Chapters Prologue: The Patience of a Saint
All Of Creation
Prologue: The Patience of a Saint
The moment of magic was quickly approaching. Seafoam made it a point to never miss it once, even when he was at his busiest. He prepared his own little cloud overlooking the cove, so he could get the best view possible, a ritual he had learned to perform quite well over the past few years. He perched high above upon his ethereal cushion as he anxiously stared towards the horizon. The soft mist of the cloudstuff tickled his belly, eliciting a small giggle from the pony. He watched in silent awe as the sun slowly lowered, disappearing further beyond sight with each passing minute. The rays of light became more pronounced and distinct, until the time was just right, and the moment of magic happened.
When it was just barely dark enough that the town's firefly lanterns lit, but not quite so dark so that light had completely left, that is when one could witness it. Seafoam gazed intently at the rippling sea below. The sun's light began to dance amongst the ice encompassing the cove, refracting throughout its crystalline forms, illuminating the frigid water underneath. The ocean shone with an unearthly, soothing light that glistened in rhythm with the waves. It were as though only during these brief minutes was the sea granted the liberty to live, and decided to use the opportunity to its fullest. How strange that one of the most remarkable miracles of the sun could only be seen in its passing. Soon, the waters became sedate and dark once more as the sun retired for the night, and the shimmering moon took governance of the sky against its familiar backdrop of pitch black. But, Seafoam did not retire to his empty house, as he did every other night. He waited, eyes as wide and eager as before, tail swishing restlessly, as he gazed toward the horizon once more. Tonight was the night when Frostbite would return.
He swooped down to town to borrow a street lantern, and quickly flew back up to his post to search the horizon, trying to act as a pseudo-lighthouse for the very special vessel that should pull into Hippocampus Harbor that very night. Luna's grace was bountiful that night; the radiant moon shone as a beacon to the boundless sea, illuminating further out than normal. The frigid air complemented the skyborne glow to create a pale, muted expanse across the ocean; a visual treat for anypony who was still out at such an hour. The cold air sent a sharp shock up Seafoam’s spine and to his brain, jolting him to keep alert.
He could hardly lay still as he waited for the ship to poke its bow over the horizon. He dreamed about seeing his love again. The simple comfort of his touch as they lie together by the crackling fireplace, his sweet sea air musk, caked on as a permanency from months of travel, and best of all, staring into his passionate eyes. Oh, those steely-grey eyes... whenever he looked into them, he found his nerves getting the best of him, and usually ended up giggling like a schoolfilly.
The moon rose higher in the sky as night progressed. Accompanying it, the air was chilled even further beyond its already freezing bite; it was now directly overhead, shining down onto the villiage. Seafoam was used to the cold. He needed only his trusty sweater to brave the north's iciest winters. It was a gift from Frostbite; from the time he chanced upon a particularly industrious reindeer tribe in one of his expeditions. Even after wearing the garment nearly every day, it hardly showed any signs of wear; an amazing - and frankly welcome - phenomenon, considering how often Seafoam had to work with the rough weather required for coastal towns. Its warmth always was a welcome encouragement whenever he was working late on a large squall at the factory, and helped stave off loneliness during Frostbite’s travels.
The horizon was still barren, instilling a measure of unease in him. As time marched onward that night, the moon and the air began to bear consistently less influence on his alertness. Seafoam lowered his neck so as to rest his head on a tuft of cloud protruding upwards near the edge of the platform. He glanced downward at the waves slowly advancing towards the shore. Each perfectly in tempo in their path towards land, crashing gently against the miniature icebergs and the shore itself. The motion of them all acting as one weighed heavily on Seafoam's eyebrows. Their hypnotic motions fighting against the freezing nighttime air over say in his conscious state. Their imaginary battle raged on as the young stallion drifted indeterminately between asleep and awake. Perhaps a quick nap wouldn't hurt; he certainly would not abandon the wait for his darling, but he knew that he simply could not keep this up for much longer without some kind of shut eye. Seafoam conceded that if he was not here already, then it was not likely for him to be back for some time. Yes, a nap would be a lovely idea. Seafoam ceded victory to the entrancing waves, as he adjusted himself into a comfortable position on his cloud bed, and was soon dreaming happily, high above Hippocampus Bay, waiting for a certain special somepony.
