//------------------------------// // Episode 20: "20,000 Leagues Under the Seaquestria" // Story: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Season 13 // by twilightsparkle3562 //------------------------------// … … As a dense fog settled over Mount Aris, the hippogriffs and seaponies spent another day of being on guard for any sign of attack from Grogar's forces. As she slept in her quarters, Queen Novo had a suit of armor on standby along with a harpoon and a shield amongst her other weapons. The hippogriff was more than ready for any sign of trouble, even to the point of staying awake at night (which she did). Groaning, she got out of bed and walked over to her suit of armor, taking her battle helmet into her claws. Novo looked down at it and took in the feeling that danger could strike at any moment. "I will do whatever it takes to defend my subjects," Novo declared in a whispered voice, her eyes locked up to the ceiling. "No matter what. May the maker watch over me and my subjects in the battle to come." Just then, Novo turned her attention out to the open waters. She could see something floating in the distance and a scowl came upon her face for she knew who that was. "Squirk," She seethed. "So, it seems like you are ready to fight at last. And this time, there will be no interference from that loathsome Depth Charge." At that moment, Novo heard a knock on her bedroom door, turning around to face it. "Enter!" She called and General Seaspray, Novo's most trusted military officer, came in. "General, he's here again." "I am aware of that, your highness," Seaspray acknowledged. "Squirk has indeed just returned to launch an attack." "Grogar must have ordered him to carry out an attack against us," Novo said as she prepared to don her armor. "How are our forces?" "They are awaiting your command to strike Squirk." Seaspray replied. "When I give the command, Seaspray, that loathsome creature will feel my fury," Novo declared before asking. "Where is my daughter?" Seaspray immediately answered. "Princess Skystar has been moved to shelter in accordance with your wishes.." "Good, she can stay there until the threat is neutralized," Novo firmly declared before sighing. "If anything were to happen to me…" Suddenly, Novo stopped putting on her armor and had a small epiphany: what if she would not survive the battle to come? That was the question that was going through her mind at a rapid pace. "Your highness?" Seaspray asked, causing Novo to break out of her short trance. "Never mind," Novo corrected herself. "We will defeat the creature Squirk once and for all. Prepare to attack, Seaspray! Return to your post!" "Yes, my queen." Seaspray replied. Bowing to Novo, Seaspray left to return to his post while Novo finished donning her armor. Once again, the thought of being killed and leaving her daughter motherless was going through her mind. … … Off the shores of Mount Aris, Squirk sat underwater as sea creature warriors in the form of sharks continued to arrive. As Squirk watched his forces mobilize, he felt a summons and saw a floating orb floating in front of him. "Squirk?" The voice of Grogar was heard in the orb. "You know what must be done?" "Yes, my lord and emperor," Squirk replied. "The volunteers you are sending me are dedicated to serving me. I will not fail you." "Of course you won't. These soldiers are willing to give up their donkey bodies for those of sharks and each one is a dedicated killer," Grogar's voice added. "Now, give me Mount Aris and bring me Queen Novo as a sign of your accomplishment." Laughing evilly, Squirk watched as the orb disappeared and continued to wait as his makeshift army continued to mobilize. … Meanwhile, Skystar was taken below to a secure location along with Terramar, away from the danger that would soon transpire. "This is so...boring!" Skystar protested as she paced back and forth. "I should be out there fighting alongside Mom! Why won't she let me fight? I've proven myself capable." "Maybe it's because you're next in line to the throne, cousin," Terramar sighed as he laid down on a cot. "I'm just glad Silverstream isn't here to be a part of this. It would bring back bad memories." "Come on, Terramar," Skystar pouted. "You know what I always say: one small thing can make a big difference. I mean, you've heard about me helping to fight against the Storm King, right?" Terramar nodded before replying. "Skystar, your mom wants what is best for you just like what my mom and dad want for me. Besides, I want to be there for my sister when she inevitably comes back here.." Skystar sighed as she continued to pace back and forth around the bunker. She wanted to once again prove herself to her mother that she was more than capable of fighting in the battle. "What do you think Shelly and Sheldon?" Skystar asked her two inanimate seashells friends as they sat on a nightstand. "I think they believe I should fight." "I don't think even if they back you up that your mom will say yes," Terramar nervously declared. "Please, think this over before you do something really crazy." Skystar refused to listen. In her mind, she was going to fight no matter what. But she wasn't sure how. … Up on one of the highpoints of her castle, Queen Novo looked out through a telescope and saw the fog starting to slowly lift off of the ocean. In her mind, she was certain Squirk would strike once the fog had lifted. "The rules of battle are not