SHIP WRECKED (2/2)
Twilight reappeared a moment later on a rooftop not far from the warehouse she’d just left. She gasped in pain. Not from the exertion of travelling so far, which was a dull and pleasant ache compared to the emotional tempest that was welling up inside of her chest. She tried to walk to the edge of the rooftop, but her hooves were still tacky with Bronze’s quickly drying blood and she had to pull hard with every step she took. She was only halfway there before she stopped. What was the point?
Twilight let herself just collapse right there, flopping down onto the gravelly rooftop and laying still, other than her slowly rising and falling chest as she breathed.
That’s more than Bronze has now, she thought. She’d been crying before. By all rights she should be crying again now. For some reason, she wasn’t. She couldn’t. There wasn’t any sorrow left in her. She was just so damn tired.
Twilight wasn’t quite sure how long she’d been laying there when she felt the roof beneath her begin to shake. She’d felt this a few minutes ago, but it was getting worse. The revelation was only just enough to get her to roll over and twitch a little. Another tremor, they were definitely getting closer together. Twilight forced herself to get back onto her hooves. From her vantage point she could see the water in the bay starting to bubble and churn, and feel the agitation in the air around her.
At least Gumdrop Giggles would be easy to find. She seemed like the type who would want to rub in the fact that she’d won. Just the name crossing her mind filled Twilight with a fresh surge of anger. It wasn’t the same as the white-hot rage that had swept her up when she’d found out it had been Bronze that had nearly killed her. This was cold. Focused. This she could use.
The magic dancing in the air crescendoed as the seal finally gave way. Ouroboros, now made manifest in a physical form once again, rose from the harbor. Twilight gaped. A head emerged first, and rose upward so quickly that all she had the chance to make out were the overall rhomboid shape and four eyes, two on each side and every one the size of a boulder. The creature towered over the city and even from the rooftop she was standing on she had to crane her neck to look up at it. Its serpentine body was as thick as a half-dozen ponies lined up end to end, and while Twilight found herself staring at its pale underbelly, but as it twisted she could see its side and back were covered in mottled blue and green scales.
Ouroboros snorted, sending a downpour of seawater and something sticky Twilight tried not to think much about onto the Pensacolta rooftops. Taking a deep breath, it let out a bellowing roar that shook the city down to the last tree and brick. Twilight realized that her knees were shaking and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. She steadied herself, reinforced the defensive wards around her, teleported down to the street and strode forth towards the water.
Twilight arrived at the shoreline a few minutes later, stepping onto the beach. The spot had been easy to find, the serpent’s attention had been fixed on the general area she standing in now. She looked out at the bright moonlight reflected from the waves lapping the shore.
The same light gleamed off the blade of the dagger held by the pegasus a dozen meters away.
“Oh, you have got to be kidding me,” said Gumdrop. “You lost, Twilight. It’s over. The only part left is to see how far you can run before my new friend here catches and devours you. Not that I don’t appreciate you saving me the trouble of hunting you down. Oh, and before you try whatever little plan you’ve devised, Ouroboros? Block or deflect anything she tries to throw or shoot at me.”
Twilight fired a blast of energy at the pegasus, but the bulky tail of Ouroboros had already shot out of the water and interposed itself between the two of them with impossible speed. Twilight’s attack struck it’s scaly guard and burst harmlessly. A few flaps of her wings later and Gumdrop was perched on top of his massive body, idly twirling the dagger around one hoof. “Wow. Real impressive plan there. My turn to show off my pet’s other tricks. See that beach house a couple blocks over that way? Well, actually you can’t, there’s a bunch of other houses in the way and you’re way down there, but breaking into that house while the owners were on vacation to rob the place was the first time I ever got busted by the cops, spent six months in juvie. Six months! I totally missed my sophomore year spring formal. How is that justice? Ouroboros, smash that house. With your face.”
