Along the southwestern shores of the Nealend Atoll, hundreds of natives ran onto the beach, cheering and whooping. Foals danced in the shallow surf while adults pointed at the massive serpent breaching the distant waves. Several natives smiled, cheered, and chest-bumped one another liberally.
A handful of stranded Continentalists gathered by the treeline, gazing worriedly at the dramatic hunt along the horizon. As Ultimo leapt out of the bursting water again, they gasped and exchanged worried looks.
“Zut alors!” Sinrar exclaimed. “It's much more massive than I thought!” He gulped, glancing aside at Nick. “You suppose the harpy is biting off more than she can chew?”
Nick merely stared at the scene, chewing hard on his lip. He dove into the Swan Song's cabin, rummaged around, then emerged with a spyglass. Squinting down the small in, he magnified the sight before him. When things came into focus, he spotted the one remaining canoe with its three equine occupants charging the mountain of disturbed water that was Ultimo's body.
The young stallion gnashed his teeth. “Ah jeez...” He lowered the spyglass, his ears folded back. “Flare, don't go nuts. That's Rainbow's job.”
“Get me closer so I can spill his blood!” Silver hollered against the spray of water. He levitated a spear on either side of him while Flare glided the canoe against the violent flow of water. “Aaaaaah-ha-ha-ha-ha!” He slapped his own chest repeatedly and mounted the boat's prow, nostrils flaring. “Open your veins, Ultimo, so I may drink you into eternity! Ha ha ha ha!”
“Better get your soul-stealer ready, Thunker Meat.” Flare grinned, aiming the boat towards the charging serpent. The air filled with mist and madness. “This is a moment you won't want to miss!”
“I'm already getting an earful, thank you, kind filly!” Theanim Mane nevertheless readied his camera—a difficult task with all of his shivering. “Oh blessed Queen protect us...”
“It's Ultimo who had better pray now!” Silver bellowed, standing up on his hind legs just as the boat hit the penultimate crest. “Yaaaaaaaugh!” He launched his body forward just as the monster breached the water. He sunk his right spear into the right side of the beast's lunging jaws. The other javelin ricocheted off a glowing set of teeth. Silver grunted, clinging on to his embedded spear. He watched in frustration as the other spear fell towards the water's surface below.
Swisssssh! Rainbow Dash swooped in, grabbed the spear, and flew alongside Ultimo's body. The front half of the serpent was diving towards the ocean while its back half humped upwards—drawn by the creature's huge weight.
“Silver—!” Twilight shouted through the watery spray.
Rainbow watched with a gawking expression as Ultimo's snout dove deep, dragging Silver's body with it. However, the entire time, Rainbow could see the glowing pulse of the unicorn's horn. It grew faint, then brighter until—SPLASSH!—the beast surfaced again with a thoroughly drenched Silver still clinging on by his spear.
“Whoop! It'll take more than that you giant rope turd! Hah!”
“Silver!” Rainbow Dash flew alongside him while the serpent skimmed the surface in a bent arc. The massive thing turned—seemingly oblivious to Silver's spear—and pursued Flare and Theanim's darting canoe. “Let go, ya melon fudge!”
“Not on your life!” Silver grinned, his muzzle drenched with seawater. “I've introduced him to pain, see?!” He pointed at the half-submerged length of the beast splashing up water behind them. “He's anchored to the surface so long as I pry his scales apart!”
“So... so wh-what now?!”
“Stab it some more!” Silver gestured with his horn. “Preferably the eye!”
“Ohhh!” Twilight grimaced, curling up into a floating ball. “Really?!”
Rainbow Dash flapped her wings harder as she gazed all across the beast's slick surface. At last she saw a twitching black orb settled in the crux of several wrinkled, circular muscles. A filmy lid snapped open and shut several times, reflecting blue sky and white clouds.
“Nnngh!” Rainbow tried perching on the beast's scale—only to slip off. She twirled and flew alongside Ultimo again. “What will blinding it do?!”
“Plenty!” Silver hollered, using his telekinesis to bore his spear deeper into the beast's bleeding flesh. “But more to it—you gotta shove hard! The eye's open access to the brain!” He spat up sea water, shifting his weight on the impalement. “Shove it deep enough and you turn the dumb thing to a vegetable!”
