In the Depths

Chapters

Some adventurers just can't catch a break.
A Watery Escape to Canterlot
That Which Hides Below the Sea
Assessments and Inquiries
Daring Do and the Night at the Ruins.

Some adventurers just can't catch a break.

As Daring approached the outskirts of Las Pegasus, she removed her pith helmet and safari shirt. This was her normal procedure for when she was about to go into public. She stowed her adventuring gear and replaced it with her more casual, if mostly damp, public garb. She donned a simple pull around burgundy shawl, a gray cloche hat, and a pair of reading glasses. While the damp clothing was cold on her fur, she figured she could send her cloths to a cleaning service when she found a place to stay for the night. After donning the garb of her alternate persona, A.K. Yearling, she made her way into the bustling tourist trap of a city.

Las Pegasus was perpetually active with ponies moving here and there, some going to attractions or going to the beach, some just stopping to buy overpriced food and/or drinks. Daring found the whole thing a bit amusing. For some, this was an adventure. Coming here and spending copious amounts of bits to have a good time. Daring wished she could do that. Use all the bits she had to have a good time in random locations, but the thrill of traveling around Equis going on random adventures, escaping death, and putting rare historic artifacts in museums for all to see, that was the only adventure that appealed to her. That was her own little spice of life, that was her constant adventure. The fact she wrote about those adventures under a pseudonym just made it easier for her to continue going on more adventures. It also helped when she needed a place to stay on short notice.

After a bit of searching, Daring came upon one of the many economical hotels within the city, The Best Wing Hotel. While it wasn’t one for the fancier hotels in the city, it’d do for a day or two. The inside was pretty standard, welcoming with a mild attempt to look fancier than it really was. Carpeted and tile floors, pseudo marble countertops, and a few couches to lounge on. Based on the smell in the lobby, the hotel also seemed to have it’s own restaurant as well. The clerk at the front seemed nice enough. A young earth pony stallion in a nice navy blue suit with a white undershirt and a black tie. Daring approached the front desk and put in a request for a room. The front deck readily took the request, but he wore a suspicious look on his face. Whether he recognized Daring’s alternate persona, or not it was hard to say, as he never voiced his suspicions. Regardless, Daring paid for the room in advance and took the room key.

After getting into her room on the third floor, a small one bedroom with living room, attached kitchen, and a small bathroom with a tub/shower combo, Daring allowed herself to relax a bit. She locked and chained the door for safety before shedding her damp clothing and tossing them on the floor. Having the clothing off her body felt a little better, but she still felt quite damp and undoubtedly cold. She decided it might be a good idea to postpone getting her clothes dried and opted to warm herself up with a bath. She took all her belongings and placed them on the simple wooden table in the kitchen, before heading off to the bathroom.

The bathroom was nothing fancy, the floor was tiled and there was a porcelain toilet, a marble countertop with a sink and a simple tub/shower just long enough to submerge a pony’s body fully and just wide enough for a pegasus to stretch their wings a little. Daring was grateful for the tub’s dimensions, as she could use a good soak and the hot water would be welcomed on her sore and cold body. She got the water running in the tub, plugged the drain, and prepared some towels for when she got out. When she did eventually lower herself into the filled tub, the warm water quickly went to work easing her sores and aches, as well as banishing the cold from her body. Daring let out a content sigh as she let her body recline into the water more and more until just her muzzle was above the surface of the water. She let out a long contented sigh. It was the simplest thing in the world, but a hot bath after a night of adventuring was always a pleasant reward for herself.

Letting herself just float in the warm soothing waters gave Daring some time to focus on her next course of action. “Need to inspect that collar, if I can figure out what it is maybe it’ll give me an idea what those unicorns were going to use it for,” Daring thought to herself, leading her to another thought. “Might be a good idea to see who they are too. I’ve never seen them before, and they are way too organized and too well armed to be a bunch of common thugs. Plus, anything involving that many ponies can’t be good. Just hope this isn’t like that dragon cult. I’d prefer my organs remain inside.” This then led to another disturbing thought, what did they did the group want with Tide? “Were they going to sacrifice Tide?... No. If they were going to do that they’d had left Tide at whatever altar or pit they had. So what did they need Tide for?... Unless, it has to do with that collar... If that’s the case, they must have planned to use it had I not dropped in. Definitely need to check that collar. Maybe I can figure out what they were going to do with Tide.”

Daring lounged deeper into the warm water as she continued to think, blowing little bubbles in the water as she sunk.Something else was on her mind, something that seemed a little out of place. Her mind flashed back to when she woke up on the beach. Tide had jumped into the ocean, however; there was a dense forest right near the beach. “Wouldn’t it make more sense to run into forest? Why would a freed captive jump into open water, at night, when they could run into the forest? Odd... perhaps Tide just panicked?” The more she thought on the matter, the more curious she became. Daring wanted answers and she was willing to pursue them. Who knows? Could be another book to add to her series. That was enough to get Daring to start spitballing ideas for the title of this odd adventure while she finished soaking in the bath and preening her wings a bit.

After Daring got out of the tub and dried off a bit, she made her way back into the living room and removed the collar she procured from the rest of her belongings and looked it over in its entirety on the single desk the room came with. The collar looked quite old and there was still some dirt within the clasp and along several etched runes that went around the collar. On the inside of the collar there were four nodes, each one adjacent to another. Daring recognized why this collar had looked familiar, it was a serviance collar. A device used by the tyrannical ruler of the Crystal Empire to keep his own people working as slaves. Despite the Crystal Empire’s recent return, there was no lack of records one could find describing the depravity and atrocities King Sombra had inflicted on the Crystal Ponies. Daring could only assume what those unicorns had planned to do with this collar.They requested the collar in order to trade, so they must have known what it could do... and they were more than likely going to use it on Tide.

Daring took a deep breath and let it out slowly as she placed the collar on the table. Whether Tide was chosen or just an unfortunate victim of circumstance, they’d dodged a horrid fate. Daring decided she was going to pursue this. She’d have to figure out what was going on, but first she needed to inform an associate about her latest escapade, maybe he could shed some light on this mystery organization. Daring called the front desk and requested parchment, an inkwell, and quills as well as some laundry services for her cloths. The stallion at the front desk said the items could be procured and they’d happily clean her clothes but it would take some time. Daring said it wouldn’t be a problem and that she would wait. She gave her thanks and hung up the phone.

After an hour and a half, Daring sat in her hotel room with her newly acquired writing utensils and her freshly cleaned clothes before her. She stored the clothes away for later and began working on a letter to one of her informants in Canterlot. The letter asked if there was any news about a gang or organization that consisted of only unicorns that bore a crimson red and dark blue uniforms. Hopefully, they’d be able to give some info on why that organization that had foalnapped Tide and what their overall goal was or what the organization stood for.

She finished the letter then wrapping it in a special red ribbon she carried. Once the knot was completed the ribbon instantly caught fire and was engulfed in a brilliant red flame. In a matter of moments, the letter was gone and the ashes flew out a nearby window. “Dragon fire ribbons, better than conventional mail, and much more private,” Daring mused to herself. With the letter sent away, all was left to do was wait. Considering the time, she’d probably not receive a response until the next day.

Daring made sure to stow away the collar in her room’s safe until she could figure out what to do with it. While her internal archeologist said the collar was an artifact and it should go to a museum, her rational side didn’t like the idea of a subservience collar getting into the wrong hooves. She’d determine what to do with it tomorrow. For now, she needed some rest.

The Next Morning

Daring awoke early the next morning, as was usual for her. She did some stretches before donning her A.K Yearling persona and prepared to leave her room. She was still waiting on a response from her associate, but she anticipated a response would arrive soon. In the meantime, her stomach was rumbling and the smell of fresh baked goods wafting through the hotel was only making her hungrier. She took her room key and made her way to the restaurant that was attached to the lobby.

Upon arrival, Daring was greeted by the sight of a well crafted breakfast buffet with a small omelette station. It was a quaint little restaurant and it offered a nice selection of food. For Daring, a nice bowl of wheat grains with raisins was just fine for her, but considering that she might be embarking on another adventure, she opted for a nice omelette with some fruits and a nice tall glass of apple juice. She collected her breakfast and found a small table to eat at.

Digging into the meal, Daring was pleasantly surprised by the fluffiness of the omelet, the sharpness of the cheddar, and the overall selection of vegetables mixed in. It was a very well made omelette and the fruit was a wonderful side as well. Daring would have continued to enjoy the meal, except something caught her eye. It was two rather intimidating unicorns that happened to cross in front of the restaurant. Each bore a unique crimson red and dark blue uniform. “Crap, they must be searching the city for me,” Daring cursed internally. She needed to get out of sight and out of the city. If there were two here, there had to be others scouring the rest of the city. It wasn’t safe to stay here anymore. She needed to leave before she was found, and she needed to find Tide before this organization did.

Very cautiously, Daring rose from her seat, paid her bill, and left the restaurant. She made sure to do everything at a normal pace and made doubly sure to draw any attention to herself. When she eventually exited the restaurant, she made a bee-line to the elevator and got back to her room. She needed to get out, but she also needed to collect the collar. She still had no idea what to do with it, but she was not willing to let this organization get their hooves on it.

When the elevator made it to her floor, Daring burst forward and went into her room. She quickly pulled the collar from the room safe and began collecting her belongings. As she was stuffing her recently cleaned safari shirt into her saddle bag, she noticed a letter sitting on the desk. While she was in a hurry, the letter might contain some useful information about this organization. She secured her belonging and unfurled the wrapped parchment.

Daring,
I am aware of this group you described. They have been mostly quiet, but they have been buying and collecting artifacts all over Equestria as of late. What they are doing with them, I am unsure. My sources inform me that they do not use any official name or title, but those who know of them refer to them as the Supremacists. This is due to their favoritism of unicorns and a refusal to talk or associate with anyone who is also not a unicorn, unless it is absolutely necessary to their goal. There are also some reports that they tend to be a bit cruel to those who cross their paths. I’m afraid this is all I know. I would recommend proceeding with the utmost caution if you plan to interfere with them. Proceed with caution and be sure to stay in touch.

Best wishes,
BB

Daring sighed, “A secretive organization... wonderful. Because those are always good news.” Letting out a slightly aggravated sigh, Daring grabbed another piece of parchment and a quill. She quickly scrawled out a quick reply.

BB,
I’m going to make this quick. These “Supremacists” are after me as I write this. I have encountered a victim who was foalnapped by the group and is asking for my assistance. However, something about this victim is odd. I’m not sure how they fit into everything, but I’m going to investigate. I will keep you informed. Be ready for updates, might need to call in a favor. Do not respond to this. I’ll write to you.

DD

Daring wrapped the letter in a ribbon and sent it off. Daring wasn’t too happy with this new information. It did shed some light on the organization, but it didn’t really explain their goal. Why did they want artifacts? Were they stockpiling them for profit? Did they intend to use the artifacts for something? The pegasus had little to go on... but she knew somepony who might and they were going to talk if they wanted her help.

She was going to have to find Tide, get some answers, and get somewhere safe. She just had to get out of the city. Going out the front would bit tricky, but genetics had been kind enough to offer a more viable and quicker solution. Daring left her room with her belongings and the collar in tow, and began heading for the elevator. However, this plan was quickly abandoned when the elevator opened and revealed one of unicorns she spotted before standing in the elevator. Daring prepared to run, but she noticed that the unicorn wasn’t charging her or preparing a spell. He was just looking about the hallway of rooms. Considering Daring was standing right in the middle of the hallway, it struck her as odd. Why wasn’t he attacking? ... Unless, he didn’t recognize her. Daring was still wearing her A.K Yearling disguise, which meant her cutie mark along with her tail and wings were obscured by her shawl. Then her cloche kept her mane tucked away as well.
Daring decided to proceed with caution. The unicorn still wasn’t attacking but he might recognize her if she got too close.

She made her way toward the elevator as the unicorn was getting out. They were approaching each other, but there was still no hint of aggression. Daring kept her head down slightly as she approached, she didn’t look at the approaching “Supremacist”, but she was ready to tussle should things go south.

