Dulcet and Demise exchanged glances and quietly muttered to each other. “I’ll take Loam, you distract Cyclone.”
The entire island seemed to be holding its breath in anticipation as the princesses held a stand-off. In response to Dulcet’s suggestion, Demise shook her head. “Impossible... That leaves Cascade open to attack. We should focus on protecting Twilight.”
Dulcet let out something that sounded like a combination of a sigh and a growl. “I agree, but this isn’t the time for debates. We have to stop them first while keeping Twilight safe.”
Standing a little ways behind them, the purple princess made a look of disgust as they continued to bicker over her. “Hey!”
Both stopped, startled, and looked back at her. Twilight stepped forward and stood inbetween them, earning odd looks from everypony in the grove, including Cascade. “I’ll go for Cascade...” She straightened the silver flower in her mane. “You two just worry about yourselves.”
The confident and boastful smirk on Cascade’s face vanished. “So be it...”
Cyclone vanished in a flash of lightning, and thunder boomed across the island. Demise launched into the air after her, catching the princess of storms above the mountain peak. Lightning crackled all around them as they exchanged blows.
Cyclone let out a vicious cry before throwing a hoof into Demise’s side. It connected, and the dark princess was forced to let go. Using her mighty, black wings, Demise kept herself aloft while Cyclone circled her, creating a funnel cloud in the process.
On the ground, Twilight and Dulcet charged Cascade and Loam respectively. Loam sneered at Dulcet quickly before vanishing back into the ground.
Startled, Dulcet looked all around her at the mud beneath her hooves that on only became visable during the occasional, but frequent, flash of lightning arching across the sky. “Come out, you!”
A muddy torso and pair of hooves sprung out of the ground in front of her, his face grinning wildly as he threw his legs around her neck. “I have a better idea... How about you come in, princess?”
Then, Dulcet let out a muffled scream as she was pulled head first into the mud. Twilight watched in horror as she and Loam disappeared beneath the ground, but she didn’t have time to go after them, because Cascade was on her in seconds.
Tenticals of water sprang onto action, shooting out of the princess in all directions. All at once, they came soaring straight for Twilight, and she instinctively raised a shield with her magic, forming a protective bubble that surrounded her and sunk into the mud. Like heavy arms, the tenticals slapped against the shield, battering the barrier like a drum. With every hit, Twilight groaned under the strain of keeping the shield up. She knew that if she didn’t act soon, the barrier would fall and there would be nothing to stop Cascade from reaching her.
Pointing her horn at the water princess, she waited.
Cascade continued to beat her tenticals against the magical bubble like a drum, probing it for weaknesses. One hit after another, Twilight waited. “Where’s the fight you promised me, Princess Twilight?!”
Drawing her tenticals back, Cascade raised them high above her before bringing them down on top of Twilight. The shield finally cracked under the water’s might, and in that instant, Twilight fired a bolt of magic from her horn. The blinding hot projectile passed through one of the tenticals, slicing it clean off and causing the water to fall in a puddle.
Cascade howled in pain, and the base of the cut tentical writhed before receeding back inside of her. “Twilight...” Her voice sounded lower, more dangerous. “You’ll pay for that... I’ll rip you apart piece by piece...”
Still drained from using so much magic, Twilight could hardly stand straight, let alone fight back. “I... I wasn’t trying to hit that... I was aiming for your head.”
That remark only seemed to enrage Cascade further. Twilight wondered if it was even possible for a mass of water in pony form to boil. Whether or not that could even happen, Cascade was certainly steaming in contrast to the freezing drops of rain that began to fall from the sky.
The princess of water took several steps forward and began circleing to Twilight’s left, and the purple pony’s eyes were locked with the place where the faceless Alicorn’s would have been. Twilight shifted little by little, saving what little remained of her strength but keeping Cascade in front of her. “It’s almost too bad to kill you so soon, Princess Twilight. You won’t live long enough to see the main event...” Keeping her horn level, Twilight forced a weak smile as a taunt to the walking water. “No sly remark this time? Very well...”
