I blinked blankly at the mare in front of me, her salmon pink coat and dull blue mane was ever so slightly waving with the current. Her sea green eyes were firmly fixed on mine her face was cold her gaze unwavering, she barred her teeth at me sharp shark like teeth glisten perfect white in the wavering moonlight. Her tail caught the light and made an rainbow of colors sparkling in my vision, I was momentarily blinded as her glare dug deeper into my soul.
:Like I was saying Night Glow your Marks came today, and now it’s time for you to leave my dwelling and make your mother proud:River Drop said flipping her main over her head so it didn’t wave in front of her searing gaze. River Drop third to the throne and my dear mother, the mother who I loved dearly until this point. The day I got my Marks, the one thing I got early.
:Mom you won’t kick me out know would you?: I asked practically begging :I’m not even finished school yet! I don’t know how to live in our kingdom like this!: I said my Marks glowing a deep blue color with the intensity I spoke, she wouldn’t kick me out would she? I saw her gaze waver she looked down for a moment her whole body shaking, when she looked back up her Marks were glowing a soft pink her gaze softened dramatically.
:I-I’m sorry Night Glow I have no other choice: She said softly raising a flat hoof to touch the side of my face, I leaned into her touch while my brain procced what she told me.
:What do you mean you have no other choice? There is always another choice: I said leaning in I touched our horns together, I saw a pink droplet spring from her eyes it sunk to the sandy bottom floor of her coral cave.
:I have to get you away from here, they won’t let me keep you anymore. I don’t want to lose you: she said urgently her ears twitching as sound traveled through waves in the ocean water, more pink droplets sprung from her eyes she was crying.
:Mom who’s going to take me away?: I asked feeling my own blue colored tears escaping my eyes and sinking to the floor, River Drop looked up at me and smiled her shark like teeth not as intimidating as before.
:My Mother doesn’t want stallions in her royal line of blood, she doesn’t want you to rise to the throne.: She choked even in a mental conversation I could hear her worries, her stress, her emotions. Her branching coral patterned Marks glowed a deep pink as she traced a hoof down mine, mine went straight down my body out lining my whale like tale before meeting at the base of my tail. Much like a Striped Dolphin.
:Mom please don’t leave me alone.: I choked touching her face with my hooves, the last time I could. I felt her smile at me before a powerful blast of air hit my chest sending me summersaulting away from her, I rolled to the side like my instructor said to avoid or get out of a blast like that.
:Go to Otter River and don’t come back! Please just listen!: She roared more tears rolling down her face and her horned glowed pink again ready to hit me with another blow. I swam backwards slowly I wanted to answer but she closed the link, close my communication with her. I felt cold tears roll down my face as she flared her gills at me, a last warning.
I turned away and swam, swam faster than I ever thought I could, faster than my instructor could ever get me to run. But not fast enough to clear my mind of the seaweed that felt like it was crammed in there, floating aimlessly without thought, just floating. I felt a subtle shift in the current, just enough to let me know I was getting closer to Everfree rapids.
Fear shot threw me like jets of boiling water, I couldn’t get through the rapids no regular Seapony could. I closed my eyes and imagined my mother’s face as she told me leave, her face was so pained so much pain was just floating there with her tears. I breathed threw my gills deeply waiting for my Marks to settle, all my worry set them ablaze with a nearly blinding blue light. I harnessed all my energy into a protection bubble, one hopefully strong enough to protect me from the worst of the rapids.
I carefully picked my way up the slow part of the river, hitting my tail on a few rocks leaving me to shake off the silver blood and continue up the river. I was nearly blown back by the tremendous force of the rapids, its large pointed rocks wasn’t going to stop the harsh water enough for me to calmly swim. No this would hurt my fins a lot, hurt my blubber hurt everything. This water was heavily laced with sediment, animals, and large chunks of land and there was no doubt that my blood would be spilled as I climbed up this river.
But what other choice do I have?
The first few hours I felt true pain and sediment tore at my skin as thin ribbons of blood were carried downstream, towards the end my body must have gone into a type of shock as my hooves seemed to lose feeling I couldn’t feel my tail as I made the home stretch. I felt a dramatic shift in the current and the water went from violent to a river that barley moved.
My Marks glowed a soft blue as I used my basic magic to fix up most of my cuts, except for a deep one on my side I could feel something shift inside of it. I swam slowly letting my body take a break from the rough treatment it took, I saw the trees thinning out as I saw a small cottage placed in a nearly empty field right next to the deadly forest. A bunch of small houses were perched on the trees and a bridge stretched across the small pond I was floating in. A small den nested under it as a home for a small animal.
I sighed in relief this was Otter River I made it just like my mother told me too, I almost closed my eyes when I saw the most peculiar thing.
A yellow pony with a pink mane. And she had wings! I watched curiously as she flew into the air with smaller winged creatures, heard her soft voice as she sang with the small winged creatures. In the middle of a spin she saw me and stopped in her tracks, I whined softly I really liked her singing and I was a shame that she stopped.
“My goodness! Are you okay?” she asked flying over landing in front of me she looked over the bank and into the water. She looked at me them my tail, me, tail, me, tail, me, tail. She reached out and touched the base of my tail, I stood rock still allowing her to feel along my tail and back her hoof stopped when she touched my open cut.
“Hey that stings a little Ma’am” I said softly trying not to flinch away from her gently touch, she looked at me concerned.
“Um, please stay here I’m going to get something that’ll fix you up!” she said softly as she flew back to her house faster than any seagull I’ve seen. It took her mere seconds before she was flying out again a white bag in her hooves, she placed the bag in front of me as she dug threw it for something. She pulled out a bottle, she twisted the cap off with her wings.
“Um I’m sorry but this is going to sting a lot Mr. ummm…” she let her sentence trail off
“Night Glow” I said simply she nodded and pulled out a cloth
“Fluttershy” She said holding the cloth under my cut and she poured the contents of the bottle onto my wound. It felt like she was pouring jellyfish into my cut, I splashed my tail sending a wave over the opposite bank leaving a white bunny soaked. On the bright side I felt whatever was lodged in there leave with the contents of the bottle.
Fluttershy screwed the lid back onto the bottle and pulled out a needle and thread.
“Um this is going to be really awkward, but bear with me” she said her face flushed red I snagged the needle and thread with my magic to save her the awkwardness, and quickly stitched myself up under her careful eye.
“So” I smiled at her “Anyway questions I can answer for you?” I asked placing the needle and thread back in the case. She looked me up and down, before looking me in the eye.
“What are you doing here Night Glow” she asked confusion dripped from her words, I was taking back she didn’t ask what I was?
Why I had a tail?
I liked her already.
“My kingdom doesn’t like stallions, my mother helped me escape before they would have executed me” I said choking up slightly, I felt the water’s surface move as Fluttershy dropped into the water next to me wrapping me in a hug.
“I’m so sorry” she said softly hugging tighter I hesitated slightly, should I hug her back? Against my better judgement I wrapped my hooves around her, she leaned into my chest as I felt her gaze on my Birth Burn, a mark branded onto my skin when I was born. I got a Z on my chest, the mark of my family.
“What do you have to be sorry for?” I asked pushing her back so could look into her soft blue eyes.
“I asked a very sensitive question and I’m sorr-”
“FLUTTERSHY LOOK OUT” I barley had time to look over before I was bucked in the face by a rainbow.