Swift Light jerked upwards, the mare promptly shaking her head and trying to dismiss the desire to slumber which continued to gnaw at the back of her mind. Looking around, she saw that open water surrounded her, save for directly ahead, where a growing mass of yellow land could be seen growing in the distance. Though her destination was drawing close, so too was the night, and Swift Light wouldn't dare let herself celebrate success quite yet.
After all she was still standing atop the head of a strange angler pony monster the size of a small whale. Who was humming the same tuneless melody that she had been for the last few hours, her great body twisting through the waves with disturbing ease. Her great fins and long tail propelled them forwards, and as the land drew closer, Swift Light’s grip on the sword tightened.
Glancing at the hilt of the blade, she pondered the mystery surrounding the weapon, letting her mind wander back to her conversation with Celestia. Swift Light remembered that this blade would point her to the next object she would need to find but after that things got murky. Would Celestia have more information, or would the guard have to start searching entire cities for any sign of a weird artifact?
More pressing was the fact Swift Light might very well have to work with Starlight Twist of all ponies should she run out of clues. The thought wasn't a pleasant one, and Swift Light vowed to do her best not require the other mare’s assistance. That was provided she made it to the mainland of Saddle Arabia and did not get eaten by the slow moving creature she was riding atop of.
“Hurry up. I know your stalling,” Swift Light shouted, poking the blade of her weapon against the creature’s soft head.
“Such an impatient pony. You should be glad those fish tasted as good as they did otherwise I would have cast you into the dark hours ago,” replied the angler pony in its strange, almost sing- songy voice.
“The sooner you deliver me to the shore, the quicker I will be out of your mane,” Swift Light countered.
The creature hummed. “I suppose. Though I would lose my conversation partner if I had simply sped off to our destination.”
Swift Light grunted. “We have hardly spoken a word to one another in hours.”
“And what a wonderful time that was,” quipped the creature.
Swift Light ground her teeth together and gazed out at the rapidly approaching bit of landmass, her eyes searching for any sign of civilization. When she came up with nothing, the unicorn felt her heart leap into her chest, and a bit of worry wormed its way into her mind. Her pack was light, her provisions mostly spent, and with no sign of a city or town, the possibility of expiring in the desert was unfortunately high.
“Where are you taking me? I thought you said you knew of a port,” Swift Light demanded.
“I said I knew of one, not that I would bring you there,” replied the creature with a gentle chuckle. “You’ll just have to take your chances with either the deep, or the dessert.”
Swift Light’s grip on her sword tightened. “Don't forget that I could kill you in an instant, and I could swim from here.”
“You might be able to, and I might drag you under with me,” pointed out the creature. “Or you could hop on land and at least have the chance of surviving.”
The unicorn didn't like to admit it, but the monster’s proposal made sense. The situation itself wasn't perfect, but the alternatives werent much better, and so with a sigh, she pulled her blade back.
“You have made your point. Drop me by that rocky outcropping, and we will part ways,” offered the unicorn, who pointed her weapon towards the landmark in question.
The angler pony hummed. “A most shrewd decision my friend.”
Without a moment to waste the creature did just that, surging forward until its body was next to a thirty foot outcropping of stone. The jagged wedge of shattered rock stuck out of the landmass like a great tooth, and was flanked on otherside by two similar fangs. This one sported a long flat section unlike the others, making it the perfect place to step down from her place atop the creature.
Leaping nervously from the slick scalp of her traveling partner, Swift Light landed hard, her grip on her weapon nearly faltering in the process. Desperation surged up her limb, and she squeezed down on the important artifact before pulling it close, breathing heavily. Standing up, Swift Light made sure to sheethe the ancient blade before turning around and looking down at the creature which had brought her all this way.
“I would wish you luck, had I any desire to see you live past today. Though I suppose I owe you my thanks,” remarked the guard bitterly.
“Don't be such a baby. You reached your destination in record time, and you’ve surely arrived before whatever dark forces have risen to oppose you. You need not my wishes of luck, though I offer them to you regardless,” countered the monster, who slithered away from the shoreline, her body sinking into the gentle evening waves.
The guard merely grunted, and kicked a bunch of rocks over the side of the cliff before turning away. “Stupid angler whale pony monster thing,” muttered the mare as she began the long trot into the distant dessert.
With no signs of habitation in sight, Swift Light decided to search for some manner of cover from the elements. She hadn't slept in nearly forty eight hours at this point and the siren song of sleep was becoming increasingly hard to fight off. Spotting a slight rise in the landscape not far from the cliff’s edge, Swift Light made her way over to it, hope rising in her chest.
A smile sprung to her face when she saw that a small cave could be seen in the rock, one which went just deep enough to offer excellent protection against the wind. Sprinting over to it, the guard was happy to note that the sand didn't go very deep into the cave, meaning she likely didn't have to worry about waking up buried in the stuff. With that worry out of mind, she looked around and after finding no animal markings or sign of civilized hooves, shucked off her bags.
Unrolling her sleeping gear, the pony took a sip of her cantine before happily climbing into the warm blanket. Suddenly all of life’s small miseries grew smaller still, and the guard found that she wasn't even bothered by her recent change. Her sharp teeth had taken a bit of getting used to, but by then they felt almost normal, which would have bothered the pony, had she not had bigger problems to worry about.
Closing her eyes, the mare quickly found herself drifting off, plans and ideas for her next move rolling around in her mind.