Verve

The swish of water and sound of labor filled the soon fog-heavy air. The lantern pierced through the low cloud in a small blaze, haunting the water over which they traveled. Celestia, perhaps to humor the old stallion - began to ask a few questions to keep the uneasy feeling at bay. It did little to lessen it, but at least she tried.

“So, Mister…”

“If you need a name for me, just call me the Ferry Stallion. That’s all you need to know.” He gave an old, much-too-wide grin, to the displeasure of the Princess.

“Right, Ferry Stallion. How long have you lived here, in the… Corpse Vale, as some have called it?”

He stared out along the water, voice turning to bitter disdain. “Copse Vale, not Corpse Vale. We’re a humble town in the thickets, nothing more.”

The sharp twist of mood was another red flag for Arin, but Tempest swiftly ignored it. They were well over a third of the way there; it would be best not to say anything, and let the elderly ‘Boatswain’ work. If you could call him that.

Tempest’s eyes, unable to see past the wall of fog before her, instead settled on the craftsmanship of the boat. Her hoof ran over the once beautiful wood, now weathered and aged. Strange.

But his mood soon lightened, as the clouds above began to weep. The soft patter of rain was accompanied by a group of ugly sighs; the party cursing their luck as travel cloaks were found and ripped from their bags. Hoods and shoulder capes in all colors were soon equipped, the Ferry Stallion seemingly ignoring the storm.

“Hoho! But I’ve been here for a very long time. Since I was just a foal, I’ve lived here in Copse Vale. Did you know that Copse Vale is built in the bottom of a natural valley? Below sea level, in fact! Makes transporting goods down the mountain easy; I used to be the best at it!” His toothy grin widened now, skin pale and tight on his cheeks. Unease flooded Celestia, as he laid eyes on her.

“Why no, I did not. You intend to move then, I take it? Surely living in a trench would lead to flooding.”

A splash of a wave ripped at the boat, but did little to dissuade the Ferry Stallion as his pole worked. Vee, realizing the danger - whipped Pumpkin’s hat off with her magic and slid the broom free. The Purple said nothing, only shoved it into Pumpkin’s hooves. The smaller mare, worried - rapidly obeyed. Mounting the wooden pole as her hat was less-than-gently plopped back on.

Tempest - out of destructive curiosity - bumped her hoof hard at the once pristine wood. It shot through the handrail of the boat, nearly making her stumble into the crashing waves. Her ocean green eyes went wide with worry, clutching the rotten debris tight in her grasp.

A growing chuckle from the Ferry Stallion brought all eyes on him. Fear, terror, and morbid curiosity coursing through the party as he spoke.

“It would, and it did! And now we’re here, right where we need to be. After all, entry to the Carnival is free if you buy the first drink.” His face - already stony pale - rotted and fell apart into the amalgamation of an undead, black vine-like tendrils swirling out of his cackling mouth - voice distorting into a haunting echo of a tortured soul. Arin shot to his legs to swing at him out of reflex with his dagger, shock taking the party by storm.

The moment Arin’s legs slammed into the floor, his feet pierced through the rotten wood. The storm around them doubled over, as a capsizing wave rose at the bow of the vessel, cutting through the fog in the monsoon. Tempest, dumbstruck and unthinking - dived for the water, to avoid sinking with the ship. Putting her life first over her party was smart - it was her training, as her life as Second in Command to the Storm King made her life far more valuable over the replaceable grunts.

“Sun-fry! Sky! Now!” Vee called, pumping her wings out of the way; Pumpkin joined her side in a frenzy of panting squeaks. The Solar Princess grabbed at her lover in an attempt to flee, yanking hard at Arin’s arms. The Seraph’s wings flapped hard against the crumbling wood, but he couldn’t budge - something had seized his legs.

The vessel groaned and shattered, as he was dragged torso deep into the now flooding water.

“Tia! Go! The water - FLY!” he shouted, and with little choice - the Princess took off in a beat of her wings. Not more than a split second later, the bone-rattling laugh of the Ferry Stallion ceased as the boat was ripped under the waves.

