在她看到螃蟹们之前，小蝶似乎就已经能听到他们的嘈杂声，他们叽叽喳喳的声音响彻了水面，其中有只螃蟹在谈论她的朋友卡罗尔，说她吃饭从来不用钳子，螃蟹们这是非常粗鲁的。“当她那么搞的时候，我是真的没法看着她。”那只螃蟹说道：“当她满嘴都是什绵果的时候，让我还怎么有食欲吃我的什绵果？”

“那些奇怪的叽叽喳喳声是什么？”天星疑惑地看了看四周，问道：“是螃蟹们吗？”

“在这边，”海盐边说边游上了一大堆沙子，小蝶跟着她和天星游到了顶端，下面的沙谷景色蔓延开来，上百只螃蟹都坐在沙子上，全都在互相议论着。小蝶甚至都可以听到她们下面一群螃蟹在讨论去海藻森林度假的事。

“如果可以去蓝色海湾的话，谁还会想去海带森林呢？”一只螃蟹说道：“蓝色海湾那可是有整个海洋中最好的餐厅，那些莲花卷真的是太美味了。”

还没等小蝶开口，海盐就开始沮丧地咆哮起来：“那些螃蟹们都在说什么？他们甚至都不会说我们的语言！那这下他们能帮上我们什么啊？”

“其实，”小蝶边说边游向海盐，“我能听懂他们的话。”在陆地上，小蝶就已经有可以与动物们交流的能力天赋，幸运的是在海洋里也是一样。

“你可以？！”天星公主的脸上绽放了一个大大的笑容，“这太酷了，天啊，我的朋友真的太酷了！”天星用胳膊推了推珊瑚玫瑰，又指了指小蝶。“这就是我的朋友小蝶，她是不是酷毙了？”

“公主，”海盐打断了兴奋得也开始叽叽喳喳的天星。“如果这些螃蟹们帮不了我们，那我们必须要继续前进——”

一只带着蓝色斑点壳的螃蟹朝他们喊道：“你们一定是来找那海马吧！”对于海马们来说，那螃蟹的声音听起来就像咔搭咔搭一样，所有海马们都看向了小蝶。

小蝶回应道：“你又看见湛蓝吗？”她的眼睛亮了起来。终于，有线索了！

斑点螃蟹回道：“两天前。”

另一只螃蟹插话道：“不是，我想应该是在昨天，琼。”

天星迫切地问道：“他们在说什么呢？！”

海盐叫道：“赶紧问清楚，让我们继续前进！”

小蝶叹了口气，“他们在争论什么时候看到湛蓝路过这，我去再问问有没有别的螃蟹知道些什么。”有一群螃蟹们正在谈论沙龙同时还在猜测它的实际年龄，有两只螃蟹觉得它有两千岁，还有一些螃蟹们觉得它只有两个月大。小蝶没有费心去纠正他们，显然螃蟹们的时间理念跟海马们是截然不同的，但旁边的海盐已经越来越不耐烦了。

“打扰一下？”小蝶边问边游向一堆相对比较安静的螃蟹们，他们正在谈论今天的天气。“你们这的沙谷真的好漂亮，但我想来向你们打听一下沙龙洞穴在哪个方向？它就在附近吗？”

一只螃蟹亮晶晶的眼睛扫视了一下他的朋友们，他是霓虹黄色，背上还有红色的条纹，他停顿了一下，似乎是在考虑她是否值得帮助，然后拿他的大钳子指向了沙谷的另一边。“如果你一直往那个方向走，你就可以看到一个隧道，穿过去就到了，我想应该就是那么走的吧，要小心那些黏黏虫。”

“黏黏虫吗？”小蝶重复道：“我为什么要小心呢？”

另一只螃蟹叫道：“噢，你会知道的。”然后他还咯咯地笑着，好像他是知道一个大秘密但不想说出来一样。

小蝶笑了，她回头看了看其他海马没了，他们都聚在一起看着那些螃蟹，显得很紧张，珊瑚玫瑰的尾鳍都差点被一只螃蟹夹了！

“谢谢你们，”小蝶边说边向螃蟹们微微鞠了个躬，然后她向大家喊道：“我找到线索了！跟我来吧！”

