Gnash dove out of the way. As he did, his front leg swung to the side, knocking Cerulean into the wall. She hit the stone hard and slumped against it. Two guards swam to her and held her, trying to wake her up.
“Stop this!” Fluttershy called out, but nocreature could hear her over the clash and clank of the spears.
Gnash rammed against Coral Rose’s shell shield, sending the Seapony flying back. The Sand Dragon bit down on a guard’s spear and snapped it in half. “You promised no more spears! You lied!”
Fluttershy swam to the ceiling, trying to get Salt Air’s attention, but the Seapony was calling out orders to the rest of the guards. She didn’t even look up.
“Salt Air—over here!” Cerulean yelled, trying to distract her. Gnash was already fighting six Seaponies at once. They kept charging him with their spears, but they were hardly a match for the giant beast. As each one sped forward, the Sand Dragon knocked them away. One Seapony hit the wall. Another was thrown backward into two other guards. Salt Air snuck up behind the Sand Dragon, but he turned and roared loudly in her face. A rush of bubbles came out of his mouth and pinned her to the floor.
The more times the Seaponies got knocked down, the more desperate Fluttershy became to put a stop to the madness. She couldn’t stand the thought of Gnash getting hurt again. Fluttershy swam over to Gnash and spread her fins out wide in front of him. Immediately, everycreature froze.
“Please, Salt Air! Listen to me!” she cried. “He didn’t want to eat Cerulean! He didn’t even hurt her! All he wanted was some seaweed to eat and to find his friends!”
Fluttershy saw Princess Skystar in the corner of the burrow. She looked frustrated. Her guards were on either side of her, trying to protect her from the fight.
That was it! Fluttershy swam over. If anypony could control Salt Air, it would be Skystar.
“Skystar!” she said. “Order them to stop! Tell them there’s been a misunderstanding. The Sand Dragons are gentle creatures. They don’t even crunch crabs!”
“I thought as much!” Skystar’s eyes darted to Salt Air, who was still trying to fight. Skystar’s eyes narrowed in a mixture of determination and anger. “Why are they doing this?” she asked. Nopony answered. “My mother didn’t order an attack on a peaceful creature!”
Two Seapony guards circled Gnash, each darting behind him. He kept swatting them away, but two more showed up after them. A pink Seapony with huge purple wings zigzagged behind him, then landed a quick blow with her shield, hitting him in the back.
Skystar knew that Fluttershy was right. If she wanted the battle to stop, she’d have to stop it herself. Three guards were closing in on Gnash. She swam down, putting herself between them and him. She held up both of her fins.
“As princess of Seaquestria, I order you to stop!” she yelled as the Seaponies raced toward her. “Queen Novo does not want this. This is all a mistake.”
The three Seaponies slowed down, floating just in front of her. One flipped up her helmet. “A mistake?” she asked. “What do you mean?”
“This Sand Dragon didn’t hurt anypony,” Fluttershy explained. “It’s the Seaponies who owe him an apology for building on top of the Sand Dragons’ ancient burrows and harvesting all the seaweed!”
The Seaponies glanced around, waiting for Salt Air to respond to the claim.
“But he ponynapped Cerulean!” Salt Air swam forward. “No gentle creature would take a hostage like that. He’s just trying to trick us!” She held her spear up and aimed it right at Gnash’s belly. “I’m sorry, Fluttershy.”
Fluttershy watched as the Sand Dragon closed his eyes, scared of what would come next. She couldn’t take it any longer. As Salt Air hurled the spear, Fluttershy shot out toward it, swimming as fast as she could. She put herself between them, crashing into the coral spear before it could hit him. The spear flew off course and went right past Gnash’s shoulder. But Fluttershy was moving so fast she couldn’t stop herself. She swam straight into the side of the burrow, crashing headfirst. She felt a heavy, spinning feeling, and then everything went dark.