Tempest struggled in the water in a panic, the heavy armor doing little to help. Though she was able to hold at the surface, it wouldn’t be long until she was lost, too. Vee, keeping her composure - shot down to grab her from the ripping tides. Thunder cracked overhead, and as her wings beat to stabilize above the murky darkness, a pair of rotten hooves shot up from the chilling waves and ripped Tempest to a watery grave. Those same black vines from the Ferry stallion’s muzzle darting around her panicking legs.

The Princess, seeing this - and not seeing Arin breach the surface - did the only thing she could think of. She dived for the water.

“C-CELESTIA!” Pumpkin cried, nearly falling off her broom as the Princess broke through the frigid waters of the murky swamp. Celestia’s magic, as weak as it was right now - lit up the water to a terrifying sight.

The faceless, silent souls of bodies hovered slowly in the murk to meet her. Rotten pony corpses clawing motionless to reach the Sunlight Princess; their black tendrils wrapped around their limbs and legs, as panic overtook her.

She had to flee, she had to. There was no other way she…

No. With a mighty pump of her wings beneath the tides, she shot downwards at the wreckage of the boat. She lifted her bardiche staff in her magic, channeling ambient power into the Amber at the head. A bolt of chaotic flame darted into the rotten wood, crushing into the tattered boards - but Arin wasn’t there. There was a clean hole where he used to be, and swarms of dead all around… a pile of bodies being the most apparent, black vines lashing them together in the murk.

Air fighting in her chest, her wings gave another mighty pump - pulsing her through the water at blinding speeds. Pairs of silent, lifeless hooves missing her legs by inches.

Above the water, Vee cursed; she couldn’t just leave, as much as she usually would. Not with Pumpkin right there; her lil’ sister. She could tell that abandoning not just one, but three of her freshly made friends was really bad news. So, against her better judgement - she tossed her hat and coffee to Pumpkin before darting face first into the water. Much to her horror, hundreds of bodies reached for her - trying to take her to the graves below. She found it hard to falter, as undead didn’t scare her - and armed with the White Tail lance, she could still fight.

Her spear swung in a satisfying arc, cleaving through three immediately in her way. Wings flapping at the water in a bubbling flutter, the purple glow from her hooves illuminated the filth of the swamp’s darkness

In the wreckage of a house, she could see faint flashes of magic light sparking in electric currents through the flood. Her lance quickly batted another body out of the way, as she shot for what was definitely Tempest, fighting for her life and quickly losing.

Celestia reached the pile of swarming bodies, and found them ignoring the bolts of chaotic flame - she had no other choice. Sunlight. Undead were weakest in sunlight; the Solar Plane’s roused the feywilds and beat back the Lunar and Shadowfell both; She only had faint traces of Solar Energy after the years of use and short recovery, but it was her only choice.

Her horn flared, clutching the stave to her chest while her wings spread wide. Eyes closed, she pulled at the empty Ember near her heart for whatever she could manage. Light gleaming in her horn, she ignored the freezing cold touch of rotten hooves clamping onto her form, their black vines looking to extinguish the light in her chest.

A startling blast of sunlight cut through the waves and water, bright enough to stun Pumpkin above and slice the lake in twain in a raining explosion of unbridled ferocity.

And moments later, Celestia - clutching the unconscious Seraph - broke the surface of the water with a gasp. The light had knocked Vee’s magic out of order for the moment, but also freed Tempest - letting the purple pegasus breach the waves as well. Coughing, sputtering, and feathers definitely in need of a preening. A barely moving, but awake, Unicorn was draped over her back.

If only by sheer dumb luck, the water had shifted and flooded somewhere else from the wind and force - revealing a broken roof just inches deep in the stirring storm. The rain soaked Pumpkin quickly directed them to it, using her momentarily emboldened magic to help tug the rest of the party to relative safety before Celestia’s latent arcane aura faded entirely.

