//------------------------------// // Chapter 064: Your Regularly Scheduled Beach Episode (Part 2) // Story: Ultimate Equestria // by Leo Pachino //------------------------------// Things weren’t looking good for the ponies. As hard as they tried, they couldn’t catch up to their demon rivals. Their demonic powers allowed the demons to move at ridiculous speeds and hit at insane power. The score was 6-1 in favour of the demons. BAM! The score was now 7-1. “Pathetic!” Ira chortled. “I can taste their souls already!” Libidine exclaimed, barely able to contain her excitement. “You two are filthy cheaters!” Twilight madly exclaimed. “The sea is looking a bit sort of salt. Mind taking a dip, Twilight?” Ira taunted. “Gr…” Twilight growled. Twilight walked up to Ira at the net. She tried to punch the demon, but a red magic barrier appeared and blocked the attack. “Right, we’re stuck on our sides of the field till the game ends…” Twilight groaned. “I can’t even go to my saddle-bag to get water. “Twilight! We got this!” Pinkie told Twilight. “We don’t! They have a six-point lead. In eight more rounds, we’ll be dead.” Twilight explained. “Nope.” Pinkie plainly said. “What?” “Nope. We won’t die. We’ll win.” “H-How?” “Indeed, how?” Ira asked. “Just keep playing and find out.” Pinkie told the two. They were all curious. What was Pinkie doing? How could it beat perhaps the best volleyball players on the beach? “Coming up!” Pinkie exclaimed, serving the ball to the demons. The game continued as normal, with the demons using their absurd powers and attacking while the ponies barely keep up with them. Twilight played on the extreme defense out of fear. Even if the ponies were to attack, the demons could easily catch it and attack back before they’re able to move in defense. After a minute of back and forth, the ponies seemed to be gaining onto the demons despite the power gap. “Hey, Twilight!” Ira called out, panting in exhaustion. “What?” Twilight choked. “You surprise me. You know that?” Ira asked. “I didn’t. Thank you.” Libidine attacked. Twilight caught the ball and passed to Pinkie. Pinkie launched the ball in the air, set to attack. It was only for a minor attack, something to keep the game going. “I never would’ve a fatty to keep up with us.” Ira said as Twilight jumped to attack. “Fatty?! You think I’m fat?” Twilight exclaimed. Overcome with rage, Twilight turned the minor tap to a full-blown spike. “Eat this!” Twilight yelled. She launched the ball right towards Ira’s face. Libidine caught the ball, bouncing it up into the air. Before Twilight could even react, Ira attacked back, firing the ball right behind Twilight and into the sand. BAM! “8-1, half-way there,” Ira pridefully declared. “What happened?” Pinkie asked Twilight. “I-I don’t know. I just felt like changing my attack on the spot. I guess I just got sick at looking at Ira’s face.” Twilight replied aloud, aiming her response to Ira at the same time. “What? Jealous of my beauty?” Ira asked. “No, out of disgust.” Twilight retorted. “What was that?! You’ll regret that insult, you little twerp!” Ira immediately yelled back. She turned furious on a dime, almost like how Twilight was a moment ago. Libidine seemed immune to this toxicity. Even if there was rage, it was heavily covered by her seeming infatuation with her opponents. “Make this one count!” Libidine yelled out. Libidine served the ball and the next game began immediately. It followed the same formula as the one before, with Twilight and Pinkie enduring the demon’s tiring barrage. The sun battered the mares as they played. Twilight and Pinkie could feel their fur burning as they played. The sirens, however, looked horrible. They only had a light covering of fur, exposing their siren-like flesh to the blasting sun. They looked desperate for a swim. Twilight caught the demon’s attack and passed. Pinkie set up the ball for a minor attack. Twilight jumped. “Don’t muck it up, tubby!” Ira taunted. “Grr…!” Twilight hissed. “Remember! Only minor! Pinkie exclaimed.” Twilight suppressed her rage and followed through. She performed a minor tap, sending the ball just over the net. The demons worked quickly and fired the ball back. Twilight dove just in time and saved the ball. The demons were now exposed. This was the ponies’ time to act. Twilight passed to Pinkie, signaling her to set up a strike. But as Pinkie set up the ball and Twilight prepared, the moans of Libidine reached their ears. “I can’t wait for this game to end.” Libidine fussed. “After this, I’ll go home and take a nice, cold shower…” Twilight jumped for the ball, ready for the finishing blow. “…I’ll feel wonders as the cold water runs down my silky skin…” Libidine continued, wrapping her hooves around her bare barrel. Twilight and Pinkie were immediately distracted. So much so, that Twilight nearly missed the ball, hitting just the bottom of it. The ball staggered forward and was quickly caught by Ira. Libidine snapped into action and