Chapter 8: Journey to the Bottom of the Sea
The Equestrians and the Light Warriors have landed near a marsh (much to Rarity's chagrin) and made use of their canoe to reach a small town in the woods on the edge of the sea. According to the world map, this village was called Onrac.
Onrac
Our heroes could not help but marvel at the beauty of the village; the trees and the river flowing gave off a peaceful vibe. Near two of the buildings stood wells. In the southwestern part of town, there stood the local inn with a water fountain in front.
"Look at my legs! Aren't they wonderful?" said a villager excitedly, making the group question her sanity.
Whatever you say, lady. Zauver thought to himself.
"I love having legs! Look! Look!" she shouted, moving her legs up in the air. "Did you see the move I just did?"
"Why, yes," Setro said nervously. "We did. If you'll pardon us." They quickly walked past the woman and went south and found something unusual; they spotted a dragon casually walking by as if he were a natural citizen.
"I see you've conquered the Citadel of Trials and have been honored by the Dragon King," he said. "Take the road on your left, and you will find the means to take you to the next crystal."
Twilight walked up to the woman in front of the barrel. "Excuse us," she said.
"Yes?" she asked. The woman couldn't help but feel shocked that a small purple equine could speak to her. "May I help you all?"
Setro spoke up. "We were told by a citizen that we could gain access to the resting place of the Water Crystal from here."
The woman gasped. "You wish to venture to the Sunken Shrine? Then you must be...!"
"Yes," the knight replied as he and his fellow humans showed her the crystals.
"So it's true. The Warriors of Light have come!" she said excitedly, jumping in joy. Pinkie Pie enjoyed seeing this so much, that she decided to jump as well.
"Ooh, she's so happy!"
"We can see that," said Zauver.
Twilight stepped in and spoke. "Excuse me."
The woman stopped. "My apologies; I just can't help but feel elated." She took notice of the horn on Twilight's head. "Oh my goodness! You're a unicorn!"
"Actually, I'm an alicorn," she said showing off her wings.
"Then... are you here to help them?"
"That's what we've been doing since we came to this world."
The woman looked upon the heroes and stroked her chin. "Hmm... Can any of you use magic?"
Teol and Flora stepped forward, as did Twilight and Rarity.
"Do any of you know a spell that could transform someone into merpeople?"
The team looked confused. "'Merpeople?'" asked Rarity.
"Creatures with the ability to breathe underwater and on land."
"You mean like a seapony?" asked Twilight.
Zauver raised an eyebrow. "'Seapony?' Now I've heard everything."
Ignoring the ninja's comment, Twilight pondered this new information.
"No," she said sadly.
"What?!" Rainbow yelled. "C'mon, Twilight! Remember the time you turned us all into Breezies?"
"Or the time ya cast a spell that made us walk on clouds?" Applejack added.
"Or when you completed the spell Starswirl the Bearded couldn't finish and became in an alicorn in the process," said Rarity.
"I know, guys. I know!" she said. "I think this one may be too advanced for me."
"It's worth a try, Twi," said Applejack.
"But..."
The woman stepped in. "Actually, there is another option."
They all turned towards her. "And that would be...?" said Teol.
"Have you ever heard of Oxyale?" The woman's question made everyone look at each other in confusion. They turned back to her and shook their heads. "No? It's what lets non-merpeople to breathe underwater in the first place."
Applejack and Rainbow Dash were annoyed. "Why didn't ya say that in the first place?" they said together.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hide it."
"Where can we find this Oxyale, miss?" asked Setro.
"In the small village of Gaia surrounded by mountains."
"'Gaia,'" the knight said as he pulled out the map. Flora walked over to the knight and helped pinpoint the town's location.
"Is it here? On this bird-shaped continent?" she asked pointing to the land on the northeastern portion of the map.
"Yes, that is correct. In Gaia, you will find a fairy near the spring on the edge of town."
"A fairy?" asked Fluttershy. "What's a fairy?"
"It's a small winged creature that can use magic."
The yellow pegasus gasped in delight. "Oh my goodness! I've got to go see it."
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" said Zauver. The ponies nodded and were just about to leave the dock when they say Setro standing still with his finger on his chin. "What is it?"
