//------------------------------// // The Seafloor Palace // Story: Filly Fluttershy: Uprising // by Phazon //------------------------------// Chapter 7: The Seafloor Palace Fluttershy galloped through the familiar dark hallway and jumped out of the portal that opened for her. Now that the recent Rainbow Dash incident had been resolved, at least temporarily, she was now about to begin what she expected would be a less unusual mission. Of course, she didn’t know that for certain, especially since Celestia rarely gave any proper briefing until she was already in the air. Once she stepped out of the portal, she found herself flying over an expansive desert. Her flight path dipped downward, and she descended from the cloudless sky toward the desert below. “We need to refocus our efforts on Nightmare Moon,” Celestia said, “so today’s target is Tanatos, god of death.” “Tanatos?” Fluttershy asked as she leveled out and flew over the sands just beneath her. “Do I need to know anything about him?” “When I last fought Nightmare Moon, Tanatos took the form of a purple sea serpent alongside her,” Celestia said. “He’s quite the shapeshifter, you see, and that was his… ‘look’ back then.” “Great fashion sense,” Fluttershy deadpanned. Six Monoeyes swarmed ahead of her while a group of Paramushes slowly rained down. Equipped to Fluttershy’s foreleg was the Electroshock Arm, a bronze-looking weapon worn over the leg with a yellow and blue muzzle that fit over her hoof. She aimed her weapon at the monsters and took them out with a few electrical shots. “If he’s the god of death, he must be pretty important in the Underworld Army.” “He possesses a key to the Underworld, and he’s leading Nightmare Moon’s invasion of the sea.” “So I’ll be fighting his forces in the sea? How am I supposed to do that?” “Just use your gills,” Celestia said. “Tell me, Fluttershy, how are you with branchial respiration?” Two Shildeens and a Mega Mussel flew in front of her, along with a Gloomerang, a creature with a large, crescent-shape blade over its head. But Fluttershy was too shocked to notice them. “It’s finally happened,” she said. “You’ve finally gone insane.” “Okay, just hold your breath then… for about two hours.” “I don’t want to do this mission anymore,” Fluttershy murmured. The other monsters drifted away, but five Monoliths floated into Fluttershy’s path and hurled themselves at her. Fluttershy started paying attention again just in time to see and evade them. As soon as the last Monolith passed her, the smell of salt water reached her. “Ah, I can smell the ocean.” “We’re heading to Tanatos’ base, the Seafloor Palace,” Celestia said. After flying over a large sand hill, Fluttershy finally saw the shoreline, now less than half a mile away. “Y-You were kidding about holding my breath, right?” she said. “Please tell me you were kidding.” “Watch and learn, my little pony,” Celestia said. “Witness the true power of the Goddess of Light!” Within the next few seconds, Fluttershy reached the shoreline and saw a furrow in the ocean, extending from the shoreline to the horizon. The furrow started to deepen and expand, and within seconds, the ocean was separated by a massive trench as far as she could see. “Whoa,” she whispered almost inaudibly. “You’ve outdone yourself, Princess Celestia.” “Next stop, the Seafloor Palace.” With the power of flight, Celestia guided Fluttershy into the trench. Six Komaytos appeared ahead of her and lunged at her one by one, but she swatted each one with a swing of her weapon. “This is amazing,” Fluttershy said. “I didn't know you could do anything like this." “What can I say?” Celestia laughed nervously. “I’m an overachiever.” “Ho, now!” a voice echoed between the walls of seawater. “Just one second there, lassie!” “W-Who’s that?” “Oh, I didn’t think you’d be listening,” Celestia chuckled. “Fluttershy, this is Poseidon, the god of the sea.” A number of Zurrets were positioned up ahead, each one several yards away from the last. Fluttershy dodged their spiraling shots until she was close to shoot each one down. “So that sea-parting business was…” “’Twas obviously my doing, silly foal,” Poseidon said. “To pull off an attack on the Seafloor Palace, I went to the sea god himself,” Celestia said. “Now that makes sense,” Fluttershy said. “I wouldn’t allow anyone else to part my ocean,” Poseidon said, “In fact, I’ve half a mind