Panting, shivering, and covered in muck - Celestia used her tired wings to help pulse their bodies onto the still standing tile roof. With Arin deposited on the highest part of the platform with her bardiche by his side, Celestia went to work pumping his chest in the ankle deep water.

“Don’t you dare die on me, Arin!” She coughed, spitting up drops of the murky lake herself. Vee and Tempest managed to drag themselves out of the worst of it, the retching wine-colored mare spitting up lungfuls of water. Vee’s soaking wing clapped on her back, helping her clear her chest.

Eventually, Arin hacked up a lung - vomiting the sick, grimy drink from his filled body. Shaking, Celestia tilted him onto his side. He crawled onto his knees, groaning in agony.

“Oh thank the Stars!” She hugged him tight in her hooves and wings - doing an extraordinary job of squeezing the rest of the water out of him. “I thought I lost you, Arin, Stars above… Every time I wake, you surprise me with a new way to cheat death.”

Spitting up the last of the water, he raised a finger to denote he had something to say. Lungs clear, and heaving fresh, rich, albeit tainted oxygen into his blood, he finally spoke. “I… phew, I’ve got lots of surprises… left. I… hope.”

Across the roof, Tempest finally caught enough air to speak. “You… saved me? Why? I’ve done… nothing but insult you, since we met.” She spoke to Vee, ocean green eyes finding the Pegasi’s purple ones.

“Because, Stern-fry! If you’re friends… with Pumpkin, you’re going to be friends with… me, whether you like it or not! D’ohoho!” She panted, “And I don’t like it… when my friends decide to die. I can’t outpreen a case of infinite sleep-osis!”

Her purple head fell back into the water with a splash, gazing into the pouring rainclouds tiredly. Finding her Sister unbothered, alive, and in need of a good preen, Pumpkin approached Tempest’s side.

“A-Are you um… okay?” she asked, worry dripping from every fiber of her being. Tempest breathed, nodding to the quiet mare. Pumpkin hovered in a little closer, terrified of the water - but braving it with her hooves.

“I-I… I thought I lost you, Tempest. I…” She sniffled, clopping her forehooves together. “I should have picked you up on my b-broom. I’m s-sorry.”

Tempest rolled her eyes, grabbing Pumpkin in wet hooves for a hug. “No, don’t be. You did well, and you’re holding up better under pressure. If you fell while trying to carry me and my heavy armor, Vee would have gone for you, first. And I would have died. By simply doing what you were told, you prevented this from becoming a disaster.”

“I… I did? I helped?”

“D’ohoho! I wouldn’t have gone after her if you two weren’t buddy-buddies without me, Smol-fry! I thought about a lot of things in my coffee-less time, and that was one of them. If Umbra makes you happy, then you need to eat your Umbras! Or something. I’m not a naturalist!”

“Nutritionist,” Celestia corrected from across the roof. Vee shrugged.

“Nudist, Nuttist, same day, different feather.” With a flop of purple wings, she slowly made it to her hooves for preening. Luckily, her pinions were still coffee flavored. The Purple now standing, Pumpkin quickly returned her hat right where it belonged - on her dripping wet head. Rain filled coffee cup floating in front of her, the Pegasus hummed.

“Mm. Yes. Rain coffee. It’s like making love in a canoe.” She sipped away at the cold bean water. “It’s bucking close to water.”

Splash. The undrinkable mess was gone.

“Speaking of drinks, I think I get what that ghoul meant. Drink. As in, take a dip in the drink.” Celestia facehooved, shaking her wings and making it to her hooves. “And now, we’re stuck here until we can dry off. And it’s a bit too wet to set up camp. And probably exceptionally dangerous.”

The Princess raised her sopping wet feathers into the air, sighing dejectedly. “Let’s hope these rains pass soon. I’m already starting to freeze here, and it’s an undisputed fact the water isn’t safe. Actually, this roof isn’t safe. Don’t tread in the middle, I’m pretty sure it will cave in.”

