//-------------------------------------------------------// Sea of infinity -by LarsEversea143- //-------------------------------------------------------// //-------------------------------------------------------// "The waters bears powers" //-------------------------------------------------------// "The waters bears powers" Clang! Lian opened his eyes. He looked to the side of his bunkbed. Damned pipes he thought, wresteling with the sleep in his head. He straightened himself (or tried at least), bumping into the hard, cold metal above him. Damned bunkbed he thought. He whiped the last of the sleep from his eyes and stood up from undernead the curtains that assured no one would peek in, bumping his head once again against the metal of the bunkbeds, scoweling a few words before looking around. The quarters that he and his sister were assinged didn't bear any of the comforts of home, but at least they had a bed and running water... "Cursed, the waters from this place are far from wanted." He said out loud, waking his sister. She was sleeping in the bed above him so she wouldn't suffer from the noices of the pipes running past the wall. She couldn't bear sleeping with the noise. "And a good moring to you to. I see that you had yet another day on the deck, huh?" Alia said, juming from her bed onto the ground. She was the fastest and most athletic of the crew. If they would stop staring at her, then they would have noticed by now Lian thought, placing a hand on the sink next to the door. He looked into the mirror. Although looks was more something for his sister, he did care about leaving the room with a decent haircut and at the very least something to hide the bags under his eyes of the many restless nights. He used some of the creams from the medicine-cabinet next to the mirror to hide the bags before he took a comb and went through his hair. As soon as he was satisfied with his look, he was pushed aside by his sister so she could use the mirror aswell. She would always take the longest, but today she went through her daily routine a bit faster. As Lian looked at the clock hanging above the door, he noticed that they had little time left. "Come'n sis, I don't want to be late for this!" He opened the door, and the 2 ran through the hallways. A red light lit up, and a crancking sound filled the room. As the chains were pulling up the last of the crates, a man arose from the door at the balcony. He looked around, grinning at the sight. The room was very spacious, big enough for a few cars. The crew was running around, some assuring that pipes didn't burst from the pressure, others getting crates to places and a few taking notes. The latter were tose that the man dislikes. Scientists, only looking for knowledge, but never doing a dam thing! The man thought, walking down the stairs that lead from the balcony to the main-level. "Sir, we have just received a message from the Adiago! The last crate has been picked up." A man with tablet sayed, rushing to the man. "Good! Tell them to return to Bay 5. I want a full report on why those crates weren't picked up by the Sirena, though. Wat are they actually doing?" The man said, lifting his captain's hat up to brush his hair. "The last time they send a message, they spoke of some kind of building on the floor." The organizer said, rubbing his bald head whilst looking up reports. "A building? Who would build a building on the bottom of the sea?" The captain said, his curiosity now triggered. "Sir! I just received a message from the Sirena! They say that they've found something." The man who had appeared from behind a communication panel said, his breath heavily. "Breathe! For the sake of Davy Jones, what is so important you had to run all the way from the topdeck?" The captain said, noticing that the man had the symbol of the topdeck on his jacket. "They found... A city!" The man said, almost collapsing from his run. He spoke loud enough for the whole room to hear it. The entire room got quiet, the silence only disturbed by sounds from the surroundings. The captain immediantly took hold of the tired man and almost yelled. "WHERE are they?!" "This is impossible." Was all the captain could say. He rushed to the topdeck to see this 'city' with his own eyes. Indeed, after the S.S. Lavenda reached the coördinates, they saw it: A massive city, castle and all, attached to the side of a cliffside near the seafloor. The crew from the ship that had discovered this (the Sirena) also explained that there was a smaller town near the city, the rooftops and small towers and chimneys sticking out of the sand was all that had survived years of waterwear. "Yet, here we are, looking