They continued to approach, only a few feet between them. Still no change, but the unicorn was giving Daring a once over. Daring kept her gaze straight ahead. As the two went by each other, time seemed to slow. It was the crucial moment. If something was going to happen, it was going to happen at this moment. She mentally prepared herself to react to some kind of assault, magical blast, or something. Yet, after realizing the unicorn had kept going toward her room. Once he saw that the door still had the key in it, he’d no doubt put two and two together. Daring quickened her pace toward the elevator, got in, and made her way to the ground floor.

Upon arrival to the lobby, Daring did a quick scan around the lobby. She didn’t see the other unicorn but that didn’t mean he wasn’t around. Daring did her best to stay incognito and not attract attention. All she had to do was get outside and blend into a crowd. She just had to make sure that she wasn’t followed. She continued to scan the area as she left the lobby, but she still couldn’t spot the other unicorn. Even in the early morning, Las Pegasus was fairly busy. He could be using the crowds to hide, just like she wanted. Daring decided to risk it and hoped weaving in and out of crowds would confuse any followers.

After two hours of navigating Las Pegasus and doing a few double backs for safety, Daring eventually made it to the beach she was on the night before. Much like last night, the beach was devoid of any signs of civilization. No cabanas, no beach chairs, and no umbrellas. A small forest rested on the edge of the beach, and from the sound of it, there was no small amount of wildlife occupying it. Just looking at the beach itself, it had a nice appeal. Crisp white sand and crystal clear water, there wasn’t much to complain about, but the adventurer was not here to admire the beach. She needed to find Tide and get them out of the Las Pegasus area. Problem was she had no idea what Tide looked like, nor where they were hiding.

“Where would I hide, if I planned to meet somepony at a certain spot?” Daring thought to herself, before an odd sound caught her attention. It sounded like something moving through the water. Something big. Daring turned and noted what it was that was making the noise. Upon looking at the source... Daring wasn’t sure how to react. Half submerged on the shore was what looked like a pony, but the physiology was off. It looked like a mare with jet black fur and neon blue lines along their muzzle and forehead. However, looking closer, it wasn’t fur at all. They were scales. And the mare’s “mane” looked like a long fin that ran down to her withers. Then to top it off, the mare didn’t have any visible ears.

Daring wasn’t sure what she was looking at. The best comparison she could make was that it was a pony-fish hybrid. This made Daring think of the sirens that had been banished by Starswirl the Bearded, but this mare didn’t match the description she remembered reading about. The mare seemed smaller and not as threatening. Was this Tide?

“Uh... Tide?” Daring asked hesitantly.

The mare nodded, still submerged in the water.

Daring cocked an eyebrow, “Well that explains why she didn’t go into the forest.”

“Uh, I’m Daring Doo. You pulled me out of the water yesterday.”

Tide nodded again.

Daring was starting to get curious about why Tide was being so silent.“Okaaay. Well look, I know you asked me to meet you here tonight but we need to leave now. That group that threw you in a sack are searching the city. I’m sure they’re after the both of us.”

Tide’s eyes widened at this, as she looked to the city in the distance, then to Daring again. There was a clear underwater huff before Tide fully emerged from the water. The rest of her body was similar in color aside from a stripe that curved around her midsection, but there were more physiological oddity presented now that Tide was out of the water. Tide had two sets of fins. Two attached to her forelegs and two slightly longer ones attached to her back legs. Then there was her tail. It was thick with pure muscle that ended in a vertical fan like fin. Interestingly enough, each fin started out black before shifting into a neon blue similar to the markings on her face.

Daring was enthralled by this “pony”. Tide was definitely different than any pony she’d ever seen, but she curious how such a pony came into existence. She also had a ton of questions to ask this odd hybrid, but first the two of them needed to find a place to go where they couldn’t be followed. “Okay, Tide. I have a few questions for you, but we need to find a place to stay first.”

This statement seemed to put Tide on edge. The fish pony seemed pensive and even a bit worried, but something seemed to snap her out of whatever thoughts she had. She was looking Daring with an observant eye and approaching. Without much warning, Tide’s mane fin expanded to full length and began to glow vibrant neon blue similar to the markings on her body.

“What are you doing?” Daring asked suspiciously. This change in behavior was weird and the adventurer was still unsure about what the mare was capable of. Was this some display? Was this magic? Despite Daring’s question, Tide continued toward her observing her clothes with scrutiny. “Seriously, what are you doing?”

Tide pointed to the shawl Daring was wearing and started to pantomime a removing action, then pointed to Daring. The adventurer looked on with a growing worry, but removed her shawl and held it out toward the hybrid. Before Daring could contemplate what Tide wanted with the article of clothing, it was surrounded in a neon blue aura and it was pulled from Daring’s grip.

“Okay, she can use magic. Fish ponies can use magic,” Daring thought to herself. She then watched as Tide started going over the shawl with a discerning eye before she stopped on a section on the shawl and scowled. She then scribbled something on the clothing before using her magic to make it fly into the forest. “Hey! I liked that shawl,” Daring exclaimed before Tide grabbed Daring and pulled her into a bush that was lying on the outskirts of the forest. Daring attempted to make a rebuttal, but Tide merely put a hoof to her mouth and pointed back toward the beach. Daring obliged hesitantly, but was planning to make a angry comment later. Her mouth tasted like fish. Blegh!

Looking to where Tide was pointing, Daring saw nothing. Just the shoreline, waves and some seagulls. They waited for a few minutes, but still nothing happened. Daring was about to yell at the pony hybrid for real, when a set of voices caught her attention. “It says, they went into the woods. They might be making a camp. Alert the others and we’ll surround them!” the voice called out. Peaking out from the bush, Daring saw the two unicorns that had been at the hotel. They had followed her. How? She’d made sure to cover her trail... unless... “They put a tracking spell on my shawl. Of course, they did. That guy did recognize me, he just wanted me to lead them to Tide!” the adventurer scolded herself.

“Okay, you had your reason for getting rid of my shawl, but you could have just told me,” Daring said in hushed tones

Tide shook her head dismissively.

Daring cocked an eyebrow and her fear seemed to be confirmed. “Don’t tell me, you can’t talk.”

Tide shook her head again, as she opened her mouth and made a hushed chirp and moan. This got Daring’s attention. She was fairly certain no pony could make this kind of sound either. Yet, it wasn’t entirely unfamiliar, “Wait, that sound. You were talking to me last night underwater. Weren’t you.”

Tide nodded. Daring understood... partially. Tide could talk, but it wasn’t anything she’d understand, yet Tide understood her fine. Yet, more questions that needed answers. Where did Tide come from? Why could she not speak Equestrian, but understood it? Why was this organization after Tide? Daring was itching for answers, but they’d have to wait until they were somewhere safe. “This is going to be one hell of an adventure.”

A Watery Escape to Canterlot

The small beach on the outskirts of Las Pegasus is a secluded location, but never really saw much attention due to its proximity to a small forest that connects to a mountain range. It was mostly uninhabited and had no outlying villages or cities. Because of this, anything entering the forest would have to go around the mountain to reach the nearest civilization, Tall Tail, nearly fifty miles away. Thankfully, for Daring and Tide, their pursuers believed them to be heading in that direction. In truth, they both waited just outside the forest, watching as a small contingent of unicorns began making their way into the forest.

Tide watched as the group filed into the forest, following the decoy she’d sent out. She was feeling particularly proud of that. “Simple enchantment to make the shawl into the world’s best dead end,” Tide mused to herself. She then looked to the pegasus beside her. She seemed focused and fairly bright. Tide wasn’t sure how that tracking spell had gotten on her, but it must have been applied without her knowing, if her look of surprise was anything to go by.

“Okay, we need to get out of here, get back into the city, then catch a ride out of here,” Daring explained. “I got a friend who can put us up for a bit.” Daring then pulled out a piece of parchment and seemed to scribble out a quick note before wrapping it in a ribbon.

“What is she-” Tide began to ponder before the ribbon caught fire and disappeared into it’s own smoke. Tide blinked in surprise as she watched the smoke speed off into the distance. “Huh, they have magical message transits. Interesting.”

“Okay, I sent a message to my friend. Hopefully, he’ll respond quickly. Until then, we lay low until we can get past these goons,” Daring explained.

Tide nodded as she continued to watch unicorn after unicorn began to arrive at the beach, each wearing the same uniform. “These assholes just don’t give up!”Tide cursed to herself. After escaping from them once, Tide was a tad reluctant to be put in a sack again, or worse. As the two mares continued to watch the group file into the forest, Tide noted that one particular unicorn seemed to be barking out orders. It was a tall light blue unicorn with a pitch black mane and what appeared to be a map for a cutie mark. He looked fairly old, maybe in his late sixties. Tide had seen this unicorn before. He was the one that had helped shove her in a sack and had no doubt applied a few bruises to her ribs.

Tide tapped Daring then pointed to the unicorn in question. When Daring acknowledged she saw what Tide was pointing out, Tide held up her two fore hooves before using one hoof to hit the other before pointing to the unicorn again. Daring cocked an eyebrow at this. “He do something to you?” Daring asked in confusion.

Tide pointed to her mid section in response, drawing Daring’s attention. Just along Tide’s abdomen, near the light blue band, there were a few scales that were clearly missing or discolored. Daring seemed to understand. “Wait, for the right opportunity. We go now and we’re screwed. Just wait for now.” The pegasus’ calm but understanding tone convinced Tide to wait, but she was already planning to get a few good shots in if she could manage it.

The two mares continued to wait in the bush until a small piece of parchment appeared in front of the pegasus. She quickly unfurled it and scanned through it before giving an affirmative “Okay”.

“My friend has sent a carriage to wait for us just outside the city. We just have to get there and wait for it to arrive.”

“A way out, huh?” Tide thought to herself. She looked to the unicorns still filing in, fewer and fewer had been arriving. Either the last of them had arrived or the rest were taking a different route. Either way, there was an opportunity to leave. Tide was honestly looking forward to some time not spent running, swimming, hiding, or in a sack. She made a quick mental estimation of the distance between her position and the beach, it was... roughly thirty feet. If the two of them moved quickly, they could make it to the shore, and she could swim them away from the group. She just had to add one more variable to her estimation.

Tide tapped the pegasus with a hoof and pointed towards the beach. She then put a hoof to her nose and blew out her cheeks before pointing to Daring. The pegasus scrunched her face for a minute before she caught on. “I can hold my breath for about a minute or so. Think you can make it far enough away in that time?”

Tide gave Daring an unamused look before holding her black and neon fins up in front of the adventure’s face. Daring’s ears flattened and her cheeks reddened slightly. “Oh, right.” Daring took a quick glance at the unicorns before checking back toward the beach. “Okay, we’ll go on three.”

Tide nodded and prepared to move.

“One”

Daring got into a sprinter’s pose, as Tide flattened her fins.

“Two”

Daring took a final glance toward the unicorns one last time as she made an opening in the bush. Tide poked her head out slightly.

“Three, go!”

The two mares made their way towards the beach, Tide taking the lead with Daring close behind. They ran full force until the reached the beach. Tide halted waiting for Daring to catch up and the two slipped into the water. Daring wrapped her forelegs around Tide’s waist and once they locked tightly around, Tide put her powerful tail to work and shot across the shore. She used her smaller fins to give additional bursts. As they crossed the shore line, Tide made quick glances at her “passenger” to make sure she was maintaining her breath. She seemed to be doing alright. As the two continued, Tide had a burning urge to halt and get at least one good strike in on that unicorn. One magically powered water bolt straight to the head. Oh, the idea alone was tantalizing, but she knew if she did... they’d be spotted for sure. “One day, asshole.”

Tide continued to speed her way through the shore until she received a tap on her chest. She shot a peripheral glance at her passenger, Daring was pointing up feverishly and seemed a little frantic. It was clear what the problem was. Tide slowed slightly and allowed herself to rise toward the surface just enough for Daring to get a quick breath. After another tap to the chest, Tide dove under again and pushed toward with as much force as she could muster.

After traveling for a few more miles and making at least ten more air breaks, the two mares arrived at the last strand of beach before it lead into a delta. Tide hoped this would be far enough away from the unicorns that they couldn’t see her and Daring . Tide let herself and Daring float to the surface just enough so she could get a good look at her surroundings.

