Titan of the Depthsby Blackdragn18ChaptersLeft to DieFirst ContactRough StartNight vs TideRepairsLeft to Die“When lost in utter darkness, there is nothing left but forward.” -Nautilus “What do you think we’ll find?” A young man in a sailor suit watched as the gentle ocean waves lapped at the side of the Nautilus. The warm ocean breeze blew across his face as the ship moved through the vast blue ocean. “Who knows?” Another man came to stand next to him. “We’re exploring uncharted seas. There could be anything.” “Maybe we’ll find a giant kraken!” The first sailor smiled. “That would be so cool.” “Yeah, I’d take that overgrown squid and serve us some calamari.” The second man stroked his beard. “Those are some tough words. Let’s hope you can back them up.” The two sailors turned to follow the voice. Behind them there was an older man, wrinkles filled his face from age, a reasonable white beard covered his lower jaw, his uniform was crisp and clean, and his white hat was carefully placed and centered on his head, the gold trim glistening in the sunlight. “Captain!” The two men stood up straighter. “Calm down boys.” The aged man waved his hand. “I just happened to hear you talking. I’m expecting that courage to show if anything threatens us.” “You can count on us captain.” The sailors nodded. “Excellent.” The captain nodded before turning. “Enjoy this calm ride, hopefully it won’t stay like this for too long.” He then walked across the wooden deck, heading for the bridge. “He kind of creeps me out.” The first sailor whispered as the captain exited view. “Yeah.” The two turned to look over the railing again. “Why did the Institute of War even send us out here? Who cares what’s in the Guardian’s Sea?” “I don’t know.” The younger man shrugged. “I try not to think about what goes through their heads. What do you think?” The sailor asked a larger crew mate as he passed. “I believe this is a great opportunity for adventure," said the larger sailor as he turned to look at his crew mates. “We are going to see things nobody in the world has. Why question such a chance?” “I guess.” The young sailor nodded. “Hopefully something will happen soon.” “No need to rush it.” The large man came to stand next to the others. “There is plenty of time for discovery.” “Captain! There’s something strange in the water!” A voice shouted from the crow’s nest. Looking to the top of the wooden column, the three sailors were able to see a man on top with a telescope, pointing towards the east. Following the finger the three saw it. In the distance the water suddenly went from a rich blue to a murky black. “What is that?” Another sailor asked as he came to stand next to the others. “I’m not sure what it is, but we’re going to find out.” The captain said as he came to stand behind the crew. “You can’t be serious.” The bearded sailor said in shock. “We have no idea what that stuff is. For all we know it could be dangerous.” “What happened to that tough talk from earlier?” The captain raised an eyebrow. “We’re here to explore, and that’s what we will do.” He then pointed a wrinkled finger towards the black liquid. “I thought this ship was full of men, not little girls afraid of some black goo. We’re going in.” The ship then began to veer towards the black ooze. After a few seconds they reached it, stopping the ship just a few feet away. When they had neared it, the strange substance seemed to move towards the ship. “What is that stuff?” One sailor asked in fear. “It almost looks alive.” “We’ll never know unless somebody goes in closer.” The captain said, reaching into a nearby closet and pulling out a large diving suit. “So who is brave enough?” The entire crew backed away. “Cowards.” The captain shook his head. “I’ll do it.” The large sailor stepped forward. “At least there’s one man here.” The captain handed the suit to the larger man. “Put this on.” He nodded, taking the hulking suit and slowly putting it on. After his body was covered in the brown suit the captain handed him the helmet. Putting it over his head, he sealed the suit. “Good luck.” “I don’t need it.” The sailor said, his voice muffled inside the suit. Turning, he slowly moved to the edge of the ship. Climbing over the rail, he prepared to lower himself in, but suddenly some of the ooze shot out of the water and wrapped around his ankle. It then began to yank, hoping to pull him into the water. “Aagh!” He tried to pull his leg away. In response the ooze pulled harder, the entire ship now shaking. “Get it off!” “At this rate the ship is going to capsize!” One sailor yelled. “What are we supposed to do?” Another asked. “Maybe if we give it what it wants the stuff will go away.” The captain said grimly. “Captain, you don’t mean-” The crew looked at him in shock. “Get him off the ship!” The captain ordered. “Give the ooze what it wants!” “Yes sir.” A few sailors turned and walked towards their dangling crew-mate. He was now gripping the ship’s rail for dear life. “What are you doing?” Their fellow sailor looked at them in shock. “We need to think of ourselves.” One man said before he began to pry at the terrified sailor's fingers. “Stop! Just help me get out!” The dangling sailor begged as his grip left the rail. “Don’t do this.” He pleaded as they began to yank his other hand off. “We’re sorry.” One of them apologized as he pried the other hand free. “No!” He shouted before he was dragged into the murk. “I feel terrible.” One of the sailors hung his head. “We had to. It was him or us.” Then the Nautilus violently shook again. “What was that?” The crew ran to look over the side. A leather hand was gripping part of the anchor’s chain. “That fool.” The captain growled. “He’s going to get us all killed.” “What do we do captain?” “Cut the chain.” If I can just hold on I’ll make it. The diver told himself as he clung to the anchor. What are they going to do? Remove the anchor? Then there was the sound of something breaking and he began to sink. No! The ooze felt the give and began to tug again. He watched as the ship grew smaller both from him sinking and it sailing away. The sailor made futile tugs as the black substance began to move up his body, covering more and more of him until it reached his face plate. He saw tendrils move over it before everything went black. Where am I? The sailor opened his eyes. It was almost pitch black. A faint light barely pierced the ocean, though it was enough for the sailor to look at himself. What am I? His hands were large and appeared to be some kind of fabric. Looking at his body he found that most of it was covered in brown metal. There wasn’t much detail he could see thanks to the darkness. He tried to remember anything about himself but nothing clear came, the only clear memory was the image of the ship slowly sailing away. They left me. He clenched a fist. Alone, to die. They will pay. The former sailor took a step before bumping into something. Reaching forward he felt it, it was large and metal. Feeling a chain he finally recognized it as an anchor. The anchor of the men who condemned him. Grabbing it, he hoisted it over his shoulder. I need answers. He began to walk forward. I will not rest until I find them. He continued to walk, aimlessly moving forward. How long have I been moving? The former sailor had been walking for what felt like days, but he had found nothing. There had been an incident with a shark but one anchor to the skull handled it. Then something caught his eyes. Light. The water seemed to be getting lighter ahead. Continuing his slow march he moved towards the light, as he got closer it became apparent that the ground moved up as well. He had found a shore. “Last one to the water is a rotten egg!” A young colt challenged his friend as they walked onto the beach. It was a beautiful day, the water was a wonderful blue, the sky clear of all clouds, and some seagulls flew in the sky. The beach was packed with ponies, all taking advantage of the great weather. “You’re on!” The two children then rushed towards the sea, simultaneously diving into the salty water. “I won!” The first colt shot his hooves up in victory. “As if! I totally reached it first.” “Did not.” He splashed some water into his friend's face. “Did too.” The other colt returned the shot. “Did not.” Another splash. The two then began to aimlessly splash water at each other, trying to get the other to submit. Then they noticed something move nearby. “What was that?” “Let’s find out.” The young ponies slowly swam towards the moving figure, all they could see was that it was big. “Maybe it’s a sea monster.” “Sea monsters aren’t real. It’s probably just somepony diving.” The two watched as the figure got closer to the shore. They screamed as a large brown head burst from the water. As the monster moved further forward more of it came out. It was huge, the body was some freaky combination of fabric and armor. Most of the body was covered in the brown metal, though the joints and hands were a brown fabric. On its back there was a large tank. It had a large ship anchor resting on its shoulder as it trudged onto the shore. Everypony on the beach began to scream and run. It looked around before spotting the children. “You.” Its voice boomed, it was deep and echoing. “Where am I?” “Run!” The colt told his friend, they both then charged out of the water running away. “Stop!” It shouted. “Keep running!” The two children continued their sprint. Looking back one of them saw the creature following them, it was only walking but the greater stride meant it was not too far behind. “Agh!” A deep cry came from the monster. Looking back the colts saw it holding its face, then another bolt of magic smashed into it. The creature stumbled back from the impact. “Halt!” The colts watched as three unicorn guards came into view. The monster groaned as it shook its head, recovering from the attack. “What is your business here?” “I need answers.” The creature began to trudge towards them. He was blasted by another magic bolt. Stumbling back again. “I told you to halt.” The guard said. “I will ask again, what is your business here?” “Stop with the attacks.” The monster growled before throwing its anchor at the ponies. Two of the guards were able to dodge but the third took the metal weight head on and was crushed. The monster then pulled at the chain and the anchor flew back to him. “That’s it.” The original guard growled before charging at the creature. Using some magic he increased his speed. As he neared it however, a leather fist smashed him in the face, easily killing him. The monster looked to the last unicorn. “This is not good.” The guard said with wide eyes. Then his horn glowed. “I need to warn the princesses.” Then he was gone. “Argh!” The monster slammed his anchor into the ground. After a few seconds he sighed and lifted it again, returning it to its place on his shoulder. “I will just have to find others.” The creature then began to walk away, leaving two dead guards, and two traumatized children. First Contact“I feel that if we move some extra bits into the royal kitchen that will solve the problem.” Princess Celestia looked over a sheet of paper that told her how the money of the royal treasury was being spent. “Yes, if I take some out of the gardening department I should be able to increase the cake efficiency.” She took out a quill and began to scribble on the sheet. Adding to the budget of the bakery and subtracting from the gardens. “Princess!” The doors to her study suddenly slammed open. She looked up as a guard ran in breathing heavily. “Forgive the intrusion but we have a problem.” “No need to apologize.” She gestured in front of her. “Sit.” The guard nodded before taking a seat in front of her. “Now what is wrong?” “A monster.” The unicorn had begun to catch his breath. “A monster has appeared.” “What kind of monster?” Celestia asked. She wasn’t too concerned, the guards were always prone to overreactions. It was probably just a pony in a costume. “It was huge, easily taller than you. It seemed to be made out of metal, it had two glowing eyes, and was carrying a giant ship anchor.” “Really?” The princess’s curiosity was now peaked. “But the worst part was its strength. It threw the anchor like it was nothing, and when one of my comrades took a punch they were instantly killed.” The guard began to shiver. “Even when we hit it with powerful stun spells the creature brushed them off like they were nothing.” “Interesting.” Concern was now entering Celestia’s voice. If even parts of this were true it meant something dangerous was on the loose. “What are we going to do princess?” The guard was beginning to panic. “Calm down.” Celestia attempted to soothe her worried pony. “I’ll send some ponies to investigate, we’ll find this creature and bring it in.” “I killed them,” The sailor turned monster looked at his hand in shock, the knuckles had small patches of blood on them. “I can’t believe it.” He was currently sitting on a large rock along the coast. He had moved a safe distance from the scene of the deaths and was currently thinking. “Am I a monster?” He sighed, staring out to the sea. The sun was setting, turning the blue waves a wonderful orange, it was calming. But still so many questions ran through his head. Who is he? Where is he? What is he? The only thing he could remember was that ship, watching as it sailed away, leaving him to die. “I suppose answers won’t come to me if I sit around all day.” Hopping off the rock he grabbed the anchor, the last thing he had from his past life and began to walk inland. There was no direction on where to go, he was going to do the one thing that he knew. Move forward, it had served him well so far. “Over here, I found something,” a Pegasus shouted back to his team. Princess Celestia had sent her best ponies out to find this supposed monster. “What’ve you got?” The captain came up, he had a larger helmet with decorations on his chest plate. In front of them there was a massive footprint in the sand. “Looks like that unicorn wasn’t lying.” “And look.” The first guard pointed ahead of them, there were several more tracks. “We have our trail.” “First squad to me!” The pegasi that had been scattered around the coast all ran to circle the captain. “Alright, here is our trail. We’re going to find this monster.” “Forward, forward,” the sailor muttered to himself as he forced his way through some foliage. After an hour of walking the coast had given way to a marsh. Slowly lifting his right foot he stepped over a root, nearly tipping from the balance shift. The anchor may be weighing him down but it was all he had left. He had to