at an underwater city. Its' an amazing sight to take in." The organizer said, standing next to the captain. The entire topdeck was filled with almost the entire crew, of wich Lian and Alia were a part of. "What or who do you think buildt it?" Alia asked, jumping from exitment. "Watermermaids?" Lian joked, although the thought did cross his mind. Then a small stip returned from the city, growing in size. After a few seconds, a small yellow submarina was visable, the name clear at the side: 'Balazia'. "Sir, the Balazia has returned. We have received a message from the sergeant. He says that they have found something." A man from the controlling-panels sayed. "Tell them to return to Bay 7. I want to see what they have found with my own eyes." The captain sayed. "Yes, sir Cassel!" The controlling-man sayed, saluting with his free hand. The captain left the topdeck, alot of the crew following. A few remained, still awestruck of the city before them. Both Lian and Alia followed captain Cassel. "You saw WHAT?!" The Captain was yelling at the sergeant from the Balazia. "Yes sir, WE saw a unicorn inside the castle. There is a large part filled with a big airbubble." The sergeant answered, directing his crew to the sleeping-quarters to get some rest. "So, why didn't you go inside?" Captain Cassel asked. "I hope you weren't scarred, Rendall. We hope alot about the lack of fear in your crew." "I wasn't afraid, sir! Neither me or my man were prepared for this. There is light shining inside from candles, through windows we could tell the place has a massive library, a few rooms with beds and even a full-on kitchen!" Sergeant Rendall said, straightening his back for good measurement. He could always intimidate the captain with their big difference in hight. This time though, all he got from the captain was a daring look and a 'uhu'. "Men, prepare the S.S. Lavenda! We are heading towards that city!" Captain Cassel said. He received cheers and yells from the crew in the bay. He walked back to the stairs leading towards the topdeck, only to bump in Lian and Alia. "Miss Alia, Mister Lian! I hope that your position on my path was accidental?" The captain said, arching one eyebrow. "No, sir! To be honest, me and my sister were hoping to... go to the city ourself with 'The Explorer'." Lian said, fiddeling around with his shirt. "You dare to venture inside?" The captain said, now more interested in the request. "Yes, uhm... Sir!" Lian and Alia stumbled, saluting. "Very well then. You may investigate the city before we venture any closer then eyesight. ONLY explore though! I don't want you 2 to run away with any of the possible treasure inside." The captain said, pointing up a finger. "If I hear that you stole just one coin, I'll make sure you 2 get send into the airlock!" Lian and Alia swallowed. their fear for the captain was there since the day that they entered the S.S. Lavenda in Keyport North. It was one of the biggest sub-underwater-vessels in the entire town. They had promised their parents that day to be very carefull. A few weeks later, they had received the news that pirates had attacked Keyport North and that the town was reduced to meare ash and debris. That faithefull day, they lost their parents and their home. No place to call home, they had decided to stay on the S.S. Lavenda so they had a place to live and they had a job. Even if that meant they had laundry-duty for the rest of their life. "Lian!" Alia pulled him out of his trip down memory-lane. they had arrived at the small submarine-yard for exploration-vessels. They quickly found their vessel: The Explorer (for lack of better name). It was the only vessel in the whole yard that was actually colered: A bright-green. "Remember, exploration only! If you get inside, report back imidiantly!" The captain said over the comm. The Explorer was lowered into the water and onboard, Lian and Alia were steering it towards the massive city. "Yes sir." Lian said, a grumble following. luckely, the captain had cut conversation at that point. "What did they say there was inside?" Alia asked, her gaze fixed on a few lights coming from inside the castle. "The sergeant said something about a unicorn?" Lian said, his eyebrow arching of confusion. He looked at the report from the Balazia. "Is this a joke? Who could live in a city 3000 meters under flood-level?" "Someone who can take the pressure? At least better then you." Alia joked, making Lian stare at her with his serious eye. The Explorer inched closer to an opening inside the castle's walls. Once through, they saw what appears like a massive balroom around them. Above them, there was and airpocket. They arose