The birds were chirping and singing outside. Hippocampus was cold year-round, so the birds simply learned to cope with the weather rather than migrate. It was a welcome anomaly to the townsfolk, who had the privilege of bearing audience to their symphonies all year-round. Thanks in part to a particularly close performance, Seafoam began to stir from the cloud upon which he had rested. He sniffed his surroundings. It was a pleasing aroma, indeed; one anypony would be delighted to wake up to. However, his mind was yet too groggy to recall it. Upon opening his eyes, he saw a familiar four walls, door, and window. A confusing sight, but a comforting and pleasing one, nonetheless. Turning his head to the side, he saw something even more pleasing. A pair of lovely grey eyes staring back down at him, accompanied by a calm, faint smile adorned the mouth below it.
"Morning, gorgeous. Long time, no see."
Chapter One: The Disasterpiece
All Of Creation
Chapter One: The Disasterpiece
Seafoam bolted up from the cloud upon hearing the voice. Still half-asleep, his hoof kicked its way through the cloud, causing it to dissipate, and him to have a rather unwelcome encounter with the floor. Rolling over, he craned his neck upwards to see the figure above.
“*Snicker* Oh, that’s my little klutz, all right.”
“Frosty! You’re here! I knew you would make it back safe!”
“Whoa, easy there, bud! Not that I mind the affection, but I’m still a little stiff from the trip!”
“Wait a minute... Frosty, how did I get back to the house? When I went to bed, I was still up in the sky above the water! *Gasp* Oh no, was I sleepflying, again! I was sleepflying, wasn’t I? The last time I did that, Miss Sugarplum scolded me for dropping her dog down the chimney! I still think she’s a little bit mad at me for that, maybe I should go and do someth...”
“I had one of the pegasi in my crew come bring your cloud in. When they found you, you were laying on your back, all fours splayed out all over the place! I'm glad they brought you down like that; you should have seen yourself!”
“So... Do you want me to make breakfast? I learned a tasty haycakes recipe when Cobalt visited the other day, and I know that you’d just love it!” Seafoam said, leaning in slightly towards Frostbite.
“Maybe some other time. Right now, I’ve got something really great to show you, so let’s go! Come on, you have to see this, it’s a total wreck!”
“Well, come on! Daylight’s burning, and time waits for no pony!” Frostbite yelled, his voice trailing away as he continued down the outside path.
"He can't stand to stick around for even one second..." Seafoam uttered to himself.
The sensations of morning were staging their daily theatre, even just barely after the crack of dawn under the cozy consolidated cloud cover above. Seafoam took a long whiff of the sterile, brisk air as he flew down the trail towards the waters. He could see the town in the distance, already beginning to stir. It was a fine little town, and Seafoam was proud to call it his home. Hippocampus itself was nothing special; a little hamlet nestled in between the confines of the northernmost end of the Himaneigha mountain range, overlooking the sparkling Blinding Veil Sea. Its only real claim to fame was that it is one of the few operating naval ports on the northern shore of the continent that hadn’t yet been commandeered by the Griffin Kingdom. There was a small city and a smattering of other towns further inland, but Hippocampus was the conduit through which all the ponies arrived. Why the royal sisters decided to hang on to the isolated chunk of ice and earth is anyone’s guess, but as long it gave the town purpose, and more importantly, business, Seafoam didn’t pay it much mind. All that mattered was that it was there, and was serving its purpose.
Frostbite stopped when he reached the bend that lead to the port, stamping his hooves impatiently as he waited for Seafoam to catch up. Sensing his haste, Seafoam flapped his wings faster to catch up.
