//------------------------------// // Battle Mode // Story: Cory: The Fear of Water // by artman7391 //------------------------------// "So," The thin teacher snickered. "How shall we celebrate?" "Let's have a creme fondue with extra pickle garlic!!" The fat teacher suggested. "No, let's find a bar and get as drunk as possible!!" The gym coach suggested. "Or.." "How about we rebuild another school, and make it even more disciplinary!!" Another teacher suggested, to which they all laughed. "How about we try shutting up!!!" Cozy Glow snapped back at them. "Silverstream is a Hippogriff. Remember?" The former Stiffson Academy faculty were celebrating what seemed to be a victory of their foe, while their deceiving Pegasus leader was still carefully scanning the murky depth below. "There's no way the two could've survived that fall." The coach scoffed back. "If the impact didn't get them the raging waters did." "You clearly haven't been in my world long enough have you?" Cozy Glow asked. "You dare try to question me you winged freak?!!" The Coach spat back. "I'll tear you a new mane for saying that!!" The coach tried to grab Cozy Glow. But she easily flew above him, far beyond his reach. "Now listen you fools." Cozy Glow continued. "If you don't recall what happened a few minutes ago, Silverstream just turned Cory and herself into Seaponies, it's only a matter of time before they pull a trick on us." "Something like this?" Asked a voice from behind them. Before she could comprehend, two fins slapped her against the stomach, pushing her backward and knocking down the rest of the crew like bowling pins. They got up to see two strong Seaponies sitting against the plank, ready for another fight, much to the teachers dismay. "How did you survive that fall?!!" The thin teacher asked. "Love," Silverstream said. "Love always survives in the end." "Oh, isn't this precious?" Cozy Glow mocked. "The little prince and his love, together at last." "I'm not so little any longer Cozy Glow." Cory said in return. "You used me Cozy Glow. That's not what friends do. That's not fair at all." "No it's not." The gym coach scoffed back with gritted teeth. "And neither is THIS!!" The coach tried to punch Cory in the nose, to which he dodged it by an each. As the coach fell head first on the plank, the two lovers jumped back in the water. "GET THEM!!" Cozy Glow shouted. "Uh, how?" One of the teachers asked. "We're up here and..." "Climb back down you idiots!" She replied with her hoof to her face. "This is an alternate realm. Think of something!" The rest of them scrambled to find a way down. So as they clumsily descended down the plank and made a set of imaginary stairs, they say what looked like a little whirlpool starting to form in the center. Cozy Glow flew over the surface for further examination as the other teachers reached the bottom. "What are you plotting down there?" Cozy Glow muttered frustratingly. The fat teacher took a closer look as she bent over towards the water. At first, she saw nothing. But then, without warning, two pairs of fins slapped against her face and pulled her into the water. "HEEELP!!" She shouted. "I CAN'T SWIM!!" "We'll fix that." Said a voice from behind her. Before she could comprehend, she was slapped back once more by two fins and thrown against a concrete wall. Cory could've sworn she saw little birdies spinning around her head. "GET THEM!!" Cozy Glow shouted. The Coach gave a salute and made a dramatic dive into the water. From out of the fog were twisted versions of the students from before, each diving in like synchronized swimmers. Now, Cory and Silverstream found themselves surrounded by manifestations of his past. But he was not afraid any longer. "You are not real!" Cory shouted. "You're just fragments of who I used to fear." "That's right Cory." Silverstream replied. "Let's take them on. Together." The two of them smiled at each other as they slapped, kicked and socked every student that came after them. Though they were many, they were not a threat, as with every blow, they disappeared into lightning and smoke. Cozy Glow was now immensely frustrated at this point. "Do I have to do everything myself!!" She shouted. With those words she flew down and performed a spell on the students, turning them into what looked like mutant squids and octopuses, capable of shooting rays of beaming light from their tentacles. Though the two lovers tried to avert them at first, they were zapped back by those beams. Suddenly, Cory was struck by a near fatal blow, after which he was coiled up in a row of tentacles. "You big BULLIES!!" Silverstream shouted. "How dare you hurt my love!!" "Oh, what a pity." The thin teacher commented. "You'll still have plenty of fish in the sea." With that she snapped her sharp fingernails as the octopus