestria, and she imagined a Sand Dragon must look a lot like that.
“I hope so,” replied Salt Air with a huff.
Fluttershy frowned. “There’s always another way to communicate. You just have to try to understand the other creature….” She looked to Coral Rose for backup, but the Seapony just shrugged. Up until recently, Sand Dragons had only been a legend, passed on to the Seaponies from the ancient fish and crustaceans. Now they were real.
Salt Air leaned in closer. “Giants of the Sea, is what the stories call them…” she said. “Huge fangs! Tiny, beady eyes.”
“And claws that could cut you in two!” another guard added. The rest of the Seaponies nodded along, their eyes wide in fear. Fluttershy tried to keep her expression normal, but her stomach was doing flips. It was always a little scary to confront a creature ten times your size, and when Fluttershy had done it in the past, she’d felt the same nervousness. But she’d never let that stop her before, and she couldn’t let it stop her now. Being brave wasn’t about not feeling any fear. It was about not letting your fear stop you.
“Every minute that Cerulean is near it, she is in danger,” Salt Air added. “We must give the monster a great show of force. It should know that Seaponies are not to be messed with!”
A Seapony who had left now returned carrying a bundle of spears. The end of each was carved into a razor-sharp point. Helmets were piled on the floor. There were chest plates and shields, along with a few other weapons Fluttershy didn’t recognize.
“Moooom!” Skystar finally said. “We’re not really going to bring all that junk, are we?”
Queen Novo looked as if she was struggling with the decision, too. Finally, she spoke: “You must stay safe. At all costs.”
“It’s not just the Sand Dragon we have to worry about,” Salt Air said. “Cerulean is the only Seapony to have ventured that far beyond the village. We have no idea what we’ll find out there….”
“It’s all going to be okay,” Fluttershy said. But as more Seaponies entered the meeting room with more shell shields and weapons, Fluttershy grew nervous. Part of keeping Seaquestria safe meant keeping the Sand Dragon calm. How would Fluttershy be able to do that when Salt Air was already so angry? What would the Sand Dragon think when they showed up to its lair with a small army?
Fluttershy packed up a bag with food and supplies, trying to ignore the fear that was growing in her chest. But she had the sinking feeling that they were all swimming in the dark on this one.