From high above, Twilight saw the monster’s head freeze suddenly and twitch. It rocked back and forth for a moment before plummeting towards the point Gumdrop has pointed, crashing into it and shaking the ground beneath Twilight’s hooves. The beast’s slack body landed in the space between where its face had struck and the water, carving a path of collateral damage through several blocks of housing. Thinking she might have an opening, Twilight loosed another bolt of magic at Gumdrop, but again the beast interposed its own body between them and the shot was wasted.
“Did you see that? Look, I know you’re all goody-goody and you hate me and all, but can’t you at least try to appreciate how awesome this is for me? How absolutely bucked you are? Did killing Bronze just... break you or something? And this is just you committing suicide so you can be with your beloved little smoochy-kins? Because it looks a lot like that. Bronze was going on and on all afternoon about how wonderful and smart and special you were. Ugh. So annoying! If it makes you feel any better I would have gotten around to knifing him eventually even if you hadn’t forced my hoof but it’s always extra satisfying to kill two birds with one god-summoning blood magic ritual, ya know?” said Gumdrop.
Twilight didn’t dignify Gumdrop’s banter with any response. Instead she focused her telekinesis on a small patch of sand between them. With one sweeping motion, she cleared a trench a few feet deep in the ground, leaving a pile of excavated sand situated on the edge.
“You’re even digging your own grave now? Not that I don’t appreciate the gesture, but frankly you’re starting to bore me. I’ve got a massive, invincible god of the sea and you’ve got a hole. Not even that deep of a hole. So come on, spill it, what’s your plan? I know there’s no counter magic for the summoning, I made sure of that much and if you’d found something like that you would have cast it already. So your brilliant scheme is... what? Gonna give me a big speech about how what I’m doing is wrong, and expect me to suddenly see the magic of friendship and surrender? Did you find some other ancient sea god you can summon to fight mine? Like maybe a super huge oyster or something? Come on, I know you’ve got something,” said Gumdrop.
Twilight looked up at her and tilted her head to the side like she was considering it. Finally, she spoke. “No, I don’t actually have any good ideas that I think can beat you. Just this,” she said.
With that, Twilight wrapped the dagger in telekinesis and yanked as hard as she could.
She would have been overjoyed if she’d actually managed to disarm the pegasus right there, but Gumdrop held on. Though she was jerked forward, once she spread her powerful wings and started flapping them Twilight found that the magic she was able to bring to bear wasn’t enough, and Gumdrop retained her grip on the artifact.
“Tug of war? Your clever plan is to play tug of war? OK, I was wrong. You and Bronze were perfect for one another, you’re both pathetic. Let go and I'll see to it that you die somewhat painlessly,” said Gumdrop, having fought Twilight to a stalemate.
Twilight reached out and tried to extend her magic over Gumdrop Giggles herself. This was almost always a bad idea as ponies, especially when they knew the caster was there and were actively resisting the effect, usually shook off being lifted and moved around. It was a testament to Twilight’s ability that she managed to extend her magic around one of Gumdrop’s wings. Firming up her grip, she snapped her head to the side subconsciously as she torqued her magic, wringing the wing like a wet dish towel. Gumdrop screamed in agony, but Twilight didn’t relent until she’d felt every one of the sixteen major bones in the wing snap at least once.
“You bitch! Ouroboros, ki-” said Gumdrop, but that was as far as she got. Now that Gumdrop had suddenly lost any leverage she’d once had over the dagger Twilight easily yanked it into the hole, dragging the pink pegasus along with it. With a single thought, she also swept the pile of sand back over the crevice she had created a moment ago. Refusing to let go of the dagger, Gumdrop was half-buried along with it, just her rear legs and tail sticking out of the sand. Twilight saw her try to brace and pull herself out with her her rear legs, but she could also feel the dagger she was holding under the sand and kept it firmly in place. Gumdrop could keep holding on to the dagger, or she could breathe. Not both.