from the water. Lian was the first to exit, estimating the surroundings from his diving-suit. The air was breathable so they both took their helm of, risking the potential hazard of gas-pockets in the rocks or dangerous flora/fauna that could survive in these conditions. He noticed a wooden platform, mayby a dock, sticking from the side of the wall. Alia 'docked' the Explorer next to a small piece of the platform sticking outwards. To their left, there was a small boat docked to a similar dock. "Who would build a dock inside such a big ballroom?" Alia asked after she landed on the platform. It wasn't large, but the style of the dock sugested that it was build after the the castle. "It seems that this place is older then the ruins from Aldor-port." Lian said. indeed, the style was strange. The walls were decorated with old banners, the symbols hard to indentify. The pillars that had survived appeared to be made of some kind of marble, decorations covered in moss and algea. Cracks were running down the walls, some allowing water to flow inside. "How long ago do you think was this build?" Alia asked, her hand resting against the wall. Small pieces fell down, dust arose from the ceiling. It was in horible state. "This could easily be older then the Setlers!" Lian said, walking towards a hallway. The floor and a few pieces of fence showed it was once a lookout balcony. He looked at the banner that hang above it. He could just uncover the shape of a horses-head. But, then, he noticed the head bore a horn. Definitly not human, thats for sure. Lian and Alia walked down the hallway, looking through the windows. They were reinforced with wood and stone, so the water couldn't get through. They noticed the paintings at the wall next to them depicting... Horses? In clothes even! Some were shown on battlefields, others were self-portraits. There were old harnasses with spears. The difference that they seemed to be made for horses smaller then humans. Ponies, perhaps? Suddenly, they heard a noise. The clang of a spear falling down and a swear in an unknown language. Alia hid herself behind Lian, who took hold of his tazzer-gun. He knew that water and electricity didn't mix, but he didn't have anything else to protect themselfs... perhaps a spear? He quickly took hold of a spear hanging from the wall and pointed it forwards. Then, a shadow appeared coming from behind the bend in the hallway. It came closer, and Lian prepared for the worst. The shape seemed to be of a horse, but smaller, less ruged. Then, he saw it... Or her? A purple, almost lavender pony... No, alicorn (a unicorn with wings) came from behind the bend. She had a well-groomed but still a bit dirty mane, purple with lighter lines purple running down. They stood there, eye in eye. She said something in a strange language, but Lian could tell that they both were shocked to see eachother. Suddenly, the horn of the unicorn glowed, Lian seeing that she was holding on to a small knife. No, not holding on... Floating! A knife, purple in color, almost look-through was floating aside of the purple Alicorn. She said something in her language again, Lian noticing she was waiting for an answer. "Sorry, I don't understand you!" He said, preparing for the worst, but remaining calm. He lowered the spear to see the pony's reaction. The knife to her side disappeared in a flash, as if it never existed. The pony's horn glowed again, this time no knife appeared. Suddenly, Lian and Alia felt a surge through their head. They shreeked down, a sting hitting their head. The spear Lian was holding on to fell, rolling down to the side of the hallway. Well, there goes that line of defence "Sorry, really sorry! I didn't hurt you, did I?" The pony said. Wait, she speaks our language? "No, it just stang. But, how can you speak English?" Lian asked, helping Alia stand up. "I don't. I used a translation spell so I can speak your language, although I did consider learning it the last time your people showed up." The pony said, walking closer to the duo. Alia shruged back, hiding herself behind Lian. A spell? Is this some kind of joke? "W-wait, you saw humans before?" Lian asked, his interest tingled. "Well, yes. A long time ago. There ship had run into the castle, not seeing it coming. I was able to save a few, and they helped me in return. They helped me with the spell so I could speak your language without the need of learning it. They also help build a small dock in the old ballroom. Is something wrong?" The pony asked, noticing that Lian was no longer paying attention. "No... It's just, what happened to them? Those people you helped?" Lian asked, looking out of the window next