to put it back together.” “No!” Fluttershy said. “Please don’t do that.” “She’s only joking, Fluttershy,” Celestia said. “We gods like to have a little fun. Why else would I have lied about parting the seas?” “Oh… okay,” Fluttershy murmured. Up ahead, a group of Octos and Gyrazors went into formation in between the walls of water. Each Gyrazor fired a multitude of thin, needlelike shots across the trench to block Fluttershy’s path while the Octos blew smoke rings at her. Fluttershy flew through each ring and fired at the monsters, making sure to shoot the Gyrazors first. After taking out the last of the Octos, Fluttershy reached a deep chasm in the ocean floor. She found herself looking down the chasm, but the further she looked, the darker it became. After a certain point, what little sunlight was reaching into the trench couldn’t reach the bottom of the chasm. Any anxiety that Fluttershy felt as she stared deep into the abyss intensified when her body was angled into the chasm. “We’re going deeper now,” Celestia said. She guided Fluttershy into the chasm just as five Komaytos emerged from it. They reached her one by one, only to be struck by her arm when they came close. However, despite going deeper into the abyss, the lighting did not grow dimmer. If anything, the chasm was now well illuminated by a soft yellow light. The light flickered against the walls with each flap of her wings, making her realize that she had actually brought this light source with her. Fluttershy used to light to survey the trench around here. There was very little to see outside the trench. The rushing waters on either side made it too difficult to see through them. In front of her, the walls of the chasm occasionally revealed alcoves. Inside each alcove, she could make out a few stone columns before descending further. At the bottom of the chasm, Fluttershy entered a large cavern, only to be ambushed by Underworld monsters. To her left were a platoon of Miks, Gyrazors, and a Minos. To her right were Monoeyes, another Minos, and a few Commylooses, orange cephalopod creatures that had already produced missiles to fire at her. “Despite your mischievous ways, you should know you have my full support,” Poseidon said. “The dark forces were trouble enough when they were contained in the Underworld. But extending their reach to my sea is completely unacceptable. Forcing back the Underworld falls under your jurisdiction, Goddess of Light. Do not disappoint me.” “You have my word,” Celestia offered. With the last Gyrazor destroyed, she guided Fluttershy out of the cavern and across the ocean floor. Fluttershy surveyed the area as she flew over it. Numerous columns and stone structures were strewn about, and on closer inspection, she found that the ground appeared to have been paved a long time ago. “I guess this used to be a city?” Fluttershy asked. “Yes, but I sunk it long ago,” Poseidon said. Fluttershy paused. “You... what?” she asked. “Celestia, I do hope your mortal soldier isn’t questioning a god of my station,” Poseidon said. “These Earth ponies made the very same mistake, and I was forced to put them in their place.” “Fluttershy, we have out priorities,” Celestia said. “Our mission is the Underworld.” Fluttershy remained silent. She soared over the ruins of the sunken city, all the while hoping that she could put it behind her as quickly as possible. Her attention was pulled from the ruins when a Zuree lunged in front of her. The monster’s sudden appearance caused her to flinch and inadvertently fire at it. A few seconds passed before she realized that it wasn’t attacking her, and she looked up to see where it had gone, only to kill a second one that suddenly appeared in front of her. By the time she looked up again, Celestia had finally led her away from the sunken ruins. Beyond the ruins, patches of coral grew along the ocean floor and were now exposed by the partition made in the sea. Fluttershy gazed at each patch as she flew, though she tried to ascend a bit to avoid crashing into the first few. “This coral is so beautiful,” she said quietly. “True, but don’t forget the old saying that every rose has its thorn,” Celestia said. “Try to avoid barreling into them.” “Um, could you maybe let me fly a little higher so that I don’t crash into them?” Fluttershy asked. “I mean, it’s just…” “If they’re in your way, you can always try shooting