Epic Pony: Friendship is Legend

Part 1: Equestrian Secrets
Chapter 7: The Meeting with Kelpy

The next morning went by fairly quick for Twilight. For all she remembered, she woke up, had breakfast, took a stroll around town, and then had lunch. While the day itself seemed to zoom by, the afternoon seemed to take forever to arrive. Twilight found herself thinking so hard on this phenomenon that she didn’t notice her friends gathering at her table, and almost jumped when they said her name.

“Wha-! Oh, hey, girls,” she spluttered, “Funny seeing you here.”

“Well, we did agree to meet at this exact place and time,” Rarity stated, “Remember?”

“Oh, yes, that’s right,” Twilight commented. They were all seated at a table in front of a simple diner. Twilight had eaten her lunch here, and had been just sitting around when the others arrived.

Looking around, Twilight noticed that the three fillies weren’t with the others. “Where are Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo?” she asked, half-concerned.

“Oh, y’know those fillies,” Applejack said, waving a hoof, “Off’n their silly shenanigans again. Our… new frien’ gave ‘em some more ideas. Ah made ‘em swear not t’do anythin’ dangerous, so they’ll be all right.”

“I was almost surprised that they didn’t want to come with us,” Rarity added.

“Yeah, who’d want to miss this?” Rainbow Dash interjected.

“Well, I guess we’re going without them, then,” Twilight said, “Everypony ready?”

“Yuppy guppy!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed gleefully. Next to her, Fluttershy nodded quietly. She looked a little timid, but not more than usual.

“In that case, let’s go!” Twilight announced, standing up. With an ecstatic cheer, her friends followed her in the direction of the mountains.

Not in a hurry to save anyone’s life this time, they trotted the whole way, admiring the scenery as they went. When they finally reached the mountains, they instinctively knew which cave to enter. Strolling through the tunnel, they came to the pool. They could see that the frozen Chimaera was still on the ledge up above. To them, it wasn’t as intimidating now as when it was first transformed, though Fluttershy still shuddered at the sight of it.

“Well, here we are,” Rarity thought aloud, “Now, we wait.”

They all sat in a row on the pool’s edge, staring eagerly into the water. Their enthusiasm dampened after several minutes went by with no sign of Kelpy. Rainbow Dash grew impatient quickly, and began meandering about the cave. Eventually, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity, and even Fluttershy joined her. They did whatever they could to pass the time: talking, kicking pebbles around, getting up on the ledge to take a closer look at the frozen Chimaera. Twilight remained by the pool, staring so hard into the water that she felt like she was slowly sinking into it. She was confident that Kelpy would show up, but she wasn’t sure when that would happen.

The others were engaged in a sport like game, in which they kicked a pebble around like a soccer ball, when Twilight suddenly announced, “There she is!” Hearing this, the others immediately stopped and rushed over to the pool. Twilight rose to her feet as the surface of the water stirred, and a shadow approaching the surface took form. Within moments Kelpy emerged, met with a joyous reception from Twilight and friends. Accepting it with blushing cheeks, she said, “It was nice of you to wait for me. Were you waiting for very long?”

The girls insisted politely that it was nothing.

“In that case,” Kelpy replied, “Where should we start?” Right when she said it, everyone but Twilight bombarded her with questions.

“Where did you come from?”

“How did ya know we were bein’ attacked by that horrible beast?”

“What was that awesome crystal thing you used?”

“How do you keep your mane looking so nice?”

“Do you have any underwater pets?”

“What’s your favorite flavor of cake?”

“Can you teach me that really cool move you pulled off yesterday?”

“How come nopony else ‘as seen yer kind before?”

“Does that plant you used have rejuvenating qualities, too?”

“Do you have your parties underwater?”

Kelpy gave a nervous smile. “My, that’s… a lot of questions,” she commented, looking away, “I don’t even know which one to answer first.”

“I have an important question,” Twilight cut in quietly. Everyone looked curiously at her. She cleared her throat and asked, “Just what are you?”

“Me? Well, I’m a hippocampus pony,” Kelpy answered, “That’s the official name for our kind.”

“What a dazzling name,” Rarity complimented.

“I like ‘Sea Pony’ better,” Rainbow Dash remarked.

“‘Your kind’? So there are others like you?” Twilight continued.

“Well, of course!” Kelpy declared, “There are civilizations full of us! We’re an entire race of ponies!”

“Then how come you don’t appear in accounts of Equestrian history?” Twilight inquired.