Thirty seconds of desperate tugging at the dagger later, Twilight was beginning to wonder which path Gumdrop would choose. Throughout all of this, Twilight kept a wary eye on Ouroboros itself, but the serpent seemed disinterested and dazed without any commands to guide it. Finally, Gumdrop released the dagger and wrenched herself out of the sand, gasping for air.
“What’s the matter, pirate filly? Can’t handle a bit of buried treasure?” asked Twilight, pulling the dagger up out of the sand and towards herself. Despite her gasping for air a moment ago, Gumdrop was a quick sprinter and hot on the metaphorical heels of the dagger. Twilight wasn’t about to raise a shield unless Gumdrop and the dagger were on opposite sides of it, so the two ponies collided at the same moment the dagger reached Twilight.
The two traded blows, wasting no more energy on words. Gumdrop was clearly no stranger to hoof fights, but despite the pain Twilight’s telekinesis kept the dagger away from her scrambling hooves. Twilight scored a lucky hit with one of her rear knees into Gumdrop’s belly, and took the window of opportunity to finally grip the dagger properly and scream. “Ouroboros, return to the sea!”
Ouroboros didn’t stir, and Gumdrop wore a cruel grin as she took advantage of Twilight’s distraction to pounce on her once again, managing to wrap the unicorn in a painful choke hold. “Sorry, the ritual bound it to one pony, and only one pony. Me,” she said as Twilight rolled forward and threw her off of herself, wincing as she took stock of her own wounds. She still had the dagger, at least, but Gumdrop seemed more amused than injured by her attempts to strike at her. “I’ve already won, don’t you get it? I’m bound to a god, and you’re just some unicorn who thinks she’s important. You know what? I’ll even give you a free shot. Stab me. I won’t stop you.
Gumdrop fell back onto the beach and spread her forelegs apart, looking upward at nothing. This was Twilight’s chance. She grasped the dagger in her magic and....
...Hesitated.
“What are you waiting for, Twilight? Stab me. You win. Take advantage of it before I change my mind,,” said Gumdrop. Twilight raised the dagger. She could solve everything right now. Take her down, avenge Bronze, stop Ouroboros....
She was far too eager. It took everything Twilight had not to plunge that knife straight into Gumdrop’s heart. She knew that it would feel good. She knew that it would end the reign of terror Gumdrop was planning. But it would be wrong. The whole thing felt wrong.
“You only need it to be touching you, don’t you? I touch you with this dagger again and you get the chance to put in another order to Ouroboros,” said Twilight. It was rhetorical. Twilight lowered the dagger to her side as she recognized the trap Gumdrop had very nearly sprung on her. ”I stab you with this dagger and I’m giving you exactly what you want. You take a bad injury, and you tell that thing to kill me? Sorry.”
“NO! I said to stab me! Don’t just stand there, shove that dagger right here,” said Gumdrop, indicating her own chest with desperate abandon.
Instead Twilight took the chance to examine the dagger with all of her senses. She could feel the connection between it, Gumdrop, and Ouroboros.
It was the work of only a few seconds to shatter that connection entirely.
Twilight was watching for any change in Ouroboros’ behavior, and as soon as she destroyed the hold the dagger had over it the serpent began to stir again. “I’m not going to stab you, Gumdrop. But I will tell you you that Bronze was a better pony than you could have ever hoped to be, even if he wasn’t the colt I thought he was.” She looked up at the creature diving towards them, and with a smile looked back down again at her victim. “Goodbye, Gumdrop Giggles,” Twilight said, and in a blinding flash she was gone.
With the unicorn no longer standing over her, Gumdrop Giggles finally got a clear view of the oncoming force of nature that she had once controlled as it rushed in to avenge its mistreatment. “Oh, buck me,” was all she could manage before her former servant crashed down on her.
Twilight reappeared some ways down the beach, heaving for breath. The hoof to hoof fight had taken a great deal out of her. She could only slowly stumble away from the scene of carnage she’d just set in motion. She’d never felt so tired before in her life. Halfway to the beach’s exit she collapsed. She turned to look back at where Gumdrop Giggles had been laying, and saw only a crater. Ouroboros had torn a massive chunk of the beach away when it had bitten down on its former master.