them to clear a path,” Celestia added. Fluttershy angled slightly left to avoid another close call with a coral patch. “Y-You don’t have a vendetta against coral, do you?” “No, not at the moment,” she joked. “O-kay…” Fluttershy had very little time to question Celestia before she was finally led past the last of the coral. After breathing a sigh of relief, she reached the very bottom of the sea and continued on her flight path. “We’ve arrived at the ocean floor,” Celestia said. “Only a little longer until we reach the palace. From there, we’ll defeat Tanatos and take his key to the Underworld.” Blocking Fluttershy’s path were three Monoeyes each sitting on a Monolith and a Snong, an elephantine monster consisting of a head and two front legs. The Snong levitated its legs toward her, the pads of its feet facing each other. Fluttershy focused on this monster first, firing at it while trying to swerve away from its legs. Moments before the Snong’s legs could catch her between them, she finally took out the creature, causing the two legs to idly float away. Fluttershy was about to turn back to the other monsters when an attack from one of the Monoeyes collided with her. She winced at the attack, and a second shot struck her side, causing her to spin off course. Fluttershy nearly crashed into one of the walls of water, but managed to regain control and flew back on course. She fired a charge shot at the first Monoeye, two shots at the second, and dodged an attack from the third one before killing it. The three Monoliths retreated without their riders, and within seconds, a structure became visible in the distance. “Look!” Celestia said. “So that’s the Seafloor Palace,” Fluttershy said. She flew over the building and circled around it. The Seafloor Palace was a rectangular building with four arched structures extending to its pointed roof, apparently put in place for aesthetics instead of support. Despite residing deep within the ocean, the teal edifice retained a smooth, polished appearance. “I thought it’d be covered in barnacles and kelp, but it’s actually very nice.” “I will be closing up the sea now,” Poseidon said. “It should wipe out any Underworld stragglers.” “Just give us one more moment,” Celestia said. She quickly guided Fluttershy toward the entrance of the Seafloor Palace. * * * * * * * * * * Fluttershy landed softly in the main hall of the Seafloor Palace. The doors were already sealed shut behind her, which had quickly been followed by the sound of rushing water against the palace exterior. “The sea is closed now,” Celestia said. “My work here is finished,” Poseidon said. “Good luck, you two.” “Thanks for your help,” Fluttershy murmured. A Wave Angler fired at her, but she dodged to the left and returned with a charge shot. She fired a few more shots to finish it off and started to explore the hall. “Oh, goody! Guests!” a voice exclaimed throughout the palace. “Protecting an impregnable fortress can get awfully lonely.” Fluttershy listened in on the voice, which distracted her from a nearby Snowman. The icy, bipedal monster unleashed a blast of cold breath at Fluttershy, encasing her within a layer of ice. “Is that you, Tanatos?” Celestia said. “Actually, I go by Thanatos now,” the voice echoed. “Let me guess,” Celestia said with an eye roll. “The extra H is for… h-amazing.” “Actually, leaving out the H was a twenty-five year-old typo,” Thanatos said. “You can blame the translators for that.” Within the main hall, Fluttershy had managed to thaw herself out. She shivered while looking around for the Snowman. “Ooh, is this your little helper, Celestia? I’m sure you’ve told her all about me.” “Uh, no, not really,” Fluttershy said. She fired a charge shot at the Snowman and galloped toward it to shatter it with her arm. “Oh! I’m wounded! Truly I am! I know it’s been a while, but surely you haven’t forgotten your old foe?” “I have many old foes, Thanatos,” Celestia said. “Some more memorable than others, and many of whom we’ve already crushed. You know that, so just give us the key to the Underworld, and we won’t be forced to harm you.” “Impatient as always, I see!” Thanatos said. “But since you’ve come all this way, wouldn’t you like to stay and catch up for a bit? Oh, pretty please?” “So you’re not going to give up the key.” “No need to get all huffy now,” he said. “I’ll have you know that I much prefer