“There’s my sweet little steed! What kept you, Foamy?”
“Don’t worry about it. So, what is it we’re going to see exactly? I think you left before telling me.”
“Be patient, we’re almost there! It’s just great news!”
“Sweet merciful Luna! What happened to your ship, Frostbite?”
“Well, it's a funny story, I'll tell you that! It all started when we were scouting out the west Antleric Ocean. Just a few hours after leaving Hosstralia, this huge kraken just came out of nowhere and attacked the Solaris! We tried to sail away from it as fast as we could, and the unicorns gave it their all to make a force field around the ship, but the beast broke through, and lambasted every last pony in my crew, knocking us out cold! We drifted around at sea for hours and hours. It was well past nightfall by the time we woke up, and we found ourselves sitting on a sandbar out in front of land! You know what this means, right?” Frostbite said, vaguely miming the whole ordeal, with a grin on his face so wide it nearly bust out both sides of his face.
“No! No I don’t! It sounds awful and horrible and like you almost got killed!”
“Really? Come on, we were stuck near the shore...”
“I’m well aware!” Seafoam shouted, face frozen in utter shock.
“With no idea where we were...”
“Excatly!”
“Staring at a landmass that our cartographer confirmed was not found on any map known to ponykind...”
Seafoam just stood there, too dumbfounded to even formulate a coherent response.
“Do I have to spell it out for you? It means that there’s land out there! Beyond Vaporia! Beyond Heliopolis! I have no idea what it is, but it’s there, Foamy! SOMETHING is there! Nopony has ever dared to venture out that far into uncharted waters and lived to talk about it!”
“We would have stuck around to explore, but most of the crew was in pretty rough shape. So, we high-tailed it back to Hosstralia, and got everypony all patched up. We would have done the same for our ship, but apparently, nopony in the entire port town even knew where to start fixing a ship as fine as mine! They’re all hack mechanics, I tell ya! Shouldn’t have even let them touch my beauty!” Frostbite boasted as the rear mast of the Solaris fell backwards into the water.
“We were able to jury-rig the old girl until we pulled into harbor back home. But, these are all just battle scars, as far as I’m concerned! All of it’s proof that we ragtag bunch of sailors found something that nopony may have ever seen with their own two eyes! Sure, the Solaris is out of commission for a while, but as soon as it’s up and running again, we can go back and find out just what’s there! Isn’t that great news?”
“I think... well, I’m really happy for you, sweetie. It sounds like you’re on to something... important.” Seafoam said, glancing back at the shipwreck as another plank fell off the hull.
“Judging by the damage, we’ll be stuck in port for at least two months, almost definitely more, for repairs. But, hey, it’s not like that land is going anywhere, now is it?”
“Two months?”
“Yep, sure seems that way. Any less, and we'd have a sloppy rush job on our hooves.”
“We get to be together for at least two whole months?!”
“Heh, I’m pretty sure I can tell where this is going.”
The blue pegasus shouted in joy as he flew up into the air swooped and spun around his love, flying like a dazed, drunken sparrow. All the while cheering and laughing like there was nopony else around to hear it. Frostbite couldn’t help but chuckle at his reaction. At the end of his spirited bout of fluttering through the air, Seafoam dove back down to Frostbite’s level, and wrapped his forelegs around his body, and began to flap his wings vigorously, lifting the two up and off the Earth. The two flew up higher and higher, until they could see the hilltops towering over the town below. Frostbite beheld the rare sight of the town, the ocean, and the mountains, all the while comforted by Seafoam’s tight embrace. Seeing the world from so far above was a treat that few earth ponies were ever granted. He gave it its due undivided attention, drinking in its intoxicating splendor. This is the world he sought to explore, to know, and to love. The world that invited him into the vast unknown, driven by the desire to learn. He was awoken from his reverent trance by a nuzzling sensation on his neck. He looked down to see his stallion resting against his neck, lifting his head back up so they were both staring into each other’s eyes. It was then that Seafoam leaned forward, and pushed his muzzle up against his. The two ponies shared a sensual, deep kiss, eyes shut once more. Time did not dare to interfere in their loving moment; in their minds, it lasted for an eternity and then some. As the two continued to lock their lips, Frostbite felt a tear from his partner touch his nose. Touching, but not completely unexpected, given the pony in question. Then, another teardrop hit is head. Another icy cold teardrop followed. Frostbite opened his eyes to see the teardrops falling from the clouds in the sky!