She saw the opening of an estuary along with the forest her pursuers had gone in. Thankfully, the forest was on the left side of the estuary while the city was on the right. This could be their chance. She just had to hope none of the unicorns were hanging around the edge of the forest. It’d have to be worth it. At least, they had some clearance should any of them attempt to chase them or use a spell. Tide nudged Daring and pointed to the shore. Daring nodded her understanding and the two mares made their way to shore. Daring shook the water from her coat upon getting out of the water. Tide was mostly unconcerned and just let herself stay damp.

After Daring finished getting herself semi-dry, she began to head toward the city with Tide trailing behind.

The outskirts of Las Pegasus are mostly dirt paths with a few scattered patches of trees and shrubbery. A railroad track lead into the massive city as it was the most common way into and out the city. For most, the path leading out of the city was mostly to get to the beach. Meaning it was often a high traffic area with tourists entering and leaving the city regularly. This particular issue became a problem for Daring and Tide as they approached. Daring got Tide to halt by putting out her wing and coming to a complete stop herself, causing Tide to follow suit. “It’d probably be bad if anypony saw you and I leave in my friend’s carriage... or saw you in general. We’ll need to hide until the carriage arrives arrives.”

Tide nodded as the two took cover behind a pair of trees and some shrubs that overlooked the path. “This will do for now, but if I walk out there I’ll be easily spotted. Hmmm,” Tide then began to go through her repertoire of spells. She did know a type of disguise spell, but it would only clone the image of the source... unless. “If I can augment the image maybe I can pass myself off as somepony else!” Tide then looked to Daring, who was gazing at the entrance to the city. “First, a sample. Hope this works with fur.” Using a bit of magic, she grabbed ahold of a tuft of fur near Daring’s flank and a little more to get a strand of her mane. Daring was instantly made aware of this new sensation, but before she could voice her confusion on why something was simultaneously grabbing her mane and flank, the fur and strand of mane was quickly ripped from their positions.

“Ow!” Daring whisper-yelled in an attempt not to draw attention. “What the hell!?” She then whipped around to see what Tide was doing only to see her holding a strand of her mane and fur, but she was also pulling leaves from the bush they were using for cover. “What are you-” Daring began before Tide put a hoof in her mouth again and made a “hush” motion.

Daring obliged but she was getting tired of having the taste of fish in her mouth. Tide got to work crushing the leaves in her hooves before adding Daring’s fur and mane pieces. She then took the odd mixture and apply her magic to it before applying the brownish green mixture to herself.

Soon the spell took effect, the fish-pony’s body became encased in her neon blue magic. Tide’s jet black scales were replaced with an olive green colored fur and her neck fin became a veridian colored mane. Her fins disappeared under the new fur and even her massive muscular tail turned into a long haired tail more commonly seen on most ponies. Then the final feature to make her look like any other pony, a set of ears on her head. To anypony passing by, Tide looked like a regular olive colored earth pony. Needless to say, Daring was a bit impressed. “Impressive, I didn’t know you could do that. Can you talk now?”

Tide shook her head dismissively. She slowly approached before turning slightly, as she did her tail swished by Daring, however; rather than being graced with fine pieces of hair, she was graced with a light slap to the face by an invisible flat surface. It didn’t take Daring long to determine what Tide had done. It was a cover, a facade. “Okay, I get it. Will it last long? I’m not sure how far away the carriage is.”

Tide tapped her chin lightly before scrawling “~20 min” in the dirt. Daring was impressed by the time frame they had, but also worried it might not be enough. “Hmmm, can you cast the spell again, if needed?”

Tide erased her previous note before scribbling, “Maybe once more. Draining spell to maintain.”

Daring quickly swore under her breath before searching the sky for any sign of the carriage. Unfortunately, all she could spot were a few birds. “Well... at least, we don’t have to worry about ponies spotting you. So, I guess that’s something.” Tide nodded with a light smile, showing off something the disguise didn’t cover. Her canine and incisor teeth. Daring was actually surprised to see those on a pony, but didn’t react too much to them. Her nemesis had a better set than Tide and Ahui definitely had more. Considering they had some down time and they had, for a time, evaded their pursuers, Daring decided it would be a good time for some questions. “Okay, mind if I ask you some questions while we wait?” She asked while she searched through her satchel for a replacement for the shawl she lost . While Daring was in private she prefered to have her alter-ego’s image still intact. The closest she had was a simple green rain poncho with a hood, but she figured it’d be better than running around with her wings and cutie mark exposed. She removed her cloche hat and glasses and put the poncho on in their place.

Tide gave a simple nod of affirmation when she saw Daring was done putting on her new disguise.

Daring smiled and began with the first question she had had since meeting Tide, “So you’re a pony but you’re also part fish. Is that natural?”

Tide looked reluctant to answer this and was clearly debating what to say. After some time she scribbled, “I was born this way. Most of my people are.” in the dirt.

Daring cocked an eyebrow. “Sooo, you’re like a hybrid or something?”

Tide was contemplatively silent before and continued writing. “Complicated story. Will explain later.”

Daring sighed but accepted the response. “Okay. What about those guys chasing you? What’s their deal?”

Tide scowled at this question. It was clear she held some disdain for her pursuers, so much so that her disguise faltered for a moment before she stabilized it once again. After a few calming breaths, Tide began to write again. “They’re trying to get into my home. Tried to stop them from taking friend, but got captured instead.”

Daring looked at the message and her brow scrunched. “‘They’re trying to get into my home’?I’d wager it’s underwater but why are they after it?” Daring thought to herself. “Unless...” Daring recalled what her friend in Canterlot had said about the organization’s desire for artifacts. This prompted her next question, “Why are they after your home?”

With another message erased, a new one took it’s place. “I’m unsure, all I know is they've been outside our city. Testing our security and our protective wards. They’ve been ramping up their-” She stopped to take a step back so she could continue, “Efforts. I attempted to stop them from doing more damage and got captured myself.” Tide glowered as she wrote the message continued to look perturbed that she had to admit it.

Daring gave a sympathetic smile. She’d worn a similar look once before when she, herself, had first started adventuring. It was the look of hurt pride. Whether it was getting captured or failing whatever duty she had been charged with, it was clear she was still sore about it. “I see. Well,I learned a little about them since last night. Apparently, this group that is after you has a thing for collecting magical artifacts, and considering what they were planning to use on you, they’re not afraid to use their collection.”

Tide broke out of her prideful pout to give Daring a confused look. Daring took this as a sign Tide was unaware of what her fate nearly was. She dug into her saddlebag again and produced the collar she procured the night before. “This is a serviance collar. It was created by a dictator who lived far north of here a thousand years ago. When it’s attached to the victim, they are forced to do whatever the owner says. If the victim does not comply, they are painfully coerced into doing the demand. I suspect they wanted to use this on you. Probably to get into your home,” Daring kept it direct to the point. She gave no hint of happiness in explaining the collar to the disguised fish-pony.

Tide listened intently until Daring got to explaining the collar’s purpose. She then began to lose all the color in her fake face. Her gaze immediately fell on the collar before her and a sense of dread fell over her. “Tho-those... they wanted to make me into a slave?! That... I... they’d-” The dread Tide felt began to give way to a mounting rage. Part of her felt like she dodged a horrible fate, but that idea only lead to her imagining one of her own people. What if there were more of these collars? Would they use them on others? How far were they willing to abuse life just to achieve their goals? Tide kept on this line of thinking until Daring interrupted her line of thinking.

“What are you doing?!” Daring asked in a hushed urgent tone. “Your disguise is gone!”

Tide halted her internal struggle and looked down at herself. Sure enough, her disguise was gone and her natural form was exposed for the world to see. She had to let go of her thoughts for a bit so she could reapply her disguise, this time with Daring offering the components rather than them being taken forcefully. After reapplying her disguise, with a slight variance in her coat and mane color, Tide took some time to collect herself both from her anger and from casting her disguise again.

Daring was quick to inquire to her acquaintance's state, “Are you okay? You looked seriously pissed a second ago. At least, I’d think so with how mad you looked and all your... fins flared like that.”

Tide swore under her breath, but to anypony who didn’t understand her language, all they’d hear was a low moan with an accentuated squeak in the middle. With a small sigh, she erased her previous message and began writing again. “Worried about my home. I don’t want them to do what they almost did to me. It’s barbaric.”

Daring nodded solemnly as she read the message. “Yeah... even here, we consider it a horrible device. Probably going to turn it over to the princesses to dispose of it... or whatever they see fit. It doesn’t belong out in the world, that’s for certain.”

Tide nodded her agreement as she eyed the unlatched collar in Daring’s hoof with new found disgust. Daring opted to put the collar away for the time being. Just as she finished stowing the artifact away, she noticed that Tide was looking at something off into the distance. When Daring turned to look herself, she was delighted to see two armored pegasi pulling a fairly regal looking enclosed carriage. “Ah, that’s our ride,” Daring stated with some relief. She pulled the hood over her head and motioned for Tide to follow. The two slowly began to make their way out into the open and toward the predicted landing site of the carriage.

Within a few minutes the circular sky carriage landed on the ground, which garnered a bit of attention from a few of the beach goers. Thankfully, Tide’s disguise was still active and all that was visible was a mustard yellow pony and a yellowish-green earth pony heading towards the carriage. Not that it wouldn’t stop a few rubber-neckers from having a look or a few gossipers to guess who the two mares might be. Daring ignored the hushed whispers of the gathering crowd and went up to the nearest pegasus at the front of the carriage. As she approached the pegasus on the left side of the carriage turned to face her. “Name please.” The armored pegasus requested.

“A.K Yearling. The other mare is my plus one,” Daring replied.

The pegasus nodded before telling Daring and her guest to get in. Daring obliged and called for Tide to join her in the carriage. Tide obliged and hopped into the carriage with Daring. The inside of the carriage was quite fancy compared to most. The inside was covered in a lush velvet cover and was relatively fluffy to sit on. The curved sides held two slightly curved windows with shutters that could be pulled around for privacy and there was even to be a small bar toward the front. For Tide, it was a welcome change from hiding at the bottom of the bay the night before. She nestled herself into the carriage as Daring closed the door behind her.

As the door closed, Daring found herself a nice location to lay down for the duration of the trip. The carriage lurched slightly as it began to prepare for take off again and Daring braced herself for take off. Tide looked to her compatriot and tried to mimic her as best as she could. When the carriage eventually took to the sky, Tide’s mimicking only helped so much, as she still landed on her back from the initial lurch. Once the carriage leveled out, she was able to get back to her hooves, albeit shakily.

“So... I better prepare you for where we’re heading and who we are about to meet,” Daring stated as she pulled the poncho hood down. “Do you know about Equestria’s capital?”

Tide let her disguise drop as she contemplated the question proposed. She gave a “kinda-sorta” shake of her hoof as her response.

“Okaaay... uh. I’ll just give you the quick important bits,” Daring said a little hesitantly. “We’re on our way to the capital, Canterlot. I have a friend there with a bit of status to get you an audience with the princess. He can be a bit of an ass from time to time, but he has mostly good intentions. Only suggestion I have is, when you meet him... try not to buck him in the face.”

Tide cocked an eyebrow at this. “Trust me, it’ll make sense once you meet him.”
Tide shrugged slightly, but accepted the advice regardless. The two spent the rest of their trip in relative silence until Daring made an obvious state, “When we get to Canterlot, we are going to have to devise a better way for you to talk.” Tide offered no rebuttal.

When their carriage began to arc down, Tide stole a peek out the right side window. She was astonished to see the regal city of Canterlot coming into view. The pristine alabaster whites and mixed with golden yellows gave the city a wondrous and welcoming feel. As the carriage banked toward a tower near the outskirts of the city, Tide noted the many citizens roaming the streets below. She even caught sight of several stores and restaurants Looking upon them gave her a sense of longing, but her determination to help her home and her people urged her to stay focused.

“Yeah, it is something,” Daring said with a nostalgic smile. “I don’t get up here often, but it’s always a wonderful sight to witness.”