Twilight looked up. She could see the serpent headed towards her as it swallowed the chunk of the beach it had just bitten down on. Clearly, it wasn’t interested in whether or not she had freed it. Ouroboros was ready to wipe out anypony it saw, guilty or otherwise. Too exhausted to do anything more, Twilight closed her eyes and waited for her fate.
Everything went black.
“Twilight Sparkle, that was most irresponsible of you, we would have been more than happy to assist you had you asked. It is fortunate that we arrived when we did,” said an extremely familiar voice.
“...Luna?” ventured Twilight
“Indubitably,” stated the voice.
Twilight opened her eyes again, but her whole world was still darkness. “Um, I’m still kinda blind here...” the ground beneath her shook, as if it had been struck by something massive.
“Our defenses against the forces that rage against thee also block out light. We suggest you deal with it, You have other senses. Employ them. Honestly, who has ever heard of a guardian of the Princess of the Night who could not see in the dark?” Twilight grimaced. “That was most reckless of you, to confront Gumdrop and Ouroboros without a plan, or any backup.”
“Well it all worked out in the end, right? I mean, I think it did. Even if Ouroboros had finished me off, it would have been worth it. Gumdrop can’t hurt anypony now,” said Twilight
Twilight suddenly felt a sharp blow on her cheek, and staggered to her side.
“You stupid foal. Are you really so dense? Are you truly so selfish that you can take such chances and think thy actions weigh only upon yourself, that there are no other ponies who care for your well being? How deluded are you, Twilight Sparkle? We thought you knew by now that you were precious to us.”
“Princess-” began Twilight. The world shook under an unseen blow once more
“No! Cease thy idle prattle and get over thyself, as you instructed us to. Art thou injured by Bronze’s treachery? Well, so are we. Remember that we have been with thee during the whole duration of thy interaction with him. We may not have felt as deeply for him, but we were just as taken in by his act. We did not let it drive us to take such rash action, though. Ouroboros is risen. We cannot defeat it alone, and our sister is several hours away, though we have sent word to her regarding the urgency of the situation. You are the most powerful unicorn available to us within this city, neigh, within all of Equestria. We... need your help. If we are to have any chance at protecting this city, we must work as a team,” said Luna. Twilight just stared. Within the blackness of the hemispherical shield Luna had created, only the glow of the Lunar Goddesses’ glowing horn cast any light at all, just enough to illuminate her glaring eyes.
“I don’t know how I can help, Luna. Ouroboros can shrug off any spell I throw at it. I’m not sure there’s anything I can do to stop it,” said Twilight. As if confirming her claims, something heavy slammed against Luna’s barrier. Luna seemed shaken by the impact.
“The dagger, Twilight Sparkle. It’s original purpose was not to control Ouroboros, but to defeat it. Reactivate the original enchantments it uses, and you may yet have some hope. We have several subtle magics we can employ to gain its attention, and we will keep Ouroboros occupied for as long as possible,” said Luna. A moment later, Ouroboros slammed into the shield a final time, shattering it. Moonlight rushed back into the void and Twilight blinked while her eyes readjusted.
Ouroboros was far more interested in the pony standing by her side. It lowered its head to regard Luna up close, teetering on the verge of recognizing the pony who played an integral role in sealing it away in the first place.
Luna probably edged that process along when she spread her wings and sprung forwards and upwards, driving her horn into the creature’s exposed eye.
The creature’s head whipped upwards and it let out an awful scream of pain, squeezing the affected eye shut. Luna, her starry, flowing mane now coated in a runny fluid, continued upwards and out over the water drawing Ouroboros’ attention away from Twilight and the town. Lancing bolts of moonfire rained from the sky as Luna unleashed her power against the creature, but Twilight didn’t have time to appreciate the display. She puzzled over the dagger, prodding at the enchantments that ran through it and trying to make sense of them all. The spells had held up for a millenium and a half, but for a moment Twilight feared that all the abuses it had been through in the last few hours might have somehow damaged it.
