The Nuckelavee
Sunny Starscout still couldn’t believe it. She’d been running for what felt like hours, not once feeling the slightest bit exhausted. Her legs felt stronger with every step she took, noting how the grass seemed to grow longer. Even a few flowers sprouted from the ground itself.
“This… is… INCREDIBLE!!!” She cheered.
She whipped her head back, her braid nearly smacking Keith square in the face. He grabbed hold of it with a hint of annoyance and adjusted it over her side. In the midst of their ride, Izzy Moonbow and Katie Holt galloped by their side.
“How much farther?” Izzy asked. “Not that I’m complaining, I haven’t run this fast in ages! Woohoo!”
Keith inhaled deeply, smelling the distant aroma of salt water in the distance. “We’re almost there Izzy!” He declared. “Just a few more miles dead ahead!”
High above them, Zipp and Allura observed the region with a bird’s eye view. They could see a straight blue line just over the horizon.
“Keith’s right!” Allura said, pointing ahead. “I can see the ocean from up here!”
“Whoa!” Lance gasped. “I’ve never seen the ocean before!”
“It’s gorgeoooous!” Pipp said in a sing-sung voice.
The ponies picked up the pace, galloping ever faster toward the ocean. While the Earth ponies, the unicorn, and their riders enjoyed the high-speed gallop over the hills, their Pegasi and fairy friends marveled at how the rays of the setting sun sparkled over the water. They could hear the crashing waves along the shoreline. It was still difficult to believe just how far they’ve come in such a short time.
Only a few days have passed, yet Keith and Sunny felt as though they’ve been gone from Maretime Bay for ages. They were different Earth folk prior to the start of their quest. Keith, a Mage too afraid to reveal his heritage now held his head up high with his jewel in full display. Whereas for Sunny, a mare trying in vain to spread the word of friendship finally understood why her words fell on deaf ears. While they were still the same, a practical Elf and his hopeful pony companion, they’d grown wiser now. Sunny in turn realized her mistakes: Stealing from other races, deceiving them for their objects… how could she imagine it would solve everything?
Now… she knew better. From this moment forward, Sunny would use this newfound knowledge to show everyone and every pony that all the stories were true. That at long last, the world and all its glorious creations would be healed.
Even Hitch Trailblazer, the most skeptical of the whole group, had changed. Everything he thought were true turned out to be nothing but lies fueled by paranoia and hatred. He too knew better now, a humbled pony anxious to return home. Not just with a higher understanding of the world around him, but with a whole new batch of friends by his side.
There the ocean sat in clear view, and the lighthouse tower peering from the tallest trees. Sunny jumped over the bushes both she and Keith once used to hide Izzy and Katie. They slowed to a halt upon reaching their house, which was just the same as when they left.
But the moment they looked toward the city of Maretime Bay itself… their smiles completely dropped. The town itself was completely deserted, trash littered the streets, and lampposts flickered on-and-off. The other elves and ponies stared toward the ghost town completely baffled.
“Huh… not as lively as I expected it to be,” Lance remarked.
“What happened?” Pipp asked worriedly, placing a hoof upon her heart.
“I don’t know,” Sunny replied, her ears flopped. “Where is everybody?”
“Let’s go find out,” Keith spoke. “Stay close, everyone.”
Slowly, they galloped down the lighthouse hill toward town square. Trekking along the empty streets, every shop was closed, the smoothie van was tipped over, and all around were green posters of some pony shadowed in black wearing a hat and cap. Hitch was certain he recognized that greasy hairstyle before… No, it couldn’t be…Could it?
Suddenly, Hunk whipped his head around and cupped his hand to his ear. “You guys hear that?” He asked. “It sounds like… marching?”
Turned out Hunk was right. The sound of hooves and feet marching on cobbled stone echoed through their eardrums. Following the sound, the group screeched to a halt when they saw a lengthy line of Earth ponies with Earth elves atop their backs marching in perfect synchronization. They were all wearing the anti-mind-reading helmets.
“What the buck is going on here?” Hitch asked.
One of the elves heard Hitch’s voice and turned his head. “Hitch?” The elf raised his brows. “Hey guys! Hitch is back!” But the elf’s happiness immediately shifted to sheer terror at the sight before him. Immediately, he started screaming as he clung onto the pony’s mane the moment he saw the others accompanying him.
“AND SO ARE THE UNICORN AND MAGE!!!”
“AND THEY BROUGHT PEGASI AND FAIRIES!!!” His pony screamed. An immediate panic exploded in the streets; their perfect formation broke in two. The crowd of ponies and elves alike erupt into a frenzy within seconds.