find something, if he could make contact with some people he could figure out where he was, and how to get home. Wherever that was. “This thing isn’t too good at stealth is it?” One of the guards asked as they moved through the marsh. It was easy to follow the creature since it left massive foot prints and crushed foliage in its wake. “Quiet,” the captain hissed. “We don’t know where it is, for all we know the freak is right in front of us.” “Forward, forward.” A deep voice boomed. “What was that?” One guard asked. “Let’s find out,” the captain said before silently moving forward and up a tree. His squad followed until they were all perched. They then poked their heads out of the leaves to see. Many gasped at what they saw. Just ahead there was a massive creature it had to be at least 8 feet tall. Like the report said it was mostly brown metal, with some parts being a darker leather. It had a large anchor resting on its shoulder, they were able to hear it muttering. “Forward, forward.” The monster was saying as it walked, completely ignoring some brambles it walked through. “Looks like we found our monster.” The captain whispered. “What do we do now sir?” “We have orders to not engage. All we can do is return to base and report,” the captain said before turning and flying off. The others looked at each other before following. “Twilight, why do we have to go to the bog?” A purple dragon groaned as he followed the young alicorn towards the marsh. “Because Spike,” Twilight smiled. “This is the only time of year a rare plant blooms in the bog.” She levitated a note pad out of her saddlebag. “Ugh,” Spike sighed. “How much further is it?” “Not too far.” Twilight shook her head. “If my research is correct we should be there very soon.” “Hopefully.” Spike said as he shook some mud off his arm. After brushing some branches aside the two spotted a large rock. On it there were several orange flowers sprouting similar to moss. “There it is!” Twilight ran up to the rock. The alicorn began to look at the plants closely and draw a sketch, after that was done she began to take notes. “Interesting, I’ve never seen a plant this shade.” She looked at ones stem. “It seems to be almost fused with the rock.” Then the sound of sticks breaking came from behind her. “Spike, be careful.” “It wasn’t me Twilight,” Spike said, he was standing next to her looking at one of the plants. “Left to die.” A voice echoed from behind them. The two slowly turned to see a brown bipedal monster come through the tree line. “Twilight, what is that?” Spike asked in fear. “I don’t know.” Twilight shook her head. “I’ve never seen anything like it.” “You,” the two jumped as the monster looked at them and spoke. “Let me talk to you.” “Twilight, we should run.” Spike pulled at the alicorn’s leg. “Hold on Spike.” “Twilight, that thing could be dangerous.” Spike pointed at the large metal anchor in its grip. “It has a weapon.” “Please.” The monster said, despite the echo in its voice there was clear sadness. It followed Spike’s finger to the anchor. Nodding it slowly placed the metal weight on the ground and took a few steps away. “See Spike, it doesn’t want to hurt us.” Twilight smiled but still kept her distance. “Hello, my name is Twilight Sparkle.” “Hello.” The monster waved a large hand. “What’s your name?” “I don’t know.” The creature shook its metal head. “Oh.” Twilight looked at it in surprise. “Well, what are you?” “I was a sailor. Now, I’m not sure.” The monster looked at its hands before clenching them into fists. “Really?” Twilight raised an eyebrow, this thing was very cryptic. “Where am I?” The creature asked, looking around. “Are we along the Guardian’s Sea?” “The what sea?” Twilight looked at the metal beast in confusion. “You’re in the land of Equestria.” “Equestria?” The former sailor said the name slowly. “Equestria.” Twilight nodded. “Have you really never heard of it?” “No.” “Wow, I had thought Equestria was known all over the world.” “That does not matter.” The creature shook its head. “I need to get back to the Institute of War. Can you direct me?” “Institute of War? Never heard of it,” Twilight said. “Is that some kind of club?” “How do you not know of it?” The monster asked. “You must not have discovered it.” “Well actually, we have explored the entire world.” Twilight stood up straighter. “I can assure you that there is nothing called the Institute of War. There is also no Guardian’s Sea.” “How is that possible?” The monster sighed. “I will just have to keep searching.” grabbing the anchor and resting it on its shoulder the creature turned and began to walk away. “I will find them.” “Well that was weird,” Twilight said as the figure vanished into the brush. Looking into the sky she saw the moon beginning to rise. “It’s getting late, we better head home.” The alicorn and dragon then turned and began to walk back to town. Then there was a roar. “What was that?” Spike asked. “I’m not sure.” Twilight ran towards the sound. “Twilight!” Spike shouted before running after her, eventually he caught up with her. She was sitting on a hill looking ahead. “Spike look.” She whispered, following her gaze Spike’s eyes widened. The strange monster was currently pulling its anchor out of a hydra’s eye socket. When he finally freed the anchor the head dangled lifelessly. The other two heads looked in shock before turning to face the metal monster. As one prepared to lunge it took an anchor to the face. There was a sickening crack as the metal projectile lodged itself deep into the hydra’s skull. Before the armored creature could retract the anchor the final head swooped down and grabbed it in its mouth. “Aagh!” The creature cried out as the hydra began to bite down. “We have help,” Twilight said before running down the hill. “Twilight, wait!” Spike shouted. “Hey, put him down.” The hydra flinched as a purple bolt hit it in the face. The creature turned its head to face the alicorn, still holding the other monster in its mouth. “What are you doing?” The smaller monster asked, still trying to pry itself out of the hydra’s jaw. “Helping,” Twilight answered before hitting the hydra with another spell. “Come and get me scaly.” The hydra growled and released the brown creature. It hit the ground with a thud, the monster stood up as the hydra lunged at the alicorn. “No!” The titan’s armor began glow a light blue near the joints and along the torso. In one swift motion it retracted the anchor before raising the metal weapon over its head and slamming one end into the ground. There was a tremor before a geyser of water burst out of the ground in front of it. Then another came a few feet ahead, after a few seconds there was a trail of water columns that moved straight for the hydra’s remaining head. Just as it was about to reach Twilight with an open mouth a massive geyser erupted and slammed into it, when the water subsided there was nothing but a stub. “Wow.” Twilight looked at the bleeding neck in shock. Quickly using some magic she cauterized the wound to keep new heads from growing. She then looked to the left to see the source of the geysers kneeling on the ground breathing heavily. “That was amazing!” Twilight ran up to the monster. “How did you-” “Why did you do that?” It asked, cutting her off. “Do what?” “Risk yourself to help a monster like me.” “You needed help, if I hadn’t come in you would have been eaten.” “Why do you care though? I am just like this thing.” It gestured towards the dead hydra. “What makes my life worth saving?” “Well you’re obviously an intelligent creature.” Twilight said. “I couldn’t stand by and let another sentient being get killed.” “Interesting.” The creature looked at her. “Perhaps there is still good here.” “I’ll take that as a complement.” Twilight smiled. “We need to get you to a doctor.” Twilight pointed a hoof at the large bite marks along the creature’s waist. “No doctors are needed.” The creature shook its head. “At least let me get you patched up.” Twilight enveloped its hand in purple aura and began to drag it. “Why?” The creature asked. “You need help. Besides, I’ve never encountered anything like you, this is a rare opportunity.” “We’re taking that thing with us?” Spike asked in disbelief as the two reached the dragon. “Spike it’s not a thing.” Twilight glared at him. “Then why do you still call this thing an it?” Spike crossed his arms. “Did you ask if it was a boy or girl?” “Um, well.” Twilight looked away. “Male.” They both jumped slightly as the booming voice of the creature spoke. “Huh?” Spike tilted his head in confusion. “I was male.” It told them. “Alright, now that that’s figured out we can get going.” Twilight nodded, she then turned and began their trek to Ponyville. Closely followed by a young dragon and metal monster. “Here we are.” Twilight gestured to the large tree she called home. By the time they had made it back to town the residents of Ponyville were asleep. Which was fine since she was sneaking a giant monster into town. “You live in a tree?” The titan eyed the structure. “Yeah, it’s also the local library.” Twilight smiled. “If you say so.” The creature shrugged. “Can we go inside?” Spike asked, shivering slightly. Twilight used her magic and opened the door leading into the building. After she and Spike entered they looked back. The monster was most of the way through the doorway, he had managed to fit his upper right half through. His left shoulder and lower body were the problem. “I guess these aren’t built for eight foot tall giants.” Twilight looked at him. “Let me help.” She then enveloped the monster in purple aura before teleporting him into the library. Sadly Twilight had misjudged his size, when he rematerialized he ended up slamming into a nearby bookshelf. Several books fell on top of him as he fell over. “Good one Twilight.” Spike was smiling. “Don’t laugh Spike.” The alicorn gave him a stern look. “He could be hurt.” “What was that?” The monster asked as he got up. “I tried to teleport you out of the doorway,” Twilight explained. “I didn’t realize your dimensions entirely so you ended up in a wall.” “Alright.” The monster nodded. “Now down to business.” Twilight sat down with a hoof to her chin. “What?” The creature looked at her in confusion. “You need a name.” “I told you, I can’t remember it.” “Hmm, there has to be some kind of clue.” Twilight began to circle the creature. “Aha!” Faintly printed on the shoulder was one word. “Nautilus.” The pony read it aloud. “Could that be your name?” “Maybe.” The creature shrugged. It was the best they had. “Alright Nautilus.” Twilight stepped back to look at him. “Welcome to Ponyville.” Rough Start“I still don’t understand why you’re doing this,” Spike said as he curled up in his bed. “we just met the guy, and the first thing he does is blast a hydra’s head off with water.” “He needs our help Spike,” Twilight explained as she climbed into her own bed. “he’s clearly lost and confused. Plus this is a new creature, think of all we can learn from him.” “Didn’t he say he only has a few memories?” Spike asked. “How do you plan on learning very much from that?” “I haven’t thought it all through Spike. We’ll think more tomorrow,” Twilight said before pulling the covers over herself and preparing to sleep. Why? That was the only thing going through the newly named Nautilus’s mind. Why had he ended up here? Why had this strange creature helped him? Why couldn’t he remember anything? Nothing made sense to him. The one thing he did know was that there was something about the purple creature that reminded him of himself. Nautilus simply sat in the corner of the library’s main room, staring into the darkness. It would seem sleep was another thing he no longer needed. As he sat there the memories of the hydra fight came back. How had he done that with the geysers? He bashed a fist into his head in frustration. His life was giving more questions than answers. The titan sighed and closed his eyes. Perhaps answers would come to him tomorrow. Nautilus’s glowing eyes opened at the sound of footsteps. Looking in the general direction he watched as the purple lizard from yesterday descended the wooden stairs. It rubbed its eyes of sleep. “Agh!” The child let out a small yelp as the two glowing orbs watched it from the shadows. “Um, hi Nautilus.” “Morning.” Nautilus nodded his head. “I’m just going to start making breakfast.” Spike pointed a thumb back towards a doorway that likely lead to the kitchen. “You want anything specific?” “No.” “Alright.” Spike turned and headed through the door. A few minutes later the sound of hooves on wood came from the second floor. “Good morning Nautilus,” the cheery voice of Twilight Sparkle came from the stairs, turning his large head he saw the purple pony coming down from the second floor. “how did you sleep?” “Fine.” Nautilus replied. “Great.” Twilight’s smile shrank slightly at the metal giant’s lack of conversation. “So, breakfast should be ready soon. Let’s go see what Spike made today.” “That won’t work,” Nautilus said as he stood up. “Why not?” Twilight looked at him in confusion. The titan then stepped towards the doorway to the kitchen, standing next to it he waited for the pony to understand. The entrance was like the front door, designed for something at most maybe seven feet tall. Nautilus was at least a foot too tall. His shoulders also would give trouble due to their broadness “Oh.” Twilight put a hoof to her chin. “I’ve got it.” The alicorn’s horn began to glow then the arch next to Nautilus began to grow until he was able to fit after hunching over. “Problem solved,” Twilight happily stated as she trotted around him to get to the kitchen first. “Just in time.” Spike turned to face them with a plate of pancakes. “Those look delicious Spike.” Twilight complimented him as she sat at the table. “Thank you.” Spike smiled as he put the plate on the table, he then took his seat next to the pony. “Why are you standing over there Nautilus?” Twilight looked at the giant in confusion. “Yeah, the foods over here.” Spike pointed at the pancakes. They heard an echoing sigh before the past sailor came to sit at the table with them, taking up an entire side. “Let’s eat.” Twilight began to levitate a stack of pancakes to her plate while Spike ravenously grabbed some with his fork. As the pony prepared to take a bit of her breakfast she saw that Nautilus’s plate was empty. “Are you OK?” “I’m fine.” Nautilus nodded his head. “Do you not like pancakes?” “I don’t know.” Nautilus shook his head. “Even if I did it wouldn’t matter.” “What do you mean?” Twilight looked at him in concern. “I don't have a mouth!” A