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// Chapter 19 
// Story: Waning and Waxing 
// by Calliope Pony 
//------------------------------//

If I remember correctly, this path should cross a river up ahead. That would be a good place to either drown them or force them to turn back.

I find the river just where I thought it would be and something more besides. A large purple sea serpent is lolling in the water, admiring himself in a mirror. He combs out his luxurious gold mane as he coos over his reflection. “Oh, Steven, you are a handsome fellow, aren’t you?”

The serpent could be the perfect way to keep them from crossing the river. I just need to find some way of sending him into a rampage.

Steal from him.

He seems very vain, so I fly in and swipe off half of his moustache. Disposing of it in the trees, I loop back around to watch him react.

He is gasping and gawking at his reflection. “No! My moustache! I... I... I’m hideous!” And with that, he begins sobbing and wailing.

Well, I was expecting a rampage instead of a pity-fest, but all his thrashing around could still do the trick... I suppose. What a baby.

The ponies are still laughing as they approach the river. When they see the sea serpent they don’t appear even the least bit frightened. Perhaps their experience with the manticore and the trees has made them braver. Or perhaps there’s just nothing very frightening about a well-coiffed, weeping serpent with half a moustache.

Indeed, he immediately begins pouring his woes out to them, and they are suitably unimpressed at his fussing. All except the white unicorn, that is. She seems as indignant about his moustache as he is. Without hesitation, she slices off the hair from her own tail and magically attaches it to the cut end of his moustache.

“Ooh, hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo, my moustache! How wonderful!” The sea serpent laughs with delight.

“You look smashing!” the unicorn smiles at him.

“Oh, Rarity, your beautiful tail!”

“Oh, it’s fine, my dear. Short tails are in this season. Besides, it’ll grow back.”

The blue pegasus- Rainbow, did they call her?- echoes my thoughts: “So would the moustache.”

The river has grown calm again now that the serpent has stopped thrashing. He even assists the ponies making their way across. Well, that plan was a total bust.

Besides, a half-gold, half-purple moustache just looks stupid.