==== In The Court of The Dagon King ====

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

‘Dear Father,

I’m sorry its been so long. Its been entirely too long actually.

I guess recent events have made me reflect on my life and where I’ve been. After everything that happened back in university, I just threw myself at work and kept my nose down. I pushed away all my dreams just like I did with you.

I’m doing fine by the way. I lost my job and most of my savings, but I don’t really care about any of that anymore. I met someone who shares my dreams, who doesn’t let anything stand in his way to achieve those dreams. He’s a little eccentric, more so than is normal for a pegasus. We’re going into business together. I think we have a real shot at making it big, and I hope someday soon you’ll see our names written in the paper for all the right reasons.

Respectfully,

Your Son

Double Book’

I carefully set the page down to dry and returned my pen to its holder. I had been working myself up into knots all day over this. It was only a week ago that I had been brainwashed by a cult and almost forced to watch them sacrifice Bojack in front of me. At least I wasn’t having nightmares of it anymore, the entity that I had accidentally indentured myself to.

Checking to see the page was dry, I then placed it into an envelope that I had already prepared with the proper address and sealed it with a dabble of wax.

I hesitated though, that nagging feeling of failure kept pulling on my horn, tempting me to rip this letter up like all the rest I had authored over the years.

No, I was going to mail this one!

BOOM

My toilet room door blasted backwards, partially falling off its hinges. My business partner prepelled out of the tiny darkened room by some concussive force.

“Well that’s not going to work,” He said, dusting himself off from the shattered remains of my coffee table. A small stream of violet smoke was emanating from the small room.

I should be mad, I should be assertive, I kept telling myself. But really what choice did I have at this point? Every day now Bojack would brew some wicked potion in my kitchen or in my water closet and then dash off for hours on end only to return with a large sack of bits which he further plowed into yet more exotic reagents and references, with just enough left to cover food, rent, and the scolding of my landlady.

She had not taken too kindly to his machinations, though he seemed to always have a way with talking her down from evicting us. Its no coincidence she had been able to afford a new pair of gemstone earrings and those golden anklets she now wore around.

“We should get out for a while,” He said, throwing one of the three apartment windows open. “How’s a cruise sound? Go on a little trip for the weekend, my treat.”

I looked down at my letter then back to him, “That actually sounds great,” I said with a grin.

“Great! You go pack, We gotta leave like in five minutes.,” He said, before darting back into the water closet. “Oh and don’t bother with anything in here its uh, just trust me,” He shouted through the half closed door. “We’ll just pick up whatever we need on the way!”

I shuddered at the thought of what my toothbrush looked like now. Maybe getting out of here for a while was just what I needed.

I glanced down at the letter again. Maybe Dad can wait.

=-=-=-=

“The propensity to truck, barter and exchange one thing for another is common to all ponies, and to be found in all other races of creatures.” I read from the old book.

‘On the Wealth of Equestria’ was a text that had sat on my bookshelf for many years gathering dust and fur. Bojack had practically lept through the ceiling when he saw it as I was looking for something to read. Apple Smith had been an early thinker on economics though modern scholars regard much of his work as too selfish and singularly guided by profit. Though maybe that’s exactly what one has to be, driven by one singular goal in order to achieve that goal. Then again, maybe Bojack had read too much into it. Sometimes it seems amazing he even has the attention span to read at all. Maybe that’s just what all pegasi are like though.

Closing my book with a content sigh, I watched the clouds drift lazily across the sky and listened to the gentle rhythmic splash of the paddle wheels as they propelled the ship along. For the first time in years I felt myself actually relax, no customer accounts to balance, no books to collate, just me, my book, and a cold brewed tea on a boat. No explosions, no cults, no Bojack.

I sat upright.

No Bojack.

Come to think of it, I hadn’t seen him at all today.

For whatever reason, the thought terrified me. Maybe I had been spending too much time with him, but he seemed to attract trouble wherever he went, half of the time its of his own making. Maybe that’s why he was now living with me instead of that zebra.

Tucking my book away in the bag, I set off to find him, hopefully he hadn’t started anything.