“Rainbow, look out!” Twilight hollered.
Rainbow gasped as a massive fin swiped at her. She dodged the blow, spun about, and stood atop the beast's skull. “Can we just try and pry the thing's jaws open so I can get at the Shard—?”
“What is this, a blood market?!” Silver yelled. “Grnnngh!” He ripped his spear out and stabbed it in again. “The only reason we've managed to have a conversation is because Ultimo's let us!”
“Let us...?!”
“Yes!” Silver pointed ahead. “The beast hungers! He'd rather eat everypony whole!”
“Everypony...” Rainbow Dash looked straight forward. “...whole?” Her pupils shrunk.
Unknowingly, Flare—in her evasive maneuvers—had steered herself towards where Kaji and Sora were treading water. Ultimo bore down on all four ponies, and Rainbow could feel herself and Silver lifting as the monster's massive jaws opened.
“He's going to devour them!” Twilight shouted.
Rainbow gnashed her teeth. She looked to her right, spotting Ultimo's front left fin. She somesaulted, slid down the beast's wet scales, then aimed the spear for the soft tissue right beneath the razor-sharp appendage. “Rrrrrgh!” She flung it straight forward.
Schliiiink! The pole embedded halfway into the quivering flesh.
A dull bass noise rippled down the full length of the serpent. As the seawater turned red, Rainbow kicked nimbly off the tumultuous waves, springing herself back towards the wounded scale. She planted her lower legs against the beast's side and clamped her teeth over the pole. Using every muscle in her body, she twisted savagely at the impaling weapon—finally yanking towards the waters.
Ultimo's fin twitched, going numb. The beast suddenly veered to the left, skirting right past Kaji and Sora by mere inches.
“A fine stab, landwalker!” Silver cheered over the bedlam. “A fine flblblbllblbbblllbb—!”
“Huh?!” Rainbow looked up to see why Silver's voice had been silence. All she saw was foamy red water surging towards her as the beast's whole body rolled into a corkscrew.
“Hold your breath, Rainbow!” Twilight shouted.
The mare was way ahead of her. Even still, it did not prepare her for the sheer slamming impact of the water against her person. Rainbow held onto the spear by the crook of her hoof. Her lower body flailed, and her wings struggled to keep herself even. Twitching eyes darted about, seeing horizontal whirpools issuing out from every fin and spine along Ultimo's headcrest. For a virtual eternity, the beast performed its roll, until finally Rainbow emerged in the wet, sunny air, thoroughly drenched and numbed from the liquid punishment. She heard another series of sputtering breaths.
“Hah hah hah!” Silver grinned. He pulled his spear out and laughed into a spray of blood soaking his muzzle. “I shall sing of your death for ages—”
Ultimo dipped its snout into the sea, blasting Silver with a jet of water.
“D'OH!” Silver flew off the beast's scales like a bullet, sailing off into the drink.
Rainbow winced, then spun about. “Right.” Schluckkk! She pulled the spear out. “The eye.”
“Careful, Rainbow!” Twilight shuddered. “Let's try to stun the animal, not kill it!”
“Mrmmmff!” Rainbow clasped her teeth over the middle of the spear. “Mrmmfuuu tellff daff doo himmfff!” She galloped along its spine—only for the serpent's undulating motions to send her flying back. “Mrmmff—Luna's nipfffle!” Rainbow slipped on the glossy skin, rolled, and went sliding like a torpedo towards the tail.
“Rainbow! Watch out!”
“Mrmmff?!” Rainbow tilted her head.
She caught an upside down view of the first of many razor sharp backspines. She was sailing straight towards the serrated array.
“Grfff!” Rainbow pivoted onto her belly and stabbed the spear into Ultimo's back. Her body twirled, anchored by the impalement, and her lower half stopped just centimeters away from the first sharp spine. “Grffggh!”
“It's rolling again!” Twilight hollered.
“Mrfffghhh!” Rainbow stood up, gripping the spear in her forelimbs as the sea level rose dramatically, bubbling all around. “Oh for Pete's sake!” She nevertheless inhaled sharply and clenched her eyes to the coming water pressure.