leather fist smashed into the table, leaving a dent. “I am a freak. I can’t eat or sleep,” He pointed at his chest. “This body is a curse.” “Nautilus, I’m-” Twilight began to apologize. “I was given this form not to live, but to have vengeance.” Nautilus stood up. “I’ve wasted enough time, I have to find the guilty.” He turned and left the kitchen. “Nautilus wait!” Twilight ran after him. She entered the main room just as Nautilus began to lift his anchor, quickly enveloping it in her magic the alicorn yanked it back. This caused the already off balance giant to tip completely over. The entire library shook as he fell. “Release my anchor.” Nautilus ordered flatly. “No.” Twilight looked at him stubbornly. “We’re going to sit down and talk.” “Fine.” Nautilus released the anchor before getting up and dusting himself off. “Ok, first and foremost who are you searching for?” “My former crew.” “From when you were a sailor?” Nautilus nodded. “Why are you looking for them? Were they your friends?” “Friends!?” the titan began to let out a deep and honestly creepy laugh. “They betrayed me, left me to die. I will have vengeance.” Nautilus clenched his fist in anger. “Calm down.” Twilight held her hooves in front of her. “How did they betray you?” “They left me to die, in the cold depths of the sea.” when Twilight gave him a confused yet interested look he sighed. “Let me explain.” Inside the throne room of Canterlot castle two alicorns sat on thrones, a white one and a blue one. They listened as a unicorn guard explained the situation of the monster. “From what our scouts tell us, the creature appears to be moving in a straight line.” a guard pony placed a hoof on a map of Equestria. “Based on its current trajectory and pace odds are it will soon turn up in the town of Ponyville.” “Twilight,” Princess Celestia looked at the map in concern. “I want my best guards ready to move in ten minutes, we have to save Ponyville.” “Then I awoke to find myself in this form.” Nautilus gestured towards himself. “Everything of my past life is hazy except one thing, I was left there, in the sunless depths to die.” Finishing his story Nautilus waited for a response from the purple pony. She had listened to his short story in awe until the end. Now the alicorn was looking at him with eyes full of sorrow and pity. Nautilus was caught off guard as the pony lunged herself into him eliciting a metal clang from the titan’s body. She then attempted to wrap him in a hug, though her legs only reached to just past where his ribcage would be. “I’m so sorry,” she said sadly. Unsure of what to do Nautilus simply took one of his massive hands and put it over her in an attempt to return the gesture. When she pulled herself away from him she had a large red mark where her face had made contact with his chest plate. “Twilight!” The pony and giant looked towards the kitchen hallway in time to see Spike run in holding a scroll. “What is it Spike?” Twilight asked, rubbing her eyes. “A letter from Princess Celestia.” Spike handed her the scroll with the Princess’s royal signet printed on it. “I wonder what she needs.” Twilight opened the scroll and began to read. “I must go.” Nautilus grabbed his anchor and stood up. “Thank you for your hospitality.” He then went and opened the front door to go outside. “Wait, no!” Twilight tried to stop him but it was too late. “There it is!” A voice from outside shouted. “Are you sure it’s here?” a unicorn guard asked as they entered the simple town of Ponyville. “Of course,” a second unicorn answered. “You were at the meeting. The monster should be hiding around here somewhere.” “How is it supposed to hide? If what the report says is true this thing is at least eight feet tall.” The guard was keeping his voice low. The streets were crowded and it was well know that Ponyville was an easily frightened town. “Would you two shut up?” A pegasus guard glared at the pair. “We need to get to our position and wait.” Ponyville was currently full of guards, they came from every branch and race. They were hidden as to avoid suspicion. The most heavily fortified area of course was the local library. The large tree was surrounded to keep the youngest princess safe. “Here we go.” The pegasus quickly climbed on top of a nearby house. The unicorns soon followed. They were currently in the perfect place to watch the front of the library. “You’re prepared to contact the others when we find it?” The winged guard looked at one of the unicorns. “Yes sir.” The unicorn nodded. “Good. Now all we do is.” “There it is!” A voice rang through the town. “What?” Quickly looking back to the library the Pegasus was shocked to see a giant creature forcing its way out of the structure. “It was in the library!” “The princess!” One of the unicorns said in shock. “We need to move.” The Pegasus jumped off the roof and ran towards the tree. “Attack!” Nautilus looked around the the area. It seemed to be surrounded on all sides by armored ponies. As he had exited the structure there had been a massive panic as citizens saw him and ran. Now there were only the guards. “What is this?” Nautilus asked. He looked down at the purple pony standing next to him. “Did you summon them?” The titan’s voice had a hint of anger in it. “No.” Twilight shook her head. “They’ve been sent here by Princess Celestia.” “Who?” "I’ll explain later.” “Attack!” A battle cry echoed through the town. The two looked ahead to see one Pegasus charging at them. His eyes were trained on Nautilus. “Stop!” Twilight stepped in front of the titan, spreading her wings to make herself seem bigger. The Pegasus came to a halt. “Princess, please move away from the monster.” the Pegasus requested. “He’s not a monster.” Twilight shook her head. “I order you to stand down.” Then two unicorns came to stand next to the Pegasus. “What do we do sir?” One of the unicorns looked to the Pegasus. “Stun the princess.” “We can’t attack a princess!” the second unicorn looked shocked. “Besides that’s Twilight Sparkle, even if she weren’t royalty I doubt Princess Celestia would approve.” “We have our orders.” the Pegasus glared at his horned allies. “Princess Celestia wants that creature captured and brought to her. We are the day guard and her orders come first. Now stun Princess Twilight.” “Yes sir.” The unicorns nodded before charging their horns and firing two beams at the purple alicorn. Twilight gasped and prepared to raise a shield. But just as the beams were about to hit an anchor slammed into the ground in front of her, blocking the shots. “Are you ok?” Nautilus asked. “Yeah.” Twilight nodded. “Thanks.” “Good.” Nautilus then gripped the chain on the anchor and in one swift motion pulled it out of the ground and swung it in a wide arc. The weapon hit the three guards in front of them, easily knocking them over. As the titan retracted the anchor he checked to see that the ponies were still breathing. “It attacks!” one of the many nearby guards shouted. “Retaliate!” Within seconds at least twenty guards surrounded the tree. “Go inside.” Nautilus cocked his head towards the library. “Right,” Twilight nodded before running towards her home. “I’ll get in touch with Celestia and have her stop them.” “Come quietly freak,” a Pegasus guard in decorated armor glared at Nautilus. “You’re outnumbered.” “True,” Nautilus rested the massive anchor on his shoulder. “But the odds are still not in your favor.” “Spike, we need to send a message to Celestia.” Twilight ran into the library. “What’s going on out there?” The dragon asked. “There was a lot of-” “No time for that right now,” Twilight cut him off. She was beginning to breathe heavily. “I have to contact Celestia.” “Alright, geez.” Spike grabbed a quill and paper. “What do you want me to right?” “Just tell her to call off her guards and that this is all a big misunderstanding.” “Ok.” Spike scribbled on the paper before coiling it up and setting it on fire. “Good work.” A thud then came from the door. “What was that?” Spike asked as Twilight opened it. A knocked out guard was lying against the door. Looking outside they watched as Nautilus bashed his anchor into a unicorn, knocking it to the ground unconscious. The metal giant was surrounded by beaten but alive ponies. “Done,” Nautilus said as he head-butted the last guard. He turned and began to walk towards the library. Then a blue laser smashed the titan in the chest, sending him flying back. “Halt brute!” Looking up Twilight and Spike were surprised. “Luna?” Twilight asked in shock. Night vs Tide“Halt brute!” Looking up Twilight and Spike were surprised. “Luna?” Twilight asked in shock. “Indeed,” The lunar princess landed in front of them. “My sister heard the guards weren’t doing well and has sent me to detain the beast.” “But Luna-“ “Fear not Twilight Sparkle.” Luna turned to glare at Nautilus as he picked up his anchor. “This beast shall not harm you again.” She then charged at the titan. “Luna wait!” Twilight tried to call the blue alicorn back. “What does she mean hurt me again?” “Have you seen your face?” Spike asked. “What?” Twilight summoned a mirror in front of her. “Oh no.” Her eyes widened as she saw the large red mark on her cheek. “But that’s not his fault.” “You may want to tell that to the princess.” “What was that?” Nautilus groaned as he picked himself up. The titan looked in the sky to see a pony similar to Twilight in the air. It then landed next to Twilight and began to talk. Nautilus looked around until he spotted the anchor. Grabbing it and returning it to his shoulder he turned in time for another blue laser to smash into his chest, forcing him back. “I suggest you give in now,” the blue pony said as it came to stand a few feet in front of him. “Are you Celestia?” Nautilus asked as he recovered from the attack. “So you can talk?” the alicorn looked at him in surprise. “I am Princess Luna, guardian of the night.” “Great.” Nautilus prepared to throw his anchor at her. “As I said, it would be wise of you to surrender.” “I can’t be arrested right now.” Nautilus then threw the anchor at Luna. The princess was unimpressed as she quickly raised a shield, the anchor bounced harmlessly off it. “Is that all?” Luna’s horn glowed. “Let me show you an attack.” A beam of magic then shot at Nautilus. Unable to react in time he took the shot head on, being forced back several feet before it dissipated. “That it?” Nautilus said as he recovered. Yanking the chain he quickly retracted his anchor. “I’m surprised.” Luna nodded at him. “Few could remain conscious after that attack, let alone continue to stand.” “Trust me, it will take a lot more to stop me.” “Very well.” Luna’s horn began to glow again. Taking the chance Nautilus threw his anchor, Luna easily dodged. The anchor flew past the princess not even grazing her. “You missed.” “Wait for it.” Nautilus then quickly yanked on the chain. “What?” Luna turned around to see the anchor flying back towards her. Before she could do anything the weight smashed into her chest, the alicorn was sent flying back before landing next to the titan. Taking the opportunity the giant grabbed her by the head. “Do you concede?” “Never.” Luna then kicked him in the face. Nautilus didn’t flinch. “Now are you done?” The pony didn’t respond, instead her horn began to glow. Eventually it created a nearly blinding light before there was an explosion. Nautilus was sent flying back into a nearby house. Getting up the titan looked himself over. When his eyes fell onto his left arm he was shocked, the entire forearm and hand were black and singed. His attempts to move the limb offered no results. “That has to hurt.” He looked ahead to see Luna walking towards him. She had several cuts along her body. “Not particularly.” Nautilus scanned the area for his anchor. “Looking for this?” Luna levitated the anchor next to her. “Give that back.” “Of course.” Using as much magical force as she could muster the princess threw the anchor at Nautilus. She kept her magic grip on the chain, planning to yank if back after it hit the titan. What she hadn’t expected was for him to catch the projectile before giving it a hard yank. Caught off guard Luna was pulled in. As she neared Nautilus he took the opportunity to hold out his good arm, Luna ended up slamming into it and falling to the ground. “Good try.” Nautilus raised a foot before slamming it down where Luna’s head was. After the loud thud his foot made upon contact with the ground the titan raised it to find nothing but a large footprint underneath him. “Agh!” Nautilus knelt down in pain. “I’m not some insect to be crushed.” Luna growled as she walked towards the weakened giant. “Could have fooled me,” Nautilus said as he began to slowly stand up. “It would appear we are even.” Nautilus’s left arm was singed and unresponsive, several chunks of his body were gone, and his chest had a massive dent in it. Luna wasn’t much better. Her muzzle was bleeding, she was covered in cuts, blood, and bruises. “I’m afraid not.” Luna’s horn then began to glow. The alicorn was enveloped in a blue aura, after a few seconds most of her minor wounds began to heal. She was unable to fix her muzzle and some of the deeper cuts. “Impressive,” Nautilus said before bringing his anchor down on Luna. “Not that simple,” The princess said smugly as she teleported behind him. “Stop doing that.” Nautilus grunted with effort as he attempted to pull his anchor out of the ground. It was giving him trouble due to only having one hand. “Having trouble there?” Luna asked smugly as she watched the titan struggle. “What are you going to do without your weapon?” “I don’t need it.” Nautilus released the anchor before turning and bringing his fist down on the princess. “That still won’t work,” Luna said as his fist smashed into a shield she created. “Fine.” A glow suddenly appeared around the titan’s torso and joints. Nautilus then lifted his right foot before slamming it into the ground. To both combatants surprise several small geysers then burst from the ground around Nautilus. Caught off guard, Luna wasn’t able to create a new shield in time. One of the several geysers was able to smash into the princess and send her flying back, before she could react another column of water came out of the ground hitting her again, finally she was hit by a third shot before falling to the ground. “Ugh.” Luna groaned as she weakly stood up. “Luna, stop,” Twilight said as she ran up to the weakened princess. “Stay back Twilight.” Luna raised a wing, wincing from the pain of moving it. “This is a truly dangerous beast.” “You don’t understand, he’s not a monster.” “Did you suffer a head