slowly started to stretch Cory by the abdomen. A shocked Silverstream watched in horror as she tried to swim forward, but was pulled by two other squids. Luckily, her crystal necklace gleamed and shimmered a reflecting light onto the octopus's eye, releasing Cory and her from their grasp. The tentacles flew Cozy Glow out of balance and zapped a ray of lighting onto her mane, causing it to burn to cinders. "You...Ruined...My....MAAAANE!!!" She shouted maniacally. She gathered all the mollusks and teachers and formed a cloud around them, causing them to merge into what was appearing to be a terrifying creature of unspeakable proportions. Meanwhile, Silverstream swam to her love, who was falling unconsciously to the depth. As she treaded him to the surface as she looked for signs of a heartbeat, the cloud from afar was beginning to grow bigger and bigger. "Unngh." Cory grunted. "S..Silverstream?" "Oh Cory!" Silverstream cried with tears as she hugged him. "L..Listen." He continued weakly. "You got to get out of here. It's too dangerous." "No, I won't leave you here." "Save yourself. Forget about this place. I have to face this myself." "I'm not leaving without you. You hear me?! Quickly. We gotta find a way out of here." Suddenly, the water around them shook with trembling force. A giant shape that was once Cory's enemies had plunged down. As the two looked into the surface , a large shape grew out of the abyss. Before she could think, Silverstream realized she was sitting on the head of a giant, unspeakable beast, rising like an island out of the water. It let out a rather bellowing laugh, echoing cross the landscape and vibrating the air. She grabbed Cory by her forelegs and jumped off towards a safer part of the pool. By now, Cory had gained a little more strength, but his enemies just grew stronger. The two lovers embraced each other in fear, gazing up at a malformed, hideous, Kraken like creature made out of Cozy Glow, The teachers and the students. The laugh began to fade down as the creature stared at it's prey. "YOU PITIFUL, INSIGNIFICANT FOOL!!" Bellowed the voice. "THINKING YOU COULD JUST ESCAPE YOUR PROBLEMS WITH THE HELP OF YOUR FRIENDS!? DON'T MAKE ME GAG!! NO MATTER HOW THROUGH YOU MAY BE WITH THE PAST, IT WILL ALWAYS COME BITING BACK!!!" The beast blew a large ball of white fire at the lovers, who dived deep and narrowly averted incineration. "AND THE MORE YOU DIVERT IT!!!" The beast shouted. "THE STRONGER IT GETS!!" A few more fireballs flung at them, they missed those as well. "TIME TO SHOW YOU AND YOUR FRIEND IT'S NOT NICE TO FORGET WHERE YOU'RE FROM!! Now a huge ball of blinding light echoed above them. Realize there was no way of escape, they embraced each other lone last time. But as the fire came just a yard from their skin, a large shield surrounded them. The two looked at each other, wondering what just happened. Somehow, Cory's horn and Silverstream's necklace interconnected with a small beam of light, creating a forcefield to protect them. Now confidence truly shined on their faces. "AND IT'S EVEN LESS NICE TO FORGET WHO YOU CAN BE!!" The two shouted together. Dumbfounded, the beast tried to throw one fireball after another, but the forcefield would fizzle it out each time. "TH..THIS CAN'T BE!!" The frightened creature bellowed "HOW CAN YOU BE MORE POWERFUL THAN US!!?" "Because I'm no longer afraid of you." Cory replied. "That's right." Silverstream said. "His courage and our love make a force stronger than any of you big bullies can ever dream of." "I'M GOING TO RIP YOU TO PIECES FOR SAYING THAT!!" Shouted the creature as he lurched forward. But it was pushed far back by the force field. "I've faced my fears dead on." Cory said. "And so did I." Silverstream added. "Losing my love is worse than anything. But I'm not afraid to go into the fire with him." Suddenly circles of light radiated from the forcefield as the two lovers linked each other by the hooves. "We have something far stronger than you will ever have." The two said together. "That is friendship. Friendship is love. And as long as we hold onto that, you can never take it away!" The lights struck down on the beast, nearly pinning it into the water. "Th..This can't be!!" The creature shouted. "THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE!!" "No," Cory said with confidence. "It's true love." "I love you Cory." Silverstream said to him under tears of joy. "I love you too Silverstream." Cory said back as he started to tear up. And with that, the two made a huge wave of colors and light, enveloping the creature until it was no longer recognizable. Before they could comprehend, the two lovers turned into beams of light as well, merging together to become a force of great power. All was bright in it's surroundings, and then, all was quiet and calm.