Cascade’s horn began to glow a vibrant blue color. “I’ll be sure to give Demise and Dulcet your regards...”
Twilight dig her hooves into the mud and braced herself, hoping to draw just enough energy to deflect the magic coming her way. After that, her future was still a mystery. Cascade let loose her magic and sent a bolt of blue energy sailing towards her. She closed her eyes and concentrated, waiting until she could feel the heat of the magic nearing her face, but the impact ultimately never came.
When she opened her eyes again, an Alicorn stood in front of her with his back turned. His body, smoldering and releasing little crackles of flame, sizzled with each rain drop that fell on him.
Twilight’s jaw dropped. “Blaze...”
The Alicorn prince looked back at her and smiled kindly. “Hello, Twilight...”
Across the hollow, Cascade was recovering from her own speechlessness. “Brother... You traitor!”
This got Blaze’s attention, and he turned back around to face her. “Twilight, get going. Princess Dulcet needs your help.”
She looked back and forth between the Alicorn siblings, fire and water. To say she was worried about him would be an understatement. “What about you?”
Blaze shook his head dismissively. “This is a family matter, Twilight. I need to have a chat with my little sister.”
Twilight could tell from the tone of his voice that he was serious, and she slowly began to back away. Then, she turned and bolted for the edge of the hidden grove as fire and water clashed in the center, great bolts of electricity lighting up the ground as she ran. She was terribly worried about Demise, whom she hadn’t seen in some time, but she needed to find Dulcet first. “Dulcet! Dulcet, where are you?!”
As if on que, the princess of time exploded from the ground, propelled by a force that launched her high into the air before landing back in the mud. The white mare, no longer white and covered head to hoof in mud, coughed and wheezed as she climbed to her hooves. “Twilight, fly!”
She could feel the ground beneath her churning. Twilight spread her wings and took to the air, staying just a little ways beneath the tree tops as Loam rose from the mud where she had just been standing.
Dulcet, still filthy but indistinguishable, joined her in the air. “We can’t fight him on the ground... Wait, is that Blaze?” Twilight grinned at her, answering her question in the affirmative without saying a word. “Well... He certainly is a sight for sore eyes... Twilight, we have to do something about Loam or we’ll never be able to land safely.”
The purple princess’ mind raced for possible solutions, but none stood out above the rest. “Why can’t you use your powers? Can’t you and Demise slow time or something?”
Dulcet shook her head. “Time doesn’t flow here like it does in your world! In a way, time is already stopped! Why else do you think they would challenge us so blatantly...”
She was referring to Cascade and the others. Below, in the grove, a vortex of spiraling fire and water was consuming the surrounding trees. Twilight and Dulcet could see that Blaze’s attention was on Cascade, and his back was to Loam.
“We need to help him.” Before Twilight could object, Dulcet had begun a dive towards the prince of fire.
***
High above the island, Demise was still locked in a fierce battle with Princess Cyclone. With every punch and kick traded between the two mares, brilliant bolts of lightning lit up the raging storm clouds that swirled in the sky. One final push from Demise separated them, giving her a little breathing room.
Then, Cyclone raised her hooves above her head and let out a terrifying scream, summoning a lighting strike that caught Demise in the chest.
She fell.
Half unconscious, Demise plummeted towards the summit of the mountain that peaked over the island. She landed on her back, hard, cutting through rock and earth before coming to a stop near a drop that lead to the forest below. Dazed and jolting slightly from the electricity that pulsed through her, she turned and looked over the edge. Far away, she could see bright flashes coming from the hidden grove.
“Fall...”
Demise bolted upright, certain that she had heard a voice. It sounded distant, but commanding enough to listen to. Above her, she could make out a figure in the clouds. Cyclone was agitating the funnel cloud, upsetting the storm more and a more.