Tide didn’t give a physical response, she just kept looking at the city with an analytical eye. “Strange, they’d build this on the side of a mountain. While I can see the strategic value of it, there is little escape for those without wings. However, if the city has grown this much they must not be subject to many assaults. Curious.” Tide continued to watch and wonder until a final bank and a loss of momentum indicated that they had arrived. They landed on a small platform that connected to a fairly large tower with a spiraling gold and black top. The tower was partially isolated from the other buildings but there were two separate pathways leading to an adjacent castle with some stain glassed windows and the other pathway lead to a slightly smaller tower that was a short distance away from the one the carriage had landed on.

Daring was first to leave the transport. Tide hung back so she could observe until Daring called for her. As Daring left the carriage, she was greeted by a voice calling out, “Ms. Yearling! A pleasure to have such a famous writer such as yourself in Canterlot.” The voice was sophisticated sounding. Daring immediately recognized the voice and looked to see a white unicorn stallion with a golden blonde mane that was immaculately styled standing at the end of the landing platform. He was wearing a formal black pinstripe collar accented with golden buttons and the ensemble was completed with a simple blue bowtie.

“Prince Blueblood,” Daring replied in a more high class tone. “Always a pleasure to be greeted by royalty, and thank you for agreeing to help with my latest novel.” Tide cocked a confused eyebrow. “Novel? What novel?”

Blueblood gave a haughty chuckle. “Oh, anything for you, my dear.” Blueblood stole a glance at the carriage and noted the absence of a second member. “I thought you said you’d be bringing an associate.”

Daring shot a glance over her shoulder and gave a sheepish laugh. “Oh, she’s my new assistant and she’s a bit nervous to meet you,” Daring said aloud before hushing her tone. “Can you dismiss the guards so she can come out?”

The prince barely hesitated. “Of course.” He turned his focus to the two pegasi, “Gentlecolts, your services are no longer required you may take your leave.”

The two carriage pullers looked at each other before shrugging and unhooking themselves from their harnesses. The guard on the right took off without further coercion. The guard on the left prepared to take off as well, but halted before he could take flight.

“I said you were dismissed, guard,” Blueblood repeated a bit more forcefully.

“I-I understand, your majesty. I was... just wondering if I could ask a favor of Ms. Yearling.”

Blueblood gave an annoyed half-lidded gaze and looked like he was about to say something, when Daring intervened. “What can I do for you, sir?”

The guard looked a little uncomfortable, but he managed to get his request out, albeit shakily. “My daughter i-is a big fan. She has all your books. Would it be too much trouble to... get an autograph?”

Daring gave a smile and rummaged through her satchel for a spare piece of parchment, some ink, and a quill. She found them all and quickly wrote her name in her best penmanship. Once the autograph was made Daring passed it to the guard. He happily accepted it and thanked the writer for her time, then took his leave.

“Ugh, that must be quite annoying at times,” Blueblood said with a hint of annoyance.

“It’s humbling, you could learn to be a bit more humble,” Daring countered, now in her normal serious voice. She turned her attention to the carriage and called out, “Tide, you can come out now.”

This comment got Blueblood to shift his attention to the aerial transport. As Tide slowly emerged a look of awe began to grow on the prince’s face. By the time Tide had strolled up to Daring, Blueblood was hardly coherent as he attempted to contemplate the odd figure before him. “Prince Blueblood, I’d like to introduce Tide. She needs Equestria’s help.”

That Which Hides Below the Sea

Canterlot is many things. A center of learning, a place of everything pony culture, a place of civility, and, most of all, the home of the royal princesses. As such, the castle reflected the their presence. The halls were composed of white alabaster marble floors, large towering columns, and immense stain glass windows that seemed to depict moments in the nation’s history. Even the view seemed pretty royal, each window showed off a glorious vista of the city. Tide managed to steal a few glances out a couple of the colored windows to see the city in a variety of colors. While it was pleasant and enjoyable, she wasn’t here for pleasantries. She needed to talk to these princesses. She needed to get assistance for her home. This was her mantra as she, Daring, and Prince Blueblood proceeded down a secluded hallway toward the throne room. Prince Blueblood had suggested it to avoid gaining undue attention. This was his immediate suggestion after regaining his verbal skills. Despite the initial shock, Blueblood would occasionally glance in Tide’s direction. Why, Tide was unsure, but assumed it was because of how different her physiology was compared to the other ponies. A part of her mind worried that this “prince” might be in cahoots with the group from before; however, she was too committed at this point. If this was a trap... well, she didn’t want to think about it. Worse comes to worse, she’d figure something out.

“Please excuse my curiosity, but she has been very quiet. Is there a reason?” Blueblood eventually inquired. Tide barely hesitated and let out a series of moans and chitters that caused Blueblood to halt immediately and stare at Tide.

Blueblood’s expression matched a look somewhere between disgusted and confused. “What... was that?”

“She doesn’t speak Equestrian. She understands it fine, but don’t expect her to say anything we’d understand,” Daring responded with a subdued smirk and a partially suppressed giggle.

“Oh... I see,” Blueblood said with some a bit of disgust still lingering in his voice. “What a... delightful language.”

Tide giggled to herself. While she let out the moans and chitters to explain the situation faster. She was pleased to find that if she need to insult the stallion to his face, she could easily do it.

In time, the trio arrived at large double door. From behind the door a set of voices were conversing, but were too muffled to be delineated. Tide attempted to listen in to the conversation but still found the voices too muffled. All she could determine was there were two voices, one voice sounded male and the other female. Other than that she couldn’t discern much else.

“Okay, wait here a moment. Auntie Celestia is still in a conference with somepony else. I’ll let her know you’re both here,” Blueblood instructed as he slowly opened the door and slipped in as quietly as he could. This left Daring and Tide alone once again. Daring for her part had removed her pancho completely and was making sure she was presentable. Tide kept looking around the hallway with curiosity lingering in her mind. She found several of the stain glass windows quite interesting. The events depicted on each were very intricate, however, the briefness of the moments depicted almost begged for visitors to question what had happened. Tide found herself in this scenario. She made a note to learn more about some of the pictures later, if only to sate her own curiosity. As she continued looking at all the windows, she noted one particular window depicting a pegasus, a unicorn, and an earth pony in what appeared to be a cave, laughing. Around them layers of snow and ice seemed to be receding away from the trio. “Is it some kind of symbolism?” Tide thought to herself. “Did they do something to make the ice recede? If you’re going to put this stuff up at least have the decency to line up the stories in an order to tell the actual story!”

Tide was broken out of her thought by the sound of a door closing behind her. She turned to see Blueblood standing in front of the double doors. “Auntie said she’ll see you both once she finishes with the gentlecolt in there right now,” Blueblood announced in a partially hushed tone.

Daring nodded before adding an additional question.“How long before they finish?”

“I’d give them a few more minutes, at least. Not much longer.”

Tide heard this little detail and decided it might be time to... be professional. She’d never really been in front of royalty before and she needed this princess to help her and her home. She did her best to look as presentable as she could... which wasn’t much. Some of her scales were still missing or discolored. She had nothing formal to wear... or anything for that matter. All she had was her magic and everything she’d ever learned. She was in foreign lands and she was virtually alone. The closest thing she had to a friend was the pegasus across from her. The direness of the situation was beginning to sink in and Tide began to visibly shake. Her fins were twitching and her tail fin was almost needle thin. “Stop... just stop. I need to do this. I need to convince them! Stop shaking!” Tide did her best to keep herself under control, to rein herself in. “You’re almost there! Help is behind the damn door! Get it together!” But her nerves were beginning to win out. “Just breath... just breath. Just-”

“Hey, you okay?” Daring’s voice rang out causing Tide to gasp. She turned to see Daring standing next to her looking concerned. Tide looked to the one friend she had in this city and attempted to pantomime her current state of nervousness; however, all she managed to do was make a bunch of sporadic hoof gestures. Daring was clearly confused, “Uh... what?”

The fish-pony was clearly displeased and opted for a more direct approach. She grabbed Daring’s hoof and put in on her barrell. The rapid beating of her heart combined with Tide pointing at the double doors seemed make her previous message more clear. “Oh, you’re nervous?” Daring asked to confirm her suspicions.

Tide nodded before pointing to the doors again and shrugging.

Daring was sure she understood that one, “Okay, let’s start by just breathing. Long, deep breaths.”

Tide obliged. “Good. Now, just relax. Princess Celestia is very understanding.”

Tide continued her breathing as Daring continued, but felt she had to point out one more drastic issue. She pointed to her throat and gave a slightly desperate shrug. Daring caught on fairly quick,“Oh... yeah, that is a problem. Well, again, just relax. I’m sure the princess knows a spell that might be able to help with that and if not, she’ll figure out a way to help you speak with us. Just keep calm and trust me when I say we are here to help. Whatever those assholes are up to, we’ll help stop them. Okay?”

Tide let out a low moan and her fins all went flush against her body. She wasn’t entirely content with that response, but she had to trust Daring on this. She had little other options right now and she doubted she’d be able to find any more help with how she looked. “I hope this works out.”

After waiting a bit more, a guard appeared at the double doors and announced that Princess Celestia would see Tide and Daring. The trio made their way in, Tide getting a few incredulous looks from the guards in the room. As they entered, Tide got her first good look at the princess. She was sitting on a fairly large golden throne flanked by two guards in armor. She seemed to have very kind eyes but the rest of her? To Tide, the princess was a bit odd to look at. For one, she was much taller than any pony in the room. Secondly, she had features of all three of the pony tribes: wings, a horn, and if her size was anything to go on, earth pony physic. Then there was her mane and tail, it was... flowing, constantly. “Is she so powered by magic that her mane just exudes excess magic? Is that possible? Or is it just some kind of trick to make her look more powerful?” Regardless of her personal questions, she put her focus on the task she had come here to accomplish.

Daring and Tide made their way to the center of the long throne room while Blueblood placed himself in front of the two mares. The prince gave a small bow as did Daring, Tide was too focused on the princess and didn’t notice the formal greeting. Celestia was keen to notice

he waited until he was addressed. “Prince Blueblood, you have some interesting company with you this evening,” Celestia stated with piqued interest and a small smile. “What seems to be the issue?”

“Well, Auntie. Ms. Do, contacted me about one of her recent escapades and mentioned that she was in a bit of trouble with a rather distasteful group of unicorns. She also mentioned a victim of this particular group,” Blueblood stopped to motioned to Tide. “Ms... Tide, who is... well... I’m not sure what she is exactly,” Blueblood explained. Tide gave the prince an annoyed look but it’s effects were negated by the fact the stallion didn’t notice it.

“She is quite different,” Celestia stated as she rose from her throne and began to approach the group. She stopped in front of Blueblood first, “Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Blueblood.” She then approached Tide, who looked at the alicorn with a bit of trepidation in her eyes. “Oh crap... Should I bow? Did Daring bow? Crap, she’s right in front of me! Bow for safety, dumb ass!” Tide prostrated herself before the alicorn in the hopes she hadn’t offended. However, she was barely on the ground for a second before a hoof touched her side. “There is no need for that, Tide,” the princess stated in an almost motherly voice. “Please stand.”

Tide looked up to see Celestia sitting in front of her. She then got back to a standing position and did her best to look as professional as she could. This amounted to her standing as still as possible and allowing her fins to open up slightly. She wasn’t sure what to do. She knew that talking was out of the question. “What do I do now?”

“So, Ms. Tide, it would seem you are in a bit of trouble. Could you explain what has happened?” Celestia asked with sympathy in her eyes. Tide flinched at this and immediately turned to Daring for help. Daring gave a simple smile explained her fishy friend’s plight. “Tide can’t speak common Equestrian, your highness. We were hoping you might have a solution to that, but I can explain everything to this point.”

Celestia looked from Daring to the odd pony before her. Tide let out a low and sorrowful moan followed by a chirp. This caused Blueblood to twitch slightly and caused Celestia to blink in surprise. “Oh my. That is a problem,” Celestia took a moment to consider what to do next, but offered Daring the opportunity to explain the situation thus far. “I was after Ahui, again, and I tracked him to the Gateway and that’s where I encountered the unicorn group making a deal with Ahuizotl.” She then reached into her saddle bag to produce the collar she’d “acquired” and handed it off to Princess Celestia. “The deal was a ring of Tallecron for that collar. I suspect it’s a Sombrian subservience collar. I think they were going to use it on Tide to help them get into her homeland.”