injury?” Luna looked at her fellow princess in confusion. “That is clearly a monster.” “Just listen to me.” “Back away from her,” The booming voice of Nautilus ordered. The giant had finally managed to free the anchor and was glaring at Luna. “You shall not prey upon Twilight Sparkle today.” “That is it.” the glow then returned to Nautilus. “You will learn to beware the depths.” “Let us finish this.” Luna’s horn began to glow. “The night shall prevail.” Without responding Nautilus slammed his anchor into the ground. A massive geyser of water burst from the ground in front of him, then another appeared a few feet ahead of that. Columns of water continued this, moving towards the princess, gaining speed as they went. Unimpressed Luna teleported a few feet away as they neared her. She was shocked when the geysers continued to follow her. She continued to teleport several more times, and every time the columns followed. “What is this?” Luna asked as she teleported again. Giving up Luna prepared to raise a shield. As the water neared her she quickly enveloped herself in a magical sphere. When the geyser finally hit her she grunted in pain as the force from the shot aggressively smashed at her shield. As the water subsided Luna lowered her shield, falling over from exhaustion. “Luna!” Twilight ran up to the princess of the night. “Are you ok?” “This monster is powerful.” “How many times do I have to tell you he’s not a monster?” “Twilight, get away from that one,” Nautilus said as he began to walk towards the two ponies. “Nautilus, stop!” Twilight ordered as she stood in front of the weakened princess. “It attacked me.” “She thought she was defending her subjects. This is just a misunderstanding.” “Let me take it from here,” A calm and soothing voice said behind them. Turning Twilight smiled. “Celestia!” Twilight ran up to the white alicorn. “Hello Twilight,” Celestia said warmly. “So you’re Celestia?” Nautilus walked towards the new alicorn. “Sister be careful,” Luna said weakly. “It’s ok Luna. Mr. Nautilus here isn’t our enemy.” “You’re the one that sent those guards to attack me?” Nautilus asked. “Yes, and I apologize for that. I was unsure of your intentions here, but according to Twilight you’re not a threat.” “I wouldn’t go that far,” Luna said angrily as she attempted to stand up. “Careful Luna,” Twilight said. “You need to rest.” “Twilight’s right, we need to get you home.” Celestia looked over her injured sister in concern. Most of her injuries were beyond the help of a field healing spell. She then returned her gaze to Nautilus. “I suggest you come as well, hopefully we can patch you up too” “As long as there are no more attacks,” Nautilus said dryly. “Of course not.” Celestia smiled. Repairs“Well I guess we’re taking the train,” Princess Celestia said as one of the wheels on her carriage broke. As soon as Nautilus had set foot on it there was a cracking sound before he fell through. “Have fun in Canterlot,” Twilight said. She had come to the train station to see Nautilus go. “I don’t see why you can’t come,” Nautilus said. “I have responsibilities here in Ponyville. Don’t worry, you’re in good hooves with Celestia.” “If you say so.” Nautilus seemed unconvinced. “I can come visit this weekend if you want.” Twilight was confused by the titan’s reluctance. Sure Celestia’s guards had attacked him, but it was all a misunderstanding and Celestia had apologized. “Alright.” “All aboard!” The voice of the conductor was heard. “Come along Nautilus,” Celestia said as she walked onto the train. “Bye.” Twilight waved a hoof as Nautilus headed for the vehicle. When he reached the door the titan stopped. Looking at it then her he waited. “Oh.” Twilight remembered his problem with doors. Her horn glowed before the frame grew to let him in. “Are you ok Mr. Nautilus?” Celestia asked. The titan had been quiet for the entire trip. “This car is very small.” Nautilus replied. Nautilus was folded up in the train car. He took up an entire row of seats by himself and had to hunch over to avoid grazing the ceiling. “I’m sorry about that. If I had known you were this large I would have brought a stronger carriage.” “I watched that Luna one teleport. Couldn’t you do that?” “Unfortunately no, the distance is too great for me to teleport both of us.” “That is a shame.” Nautilus looked out a nearby window. “Speaking of Luna what became of her?” “Luckily the carriage was in good enough shape to take her home. She’ll get there much faster.” “When will we reach this Canterlot place?” The titan asked. “It will take about an hour.” “Wonderful.” Nautilus said sarcastically. Nautilus looked at his left arm, clenching the thin metal hand. After arriving in Canterlot by train the doctors had quickly removed his left arm from the elbow down. They were currently recreating his original limb, he had been given a replacement for now. The stand in was a simple piece of machinery, they had just taken thin metal and molded it into the shape of his hand, a few spells later it worked like his old one. The only downside was its build, the piece was small and weak. The titan was only able to do basic functions such as grabbing small objects. They had also taken a chunk of his chest plate so that his armor could be recreated and replaced. For now he was left with simple steel pieces to fill the gaps. “It’s lucky you’re inorganic.” Nautilus looked up as Princess Celestia walked into the temporary bedroom. “The limb would have simply been amputated otherwise.” “Lucky is not the word I’d use,” Nautilus said as he moved the temporary fingers. “When will my arm be returned?” “I’m afraid it may be a while, our smiths and doctors have not encountered anything like you. It will take time for them to find the right materials and understand it well enough to effectively reattach your limb.” “Just get them to hurry.” Nautilus said as Celestia turned to leave. “So impatient.” Celestia looked back and smiled. “I suggest you relax. If you move too quickly you’ll miss your life.” The alicorn then left the room. “I can’t believe you trust that thing,” Luna said to her sister as she took another bite from her sandwich. “It’s clearly dangerous. I mean look at me!” The princess of the night certainly had looked better. While the doctors in Canterlot were able to do a lot for her they were unable to fully fix a broken wing, splintered leg, and her damaged muzzle. All of those would take time, for now she had casts for her leg and wing and a brace for her nose. “While I don’t feel completely comfortable with him running loose I feel that we need to give him a chance.” “Fine.” Luna sighed. “We’re going to need you to drop the anchor,” A guard said as he held a hoof out to stop the approaching Nautilus. There was an obvious amount of fear in his voice and eyes. He had heard the stories of the titan. “Why?” Nautilus asked coldly. He had come to what he understood to be the throne room. The titan had been in the palace for two days now and was getting impatient. His arm was still under repair. “Its protocol,” The guard said nervously, shrinking slightly as Nautilus loomed over him. “No weapons in the throne room.” “Fine.” Nautilus then slammed the anchor into the white tile floor. The force managed to force the anchor into the ground, allowing it to stand in place. The guard looked at him with wide eyes. “Now let me in.” “It’s been a quiet day,” Celestia said as she looked out a nearby window. Surprisingly her day court had gone almost completely unattended. A few ponies had come but overall she had spent most of her time sitting around bored. The princess jumped when there was a loud thud outside the throne room. Then the doors swung open and a now familiar metal form walked in. “Hello Nautilus.” Celestia offered him a smile. “When will my arm be done?” The titan jumped to the point. “According to my ponies you’ll have it back in two days.” “Why are they taking so long?” Nautilus asked angrily. “I don’t have time to sit around. I have to find them.” “I have a question for you,” Celestia said, completely ignoring his question. “Several times while demanding your limb you have talked about ‘finding the guilty’ or how ‘they will pay’. Who are these beings you talk about? Are they creatures like you?” “The ones who abandoned me in the depths.” “What?” “Tell your ponies to hurry.” Nautilus then turned and left the room. Leaving a confused Celestia. Nautilus sighed as he walked into his temporary room. The sun had set and it was now time for Luna’s reign. He had come to resent the night, due to his condition sleep was an impossible task. The time when the moon lit the sky equaled several hours of staring at a wall. “Good evening giant,” A voices said from the darkness. As moonlight soaked in through the open door Luna was revealed to be standing in the middle of the room. “What do you want?” Nautilus asked bluntly. “Come with me.” The princess then limped out the door, shoving past him. Groaning Nautilus followed the pony. They walked for several minutes until the two came to a long hallway. The walls were lined with stain glass windows. “What is this place?” The titan asked as the entered the room. “This is the where we used to store the Elements of Harmony,” Luna explained. “The what?” “It is not important.” The alicorn waved a hoof, quickly wincing from the effort. “Why have you brought me here?” “After your talk with Celestia she became curious,” Luna said as they continued down the hall. “You left her with many questions. Contacting Twilight Sparkle we were able to learn the basic details of your past.” “What did you hear?” “Nothing of detail, Twilight said she didn’t have the right to disclose everything. All I know for a fact is you were betrayed and are now seeking vengeance.” “That is about it.” “Here we are.” Luna suddenly stopped in front of one of the many windows. “What is it?” The stain glass created the picture of a large black pony surrounded by a strange aura. Around the pony there were six smaller ones. One of them Nautilus recognized to be Twilight without wings. “This is part of my past,” Luna said. “A long time ago I let jealousy over take me and I became a monster. My sister ended up imprisoning me in the moon to stop my rampage. When I eventually returned I was filled with anger and a sense of betrayal.” “Is there a point to this?” “The point is that you and I are not as different as we think.” “So?” “I know you don’t like me, the feeling is mutual. So this advice may carry no weight, but I will give it anyway.” Luna looked at him with a hint of concern. “Abandon this path of vengeance, a life of hatred and misery is not one worth living.” “You don’t understand, despite the small link our lives are very different. We were both given a second chance, yours was offered for redemption. Mine is to have vengeance, it is the only explanation for my revival.” “We are all capable of choosing our own paths,” Luna said as she moved past him. “Life is what you make of it. Think about what I’ve said Nautilus.” The princess gave him one more look as she opened the door. “Goodnight.” “Our own path.” Nautilus returned his gaze to the window. “It’s done your majesty,” A unicorn in a lab coat said as he levitated a large arm in front of her. They had finally finished Nautilus’s arm. “Excellent, and it has the modifications I requested?” Celestia asked. “Yes princess, to your exact specifications.” “Good work.” Celestia took the limb in her magical grip. “Nautilus will be glad to have this back.” Nautilus stomped through the hall that lead to the throne room. Celestia had sent for him to meet her and Luna there. As he neared the large doors the guard nervously stood in front of him. “I need you to-“ “I know.” Nautilus interrupted before slamming the anchor into the ground. He then moved past the armored pony and entered the room. “Ah Nautilus.” Celestia greeted him. “I have good news.” “What is it?” “Something I think you’ll like.” Celestia’s horn glowed before a large leather and metal arm appeared in front of her. “My arm!” Nautilus’s eyes widened. “Yes, my ponies finally finished it.” “Excellent.” Nautilus grabbed the thin metal arm he currently wore. “Let’s put it on.” He then yanked the cheap appendage off. “Wait!” Celestia shouted. As the flimsy limb was torn off there was a sudden blast of blue light. “Argh!” Nautilus shouted in pain. As the light faded Nautilus fell to one knee, there was swirling blue aura pouring out of the hole in his body. “Luna we need to get the arm on!” Celestia shouted as she levitated the new arm. “Right.” Luna nodded before the sisters ran towards the fallen titan. Quickly shoving the new arm into place Celestia braced as the internal magic attempted to force its way out. “Luna, seal it!” Celestia ordered. Nodding Luna’s horn glowed, a dark blue aura surrounded the point where the new limb and body met. Channeling magic the princess of the night was able to fuse the two parts together. As Celestia stepped back Nautilus lifted his arm. “What was that?” The titan asked. “Your core being released,” Celestia said. Nautilus gave her a confused look. “Allow me to explain, when we were removing your old arm we discovered that internally you are almost entirely magic.” “So?” “It means that your body functions as a container for an extreme amount of magic,” Luna explained. “That incident a moment ago was your magic leaking out, similar to a bucket with a hole.” “Luckily this new arm has an enchantment that will keep that kind of thing from happening again. It helps contain your power,” Celestia said. “I see.” Nautilus moved his new fingers before clenching them into a fist and smashing it into the tile floor. Both princesses jumped at the sudden action. When the titan lifted his fist he was pleased to find a large dent in the floor while his hand remained intact. “This will do.” “There we go,” A unicorn said as he stepped back. “What do you think?” Nautilus looked himself over, he had been told that his armor had been repaired and to come to the workshop. Old chunks of his suit lied on a nearby table. Nautilus was surprised that they had managed to perfectly recreate his look. According to the unicorn it was also enchanted to allow him to take more punishment in a fight. He said something about it being necessary for a guard. “It is impressive, I look just like before.” Nautilus looked back to the unicorn. “Attack me.” “What?” “I need to test this armor.” Nautilus spread his arms out. “Hit me with your best shot.” “Ok?” The unicorn looked at him confused. Grabbing a nearby sledge hammer he swung it at the titan’s chest. The tool ended up bouncing harmlessly off the giant. “Excellent.”