“You must fall...”
It happened again, a voice echoing throughout the mountain top that Demise was certain was not her own. She looked up once again, but this time, Cyclone was coming for her, hooves outstretched and ready. Cyclone was moving incredibly fast, so fast that she had begun to glow as lightning did.
“Fall, now!”
Demise did as instructed this time, and with all the strength she could muster, she threw herself over the edge of the mountain. As quickly as the mountain top shrunk in the distance, the trees on the forest floor rushed up to meet her. The trees seemed to be reaching out for her, their long branches twisting upward. She looked back one last time, and the top of the mountain exploded as Cyclone struck with the force of a bolt of lightning, sending rocks and dust flying in every direction.
Demise prepared herself for a hard impact, but instead crashed through the first layer of leaves and branches with unexpected ease. One by one, thick branches caught and slowed Demise down before dropping her to he next one below until she was placed safely on the forest floor. She observed herself, searching for cuts and bruises that should have certainly been present, but found none. “Wh-Wha... I don’t... What?”
A soft chuckle startled her. “Hmm... You seem surprised, Lord Demise.”
She turned on her hooves to face her savior. “Princess Everfree... It... It’s you!”
The mother of nature offered no smile in return, looking as stern as ever. “Blaze came to me and explained everything. I’m here to help.”
Demise nodded her head and looked up. “That’s wonderful. I could certainly use your help with Cyclone...”
The storm princess stood upon the ruined mountainside, literally sparking with anger as lightning cracked along the sky behind her.
***
Twilight used her wings to shield herself from the waves of fire washing over the ground. Avoiding it was impossible, so she let the flames burn the tips of her feathers and kept running.
Dulcet reached Loam first and caught the prince by surprise, hoisting him up in her hooves and lifting him off of the ground.
“You again?!” He kicked and flailed wildly, finally expanding his wings to startle Dulcet and break free from her grasp.
Loam fell right in front of Twilight, who was quick to lower her horn and unleash several bolts of magic. Wide-eyed, he fell back into the ground and sunk beneath the mud as each magical projectile hit the place he had been sitting just half a moment before.
Twilight let out a frustrated moan and stomped her hoof. “He got away again!”
Dulcet landed next to her. “That’s alright, Twilight. We just need to keep him away from Blaze while he deals with Cascade.”
Both mares turned to watch as the brother and sister fought with the ferocity of a dozen Alicorns.
Cascade’s tendrils of water would try to surround and strike at Blaze, but he would lash out with fire whips, snapping at the water and keeping it at bay. Both seemed evenly matched, but Twilight and Dulcet couldn’t watch for long, because Loam returned, crawling out of the jagged scar that cut through the island. He lunged for Dulcet again, but Twilight stepped in between them and raised a quick shield, causing him to hit it instead and deflect back across the scar.
Loam tumbled and rolled into the trees, but before he could get back up, roots from the trees shot out of the ground and began ensnaring the helpless Alicorn. He screamed in horror as the roots wrapped tighter and tighter around him, eventually gagging his mouth and silencing him, leaving him to wriggle as the trees consumed him.
Cascade saw from across the clearing and began to panic. “Loam!”
One of her tenticals finally hit its mark, and Blaze was hit into the air, crashing hard into the mouth of the cave before falling onto the ground. Dulcet and Twilight were by his side in an instant, helping him back up. “Are you alright, Blaze? Talk to me!”
He nodded, wincing in pain. “Yeah, but that last punch kinda hurt...”
Cascade stood opposite to them on the other side of the scar, staring them down. “Is this all you could muster to stop us, brother?!”
Cocky as ever, Blaze shrugged and cracked a silly grin. “No, the others should be here soon.” Thunder boomed over head, and three bright lights broke through the clouds, descending towards the grove at an incredible speed. “Ah... There they are.”