“Oh, no! That’s right, there was supposed to be a storm today! I completely forgot!” Seafoam said as he broke away from the kiss. The two stallions looked at each other once more. The rain continued to fall, and a snicker escaped Frostbite’s mouth. Seafoam responded in turn with his own giggle, a verbal volley that continued until both of them were cracking up, soaked in the freezing rain, floating high above the cove.
“Come on, let’s head back home. Those haycakes you mentioned earlier would really hit the spot.” Frostbite said with a contented air.
Chapter Two: The World That Wasn't There
Chapter 2: The World That Wasn't There
The light from the crackling fireplace frolicked and twitched against the brick wall, as if it were trying to dodge the equine shadow obscuring it. As the shadow occupied itself by eclipsing the light cast on the wall, its producer restlessly paced around an unfurled map. Each corner was weighed down with a random assortment of weighty objects, all resting on a desk situated in the center of the room. The pony in question inspected the ornate sheet, vexed by the puzzle it prepared for him. Every nook and cranny of their world held its own secrets. More than could possibly be inscribed on a single piece of parchment. He knew full well that he would never be able to find them all; he would surely die long before ponykind’s hoof has been set on all of creation. No mortal equine could ever hope to see it all, but that was no impediment to Frostbite. Nothing could possibly stop him from doing his part to expand the kingdom for the sake of his fellow countryponies and their benevolent rulers. He slumped his rump down to the floor and rested his head down against the smooth wood paneling on the desk, heedlessly chewing on the compass tool held in his mouth.
“Where the heck were we, anyway? We couldn’t have gone too far... right?”
Rolling his head to the left, he tuned his attention to the flat facsimile of the western seas.
“Let’s see, the wind was blowing... North...ish? We did approach Heliopolis from the west, so that means... absolutely nothing. Ab-so-lutely nothing.” Frostbite uttered as he covered his eyes with his hooves.
“Sweetie? Are you doing alright? You’ve been down here all night, so I brought you some cocoa.” Seafoam said, descending each stair carefully as he balance the cup tray on his outstretched wings.
“Huh? Oh, yeah, I’m doing fine. Just trying to figure out what happened on this confounded map!”
“You mean you didn’t have any idea where you were?”
“Yes and no. My crew’s unicorns sent out a location beacon so we could figure out where the nearest port was, but other than the general direction, we had no clue.”
“Well, why don’t you walk me through it, then? Maybe if you say everything out loud, then it will make sense!”
“Hey, what are we waiting for? Let’s get started!”
“Huh? What?” Seafoam shouted, head shooting up from Frostbite’s side.
“Don’t tell me you almost dozed off that soon! It’s been what, like one minute?” Frostbite said with a small chuckle.”
“Oh, right! Uh, yeah, tell me about that map!”
“Well, let’s start from home, now. That’s us, aaallll the way up here. It’s no wonder why only sailors know about Hippocampus, eh?”
“After setting out, we stopped off for supplies in the Griffin Kingdom to prepare for the long journey across the Antleric Ocean, which-”
“Where have you been? Griffins haven’t attacked ponies in, what, at least a century!”
“Well, to be fair, I’ve never actually seen any of the Griffin Territories, or even a griffin, for that matter. Heck, unless you count Whitehorse City a few miles south, I’ve never really left the bay.” Seafoam replied sheepishly.
“You... you’ve never left Hippocampus? Not even once?”