attacked. BAM! “Score one more for the demons.” Libidine taunted. Pinkie looked at Twilight. Twilight was blushing out of embarrassment. “Sorry, I couldn’t hit the ball straight on.” Twilight said, humiliated. “Don’t feel bad. We all make mistakes.” Pinkie cheerfully told Twilight. While Pinkie and Twilight talked, Ira and Libidine got into the corner and whispered with each other. “Look at them, thinking the sun got in their eyes. I know they were looking at me.” Libidine pridefully told Ira. “Unknown to them, the powers of our siren ancestors allow us to inflate their emotions to the point of dysfunction.” Ira said. “One off-word, and ponies are drooling for my pleasurable form.” Libidine smugly declared. “One off-word, and they’ll will throw away everything to hurt me.” Ira said, equally as smug. “Don’t you have that same problem?” Libidine asked. “Wha-? …No, I don’t! Can’t you go five minutes before wanting a bath or somepony to play with?” Ira snapped back. “It’s hot! I don’t think we can last any more than twenty rounds of this.” “Are we playing or what?” Twilight yelled at the two. “Grr…” Ira growled. “Let’s just finish this.” Libidine said. “Game on!” Twilight yelled, serving the ball. The ponies and demons shared the ball back and forth. It felt like every other round, with the demons destined to win. However, unbeknownst to three of them, the tides have turned. Twilight attacked the ball. Ira caught the ball and passed to Libidine. As Libidine set up, Ira could hear Pinkie snicker. “Hey, Ira!” Pinkie called out. “My friend, Rarity, would call your outfit tacky.” “Tacky!” Ira exclaimed. With the ball set, Ira jumped to it and attacked, spiking the ball right at Pinkie’s smiling face. “Learn your place, weakling!” Ira yelled. The ball bounced right off of Pinkie’s face, going high into the air. As Pinkie was flung back, she yelled out for Twilight to attack. Twilight did so, spiking the flying ball right behind Ira. BAM! “…” Ira was absolutely struck, frozen in place, without words. The ponies scored a point. “Woo! We did it!” Twilight cheered. Twilight went back and helped Pinkie up. She wasn’t bruised or anything, just a bit stunned from the hit. “…L-Libidine, why didn’t you catch that?” Ira asked, stilted on the sand. “I-I couldn’t catch the ball in time. I didn’t know you couldn’t do it.” Libidine replied, almost equally as shocked. Instead of bursting into a violent rage, Ira held it in. She took a deep breath and padded her sister on the shoulder. “It’s fine. We only lost one game. This just makes our prize all the more deserving.” Ira said as calmly as she could, which is not much. “Right. Won’t let it happen again.” Libidine obediently replied. “And don’t get cocky, you two! We still have a significant lead!” Ira told Twilight and Pinkie. “Let’s see if it sticks!” Pinkie told the demons. “Weakling!” Ira yelled, serving the ball. BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! “Wha…” Ira and Libidine moaned, unable to comprehend the situation. “It’s 9-6. You may have the lead, but we’re catching up.” Pinkie said, still celebrating hers and Twilight’s most recent win. “She-she has to know!” Libidine exclaimed to her sister. “She stopped Twilight from having a tantrum.” Ira quietly said. “…She called me cute, I couldn’t help it…” “She definitely knows.” “Knows what?” Twilight asked. With no warning, Ira exploded into a manic fit of fury, roaring in rage. “How do you not know?! You’ve been winning and haven’t questioned why?!” Ira blasted at Twilight. “…Good teamwork?” Twilight guessed. “Agh! Eat it!” Ira screamed. She slammed the ball into play. The ball practically burned when Pinkie caught it. She passed to Twilight, and Twilight went in for the attack. Ira jumped in front of Twilight as she attacked. Ira punched the ball as it left Twilight’s hooves, smacking her in the face with the ball. “Ha! Now we’re getting somewhere.” Ira smugly said, her previous rage suddenly gone. “You hit me!” Twilight yelled in pain. “It’s not my fault the ball hit your fat head.” Ira replied. “Twilight, are you okay?” Pinkie asked. Twilight replied, “Yeah, I’m fine.” “Don’t give up.” Pinkie assured Twilight. “You’re going to win this!” “Libidine, show no mercy to them!” Ira commanded. “Gah! I’m not sure how long I’ll last!” Libidine moaned. “If we lose this, don’t expect any favours from me for the next year!” Ira warned Libidine. “Ugh, fine. You’re cute when you’re angry, but this is just mean.” Libidine groaned, rolling her eyes. The next couple of matches were absolute bloodbaths. The ponies and demons threw all they had at each other, including intellect, power, endurance, and words to push their buttons. Insults, compliments, threats, burns, and all matters of language were exchanged across the field alongside the ball. It was the sisters’ demon strength and siren manipulation against the ponies’ friendship and determination. As each side scored points, the closer victory came. The closer victory