My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Starlight, Starbright

Chapter 18

Wyrm Pass

The next morning, the gang woke up and packed up their camp. They had less then 5 hours till they arrive at the Wyrm Pass, the only way to the north, where the Necromancer; a sorcerer skilled in the art of dark magic, resides. A sage who can answer all of Starlight’s questions.

During the night, Bass saw that Starlight’s power over time was more powerful then she let on, seeing her use her powers to turn a small icy outcropping back into a green, animal filled zone that it was 500 years ago.

Bass, naturally, was stunned, but also worried. Before, Starlight’s friends told him that they were planning on dragging Starlight back to Ponyville, against her wishes. Bass was angry that they would even suggest such a thing and vowed to protect her against them and also lectured them why they would break their friends heart by dragging her away from the answers she wants.

The gang all thought about what he said but their plan hasn’t changed; they were going to take Starlight back home one way or the other. Marian was busy devising a plan on how to get rid of Bass for good. She saw him and Starlight get a little too friendly after she cast her spell and found it infuriating. She was convinced that Bass is just using Starlight for her power and will do whatever she will to get rid of him.

She’s completely unaware that her Alicorn Amulet, given to her by her mother Trixie when she was just a filly, was putting those thoughts in her head.

Starlight fiddled with the red lilac Bass put in her hair. Nobody had ever done something like this for her before. She felt… happy at the gesture. She only knew him for 5 days but to her, it feels like she’s known him for a lifetime.

“…so 5 hours until we hit Wyrm Pass, right?” Fire Ruby asked.

Bass shrugged. “I think so. I’m just guessing, you know. I’ve never been there myself but I did hear stories.”

“I think you told us before but I forgot what you said about it.” Peppy said. “mind telling us why it is called Wyrm Pass?”

Bass tried to remember what he heard about it. “well… if seen from above, it looks like a giant, slithering worm or snake- Some kind of a long, serpentine animal. Also, it’s said that giant Wyrms- massive lizard-like worms - reside in that area. And reason number 3: there’s a BIG cave painting of a massive Wyrm, dating back to when ponies still lived in caves. I only saw pictures of the picture but it is big, or at least that’s what the 30 ponies standing in a row show.”

Pound whistled in amazement. “now that is big.”

“and the pass is supposed to be longer then the painting, WAY longer then the painting.” Bass continued. “And It’s supposed to be a accurate size to what a Wyrm would look like.”

“Supposed to?” Sym asked.

“yeah. Rumor has it that the Wyrms died out long ago, about 500 years ago, because they couldn’t adapt to the cold. Least, that’s what the stories say. Ground rumbling just as someone is walking over tends to make people think there’s still Wyrms around.”

“wait, there’re still Wyrms?” a lost Cotton asked.

Bass shrugged. “I don’t know. Guess we have to wait and see.”

Begin Song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UhgjncjOTc

Oleg Pretrovsky- Mass Effect 3: Omega OST.

A portal of dark fire briefly opened up on top of the pass’ icy roof. Chaos Gun strode on out with a confident demeanor. This plan was bound to work; how could it not? It was so simple, it would be idiotic if it didn’t work.

He looked to the distance, to the direction of Baltimare, and saw Starlight and her group approaching the pass. She didn’t give up after all.

“Perfect.” Chaos Gun smirked.

He used his magic to summon up a jar, containing a caterpillar-sized lizard-like work in it. “*Sigh* poor Volvagia. The last of the Wyrms.” his super ears picked up the sounds of burrowing underneath the ground, not far away from the pass. “Or maybe no.”

The jar’s top twisted open on it’s own. Chaos flipped it over and the Wyrm fell out to the ground below.

“go and feed, Volvagia. Me and my master have plans for that girl Starlight and you’re going to help. Make her come to us; leave her no other option.”

Chaos Gun disappeared in a flash of dark fire.

End Song.

The gang arrived at the Wyrm Pass, most of them impressed with how large it is. The cavernous maw alone is 100 feet wide and 100 feet tall; more then big enough to turn them all into lunch, if it was alive. And ponies say that this was a accurate description of a Wyrm. If that’s true, then they should stay as far away as possible from a real live one.

“That is HUGE!” Golden Day exclaimed, having never seen anything like it.

“how big did you say this was, Bass?” Pumpkin asked.

“I didn’t. I told you all I know about the place when we approached.” he replied.

“no, I meant how long till we reach the other side?”

“same thing.”

Starlight walked towards the entrance. Goldie thought with worry, trying to think of something that would make her turn back to Ponyville but she couldn’t. “Come on, Goldie. You’re gonna lose your sister forever unless you do something.” she worriedly muttered under her breath.

Sweet Song yawned, trying to keep her eyes open. “can we just do something. I didn’t get much sleep with Peppy kicked me in her sleep. I swear, she destroyed my back.”

Starlight sighed. “Whatever. Let’s just get going.”

Goldie whined in desperation. She had to try something. She had no choice. She grabbed the nearest and smallest stick she could, stuck it down her throat, and threw up.

“Goldie!” Starlight ran over to her ‘sick’ sister. “are you okay?”

Goldie faked a stomach-ache to sell it. “Oh. I think I ate something bad during camp last night.” she pretended to gag. “we have to go back to Baltimare and get me to a hospital.”

Bass wasn’t buying. Ever since they told him their plans to take Starlight home, he has been weary of anything they would pull. He looked around and quickly found the barf-covered stick.

“Starlight…” he bent down and held up the stick. “Seems Goldie is pulling your leg.”

