It wasn’t a competition, despite what everypony thought. It was never a competition, because a competition implied that there were other ponies or beings to compete against, and competing meant pushing each other, and that wasn’t happening. It never happened, actually. Under water, there was no pony, griffon, or anything short of an actual water-dwelling being that could offer any form of competition. And since Sea ponies weren’t in the Equestria Games, there was no competition.
Sea Swirl reached the far end of the pool, flipped forward so her hind legs touched the wall, and pushed off back toward the other end of the pool. She saw the closet racer to her, a pony who was still several seconds away from reaching the halfway mark. She considered winking at her for good luck, but thought better of it. She’d probably think Sea Swirl was mocking her instead of just being friendly.
Sea Swirl shot past that pony and the other racers in the pool as she closed the distance to end. She surfaced for air briefly, and then continued shooting through the water. She could feel it pulling against her, tugging at her purple hued mane and swishing through her lilac coat. It was the closet thing to utter bliss she had ever experienced. Swimming was her life, plain and simple.
Sea Swirl surfaced one last time for a quick gasp of air, and then she was done. Her hoof reached out and touched the wall, and then she surfaced again. She bobbed in the water for a bit, listening to the crowd cheering for not only her victory, but the remaining racers as well, and then pulled herself out of the pool. She waved to the crowd briefly, paying special attention to the Ponyville section, and then reached for a towel with her magic. She was surprised when the towel didn’t come floating over to her, and then she smiled as she recalled the sealing spell that all Unicorns were under. Shaking her head in amusement, she walked over and grabbed a towel off of a nearby bench. She dried her face and flipped her mane through the air, relishing the feeling of the water slapping against her, and then looked back at the pool.
The second racer was just now finishing. She pulled herself out of the water and her face was beaming. She stood on her hind legs and twirled around once, taking a bow as ponies cheered her on. Moments later, the rest of the racers finished and slowly began pulling themselves out of the pool with varying degrees of enthusiasm.
Sea Swirl watched all of them with a smile on her face. The second place pony looked at her and grinned back, then trotted over to her. She pulled her goggles off of her face and gave Sea Swirl a puzzled look. “Are you sure that magic cancelling spell was applied to you?” she said after a moment.
“Seeing as I had to hoof-dry myself, I think it’s working,” Sea Swirl said with a smile.
“Okay,” the pony said, still giving Sea Swirl the strange look. It was just starting to get uncomfortable when the pony finally caved and cracked a genuine smile. “I’ve never seen anypony as fast as you in the water. You were amazing!”
Sea Swirl blushed slightly. “Thanks. You did really well too.”
“Couldn’t touch you though,” the pony said. “And you didn’t even wear goggles! What’s your secret? Special carrot juice or something?”
“Nope,” Sea Swirl said, glancing back at the double dolphins on her flank. “Just a natural born swimmer, I guess.”
“There was nothing natural about that performance. You’ve got to be part Sea pony or something.” The pony held out her hoof. “My name’s Tide. Rising Tide.”
“Sea Swirl,” Sea Swirl said as she shook the other pony’s hoof. “Nice to meet you.”
“You’ve got to teach me how to swim like that sometime,” Tide said with a gleam in her orange eyes. “Pretty please?”
“Um, well…” Sea Swirl wasn’t sure what to say. Tide was clearly good. Her form had been perfect in the water, and she had beat all the other racers be a few decent seconds. Sea Swirl wasn’t sure what she could possibly teach the aqua colored Unicorn. The things that she did in the water came with over a decade of spending almost every day swimming. The way she flicked her hooves at a certain angle, the way she titled her head a specific way, the fact that she saw better without goggles; all those things weren’t something she could teach, because she wasn’t sure how she had learned them herself. They were just little tricks that she had picked up.
Thankfully, Sea Swirl was saved from having to say anything. A group of ponies came running up to her and Tide just then. One of them, a Pegasus, threw his forelegs around Tide’s neck and kissed her cheek. “You did great, Tide! That was the fastest time you’ve ever had!”
“Thanks,” Tide said, blushing as Sea Swirl smiled at her. “But I couldn’t even touch Sea Swirl here. Did you see her?”
“How could we miss her?” another pony said.
“She was in a league of her own,” added another, and Sea Swirl blushed at the sound of so much praise. She wasn’t used to having anypony comment on her special talent so much. She found she enjoyed it.
“You better go dry off and clean up,” the Pegasus said as he pulled away from Tide. “They’re going to start the medal ceremony in a few minutes. After that, we’re all going to go celebrate ”
“Okay,” Tide said. “See you at the ceremony, Sea Swirl.”
