Author's Note

Sorry for the wait, folks. I honestly have been having an urge to write, then stop after a few hundred words

Proofread by Miles Skywalker

A Tail Begins

I sit on Skystar's back, gazing upon the beauty of her underwater kingdom, my mouth agape. I can't believe it, it was like something out of a fantasy novel.

"Welcome, Travis," presented Skystar, "To Seaquestria."

I look down, noticing more seaponies below. There were males, females, little ones. Some look at us with surprise, others held onto their children with fright, and some swam away. I feel as though coming here is possibly a really big mistake. Next thing I know, they'll pop this bubble and watch me drown.

"Um, Skystar?" I asked, seeing her turn to look back.

"Yes? Isn't it beautiful?"

"It is, but I have a feeling that coming here is a big mistake."

"You sure?"

"See them down below?" I explain, pointing downward. “They're scared of me. Perhaps this wasn't a good idea."

"Don't you worry, Travis. Chin up. Just wait till you meet mother, she'll know what to do."

As we near the castle, we go down into an entryway, then swim up. Once atop, we enter the throne room, a wide and open area with coral, sea sponges, and two guards on our sides. The one on the left was male with a dark blue color, dark green sail, holding a spear, while the other is a female with a bright pink color and yellow sail.

In front of us was a sleeping seapony on a throne, female to be exact. She has three antennae, almost identical to Skystar's. The fins on her back are large with a shade of purple. The seal on the back of her neck is pink with a few dark purple dots. Her color is of white, with light blue fins at the end; three light blue fins near her tail, two on the sides and one on top. Her tail fin is the color of purple, as she flips it back and forth slowly. On her head was a crown, which told me that this is Skystar's mother, queen Novo.

Skystar sets me down, as I stood still on the ground and somehow not floating.

"How is it that I'm standing perfectly and not floating?" I asked.

"Magic, silly," she giggled. "Stay here. I'm gonna wake up mother."

As she swims up to her, I stand there watching her doing her thing. Looking to my left, I see the soldier looking at me intently, ready to strike me if I did anything suspicious. Looking to my right, same thing with the female soldier.

"What?!" shouted a deep and royal voice. "You dare bring a human into my kingdom, Skystar?!"

I look up to the throne, seeing Skystar looking down at me with worry, trying to convince her to spare me, but I don't think it's working. I gulp down a lump in my throat, a bead of sweat going down my brow.

"Guards!" shouted the queen, looking down at me with much more intent than her soldiers have. "Seize that human!"

In a flash, I look behind to see four soldiers behind me, pointing their spears close to me. Two were the ones I saw the moment I entered, these other two were males, one with dark green color that has a dark blue sail and the other with dark red color that has a orange sail with a bite mark on his chest, possibly from a shark attack. I expected this to happen, coming here really was a big mistake. Looking back towards the queen, I could tell she was serious.

"Mother!" shouted Skystar, catching the soldiers attention, including myself. "He's not dangerous! He means no harm to us!"

"How can you be sure?!" questioned her mother, looking back down at me again. "Where did you come from, human?!"

I was very nervous to speak, but had to tell her my situation. "Hello, your highness. My name is Travis of California. I am thirty-one-years-old."

"What is your business here? Hunting seaponies? Slaughter?!"

"No! I swear that's not why I'm here! There was a storm and I crashed here. I came up Mount Aris and met Princess Skystar, who told me about your kind and why you are hiding from us."

"It's true, mother," Nodded Skystar, "He means no harm to us. He has no harpoons or any weapons of that nature."

"Skystar, you do know what the humans have done to our kind in the past, right?"

"Mother, just give him a chance! Get to know him, he even told me a wonderful story about a mermaid that fell in love with a prince. Plus, he's my friend."

Queen Novo looks down at me with surprise. "Friend?"

"Mother, he's not as bad as those humans before. He's... special."

Novo swims down towards me, as the soldiers from behind me hold up their spears. Unlike Skystar, Novo is about five inches taller. "You may be among us on one condition."

"Y-yes?" I stuttered.

"You will never go back home. You are to stay here for the rest of your life. I can't have the secret of this place spread around the world."

"I understand, your highness. I'm willing to accept this fate."

"You are?"

"Since I crashed here, I knew I was gonna stay and I can't communicate to the outside world, therefore, I'm stuck here anyway."

"Well... good. I welcome you to my kingdom and you can show me that you're not going to cause any harm.

"I understand."

"Oh!" squeaked Skystar. "Mother! Can you use the pearl on him? Give him something that will help him swim? I can teach him."

"Well... hmm..."

"What pearl?" I wondered.