=-=-=-

I found Bojack at the rear of the boat, hanging over the railing chanting something quietly. “ch’ c-nyth gof’nn,” he said, in a strange tongue as he added ingredients to a jar. I saw him retrieve a penknife from the deck behind him with his wing, and watched as he dripped something into the jar before sealing it and resuming his chant. “vulgtlagln ch’ah nglui ooboshu’ah f’nnnah lw’nafh!” He exclaimed as he tossed the jar into the ocean. As he turned to gather his belongings I ducked back out of sight around the corner.

“Hey Double Book!”

“YAH!” I yelped nearly jumped over the railing. I turned around to see Bojack behind me. “Uh.. Hey,” I said meekly.

“Hope you’re enjoying the cruise so far. They say Trottingham is great this time of the year, though I’m partial to Shetland.”

“Yes uh, they say the weather in Trottingham is always nice in Januestary.”

He looked down at me from his impressive height with his usual lackadaisical smile. “Don’t like the snow do you? Can’t say I blame you, this was sort of short notice. Though you know what they say, its not the destination, but the journey itself,” He said draping a wing over me and coming in closer. “You’d better get an early sleep though, we have an early day tomorrow.”

I gulped. We weren’t due into port for another day.

“Well as they say, Cheerio, I’m off to the seafood buffet.” He said, hopping over the railing and taking flight, leaving me alone with my thoughts again, and again seriously questioning what I had gotten involved with.

=-=-=-

“Dear Father, I am well, how are you...No,” I said, scratching out the message once again. It was late, my nerves had gotten the better of me. For as relaxing and worry free as this trip had been I just couldn’t work past what to say to father, nor could I get Bojack’s cryptic warning out of my head.

With a sigh, I closed my journal and turned out the lights, the small cabin was illuminated only by the pale moonlight seeping through the porthole, its glow casting deep shadows across the room. I pulled the covers tight around me.

Eventually the effects of the drink the griffons served and the swaying of the boat on the calm seas dragged me to sleep.

=-=-=-=-

Thunk

I awoke some time later as the boat pitched violently, dumping me from my bed.

“Ow,” I said, rubbing my sore horn. I felt a piece of paper speared on it, one of Bojack’s pranks. Before I could read it the ship rocked again, sending me tumbling around in the small cabin and into the wall.

Staggering to my hooves, I picked up the note and lit the spell-lamp. Scribbled on it was a message from Bojack, it read simply,

“Meet me at the stern of the ship.”

The ship groaned as the waves crashed against it. Staggering out the door, I was nearly bowled over by some of the griffon crew who were running towards the front of the ship.

I hesitated for a moment, contemplating following them, or heading to Bojack, but they were gone already.

Making my way to the rear of the ship, I passed my fellow passengers, all of which had worried looks on their faces, some inquired as to what was happening to the ship but without any answer myself I kept moving.

Reaching the hatch to the rear, I was nearly knocked down by the swell, as the water tight door had been forced open already. Carefully I made my way up the stairs, and finally got a glimpse of the storm that was assaulting our vessel.

Above us, the once placid sky rocked with wild thunder and lightning, the ocean frothed with waves that cascaded across the deck.

Standing at the back of the ship working on a life boat was the one who brought me here in the first place, too busy knotting rope to notice me.

“BOJACK, BOJACK WHAT IS GOING ON?” I shouted over the raging storm.

Looking up from his rope, he brushed back his wet mane with a hoof. “I GUESS YOU SAW MY LITTLE OFFERING EARLIER!” He said.

A wave crashed over the railing, knocking me into Bojack who caught me with his wings. All in all he didn’t seem the least bit bothered by the weather as he finished tying the rope to the lifeboat.

“WHAT DID YOU DO?!” I shouted in his grasp. “THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE RELAXING!” I shouted angrily.

Bojack pointed out into the distance. A flash of lightning illuminating it. In the light, I saw them. Giant pillars of writhing flesh, taller than buildings, a forest of them towering out of the ocean.

