"Rainbow?"
Silence.
"Rainbow!"
More silence.
"For Starswirl's sake, Rainbow! Will you wake up already?!"
"It's no use, Twilight."
"What do you mean, 'it's no use,' Pinkie?! She has to wake up!"
"I'm not saying she shouldn't! I'm just saying that you shouting into her fuzzy ears isn't gonna make Dashie get up any faster!"
"Grrrrr! I don't get it! She's so perky and spry when she's awake! But as soon as her brain hits the snooze button—she's deader than petrified oak!"
"Heeheehee! Well, you know what they say! The awesomer they are, the harder they fall!"
"... ... ...Pinkie, who in Equestria's name ever says that?"
"Oh... y'know... books... and the writers of books."
"Guh... this is hopeless. Rainbowwww! Rainbow you have to wake up this instant!"
"Psssst... step aside, Twilight."
"Pinkie, what are you doing—?"
"Ah-ah-ahem... Step One in Waking Your Dashie: you gotta know the right words to shout!" A deep... deeeeeep breath. Then: "RAINBOW DASH! SCOOTALOO'S STUCK IN THE WELL!"
"Mrmmfff..." With a fuzzy trilling noise, the blue pegasus stirred. She rubbed her sleepy nose with curled forelimbs, then squinted into the foggy amber light of the Stardust's cabin. "Gnnngh... nyup..." She smiled dizily, murmuring. Six words: "What what what what what what?"
A pink and a lavender figure came into focus, eyes wide.
"Seeeeeee?" Pinkie Pie proudly grinned. "Works like a charm!" She squinted her eyes and swung one fetlock around. "I like to call it chickenception."
"Oh hush." Twilight turned to glare at Rainbow. "Rainbow... get up! Hurry! It's super important!"
"Mrmmmf... huh... what is...?" Rainbow sat up—only to realize that she was lying under two layers of blankets. She blinked curiously. "How did I...?" She looked to her left to see a cowboy hat. A stupid smile hung off her tired face. "Heh... melon fudge..."
"Rainbowwwww..." Twilight hissed.
"Yeeeeesh... egghead..." Rainbow rubbed her ears, wincing. "Ease up on the permanently resting butt falsetto..." Stifling a yawn, she stood up, stretched... and stretched again. "Now... slowly and articulately... what seems to be the pony pony pony problem..."
"There's something approaching us," Twilight said. "Something approaching the Stardust."
"Mrmmfff...?" Rainbow blinked, squinting. "Since when?"
"Since half-an-hour ago!" Twilight exclaimed. "I'm... detecting some mana sources. They're..." She grimaced. "...not like anything I've ever felt before."
"H-how do you mean?"
"I mean they're not sources of unicorn magic or chaotic or any of Verlaxion's stuff—"
"Wait wait wait..." Rainbow shook a hoof. "...you're sure you're not getting confused with Flynn's manafart mumbo jumbo?" She pointed across the foggy cabin. "'Cuz his engine's been pumping quite madly ever since we shoved off."
"No, Rainbow. It's not the ship's engines!" Twilight protested. "There's something approaching us. And—unless the Stardust has spun around a few times in mid-course—I think it's actually... actually circled us."
"Circled us?" Rainbow blinked. "What are we talking about? A leviathan?" She grimaced. "Cuz you once sensed Ultimo, remember—?"
"No, these are way smaller."
"Wait... there's more than one of them?!"
"Yes! For Celestia's sake, Rainbow!" Twilight clenched her teeth. "Don't you see what I'm trying to tell you?! Something's out there!"
"She's right, Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy said, floating up. "And they're not alone."
"Huh?"
Fluttershy gulped. "I'm sensing souls... lots of them... crowded together."
Rainbow blinked. "... ... ...flocks?" She glanced around. "Flying flocks?"
Twilight and Fluttershy glanced at one another. They merely shrugged.
Rainbow exhaled. She slapped her face a few times, then frowned. "I'm going above deck."
Sccrkkkkkkkkkkk!
Grunting, Rainbow Dash forced the metal door to the cabin open. She winced at a wave of hard droplets pelting her. The surf was tempestuous at this point, and the sharp bow of the Stardust shredded its way through wave after wave of windblown water. Thunder rolled heavily above, and bands of clouds rippled across the starry night sky. The ocean—despite its undulating face—had an eerie purple sheen to it.
"Cheese and crackers..." Rainbow cursed, hobbling out onto the open deck. "...it's like Stratopolis all over again up here..."
"Rrainbow frriend!"
"...?" Rainbow spun to face the rear deck.
Kepler stood above her, his claws gripping the rudder wheel. He hollered above the thunder: "Did you get some good rrest?!"
"Yeah. Sure. Yo, Kepler!" Rainbow shaded her brow from errant sprays of water as the ship tossed and turned. "You've been up all night!"
"That is a difficult question to measurre! Hah-HAH!"
Rainbow huffed. "You know what I mean."
"Indeed! I have been constantly vigilant!" Kepler's nostrils flared. "It is—after all—verry difficult to fall asleep admist so much oceanic bedlam!"
"Yeah. Uh huh. Great. Have you seen anything weird circling us?!"
"Why... whateverr would you mean?!"
"Are we being followed by anypony?!" Rainbow pointed. "Maybe by air?!"
"Hmmmm..." Kepler squinted through his bifocals. "I have seen nothing but waves and clouds, Rrainbow one! Perrhaps you should thrrow that question at Wildcarrd or Big Show! They've switched shifts, keeping eyes to the sky!"
"Hey there, shortstack," Logan spontaneously rumbled, standing on deck behind Rainbow. "What's up?"
"Gah!" Rainbow jumped in place. "Yeesh... the thunder must be really loud for you to sneak up on me."
"Jee. Thanks." Logan's brow furrowed. "Now what's this about us being circled?"
"My gal pals could swear that... something or someone has been circling us for the past half-hour." Rainbow squinted. "Have you seen anything in the air?"
"Uhhhh..." Logan rubbed his fat chins. "Can't say that I have." He glanced up at Kepler, then back at Rainbow. "Wildcard didn't mention anything either. Sky's nothing but pea soup madness."
"Then... what in the hay...?" Rainbow wheezed.
"Oh gosh..." Twilight grimaced. "Oh gosh oh gosh oh gosh..."
"...?" Rainbow turned to face her. "What is it, Twilight?"
"That's not good..." Twilight gulped. "That's not good at all." She turned to face Rarity. "Rarity? Do you sense it too?"
"Sense what?" Applejack stammered. "What's goin' on, y'all?"
"Why... yes..." Rarity fidgeted in place. "I do feel it, Twilight." Her ghostly limbs trembled. "Several objects... perfectly round in shape..." She squinted in deep thought. "Made out of... very rigid materials... all neatly entertwined..."
"Look, just spit it out already!" Rainbow's voice cracked. "Are we being circled or what?! If so... why can't we see them?"
"Because, Rainbow," Fluttershy spoke, ears drooped. "They're not flying in the air. They're beneath us."
"... ... ..." Rainbow turned to look at the tossing waves. She swallowed a heavy lump down her throat and spoke to Logan behind her shoulder. "Big Show... call the rest of the gang... get their flanks up here at once."