Queen Novo gave me a questionable look, before giving out a sigh. "I'll allow it. Travis, I shall grant you the ability to swim and breathe. My daughter will help you swim, but if you do anything out-of-the-ordinary with her, you're dead. Got it?"

My heart skips a beat. I can tell she was serious with those words. "Y-yes, your majesty."

A light glows above the throne. Downward comes a jellyfish of some sorts, bringing down a bowling ball sized pearl. The tentacles carefully bring the pearl down to queen Novo's flippers, shining a pink aura. From the pearl, a pink mist flows down towards me, hitting me with a tickle.

"Hehehe," I chuckle, "That tickles."

The air bubble that keeps me from breathing pops, but somehow, I can breathe just as though I was still on land. I then felt a funny sensation below me, as I take notice my legs are no longer legs, but a fishtail. The scales match my skin tone, while the flipper is brown to match my hair color.

"Wow!" shouts Skystar with surprise, coming to my side to help me float. "You actually got a fishtail, just like the rest of us."

I move it back and forth quickly, trying to make myself stand. "It's gonna take some getting use to."

Trying to stand myself up, I ended up spinning backwards, making Skystar, Queen Novo, and the soldiers laugh. I spread my arms out, trying to stand still, feeling embarrassed to have a fishtail.

"This is gonna be fun," giggled Skystar.

"I'm not used to having a fishtail. I've had legs most of my life, but now they're gone."

"Try coming back to me. Use your flipper and slowly move it up."

I use my fishtail, bringing me forward, stretching my arms out. "I think I got this."

Reaching as far as I can, grabbing Skystar's flippers. I bring my fishtail down, standing steadily in front of her. "There you go! You got this!"

"What's our next lesson?"

"That's easy," she smirks, swimming past me and stopping at the window, farther than my first lesson. "Catch me!"

"Okay, Skystar! I'm coming after you!"

For the past half an hour, I guess, been trying my best to catch her. I began getting used to my lower half, despite missing my two legs.

She swims in a zig-zag motion, as I follow behind, breathing heavily to catch her. Stretching my right hand out, I grab ahold of her tail fin, making her gasp. She turn around, looking at her tail fin being held by my thumb and index finger tightly.

"You did it!" she squeaks, hugging me tightly. "I knew you could do it!"

"I'm getting used to this fishtail. I thought it was gonna be difficult, but turns out rather easy to move."

"Mind if I introduce you to Shelldon and Shelly?"

"Sure."

"I'll be right back! You're gonna love them."

She swims off, leaving me in the throne room with the soldiers and Queen Novo, who is looking down at me with somewhat trust in her eyes. She lifts herself from her throne, swimming towards me. Once close, she gives me a faint smile, that surprised me.

"You're not that bad, Travis," she said, swimming around me like a shark, "I apologize for being rather mean to you earlier."

"It's okay, your highness. I figured you were gonna be angry with my coming here."

"You're... different. You're not as much of a troublemaker as I expected. I don't see anything violent about you."

She swims back in front of me, looking at me eye level. "You don't need to worry about me being violent. I only became violent once due to a friend of mine being bullied back in high school."

"That's very sweet of you."

"Thanks, your highness."

"Please, just call me Novo."

"Okay, Novo."

"So, what is your favorite thing to eat of the sea? Since you'll be living among us, I want to know what you'd like."

"Well, you guys sure do have tasty sardines. I also love crab, salmon is good. I never had shark, but my father said it was good. He had shark soup."

"Shark soup?"

"It's delicious. Also, what do you guys drink?"

"We have wine, juice, fresh water."

"Um... how exactly does-"

"Magic, that's why. Are you feeling hungry or thirsty?"

"Not really, but may I ask you something, Novo?"

"Yes?"

"Why're you being rather friendly with me?"

"You're interesting. I never met a human as kind as you, since we watched you try to catch my daughter. You two just met and never have I seen her so happy in my life. She has told you she doesn't have many friends, correct?"

"But what are Shelly and Sheldon?""

"Well, they're-"

"I'm back!" called out Skystar, holding two shells with fake eyes on them. One was pink, the other is purple. "Travis, meet Shelly and Sheldon."

"Oh! Uh, hey there, guys."

"These guys are the best."

"I know a clam. His name was Alexander Clam Bell."

Skystar and surprisingly Novo gave out a chuckle. "That's pretty funny."

"Haven't seen him in a long while. I was five years old on a fishing trip with my father, and I brought along Alexander with me. We were going up and down on some waves, making him slip from my grasp. He fell somewhere in the ocean and never saw him again."

"So sorry to hear, Travy."