honey to vinegar! And I prefer witty repartee to any condiment!” Fluttershy made her way up a set of stairs and made her way to the second floor balcony of the main hall. “This is getting nowhere,” she said. “Our goal here is to track down Nightmare Moon, right?” “Yes, Thanatos is basically Nightmare Moon’s second in command,” Celestia said. “That’s why he has the only key to the Underworld.” “I have no such thing!” Thanatos insisted. “None whatsoever! Honestly, honestly.” “How did this guy get to be Nightmare Moon’s second in command?” Fluttershy muttered. “Seniority?” Celestia suggested, equally uncertain. “Helloooo?” Thanatos bellowed. “It’s rude to exclude!” “If Thanatos won’t give up the key, we’ll have to take it from him, right?” Fluttershy asked. At the top of the stairs, she walked through a door and entered a long rectangular hall on the second floor. The hall was mostly empty, but on the right side, she saw two Wave Anglers and a Gyrazor lined against the wall. “The longer we wait, the more we have to lose,” Celestia agreed. “We need to strike soon.” “Yoo hoo! Can you hear me?” Thanatos interjected. “I’d like to be a part of this conversation please!” “Shut up already,” Fluttershy said. “Me?! But you’ve been talking this whole game!” On any other day, Fluttershy might have offered to be quieter from that point on. However, in addition to Thanatos’s demeanor, she was also busy attacking two Shemum urns that had appeared after she defeated the other three monsters. After clearing the hallway, she found a door at one end of it, to the left of where she had entered. On the other side of the door was a set of stairs that lead down. At the bottom of the stairs was a small chamber with a platform in the center of the floor. Fluttershy stepped onto the platform, which immediately rose out of the ground. The platform passed through a circular hole in the ceiling and stopped when it reached the next floor, which just happened to be in the middle of the main hall. “I think I just went around in a circle.” she said. “Yes, but you’ve also unlocked a door in this hall,” Celestia said. “Keep exploring the palace.” There was a door on either side of the main hall. Both doors were locked when Fluttershy first entered the palace, but the door on the left was now unlocked. Fluttershy left the main hall through the door on the left, and almost slipped when she entered the next room. Beneath her hooves, the entire floor was covered in ice. “Whoa, slippery.” “Isn’t skating just delightful?” Thanatos said.” “I wish my domain had a skating rink,” Celestia mused. Fluttershy fired at a Snowman in the center of room while listening. “Uh, yeah…” she murmured. “That would be… great.” Two large blocks of ice were embedded in the center of the room. Fluttershy gingerly moved across the ice toward the blocks, but hid behind them when she saw two more Snowmen on the other side. Neither one had seen her yet, which she confirmed when she peeked from behind the block. She stood carefully on three legs and aimed her arm a few inches to the right of one of them. Her charge shot homed in on its target, maneuvering around the corner of one of the ice blocks and hit the Snowman from behind. Fluttershy waited for her weapon to charge up and fired again. Fluttershy’s attack caught the attention of both monsters, and she hid again while they headed toward her. Before they could turn the corner and find her, she jumped out, punched them with the Electroshock Arm, and ran past them. Both Snowmen were thrown back by the attack, and by the time either one recovered, Fluttershy had already slipped through the door at the end of the room. Fluttershy entered the palace’s main elevator, which started to ascend as soon as she stepped onto it. The elevator rose slowly, and while she waited, she noticed that the elevator shaft reached up to the palace's third floor. “Now approaching… the second floor,” Celestia said. The elevator rose up to the second floor and continued on. “Now passing… the second floor.” “This play-by-play really isn’t necessary,” Fluttershy said. A few more seconds passed. “Now approaching… the third floor,” Thanatos chimed in. Neither pony responded. Fluttershy quietly stepped off the elevator when it stopped. “Are you two ignoring me?” Fluttershy entered through the next door and found herself on the third floor balcony overlooking