“OUR OFFERING HAS BEEN ACCEPTED, THE DOORWAY IS OPENED. WE MERELY HAVE TO STEP ON THROUGH!” He shouted over the thunder’s boom. I pulled myself away from him as he prepared to launch the lifeboat.

“YOU WANT ME TO GET IN THAT THING, ARE YOU CRAZY!?”

“DO YOU TRUST ME?” He asked.

I hesitated once more. The nightmares of the cult came back to me. “NO!” I shouted.

“OH WELL THAT’S OK!” He said, kicking the lever to release the boat.

I watched as the rope spooled out through the pulleys. Down below the boat hit the water with a crash but the magically reinforced timbers held strong. I noticed the rope he had tied to the boat, trailing back to the coil he had arranged on the deck.

“EVEN IF YOU CAN’T SWIM JUST RELAX AND LET THE RAFT DO THE WORK!” He said jamming a cork life vest on my back. Before I could respond, he back flipped overboard, the rope trailing behind him.

It was then I noticed the rope trailed not just through the coil on the deck but to my own back hoof. I reached for the knot but in an instant, I was yanked from the ship and fell to the icy water below.

Struggling in the surging water I watched weakly as the ship accelerated away, bobbing and weaving amongst the waves.

In the confusion I saw the small boat I was tied to bobbing around, I started making my way to it but suddenly several limbs wrapped around me.

“DON’T GO TO THE BOAT!” Bojack shouted as he pulled at me. I tried to fight him back but his limbs were longer than mine and more numerous.

“YOU’RE GOING TO KILL US BOTH!” I shouted as the water crept up my neck. “I HAD TOO MUCH TO LIVE FOR!” I sobbed.

“JUST TRUST ME ITS ALL GOING EXACTLY LIKE IT SHOULD!” He shouted. “NOW WE JUST HAVE TO DROWN!”

“WAIT WHA-” was all I managed to say before he unhooked the cork preserver and dragged me down under the dark and icy water.

Desperately I fought but to no avail. When we were too far down to ever return, Bojack let go, letting me drift away.

Drowning is a strange thing. In an instant, I realized the chaos of the sea above had been replaced with tranquility. Tilting my head up, I watched as the stars shrank as the darkness encroached. With a gasp, I felt the icy water fill my lungs as I drifted away.

=-=-=-=-=-=-

“Breath!”

I felt the waves pushing me along, their gentle push and pull relaxing my aching body. The water was warm like taking a soothing bath. The sun stood high in the sky, Celestia’s warmth watching over me.

“Oh Double Book...” I heard a seductive voice call.

I felt sand under my back as the waves deposited me on a beach.

Stella I thought as I saw the familiar figure fill my view. Stella Shine, my school crush wrapped me in her forelegs, bringing me close to her salt sprayed coat.

“Oh Double, I never noticed how handsome of a stallion you were.” She said, bringing herself down onto my barrel. I remained speechless as she brought her petite muzzle down to mine. I moaned as she pressed her lips against mine. For a minute we sat there, her on my barrel, lips locked in a passionate embrace. Closing my eyes, I felt her limber tongue explore the depths of my own muzzle.

Breaking off she whispered in my ear. “Double, time to wake up now.”

I felt her lips against mine once again, only they pressed harder, forcing her breath down my throat. Something felt different though.

Opening my eyes, I saw Bojack, bent over me, his lips locked on my own, his tongue pressed against my teeth, forcing them open.

“Gah!” I shouted bolting up. Before I could say another word though, I began coughing and coughing, I felt water at the back of my throat, my lungs desperately trying to push it out.

Twisting over, I hacked up a lung-full of water, then another.

“What...were….” I tried to say through cough fits.

“You’re welcome,” He said smugly as he thumped me on the back, spawning another coughing fit. “There there, get it all out, its OK now.”

“You….YOU….You drowned me!” I said, trying to limp away from him, only for my leg to get yanked out from under me, sending me horn first into the sand.

“First of all, you don’t want to be above the water going through the doorway, and second, is that any way to treat your partner?” He said, pulling the rope off of my leg.