Left to Die“When lost in utter darkness, there is nothing left but forward.” -Nautilus “What do you think we’ll find?” A young man in a sailor suit watched as the gentle ocean waves lapped at the side of the Nautilus. The warm ocean breeze blew across his face as the ship moved through the vast blue ocean. “Who knows?” Another man came to stand next to him. “We’re exploring uncharted seas. There could be anything.” “Maybe we’ll find a giant kraken!” The first sailor smiled. “That would be so cool.” “Yeah, I’d take that overgrown squid and serve us some calamari.” The second man stroked his beard. “Those are some tough words. Let’s hope you can back them up.” The two sailors turned to follow the voice. Behind them there was an older man, wrinkles filled his face from age, a reasonable white beard covered his lower jaw, his uniform was crisp and clean, and his white hat was carefully placed and centered on his head, the gold trim glistening in the sunlight. “Captain!” The two men stood up straighter. “Calm down boys.” The aged man waved his hand. “I just happened to hear you talking. I’m expecting that courage to show if anything threatens us.” “You can count on us captain.” The sailors nodded. “Excellent.” The captain nodded before turning. “Enjoy this calm ride, hopefully it won’t stay like this for too long.” He then walked across the wooden deck, heading for the bridge. “He kind of creeps me out.” The first sailor whispered as the captain exited view. “Yeah.” The two turned to look over the railing again. “Why did the Institute of War even send us out here? Who cares what’s in the Guardian’s Sea?” “I don’t know.” The younger man shrugged. “I try not to think about what goes through their heads. What do you think?” The sailor asked a larger crew mate as he passed. “I believe this is a great opportunity for adventure," said the larger sailor as he turned to look at his crew mates. “We are going to see things nobody in the world has. Why question such a chance?” “I guess.” The young sailor nodded. “Hopefully something will happen soon.” “No need to rush it.” The large man came to stand next to the others. “There is plenty of time for discovery.” “Captain! There’s something strange in the water!” A voice shouted from the crow’s nest. Looking to the top of the wooden column, the three sailors were able to see a man on top with a telescope, pointing towards the east. Following the finger the three saw it. In the distance the water suddenly went from a rich blue to a murky black. “What is that?” Another sailor asked as he came to stand next to the others. “I’m not sure what it is, but we’re going to find out.” The captain said as he came to stand behind the crew. “You can’t be serious.” The bearded sailor said in shock. “We have no idea what that stuff is. For all we know it could be dangerous.” “What happened to that tough talk from earlier?” The captain raised an eyebrow. “We’re here to explore, and that’s what we will do.” He then pointed a wrinkled finger towards the black liquid. “I thought this ship was full of men, not little girls afraid of some black goo. We’re going in.” The ship then began to veer towards the black ooze. After a few seconds they reached it, stopping the ship just a few feet away. When they had neared it, the strange substance seemed to move towards the ship. “What is that stuff?” One sailor asked in fear. “It almost looks alive.” “We’ll never know unless somebody goes in closer.” The captain said, reaching into a nearby closet and pulling out a large diving suit. “So who is brave enough?” The entire crew backed away. “Cowards.” The captain shook his head. “I’ll do it.” The large sailor stepped forward. “At least there’s one man here.” The captain handed the suit to the larger man. “Put this on.” He nodded, taking the hulking suit and slowly putting it on. After his body was covered in the brown suit the captain handed him the helmet. Putting it over his head, he sealed the suit. “Good luck.” “I don’t need it.” The sailor said, his voice muffled inside the suit. Turning, he slowly moved to the edge of the ship. Climbing over the rail, he prepared to lower himself in, but suddenly some of the ooze shot out of the water and wrapped around his ankle. It then began to yank, hoping to pull him into the water. “Aagh!” He tried to pull his leg away. In response the ooze pulled harder, the entire ship now shaking. “Get it off!” “At this rate the ship is going to capsize!” One sailor yelled. “What are we supposed to do?” Another asked. “Maybe if we give it what it wants the stuff will go away.” The captain said grimly. “Captain, you don’t mean-” The crew looked at him in shock. “Get him off the ship!” The captain ordered. “Give the ooze what it wants!” “Yes sir.” A few sailors turned and walked towards their dangling crew-mate. He was now gripping the ship’s rail for dear life. “What are you doing?” Their fellow sailor looked at them in shock. “We need to think of ourselves.” One man said before he began to pry at the terrified sailor's fingers. “Stop! Just help me get out!” The dangling sailor begged as his grip left the rail. “Don’t do this.” He pleaded as they began to yank his other hand off. “We’re sorry.” One of them apologized as he pried the other hand free. “No!” He shouted before he was dragged into the murk. “I feel terrible.” One of the sailors hung his head. “We had to. It was him or us.” Then the Nautilus violently shook again. “What was that?” The crew ran to look over the side. A leather hand was gripping part of the anchor’s chain. “That fool.” The captain growled. “He’s going to get us all killed.” “What do we do captain?” “Cut the chain.” If I can just hold on I’ll make it. The diver told himself as he clung to the anchor. What are they going to do? Remove the anchor? Then there was the sound of something breaking and he began to sink. No! The ooze felt the give and began to tug again. He watched as the ship grew smaller both from him sinking and it sailing away. The sailor made futile tugs as the black substance began to move up his body, covering more and more of him until it reached his face plate. He saw tendrils move over it before everything went black. Where am I? The sailor opened his eyes. It was almost pitch black. A faint light barely pierced the ocean, though it was enough for the sailor to look at himself. What am I? His hands were large and appeared to be some kind of fabric. Looking at his body he found that most of it was covered in brown metal. There wasn’t much detail he could see thanks to the darkness. He tried to remember anything about himself but nothing clear came, the only clear memory was the image of the ship slowly sailing away. They left me. He clenched a fist. Alone, to die. They will pay. The former sailor took a step before bumping into something. Reaching forward he felt it, it was large and metal. Feeling a chain he finally recognized it as an anchor. The anchor of the men who condemned him. Grabbing it, he hoisted it over his shoulder. I need answers. He began to walk forward. I will not rest until I find them. He continued to walk, aimlessly moving forward. How long have I been moving? The former sailor had been walking for what felt like days, but he had found nothing. There had been an incident with a shark but one anchor to the skull handled it. Then something caught his eyes. Light. The water seemed to be getting lighter ahead. Continuing his slow march he moved towards the light, as he got closer it became apparent that the ground moved up as well. He had found a shore. “Last one to the water is a rotten egg!” A young colt challenged his friend as they walked onto the beach. It was a beautiful day, the water was a wonderful blue, the sky clear of all clouds, and some seagulls flew in the sky. The beach was packed with ponies, all taking advantage of the great weather. “You’re on!” The two children then rushed towards the sea, simultaneously diving into the salty water. “I won!” The first colt shot his hooves up in victory. “As if! I totally reached it first.” “Did not.” He splashed some water into his friend's face. “Did too.” The other colt returned the shot. “Did not.” Another splash. The two then began to aimlessly splash water at each other, trying to get the other to submit. Then they noticed something move nearby. “What was that?” “Let’s find out.” The young ponies slowly swam towards the moving figure, all they could see was that it was big. “Maybe it’s a sea monster.” “Sea monsters aren’t real. It’s probably just somepony diving.” The two watched as the figure got closer to the shore. They screamed as a large brown head burst from the water. As the monster moved further forward more of it came out. It was huge, the body was some freaky combination of fabric and armor. Most of the body was covered in the brown metal, though the joints and hands were a brown fabric. On its back there was a large tank. It had a large ship anchor resting on its shoulder as it trudged onto the shore. Everypony on the beach began to scream and run. It looked around before spotting the children. “You.” Its voice boomed, it was deep and echoing. “Where am I?” “Run!” The colt told his friend, they both then charged out of the water running away. “Stop!” It shouted. “Keep running!” The two children continued their sprint. Looking back one of them saw the creature following them, it was only walking but the greater stride meant it was not too far behind. “Agh!” A deep cry came from the monster. Looking back the colts saw it holding its face, then another bolt of magic smashed into it. The creature stumbled back from the impact. “Halt!” The colts watched as three unicorn guards came into view. The monster groaned as it shook its head, recovering from the attack. “What is your business here?” “I need answers.” The creature began to trudge towards them. He was blasted by another magic bolt. Stumbling back again. “I told you to halt.” The guard said. “I will ask again, what is your business here?” “Stop with the attacks.” The monster growled before throwing its anchor at the ponies. Two of the guards were able to dodge but the third took the metal weight head on and was crushed. The monster then pulled at the chain and the anchor flew back to him. “That’s it.” The original guard growled before charging at the creature. Using some magic he increased his speed. As he neared it however, a leather fist smashed him in the face, easily killing him. The monster looked to the last unicorn. “This is not good.” The guard said with wide eyes. Then his horn glowed. “I need to warn the princesses.” Then he was gone. “Argh!” The monster slammed his anchor into the ground. After a few seconds he sighed and lifted it again, returning it to its place on his shoulder. “I will just have to find others.” The creature then began to walk away, leaving two dead guards, and two traumatized children.
First Contact“I feel that if we move some extra bits into the royal kitchen that will solve the problem.” Princess Celestia looked over a sheet of paper that told her how the money of the royal treasury was being spent. “Yes, if I take some out of the gardening department I should be able to increase the cake efficiency.” She took out a quill and began to scribble on the sheet. Adding to the budget of the bakery and subtracting from the gardens. “Princess!” The doors to her study suddenly slammed open. She looked up as a guard ran in breathing heavily. “Forgive the intrusion but we have a problem.” “No need to apologize.” She gestured in front of her. “Sit.” The guard nodded before taking a seat in front of her. “Now what is wrong?” “A monster.” The unicorn had begun to catch his breath. “A monster has appeared.” “What kind of monster?” Celestia asked. She wasn’t too concerned, the guards were always prone to overreactions. It was probably just a pony in a costume. “It was huge, easily taller than you. It seemed to be made out of metal, it had two glowing eyes, and was carrying a giant ship anchor.” “Really?” The princess’s curiosity was now peaked. “But the worst part was its strength. It threw the anchor like it was nothing, and when one of my comrades took a punch they were instantly killed.” The guard began to shiver. “Even when we hit it with powerful stun spells the creature brushed them off like they were nothing.” “Interesting.” Concern was now entering Celestia’s voice. If even parts of this were true it meant something dangerous was on the loose. “What are we going to do princess?” The guard was beginning to panic. “Calm down.” Celestia attempted to soothe her worried pony. “I’ll send some ponies to investigate, we’ll find this creature and bring it in.” “I killed them,” The sailor turned monster looked at his hand in shock, the knuckles had small patches of blood on them. “I can’t believe it.” He was currently sitting on a large rock along the coast. He had moved a safe distance from the scene of the deaths and was currently thinking. “Am I a monster?” He sighed, staring out to the sea. The sun was setting, turning the blue waves a wonderful orange, it was calming. But still so many questions ran through his head. Who is he? Where is he? What is he? The only thing he could remember was that ship, watching as it sailed away, leaving him to die. “I suppose answers won’t come to me if I sit around all day.” Hopping off the rock he grabbed the anchor, the last thing he had from his past life and began to walk inland. There was no direction on where to go, he was going to do the one thing that he knew. Move forward, it had served him well so far. “Over here, I found something,” a Pegasus shouted back to his team. Princess Celestia had sent her best ponies out to find this supposed monster. “What’ve you got?” The captain came up, he had a larger helmet with decorations on his chest plate. In front of them there was a massive footprint in the sand. “Looks like that unicorn wasn’t lying.” “And look.” The first guard pointed ahead of them, there were several more tracks. “We have our trail.” “First squad to me!” The pegasi that had been scattered around the coast all ran to circle the captain. “Alright, here is our trail. We’re going to find this monster.” “Forward, forward,” the sailor muttered to himself as he forced his way through some foliage. After an hour of walking the coast had given way to a marsh. Slowly lifting his right foot he stepped over a root, nearly tipping from the balance shift. The anchor may be weighing him down but it was all he had left. He had to find something, if he could make contact with some