"Travi? You're giving me nicknames now?"

"Well, you are my friend, Travy. Give me one."

"Now?"

"Yeah! Pleeeeease?"

"How about... Sky?"

"Sky? I like it."

"Say, Skystar," said Novo, catching her daughter's attention, "Why don't you show 'Travi' around?"

"I'd love to, mother. I'll put Shelly and Shelldon away. I'll be back."

She swims off, leaving me and Novo alone again. Novo looks down at me again, smiling softly. "You and my daughter look rather cute together, despite you being a human."

"Cute?" I blushed. "We just became friends. If you're asking about romance, ya need to be patient."

"I'm aware, dum dum," she giggles, giving me a gentle knock on my head with a fin. "I met a hippogriff long ago and oh boy, he was so shy that it was cute. I was a princess during the time and he was a commoner. My father and mother were rather unsure if he was worthy of being royalty until I brought him over for dinner. My parents began to like him, which made me happy knowing that they approve of this hippogriff to be my husband."

"What happened to him?"

"He... well..."

Her soft smile transforms into a frown, making me feel bad for asking such a question. "I'm sorry. It's none of my business."

"He died... of old age. Those of royal blood can live to a thousand years, but an average hippogriff can live to a hundred."

"Humans are the same to. We can live up to our eighties, nineties, possibly hundreds."

"That's something."

"Okay!" shouted Skystar, swimming quickly towards us. "Let's go and meet some seaponies, Travy."

"It's been nice talking with you, Novo. Mind if I talk to you later?"

"If you like."

"Come on, Travy,” said Skystar, grabbing my arm, pulling me away from Novo, "You're gonna love it here."

We swam down to the entrance and outside from the throne room. She releases me, swimming upward towards cylinder-looking homes to where each individual seapony lived in. I wonder what the locals are like? Friendly? Aggressive?

"Say, Sky?" I asked, following beside her upward. "What are the seaponies like?"

"They're rather friendly. Except for this grumpy old seapony who lost his wife a month ago."

"Sorry to hear."

As we swam closer, seaponies began to appear before my eyes. They look down at us with surprise, giving us some space as we arrived. Around us are seaponies of different ages, gender, and size.

"Hey guys," said Skystar, holding my close to her. "I'd like you to meet Travis, a human."

They gasp, along with murmuring to one another. "Don't worry, he won't hurt us. He's quite friendly. My mother accepts his appearance."

"How can your mother trust him?!" asked a light-green male seapony with a bright red sail. "They're dangerous!"

"Not him. He's a nice one. I became friends with him."

"Look, everybody," I said, waving my hands up, "I'm not here to kill anyone. I have no weapons on me, nor do I hunt your kind. I'm a fisherman who hunts crabs."

"Crabs?" repeated the male seapony. "You hunt crabs?"

"It's my job. We eat them just like you guys."

"But do you eat seaponies?" asked a bright-pink seapony with a bent dark-purple sail.

"I have no intention of eating any of you guys."

A small seapony swims up to me. She was a tiny thing with a bright-yellow color and dark-green sail. In her fins, she holds onto a small shell with a lace on it, a necklace. She holds it up to me, scared.

"Hey there, little missy," I said, crouching down, "There's nothing to be afraid of. I'm not gonna take that lovely necklace from you."

She cocks her head, bringing her necklace back to herself, holding it close to her chest. She smiles faintly, her tail wagging like a little puppy. I chuckle, placing my hand on her head, feeling the slickness of her sail.

"Not gonna hurt you. See?"

Her smile grows, making her give out a tiny little giggle.

"Octoa," called out a female voice from the surrounding seaponies. Coming forth is a female seapony with dark-yellow scales and a dark-red sail. "Come here, honey. Stay away from that thing."

"He's not a thing, momma," retorted the child, "He's a nice human."

"Miss," I interrupted, "Don't think of me as an enemy. I have no intention of hurting your child."

"Y-you don't? But humans are dangerous."

"Not him, miss," said Skystar. "He's a nice human and he's to live among us."

"Say, uh, Travis, is it?" asked a seapony with a dark-orange color and bright-green mane. "What else do you eat?"

"I can eat sardines, fried octopus, fried squid, shark soup, clam chowder. There can be more, but those are my top favorites."

"You can eat shark?"

"Yes, Sir."

"My goodness, that sounds good."

"If anyone hunts around here, go out there and hunt down some shark."

Some seaponies nod in agreement, some look rather frightened from ever getting close to one. I don't blame them.

"Would you like anything to drink, Travis?" asked the dark-orange seapony. "I have some water over at my small business. I'll let you have this one free for your first visit."