From afar, Kaji and Sora whistled, treading in the choppy waters. They watched as Ultimo dipped below the waves, rose once more, and dipped again. All the while, a daredevilish pegasus with a spectral mane clung to its muscular hide.
“She's got coral in her blood!” Sora grinned wide. “A true child of Verlaxion to the core!”
“Almost feels like she's fought this sort of beast before,” Kaji said.
With a spray of water, Flare skimmed her canoe to a halt. “Hello, boys! Enjoying the show?”
“And how!” Kaji looked at the craft. “Catching this, Thunker Meat?”
“Oh I do hope the film develops just fine.” Theanim Mane still gulped, eyeing the fountaining waters with nervous eyes. “Is she still in one piece?”
“Yes!” Silver surfaced, spitting water out and smirking. “And reducing Ultimo to pieces! Whoop! What a lovely day!”
“I don't understand...” Theanim shuddered. “Ultimo's been so elusive up until now. Why isn't he diving back into the deep?!” He glanced at the natives. “It's almost as though he's mocking Rainbow!”
“Yes, imagine that.” Flare waggled her eyebrows at the other islanders. “Fancy a bloodspill? Silver's already had his turn.”
“And I want another!” Silver pouted.
“Relax, brother.” Sora climbed into Flare's canoe and grabbed a spear. “The landwalker is good, but if Ultimo wanted to devour her he would have.” He grabbed another lance and tossed it at Kaji. “Let us punish him for his arrogance.”
“Whoop!” Kaji flapped his wings, levitating with the spear in his grasp. “Verlaxion favors the children who chant!”
“And scream!” Flare added.
“And spill!” Sora beat the canoe with his spear, signaling Flare to begin accelerating the craft. “Blood! Blood for the Queen of all things!”
“Raaaaaaugh!”
“Yeah ha ha ha ha!”
Theanim gulped, cowering into a little ball. “I just had to get a VIP seat...”
“Go! Go, brothers and sisters!” Silver hollered, cheering from where he treaded water. “Don't come back until your skin is scarlet!”
Just then, a dorsal fin rose up in the waters behind the unicorn, drawing closer.
“Httt!” Without looking, Silver violently bucked his hooves back.
A shark's bruised body breached the water, flew back, landed, and scurried away.
“Hmmmf!” Silver rubbed his muzzle and spat bloodied saliva into the sea. “Party pooper.” He continued watching the violent charge with a frenzied smile.
I say my dear chap. Have you heard the word of the God Emperor?
If Dash is going to try and take Ultimos control apart bit by bit at this rate, its going to be a whole book.
I like Silver. He kicks sharks in the face.
Thirty squats, ):(. Knock 'em out!
Even the sharks know better than to mess with this.
Daaaaaaaaamn.
Round One....FIGHT!
and on that note, if Ultimo is taunting Rainbow, then it has a least a decent bit of intelligence or has some outside source influencing it. (the shard, perhaps?)
Moby Dick reference.
Simpsons reference.
Ya think?
Can we get an Axan interference? Because that would be EPIC
Where's a fucking giant Tranquilizer gun when you need one?
I'm really starting to like these Nealander crackpots. It's gonna hurt when RD has to leave them eventually.
Unless...
Noble Jury 2.0?
Nah, it's not like they're gonna leave their home anyway. Better not get my hopes up.
6012549
Oddly enough, they reminded me more of Orks there, though I suppose your's is more relevant...wait a minute...no its those chaos cultists. Karne or something like that.
Ah well, don't really know much about the 40K verse.
6012679
"Blood for the Blood God!!"
I wanna see a sonic rainboom out Ultimo's mouth.
Make it happen IC.
Kill the damn thing already so we can go say hi to Rarity.
I'm getting a distinct feeling, almost like...
... almost like this is a reference to something...
Yep.
Also, all of you need to go see Mad Max: Fury Road. It's the best movie I've seen in ages. Sets a high bar in production value and solid character writing.
Now we just wait for her to get the right idea.
-Spirit (Yeast and Treacle)
It's got to be Verlax.