Celestia took the collar and went over it carefully. With a long sigh, she affirmed Daring’s suspicions, “You’re correct, Daring. I’ll have to warn Princess Cadence that there may be looters in the Crystal Empire. In the meantime, this does not need to exist.” Celestia turned her gaze to the collar and applied her magic to hold it in the air. Her horn flared with bright yellow magic and soon the collar began to burn molten red until it became nothing more than a floating pile of slag. A little more application of magic and the slag evaporated into nothingness. With the collar gone she returned her focus to Blueblood. “Blueblood, do you have any more reports on this group?”

Blueblood gave a quick nod, “There are some reports of assaults and burglaries committed by group members from around Equestria. Most of them show that they posted bail shortly after their arrest and any stolen good were never recovered. Some sources suggest this is an initiation ritual for those without high income, but we cannot yet confirm that. Other reports confirm that known members have been purchasing rare magical artifacts, but up until now we were unsure for what reasons.”

“I see,” Celestia stated with a nod. “See if you can get a few guards to tail one of them. I’d like to know where they are taking these artifacts. If they are hoarding devices like that collar, I’d rather them be destroyed.”

Blueblood gave an affirmative nod, “Understood, Auntie.”

Celestia then turned her attention to Tide. She knelt down so she’d be eye level with with her and gave a small bow. “I’d like to firstly apologize for what my little ponies have been doing. I’d never condone such actions and it is my hopes that we can bring them to justice before further harm comes to anypony or any of your people.”

Tide listened as Celestia spoke, she felt a true sincerity in her words and she looked just as regretful as she said it. The fish-pony did her best to try and acknowledge that she accepted the apology, but ended up flailing in her attempts to pantomime her response. In the end, she let out an aggravated groan.

Celestia watched the mare with a slightly amused look, “Don’t worry, we’ll work on a way to help you communicate.” She paused as her tone shifted slightly. “Until then, I’d like to try a spell to help us understand what is happening. The spell with broadcast your memories so that we may see them. However, I will not perform the spell without your permission. Will you allow me to cast this spell?”

Tide looked at Celestia. She was surprised by how motherly she was, but also how willing she was to help. It was... amazingly refreshing. It also helped to ease any trepidation she had had going in. While she was unsure about this spell, but she felt... safe. At least, they weren’t kicking her while she was in a sack. Tide nodded, giving her consent.

“Very well. I want you to think back to when the problems first started and do your best to focus on them. We need to know as much as possible if we are going to help. Okay?” Celestia explained as her horn began to glow.

Tide nodded and readied herself for what was to come. She watched as Celestia’s horn came down and touched her head. Then everything around her vanished.

Tide’s body was eerily still as Celestia finished the spell. Daring and Blueblood looked on with overt curiosity. Both were wondering what they were about to witness and soon were surprised by a light shining out of Tide’s eyes. Her fins flared and soon a sphere appeared between her and Celestia. Within the orb shapes and images began to form, colors melted in and adhered themselves to the shapes. Within moments the distinct image of an underwater city became crystal clear. There was singular sprawling tower and ancient looking pathways that connected the tower to ornately designed buildings and domes. Looking closer, many of the buildings were covered in various purple, brown, and green algaes along with a variety of corals and sponges. Schools of colorful fish darted and dashed around and through the buildings. The sight was almost otherworldly, and hypnotizing at the same time.

“Beautiful!” Celestia exclaimed.

“That's an understatement,” Daring replied in amazement.

“They need to clean that disgusting filth off the side of their buildings,” Blueblood responded in disgust. This earned him two annoyed glares from both Celestia and Daring. Upon receiving the unpleasant stares the stallion decided to keep the other comments he had to himself.

Returning to the sphere the image shifted as the view seemed to change. It was moving. “I hope this is worth my damn time,” a voice rang out from the image. It was clearly feminine, but it had an odd accent. “I got better things to do than chase shadows.”

“Is that Tide?” Daring asked Celestia in hushed tones.

Celestia nodded, “Yes, it should be her inner thoughts. What we are seeing is what Tide saw.”

The image continued to travel through the underwater city, as it did, various other fish-ponies passed by. Some were vibrant and colorful, while others were more muted or were a solid silver. A few seemed to travel in large groups while others seemed more solitary. It was an odd dynamic to witness and Celestia was now actively taking notes about what she saw, using some parchment and she kept by her throne to document what she saw and some hypotheses she had. Daring just watched in wonder, but also abject curiosity. The architecture was amazingly well maintained but it was clear that it had been underwater for an extensive period of time. What was more interesting was that the buildings looked similar to some of Canterlot’s buildings, but how could they build something like that underwater? It shouldn’t be possible. How did they do that?

The image continued to change as Tide entered a rather ornate building. As Tide touched down on the building’s platform, the observers noticed something strange. It appeared that there was a large air bubble encased within the building. As the group contemplated what was inside the building, the image moved forward and passed through the bubble and the water around Tide seemed to disappear.

“Is that a confined air pocket?” Blueblood inquired with a bit of confusion.

“It would seem so. They must be applying quite an impressive spell to maintain it. Fascinating,” Celestia stated as she continued to scribble more notes on her parchment.

The image progressed showing several fish-ponies wandering around while others sat various rock tables with scrolls or books strung across them. Tide seemed to notice the presence of the other ponies, but seemed to be scanning the area. It appeared she was searching for something. Her vision stopped on an orange fish-pony with three large white bands accented with black outlines. Based on the pony’s physique, it looked to be a stallion. He was sitting at a table looking through a tome. Tide approached until she was able to take a seat at the table. “This had better not be another report about interferences in the barrier again. I have better things to do than looking for magical errors when there are none,” Tide stated in an annoyed tone.

The orange fish pony looked up from his tome and shook his head. He let out a slightly hushed moan along with a few chittering clicks.“I wouldn’t have called for you if it wasn’t important, Ms. Tide Caller.”

“Wait, did anypony else hear that in Equestrian?” Daring asked in confusion.

“Yes, I’m translating it for you,” Tide’s voice interjected. “Would appreciate it if you’d stop talking, it’s messing with my concentration.”

The group apologized and returned to watching the events within the sphere continued to unfold. Tide let out an annoyed moan with clicks and squeals. “Last time I was called here, I was asked to look at some stupid interference in the barrier. Tell me this is something different, Gulf.”

Gulf rolled his eyes as his fins flared and began to glow an orangy yellow. A complex array of runes appeared on a magically projected circle. Gulf then pointed to a rune at the north most point of the circle and let out a few chitters and clicks. “Something nearly broke this barrier rune. I need you to check to see if there is evidence of what did it.”

The image suddenly seemed to close slightly. A confused moan accented the slightly odd look that Tide was giving Gulf. “Is that outside the barrier?”

Gulf nodded.

“Nearly broke an exterior barrier rune? Who has the power to break something that strong?” Tide thought to herself. She let out a questioning moan. “Any suspects?”

Gulf shook his head at this before dissipating the runes and using his magic to pass a small scroll over to Tide. Tide took it in her own magic and began reading. “Reports of glassed sand, abnormal water temperature, and multiple sets of hoof marks in a central vicinity and anset leading away from the main set. What?” Tide moaned, clicked, and chittered her confusion. “Somepony was trying to burn through the barrier? And they just walked away?”

“It’s unusual for certain. We’d like you to investigate,” Gulf responded in a short chitter.

Tide looked away from the scroll. “Why would anypony want to break the barrier? Everypony knows that it keeps the city safe and the surface dwellers away... unless... no, they can’t get down this deep. They don’t even know we exist.”

Blueblood cocked an eyebrow at the mention of “surface dwellers”. He shot a glance to his aunt and scooted closer to ask her a whispered question, “She knew we existed. Do you think they all do?”

Celestia looked partially uncertain as she responded, “It is possible. We will need to ask Tide about it when she’s finished.”

Blueblood nodded and returned his focus back to the scene.

Tide looked back to the orange fish pony and gave him a long confident moan and quick squeal. “Okay, I’ll look into it. Are there any other locations that have had similar problems?”

Gulf nodded and produced what looked like a blank piece of parchment. He then proceeded to draw a map with three X's marked at the northern, northwestern, and eastern sections of the map. Gulf groaned lightly as he passed the parchment over. “These are the most recent disturbances. This one was hit the hardest than the other two,” the splotched pony remarked pointing to the northernmost mark on the map. “ If you go to investigate this, I’d recommend bringing protection, just in case. This isn’t the normal antics of hoodlums. Something isn’t right.”

Tide nodded as she took the parchment. She moaned and chattered as she stored the parchment in a small tube she had attached to her body. “I’ll see about getting an escort to come along. I’ll report back with what I find.”

Gulf squealed as Tide left. “Be safe.”

She turned and gave her own squeal with a variance in how it was announced. “Don’t be a pain.” With that said, Tide took her leave into the water and the image began to blur and fade. When the image returned Tide was no longer alone. She was flanked by two rather imposing fish-ponies. The one on her left was a red and white striped with very long spindly fins. Each one extended long past his fore and back legs and each fin seemed to be much bonier than Tide’s and seemed to almost be quills of some kind.

On her right was a pony of a solid tone grey on her upper portion while her underside was pure white and the tips of her fins were dipped in pitch black. However, her physique was different than the other two ponies. Her fins were stiffer and meatier and they didn’t flow in the water. In fact, the pony’s entire body seemed to slither with every tail movement.

“She’s part shark,” Celestia pointed out with a clear interest. “Fascinating!”

Blueblood did not seem to share his aunt’s enthusiasm. “So... does that mean she eats meat?” he inquired with a bit of disgust lingering in his words.

“If she has teeth like Tide’s, I’d say yes,” Daring interjected.

The prince was not pleased by this response and began to eye Tide with a look of unease. Daring took note of the look and quickly did her best to correct it. “Oh, don’t give her that look,” she chided. “If her other teeth are anything to go by she can eat fruits and vegetables too... or whatever they have underwater.”

“But they’re ponies. How can they eat meat?!”

“We evolved to eat it... dumbass,” Tide interjected. “And not all of us eat meat. So relax.”

Celestia hide a small smile. She had planned to chide Blueblood herself, but she was pleased to see Tide was willing to scold him for being rude. She wasn’t entirely fond of her choice of words, but she could excuse it for now. Tide’s comment did lead her to wonder what she meant. They “evolved” to consume meat? That would almost imply that they didn’t at some point. But why did some eat meat but others didn’t? She began to get excited at the idea of learning more about this odd species, but first she’d need to learn why Tide sought them out to begin with.

Returning to the image, it was clear that the group were no longer in the city from before. They were swimming above kind of coral reef. All around them were various outcroppings of vibrant corals and new varieties of fish. The reef seemed to expand for a considerable distance; however, there was a point where the reef seemed to come to a clear and unnatural stop. Like a line drawn in the sand where the reef just stopped. No drop off or tapering, it just stopped. While the group began to question why there was such an odd anomaly, Tide began to sink towards the ocean floor. She approached the line in the reef and gestured for her escorts to stay close. She set herself down on the ocean floor and let her magic flare. Soon a small circular rune appeared in the sand. She looked over the rune before looking toward the line. She let out a small moan followed by a series of clicks and chitters. “We need to check the outside of the barrier. Be on guard.”

The two guards nodded. The guard to Tide’s left expanded his fins and took a few cautious paddles towards the line in the reef. As he did something seemed to warp around him, as if it was consuming him, until his back fin disappeared. Tide just watched along with the shark-pony. Both shot each other a cautious glance until they heard a squeal come from the other side. “Looks clear.”

Both Tide and the shark-pony nodded and went through the strange barrier. Like the pony before them, it warped around their forms until they crossed over. The quill-like pony was perched on a nearby rock cropping scanning the surrounding area. Tide looked to the pony standing watch then to the pony on her right. She gave the shark-pony a nod and went to check the barrier. Flaring her magic, another rune appeared, but this one was partially warped and it wasn’t shining as brightly as the one before. As the reports had stated, part of the sand have been glassed and thus caused the rune’s appearance to be altered. “Explains why it almost broke,” Tide thought to herself. “They must have been using a massive amount of magic or a strong fire spell.”