"That sounds swell. Thank you, Sir."

"The name is Arch."

"It's a pleasure to be your first human customer."

"Shall we?"

"Before you, good Sir."

He swims ahead, as I follow. Turning around, Skystar follows behind, along with the crowd.

"My God," I thought, "They want to see me drink? Weird."

The day goes by, as the waters began going darker by the hour. Sadly, I have poor night vision, so this is when I call it a day. Skystar lights our way back to the castle, as I follow beside her.

"My gosh, Travy," she said with surprise. "You were quite popular with the seaponies today. Now, they'll see you differently than what they were told about humans."

"I hope so," I replied. "I noticed that old seapony you mentioned and he didn't look so impressed."

"You noticed him?! When?!"

"When we went to get something to snack on. I saw him somewhere in the crowd, sneering."

Skystar nodded. "That's him, alright."

We swim down, then upward into the throne room, standing in front of queen Novo. With her were some female seaponies; one with mint-green scales, bright-yellow sail, one with bright-pink scales with a dark purple sail, and another with gray scales with a dark-gray sail. The four of them looked at us, then let out a giggle.

"Welcome back, Skystar, Travis," said Novo, bowing her head.

"My gosh, mom!" said Skystar, with a clap of her flippers. "Everybody loves him, except for that old guy. They asked him so many questions about where he came from, his childhood, favorite things to do, and much more."

"Didn't have any problems. It went better than what I expected," I added. "Quite a friendly bunch, really."

"Glad you're enjoying your time, Travis," said Novo.

"Mother, what're we having for dinner?"

"We'll be having some lobster."

"Oh! Yummy!"

"Haven't had lobster in a month," I said, "I remember catching one by accident, but in the end, I ate it."

"Oh, Travy," nudged Skystar. "You'll love the lobsters here. They're delicious."

"I usually cook them. Do you guys eat them raw?"

"Well... yeah."

"Oh, boy. I can't eat them raw. We humans cook them for consumption."

"You cook them?" asked Novo.

"Yeah. They taste good with some lemon and butter smeared on it."

"Oh, butter," said Novo, letting out a sigh. "I miss the taste of butter."

"I'm gonna miss it too."

"Queen Novo," said a male voice further behind Novo's throne, "Dinner is served."

A sea pony with dark-yellow scales and white sail swims in steadily, holding a tray of what I see are fish, shrimps, and sardines. My mouth waters, as the waiter holds up the tray to her, as she bites down on a few shrimps. As she chews on them, the waiter comes to Skystar, getting a better view of the food. There were some fish heads in a bowl, shrimps, the sardines I expected, and seaweed wrapped fish meat. She picks a few of the seaweed wraps, before the waiter stands in front of me.

"Please, Travis," she said in a friendly tone, "Take what you like. It's fresh and delicious."

I, of course, chose the sardines, as I pick out five of them. I plop the first one in my mouth, as the waiter swims towards the seaponies that surround Novo. I don't know who they are, but they could be friends. Looking over to Skystar, she chews slowly on her piece, as a little of drool goes down the corner of her mouth. I let out a chuckle, catching her attention.

She gulps her piece, licking her lips. "What's so funny?"

"You must've really liked your piece. You were drooling."

She lets out a giggle. "I can't help myself. It's been a habit I had since I was a kid."

Plopping another sardine into my mouth, Skystar stares at one of my sardines. I pull one out from my grip, handing her a piece that makes her eyes sparkle. She squeaks, as she bites down onto the head and sucking it up.

"These sardines are really good," I said, giving Novo a thumbs up.

"Glad you like them," said Novo, "They're the best a queen can ask for."

"Say, mother? Where will Travy be sleeping?"

"Uh..."

Novo looks to me, just as curious as I am. "Do you have a guest room, Novo?"

"Oh! Yes! We do. Usually, I save it for friends, but since you're gonna be here, might as well let you have it."

"Thank you, Novo. I hope it doesn't bother you that I'm kinda taking it since I have nowhere else to go."

"It doesn't bother me the slightest, Travis. Please, enjoy your stay and I hope you really like it here."

"Come on, Travy," said Skystar, grabbing my hand and pulling me past Novo and her friends.

"Wow! This room looks really cool."

In the room is a large waterbed with velvet pillows and blanket, a large mirror near the window, a closet, a nightstand with a lamp, and a bathroom door at the right corner. Coming in here makes me feel rich, if I were.

"Please make yourself at home, Travy," said Skystar on the bed, resting her head on her flippers.

"I really like to thank your mother for the hospitality."