the main hall. The area was fairly empty, except for a Shelbo floating in her path. She waited for the monster to open its mouth before firing a charge shot at its eye. A few more shots killed the creature before it could pull her in and she continued on. “How do you like that weapon, Fluttershy?” Celestia asked. “It’s okay, I guess,” Fluttershy said. “But I really wish it had a longer range.” “Arms are primarily designed for close-combat,” Celestia lectured. “Their short range and powerful melee attacks are a testament to that. Fortunately, they don’t reduce your agility, despite their size.” Fluttershy stopped to examine her weapon. The arm wasn’t much larger than a piece of armor and fit over her entire foreleg. Joints were fitted into knee and shoulder to minimize any loss to her leg’s range of motion. “It doesn’t seem much bigger than any other weapon I’ve used.” “That’s because the author had to scale down some of its dimensions. Most of these arms are actually larger than your entire body, and he was certain that you would tip over if you were forced to wear the original.” “Is that why it took him until this chapter to feature one?” “More or less. Now let’s keep moving.” Halfway across the balcony, Fluttershy noticed two treasure chests. She remembered a previous conversation about treasure lying around in plain sight, and examined both of them from a distance. The first one was placed off to the side, and she could easily continue on without going anywhere near it. The second one was placed directly in her path, and she’d have to walk up to it whether it was a trap or not. Fluttershy slowly approached the second treasure chest, but she didn’t get very close to it before she noticed something strange about the floor. There were lines on the floor directly in front of the treasure chest. They extended across the width of the balcony, but they were barely noticeable unless she looked at just the right angle. “I think there’s a trapdoor here.” “So there is,” Celestia added. “It looks like it’s positioned directly above the second floor balcony. You’ll have to drop down from here to continue on.” “Actually, it doesn’t seem that far across,” Fluttershy said. “If I can jump far enough, maybe I can make it across and skip half the level.” “The author tried that once, using the Jump Glide power,” Celestia said. “Unfortunately there’s an invisible boundary on the other side of the trap door, and he slowly floated down through the trapdoor anyway.” “So should I just walk into the trap and pretend to be surprised?” Before she could get an answer, the trapdoor fell open, even though there was nothing standing on it. Fluttershy looked down into the gap in the balcony, not looking particularly impressed. “I wouldn’t bother at this point. Just jump down and keep going.” Fluttershy peered down at the balcony below. After a few seconds of hesitating, she dropped down and landed on the second floor. “About the Jump Glide,” Celestia added. “Has the author introduced the game’s customizable powers in any of the chapters yet?” “No, not yet.” There was very little on the second floor balcony as well, aside from two Commylooses. At the end of the balcony, Fluttershy entered the next room and found three more enemies, two Octos and a third monster consisting of a shell and two arms. The third monster appeared to be sucking in air through a hole in its shell, but Fluttershy didn’t feel any sort of pull from it. “That mollusk-like enemy is called a Vakloom,” Celestia said. “It absorbs the energy of ranged attacks and fires it back as a laser. Until it fires at you, its head is protected by that armored shell.” The two Octos fired rings of smoke at Fluttershy, but she stood still, allowing the rings to pass around her. The idea of making it attack her to expose its weak point made her uneasy. However, she also noticed the two limbs extending from the monster’s shell. The two Octos fired at her again, and after cowering on the ground the avoid getting it, she galloped past the Vakloom and struck one Octos with her arm. Another melee attack killed the second Octos, leaving only the Vakloom for Fluttershy to attack. Fluttershy moved toward the Vakloom, opting not to fire any shots at it. The Vakloom’s two limbs swayed from left to right as it floated around, and Fluttershy had to duck to avoid getting whacked in the head by one of