“No, wait! Everybody, calm down!” Sunny shouted, raising her voice but not enough to to sound too demanding.
“They’re not going to hurt you!” Keith announced.
“Yeah, we’re friends now!” Izzy said, raising her hoof.
Lance soon noticed one elf aiming what resembled a giant bazooka directly at them. “Look out!” He shouted and jumped off Pipp’s back and flew towards Izzy and Katie, shoving them away before a giant new flew where they stood.
Katie and Izzy ducked-and-rolled along the ground, but thankfully uninjured. Lance helped Katie to her feet, while Pipp and Zipp rushed to Izzy’s aid. Katie and Izzy soon reunited, the former hugging her friend like a protective mother.
Another elf aimed to fire, only this time Keith deflected the net with a stretch of his hand engulfing it in a red aura. At Keith’s command, much to his surprise, he hurled the net aside. This shocking revelation of magic horrified the elf, pointing a single shaking finger at him.
“Is that… Keith?”
“He’s a mage?!” A pony screamed.
“He’s one of them!”
“He’s a traitor!!!”
All at once, Keith’s worst fears were realized. Everybody in this whole town was already turning on him. All because of a single jewel on his forehead. His magic didn’t fix things, only cemented their fear of mages and unicorns alike.
“Leave him alone!” Hitch, with Hunk on his back, skid in front of Keith and served as his shield. “Yes, he’s a mage!” Hitch shouted. “But he’s not the enemy! None of them are!”
“Oh no!” Another pony gasped. “He’s brainwashed Hitch!”
“Seriously?” Hunk said annoyed. “Were we really this paranoid?”
“We’re not brainwashed!” Hitch argued.
“Well, well, well…”
The crowd quickly dispersed, as Sprout walked into the open with James Griffin riding on his back. Beside them was Phyllis, along with her rider, Commander Iverson.
“Sprout?!”
Hitch and Sunny couldn’t believe their eyes. But there he was: Sprout, wearing a pair of sunglasses, a hat with an assortment of badges and medals (Where he got them was a complete mystery), and wearing a long green cape. He looked like some dictator from those dystopian movies… a sight which had the two friends staring in disbelief.
“Whaaaaaaa?” They uttered in unison.
“Well looky what we have here!” Sprout said cockily. “Lil’ Sheriff Hitchy come trotting back… with the enemy! Should’ve known you’d go rogue like your girlfriend!”
“What are you doing, Sprout?!” Hitch stomped his hoof. “I leave for a few days, and you turn Maretime Bay into… wha—what even is this? How’d you do all this? Just how? Why?”
“Surprised, boss?” Sprout taunted, tapping Hitch’s nose. “Betcha didn’t think your deputy had it in him. Well… jokes on you, buddy-boy! Now I’m the leader of Maretime Bay! And unlike you, I’m keeping everyone safe from our enemies… by fighting back!”
“Though we do appreciate you bringing a few right to our doorstep,” James added, gesturing toward the others. It was then James gasped upon noticing the jewel squarely on Keith’s forehead. “No… way! I knew there was something weird about you, Kogan! That’s why Argyle took you in! You’re a magical mind-reading freak just like the rest of ‘em!”
“I’m an elf, just like you and everyone else!” Keith shouted.
“You’re a mage!” Sprout pointed accusingly. “By definition, that makes you NOT like us!”
“Where’s your army of mages and unicorns, Kogan?” James asked, pounding his fists. “They showin’ up or what?”
“There is no army!” Sunny said. “We’re not here to fight! The stories… the Paladins, the Maiden, and Avalon… it’s all real! We have no reason to be enemies!”
“It’s true!” Hunk spoke. “The Skylings and Jewel-Horns mean us no harm; we’ve no reason to fear them! Besides, they don’t even have magic!”
Phyllis and Iverson faced each other, surprised beyond words. “What?” Phyllis whispered.
“Are they serious?” Iverson whispered back.
“Hmph… no magic, huh?” Sprout chuckled. “Hah! That’s even better!”
“Wait a minute!” An elf called out. “How are you able to do that magic thing?”
“Because magic only disappeared when we stopped being friends!” Keith explained. “It’s not just Jewel-Horns and Skylings! Earth folk had magic too!” Keith nodded at Sunny and she raised her hooves, pounding hard against the ground.
The grass beneath her sprouted below the tiles and cobblestones making up the street. Hitch did the same, and soon everybody observing realizing that no words could explain this phenomenon.
“How are you doing that?!” Iverson asked, astonished.
“Because by forgetting how to be friends, we forgot who we were!” Sunny answered. “We lost a piece of ourselves when our races separated. Our world used to be filled with magic, a power meant to be shared. Ours returned when we accepted the Magic of Friendship! You can too if you just let go of your fear. We can bring friendship back! Bring back Avalon! Together!”