for Squirk, your majesty," A hippogriff soldier insisted. "Let us attack now while it's dark and we have the advantage.." "No, we will only attack when I give the command," Novo firmly replied. "We attack at dawn and my decision is final." In silence, the soldier backed away and returned to his post. Novo was not going to let any screw up take place as long she was still queen, not after what had happened with Depth Charge." "What does he mean by the rules of battle are not for Squirk?" Novo hissed as Seaspray approached her from behind. "Of course the rules of battle are for Squirk! It's for anycreature that wishes to fight! How dare he say such a thing!" "They all want to have an advantage, your highness." Seaspray spoke up. "Well, nocreature will have an advantage over the other," Novo declared as she donned her battle helmet. "Because…" She then reached into her scabbard and pulled out her sword, pointing it into the sky. "It just does not work that way." But Novo then turned towards the sky and saw that the sun was just starting to come up. At any moment, Squirk would be making his move to conquer Mount Aris for Grogar. "Have our forces be at the ready," She commanded. "The sun is rising." … But back at Vorak's kingdom, Grogar sensed what was happening and decided to up the ante. "Not for long," He laughed, tapping into the powers of his bewitching bell. "It's time to bring nature into its course...mine!" Swaying back and forth, Grogar began chanting an incantation through his bell and on Mount Aris, Queen Novo was shocked and taken aback by the formation of storm clouds. She could feel the wind starting to blow strongly and thunder was heard in the distance! "Grogar must be trying to bring the elements into his favor!" Novo shouted to Seaspray as a strong gust of wind blew at her armor! "He's trying to weaken us, but we are much stronger than he is! No matter what, no one abandons their post! Understand? "As you command, your highness." Seaspray reluctantly replied. From beneath the sea, Squirk readied his tentacles and sinisterly growled at the approaching conflict. Sensing this, the donkey turned shark soldiers heeded their commander's call. "Prepare to attack!" He commanded. "Now, advance!" Moving forward, Squirk and his platoon advanced slowly towards Seaquestria where the Seaponies defending the underwater city readied themselves to attack. Waiting for the moment to strike, the underwater forces of Queen Novo mentally prepared themselves for what was to come. "As they get closer," A seapony commander said to the soldiers, raising his sword high into the air and judging their movements. "Commence firing!" Acting on his orders, the Seaponies opened fire on Squirk, throwing spears and firing rocks at his army. But Squirk was prepared. Letting out a loud roar and extending his tentacles, he grabbed at whatever seapony he could get. He eventually managed to grab one seapony and throw him to the ground, beating him into submission! The shark/squid hybrid then looked up to the surface and proceeded to jump towards it. "You half deal with these creatures!" Squirk shouted, turning to a group of sharks that had not been able to attack yet. "You half come with me! Novo is mine!" "Don't let him get to our queen!" The seapony commander shouted, and one of the seapony soldiers threw a spear at Squirk, which deflected off of him. Others attempted to strike at Squirk, but their weapons were not enough as the shark soldiers lunged their teeth into some of the seaponies. … Meanwhile, as the rain came down Novo could see Squirk moving faster and faster towards the surface! Raising her sword, she let out a loud shriek that could be heard throughout Mount Aris! This gave the rest of the forces the signal to ready their weapons. Letting out another shriek, Novo motioned for the hippogriffs to begin firing their weapons at Squirk. "Aim for the eyes!" Novo screamed. "That's where he's vulnerable!" But the harpoons missed their target and a frustrated Novo grabbed a harpoon and took to the air, much to Seaspray's shock. "Your highness!" Seaspray shouted over the roar of the winds, trying to get Novo's attention. "Please wait!" But he received no reply. As Novo got into the air, Squirk emerged from the water and roared loudly, causing some of the hippogriffs to fall deaf from the loud noise. But Novo was not afraid. Raising her harpoon, she aimed it right at the weak spot between Squirk's eyes. Screeching loudly, Novo threw the harpoon, but it missed its target. Frustrated, Novo flew back down to retrieve another arrow, but Squirk waited for the opportunity and thrust one of his tentacles at her! "MY QUEEN, WATCH OUT!" Seaspray shouted, but it was too late as the tentacle wrapped around Novo! Angered at what just happened, Seaspray gathered several other hippogriffs and prepared to do battle with the dangerous sea creature. "You're all with me! The rest of you deal with the sharks! Don't let them win!" Doing as they were told, the party split up and Seaspray led the charge against Squirk, taking to the air as he was determined to save his queen at all costs! … … At the same time, Skystar overheard the commotion and the cries of war. "Did you guys hear that?" She asked, turning to face Shelly and Sheldon with a look of fear in her face and a sound of fear in her voice. " Sounds like Mom's in trouble!" Just then, the sounds of thunder and a flash of lightning were