to them. He saw the lights from the S.S. Lavenda shining in the waters. "They... Couldn't get back home they said. Instead, they got their ship away before the castle crumbled under it's weight. They didn't make it out alive though. The ship cracked under the pressure and sank down, landing on the sea-bed." The pony pointed at a cliff just in sight. "The ship is over there. It has been a while since I saw them." Lian could tell she had difficulty with this. He needed something else to talk about... Talk! The spell! "Say, you said something about a spell. Is that like... Magic?" "Yes. The humans said that you don't have magic, but instead use technology to survive." The pony said, walking away from the window. "Yeah. My name's Lian, by the way. And this is my sister, Alia." Lian said, taking Alia by her shoulder. "My name is Twilight, Twilight Sparkle." Twilight said, holding a hoof out. Lian shook it, trying his best to take it all in. I'm shaking the hoof of a pony, 3000 meters under flood-level! "Perhaps, a tea will help?" Twilight asked, taking her hoof back. She pointed at a door. "I have enough for 3!" "Sure, I think that would be nice." Lian said, Alia nodding in agreement. They both remembered the days that their mom would set tea up when it was storming. The trio walked through the door and entered a well-furnished but still aged tearoom. Twilight sat at one side of the small coffeetable on a small cushion as Lian and Alia sat next to one another on the small stools. They had their knees high up as they took a sip from their tea. It wasn't like the tea of their mother, but it was at least drinkable. "I hope you don't mind the small stools. We didn't expect to have being's your size to sit here, so we never had the need of chairs." Twilight said as she set her tea on it's plate. "Not at all! It's at least better then standing up. Mmmmmh...! This tea is good." Alia said. She had opened up a bit as time had passed. "Thanks. It wasn't easy to get some tea-plants growing with no real sunlight, but it were the only plants I could use for something better then water." Twilight said. She stood up and walked to a cabinet nearby. She pulled a shelf open and took out a small red crystal. She sat it down on the empty candle-stand in the center of the coffeetable and it started to light up. It's light was as bright as the sun, but you could tell that it wasn't like the real stuff. "It's bright, but you can tell it's not as warm as normal light." Lian said, holding a hand up to block the light. Twilight took the crystal away, and as it dimmed out, she put it back in the cabinet. "The water blocks most of the light. Life is not easy, 3000 meters down. We live mostly of the plants we can grow and what we can find. Fish is not really on our diet, so we live of dry hay and anything else edible, like moss." Twilight said, pulling out a watch from out of nowhere. She looked at it and put it back, seemingly disappearing in mid-air. "You say 'we', but where are the others then?" Lian asked, his curiosity growing again. "They live in their quarters most of the time. I only see them go out when they have to work or when it's time to eat." Twilight said. She stood up from her cushion again, only to step to the door. Suddenly, Alia and Lian heard a knock on the door. They shrugged away. "It's alright. They've seen humans before to." Twilight said, reasurring the duo. She used her magic to open the door and a light-blue unicorn walked in. "Twilight! Are you having a tea without me?" The unicorn asked, only to stop mid-walk and stare at the 2 humans inside the room. "Sorry String Knit, I forgot how much you like tea. But, you see-" Twilight pointed at Lian and Alia. "-we've got company." "I noticed myself! What are these 'humans' doing here? You know what those last ones did, right?" Strin Knit sayed, her anger glass-clear. "String, they aren't like that! They helped me, the crash was an accident!" Twilight said, a sigh escaping her mouth. "One that took us days to repair and costed lives!" The sky-colored unicorn said, walking towards Lian and Alia. The 2 stood up and walked back a bit, not knowing what to do. "You can't blame them not to know we were here! They didn't see the castle coming!" Twilight said, stopping String Knit in her path. "From where are they even?" String Knit asked, a sigh and a glare later. "Actually-" Twilight looked at Lian. "-Where are you from anyway?" "Our ship isn't so far away. We were send out to explore this underwater city." Lian answered. He looked to the window outside the hallway. Then, he remembered something. "Shoot! I haven't reported back yet! Ow, the captain'll kill me if I