The group's leader looked towards the others and said, "How about we split into two groups this time?"
"How come?" asked Twilight.
"I have a feeling there's some unfinished business here; something else that may help us on our quest."
"You mean other than the fairy that can help us get to the Crystal of Water?"
"No, I didn't mean that... It's... just a feeling," he said almost uncertain.
"We'll see you later, I guess," Twilight said to the woman as they left. But just then...
"Excuse me?" said a male voice. They turned to see a man as they were about to pass by.
"Can we help you?" asked Setro.
"I couldn't help but overhear, but please listen to me." The others nodded. "My name's Koppe. I saw a shining object fall from the sky."
This caught their attention.
"A 'shining object,' you say?" asked Rarity.
"Mm-hmm. I think it came down somewhere near the waterfall to the north. No one believes me, but I think it was some kind of mechanical creature!"
"A mechanical creature?!" asked Twilight.
"I think so."
Could it be a robot? In this day and age?! she thought. That's just not possible... or is it?
"Thank you for this information," said Rarity.
They nodded and left the area at last. While trotting with the others, Twilight thought over what the group should do. Should we really separate into two groups, she thought, or do we do this together? Hmm...
The party decided to spend the night at the inn, and before they went inside, they met with a man who told them of the Sky People who spoke an ancient language that was recorded on several stone tablets, one of which was said to be hidden somewhere and if found, would be brought to one who knew said language. One such person was brought up, much to Applejack and Rainbow Dash's dismay.
"Dr. Unne?" said the orange earth pony.
"That egghead?" Rainbow Dash.
"A.J.! Rainbow!" Twilight scolded. "Whatever we learn from this 'Rosetta Stone' may be helpful."
"Alright, Twi," said Applejack. "Ah gotcha."
"Thank you for your time, my friend," said Setro.
"You are most welcome," the man said. As soon as they walked through those doors, it dawned on him. "Wait, did those horses just...?"
Our heroes checked in and spent the night, contemplating their next move. The next morning, the ponies and Light Warriors left the hotel and made their decision: Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were to fly over to Gaia and acquire the Oxyale, while the others stayed behind to gather more information and find the "shining object" Koppe spoke of.
"Alright, see you guys later," said Rainbow.
"Be safe," said Fluttershy.
"You be careful too, girls!" said Teol.
"We will." And with that, the two pegasi lifted off the ground and flew to the east.
"Good luck, friends," said Setro.
*music fades out*
As soon as Rainbow and Fluttershy were out of sight, it was only Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie, and Applejack along with the Light Warriors.
"Let's go," said Twilight. The others nodded and spoke with several villagers; they learned that Oncrac was once a thriving city until 200 years ago when the Fiend of Water struck down their Shrine, sinking it to the bottom of the water. They also learned of a merchant named Underhill, who carried an expensive item at his caravan in the desert west of the village.
"Oh, joy," said Zauver. "Now we have to decide where to go first: the waterfall or the desert."
"The waterfall, definitely," said Twilight.
*music stops*
The others immediately agreed and left the village. They went back to the airship, grabbed the canoe and used it to paddle north to the waterfall cave.
As they traversed the misty cavern, our heroes went through several twists and turns, fought with deadly pyrolisks and cockatrices, and ran into several bats along the way.
"EEK!" Rarity shrieked. Is there any other way?"
"I don't think so," said Twilight. "We need to keep pushing onward."
"Very well," the unicorn sighed.
They found a door which they deduced would lead them to the "object" Koppe had seen, but just as they opened the doors, they were ambushed by several mummies!
"Stand your ground!" Setro commanded.
Before the undread creatues could strike, Teol cast Firaga on their leader (a King Mummy) while the others attacked the rest. Setro slashed through two of them with ease; Flora cast Diaga which sent one back whence it came, and Twilight flared up her horn and blasted the rest. One mummy, however, survived the assault and went straight for Pinkie Pie, but what the creature didn't expect to find was the pink earth pony's signature party cannon, sending it to the ground. It stood back up, growling at Pinkie, terrifying her. As it lunged towards Pinkie, Zauver intercepted it and slashed his adversary.
"Woo-hoo! Victory!" Pinkie shouted.