Tide took a cautious glance around the area before she got to work. Using her magic, she lifted the glassed sand off the ground and let the surrounding sand fill in the void. She patted it to a flat surface before she began repairing the rune. Her magic flared yet again and the remains of the rune began to shine weakly. Continuing to use her magic she worked to replace the missing section of the rune. She was nearing completion when an odd sound distracted her. It sounded like... a rush of air. A large rush of air coming from nearby. She turned to see a pillar of air rushing towards the surface. Tide looked to where the pillar had originated. It looked to be originating from behind a set of rocks. The two guards seemed to notice as well and immediately gave it their focus.

“What the hell could possibly release that much air? Unless... no. They couldn’t be here,” Tide thought to herself. However, she must have been erring on the side of caution as she let out a low baritone moan. “Check it out. Just in case.”

Both guards nodded and moved to investigate. Tide returned to finish what she started. A few more dashes and-

*Zort*

Tide zipped around to see one of her guards, the one with the quills, had a large burn mark now running across his right side. The water near him was now redder and there was a look of shock on the shark-pony. Tide looked down towards the rocks again and this time she saw a group of unicorns wearing odd black suits emerging from behind the rocks. Each unicorn had a bubble around their muzzles and a set of goggles looked to protect their eyes. “Oh no...”

Tide watched as her shark-pony guard immediately began to charge the group. She quickly grabbed one of the guards by the legs and began to thrash him around violently. Blood quickly filled the zone where the visceral attack occurred and a muffled yell gurgled in the water.

The rest of the unicorn group didn’t take kindly to this assault and began to shoot at her. Tide took the opportunity to rescue the other injured guard while the other pulled focus. She quickly got underneath him and swam him over to the barrier. She let out a high pitched moan that seemed to have a warning tone to it. “Stay safe, we need to get back to the city and warn the others!”

The injured guard nodded, albeit weakly. Tide turned back to the other guard. She was currently dealing with a barrage of magical blasts while returning a few of her own. Thankfully the attackers were finding it difficult to zero in on the agile shark-pony and the fact she was retorting with her own was causing the group to reposition and adjust their assault.

Tide narrowed her gaze on one particular unicorn that seemed to be getting in a better position and propelled herself forward them at an impressive speed. The targeted unicorn barely had time to react as Tide slammed into them and knocked their breath out of them. Tide was quick to follow up with a magical blast that looked to put the unicorn out of commission. Once she dealt with her target she looked back to where the group was, there were more of them before and they were getting better as their shots. The shark-pony was struggling to avoid their attacks now. “If we keep this up were dead!” Tide thought. “We need to leave! Get behind the barrier and warn the council.”

Tide let out a series of bellows and moans. “Fall back! We can’t win. Take Current and get out of here!”

The shark-pony dodged another series of bolts before dashing behind a large rock outcropping. From behind the outcropping a series of bellows came back. “I can’t they have me locked down!”

Tide quickly rebuttled, “I’ll drawn their attention. Just get Current back to the city, I’ll be right behind you!” Without another a moment's hesitation Tide began to charge up her magic. The lines on her body began to glow brightly and the water in front of her began to swirl and twist before becoming a small ball. With a grunt of effort she flung the ball straight into the group causing the majority of them to be caught in the swirling mass and carried away.

Tide let out a harsh and strained squeal and squawk before heading back to the injured guard, Current. “Go, now!”

The shark-pony obeyed and shot out from her hiding spot and towards Tide and Current. The two quickly helped Current pass through the barrier, but rather than going through as well, Tide waited on the outside. The remaining guard was quick to voice her concerns in a series of squeals and moans. “What are you doing? I thought you said we were leaving?!”

Tide quickly rebuttled with a harsh squawk followed by several more moans and squeals. “We are! I need to hard lock the barrier so they’ll have a harder time breaking it down! Just go, Kelp! I won’t be long.”

The guard, Kelp, didn’t seem to like this idea at all, but she offered no rebuttal aside from a quick and low moan. “You better.”

With that she took off through the barrier leaving Tide behind. “Okay, time to work.” Tide flared her magic and caused the rune from before to activate. She slammed her hoof into the center of the rune and and began to turn it. The rune turned with her hoof and additional lines began to form. They shot around the barrier and out of sight. Tide repeated the process with the other direction causing the same results. “Done! Time to get out of here!” Tide prepared to cross the barrier, but before she had a chance to do so something fell upon her. It was a net, a metal net. “NO!” Tide screamed as she attempted to force her way across the barrier. She pushed forward against the net, attempting to get across the barrier before it closed. However, her efforts were quickly made in vain as an electrical current quickly shut her down. Tide watched as she was slowly dragged away and Kelp and Current could only watch and fruitlessly bash against the barrier, unable to help. Shortly after, the image went black and nothing returned to take it’s place.

“After that... they tried to get me to tell them how to remove the hard lock. They shocked me and pummeled me for a while.When I refused to so much as utter a word they kept me in isolation until the moment Daring saved me,” Tide explained before the spell wore off.

When Tide finished and she returned to a more normal state; however, she felt exhausted. She wasn’t certain if it was the spell, or her body finally succumbing to the events and some untreated injuries. Celestia must have noticed as she called for the guards to fetch some medical ponies. She then made her way towards Tide, who was shaking slightly. “Are you okay?” she inquired.

Tide nodded weakly before working to right herself.

“Are you tired?” Celestia asked again.

Tide wanted to protest, but the growing demand for sleep and rest kept her from denying it. She nodded again despite her pride.

Celestia smiled, “Okay, when the medical crew arrives I’m going to have them check you for any possible hidden injuries. Afterward, you may rest as much as you like. Okay?”

Tide again nodded. She was actually thankful to have a little rest after all that had happened, and it didn’t seem like they were going to throw her in a sack... at least she was secretly hoping they wouldn’t. She trusted them, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t still on edge. They were friendly so far and their ruler was... very motherly, but that wasn’t necessarily bad. Kind of weird, but not bad. She had to trust them... and a little rest sounded really nice, especially on a nice comfy bed.

Celestia smiled and turned as the sound of hooves emanated from the hall. “Good. Rest for the time being. We can discuss what we can do to help your home,” Celestia finished a doctor and two nurses arrived. They prepared to ask who needed medical attention, but upon seeing the odd fish-pony being supported by their princess. After a quick explanation of the events and what happened to Tide, the doctor and the nurses helped move Tide to the medical wing.

Author's Note

For those curious, Tide's escorts were based off of a Pterois volitans or the red lion fish

And the black tipped reef shark.

Tide is based on a Neon Velvet Damsel Fish

I'm guessing y'all can figure out what Gulf is based on.

Assessments and Inquiries

Tide felt a sense of accomplishment as she was slowly escorted into the medical wing of the royal palace. She’d traveled far, she’d found help, and best of all, she’d escaped those who sought to invade her home. While she wasn’t certain what that reason was, denying them her knowledge and obedience felt incredibly satisfying. More satisfying was the promise of sleep, a good nap sounded like a great idea.

Eventually, they arrived at a set of double doors with a large red cross in the middle. The doctor that was leading the way opened the door to reveal a long room with row after row of medical beds and privacy screens. The smell of sterility and antiseptic was apparent, and there were a few other ponies walking about. Most wore either the white lab coat of a doctor or the white cap of a nurse. Most were going about checking on what few patients were in the room, but Tide’s entrance warranted a few curious looks. Tide didn’t particularly care. She already knew she wasn’t exactly normal by their standards. Let them stare.

The two nurses flanking Tide helped her into one of the beds. Once she was seated comfortably on her stomach, the two nurses took their leave. The doctor from before waited for the two nurses to leave before she closed the privacy screening to the small enclosed space with two medical cabinets on both sides of the bed. The doctor was a chestnut colored unicorn mare with an off yellow mane. Her cutie mark was that of a white and silver caduceus. “So... my name is Dr. Right Aid, I’ll be conducting your examination. Princess Celestia said you can’t exactly talk, so I’m just going to do a basic physical and ask some basic ‘yes or no’ questions, okay?” the doctor inquired. She sounded about as young as she looked, probably late twenties or early thirties.

Tide nodded her understanding.

“Okay.” She moved to collect a stethoscope from a cabinet. “I’m going to check your lungs and ribs. The princess said there might be the possibility of fractured or broken ribs with the additional possibility of nerve damage.”

Tide nodded.

“Good,” Right Aid said as she floated the ear pieces into place and placed the stethoscope on the left side of Tide’s barrel. “Deep breath in, please.”

Tide obliged and took a deep breath through her nostrils and held it for a moment. The doctor listened before instructing her to release the breath. She moved the stethoscope to the right side of Tide’s barrel and asked her to take another deep breath. Tide, again, obliged and took a deep breath. Still nothing noticeably wrong.

“Okay, now the back,” Right Aid stated as she moved the instrument to Tide’s back. “Another breath.” Tide followed through except, this time, Right Aid heard something unusual. It sounded like... there was another lung. Small ones, yes, but definitely something there. Right Aid had to make sure. She asked Tide to take another breath while she moved the stethoscope from Tide’s back to her barrel. As she suspected, the sound was only noticeable on her back. At first, she wasn’t sure what to make of this, until a thought came to mind. “Uh... odd question but... do you... have a swim bladder?” the doctor inquired cautiously.

Tide smiled lightly at this and nodded.

Right Aid blinked in amazement, “Wow, so it really is more than just looks. You really are part fish.”

Tide just rolled her eyes. “Yes, because the scales, fins, and muscular tail are just for show.” Aside from her own snarky comment, Tide didn’t do much to voice her thoughts... not that she could.

“Okay... well, aside from some differences in anatomy, your lungs and... swim bladder seem fine,” Right Aid stated calmly before removing the stethoscope from her ears and let the device rest around her neck. “I’m going to check your abdomen for any sensitivity or bruising. While you didn’t seem to be struggling too much with breathing, I want to check to be sure. So, I need you to lay on your side. If I touch anything sore or painful, I want you to let me know. Don’t power through it. Understand?”

Tide was hesitant to respond, she was feeling some pain, but it had been pretty negligible. While she considered herself fairly durable, she didn’t want to take the risk that there might be something worse that she wasn’t feeling the full effects of. She ended up laying on her side so that the doctor could inspect her.

Right Aid began her inspection by investigating a small discoloration around Tide’s abdomen. A good amount of the scales were either missing or damaged. The area where the scales were missing was an odd gray color, whether this was severe damage or not, was hard to tell, but it seemed like a good place to start. She tentatively felt around the discoloration and immediately noticed that Tide was flinching and groaning. “That hurts?” Right Aid asked cautiously as she pulled her hooves away and back onto the floor.

Tide nodded with gritted teeth.

Right Aid prepared to ask how much it hurt but was stopped when she remembered Tide’s inability to speak Equestrian. “Would you say it’s something you would find hard to deal with if it was consistent?”

Tide nodded.

Right Aid hummed for a moment before she announced her next action. “I’d like to do a quick magical scan of this area to make sure there isn’t anything broken. If it is, I’d like to get it bandaged up.”

Tide left out a sigh. She was really hoping there wasn’t anything broken. Anytime she spent recovering would be time she could be spending helping her protect her home. Hopefully, there wasn't anything too serious.

Back in the throne room, Celestia asked the guards to have the remaining guests reschedule their appointments. She'd seen the docket for the day and there wasn't anything of immediate urgency.

When the guards left, she turned to Daring and Blueblood. The two were talking amongst themselves. Daring sounded a little angry based on the tone of her voice. Blueblood, conversely, was silent. The expression on his face suggested that he was listening and in deep thought as well. “I understand what you are getting at, Daring, but we must handle this carefully,” Blueblood stated calmly.

“But you saw what happened! They’re invading!” Daring shot back in a subdued but clearly angered tone. “Who knows how much progress they could have made since then!”

“Again, it is understandable, but we also don’t know what we’re dealing with. These unicorns are clearly using some powerful magic and seem to know something about Ms. Tide’s home that we don’t.”