don't send a message soon!" Lian jumped past Twilight and String and ran outside the door. He looked through the window and screamed. The S.S. Lavenda had already approched the castle and now all lights were shining to light up the enire structure. He could make out the crew running around through the portholes. The deck was even more busy, shadows of people going around scattered everywhere. The ship was even more intimidating then when it was docked in the various ports they had visited. The hull was desinged to be almost indistructable, the lights strong enough to light the entire oceanfloor, it's weapons powerfull enough to wipe an entire mountain. Its' shape made it faster then any other ship it's size, it's engines strong enough to give it the 10.000.000 Megawatt power-demand. No one knew it's desinger, but they sayed that it was made by the best engineers in whole Carrestoon. "Oh no! We haven't send a message in time. The captain has already come close enough to see everything! What now?" Lian yelled. He was distrupted by Alia holding his hand thight. The fear they had was now in all it's glory before their eyes. The ship that had destroyed an entire fleet was now ready and aimed before them. The ship that devestated an entire city for money. The ship... That had taken away their home. "Sir! We have spotted the 2. They are acompanied by a unicorn-like creature and also an... Alicorn." One of the men said from behind buzzing screens. The captain affirmed this statement quickly and took hold of his walking-stick. He sometimes needed it when the pain in his leg returned. He hade a scar on his leg from a distant fire-fight on land. Sometimes, the pain would return and make his leg harder to move. "Aim the Proton-fusion canon's! I want this castle leveled to the sea-bed!" Captain Cassel said. The entire topdeck got silent. "Sir... You really want to destroy a whole mountain? What about the creatures inside?" A man said, looking through the window to keep an eye on the 4 faint sillouetes inside the castle. "I do not care! We were send here to destroy everything that's in the way for a new colony to be build! If that means destroying an alien race, then I'm fien with that! Now hurry up and AIM THOSE CANNON'S!!" The captain practically yelled the last 3 words. No one answered, but no one moved either. "Sir. We can kill people from our own race because they have done things that are unforgivable. Those beings haven't done anything, nor have Lian and Alia. If I remember correctly, you kept some information about them secret, no?" Sergeant Rendall appeared from behind a pipe. He had the face of an angry father, yet everyone knew he never had children. "What is your point, sergeant?" Captain Cassel had moved in closer to the sergeant. "Who remembers operation 'Eagle-eye'?" Sergeant Rendall asked, receiving various conferming nods and calls. "And who remembers the name of the town?" "Ummm... Regent-alion Colony 5?" One of the men from the controlling-panels said, the doubt in his voice noticable. "No, that was the town's name before it's independence. It was called: Keyport North." Sergeant Rendall said, receiving an immidiant 'oh no'. "But... t-that was the name of Lian and Alia's town, right? Did we...?" One of the men alongside sergeant Rendall said, his fear growing just like that of the others. They knew that day, and they also remembered what they did that day. "Those 'filty', 'backstabing' and 'relentlues' pirates they talked about were... us?" Another man said, who had started to sink back in his chair of the shock. "They were on an expedition that day, no? They didn't know we attacked their town, right?" Someone else said, who received a hit to the head from the man next to him. "Don't be so stupid! They have to know, don't they? I mean, the discription of our ship that day is very much the same as our ship now. They have to know, don't they?" "Yes. And because they are from that island, they qualify for 'run-of survivors'. And we still have the task to kill every survivor of that town. So, if we finish this one, then we'll have done twice our job in one go." The captain said, his staff now standing in it's holder. He had climbed back up to the command-deck. "SO, NOW AIM THOSE BLOODY CANNON'S!!!!" The deck was silent. Not even a cough. It was as if dead had fallen on every single crewmember. Everyone looked at each other, unclear what to do: obey there captain and kill their friends or deny his command and propable die themselfs. "Well, what are you waiting for?! DO IT!!" The captain kept on shouting. No one moved. They had become like statues, not even moving for the sake of keeping the muscles