One by one, the lights impacted the ground, sending dirt and mud in every direction. When the dust settled, Celestia, Luna, and Cadence stood alongside Twilight, Dulcet, and Blaze. Celestia was the first to acknowledge Twilight. “I’m so sorry we lost you... We got here as quickly as we could.”
Luna, on the other hoof, looked more eager to fight. “Did we miss much?”
At this, Twilight and Dulcet shared glances and shrugged. “Yes, actually. We’ve been quite busy.”
Twilight stepped forward, challenging Cascade directly. “It’s over, Cascade. You have to surrender.”
If the princess of water had a face, Twilight was certain she would be frightened, but that wasn’t the case. Cascade began to laugh. It began quietly but quickly grew louder as the moments passed. At the same time, the ground began to quake. Not naturally, but sudden and periodically, like gradual booms growing more and more noticeable and ominous.
“Do you really believe this is over? The battle has only begun, my little princess... Daddy is here, and you all are in a lot of trouble, now.” Cascade roared with laughter as she spread her wings, launching herself high into the air and taking off towards the sea.
Twilight expected Dulcet to give chase, but the white princess was frozen in place. “Dulcet, are we going to let her get away? What was she talking about?”
Every boom was deafening now and sounded like crashing water. “Our father, Oceanos... The king of all Alicorns and lord of the sea...”
Blaze cocked his head. “I thought we all kinda just... appeared.”
Dulcet looked up and shook her head. “No, everything comes from somewhere, and we came from him.” She pointed with her hoof, but nopony needed her help to see what she was talking about.
A colossal Alicorn towered over the island, and each step it took brought it another quarter-mile closer to shore. Like Cascade, it had no expression and consisted entirely of circulating water, only this Alicorn was darker and filled with marine life. His horn cut through the churching storm clouds, and bolts of lightning struck him, arching throughout his body but causing no visable damage.
Everypony was dead silent as they watched the gargantuan Alicorn draw closer, every step causing another quake. Twilight looked over at Dulcet and approached her meekly. “What do we do?”
Dulcet swallowed hard. “We have to stop him. If he reaches Equestria, there’ll be no end to the floods and destruction. He has to be stopped here.”
***
“Did you get him?”
Everfree nodded and puffed her chest out proudly. “Yes, Demise. Loam won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.”
The two mares look a moment to catch their breath under the cover of the forest while Cyclone flew back and forth overhead, summoning lightning to strike the ground wherever she could in order to flush them out.
Demise looked to be in incredible distress as she watched her whole world literally crumble around her. “My poor island... What was I thinking?”
Everfree looked over at her and offered the princess of time a hoof on her shoulder in consultation. “Selfish desire can make a mare perform unthinkable acts, even one as powerful as you.”
A bolt of lightning hit a nearby tree, exploding it into a shower of splinters and flaming wood chips.
Everfree bared her teeth angrily. Every bit of nature contained a piece of her, and destruction on that level caused her physical and emotional pain. “That tears it... I’m going to put that petty princess in her place!”
She raised her horn high, pointing it towards the treetops. The tip began to glow before discharging a bright green bolt of energy that fired through the branches and leaves, catching Cyclone on the wing and knocking her out of the sky. “Ha!”
Demise raised an eyebrow at her. “We’ve been hiding for several minutes now, and you didn’t bother doing that before?”
Everfree didn’t respond, only showing a sly grin before spreading her wings and taking off towards the tops of the trees. Demise followed quickly, and both broke through in time to watch Cyclone fall in the distance as a trail of smoke.
It was then that the realized why all of the excitement at the hidden grove had died down. No longer were flashes of light and fire rising above the trees. Instead, they saw what was approaching the island.
Demise gulped nervously, almost forgetting to keep flapping her wings to stay aloft. “It... It can’t be...”
Without saying another word, she and Everfree raced towards the grove to regroup with their friends.
***
Through the raging storm clouds, Oceanos’ horn began to glow, lighting up the entire sea and island as though the sun were right over it.