“Why, why did you throw me off the ship,” I shouted.

“Sssshhh, You don’t want to attract too much attention,” He said cryptically, as he dug the rope out of the sand. “Okay so Trottingham was not really the destination I had in mind when we boarded that ship. Long story short, we’re here to meet some….er...something. Just calm down, we’ll be fine, this place is pretty tame as far as other spaces go.”

“okay fine, why did I have to come on this trip with you then?” I said, sitting up and brushing the sand out of my salt filled coat. “Why didn’t you at least tell me about this?”

He sighed, his unkempt wings ruffling at his sides. “I didn’t know if I could get in, and I didn’t want to ruin your vacation. I’ve already driven off enough friends with my escapades. Anyways, we’re here now.”

“And where is here?” I said, looking around.

The featureless beach stretched onward, gently arcing as far as the eye could see. The sky was hazy and lit only by the diffuse light of the clouds with not a hint of any sun above them. The air reeked of the smell of salt and rotten fish. The only visible object was the longboat, discarded from our ship, dragged up from the shoreline and staked to the ground.

“That’s kind of hard to explain without a lot of background but in essence its a space between spaces, one that usually only the invited can enter. Occasionally sailors get glimpses of it, or those unfortunate to be lost at sea may find themselves here, usually to never return” He said, passing me a water bottle. “Fortunately, we’re guests here. If everything goes right, we should be able to pass right through the doorway again.”

“And if things don’t?” I said, taking a sip from the water bottle, feeling the refreshing water invigorate me.

“Things won’t go wrong this time,” He said, leaving my question unanswered. “Now then, I hope you’re ready to go, we don’t want to keep him waiting,” He said, shrugging on a pair of heavy saddlebags from out of the longboat and setting off away from the shore.

“Him?” I asked, following behind. “Who’s Him?”

Bojack instead began singing something to himself, ignoring my questions.

=-=-=-

“Are we there yet?” I asked after walking what felt like hours, which was impossible to tell given how the light hadn’t changed one bit. The landscape had just continued sloping upwards at a gentle grade the whole time.

“And I’m gonna join the family circle at the throne!” He sang, ignoring me for the hundredth time.

Oof. I grunted as my hoof fell into open air. My chin impacted the sand as I tripped into a hole. Looking around, I yelped as I realized I was standing in an enormous print in the sand. To the left of it, another giant three toed print, at least as wide as I was long, and as deep as I was tall.

“Need a hoof?” Bojack said, offering me one of his longer limbs to climb out, breaking from his series of unusual, colorful country songs.

“Thanks,” I said, stopping at the edge of the paw prints, taking a momentary rest. “Those have to be the biggest dragon tracks I’ve ever seen,” I said, looking closely at the strangely spaced tracks.

“No not a dragon,” He said nervously. I watched as he took a careful look, before giving a sigh of relief. “Phew, not a cragalisk,” He said with certainty. “Just a penguin.”

“Penguin?” I said, picturing the strange little birds that I had once seen at a zoo exhibit in Canterlot. “Wait, that can’t be a penguin,”

Just then the air was pierced by a loud deep rattling sound that didn’t sound at all like any penguin I had ever seen or heard of before. It set my nerves on edge.

“Yep, not a cragalisk, just an ordinary 20 foot tall penguin. That’s like four Celestia’s tall to you,” He said, setting off again. “Dun da da nah na na naaaah!” He began singing again. “Love is a burning thing!”

The creature sounded off in the distance again, its deep cry making me shutter.

“JUST AN ORDINARY PENGUIN, JUST AN ORDINARY PENGUIN HE SAYS.” I shouted over his singing and the creature’s calls.

After another few songs with me lagging behind, he crested another dune and stopped his singing. Reaching his position, I stopped in my tracks too. “We’re here,” He said, as I took in the dramatic change in landscape.