“See you,” Sea Swirl said as she watched Tide and her group leave. She looked around and saw all the ponies beginning to file out of the pool area. Some of them were heading for the exits while others were going to speak to certain racers. Sea Swirl remained where she was for a bit, scanning the crowd to hopefully see somepony she knew, but all she saw were strangers. After the last of the crowd had left, she sighed and made her way to the exit. She entered the locker room and finished drying herself off, then collected her saddlebag with her belongings and made her way to the field where the medal ceremony was to be held. An official spied her and waved her over to the side.
“You’re the winner of the swim race, correct?”
“That’s me,” Sea Swirl said with a smile. “Sea—”
“You’re needed over this way. The ceremony’s about to start.”
Sea Swirl followed the Crystal Earth pony to a side area, where he opened a door and lead her in. Inside, she found Rising Tide as well as the third place pony waiting. Rising Tide looked up and smiled at her.
“There you are,” she said. “I was starting to worry that you got lost.”
“Nah,” Sea Swirl said as she walked over. “Guess I’m just not as fast on land as I am in the water.”
All three ponies chuckled and then another door opened. Shining Armor, the Prince of the Crystal Empire, walked in and bowed slightly. “Greetings. If you will follow me, we’ll get this ceremony started.”
Sea Swirl and the other racers followed Shining Armor out into the main arena where most of the Equestria Games were taking place. She looked up and saw that some Pegasus ponies were preparing for the aerial relay. She wanted to see that, and was glad it hadn’t started yet. She wanted to see if Rainbow Dash could manage to earn the team a win, because it was no secret that Fluttershy and Bulk Biceps weren’t the strongest fliers in Ponyville.
The ponies came to the white stage in the middle of the arena and waited. The crowd was cheering loudly, and she hoped that a few of those cheers were for her specifically, not just because she was from Ponyville.
“And now, the results of the Freestyle Swim Race,” Shining Armor said, his voice echoing throughout the entire arena. “In third place, from Fillydelphia, Cresting Waves.” The crowd cheered as the first pony took his spot on the stand. “In second place, from Trottingham, Rising Tide.” Again, the crowd cheered and Tide stood up and waved to the crowd, a smile spreading across her face as she basked in the attention. Sea Swirl smiled for her. She really was having a good time.
“And finally, taking first place by an unfathomable margin,” Sea Swirl rolled her eyes at the Prince’s pun, “from Ponyville…Sea Swirl!”
Sea Swirl took the highest point on the stage and smiled. She scanned the crowd, listening to the ponies cheering. She heard a rather loud shout that she assumed was Pinkie Pie over the rest of the roar, and she waved at the crowd. Shining Armor produced the medals and carefully placed each one around the ponies’ necks. After that, the three swimmers left the stage and returned to the waiting room.
“Congratulations you two,” Cresting Waves said as they entered the room. “It was a good race. See you two around.” With that, the Earth pony left, swinging his medal from side to side as he walked.
“Aw, this is so cool,” Tide said as she held her medal up in front of her face. She smiled at her reflection and giggled as her teeth beamed back at her. “I can’t believe I won a medal.”
“Yeah,” Sea Swirl said, looking down at the gold one draped over her own neck. “I guess it is pretty nice, isn’t it?” She pulled hers off and held it out to look at it.
“What?” Tide said, whipping around as a look of horror crossed her face. “You can’t mean that!”
Sea Swirl shrugged. “It’s not that big of a deal to me. Just between you and me, I didn’t even want to compete.”
“But…but why?” Tide asked, baffled. “You’re the best swimmer I’ve ever seen!”
“Competing’s not really in my nature. I only did this because Rainbow Dash really wants Ponyville to beat Cloudsdale in the medal count. I figured I’d just do my part.”
“Oh,” Tide said. “But…but why don’t you like competing? I mean, you’re the best, like I said.”
“That’s just it,” Sea Swirl said, putting the medal back around her neck. “I don’t want to sound like I’m bragging or anything, but I am the best. There’s no thrill in competing for me because I never compete. I’ve always won any swimming race or event that I’ve ever been in. And it’s never been close. I’m always done before any of the other racers are even close. It was nice at first, but after a while, it lost its charm.” Sea Swirl hung her head and her ears went down. What was the point of being special at something if you were so good at it that eventually other ponies stopped seeing it as special? Or even stopped seeing her as special? “Does…that make sense?”