That’s when everypony scattered in order to avoid the magic that came sailing towards them like a meteor from the sky. In an instant, the cave and the entire grove were completely destroyed.
Only a gaping hole remained after the dust settled. In the heat of the moment, Dulcet had thrown herself on top of Twilight to shield her from raining debris, and the two locked eyes. “Twilight, I... I only...”
The purple pony smiled, despite the terrible situation they were in. After all they had been through in the short time they were together, something had happened between them. Twilight couldn’t quite put it into words, but there was an aching feeling inside of her that she needed to share with the princess on top of her. “Dulcet, if we make it out of this, there’s something I really want to tell you...”
Dulcet looked very interested and focused, like Twilight was the only thing in the world that mattered. “Yeah?”
Another bolt of magic from Oceanos sailed overhead and impacted the island, causing the ground the shake something fierce. Together, they climbed to their hooves and made a dash for the beach.
Oceanos was still a ways off shore, but distance meant nothing to the lord of all Alicorns.
They stared in awe at his size. “That’s your dad, huh?”
Dulcet nodded slowly. “Yes, and he has always despised ponykind, believing pure-blood Alicorns to be superior. If only Azure were here... She was his wife, the Alicorn queen of the sky, and the only one who could ease his temper. It was Azure who sealed him away so long ago to bring peace to Equestria.”
Twilight’s eyes fell on Dulcet, scanning her for any signs of hesitation. “What happened to her?”
To her surprise, Dulcet merely shrugged. “Not even I know that. Mother dissapeared millions of years ago after locking Oceanos away. Some legends say she became the very air we breath to stop the rising seas from consuming everything.”
Twilight let out a long sigh. “I guess everypony has family trouble from time to time...”
Then, she stepped closer to Dulcet, nearing her to the point where their flanks grazed. This surprised her and she turned to face Twilight. “Whatever happens, I’m with you.”
A weak smile came over Dulcet, and she leaned into Twilight’s neck, nuzzling her affectionately. “Thank you, Twilight Sparkle...”
Another quake as a result from Oceanos’ magic separated them and caused Twilight to stumble and fall into the sand. Dulcet was quick to help her up, offering her hoof. “I... I have a plan, I think, but we need the others to make it work.”
Demise and Everfree flew out of the trees and landed next to them on the beach. They were then joined by Blaze, Celestia, and Luna followed closely by Cadence who stared in awe at the massive Alicorn. “Whoa... Shining is never going to believe this...”
Oceanos let out a low, rumbling sound and reared up on his hind legs before coming back down and stomping his front hooves into the sea.
In addition to the ground-shattering force, a massive wave formed and began rushing towards the beach, growing taller and taller as the distance closed.
Dulcet turned around, putting her back to the wave and facing the Alicorns behind her. “Everypony, listen up! I know I’m about to ask for a lot, but I can’t do this without you. I need everypony to act as a distraction and keep Oceanos occupied, keep him away from the island. That’s the key to his escape.” She looked at her darker counterpart. “Demise, I know that you know what I’m thinking...”
She nodded. “Of course... I’m you, remember?”
Dulcet smiled and nodded her head in return. “Follow close behind me, then. This is where we stop Oceanos for good.”
Together, she and Demise fires off into the sky.
Twilight and the rest were quick to follow them, climbing higher into the air and flapping their wings as hard and fast as they could manage in order to reach the crest of the tsunami. The wave crashed on the island and broke against what little remained of the mountainside, washing everything away.
Only now, this close to the Alicorn king, did Twilight get an accurate sense of how big he really was, flying alongside his horn and majestic mane.
He turned his head from side to side and waved his horn as though he were trying to swat away flies. Bolt after bolt of magic peppered his gigantic form, but they seemed to be little more annoying rather than having any meaningful impact. Luna pulled up along side her and shouted over the wind and rain. “We should be safe from his horn here! Stay close to the back!”
