//------------------------------//
//  Chapter 6 - Escape to the Surface 
// Story: The History of the Alicorn Amulet 
// by Old Ben Kenobi 
//------------------------------//

"I think you should stand back," Said Moonswift.
Starswirl backed away from the iron bars, and Moonswift aimed her horn at the lock. A beam of dark green magic shot into the keyhole, and the door started pulsating. 
"Step through it, quickly Moonswift hissed.
Starswirl galloped towards the iron bars, and they shifted aside as easily as if they were simply tendrils of seaweed. As soon as he walked through, the bars became solid again.
"Right,"Said Moonswift "You will have to follow me if you want to stand any chance of getting out of here."
She turned around and started trotting quickly down the corridor. Starswirl had to run quite fast just to keep up with her.
"Where are we heading to?" Enquired Starswirl.
"We need to get out through the Golden Gates,"She replied. "It's the only way we can bypass the room with my two sisters."
Starswirl looked left and right, and noticed by his dim blue magic glow that the walls were covered in various shells and underwater creatures. Some were alive, and a crab blinked back at him with large, black eyes, before scuttling up a pipe in the ceiling.  He cantered down the hallway at a slightly faster pace.
They finally came to a large hallway with a glowing golden gate. The gate had a large, glittering wheel in the centre, very much like the steering wheel of a Pirate Ship.The room was entirely white, and there was a round porthole window on the ceiling, where numerous underwater creatures drifted lazily past.
"What do you think you are doing?"Echoed a voice from the hallway.
Starswirl and Moonswift turned around, only to find themselves face to face with Stormbrewer and Wavedancer.

"How did you know we were here?" Demanded Moonswift.
"My loyal little friend, Klutzy, here informed me that you and the prisoner were escaping through the corridor,"Said Stormbrewer, as the crab that Starswirl noticed on the corridor wall scuttled towards her.
"You see,Moonswift, I never really trusted you. You were always fawning over that ridiculous forest. It's not natural, it's not normal for a Kelpie."
"Who are you to decide what is natural and what's not?" Snarled Moonswift. "You're not natural. All our ancestors have either left the Kelpie race or become extinct!Your breed is a dying one, un-sister!"
"It matters not," Smirked Stormbrewer. "Because you will not be leaving this cave. Well, not alive, anyway,"
Suddenly, a jet of green light erupted from Stormbrewer's horn and flew towards Moonswift. Just as it was about to strike her, a light blue aura expanded, covering both Moonswift and Starswirl.
"Moonswift!"Exclaimed Stormbrewer, "He's a pony of the Land!Get away from him, you fool!"
"And let you kill me yourself?" Snorted Moonswift. "I really would be a fool then, wouldn't I?"
Stormbrewer's eyes narrowed. "You truly have fallen." She turned to Starswirl. "And you, you have corrupted our own sister against us. You are not worth all this trouble!"
A jet of red light shot out of Wavedancer's horn, and hit Starswirl's shield. A small crack appeared in the spot where the beam hit. Moonswift fired a stunning spell in retaliation, and it hit Wavedancer square in the chest. She was thrown backwards, and her limp body flew to the other side of the room.
Stormbrewer gasped in shock, then looked at Moonswift with a look of pure hatred.
"You...you've killed your own sister!"
Suddenly, a rapid volley of magical pulses hit Starswirl's shield. It was now peppered with cracks; it would surely fail soon.
Starswirl looked around the room. He didn't want to do this, but it seemed the only solution.
"Moonswift, duck!"
The shield disappeared, and a shot of blue light flew over Moonswift's head. It impacted on the porthole window, and water started gushing into the room. Moonswift and Starswirl managed to grab onto the gate's wheel, but Wavedancer and Stormbrewer weren't so lucky. The wave hit them from the side and washed them down the corridor.
However, Starswirl and Moonswift were stuck on the wheel as the rising waters threatened to engulf them.
"How do we get out of here?" Starswirl shouted over the din of the flood.
"There's a special access pattern,"Shouted Moonswift, "I think it's left...then right..."
Starswirl followed her instructions, but the flood was rising too quickly. 
"And then...left again."
Starswirl tried to follow this last instruction, but the water dragged him away from the wheel at the last moment. Using his final ounce of strength, he used telekinesis to move the wheel. The gate swung open, but Starswirl was too tired to swim further.
"Starswirl," Shouted Moonswift,  "Starswirl, wake up!"
It was, however, no use; Starswirl had passed out. Moondancer swam over to Starswirl's limp body, and grabbed him with her hooves. She swam out of the door with him, and dragged Starswirl upwards to the surface.