她游过沙谷，又游过一群叽叽喳喳的螃蟹们，来到那只黄色螃蟹指的方向。卫兵们全都跟在她后面，但海盐一直都在她面前冒出来。很显然她想要继续带领队伍。

几分钟后，小蝶发现了洞口，前面似乎是个黑暗的沙洞。“就是这！”她转向大家说道：“他说我们只需要小心黏黏虫…”

珊瑚玫瑰问道：“黏黏虫？”而小蝶只是耸耸肩，她也不知道什么是黏黏虫。

“我来带队吧。”海盐边喊边冲进了隧道，“都做好准备，提防怪物的袭击！”她举起了她的长矛和盾牌准备战斗。现在他们已经接近了沙龙的洞穴，似乎是让她更加坚定了自己的战斗想法。小蝶又开始紧张起来，她不敢想象一旦海马们见到了沙龙就会去做什么。

小蝶、天星还有珊瑚玫瑰都紧跟在海盐后面游进了隧道，其余卫兵们也紧跟在她们后面，四周变得一片漆黑。他们还没游进来多长距离，小蝶就已经什么都看不见了。

“我在这里，”海盐的声音在前面回响。“继续往前游出去。”

小蝶突然感觉到有个温暖的鳍搭在她肩上。

“我拉住你了，”天星低声对她说。“不用担心！”

小蝶笑了，想了想她身边的朋友们，或许这里是一片漆黑，但只要她们能团结在一起，就一定能平安出去，这没有什么可怕的。

他们继续往前游着，尽可能游得又远又快。终于他们看到了隧道出口，小蝶都能看到前面的海盐了。她先游出了隧道，小蝶紧跟她游了出去。她正要欢呼，却发现情况有点不太对，海盐正在扇动着她的尾鳍，不停地原地打转。

“这是什么啊！”她喊了起来：“呃啊啊…恶…”

三只又短又胖的虫子正粘在她的尾鳍上，那虫子是黑色带着亮绿色圆点，还有它们那又小又怪的脸。它们还有些黏在靠近她头盔的肩膀那。

小蝶抬了下蹄，摸了摸自己肩膀，感觉到有一条黏黏虫在身上，她以为是天星的鳍，但其实那只是两条虫子。

她飞快地转着圈，想把它们从身上弄下来，但它们粘得很紧，她不得不钻进底下的沙子才能把它们弄走。

当她从沙子钻出来的时候，看到所有海马们都在试图疯狂地摆脱他们各自身上的黏黏虫，海盐摘下她的头盔，从里面扯出来一条。珊瑚玫瑰正在试图扯粘在她脖子上的一条。花了几分钟后，大部分卫兵们不得不钻进沙子里，很快所有黏黏虫都从他们身上搞下来了，那些黑绿相见的生物们全都偷偷溜回隧道里，有一只还一边走一边在朝她吐舌头。也许是她看错了吧。

“这确实有点恶心！”天星喊道：“但似乎也是挺有趣的。”她摆了摆自己的鳍还有尾鳍，弄得好像虫子还在她身上一样。

一群海马卫兵们也在原地打转，嘟哝呻吟着。“所以这就是为什么螃蟹们会把它们叫做黏黏虫——所有小马们想把它们从身上赶下来的时候都会觉得黏黏的。”

一位高大威猛的海马卫兵抱怨道：“它跑我脖子上了！”他打了个寒颤，仿佛他还能感觉到那虫子。“呃啊啊啊…”

小蝶抬头往四周看了看，确认一下他们在哪。突然她不再想那条隧道，也不再想那些喋喋不休的螃蟹，也不再想刚刚黏在她肩膀上的黏黏虫。“快看！”小蝶指向了她从未想到过会看到的东西，叫了起来。不远处的海带森林后面是条真正巨大的沙龙！它那庞大的身躯、威风的鳍还有沙子色的伪装皮肤让谁都能一眼认出来。但奇怪的是，小蝶并不怎么怕它，这样的生物看起来一点也不危险，反倒是看起来很温柔，又不知怎的透露出一些悲伤。