Celestia nodded before adding, “Blueblood is correct, Daring.” Her tone was just as calm as Blueblood's and it quickly caused Daring to give Celestia her full attention. “We have too little information to work with. While I want to help, we simply cannot at this moment.” Daring was clearly not happy with this statement. Before the pegasus could offer a retaliatory comment, Celestia spoke again. “I have every intention to assist Tide Caller and her home kingdom; however, to do so we must be better prepared.”

Daring felt compelled to say something, but a small part of her knew that Princess Celestia and Blueblood were correct. Most any situation she could handle, but it looked like her next adventure was going to take her underwater. Unlike Tide, she couldn’t survive in that environment without a steady source of oxygen. Despite her desire to help, she yielded to the better logic. “I understand, princess.”

Celestia smiled. “I understand your frustration, Daring. This is a new situation and we are going to be on a plane that virtually nopony has been to before. For now, we will learn what we can and plan our next move.” Both Daring and Blueblood nodded. Moving past the two ponies, Celestia ascended to her throne and opened up a special compartment on one of the side rests. Inside were a few pieces of parchment along with a set of quills, ribbons, and a small inkwell. Grabbing a quill and a piece parchment with her magic she began to write. After a minute of writing, she rolled the parchment and wrapped a small ribbon around the letter.

After the ribbon was applied, it burst into flames and the remaining soot flew through an open window. Blueblood and Daring watched as the letter disappeared. “Who did you send that too, Auntie?” Blueblood asked curiously.

“The Spellforge Academy,” Celestia responded. “I’m certain I remember somepony requesting to work on an underwater breathing spell to salvage some ships we lost in a storm a few months ago. I want to see if they've made any progress.”

Blueblood nodded in understanding. “That would be helpful. Shall I continue my searches for more about this organization then?” he asked.

Celestia nodded, “Please do. Anything we can learn about them could be beneficial. Especially if they are collecting magical artifacts. Many of them are incredibly dangerous and shouldn’t be used haphazardly. Report anything you find to me and Daring.”

Blueblood nodded his understanding and took his leave, but stopped to give Daring a friendly pat on the shoulder and wished her luck. This left Daring and Celestia alone to discuss matters further. Celestia took the opportunity to debrief Daring on her latest adventure. “So Daring Do, could you please recount what led to you discovering Tide Caller?” she asked in her official tone.

Daring bowed and started her debriefing. “I was working on my latest story when I got word from one of our informants in Baltimare. They got word of an illegal artifact sale going down.”

Celestia nodded. “I received the report. The artifact was unidentified, but was considered to be of great worth to many collectors.”

“Yes, that’s what they told me as well,” Daring affirmed seriously. “They contacted me after they saw Ahuizotl was one of the buyer and he escaped with the artifact. And since Ahui never deals with anything simple, they thought it best call me in and track him down.”

“And so you did. That’s when you encountered this organization?”

Daring nodded. “Yes, Princess.”

Celestia stepped off her throne to approached Daring. “You said before that the group was trading a ring of Tacicron for the collar. Were you able to recover the ring?”

Daring reached under her poncho to produce a ring of Tallecron. “I’m not sure if Ahui has any of the other rings, but I’d be willing to bet he’s got his goons looking for them.”

Celestia looked over the ring before letting out a heavy sigh. “He plans to use the rings to threaten Equestria.” She returned her gaze to Daring. “If you can ever apprehend Ahuizotl, it’d be a great service to Equestria.”

Daring let out her own sigh, although it had an air of annoyance. “I’ve tried, Princess, but Ahuizotl is cunning. The few times I’ve managed to corner him, he’s figured out a way to get out. Any other time, I’m trying to get away from him.”

The solar princess gave the adventurer a look that was a mixture of amusement and concern, but she opted not to comment. “Well, I know you will take care to keep the ring safe.”

Daring stowed the ring back into her saddle bag under her poncho. “Always do, Princess.”

Celestia smiled and patted Daring on her shoulder. Afterword, she turned to looked to the side hallway that led to the infirmary. “Perhaps we should check on Tide. She should be about finished with her examination.”

Daring gave an affirmative nod and the two made their way to the infirmary.

After a short walk, Daring and Princess Celestia arrived at the castle infirmary. While not crowded, the many privacy screens kept Daring and Celestia from locating Tide immediately. However, a quick inquiry to one the doctors scurrying about helped point the adventurer and the princess to their fishy visitor. When they did find Tide, they found her lying on her side while her doctor rubbed a strange smelling ointment on her chest. This caused Princess Celestia to inquire, “Is everything okay, Dr. Right Aid?”

Right Aid jumped at the unexpected voice and quickly turned around. “Oh, Princess! You scared me,” Right Aid said in a startled tone. “Thankfully, Ms. Tide is okay, aside from some bruising on her ribs. More than likely she is going to be sore. I’m actually really surprised.”

“Why’s that?” Celestia inquired.

“I was expecting her injuries to be much worse based on what you told me. If I had to wager a guess, I’d say her unique biology kept her from suffering any serious injuries.” Right Aid moved over to a nearby table and collected a thin film x-ray. “According to the scans, she doesn’t have any breaks or splits, but she does have some sub-dermal bruising. I suspect she is going to be in a bit of pain until the bruising subsides. I gave her some topical cream to ease the pain a bit.”

Celestia nodded. “Anything else of concern?”

Right Aid shook her head. “I... well... maybe?" she added. “Her physiology is far different than anything I’ve ever seen. So this might be something you under better than me.”

Tide shot the doctor an annoyed look before rolling her eyes. “Must we keep bringing up my anatomy?” she grumbled to herself.

“Her physiology is quite literally part fish, but I also discovered something... truly bizarre,” she added with fascination in her words.

Celestia and Daring both cocked a curious eyebrow. “Bizarre how?” Celestia inquired curiously.

Right Aid held up the x-ray and used her horn to illuminate the back side the of the film. Celestia immediately noted what Right Aid was referring to. Daring, on the other hand, was at a bit of a loss. “I don’t get it. What’s weird about that?”

Celestia walked up to the x-ray film and pointed to small outline around the image. “This is a spell,” the princess looked over the film closer. “It would seem that there is some spell on her... but it’s very minute.”

Daring looked worried. “Wait, do you think those unicorns put something on her?” she asked in concern.

Celestia shook her head dismissively, “No, if this were a tracking spell it wouldn’t look this weak. This is something else.”

Tide took this opportunity to let out a low moan that got everypony’s attention. When everypony was looking at her, she made a scribbling gesture with her hooves before pointing to herself. It took a second, but eventually, the group caught on to Tide’s request. Daring quickly pulled her poncho aside and produced a piece of parchment. Tide took the parchment in her magic and began to write something with her hoof, her magic surging through her hoof and causing words to shine on the parchment. Celestia, Daring, and Right Aid all looked on in anticipation, all wanting to know what the seapony was going reveal, After a few moments, Tide finished and passed the parchment off to Celestia.

The princess took the parchment in her magic and began to read. Daring and Right Aid inched closer to get a look at what was written. “The magic is an ancient spell for underwater breathing. My kingdom used the spell long ago to allow us to live underwater. It’s been active since our it sank.”

Celestia looked up from the parchment with curiosity in her eyes and concern. “How long has this been active exactly?” she asked as she passed the parchment back to Tide.

The fish pony took the parchment in her own magic and seemed pensive before she began writing. It was only a few seconds before she passed the page back to Celestia. Again, she, Daring, and Right Aid looked at the page. This time only a single sentence was written, “Roughly a thousand or more years.” Celestia and Right Aid blanched at this number. Daring, however, was more impressed. “Wow, has a spell ever been active for that long?” Daring asked curiously.

Right Aid and Celestia responded with an instant and substantive, “No.”

Daring flinched at the decisiveness of the response, “That sounds... bad.”

“No pony has ever been able to sustain a spell for that long,” Celestia responded, her voice hinting that she was thinking as she spoke. “At least, not for more than a day or so..”

“Any... particular reason why?” Daring asked curiously.

Tide listened to the conversation continue with wrapped interest. “Interesting, they haven’t figured out,” Tide thought to herself. “Although, it seems they have attempted to do what we did.”

“No pony has ever been successful because at some point the spell user would become magically exhausted from constantly refreshing the spell,” the princess explained. “Even in large numbers, there was never enough stamina to keep the spell active. Best record was three days and they had to stop due to sleep deprivation.”

The explanation caused an immediate question to pop into everypony's’ mind almost immediately, “If no pony had done it before, how did Tide’s civilization manage to do it?” This question also caused Daring, Right Aid, and the Princess to look at Tide with further fascination.

Tide flinched slightly when she was suddenly the object of the group’s attention and her fins reflexively fanned out in surprise. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised they’re curious,” Tide thought to herself. “But should I really tell them how we did it?” The thought hung in Tide’s mind for a short time before she smirked and used her magic to pick up the parchment and began writing. When she finished she passed the parchment off to Celestia again.

“We channeled magic into a special reverberator so that would apply the magic over time and had multiple crews refreshing the device at intervals. Over time, we stopped using it.”

The trio all read the letter before a simultaneous look of confusion crossed their faces. For a while, the two ponies and the princess contemplated what the message could mean. Tide watched curiously as the other ponies pondered the messaged. “Show me how clever you are,” she thought as she watched. “Connect the dots.”

“Hold on,” Daring interjected.

Everyone turned to face Daring as she rubbed her temples. “You used a device to help you breathe underwater... but now you don’t, yet the spell is still active? How does that work?”

“Hmmm, she’s close. Not entirely there but close,” Tide thought. “I suppose I should just come out with it.” Tide picked up her parchment and began scribbling again, but, in a bit of cheekiness, Tide only wrote two words “We evolved.”

To Daring, this only added to her confusion. However, for Celestia and Right Aid, the two words caused them to go wide eyed. Daring took notice of the surprised looks and promptly made her internal question known, “Okay, what does she mean? I feel like I’m missing something.”

Celestia put her thoughts forward albeit with an uncertainty that neither Right Aid or Daring had never heard before, “I... I think she is being... literal.”

“But... but...” Right Aid attempted to offer a counter to the explanation, but the details seemed to match up too perfectly. “Magical evolution... is that even possible?”

Tide nodded as she muffled a small chirping giggle. “This is amusing, but I need to get this back on track.” She dispelled the message she’d written before and wrote a new message in its place. “I’m willing to discuss the details, but I’d also like to discuss what our course of action is to save my home.”

The group read the message before exchanging looks with each other. After a short-lived silence, Right Aid excused herself to collect additional ointment for Tide, while Daring helped the fish-pony off the examination bed. Tide winced slightly as she hit the ground, her bruised ribs sending a wave of pain throughout her body. Thankfully, the pain was momentary and Tide was able to bear it.

“I’d be happy to discuss our next course of action, Tidecaller,” Celestia stated with an encouraging smile. “Once Doctor Right Aid has applied the ointment and cleared you to leave, we shall review what to do.” Tide nodded in acknowledgment, a small determined smile on her face.

Celestia couldn’t help but return the smile with equal determination and a decent amount curiosity. She had some questions for her visitor, and she had every intention of learning as much as she could about this new species.

Daring Do and the Night at the Ruins.

The ocean is vast and deep. Beneath its waves there is a plethora of life and color rarely seen on land. It is from the ocean that all life is born, and it is in the ocean where some hide. Whether it be secrets, treasures, or knowledge, the ocean will hold it. In the land of Equestria, the vast oceans have yet to be fully mapped and very few can or will explore them. Because of this much of Equestria’s history is hidden below the waves. Even now the oceans hide a major secret that no one knows about, but, like all secrets, they must eventually come to light.

The beaches off of Las Pegasus are renown as a wonderful tourist destination. The water is a constant crystal blue and are known for producing some of the most optimum surf in all of Equestria. The cuisine is ocean inspired and is something anyone visiting should partake in. For those of wealth or royal blood, they often enjoy their own private and secluded sections of beach along with their own private beach homes.