As Moonswift flew upwards through the water, she felt a pain in her right leg. She looked down and saw a red crab grabbing on to her leg.
Her eyes narrowed in anger.
"Klutzy,"She hissed, "Get OFF of me."
The crab, however, did not budge. She kicked out with her hoof, and the crab fell off. However, the overpowered kick loosened her grip, and Starswirl floated away.
Moonswift screamed, but Starswirl had drifted out of sight-the water was already murky enough, but it had been churned up even more by the chaos in the cave.
Moonswift swam towards him, but she couldn't find him anywhere. Usually, she could stay underwater for up to an hour, but she did not have time to take in enough air. She had no choice;she had to swim to the surface to catch her breath.
She burst out of the surface, and breathed in quick, short breaths. She was abut to look for Starswirl again, but a voice in her head told her; No ordinary pony could survive for that long without breathing. Her vision started to blur, as tears welled up in her eyes. Suddenly, there was a burst of water about five metres away, and a large blue flash appeared. 
"S-S-Starswirl?" Stuttered Moonswift.
Starswirl's limp body was floating on a long, wooden stick.
"S-Starswirl?"Repeated Moonswift.
Starswirl did not reply. Moonswift nudged Starswirl through the water and dragged him onto the riverbed.
"N-no,"sobbed Moondancer, "Y-you can't be d-dead. What, what will I do now?"
Then, she remembered what she could do. It was dangerous, and she didn't know how well this would work, or even if it would work, but she had no other choice.
Her horn glowed green, but flickered out again. Darn, this spell was hard. She tried again and concentrated harder than she had concentrated on anything in her life. Finally, a wisp of steam floated out of Starswirl's mouth, and he started coughing.
"I'm-I'm fine,"Coughed Starswirl, "Just-just a bit of water in my throat."
Moonswift laughed from relief, and hugged Starswirl. She let go, and a question occurred to her.
"Starswirl, how did you escape?"
"Down in my cell, I sensed one of the glowing lights had an unusual amount of power surrounding it. Using its power, I managed to enchant my Rowan Staff with a spell that would allow it to save me from drowning. The spell was quick to do, and I figured it would be useful around here. Turns out I was right after all." 
Starswirl staggered up on his four hooves. 
"I'm fine,"He said, "I can walk."
"Now,"Said Moonswift, "I let you go, so you must fulfil your part of the deal,"
"What?" Said Starswirl, "Oh, right."
He tried to magically lift her bridle off, but nothing happened. The bridle didn't even glow.
"Starswirl," Moonswift said, "The bridle is resistant to magic. If it weren't, don't you think I would have taken off my sisters' bridles?"
"Of course,"Mumbled Starswirl. He hooked the Rowan Staff over the bridle, and it fell off easily. Suddenly, Moonswift collapsed to the ground.
"Moonswift?" Exclaimed Starswirl, "Are you okay?"
"Y-yes," She replied. Her legs were wobbling like jelly.
"It's-it's like the entire world has been shaking for your entire life and it suddenly stops."She gasped. "I'll be fine, it's just...an odd experience."
"Good,"Said Starswirl gruffly. He had had enough of all this water, and hobbled away from the river.
"Wait, Starswirl," Implored Moonswift, "You never explained where you were going."
"I'm trekking to Rambling Rock Ridge, " Said Starswirl. 
"Yes, but WHY are you going?" Persevered Moonswift.
"I don't recall anything about explaining my top secret plans to you in our deal," Growled Starswirl.
Moonswift looked down dejectedly.
"Well," She said "I suppose our deal has come to end, so this is goodbye?"
"Yes," Said Starswirl bluntly, and swiftly trotted away.