Then she felt it. There was a void deep in core of the spell, waiting to be filled. Twilight couldn’t tell what it would do, but it must be what Luna had been referring to. She looked out onto the bay where Luna was doing her best to keep Ouroboros occupied. The Princess had moved the fight into the rocky shoals some ways down the beach, away from the center of Pensacolta. Storm clouds had gathered from nowhere, and a localized downpour was obscuring her view of the princess except when a flash of lightning striking gave Twilight a quick view of her silhouette. Between the cover and her opening attack to the monster’s eye, Twilight guessed that Luna was just stalling for time. Though her attacks did seem to be hurting the serpent it didn’t look too much worse for the wear.
Twilight took a deep breath and poured her magic into the dagger, filling the void with her own power. She felt it course through the relic, reawakening the long-dormant spell that had been woven into it. The blade began to glow the purple color of her magic. Suddenly light and flame burst from the blade. Purple fire billowed forth and coalesced into an edge. What had once been a dagger just a few inches long became a five-foot long blade of purple energy, hovering in front of her face. Twilight stared in awe at the weapon, wrapping it cautiously in the grip of her magic and tentatively. If anything, it was even lighter now than the dagger had been. It felt like an extension of herself. Before she could think better of it, she reached out and touched the blade’s edge with her hoof. It was sharper than anything she had ever felt before, but it didn’t cut her. After all, Twilight reasoned, it was just her own magic given form.
Twilight suddenly felt a wave of dizziness pass over her. She hadn’t noticed that her horn was still glowing. The blade wasn’t fixed or permanent, it was drawing its power from her. Already stretched to her limit by the day’s trials, she wasn’t sure how long she could keep it up. Whatever she was going to do, she’d have to do it quickly.
“Alright, you overgrown Lumbricus Rubellus,” said Twilight, “let’s do this.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reinolds had reached the pier right around the same time Ouroboros had emerged from the sea. He’d been to several different police stations and royal guard posts warning the inhabitants of what was coming. They’d dispatched messengers of their own to spread word that the city was to be evacuated, but after the serpent’s roar nearly deafened him he decided that the rest of Pensacolta’s citizens probably already knew what was coming. He would just get in the way of the evacuation, and there were more important things he could be doing now anyway.
He boarded the Tranquility and began to fuss at the rigging, beginning preparations to cast off. His work was interrupted when he heard a voice from below deck.
“Hey! Luna? Twilight? Captain Reinolds? What’s going on out there? Can I have permission to come out of this room?”
Ample. He’d forgotten she was there. “No, you can’t. Not right now,” he yelled back. He’d have to get her off the boat before he left, but he wasn’t ready to deal with that just now.
So he was unpleasantly surprised a moment later when Ample walked out onto the deck, holding what looked to be a hastily assembled shiv made from a piece of a wooden chair, an edged scrap of metal, and a small strip of leather.
“What? How... Princess Luna said she bound you with an oath to stay in that room-” said Reinolds.
“Right. Unless I asked for permission to come out. I never promised I’d stay there if one of you said no,” said Ample with a grin. “Now, I’m leaving unless you think you want to try and stop me.”
Reinolds thought about this for a moment. “Okay. See you later then,” he said, and turned back to the rope he’d been untying.
Ample Booty blinked a few times, surprised by his nonchalance. “Huh, I sort of figured you’d try to stop me. Aren’t you a royal guard, or something?” she asked.
“I have way bigger fish to fry right now. Literally. Look behind you.”
Ample glared at him, suspecting a trick of some sort. Once she decided that Reinolds probably wouldn’t jump her the instant she looked away she glanced over her shoulder. Getting her first glimpse of Ouroboros, she did a double take back at Reinolds and turned around to gape at the beast. “She did it... She actually did it,” said Ample to nopony in particular. “So what, you’re running away now? Good idea, but maybe now that our crew basically owns the ocean a boat isn’t the way to go.”