Instead of yet another dune, we found ourselves on the shores of an endless expanse of thick black ooze, its expanse broken by seething masses of appendages contained under its surface. Immediately in front of us however was a singular black monolith, standing alone from the shore with a simple bench composed of the same impossibly black stone in front of it. The monument’s surface was etched with indecipherable hieroglyphs who’s appearance seemed to wriggle and flex much like the water behind it. An almost inaudible buzzing sound echoed around the cauldron, and the stench of rotten fish filled the air.

“Stay here,” He said, which I was inclined to do so anyways.

Approaching the monolith I expected him to begin chanting in that strange guttural language again, make some sort of blood offering, or prostrate himself before the monument in reverence.

Perhaps I my expectations and imagination had grown too great with time, as Bojack instead shrugged off his pack and put a hoof to his mouth and whistled. “YOTENTACLED GUY, WE’RE HERE!” He shouted, his voice carrying across the lake followed by a low Its surface turned to glass for a moment and all was quiet and still. then a single ripple made its way across the lake.

A wave formed in the ooze, building into an ever growing bulge as it traveled faster and faster to the shore. As it crested, the ooze rolled off its sickly flesh in sheets, the oil spilling across the sand.

My primal instincts screamed to gallop away, to find the shelter and safety of the herd, instead my knees gave way, depositing my bum on the sand, my tail pressed tight between my legs, and my ears flat to my head.

“HAIL HAIL THE DAGON, LORD OF THIS REALM OF KNOWLEDGE!” Bojack shouted as the part of the creature that emerged from the lake began wrapping itself around the monument. After coiling around itself for many minutes, a single bulbous eye emerged from the mass, its skin slick with the oil still. Opening wide, its enormous unfocused pupil stared out into the distance before shrinking down to a pinprick the size of my head, focused right on us.

The landscape echoed with a deep guttural echo. I felt my insides freeze solid as its gaze wandered towards me.

“Hi,” Bojack waved to the thing, drawing its attention again. “Uh, you don’t know us but your nephew sent us, you know the one with the two big red eyes, kind of like your own, and the black mass of tentacles. He said he left a book with you when he was visiting last.”

It groaned again, the mass of limbs tightened around the monument, threatening to shatter the stone.

“OH good, um.. can we uh… have it?” He said, acting as if nothing was at all unusual about this encounter.

The air began buzzing again, louder and louder as I clutched my ears with my hooves to block out the noise. Slowly emerging from the oil, an enormous limb towered over us, each of the suckers on its fleshy underside larger than my entire body. I felt cold and small in its shadow.

Time seemed to slow as it descended on us. I closed my eyes, imagining I was back on the beach in the dream, wanting the last thing to go through my mind to be Stella’s kiss.

The buzzing stopped.

Peaking one eye open, I saw the gargantuan limb stretched above us, only a thin little tip reaching down to the bench, placing a small black bound book on the stone before retracting back into the ooze with a splash.

“Cool, Thanks.” He said, hoofing through the tome before setting it in his saddle bags. “Well if that’s everything we’ll be off then,” He turned to leave, but the creatures gaze darted to me. It grumbled something unintelligible.

Bojack sighed. “Really?” He said to the creature.

In response the buzzing began again, building once again as the creature’s gaze remained firmly on me.

“OKAY OKAY,” He said, trotting over to me. “He wants you,” He said approaching me.

“Me? What does he want with me!” I asked dumbfound.

“He uh, he wants you to buy a sculpture from his stand,” He said, trying to not sound mildly perturbed by the turn of events.

“His stand?” I said looking around. I blinked in surprise. Where I was certain there was nothing but empty shore before, stood a lone stall, made out of what looked like drift wood. On its gnarled surface rested various objects of perplexing quality.

“Just pick something and say how nice it is so we can get out of here,” He said whispering in my ear as we walked up to the stand. A lone tentacle swayed gently behind the counter as its eye tracked us from the monument.

“Oh aren’t these lovely!” Bojack proclaimed as I poured over the pile of objects.

Each one of them were made of either some kind of unknown metal, stone, or a combination of both. Some had the finish of glass, others polished granite, all depicting a bizarre collage of figures.