from aching. Suddenly, a flash of black swept past the people on the topdeck. Without warning, one of the captains most royal membes had taken place before the weapon's controlling panel: Asger. "No, Asger! What are you doing?! Those are your best friends! DON'T!!" Sergeant Rendall yelled, moving forwards to stop Asger. "Sorry, Rendall. But, commands are commands!" Asger shouted. He pressed the red button, firing up the weapons. They were already aimed at the castle, all they needed were the command to fire. Asger pulled out to press the 'fire' button. Rendall pulled out a knife to stop Asger, kill him if needed. He wasn't going to let the captain have his will, not this time! Suddenly, a hard shock caused Asger to fall to the ground, some of the people on the deck to follow him. Others held on for live's sake to panels and pipes. Rendall dropped his knife, holding on to a few pipes next to him so he wouldn't fall, the captain holding on to the fencing of his commandpost. The ship shifted to the side, making it tilt. The shocks kept on coming, some stronger then others. Alarming lights blinked, showing that the ship was being thrown from side to side. Then, the lights fell out, warning-lights showing that the hull was breached, the reactor offline. The ship was being thorn apart, litteraly. Suddenly, one of the portholes at the side smashed, giving way to liters of water. It spilled out, making many people wet. Then, something happened that no one could ever imagine: The water flew up, shaping the form of a giant tentacle. It reached out, gripping on to the captain and pulling at him. It was as if the waters wanted him and only him to die. The captain lost grip, and was pulled away inside the sea. And that was the last they would see of him. The fact though, was that this wasn't an act of the ponies in the castle. The 4 in the hallway were watching through the window as the S.S. Lavenda is crushed by the pressure, thorn apart by the current and twisted by the water. It was both majestic as horrid to watch. The water around some parts colored red, fuel was leaking from the side. Pieces of metal fell (slowly) down to the seafloor. Other pieces floated up to the surface. The hallway was quiet, not even the breathing of the 4 making a single noise. "What has just happened?" Lian finally asked, as the wreck of the S.S. Lavenda (or what was left of it) landed on the seafloor. "I think that the water has just saved our lives." Alia said, her gaze still fixed on the ship. Suddenly, a big metal object passed their window. "There are survivors! that was an escape pod!" Lian and Alia rushed to the dock in the ballroom. There, they jumped inside the Explorer and dived as soon as the port was sealed. Outside of the castle, Lian saw the pod that minutes ago had passed their eyes. It was stuck on a piece of rock sticking outwards. Alia used the grapling hook of the Explorer to take hold of the pod and bring it back to the dockyard. The 2 ponies arrived in the ballroom just when the Explorer and the escape pod surfaced. The pod was draged to an open space at the wooden dock and the Explorer docked at it's previoud spot. Lian and Alia jumped out, rushing towards th epod to open it. The wheel was stuck. "Help us! They'll choke without air!" Lian yelled, pulling at the wheel with all force. Twilight ran (or galloped) to them and used her magic to force the wheel open. Still, no budge. "Out of the way. I'm going to try something else." Twilight said, standing back a bit and preparing herself. Lian and Alia stepped back, away of the wheel. Twilight's horn started to fiercly glow, the light almost blinding the human duo. Then, a beam of light escaped the princess' horn, blasting at the wheel and obliterating the port-vault. Smoke cleared up, and a hand appeared from the pod. A loud cough showed that the survivor was still alive. Lian and Alia approched, checking who was inside. Inside the pod, 3 men and 1 girl were lying on the floor. The girl and 2 of the men were unconscious, the only one awake was Sergeant Rendall. Alia remebered the name of the girl (she knew most of the girls of conversations) to be Zonita. The 2 men were recognized by Lian to be Coran and Torkin. The duo helped the survivors out, Rendall was the last to come out. He opened his eyes and he couldn't help but stand with his mouth full teeth. "It's a long story, Rendall. But, can you help me with these 3 first?" Lian said, having trouble to keep the 2 men standing upright. Rendall didn't say anything but instead helped Lian and Alia with the 3 unconscious. Twilight showed them the way to the nearest empty room where they could be taken care of. "So, these 'ponies' have lived here for how long now?" Rendall asked. He was lying on a bed that was quickly put tougether inside one of the rooms that the humans were brought to. The 3 other survivors were lying in similar beds, one was already awake: The girl. Zonita was drinking a small cup of tea, given by Alia to help her calm her nerves. "They don't know precisely, they have lived here so long without knowledge of day or night that time slowly sliped into itself. They estimate around... 