CHAPTER TEN

Skystar!” Queen Novo yelled from the upstairs window. She had been keeping lookout on the second floor of the castle, waiting for her daughter and the guards to return. As soon as she saw them coming up the street, she disappeared from her perch, then reappeared at the main gates. She swam as fast as she could toward them.

“You’re home,” she said, throwing her fins around Skystar. She buried her face in her daughter’s neck. “I was so worried. I heard the guards talking about the Sand Dragon, and how vicious it was, and—”

Skystar laughed. “Actually, I think he was just a little bit hangry, you know?”

“Hangry?” Queen Novo repeated.

“Like hungry and angry at the same time,” Skystar replied. “Moooom. It’s slang!”

Queen Novo nodded, looking confused. “Oh. Right.”

Skystar continued. “But anyway, we worked through the misunderstanding, thanks to my best friend Fluttershy!” Skystar said, darting over to Fluttershy and giving her the biggest hug.

Fluttershy tried to smile, but she could barely breathe. Skystar was squeezing her so tightly. “Thanks…” she barely got out.

“He didn’t hurt you, did he?” Queen Novo asked, swimming around her daughter to check for scrapes or bumps. “The stories I was hearing had me so scared—”

“You’ll meet him soon enough,” Skystar said. “And you can see for yourself.”

“What?” Queen Novo asked. “Skystar! What have you gone and done now?”

Skystar glanced over Queen Novo’s head to the two Seaponies at the castle gate. “Tell the cooks to prepare a seaweed feast for tomorrow night! We’re throwing one of the grandest balls Seaquestria has ever known, in honor of our new alliance with the Sand Dragon. Spare no expense!”

Queen Novo’s eyes went wide. “The Sand Dragon is coming…here?”

“His name is Gnash, and he’s going to be guest of honor,” Fluttershy explained. “He really isn’t as bad as everypony says. He’s kind of nice sometimes. Did you know he’s friends with the Beezlebugs?”

Skystar pointed to the square down below. Hundreds of the blue critters were still scrabbling around in the streets. “Well, then he should love it here!” They all laughed as Queen Novo called the rest of the guards from the mission back inside.

The Seaponies filed inside the great hall. Fluttershy had never been so happy to return somewhere. It was so different from the Sand Dragon’s lair, with huge, open windows and light streaming in from every direction. One of the castle crabs was playing the harp, filling the entire room with peaceful music.

Skystar swam up and down, doing a few quick spins. “If the Sand Dragon is coming here for a ball, then I need a new gown and have to figure out how to do my mane, and we need to bring in flowers from the water poppy field!” She grabbed her pale-blue mane and lifted it up and down, then she pulled it to the side. “Updo or down? Side braid? I can’t decide! Come on, Fluttershy, we have to find you the perfect look, too!”

Skystar grabbed Fluttershy’s fin and pulled her toward the castle gates. They swam past Cerulean and Salt Air. Salt Air had barely said a word the entire journey back to the castle. But now she looked directly at Fluttershy, as if she wanted to say something. Fluttershy slowed down and pulled Skystar to a stop.

“I thought about it,” Salt Air said, carefully choosing her words. “And Princess Skystar was right. I could learn a lot from what happened out there, and I could learn a lot from you. I shouldn’t have attacked Gnash like that. I didn’t even know him! My temper sometimes gets the better of me.”

“I could tell,” Fluttershy admitted. For everything everypony had said about the Sand Dragon, the scariest moment had been when Salt Air burst through the sand burrow without understanding the situation. Fluttershy felt helpless watching her charge at the Sand Dragon. She knew it was only making everything worse. “But I’m glad that you’re finally ready to listen before judging new creatures.” Fluttershy smiled. “It makes all the difference in the ocean!”

Cerulean nudged Salt Air in the side, urging her to say more.

“I also wanted to say,” Salt Air added, “that… I’m sorry. And thanks. For everything.”

Fluttershy reached out her fin, letting Salt Air take it. Salt Air had been so sure of herself and so sure Fluttershy was wrong. She’d acted as if Fluttershy was just another traitor coming to ruin Seaquestria. Fluttershy felt a sense of relief wash over her now that Salt Air knew the truth. She was only trying to help.

“Friends?” Fluttershy asked, reaching out her fin.

“Friends!” Salt Air agreed as she shook it.

“Come on!” Skystar yelled, swimming out ahead of her. “The shops are closing soon!”

With that, Fluttershy darted off, following her friend into the village.

Queen Novo flitted around the great hall, studying the bouquets of water poppies in the center of each table. She checked and double-checked the place settings and made sure the napkins were clean. Then she swam through the kitchens and sampled every dish the cooks had made. When she finally emerged, she was dabbing her mouth with her fin.