As the prospect of such a future came to mind, smiles slowly formed upon the faces of ponies and elves alike willing to listen.
“You mean… we don’t have to fight?” A pony asked hopefully.
“That’s a relief!” An elf sighed, removing his helmet.
For a moment, Sprout was too stunned to speak. He just witnessed Hitch and Sunny… performing magic! Real, honest-to-pony magic! This… changed everything.
“W-Wait! H-H-Hold on a second!” Sprout stuttered. “If what they’re saying is true… then… why should Skylings and JewelHorns have their magic back?”
The Paladins stared toward Sprout in confusion. “What are you talking about?” Hitch asked.
“Who’s to say Skylings won’t swoop down and snatch us like they used to?” Sprout emphasized. “Or—or what if JewelHorns brainwashed us into giving them our magic?”
As he listened, even if he didn’t show it, Keith could feel his body tremble over whatever Sprout was cooking up in that twisted skull of his. If he was capable of assembling a literal army within a few days, what else could he truly accomplish? Have they underestimated Sprout all this time?
“Think about it: If we’re the only ponies with magic, there’s no way we’ll have to be afraid anymore! Ha-ha! We Earth folk would stand a fighting chance!” Sprout hurled his head back with a maniacal laugh, making even Iverson shiver.
“Okay sport, maybe you should take it down a notch,” Iverson suggested.
“I must agree, dear,” Phyllis spoke. “Why don’t we take a step back and discuss this over cookies and milk?”
Sprout ignored his mother, as he slowly approached Sunny. “This is what you wanted, isn’t it Starscout?” He asked, twitching an eye. “You want everyone to stop living in fear? Bring back magic? This is your chance! Come quietly, and ‘maybe’ we’ll let that mage-freak of a brother go.”
“I’ve got a nice jail cell with your name on it, Kogan,” James snickered, behind Sprout. “Now I finally get to put it to good use!”
“Are you insane?!” Sunny shouted.
“Is that a rhetorical question?” Katie asked sarcastically.
Keith cautiously dismounted Sunny’s back and slowly approached Sprout. The Earth pony stepped back; his ears pressed against his head. But Keith wasn’t fooled in the slightest. He knew beneath that tough exterior Sprout was showing, he was shivering. James, on the other hand, had nothing but resentment in his eyes.
“Sprout, listen to what you’re saying,” Keith spoke. “This isn’t what’s magic supposed to be for. It’s not meant to overpower anyone; we’re meant to share it. Make the world better. I know what it feels like to be afraid.”
“You don’t know anything!” Sprout spat venomously.
“I know you were raised to be scared of those different from you! By all accounts, I should hate you for all the things you’ve said about mages over the years… but I don’t. I see now that lies can be a powerful thing, so much easier to believe than to accept the truth. It’s okay to fear the unknown, what you shouldn’t do is let that fear keep you chained up forever.”
Though Keith was speaking directly toward Sprout, it felt as though he were speaking to everyone else. Even Phyllis hung her head in shame, realizing the truth in his words. All the ponies and elves alike faced each other, contemplating his words.
“Long ago, lies and mistrust tore our world apart,” Keith continued. “It tore us apart, friends and families. Whether we have wings or jewels or horns… we’re all ponies and elves, brothers and sisters. Our differences, big or small, are what make us who we are. And when we share those gifts, we really can create magic. It’s not too late. We can choose friendship; we can choose love.”
Keith turned toward his shoulder, smiling toward his sister. Sunny smiled back, as Keith returned his gesture toward Sprout. He offered his hand, hoping for the pony to place his hoof upon his palm. Sprout just stared at the hand, contemplating the offer.
“Please, old friend…” Keith begged. “Let it go.”
“Sweetie…”
Sprout turned toward his mother, her ears down. She tapped the ground with the tip of her hoof.
“Maybe… you should listen to him,” Phyllis advised.
“This has gone far enough,” Iverson nodded in agreement. “Stand down.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold up!” James shouted, raising his hand. “You guys made this whole hullabaloo over fighting back against the Skylings and JewelHorns! We have them within firing range and now you’re telling us to call it quits? Well—what does that say about US?! We really going to let a few flowery words turn us into backpedaling wimps?!”
Sprout felt the adrenaline pumping again. James had a point: They’ve come too far to prove that Earth folk were the master race. Why should they be afraid anymore? Keith and Sunny gasped with devastation as Sprout took two more steps… away from them.