With that being said, the lunar princess banked in the opposite direction and used the magic from her horn to capture Oceanos’ attention as she raced past him. He made a beast-like roar and swatted at her with his hoof, barely missing and only seeming to enrage him.
While she’d been watching Luna’s fancy flying, Twilight flew right into Cascade. The water princess’ tentical caught Twilight in the face, knocking her out of the air and sending her spiraling out of control. She didn’t fall far, instead landing on top of Oceanos on his back.
Twilight gasped and sputtered as she tried to stand upright. Though the Alicorn king was made of water, she didn’t sink like she normally would. She didn’t have time to question it, because several more tenticals came flying at her from out of nowhere.
Twilight blocked the first two with her horn, raising shield to deflect them, but a third pinched her in the chest and sent her down. Her vision was fuzzy, but she could make out a tall figure waltzing towards her.
“Twilight Sparkle, the princess of friendship... You know, we really must stop meeting like this. Otherwise, ponies will start to talk.”
Another tentical shot out from behind her, aiming straight for Twilight’s face. The purple princess bared her teeth and charged her horn, unleashing a blast of energy that broke the tentical, cutting it in half, but another came right after it. It was all she could do to avoid being hit, staying on the defensive. Twilight knew something needed to change, she needed to get in closer.
Tentical after tentical came her way, sweeping under her hooves and over her head, but she jumped and ducked, dodging and weaving to avoid them. “Ahhh! Why won’t you just stand still and die already?!”
Twilight’s horn was smoking from the tip, but she didn’t dare stop using it. She bolted towards Cascade, leaping over tenticals and diving under whips of water. Letting out a courageous cry, Twilight bounded into Cascade with her hooves outstretched. The two princesses connected and went flying towards Oceanos’ rear, rolling and tumbling towards the edge.
Cascade ended up on top, pinning Twilight down with her tenticals while her hoof cut into her jaw. “That was brave of you... Stupid, but brave...” The water princess hit her again. “It’s a shame, Twilight, it truly is. If it weren’t for all of this, I think we could have been really good friends...”
Her tenticals began to slowly wrap around Twilight, squeezing her tighter and tighter. “A-A-At least I... I have friends...”
Cascade laughed maliciously as she squeezed the life out of her. “Yes, I’ve seen them, and to be honest, I’m not impressed. Daddy will reach Equestria, and nopony will stop us this time.”
Twilight squeeked meekly as the water tenticals squeezed around her throat.
Her horn lit up and discharged a bolt of magic. The energy projectile sailed right past Cascade, missing her entirely.
“Is that all? Tell me, Princess Twilight, just what exactly was you plan?”
Twilight spurred water and gurgled something inaudible, so Cascade loosened her grip a little and allowed her to breath.
“What is it? Speak!”
Twilight coughed up water and shook her head. “I... I never needed to beat you... I just needed to distract you so Demise and Dulcet could... could defeat Oceanos...”
Cascade’s eyes widened, and she looked up. “No...”
Twilight saw them, two fuzzy dots, black and white, with the storm against their backs. Spiraling together, they fired town towards Oceanos’ head. With their horns glowing, they each impacted the giant Alicorn, Dulcet passing through his face and Demise cut through the neck, both coming out the other side.
The Alicorn king let out a pained bellow and began to stumble. Cascade spread her wings and cried out. “Noooooooooo!”
Then, she turned on Twilight, her once crystal clear form turning blood red. “You...”
Twilight felt a heavy wind pulling her closer to the edge.
Oceanos was falling, and so was she. “You’re dead!”
Cascade made a desperate dive for Twilight, but the purple mare rolled to her side at the last moment, and both mares went flying off of Oceanos in opposite directions. All the while she fell, Twilight heard a mare’s voice calling her name as the sea came closer and closer. Then, everything went dark.
***Up Next: Azure***