“Well, the thing with that is,” Kelpy pointed out, “We’ve been living in seclusion from the surface ponies since before Equestria was founded. While we learn all about you, we’ve been keeping ourselves hidden away, so your kind doesn’t even know we exist.”

“But… why?” Twilight questioned, shocked.

“To tell you the truth, I don’t know why,” Kelpy responded nervously, “Whenever we ask our leaders, they refuse to tell us. We always assume that it is for either our own safety or 'the good of ponykind.'” When she finished, Kelpy sighed gloomily.

“It’s alright,” Twilight assured, “Maybe we could figure it out together.”

“But how?” Kelpy inquired, “All known records of pre-Equestrian hippocampus history are hidden away somewhere beneath the surface.”

“What if we helped you look for them?” Twilight proposed. Kelpy half-giggled in response.

“That’s nice of you to offer,” she stated, “But your kind can hardly survive underwater. I mean, you’ve got those mask things, but those aren’t going to last long enough for you to do a good, thorough search of the ocean depths.”

“Oh, that’s not a problem for us,” Twilight uttered confidently. Everyone gave her a surprised look.

“What do you mean, it’s not a problem?” Rainbow Dash asked doubtfully.

“Well, what I mean is,” Twilight boldly proclaimed, “I have a spell that can help us!”

“What kind of spell?” everyone asked eagerly.

“A spell that will allow us to breathe underwater!” Twilight declared. Her friends gasped in excitement. “I practiced it as soon as I returned home after the 'event' yesterday,” Twilight continued, “And I’ve managed to perfect it. Perfectly.” Her friends cheered.

“Well, if it really works right,” Kelpy explained, “Then I could take you to my hometown, where we could hunt for information on where those hidden records might be. It’s a start...”

“Then it’s settled,” Twilight concluded. She tilted her head forward and screwed up her face in concentration. Her horn lit up, and a magenta-violet aura enveloped her body. As the light intensified, the others, except for Kelpy, were also shrouded in the glow. The light from Twilight’s horn blazed its brightest, and a blue-tinted substance began to encase their bodies. Once they were all completely covered in a layer of the substance, the light vanished completely.

“Hey, what is this?” Rainbow Dash asked, when she noticed it. Her voice sounded slightly muffled and warped, as if she were speaking through a window of some sort.

“It’s a waterproof covering,” Twilight explained, “It’s like a skintight bubble.”

“Cool! I love bubbles!” Pinkie Pie shouted excitedly.

“It feels so comfortable,” Rarity crooned pleasantly.

After her friends took a moment to adjust to their strange new coatings, Twilight proudly straightened herself up.

“This is it, girls,” she declared, “The start of a new adventure. Underneath the surface of this pool awaits a valiant quest for the truth. There’s no knowing what we will find, who we will meet, or even where we will go. Who knows what new friends we will make along the journey? Who knows what dangers we will face? Who knows-?”

“Ah think we git th’idea,” Applejack interrupted, as politely as she could.

“The very thought of it overwhelms me,” Rarity wondered aloud.

“I love making new friends!” Pinkie Pie blurted out.

“I don’t know, that part about the dangers sounded a little… dangerous,” Fluttershy mumbled.

“Aw yeah!” Rainbow Dash proclaimed. “We’re gonna have an awesome time! Let’s go, already, before I get too bored!”

Disappointed she couldn’t finish her speech, but eager to move on, anyway, Twilight turned to Kelpy. “We’re ready,” she stated firmly.

“In that case, follow me!” Kelpy called out. With a quick turn, she dove below the surface. She swam for a moment, then stopped and turned, waiting. The girls gathered around the pool’s edge. They stared nervously at the water for a brief moment, then Pinkie Pie leapt in, shouting, “Cannonball!” As she smacked into the surface and sank, water splashed onto the girls, rolling down their protective bubbles.

“I can’t feel a thing,” Rarity observed, almost astonished, “These really do work!”

Pinkie Pie popped her head out of the water. “Of course they work!” she cheered. “I can even talk really fast down there!”

“Believe me, we don’t need to worry about that,” Rainbow Dash teased.

The others laughed lightheartedly at Rainbow Dash’s joke, even Pinkie Pie, and everyone jumped in, one by one, amazed by the effect of the spell. Once they got the hang of swimming around, Kelpy turned around and headed towards an opening near the bottom of the pool. The girls followed her into an underwater tunnel, moved by a feeling of wonder.