I sit at the end of the bed, looking outside at lights that dim down from above.

"My mother is quite friendly with you, despite how she was when you arrive. I think she likes you."

"Likes me? Like as a friend?"

"Yeah. She totally sees humans differently because of you. Same with me. You're not a bad guy."

"One false move and I'm sushi."

She lets out a giggle, as she rests her back on the bed. "I really hope you like it here."

"I do, Sky. It's quite beautiful around here. Reminds me of The Abyss."

"The Abyss?"

"A human named Bud makes contact with a marine-like alien who takes him to their underwater ship. The aliens communicate with him saying that they wanted the humans to stop fighting one another or they'll flood us."

"Whoa!"

"It's not a true story. The aliens from that movie don't exist, but I do believe they're out there."

"Aliens? What are they?"

"We don't know for sure, but they're beings of higher intelligence than man. They could wipe us out in one blow possibly. People have encountered them and been tested. We don't know their ambitions, but they're out there. Somewhere."

"Creepy."

Letting out a loud yawn, I laid back on the bed. Skystar does the same, but stands up and stretches her flippers. "Well, I guess I should be heading the seabed."

"Goodnight, Sky. Can't wait to hear you sing tomorrow."

"I'll do my best. Goodnight, Travy."

She exits the room, leaving me be, as I swing my tail back and forth slowly.

"Man," I thought, "What a day it has been. Coming to an underwater kingdom, seaponies, and sleeping in a face guest room. It's like something out of a fantasy novel."

Suddenly, a knock comes to my door. I stand up, hands behind my back. "Travis? You still awake?"

Novo's voice calls from the other side, making my heart race a bit. "Please, come in."

The door opens, as Novo stands before me. She looks down at me with a brow raised.

"Have you been messing with my daughter?" she asked.

"N-no. I wouldn't hurt her."

"She came in here with you. I was certain you were going to take away her purity."

"Puri- what, no! NO! I never planned on that."

Novo swims past me and sits on the waterbed. "I'm keeping my eyes on you two. I still don't trust you, yet you are the most kind hearted human Skystar, myself, or any other seapony will ever know."

"That's flattering of you, Novo. I'd like to thank you for your hospitality."

"It's a pleasure."

I sit beside her, looking at her to my right. "You know, Travis, I have never seen her talk to someone as long as she has since you two met. Skystar is rather shy."

"Really? She seems like she would get along with everyone. She has great personality."

"I'm glad you became her friend. She finally has someone to talk to besides those clams."

"It's an honor. She saved my life and I owe her. I guess being her friend for life is a good debt."

"She saved your life?"

"When I arrived here, I was in pain. I walked a long way here, blood coming down my side. I heard her singing and I came to her. She healed me and gave me food and water."

"That's... sweet of her. I never knew she would do something like that to someone."

I lift up my shirt, showing the closed wound. "She healed this. Without her, I would've bled to death."

"... My goodness, Travis. That looks pretty bad. My girl is a savior."

"She's a great girl. I don't know why she would save me? Was it pity?"

"Possibly."

"Novo, speaking of Skystar, I'm gonna see her sing."

"She told you?"

"Yeah. She has a pretty voice."

"Pretty voice?"

"Sounded beautiful. Better than the modern music of today."

"Sounded beautiful?"

Novo smirks, making myself cock a brow. "Why say it like that?"

"Do you love her singing, Travis? Is my daughter's voice really beautiful or are you just saying that."

"She does have a good voice. I'm not lying."

Her tail swings back and forth quickly, as she gives out a tiny giggle. "Makes me wonder if you like my daughter in a different way."

I blush, flailing my arms back and forth. "N-no! She's just a friend! I don't have any romantic feelings for her. She has a nice singing voice is all."

"I don't know why, but I have a feeling you two are gonna be more than friends in the future."

"I don't know. People back home would find it disgusting if I married a sea pony.

"They'd find it weird?"

"Yeah. Having sex with creatures is bizarre to many."

"The others would find it weird here as well."

"Perhaps I can't fall for her or any seapony. It'll look weird. If I were to marry Skystar, I think they'd think of you differently."

Novo stands up from the bed, heading towards the door. "We shall see, if so. Anyway, goodnight, Travis. Have a great stay at my kingdom."

"I shall."

She shuts the door, leaving me yet again alone with my thoughts. I pull the covers up, as I snuggle in them. The covers feel soft, like an old blanket I had when I was six. I let out an exhale, letting all the worries out of me.

"Me? Her? Together? Naw."

I reach for the lamp, shutting it off, before snuggling deep in the sheets. I slowly doze off, dreaming of home, with family and friends.