them. Once she could bring herself to attack, she swung her arm three times at the monster’s limbs. Each strike sent a powerful electric current through the Vakloom’s body, electrocuting it by the time the third attack connected. The Vakloom vanished upon dying, and with the room cleared of enemies, a small platform started glowing on the other side of it. Fluttershy approached the platform, which also rose out of the ground once she stood on it. “Keep on trooping, little trooper!” Thanatos announced, finally speaking after an unusually long period of silence. “I’m curious about something, Thanatos,” Celestia said. “Yeeess?” “You are the god of death, are you not?” she asked. “And if the Underworld is the land of the dead, why don’t you outrank Nightmare Moon?” “I’m not really interested in climbing the corporate ladder,” he said. “You wouldn’t believe the amount of overtime you have to put in. Plus, that sort of strict hierarchy isn’t the Underworld style.” “You’re avoiding my question.” “Uh, what was that?” Thanatos said. “Y-You seem to be cutting out! La la la la! I can’t hear you!” “It’s hard to get a good read on him…” Fluttershy said. “I can’t tell if he’s weird or just dim.” Thanatos didn’t seem to hear her, instead opting to repeat certain utterances in an attempt to drown out the conversation. “A-wa-wa-wa-wa-wa.” “The two aren’t mutually exclusive,” Celestia said. The platform finally stopped after reaching a different floor. Fluttershy stepped off the platform and looked around. To her left, there was a circular platform with a light surrounding it. As she approached the platform, she also noticed a treasure chest near it, as well as a gap in the floor behind the chest. She realized that she was on the third floor balcony again, only this time she was on the other side. She continued to approach the treasure chest, only more slowly this time. If it turned out to be a trap, she was ready to jump onto the circular platform, which was likely to be another elevator. Fluttershy reached around the chest and grabbed the lid. She opened the lid, slowly at first, but then pulled it back and jumped away. After a few seconds, she walked back to the chest and checked its contents. Inside the chest was an Atlas Foot, an item in the shape of a foot with a dark cloud just above the shin. She took the item with her and walked toward the platform, which brought her up to the fourth floor. Fluttershy stepped away from the elevator and entered another chamber. Three Shemums dropped from the ceiling and slithered toward her along with two Ziks, pink serpentine monsters with bladelike horns sprouting from their heads. Behind them, a Zak, a large pink snake with demonic horns, directed the two Ziks to attack. “Thanatos should be in the throne room up ahead,” Celestia said. “Finish off the last of his forces before moving on to him.” Fluttershy aimed her arm at the monsters and fired. Two Shemums were already killed, and when the surviving monsters came close, she jumped back and fired, producing a high-voltage electrical field that expanded over the rest of the monsters. “Aren’t you going to use that Atlas Foot?” “Oh, um… I actually wanted to wait until later,” Fluttershy said. “If you want me to use it now, then—” “The game’s programming doesn’t normally let you fire your weapon if you have an item equipped,” Celestia said. “But since you’re still able to use your weapon, I don’t see the harm in keeping the Atlas Foot for now.” Fluttershy took out a Skuttler Cannoneer and a Stackjaw, using one of the hall’s support columns for cover while firing at them. Two more monsters appeared at the end of the chamber. The first one was a Shelbo, but the other one was a Bumbledrop, a seemingly harmless creature resembling a pudgy mask. Fluttershy focused on the Shelbo first and fired when it opened its mouth. While Fluttershy was killing the Shelbo, the Bumbledrop fell onto its ‘face,’ revealing a large shell on its back in the shape of a dragon’s head. The monster slid across the floor and slammed into her, tossing her into the air. Fluttershy hit the ground with a hard thud. She stood up again and saw the Bumbledrop on the other side of the room. The Bumbledrop was standing upright again, and by the time it could fall onto its belly, Fluttershy had already galloped toward it and fired a charge shot. With the last group of Underworld