people he could figure out where he was, and how to get home. Wherever that was. “This thing isn’t too good at stealth is it?” One of the guards asked as they moved through the marsh. It was easy to follow the creature since it left massive foot prints and crushed foliage in its wake. “Quiet,” the captain hissed. “We don’t know where it is, for all we know the freak is right in front of us.” “Forward, forward.” A deep voice boomed. “What was that?” One guard asked. “Let’s find out,” the captain said before silently moving forward and up a tree. His squad followed until they were all perched. They then poked their heads out of the leaves to see. Many gasped at what they saw. Just ahead there was a massive creature it had to be at least 8 feet tall. Like the report said it was mostly brown metal, with some parts being a darker leather. It had a large anchor resting on its shoulder, they were able to hear it muttering. “Forward, forward.” The monster was saying as it walked, completely ignoring some brambles it walked through. “Looks like we found our monster.” The captain whispered. “What do we do now sir?” “We have orders to not engage. All we can do is return to base and report,” the captain said before turning and flying off. The others looked at each other before following. “Twilight, why do we have to go to the bog?” A purple dragon groaned as he followed the young alicorn towards the marsh. “Because Spike,” Twilight smiled. “This is the only time of year a rare plant blooms in the bog.” She levitated a note pad out of her saddlebag. “Ugh,” Spike sighed. “How much further is it?” “Not too far.” Twilight shook her head. “If my research is correct we should be there very soon.” “Hopefully.” Spike said as he shook some mud off his arm. After brushing some branches aside the two spotted a large rock. On it there were several orange flowers sprouting similar to moss. “There it is!” Twilight ran up to the rock. The alicorn began to look at the plants closely and draw a sketch, after that was done she began to take notes. “Interesting, I’ve never seen a plant this shade.” She looked at ones stem. “It seems to be almost fused with the rock.” Then the sound of sticks breaking came from behind her. “Spike, be careful.” “It wasn’t me Twilight,” Spike said, he was standing next to her looking at one of the plants. “Left to die.” A voice echoed from behind them. The two slowly turned to see a brown bipedal monster come through the tree line. “Twilight, what is that?” Spike asked in fear. “I don’t know.” Twilight shook her head. “I’ve never seen anything like it.” “You,” the two jumped as the monster looked at them and spoke. “Let me talk to you.” “Twilight, we should run.” Spike pulled at the alicorn’s leg. “Hold on Spike.” “Twilight, that thing could be dangerous.” Spike pointed at the large metal anchor in its grip. “It has a weapon.” “Please.” The monster said, despite the echo in its voice there was clear sadness. It followed Spike’s finger to the anchor. Nodding it slowly placed the metal weight on the ground and took a few steps away. “See Spike, it doesn’t want to hurt us.” Twilight smiled but still kept her distance. “Hello, my name is Twilight Sparkle.” “Hello.” The monster waved a large hand. “What’s your name?” “I don’t know.” The creature shook its metal head. “Oh.” Twilight looked at it in surprise. “Well, what are you?” “I was a sailor. Now, I’m not sure.” The monster looked at its hands before clenching them into fists. “Really?” Twilight raised an eyebrow, this thing was very cryptic. “Where am I?” The creature asked, looking around. “Are we along the Guardian’s Sea?” “The what sea?” Twilight looked at the metal beast in confusion. “You’re in the land of Equestria.” “Equestria?” The former sailor said the name slowly. “Equestria.” Twilight nodded. “Have you really never heard of it?” “No.” “Wow, I had thought Equestria was known all over the world.” “That does not matter.” The creature shook its head. “I need to get back to the Institute of War. Can you direct me?” “Institute of War? Never heard of it,” Twilight said. “Is that some kind of club?” “How do you not know of it?” The monster asked. “You must not have discovered it.” “Well actually, we have explored the entire world.” Twilight stood up straighter. “I can assure you that there is nothing called the Institute of War. There is also no Guardian’s Sea.” “How is that possible?” The monster sighed. “I will just have to keep searching.” grabbing the anchor and resting it on its shoulder the creature turned and began to walk away. “I will find them.” “Well that was weird,” Twilight said as the figure vanished into the brush. Looking into the sky she saw the moon beginning to rise. “It’s getting late, we better head home.” The alicorn and dragon then turned and began to walk back to town. Then there was a roar. “What was that?” Spike asked. “I’m not sure.” Twilight ran towards the sound. “Twilight!” Spike shouted before running after her, eventually he caught up with her. She was sitting on a hill looking ahead. “Spike look.” She whispered, following her gaze Spike’s eyes widened. The strange monster was currently pulling its anchor out of a hydra’s eye socket. When he finally freed the anchor the head dangled lifelessly. The other two heads looked in shock before turning to face the metal monster. As one prepared to lunge it took an anchor to the face. There was a sickening crack as the metal projectile lodged itself deep into the hydra’s skull. Before the armored creature could retract the anchor the final head swooped down and grabbed it in its mouth. “Aagh!” The creature cried out as the hydra began to bite down. “We have help,” Twilight said before running down the hill. “Twilight, wait!” Spike shouted. “Hey, put him down.” The hydra flinched as a purple bolt hit it in the face. The creature turned its head to face the alicorn, still holding the other monster in its mouth. “What are you doing?” The smaller monster asked, still trying to pry itself out of the hydra’s jaw. “Helping,” Twilight answered before hitting the hydra with another spell. “Come and get me scaly.” The hydra growled and released the brown creature. It hit the ground with a thud, the monster stood up as the hydra lunged at the alicorn. “No!” The titan’s armor began glow a light blue near the joints and along the torso. In one swift motion it retracted the anchor before raising the metal weapon over its head and slamming one end into the ground. There was a tremor before a geyser of water burst out of the ground in front of it. Then another came a few feet ahead, after a few seconds there was a trail of water columns that moved straight for the hydra’s remaining head. Just as it was about to reach Twilight with an open mouth a massive geyser erupted and slammed into it, when the water subsided there was nothing but a stub. “Wow.” Twilight looked at the bleeding neck in shock. Quickly using some magic she cauterized the wound to keep new heads from growing. She then looked to the left to see the source of the geysers kneeling on the ground breathing heavily. “That was amazing!” Twilight ran up to the monster. “How did you-” “Why did you do that?” It asked, cutting her off. “Do what?” “Risk yourself to help a monster like me.” “You needed help, if I hadn’t come in you would have been eaten.” “Why do you care though? I am just like this thing.” It gestured towards the dead hydra. “What makes my life worth saving?” “Well you’re obviously an intelligent creature.” Twilight said. “I couldn’t stand by and let another sentient being get killed.” “Interesting.” The creature looked at her. “Perhaps there is still good here.” “I’ll take that as a complement.” Twilight smiled. “We need to get you to a doctor.” Twilight pointed a hoof at the large bite marks along the creature’s waist. “No doctors are needed.” The creature shook its head. “At least let me get you patched up.” Twilight enveloped its hand in purple aura and began to drag it. “Why?” The creature asked. “You need help. Besides, I’ve never encountered anything like you, this is a rare opportunity.” “We’re taking that thing with us?” Spike asked in disbelief as the two reached the dragon. “Spike it’s not a thing.” Twilight glared at him. “Then why do you still call this thing an it?” Spike crossed his arms. “Did you ask if it was a boy or girl?” “Um, well.” Twilight looked away. “Male.” They both jumped slightly as the booming voice of the creature spoke. “Huh?” Spike tilted his head in confusion. “I was male.” It told them. “Alright, now that that’s figured out we can get going.” Twilight nodded, she then turned and began their trek to Ponyville. Closely followed by a young dragon and metal monster. “Here we are.” Twilight gestured to the large tree she called home. By the time they had made it back to town the residents of Ponyville were asleep. Which was fine since she was sneaking a giant monster into town. “You live in a tree?” The titan eyed the structure. “Yeah, it’s also the local library.” Twilight smiled. “If you say so.” The creature shrugged. “Can we go inside?” Spike asked, shivering slightly. Twilight used her magic and opened the door leading into the building. After she and Spike entered they looked back. The monster was most of the way through the doorway, he had managed to fit his upper right half through. His left shoulder and lower body were the problem. “I guess these aren’t built for eight foot tall giants.” Twilight looked at him. “Let me help.” She then enveloped the monster in purple aura before teleporting him into the library. Sadly Twilight had misjudged his size, when he rematerialized he ended up slamming into a nearby bookshelf. Several books fell on top of him as he fell over. “Good one Twilight.” Spike was smiling. “Don’t laugh Spike.” The alicorn gave him a stern look. “He could be hurt.” “What was that?” The monster asked as he got up. “I tried to teleport you out of the doorway,” Twilight explained. “I didn’t realize your dimensions entirely so you ended up in a wall.” “Alright.” The monster nodded. “Now down to business.” Twilight sat down with a hoof to her chin. “What?” The creature looked at her in confusion. “You need a name.” “I told you, I can’t remember it.” “Hmm, there has to be some kind of clue.” Twilight began to circle the creature. “Aha!” Faintly printed on the shoulder was one word. “Nautilus.” The pony read it aloud. “Could that be your name?” “Maybe.” The creature shrugged. It was the best they had. “Alright Nautilus.” Twilight stepped back to look at him. “Welcome to Ponyville.”
Rough Start“I still don’t understand why you’re doing this,” Spike said as he curled up in his bed. “we just met the guy, and the first thing he does is blast a hydra’s head off with water.” “He needs our help Spike,” Twilight explained as she climbed into her own bed. “he’s clearly lost and confused. Plus this is a new creature, think of all we can learn from him.” “Didn’t he say he only has a few memories?” Spike asked. “How do you plan on learning very much from that?” “I haven’t thought it all through Spike. We’ll think more tomorrow,” Twilight said before pulling the covers over herself and preparing to sleep. Why? That was the only thing going through the newly named Nautilus’s mind. Why had he ended up here? Why had this strange creature helped him? Why couldn’t he remember anything? Nothing made sense to him. The one thing he did know was that there was something about the purple creature that reminded him of himself. Nautilus simply sat in the corner of the library’s main room, staring into the darkness. It would seem sleep was another thing he no longer needed. As he sat there the memories of the hydra fight came back. How had he done that with the geysers? He bashed a fist into his head in frustration. His life was giving more questions than answers. The titan sighed and closed his eyes. Perhaps answers would come to him tomorrow. Nautilus’s glowing eyes opened at the sound of footsteps. Looking in the general direction he watched as the purple lizard from yesterday descended the wooden stairs. It rubbed its eyes of sleep. “Agh!” The child let out a small yelp as the two glowing orbs watched it from the shadows. “Um, hi Nautilus.” “Morning.” Nautilus nodded his head. “I’m just going to start making breakfast.” Spike pointed a thumb back towards a doorway that likely lead to the kitchen. “You want anything specific?” “No.” “Alright.” Spike turned and headed through the door. A few minutes later the sound of hooves on wood came from the second floor. “Good morning Nautilus,” the cheery voice of Twilight Sparkle came from the stairs, turning his large head he saw the purple pony coming down from the second floor. “how did you sleep?” “Fine.” Nautilus replied. “Great.” Twilight’s smile shrank slightly at the metal giant’s lack of conversation. “So, breakfast should be ready soon. Let’s go see what Spike made today.” “That won’t work,” Nautilus said as he stood up. “Why not?” Twilight looked at him in confusion. The titan then stepped towards the doorway to the kitchen, standing next to it he waited for the pony to understand. The entrance was like the front door, designed for something at most maybe seven feet tall. Nautilus was at least a foot too tall. His shoulders also would give trouble due to their broadness “Oh.” Twilight put a hoof to her chin. “I’ve got it.” The alicorn’s horn began to glow then the arch next to Nautilus began to grow until he was able to fit after hunching over. “Problem solved,” Twilight happily stated as she trotted around him to get to the kitchen first. “Just in time.” Spike turned to face them with a plate of pancakes. “Those look delicious Spike.” Twilight complimented him as she sat at the table. “Thank you.” Spike smiled as he put the plate on the table, he then took his seat next to the pony. “Why are you standing over there Nautilus?” Twilight looked at the giant in confusion. “Yeah, the foods over here.” Spike pointed at the pancakes. They heard an echoing sigh before the past sailor came to sit at the table with them, taking up an entire side. “Let’s eat.” Twilight began to levitate a stack of pancakes to her plate while Spike ravenously grabbed some with his fork. As the pony prepared to take a bit of her breakfast she saw that Nautilus’s plate was empty. “Are you OK?” “I’m fine.” Nautilus nodded his head. “Do you not like pancakes?” “I don’t know.” Nautilus shook his head. “Even if I did it wouldn’t matter.” “What do you mean?” Twilight looked at him in concern. “I don't have a mouth!” A leather fist smashed into the table, leaving a