“Oh, come on, it’s not that hard to believe, is it? I mean, I’ve never really had the time nor the reason to go anywhere else. Besides, I really like my town; it’s quaint, and it has exactly what I need.”
“But, but, but that means you’ve never seen the buffalo migrations of the desert! You’ve never been able to experience the sun rising over Neighpon! Never rolled in the eternal grasslands of the Equestrian mainland, never gazed up at the floating continent of Vaporia, never even had the simple pleasure of trotting into Boardor! You’ve...”
“My little Foamy. My simple little Foamy. Of course you would never understand if you haven’t seen for yourself.” Frostbite thought as leaned over to take a sip from his cup of hot cocoa, wetting his muzzle in the warm, sugary liquid in the process.
“Well, then! I guess there’s only one thing I can do, then! Seafoam, I promise that one day, I will show you the world myself! Everything, from the lowest lows and the highest highs, you will see it all!”
He knocked his front hooves down against the map on the desk, pouring over its contents once more.
“The only question is: Where to go first? We could head south for Equestria, that would be a good place to start. Ooh! Or, we could venture further north to see the majestic penguin empire! Did you know that everything they make is made of ice? I’m tellin’ ya, everything, the houses, the roads, even the furniture! I didn’t know until I saw it myself, and boy, is it somethi-”
“Whoops, missed a spot!” Seafoam said playfully, reaching upwards to lick Frostbite’s face repeatedly.
“Ha ha, hey stop it! That tickles!” Frostbite shouted as he got to his hooves.
“What the hell...”
“Um... Frosty? Are... are you alright? I’m really sorry, I wasn’t paying atte-”
“WHAT THE HELL IS THE MATTER WITH YOU?” Frostbite shouted as he leapt to his hooves, leaning in close to Seafoam’s face.
“Wh...what?”
“The trophy! My damn trophy! The one thing that I absolutely, positively needed to keep intact!”
“You little careless klutz! Why couldn’t you look where you’re going next time? This thing is important! Or did I not make that clear enough?! IM-POR-TANT!”
“I’msorryI’msorryI’msorryI’msorryI’msorryI’msorryI’msorryI’msorry!” Seafoam whimpered as he curled further into a ball.
“F...Foamy? You alright? I... I didn’t mean to shout at you like that. I lost control of myself, and I said things I shouldn’t have. Can you forgive me?”
Seafoam carefully opened his eyes, one at a time. His vision was blurry from the moisture and their tight enclosure. He sniveled and whimpered, but did not once open his mouth. The room itself stood as if encased in ice. Nothing moved, not one thing. Frostbite tried his hardest to look into his lover’s eyes, trying to regain any sort of connection to him once more, no matter how insignificant. He needed to see his face again. His real face. That blissful face that only the deep blue weatherpony of Hippocampus could conjure up. The face that made him feel like there were no worries in the world. That face did not return. Like a nervous rabbit, it had been scared out of Seafoam’s mind, and had no intention of recovering its locale anytime soon. Seafoam stared off into oblivion, intentionally averting Frostbite’s stare. An occasional tear still escaped from the corner of his eye as he attempted to regain emotional equilibrium. Only the crackling of the fireplace could be heard in the dead reticence of the room and its denizens. After eons of waiting upon each other, Seafoam arranged himself and got back on his hooves, continuing to give his love the cold shoulder. The silent stallion slowly sauntered to the side of the desk, picked up the empty cup tray, and continued back up the staircase. Frostbite remained in place, even after Seafoam had left the room.
“Don’t be sorry, Foamy. It’s not your fault.” Frostbite whispered as he sighed in resignation.
In recognition of the dis---ery of the Tapirus Republic, this trop-- is awarded to Fros---te and his cr-w, by order of Prin--ss C-----ia.
“One day, your majesty. I swear on my honor that when I find the great wonders of this world, I will see you again, and will tell you what I have experienced with my own eyes. But now, I have something else I need to take care of.”
Frostbite trotted out of the room, leaving only the dancing light on the wall to give life to the study.