1000 to 1500 years?" Lian said, sitting on the side of Rendall's bed. He knew Rendall very good, he was like a father to Lian and Alia, assuring that the captain wouldn't send them in the sea the first best chance he had. "Wow." Rendall said, his hand holding a bit tighter to his knife. Lian saw this though. "You better leave that knife her, I don't want you to attack someone because of your paranoia." "And you wouldn't stand a chace against a group of unicorns with just a knife." Twilight said as she walked inside the room with plates held in her magic. She put a plate on Rendall's and Zonita's bed, on the plate a bowl with salad and cutlery. "Sorry it's not much but I had to see that I didn't make people suspecious." Twilight said, taking a seat in one of the pillows in the room. "So, you are an Alicorn? Makes you the princess then or something?" Zonita said, a small chuckle in her voice. "Actually, yes. I'm the princess of Friendship." Twilight plainly answered. The small grin on Zonita's face faded away. "A princess, huh? Is this your castle then?" Rendall asked, his curiosity tingled. "No. This was the castle of our leaders: Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. They leaded our nation, Equestria. But, one day the sea-levels started to rise exponentially. In a few months, the waters was already flooding Canterlot Castle." Twilight waved with her hoof around, showing that the castle she mentioned was the one they were in. "I was able to save some ponies by barricading various parts inside and assuring that we had everything to survive. But, I couldn't save the most important ones: My friends." A small tear appeared under her eyes. "I'm so sorry to hear that." Zonita said, the honesty in her voice clear. "It's alright, I've started to grow over it." Twilight said as she whiped the tear away. "What do you think actually happened to the S.S. Lavenda?" Alia asked as she stepped in the room with a few bits of machinery in her arm. "I think that the natural magic of Equestria has manifested itself in the sea-water, making it a half-sentient being. When it saw what your ship was going to do, it decided to act." Twilight said. She never had seen this before, but it was one of the things she thought could explain the sudden sea-rise. "That can also explain why the water that got in the topdeck became a tentacle and took hold of our captain." Rendall said as he took a bite of the salad. "It did? Then it was more aware of the things happening then I first thought." Twilight said as she took a small notebook and wrote down a few notes. "You think that 'killing' it would cause the water to dissapear?" Alia said in a blind guess. "Not possible. The water is the being. If you kill someone, you still have it's body, right? So, if you kill the water-creature, you'll end up with the water." Twilight said as she was writing things down in her notebook. "Right. So, can we make the water retreat to it's old form?" Alia said, her mind now a bit more focused on the subject. "I'm not sure. asking might help, but how do you convince a creature that is bigger then a moon to shrink?" Twilight said, a bit of sarcasme in her voice. "Threatening it won't help." Lian said deadpanned. Alia and Twilight looked at him with confused eyes. "I'll say nothing." "yeah... Anyways, How are the others doing?" Twilight asked as she stepped to the beds with the 2 still unconscious men. "Their doing fine, but they haven't woken up yet." Alia said as she stepped away from Zonita to join Twilight. "Give them time, they'll wake up shortly." Lian said as he took a small metal box out of his pocket. He took a small straight piece of rolled up paper and lit the one end with a lighter he took from his other pocket. He stook the tobaco-product in his mouth, inhaled and breathed a small clouth of smoke out. "You smoke?" Rendall asked as he stood up a bit in his bed. "I guess a bad habite I took up during our time in the S.S. Lavenda." Lian said plainly before he took another breath of the cigaret. Rendall looked at Alia, who couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of her brother. She knew he sometimes hid somewhere to smoke, but