The Bloody Deep

A hush fell over the crowds as the priestess, garbed in glowing white and gold swam out, followed by her two apprentices. The colts carried tridents in their clasped hooves, and the three of them all had the symbol drawn in faintly glowing paint on their foreheads. The residents of Carol's spire hushed in the first two rows, the visitors ceased their murmurs in the next few rows up, and at the very top of the amphitheater-like seating, the Choruses begrudgingly shut up. The priestess moved to the center of a small stage, looking down at her hooves before turning her gaze up to the ponies filling the seats. After a deep breath, she started to speak.

"Carol was a strong mare... She endured, and she pushed forward. Even in her darkest hours, she still stood strong to help us through ours..."

The speech was touching. Moving, even. But to Pearl, it was merely fluff - Soothing words told by someone well versed in telling comforting lies, someone who knew her little, and someone only parroting the things she had heard about her...

Carol had been a mare who'd not cared for things that grew unsavory, and in those 'darkest hours', she had only became hard to them. None the less, she never lost her pleasantness, and was still able to share a small joke, or crack a smile - but as the priestess continued to praise her, Pearl couldn't help but roll her eyes at both the downright flattery and the ponies who were weeping at it. Even the ones who knew Carol were weeping, only furthering her disgust.

Her partner Tide kept her annoyance at bay with an arm around her shoulders, and her face relaxed into a gentler expression as she leaned into him. The soft fabric of his vest brushed gently against her cheek, warming her mood with its soft glow. She found him quite handsome in a vest... She found herself wishing he'd wear one more often, and with a very faint smile her tail slowly wrapped around his. As he pecked her forehead with a smile of his own, she further wiggled into his embrace, and eventually found herself against his chest, listening to the sound of his heart beating as his arms held her close.

Their silence was a comfortable one, but Pearl wished it would end. She loved the sound of his smooth, fluid voice, and the timbre it held... Hers was nothing special, even somewhat monotone, but still able to sink gracefully into the lower tones that a rare few could. She would gladly sing calm melodies with him in their spare hours, wrapped in his warm embrace. The memories only made her long even more for the quiet to end. She raised her head to his, looking into his eyes and begging quietly for a kiss.

He paused, leaning in before tilting her head down and pecking her forehead. She pouted unhappily, but he paused to whisper something in her ear. "Not here..." She smirked, but calmed herself enough to nod gently. She pulled back to regain her composure, and he let his expression harden somewhat again, but at the same time giving her hoof a reassuring squeeze. That was all she needed.

The speech lasted a while longer before it slowly came to a stop. The stone slabs covering the burial pit started slide away, letting the heat pour up and into the chamber. Carol's corpse slowly started to lower down, and the priestess raised her hooves. "Goodnight, Carol. And let our song see you peacefully into the Great Beyond."

The priestess started the chorus as her apprentices brought up the background a moment later, and their magic soon spread into the crowd. The lures, sirens, and their children all started to find their places, and one by one, their voices rose to the familiar lullaby that would ease the mare into her eternal slumber.

Mesmer, the magic of music, one even present on the surface, was the only magic the hippocampi had any sort of control over. But by the gods did they have a mastery of it... They all opened their voices, allowing themselves to fall into harmony and keep their voices from breaking as tears started to fill the water.

Two stallions left the ceremony together with heavy hearts. One rested his head on the other's shoulder, and for a while, they simply swam in silence. But when they neared the spire once more, Luan spoke up. "What are we going to do now, Catch...?" he asked, lifting his head to look to his partner's eyes.

He was quiet for a moment, looking up at the statues ringing the very base of the spire they called home. The empty government buildings were silent, barely a ripple going through the water even as the native hippocampi quietly talked and swam outside. There used to be business and, occasionally, laughter inside, and now all the halls were empty, lacking even a single guard. Thieves had already taken everything of value. Why bother?

Catch pulled back from his thoughts and again returned of the question posed to him. What would they do now...? "I... I don't know," he answered honestly. "But one thing's for sure... Someone's got to take charge. We can't go without leadership long."

Luan nodded in response. "Agreed... Even just one pony would be fine. I mean... Obviously, no one will be as good as Carol was, but if anything, she proved one pony can handle that weight." Catch nodded in turn, and they once more lapsed into silence together. The middle rings were still other than the occasional pony trying to cut through them as a shortcut, but today every shop was closed. Today was not a day for trinkets, pampering, or gossip.

Catch looked back up to keep himself from worrying, but Luan wasn't able to. "Let's just hope it doesn't stay this way..."

Catch's ear flicked. "Luan, we'll be fine... I'm sure someone will step up in no time. If not, one of the other Choruses will come to help us."

"Will they?" He frowned softly. "I mean... You've seen how bad the territory wars are getting... What if they just leave us alone, without leadership?"

"I..." He had to pause at the question. It was a reasonable doubt, but after a moment he sighed and pecked his cheek. "Don't worry about it. We have to keep positive." Luan paused a moment, then nodded and nuzzled him.