dent. “I am a freak. I can’t eat or sleep,” He pointed at his chest. “This body is a curse.” “Nautilus, I’m-” Twilight began to apologize. “I was given this form not to live, but to have vengeance.” Nautilus stood up. “I’ve wasted enough time, I have to find the guilty.” He turned and left the kitchen. “Nautilus wait!” Twilight ran after him. She entered the main room just as Nautilus began to lift his anchor, quickly enveloping it in her magic the alicorn yanked it back. This caused the already off balance giant to tip completely over. The entire library shook as he fell. “Release my anchor.” Nautilus ordered flatly. “No.” Twilight looked at him stubbornly. “We’re going to sit down and talk.” “Fine.” Nautilus released the anchor before getting up and dusting himself off. “Ok, first and foremost who are you searching for?” “My former crew.” “From when you were a sailor?” Nautilus nodded. “Why are you looking for them? Were they your friends?” “Friends!?” the titan began to let out a deep and honestly creepy laugh. “They betrayed me, left me to die. I will have vengeance.” Nautilus clenched his fist in anger. “Calm down.” Twilight held her hooves in front of her. “How did they betray you?” “They left me to die, in the cold depths of the sea.” when Twilight gave him a confused yet interested look he sighed. “Let me explain.” Inside the throne room of Canterlot castle two alicorns sat on thrones, a white one and a blue one. They listened as a unicorn guard explained the situation of the monster. “From what our scouts tell us, the creature appears to be moving in a straight line.” a guard pony placed a hoof on a map of Equestria. “Based on its current trajectory and pace odds are it will soon turn up in the town of Ponyville.” “Twilight,” Princess Celestia looked at the map in concern. “I want my best guards ready to move in ten minutes, we have to save Ponyville.” “Then I awoke to find myself in this form.” Nautilus gestured towards himself. “Everything of my past life is hazy except one thing, I was left there, in the sunless depths to die.” Finishing his story Nautilus waited for a response from the purple pony. She had listened to his short story in awe until the end. Now the alicorn was looking at him with eyes full of sorrow and pity. Nautilus was caught off guard as the pony lunged herself into him eliciting a metal clang from the titan’s body. She then attempted to wrap him in a hug, though her legs only reached to just past where his ribcage would be. “I’m so sorry,” she said sadly. Unsure of what to do Nautilus simply took one of his massive hands and put it over her in an attempt to return the gesture. When she pulled herself away from him she had a large red mark where her face had made contact with his chest plate. “Twilight!” The pony and giant looked towards the kitchen hallway in time to see Spike run in holding a scroll. “What is it Spike?” Twilight asked, rubbing her eyes. “A letter from Princess Celestia.” Spike handed her the scroll with the Princess’s royal signet printed on it. “I wonder what she needs.” Twilight opened the scroll and began to read. “I must go.” Nautilus grabbed his anchor and stood up. “Thank you for your hospitality.” He then went and opened the front door to go outside. “Wait, no!” Twilight tried to stop him but it was too late. “There it is!” A voice from outside shouted. “Are you sure it’s here?” a unicorn guard asked as they entered the simple town of Ponyville. “Of course,” a second unicorn answered. “You were at the meeting. The monster should be hiding around here somewhere.” “How is it supposed to hide? If what the report says is true this thing is at least eight feet tall.” The guard was keeping his voice low. The streets were crowded and it was well know that Ponyville was an easily frightened town. “Would you two shut up?” A pegasus guard glared at the pair. “We need to get to our position and wait.” Ponyville was currently full of guards, they came from every branch and race. They were hidden as to avoid suspicion. The most heavily fortified area of course was the local library. The large tree was surrounded to keep the youngest princess safe. “Here we go.” The pegasus quickly climbed on top of a nearby house. The unicorns soon followed. They were currently in the perfect place to watch the front of the library. “You’re prepared to contact the others when we find it?” The winged guard looked at one of the unicorns. “Yes sir.” The unicorn nodded. “Good. Now all we do is.” “There it is!” A voice rang through the town. “What?” Quickly looking back to the library the Pegasus was shocked to see a giant creature forcing its way out of the structure. “It was in the library!” “The princess!” One of the unicorns said in shock. “We need to move.” The Pegasus jumped off the roof and ran towards the tree. “Attack!” Nautilus looked around the the area. It seemed to be surrounded on all sides by armored ponies. As he had exited the structure there had been a massive panic as citizens saw him and ran. Now there were only the guards. “What is this?” Nautilus asked. He looked down at the purple pony standing next to him. “Did you summon them?” The titan’s voice had a hint of anger in it. “No.” Twilight shook her head. “They’ve been sent here by Princess Celestia.” “Who?” "I’ll explain later.” “Attack!” A battle cry echoed through the town. The two looked ahead to see one Pegasus charging at them. His eyes were trained on Nautilus. “Stop!” Twilight stepped in front of the titan, spreading her wings to make herself seem bigger. The Pegasus came to a halt. “Princess, please move away from the monster.” the Pegasus requested. “He’s not a monster.” Twilight shook her head. “I order you to stand down.” Then two unicorns came to stand next to the Pegasus. “What do we do sir?” One of the unicorns looked to the Pegasus. “Stun the princess.” “We can’t attack a princess!” the second unicorn looked shocked. “Besides that’s Twilight Sparkle, even if she weren’t royalty I doubt Princess Celestia would approve.” “We have our orders.” the Pegasus glared at his horned allies. “Princess Celestia wants that creature captured and brought to her. We are the day guard and her orders come first. Now stun Princess Twilight.” “Yes sir.” The unicorns nodded before charging their horns and firing two beams at the purple alicorn. Twilight gasped and prepared to raise a shield. But just as the beams were about to hit an anchor slammed into the ground in front of her, blocking the shots. “Are you ok?” Nautilus asked. “Yeah.” Twilight nodded. “Thanks.” “Good.” Nautilus then gripped the chain on the anchor and in one swift motion pulled it out of the ground and swung it in a wide arc. The weapon hit the three guards in front of them, easily knocking them over. As the titan retracted the anchor he checked to see that the ponies were still breathing. “It attacks!” one of the many nearby guards shouted. “Retaliate!” Within seconds at least twenty guards surrounded the tree. “Go inside.” Nautilus cocked his head towards the library. “Right,” Twilight nodded before running towards her home. “I’ll get in touch with Celestia and have her stop them.” “Come quietly freak,” a Pegasus guard in decorated armor glared at Nautilus. “You’re outnumbered.” “True,” Nautilus rested the massive anchor on his shoulder. “But the odds are still not in your favor.” “Spike, we need to send a message to Celestia.” Twilight ran into the library. “What’s going on out there?” The dragon asked. “There was a lot of-” “No time for that right now,” Twilight cut him off. She was beginning to breathe heavily. “I have to contact Celestia.” “Alright, geez.” Spike grabbed a quill and paper. “What do you want me to right?” “Just tell her to call off her guards and that this is all a big misunderstanding.” “Ok.” Spike scribbled on the paper before coiling it up and setting it on fire. “Good work.” A thud then came from the door. “What was that?” Spike asked as Twilight opened it. A knocked out guard was lying against the door. Looking outside they watched as Nautilus bashed his anchor into a unicorn, knocking it to the ground unconscious. The metal giant was surrounded by beaten but alive ponies. “Done,” Nautilus said as he head-butted the last guard. He turned and began to walk towards the library. Then a blue laser smashed the titan in the chest, sending him flying back. “Halt brute!” Looking up Twilight and Spike were surprised. “Luna?” Twilight asked in shock.
Night vs Tide“Halt brute!” Looking up Twilight and Spike were surprised. “Luna?” Twilight asked in shock. “Indeed,” The lunar princess landed in front of them. “My sister heard the guards weren’t doing well and has sent me to detain the beast.” “But Luna-“ “Fear not Twilight Sparkle.” Luna turned to glare at Nautilus as he picked up his anchor. “This beast shall not harm you again.” She then charged at the titan. “Luna wait!” Twilight tried to call the blue alicorn back. “What does she mean hurt me again?” “Have you seen your face?” Spike asked. “What?” Twilight summoned a mirror in front of her. “Oh no.” Her eyes widened as she saw the large red mark on her cheek. “But that’s not his fault.” “You may want to tell that to the princess.” “What was that?” Nautilus groaned as he picked himself up. The titan looked in the sky to see a pony similar to Twilight in the air. It then landed next to Twilight and began to talk. Nautilus looked around until he spotted the anchor. Grabbing it and returning it to his shoulder he turned in time for another blue laser to smash into his chest, forcing him back. “I suggest you give in now,” the blue pony said as it came to stand a few feet in front of him. “Are you Celestia?” Nautilus asked as he recovered from the attack. “So you can talk?” the alicorn looked at him in surprise. “I am Princess Luna, guardian of the night.” “Great.” Nautilus prepared to throw his anchor at her. “As I said, it would be wise of you to surrender.” “I can’t be arrested right now.” Nautilus then threw the anchor at Luna. The princess was unimpressed as she quickly raised a shield, the anchor bounced harmlessly off it. “Is that all?” Luna’s horn glowed. “Let me show you an attack.” A beam of magic then shot at Nautilus. Unable to react in time he took the shot head on, being forced back several feet before it dissipated. “That it?” Nautilus said as he recovered. Yanking the chain he quickly retracted his anchor. “I’m surprised.” Luna nodded at him. “Few could remain conscious after that attack, let alone continue to stand.” “Trust me, it will take a lot more to stop me.” “Very well.” Luna’s horn began to glow again. Taking the chance Nautilus threw his anchor, Luna easily dodged. The anchor flew past the princess not even grazing her. “You missed.” “Wait for it.” Nautilus then quickly yanked on the chain. “What?” Luna turned around to see the anchor flying back towards her. Before she could do anything the weight smashed into her chest, the alicorn was sent flying back before landing next to the titan. Taking the opportunity the giant grabbed her by the head. “Do you concede?” “Never.” Luna then kicked him in the face. Nautilus didn’t flinch. “Now are you done?” The pony didn’t respond, instead her horn began to glow. Eventually it created a nearly blinding light before there was an explosion. Nautilus was sent flying back into a nearby house. Getting up the titan looked himself over. When his eyes fell onto his left arm he was shocked, the entire forearm and hand were black and singed. His attempts to move the limb offered no results. “That has to hurt.” He looked ahead to see Luna walking towards him. She had several cuts along her body. “Not particularly.” Nautilus scanned the area for his anchor. “Looking for this?” Luna levitated the anchor next to her. “Give that back.” “Of course.” Using as much magical force as she could muster the princess threw the anchor at Nautilus. She kept her magic grip on the chain, planning to yank if back after it hit the titan. What she hadn’t expected was for him to catch the projectile before giving it a hard yank. Caught off guard Luna was pulled in. As she neared Nautilus he took the opportunity to hold out his good arm, Luna ended up slamming into it and falling to the ground. “Good try.” Nautilus raised a foot before slamming it down where Luna’s head was. After the loud thud his foot made upon contact with the ground the titan raised it to find nothing but a large footprint underneath him. “Agh!” Nautilus knelt down in pain. “I’m not some insect to be crushed.” Luna growled as she walked towards the weakened giant. “Could have fooled me,” Nautilus said as he began to slowly stand up. “It would appear we are even.” Nautilus’s left arm was singed and unresponsive, several chunks of his body were gone, and his chest had a massive dent in it. Luna wasn’t much better. Her muzzle was bleeding, she was covered in cuts, blood, and bruises. “I’m afraid not.” Luna’s horn then began to glow. The alicorn was enveloped in a blue aura, after a few seconds most of her minor wounds began to heal. She was unable to fix her muzzle and some of the deeper cuts. “Impressive,” Nautilus said before bringing his anchor down on Luna. “Not that simple,” The princess said smugly as she teleported behind him. “Stop doing that.” Nautilus grunted with effort as he attempted to pull his anchor out of the ground. It was giving him trouble due to only having one hand. “Having trouble there?” Luna asked smugly as she watched the titan struggle. “What are you going to do without your weapon?” “I don’t need it.” Nautilus released the anchor before turning and bringing his fist down on the princess. “That still won’t work,” Luna said as his fist smashed into a shield she created. “Fine.” A glow suddenly appeared around the titan’s torso and joints. Nautilus then lifted his right foot before slamming it into the ground. To both combatants surprise several small geysers then burst from the ground around Nautilus. Caught off guard, Luna wasn’t able to create a new shield in time. One of the several geysers was able to smash into the princess and send her flying back, before she could react another column of water came out of the ground hitting her again, finally she was hit by a third shot before falling to the ground. “Ugh.” Luna groaned as she weakly stood up. “Luna, stop,” Twilight said as she ran up to the weakened princess. “Stay back Twilight.” Luna raised a wing, wincing from the pain of moving it. “This is a truly dangerous beast.” “You don’t understand, he’s not a monster.” “Did you suffer a head injury?” Luna looked at her fellow princess in