For some, the beaches off of Las Pegasus are a vacation spot. For others, it was locations to the south of Las Pegasus that held their interest. Along the southern border of Las Pegasus rested the San Palomino Desert, vast miles of desolate and barren land. It was only on the western edge of the desert, where it met the South Luna Ocean, the desolation ended and signs of life could be found, scraggly looking vegetation eking out a poor living in the loose sand as sea birds nested in their fragile branches. However, it was one location in particular that often drew a wayward glance or beckoned for somepony adventurous to investigate. This location was simply known as “the Gateway”.

The Gateway was located on a small peninsula that jutted into the South Luna Ocean, ancient cliffs crumbling away as the waves threatened to collapse the entire thing at any time. There sat the lonely remnants of a civilization long forgotten. Beaten, battered, but still proud buildings standing against the ravages of time and tide with bleached murals and patchwork mosiacs still adorning their sides. Although time had long erased the majority of the images, there was still enough to see what used to be there. Images of ponies, unicorns mostly, who seemed to have had established a fishing colony on the peninsula and gave their time in the constant pursuit of greater knowledge.

However, what seemed to puzzle many was the source of the Gateway’s name. Should one go to the very tip of the peninsula they would find a large archway resting at the point where land met water. The archway was large and seemed to invite any and all to cross its threshold. Yet, to anyone who would look on it, they’d always get the same feeling. A small nagging notion that something was missing. Like the archway was just a small piece of something bigger.

Some theorized the archway was part of an incomplete building that was never finished. Others speculated that it might have been part of an ancient teleportation arch. Some even went so far as to say it was put there to honor the rising of the sun. While these all had valid explanations and supporting evidence, there was no one truly definitive answer. Archeologists often argued for hours for what the true purpose of the archway was, and many students of archeology often wrote their own interpretations of its purpose or meaning for their senior thesis papers. For one particular yellow mare with a monochrome mane, this place always fascinated her. Her name was Daring Do: adventurer, writer, historian and archeologist.

Daring would often come to the Gateway ruins to try and solve the lingering mystery of the archway, but this time she was visiting for entirely different reason. She’d recently gotten word through her network of friends and associates that her arch nemesis, Ahuitzotl, was seen heading toward the ruins with a small trunk carrying an unknown item. While Daring wasn’t sure what Ahuitzotl was up to or what the item was, she knew it couldn’t be good. She got her things and flew as fast as she could to get to the ruins before her nemesis.

“Whoa,” Daring said to herself as she arrived to the Gateway ruins. A large force of goons were already patrolling the ruins and they were well armed. “This is a ridiculous amount of backup, even for Ahuitzotl. What is he up to?” She tipped her pith helmet and stealthily approached the ruins, the shadows of sunset aiding her approach. As she got closer, she noted that this wasn’t the normal bunch of thugs Ahuizotl hired. These looked a bit more professional and fairly organized. Even their gear seemed a bit more professional: rapid fire crossbows, uniform swords and spears, and they all seemed to be wearing a unique set of dark blue and crimson red battle dress uniforms. To top it off, they all seemed to be unicorns.

The adventurer was getting worried about how she was going to get further into the ruins. This was beyond what she usually got from Ahuitzotl and the fact these henchponies were all unicorns meant she couldn’t knock one of them out and steal their uniform. She’d have to try a different approach. She watched from behind a nearby ruin piece and searched for an opportunity or an opening to infiltrate the ruins unseen.

Eventually, she spotted a few of the goons unloading a crates and supplies off of a wagon, and moving them further into the ruins. It looked like their weakest point, there were only three unicorns working to off load the supplies and one looking over the group with a crossbow. If she worked quickly she could sneak in and hide within one of the supply containers. It’d all come down to careful timing and swift action.

Daring observed the group and planned out her approach. Two of the unicorns left to bring supplies into the ruins, she made her move. Grabbing a small rock, she approached the wagon. She tossed the rock and it soared through the air with impressive precision, striking a wall behind the unicorn looking over the trailer. He turned and went to investigate. This left the lone unicorn in the wagon off loading the last two crates of supplies. She flapped her wings and put herself into an accelerating flight. The last thing the unicorn saw was a yellow blur slamming into his head and knocking him unconscious.

After righting herself from the flying knockout, Daring stashed the unconscious unicorn’s body into a crate, then quickly hid herself within the other. Then she played the waiting game. Soon enough she felt her container being lifted in a light green aura and moved. It felt like only a few minutes before Daring’s container was put down and the light green aura dissipated. She waited until she heard the sounds of hooves walking away before taking a cautious glance outside of her hiding spot. She looked to be in a small campsite on the other side of the ruins. There were tents set up around the area and there seemed to be only a small group of unicorns idly talking about seemingly random topics. One thing she did notice was that the group seemed fairly content with throwing around tribal slurs. She caught a few referring to pegasi that ruffled her feathers, but she ultimately decided that ruining whatever plans they and Ahuizotl planned to enact would be payback enough.

The adventure made her way out of her hiding spot and made her way behind a nearby tent. She’d go after Ahuizotl soon but first she was going to find out what these tribalist horn heads were up to. She ducked behind a few more tents, staying out of sight. She’d ended up picking up pieces of the plan from a few passing guards. “So... What’s this freak doing here again?” one of the guards had asked another.

“Apparently, it likes to ‘collect’ artifacts. Thinks it can take over the world,” the second guard chuckled wryly. “It has an artifact we need and us something it wants. Once we have what we need, we’ll kick that unholy abomination out on his hand-tailed ass.” The two guards shared a chuckle at Ahuizotl’s expense. “Who is Ahui dealing with?” Daring thought to herself, “And what do they have that he wants?...Probably nothing good.” She ducked away and began her stealthy sweep of the camp searching for the leader of the bigoted unicorns and her nemesis.

After searching the majority of the camp and resisting the urge to punch a few unicorns into unconsciousness, she came across the archway for which the peninsula got its name. There she saw Ahuizotl standing next to a cloaked figure. Both were under the archway and seemed to be talking. Then she noticed something particularly odd. She noticed a large sack next to cloaked figure. Daring assumed it might be the item the group was going to trade, but the idea disappeared when she saw it move several times. The cloaked figure saw the sack move as well and gave the sack a quick kick. “Okay... What are you up to Ahui?” She needed to get closer to eavesdrop on the conversation but there was no cover for her use. If only she could make it to the archway. But how?

“Oh wait... wings, duh” the adventure scolded herself, remembering the two appendages on her back. She used the shadow of the archway to keep her hidden and perched herself in the cracks of the crumbling structure. She angled her ears toward the two figures below her and caught part of the conversation they were having. “- then we can conclude our business together. Now... do you have the artifact?” the cloaked figure asked, his voice deep and gravelly.

“Ah, but of course... so long as you have what was promised,” Ahuizotl responded with a devious smirk and a suave tone.

The figured let out an annoyed sigh and produced a golden ring from under his cloak. Daring’s eyes widened as she recognized it as one of the rings of the Temple of Tallecron. Now she was doubly worried for who this group was and how they managed to collect something that should be near impossible to find. Worse, she had a good idea on what Ahuizotl was planning to use that ring for. She only hoped he didn’t have all of them.

“Ah, glorious!” Ahuizotl said in amazement. “Your collection network is truly impressive. Where did you find this?”

The cloaked figure let an indignant snort, “Questions weren’t part of this arrangement. Unless you have your part of the deal, we will leave.” The figures threatening tone immediately got Ahuizotl’s attention. He reached into his satchel with his tail hand and produced a small rune etched collar. Daring looked at produced collar. She was too far away to determine what it was exactly, but the runes she could see on the collar were vaguely familiar. She’d have to make a note to take it, the ring, and maybe that sack when she had the opportunity.

“Here is what you asked for. Now... the ring,” Ahuizotl demanded with an outstretched paw.

A seafoam green aura grabbed the collar and levitated toward the figure, while a similar aura floated the ring toward the dog-like creature. Right as the two objects crossed each other the crack of a whip and the two objects flying upward caused both the Ahuizotl and the figure to look upward only to see Daring clutching the collar and the ring. “Sorry boys, but I think you’re both just too sketchy to have either one of these. Especially you, Ahuizotl.”

“Daring Do!” Ahuizotl hissed in annoyance and anger.

“You were followed!?” the figure yelled in equal parts annoyance and anger at Ahuizotl. “You incompetent mongrel!” He turned toward the camp and yelled for reinforcements. Daring took this opportunity to nose dive at the hooded figure and land a solid punch to his head. The impact was more than enough to silence the hooded figure for a bit. She turned to grab the sack and run, but she soon found herself being rammed into at full force. The hit was enough knock Daring to the ground and drop her whip. Daring found herself being pinned to the ground by Ahuizotl. He looked his usual style of pissed and he was making a multiple attempts to get his mouth around her throat. Daring managed to avoid her nemesis’ snapping maw and got in a decent head butt that got the jackal demon to back off and nurse his now bleeding muzzle. As she scrambled to her hooves, she caught a glimpse of a mass of unicorn guards bearing toward her, many with spells charged to blast her.

Daring had little time. She coiled her whip, grabbed the sack, and prepared to take off toward Los Pegasus; however, she found the sack much heavier than she had expected. Thankfully, a near miss from a stun spell gave her the additional adrenaline she needed to heave the sack into the air. She wasn’t able to obtain the height she desired and the additional weight was making it difficult for her to strafe. This unfortunately meant she got blasted in the wing causing her to drop the bag and fall into the ocean below. For a moment, she found herself disorientated from the fall and also the shock of the cold water hitting her body. Worse the weight of her gear was dragging her below the waves. Daring thought this was it... the moment she’d experience her last adventure, but the feeling of something grabbing her from behind shook her of these thoughts. Whatever was grabbing her pulled her away from the magical bolts, which she was thankful for, but it was also pulling her deeper into the water. She struggled against the thing pulling her down, but an odd sound filled her ears causing her to stop. It was like a squeal of sorts but deeper and there was this odd clicking that followed. She wondered what the odd sound was, until she realized that she was nearing the end of her held breath, and was slowly beginning to black out. She fought to hold onto the fleeting light of consciousness, but soon found herself succumbing to the darkness. She assumed, in her final thoughts, that she was going to die.

Daring awoke sputtering water from her lungs. Her lungs burned for air and each cough seemed to remove more of the liquid that she had involuntarily inhaled. After a small fit of coughing and hacking she found herself able to breath normally. As she worked to clear her lungs, the sound of water being disturbed grabbed her attention. She turned in time to see something go beneath the waves of the beach she was on. Daring made an attempt to catch a glimpse of what had taken to the water, but she could already see it moving away from the shore line at an impressive pace. She wasn’t sure who had just left... but she was really curious why they had gone into the water. “Who was that?” Daring thought to herself. Before she could question who or what had gone into the water, she noticed something odd. Next to Daring was a vibrant glowing neon blue dot and the word “touch” written in the sand.

Daring wondered if whoever saved her had left this behind. She checked her surroundings and prepared for a trap as she tapped the dot. The moment her hoof touched the dot a series of words shot up and began to aline before the adventurer.

To the yellow mare, I wanted to thank you for saving me. However, I can’t stay. That group is going to be after me and I need help. If you’re willing to help, come back here tomorrow evening after sundown. If you can’t help, send somepony who can. This is serious! Many lives are at stake besides my own. - Tide

After a few minutes, the words vanished into the air, and were no more.

“Tide, huh? What kind of trouble are you in?” Daring got to her hooves as the words vanished into the air. She shook off the sand on her coat and made sure she had all her-
“Wait, where’s the ring!?” She checked all over but the Ring of Tallecron she had taken was gone. She was relieved to find the collar she swiped, but the ring was missing. Daring assumed Ahuizotl must have swiped it when he shoulder checked her earlier. That damnable tail-hand was always a problem. Well, at least she had the collar. It was a good starting point to figuring out what was going on. Daring prepared to take off, but a resurgence of pain in her wing and side kept her grounded. The adventurer let out a sigh before heading off toward, what she assumed, was Las Pegasus. She had some research to do, and some letters to write.

Author's Note

So I was in a pretty depressed place for a bit, but I came up with this idea. I'm pretty sure most of you will figure out what Tide is, but until then I encourage critisim and any errors you see in the comments below.

Take it easy.