*music stops*
With the mummies gone, the group stepped into the room and found several treasure chests along with something they had never seen before: a life-size mechanical being which walked slowly towards them.
"Is this the 'shining object?'" asked Flora.
"Look at the size of this thing!" said Zauver in amazement.
The ponies, Twilight in particular, couldn't help but stare in astonishment. Never before had they encountered something like this, not even in Equestria.
"You humans must be... the WARRIORS of LIGHT," it spoke in a metallic voice.
Setro regained his composure and replied, "Yes. That is correct."
The automaton held out his hand saying, "I have BEEN waiting... take this WaRP CUBE... TIAmat... Flying Fortress... please..."
"Of course."
With the Warp Cube in hand, our heroes could now gain access to the Flying Fortress. But before they could leave, the robot started short-circuiting and came to a halt, shocking the ponies.
"What happened to him?" asked Pinkie Pie, tearing up.
Setro hesitated and spoke gently. "It must've been dying... It gave us one--and only one--gift to aid us in our quest."
Our heroes paid their respects to the automaton and left the way they came. As they left the cave, the party couldn't help but wonder what happened to the two pegasi.
Meanwhile in Gaia...
Fluttershy and Rainbow landed near the item shop just next to the entrance. They panted heavily, not expecting a long flight all the way from Onrac.
"That was..." Rainbow Dash panted, "further than I thought. You okay, Flutters?"
Fluttershy looked up, panting. "Y-Yes... I'm alright... Just... give me a moment... to catch my breath..."
After several minutes, the girls caught their breath and observed the village. It was yet another lovely town with several trees, giving it a peaceful vibe.
"What a beautiful village," said Fluttershy.
"Sorry to burst your bubble, Flutters," said Rainbow, "but we're just here to find this fairy."
"I know."
They trotted over and attempted to speak with some of the villagers only to scare the poor people away.
"What was that all about?" said Rainbow.
"I don't know," Fluttershy replied. The yellow pegasus tried to approach another villager, only to get the same reaction as before. "Wait, please! We won't hurt you, honest!"
"S-Stay away! Stay away from me!"
Rainbow raised her eyebrow. "Okay... What's goin' on here?"
"Get back, demons! Just give us back our fairy and begone!"
"What?!"
"What do you mean?" asked Fluttershy.
"Don't mess with me, monsters!" the man accused, angrily pointing his finger at the girls.
"We just got here, buddy!" Rainbow retorted.
"Prove it!"
"Look at our wings!" The man did so, and from what he could see, the pegasi's wings were drooping to the ground. His face softened immediately as he stepped back.
"I... I'm sorry," he said, bowing apologetically. "Please forgive my stupidity!"
Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy looked at each other. Sure, this man came across as rude, but if he said was true, then the fairy they were looking for was gone.
"Well, I suppose so," said Rainbow.
"Thank you," he answered. He then cleared his throat and welcomed them informally to Gaia, or as he and his fellow villagers called it, the "Eye of the Hawk."
"'Eye of the Hawk?'" Fluttershy questioned. She then remembered. "Oh, that's right! This continent's shaped like a big bird, isn't it?"
"That's right. South of here you'll find a village we call the Wing of the Hawk. Thing is, we can't understand a world the people say there."
The girls' eyes lightened up at that statement. "What do you mean by that?"
"The villagers there are speaking some sort of ancient language or something I don't know. Anyway, the village is called Lefein or Lufenia or something..."
"'Lufenia?!'" the girls said in unison. That was the last name they expected to hear.
"Um..." said Fluttershy. "Before we go, may we look at the spring?"
"You can," said the villager. "Just go on the path to the church and turn right at the entrance and go through those trees over there.
The ponies went as directed and found a gushing spring where normally the inhabitants of the town would meet with a fairy, but as of that moment, it wasn't there.
"What do we do now, Rainbow Dash?"
"I don't know," the blue pegasus replied, "but we gotta get back to the others." She tried flying off the ground but realized too late that her wings were still tired out from flying all the way from the west. "On second thought, let's just wait here and rest our wings."
"Hmm... I guess," Fluttershy agreed.
Outside of Onrac
Within the small desert, they found an oasis and right next to it, the caravan they sought. And in the caravan was Underhill dressed in a white cloth and a headdress.