troops killed, the path to Thanatos was clear. Fluttershy made her way up a small flight of stairs at the end of the chamber and approached the throne room. * * * * * * * * * * Fluttershy galloped into the throne room of the Seafloor Palace. Across the room, a sea serpent with purple scales and an orange mustache and hair lounged on the throne. The sea serpent let out a mighty yawn when he saw Fluttershy enter. “I must have dozed off there,” Thanatos said. He lifted himself up from the throne and stretched out his body. “Waiting around is such exhausting work.” “Oh, um, I know I should have come here sooner,” Fluttershy said. “I’m sorry to keep you waiting for so long.” “Fluttershy,” Celestia said, “you’re here to eliminate him. You don’t have to be polite about it.” Fluttershy aimed her weapon at Thanatos, who now moved from his throne and stood on the other side of the room. “Thanatos is a skilled shapeshifter. Don’t be surprised if he changes into different forms to attack you, like a spider or a scorpion. Or a cockroach, a tick, a…” Fluttershy listened absentmindedly to the list of possible transformations that Celestia listed. At the same time, two purple flames appeared over Thanatos’ hands. Each flame fired a stream of blazing purple bats. Fluttershy dodged the attack and fired a charge shot at Thanatos. However, the shot dissipated before it could make contact with its target. “a centipede, a bat, a snake, or… a cat.” “Um, Princess Celestia? I don’t want to be rude or anything, but…” Fluttershy trailed off. A few seconds later, she switched from her usual speaking voice to a whisper. “Maybe you shouldn’t give him ideas?” “I’m tempted to reach for my book of snappy comebacks,” Thanatos said. “But maybe I should just show you? And a one, and a two, and a one, two, three!” Pink smoke formed around Thanatos as he spun around in the center of the room. The smoke expanded over his entire body for a second, and when it cleared, a gigantic equine foreleg appeared in the center. “A hoof?” Fluttershy said. “Really?” Celestia said. “How much harm could—” “Ever heard of athlete’s hoof?!” Thanatos interjected. “No,” Fluttershy said. “But I do still have this Atlas Foot.”She reached for the item with her left hoof and held it up in the air. The Atlas Foot twinkled for a second before vanishing, and a large mass of clouds appeared over Thanatos. Thanatos tried to move toward her, but before he could get within smashing distance, a giant foot appeared from the clouds and stomped him into the ground. “AGH! No fair! You can’t bring those items into a boss fight!” Thanatos yelped again when the foot stomped on him a second time. “Maybe not in the game, but this is fanfiction,” Celestia said. “Alright fine!” Thanatos yelled. Pink smoke formed around him again, and when it dissipated, there was now a purple egg-shaped doll in the center of the room. The Atlas Foot emerged from the clouds again to step on the doll, but when it pulled away, the doll was completely unscathed. “What’s this?” Fluttershy asked. “It looks like he turned into a doll,” Celestia said. Fluttershy backed away from the giant doll, which made a single hop toward her. However, she noticed a small red gem in the center of the doll and fired at it. The doll broke into two halves, and a slightly smaller doll emerged from it. “There’s something inside the doll!” “So Thanatos turned into a nesting doll?” Celestia said. “I wonder if they sell these in the gift shop.” The two halves of the larger doll reattached to each other, and both dolls hopped toward Fluttershy. Fluttershy spotted the same red jewel on the smaller doll and fired at it. The doll split open, releasing a third doll from inside it. She kept some distance between her and the dolls while continuing this pattern, releasing a fourth and a fifth doll. When she finally broke open the fifth doll, a miniature version of Thanatos emerged from it. “There he is!” Fluttershy said. She fired at the miniature Thanatos, and despite some interference by the other five dolls, Thanatos finally transformed again. The pink smoke swallowed up all of the dolls, and in their place appeared a large greatsword and six spears. One of the spears hurled itself at Fluttershy, embedding itself in the ground near her hooves. “Slicety slice,” he shouted. “Dicety dice! Stabbity stab stab stab stab!” “No need to sound so