Epic Pony: Friendship is Legend

Part 1: Equestrian Secrets
Chapter 10: Kelpy’s House

Showing the guards the message from Chief Freshwater, the girls were able to exit the building without any trouble. Once they were back on the streets, Kelpy suggested, “Let’s stop by my house before we leave. Y’know, to suit up for the journey.”

Interested to see where Kelpy lived, the girls agreed. With Kelpy leading, they made their way through Oceanopolis. The other hippocampus ponies, now fully aware of the presence of “surface ponies”, were no longer shocked to see them, though many still ogled them curiously as they passed by.

Soon, they arrived at a house that resembled a branch of pinkish-white coral. By the look of the texture, it seemed to be made of the very material, too. A garden of bizarre flowers lay in front.

“Could someone open the door for me?” Kelpy asked, gesturing towards the smooth stone door, “As you can see, my hands are full.”

“Oh, of course!” Rarity announced. She used her unicorn magic to pull the door open, and the girls swam to it and entered.

The house was very spacious on the inside. The layout revolved around the ability to freely move upward and downward. Instead of stairs leading to higher levels, doors on the ceiling indicated rooms above. Most of the bookshelves and cabinets and such went from the ceiling down or stood separate on the wall, some stretching all the way to the floor. Bench-like couches and chairs connected to the wall here and there, and more rested on the floor. Aside from the strange style of arrangement, the furniture and decorations were relatively normal, albeit noticeably aquatic-themed for the most part.

“Nice place you got,” Pinkie Pie commented casually.

Just as Rarity closed the door behind her, a scuttling sound came from an open doorway nearby. A minute crab appeared and scurried over to Kelpy. Every part of its shiny-shelled body was some variation or other of the color red, except for its large, black, beady eyes, which glared at Kelpy in an adorably cross manner. Fluttershy’s eyes widened when she saw it.

“That’s a Ruby Crab!” she gasped, “Oh, it’s so cute!”

“His name is Snappy,” Kelpy said plainly, “And for a very good reason, too. He’s my pet crab. He may be troublesome at times, but he’s generally harmless. So there’s no need to be afraid,” she added, looking at Rarity, who had swum onto a chair and was looking at the crab uneasily.

Snappy, still looking miffed, clicked its pincers at Kelpy, who gave an exasperated sigh.

“Yes, Snappy, I know,” she responded gruffly, “I’m not supposed to bring surface ponies here, yes, yes. Everypony already knows they’re here, so it’s not a big deal anymore.”

She listened as Snappy clicked its pincers in reply, then explained, “We’re not staying here. We’re going to go somewhere. For a bit.”

Again Snappy answered with its pincers. When it finished, Kelpy retorted, “That is none of your business. All you need to know is that I’m going to be away for some time.”

Snappy clicked out another reply, this time hopping up and down furiously. Kelpy’s moody face eased.

“Oh, did I forget again?” she checked, “Aw, I’m sorry. You could’ve just told me.”

She glided out of the room, with Snappy following. After a brief moment, she reentered, unaccompanied by her pet.

“Sometimes, when I go out, I forget to give him food,” she explained, blushing. Swimming over to the girls, she continued, “So, we need to prepare for a possibly long journey.”

“Oh, I wish I’d brought my waterproof bag,” Rarity pouted, “It would’ve been so handy.”

“That’s okay, you can use mine,” Kelpy suggested, “I have a few extras.” She opened a closet door and brought out four bags. “Though I should mention,” she added, putting one on to show the girls, “They’re a little… more suited for hippocampus ponies like me.”

Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Twilight slipped into the remaining three, and the girls could see what Kelpy meant. The pouches sat sideways on their waists, but for Kelpy, whose torso was vertical, they were upright.

“Well, it shouldn’t be much of a problem,” Rarity commented, giving them a look that said otherwise.

“Then let’s get packing!” Kelpy announced, and the girls split up and explored the house. They gathered food, books with helpful information, and other things, including items the girls weren’t familiar with. When they were done, they reunited in the living room, where they reexamined the map.

“Okay, so, the Sunken Temple is north of Oceanopolis,” Kelpy described, gesturing on the map, “The safest route would be to cross the Gaping Chasm here, and then go through the Noiseter Beds. After that, we’ll be in the dangerous territory my father warned about. It would be best to go straight through to the Geyser Fields at that point. By the looks of it, the Sunken Temple must be right smack in the middle of it.”

After putting the map and the chief’s note in her bag, Kelpy looked around at the girls and stated, “We’re about to embark on a perilous journey no hippocampus pony has made before, to discover secrets which have forbidden for ages. Are we ready?” The girls responded in turn.

“Ready!”

"Yahoo!"

"Hooray!"

"Aw yeah!"

"Quite."

"Okay."

The girls made for the door, but before they could reach it, a knocking sound came from it, followed by a male voice. “Kelpy? Are you home?”

Kelpy swam ahead of the girls and opened it. A yellowish-orange hippocampus pony with a maroon and golden-yellow striped mane was standing (or at least the underwater equivalent) just outside the doorway. The girls gasped when they saw him, for atop his head was-

“A horn?” Twilight blurted in amazement. “You’re… an underwater unicorn?”