“They just turned the corner toward the castle!” Queen Novo shouted.

Fluttershy’s ears were playing tricks on her. Had the queen just seen multiple Sand Dragons? “Excuse me, Your Majesty? Did you say ‘they’?”

“She did!” Skystar squealed in delight. She pointed out the window. Sure enough, Gnash was making his way through the village, followed by five other massive Sand Dragons. “It looks as if Gnash found his friends! And they’re almost here!”

“Music, please!” Queen Novo called out.

A ten-piece band was floating in the corner of the room. A glitterfish was at the piano, and three blowfish were in the horn section, playing trumpets and tubas. A spotted crab was on the guitar. He counted the whole group off, and they burst into a lively song.

Fluttershy and Skystar leaned out the window, watching the scene outside. Hundreds of villagers had come out to see the huge Sand Dragons. Only this time, instead of yelling or chanting words against them, the Seaquestrians were quietly watching their every move. Some Seafoals smiled and waved. Others applauded as the Sand Dragons clomped by, their steps slow and heavy. The Beezlebugs fell in line beside them, carrying little pieces of seaweed in their claws. Queen Novo had ordered a dozen guards to bring them into the village, and they swam on either side of them, making sure they were safe.

“Who is that?” Queen Novo asked, pointing to the Sand Dragon in the back. “He certainly dressed up for the occasion.”

Fluttershy swam to the next window to get a better view. There, at the back of the line of Sand Dragons, was Gnash. He must’ve spent hours getting ready. He was wearing a three-piece kelp-tweed suit and a top hat made of urchin shells. He’d even tucked a kerchief in his front pocket!

“That’s Gnash!” Fluttershy said with a chuckle. “Wow, who would have guessed he had such great style?”

“That’s a snazzy suit, yes, it is!” Princess Skystar laughed.

Queen Novo threw open the front gates to welcome them. There were six Sand Dragons in all, and they were all in different outfits. One of the female Sand Dragons had on a long kelp gown with huge, poufy sleeves. Her sharp claws were painted with purple squid ink.

“Welcome to Seaquestria. Please, come in!” Queen Novo said. She gestured to the giant tables in the great hall. They’d cleared out a lot of the furniture so the huge Sand Dragons would have room to move around.

“Pleasure to see you again,” Gnash said, offering the princess a little bow. “And this must be Queen Novo.”

The queen gave a deep bow. “That’s me! Thank you for agreeing to let us host and for… not eating us.”

For a second, the entire great hall froze. Even the band stopped playing their music. Everypony was worried about what Gnash would do. They couldn’t have Sand Dragons losing their temper in the middle of the great hall.

After a long pause, Gnash just laughed. “Very funny!” he said, stomping his claw on the stone. “You’re funny.”

Queen Novo smiled, sharing a look with Fluttershy as the music began again.

There were more moments like that throughout the night, when everypony seemed unsure about Gnash and his friends. Were they about to lose their tempers and destroy the whole castle? Could they really be trusted?

But those moments always passed, and the answers eventually seemed clear. (No, they wouldn’t destroy the castle. Yes, they could be trusted.) As Queen Novo held up her glass at the end of the night, it really did feel as if the Sand Dragons and Seaponies were becoming friends. Gnash had spent a good hour introducing each of the hundreds of Beezlebugs by name and title.

“To centuries of good will!” Queen Novo said, offering a toast.

“To centuries of good will!” the Sand Dragons called out.

“And to all the seaweed we can eat!” Skystar added, laughing. “I’m really looking forward to that!”

The whole room clinked glasses. Fluttershy smiled as she sipped her cider, happy she’d played some small part in it all.

“This was one of the most interesting days I’ve had in a loooooong time,” Skystar said, giving her friend a hug.

“Really?” Fluttershy asked, hoping that was a good thing.

“Yeah!” Skystar said. “For once, I didn’t make a single thing out of seashells….”

“Oh no, did you still want to do that?” Fluttershy said, pulling Skystar away from the dance floor. “Because there’s still time if we—”

“No, silly!” Skystar giggled. “Who has time for shells when they’ve got a best friend to cut a rug with?! Come on!” The princess grabbed Fluttershy’s fin, and they rushed back out into the middle of the floor.

When the band started a faster song, the two Seaponies twirled around in the water, dancing between the giant Sand Dragons, Queen Novo, the Beezlebugs, and the guards. For the first time in the history of Seaquestria, they were all together, and they were having fun—all because they were going with the flow of friendship.