“I’m not running away from it. I’m running towards it,” said Reinolds.
“That’s beyond stupid. Why would you do that?” asked Ample. The pair looked up as the monster suddenly slammed its body and head down onto the city, crushing at least a dozen homes under its massive bulk.
“That’s why. Because ponies are getting hurt, and they’ll keep getting hurt if nopony does anything about it.”
“No way. Captain Giggles didn’t say anything about hurting anypony. We were only going to use Ouroboros to rob some merchant ships. Sell the cargo, live like princesses ourselves. You know, the good life,” said Ample.
Reinolds wanted to scream at her, but that wouldn’t help anypony. There wasn’t time to waste arguing. He took a moment to calm himself before he spoke again. “Look Ample, Gumdrop Giggles is bad news. She left you to drown or be eaten by a seapony earlier today didn’t she?” When Ample didn’t say anything in response, Reinolds continued. “Do you have any family here in Pensacolta?”
The two stared at each other for a few moments. Ample sized the Captain up with a long glare. The water around the docks was beginning to grow rougher, and Reinolds wondered if he’d be able to handle the Tranquility in the dancing whitecaps.
“I have a sister, and her husband and their son. My nephew,” said Ample, biting her lip. She had chosen not to mention it, but their home wasn’t very far from where Ouroboros had come crashing down a moment ago.
“Go find them. Get them out of here, and yourself.”
“And what are you going to do? Sail up to that monster and poke it with a stick?”
“I’m going to buy time. If I can distract it for five or ten minutes, the guards will have that much more time to evacuate civilians. That could mean a few dozen lives that would otherwise have been lost,” said Reinolds, pulling at a knot that didn’t seem to want to be untied.
Ample blanched as she realized the implications. “But you don’t stand a chance against that thing. You’ll be killed!”
“Maybe. Probably. Some things are worth it, though. That’s why I signed up with the guard in the first place. Now quit wasting time and get going,” said Reinolds, turning back once again to his work. He channeled his concern and frustration into yanking on the tangled rope. It was better this way. Maybe Ample would be able to help somepony who really needed it.
“...You know there’s an easier way to do that, right? What’d you tie that with, a clove hitch? Here. Get out of the way and I’ll show you how to undo that,” said Ample. She shoved Reinolds off to the side and with a few quick motions, the stubborn knot was undone. Ample felt Reinolds sizing her up with a look. “I’m not going anywhere,” she said. “You can’t handle this boat on your own, you need a first mate, at the very least.”
“I’m used to being by myself. This isn’t something I want to drag anypony else into. You don’t owe me anything, Ample. Get out of here,” said Reinolds.
Ample scoffed. “Well, duh. Obviously I don’t owe anypony anything. On the other hoof, If you think I’m going to let my crew find out the guy who captured me was somepony who can’t even untie a half decent knot you’ve got another thing coming. When do we leave?”
Reinolds could only grin. “Right now. Hold on to something,” he said as he pulled the line to open the main sail. The Tranquility groaned and began to pull away from the dock. Off on a beach in the distance, a purple light flared. They just might have a chance after all.
--------------------
Twilight panted for breath as she reached the edge of the turbulent, choppy shoal where Luna had engaged Ouroboros. She was fit, but sprinting a half mile to reach the edge of the tempest that was raging in front of her had left her drained and panting for air.
“I said... *gasp* *pant* alright you... you overgrown Lumbricus Rubellus. Let’s... *wheeze* Let’s... *pant* you know what? Forget it. You aren’t even listening to me anyway,” said Twilight. She hoisted her weapon in front of her. It was amazing, and every time it passed in front of her she struggled not to become bewitched by it again. A coil of Ouroboros was only a few lengths away from where she stood, and the beast was still focused on Luna. Twilight wasn’t likely to get a better shot than this.