she was a bit happy to see him a bit more open then usuall. Rendall had to chuckle a bit aswell, knowing Lian more then enough to guess this was an improvement on his level. He laid back a bit, looking up at the ceiling. The ceiling was very high, you could barely make up the decorations on it. He saw 2 pony-figures sitting at a small table with what he recognized as teacups in their hooves. Guess this was were they had tea. The 6 humans and 1 pony continued like that before they called it a day and Twilight lead Lian and alia to their rooms. //-------------------------------------------------------// Gazes at the Future //-------------------------------------------------------// Gazes at the Future Bags were packed, The Explorer was ready and the 6 human friends were waiting for their host to arrive. The wooden platform could barely hold the weight, as a few boards made cracking sounds. The 6 looked up, stopping their small talk as the sound of hooves on stone echoed trough the hallway. A purple pony stopped at the sight of the 6 looking at her. "What are you all doing here?" Twilight asked as she walked to the group. "We have to go. Our captain is gone so we don't have a job anymore." one of the 4 survivors of the destroyed S.S. Lavenda said. "And we can start a new life now without him." Lian said as he grabbed Alia by the shoulder. She smiled at him, a rare thing to see. "So, we are here to say goodbye." Zonita said as she picked up her bag with stuff. After the crash, the Explorer went back and forwards between the castle and the wreckage of the S.S. Lavenda to grab the stuff of the friends. "Are you really going?" Twilight said, a sad face appearing. "We still have family out there. And, we don't want to make survival harder for you then it already is." Rendall said as he grabbed his own stuff to. "Besides, with the Explorer and the coördinates, we can come over anytime! I'm sure to bring some proper food and a few souvenires with us." Alia said as she hugged Twilight before taking her own bag. "We have agreed to keep you a secret, so no one can take adventage of you." Torkin said, grabbing a special holo-pad from his bag. He handed it over to Twilight before taking another one out and giving it to Lian. " With these we can stay in contact. For you Twilight I've added a tutorial on how to use these." Torkin tapped the holo-pad Twilight was holding and a hologram of a paper appeared, a small tutorial written down. "Thanks! I'm deffinatly going to use it." Twilight said as she tapped on the pad to scroll down the tutorial. "Well then, this is goodbye." Lian said as Alia and the rest got on board. "Yeah, see you soon, hé." Twilight said, a smile on her face and a few tears rolling down. It felt like she lost even more friends. "Hey, cheer up! We ARE going to come back soon! I was already thinking about dropping by during a week of work!" Lian said before hugging Twilight and walking up and in the Explorer. The vessel's engines fired up and the small ship sank down, dissapearing underneath the water. It rushed away from the castle, Alia looking back one last time before looking in her bag. She took out a small video-camera, revealing pictures of the group inside the castle's rooms, one of the group during Rendall and his friends their recovery, another one of the ponies they met during their 4 days long stay. One was of all the ponies and the 6 humans together for a group-picture, a last memory of their time with the Equestrians. As the Explorer reached the surface, the hatch opened and Lian looked up, surprise hitting him and the rest hard. Above them, a large vessel of the Human Colonization Departement was flying through the air. they saw the supports of a floating city sticking out. "I guess that they decided to build a floating city instead?" Rendall said as he grabbed a picture of the sight. "That means that the castle is safe! No one dives that deep down if they build a floating city!" Alia said as she took a picture herself to. "And, it's still flying. They aren't going to build it directly above the castle either." Lian said as he pointed at the engines firing up. The vessel moved away, dissapearing behind the horizon. The castle was safe. The ponies were safe, their secret was safe. But one day, the 'was' will fall in account. Because not all secrets last forever. Author's Note Thank you for reading this short story, and yes, I am planning on making a sequel. So, stay tuned! Untill then,,this is Lars Eversea 143 signing of from Base alfa! Have a nice day and remember, stay safe! P.S.: The sci-fi is only small in this one, but it will reach higher levels in the next story, stay tuned!