但海盐并没有去注意这些，在她眼里只觉得这是个怪物。

“列队！”海盐喊了起来。卫兵们在她背后列出了三角进攻阵型，长矛直指前方，准备冲进不远处的海带森林。

“不等等！”之前那个发光鳗鱼就被气得回头就走了，海盐难道不会让目前的情况更加失控吗？

“我不怕沙龙，我不怕沙龙，我不怕…”但他们快走近时，珊瑚玫瑰都紧紧闭上眼睛低声自语了起来。小蝶以最快的速度游到了队伍前面，举蹄阻止了他们。

“求你了，”她对海盐说道：“让我先去跟它谈谈。”

“你想去独自面对一只沙龙？”海盐问道：“你是海水喝多了吗？”

“我知道这听起来很疯狂，”小蝶回道：“但你必须先给我一次机会。”

海盐眯起眼睛问道：“一个结交可以把你吃掉的老怪物的机会？”

小蝶回道：“一个和平解救湛蓝的机会，不用去对一个无辜的生物举起长矛。”

海盐又看向其它卫兵，思索了一下，又看向天星问道：“你同意这个计划吗，公主？”

天星毫不犹豫地回道：“当然同意！我相信小蝶，她比小马国的任何小马都能更理解一个生物！”天星满怀希望地看了看小蝶。“我倒是看不出沙龙会有多大不同，毕竟我的意思是，我们都能和螃蟹说上话了！”

“那我们就先试试你的办法，”海盐边说边示意着卫兵们先撤退，她朝小蝶叫道：“我们就躲在森林里等着，如果你有危险就叫一声，我们随时都会做好准备。”

其余的海马们都点点头，小蝶转身游出了海带森林，向目标游去。沙龙马上就看到她，突然间它也不再那么可爱或是悲伤，他昂首走上前来，露出它可怕的獠牙。开始吼道：“终于到吃饭时间了吗？”他的鼻孔都张开来呼着气。