confusion. “That is clearly a monster.” “Just listen to me.” “Back away from her,” The booming voice of Nautilus ordered. The giant had finally managed to free the anchor and was glaring at Luna. “You shall not prey upon Twilight Sparkle today.” “That is it.” the glow then returned to Nautilus. “You will learn to beware the depths.” “Let us finish this.” Luna’s horn began to glow. “The night shall prevail.” Without responding Nautilus slammed his anchor into the ground. A massive geyser of water burst from the ground in front of him, then another appeared a few feet ahead of that. Columns of water continued this, moving towards the princess, gaining speed as they went. Unimpressed Luna teleported a few feet away as they neared her. She was shocked when the geysers continued to follow her. She continued to teleport several more times, and every time the columns followed. “What is this?” Luna asked as she teleported again. Giving up Luna prepared to raise a shield. As the water neared her she quickly enveloped herself in a magical sphere. When the geyser finally hit her she grunted in pain as the force from the shot aggressively smashed at her shield. As the water subsided Luna lowered her shield, falling over from exhaustion. “Luna!” Twilight ran up to the princess of the night. “Are you ok?” “This monster is powerful.” “How many times do I have to tell you he’s not a monster?” “Twilight, get away from that one,” Nautilus said as he began to walk towards the two ponies. “Nautilus, stop!” Twilight ordered as she stood in front of the weakened princess. “It attacked me.” “She thought she was defending her subjects. This is just a misunderstanding.” “Let me take it from here,” A calm and soothing voice said behind them. Turning Twilight smiled. “Celestia!” Twilight ran up to the white alicorn. “Hello Twilight,” Celestia said warmly. “So you’re Celestia?” Nautilus walked towards the new alicorn. “Sister be careful,” Luna said weakly. “It’s ok Luna. Mr. Nautilus here isn’t our enemy.” “You’re the one that sent those guards to attack me?” Nautilus asked. “Yes, and I apologize for that. I was unsure of your intentions here, but according to Twilight you’re not a threat.” “I wouldn’t go that far,” Luna said angrily as she attempted to stand up. “Careful Luna,” Twilight said. “You need to rest.” “Twilight’s right, we need to get you home.” Celestia looked over her injured sister in concern. Most of her injuries were beyond the help of a field healing spell. She then returned her gaze to Nautilus. “I suggest you come as well, hopefully we can patch you up too” “As long as there are no more attacks,” Nautilus said dryly. “Of course not.” Celestia smiled.
Repairs“Well I guess we’re taking the train,” Princess Celestia said as one of the wheels on her carriage broke. As soon as Nautilus had set foot on it there was a cracking sound before he fell through. “Have fun in Canterlot,” Twilight said. She had come to the train station to see Nautilus go. “I don’t see why you can’t come,” Nautilus said. “I have responsibilities here in Ponyville. Don’t worry, you’re in good hooves with Celestia.” “If you say so.” Nautilus seemed unconvinced. “I can come visit this weekend if you want.” Twilight was confused by the titan’s reluctance. Sure Celestia’s guards had attacked him, but it was all a misunderstanding and Celestia had apologized. “Alright.” “All aboard!” The voice of the conductor was heard. “Come along Nautilus,” Celestia said as she walked onto the train. “Bye.” Twilight waved a hoof as Nautilus headed for the vehicle. When he reached the door the titan stopped. Looking at it then her he waited. “Oh.” Twilight remembered his problem with doors. Her horn glowed before the frame grew to let him in. “Are you ok Mr. Nautilus?” Celestia asked. The titan had been quiet for the entire trip. “This car is very small.” Nautilus replied. Nautilus was folded up in the train car. He took up an entire row of seats by himself and had to hunch over to avoid grazing the ceiling. “I’m sorry about that. If I had known you were this large I would have brought a stronger carriage.” “I watched that Luna one teleport. Couldn’t you do that?” “Unfortunately no, the distance is too great for me to teleport both of us.” “That is a shame.” Nautilus looked out a nearby window. “Speaking of Luna what became of her?” “Luckily the carriage was in good enough shape to take her home. She’ll get there much faster.” “When will we reach this Canterlot place?” The titan asked. “It will take about an hour.” “Wonderful.” Nautilus said sarcastically. Nautilus looked at his left arm, clenching the thin metal hand. After arriving in Canterlot by train the doctors had quickly removed his left arm from the elbow down. They were currently recreating his original limb, he had been given a replacement for now. The stand in was a simple piece of machinery, they had just taken thin metal and molded it into the shape of his hand, a few spells later it worked like his old one. The only downside was its build, the piece was small and weak. The titan was only able to do basic functions such as grabbing small objects. They had also taken a chunk of his chest plate so that his armor could be recreated and replaced. For now he was left with simple steel pieces to fill the gaps. “It’s lucky you’re inorganic.” Nautilus looked up as Princess Celestia walked into the temporary bedroom. “The limb would have simply been amputated otherwise.” “Lucky is not the word I’d use,” Nautilus said as he moved the temporary fingers. “When will my arm be returned?” “I’m afraid it may be a while, our smiths and doctors have not encountered anything like you. It will take time for them to find the right materials and understand it well enough to effectively reattach your limb.” “Just get them to hurry.” Nautilus said as Celestia turned to leave. “So impatient.” Celestia looked back and smiled. “I suggest you relax. If you move too quickly you’ll miss your life.” The alicorn then left the room. “I can’t believe you trust that thing,” Luna said to her sister as she took another bite from her sandwich. “It’s clearly dangerous. I mean look at me!” The princess of the night certainly had looked better. While the doctors in Canterlot were able to do a lot for her they were unable to fully fix a broken wing, splintered leg, and her damaged muzzle. All of those would take time, for now she had casts for her leg and wing and a brace for her nose. “While I don’t feel completely comfortable with him running loose I feel that we need to give him a chance.” “Fine.” Luna sighed. “We’re going to need you to drop the anchor,” A guard said as he held a hoof out to stop the approaching Nautilus. There was an obvious amount of fear in his voice and eyes. He had heard the stories of the titan. “Why?” Nautilus asked coldly. He had come to what he understood to be the throne room. The titan had been in the palace for two days now and was getting impatient. His arm was still under repair. “Its protocol,” The guard said nervously, shrinking slightly as Nautilus loomed over him. “No weapons in the throne room.” “Fine.” Nautilus then slammed the anchor into the white tile floor. The force managed to force the anchor into the ground, allowing it to stand in place. The guard looked at him with wide eyes. “Now let me in.” “It’s been a quiet day,” Celestia said as she looked out a nearby window. Surprisingly her day court had gone almost completely unattended. A few ponies had come but overall she had spent most of her time sitting around bored. The princess jumped when there was a loud thud outside the throne room. Then the doors swung open and a now familiar metal form walked in. “Hello Nautilus.” Celestia offered him a smile. “When will my arm be done?” The titan jumped to the point. “According to my ponies you’ll have it back in two days.” “Why are they taking so long?” Nautilus asked angrily. “I don’t have time to sit around. I have to find them.” “I have a question for you,” Celestia said, completely ignoring his question. “Several times while demanding your limb you have talked about ‘finding the guilty’ or how ‘they will pay’. Who are these beings you talk about? Are they creatures like you?” “The ones who abandoned me in the depths.” “What?” “Tell your ponies to hurry.” Nautilus then turned and left the room. Leaving a confused Celestia. Nautilus sighed as he walked into his temporary room. The sun had set and it was now time for Luna’s reign. He had come to resent the night, due to his condition sleep was an impossible task. The time when the moon lit the sky equaled several hours of staring at a wall. “Good evening giant,” A voices said from the darkness. As moonlight soaked in through the open door Luna was revealed to be standing in the middle of the room. “What do you want?” Nautilus asked bluntly. “Come with me.” The princess then limped out the door, shoving past him. Groaning Nautilus followed the pony. They walked for several minutes until the two came to a long hallway. The walls were lined with stain glass windows. “What is this place?” The titan asked as the entered the room. “This is the where we used to store the Elements of Harmony,” Luna explained. “The what?” “It is not important.” The alicorn waved a hoof, quickly wincing from the effort. “Why have you brought me here?” “After your talk with Celestia she became curious,” Luna said as they continued down the hall. “You left her with many questions. Contacting Twilight Sparkle we were able to learn the basic details of your past.” “What did you hear?” “Nothing of detail, Twilight said she didn’t have the right to disclose everything. All I know for a fact is you were betrayed and are now seeking vengeance.” “That is about it.” “Here we are.” Luna suddenly stopped in front of one of the many windows. “What is it?” The stain glass created the picture of a large black pony surrounded by a strange aura. Around the pony there were six smaller ones. One of them Nautilus recognized to be Twilight without wings. “This is part of my past,” Luna said. “A long time ago I let jealousy over take me and I became a monster. My sister ended up imprisoning me in the moon to stop my rampage. When I eventually returned I was filled with anger and a sense of betrayal.” “Is there a point to this?” “The point is that you and I are not as different as we think.” “So?” “I know you don’t like me, the feeling is mutual. So this advice may carry no weight, but I will give it anyway.” Luna looked at him with a hint of concern. “Abandon this path of vengeance, a life of hatred and misery is not one worth living.” “You don’t understand, despite the small link our lives are very different. We were both given a second chance, yours was offered for redemption. Mine is to have vengeance, it is the only explanation for my revival.” “We are all capable of choosing our own paths,” Luna said as she moved past him. “Life is what you make of it. Think about what I’ve said Nautilus.” The princess gave him one more look as she opened the door. “Goodnight.” “Our own path.” Nautilus returned his gaze to the window. “It’s done your majesty,” A unicorn in a lab coat said as he levitated a large arm in front of her. They had finally finished Nautilus’s arm. “Excellent, and it has the modifications I requested?” Celestia asked. “Yes princess, to your exact specifications.” “Good work.” Celestia took the limb in her magical grip. “Nautilus will be glad to have this back.” Nautilus stomped through the hall that lead to the throne room. Celestia had sent for him to meet her and Luna there. As he neared the large doors the guard nervously stood in front of him. “I need you to-“ “I know.” Nautilus interrupted before slamming the anchor into the ground. He then moved past the armored pony and entered the room. “Ah Nautilus.” Celestia greeted him. “I have good news.” “What is it?” “Something I think you’ll like.” Celestia’s horn glowed before a large leather and metal arm appeared in front of her. “My arm!” Nautilus’s eyes widened. “Yes, my ponies finally finished it.” “Excellent.” Nautilus grabbed the thin metal arm he currently wore. “Let’s put it on.” He then yanked the cheap appendage off. “Wait!” Celestia shouted. As the flimsy limb was torn off there was a sudden blast of blue light. “Argh!” Nautilus shouted in pain. As the light faded Nautilus fell to one knee, there was swirling blue aura pouring out of the hole in his body. “Luna we need to get the arm on!” Celestia shouted as she levitated the new arm. “Right.” Luna nodded before the sisters ran towards the fallen titan. Quickly shoving the new arm into place Celestia braced as the internal magic attempted to force its way out. “Luna, seal it!” Celestia ordered. Nodding Luna’s horn glowed, a dark blue aura surrounded the point where the new limb and body met. Channeling magic the princess of the night was able to fuse the two parts together. As Celestia stepped back Nautilus lifted his arm. “What was that?” The titan asked. “Your core being released,” Celestia said. Nautilus gave her a confused look. “Allow me to explain, when we were removing your old arm we discovered that internally you are almost entirely magic.” “So?” “It means that your body functions as a container for an extreme amount of magic,” Luna explained. “That incident a moment ago was your magic leaking out, similar to a bucket with a hole.” “Luckily this new arm has an enchantment that will keep that kind of thing from happening again. It helps contain your power,” Celestia said. “I see.” Nautilus moved his new fingers before clenching them into a fist and smashing it into the tile floor. Both princesses jumped at the sudden action. When the titan lifted his fist he was pleased to find a large dent in the floor while his hand remained intact. “This will do.” “There we go,” A unicorn said as he stepped back. “What do you think?” Nautilus looked himself over, he had been told that his armor had been repaired and to come to the workshop. Old chunks of his suit lied on a nearby table. Nautilus was surprised that they had managed to perfectly recreate his look. According to the unicorn it was also enchanted to allow him to take more punishment in a fight. He said something about it being necessary for a guard. “It is impressive, I look just like before.” Nautilus looked back to the unicorn. “Attack me.” “What?” “I need to test this armor.” Nautilus spread his arms out. “Hit me with your best shot.” “Ok?” The unicorn looked at him confused. Grabbing a nearby sledge hammer he swung it at the titan’s chest. The tool ended up bouncing harmlessly off the giant. “Excellent.”