“Yeah, I guess so,” Tide said, although Sea Swirl wasn’t sure she was being honest. She couldn’t really blame her. What she was saying didn’t make a lot of sense to a pony who loved to compete.
“So…I guess you had better get going,” Sea Swirl said after an uncomfortable silence. “Didn’t I hear that you and your friends were going to go out and celebrate?”
Tide’s eyes lit up and the doubt vanished from her face. “That’s right! Oh, he’s probably waiting for me right now!” She turned and ran for the door, but then stopped to look back at Sea Swirl. “Um…do you want to come with us? There’s always room for one more.”
Sea Swirl almost said yes. She almost jumped at the chance. She wanted to so badly, but she stopped herself. “No thanks,” she said, while her mind screamed at her. “I want to see the aerial relay race. It’s up next, and Rainbow is competing in it. I want to see if she can earn Ponyville another medal.”
“Okay,” Tide said, turning back toward the door. “See you around, Sea Swirl. Remember, you still owe me some swim lessons!”
Before Sea Swirl could say that she had never actually promised the Unicorn any lessons, Tide was out the door. Sea Swirl sighed and followed her into the hallway. She arrived just in time to see Tide walk over to her friends and the same stallion from before give her a huge hug. Tide turned and waved at Sea Swirl, then she and her friends left.
Sea Swirl waved back and watched them go, a melancholy feeling building in her chest as she stared. She looked back toward the arena, hoping to see somepony walking down the hall to see her, but there was nothing. Oh well. She had done her part, and that was all that mattered. The aerial relay would be starting any moment now, so she decided she had better hurry if she wanted a good seat.
She closed her eyes with a sigh and began walking down the hall when face crashed right into something soft and warm. “Oh, excuse me, I was lost in thought,” she said as she backed up, bowing in apology.
“I saw that during the ceremony,” a very familiar voice said. “And I see it even more now. Would you like to share your thoughts?”
Sea Swirl opened her raspberry eyes and bowed informally. “Greetings, Your Majesty.”
“Your race was as impressive as ever, Sea Swirl,” Princess Celestia said.
“I don’t know if I would call it a race. I mean, the only thing I was racing was the clock, and that’s not very fun for me.”
“Is that what is bothering you?” Princess Celestia asked. She raised her head and looked down the hall after Tide and her group of friends. “Or was it something else? Perhaps something to do with that young mare?”
“Yes,” Sea Swirl said. “I mean, no. I mean…I don’t know.” Sea Swirl hung her head and kicked the ground gently with her hoof.
“Are you not happy with your win?”
“Oh no, that’s not it. I mean, I’m glad I was able to help Rainbow Dash with her goal, but…” Sea Swirl looked after Tide and her friends again, wishing she had taken her up on her offer.
“I’m listening,” Princess Celestia said, and Sea Swirl knew she was caught. Princess Celestia was a master at making other ponies talk to her in confidence about anything, and it was one of the first things Sea Swirl had learned about her when they had first met.
Many famous ponies from Canterlot were familiar with Sea Swirl. She had no problem diving to the bottom of lakes, or scouring the shallows of the sea to look for gems, stones, shells, or pearls. Pearls were always in high demand because they were harder to get than gems, and Sea Swirl was a natural at retrieving them. As such, she was rather famous among the elite for her services and she made a very comfortable living off of it, but only Princess Celestia had ever bothered to get to know her beyond ‘that pearl diving pony’ that most others called her.
Sea Swirl sighed and waited, knowing full well that Princess Celestia would not press the issue, but also that she wouldn’t allow her to just walk away. After a few moments, the Unicorn gave up and spoke.
“I just…I wish I had what Rising Tide has,” she said.
“I am certain that a pony of your skill could have easily come in second, third, or any place you wished,” Celestia said with a small smile.
“Thanks, Celestia,” Sea Swirl said, rolling her eyes in good fun. “I mean I wish I had friends who would come to see me after my race. I know there were a lot of ponies from Ponyville there to watch me, and apparently even a Princess that I didn’t see anywhere…”
“I have my ways,” Celestia said.
“Creepy,” Sea Swirl replied. “But, after my race, I may as well not even exist. No pony came up to congratulate me, no pony said, ‘Hey, great job Sea Swirl!’ or gave me a hug or a slap on the back. The only reason Tide even spoke to me was because of my win. It’s like I’m a stranger to everypony in Ponyville.”
“Why do you think that is?” Celestia asked.
“Well, I guess part of the reason is my job. The ocean isn’t exactly next door to Ponyville, so I travel a lot. I guess I’ve just never had a chance to build a deep bond with other ponies back home.”