小蝶吞咽了一些，心想：‘我并不怕沙龙。’但当她抬头看向那可怕的生物，她立刻就意识到她对这个巨大又神秘的海洋生物的了解是少之又少，她又给自己惹上什么大麻烦了？


英文版：
Fluttershy heard the chatty crabs before she saw them. Their voices carried through the water. One was talking about her friend Carol, and how she never used her pincers when she ate. The crab thought it was rude. “I just can’t look at her when she does it,” the crab said. “How am I supposed to enjoy my SnailMix when hers is all over her mouth?”
“What is that strange rattling noise?” Skystar asked, looking around in confusion. “Is that the crabs?”
“This way,” Salt Air said, swimming up a large mound of sand. Fluttershy followed her and Skystar to the top of it. The valley stretched out below, filled with hundreds of crabs sitting in the sand, all deep in conversation. Fluttershy could hear a crowd of crabs right below who were debating about vacations in the kelp forest.
“Who would want to go to the kelp forest when you can go to the Blue Cove?” one crab asked. “The Blue Cove has one of the best restaurants in the whole ocean. Those lotus rolls are to die for.”
Before Fluttershy could say anything, Salt Air growled in frustration. “What was that starfish talking about?” She furrowed her brow, annoyed. “These crabs don’t even speak our language! How are they of use to our mission?”
“Actually,” Fluttershy said, swimming over to Salt Air, “I can understand them.” On land, Fluttershy had the most amazing ability to communicate with creatures. Fortunately, it appeared to be the same down here.
“You can?!” Skystar’s face exploded into a huge grin. “That is so super cool. Gosh, my friend is so cool!” Skystar nudged Coral Rose and pointed to Fluttershy. “That’s my friend Fluttershy. Isn’t she cool?”
“Princess,” Salt Air said, interrupting Skystar’s excited babble. “If these crabs can’t help us, we really must keep moving—”
“You must be looking for that Seapony!” a crab with a spotted blue shell shouted. It just sounded like a rattling noise to the Seaponies. Everypony looked to Fluttershy.
“You saw Cerulean?” Fluttershy replied, eyes widening. Finally, another clue!
“Two days ago,” the spotted blue crab said.
“Oh, I think it was yesterday, June,” another crab chimed in.
“No, it wasn’t! I know the days,” the spotted blue crab replied, looking a little hurt.
“What are they saying?!” Skystar asked, almost bubbling over.
“Let’s get the information and move on!” Salt Air begged.
Fluttershy sighed. “They’re arguing about when they saw Cerulean pass by. I’m going to see if anycrab else knows something.” One group was now discussing Sand Dragons and how old they actually were. Two crabs thought it was two thousand moons ago, while others thought it was two moons ago. Fluttershy didn’t bother correcting them. Clearly, crabs had a very different sense of time than Seaponies. But Salt Air was growing impatient.
“Excuse me?” Fluttershy said, swimming toward a quieter group. They were saying something about the current weather. “You have quite a beautiful valley here. I was hoping you could just point us in the direction of the Sand Dragons’ burrows,” Fluttershy prodded. “Is it nearby?”
A crab’s beady eyes darted around to his friends. He was neon yellow, with a red racing stripe across his back. He paused, as if considering whether she was worth helping, then he pointed across the valley with his biggest claw. “If you just go straight, you’ll get to a tunnel. Go through it and out the other side, then you’ll be there. I think that’s where they are. But it’s just a theory. Just watch out for the oogle worms.”
“Oogle worms?” Fluttershy repeated for clarification. “Why should I watch out?”
“Oh, you'll see,” another crab called out, then giggled as if he knew a big secret and wasn’t telling.
Fluttershy smiled. She glanced over her shoulder at the other Seaponies, who were all gathered together, looking nervous as they watched the crabs. Coral Rose almost got her tail pinched!
“Thanks so much,” Fluttershy said, giving the crabs a little bow. Then she called out to the guards. “I have another clue! Follow me!”
She swam across the valley, over packs of chatty crabs, to where the yellow crab had pointed. The guards followed close behind, but Salt Air kept going out in front of her. It was clear she wanted to lead.
Within minutes Fluttershy spotted the tunnel entrance. It was a dark cavern in the sand. “That’s it!” she said, turning to the others. “He said we just have to watch out for the oogle worms....”
“Oogle worms?” Coral Rose asked. Fluttershy just shrugged. She didn’t know what they were, either.
“l'll take the lead,” Salt Air called out, charging into the tunnel. “Be ready in case the beast appears!” She had her spear and shell shield raised, ready to fight. Now that they were close to the supposed Sand Dragons’ territory, she seemed even more determined. Fluttershy was nervous again, thinking of what the Seapony might do once the group got there.
Fluttershy, Skystar, and Coral Rose all swam into the tunnel behind Salt Air. The rest of the guards trailed after them. It was completely dark. They hadn’t gotten more than a few tailspans inside and already Fluttershy couldn’t see a thing.