Out of the pile, one caught my eye, or really, one eye caught my eye.

The figure was a large half lidded eye made out of what looked like granite, with some sort of tarnished silvery metal inlay around its edges. As I stared at it, I felt as if the surface was staring back at me, a whisper tugging at the edges of my perception. Picking it up in my hooves, even in the cold air, it felt warm to the touch.

“I’ll, I’ll um...” I said, trying to break away from the figure for a moment.

“He’ll take this one,” Bojack said breaking my concentration.

The creature groaned in response.

“Twenty five bits! That’s outrageous. Twenty!” He shouted back.

The air burst to life with the buzzing again. “ARE YOU REALLY DOING THIS?!” I shouted to Bojack.

“Well he’s being unreasonable!” He shouted back.

“JUST GIVE IT THE BITS!” I shouted back at him.

Grumbling, he counted out twenty five gold bits on the counter, the landscape growing still again as the final bit hit the counter. “There, twenty five bits,” He said, stuffing the pouch back under his wing. “Good eternal twilight to you then, Let’s go Double,” He said, turning to leave as the creature scooped its earnings off the stand.

I paused briefly for a moment, transfixed as the vast bulk uncoiled itself and retracted back to the depths. I almost didn’t take notice when a limb deposited my purchase, almost. The slick limb dropped the wrapped item in a linen bag on the ground in front of me before slithering itself back into the depth with a long slurping sound.

Scooping up my package in my teeth, I turned and galloped after Bojack.

=-=-=-=-

“FOR I AM A PIIIIIIIIIRAAAAAATEEEE……. KIIIIIIIIIIIING!” Bojack shouted as he rowed the boat through the mist. Once on the water, his country singing had devolved into a long unbroken chain of sea shanties.

For my part, I just kept quiet, occasionally stealing a glance down at the idol at my hooves.

We had been rowing for what seemed like hours through an endless mist, only Bojack’s incessant singing marked the time.

Putting the dagon out of my mind, I found myself once again dwelling on the letters that sat half finished in the top drawer of my bureau. Life just seemed to precarious to push away the only family I had left anymore.

I sighed.

“LAND HOOOOOO!” Bojack sang shouted.

Without realizing it, we had passed through the fog and into the unfamiliar waters of an unknown port.

With a bump, I felt the boat impact the shore. Craning my neck, I noticed the sign on the building next to the beach. “Edneighburgh Port Authority,” I read. “Edneighburgh!?” I shouted, jumping out of the longboat.

“Huh look at that, almost exactly where we intended to go,” He said surprised himself.

A quick trot up the beach indeed confirmed, we were in the midst of the busy port city on the Isles of Mane.

“Hey you there colt!” He shouted paper-colt hawking papers on the corner. “What day is it?”

“Why its the 12th of Feblunestuary!” He said, offering up a paper.

“Wait, that’s… That’s four weeks from now!” I said, doing the mental math. “OH FAUST I have to send a letter!” I shouted dashing down the street towards the nearest royal post office.

=-=-=-=-

“You gonna buy a paper mister or what?” The colt asked me, as I watched Double Book gallop away.

“Ya sure kid,” I said, tipping a bolt into his hat. “Let’s see what the censored press has to say.” I said, flipping over the headline.

Sea Liner Grifiana Strikes Iceberg, Dozens Lost At Sea! The headline read. “Huh,” I said, glancing back towards the beach where the lifeboat sat on its side. With my pegasi vision I could just make out the letters G R I F peaking above the dune. “Hey kid, you know where a guy can get a bite of fish to eat?” I said, to the cockneyed colt.

“Fish? I think the Swagger’in Griff’en has that on the menu. It’s around the corner, up the street”

“Thanks a lot,” I said, tipping him a nut in his hat for the extra news and set off, whistling a shanty tune as I slipped away into the pony crowd, my acquisition gently rocking in the bags around my hips.

Author's Note

Hey look a new chapter and it only took getting shipwrecked on a timeless plane of existence to get it finished! I promise the next chapter will be about alchemy, somewhat.

Anyways, see you then.