She brought the cutting edge of the blade down against the scaly body of Ouroboros. She’d expected some sort of feedback or resistance to the weapon, but no. It cut through the monster like it wasn’t even there. The flesh before her split open as the blade passed through it like tissue paper before an open fire hydrant.
Ouroboros screamed. There wasn’t really a better word for it, as unearthly and confounding as the sound was. Some things, it seemed, were universal.
The downside to this, Twilight realized just a moment too late, was that the beast’s full attention was now entirely upon her. Although the cut she’d inflicted looked like an awful wound it was barely more than a distraction to the thing that had suddenly wheeled around to face her. One of Luna’s bolts of lightning struck the side of it’s face, leaving a singe mark but doing nothing to divert its attention as it glared down at her. She could see in its eyes that it knew the blade she wielded.
Seeing little other alternative, Twilight dove through the curtain of driving rain in front of her, taking cover in Luna’s storm. She dropped the bubble and wards that could have blocked out the rain and was immediately drenched. The void would have stood out and Twilight needed every iota of concealment she could get. It was situations like this that reminded her that blades made of solidified, glowing purple magic were really not the most practical things in the world.
Twilight pushed her soaking wet bangs out of her eyes, but this did little to improve her ability to see. All she could see or hear was churning water, the heavy rain and the spraying seawater mixing together to the point where Twilight wasn’t sure where one ended and the other began. Even though the water she was standing in was only a few inches deep she could feel its pull trying to throw her into the jagged, pointy rocks around her.
Twilight half felt a rush of movement, even through the storm. She teleported away just as a thick slab of muscle crashed down on the spot she’d been standing. She appeared somewhere else in the storm, disoriented and not quite able to get her bearings as the wind pelted her face. She landed roughly and began to flail, lashing out with her sword. She felt it nick something, and another scream told Twilight that she’d found her mark. In the confusion, it was impossible to tell if she was doing any permanent damage or just causing pain. Teleporting away again before it could retaliate against her, she found herself... back where she’s started? Somewhere new? It was impossible to tell and everything around her was a dark grey wall of wet.
Twilight felt something lightly touch her back. Falling back on reflex, she whipped around slashing the sword as she went only to feel it stop short, wrapped in a field of dark blue magic and just a few inches from Princess Luna’s face, illuminated by the glow of her horn. Luna glanced over at the sword, then back at Twilight and raised a quizzical eyebrow.
Sorry, Twilight mouthed rather than trying to be heard over the gale around them. In response, she felt herself being lifted up onto Luna’s back and the Princess took off straight upward, carrying her through the haze above and the thick layer of storm clouds that had been pouring rain onto the area around them. Twilight shook herself off as best she could as Luna landed on the cloud.
“Well done Twilight. Our magics are not proving as effective as we had hoped they would. That blade is our last and best hope,” said Luna.
“I can’t tell if it’s working, Princess. Ouroboros is just too big. Just randomly cutting it isn’t going to work,” said Twilight.
Luna nodded. “We agree, that is why you must-” and that’s as far as she got before Ouroboros burst through the clouds and slammed into her from beneath, sending her flying and Twilight tumbling off her back and straight through the clouds. Without Luna’s concentration maintaining it the rain vanished and the skies cleared. Twilight came to her senses tumbling through the air, every moment bringing her further towards the ocean surface. She remembered reading somewhere that beyond a certain speed a pony was better off falling onto cobblestone than water. Something about surface tension.
There was a spell for this, right? There had to be. A slow fall spell, or a turn a few cubic meters of water into downy soft feathers spell. Something. Why couldn’t she think of anything?
Her mind was still racing when she felt the impact. It wasn’t what she’d expected. Instead of the harsh slam of a solid surface, whatever she’d just hit was yielding and stretchy around her. She had almost slowed to a stop when she heard the unmistakable sound of tearing fabric and began to fall again, striking something solid a moment later.