“I'm here,” Salt Air’s voice was echoing up ahead. “Just keep swimming through.”
Fluttershy felt a warm fin on her shoulder.
“I’ve got you,” Skystar whispered to her. “Don’t you worry!”
Fluttershy smiled, thinking of her friend beside her. Maybe it was dark, but if they stuck together they’d make it out okay. There was nothing to be afraid of.
They kept going, swimming as far and as fast as they could. Finally, they saw the end of the tunnel. Fluttershy could just make out Salt Air up ahead. She swam out of the tunnel first, then Fluttershy followed her. She was about to cheer when she realized something had gone awry. Salt Air was waving her fins and spinning around and around in circles.
“What are they?!” she called out. “Ooo.... grrr...’
Three short, fat worms were coiled around her forelegs. They were black with bright-green polka dots and tiny, strange faces. They slunk across her shoulders, getting closer to her helmet.
Fluttershy reached up and touched her own shoulder, feeling an oogle worm there. What she’d thought were Skystar’s fins had actually been worms—two of them.
She swam in quick circles, trying to get them off, but they clung to her. She had to dive into the sand to get rid of them.
When she finally emerged, all the Seaponies were frantically trying to get rid of their own oogle worms. Salt Air yanked off her helmet and pulled one out of it. Coral Rose was unraveling one that had curled around her neck. It took a few minutes, and some of the guards had to dive into the sand, but soon all the oogle worms were off them. The black-and-green creatures slunk back into the tunnel. Fluttershy swore one stuck out its tongue at her as it went, but maybe she was imagining things.
“That was revolting!” Skystar yelled. “But kinda fun in a weird way?!” She was brushing at her forelegs and tail, as if the worms were still there. A group of the Seaponies was still swimming in circles, grunting and groaning. “That must be why they call them oogle worms—that’s the sound everypony makes when they’re trying to get them off.”
“It was on my neck!” a big, beefy Seapony whined. He shivered, as if he could still feel it there. “Grrrr....” he cried.
Fluttershy looked above them, noticing where they were. Suddenly she didn’t care about the tunnel or the chatty crabs or the oogle worm slime left on her shoulder. “Look!” Fluttershy cried out, pointing up at something she never thought she’d actually see. It was a real, gigantic Sand Dragon! It was instantly recognizable by its massive size, majestic fins, and grainy, sand-hued camouflage hide. Strangely enough, Fluttershy wasn’t scared of it. The creature didn’t seem dangerous at all. It looked gentle and somehow sad.
But Salt Air didn’t notice any of that. All she saw was a monster.
“In formation!” Salt Air called out. The guards formed a triangle behind her, their spears pointed out. They swam forward, moving between the kelp.
“No, wait!” Fluttershy was right behind them with Skystar and Coral Rose. Glitterfish darted through the kelp, turning this way and that. Was Salt Air about to make everything worse?
“I am not afraid of Sand Dragons. I am not afraid of Sand Dragons...” Coral Rose whispered to herself as they got closer, her eyes squeezed shut.
Fluttershy swam as fast as she could to the front of the group. She held up her fin to stop them.
“Please,” she said to Salt Air. “Let me talk to him first.”
“You want to face a Sand Dragon alone?” Salt Air asked, glancing over her shoulder. “Have you been drinking seawater?”
“I know it sounds crazy,” Fluttershy said. “But you have to give me the chance.”
“A chance to make friends with”—Salt Air narrowed her eyes—“an ancient monster who wants to eat Seaponies?”
‘A chance to get to Cerulean peacefully,” Fluttershy said, “without raising a spear against an innocent creature.”
Salt Air turned back to the other Seaponies. She tilted her head to the side as she considered it. Salt Air looked to Skystar. “And you’re okay with this plan, Princess?” she asked.
“Absolutely!” Skystar said without hesitation. “I trust Fluttershy. She knows more about creatures than anypony in Equestria!” The princess gave her friend a hopeful look. “I don’t see why it should be any different with a Sand Dragon. I mean, the filly can talk to crabs!”
“We will try it your way first,” Salt Air conceded, and motioned to her guards to retreat. She called out to Fluttershy. “But we will be right here, hiding in the forest. Just yell if you are in danger. We’ll be ready.”
The rest of the Seaponies nodded. Fluttershy turned back to the burrow and slowly swam out of the kelp forest toward the target. The Sand Dragon spotted her instantly. Suddenly, he didn’t look so cute or sad anymore. He stalked forward, baring his horrible fangs.
“Is it finally time to eat?!” the Sand Dragon called out with a roar. His nostrils flared.
Fluttershy swallowed hard. I am not afraid of Sand Dragons, she thought. But as she stared up at the hideous creature, she realized how little she actually knew about this massive, mythical ocean beast. What had she gotten herself into?