“You’re right about one thing,” Sprout smiled. “I’m sick of being afraid, and there’s only one way to fix that… by getting rid of what scares us! James, do the thing!”
“On it!”
James pulled a square silver box with a big shiny red button on it. Izzy marveled its bright color, only snapping out of it when Katie tugged her mane.
James pressed the button. At first, nothing happened. Then, all of a sudden, the ground began to shiver and shake. Loud fears and steam pumping bombarded their ears. From the shadows of the dimly-lit streets emerged a massive mechanical monstrosity forged into the shape of Sprout himself with another yellow robot on top. It was like an elf and pony merged into one.
Strapped upon the robotic elf’s arm was a massive gold-and-white telescope-like object. Ancient runes were caved along its edge, adorned with a variety of jewels and stones. At the very sight of it, Phyllis and Iverson gasped.
“It’s… it’s the—!” Phyllis stammered.
“That’s right, mommy!” Sprout declared proudly. “Your ‘secret weapon’ you’ve kept under my nose the entire time! We could’ve ended this war a long time ago, but ‘you’ never had the guts to use it!”
“I-I-It was still in the prototype stage!” Phyllis said shakily.
“James!” Iverson shouted. “You’re supposed to keep that confidential!”
“Please… you really thought I’d keep something as juicy as this a secret?” He smiled wickedly toward Keith. “Scared, Kogan?”
“What is that thing?!” Sunny asked.
“Stand back!” Keith shielded Sunny.
“That… is what remains of old Equestria’s arsenal!” Sprout explained. “Thanks to mommy’s technical adjustments, it’s now perfectly designed to do the one thing it was meant to do: STEAL MAGIC!!!”
“WHAT?!?!” The Paladins screamed.
“That’s impossible!” Hitch shouted. “We just told you, the other JewelHorns and Skylings don’t have magic!”
“Yeah, I was worried we wouldn’t get to use it,” James admitted. “But if what you guys have shown hints there’s a slimmer of magic in their system, best to suck them dry before they can use it!”
Keith, Sunny, and the others wished they could wake from this nightmare. This madness was too much even for James and Sprout, as if they were possessed by…
Then, seemingly out of nowhere, the Paladins felt something itching their eyes. Blinking several times, their vision distorted till they finally saw, in place of James and Sprout, the faces of the original traitors responsible for splitting their world apart…
Mordred and Puck…
The Paladins watched in dread, as the ghostly souls of Mordred and Puck hovered above Sprout and James. They whispered in their ears, fueling their fear and desire to be proven right. It would’ve been easy to blame the spirits, but somehow the Paladins knew deep down it wasn’t that simple.
Mordred and Puck were merely ghosts of the past, but their influence was always present even though they cannot be seen. Fear itself was the ‘real’ enemy, always had been. The fear within James and Sprout gave more power to the souls of Mordred and Puck, not the other way around.
This was all on Sprout and James… and Phyllis. Sunny faced the older pony, the one who filled young ponies heads for years with misleading facts and false accusations of the other races. Before her eyes, Sunny watched as the once prideful, bigoted pony crumbled to reveal a remorseful, even broken pony seeing the fruits of her labor turn rotten before her.
“Sprout, James, please don’t do this!” Sunny called out. “There’s another way!”
“Shut it, Starscout!” Sprout shouted. “Time to wake up and join reality!”
He galloped towards the machine, shifting into his smaller pony form while James climbed onto the elf robot and centered himself into the cockpit. Sprout himself sat within the head of the robot pony.
“Maybe this is a bit too much, dear!” Phyllis cried. But it was too late… her son was too far gone to reason with.
“Troops!” Sprout declared. “To Bridlewood!”
But instead of listening, every pony and elf scattered, screaming as they galloped away. There was no possible way they’d take part in any of this. Seeing them flee before his eyes, his gaze turned red with rage.
“Fine! Be that way!” Sprout growled. “When we return with all the magic, you’ll be thanking us! James, warm up the thingy!”
“We really should come up with a cooler name,” James commented.
He tapped on the keyboard, pulled a few levers and the ancient weapon on the machine’s arm lit up. The jewels and crystals glowed, firing up… and then the dashboard began to short circuit. James backed away in alarm, completely taken aback. Down below, the very same thing was happening with Sprout.
“Uh, James? Buddy? What’s going on?”
“I—I don’t know!”
Phyllis knew what was happening, as she and Iverson watched the static coursing from the weapon and throughout the whole machine.
“No! No, no, no, no, no! It’s—it’s too much!”
“What do you mean?!” Iverson asked.
“I thought I covered up all the bugs,” She whimpered. “But, well… it’s ‘very’ old technology! I thought for sure I could… figure it out?”