Heh, person.
Ah. . . That's special.
6012549 BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!!
6012706 SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE!!
6012679 MILK FOR THE KHORNE FLAKES!!
6013107
I'M PANCAKE
6013129 hi pancake, I'm your lord and savior Zadubadabu.
6013134 derpicdn.net/img/2015/4/17/875576/large.png
6012672
You never know, the Nealend Atoll might be a Balamb Garden.
6012549
vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/warhammer40kfanon/images/c/cd/Drive_me_closer_i_want_to_hit_them_with_my_sword.png/revision/latest?cb=20091011115912
My good fellows, spare a moment for the good word of Khorne?
Also, back kicking a shark in the snout. Good stuff.
Still waiting for Monstro time.
Goodness do I love long multi chapter epic fight scenes
"To the last, I grapple with thee; From Hell's heart, I stab at thee; For hate's sake, I spit my last breath at thee."
Funny thing is, I can't tell if IC is using the line from Moby Dick, or the line from The Wrath of Khan (which is still my favorite Star Trek movie).
........how exactly would a shark "scurry"........
6012557 6012878 The whole thing could be an illusion...
6013753 I presume with its tail between its legs.
6012672 Wouldn't it be a shame if the whole island sunk once the magical maguffin meets its maker?
I almost feel bad for Ultimo. The poor serpent is probably just experiencing some gastrointestinal discomfort after chewing on chaos metal-infused ice.
Stupid finals, distracting from the important things in life.
Blood for Searo!
Wait...
Well, if Rainbow hadn't already won the respect of the Nealanders, she has now.
I'm going to miss these guys when Rainbow and the others move on. They may be nuts but they are sure fun IMO.
The wheel of fate is turning. Rebel 1. ACTION!
Colossus climb bosses are always fun. Dash really needs a permanent weapon though. Like wing blades or something.
-Memories given light, ease a lonely flight. Ynanhluutr.
Ultimo's not looking to hot now.
Heard the shark yelp and whine in my head there.
Beautiful moment.
Fun!
2.bp.blogspot.com/-TM9t0WKYHOM/Tp2dYO9O4JI/AAAAAAAAQAk/WB4WZtZ5eUw/s1600/drive%2Bme%2Bcloser%2521%2Bi%2Bwant%2Bto%2Bhit%2Bthem%2Bwith%2Bmy%2Bsword.png
Whoop!
6012557 6012878 6013981
'Tiss great to see others joining in the theory that this is all a test designed by Verlax.
Nick, Have you been paying any attention to how the Nealander's operate? It's like a whole friggin' island of meat eating Rainbow's.
6016296
Ya know, a meat eating rainbow is a pretty scary thought...
6016311
I tried to find a picture of a Carnivorous Rainbow. What I found was something called the Rainbow Plant... Of course it just has to be from Australia and considered a "true carnivorous plant" (whatever that is).
Also, why the heck did I make "Rainbow's" possessive?
6016336 heh, I was talking about an actual rainbow being carnivorous.
6016355
That's what I was trying to find an image of (and am still failing at finding one). "Rainbow" and "Rainbow" look quite alike, so it can be easy to get them confused sometimes.
Dem 40k references. Glorious.
6012758
B-but Swan Song, there's an epic battle to be had! Fashion Mare can wait. Whoop!
6012866
You know, I wonder just what Rainbow was thinking was going to happen when they fought Ultimo - I mean it is a sea monster, it's not like it's gonna invite your raiding party to sit down for tea and crumpets.
6018122 But best pone.
6012550 6012555 That's so ludicrous and over-the-top I can't even visualize it. But it's also my namesake being crazy hardcore, so I may have grinned like an idiot.
6012778 All of my yes. Mad Max was much better than I was expecting. I'm not sure how they managed so much character development amidst constant action, but it worked. Dang, Nux's last line... I was all kinds of choked up. Never thought I would care for that guy, but he grew up in a hurry.
6013171 Loved this game so much. All those poor colossuses... Colossusi? Colossuseums?
Meh.
Using some untold ability, he just bucks a shark in the face. I'm not going to question it because it was fairly badass.