“Have you tried?” Celestia asked.
“Yeah, but I’m always the odd-pony out. I’m always the one left sitting at the table when the dancing starts, or the one who just listens to conversations instead of being included in them. It’s like I just blend into the background.”
Celestia laughed quietly. “You and my sister should sit down and talk one time. I think you will find you two have a lot in common, and she seems to be collecting a rather unique group of friends. I’m sure you can be part of it too.”
Sea Swirl didn’t like the sound of that. She didn’t want to be a pity case. She just wanted to have friends, or even a friend, who she could talk to and hang out with and who wouldn’t think of her as a fallback pony. A friend who, when she was gone from Ponyville for sometimes a week at a time, would welcome her back with excitement each and every time.
Sea Swirl was still following the crazy logic in her head when she felt something soft wrap around her body. She looked to her right and saw that Celestia had gently wrapped her wing around Sea Swirl and pulled her closer.
“I think you did a marvelous job, Sea Swirl,” Princess Celestia whispered. “I hope that at least makes you feel a little better.”
“Thanks, Celestia,” Sea Swirl said as she gave the Princess a hug. “It does. I know it doesn’t seem like it, but it really does mean a lot to me that you came to see me in pony.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
“I mean, if I have to settle for only one pony knowing who I am, I guess I can’t do better than a Princess of Equestria,” Sea Swirl added with a grin.
A flugelhorn sounded from inside the arena and Princess Celestia pulled away from Sea Swirl. “It sounds like they are getting ready to start the aerial relay. I must return to my seat.”
“Yeah, I better get going too,” Sea Swirl said. “I want to see if Rainbow Dash can pull this one off, and I need to find a seat.”
Princess Celestia walked back into the arena and gently flew into the air. Sea Swirl waited a few moments—she didn’t want other ponies to whisper about her being in a private meeting with Princess Celestia—and then made her way into the arena. She saw the teams getting ready for their race. The Wonderbolts were cool and collected, the perfect athletes in pony form, while the Ponyville team appeared to be a comedy act by comparison. Still, if anypony could manage to carry an entire team against the Wonderbolts, Rainbdow Dash was it.
Sea Swirl looked around the stands for a seat and spied one about half way up. She started making her way to it when she felt a pony suddenly tug on her tail.
“Hey Sea Swirl! Great race!” Pinkie Pie said as Sea Swirl turned around.
“Um…thanks, Pinkie,” she said. “Did you see it?”
“Are you kidding? Of course I saw it. I wouldn’t miss Ponyville’s number one water athlete at her star moment for all the candy in Sugarcube Corner. And believe me, that’s a lot of sugar.”
Sea Swirl chuckled. Pinkie Pie was an exception to the rule of no ponies knowing who Sea Swirl really was. Pinkie Pie knew every pony in Ponyville, and so Sea Swirl didn’t exactly count her as a close friend. But right then, her words meant just as much as Celestia’s hug.
“Thanks, Pinkie,” she said, a warm feeling filling her stomach. “Now let’s go cheer on our team!”
“You know it!” Pinkie Pie began cheering at the top of her lungs and Sea Swirl winced a little as her ears rang. She smiled as she walked up to her seat and sat down, fully ready to watch Rainbow Dash. She wasn’t completely forgotten, she reminded herself. There were a few ponies out there who knew who she was.
As the aerial relay started, Sea Swirl smiled to herself. Perhaps she would try to give Tide some pointers on swimming. It couldn't hurt to at least try.
Author's Note
Yay Sea Swirl. Poor pony is a very common background pony, but she's always left out in the cold. I made a joke about that in the story, in case you missed it.
Sea Swirl's problem is based off of my track experience in high school. I was a high jumper, one of the best at my school, and when it was my turn to compete, everyone would come over and watch me and cheer for me. But as soon as I was done, everyone left. I still remember one time, I beat everyone else down to the track and was waiting. All the sprinters came down as a group, chatting and having a good time, and walked right by me. Then one of them saw me.
"What are you doing here?"
"I made regionals."
"You did?"
The shock on his face was funny, but it also hurt a bit. I was on the track team, but I wasn't part of it. That's what I was going for with Sea Swirl. A pony who is really good at what she does--swimming--but is often overlooked by nearly everypony else.
There will be more Sea Swirl, as well as another pony who is all but forgotten about in the fandom, soon. I've been building it for a while. Sadly, this means I am now juggling three stories at once. Fun times.
Feel free to leave a nice comment if you want. :-)