"Yeah... Yeah, okay. I'll try not to work myself up over it."

Catch smiled and nudged his shoulder. "That's the spirit."

Luan blushed and laughed as he shoved him playfully. "Shut up, you." He still nuzzled him, and they continued up to the spire to their home. He swam up to the door and unlocked it, moving out of the way to let Catch in. Catch stopped before entering to peck his cheek, and he smiled as he followed him in and closed the door behind him. "You want to go to bed?"

"In which way?" he teased, wiggling his tail at him.

He blushed and chuckled. "Stop that... You know what I meant..."

"I do..." He swam back over and hugged him, pecking his cheek. "I was just teasing you."

Luan smiled and nuzzled him. "I know... Come on... It's been a long day..."

The next day Catch rose to a knock on his door, and, with Luan still being too asleep to even remember his own name, got up and swam over to answer it. He straightened as he was met with a stallion in armor behind the door. Light armor, at that, but he was still of some importance to be wearing it. "Sir?" Catch asked.

The stallion dipped his head. "Catch. You are needed on duty today. Your shift will begin at 12, so come in your armor."

Catch blinked. "But I thought that we weren't guarding the governing rings anymore."

"We weren't. But we are now, due to the Choruses holding their meetings here. They'll be deciding among themselves who should stay to help govern the spire."

He groaned. "Alright... I just hope it wasn't like that case a few spires over..."

"Oh, don't worry," the stallion replied. "I know exactly what you mean. But hey, at least we can always move, right? "

Catch smiled softly. "Yeah, I suppose so."

"Well, I'll be off now. Got to go obligate the other guards to work tonight and all."

"Good luck with that." He closed the door after that, and turned to swim back over to his dresser. Luan, still just waking up, rubbed his eyes and mumbled.

"What's going on...?" he slurred. "Who was that...?"

Catch looked behind him and smiled when he found the groggy stallion just waking up. "That was just a messenger. I'm going into work today."

He blinked. "Oh... When?"

"Around twelve." He brought out his comb and started to tame his mane. "Don't worry, we've got plenty of time. It's only..." He paused to look at the clock. "Eight. So we've got a few hours."

Luan rolled his eyes, sighed, smiled, and slowly got out of bed to cross over to him and hug him from behind. "I like how you tell me we have plenty of time first before actually looking at the clock..." he muttered.

"Yeah, well..." He turned to peck him on the lips and smiled. "Didn't want you to get all worked up..."

Luan blushed gently, then leaned up to his ear. "Too late..."

Catch's eyes lidded as he chuckled sultrily, and Luan squealed as he was pressed against the wall.

An hour passed, and at last the two stallions collapsed on the bed, both satisfied and tired. They laid in bed together a while before Catch leaned over and pecked Luan and sat up. "Let's clean up and go someplace for breakfast. On me."

Luan smiled. "That sounds good."

He smiled back and leaned over to nuzzle him, then offered him a hoof. "Shall we?"

"If it's no trouble," Luan replied. Together they got out of bed and showered, and left the house to have breakfast. Luan happily rested his head on Catch's shoulder as they swam, a happy smile on his face. Catch lovingly pecked his forehead, and soon felt the other stallion cuddle into his side. "Mm... I'm going to miss you being around more..."

"Oh, I know... That's why we're doing all this now. I wanted to make sure you have plenty to keep you happy for when I'm gone..."

Luan chuckled. "Yeah, yeah, okay. I think we've had enough of that today. I do love you, but you're so high maintenance..."

"Aw..." Catch's expression softened as he nuzzled him. "Sorry Luan. I'll lay off..."

"Hey, I'm not complaining!" he laughed.

Catch smiled warmly. "I would if you asked me, though."

His eyes softened, and he stopped to nuzzle him. "I know. That's the great thing about you, Catch... You're so suave and flirty...but you'd still cut it out if it'd make me happy."

"Well, yeah, of course." He pecked his nose. "I love you, dummy. Isn't that the definition?"

Luan laughed. "I suppose so! Come on, we'd better hurry up before you have to go. It's already ten." After that they swam the rest of the way in comfortable semi-silence, occasionally saying a polite hello to hippocampi they knew and waving to the vendors they frequented. They arrived, ordered their meal, ate, and talked. They spent the rest of the time they had left at home before Catch reluctantly donned his armor, kissed his partner goodbye, and swam out.

When he arrived that day, he found the other guards were just as unhappy about coming back as he was. It had been sad with Carol being gone and all, but the extra time at home was certainly something they'd miss. He sidled into his position on the inside of the chamber, stilling his main fins and holding his spear to the ground. As the Choruses began to talk, he stared blankly ahead, trying to let their words filter into one ear and out of the other.

The mood was tense. The ponies looked unhappy. No one could decide who would lead them, and accusations, while subtle, still flew everywhere. Their words were fleeting his mind, but the atmosphere was starting to make him fear that there would be a point where it all boiled into something much more dangerous...