Starlight gave her sister a scowl. Goldie chuckled nervous, then quickly got up. “huh. How about that? All better. Guess I don’t have food poisoning after all.”

She began to walk to the entrance when Starlight sternly called out to her. “Goldie…!”

Goldie stopped in her tracks and gulped. “uh…” Starlight headed over to her.

Whatever argument they were going to have was interrupted by the untimely arrival of one captain of the royal guard.

“Starlight Sparkle!”

Starlight and her friends turned around to see Glade and his soldiers walk up to meet them. Screw Ball stayed as far back as possible, not wanting to get in the middle of this.

“Glade.” Starlight gasped. He arrived faster then she expected.

“You are under arrest for the destruction of the Canterlot Royal Museum!” he turned his attention to Bass. “And you, Bass Clef, are under arrest for the kidnapping of a member of the royal family.”

“Destruction!?” Starlight exclaimed.

“Kidnapping?!” Bass also exclaimed.

Begin Song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MH2rmAikhX0

Volvagia Boss Theme - Orchestrated by ZREO.

Starlight slowly shook her head. “Glade, I’m not sure who said what but I didn’t destroy a museum--”

something bright red passed underneath the ice but with everyone focused on these 3, they didn’t notice. Well, Screw Ball did. “um, excuse me.” she softly said.

“--and Bass certainly didn’t kidnap me!”

“nonsense! I know what I saw back in Baltimare! That earth pony, the wanted criminal, took you away and made you jump from a cliff!”

“To get away from you! I didn’t want you to stop me!”

“Stop you? From getting away with destroying a public building?”

“To stop her from finding her real father.” Bass intervened.

“Bass…”

“She’s all the way out here trying to find answers that have been on her mind all her life and I‘m going to help her; it‘s how I was raised. You take her back, she’s going to hate you.”

Glade flared his wings. At the same time, the red mass passed underneath. “if you could just listen for a moment…” Screw Ball softly said.

“I’m afraid I can’t do that, Bass. Starlight is coming home. It’s for her own good!”

That part angered Starlight. For her own good? Not knowing who her father is, not knowing why she’s a Alicorn? That’s for her own good? The ground beneath her lit on fire for a brief second. “Who are you tell me what’s for my own good?!” Starlight yelled. Her eyes briefly turned red and green with wisps of purple fire coming out the sides.

The red mass passed again. That’s it, Screw Ball thought, all bets are off. “GUYS!!!” she yelled out. It got their attention, for a brief second.

Something large burst out of the ice and up into the air. It stopped 55 feet up, which was about the entire length of it’s body, and roared.

“WYRM!” one of Glade’s soldiers yelled.

The Wyrm, or rather a baby Wyrm, turned in the direction of the yell and roared in that direction. The red flying serpent with a dragon-like head retracted back into the ground and dug in Glade’s direction.

There was no way they could defeat a Wyrm. They haven‘t been seen for 500 years; training for combat against these things have been canceled for 400. “Run!” Glade ordered. He and half of his squad spread his wings and took to the air. The Pegasi guards picked up the Unicorn members and Glade picked up Screw Ball.

The Wyrm burst out of the ground and tried to snatch Glade out of the air. He missed and burrowed back into the ground.

Starlight unfurled her wings and flew right for it. Her friends followed not far behind her, wanting to get away from the monster.

The group entered the pass’s entrance, running right past the painting of the largest Wyrm in existence. The painting and the living one sure share a resemblance.

Marian looked back and saw that Bass was lagging behind a bit. She glanced up and saw icicles dangling from the ceiling. The Alicorn Amulet glowed, telling her to do it and she did.

Making sure no one was looking when she did it, Marian fired a beam up into the ceiling, hitting the largest one there.

A loud popping and cracking sound followed, filling the entire cavern. Starlight looked back to see Bass running towards them and the icicle about to fall. “Bass!” she yelled out as she flew back to him.

Bass, while still running, looked up to see the ceiling split apart and the icicles fall. he barely had enough time to move. Starlight swooped to him in time and picked him up. “Thanks for the save.” Bass said.

They both heard roaring and looked back to see the Wyrm chasing the guards into the cave. “Don’t thank me yet.” Starlight said. She flapped her wings and flew harder.

The Wyrm roared as it slithered though the air, chasing the ponies in the cave. The Unicorn members of Glade’s squad fired at it but all they did was blind it with light spells. and even then, it only lasted for a few seconds before it‘s eyes quickly adjusted.

Glade heard the ceiling shatter and looked up to see the roof of the cavern crack open and cause ice and rock to fall towards them.

“CAVE-IN!” he yelled, his voice carrying though the cave. Starlight’s group looked up to see the ceiling start to collapse.

“We should turn back!” Peppy said.

“And risk getting eaten by the Wyrm?” Woona said, looking back to it. “I’ll take my chances with rocks and ice.”

The Wyrm clapped it’s jaws shut just inches away from Glade’s tail. He felt the near-death experience and kicked into overdrive, flying as fast as his wings could let him.

A sizeable boulder of rock and ice crashed in front of them, cutting off the entrance to the cavern. “So much for exit 1!” Filigree yelled.

“Just keep running!” Season’s Edge yelled.

The monster is right on top of them. He opened his mouth, ready to breath fire and turn them into BBQ…

Then the cavern caved in.

End Song

Author's Notes:

uh-oh. giant monsters, cave-in, and mistaken identity, crime wise. sounds like a normal day in Equestria to me.