The stallion’s cold eyes fell on Dreadbite but she was not phased. ”A knight, perhaps” she purred, with a wry smirk. Not all knights wore shining armour and not all of them were here to save the damsel in distress, which was just as well because Dreabite was no damsel, nor was she in distress. Angling her body and arching her muscular neck to regard him, her mismatched eyes flashed with mischievous defiance, “So collect”.

Seemingly doing just that, the sooty stallion moved forward and told her that they would leave for paradise. Just as quickly as he reached out to nip her, she snaked her muzzle towards him as if to nip him back. Instead of doing so, however, her teeth merely brushed over the short hairs on his neck. ”Paradise mmm? And you say you’re not a knight”. She drew her head back with a coquettish grin and a chuckle, her dark mane cascading over the arch of her neck.

Paradise. Was it a real place or just his definition of it?

As he positioned himself behind her shoulder and signalled Wendy, Dreadbite surged forward in something akin to a prance, bringing her to the golden and white mare’s side. “Wendy huh?” she tested the name, giving the other mare a sidelong look. They were close to the same height, though Dreadbite still had a lot of height to gain, and sported vaguely similar patterning. ”I’m Dreadbite. What say we listen to our knight and let him take us to paradise?”. She leaned in close, bumping the other mare playfully on the shoulder as she finished speaking before moving forward once more (whether Vaaco urged them or not).

Dreadbite hadn’t done much swimming in her life so by the time they made it to the sandy shores of Atlantis, she was more than ready to be back on solid ground (and stay there for some time!) Mismatched eyes hungrily took in the sights from the golden sands to the thick jungle that rose up behind it. Wendy’s words filled her mind and the painted girl whirled to regard Vaaco. ”If this is not the paradise you spoke of, it is much better and we are staying!” She stomped a hoof in the semi-damp sand with playful defiance, claiming the beach as theirs.