"Welcome, travelers!" said the merchant. "What can I do for ya?"
"We've heard that you are selling a very expensive item, good sir," said Setro. "What is it, precisely?"
"Ah, you wish to see it?" Underhill went underneath the cabinet, grabbed a big bottle, and placed on the counter. What shocked our heroes was not the size of this bottle, but the contents: a fairy! "That'll be 50,000 gil."
Rarity gasped. "How dare you, good sir?! In fact, I don't even think we should address you as such!"
The merchant was taken aback. "A talking horse!"
"We're PONIES!"
"More of them! Do you want to trade?"
Teol slammed the counter. "No! Our friends are not for sale!"
Applejack stomped forward and slammed the counter as well. "Just give us that bottle, or ah'll knock y'all into next week!"
"Hmph!" the greedy man scoffed as he jumped over the counter and began shoving our heroes out of the caravan. "I'm afraid not! No deal, NO FAIRY!!"
He closed the door, much to the group's ire.
"How dare he do such a thing?!" said Flora. "Trying to sell a poor innocent creature just for profit."
"Now we'll never get to the Water Crystal," Twilight lamented.
"About that bottle," said Zauver.
"Not now, Zauver," said an irritated Applejack.
"You don't mean... this?" he said, pulling the bottled fairy.
"W-When did you...?"
While you were arguing with that idiot, I switched with another bottle: an empty one!" he laughed.
Applejack raised her eyebrow. "Ain't that stealin'?"
"I believe Zauver said something like this: he only steals from those who would do others harm. And because he tried to sell this poor thing to make quick money, he had done her harm. Isn't that, right, darling?"
"I think so," said the ninja.
"Besides, Applejack," said Twilight, "you've dealt with ponies like him before, right?"
The hat-wearing pony thought back to the Flim-Flam brothers and figured the others were right; they would pull something like this. "Well, ya got me there, Twi." She turned and faced Setro "To Gaia?"
"To Gaia," he answered.
Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were resting near the spring when they heard the sound of propellers. They looked up and saw a familiar airship land at a short distance. They looked at each other and nodded, knowing their friends had come. The girls stood up and trotted over to the entrance only to be a tackled by a pink ball of energy.
"Dashie! Fluttershy!" said Pinkie Pie, hugging her friends tightly.
"Happy to see you, too, Pinkie," said Rainbow with a strained voice as she struggled to free herself and her fellow pegasus from the party mare's embrace.
"Pinkie... Pie," said Fluttershy. "We need.. to b-breathe!"
"Oh," she said, finally releasing her friends and laughing nervously. "Sorry about that. It's just that I'm SOOOOOOO happy to see you again!"
The rest of the party chuckled as they came forward.
"What are you guys doing here? Did something happen?" asked Rainbow. After exchanging information, Zauver pulled out the bottled fairy. "We found this in a merchant's caravan outside of Onrac.
Fluttershy gasped. "Oh the poor thing! Did he hurt you?" The fairy shook her head but smiled at the yellow pegasus.
The party went back to the spring and released the fairy.
"Thank you, humans and ponies," she said. "Please accept this as your reward." The little winged creature placed the liquid from the spring in the bottle and gave it to Setro.
"Ah!" Rainbow Dash responded. "So this was really..."
"That is correct. This is Oxyale, which will allow you to breathe underwater. I understand that you are the Warriors of Light, yes?"
"That's right," said Setro. "And these ponies are our friends and allies."
"Thank you so much!" said Twilight.
"No," said the fairy. "Thank you for saving me! This was the least I could do for you."
"Let us return to Onrac!" Setro declared.
As soon as our heroes gathered what they could from the shops, it was time to the restore the Crystal of Water. With the Oxyale, they gained the ability to breathe underwater, making their trek through the shrine much easier.
"There's just one problem," said Rainbow Dash. "That thing's too small for all ten of us! We'll never fit in!"
"Oh, you will," said the woman as her appearnce began to change. The group was shocked to see that her true form was that of a cross between human and fish. She was, in actuality, a mermaid. "I have faith in you all, and I know that you will succeed where we had failed centuries ago..." she said, as her spirit faded away.