“Yes,” Kelpy answered, “Some of us hippocampus ponies have a horn, and some of us don’t. He’s an Aquaricorn.”

“Aquaricorn,” the girls repeated in awe.

“So,” the pony said coolly, looking at the girls, “These must be the surface ponies I heard about. Y’know, the ones that ‘intruded’ on our hometown.” he added, smiling teasingly at Kelpy.

“Yes, they are,” Kelpy replied, “Girls, this is Sun Splash. He’s my father’s Recreational Advisor, so he takes care of events in Oceanopolis. Sun Splash, these are my friends.”

“You made friends with a bunch of surface ponies?” Sun Splash asked, raising his eyebrows, but he lit up as he continued, “That sounds great, Kelpy! You sure have an eye for foreigners!” As he patted Kelpy on the shoulder, the girls could see his cutie mark: a sun wearing shades, its rays resembling waves.

“Thanks, but we need to get going,” Kelpy pointed out anxiously, “Places to go, things to see, you get the drift.”

“Takin’ ‘em on a little tour, eh?” Sun Splash said with a grin, “I like it. Have fun, and take care, all of you.” And with that, he waved to the girls and swam off. The girls exited the house, and touched down on the ground in front of the garden.

“We should get going now,” Kelpy uttered, “The sooner, the better.”

“Right,” the girls responded, and together they followed kelpy as she led the way to the city entrance.

Meanwhile, at Canterlot, Celestia was out on the highest balcony, watching the skies carefully. She flinched when Luna appeared by her side.

“Looking for something, sister?” Luna asked lightly.

“You know what I’m looking for,” Celestia answered firmly, “Whatever signs may point to the coming of what we fear.”

“How long have you been here?” Luna inquired worriedly.

“Since lunch,” Celestia sighed, gazing at a far off cloud.

“You can’t do this all day every day,” Luna admonished, “It’s not healthy. And what would your subjects think if they were to find out their ruler spends all her time staring into the heavens? You’ll only bring more pressure to yourself.” Using her unicorn magic, she brought a levitating cup filled with liquid to Celestia. “Here, drink up,” she offered.

Celestia took a slow sip from the cup, then stated, “I know I shouldn’t be so attentive, but… this is more serious than anything we’ve dealt with before. I just don’t want to be caught off guard.”

“And you won’t be,” Luna assured, putting her hoof on her sister’s shoulder, “You’ve already taken measures to ensure that. You’ve sent word to every leader in Equestria to be on the alert, and you’ve tasked Canterlot security with keeping a close watch inside and out. They are all watching the skies for you.”

“But still,” Celestia disagreed, “I feel that it’s not enough. I need to be sure.”

“‘Better safe than sorry,’ I suppose,” Luna remarked, drinking from her own cup.

“Are you not worried?” Celestia asked nervously, turning to her sister.

“I am very much worried,” Luna replied gravely, “My fear for the future is as great as yours, if not greater. But I know that there is nothing we can do about it for now, except be ready for it. And we are as ready as can be.”

“I guess you’re right,” Celestia noted submissively. Without another word, she continued to drink from her cup. When she finished, she looked out in the direction of the Sculpture Garden. “Luna?” she muttered.

“Yes, sister?” Luna answered.

“You remember that one night, when we went into the Sculpture Garden?”

“Yes, I remember it very clearly.”

“You know about how you said you could sense… something, as we passed by the statues?”

“What of it?”

“…I think I feel it, too.”

Celestia looked at Luna, eyes trembling in despair. Luna paused for a moment, then smiled warmly.

“Come,” she declared, turning and entering the building, “Let us go inside.”

After one more look at the sky, Celestia followed her sister.

“At times like these,” she explained, “When I find myself stressed, there is something that often comforts me.”

“And what is that?” Luna asked hopefully.

Celestia laid down on a cushion, then said, “Well, somepony, actually: Twilight Sparkle.”

Luna seated herself on a cushion next to Celestia.

“For some reason, I always feel relaxed when I look at her reports,” Celestia continued, “To read of her experiences, and see what she’s learned, and the progress she’s made, it makes me… confident.”

“And you have every reason to be,” Luna affirmed, “Twice, she has saved our world from ruin. She freed me from the darkness that held me… from… myself…” She stared into space for a moment, then cleared her throat and continued, “She is very studious and observant, just like you.”

“Yes, she is,” Celestia uttered, “In fact, I feel that there is something she knows. Maybe not about this, but she’s found out something. Something important. I could sense it in her as I saw her off. Perhaps we should write her a letter.”

“If it will make you feel better,” Luna responded caringly, “Though you shouldn’t make it seem as if you suspect her of anything. Simply… let her know that you’re there for her, to listen to whatever she has to report.”

“Very well,” Celestia said with a formal smile, bringing out a quill, ink, and a scroll of parchment from a nearby desk with her unicorn magic. She set the ink and parchment down, and kept the quill floating in front of her as she pondered what to write. After a brief moment, she dipped the quill into the ink, and began writing, with Luna watching.