Arin sat up, steadying his breath. “I don’t suppose our deer friends packed any towels in your packs, huh? Or umbrellas?” The Seraph said, checking Sonata to make sure it was still there, and not ripped off to the waters below. Yep, the bow was as secure as ever.

“Negative.” Tempest groaned, struggling to rest in her armor. Perhaps something more balanced would have been fitting, as water was often deadly to travelers. “Waiting for the lunar magic to take us would surely be our doom. Not only will the undead stir, but being soaking wet in a snowstorm sounds like a quick way for our souls to grace the stars.”

Another crack of thunder overhead split against the clearing lake, the unnatural fog disturbed by wild weather’s winds.

“Think you could use the sun to part the clouds right now, Tia?” Arin asked. The Princess shook her head.

“I’m afraid not. I used what little magic I had recovered over the last few days to break the hoard below. I would need at least a few weeks of Solar energy to cause a minor flare strong enough to blast away a region’s rainfall.”

“I’m out of ideas, then,” Arin grunted, holding on to the Solar Princess like a big plushie. After that harrowing experience, anyone would need a little comfort. And Celestia was more than happy to share every bit she could, even with anxiety creeping in.

“Hmhmhm… Perhaps I have an idea, for our Smol-fry here.” Vee smiled, straightening her wings and twirling her spear. “Pumpkin! At attention, Small-fry!”

“Yes Vee!” The small mare saluted by Vee’s side, floating just above the water on her broom.

“Pick up Arin, and bring him across the lake with your broom!” Vee commanded, the little mare squeaking.

“W-What? But… i-it’s so far away, and my magic so weak… we’re in the middle of the lake, how will I?...”

Vee patted Pumpkin’s head with a wing, giving a smile and a nod. Eyes wide, Pumpkin agreed.

“O-Okay. But why Arin?” the little mare asked, blushing a little at the thought.

“Because Arin is one of the most capable of defending himself alone! You’ll come right back, and grab Sun-fry next, then Stern-fry… and then me! Snap to it, lil’ Missy! I’ve got fresh coffee to burn, and it’s hard to do so when I’m wet, chilly, missing firewood, and wing-soaked!”

“Y-Yes Vee!” Pumpkin smoothed out her ruffled hat, taking a deep, steadying breath. “Are you ready to um… g-go? Arin?” She hovered in front of the Seraph on her broom, and after one last tight squeeze on his wet Princess, he nodded.

“Ready as ever.”

She raised a hoof, orange magic swirling around the Knight. He found himself floating several inches from the crashing waves of the lake, feet no longer fighting the occasional swampy tide that rippled at his will.

At a moderate pace, they began - the water-logged Seraph keeping still to make things easier on the struggling witch.

“So… I have something to admit, Pumpkin.” Arin said, as they hovered to the far western shoreline.

“Y-You’re dating the Princess.” She said, lowering her hat to hide her eyes.

“How’d you?...”

“I-I’ve read enough um… romance novels, to see the signs since you crawled out of the waterfall. T-That, and your room in Silversun wasn’t very… sound proof. I heard it. A lot.”

Stifling a blush, he ran his fingers through his grime-soaked hair, laughing quietly. “I guess uh… I needed to say I’m sorry.”

“N-No! It’s fine, I um… I crush easily. A-And besides… I think I have something special with… nevermind.” She dipped the soft orange-red hat fully over her face, darting back over the water towards their gathered party once Arin rested on a large rock.

Celestia, you genius. She was right. Pumpkin did have a thing for the stern pony. His only question now was… when would Tempest find out? Or were they already an item?...

These were questions best left for mares to gab over. Still, curiosity was a thing, and Celestia would definitely hear about this once they were alone. He checked his satchel, sighing in relief - still in good condition, the contents within dry and protected from the rain and water. If only the same can be said about him.

Once his Princess returned, he was quick to share the news.

“I told you.” She chimed, resting a tired muzzle on his shoulder from behind. “And Tempest is definitely showing signs of improving. By the time we rescue Umbra, she should be ready.”

“Ready? For what?” He asked, but his morning mare could only giggle.

“You’ll see.”