gleeful!” Fluttershy said. She jumped backward while firing her arm, hoping to keep her distance while continuing her attack. The arm produced a high voltage field which did nothing to the spears, but seemed to cause damage to the sword. Another spear hurled itself at Fluttershy, and she squeaked when it struck the ground just inches away from her. She ducked underneath the sword when it swung at her and galloped away from the weapons. “Maybe you can get the sword to hit the spears when they’re in the ground,” Celestia said. “I think I’d rather keep my distance for this one!’ she stammered. She fired a charge shot at the sword, but one of the spears surrounding the sword blocked it. Another spear hurled itself at Fluttershy, who jumped back from it. The sword swung horizontally at her, but instead of hitting her, the blade slammed into the embedded spear. Fluttershy swung her arm at the rattled sword three times, and jumped back while firing a charge shot. She generated a few more electrical fields with the Electroshock Arm, catching the sword in each one. Before long, Thanatos had finally had enough and transformed into a large bat. “Keee! Keee!” “That’s not even what a bat sounds like,” Fluttershy muttered. “Woop woop woop woop woop!” Thanatos said as he fired a stream of pink fiery bats at her. “And neither is that!” Fluttershy said, dodging the attack. “This is getting really annoying really fast!” She dodged another stream of bats and fired a charge shot at Thanatos. Once the shot connected, pink smoke surrounded him again, and he turned into a swarm of ordinary bats. “Uh-oh,” Fluttershy galloped as the swarm of bats chased after her. A few bats crashed into her while a few others tried to bite her. She tried to dodge the swarm, and even tried attacking, but was unable to harm any of the bats. By the time Thanatos reverted to his larger bat form, Fluttershy had a few new bruises and at least a dozen tiny bite wounds. Her legs, neck and wings stung, but more than anything she was now annoyed. She dodged a stream of fiery bats and fired a charge shot at Thanatos. She ran into him with the Electroshock Arm, followed by three more melee attacks, and jumped back while firing another charge shot. Pink smoke covered Thanatos again. When it cleared, he had transformed into a floating, ornate purple urn. “Whew, I’m just going to catch a few z’s here,” he said. “By the way, your attacks are useless.” “There must be some way to hurt him,” Celestia said. She and Fluttershy studied the urn as it floated around. After a while, the urn shook, and five skulls shot out of the urn. “Oh, I know. Why don’t you try hitting those skulls back at him?” Fluttershy noticed one of the skulls fall near her and swung her arm at it. The skull shattered on impact with the urn, leaving behind a large crack. The urn tipped over and dumped five more skulls in Fluttershy’s direction. Fluttershy knocked two more skulls back at the urn, spreading even more cracks throughout it. The urn vanished in a puff of pink smoke. Two scaly purple arms appeared in their place, and a second later, Thanatos reemerged as a sea serpent. He fired two streams of bats at Fluttershy, who dodged and hit him with a charge shot, followed by a stream of continuous fire. Fluttershy ducked under two more streams of bats and struck Thanatos’ three times with her weapon. The third strike was followed by a charge shot, which threw him into the wall behind him. Fluttershy aimed her arm at Thanatos, holding it steady as he lurched back. Thanatos’ body swelled, starting from the tail and reaching toward his arms, neck and face until he finally exploded. A vortex formed beneath him, ensnaring what was left of his body and pulling him into it. “Farewell!” he yelled before finally vanishing, leaving behind a transparent pink gem. “Pick up that gem, Fluttershy,” Celestia said. Fluttershy walked over to the gem and grabbed it with her mouth. She placed the gem on her left hoof, examining it while keeping it balanced. “This is our key to the Underworld.” “And I just have to hold it?” Fluttershy said, rolling the gem on her hoof and grasping it in between her hoof and fetlock. “More or less,” she said. “But first, we have to get you geared up for the final battle.” Yellow light shone down on Fluttershy from above. Fluttershy stashed the gem in her tunic before being extracted from the palace.