heard, further causing fear to flow through Skystar's veins. "Aunt Novo's in trouble?!" Terramar cried, suddenly climbing out of bed and seeing several hippogriffs race out of the bunker. "Is that why everygriff…?" But Skystar silenced her cousin with her wing and saw the two guards guarding the shelter still standing at their posts. "On the count of three, we move," Skystar whispered, leaving Terramar with no choice but to comply with his cousin. "Ready? One...two...THREE!" Charging, Skystar threw open the door and pushed the two guards aside, throwing them into the walls on either side of the shelter. "Sorry, but this is important don't you know? I have to save Mother!" She apologized. Just then, Grogar could sense that Skystar and Terramar were joining in and decided to up the ante further. Tapping into the powers of his bewitching bell once more, Grogar began to cast another spell on Squirk. Seaspray and the hippogriffs trying to free Novo from Squirk's grasp were shocked at what they were seeing! Squirk was beginning to grow before their eyes! "Impossible!" Seaspray gasped as cold rain hit him in the face while one of Squirk's tentacles sent a hippogriff soldier flying down hard! But he knew he had to stay focused on saving his queen. Taking to the air, Seaspray charged to his queen. Avoiding the other tentacles, he took an axe he held in his claws and began to try and free Novo by attempting to cut the tentacle holding her. "Hang on, your majesty!" Seaspray cried as he began to cut into one. Reacting to the pain, Squirk turned towards what was happening and taking a deep breath, fired several spurts of ink, hitting Seaspray and sending him crashing into the waters below. "Kill him you fools!" Squirk shouted to the shark soldiers below as he attempted to further crush Novo! "Now's your chance! … Arriving on the scene, both Skystar and Terramar were stunned by the sight of Squirk! "MOM!" Skystar shouted over a thunderclap and she could see her mother, tied up in Squirk's grasp! "Mom, hold on! I'll save you!" But before Skystar could act, Squirk threw another hippogriff at her and Terramar, nearly flattening both of them! Seizing a moment, Terramar checked on the hippogriff and found a site that made his very fur crawl. "Skystar!" Terramar shouted, a look of his own fear frozen onto his face. "His face...it's gone!" Fearing that was going to be happening to her mother, Skystar grabbed a harpoon on the ground and charged towards Squirk. "Hey, fish face!" She shouted, catching Squirk's attention. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size, you big bully?!" "Skystar!" Novo gasped even as the tentacle tightened its grip on her lungs. "How dare…" Growling, Squirk lunged forward at Skystar, opening his jaws and attempting to devour her! "I shall kill your daughter first before I deal with you!" Squirk shouted, trying to sink his teeth into Skystar. "Save the princess!" A hippogriff soldier called from a high cliff and several hippogriffs flew down from their post, each of them trying to hit Squirk. But Squirk was prepared, throwing his tentacles at the soldiers and spitting black ink, sending whoever was hit into the water below! Still, Skystar was determined to fight as she narrowly escaped Squirk's teeth. She was certain that there was only one way to save her mother. "Terramar!" She shouted down to her cousin. "Cover me!" Terramar gasped and blinked in confusion. "What?! Cover you?!" "Just try and clear a space for me to hit the eyes or something like that!" Skystar shouted back to him. "You've got to distract him!" Trying to remember what was just said, Terramar flew around and attempted to battle Squirk's enormous tentacles. Meanwhile, Skystar flew down and grabbed one of her mother's spears in preparation for another attack. But Squirk knew what his foe was trying to do, and was determined to stay one step ahead of her. Taking a deep breath, he fired several spurts of ink at Skystar, which the crafty hippogriff narrowly dodged. Seizing an opportunity, Skystar then turned her attention to the waters below and dived in at breakneck speed! Assuming her seapony form, Skystar battled the shark soldiers standing in her way by punching them and headbutting them in the face. The shark soldiers were too busy battling other seaponies to realize Skystarwas bearing down on them until it was almost too late. They fought back valiantly, but Skystar managed to escape their clutches after knocking a few of them out. "Forget it," A shark soldier said at last. "We'll leave Squirk to deal with her. Let's finish off the seaponies here while we still can." Skystar, meanwhile, came up out of the water again and regained her hippogriff form. Then she suddenly noticed what appeared to be a small hole in Squirk's back. "He's got a missing scale," She thought to herself. "On his back! Better use this to my advantage!" Clutching her mother's spear, Skystar took a deep breath and threw the spear at the open spot on Squirk's body! But the spear missed. "Terramar!" Skystar shouted as she tried to think fast! "On his back! He's got a weak spot!" Watching from his throne via a crystal ball, Grogar sensed this revelation and what it would mean. "I don't think so, young hippogriff!" He shouted, and through his bell he tried to warn Squirk! "Squirk, finish her off before she can exploit your weakness! Her death will demoralize the rest!" Growling, Squirk roared and