“Nice catch, Captain! But she kinda wrecked our mainsail,” said a voice that Twilight found familiar but couldn’t quite place. She opened her eyes, happy not to be dead even if the collective aches and pains that were catching up with her were making her seriously reconsider that position. She registered that she was on a boat. What kind of idiot would be out on a boat at a time like this?
“Hey there, Sparkle. Anypony ever tell you that you really know how to make an entrance?”
That voice she knew. “Captain Reinolds? What are you doing out here? You should run...” She was more than a little out of it. Her weapon, reverted to an inert dagger once more, had clattered onto the deck of the Tranquility. If that edge was gone, so was their hope of defeating Ouroboros. She had to warn them to get away, that staying out there would only get them killed. She opened her mouth to cry out, but all that escaped through her lip was a feeble whimper.
“Hey, Twilight, are you OK? You’re safe now,” said Ample, appearing at the edge of her vision and poking at her side.
“Why are... you even here?” asked Twilight.
Ample just smiled. “I never really thanked you properly for saving my life back there. We’re even now, by the way, so don’t go counting on me to pull your flank out of the fire from now on, got it?”
“Both of you, shut up,” said Reinolds. “Princess Luna’s in trouble.”
Twilight lifted her head just enough to glance towards the sea monster in front of them. It was twisting and writhing, and Twilight could just make out the glow of Luna’s magic weaving in and out through Ouroboros’ coils. She tried to say something, but it took her several false starts before she could form coherent words.
“Move closer.”
Reinolds turned to look at her, confused by the request. “Did you say closer?”
“Move closer... to it. I can... I can fix this,” said Twilight as she forced herself back to her hooves. “She needs our help.” Grasping the dagger in her magic, she stumbled towards the prow
Reinolds turned the wheel and the boat turned once more towards the sea serpent. Fighting against the currents, their progress was halting and slow.
“Screw this, we aren’t going to make it there in time at this rate,” said Ample. “HEY LUNA! IF YOU’VE GOT ANY OF THAT WEATHER MAGIC LEFT, WE COULD USE A BOOST HERE!”
For a moment nothing happened, then Luna burst out of the serpent’s grasp and ascended into the sky. For a moment she stopped, her outstretched wings silhouetted in the moonlight. The Tranquility’s sails suddenly filled as the air behind them shifted. They were gliding along the water faster than Twilight had ever felt the boat move, practically soaring on top of the water.
Unfortunately, an unmoving alicorn princess made for an inviting target. Ouroboros surged upward again, snapping its jaws shut around the Princess. The surge of air behind them slowed to a gentle breeze, even as their momentum propelled them ever-closer to the body of the serpent.
Ample and Reinolds gasped, but Twilight let out a full throated scream as Luna disappeared. Grasped by a mix of shock and fury, her exhaustion was forgotten. Her magic flared, and the dagger sprang back into life, longer and brighter than before. No longer concerned for her own safety, Twilight ducked under the guard rail and walked out onto the tip of the prow hoisting the blade before her. She heard Reinolds shout something from behind her before he abandoned the wheel. They were out of control and on a collision course now. Ouroboros looked down at the boat, but its head suddenly jerked upwards, exposing a soft and pale underbelly as the beast fought against the enemy within.
Seconds before the tip of the boat collided with the preoccupied monster Twilight pushed off and teleported one more time, straight upward. The Tranquility continued forward, smashing itself to pieces against the beast.
Twilight reappeared just below Ouroboros’ chin. Whipping her head forward for emphasis, she drove the magical blade deep into the beast’s neck and throat, pouring every bit of energy from her quickly-fading wave of adrenaline into it. There was no scream this time, just a sick and pained gurgling as Twilight fell dragging the tip of the blade with her. She made no effort to slow herself down, but put everything into the strike leaving a long and jagged gash slicing through the creature’s body. Only halfway down, Twilight’s vision began to blur. Seconds later, her willpower finally gave out once and for all. Utterly drained and exhausted, the dagger sputtered and died as Twilight blacked out before she could even strike the surface of the water.