The Descent

Ametrine had had to take up some duty as a member of the crew due to how understaffed they were, and because of the outside threat. The crew's first idea was to put her in the crow's nest, but figured the two injured crewmates should get the easiest jobs. And so, she was set off to man the cannons. They were heavy and old, steam-powered. She knew how to work with that. Now, there wasn't much to do but wait. She had been instructed on how to use them, and when to fire. But as of right now, the black sea below offered no targets.

It didn't take long for her to realize that it would get lonely down here, but alas. It's do or die in a situation like this. She'd daydream away to memories of old, remembering how bright and peppy Burning Bridges used to be before his mane became as fiery as his name. That changed him, somehow. He rarely ever smiled, nor dropped the monotone voice. She missed what he used to be like, and she always wished she could be like him. To just be able to live life with a shrug and just take things as they are. She always was an admirer.

Her memories didn't bring her much comfort. Instead, she remembered other things from school - Like being laughed at for being the only earth pony in school, among the pegasi and unicorns. Not even Bridges' pyromancer friends would treat her with respect. The only ones who'd ever talk to her were the necromancers. Just like her, they were outcasts. I mean, really, who'd want to socialize with next-level grave robbers? At least, they provided some amount of company.

Then, she reflected upon this journey she was on. Was it really worth it? She'd lost a friend, and indirectly killed nearly three quarters of a crew. What was the point of this trip, anyways? This trench is so far away from Equestria that it's barely worth investigating... Right? Even if there were to be something dangerous out here, it would be so far away from civilization that it doesn't matter. Maybe they should just turn back? Or had they gone too far already? Did they even have enough fuel to?

Out of curiosity, Ametrine waltzed over to the room where the engine was. It was clear that one of the walls had been sloppily repaired with boards and nails. That was presumably made after their coal fell into the ocean. Looking around the room, she noticed a few barrels of pitch-black coal. If they'd turn around now, the ship would be running on hopes and dreams halfway there. The engine itself had obviously also taken quite a beating. Large parts of it had partially melted from the acidic waters of the nuclear sea, as well as burnt, probably from a stray lightning bolt. Though unreliably and mediocrely, it was working.

She'd been in here for hours at this point. The only one she'd seen that day was Foulplay, who had brought down a plate of cold food, as the crew no longer had time to eat together, or even to cook for that matter. It was bland, but it was better than nothing.

"I'd be perfectly fine with never setting hoof on a ship again." She sighed to herself, sick of these battered walls.

Just as she finished the sentence, she heard screaming from above as Sanguis ran down the stairs.

"It's back!" Sanguis screamed at the top of her lungs, like a military instructor. "We need you on full alert! You can hardly see shit out these windows, so move to whichever cannon we tell you to! One is front, four is back. Move it!" As she finished her sentence, she sprinted back up the stairs as Ametrine waited for her first command.

"RIGHT THREE!" The pony upstairs yelled. Ametrine was quick to take her place at the respective cannon, peering out the cramped window. They were right, there it was. Swimming straight towards them. She was their only line of defence. She tilted the cannon towards the water in front of her, and shot. She missed. She had narrowly miscalculated the abomination's speed, causing her to fire slightly in front of it. She scrambled to the ammunition depot in the corner of the room, grabbing ahold of a large shell. As she was moving back to the cannon, the ship shook as if they had bumped into something. Was that thing... Ramming them? She stumbled and fell, dropping the shell as it started rolling back and forth as the ship rocked.

"LEFT ONE!" Ametrine shook her head as she stood up again. Her vision was blurry and the world spun around her, but she made her way over to the already-loaded cannon. She squinted as she looked out, noticing the whale coming straight towards them again. This time, she aimed slightly higher, and pulled the lever. The abomination cried out in a hellishly distorted whale song, as it made its way back below the tides. She got a look at it before it disappeared. The massive bullet had barely dented the thick skin.

She once again scrambled over to the boxes of ammunition. There were two boxes stacked on top of each other. As she was grabbing another shell, she noticed the label on the lower crate - "Warning: Highly Explosive." If she was gonna have a chance to kill that thing, this would be it. Only, the upper box was too heavy for her to move. She could tilt it, but not enough to make it fall over.

Then, she had the worst good idea of her life. If she let the boat get hit again, it might rock enough that she could use the changed angle of the ship to more easily push the box off. "RIGHT FOUR!" Was heard from above, but she ignored the command, instead waiting for the hit. When it did happen, it was way worse than she had expected. The being had figured out where she was shooting from. It lept towards the cannon it was aiming for with it's jaws open wide, tearing a large chunk of the wall down. She would've been dead if she had listened to the commands of those above. The ship was once again launched into a rocking motion. Now was her only chance. As the upper box tilted, she stuck her hoofs underneath and pushed it.

And. It. Worked. The crate hit the floor with a thud as the mare pried at the lower box's lid, and eventually, it gave in. The ammunition inside was longer and smoother, and considerably heavier as she noticed when picking one up.

"SHE CAN'T TAKE MUCH MORE! MAKE THIS ONE COUNT! LEFT TWO!"

She hurried over to the specified cannon, shoving the explosive inside. As she took aim, she remembered something from her studies - If the sharper round couldn't penetrate the skin, neither was this. She was going to have to wait for the whale to open it's mouth to do any real damage. She saw the whale once more, heading straight for her.

"FIRE! FIRE FIRE FIRE!"

She didn't listen. It wasn't going to work. Instead, she waited. Watched as it got closer and closer. Until, it jumped into the air, hurdling straight toward the cannon with it's grotesque mouth open wide. Just as it was about to hit the hull, she fired...!

The force of the explosion was insane. Ametrine was launched back into the wall opposite of the cannon, as smoke filled the room. She coughed and crawled to the floor, doing her best to avoid as much of the dark grey cloud as possible. Eventually, the smoke cleared, seeping out of the massive holes in the walls.

The whale was decimated. It's head had been splattered into a red mist. The only things remaining where chunks of flesh strewn about here and there. Nearly the entire wall around the cannon was straight up gone. Fortunately, it wasn't big enough to the point where the ship would be taking in water. The cannon itself was in bits and pieces. The large barrel had been shot back like a ballista bolt, narrowly missing Ametrine and impaling the wall next to her. Soon, the adrenaline left her body and she felt nothing but pain. The fiery blast had burned large chunks of her skin, and the impact against the wall had left her barely conscious. Eventually, her injuries became too much, and she passed out.