came, the less certain who was going to win. The less certain who was going to win, the more desperate each pony became. By the end of the madness, everypony knew it could be any pony’s game. BAM! “14-14.” Ira panted, barely wielding enough mental strength to keep score. “Match point.” Twilight said, equally as exhausted. “Ready to be my new playtoy?” Libidine asked, barely able to taunt now. “I don’t know, ready to be my new sucker?” Pinkie weakly retorted. Ira didn’t bother to say anything and served the ball. This was the final game. Everypony was quadruple checking their every step. There had to be no mistakes. Everything had to be perfect. The insults had to be super effective. The teasing had to be dripping with fluids. This was a battle for the souls of loved ones. Finally, came the end to it all. Ira spiked the ball to the back corner of the field. Pinkie dove in and caught it. Twilight got hold of the ball and kicked it high into the air. She pulled Pinkie up and threw her up to the ball. As Pinkie prepared for the ultimate Spike, Ira threw Libidine up to join Pinkie. Pinkie spiked the ball. Libidine blocked it. The ball dropped towards Twilight’s side. “Game set!” Ira preemptively declared. “Not on my watch!” Twilight replied. She ran up to the net and jumped. Just before the ball went below, Twilight spiked the ball to the other side. However, Ira was on the other side, ready to punch the ball back. “You’ve never had to punch your way out of a scrape in the wilderness, so I hold the advantage! Take this!” Ira roared. Ira drove her hoof deep into the ball, almost popping it. The ball lurched forward, smashing Twilight’s head in. The falling bodies of Pinkie and Libidine seemed to stop in time as Ira looked down onto Twilight’s smooshed face. “I’ve won.” Ira congratulated herself. “Not yet.” A mumbled voice replied. “What?! Twilight?!” As if some miracle from above, Twilight hadn’t blacked out. In fact, she now had control of the ball. Even if for a moment, Twilight now owned the game. Twilight rammed her head into the ball. The ball rocketed forward. It smashed into Ira’s gut, causing spit to spray from her mouth. The ball, Ira, and Libidine collided in the air and smashed down onto the end of their field. A huge waft of dust veiled the air, blocking all sight. Had the ball gone across the foul line, or did it score? The dust slowly rolled out, clearing the area. Ira’s body was spawled out on top of Libidine’s, over the foul line. The ball had rolled of her, and kept in the field. The ponies had won. Suddenly, Spike sprung to life. He coughed and gagged for a brief moment, getting back in his body. “Spike!” Twilight exclaimed, running towards and hugging Spike. “Wha-what happened? Where is your horn?” Spike groaned. “It’s a long story.” Pinkie replied, sprawled out against the sand. “Oh, sorry, Pinkie.” Twilight apologized. “It’s fine, I landed on my head.” Pinkie replied. Twilight helped Pinkie onto her hooves and the two approached the Demons of Pulchra. The demons slowly came back to consciousness, being greeted by the smug grins of Twilight and Pinkie. “We… lost, didn’t we?” Ira sighed in humiliation. “That, you did.” Twilight replied. “Gr….” Ira quietly growled. “And just so you know: I’ve punched my way of things way worse than scraps. A ball to the head is nothing.” “Good game.” Pinkie said. “…” Ira didn’t reply, unable to agree with Pinkie. Twilight’s, Ira’s, and Libidine’s horns and wings slowly materialized onto their bodies. With the game over, the four regained their full bodies. “So, what do we do with you two?” Twilight asked them. “Nothing,” Ira said. “My sister and I are going to our realm.” “Hey, Ira,” Libidine weakly whimpered out from under. “Can you get off of me? I might pee or something if you don’t…” “Ew…” Twilight groaned. A red, glowing circle of magic appeared under the two demons. It was a portal to their realm. A tentacle-claw emerged from the portal and grabbed the two. “Just so you know, Twilight. I don’t forgive you. I will hold a grudge until your soul is mine.” Ira warned. “Well, see you later.” Twilight replied. “I will have revenge! I have never lost a bet!” Ira loudly declared. “That’s a lie,” Libidine groaned. “Shut up or I’ll pinch.” Ira threatened. “Hm!” Libidine whimpered. The claw pulled the demons through the portal and the portal disappears above them. What’s left behind of the Demons of Pulchra are a set of hoof prints on the vast sandy shores of Loyal Palms. “So, what now?” Pinkie asked. “I’m taking a nap.” Twilight replied. “Maybe after, I’ll look into these ‘demons’, see what’s known about them.” “I’m going to build sand castles.” Pinkie replied. With a spring in her step, Pinkie hopped off to where the sand castles are being build and played, leaving behind Twilight and Spike. “Well, aside of the whole ‘soul bet’, that was actually a pretty fun game. I wonder if they’ll be up for a rematch…” Twilight told herself. “Again, what happened?” Spike asked.