sharply turned to Skystar, throwing her off and nearly causing her to crash into Mount Aris! Racing down to her aunt's weapons, Skystar grabbed a quiver of arrows with one of them being a black arrow. After just barely regaining her senses, Skystar managed to swoop down and clumsily throw the quiver onto her back. She then grabbed an arrow and fired one at Squirk without looking, managing to hit him in the side. "I hope this works." She whispered to herself as the storm continued to rage on. Skystar knew she had to work fast if she was to save her mother from Squirk's grip! … … With her mother's arrows on her back, Skystar began firing arrows at Squirk in an attempt to distract him. Finally, she came around and saw the bare spot again on Squirk's back. "Skystar!" Novo cried, trying to look at her daughter. "Skysta…" Knowing that her mother was more than likely suffocating from Squirk's tight grip, Skystar realized her time was running out. That meant that there was only one thing to do! She had to hit the weak spot and fast! "There's only one way to save you, Mom!" Skystar declared as she grabbed the black arrow from the quiver. Taking another deep breath, Sky pointed the arrow right at the weak spot, hoping that the arrow would hit its mark. Closing her eyes, she fired the arrow and to her, it seemed like an eternity for it to hit. Looking up at her daughter, Novo realized that she was near death from lack of oxygen. She closed her eyes, preparing for the end. Then, suddenly, she heard a loud roar of pain and the tentacle beginning to loosen its grip on her. She then was released and fell down into the water below as Squirk roared loudly in agony and turned towards Skystar. "Wretched child!" Squirk shouted, attempting to fire ink at Skystar! "I shall kill you for this!" As Squrik attempted to attack Skystar, Terramar saw that Squirk's armor was beginning to chip away. "His armor! It's chipping away!" He shouted to the other hippogriffs and seaponies that were not busy dealing with Squirk's forces. "Aim for the exposed areas, quick!" Taking Terramar's suggestion, the army threw spears into the exposed areas as Squirk continued to roar loudly in pain while trying to kill Skystar. But with each exposed area that was hit, Squirk began to grow weaker and weaker even as he swatted away several hippogriffs and seaponies. Eventually, he lunged at Skystar one last time and opened his jaws. Then with one last breath, he fell forward and wound up hitting the ocean below. Squirk, the king of the seas, was dead. … … Once Squirk had been defeated, Grogar's storm faded away and the hippogriffs were left to pick up the pieces, tending to their small number of wounded and burying their considerable amount of dead. Meanwhile, Novo had been recovered from the sea and was back in her quarters. Opening her eyes, she saw Skystar and Terramar along with Seaspray hovering over her. "Mom?" Skystar cried with tears in her eyes. "Mom, it's me! Skystar!" "I...I know you are here…" Novo coughed, her eyes weakly opening. "You...disobeyed me!" "But Aunt Novo, she saved your life!" Terramar protested. "She found Squirk's weakness and…" Weakly, Novo silenced her nephew by holding a claw. "Yes, yes Terramar," She gasped, her eyes still locked on Skystar. "I...I was wrong about you, Skystar. I should have known you were capable of defending yourself. Perhaps...this is one of those times where...I'm glad you disobeyed me. I can't believe I owe you my life." Feeling the satisfaction bestowed upon her, Skystar smiled through her tear stained eyes. It seemed like for the first time in her young life, her own mother was starting to realize Skystar's capabilities. "Oh Mom…" Skystar cried, throwing herself on her mother's bed as Terramar and Seaspray looked on. "I love you so much!" … Meanwhile, as the hippogriffs and seaponies marked their defeat over Squirk, Grogar was now brooding over his minion's failure. "My emperor?" King Sombra called as Grogar beckoned him to come into the throne room. "...You summoned me?" "Yes, Sombra," Grogar answered. "Squirk failed to carry out the mission assigned to him. Although his army successfully thined the ranks of the hippogriffs and seaponies, he was unable to kill their queen. Please ensure that any survivors from his platoon are severely punished. They had a chance to stop his killer and they let her get away." Sombra gulped. "All of them, my emperor? They're some of our best soldiers when they were donkeys." Grogar stomped a hoof down! "You dare ask me to repeat the order?!" Sombra said nothing and merely backed away in slight fear. "Good," Grogar remarked. "And be warned that if any more in our ranks fall to our enemies, anyone who survives shall suffer the same fate. And those that refused to be punished…" Grogar then turned his attention over to Scarface, growling at Sombra. "Shall be left to deal with my pet. Is that clear?" "I shall do as you command, my emperor." Sombra said, bowing slightly at Grogar before turning away to leave the throne room. Even as Grogar's second-in-command, Sombra couldn't help but feel nervous at what Grogar had planned for him and the other members of the Legion of Doom. Once Sombra had gone, Grogar got up from his throne and proceeded over to his map to plan his next attack, hoping that he would succeed the next time Squirk had failed. Soon, Grogar would launch his next attack, hoping for better success. … ...