The Paladins turned toward her, a heavy trace of anger on their brows. “HOW’D THAT WORK OUT FOR YA?!” They shouted.
James’ eyes stared frantically toward the dashboard, watching it glow as though it were dumped by radiation. “That’s it! I’m jumping ship!”
James quickly jumped out of the side of the robot’s head and Sprout, facing a similar situation, followed suit. They tucked and rolled, all while the machine started glowing. Its arms and limbs started reacting entirely on their own, and before their eyes the mech started marching ahead.
Target: Bridlewood, The machine spoke Initiative: Absorb all magic; leave no survivors.
“NO SURVIVORS?!” Phyllis screamed at her son.
“I.. might have overdone it a little?” Sprout smiled sheepishly.
“A LITTLE?!”
“Everybody, clear out of the way!” Hitch shouted.
The Paladins mounted their respected pony, jumping away from the incoming mech. Allura and Zipp flew by, snatching Phyllis and Iverson from the ground while Lance and Pipp tossed Sprout and James to a safer spot. The mech steamrolled through town, crashing and flattening everything in its way. From garbage cans to a child’s toy left behind in the chaos.
Ponies and elves ran but weren’t fast enough to compete with the machine.
Hitch and Hunk jumped in and rescued a couple along with their colt. Izzy and Katie used their magic to levitate civilians from the mech’s path, all while preventing lampposts from falling onto a group of elf and pony children. The group watched in amazement toward the mage and unicorn who saved their lives.
Sunny galloped after the mech, jumping from bench to bench (Even the side of several buildings) while Keith magically pushed the people out of the way. Soon the Paladins gathered together, panting from exhaustion, watching the Mech charge ahead for the open road.
“That thing’s heading to Bridlewood!” Izzy said.
“If what Phyllis said is true,” Hunk began. “That thing will suck every last JewelHorn dry of magic!”
“Except they don’t have any!” Pipp reminded him. “What will it do if it doesn’t find magic to steal?”
They turned toward Phyllis, who sat on her rump watching the machine (Partly of her own making) heading out into the world. Her face was frozen in horror as it dawned on her.
“Then… it will destroy them…” Phyllis said. “All of them…”
The Paladins looked at each other and the answer was clear as day. They had to stop that thing before it reached Bridlewood, and quite possibly… Zephyr Heights!
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Alright, new update. Awesome job and wow an alternate way of showing a malfunction and a few twist on the mech robot, and it’s heading to Bridlewood to either suck the magic dry or destroy all those ponies and elf’s if they don’t have any, this is gonna be wild and awesome to see for the Paladins to save equestria and all the ponies and elf’s that live on it. Awesome job, keep up the great work
I don't know what a Nuckelavee is, but these Paladins are definitely facing their first test as a team. Apparently their efforts to persuade a whole town that they've been scared over nothing just isn't reaching out to them. Either it is pure ignorance... or it's truly some spiritual work of traitors whispering sinister thoughts in the ears of those who are either true dimwits... or just purely hate the protagonists. And now everyone in town's paying the consequences. A mech is running rampant, the world is at stake, and again all because of fear.
This definitely boosts the climax of the original feature up a couple levels.
11076781
It’s a Scottish skinless monster that describes as a man riding a demonic horse, but it’s a lot scary than you think. *shiver*
11076830
Okay, now that makes sense. Because Sprout and James were essentially about to ride a robotic monstrocity that ultimately goes haywire. And if anything bad happens to the Unicorns and Pegasi, along with those mages and fairies, the Earth folk and their pony friends will be easy to blame because they're the ones who invented the device... but then again, who's to say the machine won't go after 'them' either?
11076830
Indeed it is!!!!
11076832
That’s what happens to a machine go rogue than it suppose to do, it’s goes bad either way. Also, what interesting me is the omnibus essence spewing out of two knuckleheads seem rather eerie.
Who to say that seem their even more happening than we thought rather than misplace paranoia. Even if the other tribes knows who responsible for the robot on a rampage, it’s still won’t stop till nothing is left to blame at. Perhaps it is a chance to show everyone that divided alone can’t stop the incoming destruction, but unite as one to fight against a common enemy.
11076846
Yup, that’s the one. (Me running for the hill*Aaaaaaaaaaarhh*)
Awesome job on the new update! This chapter is far different from the original movie and I'm glad that you added your own version. I'm looking up the Nuckelavee and I think I'm not able to go to sleep tonight *shiver*
Hoooolllyyyy Christ… when it comes to “Leaving no survivors”… I’m sure we’re can count that as the shit got real moment.
The machine voice would have to sound like G.L.A.D.O.S. from portal or some robotic sinister.