Flora and Fluttershy gasped, their eyes tearing. The party paid their respects and went inside. What surprised them was within the small barrel was an even larger command room.
"What the...?!" said Twilight.
Rainbow, too, was befuddled. "Okay. This is weird."
Pinkie gasped. "Oh my gosh! This place is much bigger on the inside! I guess it goes to show you can't judge things by the outside but what's inside that really matters, and what looked like a small insignificant barrel turned out to be a super-duper big vessel that's super-duper big for all of us..."
As Pinkie rambled on, the rest of the team examined the interior in detail. Setro sat and stared at the control panel with a puzzled look on his face, wondering how anyone could operate this device.
"Pinkie, you take the..." Setro paused and looked back at the manual. "periscope."
"Okey-dokey-lokey!" the pink mare said with a salute.
"To the Sunken Shrine!"
The vessel dived and went underwater. Rarity and Fluttershy marveled at the wonders of the sea, admiring the tranquility and the sea life. One little fish caught the yellow pegasus' attention by waving with its fin. Fluttershy giggled and waved back.
"We're here," said Teol.
"Is everyone ready?" asked Setro.
The others nodded and followed him upwards.
The ponies and the Light Warriors looked around and marched through the shrine, looking for the altar in order to face the Water Fiend.
On the fifth floor, our heroes split up and went into different rooms, with Pinkie Pie taking several gil from the treasure chests and an diamond armlet. Setro and Zauver went into two separate chambers and obtained a total of 9150 gil. Rarity found herself an antidote in one of the southeastern chambers while Teol found a diamond shield.
Twilight found three treasure chests in the northeastern-most chamber of the floor and found more pieces of diamond armor along with a strange stone tablet.
Getting back together, they all went over what they discovered and gave Setro the diamond armor.
"Interesting," said the knight. "What could this slab mean?"
"I think I may know what it is," Twilight answered. "But after we finish our business here, we may need to find someone who can translate."
The others agreed, going back down where they went back downstairs and fought with several cockatrices. The ponies gasped.
"Oh, no!" said Twilight, closing her eyes. "I've already turned to stone once. I'm not doing it again!"
With the chicken-serpent hybrid defeated, our heroes moved on down to the first floor of the shrine. There they found the altar with the weakened crystal and a blue orb floating in front of it. As they approached the orb, a giant squid-like figure with ten tentacles draped in a purple cape appeared laughing haughtily at the heroes.
"Ho ho ho ho ho... To think, my adversaries would be such puny creatures."
"And you are...?" said Setro.
"I am the Kraken, Fiend of Water."
Rarity felt as though she was about to faint at the sight of this being, but she stood her ground ready to fight and restore the crystal.
"Now, let us do battle!"
The humans unsheathed their weapons and the ponies went into their battle stances.
"Take this!" said the Kraken, spewing ink on the entire party, blinding seven of them--Setro, Flora, Twilight, Applejack, Teol, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity.
Fluttershy looked on as the sea creature sadistically toyed with her friends. "You... you big... BULLY!" She charged at the Kraken and successfully struck it in the head with her hind leg.
Zauver and Pinkie Pie quickly ran over to the group and gave them several eye drops.
"Thanks, y'all!" said Applejack. The orange earth pony turned and glared the monster that enjoyed their pain and bucked the Fiend of Water, sending it crashing into a column. The evil cephalopod rose and quivered with fury.
"How dare you!" he growled. "No one strikes down the Kraken that easily!"
"Well, ah just did," the farmpony retorted.
"I should have done this earlier," said Flora. "Invisara!" With that spell, the group's evasion rate increased moderately, making it harder for the Kraken to land a single blow.
"Firaga!" Teol chanted. The Fiend of Water screamed as it was burning, evaporating completely. Our heroes stood triumphantly once more.
*music stops*
Flora stood in front of the crystal on the altar holding out her crystal shard. "May the Light of this Crystal shine," said the white wizard. As before the party felt the warmth of the light and embraced it wholly. They used the portal behind the Crystal and immediately found themselves outside the town of Onrac. Tired from the battle, our heroes rested at the inn once more.
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10554630
Don't be, but Tyro's proving himself a capable Protagonist, too.
Nice call back to the cockatrice and I particularly like the scene with the shopkeeper there.